Break the Ice (Britney Spears song)
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| "Break the Ice" | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Single by Britney Spears | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| from the album Blackout | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| B-side | "Everybody" | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Released | March 28, 2008 (see release history) |
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| Format | CD single, digital download, maxi single, 5" single, 12" single | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Recorded | 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Genre | Electropop, R&B | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3:16 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Label | Jive | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Marcella Araica, Nate "Danja" Hills, Keri Hilson, James Washington | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Producer | Danja | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Britney Spears singles chronology | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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"Break the Ice" is a song by American pop singer Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, Blackout. It was released on March 28, 2008 by Jive Records as the third and final single of the album. The song's lyrics are about the attraction between two people, and the introduction has a dual meaning, that serves also as an apology for being away from the music industry for so long. Written by Nate "Danja" Hills, Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica, Keri Hilson, James Washington and produced by Danja, "Break the Ice" is an uptempo dance song with breathy vocals.
Contemporary critics appreciated the song, calling it one of the standout tracks in the album. "Break the Ice" reached number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play and reached the top twenty in eleven countries.
The animated music video was directed by Robert Hales and features Spears as a superwoman. "Break the Ice" has never been performed live, instead of a live performance on her tour, The Circus Starring: Britney Spears, a video collage of her music videos was used as a video interlude.
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[edit] Background
Spears collaborated with Hills, Araica, Hilson and Washington for "Break the Ice". The production team worked on the track when Spears was pregnant with her second child, Jayden James.[1]
[edit] Composition
"Break the Ice" is an uptempo-oriented electro track with breathy vocals.[2][1] The song runs for three minutes and sixteen seconds. It is composed in the key of F minor,[3] and is set in common time.[3] It is constructed in the common verse-chorus form. The spoken intro contains a dual meaning. She whispers, "It's been a while. I know I shouldn't have kept you waiting. But I'm here now," which serves as an apology for being gone so long in the music industry, as well as away from her love interest in the song.[1] The song speaks about a girl and a boy, with the former saying: "You're a little cold. Let me warm things up and break the ice."[1] Spears' breathy vocals are layered when she sings "Hot, hot, hot, hot" in the choruses, and sound similar to that of her 2001 single, "I'm a Slave 4 U." She sings of the intensity of "breaking the ice," lyrically stating, "You've got my heart beating like an 808." Midway through the song, she halts, "I like this part," mimicking Janet Jackson's style in "Nasty".[1] The heavy drum line drops and the song finalizes in a repeated chorus, with ad-libs included by Spears.
[edit] Critical reception
"Break The Ice" received positive responses from the critics. Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times described it as a "rave-inspired flirtation."[4] Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine referred to the song as a "stuttering electro-clip."[2] Darryl Sterdan noted in Canadian-based website Jamcanoe.ca: "...[Spears] brought a choir and one of Madonna's old synth-pop leftovers with her."[5] Digital Spy's Nick Levine awarded the song four stars out of a possible five, calling it Spears' "third cutting edge pop gem in a row." New York City's Z100 radio station ranked "Break The Ice" #7 in their "Top 100 songs of 2008."
[edit] Chart performance
Prior to its official release, "Break the Ice" appeared on several U.S. Billboard component charts on the week the host album debuted on the Billboard 200. It charted on the Pop 100 at number seventy-five, and on the Hot Digital Songs chart at number seventy-two. It also debuted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart at number nine (the virtual equivalent to number 109). The following week, "Break the Ice" fell out of all charts. When announced as the third single release from Blackout, the song re-charted on the Bubbling Under chart on February 23, 2008, at number twenty-two (#122), entering the official Billboard Hot 100 on March 15, 2008, at number one hundred. It peaked at number forty-three for the week ending May 24. The song also reached the top position on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart on May 29, becoming Spears' third consecutive single to reach the top position on this chart.
On May 5, 2008, the track debuted at number forty-one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, based on downloads alone. In its second week, it climbed to number thirty-eight, with the support of physical sales. In its third week, it jumped to number twenty-three, due to a large rise in physical sales. On June 2, 2008, the track dropped down to number twenty-six, and in its sixth week, dropped to number twenty-five. Compared to Spears' previous two singles from Blackout, which both peaked inside the top three on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, the track failed to achieve similar success. On May 18, 2008, after the single's physical release, the track debuted at number one on the ARIA Dance Chart, making it the third consecutive Spears single to reach the chart's top position. The track remained in the number-one spot for four consecutive weeks, until dropping down to number four on June 16, 2008, with "Piece of Me" still charting at number six. [6]
Prior to its rising download sales, "Break the Ice" charted on the UK Singles Chart at number thirty-six on March 31, 2008. On April 21, 2008, the single rose to number fifteen from twenty-three, due to its physical release. Its disappointing peak position is attributed to the decision of Jive Records not to offer the physical single in Britain's most important CD seller, Woolworths.[citation needed] Spears' label calculated that people instead fall back on the album, Blackout. Consequently, "Break the Ice" failed to enter the top ten and quickly moved down and fell out of the chart after ten weeks. It was Spears' lowest charting single until August 2009, when "Radar" only managed to peak at number forty-six on the chart. On June 15, 2008, the song re-charted at number seventy-one, spending an eleventh week on the chart.
"Break the Ice" debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 on March 1, 2008, at number ninety-eight, and climbed up the chart, entering the top ten on April 26 at its peak position of number nine. On May 3, the single spent its second and final week in the top ten at number ten.
In New Zealand, the single debuted at number thirty-seven on April 7, 2008. That is three places lower than the entry position of its predecessor, "Piece of Me", which debuted at number thirty-four in late December 2007. "Break the Ice" fell out of the chart the following week, but re-charted on April 21, 2008, at number thirty-four. The single then fell out of the chart once again, and re-entered the following week at number forty, before moving to twenty-four where it peaked. "Break the Ice" spent a total of nine non-consecutive weeks on the chart.[7]
[edit] Music video
Robert Hales directed Spears' first animated music video. The music video premiered on the website BlackoutBall.com,[8] a site designed to "serve as a virtual black tie premiere party" for the video.[9] The video debuted on MTV's Total Request Live on March 17, as well as various British music channels.
The video begins with an anime-inspired version of Spears, dressed as a superheroine, in the roofs of a futuristic city. As the first verse begins, she breaks into a research facility and battles with suited henchmen. Spears ends up gaining access to a highly secured laboratory and walks through aisles of clones held in liquid cocoons. She sees that one is a clone of her, kisses her and plants a bomb on the tank. Next, there is a wide shot of the building exploding, while Spears is jumping and "Victory" is depicted on the side of the structure. The video ends with the phrase, "to be continued...".
[edit] Track listings and versions
(Released: April 14, 2008)
(Released: May 2, 2008)
(Released: April 8, 2008)
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(Released: August 5, 2008)
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[edit] Release history
| Region | Date | Format |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 3 March 2008 | Radio |
| United States | 28 March 2008 | Digital download[10] |
| United Kingdom[11] | 14 April 2008 | CD single |
| Europe | 18 April 2008 | CD single |
| Germany[12][13] | 2 May 2008 | CD single |
| Australia[14] | 10 May 2008 | CD single |
| Italy | 11 July 2008 | CD single |
[edit] Official versions and remixes
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