Mood Ring (song)

"Mood Ring" (also known as "Mood Ring (By Demand)" upon its 2020 release) is a song recorded by American singer Britney Spears for her ninth studio album, Glory (2016). It was written by Dijon McFarlane, Nicholas Audino, Te Whiti Warbrick, Lewis Hughes, Jon Asher, and Melanie Fontana. The "electro-tinged" R&B song was produced by DJ Mustard and co-produced by Twice as Nice, with vocal production provided by Asher.

"Mood Ring"
Remix single cover
Single by Britney Spears
from the album Glory (2020 reissue)
WrittenFebruary 2015 (2015-02)
ReleasedJune 27, 2020 (2020-06-27)
RecordedJune 2015 (2015-06)
GenreR&B
Length3:48
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)DJ Mustard
Britney Spears singles chronology
"Slumber Party"
(2016)		 "Mood Ring"
(2020)		 "Swimming in the Stars"
(2020)
Audio video
"Mood Ring" on YouTube

Originally appearing as a bonus track for the Japanese edition upon its parental album release on September 14, 2016, "Mood Ring" was later included on the reissue of Glory's standard edition as the thirteenth track on May 29, 2020, following a sudden resurgence in popularity of the album earlier that month.[1][2] The track sold 13,300 copies during its first week of availability in the United States.[3] It was sent to contemporary hit radio in the Netherlands as the third single from Glory on June 27, 2020, almost four years after the album's release.

Background and development
"Mood Ring" was originally written as a collaboration between Spears and the Chainsmokers.

"Mood Ring" was written in February 2015 by American songwriters Jon Asher and Melanie Fontana, two self-proclaimed fans of Spears. After composing the song on a piano under the name "Mood Swings", the duo rewrote it to an instrumental track that was later used for "Waterbed", a song featured on the Chainsmokers' first EP, Bouquet (2015). While it was originally intended to be a potential collaboration between the singer and the Chainsmokers, the group turned it down, calling it "too girly".[4] They, however, asked both Asher and Fontana to write them a "more masculine" version of the song, which eventually led to them writing "Setting Fires", a song that was featured on the group's second EP, Collage (2016).[4] Over the course of the next three months, the two songwriters sent an a cappella version of the song to several different record producers. It eventually got to DJ Mustard via one of Asher's mutual friends, who created a scratch demo in two days.[5]

Following the rework of the song by DJ Mustard, Asher and Fontana were informed in early April 2015 that Spears "has put [their] demo on a hold" with Omar Grant and the Roc Nation team. Spears eventually recorded "Mood Ring" in June 2015; it was also one of the first songs that was recorded for the singer's then-upcoming ninth studio album. Fontana, who was in Finland when she found out that the singer would be recording the song, wanted to fly to Los Angeles to be in the studio with her, but was unable to due to the fact she had already finished recording the song. According to Fontana, it only took Spears an hour to record her vocals, which to her meant that she "knew the song inside and out and really vibed with it".[4] She later revealed that both she and Asher have composed at least ten other tracks for the album, of which "Mood Ring" was the only one to get cut.[6][7] DJ Mustard later confirmed in July 2015 during the Wireless Festival that he was working with Spears, citing the work to be "harder than hard."[8]

Composition

According to Asher, both him and Fontana wanted to write a song for Spears that "encapsulated [her] entire essence". During the writing process, the duo had "full-on Britney brain" and imagined the singer performing the song on stage and in a music video. In addition, they frequently asked themselves: "What would 'I'm a Slave 4 U' Britney do in 2016?". Fontana, who provided the vocals on the demo version of "Mood Ring", also sang the song in a way that she envisioned Spears would.[4] Musically, the song has been described as an "electro-tinged" and "slinky" R&B song, being one of Spears' "sultry slow jam(s)" and "most R&B-heavy tunes of [her] latest era." It runs for a duration of three minutes and forty-eight seconds. The song follows the traditional verse–chorus song structure over a "slow-burning" production by DJ Mustard, who had worked on several projects such as Anti by Rihanna and Late Nights by Jeremih. Its lyrics focuses on Spears "deciding between two versions of herself" to present to a possible suitor, demonstrating through the first lines "Look in the mirror, who do I see?/Who do I wanna be today?" The singer sings most of the song in her lower register, mostly presented through the chorus "My love is a mood ring, up and down emotions, all these mood swings," as she sings.[9] According to both A&R executive Karen Kwak and Spears herself, "Mood Ring" is one of her favorite songs on Glory. The singer further described the song as being "so vibey and sexy".[4]

Release
“You folks wanted a new album cover ….. ta da there you go [emojis]!!! What was requested next is out now….. I hope you turn #MoodRing up sooooooo loud!!!!”

–Spears announcing the re-issue release of Glory on her Instagram, introducing a new album artwork for the standard edition and the addition of "Mood Ring."

"Mood Ring" was originally teased via DJ Mustard's Twitter account on August 10, 2016.[10] While the song was not featured on the standard nor the deluxe edition of Glory, it was released as a bonus track for the Japanese edition on September 14, 2016.[11] Following the #JusticeForGlory campaign that was launched by Spears' fans on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic, the singer unveiled a new cover art for Glory on May 8, 2020, nearly four years after its release.[12] Three weeks later, Spears announced that "Mood Ring" would be released worldwide on all streaming and download platforms the next day, subtitled "By Demand" to credit her fans for their support of the album. The song was then released along with its parental album reissue on May 29, 2020, listed as the thirteenth track on the standard edition.[13][14] On June 26, 2020, two remixes of "Mood Ring" were released to streaming services, making it the fourth promotional single from the album.[15] Next day, the original version of the song was released to Dutch contemporary hit radio stations, becoming Glory's third single almost four years after the album's release.[16] Later, the song also impacted Italian radio stations on July 10, 2020.[17]

Track listing
  • Digital download and streaming (Remixes)[15]
  1. "Mood Ring (By Demand)" (Pride Remix) – 3:11
  2. "Mood Ring (By Demand)" (Ape Drums Remix) – 3:38

Credits and personnel

Credits for "Mood Ring" are adapted from Glory liner notes and ASCAP listing.[18]

Charts
Chart (2020) Peak
position
Canada Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[19] 32
Germany Digital Song Sales (Official German Charts)[20] 60
Hungary (Single Top 40)[21] 3
Scotland (OCC)[22] 10
UK Download (OCC)[23] 18
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[24] 23
US Digital Song Sales (Billboard)[25] 2

Release history
Release formats and dates for "Mood Ring"
Region Date Format Version Label Ref.
Various June 26, 2020
Remixes RCA [15]
Netherlands June 27, 2020 Contemporary hit radio Original [16]
Italy July 10, 2020 [17]

References
  1. Lindsay, Kathryn (May 29, 2020). "Britney Spears Mood Ring New Single On Glory Album". Refinery29. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  2. Jones, Isabel (May 29, 2020). "Britney Spears Just Released a Song You Probably Haven't Heard Before". Instyle. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  3. McIntyre, Hugh (June 12, 2020). "Britney Spears Almost Scored Another Hot 100 Hit This Week With A Four-Year-Old Song". Forbes. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  4. Real, Evan (May 29, 2020). "Songwriters Melanie Fontana & Jon Asher on the Rebirth of Britney Spears' 'Mood Ring': 'It's a True Pop Miracle'". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  5. "MELANIE FONTANA SCHULZ on Instagram: "Just a quick, fun lil' live wher I talk about making Britney Spears' "mood ring" w/my co-writer Jon & chat about the ins & outs of artistry…"". Instagram. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  6. Stern, Bradley. "Britney's 'Mood Ring': Songwriter Melanie Fontana Speaks Out [Exclusive]". PopCrush. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  7. "(Interview) Britney's "Mood Ring" Producer, Jon Asher, Reflects On The Song's Creation". JON ASHER. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  8. "DJ Mustard Reportedly Hit The Studio With Britney Spears". Billboard. July 5, 2015. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  9. Spanos, Brittany (September 13, 2016). "Hear Britney Spears' Slinky Bonus Song 'Mood Ring'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  10. "Britney Spears' DJ Mustard Collaboration Is Titled "Mood Ring"". idolator. August 10, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  11. Chan, Tim (May 29, 2020). "Listen: Britney Spears New Song Mood Ring (By Demand) Surprise Release". Rolling Stone. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  12. Jones, Marcus (May 8, 2020). "Britney Spears surprises fans with new Glory album cover almost four years after its release". Yahoo. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  13. Murphy, Chris (May 28, 2020). "Britney Spears Releases Mood Ring (By Demand) New Music". Vulture. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  14. Calvario, Liz (May 29, 2020). "Britney Spears Rereleases Rare Song You Probably Haven't Heard: Listen!". ET Online. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
  15. Spears, Britney (June 26, 2020). "Mood Ring (By Demand) [Remixes] - Single by Britney Spears on Apple Music". music.apple.com.
  16. "Single Releases | Top 40-nieuws". top40.nl (in Dutch). December 14, 2020.
  17. "EarOne | Radio Date, le novita musicali della settimana". EarOne. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  18. "ACE Repertory – Mood Ring, Britney Spears". www.ascap.com. Retrieved May 31, 2020.
  19. "Britney Spears Chart History (Canada Digital)". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  20. "Offizielle Download Charts Single". Official German Charts. Retrieved December 21, 2020.
  21. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved June 12, 2020.
  22. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  23. "Official Singles Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 5, 2020.
  24. "Britney Spears Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
  25. "Britney Spears Chart History (Digital Song Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved June 9, 2020.
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