Britney Spears has firmly declared that she has no intentions of returning to the music industry, dispelling recent rumors about her working on a tenth studio album. Addressing the speculation on Instagram on January 3, Spears clarified her stance, stating, “Just so we’re clear most of the news is trash! They keep saying I’m turning to random people to do a new album … I will never return to the music industry!”

Contrary to reports suggesting collaborations with Julia Michaels and Charli XCX, Spears asserted that she sees herself as a “ghostwriter” and added, “When I write, I write for fun or I write for other people. For those of you who have read my book, there’s loads that you don’t know about me … I’ve written over 20 songs for other people the past two years … and I honestly enjoy it that way.”

Spears also refuted claims that her bestselling memoir, “The Woman In Me,” was released without her permission, emphasizing that such assertions are “far from the truth.”

In her Instagram post, Spears reinforced that her focus is not on her music career at the moment. While she released the single “Mind Your Business” with Will.i.am in July 2023 and collaborated on the duet “Hold Me Closer” with Sir Elton John in the summer of 2022, she expressed in her memoir, “Pushing forward in my music career is not my focus at the moment. It’s time for me not to be someone who other people want; it’s time to actually find myself.”