Britney Spears Says Her Public Breakup Left Her 'No Choice' On Britney Jean - MTV.com

LAS VEGAS — From the beginning, Britney Spears ^[1] had said she had poured her heart and soul ^[2] into her eighth album, Britney Jean, ^[3] giving fans an unprecedented look at her personal life.

So why, after 15 years, did Britney decide now was the time to reveal all?

"Actually I really kinda had no choice," Britney admitted to MTV News at Las Vegas' Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, the home to her upcoming "Piece of Me" residency ^[4] . "Because at the time I was going through a breakup that was kind of public, and everyone knew about it. And I felt like, it's not a secret, so why not write about it and say how I'm feeling about it and what it feels like?"

And writing about the end of her engagement to Jason Trawick ^[5] is exactly what she did, resulting in an intimate 10-track experience ^[6] for her fans, but helped the pop star deal with her own emotions.

"I feel like when you write you do depict from what you're going through in your life, and that's what I was going through at the time, so it just made sense for me, therapeutically, to write it out and get it out," Britney said. "You kinda of do put yourself in an exposed situation and you're putting yourself out there a little bit, but I feel like it's better to do that than keep it in."

Britney said she's just as excited to release her eighth studio album as her first since fans will see a different side of her not only lyrically, but sonically.

"I feel like I have more to say now, I'm older and I'm open to experiment with the album and work with different people and collaborate," she said. "And I just think the creative process is more indulgent, it's more fun."