Back in the Mix: Blackbear and ‘Britney in ’07

cover photo by: Garrett Brockschmitt

If you thought you’d moved on from your blackbear phase, think again. His new single ‘britney in ’07’ just released (well officially that is, iykyk) a couple of days ago, and it’s giving pt. 2 of the digital druglord vibes we’ve been waiting for. After a year that’s already felt like a comeback season for so many artists, it’s really nice to see him stepping back into the mix. The song is stuffed with that unhinged pop energy that totally shaped that blackbear trademark over the years, you know, the kind of mood where you’re crashing out while laughing because you just don’t quite know what else to do. The second I started playing the track, it felt like opening a mini time capsule labeled “your blackbear moments,” and that rush of emotional (but danceable) turmoil came right back within the body. blackbear, it’s nice to see you back in this lane of attention.

Fans were quick to say it too. One of the top comments I saw read, “This sounds like the old good days… Welcome back blackbear... You're so back,” and that pretty much feels like the vibe of everyone. Like, did we all go through that blackbear phase together or what? Glad that I’m not the only one getting nostalgic! But even with everyone calling it a comeback, it’s not like he disappeared completely. He didn’t ghost us; let’s see it as he just left us on read. And honestly, he’s never really gone. Even when it felt like he’d ghosted us, he’s been quietly dropping gems like dancingwiththestars and a few remixes, just doing his thing in that low-key mode.

Hearing this song immediately dragged me back into my own blackbear days. Remember those 2016 and ’17 moments? The burst of comeback styles, cool aesthetics, and hot girl summer memories… sorry, I mean hot girl bummer memories… but that chapter of late nights blasting “waste away” in the bath then “do re mi” in the car with your friends, like, I don’t know about you guys, but it felt like they were extensions of my personality back then. That era where his music seemed to understand the exact kind of emotional chaos I couldn’t quite put into my own words yet. ‘britney in ’07’ scratches that same itch: the kinda twisted humor, the messiness, and most of all the honesty, and the beat that makes spiraling feel like a cycle workout.

I also flashed back to his set at Warped Tour Long Beach this year. I missed so many chances to see him live back in the day, so this was my first real impression, and I thought… hmm… a little unruly, sure, but he had the entire crowd singing along in seconds, pulling blackbear fans into this fun collective dance break after following the metalcore energy of Memphis May Fire and the post-hardcore intensity of Enter Shikari. It was such a lit moment, seeing everyone tap into that other side of themselves for a bit. Gave the moshers a chance to grab water!

The title of the new single taps into one of pop culture’s most iconic and misunderstood moments: 2007 Britney, the shaved head, the umbrella, the meltdown, all the works. A moment that became a meme before people cared to take mental health seriously. blackbear flipped that into a symbol to represent that emotional overload that feels painfully familiar in 2025, the feeling of being one inconvenience away from shaving your own head in a CVS parking lot.

He explained it himself, saying, “This song is about crashing out and being open about it. Society makes us feel like shit sometimes, there’s a 2007 Britney in all of us…” And he’s right. Even when life looks functional on the outside or on social media platforms, there’s always that inner version of us hanging by a string, just waiting for the drop. This goes for celebrities AND us normies. But this concept of openness is what makes artists like blackbear so special; artists like Juice Wrld, Lil Peep, and Olivia Rodrigo. Feeling this way is OKAY, crashouts are VALID, and being a mess is what makes us humans vulnerable, imperfect, and beautiful at the same time. Speak. Your. Emotions!

He said something else that stuck with me:
“Sometimes people can think you’re at the top of your game, but you really feel like shaving your head and beating a car window in. You never know what people are going through.” Coming from someone who’s lived under constant digital observation, it hits harder than it would from anyone else. It’s cool to see the realness of artists, but even cooler to hear it and still be able to bob to a catchy tune as well. It’s giving paradoxical vibes.

Lyrically, the song threads together dark humor and emotional realness. Even the Gucci Mane and Miley Cyrus references add to that visual for celebrity meltdown imagery. It’s fun, but there’s an actual serious layer to it. blackbear has lived through real pressure: the chronic necrotizing pancreatitis that nearly killed him in 2016, the 10+ surgeries, the addiction and alcohol struggles, the burnout, and can’t leave out the internet scrutiny. None of that is the point of the song, but you can hear the influence of these aspects in the way he writes about losing composure.

For anyone who hasn’t stayed updated on him, blackbear has always had a talent for turning introspective chaos into catchy anthems. In club status, he’s the mind behind hits I mentioned/referenced earlier like “do re mi,” “hot girl bummer,” and “idfc,” and even in quieter eras, he never stopped collaborating, releasing remixes, working on Mansionz projects, and shaping music in a hundred slightly more low-key ways. After looking up interviews and other notes on him, it seems he’s been open for years about his chronic illness and how it shaped his perspective, and that sense of clarity definitely finds comfort in this new single too.

To make this single more than just a drop for fans, there’s more to be poured since blackbear has actually announced that his new album, analogue dream, is dropping April 1, 2026, which means ‘britney in ’07’ is just the first course in a new feast of music from him. To me, the single indicates another round of predictions: messy, emotional, catchy, and an addition to my saved albums playlist.

‘britney in ’07’… what can I say? It’s like having one foot in the future and one in the past. It captures that nostalgic early blackbear feeling, but the self-awareness might be a little sharper. It feels like someone who’s survived enough chaos to joke about it now, which is important because, like I said, it seems like we all went through a little moment together as one after seeing the reaction at Warped Tour and reading comments under this new release. So, at the end of this, let’s just say blackbear has been in the room with us; he’s just decided to pop back into the middle of it again. Looking forward to analogue dream, and what other little snacks in the form of singles get dropped along the way!