Why did Britney turn down S&M

[Kletus]

So she could hop on (sicker than) the remix

[BritneyLVR]

Britney’s fine on the remix. Leave it at that 

[Jamie Lynn Forever]

this song aged like milk, corny all around 

 

[mfanbs]

3 hours ago, Stefani said:

 apparently it took 4 people to write those simple lyrics?

 

OMG THIS... I CANT BELIEVE THAT MOST SONGS FOR MANY ARTISTS HAVE 5 WRITERS ON THEM ... 

[bitbitboi]

When Britney performed the S&M remix in the Femme Fatale Tour stop in Argentina, the crowd went W - I - L - D ..... Like, I'm talking massive coordinated jumps in the whole stadium, that sort of wild. I was there. That's when I felt it's definitely a Britney track, and it would have been perfect for the FF album.

[Email My D]

8 hours ago, BlurredLover said:

 

“I made the song for her and Rihanna was like nahhhhhh”

Britney doesn’t fight for songs is a trend I’ve noticed. Someone else wants it they can have it… 

This! I some how feel though Britney didn't get an opportunity to hear the song, Rihanna probably snagged it before it got to Britney and her team. 

Umbrella was a game changer for Rihanna and my one of my favorite songs from her is S&M, bummed that Britney never recorded them as her songs. 

[honeycutie]

8 hours ago, Urbanney said:

It’s a shame though that Britney’s vocals are not good and she literally sounds like she’s singing with a cold (which, knowing her team, they probably did make her sing with a cold). 

Britney was sick for most of early 2011 

Also I think Britney is the only person who still sounds $€xy when she’s sick 

[super.nova]

17 hours ago, Urbanney said:

I wouldn’t say the original is a disaster, but I do think it’s significantly better with another verse and the rest of the changes they made with the Britney remix. It’s a shame though that Britney’s vocals are not good and she literally sounds like she’s singing with a cold (which, knowing her team, they probably did make her sing with a cold). 

she had a "cold" for months during femme fatale - there was something off with her voice for months literally, it sounded very nasal.

mystery number 8,747,014,387 in the britney conservatorship saga.

[mitchelspears]

16 hours ago, GODNA IS A QUEEN said:

Both versions are boptastic. 
 

Disturbia and S&M’s beat don’t sound anything alike. Are you deaf? It’s a completely different instrumentation, completely different producers. Even if you thought they sounded alike, so does Baby and Oops/The Call. So does TTWE and Blow. So does Tik Tok and California Gurls. Even then, at least those tracks had the same producers. Disturbia and S&M do not. Completely opposite themes too.  Also, ear-candy pop usually follows a certain formula so I don’t think it’s fair of you to even say that when I can name so many songs that also sound alike (yet are both good).

Also, a lot of pop masterpieces (especially in the late 00s/early 10s) repeated their catch lines. Poker Face, Gimme More, S&M and Blow are a few that come to mind. Doesn’t diminish the value of the song in any form or way. In fact, it was extremely refreshing to see Rihanna talk about pure s** and Sadomasochism when most pop girls were releasing overdone empowerment anthems in 2010-11. Lyrically and sonically, it was in fact original then and that’s why it’s regarded as one of her best tracks. Play it at the club today and everyone would still vibe with it 10+ years later. 

I’d just like to add TTWE and Katy Perry’s “Part of Me” to this list please 

[PokemonSpears]

because she obviously knew Thalia had already sung about it 20 years earlier

 

[DonMegaX]

Once I heard Kesha on the hook for Til The World Ends, I fully realized that was her song. Much like when I learned Mutt and Shania wrote Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know, all I hear is Shania's voice.

[the_blackout]

16 hours ago, marioh said:

Because she's a mom now. 

IG Brit called, she said delete that comment. 

[MissSpearsSaysSo]

I love that she’s on the remix, but other than that, I think the song is pretty terrible. It’s way too repetitive. 

[BrittonJeanSpears]

Does it matter why she turned it down? Lol At the end of the day, she still hopped on it for the Remix.

[mitchelspears]

Okay, and others have already said it (for years) but whoever signed off on those Britney vocals needs to pay, cause home girl did her best but clearly something was wrong with her and she wasn’t able to sing as she normally would, and we got… what we got 

 

WITH that aside, the song itself is coo 

[nothingbutmyway]

19 hours ago, Stefani said:

The song is repetitive nonsense - half of the lyrics are just "na na na", "come on", and "S S S and M M M" said over and over again. And the bridge is literally crap too with that "make my body say ah, ah, ah, I like it, like it" bit being the worst part. And apparently it took 4 people to write those simple lyrics?

The whole song just sounds like an adult version of the theme song from the Madagascar movies.  Plus the beat is basically the same as Disturbia's. Lyrically and sonically, it's unoriginal imo.

I don't hate the song but THANK YOU for the mental image of 2011 Rihanna performing I like to move it move it.  

[bizi]

I don't know, I just love her vocals there, i think they are very strong 

I wish they had a video for it 

[BUWYGF]

Apparently FF was completely finished by the time s&m reached her. Brit's team was already getting ready for a release and physical copies were already being produced

[DonMegaX]

10 minutes ago, bizi said:

I don't know, I just love her vocals there, i think they are very strong 

I wish they had a video for it 

At least we got a performance of it from them both.

[ROL]

21 hours ago, Stannedforever said:

 FF was clearly targeted towards Britney's younger (and upcoming) fans. S&M in the album would have been outcast amongst the teenybopper eurodance songs. Her label probably wanted to play it safe.

And it worked. I was a kid and became a stan then and there. There’s currently happening a resurgence in Britney’s popularity among my generation but for years Femme Fatale remained the last era where Britney’s fanbase got a huge chunk of new and young fans. It was very trendy and success driven obviously. Which isn’t something bad, Circus was also success driven but in my oppinion is one of the best pop albums ever. FF is just okay imo outside of the singles.

 

OP: I don’t think it even got to Britney/ her team. Rihanna herself knew of the song first and begged for it and promised to record it, I believe.