SMS (Bangerz)
"SMS (Bangerz)" | ||||
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Song by Miley Cyrus featuring Britney Spears from the album Bangerz | ||||
Recorded |
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Length | 2:49 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Writer(s) |
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Producer(s) |
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Bangerz track listing | ||||
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"SMS (Bangerz)" is a song by American singer Miley Cyrus featuring Britney Spears for Cyrus' fourth studio album Bangerz (2013). It was written and produced by Mike Will Made It and Marz, with additional songwriting provided by Cyrus and Sean Garrett. The track incorporates elements of hip hop styles, and is lyrically a "celebration of pop culture, beautiful women, [and] strong women". Upon its release "SMS (Bangerz)" received generally mixed reviews from music critics; some complimented its originality, while others criticized its production and Cyrus' rapping. The album's digital downloads helped the song chart in the United States and the United Kingdom. Cyrus has performed the song on MTV Unplugged and her Bangerz Tour.
Production and composition
"SMS (Bangerz)" was written by Miley Cyrus, Mike Will Made It, Sean Garrett, and Marz, while production was handled by Mike Will Made It and Marz. Stephen Hybicki and Tim Roberts recorded the track with help from Mike Gaydusek, and Jaycen Joshua mixed it with assistants of Ryan Kaul. Chris "Tek" O'Ryan handled engineering the song, and it was further mastered by Dave Kutch at the Mastering Palace. The track is the third on Cyrus's fourth album Bangerz, which was released in 2013.[1]
"SMS (Bangerz)" has been described as "1980s hip hop-inspired track".[2] The song lasts for two minutes and 49 seconds. Garrett stated that its concept was inspired by the female rap trio Salt-n-Pepa, and noted that the final track was "like five different things, it's hip-hop, it's the girls, it's a female anthem, Salt-n-Pepa, [and] Britney and Miley". He further opined that the women's collaboration made for a "historical moment [...] as big as when Britney kissed Madonna" Miley said:"There's only one bitch that I want on my album, and that is Britney bitch !".[2] Speculation of a collaboration between Cyrus and Britney Spears first arose after they shared a brief exchange over Twitter in July 2013.[3] The following month, producer Sean Garrett confirmed that the pair had recorded a "nuts" collaboration for Bangerz.[4] He later stated that Cyrus "[was] throwing around those ideas" of featuring Gwen Stefani and Nicki Minaj as the guest vocalist, but felt that the final cut with Spears was "absolutely the right one."[5]
Release and reception
![](../I/m/Britney_Spears_2013.jpg)
"SMS (Bangerz)" is the third track on Miley Cyrus's fourth studio album Bangerz, which was released in October 2013.[1] Although the song never entered the Billboard Hot 100, the album's strong digital downloads helped it reach number 10 on Billboard's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart,[6] as well as number 157 on the UK Singles Chart.[7] The song is marked as explicit by the RIAA due to its explicit language.[1] Although in October 2013 Cyrus claimed she wanted the song to be the third single off Bangerz,[8] "Adore You" was the album's third single release instead. Talking about plans for a music video, Cyrus hoped "that the video will be as epic as the 'Work Bitch' one, so I think that would be the smartest choice."[8]
Upon the album's release, "SMS (Bangerz)" received generally mixed reviews from music critics. Nick Catucci of Entertainment Weekly provided a favorable review, calling the track one of the best included on Bangerz and describing it as "a merry rap-off with Britney".[9] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian opined that Spears' inclusion was "a stroke of skewed inspiration", which contributed in making its parent album Cyrus' "game-changer".[10] Writing for Slant Magazine, Kyle Fowle called the song an "Auto-Tuned Euro-house jam" that helped make the album both "a message of empowerment" and "a straightforward party album".[11] In contrast, Mariah Eakin of The A.V. Club provided a more mixed review, saying that "Cyrus absolutely cannot rap, as horrifyingly evidenced by her Kreayshawn-like turns" highlighted in the track.[12] Evan Sawdey from PopMatters cautioned that "braggadocio can only go so far (especially with a song that features such a formless sense of melody)", and felt that Mike Will Made It has a "horrid sense of how hooks work, leaving a slew of missed-attempts and mangled opportunities in his wake."[13]
Live performance
An episode of MTV Unplugged starring Cyrus premiered through MTV on January 29, 2014;[14] she performed an acoustic version of "SMS (Bangerz)" without Spears, among several additional tracks from Bangerz.[15] The song was used as the opening number on the worldwide Bangerz Tour, lasting throughout 2014.[16] Blake Hannon provided a positive review for the performance, praising the "synthy rush of the title track."[17] Cyrus returned to perform the song during the musical festival on June 21, 2014, Summertime Ball at Wembley Stadium of London, in front of 80,000 people.[18]
Credits and personnel
Credits are adapted from the liner notes of Bangerz.[1]
- Recording
- Recorded at Nightbird Studios (West Hollywood, California); Conway Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California); Glenwood Studios, (Burbank, California)
- Mixed at The Penua Project/Innersound Management at Larrabee Sound Studios (North Hollywood, California)
- Personnel
- Miley Cyrus – lead vocals, songwriter
- Britney Spears – featured lead vocals
- Sean Garrett – songwriter
- Stephen Hybicki – recording
- Jaycen Joshua – mixing
- Ryan Kaul –assistant
- Marquell Middlebrooks – songwriter
- Marz – co-producer
- Mike Gaydusek – assistant
- Mike Will Made It – songwriter, producer
- Chris "TEK" O'Ryan – engineer
- Tim Roberts – recording
Charts
Chart (2013) | Peak position |
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UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[7] | 157 |
Portugal Digital Songs (Billboard)[19] | 41 |
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[6] | 10 |
References
- 1 2 3 4 Bangerz (Media notes). Miley Cyrus. RCA Records. 2013.
- 1 2 Rob Markman (October 9, 2013). "Miley To Remix 'SMS (Bangerz)' With Gwen Stefani And Nicki Minaj?". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ↑ Carolyn Hiblen (July 31, 2013). "'Britney is the one person who gets it!' Miley Cyrus reveals unlikely friendship with fellow popstar". Daily Mail. Daily Mail and General Trust. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ↑ Sam Rigby (August 25, 2013). "Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears collaboration confirmed by Sean Garrett?". Digital Spy. Hearst Corporation. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ↑ Madeline Boardman (October 10, 2013). "Miley Cyrus Wanted Gwen Stefani Or Nicki Minaj For 'SMS (Bangerz),' Settled On Britney Spears". The Huffington Post. AOL. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- 1 2 "Bubbling Under Hot 100 : Oct 26, 2013". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
- 1 2 "Chart: Cluk Update 19.10.2013". zobbel.de. Retrieved October 26, 2013.
- 1 2 Garibaldi, Christina (October 9, 2013). "Miley Cyrus Is Torn Over Next Bangerz Single: What's Your Pick?". MTV News. Viacom. Retrieved January 3, 2014.
- ↑ Nick Catucci (October 1, 2013). "Bangerz - Miley Cyrus". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved October 1, 2013.
- ↑ Caroline Sullivan (October 3, 2013). "Miley Cyrus: Bangerz – review". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved October 4, 2013.
- ↑ Kyle Fowle (October 6, 2013). "Miley Cyrus: Bangerz: Music Review". Slant Magazine. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ↑ Mariah Eakin (October 8, 2013). "Miley Cyrus: Bangerz: Music: MusicalWork Review". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ↑ Evan Sawdey (October 6, 2013). "Miley Cyrus: Bangerz". PopMatters. Retrieved October 10, 2013.
- ↑ Ray Rahman (January 21, 2014). "Miley Cyrus will star in her own 'MTV Unplugged'". CNN. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
- ↑ Ryan Gajewski (January 29, 2014). "Miley Cyrus MTV Unplugged: See Her Full Set List!". Wetpaint. Retrieved January 30, 2014.
- ↑ Wass, Mike (February 15, 2014). "Miley Cyrus' Demented 'Bangerz' Tour Is A Candy-Colored Thrill Ride: Opening Night Review". February 16, 2014.
- ↑ Hannon, Blake (August 10, 2014). "Review: Miley Cyrus at the Yum! Center in Louisville". Kentucky. Retrieved August 11, 2014.
- ↑ Cyrus, Miley (June 22, 2014). "Miley Cyrus Brings Her Naughty Side - And Her Sister - To The #CapitalSTB!". June 21, 2014.
- ↑ "November 30, 2013 – Portugal Digital Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 29, 2013.