Бритни Спирс – «Соңғы Білуші Болмаймын» әні

2001 single by Britney Spears

"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her second studio album, Oops! I Did It Again (2000). It was released on March 12, 2001, by Jive Records as the fourth and final single from the album. After meeting with producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange in Switzerland, Spears recorded several songs for the album, including "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know", which she considered one of her favorites on the album. Additional lyrics were written by guitar player Keith Scott and country pop singer Shania Twain. The pop ballad speaks of a woman wanting to hear her boyfriend say that he loves her, and is sonically similar to David Bowie and Iggy Pop's song "China Girl" (1983). "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" received mostly positive reviews from music critics, who considered it a good break from the album's genre and praised Spears' vocals, comparing them to those of Twain and Stevie Wonder. The song attained moderate commercial success, reaching number one in Romania, and peaking inside the top ten in Austria, Europe and Switzerland, while reaching top twenty positions in many European countries. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was only released for mainstream radio in the United States; therefore, it failed to appear on any major music chart in the country. An accompanying music video, directed by Herb Ritts, portrays Spears in love scenes with her on screen boyfriend, played by French model Brice Durand. The singer's real life boyfriend at the time Justin Timberlake, however, was said to be annoyed at the kissing scenes, while Spears' mother, Lynne, objected to the explicit sexuality of the original cut of the video. Parts of the video were edited before its release to the public on March 2, 2001. As part of promotion for the song, Spears performed it at TRL, Saturday Night Live, and The View. It has also been included on four of her concert tours. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was nominated at 2002 Kids' Choice Awards for "Favorite Song". Spears has named "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" one of her favorite songs from her career.

In 1999, Spears began work on her second studio album, Oops! I Did It Again (2000), in Sweden and Switzerland. After meeting with Robert Lange in Switzerland, the singer started to record several songs for the album, including "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know". After finishing the track, Spears revealed in an interview with Billboard that "with the first album, I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging. This song is incredible. It's going to surprise people in the best way." During a live concert at Hawaii, included on her second home video release Live and More! (2000), Spears said the song was one of her favorites on Oops! I Did It Again. "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was released on January 17, 2001 as the final single from the album.

"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" received mostly positive reviews from contemporary critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic deemed it "sweetly sentimental" and akin to the other ballads on Oops! I Did It Again, while a Rhapsody review considered them "perfectly constructed ballads". Stephanie McGrath of Jam! called the song "the best showcase of Spears' talents". Billboard journalist Michael Paoletta noted that Spears may not have the vocal range of "colleagues Jessica Simpson and Christina Aguilera, but she does have an instantly recognizable style and Oops! indicates that she's developing a soulful edge and emotional depth that can't be conjured with a glass shattering note", further commenting that this can be confirmed "on the hitworthy, Shania Twain penned ballad 'Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know'". While reviewing 2011's Femme Fatale Tour, Jocelyn Vena of MTV considered the song, along with "Toxic", "old school jams". Bustles Alex Kristelis highlighted its "epic" chorus while the staff from Entertainment Weekly called it "a pretty mid tempo melody", and placed it at number 84 on their ranking of Spears' songs. For Pink News Mayer Nissim, "it's not that Britney can't do slow tracks, but her vocals don't always have the energy to push them", citing "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" as an example. Nicholas Hautman, from Us Weekly, concluded that "Spears showcases her soulful, unwavering vocals on this well executed ballad". "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was nominated at Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for "Favorite Song" in 2002.

"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was not commercially available in the United States, and was sent only to mainstream radio on April 2, 2001. The song was also able to reach the top ten in Austria and Switzerland, while attaining top 20 positions in Belgium (Flanders), Finland, Ireland, Norway and Sweden. Despite reaching number 14 in Denmark,

[[File:Britney Spears Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know. png|thumb|250px|right|Spears and her on screen boyfriend kissing each other in the music video. The scenes generated conflict between the singer, her mother Lynne Spears, and her real life boyfriend at the time, Justin Timberlake. According to Ritts, the singer "wanted to do something fresh. There was one outfit, no dancing, and that meant that it boiled down to her. She really had to act the song, and she was very impressive." Spears' mother, Lynne, also considered the original music video too racy at the time because it contained sexual material. Parts of the video were edited before its release to the public. The music video debuted at number one on MTV's TRL on March 2, 2001. The video begins with Spears and her boyfriend in a hammock. Cuts of her cuddling with her love interest beside a fire are also included. Inside a tiki hut, Spears exclaims the words she wants her boyfriend to know. In the second half of the video, she is seen on a tree where her boyfriend reaches for her. There are also scenes where she is running on the beach and her boyfriend is chasing after her. Spears wears only a bikini top and a pair of cutoff shorts during the whole video, going barefoot throughout. An alternate footage of the video can be found on the DVD of Spears' first compilation album Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (2004).

+ Release dates and formats for "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref. (Reference) Germany March 12, 2001 Maxi CD BMG United Kingdom March 26, 2001 Cassette single, Cassette, CD single, CD Rough Trade France March 27, 2001 CD Virgin United States April 3, 2001 Contemporary hit radio Jive Japan April 4, 2001 Maxi CD Avex Trax