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Outrageous (song)

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"Outrageous"
Song
For the 1977 film, see Outrageous!.

"Outrageous" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fourth studio album, In the Zone. It was released on July 13, 2004 by Jive Records as the fourth single from the album. The song was written and produced by R. Kelly. It was announced as a single after it was selected as the theme song for the 2004 film Catwoman. "Outrageous" is an R&B/dance-pop song with influences from R. Kelly's 2003 single "Snake". Lyrically, it talks about materialism and entertainment. "Outrageous" received mixed reviews from critics. Some praised its funky sound, noting its influence from Michael and Janet Jackson, while others deemed it as "forgettable".

"Outrageous" only charted in the United States, entering many of Billboard's component charts and peaking at number seventy-nine in the Hot 100. The music video, which featured Snoop Dogg, was being shot in New York City when Spears hurt her knee and had to undergo arthroscopic surgery. The music video was canceled, as well as her current tour and the feature in the Catwoman soundtrack. Spears performed the song on her 2004 The Onyx Hotel Tour, wearing lingerie and a white trenchcoat.

Background and composition

"Outrageous"
A 30 second sample of "Outrageous", which features Spears listing different things that give her pleasure.
Problems playing this file? See media help.

"Outrageous" was written and produced by R. Kelly, and was recorded at The Chocolate Factory, in Chicago, Illinois.[1] Penelope Magnet and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart of production team RedZone were enlisted to produce Spears's vocals.[2] She recorded them at Battery Studios in New York City. The song was later mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[1] On September 11, 2003, "Outrageous" was confirmed as one of the tracks from In the Zone.[2] The song was also one of the choices for the second single from the album, along with "(I Got That) Boom Boom", but Spears selected "Toxic" instead.[3] On June 1, 2004, it was announced that "Outrageous" would be released as the fourth single from the album and would be sent to radio stations on June 29, 2004. It was also announced that the track would be the theme song from the 2004 film Catwoman.[4]

"Outrageous" is an R&B/dance-pop song with influences of hip hop and urban.[5] The beat was compared by Gavin Mueller of Stylus Magazine to R. Kelly's 2003 single "Snake".[6] Jennifer Vineyard of MTV noted that "she whispers and moans [...] with a snake charmer melody giving the song an exotic feel".[7] Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine compared the background vocals to those of Punjabi musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan.[5] According to the sheetmusic published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, "Outrageous" is composed in the key of D major, with a tempo of 105 beats per minute.[8] The song's lyrics talk about materialism and amusement, with Spears referencing in the chorus a number of things that give her pleasure, such as "my world tour" and "my sex drive". Vineyard noted, "the cumulative effect seems like it's designed to put the listener in the lover's shoes—taking full advantage of the aural male gaze".[7] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said the track "includes a telling parallel that reveals a lot about one of music's biggest—as Alanis Morissette would put it—treadmill capitalists: she sings "my sex drive" and "my shopping spree" with the same dripping gusto".[9]

Reception

Critical response

An African American man wearing white clothes and performing in a stage with a black background.
R. Kelly was the writer and producer of "Outrageous".

"Outrageous" received mixed reviews from music critics. Mim Udovitch of Blender called the song an "R. Kelly club number, [that] has a hot, odd compulsion and lyrics that are practically big-pimpin', Spears-style".[10] William Shaw of Blender selected it as the ninth best Spears song, highlighting "the nonsense chants" at 1:10.[11] While reviewing Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, Ann Powers commented, "'Outrageous' is R. Kelly’s dirty little take on the ideal Janet Jackson song".[12] Spence D. of IGN said that the song "it's a somewhat derivative Egyptian lover groove number. Yet for all it's repetitiveness, it's still kind of funky and pervasive".[13] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times called it "[a] composition that cruises along on autopilot for two minutes and then suddenly switches gears with a delectable Michael Jackson-inspired bridge".[14] Annabel Leathes of BBC Online stated that "R. Kelly transform[s] Britney into a grubby Beyonce".[15] Caryn Ganz of Spin called "Outrageous" a "go-nowhere homage to living fabulously".[16] Dave de Sylvia of Sputnikmusic called it "a forgettable but nonetheless catchy single".[17] David Browne of Entertainment Weekly said that along with "(I Got That) Boom Boom", "[they] are little more than wobbly, rhythm-based contraptions intended to advance Spears' sex-princess-on-the-loose image".[18] Jamie Gill of Yahoo! Music Radio commented that, "with its cheap, tinny [sic] production - it would take a rather senile and unworldly old lady in Tonbridge Wells to find this even diverting, let alone shocking".[19]

Chart performance

On August 14, 2004, "Outrageous" debuted at number eighty-five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.[20] On August 28, 2004, it peaked at number seventy-nine. The same week, the song peaked at number twenty-three on Billboard 's Pop Songs. It also reached number twenty-seven on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs on September 11, 2004.[21] "Outrageous" also reached number fourteen on the Hot Dance Singles Sales chart.[22]

Promotion

An African American man holding a young blonde woman in her arms. They are standing in a basketball court. The woman is putting her hands into the man's face.
The video for "Outrageous", featuring guest star Snoop Dogg.

The music video for "Outrageous" was directed by Dave Meyers, who previously worked in the music videos for "Lucky" and "Boys", as well as the Curious commercials.[23] It was shot in outdoors locations in Queens and Manhattan, New York City on June 8, 2004. The music video was set to premiere on MTV on June 28, 2004.[4] After completion of the scenes with guest star Snoop Dogg, Spears was shooting dance scenes in Manhattan when around 11:30 p.m., she fell and injured her left knee.[24][25] She was taken immediately to a local hospital, where doctors performed an MRI scan and found floating cartilage. The following day, Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. Spears was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused the rest of the shoot as well as the remainder of The Onyx Hotel Tour to be canceled.[25] "Outrageous" was also scrapped as the theme song from Catwoman.[26] A 45 second music video composed of the scenes that were shot was released in the 2004 DVD Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The video begins with Snoop Dogg and a group of men playing basketball in a outdoors court, until Spears appears wearing blue baggy shorts.[27] She starts to flirt with him, before jumping into his arms and licking his beard. In the next scene, she performs with her dancers on a street at night.[28]

Spears has performed the song only once, on her 2004 The Onyx Hotel Tour. It was the last song of the fifth act of the show, titled "Security Cameras". She performed "Breathe on Me" wearing pink lingerie while emulating different sexual practices with her dancers.[29] After it ended, she put on a white trench coat while her dancers wore them in black and performed "Outrageous".[30] The act ended with a skit that segued into the finale performance of "I Got That (Boom Boom)".[31]

Track listing

Credits and personnel

References

  1. ^ a b In the Zone liner notes. Jive Records (2003)
  2. ^ a b Moss, Corey (2003-10-15). "Getting Aggressive With Britney Pays Off For RedZone". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-04-13. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help) Cite error: The named reference "redzone" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  3. ^ Staff, MTV News (2003-12-08). "For The Record: Quick News On Britney Spears, Jay-Z, Gwyneth And Chris, Weezer, 3 Doors Down & More". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  4. ^ a b Vineyard, Jennifer (2004-06-01). "Britney's Catsuit May Come In Handy For Next Single, But Not For China". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-03-31. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  5. ^ a b Shawhan, Jason (2003). "Kylie Minogue – Body Language and Britney Spears – In the Zone". About.com. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help) Cite error: The named reference "stylus" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ Mueller, Gavin (2003-11-18). "Britney Spears – In the Zone – Review". Stylus Magazine. Todd Burns. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  7. ^ a b Vineyard, Jennifer (2003-10-22). "Britney Album Preview: Sex, Sex And More Sex". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-04-13. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  8. ^ "Digital Sheet Music – Britney Spears Outrageous". MusicNotes.com. Universal Music Publishing Group. {{cite web}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help); Missing or empty |url= (help)
  9. ^ Cinquemani, Sal (2003-11-12). "Britney Spears : In the Zone". Slant Magazine. Keith Uhlich. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help); Text "Music Review" ignored (help)
  10. ^ Udovitch, Mim (2003). "In the Zone". Blender. Alpha Media Group. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  11. ^ Shaw, William (2003). "Britney Busts Loose!". Blender. Alpha Media Group. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  12. ^ Powers, Ann (2004). "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative". Blender. Alpha Media Group. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  13. ^ D., Spence (2004-11-16). "Britney Spears Greatest Hits: My Prerogative". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  14. ^ Sanneh, Kelefa (2003-11-17). "Oops! It's Album Time Again, Britney". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2010-04-13.
  15. ^ Leathes, Annabel (2003-09-05). "Britney Spears Greatest Hits: My Prerogative Review". BBC Online. BBC. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  16. ^ Ganz, Caryn (2003-11-18). "Britney Spears "In the Zone"". Spin. Spin Media LLC. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
  17. ^ De Sylvia, Dave (2005-11-11). "In the Zone Review". Sputnikmusic. Jeremy Ferwerda. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  18. ^ Browne, David (2003-11-21). "In the Zone". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite news}}: Text "EW.com" ignored (help); Text "Music" ignored (help)
  19. ^ Gill, Jamie (2003-11-20). "Britney Spears – 'In The Zone'". Yahoo! Music Radio. Yahoo! Inc. Retrieved 2010-03-23. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  20. ^ "US Singles Top 100 – Music Charts". acharts.us. 2004. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  21. ^ "Outrageous – Britney Spears". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2010-03-27. {{cite web}}: Text "Billboard charts" ignored (help)
  22. ^ "allmusic ((( Britney Spears > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2010-03-27. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  23. ^ Vena, Jocelyn (2009-07-14). "Britney Spears Shows 'Classy Side' In 'Radar' Video, Director Says". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-11-26. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  24. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (2004-06-09). "Britney Busts Knee, Complicating Video Shoot And Tour". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-04-10. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  25. ^ a b Silverman, Stephen M. (2004-06-16). "Britney Cancels Tour Due to Bad Knee". People. Time Warner. Retrieved 2009-12-27.
  26. ^ "Catwoman (2004) soundtracks". IMDb. Amazon.com. 2004. Retrieved 2009-12-27. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  27. ^ "The Complete Video Guide: "Outrageous"". Rolling Stone. Jann Wenner. 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-19.
  28. ^ Vineyard, Jennifer (2004-10-27). "Britney DVD Has Alternate Takes Of Her Videos, Plus More Skin". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2010-03-19. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  29. ^ Wallace, Brian (2004-03-04). "Britney Strips, Gyrates, Sweats, Flirts At Tour Kickoff". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-12-24. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  30. ^ Sitt, Pamela (2004-03-13). "Concert Review: Britney's all flash, no substance". The Seattle Times. The Seattle Times Company. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
  31. ^ Stout, Gene (2004-03-13). "Britney ready for Vegas in a show rated 'R' for racy". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved 2009-12-24.
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