LOS ANGELES: US pop star Britney Spears has officially released She'll Never Be Me, a previously unreleased song co-written with her former boyfriend Justin Timberlake when they were dating.
The track was originally recorded for Spears' third studio album, Britney, released in 2001, but was left unfinished and excluded from the final tracklist.
It is now available as part of the album's 25th anniversary edition.
Timberlake, who was a member of boy band* NSYNC, is credited as a co-composer and co-lyricist alongside Spears and longtime collaborators Bradley Daymond and Alex Greggs, known professionally as Riprock 'n' Alex G.
Timberlake also contributed background vocals to the song, which has drawn renewed interest in the former couple's musical collaboration.
Spears and Timberlake dated for about three years before splitting in 2002.
Greggs discussed the track during a 2022 appearance on The Original Doll podcast, explaining why it was left off the album.
"The song didn't go on the album not because the label didn't like it. There was just way better stuff to go with," he said.
He also pointed out Timberlake's contribution to the recording. "Sometimes people don't hear Justin's voice [in She'll Never Be Me] until I tell them. I said: 'You don't hear that Justin's in the back?'" Greggs said, adding that their voices blended well together.
"It's a shame that they never really got to do more. It would have been cool to have that kind of sweetheart duet," he said.
Greggs believed the pair might eventually have released a duet had they remained together, adding: "It wasn't the right time. But if they continued to be together, I'm sure it would have happened, and it would have been a really cool thing."
The anniversary edition will also feature four other previously unreleased tracks — Am I a Sinner, When I Say So and My Big Secret — alongside a full version of Right Now (Taste the Victory), originally associated with Spears' 2002 Pepsi commercial.
The reissue is scheduled for release on Nov 6, giving fans a fresh look at material from one of the defining periods of her career.
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