Britney Spears' eighth studio album, Britney Jean was released yesterday to mixed reviews.

The album, which was named after the first and middle name that Spears' childhood friends know her as, was marketed as the most personal and intimate Britney album ever.

"I know I keep telling you it is my most personal record yet, but it's true and I'm really proud of that," Spears said in a letter on her website. "I have been through a lot in the past few years and it has really inspired me to dig deeper and write songs that I think everyone can relate to."

Personal is not something Spears is known as, especially since her meltdown. Spears did, however, co-write all 10 of Britney Jean's songs as well as the four deluxe edition songs.

"Compared to something like Blackout or Britney, Spears' latest does not fully shed light on its author's current mindset," Billboard said. "But Britney Jean also possesses its merits and personal pauses -- some that take a few listens to catch. It's Britney (bitch), and she's going to make you work (bitch) for a piece of her in 2013."

Rolling Stone gave the album three-and-a-half stars, saying that the album continues to show Spears' growth that has been apparent over the last few years.

"Britney Jean adds up the high price of stardom," the magazine said. "It's a concept album about the loneliness of pop life -- with a high-profile broken engagement behind her, Brit gets personal and drops her most bummed-out music ever."

MTV, who helped Spears reach her pop queen status, said that there is good hidden within the album's layers.

"It's when you dig under all the reverb and EDM beats that you hear that Britney Jean really is coming from her heart -- one beating at 500 miles an hour," MTV said.

Not everyone was able to find the good hidden in Britney Jean, however.

"Britney Jean tells you virtually bupkus about her struggles over the years," Entertainment Weekly said while giving the album a B+.

The Washington Post called the album "instantly forgettable" because it focuses on typical themes and "will do nothing to reassure anyone that the once familiar, pre-2007 Britney is in there anywhere."

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Times says that Britney Jean is a display of Spears' lack of artistic insight.

"There's very little beneath the album's many cliches to suggest insight, let alone the unfiltered honesty of autobiography," the newspaper said.

Spears will have another chance to impress the critics when she begins her two-year Las Vegas residency, "Piece of Me," on Dec. 27.