"I'm a Slave 4 U" turns Sweet 16 today

[Itachi]

The lead single from Britney's third studio album, Britney, was released 16 years ago today, September 24, 2001. It introduced us to a sexier Britney, lyrically and visually.

Written and produced by The Neptunes, the song was originally meant for Janet Jackson. It is an R&B track that is a complete departure from Britney's previous releases.

Commercially, the single managed to peak within the top 10 of at least 22 countries including the UK, Canada, and Australia, while peaking within the top 30 in the US. While this chart placement was weaker compared to her previous lead singles, it did manage to enter the top 5 in the Dance charts, and charted in the R&B charts becoming her first and only song to do so.

Before the official release of the single, Britney debuted the track at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards in September 6, 2001. The performance generated strong media attention due to the incorporation of live animals, which was criticized by PETA, but went to be one of the most iconic performances in the history of the awards show. In 2008, MTV would later name it the most memorable moment in VMA history.

The accompanying music video to the song premiered on September 4, 2001 at MTV's Total Request Live. The video featured Britney and her dancers dancing and sweating inside a sauna. In 2007, MuchMusic ranked it #1 in their list of "50 Sexiest Music Videos of all Time." The video was able to garner 3 nominations from the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards: Best Female Video, Best Dance Video, and Best Choreography, but like her previous efforts it did not win any. The video currently stands at 92M views on Youtube.

Britney has also performed the song in a couple of television shows and other award shows to promote the song and the album,

• Rosie O'Donnell Show

Spoiler

 

• Late Show with David Letterman

Spoiler

 

• 2001 Billboard Music Awards

Spoiler

 

And has been a constant in the setlist of her tours.

• Dream Within a Dream Tour

Spoiler

 

• Onyx Hotel Tour

Spoiler

 

• The Circus Starring Britney Spears

Spoiler

 

• Femme Fatale Tour

Spoiler

 

• Britney: Piece of Me

Spoiler

 

 

Feel old yet? What is your favorite I'm a Slave 4 U performance? What special memories do you have with the song? Discuss.

[Chris343]

Iconic

[DignifiedLove]

Happy Birthday to the ORIGINAL coming-of-age hoe anthem of the early 2000's that shifted the landscape of pop music. Keep in mind that Britney helped catapult The Neptunes and soon after, all these pop stars started jumping on the bandwagon. Such a trendsetting and impactful queen.

ICONIC song, video, performance, etc. 

[JustLuvMe]

Let's celebrate with a Hilary Duff bop  

 

[Itachi]

For me, I never liked the song and the video when it first came out because I was so into conservative Britney. I never saw the VMA performance until 2004 and that's the time I started to like the song. I think it has one of the most recognizable choreography from Britney, and the video is her sexiest I mean those abs from an 19-year old are goals.  I feel that she should be removing the spoken words and revise the first lines of the first verse because she's no longer a little girl.

[breaktheiceofmrv]

Oh god! I'm old  

[Itachi]

1 hour ago, breaktheiceofmrv said:

Oh god! I'm old  

The song is the same age as my nephew who is now a high school student.

[breaktheiceofmrv]

5 minutes ago, Itachi said:

The song is the same age as my nephew who is now a high school student.

Where did all the time go?  

[celebration2009]

This song is the same age as me. 

[One Of a Kind]

The best female single and video of all time! Happy birthday to this timeless masterpiece. 

[Body ache]

I just realized that TTWE is the prequel to this.

[Itachi]

3 minutes ago, Body ache said:

I just realized that TTWE is the prequel to this.

The video? How

[Itachi]

37 minutes ago, Pedro Dantas said:

This song is the same age as me. 

Happy sweet 16 to you too

[Noname2022]

4 hours ago, DignifiedLove said:

Happy Birthday to the ORIGINAL coming-of-age hoe anthem of the early 2000's that shifted the landscape of pop music. Keep in mind that Britney helped catapult The Neptunes and soon after, all these pop stars started jumping on the bandwagon. Such a trendsetting and impactful queen.

ICONIC song, video, performance, etc. 

Sleigh. Slave was their first worldwide hit. Queeney's impact is real.

[Body ache]

46 minutes ago, Itachi said:

The video? How

Cause in TTWE they go underground during the apocalypse then Britney pops up out of the manhole at the end on the video. Slave picks up after the apocalypse where Britney is going to a club then rain starts falling suggesting the return of fresh water.

[Itachi]

18 minutes ago, Body ache said:

Cause in TTWE they go underground during the apocalypse then Britney pops up out of the manhole at the end on the video. Slave picks up after the apocalypse where Britney is going to a club then rain starts falling suggesting the return of fresh water.

Ohhh nice analysis

[LostInAnImage]

4 hours ago, Itachi said:

For me, I never liked the song and the video when it first came out because I was so into conservative Britney.

Same here, I had been a huge fan since BOMT and was too young to appreciate "Slave" at the time of its release; I was especially turned off by the music video. Of course, since it was Britney, I still bought the album when it came out, but my favorite tracks were ones more akin to her previous teenybopper sound, like "Overprotected," "Not a Girl," etc. (Although "Overprotected" still slays).  

But since reaching late adolescence, I became completely obsessed with "Slave," and it's remained one of my all-time favorite Britney tracks into adulthood. The choreography is also my favorite choreo she's ever done, it just looks so fluid, effortless, and really different from anything else she's ever done.

I love the performance from Rosie O'Donnell you posted above, even though the crowd was totally dead and the cameraman was awful. Letterman was great too (and obviously the VMAs).

I also love the "*** on Fire" remixes she started doing around the ITZ era:

 

[Andrew338]

That’s what i call promo

[Itachi]

13 minutes ago, LostInAnImage said:

Same here, I had been a huge fan since BOMT and was too young to appreciate "Slave" at the time of its release; I was especially turned off by the music video. Of course, since it was Britney, I still bought the album when it came out, but my favorite tracks were ones more akin to her previous teenybopper sound, like "Overprotected," "Not a Girl," etc. (Although "Overprotected" still slays).  

But since reaching late adolescence, I became completely obsessed with "Slave," and it's remained one of my all-time favorite Britney tracks into adulthood. The choreography is also my favorite choreo she's ever done, it just looks so fluid, effortless, and really different from anything else she's ever done.

I love the performance from Rosie O'Donnell you posted above, even though the crowd was totally dead and the cameraman was awful. Letterman was great too (and obviously the VMAs).

I also love the "*** on Fire" remixes she started doing around the ITZ era:

 

Omg saaame haha when that era was happening I can't appreciate **** Britney yet. I was like 9/10? I preferred Not a Girl, Overprotected and Anticipating. But just like you, especially when ITZ was released at the wake of my adolescence I started appreciating (and fantasizing ) **** Britney. Oh yeah I forgot to include the ABC special and the NFL kickoff performances  she's so fierce and effortlessly **** every time she performs this song in her prime

[Chaoscontrol]

Happy Birthday Slave 4 U