Over the years, fans have put together mock Original Doll album covers and created their own tracklists culled from B-sides and leaked tracks. Message board threads devoted to the album have stirred speculation and conspiracy theories, and every so often, users claiming to have a friend of a friend who worked at Jive would post an alleged detail.

However, multiple former employees of Jive told BuzzFeed they were unfamiliar with the album, and a source who worked with Spears during the time said Original Doll was never scheduled internally; anything Spears said about it was just her talking about her plans. She didn't say much, just 22 words in a single interview, but Original Doll has become Spears' Smile, the infamous abandoned Beach Boys' album, and a fascinating piece of pop folklore.

Those who worked with Spears prior to "Mona Lisa" said she wanted to be more involved in the songwriting process. Songwriter Michelle Bell first met Spears in 2002, when she was in the studio working with Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins, who had remixed "Overprotected," a song from Britney's self-titled 2001 album. "She had on a blue thermal top and it had a little cigarette burn in it," Bell said. "I thought, this couldn't be her. This is her sister. She looked like she was dressing from the mall in Louisiana."

Spears' recent breakup with Justin Timberlake inspired several songs she wrote at the time, Bell said. During their sessions, Timberlake's "Cry Me a River," written about their breakup, was released. In its music video, he broke into the home of a Spears look-alike. "I think she was really hurt by 'Cry Me a River,'" Bell said.

Songwriter Angela Hunte, who co-wrote Britney's "Do Somethin'," recalled one recording session with Spears in 2002 in a New York City studio where Jive often put up artists, when Timberlake was also in the building rehearsing for an awards show performance.

"We couldn't hear [Justin] exactly, but you could hear the music, hear the voice," she said. "She was a little irritated by that. Then she came in and it was like nothing happened and we started recording and she was a complete professional from beginning to end."

"Everytime" has been described as Spears' response to "Cry Me a River," and an apology: "I may have made it rain / Please forgive me / My weakness caused you pain / And this song's my sorry." Bell recalled the first time Spears played "Everytime" for her on the piano during their 2002 sessions. ("She definitely can play the piano, no one really knows that.") Bell told her she loved it, but Spears was hesitant about singing it for her A&R, the record label employee who would decide which songs would make the album.

"She said nobody really listens to her," Bell said. "She just wanted somebody to say I believe in you beyond this pop machine." Bell developed a good relationship with Spears and the pair worked on a number of songs together. "After a while, she sort of trusted me," she said. One song they wrote during the 2002 sessions, titled "Look Who's Talking," was about Timberlake but contained references in its lyrics only he and Spears would understand.

"That song was totally about him," Bell said. "It was all, let's not put it all out there. She was like, 'He'll know what we mean, but the rest of the world won't.'" In one line, Bell remembered, Spears used the word "justify" for its double meaning (Timberlake's album was titled Justified). "I was true to you / Justify my point of view," she sang. The song was covered by Korean singer BoA in 2008, and Spears' version leaked in 2012.