Britney (album) - Singles

Singles

"I'm a Slave 4 U", the first single from Britney, was written and produced by hip-hop duo The Neptunes. The song featured layered vocals and a sparse beat. The track entered the UK Singles Chart at number four. The accompanying video, directed by Francis Lawrence, was nominated for three MTV VMAs in 2002, and the track reached number twenty-seven on the U.S Billboard Hot 100 without a commercial release. "Overprotected" was the second single to be lifted from Britney in the UK, Canada and Australia, while "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" was the second single released in the USA and Europe, and the third single in the UK and Australia. A remixed version of "Overprotected" was released as the third single in the USA and charted at number eighty-six on the Billboard Hot 100, The remixed version has a different music video. "Overprotected" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. It proved to be another success in Europe, and peaking number four on the UK Singles Chart.

The release of "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", the theme song to Crossroads, was staggered to fit the release dates for the film. Written by Max Martin, Rami and UK singer-songwriter Dido it peaked number-two in the UK. The song did not manage to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA, and was a poor performer at pop radio stations. "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was released in Australia, Canada and Europe, excluding France, where "Anticipating" was released instead, in mid-2002, with the UK release following in November. Originally made famous by Joan Jett, the track was featured in Crossroads. The single was released to coincide with the film's release in Australia and Europe, and the DVD release in the UK; because of the scheduling of the theatrical and DVD releases, the single was never released in the USA. However, the track managed to reach only number-thirteen in the UK. "Anticipating", the 1980s-influenced track, was released exclusively in France having a set of specially commissioned remixes released. The track (written by Brian Kierulf, Josh Schwartz, and Spears herself) was promoted using the Dream Within a Dream Tour live performance of the song as the music video. It was later also released in Brazil. "Boys" was the fourth single in North America and fifth single in Europe and Australia released from Britney. Instead of the album version being released, a remix of "Boys" was commissioned. It was featured on the soundtrack of the third Austin Powers film. The new version—remixed by The Neptunes (who wrote and produced the original album version)—included lyrics from a male perspective, featuring Pharrell performing alongside Spears. The track made it to the top ten in the UK where it reached number-seven, although it also became one of Britney's poorest performing singles in the USA.