"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" is a song by American recording artist
Britney 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...
. The song was written by
DidoDido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
, with additional writing and song production by
Max 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,...
and
Rami YacoubRami Yacoub is a Swedish music producer and songwriter of Palestinian descent, and former member of the successful songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone...
for Spears' third studio album,
BritneyBritney is the third studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. The album was released worldwide on November 6, 2001 by Jive Records, and one day after in the United States...
(2001). It was released on February 5, 2002 by
Jive RecordsJive 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...
, as the second single from the album in the United States and Canada and the third worldwide. The
soft rockSoft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
song, speaks about the angst and heartache of puberty, and was considered by Spears as inspirational and one of her favorites that she has ever sang.
"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" received positive reviews from music critics. The song was considered to be Spears' standout statement on Britney, while comparing the song to the powerful ballads written by
Dianne WarrenDianne Warren is a Canadian novelist, dramatist and short story writer, who lives in Regina, Saskatchewan.-Background:...
. However, it won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song. While the song did not perform well on the
BillboardBillboard 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...
charts in the United States, "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" reached the top ten in Austria, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom. The song would later be certified Gold in Australia by the
Australian Recording Industry AssociationThe 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 selling over 35,000 physical units of the single.
A music video for the single, which was directed by
Wayne IshamWayne Isham is an American music video director who has directed music videos of many popular artists; such as Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Roxette, Mötley Crüe, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Whitesnake, David Cook, Simple Plan, Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys,...
, was released along with
CrossroadsCrossroads is a 2002 comedy-drama road film directed by Tamra Davis and starring American recording artist Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana and Taryn Manning...
(2002), Spears' first movie as a protagonist. The music video portrayed Spears singing about the transition from child to adult, and was filmed at
Antelope CanyonAntelope Canyon is the most-visited and most-photographed slot canyon in the American Southwest. It is located on Navajo land near Page, Arizona...
,
ArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
. Spears performed "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" on her
Dream Within A Dream TourThe Dream Within a Dream Tour was the third concert tour by American recording artist Britney Spears. It promoted her third studio album Britney in North America and Japan. The Dream Within a Dream Tour was promoted by Concerts West, marking the first time Spears did not tour with Clear Channel...
, when she sat down next to a piano player and talked to the audience before moving into the song's performance.
Background and composition
In early 2001, Spears her team started to develop a script for a movie where the singer could be the main role. "I talked to [Rhimes] and told her what I wanted the movie to be about and she elaborated on it," Spears said. "It was my little project. When you do a movie, I think you have to be really passionate about it. I was having a lot of offers, but this is something my heart was into." After finishing the script, the movie, that was later titled
CrossroadsCrossroads is a 2002 comedy-drama road film directed by Tamra Davis and starring American recording artist Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana and Taryn Manning...
, had the
working titleA working title, sometimes called a production title, is the temporary name of a product or project used during its development, usually used in filmmaking, television production, novel, video game, or music album.-Purpose:...
s of What Are Friends For and Not a Girl. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", written by
DidoDido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
,
Max 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,...
and
RamiRami or RAMI can refer to:*Rami, the plural of ramus, literally a branch, as of a plant, nerve, or blood vessel*Specifically, rami are upward portions on both sides of the mandible...
, was originally intended to be included on the movie's soundtrack; however, Spears later decided to use it on her third
studio albumA studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
,
BritneyBritney is the third studio album by American pop singer Britney Spears. The album was released worldwide on November 6, 2001 by Jive Records, and one day after in the United States...
(2001). The song was produced and
mixedIn 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...
by
Max 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,...
and
Rami YacoubRami Yacoub is a Swedish music producer and songwriter of Palestinian descent, and former member of the successful songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone...
. Spears recorded her vocals for the song in May 2001 at Maratone Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and in June of the same year at Battery Studios in New York City, New York. Background vocals were provided by Martin and Jeanette Oison. Spears considered the song as one of her favorites, while praising Dido for the songwriting, saying "it was truly an honor for you to be part of my album. Thanks for your input." "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" is a
soft rockSoft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
power ballad, founded on a strong piano melody, that lasts for three minutes and forty-nine seconds. The song is composed in the
keyIn music theory, the term key is used in many different and sometimes contradictory ways. A common use is to speak of music as being "in" a specific key, such as in the key of C major or in the key of F-sharp. Sometimes the terms "major" or "minor" are appended, as in the key of A minor or in the...
of E♭ major and is set in
time signatureThe 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....
of
common time"Common Time" is a science fiction short story written by James Blish. It first appeared in the August 1953 issue of Science Fiction Quarterly and has been reprinted several times: in the 1959 short-story collection Galactic Cluster; in The Testament of Andros ; in The Penguin Science Fiction...
, with a moderately slow
tempoIn musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
of 76 beats per minute. The song's lyrics talk about the angst and heartache that teenage girls suffer with puberty, where Spears claims, "I used to think I had the answers to everything." "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" has a basic sequence of E♭–A♭2–Fm7–B♭ as its
chord progressionA 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...
.
Critical response
"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" received positive reviews from music critics.
Yale Daily NewsThe Yale Daily News is an independent student newspaper published by Yale University students in New Haven, Connecticut since January 28, 1878...
writer Catherine Halaby called it a "well-executed ballad", while saying, "it comes across as a hybrid of advice to her young female fans on how to deal with puberty, and an explanation of her girly but not childlike attitude." Jim Farber of the Daily News while reviewing the
Dream Within a Dream TourThe Dream Within a Dream Tour was the third concert tour by American recording artist Britney Spears. It promoted her third studio album Britney in North America and Japan. The Dream Within a Dream Tour was promoted by Concerts West, marking the first time Spears did not tour with Clear Channel...
called the song "sugar pop dittie", along with Spears' previous ballad single "
Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know"Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, taken from her second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again . It was released on January 17, 2001, by Jive Records as the fourth and final single from the album...
". Nikki Tranker of
PopMattersPopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
considered the song "Britney's standout statement on Britney], [...] a power ballad that allows [the singer] to showcase her expert vocals while still adhering to the rules of safe pop." Tranker compared the song to powerful ballads written by
Diane WarrenDiane Eve Warren , is a US songwriter. Her songs have received six Academy Award nominations, five Golden Globe nominations, including one win and seven Grammy Award nominations, including one win. She was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2001...
. Katie Perone of the Loyola Greyhound said the song "clearly defines the theme of the record: Britney's growing up, and wants to do her own thing."
Chart performance
"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" achieved moderate success. Though it was meant to help promote Crossroads, the song did not make much impact in the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and failed to enter the
Hot 100The 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...
, peaking at number two on Bubbling Under Hot 100. However, the song did manage to peak at number twenty-one on
BillboardBillboard 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...
Pop Songs, and at number fifty-one in
CanadaThe 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...
. The song reached number two in the United Kingdom, after being on the chart for seven weeks. In Australia, the song peaked at number seven, and was certified Gold by the
Australian Recording Industry AssociationThe 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...
for selling over 30,000 physical units of the single. It also peaked inside the top ten in Austria,
GermanyThe official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie...
,
IrelandThe 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...
,
NetherlandsThe Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
, and
SwedenSverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association ....
.
Music video
The music video for the track was directed by
Wayne IshamWayne Isham is an American music video director who has directed music videos of many popular artists; such as Bon Jovi, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Roxette, Mötley Crüe, Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson, Whitesnake, David Cook, Simple Plan, Avenged Sevenfold, Pantera, *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys,...
, whose concept for it was to have Spears on a natural environment. Isham stated the video was filmed completely on location and none of the scenes were shot on
green screenThe Green Screen international wildlife film festival is held annually in Eckernförde, Germany. The festival shows full-length and short nature documentaries about animals in their natural habitat. It is the only festival of its kind in Germany...
s. He also remarked on Spears attitude on set, saying, "She went out there and, without a
safety cableA safety harness is a form of protective equipment designed to protect a person, animal, or object from injury or damage. The harness is an attachment between a stationary and non-stationary object and is usually fabricated from rope, cable or webbing and locking hardware...
, just stood there with those
cowboy bootCowboy boots refer to a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a Cuban heel, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no lacing...
s on. She was standing on the edge in her cowboy boots, looking hot. We'd be right on the edge, and she had not a blink of fear". Spears, however, revealed, "the wind started picking up a lot and almost dropped me over. [..] And I was like, 'OK, gotta go.'". Isham also considered the music video as one of his favorites, commenting, "I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience with her and what she's doing right now," he said. "She stepped into it with positive energy. She ended up stepping out and kicking ass." The music video features Spears singing the song mostly atop a cliff and inside a canyon, while a second version includes scenes from
CrossroadsCrossroads is a 2002 comedy-drama road film directed by Tamra Davis and starring American recording artist Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana and Taryn Manning...
(2002). The music video won the award for "International Music Video of the Year Short-Form" on the 2003 Japan Gold Disc Awards.
Live performances
"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" was performed on 2001's
Dream Within a Dream TourThe Dream Within a Dream Tour was the third concert tour by American recording artist Britney Spears. It promoted her third studio album Britney in North America and Japan. The Dream Within a Dream Tour was promoted by Concerts West, marking the first time Spears did not tour with Clear Channel...
. After the performance of "
Boys"Boys" is a song performed by American recording artist Britney Spears. It was written and produced by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of the production team The Neptunes and American rap group N.E.R.D.. A version of the song, "The Co-ed Remix" was released as the sixth single from Spears' third...
", Spears sat down next to a piano player and talked to the audience before moving into a performance of the song. Spears also performed the song in several television appearances, including on The Rosie O'Donnell Show, The Late Show With David Letterman, the
American Music Awards of 2002The 29th American Music Awards were held on January 9, 2002.-Pop/Rock Category:-Soul/R&B Category:-Country Category:-Adult Contemporary Category:-Rap/Hip-Hop Category:-Alternative Category:-Latin Category:-Soundtrack Category:...
,
The Oprah Winfrey ShowThe Oprah Winfrey Show is an American syndicated talk show hosted and produced by its namesake Oprah Winfrey. It ran nationally for 25 seasons beginning in 1986, before concluding in 2011. It is the highest-rated talk show in American television history....
, and
Saturday Night LiveSaturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" was also performed on the show
Wetten, dass..?Wetten, dass..? is a long-running German-language entertainment television show. It is the most successful Saturday television show in Europe...
in Germany, and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. A
MTVMTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
special titled "Total Britney Live" included an exclusive performance of the song, along with performances of "
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...
" and "
Stronger"Stronger" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, taken from her second studio album Oops!... I Did It Again . It was released on November 13, 2000, by Jive Records as the third single of the album. After meeting up with producers Max Martin and Rami in Sweden, the singer recorded...
".
Track listings
- "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" — 3:51
- "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (Spanish Fly Radio Edit) — 3:28
- "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (Chocolate Puma Dub) — 7:38
- "I Run Away" — 3:59
- "Overprotected" (Music Video) — 3:32
- "Crossroads" (Movie Trailer)
- "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (Music Video)
- "Crossroads" (Movie Trailer)
- "Born To Make You Happy/Lucky/Sometimes" Medley (Live from Las Vegas)
- "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (Spanish Fly Club Mix) — 6:01
- "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (Spanish Fly Radio Edit) — 3:28
- "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (Chocolate Puma Mix) — 7:38
- "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" — 3:51
- The Singles Collection
The Singles Collection is the second greatest hits album from American singer Britney Spears, released in commemoration of her ten year anniversary with her record company Jive Records...
Boxset Single
- "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" — 3:51
- "I Run Away" — 3:59
Credits and personnel
- Britney Spears – lead vocals
- Dido Armstrong
Dido Florian Cloud de Bounevialle O'Malley Armstrong , known as Dido, is an English singer-songwriter.Dido shot to worldwide success with her debut album, No Angel...
– songwriting
- 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,...
– songwriting, 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...
, mixingIn 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...
, background vocals
- Rami Yacoub
Rami Yacoub is a Swedish music producer and songwriter of Palestinian descent, and former member of the successful songwriting/production houses Cheiron Studios and Maratone...
– songwriting, producer, mixing
- Jeanette Oisson – background vocals
- Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
- Tom Coyne – audio mastering
Mastering, a form of audio post-production, is the process of preparing and transferring recorded audio from a source containing the final mix to a data storage device ; the source from which all copies will be produced...
Source:
Charts
| Chart (2002) |
Peak
position |
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
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>
| Japan (Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc...
) |
75 |
|
>
| Romania (Romanian Top 100 The Romanian Top 100 is the national airplay-based singles chart of Romania. It is weekly and it started running in 1996. It is recognized as an official chart by the European division of Billboard, Music & Media....
) |
21 |
|
>
|
>
|
>
| US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100...
(BillboardBillboard 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...
) |
2 |
| US Pop Songs (Billboard 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...
) |
21 |
Certifications
| Country |
Certification |
Sales/shipments |
| Australia |
Gold |
35,000 |
External links
- Official music video on Vevo
Vevo is a music video website. It is a joint venture among Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group, and Abu Dhabi Media with EMI licensing its content to the group without taking an ownership stake. The service was launched officially on December 8, 2009...