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Toxic (song)
Encyclopedia
"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 "(I Got That) Boom Boom" and "Outrageous
" to be the second single from In the Zone, Spears selected "Toxic" instead. A dance-pop
song with influences of electropop and bhangra music, "Toxic" features varied instrumentation, such as drum
s, synthesizers and surf guitar
. It is accompanied by high-pitched strings
and breathy vocals. Its lyrics refer to being addicted to a lover. The song was well received by critics, who deemed it as the strongest track of In the Zone, while praising its hook and chorus.
"Toxic" attained worldwide success, reaching the top-five in fifteen countries, while topping the charts in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Norway and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it became her first single to peak inside the top ten in almost four years. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Joseph Kahn
and features references to Blade Runner
, The Seven Year Itch
and the films of John Woo
. It portrays Spears as a secret agent in the search of a vial of green liquid. After she steals it, she enters an apartment and poisons her unfaithful boyfriend. The video also includes interspersed scenes of Spears naked with diamonds over her body. After Janet Jackson's Superbowl incident
, the video was considered too racy for MTV
and was moved to late-night programming. "Toxic" is known for showing Spears for the first time as a confident adult woman, comfortable with her own sexuality.
Spears has performed "Toxic" in a number of live appearances, including the 2004 NRJ Music Awards
and in three of her concert tours. It was the opening number of The Onyx Hotel Tour
(2004), where she sang atop of a bus wearing a black catsuit; Spears also performed remixed versions of the song at The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009) and the Femme Fatale Tour
(2011). "Toxic" has been covered by artists such as Mark Ronson
, A Static Lullaby
and Ingrid Michaelson
, and in television series Glee
. The song has also appeared in feature films such as Knocked Up
, You Again
and television series Doctor Who
. "Toxic" won Spears her first Grammy at the 2005 ceremony in the category of Best Dance Recording
, while gaining her credibility amongst critics. The song has been included in lists by Pitchfork
, NME
and Rolling Stone
as one of the best songs of the decade. It has been noted for redefining the sound of dance-pop music. Spears has named "Toxic" as her favorite song from her career.
, Henrik Jonback
, Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg from production team Bloodshy & Avant
, while produced by the latter two. The song was originally offered to Kylie Minogue
for her ninth studio album Body Language
(2003), but she rejected it. Minogue later commented, "I wasn't at all angry when it worked for her. It's like the fish that got away. You just have to accept it." "Toxic" was recorded at Murlyn Studios in Stockholm, Sweden and Record Plant in Hollywood, California. The song was later mixed by Niklas Flyckt at Khabang Studios in Stockholm. In December 2003, it was announced by MTV News
that after trying to choose between "(I Got That) Boom Boom" and "Outrageous
" to be second single from In the Zone, Spears had selected "Toxic" instead. She described it as "an upbeat song. It's really different, that's why I like it so much."
song with elements of electropop and bhangra music. It features varied instrumentation, such as drum
s, synthesizers and high-pitched strings
. It also contains surf guitar
, that according to Caryn Ganz of Spin
, "warps and struts like it’s been fed into the Matrix
." The music was also compared to the soundtrack of the James Bond film series
. The hook
of "Toxic" samples
a portion of "Tere Mere Beech Mein", from the soundtrack of the 1981 Hindi film
Ek Duje Ke Liye. However, it is not lifted verbatim from the score and mixes two different sections of the piece. Spears sings the song with breathy vocals.
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, "Toxic" is composed in the key of E♭ major, with a tempo of 144 beats per minute. Spears's vocal range spans from the high-tone of G3 to the low-tone of F5. Lyrically, "Toxic" talks about being addicted to a lover. Spears refers to her addiction in the lyrics, and sings lines such as "Too high / Can't come down / It's in my head spinning round and round" in a falsetto
. A reviewer from Popdust called the verse "The most representative lyric of the song’s delirious, disorienting charm." "Toxic" ends with an outro
in which Spears sings the lines, "Intoxicate me now / With your lovin' now / I think I'm ready now." Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine
said the lyrics made Spears sound afraid of sex.
complimented its hook and catchiness, while deeming it the most appealing song of the album. While reviewing The Onyx Hotel Tour, Pamela Sitt of The Seattle Times
called it the album's strongest single. Eric Olsen of msnbc.com
said the song could be the biggest hit of In the Zone, while calling it "powerfully addicting." Caryn Ganz of Spin commented that, "Spears hits pay dirt on 'Toxic'". Christy Lemire of Associated Press
said it was one of Spears' greatest hits and deemed it as "insanely catchy", saying that the chorus alone "makes you want to forgive the Alias
wannabe video that accompanies the song." Stephen Thomas Erlewine
of Allmusic called it along with "Showdown", "irresistible ear candy in what is surely Britney's most ambitious, adventurous album to date". In a separate review of Greatest Hits: My Prerogative
(2004), Erlewine selected it as one of the "track picks" and described it as "a delirious, intoxicating rush". Jeffrey Epstein of Out
compared the innovative sound of "Toxic" to Madonna
's "Vogue".
Dave De Sylvia of Sputnikmusic
deemed it as her first real crossover
track since "...Baby One More Time
". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine
said that "Toxic" and "(I Got That) Boom Boom", "find Britney dabbling in hip-hop, but it's clear her heart lies in the clubs." Jamie Gill of Yahoo! Music Radio commented that, "In the name of fairness, it will be noted that 'Toxic' and 'Showdown' could well have been good pop songs in the hands of any other singer than Spears." Joan Anderman of The Boston Globe
named it "a well-titled cascade of frantic, mechanized glissando
s and dreadful canned strings that buries the album's coolest (only?) chorus under a joyless mass". The song was ranked at number five in the 2004 Pazz & Jop
poll by The Village Voice
. "Toxic" was nominated for Best Song at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2004
, but lost to Outkast
's "Hey Ya!
". It won Best Single at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards
. Pitchfork
listed the song at number three on their Top 50 Singles of 2004 list. Rob Mitchum commented that Spears "finally, she just acted like an adult, rather than constantly reminding us she wasn't a girl anymore
."
, on the issue dated January 31, 2004. It became the week's "Highest Debut". On March 27, 2004, it peaked at number nine; it was her fourth single to reach the top-ten and became her first single to reach the top ten since "Oops!... I Did It Again
" in 2000. "Toxic" also topped both the Pop Songs
and Hot Dance Club Songs charts. On October 25, 2004, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies. As of January 2011, "Toxic" has sold 12,000 physical units and 1,537,000 digital copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan
. It is her sixth best-selling digital single in the country. The song also topped the Canadian Singles Chart
. "Toxic" debuted at the top of the Australian charts on March 15, 2004, and stayed in the position for two weeks. The song received a gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association
(ARIA) for shipments over 35,000 units.
In New Zealand, "Toxic" debuted at number thirty-eight on the issue dated February 16, 2004, and peaked at number two on March 29, 2004. It stayed at the position the following week, held off from the top spot by Eamon
's "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)
". On March 13, 2004, "Toxic" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart
, becoming her fourth number-one hit. In April 2004, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry
(BPI), with sales over 200,000 copies. According to The Official Charts Company, the song has sold 360,000 copies there. "Toxic" also peaked inside the top-ten in every country it charted. The song topped the charts in Hungary and Norway; reached the top five in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and Switzerland; and the top ten in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Finland and the Netherlands.
. It was directed by Joseph Kahn
, who previously worked with Spears on the music video for her 2000 single "Stronger
". Spears first approached Kahn with a story sketch of a secret agent out for revenge against an ex-lover, to which Kahn created a treatment for. Her concept was almost fully formed and detailed, exemplifing the scene in which she drips water in the passenger's lap. Kahn said, "That's part of her brilliance [...] She totally understands that she's naughty and nice, that she's the girl next door
gone bad who is constantly titillating you." Spears said she wanted to join the mile-high club
and be a stewardess that kissed a man in the bathroom. Kahn suggested making him a fat man, so the "common man" would feel represented. She also told him about a scene in which she would be naked and covered in diamonds. Kahn stated he was "not sure what I was thinking about when she told me about that scene, maybe those intros to James Bond movies, but every video needs an iconic image to remember, and that's it." The choreography was a collaboration between Brian Friedman
and Spears, and every scene had a completely different strictly structured routine. After the treatment was finished, Kahn proceeded to cast his friends and acquaintances like on most of his projects. The plane passenger in which Spears drips water was played by his longtime casting director, while the fat man in the bathroom was played by the casting director's assistant. Spears's boyfriend is played by Martin Henderson
, who starred in Kahn's directorial debut Torque
.
For the naked scenes, Spears made Kahn clear the set, leaving them alone to shoot the sequence. Spears also shot scenes in which she had to dance through a hallway of imaginary lasers in front of a green screen
, something that Kahn deemed as "incredible to watch". The last few scenes of the video in which Spears murders her boyfriend, concerned Kahn, who thought they would be censored. He explained "the trick was to make it look pop at the same time" and told Henderson " 'Would you like to be kissed by Britney Spears?'". According to Kahn, the hint of a smile that appears on Henderson's face before Spears pours the poison into his mouth was what managed to get the shot past censors. Although Spears was at first going to be involved in the editing
process, she did not contact Kahn after the media scandal over her wedding in Las Vegas
. "Toxic" is Spears's most expensive music video to date, at a cost of $1 million.
The music video premiered exclusively on MTV's Making the Video
on January 13, 2004. The following day, Spears appeared on TRL
to premiere the it on regular rotation. The video was first released on the In the Zone DVD. An alternate karaoke
version featuring the diamonds scene was released on the Greatest Hits: My Prerogative DVD.
The music video begins with an open shot of an airplane flying surrounded by many doves, referencing the works of Hong Kong director John Woo
. Spears appears with blond hair dressed as a flight attendant, receiving a phone call. After serving some of the passengers, she leads a bald overweight man to the bathroom and seduces him. She takes off the man's mask to reveal an attractive man (Matthew Felker
) and steals a black pass from his pocket. Spears is then dropped into the back of a Ducati 999
, driven by a shirtless male (Tyson Beckford
) in a futuristic Paris
, that was compared to the 1982 film Blade Runner
. She wears a tight black catsuit and sports red hair, inspired by the character of Sydney Bristow
from television series Alias. They pass a woman and lift up her dress, a homage to the iconic Marilyn Monroe
scene in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch
. They also pass two women frolicking in a store window.
Throughout the video, there are scenes of Spears naked covered in diamonds. The look was compared to that of Kate Bush
in the music video for her 1978 single, "The Man with the Child in His Eyes
". Spears then enters Toxic Industries, and gains access to a vault from which she steals a vial of green poison. She accidentally triggers a laser trap when she leaves that she evades with elaborate dance moves, including a back handspring. This is followed by scenes of Spears wearing a black superheroine outfit and black hair. She scales a building and enters an apartment, where her unfaithful boyfriend (Henderson) is waiting. She kisses him just before pouring the poison into his mouth, killing him. Spears kisses him again and jumps out of the window. She lands back on the plane sporting her flight attendant outfit, and winks at the camera. The video closes with a shot of the airplane flying surrounded by doves like the beginning.
's "Cry Me a River
", saying that "Where her real-life ex just stalked his cheating lover in his clip, [...] Spears takes a more lethal approach." On February 10, 2004, MTV announced that due to the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
in which Janet Jackson
's breast was exposed on live television, "Toxic" along with other five music videos would be moved from daytime to late-night programming from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. A spokeswoman for MTV announced that "given the particular sensitivity in the culture right now, we're erring on the side of caution for the immediate future." The video was nominated at the 2004 MuchMusic Video Awards
in the category of Best International Artist Video, but lost to Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love". It was also nominated for four VMAs
at the 2004
awards in the categories of Best Female Video
, Best Dance Video
, Best Pop Video
and Video of the Year
, but lost all of them. Corey Moss of MTV said that Spears "remains the Susan Lucci
of the VMAs." Visual effects supervisor
s Chris Watts
and Bert Yukich won the category of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Music Video at the 3rd Annual Visual Effects Society Awards
.
In September 2009, the music video for "Toxic" was voted by users of the music video website MUZU TV
as the sexiest music video of all time. The video was also used on Life is Pornography, a 2005 video art
by Jubal Brown
. Amy Schriefer of NPR
noted that in the video, Spears was no longer trying to break away from her 1990's teen pop
image and style; she was comfortable and having fun, not trying to generate any type of calculated controversy. The anime
music video for Spears's single "Break the Ice" (2008) was based on the secret agent character of "Toxic". The video for "Womanizer" (2008) was created by Spears as a sequel to "Toxic". The diamond encrusted look of Lady Gaga
in the music video for "LoveGame
" (2009) was compared to that of "Toxic". In the 2010 Glee
episode "Britney/Brittany
", the character of Brittany Pierce
danced in a diamond suit during a cover of "I'm a Slave 4 U
". In a 2011 poll by Billboard, the song's music video was voted the second best music video of the 2000s, behind only Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance
" (2009). Jillian Mapes of Billboard wrote that Spears "proved that she comes in every flavor [...] But the one role that stays constant through the dance-heavy clip: Sultry maneater."
on November 17, 2003. She also performed "Toxic" as the headliner of the Jingle Ball
on December 8, 2003, at Staples Center
. It was the opening number of her set, and Spears appeared wearing a black top and a white fur cape. While the choreography was deemed as "erotic", Corey Moss of MTV commented that some of the effect was lost due to Spears's lip synching and a stagehand fixing a prop during the song. On January 24, 2004, Spears opened the 2004 NRJ Music Awards
with a performance of "Toxic". During the ceremony, she also presented the NRJ Award of Honor for the Career to Madonna. Spears performed "Toxic" as the opening number of 2004's The Onyx Hotel Tour
. Previous to the beginning of the tour, she deemed it as the song she was most excited to perform, along with "Everytime
". After an introduction in which she briefly appeared on a large video screen, Spears took the stage standing on top of a hotel bus, wearing a tight black catsuit. She was surrounded by dancers dressed as employees and columns of LED
lighting, suggesting the façade of a glitzy hotel on the Vegas Strip
. MTV UK commented, "OK, so she doesnt so much sing than mime along with Toxic, [...] But what do you expect when she's simultaneously performing a vigorous dance routine, ascending moving staircases and descending fireman poles?". "Toxic" was also performed as the last song of the concert during The M+M's Tour
. After "Do Somethin'
", in which Spears wore a hot pink bra, a white fur coat and a jean skirt, she ended the set with "Toxic", with four female dancers in a Shakira
-like style. Following the performance, she thanked the audience and introduced her dancers.
"Toxic" was also performed at 2009's The Circus Starring Britney Spears. Following an interlude in which the dancers showcased their individual moves, the stage was lit with green sci-fi effects and Spears appeared over moving jungle gym
s. Jerry Shriver of USA Today
said that "fan-favorite Toxic [...] succeeded because the focus was solely on the star." Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Sun
named it one of the standout performances of the show, along with "...Baby One More Time" and "Womanizer
". Screen
commented, "The high point of the show was the back to back performance of two of Britney's biggest hits, 'Toxic' and 'Baby One More Time' [sic], which had the crowd break out in wild applause." The song was performed at 2011's Femme Fatale Tour
. After a video intermission in which Spears finds and captures the stalker that follows her, the show continues with a martial arts
-inspired remix of "Toxic", in which Spears wears a kimono
and battles dancing ninjas. Keith Caufield of Billboard felt the performance was comparable to Madonna's "Sky Fits Heaven" at 2001's Drowned World Tour
. Shirley Halperin of The Hollywood Reporter
stated that "[the] mid-tempo numbers [...] seemed to stall out quickly, where faster offerings like 'Womanizer,' 'I Wanna Go
' and 'Toxic' had the sold out crowd jumping in place and pumping their number twos in the air." August Brown of the Los Angeles Times
said "The set’s only weak spots were sonic revisions of catalog staples – the Bollywood spy-flick vamp of 'Toxic' remains utterly groundbreaking and didn’t need an Ibiza
-inspired revision."
covered "Toxic" for the 2004 covers compilation, Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2
. In the episode "The End of the World
" of the TV show Doctor Who
, the character of Cassandra unveils an ancient jukebox that reproduced "Toxic" as an example of “a traditional ballad” from 5 billion years prior. NME
noted that the inclusion of the song marks its cultural impact. In 2005, American folk group Chapin Sisters
recorded an acoustic cover of "Toxic", which was featured on PerezHilton.com and became one of the most requested songs of the year in KCRW
. German country-rock band The BossHoss
recorded a cover of "Toxic" for their debut album, Internashville Urban Hymns (2005). American rock duo Local H
covered the song for their first live album, Alive '05
(2005). "Toxic" was sampled in American rapper Tony Yayo
's "Love My Style" (2005) and British rapper Example
's "Toxic Breath" (2006). American acoustic trio Nickel Creek
covered "Toxic" at the 2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival
. An instrumental rendition of the song was released by American surf rock band Monsters from Mars
. Norwegian alternative rock band Hurra Torpedo
covered "Toxic" in their fourth release, Kollossus of Makedonia (2006). English producer Mark Ronson
recorded a hip hop cover of the song, featuring American singer-songwriter Tiggers
and a verse from American rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard
. It was included in his second studio album, Version
(2007).
English indie rock band Hard-Fi
covered the song for the compilation album Radio 1 Established 1967
(2007). The song was fused with The Clash
's cover of "Brand New Cadillac
". American musician Shawn Lee
covered the song in the album Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra (2007). French singer-songwriter Yael Naïm
released a piano-driven version of the song in her eponymous debut album
(2007). Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke
did an opera-pop version of "Toxic" during a mobile phone launch in Sydney
on August 2007. She dedicated it to Spears, adding, "She's going through a bit of a hard time at the moment. [...] This one's for you, mate." In the 2007 film Knocked Up
, the song is played when Seth Rogen
and Paul Rudd
are driving to Las Vegas. Director Judd Apatow
explained that he originally tried to use "Toxic" in the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin
in the scene where Leslie Mann
is drunk driving. British electronic music group Metronomy
's cover was described as "something out of a "Weird Al" Yankovic
polka
medley, only not kidding". Israeli pop singer Shiri Maimon
recorded a version of "Toxic" in Hebrew. American comedy singer Richard Cheese recorded a cover for his eight album, Viva la Vodka
(2009). American post-hardcore band A Static Lullaby
released a cover in the compilation album, Punk Goes Pop 2
(2009). A music video was released, which featured different
Spears look-alikes wearing iconic outfits from various music videos, such as "...Baby One More Time" and "Womanizer".
A cover of the song by American singer-songwriter Christopher Dallman
was included in an EP titled Sad Britney, released on November 9, 2009, along with covers of "...Baby One More Time", "Gimme More
" and "Radar
". American singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson
covered "Toxic" regularly on her 2010 Everybody Tour. Michaelson's version ends with her and the band doing a dance break set to Spears's original song. The song was covered on the 2010 American series Glee episode "Britney/Brittany" by New Directions, in a Bob Fosse
-inspired performance led by the character of Will Schuester
. In the United States, their version debuted at number sixteen on the Hot 100 and sold 109,000 copies on its first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan
. It also charted at number thirty-seven in Australia, fifteen in Canada and seventeen in Ireland. "Toxic" was also featured on the 2010 film You Again
. American pop band Selena Gomez & the Scene
performed a tribute to Spears during their 2011 We Own the Night Tour
. The medley of hits 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. They also performed a cover of "Hold It Against Me
".
, and gained her credibility amongst critics. The song also won Most Performed Work at the 2004 Ivor Novello Awards
. "Toxic" was ranked at number fourteen on Stylus Magazine's Top 50 Singles between 2000 and 2005.
In a 2005 poll conducted by Sony Ericsson
, "Toxic" was ranked as the world's second favorite song, only behind "We Are the Champions
" by Queen
. Over 700,000 people in 60 different countries cast their votes. The song was also included on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born list by Blender
. Pitchfork listed the song on The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s. Jess Harvell commented that Spears had great pop instincts and that "Toxic" showed how "Britney always had more individualist pep than her peers, important when you're dealing with steamroller productions from the mind of Max Martin
." In 2009, NPR included "Toxic" on their Most Important Recordings of the Decade list. Amy Schriefer noted that the song's synths defined the sound of dance-pop for the rest of the decade, while adding that it "still sound[s] fresh and futuristic." "Toxic" was listed on several others end of the decade lists; at number forty-seven by NME
, forty-four by Rolling Stone
and seventeen on The Daily Telegraph
. NME called it the soundtrack to all of the fun of the decade, from "little girls at discos" to "gay clubs and hen nights". In addition, the song was voted in Rolling Stones end of the decade readers poll as the fourth best single of the decade. Bill Lamb of About.com
listed the song at number twenty-seven on the Top 40 Pop Songs of All Time. Evan Sawdey of PopMatters
commented that "Toxic" is a rare kind of song that transcends genre boundaries, and added that Spears delivered the track that defined her legacy. In May 2010, Spears revealed through her Twitter
account that "Toxic" was her favorite song from her catalogue.
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...
, co-written and produced by Bloodshy & Avant
Bloodshy & Avant
Bloodshy and Avant are a music production and songwriting team from Sweden made up of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg...
, from her fourth album, In the Zone
In the Zone
In the Zone is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears, released on November 16, 2003, by Jive Records. Following the end of the Dream Within a Dream Tour in July 2002 and her break-up with Justin Timberlake, Spears announced she would take a six-month break from her...
. It was released on January 12, 2004, by Jive Records
Jive Records
Jive Records was a record label based in New York City, operating under RCA Music Group. Jive was primarily known for a string of successes with hip hop artists in the 1980s, and in teen pop and boy bands in the late 1990s. The word "jive" was inspired by Township Jive, a form of South African...
as the second single from the album. After trying to choose between "(I Got That) Boom Boom" and "Outrageous
Outrageous
"Outrageous" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fourth album, In the Zone. It was released on July 13, 2004 by Jive Records as the fourth and final single from the album. It was written and produced by R. Kelly...
" to be the second single from In the Zone, Spears selected "Toxic" instead. A dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song with influences of electropop and bhangra music, "Toxic" features varied instrumentation, such as drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, synthesizers and surf guitar
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
. It is accompanied by high-pitched strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
and breathy vocals. Its lyrics refer to being addicted to a lover. The song was well received by critics, who deemed it as the strongest track of In the Zone, while praising its hook and chorus.
"Toxic" attained worldwide success, reaching the top-five in fifteen countries, while topping the charts in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Norway and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it became her first single to peak inside the top ten in almost four years. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Joseph Kahn
Joseph Kahn
Joseph Kahn is an American music video, advertising, and feature film director.-Early life:Kahn was born in Jersey Village, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He is of Korean ancestry. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Livorno, Italy until his family moved to Texas...
and features references to Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
, The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...
and the films of John Woo
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
. It portrays Spears as a secret agent in the search of a vial of green liquid. After she steals it, she enters an apartment and poisons her unfaithful boyfriend. The video also includes interspersed scenes of Spears naked with diamonds over her body. After Janet Jackson's Superbowl incident
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS television network in the United States, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a...
, the video was considered too racy for 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....
and was moved to late-night programming. "Toxic" is known for showing Spears for the first time as a confident adult woman, comfortable with her own sexuality.
Spears has performed "Toxic" in a number of live appearances, including the 2004 NRJ Music Awards
NRJ Music Awards
The NRJ Music Awards, created in 2000 by the radio station NRJ in partnership with the television network TF1 takes place every year in mid-January at Cannes as the opening of MIDEM...
and in three of her concert tours. It was the opening number of The Onyx Hotel Tour
The Onyx Hotel Tour
The Onyx Hotel Tour was the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Britney Spears. It supported her fourth studio album In the Zone and visited North America and Europe. A tour to promote the album was announced in December 2003...
(2004), where she sang atop of a bus wearing a black catsuit; Spears also performed remixed versions of the song at The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009) and 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). "Toxic" has been covered by artists such as Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
, A Static Lullaby
A Static Lullaby
-Early years and formation :A Static Lullaby came together after a casual high school jam session that led its members to quit their existing bands and come together as one. Formed in 2001 in Chino Hills, CA, the group began with singer Joe Brown, bassist Phil Pirrone, drummer Brett Dinovo, and...
and Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter. Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Bones, Grey's Anatomy The Big C and One Tree Hill, as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's...
, and in television series Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
. The song has also appeared in feature films such as Knocked Up
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...
, You Again
You Again
You Again is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and written by Moe Jelline. The film stars Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman, and Betty White...
and television series Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
. "Toxic" won Spears her first Grammy at the 2005 ceremony in the category of Best Dance Recording
Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works containing quality vocal performances in the dance music genre...
, while gaining her credibility amongst critics. The song has been included in lists by Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
and 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...
as one of the best songs of the decade. It has been noted for redefining the sound of dance-pop music. Spears has named "Toxic" as her favorite song from her career.
Background
"Toxic" was written by Cathy DennisCathy Dennis
Cathy Dennis is a British dance-oriented pop singer-songwriter, record producer and actress...
, Henrik Jonback
Henrik Jonback
Henrik Jonback is a Swedish musician, producer and songwriter.Writing credits include Britney Spears, Madonna, Kelis, Kylie Minogue, Ms Dynamite, Sugababes, Christina Milian. He has worked in close collaboration with producers Bloodshy & Avant over the years. Henrik co-wrote "Toxic" with Britney...
, Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg from production team Bloodshy & Avant
Bloodshy & Avant
Bloodshy and Avant are a music production and songwriting team from Sweden made up of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg...
, while produced by the latter two. The song was originally offered to Kylie Minogue
Kylie Minogue
Kylie Ann Minogue, OBE - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing...
for her ninth studio album Body Language
Body Language (Kylie Minogue album)
Body Language is the ninth studio album by Australian recording artist Kylie Minogue, released on 20 November 2003 by Parlophone. While Body Language failed to reach the chart and sales success of its predecessor, 2001's Fever, it still managed to chart inside the top five in several countries...
(2003), but she rejected it. Minogue later commented, "I wasn't at all angry when it worked for her. It's like the fish that got away. You just have to accept it." "Toxic" was recorded at Murlyn Studios in Stockholm, Sweden and Record Plant in Hollywood, California. The song was later mixed by Niklas Flyckt at Khabang Studios in Stockholm. In December 2003, it was announced by MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
that after trying to choose between "(I Got That) Boom Boom" and "Outrageous
Outrageous
"Outrageous" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fourth album, In the Zone. It was released on July 13, 2004 by Jive Records as the fourth and final single from the album. It was written and produced by R. Kelly...
" to be second single from In the Zone, Spears had selected "Toxic" instead. She described it as "an upbeat song. It's really different, that's why I like it so much."
Composition
"Toxic" 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 with elements of electropop and bhangra music. It features varied instrumentation, such as drum
Drum
The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...
s, synthesizers and high-pitched strings
Strings (music)
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
. It also contains surf guitar
Surf music
Surf music is a genre of popular music associated with surf culture, particularly as found in Orange County and other areas of Southern California. It was particularly popular between 1961 and 1965, has subsequently been revived and was highly influential on subsequent rock music...
, that according to Caryn Ganz of Spin
Spin (magazine)
Spin is a music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione Jr.-History:In its early years, the magazine was noted for its broad music coverage with an emphasis on college-oriented rock music and on the ongoing emergence of hip-hop. The magazine was eclectic and bold, if sometimes haphazard...
, "warps and struts like it’s been fed into 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...
." The music was also compared to the soundtrack of the James Bond film series
James Bond (film series)
The James Bond film series is a British series of motion pictures based on the fictional character of MI6 agent James Bond , who originally appeared in a series of books by Ian Fleming. Earlier films were based on Fleming's novels and short stories, followed later by films with original storylines...
. 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...
of "Toxic" samples
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
a portion of "Tere Mere Beech Mein", from the soundtrack of the 1981 Hindi film
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
Ek Duje Ke Liye. However, it is not lifted verbatim from the score and mixes two different sections of the piece. Spears sings the song with breathy vocals.
According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, "Toxic" is composed in the key of E♭ major, with a tempo of 144 beats per minute. Spears's vocal range spans from the high-tone of G3 to the low-tone of F5. Lyrically, "Toxic" talks about being addicted to a lover. Spears refers to her addiction in the lyrics, and sings lines such as "Too high / Can't come down / It's in my head spinning round and round" in a falsetto
Falsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
. A reviewer from Popdust called the verse "The most representative lyric of the song’s delirious, disorienting charm." "Toxic" ends with an outro
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
in which Spears sings the lines, "Intoxicate me now / With your lovin' now / I think I'm ready now." Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
said the lyrics made Spears sound afraid of sex.
Critical reception
Heather Richels of The Paly VoiceThe Paly Voice
Started in Fall 2002, The Paly Voice is a student-run journalism Web site published continuously by the students in Palo Alto High School's Web Journalism class....
complimented its hook and catchiness, while deeming it the most appealing song of the album. While reviewing The Onyx Hotel Tour, Pamela Sitt 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...
called it the album's strongest single. Eric Olsen of msnbc.com
Msnbc.com
msnbc.com is a news website owned and operated as a joint venture by NBCUniversal and Microsoft.In addition to original content from its news staff, msnbc.com is the news website for the NBC News family, with content from the cable television news channel MSNBC, NBC shows such as Today, NBC Nightly...
said the song could be the biggest hit of In the Zone, while calling it "powerfully addicting." Caryn Ganz of Spin commented that, "Spears hits pay dirt on 'Toxic'". Christy Lemire of Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
said it was one of Spears' greatest hits and deemed it as "insanely catchy", saying that the chorus alone "makes you want to forgive the Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
wannabe video that accompanies the song." Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Stephen Thomas Erlewine is a senior editor for Allmusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for Allmusic, as well as a freelance writer, occasionally contributing liner notes. He is also frontman and guitarist for the Ann Arbor-based band Who Dat?Erlewine is the nephew...
of Allmusic called it along with "Showdown", "irresistible ear candy in what is surely Britney's most ambitious, adventurous album to date". In a separate review of 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), Erlewine selected it as one of the "track picks" and described it as "a delirious, intoxicating rush". Jeffrey Epstein of Out
Out (magazine)
Out is a popular gay and lesbian fashion, entertainment, and lifestyle magazine, with the highest circulation of any gay monthly publication in the United States. It carries itself in a similar editorial manner to Details, Esquire, and GQ. Out was published by PlanetOut Inc...
compared the innovative sound of "Toxic" to Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's "Vogue".
Dave De Sylvia of Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic
Sputnikmusic, or simply Sputnik, is a music website offering music criticism and music news alongside features commonly associated with wiki-style websites...
deemed it as her first real crossover
Crossover (music)
Crossover is a term applied to musical works or performers appearing on two or more of the record charts which track differing musical tastes, or genres...
track since "...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,...
". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
said that "Toxic" and "(I Got That) Boom Boom", "find Britney dabbling in hip-hop, but it's clear her heart lies in the clubs." Jamie Gill of Yahoo! Music Radio commented that, "In the name of fairness, it will be noted that 'Toxic' and 'Showdown' could well have been good pop songs in the hands of any other singer than Spears." Joan Anderman of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
named it "a well-titled cascade of frantic, mechanized glissando
Glissando
In music, a glissando is a glide from one pitch to another. It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French glisser, to glide. In some contexts it is distinguished from the continuous portamento...
s and dreadful canned strings that buries the album's coolest (only?) chorus under a joyless mass". The song was ranked at number five in the 2004 Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
poll by The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
. "Toxic" was nominated for Best Song at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2004
MTV Europe Music Awards 2004
The 2004 MTV Europe Music Awards took to Rome with Xzibit as the host. Held at Tor di Valle, it was the most expensive MTV Europe Music Awards to date and the first time the Colosseum had been used for this type of event...
, but lost to Outkast
OutKast
Outkast is an American hip hop duo based in East Point, Georgia, consisting of Atlanta native André "André 3000" Benjamin and Savannah, Georgia-born Antwan "Big Boi" Patton. They were originally known as Two Shades Deep but later changed the group's name to OutKast...
's "Hey Ya!
Hey Ya!
"Hey Ya!" is a song written and produced by André 3000 for his 2003 album The Love Below, part of the hip hop duo OutKast's double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below. The song takes influence from funk and rock music...
". It won Best Single at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards
Teen Choice Awards
The Teen Choice Awards, are an annual awards show that air on the Fox cable channel, that honor the year's biggest biggest achievements in music, movies, sports, television, fashion and more, voted by teen viewers aged 14 through 17. Winners receive an authentic full size surfboard designed with...
. Pitchfork
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
listed the song at number three on their Top 50 Singles of 2004 list. Rob Mitchum commented that Spears "finally, she just acted like an adult, rather than constantly reminding us she wasn't a girl anymore
I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman
"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. The song was written by Dido, with additional writing and song production by Max Martin and Rami Yacoub for Spears' third studio album, Britney . It was released on February 5, 2002 by Jive Records, as the...
."
Chart performance
"Toxic" entered at number fifty-three on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard 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...
, on the issue dated January 31, 2004. It became the week's "Highest Debut". On March 27, 2004, it peaked at number nine; it was her fourth single to reach the top-ten and became her first single to reach the top ten since "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!.....
" in 2000. "Toxic" also topped both the Pop Songs
Mainstream Top 40 (Pop Songs)
The Mainstream Top 40 is an airplay chart from Billboard magazine, and is also known as Pop Songs on billboard.com. It was often mistaken for and confused with the now discontinued Pop 100 Airplay chart...
and Hot Dance Club Songs charts. On October 25, 2004, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies. As of January 2011, "Toxic" has sold 12,000 physical units and 1,537,000 digital copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
. It is her sixth best-selling digital single in the country. The song also topped the Canadian Singles Chart
Canadian Singles Chart
The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays....
. "Toxic" debuted at the top of the Australian charts on March 15, 2004, and stayed in the position for two weeks. The song received a gold certification 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 shipments over 35,000 units.
In New Zealand, "Toxic" debuted at number thirty-eight on the issue dated February 16, 2004, and peaked at number two on March 29, 2004. It stayed at the position the following week, held off from the top spot by Eamon
Eamon (singer)
Eamon Jonathan Doyle, professionally known as Eamon, is an American R&B singer-songwriter. He is known for his hit single, "Fuck It "....
's "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)
Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)
"Fuck It " is the title of a song co-written and recorded by American R&B singer Eamon. It was released in November 2003 as the lead single from the album, I Don't Want You Back....
". On March 13, 2004, "Toxic" debuted at number one 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 fourth number-one hit. In April 2004, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
(BPI), with sales over 200,000 copies. According to The Official Charts Company, the song has sold 360,000 copies there. "Toxic" also peaked inside the top-ten in every country it charted. The song topped the charts in Hungary and Norway; reached the top five in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and Switzerland; and the top ten in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Finland and the Netherlands.
Development and release
The music video for "Toxic" was filmed over three days in December 2003, on a soundstage in Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. It was directed by Joseph Kahn
Joseph Kahn
Joseph Kahn is an American music video, advertising, and feature film director.-Early life:Kahn was born in Jersey Village, Texas, a suburb of Houston. He is of Korean ancestry. He spent part of his childhood growing up in Livorno, Italy until his family moved to Texas...
, who previously worked with Spears on the music video for her 2000 single "Stronger
Stronger (Britney Spears song)
"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...
". Spears first approached Kahn with a story sketch of a secret agent out for revenge against an ex-lover, to which Kahn created a treatment for. Her concept was almost fully formed and detailed, exemplifing the scene in which she drips water in the passenger's lap. Kahn said, "That's part of her brilliance [...] She totally understands that she's naughty and nice, that she's the girl next door
Girl next door
The cultural and sexual stereotype of the girl next door or the All-American girl is invoked in American contexts to indicate wholesome, unassuming femininity, as opposed to the culture's other female stereotypes such as the tomboy, the valley girl, the femme fatale, girly girl, or the slut. The...
gone bad who is constantly titillating you." Spears said she wanted to join the mile-high club
Mile High Club
The Mile High Club is a slang term applied collectively to individuals who have sex while on board an aircraft in flight. There is no known formally constituted club so named...
and be a stewardess that kissed a man in the bathroom. Kahn suggested making him a fat man, so the "common man" would feel represented. She also told him about a scene in which she would be naked and covered in diamonds. Kahn stated he was "not sure what I was thinking about when she told me about that scene, maybe those intros to James Bond movies, but every video needs an iconic image to remember, and that's it." The choreography was a collaboration between 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...
and Spears, and every scene had a completely different strictly structured routine. After the treatment was finished, Kahn proceeded to cast his friends and acquaintances like on most of his projects. The plane passenger in which Spears drips water was played by his longtime casting director, while the fat man in the bathroom was played by the casting director's assistant. Spears's boyfriend is played by Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson
Martin Henderson is a New Zealand actor, well known to American audiences for his starring role in the ABC TV series Off the Map, while remaining known in his home country for his teenage role as Stuart Neilson in the soap opera Shortland Street.-Life and career:Henderson was born in Auckland, New...
, who starred in Kahn's directorial debut Torque
Torque (film)
-Similarities to The Fast and the Furious:The film has often been called "The Fast and the Furious on Motorcycles", referring to the use of many of the same thematic elements between the two films...
.
For the naked scenes, Spears made Kahn clear the set, leaving them alone to shoot the sequence. Spears also shot scenes in which she had to dance through a hallway of imaginary lasers in front of a green screen
Green Screen
The 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...
, something that Kahn deemed as "incredible to watch". The last few scenes of the video in which Spears murders her boyfriend, concerned Kahn, who thought they would be censored. He explained "the trick was to make it look pop at the same time" and told Henderson " 'Would you like to be kissed by Britney Spears?'". According to Kahn, the hint of a smile that appears on Henderson's face before Spears pours the poison into his mouth was what managed to get the shot past censors. Although Spears was at first going to be involved in the editing
Editing
Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, and film media used to convey information through the processes of correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications performed with an intention of producing a correct, consistent, accurate, and complete...
process, she did not contact Kahn after the media scandal over her wedding in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. "Toxic" is Spears's most expensive music video to date, at a cost of $1 million.
The music video premiered exclusively on MTV's Making the Video
Making the Video
Making the Video is an MTV show, consisting of half-hour episodes, which chronicles the process of filming various music videos. Usually the director outlines the concept of the video and the show often includes light-hearted and humorous moments. It always concludes with a premiere of the...
on January 13, 2004. The following day, Spears appeared on TRL
Total Request Live
Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests...
to premiere the it on regular rotation. The video was first released on the In the Zone DVD. An alternate karaoke
Karaoke
is a form of interactive entertainment or video game in which amateur singers sing along with recorded music using a microphone and public address system. The music is typically a well-known pop song minus the lead vocal. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol,...
version featuring the diamonds scene was released on the Greatest Hits: My Prerogative DVD.
Synopsis
John Woo
John Woo Yu-Sen SBS is a Hong Kong-based film director and producer. Recognized for his stylised films of highly choreographed action sequences, Mexican standoffs, and use of slow-motion, Woo has directed several notable Hong Kong action films, among them, A Better Tomorrow, The Killer, Hard...
. Spears appears with blond hair dressed as a flight attendant, receiving a phone call. After serving some of the passengers, she leads a bald overweight man to the bathroom and seduces him. She takes off the man's mask to reveal an attractive man (Matthew Felker
Matthew Felker
Matthew Felker is an American writer, producer, actor, and model. He's currently starring and an executive producer on the 2011 Penelope Spheeris directed comedy titled "Balls to the Wall " opposite Mimi Rogers, Christopher McDonald, Joe Hursley, Colleen Camp and Jenna DewanHe works often with...
) and steals a black pass from his pocket. Spears is then dropped into the back of a Ducati 999
Ducati 999
The Ducati 999 superseded the Massimo Tamburini designed Ducati 916, Ducati 996 and Ducati 998 range of superbikes in 2003, and was produced through 2006...
, driven by a shirtless male (Tyson Beckford
Tyson Beckford
Tyson Craig Beckford is an American male model and actor, best known as a Ralph Lauren model. He was also the host of both seasons of the Bravo program Make Me a Supermodel.-Biography:...
) in a futuristic Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, that was compared to the 1982 film Blade Runner
Blade Runner
Blade Runner is a 1982 American science fiction film directed by Ridley Scott and starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The screenplay, written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples, is loosely based on the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K...
. She wears a tight black catsuit and sports red hair, inspired by the character of Sydney Bristow
Sydney Bristow
Sydney Anne Bristow , played by Jennifer Garner, is the main character and protagonist on the television series Alias. She is an American woman with Russian-American family background who works as a spy for the CIA....
from television series Alias. They pass a woman and lift up her dress, a homage to the iconic Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, singer, model and showgirl who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s....
scene in the 1955 film The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch
The Seven Year Itch is a 1955 American film based on a three-act play with the same name by George Axelrod. The film was co-written and directed by Billy Wilder, and starred Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell, reprising his Broadway role...
. They also pass two women frolicking in a store window.
Throughout the video, there are scenes of Spears naked covered in diamonds. The look was compared to that of Kate Bush
Kate Bush
Kate Bush is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Her eclectic musical style and idiosyncratic vocal style have made her one of the United Kingdom's most successful solo female performers of the past 30 years.In 1978, at the age of 19, Bush topped the UK Singles Chart...
in the music video for her 1978 single, "The Man with the Child in His Eyes
The Man with the Child in His Eyes
"The Man with the Child in His Eyes" is a song by Kate Bush. It is the fifth track on her debut album The Kick Inside and was released as her second single in 1978.-Overview:...
". Spears then enters Toxic Industries, and gains access to a vault from which she steals a vial of green poison. She accidentally triggers a laser trap when she leaves that she evades with elaborate dance moves, including a back handspring. This is followed by scenes of Spears wearing a black superheroine outfit and black hair. She scales a building and enters an apartment, where her unfaithful boyfriend (Henderson) is waiting. She kisses him just before pouring the poison into his mouth, killing him. Spears kisses him again and jumps out of the window. She lands back on the plane sporting her flight attendant outfit, and winks at the camera. The video closes with a shot of the airplane flying surrounded by doves like the beginning.
Reception and impact
Jennifer Vineyard of MTV compared the video to Justin TimberlakeJustin Timberlake
Justin Randall Timberlake is an American pop musician and actor. He achieved early fame when he appeared as a contestant on Star Search, and went on to star in the Disney Channel television series The New Mickey Mouse Club, where he met future bandmate JC Chasez...
's "Cry Me a River
Cry Me a River (Justin Timberlake song)
"Cry Me a River" is the second single from Justin Timberlake's solo debut album Justified. Released on December 17, 2002, the single, which features guest vocals and production by Timbaland & Scott Storch, won Timberlake a Grammy Award for "Best Male Pop Vocal Performance" in 2004.-Background...
", saying that "Where her real-life ex just stalked his cheating lover in his clip, [...] Spears takes a more lethal approach." On February 10, 2004, MTV announced that due to the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy
Super Bowl XXXVIII, which was broadcast live on February 1, 2004 from Houston, Texas on the CBS television network in the United States, was noted for a controversial halftime show in which Janet Jackson's breast, adorned with a nipple shield, was exposed by Justin Timberlake for about half a...
in which 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...
's breast was exposed on live television, "Toxic" along with other five music videos would be moved from daytime to late-night programming from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. A spokeswoman for MTV announced that "given the particular sensitivity in the culture right now, we're erring on the side of caution for the immediate future." The video was nominated at the 2004 MuchMusic Video Awards
2004 MuchMusic Video Awards
The 2004 MuchMusic Video Awards were held on June 19, 2004 and featured performances by the Beastie Boys, Evanescence, Billy Talent, Hilary Duff, Kanye West and others...
in the category of Best International Artist Video, but lost to Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love". It was also nominated for four VMAs
MTV Video Music Awards
An MTV Video Music Award , is an award presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in music videos...
at the 2004
2004 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2004 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 29, 2004, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. The show took place at the AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida, and, unlike in previous years, had no host.-Video of the Year:...
awards in the categories of Best Female Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Female Video is one of the original general awards that has been handed out every year since the first annual MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. In 2007, however, the award was briefly renamed Female Artist of the Year, and it awarded the artist's whole body of work...
, Best Dance Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Dance Video was first awarded in 1989, and it was one of the original four genre categories that were added to the MTV Video Music Awards that year. With a revamp of the awards in 2007, the category was cut out along with several others, yet it returned for the...
, Best Pop Video
MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video
The MTV Video Music Award for Best Pop Video was first given out in , as MTV began to put several teen pop acts in heavy rotation. Nominations, however, were not just limited to pop acts, as dance, R&B, pop/rock, and, most recently, reggaeton artists have also received Best Pop Video nominations...
and Video of the Year
MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year
The MTV Video Music Award for Video of the Year is the main award handed out at the yearly MTV Video Music Awards. It was first awarded in , when The Cars won it, and has been given out since. Eminem has been the most nominated solo artist, male solo artist, and act in this category, having been...
, but lost all of them. Corey Moss of MTV said that Spears "remains the Susan Lucci
Susan Lucci
Susan Victoria Lucci is an American actress and entrepreneur, best known for portraying Erica Kane on the daytime drama All My Children. The character is considered an icon, and Lucci has been called "Daytime's Leading Lady" by TV Guide, with New York Times and Los Angeles Times citing her as the...
of the VMAs." Visual effects supervisor
Visual effects supervisor
In the context of film and television production, a visual effects supervisor is responsible for achieving the creative aims of the director and/or producers through the use of visual effects...
s Chris Watts
Chris Watts
Chris Watts , is an American inventor, businessman, award winning filmmaker and Visual Effects Supervisor. Currently the President of located in Los Angeles, California, he began his film career with in 1989. Watts originated, invented and implemented the Digital intermediate process in 1995...
and Bert Yukich won the category of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Music Video at the 3rd Annual Visual Effects Society Awards
Visual Effects Society Awards 2004
The 3rd Visual Effects Society Awards, given on 16 February 2005, honored the best visual effects in film and television.-Honorary Awards:Lifetime Achievement Award:*Robert ZemeckisGeorge Melies Award for Pioneering:...
.
In September 2009, the music video for "Toxic" was voted by users of the music video website MUZU TV
MUZU TV
MUZU TV is an Irish owned interactive music website featuring free music content legal video sharing website. Co-founded by Ciarán Bollard and Mark French, it was launched in Ireland and the United Kingdom on 16 July 2008. Seven million videos were played monthly and there were two million users...
as the sexiest music video of all time. The video was also used on Life is Pornography, a 2005 video art
Video art
Video art is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data. . Video art came into existence during the 1960s and 1970s, is still widely practiced and has given rise to the widespread use of video installations...
by Jubal Brown
Jubal Brown
Jubal Brown is a video producer and multi-media artist based in Toronto, Canada who gained notoriety in 1996 when he deliberately vomited in color on paintings at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Art Gallery of Ontario in Toronto....
. Amy Schriefer of NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
noted that in the video, Spears was no longer trying to break away from her 1990's teen pop
Teen pop
Teen pop is a subgenre of pop music that is created, marketed and oriented towards teenagers. Teen pop copies genres and styles such as pop, dance, R&B, hip hop, country and rock....
image and style; she was comfortable and having fun, not trying to generate any type of calculated controversy. The anime
Anime
is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....
music video for Spears's single "Break the Ice" (2008) was based on the secret agent character of "Toxic". The video for "Womanizer" (2008) was created by Spears as a sequel to "Toxic". The diamond encrusted look of 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...
in the music video for "LoveGame
LoveGame
"LoveGame" is an electropop song by American recording artist Lady Gaga from her debut album, The Fame . Produced by RedOne, the track was released as the album's third single in North America and Europe and the fourth single in Australia, New Zealand and Sweden after "Eh, Eh "...
" (2009) was compared to that of "Toxic". In the 2010 Glee
Glee (TV series)
Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on GlobalTV in Canada. It focuses on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues...
episode "Britney/Brittany
Britney/Brittany
"Britney/Brittany" is the second episode of the second season of the American television series Glee, and the 24th episode overall. Written and directed by series creator Ryan Murphy, it premiered on the Fox network on September 28, 2010, and pays tribute to Britney Spears...
", the character of Brittany Pierce
Brittany Pierce
Brittany Susan Pierce is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actress Heather Morris, and has appeared in Glee from its second episode, "Showmance", first broadcast on September 9, 2009. Brittany was developed by Glee creators Ryan...
danced in a diamond suit during a cover of "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...
". In a 2011 poll by Billboard, the song's music video was voted the second best music video of the 2000s, behind only Lady Gaga's "Bad Romance
Bad Romance
"Bad Romance" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released as the lead single from her third extended play , and second major release The Fame Monster . Written by Lady Gaga and produced by RedOne, the track was inspired by Gaga's fear of negative love relationships and the...
" (2009). Jillian Mapes of Billboard wrote that Spears "proved that she comes in every flavor [...] But the one role that stays constant through the dance-heavy clip: Sultry maneater."
Live performances
"Toxic" was performed by Spears at Britney Spears: In the Zone, a concert special that aired in ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
on November 17, 2003. She also performed "Toxic" as the headliner of the Jingle Ball
Jingle Ball
Jingle Ball is an annual concert produced on by KIIS-FM radio station in Los Angeles. The concert series has been staged at various venues around southern California including the Shrine Auditorium and Staples Center in Los Angeles,and the Honda Center in Anaheim...
on December 8, 2003, at Staples Center
Staples Center
Staples Center is a multi-purpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles. Adjacent to the L.A. Live development, it is located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex along Figueroa Street. Opening on October 17, 1999, it is one of the major sporting facilities in the Greater Los Angeles...
. It was the opening number of her set, and Spears appeared wearing a black top and a white fur cape. While the choreography was deemed as "erotic", Corey Moss of MTV commented that some of the effect was lost due to Spears's lip synching and a stagehand fixing a prop during the song. On January 24, 2004, Spears opened the 2004 NRJ Music Awards
NRJ Music Awards
The NRJ Music Awards, created in 2000 by the radio station NRJ in partnership with the television network TF1 takes place every year in mid-January at Cannes as the opening of MIDEM...
with a performance of "Toxic". During the ceremony, she also presented the NRJ Award of Honor for the Career to Madonna. Spears performed "Toxic" as the opening number of 2004's The Onyx Hotel Tour
The Onyx Hotel Tour
The Onyx Hotel Tour was the fourth concert tour by American recording artist Britney Spears. It supported her fourth studio album In the Zone and visited North America and Europe. A tour to promote the album was announced in December 2003...
. Previous to the beginning of the tour, she deemed it as the song she was most excited to perform, along with "Everytime
Everytime
"Everytime" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fourth album, In the Zone. It was released on May 17, 2004, by Jive Records as the third single from the album. After Spears ended her relationship with pop singer Justin Timberlake, she made friends with her backing...
". After an introduction in which she briefly appeared on a large video screen, Spears took the stage standing on top of a hotel bus, wearing a tight black catsuit. She was surrounded by dancers dressed as employees and columns of LED
LEd
LEd is a TeX/LaTeX editing software working under Microsoft Windows. It is a freeware product....
lighting, suggesting the façade of a glitzy hotel on the Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. MTV UK commented, "OK, so she doesnt so much sing than mime along with Toxic, [...] But what do you expect when she's simultaneously performing a vigorous dance routine, ascending moving staircases and descending fireman poles?". "Toxic" was also performed as the last song of the concert during The M+M's Tour
The M+M's Tour
The M+M's Tour was the fifth concert tour by American recording artist Britney Spears. Spears expressed interested to tour again as early as February 2006. She started rehearsing for a show at House of Blues venues in secret, and pulled out of a surprise performance on April 25, 2007, at Los...
. After "Do Somethin'
Do Somethin'
"Do Somethin" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her first greatest hits compilation, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. It was released on February 14, 2005 by Jive Records as the second single from the album worldwide except North America...
", in which Spears wore a hot pink bra, a white fur coat and a jean skirt, she ended the set with "Toxic", with four female dancers in a Shakira
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
-like style. Following the performance, she thanked the audience and introduced her dancers.
"Toxic" was also performed at 2009's The Circus Starring Britney Spears. Following an interlude in which the dancers showcased their individual moves, the stage was lit with green sci-fi effects and Spears appeared over moving jungle gym
Jungle gym
The jungle gym, monkey bars, or climbing frame, is a piece of playground equipment made of many pieces of material, such as metal pipe or rope, on which children can climb, hang, or sit. The monkey bar designation refers to the rambunctious, climbing play of monkeys.-History:The first jungle gym...
s. Jerry Shriver 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...
said that "fan-favorite Toxic [...] succeeded because the focus was solely on the star." Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Sun
Toronto Sun
The Toronto Sun is an English-language daily tabloid newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is known for its daily Sunshine Girl feature and for what it sees as a populist conservative editorial stance.-History:...
named it one of the standout performances of the show, along with "...Baby One More Time" and "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...
". Screen
Screen (magazine)
Screen is a film magazine, published every week in India. It is owned by The Indian Express publishing group. The content focuses on the Bollywood, India's Hindi movie industry located in Mumbai. Screen organizes and sponsors the Star Screen Awards for movies in Hindi....
commented, "The high point of the show was the back to back performance of two of Britney's biggest hits, 'Toxic' and 'Baby One More Time' [sic], which had the crowd break out in wild applause." The song was 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 video intermission in which Spears finds and captures the stalker that follows her, the show continues with a martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
-inspired remix of "Toxic", in which Spears wears a kimono
Kimono
The is a Japanese traditional garment worn by men, women and children. The word "kimono", which literally means a "thing to wear" , has come to denote these full-length robes...
and battles dancing ninjas. Keith Caufield of Billboard felt the performance was comparable to Madonna's "Sky Fits Heaven" at 2001's Drowned World Tour
Drowned World Tour
The Drowned World Tour was the fifth concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna in support of her seventh and eighth studio albums Ray of Light and Music. It was also her first tour in eight years, following The Girlie Show World Tour in 1993...
. Shirley Halperin of The Hollywood Reporter
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
stated that "[the] mid-tempo numbers [...] seemed to stall out quickly, where faster offerings like 'Womanizer,' 'I Wanna Go
I Wanna Go
"I Wanna Go" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the third single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Savan Kotecha. Spears first posted a snippet of the track in February...
' and 'Toxic' had the sold out crowd jumping in place and pumping their number twos in the air." August Brown of the 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....
said "The set’s only weak spots were sonic revisions of catalog staples – the Bollywood spy-flick vamp of 'Toxic' remains utterly groundbreaking and didn’t need an Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
-inspired revision."
Cover versions and samples
Northern Irish singer-songwriter Juliet TurnerJuliet Turner
Juliet Turner is a singer/songwriter from Tummery, near Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. She has been a part of the Dublin music scene since she started recording in 1996. In the course of her career she has opened for such artists as Bob Dylan, U2 and Bryan Adams and toured with Roger...
covered "Toxic" for the 2004 covers compilation, Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2
Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2
Even Better Than the Real Thing Vol. 2 is an Irish charity album featuring a variety of artists performing acoustic cover versions of popular songs. It was released in 2004 by RMG Chart Entertainment Ltd...
. In the episode "The End of the World
The End of the World (Doctor Who)
"The End of the World" is the second episode of Series One of the British science-fiction television series Doctor Who. Written by show runner Russell T Davies and directed by Euros Lyn, the episode was first broadcast on 2 April 2005....
" of the TV show Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, the character of Cassandra unveils an ancient jukebox that reproduced "Toxic" as an example of “a traditional ballad” from 5 billion years prior. NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
noted that the inclusion of the song marks its cultural impact. In 2005, American folk group Chapin Sisters
Chapin Sisters
The Chapin Sisters are an American folk pop musical group consisting of sisters Abigail Chapin and Lily Chapin, and formerly their half-sister Jessica Craven. Abigail and Lily are daughters of folk singer Tom Chapin and nieces of the late singer-songwriter Harry Chapin...
recorded an acoustic cover of "Toxic", which was featured on PerezHilton.com and became one of the most requested songs of the year in KCRW
KCRW
KCRW is a public radio station broadcasting from the campus of Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California, carrying a mix of National Public Radio news, talk radio and freeform music format. The general manager of KCRW is Jennifer Ferro...
. German country-rock band The BossHoss
The BossHoss
BossHoss is a band from Berlin which started in 2004 with Country & Western style cover versions of famous pop, rock and hip hop songs, for example "Hot in Herre" by Nelly, "Toxic" by Britney Spears and "Hey Ya!" by Outkast. They incorporate stereotypical American cowboy behavior into their act...
recorded a cover of "Toxic" for their debut album, Internashville Urban Hymns (2005). American rock duo Local H
Local H
Local H is an American rock duo, formed by Joe Daniels and Scott Lucas in Zion, Illinois in 1987. Local H's 1996 album, As Good as Dead, includes the top 10 hit "Bound for the Floor" Author, rock critic and Rolling Stone contributor Greg Kot and the Chicago Tribune named the band its 2008 Chicago...
covered the song for their first live album, Alive '05
Alive '05
Alive '05 is a live album by the alternative rock band Local H. It was released on September 13, 2005 on Cleopatra Records.It is the first official live album released by the band. The album is compiled from a couple live shows, one of which was on September 17, 2004 in Chicago at The Metro...
(2005). "Toxic" was sampled in American rapper Tony Yayo
Tony Yayo
Marvin Bernard , better known by his stage name Tony Yayo, is a Haitian American rapper and member of the hip hop group G-Unit...
's "Love My Style" (2005) and British rapper Example
Example (rapper)
Elliot John Gleave , better known by his stage name Example, is an English singer and rapper signed to Data Records. His name arose due to his initials being E.G., which is an abbreviation of the Latin phrase "exempli gratia", which means, "for example".Example's third album Playing In The Shadows...
's "Toxic Breath" (2006). American acoustic trio Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek was an American progressive acoustic music trio consisting of Chris Thile , Sara Watkins and Sean Watkins . The band was founded in 1989 and released 6 albums between 1993 and 2006...
covered "Toxic" at the 2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival
2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival
The 2006 festival ran from June 15-18. The headliners for the 2006 festival included Radiohead, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Beck, and Phil Lesh and Friends. The Preservation Hall Jazz Band was featured in their own tent for three days and nights...
. An instrumental rendition of the song was released by American surf rock band Monsters from Mars
Monsters From Mars
Monsters from Mars is an underground rock band from California, formed in 2001. Originally an instrumental surf rock trio, the band has since grown in size and influences. Stylistically, the band's current sound incorporates elements of surf rock, garage rock, horror, progressive rock, new wave,...
. Norwegian alternative rock band Hurra Torpedo
Hurra Torpedo
Hurra Torpedo is a band from Norway that plays songs using kitchen appliances alongside more traditional instruments. They were formed in the early nineties, are part of the artistic collective Duplex Records, and all members of the band also play in a variety of other bands in Norway.During...
covered "Toxic" in their fourth release, Kollossus of Makedonia (2006). English producer Mark Ronson
Mark Ronson
Mark Daniel Ronson is an English DJ, guitarist, music producer, artist and co-founder of Allido Records. He currently works with his band under the music alias of Mark Ronson & The Business Intl....
recorded a hip hop cover of the song, featuring American singer-songwriter Tiggers
Michael Tighe
Michael Tighe is an American singer/songwriter, guitarist, and actor.-Biography:As a teenager, Tighe was in many New York Downtown theater productions in the 1990s, where he met Jeff Buckley. Though having had no experience, he was drafted into Buckley's band, with which he toured until the...
and a verse from American rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard
Ol' Dirty Bastard
Russell Tyrone Jones was an American rapper and occasional producer, who went by the stage name Ol' Dirty Bastard or simply ODB...
. It was included in his second studio album, Version
Version (album)
-iTunes digital edition:-Japanese CD edition:-Chart performance:-Release history:-External links:* at MetaCritic...
(2007).
English indie rock band Hard-Fi
HARD-Fi
Hard-Fi are an English indie rock band formed in Staines, Surrey in 2003. The band's members are Richard Archer , Ross Phillips , Kai Stephens and Steve Kemp .They achieved chart success with their third single, "Hard to Beat" and then followed by other successful singles such as...
covered the song for the compilation album Radio 1 Established 1967
Radio 1 Established 1967
The compilation album Radio 1 Established 1967 is a collection of covers especially recorded for Radio 1 by a number of artists. The album celebrates the 40th anniversary of BBC Radio 1. There are 40 songs recorded by 40 different artists . Each artist was given a year, and were allowed to cover a...
(2007). The song was fused with The Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
's cover of "Brand New Cadillac
Brand New Cadillac
"Brand New Cadillac" is a 1959 12-bar blues song by Vince Taylor, and was originally released as a B-side. Featured musicians on the released recording were: Joe Moretti , Lou Brian , Brian Locking and Brian Bennett ....
". American musician Shawn Lee
Shawn Lee (musician)
Shawn Lee is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist from Wichita, Kansas but now lives in London, England. He is currently working on a new band project with AM with the first album coming out July 12, 2011.-Career:...
covered the song in the album Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra (2007). French singer-songwriter Yael Naïm
Yael Naim
Yael Naïm , is a French-Israeli singer-songwriter. She rose to fame in 2008 in the US after her hit single "New Soul" was used by Apple in an advertising campaign for its MacBook Air. The song peaked at #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.-Biography:Yael Naïm was born in Paris, France to Tunisian Jewish...
released a piano-driven version of the song in her eponymous debut album
Yael Naim (album)
Yael Naim is the self-titled second studio album by Yael Naïm. It contains the single "New Soul", which gained widespread popularity due to being featured in Apple's MacBook Air video advertisement.- Track listing :# "Paris" - 3:08# "Too Long" - 4:43...
(2007). Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke
Kate Miller-Heidke
Kate Miller-Heidke is a singer-songwriter from Brisbane, Australia. Although classically trained, she has followed a career in alternative pop music. She is signed to Sony Australia, Epic in the US and RCA in the UK.-Career:...
did an opera-pop version of "Toxic" during a mobile phone launch in Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
on August 2007. She dedicated it to Spears, adding, "She's going through a bit of a hard time at the moment. [...] This one's for you, mate." In the 2007 film Knocked Up
Knocked Up
Knocked Up is a 2007 American romantic comedy drama film co-produced, written, and directed by Judd Apatow. Starring Seth Rogen, Katherine Heigl, Paul Rudd, and Leslie Mann, the film follows the repercussions of a drunken one-night stand between Rogen's slacker character and Heigl's just-promoted...
, the song is played when Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen
Seth Rogen is a Canadian stand-up comedian, actor, producer, screenwriter, and voice artist. Rogen began his career doing stand-up comedy during his teen years, winning the Vancouver Amateur Comedy Contest in 1998. While still living in his native Vancouver, he landed a small part in Freaks and...
and Paul Rudd
Paul Rudd
Paul Stephen Rudd is an American actor and screenwriter. He has primarily appeared in comedies, and is known for his roles in the films Clueless, Wet Hot American Summer, Anchorman, Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, Dinner for Schmucks, The Object of My...
are driving to Las Vegas. Director Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow
Judd Apatow is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter. He is well known for his work in comedy films, especially for films he has been involved with throughout the latter half of the 2000s. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, a film production company that also developed the...
explained that he originally tried to use "Toxic" in the 2005 film The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
The 40-Year-Old Virgin is a 2005 American buddy comedy film about a middle-aged man's journey to finally have sex. The film was written and directed by Judd Apatow and co-written by its lead star, Steve Carell, though the film itself features a great deal of improvised dialogue...
in the scene where Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann
Leslie Mann is an American actress best known for her roles in comedic films, many of which are collaborations with her husband, Judd Apatow.-Early life:...
is drunk driving. British electronic music group Metronomy
Metronomy
Metronomy are an electronic music group formed by Joseph Mount in Totnes, Devon, England in 1999. The current band consists of Joseph Mount , Anna Prior , Oscar Cash and Gbenga Adelekan...
's cover was described as "something out of a "Weird Al" Yankovic
"Weird Al" Yankovic
Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, accordionist, actor, comedian, writer, satirist, and parodist. Yankovic is known for his humorous songs that make light of popular culture and that often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts...
polka
Polka
The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...
medley, only not kidding". Israeli pop singer Shiri Maimon
Shiri Maimon
Shiri Maimon is an Israeli pop/R&B singer, TV show host and actress, who rose to fame as the runner-up in the TV show Kokhav Nolad. She represented Israel in the Eurovision Song Contest 2005.-Early life:...
recorded a version of "Toxic" in Hebrew. American comedy singer Richard Cheese recorded a cover for his eight album, Viva la Vodka
Viva la Vodka
Viva la Vodka is the eighth album by Richard Cheese. The album continues Cheese's tradition of parodying contemporary pop music in the style of flamboyant lounge music...
(2009). American post-hardcore band A Static Lullaby
A Static Lullaby
-Early years and formation :A Static Lullaby came together after a casual high school jam session that led its members to quit their existing bands and come together as one. Formed in 2001 in Chino Hills, CA, the group began with singer Joe Brown, bassist Phil Pirrone, drummer Brett Dinovo, and...
released a cover in the compilation album, Punk Goes Pop 2
Punk Goes Pop 2
Punk Goes Pop 2 is the eighth compilation album released from the Punk Goes... series created by Fearless Records to feature covers by various artists of pop songs, and is the eighth album in the series overall. It was released on March 9, 2009, in the United Kingdom, and March 10, 2009, in the...
(2009). A music video was released, which featured different
Spears look-alikes wearing iconic outfits from various music videos, such as "...Baby One More Time" and "Womanizer".
A cover of the song by American singer-songwriter Christopher Dallman
Christopher Dallman
Christopher Joseph Dallman is an American singer and songwriter based in Los Angeles, California. Dallman has released a full album and four EPs .-Early life and start of professional career:Christopher was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Robert...
was included in an EP titled Sad Britney, released on November 9, 2009, along with covers of "...Baby One More Time", "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 "Radar
Radar (song)
"Radar" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. It was written and produced by Bloodshy & Avant and The Clutch in November 2006 as a record that did not relate to any of her personal problems at the time. The recording sessions took place the day after Spears filed for divorce from...
". American singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Michaelson
Ingrid Ellen Egbert Michaelson is a New York-based indie-pop singer-songwriter. Her music has been featured in episodes of several popular television shows, including Scrubs, Bones, Grey's Anatomy The Big C and One Tree Hill, as well as in Old Navy's Fall 2007 Fair Isle and Opel's/Vauxhall's...
covered "Toxic" regularly on her 2010 Everybody Tour. Michaelson's version ends with her and the band doing a dance break set to Spears's original song. The song was covered on the 2010 American series Glee episode "Britney/Brittany" by New Directions, in a Bob Fosse
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis “Bob” Fosse was an American actor, dancer, musical theater choreographer, director, screenwriter, film editor and film director. He won an unprecedented eight Tony Awards for choreography, as well as one for direction...
-inspired performance led by the character of Will Schuester
Will Schuester
William "Will" Schuester, often referred to as Mr. Schue, is a fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Matthew Morrison and has appeared in Glee since its pilot episode, first broadcast on May 19, 2009. Will was developed by Glee...
. In the United States, their version debuted at number sixteen on the Hot 100 and sold 109,000 copies on its first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
. It also charted at number thirty-seven in Australia, fifteen in Canada and seventeen in Ireland. "Toxic" was also featured on the 2010 film You Again
You Again
You Again is a 2010 American comedy film directed by Andy Fickman and written by Moe Jelline. The film stars Kristen Bell, Jamie Lee Curtis, Sigourney Weaver, Odette Yustman, and Betty White...
. 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...
. The medley of hits 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. They also performed a cover of "Hold It Against Me
Hold It Against Me
"Hold It Against Me" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the first single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Billboard, with additional writing by Bonnie McKee. Luke explained that he wanted "Hold It...
".
Legacy
"Toxic" earned Spears her first Grammy at the 2005 ceremony in the category of Best Dance RecordingGrammy Award for Best Dance Recording
The Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for works containing quality vocal performances in the dance music genre...
, and gained her credibility amongst critics. The song also won Most Performed Work at the 2004 Ivor Novello Awards
Ivor Novello Awards
The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Cardiff born entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and composing. They are presented annually in London by the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors and were first introduced in 1955.Nicknamed The Ivors, the awards take place...
. "Toxic" was ranked at number fourteen on Stylus Magazine's Top 50 Singles between 2000 and 2005.
In a 2005 poll conducted by Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson
Sony Ericsson Mobile Communications AB is a joint venture established on October 1, 2001 by the Japanese consumer electronics company Sony Corporation and the Swedish telecommunications company Ericsson to manufacture mobile phones....
, "Toxic" was ranked as the world's second favorite song, only behind "We Are the Champions
We Are the Champions
"We Are the Champions" is a power ballad written by Freddie Mercury, recorded and performed by British rock band Queen for their 1977 album News of the World. One of their most famous and popular songs, it remains among rock's most recognisable anthems...
" by Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
. Over 700,000 people in 60 different countries cast their votes. The song was also included on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born list by Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
. Pitchfork listed the song on The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s. Jess Harvell commented that Spears had great pop instincts and that "Toxic" showed how "Britney always had more individualist pep than her peers, important when you're dealing with steamroller productions from the mind of Max Martin
Max Martin
Martin Karl Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. Raised in Stenhamra, a suburb of Stockholm, Sweden, he broke through as a producer and songwriter in the mid to late 1990s after crafting a string of hits for pop artists like the Backstreet Boys,...
." In 2009, NPR included "Toxic" on their Most Important Recordings of the Decade list. Amy Schriefer noted that the song's synths defined the sound of dance-pop for the rest of the decade, while adding that it "still sound[s] fresh and futuristic." "Toxic" was listed on several others end of the decade lists; at number forty-seven by NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, forty-four by 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...
and seventeen on The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
. NME called it the soundtrack to all of the fun of the decade, from "little girls at discos" to "gay clubs and hen nights". In addition, the song was voted in Rolling Stones end of the decade readers poll as the fourth best single of the decade. 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....
listed the song at number twenty-seven on the Top 40 Pop Songs of All Time. Evan Sawdey of PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
commented that "Toxic" is a rare kind of song that transcends genre boundaries, and added that Spears delivered the track that defined her legacy. In May 2010, Spears revealed through her 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 that "Toxic" was her favorite song from her catalogue.
Track listing
- UK CD Single
- "Toxic" (Album Version) — 3:22
- "Toxic" (Lenny Bertoldo Mix Show Edit) — 5:46
- "Toxic" (Armand Van Helden Remix Edit) — 6:25
- "Toxic" (Felix Da Housecat's Club Mix) — 7:09
- "Toxic" — 3:22
- "Toxic" (Album Mix Instrumental) — 3:20
- CD Single
- "Toxic" — 3:22
- "Toxic" (Album Mix Instrumental) — 3:20
- 12" Single
- "Toxic" — 3:22
- "Toxic" (Album Mix Instrumental) — 3:20
- "Toxic" (Bloodshy & Avant's Remix) — 5:35
- "Toxic" (Armand Van Helden Remix - Edit) — 6:25
Credits and personnel
- Britney Spears – leadLead vocalistThe lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
and background vocals - Cathy DennisCathy DennisCathy Dennis is a British dance-oriented pop singer-songwriter, record producer and actress...
– songwriting and background vocals - Henrik Jonback – songwriting, guitarGuitarThe 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...
- Bloodshy & AvantBloodshy & AvantBloodshy and Avant are a music production and songwriting team from Sweden made up of Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg...
– songwriting, productionRecord 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...
, arrangementArrangementThe American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
s, all instrumentsMulti-instrumentalistA multi-instrumentalist is a musician who plays a number of different instruments.The Bachelor of Music degree usually requires a second instrument to be learned , but people who double on another instrument are not usually seen as multi-instrumentalists.-Classical music:Music written for Symphony...
, programmingProgramming (music)Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
, editing - Steve Lunt – arrangements
- Thomas Lindberg – bassBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Janson & Janson – stringsStrings (music)A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments, such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material kept under tension so that they may vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain"...
- Emma Holmgren – background vocals
- BlackCell – background vocals
- Niklas Flyckt – 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...
Charts
| Charts (2004) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
1 |
| Austrian Singles Chart Ö3 Austria Top 40 Ö3 Austria Top 40 is the name of the official Austrian singles chart, as well as the radio show which presents it, aired Fridays on Hitradio Ö3. The show presents the Austrian singles, ringtones and downloads chart. It premiered on 26 November 1968 as Disc Parade and was presented by Ernst Grissemann... |
5 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
6 |
| Belgian Singles Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Wallonia) |
6 |
| Canadian Singles Chart Canadian Singles Chart The Canadian Singles Chart is currently compiled by the U.S.-based music sales tracking company, Nielsen SoundScan . The chart is compiled every Wednesday, and is published by Jam! Canoe on Thursdays.... |
1 |
| Czech Airplay Chart | 4 |
| Danish Singles Chart Tracklisten Tracklisten is a Danish top 40 record chart that is presented every Thursday midnight at .The weekly Danish Singles Chart also known as Track Top-40 combines the 40 best selling tracks from legal music downloads and the sales of music singles on either CD or vinyl... |
4 |
| Dutch Top 40 Dutch Top 40 The 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... |
4 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 8 |
| French Singles Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
3 |
| German Singles Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
4 |
| Hungarian Singles Chart Mahasz Mahasz is the Hungarian music industry association, founded in 1992. Mahasz hands out the Hungarian Music Awards and maintains the music charts for Hungary.... |
1 |
| Irish Singles Chart Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... |
1 |
| Italian FIMI Singles Chart | 4 |
| Japanese Singles Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
146 |
| Netherlands Singles Chart Mega Single Top 100 The Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales and legal downloads and composed by MegaCharts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Dutch Top 40 and the Mega Top 50. The difference is that these charts also include airplay data.The list is... |
6 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand... |
2 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
2 |
| Swiss Singles Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
4 |
| 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 ... |
1 |
| U.S. 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... |
9 |
| US Hot Dance Club Play | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream | 1 |
| Charts (2011) | Peak position |
|---|---|
Certifications
| Country | Certifications (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 |
| France Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
Silver |
| Japan Recording Industry Association of Japan The Recording Industry Association of Japan is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved the music industry... |
Gold |
| Norway IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... |
Platinum |
| Sweden Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
Gold |
| United Kingdom British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... |
Silver |
| 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... |
Gold |
Year-end charts
| Charts (2004) | Position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart | 38 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 24 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) | 33 |
| Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) | 27 |
| French Singles Chart | 38 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 11 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 17 |
| UK Singles Chart | 9 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 48 |