Womanizer (song)
| "Womanizer" | |
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| Song |
"Womanizer" is a song performed by American pop singer Britney Spears. The song was recorded for her forthcoming sixth studio album, Circus. "Womanizer" was produced and co-written by Nikesha Briscoe and Rapheal Akinyemi of Atlanta-based production team, The Outsyders.[1][2]
Announced as the lead single from the album, "Womanizer" was first released to radio stations worldwide on September 26, 2008. It was released commercially in the United States on October 7, 2008 through digital distribution. It will be released as a CD single on November 1, 2008 in Australia; November 14, 2008 in Germany; and on November 24, 2008 in the UK.
On October 15, 2008, the song made a record-breaking jump to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 breaking the record set by T.I.'s "Live Your Life" which jumped from number eighty to number one the week before.[3] It also garnered first-week download sales of 286,000, the biggest opening-week tally by a female artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital downloads in 2003, topping Mariah Carey's take for "Touch My Body" by just over 200 units.[4] This marked Spears's first number one single on the Hot 100 since her debut "...Baby One More Time", almost 10 years ago.
Song information
During a live interview with New York's Z100 Spears talked about the song quoting: "It's basically saying, 'We know what you're up to.' It's about guys cheating on girls ... It's a girl anthem. That's why I like it."[5]
Reception
Critical response
"Womanizer" received a mixed responses from critics.[6] Ann Powers of The Los Angeles Times described the track as "retro-futurism" that "takes a roller coaster ride via the snappy staccato beats crafted by the young Atlanta-based production team the Outsyders."[7] "It's clean and contemporary," the site said, "but also invokes the quick-witted style of vocal groups like the Andrews Sisters - a style Brit's rival, Christina Aguilera, has mined to great success before. The highly manipulated vocal complements Brit's Mississippi Valley Girl diction; though she's been turned into a robot again, she actually sounds engaged."[7] CosmoGirl editor Rachel Chang stated her belief that "Womanizer" is a future hit, writing that, "Brit knows her stuff, and as always, she doesn’t disappoint with her latest creation — a dance hit that’s bound to be a chart topper."[8] Popjustice also gave the song a glowing review, stating that whilst the leaked clip was enjoyable, the full track "throws the whole thing into a brand new realm of amazingness." The review also compared the song to Spears's 2004 song, "Toxic" and Blackout's "Ooh Ooh Baby" and said the track, "lays a really strong foundation for the fully-realised comeback that didn't quite happen last time and it's hard not to think of it as a late contender for single of the year."[9] British newspaper The Observer gave the song the maximum five stars referring to it as a "comeback single" and as having a "genius hook". It also said, "It's been called lazy, largely by misinformed people who also think that Kylie's 'la la la's would have been better with proper words."[10] James W Coates of Suite101.com also gave a positive review of the song. He said that "With its dark synths and pounding backbeat, 'Womanizer' sounds conspicuously like several cuts on the Blackout album, a cross between 'Ooh Ooh Baby' and 'Get Naked (I Got A Plan)'." The review went on to say that the track combined two aspects of Spears music, stating "Musically 'Womanizer' follows in the electronic/dance footsteps of the best tracks on Blackout without completely abandoning the pop mold she has so skilfully crafted."
Bill Lamb of About.com thought that Spears sounded confident, but he wrote a generally negative review of "Womanizer". Lamb wrote that the song sounded "like a rather weak attempt to approach the attitude of Katy Perry in a classic Britney futuristic bubblegum pop context. Unfortunately, after a few listens it all becomes quite dull." Lamb also wrote that the song was "no match for her classic material."[11] Daily News' music critic Jim Farber criticized the song, saying it is not the brilliant single Spears needs. Farber says, "From the sound of it, it should have been delayed indefinitely. Spears delivers the title word no fewer than nine times in a row, in a nagging tone meant to mimic the most irritating of schoolyard taunts."[12] Wellheart Music Journal gave the single a scathing review, calling the track a 'tired production', and having 'weak lyrics' with 'an exaggerated vocal'.[13] Matthew B. Zeidman of Hollywood Today wrote that the song "lacks any real structure and suffers from what can best be described as a musical monotone." Regarding the verses, Zeidman described them as "flat and unmemorable" and that the chorus "falls short of providing a memorable hook."[14] Jacqueline Rupp of Common Sense Media wrote that Spears "is still trying to play catch up with current pop styles, attempting to jump into today's sound after being out of the loop for so long." Regarding the chorus, Rupp wrote that it "kills all hope for a cool sound when Spears repeats (ad nauseam) 'womanizer, womanizer, woman, woman, womanizer' in a way that sounds like an annoying elementary school chant."[15]
Music critic Billy Johnson of Yahoo music wrote , "I wouldn't say it's as solid as Mariah's "We Belong Together", The Emancipation Of Mimi comeback, but good enough. Good job Brit."[16]
Chart performance
"Womanizer" debuted on the Mediabase airplay chart at sixty and has since climbed to number nineteen, where it currently sits.[17] The track entered the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart at fifty-nine with three days of its radio release alone.[18] It also debuted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 at eleven on the week of October 11, 2008.[19] The song then entered the Hot 100 chart at ninety-six on the following week due to rising airplay.[20] Womanizer then made a record-breaking jump to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 breaking the record set by T.I.'s "Live Your Life" which had, just on the previous week, jumped from number eighty to number one.[21]
In Canada, the single started at ninety-seven went up to forty-three and reached number one on the week of October 25, 2008.[22] This is Spears's first chart-topper since "Gimme More" in 2007 and fourth overall.
Moreover, in Europe, the song debuted at number one in Sweden and became her first number one hit since "Lucky" in 2000.[23] In addition, "Womanizer" entered at number six in Denmark[23] and in Norway at number four, before hitting number one on the following week.[23]
The track debuted at number sixteen on the Australian Singles Chart on October 13, 2008.[24] Remarkably, this was achieved with only three days of digital release. It has since gone on to peak at number seven.
In New Zealand, "Womanizer" debuted at number thirteen on October 13, 2008 from iTunes sales only.[25] It was the highest new entry out of five that week. "Womanizer" is Spears's highest debut in New Zealand since "Me Against The Music" which also debuted at number thirteen back in November 2003.
Sales and impact
The song scored the biggest opening week sales by a female artist since the tracking of digital downloads began in 2003, with the first week downloads of the track exceeding 286,000 according Billboard.[26] The previous U.S record holder was Mariah Carey with "Touch My Body". "Womanizer" also became the biggest opening week sales by any artist topping Leona Lewis' record for "A Moment Like This." [27]
Music video
The music video was filmed on September 24 and September 25, 2008 at a Los Angeles nightclub and restaurant.[28] It was directed by Joseph Kahn, who had previously directed Spears's videos "Stronger" (2000) and "Toxic" (2004).[28] There are some references to these prior videos, including an opening caption similar to the one in "Stronger" and an awkward-looking man in the office scene who is also seen in "Toxic." Britney's love interest in the music video is played by Brandon Stoughton.
The video premiered on October 10 on ABC's 20/20 at the end of their program. To promote the release of the music video, ABC launched an official five day countdown commercial for the week of October 6 - October 11. The director's cut of the "Womanizer" video also appeared on an MTV blog that night.[29]
The video has also experienced trouble on YouTube, where it has been flagged, stripped of its honors, and set to private, blocking it from appearing in any searches. YouTube has however unflagged the video and returned all of its honors due to massive complaints from users. However, the music video is still currently set to private, which has caused several more complaints. [30]
Critical response
The music video for "Womanizer" has been received with mainly positive reviews from the media.[31]
OK! Magazine quoted "in addition to seeing Brit in three different sexy getups, the video...features an oiled-up Britney writhing around in nothing but a smile."[32] MSNBC wrote "When Spears isn’t shown naked and writhing in a steam room, she’s fired up".[33] "Think Fashion" (Canada) argued that "while Ms. Spears has had her fair share of failed attempts at making a comeback over the past year, we’re pretty sure this video will put her back on the map (not that she really ever left, let’s be honest)."[34] Australia's NEWS.com.au simply said "Britney Spears is back to her old sexy self and she's not afraid to flaunt it."[35] TV Guide wrote; "The music video features some of the most strategically placed hands in music-video history" also quoting "Womanizer's video is quite a return to form for the troubled pop star."[36]
Commercial response
Within just three days of the video's release it proved to be a success in the United Kingdom since the video was viewed more than 7 million times, breaking a record held by Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love".[37][38] As of October 23, 2008 it has been viewed more than 6.7 million times on YouTube. In TRL Mexico, the music video debuted at number one the day after it premiered making it the second artist behind Eminem to have a video to debut at the top of the chart.[39] On U.S MTV, the music video became the number one music video, viewed more than 2.7 million times, and also holds a 95% rating.[40]
Release history
| Region | Date | Label | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Worldwide | September 26, 2008 | Jive Records/Sony BMG | Radio |
| Europe | October 3, 2008 | Sony BMG | Digital Download |
| New Zealand | October 6, 2008[41] | Sony BMG | Digital Download |
| United States | October 7, 2008 | Jive Records | Digital Download |
| Australia | October 7, 2008 | Sony BMG | Digital Download |
| November 1, 2008 | Sony BMG | CD Single (Version A) [42] | |
| November 15, 2008 | Sony BMG | CD Single (Version B) [43] | |
| United Kingdom | November 9, 2008[44] | Sony BMG | Digital Download |
| November 24, 2008[45] | Sony BMG | CD Single | |
| Germany | November 14, 2008[46] | Sony BMG | CD Single |
Track listings
Digital Download
- "Womanizer" (Main Version) – 3:43
Australian CD A / European CD 1 / UK CD / Promo CD
- "Womanizer" (Main Version) – 3:43
- "Womanizer" (Instrumental) – 3:42
