Britney's early version of Lady Gaga's "Telephone" is hard to resist

Now that Rodney Jerkins confirmed that the version of Lady Gaga's hit "Telephone" believed to be sung by Britney Spears really is legit, I felt it was okay to write a blog about the song.

First I'll give some brief history. Pop superstar Lady Gaga wrote and recorded "Telephone" with Rodney Jerkins for Britney Spears' 2008 album Circus. Britney declined to use the song for her album and Gaga decided to keep the song for herself and she put it on her 2009 album The Fame Monster and it became a hit.

I'm a huge fan of Gaga and her music, from her intriguing songwriting to her robust vocals, but I'm not ashamed to say I'm a fan of Britney's music. Regardless of Britney's limited singing ability, her voice works well as an instrument or sound effect that is meant to be manipulated.

Britney's voice on her version of "Telephone" (said to be an early unmixed demo, according to Rodney Jerkins) has the same processed brilliance that it had on her masterpiece "Piece of Me." Her voice goes from high to low, through so many different pitches. It's like a rainbow of different shifts in pitch. There's obviously a computer effect on Britney's vocals, but it's not Auto-Tune, it's something else. Maybe it's a combination of compression, filtered through Pro-Tools. I don't know. I'm not a recording engineer.

The major difference between Britney's version and Gaga's version is that Gaga actually sounds like a human and Britney sounds like a disembodied spirit or a computer malfunctioning. "Telephone" is probably the least vocally-complex on The Fame Monster, but Gaga still manages to sound dramatic delivering her vocals with gusto, especially on the big chorus.

Still, I just can't help but like Britney's version of "Telephone." I've had it on repeat for a while since it leaked. (Thank you to whoever leaked it. There was no point in keeping the song locked away). Besides it's catchiness (most of the credit goes to Gaga for writing such a great song), maybe I can't resist Britney's version because despite her limited voice, she always sings with poise or swagger. For instance, when she talk-sings and/or breathe-sings, she's still a master at rhythm and cadence on the vocals, mainly on fast-paced songs.

In the end, I'm very glad Gaga released it for herself, but as revered a dancer as Britney is, her dance moves just wouldn't have had the benefit of Gaga's input. Gaga's choreographer Laurie Ann Gibson is a dance genius and she is responsible for most of the choreography, but I think Gaga has a lot of input on the dance moves. For instance, I'm sure the monster claw is all Gaga's idea, as well as other elements. Bottom-line, Gaga's choreography is a collaborative effort.

Rodney Jerkins promised that he's writing "international hits" for Britney's upcoming album. Hmm.. we'll see about that. However, the prospect of Britney's new album is exciting because sources say that Britney will have a Glee episode dedicated to her where the cast sings all of her songs, that will film some time in late 2010 or early 2011. That kind of positive PR and press can only amount to good things and maybe Britney's biggest selling album in a while.