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3 (Britney Spears song)

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"3"
Song

"3" is a song by American pop singer Britney Spears, from her second greatest hits compilation, The Singles Collection. It was released on September 29, 2009, as the lead single of the album by Jive Records. The song was produced by Max Martin and Shellback while Spears was on tour in Sweden. "3" is an uptempo dance song, that features a heavy bassline and has influences of electropop and rave. The song's lyrics talk about threesomes while referencing Peter, Paul and Mary during the choruses.

The song received positive critical appreciation from contemporary critics. "3" has also achieved commercial success by topping charts in the United States and Canada, as well as reaching the top ten in many other countries. In the United States, the song debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking many of the chart records. The accompanying music video, directed by Diane Martel, features Spears and her dancers in different black and white backgrounds and received positive reviews.

Background

"3" was produced by Swedish songwriter and producer Max Martin, who worked with Spears on earlier hits including "...Baby One More Time", "Oops!...I Did It Again", "Stronger" and "If U Seek Amy". Spears recorded the song during July 2009 while she was in Stockholm during the European leg of the The Circus Starring: Britney Spears tour.[1] The song was announced as the lead single along with the release of The Singles Collection and was sent to radio stations on September 29, 2009.[2][3]

Music and lyrics

Template:Sound sample box align right

"3"
"3" has an electropop sound and features Spears singing in a high-pitched voice during the pre-chorus.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

Template:Sample box end "3" is an uptempo electropop song,[4] which opens with classical Max Martin synths and vocal effects.[5] During the middle eight, the song slows down with synthetic strings and bass beats, and the section ends with a beat similar to a four-on-the-floor.[4] Throughout the song, Spears vocals are autotuned, that according to the Daily Mail, gives the song "a futuristic, contemporary feel."[6]

The song's lyrics are about threesomes.[4] Unlike "If U Seek Amy", the song has no double entendre and it’s more straightforward lyrically. The innuendo in the lyrics such as "Merrier the more, triple fun that way" have been compared to the songs in Prince’s Dirty Mind.[7] The chorus has been compared to a playground chant and closes with an extended moan. [4] During the second part of the chorus, there is a reference to the folk group Peter, Paul & Mary,[8] that in the song is used as sexual slang for a threesome.[6]

Critical response

"3" received positive reviews from music critics. The song quickly drew comparisons to "If U Seek Amy". According to Billboard, "If U Seek Amy" was an implied double-entendre, whereas "3" "finds Spears seductively delivering her most racy lyrics to date."[3] Nick Levine of Digital Spy, the first major publication to review the song, described it as being "uptempo, quite electropoppy on the verses and a little bit ravey on the choruses."[4] Rolling Stone gave the song four stars, called it an "instant Britney classic",[9] similarly praised the song for its up-tempo melody and racy lyrics and compared it to Flo Rida's recent work, saying that it "is more of a surefire dance-floor stomper than anything Brit loaded onto Blackout or Circus".[7] Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly called it "a fembot voice, near-seizure-inducing dance-floor frenzy."[8] Bill Lamb of About.com said that although the lyrics are controversial, "the bottom line is this is another irresistibly catchy pop confection that beats out most everything else on pop radio today". He praised the chorus and the middle section and called the track "classic Britney". The song was also compared to Madonna’s "Celebration", since they "musically present nothing particularly new, but they do manage to encapsulate many of the elements that make the singer a star."[10]

Chart performance

In the United States, "3" debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending October 24, 2009,[11] breaking many of the chart records.[12] Spears became the first artist in over three years to debut at the top position and the only non-American Idol artist in eleven years to do so.[11] It is also the sixteenth song in the chart history to debut at the top position. "3" is also the shortest title of a song ever reaching number one in the chart.[12] This is her third number one single in the U.S., after "...Baby One More Time" in 1999 and "Womanizer", which topped the chart on the exact same week in 2008.[11] The track had first week sales of 255,000 downloads, the highest one week total of any song, since the Black Eyed Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" back in April 2009.[13] It has so far sold over 1,060,000 digital downloads to date in the United States.[14]

In Canada, the song debuted at number eighty-six on the Canadian Hot 100 for the issue dated on October 17, 2009 and rose up to number one the following week. It is the biggest jump to the top spot in the Canadian Hot 100 history, breaking the record set by Kelly Clarkson’s "My Life Would Suck Without You", which had jumped from number eighty-two to the top position on February 7, 2009.[15] "3" became Spears’ fifth number one single on the chart.

In Australia, the song charted at number fifty on the Australian Singles Chart on October 12, 2009 with only two days of digital sales.[16] The following week, "3" broke the record for the biggest jump in the ARIA Top 50 history, bulleting forty-three places to number seven and beating George Michael’s "Too Funky", which climbed up forty-two places in 1992.[17] "3" then peaked at number six the following week.[18]

On October 12, 2009, the song debuted at number sixteen in New Zealand, making it her highest chart debut since "Womanizer". The song climbed up to number thirteen in its second week on the chart and has so far peaked at number twelve.[19]

On the U.K. Singles Chart "3" debuted at number seven on November 16, 2009, becoming Spears' 20th top ten hit on the chart. [20] The track has achieved similar success in further European countries reaching the top ten in Finland, France, Ireland, Norway, Sweden and Wallonia (Belgium) and the top twenty of Flanders (Belgium), Denmark and Italy.[21]

Music video

The music video was filmed on October 5 and October 6, 2009 in Los Angeles, California, directed by Diane Martel and choreographed by Tone & Rich.[22] On October 15, 2009, a sneak peak of the video in images was released.[22] A countdown including images and video previews was announced on her official website and the release date was revealed to be on October 30, 2009.[23] When asked about the video, Diane Martel said,

"I think it's her next sexy video. It's a very simple video for her -- I don't think you've seen her this much under a magnifying glass. Everything's really strong and playful. We collaborated on the wardrobe and had meetings about hair and makeup people, we talked a lot on the phone and met Tone and Rich — two of the best choreographers. [..] [Spears]' so sweet and funny and so normal and down to earth. It's really fun as a director to see her in front of the camera. She's so creative with this stuff. The video is very simple, it's very, very minimal. So it's her, her, her. And she's totally engaging every second. She really knows how to work with a camera and move. I was really impressed, and I have worked almost with every female artist in the business."[24]

The video begins with Spears wearing a sparkly black dress at a vanity, putting mascara and Circus Fantasy on.[25] Then, it cuts to her holding her hair up and singing the first lines in a white background. There are also black and white scenes of her wearing a white leotard behind a foggy glass.[22] She then appears wearing the leotard and glasses while surrounded by four female dancers wearing black outfits, hanging from a raised barre.[25] The word "sin" is censored and changed for the word "this" during the pre-chorus.[26] In the chorus, she dances in front of a white wall with barcode-like light installations with six male dancers. There also scenes of her dancing provocatively with two male dancers.[22] At the bridge, there are intercut close-ups of her that end with a smirk.[25] The video concludes with Spears dancing with the two male dancers and cuts to a close-up of her looking into the camera.[25] This is the first time Spears has incorporated tutting in her dance.

Rolling Stone writer Daniel Kreps compared the video with the music video of "Single Ladies" and complimented the choreography saying Spears haven’t danced with so much conviction since the In the Zone era.[27] Jocelyn Vena of MTV also gave the video a positive review, stating that it's a "sexy, fast-paced clip" and that "there are a few moments in the video where Britney's personality shines" adding that "she smiles at the song's tongue-in-cheek lyrics, particularly when she finishes the song's bridge."[25] Tanner Stransky of Entertainment Weekly complimented the video’s choice of wardrobe, but said that the video was "sparse", adding "there’s not much to the single besides trite, ridiculous advocation for a ménage à trois anyway, so why would the video go any deeper?".[26] The Daily Mail said the video "features Britney writhing around in scantily-clad outfits with male dancers in the best way she knows how".[6]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

Charts

Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian Singles Chart[39] 6
Belgium Singles Chart (Flanders)[21] 13
Belgium Singles Chart (Wallonia)[21] 8
Brazil Hot 100[40] 1
Canadian Hot 100[11] 1
Czech Airplay Chart[41] 39
Danish Singles Chart[21] 17
Dutch Mega Single Top 100[42] 61
Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 54
Finnish Singles Chart[21] 6
French Digital Singles Chart[43] 10
Irish Singles Chart[44] 7
Japan Hot 100[45] 29
New Zealand Singles Chart[19] 12
Norwegian Singles Chart[21] 10
Spanish Singles Chart[46] 38
Swedish Singles Chart[47] 2
UK Singles Chart[48] 7
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[11] 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs[49] 42
U.S. Billboard Pop Songs[50] 6

Release history

Region Date Format
Worldwide September 29, 2009[3] Radio
October 2, 2009[29] Digital download
United States October 6, 2009[51]
Australia October 23, 2009[52]
November 2, 2009[53] CD single
United Kingdom November 8, 2009[54] Digital download
November 9, 2009[54] CD single
Germany November 13, 2009[55]

References

  1. ^ "3 Songfacts". Songfacts.com. 2007-04-27. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  2. ^ "The Singles Collection & New Song "3"". Britney Spears. 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  3. ^ a b c Herrera, Monica. "Britney Spears Debuts Racy New Single '3'". Billboard gave 3 4-star out of 5-stars. Billboard.com. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d e Levine, Nick. "Notes on the new Britney single". Digital Spy. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  5. ^ Lawsky, David. "Billboard singles reviews: Foo Fighters, Britney Spears". Thomson Reuters. Retrieved October 10, 2009.
  6. ^ a b c "Britney Spears gets all steamed up in new video 3". Daily Mail. 2009-10-30. Retrieved 2009-10-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ a b Kreps, Daniel. "Britney Spears Courts Controversy as Sexy New Single “3” Hits Radio". Rolling Stone. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  8. ^ a b Collis, Clark. "Britney Spears' NSFW new single '3': What do you think?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  9. ^ "Rolling Stone Magazine Gives "3" Rave Review". Britney.com. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
  10. ^ Lamb, Bill. "Britney Spears - "3"". About.com. Retrieved September 29, 2009.
  11. ^ a b c d e Pietroluongo, Silvio. "'3' To 1: Britney Beats Odds To Debut Atop Hot 100". Billboard.com. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
  12. ^ a b Trust, Gary. "Chart Beat Wednesday: Britney By The Numbers". Billboard.com. Retrieved October 14, 2009.
  13. ^ Grein, Paul (2009-10-14). "Week Ending Oct. 11, 2009: Oprah Saves The Music Industry". Yahoo Music. Retrieved 2009-10-14.
  14. ^ Grein, Paul (2009-10-21). "Week Ending Oct. 18, 2009: Taylor Swift's Minor Miracle". Yahoo Music. Retrieved 2009-10-21.
  15. ^ "Canadian Hot 100". Canadian Hot 100. acharts.us. October 24, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-24.
  16. ^ "ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA Charts. acharts.us. October 12, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  17. ^ "Australian ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA Charts. acharts.us. October 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  18. ^ "Australian ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA Charts. acharts.us. October 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  19. ^ a b "New Zealand Singles Chart". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. acharts.us. October 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-19.
  20. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/chart/singles/
  21. ^ a b c d e f "3 in the world charts". Ultratop 50. australian-charts.com. Retrieved 2009-10-30.
  22. ^ a b c d Vena, Jocelyn (October 15, 2009). "Britney Spears Gives Fans '3' Video Sneak Peek". MTV Networks. MTV. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
  23. ^ britneyspears.com (2009-10-28). "3 Video Release Details". britneyspears.com. Retrieved 2009-10-28.
  24. ^ "Life & Style exclusive: Britney's video director speaks". Bauer Media Group. Life & Style. October 20, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-20.
  25. ^ a b c d e Vena, Jocelyn. "Britney Spears Debuts Sexy '3' Video". MTV.com. Retrieved October 30, 2009
  26. ^ a b Tanner Stransky (2009-10-30). "Britney Spears '3' music video: Welcome to the steam room". EW.com. Retrieved 2009-10-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  27. ^ Daniel Kreps (2009-10-30). "Britney Spears Trades Plot for Simple, Sexy Dancing in "3″ Video". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2009-10-30. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ "Britney Spears - 3". Discogs.com. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  29. ^ a b Latest activity 1 hour ago. "3: Britney Spears: MP3 Downloads". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-09-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) Cite error: The named reference "amazon1" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  30. ^ http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?id=334465420&s=143460
  31. ^ http://www.discogs.com/release/1994634
  32. ^ http://www.discogs.com/Britney-Spears-3/release/1995493
  33. ^ "German Single". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2009-10-15.
  34. ^ http://www.discogs.com/Britney-Spears-3/release/1996903
  35. ^ 3 EP
  36. ^ 3 EP Remixes
  37. ^ "The Singles Collection: Edition Details". Retrieved October 17, 2009.
  38. ^ "The Singles Collection". Amazon.com. Retrieved 30-10-09
  39. ^ "Australia Singles Top 50". Australian Recording Industry Association. (acharts.us). October 26, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-26.
  40. ^ "Brasil Hot 100". Brazil Hot 100. (Brazil Hot 100). November 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  41. ^ "Brasil Hot 100". Czech Airplay Chart. (ifpicr.cz). November 14, 2009. Retrieved 2009-11-14.
  42. ^ "Dutch Singles Chart". Dutch Singles Chart. dutchcharts.nl. October 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
  43. ^ "Download Single Top 50". lescharts.com. October 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-10. {{cite web}}: Text "Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique" ignored (help)
  44. ^ "Top 50 Singles". Irish Singles Chart. irma.ie. October 10, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-10.
  45. ^ http://www.billboard.com/charts/hot-100#/charts/japan-hot-100
  46. ^ [1]
  47. ^ "Swedish Singles Chart". Swedish Singles Chart. swedishcharts.com. October 09, 2009. Retrieved 2009-10-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  48. ^ "The Official UK Top 40 Singles Charts". BBC. BBC.co.uk. Retrieved 2009-11-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  49. ^ "Chart Highlights: Adult Contemporary, Country, Rap Songs & More". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media Inc. 2009-11-09. Retrieved 2009-11-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  50. ^ "Britney Spears - 3 - Pop Songs". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media Inc. 2009-11-14. Retrieved 2009-11-15. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  51. ^ "3 is on iTunes Now!". BritneySpears.com. 2009-10-05. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  52. ^ "Britney Spears - 3 - Australian digital download". iTunes. 2009-10-23. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  53. ^ "3 (Spears, Britney)". play4me.com.au. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  54. ^ a b "New single "3" goes straight to Number 1 on the Billboard 100!". Britney.com. 2009-10-15. Retrieved 2009-11-13.
  55. ^ "3: Britney Spears: Amazon.de: Musik". Amazon.de. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
Preceded by
"Down" by Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne
 U.S. Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
October 24, 2009 		Succeeded by
"Down" by Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne
Preceded by Canadian Hot 100 number one single
October 24, 2009 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Brazil Hot 100
November 8, 2009 		Succeeded by
"Down" by Jay Sean featuring Lil Wayne
Preceded by Single to debut atop the Billboard Hot 100
October 24, 2009 		Succeeded by
incumbent
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