Stronger (Britney Spears song)
"Stronger" | ||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Britney Spears | ||||||||||
from the album Oops!... I Did It Again | ||||||||||
B-side | "Walk on By" | |||||||||
Released | November 13, 2000 | |||||||||
Format | ||||||||||
Recorded | November 1999; Cheiron Studios (Stockholm, Sweden) | |||||||||
Genre | ||||||||||
Length | 3:23 | |||||||||
Label | JIVE | |||||||||
Writer(s) | ||||||||||
Producer(s) |
| |||||||||
Britney Spears singles chronology | ||||||||||
|
"Stronger" is a song recorded by American singer Britney Spears for her second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again (2000). It was released on November 13, 2000, by JIVE Records as the third single of the album. After meeting with producers Max Martin and Rami in Sweden, the singer recorded several songs for the album, including "Stronger". The teen pop and dance-pop song has self-empowerment lyrics about a girl who is tired of her cheating boyfriend and decides to live without him. It received acclaim from music critics, who described the song as both musically and lyrically innovative and considered it the best dance track from the album.
"Stronger" achieved commercial success worldwide, reaching the top five in Austria, Germany and Sweden, while reaching the top ten in Finland, Ireland, Switzerland and United Kingdom. "Stronger" peaked at number eleven in the United States' Billboard Hot 100, and was later certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for selling over 500,000 units of the single. An accompanying music video was directed by Joseph Kahn, who considered it as a thematic departure from Spears' previous music videos. The music video received a nomination on the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Pop Video.
Spears has performed "Stronger" in a number of live appearances, including at the Radio Music Awards of 2000, American Music Awards of 2001, a Fox special titled "Britney in Hawaii", and in two of her concert tours. It was first performed on the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour (2000–01), as the first song from the show and at the Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001–02). Also, in 2013 Spears performed the song for the first time in eleven years on her Las Vegas residency concert Britney: Piece of Me. In 2010, "Stronger" was covered by actor Kevin McHale for an episode of TV series Glee titled "Britney/Brittany". The cover received positive reviews from contemporary music critics.
Background and composition
"Stronger"
A 20 second sample of the song's chorus, which features Spears singing self-empowerment lyrics over an innovative dance beat and dance-pop background.[1][2][3] | |
Problems playing this file? See media help. |
In 1999 Spears began work on her second studio album Oops!...I Did It Again (2000), in Sweden and Switzerland.[4][5] After meeting with Max Martin and Rami Yacoub in Sweden, Spears recorded several songs for the album,[4] including "Stronger", which was co-written and co-produced by Martin and Rami.[6] Upon returning to the United States, the singer revealed in an interview with MTV News that: "I just got back from Sweden, and did half [of] the material [for Oops!] over there. I was really, really happy with the material, but we had [such] limited time to get so much done. So I've just really been in the studio nonstop, which is cool, though."[4] Spears recorded her vocals for the song in early November 1999 at Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden.[6] "Stronger" was released on November 13, 2000 as the third single from the album.[7]
"Stronger" is a teen pop and dance-pop song that features a heavy dance beat,[3] and lasts 3 minutes and 23 seconds.[8] According to the digital music sheet published at Musicnotes.com, the song is composed in the key of G-sharp minor and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 108 beats per minute, while Spears vocal range spans from C♯3 to C♯5.[9] Music critics noticed the song as Spears' declaration of independence, which is perceived in self-empowerment lines such as "I'm not your property" and "I don't need nobody".[1][2] Its lyrics also quote Spears' iconic debut hit "...Baby One More Time", which was also co-written and produced for Spears by Martin and Yacoub and released two years earlier; the latter's famous chorus, "My loneliness is killing me", is answered in "Stronger" with the lyric, "My loneliness ain't killin' me no more". Despite not being written by the singer, it was speculated that the song is directed to the singer's record label and her management.[1] In a review for the album, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly noted that "Stronger" together with "Don't Go Knockin' on My Door" is reminiscent of Rolling Stones' "The Last Time" (1965).[2]
Reception
Critical response
"Stronger" was lauded by music critics. Stephanie McGrath of Jam! considered the song "the best dance track" of Oops!, deeming the song "every bit as good as *Nsync's 'Bye, Bye, Bye' or The Backstreet Boys' 'The One'."[10] Tracy E. Hopkins of Barnes & Noble, while reviewing the album, said, "Spears shines on the tongue-in-cheek lead single, the triumphant 'Stronger'..."[11] David Veitch of Calgary Sun considered "Stronger" to be as "another boom-bastic upbeat track", while saying the song is "notable for its foghorn synth, fabulous rhythm track and heavy effects applied to Britney's voice. Why she's panting at the end of the bridge is anybody's guess."[1] A review by the NME staff compared "Stronger" to songs recorded by ABBA, saying, "there's the deranged helium synth pop of 'Stronger' with the huge ABBA chord change in the chorus that sounds scarier and more robotic than the Backstreet Boys."[12] Andy Battaglia from online magazine Salon said "Stronger" "could crush the entire self-help industry with its melody alone."[13]
Chart performance
In the United States, "Stronger" peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the date of January 27, 2001,[14] after entering the top 40 at number 29 on December 30, 2000.[15] It also peaked at number 17 on the Top 40 Mainstream chart.[16] It was also certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[17] "Stronger" also peaked at number two on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales component chart, and number 37 on Rhythmic Top 40.[16] As of June 2012, "Stronger" has sold 415,000 physical units, with 270,000 paid digital downloads in the United States.[18] It is Spears' third best-selling physical single in the country.[18]
"Stronger" also achieved commercial success worldwide, reaching number four in Austria and Sweden,[19] six in Ireland and Switzerland,[19] and eight in Finland,[19] while reaching the top 20 in several European countries.[19] On the week of December 16, 2000, "Stronger" debuted at number seven in The Official Charts Company from the United Kingdom, falling to number 11 in the following week.[20] In Australia, the song peaked at number 13,[19] and was later certified Platinum by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for shipments of more than 70,000 units of the single.[21] In France, "Stronger" reached number 20, making it the lowest chart position for the song worldwide.[19] However, it was certified Silver by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique (SNEP), for selling over 125,000 units of the single.[22] In Germany, the song reached number four on the Media Control Charts, being certified Gold by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie (BVMI) for shipping over 250,000 units of the single.[23]
Music video
The music video for the song was directed by Joseph Kahn, who revealed that the concept for the music video was created by Spears herself, by saying "I would like to dance in a chair and drive in a car and break up with [my] boyfriend. [...] Those are your three elements."[24] Kahn ended up creating, according to Jocelyn Vena of MTV, "a semi-futuristic world in which Spears walks into a club, breaks up with her cheating boyfriend and triumphantly walks in the rain, knowing her life is better off without him."[24] Kahn also considered the music video as very sophisticated, saying that it is "definitely a departure from the sort of candy-colored videos she was doing before, so I always thought this was the transition between Britney the teenage pop star and Britney the sort of diva she became."[24] An alternate footage of the video can be found on the DVD of Spears first compilation album Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.[25]
Kahn revealed that Spears' referenced Janet Jackson's "The Pleasure Principle" and "Miss You Much" music videos for the video's chair routine, saying her idea was inspired by "Janet Jackson's 'Pleasure Principle' — the iconic chair sequence in that".[24] A review of the video also commented "Ms. Spears gives us her best Janet Jackson impression (“Miss You Much“) with a dizzying chair-dance routine."[26] Spears also referenced and draws inspiration from Janet in several other music videos, including "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know". "Overprotected (Darkchild Remix)", "Circus", and "Womanizer".[27]
The video begins with a closed caption that reads "Britney Spears – Stronger", amidst the sound of a storm. It then cuts to a close up of Spears looking at her boyfriend, who is smiling with another woman holding him. She realizes she is better without him and walks away, after saying, "Whatever," to the audience. There is a shot of the tower hotel they were in, in an apparent semi-futuristic world, having a party in the restaurant in the hotel tower at the top, and then the hotel tower explodes and blows up. At the beginning of the first chorus, Spears starts dancing with an Emeco 1006-style chair in front of a black background.[24] The second half of the video finds Spears driving away from the party in a classic Ford Mustang car during a thunderstorm; however, before long, her car goes into a spin out, then stops on the very edge of the bridge. After recovering from the shock of it, she's forced to continue walking on in the rain. Cuts of her dancing with a cane, transformed from the chair, are also included. The video ends with Spears walking across a bridge.[24] Two versions of the video exist, one in which at the end of video, Spears stands in mid-air above the spinning chair, and in the other a close up of her singing. Nuzhat Naoreen of MTV praised the music video, saying, "few performers can work an entire routine on and around a chair as well as Britney did in 'Stronger'".[28] The music video received a nomination on the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Pop Video.[29]
Live performances and covers
Spears first performed the song live on 2000's Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour. The show began with the video introduction "The Britney Spears Experience", in which three images of Spears welcomed spectators to the show.[30] Then, a giant metal orb was lowered onstage and lifted again to reveal Spears standing behind it. Wearing a glittery jeans and an orange halter top,[31] she opened the show with a dance-oriented performance of the song.[32] "Stronger" was last performed on 2002's Dream Within a Dream Tour. After a dance-oriented performance of "Boys", Spears performed the song, in which she wore a paint-covered robe and in some shows a bowler hat.[33] Spears also performed the song on several television appearances, including on the American Music Awards of 2001,[34] and on a MTV special titled "Total Britney Live".[35] A Fox special titled "Britney In Hawaii", aired on June 8, 2000, included an exclusive performance of the song.[36] A performance of "Stronger" live from Germany was broadcast on Radio Music Awards of 2000, since Spears was on tour by the time of the awards.[37] "Stronger" was not included on the set lists of any of Spears' tours until it was included in her Las Vegas residency show Britney: Piece of Me.[38] A similar performance was included in Spears's setlist for the iHeartRadio Music Festival on September 24th, 2016.
"Stronger" was covered by Kevin McHale on TV series Glee, on an episode titled "Britney/Brittany", that was dedicated to the singer. In the episode, McHale's character Artie has a hallucination of himself singing "Stronger" during a dental visit.[39] The cover received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Raymund Flandez of The Wall Street Journal enjoyed the cover version, appreciating the twist of having males sing a feminist empowerment song,[40] while Tim Stack of Entertainment Weekly deemed "Stronger" his favorite performance of the episode, as well as the best incorporation of Spears' music, as the song served Artie's storyline.[41]
Track listings
|
|
Credits and personnel
- Britney Spears – lead vocals, background vocals
- Max Martin – production, songwriting, audio mixing, keyboards, programming, background vocals
- Rami Yacoub – production, songwriting, keyboards
- Nana Hedin – background vocals
- John Amatiello – Pro Tools engineering
- Tom Coyne – audio mastering
Source:[6]
Charts
Weekly charts
|
Year-end charts
|
Certifications
[72]Region | Certification | Certified units/Sales |
---|---|---|
Australia (ARIA)[21] | Gold | 35,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[73] | Gold | 5,000^ |
France (SNEP)[22] | Silver | 125,000* |
Germany (BVMI)[23] | Gold | 250,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[74] | Gold | 5,000* |
Sweden (GLF)[75] | Gold | 0^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[76] | Silver | 200,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[17] | Gold | 500,000^ |
^shipments figures based on certification alone |
Release history
Country | Date | Format | Label | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Germany | November 13, 2000 | CD single | [77] | |
France | November 21, 2000 | [78] | ||
Japan | December 6, 2000 | [79] | ||
United States | December 12, 2000 | CD single (The Remixes) | [80] | |
12" | [81] | |||
January 2, 2001 | CD single | [82] | ||
References
- 1 2 3 4 Veitch, David (May 13, 2000). "Britney hits us one more time". Calgary Sun. Mike Power. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
- 1 2 3 Browne, David (May 19, 2000). "Music Review - Oops!... I Did It Again (2001)". Entertainment Weekly. Time Warner. Retrieved January 10, 2011.
- 1 2 Mitchell, Claudia; Reid-Walsh, Jacqueline (2000). Girl Culture: Studying girl culture : a readers' guide. ISBN 9780313339097. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- 1 2 3 Basham, David (1999-11-19). "Britney Spears Works On Next LP In Switzerland, Sweden". MTV News. MTV Networks. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
- ↑ Newman, Melinda (1999-12-18). Backstage At Awards. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
- 1 2 3 Oops!... I Did It Again (Liner notes). Britney Spears. JIVE Records. 2000.
- ↑ "Britney Spears – Stronger Austriancharts.at". Ö3 Austria Top 40. Hung Medien. April 8, 2004. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
- ↑ "Stronger - Britney Spears - AllMusic". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
- ↑ "Britney Spears Stronger – Digital Sheet Music". Music Notes. Universal Music Publishing Group. Retrieved February 6, 2010.
- ↑ McGrath, Stephanie (2000). "Album Review: Oops!...I Did It Again". Jam!. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
- ↑ Hopkins, Tracy. "Oops!...I Did It Again, Britney Spears, Music CD". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ↑ "Oops!...I Did It Again - NME Review". New Musical Express. May 29, 2000. Retrieved December 19, 2010.
- ↑ Battaglia, Andy (June 19, 2000). ""Oops!... I Did It Again" Review". Salon. Salon Media Group. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ↑ "Chart Data: Britney Spears". Retrieved 25 August 2014.
- ↑ Michael Paoletta. 2000: The Year In Music. Billboard. Retrieved August 25, 2014.
- 1 2 "Britney Spears USA Chart History". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved January 30, 2011.
- 1 2 "Stronger - RIAA Gold Certification Results". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
- 1 2 Trust, Gary (2012-06-05). "Ask Billboard: What Are Britney Spears' Best-Selling Singles?". Billboard. Nielsen Company. Retrieved 2012-06-06.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Britney Spears – Stronger - Peaks Around the World". Hung Medien. December 16, 2000. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
- ↑ "Britney Spears - Archive Chart". UK Singles Chart. The Official Charts Company. December 16, 2000. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
- 1 2 "ARIA Charts - Acreeditations Singles of 2000". Australian Recording Industry Association. 2000. Retrieved June 25, 2009.
- 1 2 "Certifications Singles Argent - année 2001". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved November 14, 2010.
- 1 2 "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Britney Spears)" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved August 24, 2010.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vena, Jocelyn (October 18, 2009). "How Britney Spears' 'Stronger' Video Made Her A Diva". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
- ↑ Vineyard, Jennifer (October 27, 2004). "Britney DVD Has Alternate Takes Of Her Videos, Plus More Skin". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved December 21, 2010.
- ↑ "Flashback Friday: Britney Spears "Stronger" Music Video". The Round Table Online. February 18, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ↑ "Britney Spears' 10 Best Music Videos: Readers' Poll Results". Billboard. February 19, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
- ↑ Naoreen, Nuzhat (January 26, 2011). "To Prepare For 'Hold It Against Me,' Check Out Britney Spears' Best Video Dance Moves". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ↑ D'Angelo, Joe (August 15, 2001). "Britney Spears To Debut New Single At Video Music Awards". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ↑ Miller, Andrew (July 20, 2000). "Britney Spears/Mikaila". The Pitch. Village Voice Media. Archived from the original on December 4, 2012. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- ↑ Pareles, Jon (June 29, 2000). "POP REVIEW; The Oops Girl With the Big Smile and the Little Voice". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- ↑ Farber, Jim (June 29, 2000). "SEXY BRITNEY STILL A MYSTERY". Daily News. Mortimer Zuckerman. Archived from the original on July 14, 2011. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
- ↑ Reid, Shaheem; Moss, Corey (November 2, 2001). "Britney Goes Bald, Plays Tiny Dancer, Gets Caught In The Rain At Tour Kickoff". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved January 6, 2010.
- ↑ The 28th Annual American Music Awards (TV production). ABC Entertainment. January 8, 2001. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ↑ Steve Paley (director) (2001). Total Britney Live (TV production). Viacom. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ↑ Rosen, Craig (April 29, 2000). "Britney Spears In Hawaii To Tape Tv Special". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved January 10, 2009.
- ↑ Ron de Moraes, Margo Romero (directors) (November 4, 2000). The 2000 Radio Music Awards (TV production). Las Vegas, Nevada: ABC Entertainment. Retrieved August 20, 2011.
- ↑ "Britney Spears releases setlist for Las Vegas residency Piece of Me". Metro. December 22, 2013. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- ↑ Hensel, Amanda (September 28, 2010). "'Glee' 'Britney/Brittany' Recap -- Season 2, Episode 2". AOL Music. Retrieved September 28, 2010.
- ↑ Flandez, Raymund (September 28, 2010). "'Glee,' Season 2, Episode 2, 'Britney/Brittany': TV Recap". The Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones & Company. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- ↑ Stack, Tim (September 29, 2010). "'Glee' recap: Britney, Baby, One More Time". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc. Retrieved September 29, 2010.
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Britney Spears – Stronger". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Britney Spears – Stronger" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Britney Spears – Stronger" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Britney Spears – Stronger" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Britney Spears – Stronger". Tracklisten. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "European Top 20" (PDF). Music & Media. Retrieved November 27, 2011.
- ↑ "Britney Spears: Stronger" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Britney Spears – Stronger" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Musicline.de – Britney Spears Single-Chartverfolgung" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Chart Track: Week 51, 2000". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Britney Spears – Stronger". Top Digital Download. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Britney Spears – Stronger". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Britney Spears – Stronger" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Britney Spears – Stronger". VG-lista. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Poland: Airplay Chart - Lista Krajowa 01/2001" Retrieved September 4, 2015.
- ↑ "Romania Top 100". Rt100.ro. 2001. Archived from the original on 2002-12-09. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ↑ "Archive Chart: August 20, 2000". Scottish Singles Top 40. Retrieved June 18, 2015.
- ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Britney Spears – Stronger" Canciones Top 50. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Britney Spears – Stronger". Singles Top 100. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Britney Spears – Stronger". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Britney Spears: Artist Chart History" Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Britney Spears – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Britney Spears. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- ↑ "Britney Spears – Chart history" Billboard Pop Songs for Britney Spears. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- ↑ "Britney Spears – Chart history" Billboard Rhythmic Songs for Britney Spears. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
- ↑ "ARIA Annual Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 2001. Retrieved 2011-01-09.
- ↑ Jahreshitparade 2001 - austriancharts.at
- ↑ INFINITY CHARTS: German Top 20
- ↑ "2001 – Top of the Year". Rt100.ro. 2001. Archived from the original on 2002-12-09. Retrieved 2011-01-15.
- ↑ http://www.sverigetopplistan.se/ Please search Årslista Singlar - År 2000
- ↑ Schweizer Jahreshitparade 2001 - hitparade.ch
- ↑ http://www.snepmusique.com/les-disques-dor/page/2/?awards_cat=64&awards_awd=0&awards_year=2001&awards_artist&awards_title&awards_edit_distrib&awards_sort=date_certif-desc&awards_nb=30&submitAdvanced=Rechercher
- ↑ "UGE1 2001". Hitlisten.nu. 28 March 2001. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
- ↑ "Britney Spears Stronger – New Zealand Certification (select week of November 3, 2000)". Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 2011-04-02.
- ↑ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 2000" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
- ↑ "British single certifications – Britney Spears – Stronger". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Stronger in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ http://www.amazon.de/Stronger-Spears-Britney/dp/B000050X6R
- ↑ http://musique.fnac.com/a1143132/Britney-Spears-Stronger-CD-single
- ↑ http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B000056UV0
- ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Stronger-Britney-Spears/dp/B000056098
- ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Stronger-Vinyl-Britney-Spears/dp/B0000560S5
- ↑ http://www.amazon.com/Stronger-Britney-Spears/dp/B000056ICX
External links