Hold It Against Me
Encyclopedia
"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 Against Me" to sound unlike his previous productions. The song was going to be offered to Katy Perry
, but Luke and Martin felt that it did not suit her. A demo version of the track by McKee was leaked on January 6, 2011, and the single became available for streaming
on January 10, 2011. It was released the following day.
Musically, "Hold It Against Me" blends pulsating industrial
and trance
beats with elements of grime
. The chorus has lilting synths
that lift her vocals and contrast them with the hard beats. The song features a dubstep
-influenced breakdown, in which Spears moans and blows kisses, and the song ends with a final chorus
with elements of rave
. The lyrics portray the singer seducing someone on the dancefloor, and the chorus revolves around pick-up line
s. After the song was released, The Bellamy Brothers criticized it for being similar to their 1979 hit "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me
". They were sued by Martin, Luke, McKee and Billboard for defamation and libel, but the case was dismissed after The Bellamy Brothers apologized.
Most reviewers praised "Hold It Against Me", although some criticized its lyrical content. The song debuted at number one in Belgium Wallonia, Canada, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand, as well as on the US Billboard Hot 100
, where it became her fourth chart topper. In the United States, "Hold It Against Me" made Spears the second artist in Billboards history to debut at number one more than once, behind Mariah Carey
. The feat also made her the third female artist to score number one singles in three consecutive decades, and the seventh artist overall. The single has also charted in the top five in countries such as Australia, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Finland and Norway.
The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Jonas Åkerlund
. It premiered on February 17, 2011, following a two-week promotional campaign of teasers. The video features Spears as a pop star who fell from space to find fame on Earth. There, she becomes overwhelmed by the pressures of being a celebrity and breaks down. The video received mixed to positive reviews; critics complimented its artistic concept and visuals, but dismissed the use of product placement
. Spears performed "Hold It Against Me" at Rain Nightclub
, Good Morning America
and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. She has also performed it as the opening number of the Femme Fatale Tour
(2011).
, Dr. Luke
and Billboard
, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee
. After it was written, Luke and Martin wanted to give the track to American recording artist Katy Perry
, but they decided that "it definitely wasn't a Katy Perry record." They continued to work on the song with Billboard; Luke commented, "I wanted to make sure it didn't sound like everything else I've done. [...] It can be hard in the verse, and the bridge is super, super hard, but the chorus is super-pop." After rumored lyrics for the song surfaced on the web, Luke commented in his Twitter
account on December 9, 2010, "I / we never wrote a song called 'don't hold it against me'.... BewaRe of InaccuraTe info kids ;-) We did write 'hold it against me' but those lyrics are NOT the lyrics ...." It was reported by news outlets that "Hold It Against Me" would premiere on January 7, 2011. However, this was denied by Spears' manager Adam Leber. An early demo of the track by McKee was leaked on January 6, 2011. The same day, Spears released the cover art
and commented via Twitter, "Heard an early demo of my new single leaked. If u think that's good, wait til you hear the real one Tuesday."
On January 10, 2011, the single became available for streaming
on Ryan Seacrest
's website, who premiered it on his radio show
shortly after. Spears tweeted, "Don't #HOLDITAGAINSTME for coming out early. I couldn't wait any longer. Hope you don't mind....." The radio premiere caused several sites to crash from too much traffic. "Hold It Against Me" was released digitally in the United States and Canada at the iTunes Store
at 00:00 EST
(05:00 UTC
), where it was available exclusively until January 18, 2011. The single was going to be released in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2011, but the date was moved up to January 17, 2011, due to overwhelming demand.
song that blends pulsating industrial
and trance
beats with elements of grime
. Spears' vocals have been described as "a bit treated" but not heavily Autotuned. The chorus, reminiscent of other pop productions by Max Martin, has lilting synths that lift her vocals and contrast them with the hard beats. After the second chorus, the beats drop and Spears speaks the lines in the hook
. This is followed by a dubstep
-influenced breakdown, which lasts about thirty seconds. Spears moans, blows kisses and sings the lines "Gimme something good, don't wanna wait I want it now / Pop it like a hood and show me how you work it out." "Hold It Against Me" continues with a second breakdown, which is more similar to the sound of the track. The final chorus has a smattering of rave
chords and the song has a sudden end.
Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone
commented that the song "recalls the synth-gloom ambience of Britney's 2007 gem, Blackout." He also compared the riff to AC/DC
's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
" (1976). The hook was noted by Ann Powers of Los Angeles Times
to be reminiscent of "(I Just) Died in Your Arms
" (1986) by Cutting Crew
. Nick Levine of Digital Spy
felt the song had a "clubby and au courant" feel, comparable to "Only Girl (In the World)
" (2010) by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna
. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Publishing Inc.
, "Hold It Against Me" is set in the compound meter time signature
, with a moderate dance beat infused metronome of 133 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C minor
; Spears' vocals range from the low-key of G3 to the high-note of G5. The song has a basic sequence of Cm–Fm–Cm–Fm as its chord progression
. Lyrically, "Hold It Against Me" talks about seducing someone on the dancefloor. The chorus revolves around pick-up line
s; Spears sings, "If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?" and "'Cause you feel like paradise, and I need a vacation tonight." James Montgomery of MTV
compared the feeling of the lyrics to that of "If U Seek Amy
" (2009).
After "Hold It Against Me" was released, The Bellamy Brothers criticized it for being similar to their 1979 hit "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me
". In a statement, David Bellamy said "professionally, well, in all honesty, we feel completely ripped off. Where's the originality?" The brothers's attorney Christopher E. Schmidt stated that "[it] becomes somewhat uncanny if you simply double the beat of the Bellamy Brothers' song and match it up with Britney's version" and pointed out that it was not the first time Martin and Luke were accused of copyright infringement
. On March 2, 2011, Martin, Luke, McKee and Billboard filed a lawsuit in which they accused the brothers of making defamatory and libelous statements about them. The case was dismissed on August 11, 2011. The Bellamy Brothers released a statement that said, "The Bellamy Brothers apologise to Dr. Luke and Max Martin for the Bellamys' public statements and any false impressions suggested by the statements on their website that Dr. Luke and Max Martin copy the works of others."
gave the song four and half stars, calling it "one of Britney's catchiest club bangers yet" and saying "[it] proudly stands alongside Britney classics like 'Womanizer
,' 'Gimme More
,' and 'Toxic
,' but there's a refined ethereal elegance to it that sees Britney stepping into new territory and pushing the boundaries of dance pop once more." Nick Levine of website Digital Spy said that although "Hold It Against Me" was produced by Luke and Martin, the finished product was not similar to songs by regular collaborators Kesha
and Katy Perry, but actually "sounds like a bang-up-to-date Britney tune for 2011." Brad Wete of Entertainment Weekly
said "'Against Me' is classic Britney — that is to say the vocal performance is far from stellar, but it serves as a nice accessory to [Luke and Martin]'s thumping Euro techno
groove." He also added that Spears did not evolve with her lyrics, and that there was not much growth when compared to singles such as "...Baby One More Time
" (1998) or "I'm a Slave 4 U
" (2001).
Greg Kot
of the Chicago Tribune
commented, "It’s one of the tougher-sounding Spears singles yet and should do the job as a dancefloor-filler for listeners who are starting to wear out on the latest singles from Katy Perry and The Black Eyed Peas
". However, he also dismissed the lyrical content and said that Spears sounds "bored [...] as is the case with most of her recent work." Michael Cragg of British newspaper The Guardian
called it "decent enough." Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone referred to the song as "prime Britney" and stated that it "promises great things for her album." Jim Cantiello of MTV felt the use of pick-up line
s was silly, but praised the beat and the vocals, while calling the breakdown "awesome". Jim Farber of the Daily News called it "a dance-ready club song" and added, "With all that behind her, the 'Oops' girl may yet do it again", referencing her hit "Oops!... I Did It Again
" (2000).
Edna Gundersen of USA Today
criticized the use of pick-up lines, but said the single "delivers enough dizzying dance-pop ecstasy to ensure another chart-topping ride." Bill Lamb of About.com
called it one of the most mature dance pop songs of Spears' career, praising the chorus structure and the electropop bridge. Lamb stated, "The pop music of 2011 has an early shot in the arm here. ['Hold It Against Me'] will quickly take its place among Britney Spears' best singles." Music website Popjustice
positively compared the song to the leaked demo, saying that although the lyrics and melody were not different, Spears' finished version "is approximately 1000 times better than the demo. It's a harder, more urgent, extremely epic statement track that sounds like the work of a superstar." Glenn Gamboa of Newsday
stated that "Hold It Against Me" was "a bit safer [...] like her current low-key, non-tabloid persona." Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail
J.D. Considine called the reworking of The Bellamy Brothers' song "lame", but concluded that the track was "perfect ear candy", calling it "lust made audible".
and 595 plays on Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
(BDS). The song broke Mediabase's record for the largest spin-increase in a single week, registering 3,866 more spins. Billboard
reported that it was likely to debut at the top of the Billboard Hot 100
, due to high airplay and sales, which were expected to exceed 400,000 copies. On the issue dated January 29, 2011, "Hold It Against Me" debuted at number one on the Hot 100, making Spears the second artist in history to debut multiple songs at the top of the chart, only behind Mariah Carey
. The single is also the eighteenth song to debut at number one, and Spears' fourth chart-topper. "Hold It Against Me" made Spears the third female artist, behind Madonna
and Janet Jackson
, to top the Hot 100 in three decades, as well as the seventh artist overall.
"Hold It Against Me" also debuted atop the Hot Digital Songs
chart, with 411,000 copies sold. The sum marked the most downloads in a first week by a female artist, beating the previous record held by Taylor Swift
's "Today Was a Fairytale
" (2010). The record was broken by Lady Gaga
's "Born This Way
" the following month. It is also Spears' biggest sales week total, as well as the fifth biggest first-week sales tally in digital history. In seven weeks, "Hold It Against Me" topped one million downloads, becoming her eighth song with at least a million copies sold. "Hold It Against Me" debuted at number sixteen on Billboard Pop Songs chart with 4,071 plays, the highest detections total by a new entry in the chart's history. It was also tied with Madonna's "Frozen
" (1998) for the second highest debut, behind Carey's "Dreamlover" (1993). The following week, it climbed to number ten, becoming the seventh song in history to reach the top ten in only two weeks, as well as the first to do so in six years. On Radio Songs, "Hold It Against Me" debuted at number twenty-three with 45 million first-week audience impressions, which according to Nielsen BDS, is the highest debut on the chart since Carey's "Touch My Body
" (2008).
The song debuted on the ARIA Charts
of Australia at number ten, and peaked at number four the following week. It became her eleventh top five hit and her ninth highest peaking single. The song stayed on the charts for twelve weeks. It has since been certified platinum
by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) for sales of 70,000 units. On January 17, 2011, "Hold It Against Me" debuted atop the New Zealand RIANZ
charts, becoming her fourth number one hit. However, it only stayed on the charts for eight weeks. On January 13, 2011, the song debuted at number six on the Irish Singles Chart
, and moved up to number five the following week. The single also debuted atop the Canadian Hot 100
, becoming Spears' fourth Canadian number one single as well as the fourth song in the chart's history to debut at number one. With digital sales of 37,000 copies, "Hold It Against Me" also debuted at number one on Canada's Digital Songs chart, the highest debut sales total, and the second highest one week sales behind The Black Eyed Peas's "The Time (Dirty Bit)
" (2010). It debuted at number eleven on the country's Hot 100 Airplay chart, the highest debut since Michael Bublé
's "Haven't Met You Yet
" (2009) as well as entering the Top 40/CHR
airplay chart at number twelve, the second highest debut in the last five years, only behind Madonna's "4 Minutes
" (2008). After its release in the United Kingdom, "Hold It Against Me" debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart
, becoming her 21st top ten hit. However, it was her lowest peaking first single from a studio release. Across Europe, the song has peaked at the top of the charts in Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark and Finland; number two in Belgium (Flanders), Italy and Norway; number four in Scotland; number six in Spain; number seven in Switzerland; and the top twenty in Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
for "Hold It Against Me" was filmed on January 22 and 23, 2011. It was directed by Jonas Åkerlund
, while Brian Friedman
served as the choreographer. According to Spears' manager Larry Rudolph, she became a fan of Åkerlund's work after seeing the video for Madonna's "Ray of Light
" (1998), but they had not worked together in the past, owing to "his availability or her timing". Spears and Åkerlund quickly got together to create the concept, presenting different ideas until, according to Rudolph, "[the concept] took a life on its own". Open auditions were held on December 22, 2010, and the dancers had to learn a routine set to Robyn
's "Criminal Intent" (2010).
On January 22, 2011, Spears tweeted from the video shoot, saying it was "an incredible experience" and would "be one of the best videos I have ever done." On February 2, 2011, accusations came from TMZ.com that Åkerlund had decided to use a dance double for Spears when it seemed like she had not rehearsed her moves enough. Both her representatives and the director denied the rumors, and Åkerlund commenting, "[Britney's] been great throughout the entire process. [...] I've been around long enough to know when an artist gives it their all, and to me it doesn't get better than this. This video is gonna be fucking awesome! It's all Britney." Her manager Larry Rudolph later confirmed that a body double was actually used, but only for the scenes in which Spears fights herself. The fight scene was choreographed by Steven Ho
. He commented that Spears incorporated the moves learned during rehearsals, but also incoporated "her own flavor", by adding a small shuffle of steps in her heels. The length of the dresses also presented a problem, and there were discussions about shortening the trains for safety issues. They were later added as 'weapons', as Ho explained, "as if they were sharp blades, giving Britney reason to jump and evade around them."
Friedman revealed that Jonas' wife, B. Åkerlund, was the stylist for the video. B. is known for her work with Madonna and Lady Gaga, but Friedman assured that "it is not 'Britney does Gaga.'" B. later commented about the fashion of the video, saying, "We were going for a punk-rock couture look in this video, with a touch of glam." For the wedding dress scene, B. worked with Tom Tom fashions to create a custom-made dress. Swarovski
crystals were used for the "arm creations"; a necklace by Dannijo and gloves by La Cracia were added as accessories. For the fight scene, both Spears and her double wear custom dresses by B., in collaboration with Falguni and Shane Peacock, and also sport stilettos by XTC. During her dance sequence, Spears wears an outfit created by B. and Skin Graft Designs, with jewelry by Tom Binns. The boots were Spears' own, and completely bedazzled with Swarovski crystals. For the microphone sequence, Spears rocks a red look described as "skull shoulders", designed by Yasmen Hussein for Swarovski Runway Rocks. She completes the look with earrings and a necklace by Tom Binns and rings by Loree Rodkin. For the finale scene, Spears wears a custom skintight black dress by Bordelle, complete with garters. She accessorizes the look with a necklace by Noir and boots decorated with Swarovski crystals. After its release, the music video earned Spears $500,000 for the product placement by Sony
, Make Up For Ever and PlentyofFish
.
-inspired multicolored letters. Spears is then seen wearing shorts and showing her midriff in the soundstage, while her dancers in white are getting dressed around her. They are surrounded by cameras and lights. As the first chorus begins, Spears appears wearing a white wedding dress inside a cylinder-shaped metal room with wires, and is surrounded by television monitors playing her past music videos. The futuristic set and flowing dress are reminiscent of Madonna's music video for "Bedtime Story" (1995). When the second verse begins, Spears sings, wearing sparkly red skull-shaped shoulder pads, with microphones around her.
A pastiche of following scenes alternates between Spears dancing on the soundstage, singing with the microphones and a scene of just red lips, a reference to the opening shot of the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show
. Afterwards, Spears is also seen ascending through the metal room, while four eyeless dancers in white emerge from below her gown. When the breakdown starts, she begins to eject painting through IV
s in her fingers, staining the room and the monitors. Then, two versions of Spears, both wearing blue and red dresses with flowing trains, are seen fighting each other. After this, both versions of Spears, as well as her on the wedding dress, fall exhausted to the ground. While interspersed scenes of Spears in the soundstage are shown, the other versions of herself start to wake up. The final scene shows Spears dressed in a short black dress with her dancers in black on a stage, with confetti and pyrotechnics around them. In the final shot a question mark (?) appears in multicolored letters.
would be posted daily during fourteen days. The first teaser posted featured Spears in a flowing white gown, surrounded by TV screens as a light and camera are pointed at her face. Other teasers featured Spears wearing the red outfit, her in the midst of a dance sequence with male dancers, and TV screens showcasing her past music videos. James Montgomery of MTV
called the teasers "brilliant" and commented that they "earn[ed] her a spot in promotional history", comparing Spears' and her team use of social media to past campaigns by Kanye West
, Radiohead
and iamamiwhoami
. On February 6, 2011, she tweeted, "Just saw a new cut of #HIAM. SOOOO excited to share it!" The music video premiered on MTV on February 17, 2011, at 21:55 EST (2:55 UTC). It was followed by a live discussion with special guests on MTV.com at 23:00 EST (04:00 UTC).
James Montgomery from MTV said that while the video surpassed her most iconic clips in terms of sheer spectacle, it still displayed a level on restraint in its themes. He summarized the review by saying it was one of her all-time best videos, adding that "there's genuine art to it, which makes it both beautiful to look at and powerful." Montgomery also found that the video was inspired by the Graeae
, iamamiwhoami, Kanye West's Runaway
, Madonna's "Bedtime Story" and "Die Another Day
", The Matrix
, Mortal Kombat, Robyn's "Indestructible
", The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the album cover of Tool
's Ænema
. Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone called it "a total visual assault", and added that it "is a mix of everything we've come to expect from Britney", such as sexy costumes and elaborate choreography. Aaron Parsley of People
believed that the fight sequence was the highlight of the video, but dismissed the product placement. Bill Lamb of About.com said the video was visually stellar, although he added that it was "difficult to know" if it would "match the impact of" clips such as "Baby One More Time" and "Toxic". Willa Paskin of New York
deemed it as "a high-energy, professional, dance video", but stated that "[the visuals] make up for the basic fact that she isn’t in the dancing shape, or really, performing shape she once was."
Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly commanded the direction of Åkerlund, but criticized Spears for her lack of involvement, and commented, "It’s hard not to wonder: Is Britney having any fun?" Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic
stated the video lived up to hype of the teasers, and added that it was unquestionably one of her "artier" videos to date. Drew Grant of Salon.com
said that despite the product placement, the video "[i]s visually stunning, with a 'Matrix' meets 'The Cell
' vibe that will have Lady Gaga wishing she had thought of IV paint drips first." Alex Catarinella of The Huffington Post
deemed it as her greatest and most mature work, and said the video was ultimately simple in its concept, and added, "The once picture-perfect pop star has returned and is offering fans the new, worn-and-torn and yes, stronger than yesterday Britney." The use of product placement received criticism from the media. Megan Gibson of Time
said that the video was "borderline insulting" and commented, "we get that it's hard economic times all around, but couldn't they have been a tad more subtle with [it]?". Liz Kelly of The Washington Post
called the clip "an infomercial
" and said, "I would write more, but suddenly feel the need to put on some Make Up Forever and dash out to buy a Sony flat screen TV."
in the Palms Casino Resort on March 25, 2011. Following a montage of her music videos, Spears appeared onstage wearing a sequined bodysuit and was flanked by male dancers. According to Jocelyn Vena of MTV, the performance "included sexy hair-tossing and a wind machine." She also performed "Big Fat Bass
" and "Till the World Ends
". Spears also taped performances of the songs at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
on March 27, 2011, that aired on Good Morning America
on March 29, 2011. The same day, Spears performed "Hold It Against Me", "Big Fat Bass" and "Till the World Ends" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The song was also performed at 2011's Femme Fatale Tour
. After a neon sign
reading "Femme Fatale" was lifted from the stage, the show began with a video introduction in which Spears was arrested by the police after a chasing sequence. As she said "I'm not that innocent", a lyric from "Oops!... I Did It Again", the video screens parted and she appeared standing in front of a metallic structure in a silver costume to perform "Hold It Against Me". She was accompanied by her back-up dancers in white and silver costumes. Andrew Matson of The Seattle Times
said that the performance "set the pace: hot and heavy."
for Billboard. Marines
from the Rein 266 and HMLA 169 helicopter squadrons uploaded a video to YouTube
of them lip synching to the song in their base in Afghanistan
. Spears posted the video on her Twitter account and added, "I am in LOVE with this... I always knew our soldiers were fierce! Thanks for everything you guys do." American pop band Selena Gomez & the Scene
performed a tribute to Spears during their 2011 We Own the Night Tour
. They performed "Hold It Against Me" along with a medley of hits that included "...Baby One More Time", "(You Drive Me) Crazy
", "Oops!... I Did It Again", "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Toxic", mixed similar to the Chris Cox Megamix included in Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
(2004).
Credits adapted from CD single liner notes.
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...
, released as the first single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)
Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records . Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who served as the...
. It was written and produced by 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,...
, 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...
and 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...
, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee
Bonnie McKee
Bonnie Leigh McKee is a North American singer-songwriter, formerly signed to Reprise Records. She released her debut album Trouble in 2004, which was a minor success. The single "Somebody" was included in the soundtrack to the 2004 comedy film Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!...
. Luke explained that he wanted "Hold It Against Me" to sound unlike his previous productions. The song was going to be offered 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 Luke and Martin felt that it did not suit her. A demo version of the track by McKee was leaked on January 6, 2011, and the single became available for streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
on January 10, 2011. It was released the following day.
Musically, "Hold It Against Me" blends pulsating 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...
and 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...
beats with 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...
. The chorus has lilting synths
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
that lift her vocals and contrast them with the hard beats. The song features 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, in which Spears moans and blows kisses, and the song ends with 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, and 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. After the song was released, The Bellamy Brothers criticized it for being similar to their 1979 hit "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me
If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me
"If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" is a song made famous by the country music duo The Bellamy Brothers. Written by David Bellamy, the song was released in 1979 and became their first No. 1 hit on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart that spring.Overall,...
". They were sued by Martin, Luke, McKee and Billboard for defamation and libel, but the case was dismissed after The Bellamy Brothers apologized.
Most reviewers praised "Hold It Against Me", although some criticized its lyrical content. The song debuted at number one in Belgium Wallonia, Canada, Denmark, Finland and New Zealand, as well as on the US 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...
, where it became her fourth chart topper. In the United States, "Hold It Against Me" made Spears the second artist in Billboards history to debut at number one more than once, behind 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...
. The feat also made her the third female artist to score number one singles in three consecutive decades, and the seventh artist overall. The single has also charted in the top five in countries such as Australia, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Finland and Norway.
The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film and music video director, and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films...
. It premiered on February 17, 2011, following a two-week promotional campaign of teasers. The video features Spears as a pop star who fell from space to find fame on Earth. There, she becomes overwhelmed by the pressures of being a celebrity and breaks down. The video received mixed to positive reviews; critics complimented its artistic concept and visuals, but dismissed the use of product placement
Product placement
Product placement, or embedded marketing, is a form of advertisement, where branded goods or services are placed in a context usually devoid of ads, such as movies, music videos, the story line of television shows, or news programs. The product placement is often not disclosed at the time that the...
. Spears performed "Hold It Against Me" 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...
, 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...
and Jimmy Kimmel Live!. She has also performed it as the opening number of 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...
(2011).
Background
"Hold It Against Me" was written and produced by Max MartinMax 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,...
, 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...
and 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...
, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee
Bonnie McKee
Bonnie Leigh McKee is a North American singer-songwriter, formerly signed to Reprise Records. She released her debut album Trouble in 2004, which was a minor success. The single "Somebody" was included in the soundtrack to the 2004 comedy film Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!...
. After it was written, Luke and Martin wanted to give the track to American recording artist 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 decided that "it definitely wasn't a Katy Perry record." They continued to work on the song with Billboard; Luke commented, "I wanted to make sure it didn't sound like everything else I've done. [...] It can be hard in the verse, and the bridge is super, super hard, but the chorus is super-pop." After rumored lyrics for the song surfaced on the web, Luke commented in his Twitter
Twitter
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 on December 9, 2010, "I / we never wrote a song called 'don't hold it against me'.... BewaRe of InaccuraTe info kids ;-) We did write 'hold it against me' but those lyrics are NOT the lyrics ...." It was reported by news outlets that "Hold It Against Me" would premiere on January 7, 2011. However, this was denied by Spears' manager Adam Leber. An early demo of the track by McKee was leaked on January 6, 2011. The same day, Spears released the cover art
Cover art
Cover art is the illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book , magazine, comic book, video game , DVD, CD, videotape, or music album. The art has a primarily commercial function, i.e...
and commented via Twitter, "Heard an early demo of my new single leaked. If u think that's good, wait til you hear the real one Tuesday."
On January 10, 2011, the single became available for streaming
Streaming media
Streaming media is multimedia that is constantly received by and presented to an end-user while being delivered by a streaming provider.The term "presented" is used in this article in a general sense that includes audio or video playback. The name refers to the delivery method of the medium rather...
on Ryan Seacrest
Ryan 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 website, who premiered it on his 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...
shortly after. Spears tweeted, "Don't #HOLDITAGAINSTME for coming out early. I couldn't wait any longer. Hope you don't mind....." The radio premiere caused several sites to crash from too much traffic. "Hold It Against Me" was released digitally in the United States and Canada at the iTunes Store
ITunes Store
The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States...
at 00:00 EST
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...
(05:00 UTC
Coordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
), where it was available exclusively until January 18, 2011. The single was going to be released in the United Kingdom on February 20, 2011, but the date was moved up to January 17, 2011, due to overwhelming demand.
Composition
"Hold It Against Me" is three minutes and forty-nine seconds long. It is a dance-popDance-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 that blends pulsating 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...
and 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...
beats with 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...
. Spears' vocals have been described as "a bit treated" but not heavily Autotuned. The chorus, reminiscent of other pop productions by Max Martin, has lilting synths that lift her vocals and contrast them with the hard beats. After the second chorus, the beats drop and Spears speaks the lines in the hook
Hook (music)
A hook is a musical idea, often a short riff, passage, or phrase, that is used in popular music to make a song appealing and to "catch the ear of the listener". The term generally applies to popular music, especially rock music, hip hop, dance music, and pop. In these genres, the hook is often...
. This is followed by 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, which lasts about thirty seconds. Spears moans, blows kisses and sings the lines "Gimme something good, don't wanna wait I want it now / Pop it like a hood and show me how you work it out." "Hold It Against Me" continues with a second breakdown, which is more similar to the sound of the track. The final chorus has a smattering 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...
chords and the song has a sudden end.
Rob Sheffield 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 the song "recalls the synth-gloom ambience of Britney's 2007 gem, Blackout." He also compared the riff to AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
's "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap
Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (song)
"Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" is a song by Australian hard rock band AC/DC. It is the title track and first track of their album Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, released in September 1976, and was written by Angus Young, Malcolm Young, and Bon Scott....
" (1976). The hook was noted by Ann Powers of 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....
to be reminiscent of "(I Just) Died in Your Arms
(I Just) Died in Your Arms
" Died in Your Arms" is a power ballad written by Nick Van Eede and introduced by his band, Cutting Crew, in 1986. It was their biggest hit, peaking at #1 in the United States, Canada and Finland, and reaching the top five in the UK, South Africa, Sweden and Switzerland.-Background of the music and...
" (1986) by Cutting Crew
Cutting Crew
The Cutting Crew is a pop rock band formed in England in 1985, best known for their #1 hit, " Died in Your Arms".-Career:Vocalist Nick Van Eede founded the group along with Canadian guitarist Kevin MacMichael in 1985, and the two made demos that led to a recording contract, before bassist Colin...
. Nick Levine of Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
felt the song had a "clubby and au courant" feel, comparable to "Only Girl (In the World)
Only Girl (In the World)
"Only Girl " is a song by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna from her fifth studio album, Loud . The song was released as the album's lead single on September 10, 2010 through Def Jam. It was written by Crystal Johnson, Norwegian production duo Stargate and Sandy Vee, and produced by Stargate and Vee...
" (2010) by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Kobalt Music Publishing Inc.
Kobalt (tools)
Kobalt is a line of tools operated by the American home improvement chain Lowe's as their house brand.Lowe's and manufacturing partner J.H. Williams launched Kobalt in 1998, with the intention of competing against rival retailers Sears and The Home Depot and their respective Craftsman and Husky...
, "Hold It Against Me" is set in the compound meter time signature
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
, with a moderate dance beat infused metronome of 133 beats per minute. It is composed in the key of C minor
C minor
C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. The harmonic minor raises the B to B. Changes needed for the melodic and harmonic versions of the scale are written in with naturals and accidentals as necessary.Its key signature consists of three flats...
; Spears' vocals range from the low-key of G3 to the high-note of G5. The song has a basic sequence of Cm–Fm–Cm–Fm as its chord progression
Chord progression
A chord progression is a series of musical chords, or chord changes that "aims for a definite goal" of establishing a tonality founded on a key, root or tonic chord. In other words, the succession of root relationships...
. Lyrically, "Hold It Against Me" talks about seducing someone on the dancefloor. 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; Spears sings, "If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?" and "'Cause you feel like paradise, and I need a vacation tonight." James Montgomery of 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....
compared the feeling of the lyrics to that of "If U Seek Amy
If U Seek Amy
"If U Seek Amy" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her sixth studio album, Circus. It was released on March 13, 2009 by Jive Records as the third single of the album, and was chosen by a poll on Spears's official website. "If U Seek Amy" was co-written and produced by Max...
" (2009).
After "Hold It Against Me" was released, The Bellamy Brothers criticized it for being similar to their 1979 hit "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me
If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me
"If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me" is a song made famous by the country music duo The Bellamy Brothers. Written by David Bellamy, the song was released in 1979 and became their first No. 1 hit on the Billboard magazine Hot Country Singles chart that spring.Overall,...
". In a statement, David Bellamy said "professionally, well, in all honesty, we feel completely ripped off. Where's the originality?" The brothers's attorney Christopher E. Schmidt stated that "[it] becomes somewhat uncanny if you simply double the beat of the Bellamy Brothers' song and match it up with Britney's version" and pointed out that it was not the first time Martin and Luke were accused of copyright infringement
Copyright infringement
Copyright infringement is the unauthorized or prohibited use of works under copyright, infringing the copyright holder's exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works.- "Piracy" :...
. On March 2, 2011, Martin, Luke, McKee and Billboard filed a lawsuit in which they accused the brothers of making defamatory and libelous statements about them. The case was dismissed on August 11, 2011. The Bellamy Brothers released a statement that said, "The Bellamy Brothers apologise to Dr. Luke and Max Martin for the Bellamys' public statements and any false impressions suggested by the statements on their website that Dr. Luke and Max Martin copy the works of others."
Critical reception
"Hold It Against Me" has received positive reviews from most critics. Rick Florino of website ArtistdirectARTISTdirect
Founded in 1994, Artistdirect, Inc. is an online digital media entertainment company. It owns several websites including Artistdirect.com, UBL.com and the Artistdirect Network...
gave the song four and half stars, calling it "one of Britney's catchiest club bangers yet" and saying "[it] proudly stands alongside Britney classics like 'Womanizer
Womanizer (song)
"Womanizer" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her sixth studio album, Circus. It was released on September 26, 2008 by Jive Records as the lead single of the album. Produced and co-written by Nikesha Briscoe and Rafael Akinyemi of The Outsyders, the song had to be...
,' 'Gimme More
Gimme More
"Gimme More" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, Blackout. It was released on September 27, 2007 by Jive Records as the lead single of the album. The song was written by Jim Beanz, Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica, Nate "Danja" Hills and Keri Hilson...
,' and 'Toxic
Toxic (song)
"Toxic" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, co-written and produced by Bloodshy & Avant, from her fourth album, In the Zone. It was released on January 12, 2004, by Jive Records as the second single from the album. After trying to choose between " Boom Boom" and "Outrageous" to...
,' but there's a refined ethereal elegance to it that sees Britney stepping into new territory and pushing the boundaries of dance pop once more." Nick Levine of website Digital Spy said that although "Hold It Against Me" was produced by Luke and Martin, the finished product was not similar to songs by regular collaborators Kesha
Kesha
Kesha village is a small village nestled in the mountains of Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan province, China, located at latitude 29 05' 50", longitude 109 57' 9". The name is pronounced in Standard Chinese. The official language is Manderin Chinese....
and Katy Perry, but actually "sounds like a bang-up-to-date Britney tune for 2011." Brad Wete of 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...
said "'Against Me' is classic Britney — that is to say the vocal performance is far from stellar, but it serves as a nice accessory to [Luke and Martin]'s thumping Euro 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...
groove." He also added that Spears did not evolve with her lyrics, and that there was not much growth when compared to singles such as "...Baby One More Time
...Baby One More Time (song)
"...Baby One More Time" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. It served as Spears' debut single from her debut studio album, ...Baby One More Time . Written by Max Martin and produced by Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami Yacoub, "...Baby One More Time" was released on September 30, 1998,...
" (1998) or "I'm a Slave 4 U
I'm a Slave 4 U
"I'm a Slave 4 U" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. The song was written and produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, for Spears' third studio album, Britney . It was released on September 24, 2001 by Jive Records, as the first single from the album...
" (2001).
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...
of the 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...
commented, "It’s one of the tougher-sounding Spears singles yet and should do the job as a dancefloor-filler for listeners who are starting to wear out on the latest singles from Katy Perry and 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...
". However, he also dismissed the lyrical content and said that Spears sounds "bored [...] as is the case with most of her recent work." Michael Cragg of British newspaper The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
called it "decent enough." Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone referred to the song as "prime Britney" and stated that it "promises great things for her album." Jim Cantiello of MTV felt the use of 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 was silly, but praised the beat and the vocals, while calling the breakdown "awesome". Jim Farber of the Daily News called it "a dance-ready club song" and added, "With all that behind her, the 'Oops' girl may yet do it again", referencing her hit "Oops!... I Did It Again
Oops!... I Did It Again (song)
"Oops!... I Did It Again" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. The song was written and produced by Max Martin and Rami for Spears' second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again . It was released on March 27, 2000 by Jive Records, as the first single from the album. "Oops!.....
" (2000).
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...
criticized the use of pick-up lines, but said the single "delivers enough dizzying dance-pop ecstasy to ensure another chart-topping ride." Bill Lamb of About.com
About.com
About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company....
called it one of the most mature dance pop songs of Spears' career, praising the chorus structure and the electropop bridge. Lamb stated, "The pop music of 2011 has an early shot in the arm here. ['Hold It Against Me'] will quickly take its place among Britney Spears' best singles." Music website Popjustice
Popjustice
Popjustice is a music website founded in 2000 and is the work of UK freelance music journalist Peter Robinson, who has worked for NME, The Guardian, Attitude and many others....
positively compared the song to the leaked demo, saying that although the lyrics and melody were not different, Spears' finished version "is approximately 1000 times better than the demo. It's a harder, more urgent, extremely epic statement track that sounds like the work of a superstar." Glenn Gamboa of Newsday
Newsday
Newsday is a daily American newspaper that primarily serves Nassau and Suffolk counties and the New York City borough of Queens on Long Island, although it is sold throughout the New York metropolitan area...
stated that "Hold It Against Me" was "a bit safer [...] like her current low-key, non-tabloid persona." Canadian newspaper 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...
J.D. Considine called the reworking of The Bellamy Brothers' song "lame", but concluded that the track was "perfect ear candy", calling it "lust made audible".
Chart performance
After its first day of release in the United States, "Hold It Against Me" set the record for most radio plays during a first day, registering 619 plays on MediabaseMediabase
Mediabase is a music industry service that monitors radio station airplay in 180 US and Canadian markets. Mediabase publishes music charts and data based on the most played songs on terrestrial and satellite radio, and provides in-depth analytical tools for radio and record industry professionals...
and 595 plays on Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections...
(BDS). The song broke Mediabase's record for the largest spin-increase in a single week, registering 3,866 more spins. 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...
reported that it was likely to debut at the top of 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...
, due to high airplay and sales, which were expected to exceed 400,000 copies. On the issue dated January 29, 2011, "Hold It Against Me" debuted at number one on the Hot 100, making Spears the second artist in history to debut multiple songs at the top of the chart, only behind 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...
. The single is also the eighteenth song to debut at number one, and Spears' fourth chart-topper. "Hold It Against Me" made Spears the third female artist, behind 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...
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...
, to top the Hot 100 in three decades, as well as the seventh artist overall.
"Hold It Against Me" also debuted atop the Hot Digital Songs
Hot Digital Songs
The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...
chart, with 411,000 copies sold. The sum marked the most downloads in a first week by a female artist, beating the previous record held by Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift
Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...
's "Today Was a Fairytale
Today Was a Fairytale
"Today Was a Fairytale" is a song performed by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. The song was written by Swift and produced by Nathan Chapman with Swift's help. It was released on January 19, 2010 by Big Machine Records as a single from the corresponding soundtrack for the 2010 film...
" (2010). The record was broken by Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
's "Born This Way
Born This Way (song)
"Born This Way" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, from her second studio album, Born This Way. Written and produced by Gaga, Fernando Garibay, Jeppe Laursen and DJ White Shadow, "Born This Way" was developed while Gaga was on the road with The Monster Ball Tour...
" the following month. It is also Spears' biggest sales week total, as well as the fifth biggest first-week sales tally in digital history. In seven weeks, "Hold It Against Me" topped one million downloads, becoming her eighth song with at least a million copies sold. "Hold It Against Me" debuted at number sixteen on Billboard Pop Songs chart with 4,071 plays, the highest detections total by a new entry in the chart's history. It was also tied with Madonna's "Frozen
Frozen (song)
"Frozen" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her eight studio album Ray of Light. It was released as the lead single from the album on 23 February 1998 by Maverick Records...
" (1998) for the second highest debut, behind Carey's "Dreamlover" (1993). The following week, it climbed to number ten, becoming the seventh song in history to reach the top ten in only two weeks, as well as the first to do so in six years. On Radio Songs, "Hold It Against Me" debuted at number twenty-three with 45 million first-week audience impressions, which according to Nielsen BDS, is the highest debut on the chart since Carey's "Touch My Body
Touch My Body
"Touch My Body" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, taken from her eleventh studio album, E=MC² . It was written and produced by Carey, along with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Crystal "Cri$tyle" Johnson and Terius "The Dream" Nash, and was released as the album's lead single on...
" (2008).
The song debuted on the ARIA Charts
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...
of Australia at number ten, and peaked at number four the following week. It became her eleventh top five hit and her ninth highest peaking single. The song stayed on the charts for twelve weeks. It has since been certified platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
by the Australian Recording Industry Association
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
(ARIA) for sales of 70,000 units. On January 17, 2011, "Hold It Against Me" debuted atop the New Zealand RIANZ
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...
charts, becoming her fourth number one hit. However, it only stayed on the charts for eight weeks. On January 13, 2011, the song debuted at number six on the Irish Singles Chart
Irish Singles Chart
The Irish Singles Chart is Ireland's music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on behalf of the IRMA by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured...
, and moved up to number five the following week. The single also debuted atop the Canadian Hot 100
Canadian Hot 100
The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007...
, becoming Spears' fourth Canadian number one single as well as the fourth song in the chart's history to debut at number one. With digital sales of 37,000 copies, "Hold It Against Me" also debuted at number one on Canada's Digital Songs chart, the highest debut sales total, and the second highest one week sales behind The Black Eyed Peas's "The Time (Dirty Bit)
The Time (Dirty Bit)
"The Time " is a song by American hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas from their sixth studio album, The Beginning. The song was released as the album's lead single on November 5, 2010. The chorus of the song samples " The Time of My Life" from the 1987 film Dirty Dancing...
" (2010). It debuted at number eleven on the country's Hot 100 Airplay chart, the highest debut since Michael Bublé
Michael Bublé
Michael Steven Bublé is a Canadian singer. He has won several awards, including three Grammy Awards and multiple Juno Awards. His first album reached the top ten in Canada and the UK. He found worldwide commercial success with his 2005 album It's Time, and his 2007 album Call Me Irresponsible was...
's "Haven't Met You Yet
Haven't Met You Yet
"Haven’t Met You Yet" is the first single from Canadian singer Michael Bublé's fourth album Crazy Love, released on August 31, 2009. According to Bublé, the single and its official music video are "about everyone's dream of finding a relationship and love." Bublé co-wrote "Haven’t Met You Yet" with...
" (2009) as well as entering the Top 40/CHR
Contemporary hit radio
Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts...
airplay chart at number twelve, the second highest debut in the last five years, only behind Madonna's "4 Minutes
4 Minutes (Madonna song)
"4 Minutes" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her eleventh studio album Hard Candy. It was released as the lead single from the album on March 17, 2008, by Warner Bros. Records. The song's development was motivated by a sense of urgency to save the planet from destruction, and...
" (2008). After its release in the United Kingdom, "Hold It Against Me" debuted at number six on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, becoming her 21st top ten hit. However, it was her lowest peaking first single from a studio release. Across Europe, the song has peaked at the top of the charts in Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark and Finland; number two in Belgium (Flanders), Italy and Norway; number four in Scotland; number six in Spain; number seven in Switzerland; and the top twenty in Austria, Czech Republic and the Netherlands.
Development
The music videoMusic video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
for "Hold It Against Me" was filmed on January 22 and 23, 2011. It was directed by Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas Åkerlund is a Swedish film and music video director, and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films...
, while Brian Friedman
Brian Friedman
Brian L. Friedman, is an American dancer and choreographer, and has created the choreography for many popular music artists - such as Britney Spears, Beyoncé Knowles and Mariah Carey - as well as for music videos, concert tours and television and film productions.-Early life:Friedman was born in...
served as the choreographer. According to Spears' manager Larry Rudolph, she became a fan of Åkerlund's work after seeing the video for Madonna's "Ray of Light
Ray of Light (song)
A high-speed electronic dance song, "Ray of Light" has received stylistic comparisons to rave, psychedelic and acid music. The track contains strong techno elements, as well as disco, trance and Eurodance influences, and it sees Madonna deepen her dance roots and go for a more electronic sound...
" (1998), but they had not worked together in the past, owing to "his availability or her timing". Spears and Åkerlund quickly got together to create the concept, presenting different ideas until, according to Rudolph, "[the concept] took a life on its own". Open auditions were held on December 22, 2010, and the dancers had to learn a routine set to Robyn
Robyn
Robin Miriam Carlsson , better known by her stage name Robyn, is a Swedish recording artist, singer, and songwriter. Robyn became known in the late nineties for her worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know " from her debut album Robyn Is Here . She co-wrote the song "Du gör mig hel igen" for...
's "Criminal Intent" (2010).
On January 22, 2011, Spears tweeted from the video shoot, saying it was "an incredible experience" and would "be one of the best videos I have ever done." On February 2, 2011, accusations came from TMZ.com that Åkerlund had decided to use a dance double for Spears when it seemed like she had not rehearsed her moves enough. Both her representatives and the director denied the rumors, and Åkerlund commenting, "[Britney's] been great throughout the entire process. [...] I've been around long enough to know when an artist gives it their all, and to me it doesn't get better than this. This video is gonna be fucking awesome! It's all Britney." Her manager Larry Rudolph later confirmed that a body double was actually used, but only for the scenes in which Spears fights herself. The fight scene was choreographed by Steven Ho
Steven Ho
Steven Ho is a Chinese American martial artist, entrepreneur, stunt coordinator, stuntman, and member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences....
. He commented that Spears incorporated the moves learned during rehearsals, but also incoporated "her own flavor", by adding a small shuffle of steps in her heels. The length of the dresses also presented a problem, and there were discussions about shortening the trains for safety issues. They were later added as 'weapons', as Ho explained, "as if they were sharp blades, giving Britney reason to jump and evade around them."
Friedman revealed that Jonas' wife, B. Åkerlund, was the stylist for the video. B. is known for her work with Madonna and Lady Gaga, but Friedman assured that "it is not 'Britney does Gaga.'" B. later commented about the fashion of the video, saying, "We were going for a punk-rock couture look in this video, with a touch of glam." For the wedding dress scene, B. worked with Tom Tom fashions to create a custom-made dress. Swarovski
Swarovski
Swarovski is the brand name for a range of precisely-cut crystal and related luxury products produced by Swarovski AG of Wattens, Austria...
crystals were used for the "arm creations"; a necklace by Dannijo and gloves by La Cracia were added as accessories. For the fight scene, both Spears and her double wear custom dresses by B., in collaboration with Falguni and Shane Peacock, and also sport stilettos by XTC. During her dance sequence, Spears wears an outfit created by B. and Skin Graft Designs, with jewelry by Tom Binns. The boots were Spears' own, and completely bedazzled with Swarovski crystals. For the microphone sequence, Spears rocks a red look described as "skull shoulders", designed by Yasmen Hussein for Swarovski Runway Rocks. She completes the look with earrings and a necklace by Tom Binns and rings by Loree Rodkin. For the finale scene, Spears wears a custom skintight black dress by Bordelle, complete with garters. She accessorizes the look with a necklace by Noir and boots decorated with Swarovski crystals. After its release, the music video earned Spears $500,000 for the product placement by Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
, Make Up For Ever and PlentyofFish
PlentyofFish
PlentyofFish is an online dating site, popular primarily in Canada, the UK, Australia and the United States. The service, based in Canada, generates revenue through advertising. While it is free to use, the site recently started charging for some services, such as message tracking. Members pay for...
.
Synopsis
The main idea behind the video is that Spears tries to find fame on Earth, after crashing down as a meteorite. The video begins when a meteoroid heads for Earth in the year 2011, and lights up a city when it finally lands. After this, black-and-white interspersed scenes of Spears getting ready in a soundstage are shown, while the words "Britney Spears" and "Hold It Against Me" appear in Def LeppardDef Leppard
Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1977 in Sheffield as part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement. Since 1992, the band have consisted of Joe Elliott , Rick Savage , Rick Allen , Phil Collen , and Vivian Campbell...
-inspired multicolored letters. Spears is then seen wearing shorts and showing her midriff in the soundstage, while her dancers in white are getting dressed around her. They are surrounded by cameras and lights. As the first chorus begins, Spears appears wearing a white wedding dress inside a cylinder-shaped metal room with wires, and is surrounded by television monitors playing her past music videos. The futuristic set and flowing dress are reminiscent of Madonna's music video for "Bedtime Story" (1995). When the second verse begins, Spears sings, wearing sparkly red skull-shaped shoulder pads, with microphones around her.
A pastiche of following scenes alternates between Spears dancing on the soundstage, singing with the microphones and a scene of just red lips, a reference to the opening shot of the 1975 film The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show
The Rocky Horror Picture Show is the 1975 film adaptation of the British rock musical stageplay, The Rocky Horror Show, written by Richard O'Brien. The film is a parody of B-movie, science fiction and horror films of the late 1940s through early 1970s. Director Jim Sharman collaborated on the...
. Afterwards, Spears is also seen ascending through the metal room, while four eyeless dancers in white emerge from below her gown. When the breakdown starts, she begins to eject painting through IV
Intravenous therapy
Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...
s in her fingers, staining the room and the monitors. Then, two versions of Spears, both wearing blue and red dresses with flowing trains, are seen fighting each other. After this, both versions of Spears, as well as her on the wedding dress, fall exhausted to the ground. While interspersed scenes of Spears in the soundstage are shown, the other versions of herself start to wake up. The final scene shows Spears dressed in a short black dress with her dancers in black on a stage, with confetti and pyrotechnics around them. In the final shot a question mark (?) appears in multicolored letters.
Release and reception
Spears announced through her Twitter account on February 4, 2011, that one teaserTeaser trailer
A teaser campaign is an advertising campaign which typically consists of a series of small, cryptic, challenging advertisements that anticipate a larger, full-blown campaign for a product launch or otherwise important event. These advertisements are called "teasers" or "teaser ads"...
would be posted daily during fourteen days. The first teaser posted featured Spears in a flowing white gown, surrounded by TV screens as a light and camera are pointed at her face. Other teasers featured Spears wearing the red outfit, her in the midst of a dance sequence with male dancers, and TV screens showcasing her past music videos. James Montgomery of MTV
called the teasers "brilliant" and commented that they "earn[ed] her a spot in promotional history", comparing Spears' and her team use of social media to past campaigns by Kanye West
Kanye West
Kanye Omari West is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and...
, Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
and iamamiwhoami
Iamamiwhoami
iamamiwhoami is an electronic music and multimedia project headlined by Swedish singer-songwriter Jonna Lee. Videos released from the project's YouTube channel have spread virally. The first clip was uploaded on December 4, 2009, and was forwarded to a number of music journalists and blogs. Another...
. On February 6, 2011, she tweeted, "Just saw a new cut of #HIAM. SOOOO excited to share it!" The music video premiered on MTV on February 17, 2011, at 21:55 EST (2:55 UTC). It was followed by a live discussion with special guests on MTV.com at 23:00 EST (04:00 UTC).
James Montgomery from MTV said that while the video surpassed her most iconic clips in terms of sheer spectacle, it still displayed a level on restraint in its themes. He summarized the review by saying it was one of her all-time best videos, adding that "there's genuine art to it, which makes it both beautiful to look at and powerful." Montgomery also found that the video was inspired by the Graeae
Graeae
The Graeae , were three sisters who shared one eye and one tooth among them. They are one of several trios of archaic goddesses in Greek mythology. The Graeae were daughters of Phorcys and Ceto...
, iamamiwhoami, Kanye West's Runaway
Runaway (2010 film)
Runaway is a 35-minute short film directed by and starring Kanye West. It serves as the music video for a compilation of songs from West's album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. It is inspired by other music-related films such as Purple Rain, Pink Floyd The Wall and Michael Jackson's Thriller...
, Madonna's "Bedtime Story" and "Die Another Day
Die Another Day (song)
"Die Another Day" is the theme to the James Bond film of the same name recorded by Madonna. The single was released in late 2002, marking Madonna's 20th career anniversary, and peaked at number eight in the United States and number three in the United Kingdom, selling 167,863 copies - making it the...
", The Matrix
The Matrix (franchise)
The Matrix is a science fiction action franchise created by Andy and Larry Wachowski and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The series began with the 1999 film The Matrix and later spawned two sequels; The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, both released in 2003, thus forming a trilogy...
, Mortal Kombat, Robyn's "Indestructible
Indestructible (Robyn song)
"Indestructible" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn, taken from her seventh studio album Body Talk . The song was written by Robyn and Klas Åhlund, and produced by Åhlund. It was released as the lead single from Body Talk on 1 November 2010 in Sweden and one day later in the United States...
", The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the album cover of Tool
Tool (band)
Tool is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1990, the group's line-up has included drummer Danny Carey, guitarist Adam Jones, and vocalist Maynard James Keenan. Since 1995, Justin Chancellor has been the band's bassist, replacing their original bassist Paul D'Amour...
's Ænema
Ænema
"Ænema" is a Grammy Award-winning song by rock band Tool, released as the third single from their second album Ænima. Adam Jones made a video for the song using stop-motion animation that appears on Salival. The song reached number twenty-five on the U.S...
. Matthew Perpetua of Rolling Stone called it "a total visual assault", and added that it "is a mix of everything we've come to expect from Britney", such as sexy costumes and elaborate choreography. Aaron Parsley of People
People (magazine)
In 1998, the magazine introduced a version targeted at teens called Teen People. However, on July 27, 2006, the company announced it would shut down publication of Teen People immediately. The last issue to be released was scheduled for September 2006. Subscribers to this magazine received...
believed that the fight sequence was the highlight of the video, but dismissed the product placement. Bill Lamb of About.com said the video was visually stellar, although he added that it was "difficult to know" if it would "match the impact of" clips such as "Baby One More Time" and "Toxic". Willa Paskin of New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
deemed it as "a high-energy, professional, dance video", but stated that "[the visuals] make up for the basic fact that she isn’t in the dancing shape, or really, performing shape she once was."
Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly commanded the direction of Åkerlund, but criticized Spears for her lack of involvement, and commented, "It’s hard not to wonder: Is Britney having any fun?" Ed Masley of The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic
The Arizona Republic is a daily newspaper published in Phoenix. Circulated throughout Arizona, it is the state's largest newspaper. Since 2000, it has been owned by the Gannett newspaper chain. It was ranked tenth in US daily newspapers by circulation in 2007.-Early years:The newspaper was founded...
stated the video lived up to hype of the teasers, and added that it was unquestionably one of her "artier" videos to date. Drew Grant of Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
said that despite the product placement, the video "[i]s visually stunning, with a 'Matrix' meets 'The Cell
The Cell
The Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh, and starring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role.-Plot:...
' vibe that will have Lady Gaga wishing she had thought of IV paint drips first." Alex Catarinella of The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post
The Huffington Post is an American news website and content-aggregating blog founded by Arianna Huffington, Kenneth Lerer, and Jonah Peretti, featuring liberal minded columnists and various news sources. The site offers coverage of politics, theology, media, business, entertainment, living, style,...
deemed it as her greatest and most mature work, and said the video was ultimately simple in its concept, and added, "The once picture-perfect pop star has returned and is offering fans the new, worn-and-torn and yes, stronger than yesterday Britney." The use of product placement received criticism from the media. Megan Gibson of Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
said that the video was "borderline insulting" and commented, "we get that it's hard economic times all around, but couldn't they have been a tad more subtle with [it]?". Liz Kelly of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
called the clip "an infomercial
Infomercial
Infomercials are direct response television commercials which generally include a phone number or website. There are long-form infomercials, which are typically between 15 and 30 minutes in length, and short-form infomercials, which are typically 30 seconds to 120 seconds in length. Infomercials...
" and said, "I would write more, but suddenly feel the need to put on some Make Up Forever and dash out to buy a Sony flat screen TV."
Live performances
Spears first performed "Hold It Against Me" at Rain NightclubRain 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...
in the Palms Casino Resort on March 25, 2011. Following a montage of her music videos, Spears appeared onstage wearing a sequined bodysuit and was flanked by male dancers. According to Jocelyn Vena of MTV, the performance "included sexy hair-tossing and a wind machine." She also performed "Big Fat Bass
Big Fat Bass
"Big Fat Bass" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. The song was written and produced by will.i.am for Spears' seventh studio album, Femme Fatale . The electropop song speaks about the bass clef and contains a double entendre gender metaphor. "Big Fat Bass" received mixed reviews...
" and "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...
". Spears also taped performances of the songs at 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...
on March 27, 2011, that aired 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...
on March 29, 2011. The same day, Spears performed "Hold It Against Me", "Big Fat Bass" and "Till the World Ends" on Jimmy Kimmel Live!. The song was also performed at 2011's 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...
. After a neon sign
Neon sign
Neon signs are made using electrified, luminous tube lights that contain rarefied neon or other gases. They are the most common use for neon lighting, which was first demonstrated in a modern form in December, 1910 by Georges Claude at the Paris Motor Show. While they are used worldwide, neon signs...
reading "Femme Fatale" was lifted from the stage, the show began with a video introduction in which Spears was arrested by the police after a chasing sequence. As she said "I'm not that innocent", a lyric from "Oops!... I Did It Again", the video screens parted and she appeared standing in front of a metallic structure in a silver costume to perform "Hold It Against Me". She was accompanied by her back-up dancers in white and silver costumes. Andrew Matson of The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times
The Seattle Times is a newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, US. It is the largest daily newspaper in the state of Washington. It has been, since the demise in 2009 of the printed version of the rival Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Seattle's only major daily print newspaper.-History:The Seattle Times...
said that the performance "set the pace: hot and heavy."
Cover versions
"Hold It Against Me" was covered by American recording artist MiguelMiguel (singer)
Miguel Jontel Pimentel, who performs under the mononym Miguel, is an American recording artist, songwriter and producer. Signed to Jive Records in 2007, Miguel released his debut album, All I Want Is You, in November 2010. The album was preceded by the release of the single "All I Want Is You",...
for Billboard. Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
from the Rein 266 and HMLA 169 helicopter squadrons uploaded a video to YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
of them lip synching to the song in their base in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Spears posted the video on her Twitter account and added, "I am in LOVE with this... I always knew our soldiers were fierce! Thanks for everything you guys do." American pop band Selena Gomez & the Scene
Selena Gomez & the Scene
Selena Gomez & the Scene is an American pop band formed in Hollywood, California in 2009. Along with lead singer and founder Selena Gomez, the band consists of bassist Joey Clement, guitarist Ethan Roberts, drummist Greg Garman and keyboardist Dane Forrest. Selena Gomez & the Scene have released...
performed a tribute to Spears during their 2011 We Own the Night Tour
We Own the Night Tour
The We Own the Night Tour is the third concert tour by American band Selena Gomez & the Scene, in support of their third studio album, When the Sun Goes Down...
. They performed "Hold It Against Me" along with a medley of hits that included "...Baby One More Time", "(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...
", "Oops!... I Did It Again", "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Toxic", mixed similar to the Chris Cox Megamix included in 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).
Track listing
-
- Digital download
- "Hold It Against Me" – 3:49
-
- UK Digital download / CD Single / Femme Fatale (Premium Fan Edition) 7" Vinyl
- "Hold It Against Me" – 3:49
- "Hold It Against Me" (Instrumental) – 3:49
-
- Digital Remixes EP
- "Hold It Against Me" (Adrian Lux & Nause Radio) – 3:05
- "Hold It Against Me" (JumpSmokers Club) – 6:02
- "Hold It Against Me" (Ocelot Club) – 6:14
- "Hold It Against Me" (Smoke 'N Mirrors Club) – 7:41
- "Hold It Against Me" (Funk Generation Radio) – 3:48
- "Hold It Against Me" (Tracy Young Ferosh Anthem Mix) – 8:38
- "Hold It Against Me" (Abe Clements Radio) – 4:02
Credits and personnel
- Britney SpearsBritney SpearsBritney 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...
– vocals - 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...
– producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
, songwriter, instruments and programming - Max MartinMax MartinMartin 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,...
– producer, songwriter, instruments and programming - Bonnie McKeeBonnie McKeeBonnie Leigh McKee is a North American singer-songwriter, formerly signed to Reprise Records. She released her debut album Trouble in 2004, which was a minor success. The single "Somebody" was included in the soundtrack to the 2004 comedy film Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!...
– songwriter, background vocals - BillboardBillboard (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...
– co-producer, songwriter, instruments and programming - Myah Marie – background vocals
- Emily Wright – engineeringAudio engineeringAn audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
- Sam Holland – engineering
- Tim Roberts – engineering
- Vezna Gottwald – engineering
- John Hanes – engineering
- Serban GheneaSerban GheneaSerban Ghenea is a four-time Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award-winning mixer. He has mixed songs for such artists as Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Jewel, Santana, Ozomatli, Shakira, Jill Scott, R. Kelly, Rod Stewart, and Dave Matthews Band...
– audio mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...
Credits adapted from CD single liner notes.
Charts
| Chart (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Brazil (Billboard Billboard Brasil Billboard Brasil is a monthly Brazilian magazine launched on October 10, 2009, with a print-run of over 40,000 copies. It is distributed nationwide by Brazil's biggest distributor Dinap... Hot 100 Brasil Hot 100 Airplay Brasil Hot 100 Airplay is the official music singles charts in Brazil. It has been compiled by Crowley Broadcast Analysis and published monthly by Billboard Brasil since the release of the magazine, in October 2009.... ) |
35 |
| Brazil (Billboard Hot Pop Songs Billboard Brasil Billboard Brasil is a monthly Brazilian magazine launched on October 10, 2009, with a print-run of over 40,000 copies. It is distributed nationwide by Brazil's biggest distributor Dinap... ) |
12 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... ) |
1 |
| Italy (FIMI) | 2 |
| Japan (Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... ) |
8 |
| Poland (Dance Top 50 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... ) |
44 |
| Poland (Polish Singles 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... ) |
4 |
| South Korea (GAON 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 Chart) |
1 |
| US 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... |
1 |
| US Pop Songs (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... ) |
3 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Australia Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... |
Platinum |
| New Zealand 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... |
Gold |
| Sweden | Gold |
| United States 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... |
Platinum |
Radio adds and release history
| Region | Date | Format | Label |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | January 10, 2011 | Radio premiere | 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... |
| Australia | January 11, 2011 | 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... |
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| Poland | January 12, 2011 | ||
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| United Kingdom | January 17, 2011 | 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... |
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| United States | January 18, 2011 | Mainstream airplay Contemporary hit radio Contemporary hit radio is a radio format that is common in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia that focuses on playing current and recurrent popular music as determined by the Top 40 music charts... |
Jive Records |
| Germany | February 11, 2011 | Digital download | |
| February 18, 2011 | CD single | ||
| United Kingdom | March 1, 2011 | RCA Records | |
| Hong Kong | March 25, 2011 | Columbia Records Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company... |