See Americana Singer Jamie Kent’s Charming Britney Spears Cover
Just in time for the ultimate greeting-card day of love, Nashville singer-songwriter Jamie Kent gives a timeless Britney Spears classic, “…Baby One More Time,” the roots treatment, replacing that Max Martin beat with some banjo and the thump of the upright bass. Watch the video Kent filmed for the cover above, which opens with shots of a high school – a nod to the original music video where Spears, clad as a come-hither schoolgirl, tore up the halls to become the ultimate provocateur.
Covering “…Baby One More Time” has become somewhat of a cross-genre phenomenon over the years: everyone from Ed Sheeran and Tori Kelly to Travis and Weezer have tackled the pop sensation that went double platinum and was the best-selling song in the country in 1999. Though Spears gave it a danceable treatment, it suits an acoustic arrangement almost shockingly well, as evidenced by how Kent breaks it down into a swampy, soulful ode to longing.
Kent, who heads out on select tour dates this weekend and is a frequent tourmate of Huey Lewis, earned a spot as one of Rolling Stone Country‘s top songs of 2016 with his “All American Mutt.” The song is the title track to his new album, produced by Grammy nominee Dave Brainard.
“…Baby One More Time” appears on a new digital EP, Will You Go Out With Me?, a collection of Valentine’s Day appropriate country covers of Nineties R&B hits, including Boyz II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You” and ‘N Sync’s “Tearing Up My Heart.”