Me Against the Music
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| “Me Against the Music” | |||||
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| Single by Britney Spears featuring Madonna from the album In the Zone |
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| Released |  October 20, 2003 November 10, 2003 |
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| Format | CD maxi, 12" vinyl | ||||
| Recorded | Early 2003 | ||||
| Genre | Dance-pop, | ||||
| Length | 3:43 | ||||
| Label | Jive, Zomba | ||||
| Writer(s) | Britney Spears, Madonna Ritchie, Christopher Stewart, Penelope Magnet, Thabiso Nikhereanye, Terius Nash, Gary O'Brien | ||||
| Producer | Chris "Tricky" Stewart, Penelope Magnet | ||||
| Certification | Platinum (ARIA) | ||||
| Britney Spears singles chronology | |||||
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| Madonna chronology | |||||
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| Alternate cover | |||||
Australia Limited Edition CD 2
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"Me Against the Music" is a song performed by Britney Spears featuring Madonna. The song was written by Spears and Madonna along with Chris "Tricky" Stewart, Penelope Magnet, Thabiso Nikhereanye, Terius Nash, and Gary O'Brien for Spears' fourth studio album In the Zone (2003).
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[edit] Making the song
Stewart and Magnet presented "Pop Culture Whore", the third song they had written and produced, to Spears, and though her management liked the track, Spears rejected it. After spending a day with Spears to "get in her world", the pair began working on a new track, with Magnet writing the lyrics and melody on a piano. The song was designed as a sort of battle between Spears and the song, what Magnet described as "trying to out-dance the track or out-beat the drum or out-pluck the guitar…as if she's…losing herself in the music."[1]
Originally, this song was not planned on being the first single from In the Zone, and when it was then decided it would be the first single, a completely different version was in mind. Jive Records was planning on releasing "Outrageous" as the lead off single. They felt that it was urban enough to become a hit across most formats, and they also had to fulfill a contract with R.Kelly who produced the song, which obligated them to release the song as a single. However, Spears felt that the song wasn't strong enough to be the first single and lobbied for 'Me Against the Music'. The original version that Spears had in mind did not include Madonna on the song. When Spears finally got her way, all was set to release the single. However, during rehearsals for the 2003 Video Music Awards in which Spears would perform with Madonna and Christina Aguilera, Spears let Madonna listen to the song to get an opinion on it. Madonna took a sample of the track from Britney and recorded her vocals over the song and some others that she herself had written and then sent it back to Britney. Britney being a big fan of Madonna was thrilled that Madonna had recorded herself on the track hence why it became the first single to be released from the In the Zone album.
[edit] Music video
Directed by Paul Hunter, the music video for "Me Against the Music" starts out with Spears driving up to a club. After entering the building, she begins a short dance scene in the entranceway; at the same time, we see several video screens about the different rooms in the club. In one room with several older men is Madonna sitting in a chair being taped by a camera. Her face appears on the video screens while Spears begins a dance in another part of the club. At this point, Madonna sees Spears and is immediately intrigued to find this girl, so she leaves the room to search for her; the same scenario occurs with Spears, as she, too, is intrigued to find out who this woman appearing on the screens is. She is dressed as a policewoman.
Throughout the video, there are cuts of Spears and Madonna in a section of the club that has wooden strips covering the walls. Madonna makes her way here and begins to look for Spears. At one point, she drops her jacket, and Spears picks it up, realizing that this is the same jacket the woman on the screen (Madonna) was wearing. Cuts of Spears dancing in a room with neon lights intrude this part of the video, as do scenes of Spears and Madonna dancing together in a filthy room on an iron bedframe.
Another part of the video has Spears and Madonna in two rooms separated by the same wall. As Spears begins a dance segment on her side of the wall, Madonna craves to get on the other side to find out who this girl is. Cuts of Madonna swinging in a courtyard with leaves on the ground are also included. The climax has Spears finally finding Madonna. She pushes her up against the wall, and moves in to kiss her; this piece is obviously a play on their now-infamous lip-lock at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards. However, before Spears can reach her lips, Madonna disappears, leaving Spears very confused. About a second after she disappears, Madonna's laugh can be heard, suggesting that she may have been part of Spears' imagination or a spirit sent to tease her.
The video itself reached number one on the TRL Countdown and stayed there for a record-breaking twenty consecutive days. However, the record was beaten in 2005 by Kelly Clarkson with her hit "Behind These Hazel Eyes". It was filmed from October 8-10, 2003 at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, New York.
- Director: Paul Hunter
- Producer: Veronica Zelle
- Director of Photography: Thomas Kloss
- Editor: Dustin Robertson
- Production Company: HSI/Mars Media Inc.
[edit] Madonna against the video
Madonna disliked the making of the music video, she did not get on well with the director Paul Hunter, who she had previously worked with on the Gap commercial with Missy Elliott. Dustin Robertson who edited this video and has done previous Madonna remix videos had this revelation about the video shoot:
| “ | Madonna threatened to take herself out of that video at one point! She did NOT get along with the director on that video, Paul Hunter, either. She had already worked with him on the Gap spot and had not had a good experience. I remember she called Paul to give him some specific notes on the video and I guess, from what Madonna told me right after, she asked him if he was writing down her comments and he said, "No, I'm driving." Madonna said, "F*%k you", hung up and called me right away. That was the last video I ever cut with Paul Hunter as I sided with Madge instead of him on creative issues and the direction of Madonna’s performance in the clip. I WAS TRYING TO HELP, I SWEAR. I got it to a place where Madonna was happy. I think the art direction is horrible and the wardrobe is stupid… it should have been way more modern, hipper and edgier for both Britney and Madge. It was one of the weakest videos ever, that NEEDED to be strong but just wasn't.[2] | ” |
[edit] Chart performance
"Me Against the Music" was marketed to become Spears' comeback single[who?] after a year-long hiatus from the music scene and no substantial U.S. hits since 2001. While the song didn't break records of any sorts, it made Spears' musical presence known once again.
The single reached a peak of number thirty-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and it became her first top forty hit since "I'm a Slave 4 U" in 2001. On the component charts, it peaked the top of the Hot 100 Singles Sales.
"Me Against the Music" was a huge international success, reaching the top three in nearly every country in which it charted; it reached number one on the United World Chart for four weeks. It was a chart success in the UK however it only managed to sell a surprisingly low 122,000 copies,[3] and it was a major hit for Spears in Australia, being her first number-one since "Oops!... I Did It Again".
The song was her fourth number-one hit on the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles, it topped the chart for three consecutive week.
"Me Against the Music" sold 5.360.000 copies worldwide. [4][5]
[edit] Certifications
| Country | Certification | Sales |
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| Australia[6] | Platinum | 102,000 |
| United Kingdom | - | 122,000 |
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[edit] Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Me against the Music".[3]
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Australia CD 1 (82876 577552)
Australia Limited Edition CD 2 (82876 577562)
Germany Pock-It CD (82876 581272)
Japanese Promo Remix CD (BVCQ-21009)
UK/Europe CD Single (82876576432)
UK Promo CD (82876 571162)
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U.S. CD Single (82876 582152)
U.S. 12" Vinyl (82876 577571)
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[edit] Remixes
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[edit] References
- ^ Moss, Corey. "Getting Aggressive With Britney Pays Off For RedZone". MTV News. October 15, 2003. Retrieved June 20, 2007.
- ^ [1] Madonnatribe.com
- ^ a b UKBritney.TV Britney Spears — Me against the Music (UK). Retrieved on June 3, 2007
- ^ Index
- ^ Index
- ^ Australia Certification
- ^ a b Me Against the Music chart positions around the world:
- Editors from Mariah-charts.com Chart Data: Britney Spears — Me Against the Music Retrieved on November, 2003.
- Editors from acharts.us Me Against the Music &mash; song performance 2003.
- ^ Editors from Billboard magazine. Will Young Overtakes U.K. Charts
- ^ a b Editors from All Music Guide Billboard singles Billboard magazine
[edit] External links
- Me Against the Music by Britney Spears
- Britney Spears — Official Web Site
- Madonna — Official Web Site
| Preceded by "Be Faithful" by Fatman Scoop featuring Crooklyn Clan |
Irish Singles Chart number one single November 15, 2003 - November 22, 2003 |
Succeeded by "Mandy" by Westlife |
| Preceded by "Slow" by Kylie Minogue |
ARIA (Australia) number one single November 16, 2003–November 23, 2003 |
Succeeded by "Angels Brought Me Here" by Guy Sebastian |
| Preceded by "Somewhere I Belong" by Linkin Park |
United World Chart number one single December 13, 2003–January 3, 2004 |
Succeeded by "Hey Ya!" by OutKast |
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