It’s been nearly eight years since Britney Spears released her last studio album, 2016’s Glory. When Spears released that album and the three that preceded it, she was under a notorious conservatorship, the legal arrangement that gave her no control over her own career or finances. That conservatorship finally ended in 2021, and Spears has since released a couple of songs — “Hold Me Closer” with Elton John, “Mind Your Business” with will.i.am, but she hasn’t put a lot of focus on restarting her music career. Last year, in her memoir The Woman In Me, Spears wrote, “Pushing forward in my musical career is not my focus at the moment.”

Now Spears is refuting reports that she is working on a music comeback. Today Page Six claimed that, according to unnamed sources, a few big-deal songwriters have been “tapped to pen tracks” for a forthcoming Britney Spears album: Charli XCX and Julia Michaels.

“Just so we’re clear most of the news is trash !!!,” Spears writes on Instagram. “They keep saying I’m turning to random people to do a new album … I will never return to the music industry !!! 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 !!! I’m a ghostwriter and I honestly enjoy it that way !!!”

The conflicting reports apparently stem from Spears’ team’s attempts to get music written on the pop star’s behalf. “Management and A&R are trying to get her excited for the music,” a source tells Rolling Stone. “As of right now, she’s not actively in recording but they’re getting [songs] done to present to her.” In addition to Charli XCX and Julia Michaels, the source tells the magazine, songwriter/producers Cirkut and Jason Evigan have been tapped as well.