If U Seek Amy - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

The song received generally positive reviews. Chris Williams of Billboard said the song is "Max Martin and Spears at their best: a stomping dance floor beat with building synths prodding the song along and the singer sounding like she's having a blast being the bad girl". Rolling Stone writer Caryn Ganz called the song one of the standout tracks of the album. Alexis Pretridis of The Guardian commented that her stronger and confident delivery in the chorus was noticeably lacking in the rest of the album. Joey Guerra of The Houston Chronicle also said that the "more aggressive, pointed persona" Spears adopts in the song is one of the high points of the album. The Emory Wheel's writer Julia Cox called it "the album's strongest and most unorthodox song". Ricardo Baca of The Denver Post named the song the most fascinating track of the album and commented on the double entendre, saying "It's trashy and clever, and it's also quite fun. And fun is exactly what Spears should be aiming for". However, there were also some negative reviews. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic said the song is "a Katy Perry-styled exercise in crass commercial carnality that is at once the best and worst song here". Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly called it "puerile" and added that "it'll be a middle-school sensation". NME named it one of the filthiest songs of all time.