Everytime

"Everytime" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, taken from her fourth studio album, In the Zone (2003). It was released on May 10, 2004 by Jive Records as the third single from the album. After her relationship with American singer Justin Timberlake ended in 2002, she made friends with her backing vocalist Annet Artani. They started writing songs together at Spears's house in Los Angeles, and then traveled to Lombardy, Italy, where "Everytime" was written. Spears composed the music and she developed the lyrics with Artani. According to Artani, the song was written as a response to Timberlake's 2002 song "Cry Me a River". Spears has neither confirmed nor denied these allegations.
"Everytime" is a pop ballad with breathy vocals. Its lyrics are a plea for forgiveness for inadvertently hurting a former lover. Music critics mostly complimented its lyrical content, deeming the song "organic" in comparison with most of the tracks on its host album. Spears' maturity in the production and her songwriting abilities were also complimented. In the U.S. "Everytime" peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100. It entered the top five in several countries, while reaching the top of the charts in Australia, Hungary, Ireland and the United Kingdom. Spears performed "Everytime" in a series of live appearances such as television shows Saturday Night Live and Top of the Pops. She has also performed the song on piano in a flowered-themed setting at The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004), while suspended on a giant umbrella at The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009) and in an angel costume at Britney: Piece of Me (2013). "Everytime" has been covered by artists such as Glen Hansard and Kelly Clarkson, and James Franco in the film Spring Breakers (2013).
Inspired by the cinematography of Leaving Las Vegas, the music video for "Everytime" portrays Spears as a star hounded by paparazzi, who drowns in her bathtub when she starts bleeding from a wound in her head. In the hospital, doctors fail to resuscitate her while a child is born in the next room, implying she has been reincarnated. The original treatment would have had Spears killing herself from a drug overdose, but the plot was removed after it received criticism by organizations such as Kidscape, who perceived it as a glamorization of suicide. Critics noted the video for its religious references to The Passion of the Christ, Kabbalah and stigmata, and for predicting Spears's future struggles with fame.