Britney Spears Fans Have Theories About The New “Little Project” She Teased

Book clubs everywhere are already poised for Britney Spears’ upcoming memoir, but they might have even more to discuss than planned. Just weeks after announcing The Woman in Me hits shelves this fall, the singer mysteriously offered a “tease ... for a little project on the way,” in a series of three Instagram stories on July 29. “[Who’s] readyyyyyyyyyyyyyy !!!” Spears wrote, explaining she used extra y’s “because for some reason my sister [Jamie Lynn Spears] does that on her gram.” In the same style as her book announcement, the Grammy winner’s posts included prose that some fans thought might be a poem, while others theorized it could be new song lyrics addressing her terminated 13-year conservatorship, or even her first memoir excerpt.

Beginning with a slide that read, “I never cried not one time / I worked 10 hours a day / 4 months a slave,” the first post continued, “No door for a room and watched me changed, watched me shower / But each week I got flowers from a grocery store.” Then Spears, who changed her Instagram name to “Maria River Red,” mentioned her family directly, asking, “Is this even legal?” and adding, “No days off / And my family knows so low / so low / so low / My family says so / Watched me bathe, sit down behave / We ask the questions / We’re here to save you / Save me from what?”

One fan, who compiled Spears’ posts into one Twitter video, wrote, “If these are song lyrics… I will be shook. [Britney Spears] you are so powerful. Get your Justice!” While others guessed the pop princess was previewing a new single to accompany her memoir, another user chimed in, “Honestly, I feel with all that’s happened to her that she could create a ‘Blackout 2.0’ type of album…..and I’d be here for it!” Others remained convinced Spears was sharing a heartbreaking poem that she intends to publish.

Either way, Spears has already teased that The Woman in Me, which is slated for an Oct. 24 release, is an opportunity to finally share her own point of view. Promising to reveal “for the first time her incredible journey (and) strength,” the memoir further “illuminates the enduring power of music and love — and the importance of a woman telling her own story, on her own terms,” according to a press release from Gallery Books. The Woman in Me is “a brave and astonishingly moving story about freedom, fame, motherhood, survival, faith, and hope,” the publisher noted.

“Britney’s compelling testimony in open court shook the world, changed laws, and showed her inspiring strength and bravery,” Gallery Books senior vice president and publisher Jennifer Bergstrom told People while unveiling the book’s cover art on July 12. “I have no doubt her memoir will have a similar impact — and will be the publishing event of the year. We couldn’t be more proud to help her share her story at last.”

Those aren’t the only surprises Spears has gifted fans this summer, either. On July 21, she and Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am dropped their new single, “Mind Your Business,” already prompting several fans to declare, “The princess of pop is back.”