Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)
Encyclopedia
Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album
by American recording artist Britney Spears
. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records
(Sony Music
). Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin
and Dr. Luke
, who served as the executive producer
s of the album. The producers confirmed they and Spears were all working on some material for the release of the album following her 2009 world tour. Wanting to stray away sonically from her previous material, Spears experimented with various styles of dance music including dubstep
, which was used in various songs on the album. The album also features production from will.i.am
, Fraser T. Smith
, Rodney Jerkins
and StarGate
among others.
Upon its release, Femme Fatale received mostly positive reviews from critics, who complimented the album's production and Spears' continued forward-thinking. Others criticized it for Spears's supposed lack of involvement and processed vocals. Commercially, the album has become successful, debuting at number one in the United States with sales of 276,000 (breaking Spears's previous record for the youngest female artist with five number one albums), giving her her sixth number one album. The album also debuted at number one in six other countries while peaking inside the top ten in every other country except one, a feat Spears had not accomplished in over a decade since the release of her second album, Oops!... I Did It Again
, in May 2000. Femme Fatale was Spears's final album with long time label Jive Records following Jive's closure in October 2011.
"Hold It Against Me
" was released as the lead single
from the album and peaked atop the charts in seven countries, including the United States and Canada, while peaking inside the top five in over seven others. The album's second single, "Till the World Ends
", reached number one in South Korea, Poland and Russia while reaching number three in the United States and peaking inside the top ten positions in sixteen countries worldwide. It became Spears's best-performing song on US radio in her entire career. In August 2011, after becoming Spears's third album with three top-twenty singles, Femme Fatale became her first album to produce three top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100
chart when "I Wanna Go
" peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Fourth single Criminal
turned out as a moderate hit, peaking inside the Top 20 in five countries. Spears promoted the album in a handful of television appearances and embarked on the Femme Fatale Tour
.
, Danja commented that he was working with Spears in the pre-production of Femme Fatale. Darkchild
, who was also reportedly working with her, said during a Ustream session in August 2010, "Britney fans are gonna be so happy in a few weeks", hinting about the release of new music. However, this was denied by Spears's manager Adam Leber, who stated, "No new music news right now....Wish people wouldn't mislead you guys with BS
info. Not cool! PS- The guys that ARE working on Brit's next album ARE NOT talking about it..." Leber later spoke with Entertainment Weekly
, calling the sound of the record "progressive" and "a departure from what you've heard." In November 2010, Dr. Luke
announced that he would be the executive producer
of Femme Fatale, along with Max Martin
. In an interview with Rolling Stone
, Spears explained that she had worked with Luke during the production of Blackout (2007), stating that "he was incredible back then and he has only gotten better over the years. About Martin, she commented that "he has been there since the beginning so there is such a huge level of trust. [...] There is nobody I feel more comfortable collaborating with in the studio." On December 2, 2010, the day of her 29th birthday, Spears thanked her fans for the birthday wishes and announced, "I'm almost done with my new album and it will be coming out this March. I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!" Following the announcement of the album's title and cover on February 2, 2011, Spears said about Femme Fatale:
account that she had begun recording new material, stating she was going into the studio with Swedish
songwriter and producer Max Martin
. Spears spoke to V
about the sessions for Femme Fatale, commenting that she had been recording the album for two years. She explained that her idea initially was to make an album that was "fresh-sounding [...] for the clubs or something that you play in your car when you're going out at night that gets you excited, but I wanted it to sound different from everything else out right now." Spears also stated that she wanted to make sure Femme Fatale was completely different from Circus
(2008), and that the album felt "really connected from start to finish." After "Hold It Against Me
" was written, originally, Luke and Martin wanted to give the track to Katy Perry
, but they later decided that "it definitely wasn't a Katy Perry record." They continued to work on the song with Billboard
, and Luke commented that before giving the song to Spears, "I wanted to make sure it didn't sound like everything else I've done". Darkchild stated that while working with him, Spears was very "hands-on" and "had a lot of ideas for me." He later commented he had produced two songs for the album, with one of them featuring Travis Barker
. Darkchild added that the song "[has] this rock feel which is out of the box, out of my norm, and I think it's out of her norm as well."
On February 8, 2011, Spears tweeted she was in the studio with will.i.am
. He described the collaboration as "a monster. It's mean, pretty, edgy, next level. [...] She's singing fresh over it. It's something that today needs." Spears later commented that she is a fan of The Black Eyed Peas
, and would love to work with will.i.am again the future. She also explained that she discovered Sabi through a friend recommendation, and had always wanted to feature a new artist in one of her albums, hence they recorded "(Drop Dead) Beautiful". Luke spoke to Rolling Stone about the direction of the album on February 2, 2011, commenting that the final tracklist had not been chosen. He added, "We're in the middle of it right now. [...] We're working with a lot of producers and overseeing it with her A&R and record label and management and trying to make something cohesive." William Orbit
confirmed he had co-written a track for Spears with Klas Åhlund
, but it was left off the final track listing. Heather Bright, one of the album's songwriters, revealed that "Trouble for Me" was one of the first songs recorded by Spears for Femme Fatale.
", co-written by Ke$ha, was described as an uptempo dance-pop
and electropop song, with an electro beat and elements of trance
and eurodance
. The song opens with sirens and a "sizzling" bassline. Critics complimented the songs "anthemic nature" and "chant-like chorus". The second track and lead single "Hold It Against Me
" is a dance-pop
song which features industrial
beats, a dubstep
-influenced breakdown and employing elements of grime
and a final chorus
with elements of rave
. The lyrics portray the singer seducing someone on the dancefloor, while the chorus revolves around pick-up line
s, with Spears singing, "If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?" Spears was complimented by critics for "stepping into new territory and pushing the boundaries of dance pop once more." The third track “Inside Out” is an electropop song. It features themes of dubstep
and R&B, complimented with "earth-shattering synths". The song was praised for its intricate production and has been compared to her earlier work on albums ‘’Circus’’ and ‘’In the Zone’’ and it has been compared to that of Madonna
’s “Ray of Light
” and “Music
”. Spears crescendos "Baby shut your mouth and turn me inside" during the chorus section, and then goes on to "Hit me one more time it’s so amazing” and "You're the only one who's ever drove me crazy" referencing her first singles "...Baby One More Time
" and "(You Drive Me) Crazy
".
"I Wanna Go
", the forth track, is a dance-pop
and Hi-NRG
song, that includes elements of techno
and a heavy bassline
. The song contains a whistled
melody. In the chorus
, she stutters "I I I wanna go O O / All the way / Taking out my freak tonight". The "builds and breaks" were compared to her album "Blackout". "How I Roll" is the fifth track, produced by long-time collaborators Bloodshy & Avant
, where Spears "pirouettes from a gulping in-and-out breath effect" and described as a "bubbly, playful pop song". Spears' voice is heavily altered, with her voice being put through many distorters, filters, and blenders. The song uses a constant rushed handclaps. The sixth and seventh tracks "Drop Dead (Beautiful) [feat Sabi]" and "Seal It With A Kiss" were commented as "fillers", However, "Seal It With A Kiss" was complimented as "genuinely exciting" with Williams Hernes of Rolling Stone adding "[Dr. Luke + Max Martin] dropping a dubstep break on "Seal It With A Kiss." I love it when the avant-garde seeps into the mainstream." "Big Fat Bass" is Femme Fatale's eighth track, and while it "sticks to dancefloor essentials", the song was described as an "unfortunate collaboration" with will.i.am
. It was noted as being catchy, but repetitive. "Trouble for Me", track number nine, features a pre-chorus filled with "melting, wheezing synths". Spears' voice has been autotuned, but her voice was described as "raw" and the tones and wines as "sexy" and "one of a kind".
Music writers noted electropop and dance-pop
styles on the album. Music journalist Jody Rosen
wrote of the album, "Conceptually it's straightforward: a party record packed with sex and sadness". Spears described Femme Fatale on a Twitter chat as "moody, edgy pop with A LOT of energy" with "a few mid-tempos that could be considered ballads". In an interview with the V she further commented on the album stating, "I wanted to make a fierce dance record where each song makes you want to get up and move your body in a different way. That’s what I want from the music I listen to. This record is for the clubs, or something you play before you go out at night. It’s definitely my edgiest and most mature sound yet. [...] There are songs on this album that don’t sound like anything else and are completely revolutionary, but I also believe that this album expresses where I am today as a woman and is an evolution of who I am. [...] I think Femme Fatale speaks for itself. [...] I think it’s the best album I have ever made. There’s nothing to say. I’ll let the music speak for me." The album was compared to that of Spears' previous albums, "In The Zone", "Circus" and "Blackout".
In April 2011, Dr Luke spoke to MTV about the album, saying that "[I feel like] Britney kind of has her own genre: If you look at songs like "Toxic" and "Piece of Me
" and "Oops!... I Did It Again
", they all were sort of influential and led the way [...] She wanted to keep on with that and do stuff that was 'forward-thinking', So we put some dubstep stuff in there, in bridges; snuck it in different places." Although Spears was criticized for her lack of involvement from the album`s production and writing, she wrote the song "Scary" (Produced by Fraser T. Smith
) which is included in the Japanese deluxe edition of the album. Singer and Writer, Ryan Tedder
defended Spears' "lack of" writing credits to The Hollywood Reporter
, stating that "Sinatra didn't write a song, Garth Brooks barely wrote anything, George Strait has had I think 51 No. 1's and he has yet to write a song. Rascal Flatts are one of the biggest country acts in the world, and all of their hits are written by other people.”
with "Hold It Against Me" and the full album digital download on the street date.
Promotion for the album began on March 25, 2011 in a performance that included "Hold It Against Me", "Till the World Ends" and "Big Fat Bass". The performance was filmed by MTV
at Rain Nightclub
inside the Palms Casino Resort and was included in a MTV
special titled "I Am the Femme Fatale" which aired on April 3, 2011. Two days later on March 27, Spears performed the same set of songs in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
before a crowd of 5,000 people for the March 29, 2011 episode of Good Morning America
. In addition to these two performances, she also performed the same three-song set and participated in two skits on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 29 and appeared at the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards
. Spears served as a guest host
at the 2011 Wango Tango
concert series alongside Ryan Seacrest on May 14, 2011. Spears made a brief appearance at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards, performing a short version of "Till The World Ends" alongside Femme Fatale tourmate Nicki Minaj
. On August 3, 2011, ABC Family
announced that "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" would be available for free download on their website, until the premiere of the Teen Spirit series on August 5, 2011. "Trouble for Me" was also featured on the main page of BMG's website.
" was released as the album's lead single on January 11, 2011. Critics praised the song, though some dismissed its lyrical content. The music video for the song premiered on February 17, 2011 on MTV
following a two-week teaser campaign and featured Spears as an alien who finds fame on Earth but becomes overwhelmed with her celebrity and breaks down. "Hold It Against Me" became Spears' fourth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100
, making Spears the second artist in history to have multiple singles debut at number one. The song also went to number one in six other countries and peaked within the top ten in over twelve countries worldwide.
"Till the World Ends
" was released as the second single, making its premiere on Ryan Seacrest's radio show On Air With Ryan Seacrest
. The song received positive reviews from critics, complimenting its catchy appeal and anthemic nature. The music video for "Till The World Ends" was released on April 6, 2011 on VEVO
and showcased Spears in an underground dance party. "Till The World Ends" performed well worldwide, topping the charts in Poland and South Korea while peaking inside the top ten in the United States, Australia, Canada and nine other countries. The song also became Spears' biggest radio hit in the United States at the time, reaching a radio audience of ninety-eight million, the highest weekly audience of her career before "I Wanna Go
" was released.
"I Wanna Go
" was announced as the third single on May 13, 2011. It was officially released as a single in June 2011. The song received mostly positive reviews from critics who praised the song's hook. The music video for "I Wanna Go" was released on June 22, 2011 and featured Spears daydreaming about different scenarios during a press conference. "I Wanna Go" has so far peaked at number one in South Korea, number eight in Canada, and seven in the United States while also charting in the Top 40 of New Zealand, France, Denmark and Australia. After "I Wanna Go" reached number seven in the US, Femme Fatale became Spears's first album to produce three top-ten hits.
"Criminal
" was announced as the album's fourth single following the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
on August 28, 2011. Earlier that month, In a poll on Spears's official Facebook
page appeared, asking the fans to vote for the fourth official single from Femme Fatale, the choices being "Criminal", "(Drop Dead) Beautiful", and "Inside Out".. "Criminal" won the poll with a lead of 39,160 votes, being released on September 30, 2011. The accompanying music video was filmed in Stoke Newington
, a district of London
, England
. This would be the second time Spears had teamed up with director Chris Mars Pirello, the first being with "I Wanna Go."
's radio show
on March 4, 2011, Spears stated she would tour the United States in the "early summer" in support of Femme Fatale. On March 29, 2011, following her performances on Good Morning America
, she announced a co-headlining tour with Enrique Iglesias
, starting in June 2011. Hours after the announcement, it was reported by Billboard
that Iglesias had pulled out of the tour. Ray Wedell of Billboard speculated that the reason may have been that Spears was deemed by news outlets as the headliner, while Iglesias was considered the opening act
. The first twenty-six North American dates were also announced on March 29, 2011.
The opening acts were announced on April 12, 2011. Spears stated, "This is the Femme Fatale tour and I'm thrilled to have Nicki Minaj
, Jessie and the Toy Boys
, and Nervo join me and get everyone on the dance floor. Can't wait to take the Femme Fatales on the road." Tickets for select markets go on sale beginning April 30 at Ticketmaster
and Live Nation
's websites. In March 2011, Spears's manager Larry Rudolph
told MTV News
that the tour would have a "post-apocalyptic vibe", while commenting that "Till The World Ends
" keeps becoming a theme for us." He also confirmed Jamie King
as the tour director. The tour opened to positive reviews, with some calling it her best tour in her entire career.
. Jody Rosen
of Rolling Stone
commented that it "may be Britney's best album; certainly it's her strangest". Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine
viewed that Spears' presence on the album is overshadowed by its "high-class" production, calling the album "Essentially a cleaner, classier remake of the gaudily dark Blackout [...] a producer’s paradise". Edna Gundersen of USA Today
gave the album three out of four stars and wrote that Spears and her producers "have crafted a trendy, infectious and engaging ballad-free batch of electro-pop tunes". Entertainment Weekly
s Adam Markovitz called it "a ballad-free, treadmill-ready playlist of tireless dance beats and top-shelf production" and called Spears' vocals as "a confidently corrupt guide to a place where our only worry is whether the beats will end before the sun comes up." Robert Everett-Green of The Globe and Mail
gave the album three-and-a-half out of four stars and complimented its "grainy, glistening electronic sound", calling it "one of the major guilty pleasures in pop this year". Kitty Empire
of The Observer
commented that Spears "has turned out the “fierce dance record” she promised".
However, Andy Gill of The Independent
gave the album two out of five stars and criticized its "single-minded dedication to dancefloor utility", writing that it "stays in electro-stomp mode for virtually its entire course, with only the tiniest of rhythmic variants or differences in electronic tones distinguishing one producer's work from another's". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
commented that "much of the music on this album feels flat and redundant, no more invigorating than the average European dance-pop album of five years ago". The Guardian
s Alexis Petridis wrote that Spears' "voice is as anonymous as ever, a state of affairs amplified by the lavishing of Auto-Tune". Chicago Tribune
writer Greg Kot
wrote similarly, "Spears allows herself to be treated like another passenger in these rhythm trains". Evan Sawdey of PopMatters
wrote that "Spears’ worldview is completely self-contained" and described Femme Fatale as "just a big dumb club album". Chicago Sun-Times
writer Thomas Conner complimented its "contemporary sounds and beats", but stated "The trade-off is personality [...] Brit's voice is processed so heavily on this record, and the lyrics so bland, these songs could be sung by anyone". Rich Juzwiak of The Village Voice
wrote that her "voice doesn't add much to the conversation", writing that her lack of presence is "problematic for an album whose subject matter is hedonism and how being hot facilitates it".
Slant Magazine
's Sal Cinquemani commented that Spears's lack of involvement makes "the success of a Britney song rest almost entirely on the quality of other people's songwriting and production, and almost every track on Femme Fatale succeeds or fails on that basis". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
, critic Robert Christgau
gave the album a B+ rating, indicating "remarkable one way or another, yet also flirts with the humdrum or the half-assed". Los Angeles Times
writer Carl Wilson noted that "it never invites more intimate listening [...] the lyrics rarely even try to be clever", but praised the "dozen of the age’s most accomplished record producers" and wrote that the album "finds unity of subject, style and sound by imagining scenarios in which vanishing into anonymity can be comfort and liberation". Caryn Ganz of Spin
gave the album a seven out of 10 rating and complimented its production, while stating "ignore the lyrics, Spears sounds even more like a programmed Britbot than on 2007's Blackout". Tom Gockelen-Kozlowski of The Daily Telegraph
gave the album four out of five stars and stated "Despite her weak voice and empty lyrics, [Spears] has placed herself at the avant-garde of pop with this masterful mixture of über-cool dubstep and sugary pop". The A.V. Club
s Genevieve Koski stated "While Spears’ vocals are inevitably the least impressive element of any given song, she doesn’t exactly disappear into the production on Femme Fatale; she settles into it, game for whatever and confident in the hands of trusted professionals who know how to best utilize her".
' s
2011 Mid-Year Music Awards, where she was nominated in five categories, First-Half MVP, Favorite Hot 100 No. 1 Song ("Hold It Against Me
"), Favorite Billboard 200 No. 1 Album (Femme Fatale
), Best Music Video ("I Wanna Go
"), and Best Tour (Femme Fatale Tour
), which she all won. There was also a list of Billboard' s Mid-Year sales of 2011, on which Spears was named twice. Femme Fatale reached number 12 with 590,000 sold units, and her second single "Till the World Ends
" number 18 with 1,989,000 million sold units.
, with first-week sales of 276,000 copies. This gave Spears her sixth debut at the top of the charts and leaves her in a three way tie for third most number one albums for a female artist, tied with Mariah Carey
and Janet Jackson
. However, the first-week sales are Spears' second-lowest sales start with a studio set. Only her 1999 debut effort, "Baby One More Time," began with a smaller figure (121,000 copies).
In its second week, the album fell to number two, with sales plummeting 73 percent to 75,000, giving it a two-week total of 351,000 sold in the United States. It fell four positions in its third week to 2-6, selling 43,000 copies. After a sales increase of five percent with 45,000 sold, the album rose 6-5, with a four-week total of 439,000. Despite a decline of 33 percent in sales in its fifth week, Femme Fatale rose 5-4 with sales of 30,000, bringing the total to about 470,000. The album spent five consecutive weeks in the Billboard 200 top ten. After a month of sales, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
for shipping over one million copies in the United States. It is Spears' sixth studio album and seventh album overall to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. As of September 2011, Femme Fatale has sold over 786,000 copies.
In Mexico
the album debuted at number one upon its release, spending three weeks inside the top ten before falling to number thirteen. AMPROFON
has certified the album Gold and according to Sony Music México the album has gone on to sell over 40,000 copies in the country. The album debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart
, selling 31,650 copies in its first week, becoming her lowest-charting studio album in the United Kingdom since In the Zone
, which peaked at number thirteen in December 2003. On April 4, 2011 Femme Fatale debuted at number one in Australia, making it Spears' first number one album in the country. It was also certified gold in during its debut week for shipments over 35,000 copies. In Germany, the album debuted at number ten making it her seventh top-ten studio album in a row, and her eighth top-ten album with the inclusion of the compilation album Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
(2004), which peaked at number four. Femme Fatale debuted at number eight in Denmark, selling 1009 copies in its first week.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American recording artist Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
(Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment ' is the second-largest global recorded music company of the "big four" record companies and is controlled by Sony Corporation of America, the United States subsidiary of Japan's Sony Corporation....
). Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
and Dr. Luke
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
, who served as the executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
s of the album. The producers confirmed they and Spears were all working on some material for the release of the album following her 2009 world tour. Wanting to stray away sonically from her previous material, Spears experimented with various styles of dance music including dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
, which was used in various songs on the album. The album also features production from will.i.am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
, Fraser T. Smith
Fraser T. Smith
Fraser T. Smith is an English record producer, songwriter, mix engineer and guitarist....
, Rodney Jerkins
Rodney Jerkins
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Jerkins received two Grammy nominations in 2011.-Biography:...
and StarGate
Stargate (production team)
This is a list of songs written and produced by the Norwegian production team Stargate.-Produced singles:-1999:5ive - Invincible*05. "Two Sides to Every Story"*06. "You Make Me a Better Man"Noora Noor - Curious*01. "Curious"...
among others.
Upon its release, Femme Fatale received mostly positive reviews from critics, who complimented the album's production and Spears' continued forward-thinking. Others criticized it for Spears's supposed lack of involvement and processed vocals. Commercially, the album has become successful, debuting at number one in the United States with sales of 276,000 (breaking Spears's previous record for the youngest female artist with five number one albums), giving her her sixth number one album. The album also debuted at number one in six other countries while peaking inside the top ten in every other country except one, a feat Spears had not accomplished in over a decade since the release of her second album, Oops!... I Did It Again
Oops!... I Did It Again
Oops!...I Did It Again is the second studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. The album was released on May 16, 2000 by Jive Records. The album became a commercial success after debuting at top position on the U.S. Billboard 200 selling over 1,319,193 units during its first week...
, in May 2000. Femme Fatale was Spears's final album with long time label Jive Records following Jive's closure in October 2011.
"Hold It Against Me
Hold It Against Me
"Hold It Against Me" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the first single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Billboard, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee. Luke explained that he wanted "Hold It...
" was released as the lead single
Lead single
A lead single is usually the first single released by a musician or a band before the release of its home album.During the era of the grammophone record, all music arrived in the marketplace as what is now termed a single, one potential hit song backed by an additional song of generally less...
from the album and peaked atop the charts in seven countries, including the United States and Canada, while peaking inside the top five in over seven others. The album's second single, "Till the World Ends
Till the World Ends
"Till the World Ends" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the second single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, with additional writing by Kesha and Alexander Kronlund, and additional production by...
", reached number one in South Korea, Poland and Russia while reaching number three in the United States and peaking inside the top ten positions in sixteen countries worldwide. It became Spears's best-performing song on US radio in her entire career. In August 2011, after becoming Spears's third album with three top-twenty singles, Femme Fatale became her first album to produce three top-ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart when "I Wanna Go
I Wanna Go
"I Wanna Go" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the third single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Savan Kotecha. Spears first posted a snippet of the track in February...
" peaked at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100. Fourth single Criminal
Criminal (Britney Spears song)
"Criminal" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. The Radio Mix of the song was released as the fourth single from the album. "Criminal" was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Tiffany Amber...
turned out as a moderate hit, peaking inside the Top 20 in five countries. Spears promoted the album in a handful of television appearances and embarked on the Femme Fatale Tour
Femme Fatale Tour
The Femme Fatale Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Britney Spears, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was officially announced in March 2011, with dates for North American venues revealed. The tour was initially planned as a co-headlining tour with Enrique...
.
Background and development
In June 2010, during an interview with Rap-UpRap-Up
Rap-Up is a magazine launched in 2001 by founder Devin Lazerine. The publication was originally a website devoted to hip hop, until Lazerine decided to pitch the possibility of a magazine to several publishers. The magazine is focused on the hip hop and R&B aspect of the music industry, and...
, Danja commented that he was working with Spears in the pre-production of Femme Fatale. Darkchild
Rodney Jerkins
Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins is an American songwriter, record producer, and musician. Jerkins received two Grammy nominations in 2011.-Biography:...
, who was also reportedly working with her, said during a Ustream session in August 2010, "Britney fans are gonna be so happy in a few weeks", hinting about the release of new music. However, this was denied by Spears's manager Adam Leber, who stated, "No new music news right now....Wish people wouldn't mislead you guys with BS
Bullshit
Bullshit is a common English expletive which may be shortened to the euphemism bull or the initialism B.S. In British English, "bollocks" is a comparable expletive, although bullshit is commonly used in British English...
info. Not cool! PS- The guys that ARE working on Brit's next album ARE NOT talking about it..." Leber later spoke with Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
, calling the sound of the record "progressive" and "a departure from what you've heard." In November 2010, Dr. Luke
Dr. Luke
Lukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
announced that he would be the executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...
of Femme Fatale, along with Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
. In an interview with Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Spears explained that she had worked with Luke during the production of Blackout (2007), stating that "he was incredible back then and he has only gotten better over the years. About Martin, she commented that "he has been there since the beginning so there is such a huge level of trust. [...] There is nobody I feel more comfortable collaborating with in the studio." On December 2, 2010, the day of her 29th birthday, Spears thanked her fans for the birthday wishes and announced, "I'm almost done with my new album and it will be coming out this March. I AM IN L-O-V-E WITH IT!" Following the announcement of the album's title and cover on February 2, 2011, Spears said about Femme Fatale:
I've poured my heart and soul into this album over the last 2 years. I've put everything I have into it. This album is for you, my fans, who have always supported me and have stuck by me every step of the way! I love you all! Sexy and Strong. Dangerous yet mysterious. Cool yet confident! FEMME FATALE.
Recording
On July 12, 2009, Spears confirmed through her TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account that she had begun recording new material, stating she was going into the studio with Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
songwriter and producer Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
. Spears spoke to V
V (American magazine)
V magazine is an American fashion magazine published since 1999. The magazine is printed seasonally and highlights trends in fashion, film music and art. A men's fashion quarterly entitled VMAN started as an offshoot in 2003.-History:...
about the sessions for Femme Fatale, commenting that she had been recording the album for two years. She explained that her idea initially was to make an album that was "fresh-sounding [...] for the clubs or something that you play in your car when you're going out at night that gets you excited, but I wanted it to sound different from everything else out right now." Spears also stated that she wanted to make sure Femme Fatale was completely different from Circus
Circus (Britney Spears album)
Circus is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was first released on November 28, 2008 by Jive Records. Spears started work on the album in early 2008 with a range of producers including long-time producers Bloodshy & Avant and Danja...
(2008), and that the album felt "really connected from start to finish." After "Hold It Against Me
Hold It Against Me
"Hold It Against Me" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the first single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Billboard, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee. Luke explained that he wanted "Hold It...
" was written, originally, Luke and Martin wanted to give the track to Katy Perry
Katy Perry
Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...
, but they later decided that "it definitely wasn't a Katy Perry record." They continued to work on the song with Billboard
Billboard (producer)
Mathieu Jomphe, better known as Billboard, is a Canadian songwriter and record producer, and remixer from Montreal. His productions include dance-pop as well as dubstep influences. He has produced for international artists such as Britney Spears, Kesha and Robyn.-Discography:-External links:* at...
, and Luke commented that before giving the song to Spears, "I wanted to make sure it didn't sound like everything else I've done". Darkchild stated that while working with him, Spears was very "hands-on" and "had a lot of ideas for me." He later commented he had produced two songs for the album, with one of them featuring Travis Barker
Travis Barker
Travis Landon Barker is an American musician, producer and entrepreneur, most noted as the drummer for the American pop punk band Blink-182, as well as the alternative rock band +44, the rap rock band The Transplants, and the alternative rock band Box Car Racer. He was a frequent collaborator with...
. Darkchild added that the song "[has] this rock feel which is out of the box, out of my norm, and I think it's out of her norm as well."
On February 8, 2011, Spears tweeted she was in the studio with will.i.am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
. He described the collaboration as "a monster. It's mean, pretty, edgy, next level. [...] She's singing fresh over it. It's something that today needs." Spears later commented that she is a fan of The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
, and would love to work with will.i.am again the future. She also explained that she discovered Sabi through a friend recommendation, and had always wanted to feature a new artist in one of her albums, hence they recorded "(Drop Dead) Beautiful". Luke spoke to Rolling Stone about the direction of the album on February 2, 2011, commenting that the final tracklist had not been chosen. He added, "We're in the middle of it right now. [...] We're working with a lot of producers and overseeing it with her A&R and record label and management and trying to make something cohesive." William Orbit
William Orbit
William Orbit is an English musician, composer and record producer, perhaps best known to most for his work on Madonna's album Ray of Light. He has also co-produced several unreleased Madonna songs originally recorded for other albums...
confirmed he had co-written a track for Spears with Klas Åhlund
Klas Åhlund
Klas Frans Åhlund is a Swedish songwriter, record producer, and guitarist. He is the founding member of the Swedish rock band Teddybears...
, but it was left off the final track listing. Heather Bright, one of the album's songwriters, revealed that "Trouble for Me" was one of the first songs recorded by Spears for Femme Fatale.
Composition
The album opens with "Till The World EndsTill the World Ends
"Till the World Ends" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the second single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, with additional writing by Kesha and Alexander Kronlund, and additional production by...
", co-written by Ke$ha, was described as an uptempo dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
and electropop song, with an electro beat and elements of trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
and eurodance
Eurodance
Eurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
. The song opens with sirens and a "sizzling" bassline. Critics complimented the songs "anthemic nature" and "chant-like chorus". The second track and lead single "Hold It Against Me
Hold It Against Me
"Hold It Against Me" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the first single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Billboard, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee. Luke explained that he wanted "Hold It...
" is a dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song which features industrial
Industrial music
Industrial music is a style of experimental music that draws on transgressive and provocative themes. The term was coined in the mid-1970s with the founding of Industrial Records by the band Throbbing Gristle, and the creation of the slogan "industrial music for industrial people". In general, the...
beats, a dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
-influenced breakdown and employing elements of grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
and a final chorus
Chorus effect
In music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one...
with elements of rave
Rave music
Rave music may either refer the late 1980s genre or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at an electronic dance party such as a rave. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres glam, powerpop, psychedelic rock and dub music parties...
. The lyrics portray the singer seducing someone on the dancefloor, while the chorus revolves around pick-up line
Pick-up line
A pick-up line is a conversation opener with the intent of engaging an unfamiliar person for romance, or dating. Overt and sometimes humorous displays of romantic interest, pick-up lines advertise the wit of their speakers to their target listeners....
s, with Spears singing, "If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?" Spears was complimented by critics for "stepping into new territory and pushing the boundaries of dance pop once more." The third track “Inside Out” is an electropop song. It features themes of dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
and R&B, complimented with "earth-shattering synths". The song was praised for its intricate production and has been compared to her earlier work on albums ‘’Circus’’ and ‘’In the Zone’’ and it has been compared to that of Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
’s “Ray of Light
Ray of Light
Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...
” and “Music
Music (Madonna song)
"Music" is the first single by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her 8th studio album Music and was released on August 21, 2000, by Maverick Records. It was also released on DVD single, a debut in this format by Madonna. It earned two Grammy Award nominations in 2001, for Record of the Year...
”. Spears crescendos "Baby shut your mouth and turn me inside" during the chorus section, and then goes on to "Hit me one more time it’s so amazing” and "You're the only one who's ever drove me crazy" referencing her first singles "...Baby One More Time
...Baby One More Time
...Baby One More Time is the debut studio album of American recording artist Britney Spears, released on January 12, 1999, by Jive Records. In June 1997, while Spears was in a negotiation with manager Lou Pearlman to join female pop group Innosense, her mother asked family friend and entertainment...
" and "(You Drive Me) Crazy
(You Drive Me) Crazy
" Crazy" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. The song was written and produced by Max Martin, Jörgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson and David Kreuger for Spears' debut studio album, ...Baby One More Time . It was released on August 23, 1999 by Jive Records, as the third single from the...
".
"I Wanna Go
I Wanna Go
"I Wanna Go" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the third single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Savan Kotecha. Spears first posted a snippet of the track in February...
", the forth track, is a dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
and Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG
Hi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
song, that includes elements of techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
and a heavy bassline
Bassline
A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
. The song contains a whistled
Whistle
A whistle or call is a simple aerophone, an instrument which produces sound from a stream of forced air. It may be mouth-operated, or powered by air pressure, steam, or other means...
melody. In the chorus
Chorus effect
In music, a chorus effect occurs when individual sounds with roughly the same timbre and nearly the same pitch converge and are perceived as one...
, she stutters "I I I wanna go O O / All the way / Taking out my freak tonight". The "builds and breaks" were compared to her album "Blackout". "How I Roll" is the fifth track, produced by long-time collaborators Bloodshy & Avant
Bloodshy & Avant
Bloodshy and Avant are a music production and songwriting team from Sweden made up of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg...
, where Spears "pirouettes from a gulping in-and-out breath effect" and described as a "bubbly, playful pop song". Spears' voice is heavily altered, with her voice being put through many distorters, filters, and blenders. The song uses a constant rushed handclaps. The sixth and seventh tracks "Drop Dead (Beautiful) [feat Sabi]" and "Seal It With A Kiss" were commented as "fillers", However, "Seal It With A Kiss" was complimented as "genuinely exciting" with Williams Hernes of Rolling Stone adding "[Dr. Luke + Max Martin] dropping a dubstep break on "Seal It With A Kiss." I love it when the avant-garde seeps into the mainstream." "Big Fat Bass" is Femme Fatale's eighth track, and while it "sticks to dancefloor essentials", the song was described as an "unfortunate collaboration" with will.i.am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
. It was noted as being catchy, but repetitive. "Trouble for Me", track number nine, features a pre-chorus filled with "melting, wheezing synths". Spears' voice has been autotuned, but her voice was described as "raw" and the tones and wines as "sexy" and "one of a kind".
Music writers noted electropop and dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
styles on the album. Music journalist Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen is an American journalist and author. He is the music critic for the online magazine Slate, and the author of White Christmas: The Story of an American Song....
wrote of the album, "Conceptually it's straightforward: a party record packed with sex and sadness". Spears described Femme Fatale on a Twitter chat as "moody, edgy pop with A LOT of energy" with "a few mid-tempos that could be considered ballads". In an interview with the V she further commented on the album stating, "I wanted to make a fierce dance record where each song makes you want to get up and move your body in a different way. That’s what I want from the music I listen to. This record is for the clubs, or something you play before you go out at night. It’s definitely my edgiest and most mature sound yet. [...] There are songs on this album that don’t sound like anything else and are completely revolutionary, but I also believe that this album expresses where I am today as a woman and is an evolution of who I am. [...] I think Femme Fatale speaks for itself. [...] I think it’s the best album I have ever made. There’s nothing to say. I’ll let the music speak for me." The album was compared to that of Spears' previous albums, "In The Zone", "Circus" and "Blackout".
In April 2011, Dr Luke spoke to MTV about the album, saying that "[I feel like] Britney kind of has her own genre: If you look at songs like "Toxic" and "Piece of Me
Piece of Me
"Piece of Me" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, Blackout. It was released on November 27, 2007 by Jive Records as the second single from the album...
" and "Oops!... I Did It Again
Oops!... I Did It Again
Oops!...I Did It Again is the second studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. The album was released on May 16, 2000 by Jive Records. The album became a commercial success after debuting at top position on the U.S. Billboard 200 selling over 1,319,193 units during its first week...
", they all were sort of influential and led the way [...] She wanted to keep on with that and do stuff that was 'forward-thinking', So we put some dubstep stuff in there, in bridges; snuck it in different places." Although Spears was criticized for her lack of involvement from the album`s production and writing, she wrote the song "Scary" (Produced by Fraser T. Smith
Fraser T. Smith
Fraser T. Smith is an English record producer, songwriter, mix engineer and guitarist....
) which is included in the Japanese deluxe edition of the album. Singer and Writer, Ryan Tedder
Ryan Tedder
Ryan Benjamin Tedder is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the pop rock band, OneRepublic, though he has an independent career as songwriter and producer for various artists such as Beyoncé, Kelly Clarkson, Far East Movement, Jordin Sparks, Leona...
defended Spears' "lack of" writing credits to The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
, stating that "Sinatra didn't write a song, Garth Brooks barely wrote anything, George Strait has had I think 51 No. 1's and he has yet to write a song. Rascal Flatts are one of the biggest country acts in the world, and all of their hits are written by other people.”
Release and promotion
On February 2, 2011, Spears announced the album's title through her Twitter account, and also posted an image of the album cover. Following the announcement, the title became a trending topic on Twitter, and then went on to become the tenth longest-running trend on the site, as well as the first music related trend to break the top ten. Spears tweeted, "Can't believe Femme Fatale has been trending 6 days. You guys are my motivation every single day. I love u all!" Femme Fatale was released on March 25, 2011, primarily in a standard (soft pack/wallet packaging) version, and a deluxe version (expanded soft pack with additional booklet pages), which features four additional tracks. A premium fan edition was also released, including a limited edition 32-page hardcover photo book, the deluxe edition CD with exclusive artwork, a 7" vinyl picture discGramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
with "Hold It Against Me" and the full album digital download on the street date.
Promotion for the album began on March 25, 2011 in a performance that included "Hold It Against Me", "Till the World Ends" and "Big Fat Bass". The performance was filmed by MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
at Rain Nightclub
Rain Nightclub
Rain Nightclub, at the Palms Casino Resort, opened in the 2001 by the N9NE Group. The club is or has been known as Rain Las Vegas and Rain in the Desert. A variety of celebrities have been spotted at Rain, including Jerry Bruckheimer, Nicky Hilton and David Katzenberg. Rain was the first mega club...
inside the Palms Casino Resort and was included in a MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
special titled "I Am the Femme Fatale" which aired on April 3, 2011. Two days later on March 27, Spears performed the same set of songs in the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
The Bill Graham Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose arena in San Francisco, California, currently named after promoter Bill Graham...
before a crowd of 5,000 people for the March 29, 2011 episode of Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
. In addition to these two performances, she also performed the same three-song set and participated in two skits on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on March 29 and appeared at the 2011 Kids' Choice Awards
2011 Kids' Choice Awards
Nickelodeon's 24th Annual Kids' Choice Awards were held on April 2, 2011 at 8 p.m. ET at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles's University Park neighborhood due to renovations disallowing use of traditional venue Pauley Pavilion until at least 2013. Jack Black...
. Spears served as a guest host
Guest host
A guest host is a host, usually of a talk show, that substitutes for the regular host if they are, for example, ill or have other commitments...
at the 2011 Wango Tango
Wango Tango
Wango Tango is an annual day-long concert produced on by local Los Angeles radio station KIIS-FM. The concert series has been staged at various venues around southern California including Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Verizon Wireless...
concert series alongside Ryan Seacrest on May 14, 2011. Spears made a brief appearance at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards, performing a short version of "Till The World Ends" alongside Femme Fatale tourmate Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
. On August 3, 2011, ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
announced that "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" would be available for free download on their website, until the premiere of the Teen Spirit series on August 5, 2011. "Trouble for Me" was also featured on the main page of BMG's website.
Singles
"Hold It Against MeHold It Against Me
"Hold It Against Me" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the first single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Billboard, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee. Luke explained that he wanted "Hold It...
" was released as the album's lead single on January 11, 2011. Critics praised the song, though some dismissed its lyrical content. The music video for the song premiered on February 17, 2011 on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
following a two-week teaser campaign and featured Spears as an alien who finds fame on Earth but becomes overwhelmed with her celebrity and breaks down. "Hold It Against Me" became Spears' fourth number one single on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, making Spears the second artist in history to have multiple singles debut at number one. The song also went to number one in six other countries and peaked within the top ten in over twelve countries worldwide.
"Till the World Ends
Till the World Ends
"Till the World Ends" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the second single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, with additional writing by Kesha and Alexander Kronlund, and additional production by...
" was released as the second single, making its premiere on Ryan Seacrest's radio show On Air With Ryan Seacrest
On Air with Ryan Seacrest (radio)
On Air with Ryan Seacrest is the name of an American syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. As of 2010, the daily morning radio show airs on Los Angeles top 40 station KIIS-FM and was launched at the same time as the television show with the same name, although Seacrest had hosted a...
. The song received positive reviews from critics, complimenting its catchy appeal and anthemic nature. The music video for "Till The World Ends" was released on April 6, 2011 on VEVO
Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...
and showcased Spears in an underground dance party. "Till The World Ends" performed well worldwide, topping the charts in Poland and South Korea while peaking inside the top ten in the United States, Australia, Canada and nine other countries. The song also became Spears' biggest radio hit in the United States at the time, reaching a radio audience of ninety-eight million, the highest weekly audience of her career before "I Wanna Go
I Wanna Go
"I Wanna Go" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the third single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Savan Kotecha. Spears first posted a snippet of the track in February...
" was released.
"I Wanna Go
I Wanna Go
"I Wanna Go" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the third single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Savan Kotecha. Spears first posted a snippet of the track in February...
" was announced as the third single on May 13, 2011. It was officially released as a single in June 2011. The song received mostly positive reviews from critics who praised the song's hook. The music video for "I Wanna Go" was released on June 22, 2011 and featured Spears daydreaming about different scenarios during a press conference. "I Wanna Go" has so far peaked at number one in South Korea, number eight in Canada, and seven in the United States while also charting in the Top 40 of New Zealand, France, Denmark and Australia. After "I Wanna Go" reached number seven in the US, Femme Fatale became Spears's first album to produce three top-ten hits.
"Criminal
Criminal (Britney Spears song)
"Criminal" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. The Radio Mix of the song was released as the fourth single from the album. "Criminal" was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Tiffany Amber...
" was announced as the album's fourth single following the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
2011 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced...
on August 28, 2011. Earlier that month, In a poll on Spears's official Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page appeared, asking the fans to vote for the fourth official single from Femme Fatale, the choices being "Criminal", "(Drop Dead) Beautiful", and "Inside Out".. "Criminal" won the poll with a lead of 39,160 votes, being released on September 30, 2011. The accompanying music video was filmed in Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington
Stoke Newington is a district in the London Borough of Hackney. It is north-east of Charing Cross.-Boundaries:In modern terms, Stoke Newington can be roughly defined by the N16 postcode area . Its southern boundary with Dalston is quite ill-defined too...
, a district of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. This would be the second time Spears had teamed up with director Chris Mars Pirello, the first being with "I Wanna Go."
Tour
On June 16, 2011, Spears embarked on her sixth concert tour to further promote Femme Fatale. It was announced on March 29, 2011 and so far includes 39 dates in North America and 26 dates in Europe. In an interview on Ryan SeacrestRyan Seacrest
Ryan John Seacrest is an American radio personality, television host, network producer and voice actor. He is the host of On Air with Ryan Seacrest, a nationally syndicated Top 40 radio show that airs on KIIS-FM in Los Angeles and throughout the United States and Canada on Premiere Radio Networks,...
's radio show
On Air with Ryan Seacrest (radio)
On Air with Ryan Seacrest is the name of an American syndicated radio program hosted by Ryan Seacrest. As of 2010, the daily morning radio show airs on Los Angeles top 40 station KIIS-FM and was launched at the same time as the television show with the same name, although Seacrest had hosted a...
on March 4, 2011, Spears stated she would tour the United States in the "early summer" in support of Femme Fatale. On March 29, 2011, following her performances on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, she announced a co-headlining tour with Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias
Enrique Iglesias is a Spanish pop music singer, a son of singer Julio Iglesias.Enrique started his musical career on Mexican label Fonovisa...
, starting in June 2011. Hours after the announcement, it was reported by Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
that Iglesias had pulled out of the tour. Ray Wedell of Billboard speculated that the reason may have been that Spears was deemed by news outlets as the headliner, while Iglesias was considered the opening act
Opening act
An opening act or warm-up act is an entertainer or entertainment act that performs at a concert before the featured entertainer...
. The first twenty-six North American dates were also announced on March 29, 2011.
The opening acts were announced on April 12, 2011. Spears stated, "This is the Femme Fatale tour and I'm thrilled to have Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
, Jessie and the Toy Boys
Jessie Malakouti
Jessica Eden Malakouti, professionally known as Jessie Malakouti, is an American singer-songwriter, actress and dancer. She is currently a member of Jessie and the Toy Boys and is signed to Prospect Park.-Biography:...
, and Nervo join me and get everyone on the dance floor. Can't wait to take the Femme Fatales on the road." Tickets for select markets go on sale beginning April 30 at Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster
Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. is an independent American ticket sales and distribution company based in West Hollywood, California, USA, with operations in many countries around the world. In 2010 it merged with Live Nation to become Live Nation Entertainment...
and Live Nation
Live Nation
Live Nation is a live-events company based in Beverly Hills, California, focused on concert promotions. Live Nation formed in 2005 as a spin-off from Clear Channel Communications, which then merged with Ticketmaster in 2010 to become Live Nation Entertainment....
's websites. In March 2011, Spears's manager Larry Rudolph
Larry Rudolph
Larry Rudolph is a personal manager. He is best known as the manager of Britney Spears from 1999–2004, briefly in 2007, and 2008-present.-Career:...
told MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
that the tour would have a "post-apocalyptic vibe", while commenting that "Till The World Ends
Till the World Ends
"Till the World Ends" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the second single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, with additional writing by Kesha and Alexander Kronlund, and additional production by...
" keeps becoming a theme for us." He also confirmed Jamie King
Jamie King
Jamie King is a creative director and choreographer whose work directing concert tours for pop stars has grossed over two billion dollars...
as the tour director. The tour opened to positive reviews, with some calling it her best tour in her entire career.
Critical reception
Femme Fatale holds a score of 67 out of 100 (indicating "generally positive reviews") based on 25 critical reviews, according to the music review aggregator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
. Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen
Jody Rosen is an American journalist and author. He is the music critic for the online magazine Slate, and the author of White Christmas: The Story of an American Song....
of Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
commented that it "may be Britney's best album; certainly it's her strangest". Allmusic editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
viewed that Spears' presence on the album is overshadowed by its "high-class" production, calling the album "Essentially a cleaner, classier remake of the gaudily dark Blackout [...] a producer’s paradise". Edna Gundersen of USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
gave the album three out of four stars and wrote that Spears and her producers "have crafted a trendy, infectious and engaging ballad-free batch of electro-pop tunes". Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
s Adam Markovitz called it "a ballad-free, treadmill-ready playlist of tireless dance beats and top-shelf production" and called Spears' vocals as "a confidently corrupt guide to a place where our only worry is whether the beats will end before the sun comes up." Robert Everett-Green of The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail
The Globe and Mail is a nationally distributed Canadian newspaper, based in Toronto and printed in six cities across the country. With a weekly readership of approximately 1 million, it is Canada's largest-circulation national newspaper and second-largest daily newspaper after the Toronto Star...
gave the album three-and-a-half out of four stars and complimented its "grainy, glistening electronic sound", calling it "one of the major guilty pleasures in pop this year". Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire
Kitty Empire is the pen name of a British writer and music critic.Empire was born in Montreal, Quebec in 1970 and brought up in Canada, Italy and Egypt before arriving in Britain in 1988....
of The Observer
The Observer
The Observer is a British newspaper, published on Sundays. In the same place on the political spectrum as its daily sister paper The Guardian, which acquired it in 1993, it takes a liberal or social democratic line on most issues. It is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper.-Origins:The first issue,...
commented that Spears "has turned out the “fierce dance record” she promised".
However, Andy Gill of The Independent
The Independent
The Independent is a British national morning newspaper published in London by Independent Print Limited, owned by Alexander Lebedev since 2010. It is nicknamed the Indy, while the Sunday edition, The Independent on Sunday, is the Sindy. Launched in 1986, it is one of the youngest UK national daily...
gave the album two out of five stars and criticized its "single-minded dedication to dancefloor utility", writing that it "stays in electro-stomp mode for virtually its entire course, with only the tiniest of rhythmic variants or differences in electronic tones distinguishing one producer's work from another's". Jon Caramanica of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
commented that "much of the music on this album feels flat and redundant, no more invigorating than the average European dance-pop album of five years ago". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
s Alexis Petridis wrote that Spears' "voice is as anonymous as ever, a state of affairs amplified by the lavishing of Auto-Tune". Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
writer Greg Kot
Greg Kot
Greg Kot is an American writer and journalist. Since 1990, Kot has been the music critic at the Chicago Tribune, where he has covered popular music and reported on music-related social, political and business issues...
wrote similarly, "Spears allows herself to be treated like another passenger in these rhythm trains". Evan Sawdey of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
wrote that "Spears’ worldview is completely self-contained" and described Femme Fatale as "just a big dumb club album". Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
writer Thomas Conner complimented its "contemporary sounds and beats", but stated "The trade-off is personality [...] Brit's voice is processed so heavily on this record, and the lyrics so bland, these songs could be sung by anyone". Rich Juzwiak of The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
wrote that her "voice doesn't add much to the conversation", writing that her lack of presence is "problematic for an album whose subject matter is hedonism and how being hot facilitates it".
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
's Sal Cinquemani commented that Spears's lack of involvement makes "the success of a Britney song rest almost entirely on the quality of other people's songwriting and production, and almost every track on Femme Fatale succeeds or fails on that basis". In his consumer guide for MSN Music
MSN Music
MSN Music was a part of the MSN web services. It delivered music news, music videos, spotlights on new music, artist information, and live performances of artists. In 2004, Microsoft created an MSN Music download store to compete with Apple's iTunes Music Store, though its sales in comparison were...
, critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
gave the album a B+ rating, indicating "remarkable one way or another, yet also flirts with the humdrum or the half-assed". Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
writer Carl Wilson noted that "it never invites more intimate listening [...] the lyrics rarely even try to be clever", but praised the "dozen of the age’s most accomplished record producers" and wrote that the album "finds unity of subject, style and sound by imagining scenarios in which vanishing into anonymity can be comfort and liberation". Caryn Ganz of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
gave the album a seven out of 10 rating and complimented its production, while stating "ignore the lyrics, Spears sounds even more like a programmed Britbot than on 2007's Blackout". Tom Gockelen-Kozlowski of The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
gave the album four out of five stars and stated "Despite her weak voice and empty lyrics, [Spears] has placed herself at the avant-garde of pop with this masterful mixture of über-cool dubstep and sugary pop". The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
s Genevieve Koski stated "While Spears’ vocals are inevitably the least impressive element of any given song, she doesn’t exactly disappear into the production on Femme Fatale; she settles into it, game for whatever and confident in the hands of trusted professionals who know how to best utilize her".
Awards and accolades
Spears won her first awards on BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
2011 Mid-Year Music Awards, where she was nominated in five categories, First-Half MVP, Favorite Hot 100 No. 1 Song ("Hold It Against Me
Hold It Against Me
"Hold It Against Me" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the first single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Billboard, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee. Luke explained that he wanted "Hold It...
"), Favorite Billboard 200 No. 1 Album (Femme Fatale
Femme fatale
A femme fatale is a mysterious and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers in bonds of irresistible desire, often leading them into compromising, dangerous, and deadly situations. She is an archetype of literature and art...
), Best Music Video ("I Wanna Go
I Wanna Go
"I Wanna Go" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the third single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Savan Kotecha. Spears first posted a snippet of the track in February...
"), and Best Tour (Femme Fatale Tour
Femme Fatale Tour
The Femme Fatale Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Britney Spears, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was officially announced in March 2011, with dates for North American venues revealed. The tour was initially planned as a co-headlining tour with Enrique...
), which she all won. There was also a list of Billboard
Till the World Ends
"Till the World Ends" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the second single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin, with additional writing by Kesha and Alexander Kronlund, and additional production by...
" number 18 with 1,989,000 million sold units.
Commercial performance
Femme Fatale debuted at number one on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
, with first-week sales of 276,000 copies. This gave Spears her sixth debut at the top of the charts and leaves her in a three way tie for third most number one albums for a female artist, tied with Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
and Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
. However, the first-week sales are Spears' second-lowest sales start with a studio set. Only her 1999 debut effort, "Baby One More Time," began with a smaller figure (121,000 copies).
In its second week, the album fell to number two, with sales plummeting 73 percent to 75,000, giving it a two-week total of 351,000 sold in the United States. It fell four positions in its third week to 2-6, selling 43,000 copies. After a sales increase of five percent with 45,000 sold, the album rose 6-5, with a four-week total of 439,000. Despite a decline of 33 percent in sales in its fifth week, Femme Fatale rose 5-4 with sales of 30,000, bringing the total to about 470,000. The album spent five consecutive weeks in the Billboard 200 top ten. After a month of sales, it was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
for shipping over one million copies in the United States. It is Spears' sixth studio album and seventh album overall to be certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. As of September 2011, Femme Fatale has sold over 786,000 copies.
In Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
the album debuted at number one upon its release, spending three weeks inside the top ten before falling to number thirteen. AMPROFON
AMPROFON
Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas is a non-profit organization integrated by multinational and national record companies in Mexico. Established on April 3, 1963, it groups phonographic companies that represent more than 70 percent of the market in Mexico...
has certified the album Gold and according to Sony Music México the album has gone on to sell over 40,000 copies in the country. The album debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, selling 31,650 copies in its first week, becoming her lowest-charting studio album in the United Kingdom since In the Zone
In the Zone
In the Zone is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears, released on November 16, 2003, by Jive Records. Following the end of the Dream Within a Dream Tour in July 2002 and her break-up with Justin Timberlake, Spears announced she would take a six-month break from her...
, which peaked at number thirteen in December 2003. On April 4, 2011 Femme Fatale debuted at number one in Australia, making it Spears' first number one album in the country. It was also certified gold in during its debut week for shipments over 35,000 copies. In Germany, the album debuted at number ten making it her seventh top-ten studio album in a row, and her eighth top-ten album with the inclusion of the compilation album Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
Greatest Hits: My Prerogative is the first greatest hits album from American singer Britney Spears, released on November 1, 2004 by Jive Records. The compilation was released in two different formats, a standard edition and a limited edition containing a bonus disc with remixes. A compilation DVD...
(2004), which peaked at number four. Femme Fatale debuted at number eight in Denmark, selling 1009 copies in its first week.
Track listing
Notes- Track listing and credits from album booklet.
Personnel
Credits for Femme Fatale adapted from Allmusic.- Tiffany Amber – composer
- Ammo – instrumentation, producer, programming, background vocals
- Beatriz Artola – engineer
- Stacey Barnett – background vocals
- Billboard – instrumentation, producer, programming
- Benny Blanco – instrumentation, producer, programming, background vocals
- Sophia Block – background vocals
- Christian Karlsson – instrumentation, producer, programming, vocal producer
- Heather Bright – composer, background vocals
- Jeremy Coleman – composer
- Joshua Coleman – composer
- Tom Coyne – mastering
- Ester Dean – composer, background vocals
- Megan Dennis – production coordination
- DJ Ammo – drum programming, synthesizer
- Dr. LukeDr. LukeLukasz Gottwald , better known as Dr. Luke, is an American songwriter, record producer, and remixer. Luke performed with the Saturday Night Live Band for ten seasons until 2007. He has co-written and co-produced a string of commercially successful songs...
– executive producer, instrumentation, producer, programming, background vocals - Dream Machine – instrumentation, producer, programming
- Dylan Dresdow – mixing
- Eric Eylands – assistant engineer
- Ashton Foster – background vocals
- Livvi FrancLivvi FrancOlivia Charlotte Waithe , better known by her stage name Livvi Franc, is an Barbadian British singer-songwriter.- Life and career :Franc was born in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England to an English mother and a Bajan father...
– composer, background vocals - Fraser T. Smith – composer, drum programming, keyboards, producer
- Serban Ghenea – mixing
- Clint Gibbs – production coordination
- Aniela Gottwald – assistant
- Tatiana Gottwald – assistant
- Venza Gottwald – assistant
- John Hanes – engineer, mixing
- Jeri Heiden – art direction
- Jacob Kasher Hindlin – composer
- Sam Holland – engineer, background vocals
- J-MIKE – instrumentation, producer, programming, background vocals
- Cri$tyle Johnson – background vocals
- Mathieu Jomphe – composer
- Henrik Jonback – composer, instrumentation, producer, programming, vocal producer
- Claude Kelly – composer, background vocals
- Padraic Kerin – engineer
- Savan Kotecha – composer
- Alexander Kronlund – composer, instrumentation, programming
- Adam Leber – A&R
- Benjamin Levin – composer
- Jeremy "J Boogs" Levin – assistant
- Magnus Lidehäll – composer
- Magnus – instrumentation, producer, programming, vocal producer
- Myah Marie – background vocals
- Max Martin – composer, engineer, executive producer, instrumentation, keyboards, producer, programming, background vocals
- Bonnie McKee – composer, background vocals
- Nicole Morier – composer, background vocals
- Jackie Murphy – creative director
- Rob Murray – assistant
- Chris "Tek" O'Ryan – engineer
- Chau Phan – background vocals
- Irene Richter – production coordination
- Tim Roberts – assistant engineer, mixing assistant
- Patrizia Rogosch – background vocals
- Larry Rudolph – A&R
- Kesha Sebert – composer
- Britney Spears - lead vocals
- Sheelback – engineer, guitar, keyboards, producer
- Shellback – bass, composer, engineer, guitar, keyboards, producer
- Nick Steinhardt – art direction, design
- Sophie Stern – composer
- Ryan Supple – photo production
- Peter Thea – A&R
- Dave Thomas – stylist
- Henry Walter – composer
- will.i.amWill.i.amWilliam James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...
– composer, drum programming, engineer, piano, producer, synthesizer - Pontus Winnberg – composer
- Emily Wright – composer, engineer, vocal producer
- Randee St. Nicholas - photography
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Argentina Albums Chart Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers The Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers is an Argentine organization member of the IFPI, which represents the music industry in the country. It is a nonprofit organization integrated by multinational and independent record labels.... |
2 |
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Albums Chart Austria Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the... |
10 |
| Belgian Album Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
8 |
| Belgian Album Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Wallonia) |
5 |
| Brazilian Albums Chart Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos The Associação Brasileira dos Produtores de Discos is an official representative body of the record labels in the Brazilian phonographic market.- About :... |
1 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
1 |
| Czech Republic Albums Chart | 5 |
| Danish Albums Chart | 8 |
| Dutch Albums Chart MegaCharts MegaCharts is responsible for the composition and exploitation of a broad collection of official charts in the Netherlands, of which the Mega Top 50 and the Mega Album Top 100 are the most known ones. Mega Charts also provides information to the Stichting Nederlandse Top 40, of which the Dutch Top... |
7 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 7 |
| France Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
4 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
10 |
| Greek Albums Chart IFPI Greece International Federation of the Phonographic Industry Greece or IFPI Greece is the Greek branch of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and is the official charts provider and recording sales certification body for Greece. Currently two charts are compiled, one for sales of... |
4 |
| Hungarian Albums Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
6 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... |
4 |
| Italian Albums Chart Federation of the Italian Music Industry The Federation of the Italian Music Industry is an umbrella organization that keeps track of virtually all aspects of the music recording industry in Italy.... |
4 |
| Billboard Japanese Albums Chart Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... |
9 |
| Oricon Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
8 |
| Mexican Albums Chart Top 100 Mexico Top 100 México is a record chart which accounts for sixty percent of the albums sold in Mexico. The chart has the support of major record distributors in Mexico and is issued by the Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A.C. since 2005 on a weekly basis... |
1 |
| New Zealand Albums Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
3 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart | 3 |
| Polish Albums Chart Polish Music Charts The Polish Music Charts are two official album charts and seven singles charts in Poland, provided by ZPAV, the Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry . The first, the Top 100, is a monthly chart based on data received from the album companies... |
17 |
| Portuguese Albums Chart | 4 |
| Russian Albums Chart Russian Music Charts The Russian Music Charts are Russian music industry standard popularity rankings compiled weekly by 2M and Tophit . Albums and tracks rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through retail data captured electronically each week from Russian music retailers... |
1 |
| Scotland Albums Chart | 10 |
| South Korean Albums Chart Gaon Chart The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts... (International) |
1 |
| Spanish Albums Chart | 4 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
5 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
2 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
8 |
| US Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
Certifications
Release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label | Edition(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | March 25, 2011 | CD Compact Disc The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,... |
Sony Music | Deluxe |
| Denmark | Standard, Deluxe (with fragrance) | |||
| Norway | Deluxe | |||
| Australia | ||||
| Sweden | ||||
| Germany | Standard, Deluxe | |||
| Greece | March 28, 2011 | CD, digital download Music download A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment... |
||
| Hong Kong | CD | Deluxe | ||
| Mexico | Deluxe | |||
| New Zealand | Standard, Deluxe, Digipak | |||
| Poland | Eco, Standard, Deluxe | |||
| South Africa | Deluxe | |||
| United Kingdom | RCA Records RCA Records RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label... |
Deluxe (with fragrance) | ||
| Brazil | Digital download | Sony Music | Standard, Deluxe | |
| United States | March 29, 2011 | CD, digital download | Jive Records Jive Records Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African... |
Standard, Deluxe |
| Brazil | CD | Sony Music | Standard | |
| Philippines | Deluxe | |||
| Malaysia | ||||
| Taiwan | ||||
| Finland | March 30, 2011 | |||
| Japan | April 6, 2011 | |||
| United States | April 22, 2011 | Jive Records | Premium Fan | |
| June 27, 2011 | Deluxe (Jewel case) | |||
| Brazil | July 18, 2011 | Sony Music |
External links
- Femme Fatale at MetacriticMetacriticMetacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...