"I'm a Slave 4 U" is the first single from pop singer Britney Spears released from the album Britney during the third quarter of 2001.
It is often considered a developmental milestone in Spears' career because of the single's steamy music video, somewhat raunchy lyrics and slight urban origins.
The single is probably most well-known for the aforementioned video, which more fully redefined Britney's public image from the virginal "girl next door" to a powerful woman.
Britney Spears I’m a Slave For You Lyrics:
I know I may be young
But I’ve got feelings, too
And I need to do what I feel like doing
So let me go and just listen
All you people look at me like I’m a little girl
Well, did you ever think it’d be okay for me to step into this world?
Always saying; little girl don’t step into the club
Well, I’m just trying to find out why ’cause dancin’s what I love yeah
(now watch me)
Get it, get it, whooa
Get it, get it, whoooa (do you like it?)
Get it, get it, whoa (it feels good)
I know I may come off quiet, may come off shy
But I feel like talking, feel like dancing when I see this guy
What’s practical is logical, what the hell who cares?
All I know is I’m so happy when you dancing there-ere
I’m a slave for you
I cannot hold it, I cannot control it
I’m a slave for you
I won’t deny hide it, I’m not trying to hide it
Baby, don’t you wanna, dance upon me,
(I just wanna dance next to you)
To another time and place?
Oh Baby, don’t you wanna, dance upon me?
(Are you ready?)
Leaving behind my name, my age.
(Like that)
(Oh Yeah, yeah)
(now watch me)
Get it get it (Whooa)
Get it get it (Whoooa)
Get it get it [Panting](This feels good)
I really wanna dance, tonight with you.
(I just can’t help myself)
I really wanna do what you want me to.
(I just feel I let myself go)
I really wanna dance, tonight with you.
(Wanna see you move)
I really wanna do what you want me to.
(Uh Uh Uh)
Baby, don’t you wanna, dance upon me,
(I just wanna dance next to you)
To another time and place?
Oh Baby, don’t you wanna, dance upon me?
(Are you ready?)
Leaving behind my name,and my age.
I’m a slave for you. (Take that) I cannot hold it; I cannot control it.
I’m a slave (It just feels right) for you. (It feels good)
I won’t deny it; I’m not trying to hide it. (Baby)
Get it get it (WHOOOA)
Get it get it (WHOOOOOA)
Get it get it (OOOHHHH)
[Panting]
Get it get it (WHOOA)
Get it get it (WHOOOA)
Get it get it (OOOHHHH)
[Panting]
I’m a slave for you. (Here we go now)
I cannot hold it; I cannot control it.
I’m a slave for you. (Here we go) I won’t deny, (Yeah)
I’m not trying to hide it.
(Like that)
Song information
"I'm a Slave 4 U" parts ways with Spears' previous singles in a number of ways. Firstly, it was written and produced by The Neptunes. The song was originally intended for Janet Jackson, who found the song to be too sultry for her vocals and unfit for her album, so The Neptunes offered it to Spears. Many therefore believe it symbolized a change in Britney's genre of music. Spears declares her independence in the song whilst also saying how she cannot control herself around a person as she proclaims "I'm a slave for you." Still, it was considered as one of Britney's signature songs due to the fact that it was a transitional single in her career.
The song uses a sample of Vanity 6's "Nasty Girl".
"I'm a Slave 4 U" was later modified as a medley with another Spears song called "Boys" (The Co-Ed Remix) and a dance break mix of Slave with Vocals from Busta Rhymes' song "Light Your Ass On Fire" all produced by The Neptunes but it is unclear if the medley was also done by Pharell's Camp. This unreleased medley was used widely in her special performances during the promotion of her succeeding album although she uses the album version in her tours.
Music video
Directed by Francis Lawrence in Maracaibo, Venezuela; the music video for "I'm a Slave 4 U" is arguably Britney's most risque ever. Though the video debuted at #1 it became her first project ever to not retire on MTV's TRL because the video for her next single, "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," premiered on the countdown before "Slave" had enough days to allow itself to retire (with TRL, an artist may only have one video on the countdown at a time, meaning "Slave" was knocked off in favor of the newer video). To make up for the early removal of the video from the countdown, it won an honorary retirement in 2005, beating five other near-retired videos. The video was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards in 2002, including Best Female Video, Best Dance Video and Best Choreography.
Much of the video was choreographed by acclaimed dancer/choreographer Wade Robson. The video was also chosen as the Most Fashionable Video of 2001 on MTV Philippines. It is shot at a sauna found within a run-down, futuristic city. We first find Spears out on a balcony, tempting viewers with her eyes and hands. She makes her way inside the building, while wearing her thong outside her jeans and sweating profusely, and begins a dance segment that continues in different cuts throughout the video. The next cuts show Britney staring into a mirror in a dirty bathroom as she shakes her behind, and in front of a wall of bright lights.
Towards the second half of the video, Spears makes her way into a different room of the sauna and puts her hands up to one of the walls. Here, she begins dancing suggestively for the people behind her saying "I want to do what you want me to". This tempts the group of people to raise Britney up, in a similar fashion that is done to an artist at concerts when they jump into the crowd.
The ending of the video finds Spears sitting in the corner of the main room, sweating as hard as ever. Several people begin to crowd around her, and one even starts to lick the sweat off her face. Next, someone opens a lighter towards the ceiling sprinklers, but it doesn't let out any water. But then outside, rain begins to pour down from the sky, and the people are seen running out onto the balcony to get a taste right before the video ends.
In Spears' 2004 release Greatest Hits: My Prerogative (DVD) it contains two alternate versions of the video. One features an acapella version of the song and another features Spears and her back-up dancers from the video dancing from beginning to end. The original video contains cuts from this alternate version.
Chart performance
"I'm a Slave 4 U" proved to be a success internationally, however in the U.S. it peaked at a modest #27 on the Billboard Hot 100. The track also became a top thirty hit on the Hot 100 Airplay, but just barely made into the top seventy-five of the Hot 100 Singles Sales. The low sales points are due mostly because of the song's 12" single release in place of that of a true CD single, but in reality, had the song been released in the CD single format, it would've made only a sparse difference in its chart peak being that the physical singles market had been in decline since the turn of the Millennium.
"Slave" became her first Dance hit, reaching the top five of the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. At Top 40 radio, "Slave" was a moderate success, peaking within the top twenty of the Top 40 Tracks and Mainstream Top 40. "Slave" was Spears' first and only song to appear on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, peaking at #85.
Internationally, the single was more successful, becoming a top ten hit in nearly every country that it charted in. In the United Kingdom "I'm a Slave 4 U" was a success, peaking within the top five and selling a total of 149,000 copies. The single gained 2.926.000 points worldwide. It's also Britney's most famous song in Brazil.
| Chart (2001) | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| United World Chart | 5 |
| Argentinian Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 7 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Belgian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Brazilian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 8 |
| Chilean Top 100 Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Canadian BDS Airplay Chart | 1 |
| Danish Singles Chart | 6 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 6 |
| European Singles Chart | 5 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 4 |
| French Singles Chart | 1 |
| German Singles Chart | 5 |
| Greek Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Israeli Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 4 |
| Japanese Oricon Singles Chart | 1 |
| 'Tokio Hot 100' | 1 |
| New Zealand RIANZ Singles Chart | 13 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Philippine Singles Chart | 1 |
| Portuguese Singles Chart | 2 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 7 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 7 |
| Taiwanese Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 27 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs[4] | 85 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play | 3 |
| Lebanon Top 40 | 1 (15 weeks) |
Formats and track listings
These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "I'm a Slave 4 U".
|
UK CD Single
UK Promo CD
Europe/Australia CD Single
U.S. Promo CD
|
U.S. 12" Vinyl
U.S. Promo Remix CD
|
Official Mixes
- Album Version — 3:23
- Instrumental — 3:23
- Bloodshy Lost Mix — 4:30
- Dave Audé Slave Driver Mix — 5:51
- Dave Audé Slave Driver Extended Mix — 7:05 (Only available on "B in the Mix: The Remixes" Deluxe Edition)
- Miguel Migs Petal Pusher Dub — 5:46
- Miguel Migs Petal Pusher Vocal — 5:30
- Miguel Migs Petal Pusher Vocal [Edit] — 3:33
- Thunderpuss Club Mix — 8:45
- Thunderpuss Dark Mix — 7:13
- Thunderpuss Dark Dub — 7:13
- Thunderpuss Mixshow Edit — 6:15
- Thunderpuss Radio Mix — 3:21
- Thunderpuss Tribe-A-Pella — 5:15
- The Light Remix — 8:25
References
- Britney Spears — I'm a Slave 4 U (UK) UKBritney.tv Retrieved on May 25, 2007
- Chart peak positions:
- http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:kpfuxq9jldte~T51
- http://www.mariah-charts.com/chartdata/PBritneySpears.htm
- http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&searchlink=BRITNEY|SPEARS&sql=11:kpfuxq9jldte~T51
Bookmark with:
| Comments |
|
3.26 Copyright (C) 2008 Compojoom.com / Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved."
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
