3 (Britney Spears song)
"3" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her second greatest hits album, The Singles Collection (2009). It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing from Tiffany Amber. The song was released on September 29, 2009, by Jive Records, as the only single from The Singles Collection. "3" is an uptempo electropop song that features a heavy bassline and synthesizers, and lyrics that talk about threesomes, while referencing American folk-singing trio Peter, Paul and Mary during the chorus as sexual slang.
"3"
September 29, 2009
July 2009
3:33
Max Martin
- Max Martin
- Shellback
"3" received positive reception from contemporary music critics, with some reviewers calling it a classic Spears song. The song was a commercial success, topping the charts in the United States and Canada, as well as reaching the top ten in many countries around the world, including Australia, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the song debuted at number one in the Billboard Hot 100, and became her third number-one single in the country.
An accompanying music video for "3", directed by Diane Martel, features Spears and her dancers in front of different black and white backgrounds. Martel described it as sexy and playful, while contemporary critics gave it positive reviews, complimenting its simplicity. A director's cut was leaked on December 15, 2009. Spears has performed "3" during her Femme Fatale Tour (2011) and her concert residency Britney: Piece of Me (2013–2016).
Background[edit]
On July 12, 2009, Spears confirmed through her Twitter account that she had begun recording new material, stating she was going into the studio with Swedish songwriter and producer Max Martin,[2] while she was in Stockholm during the European leg of The Circus Starring Britney Spears. They had previously collaborated on earlier hits including "...Baby One More Time", "Oops!...I Did It Again", "Stronger" and "If U Seek Amy".[2] "3" was written and produced by Martin and Shellback, while additional writing was done by Tiffany Amber. Spears recorded her vocals for the song with the producers at Maratone Studios. John Hanes was responsible for Spears' vocal editing on "3", which was later mixed by Serban Ghenea at MixStar Studios in Virginia Beach, Virginia.[3] On September 23, 2009, Jive Records officially announced the release of a greatest hits titled The Singles Collection through Spears's official website, in celebration of Spears's ten-year anniversary in the music industry, also announcing the release of "3" as the lead single from the album.[4][5] The artwork for the single was unveiled through Spears' official website on September 28, 2009.[6] "3" was sent to radio stations on September 29, 2009,[4][5] while being digitally released on October 2, 2009.[7]
Composition[edit]
"3" is an uptempo electropop song that opens with synths and vocal effects.[8][9] The song has a basic sequence of Fm–E♭–B♭m–Fm as its chord progression.[10] Spears' vocals span from C4 to the high note of C5.[11] During the middle eight, the song slows down with synthetic strings and bass beats, and the section ends with a beat similar to a four-on-the floor, a rhythm pattern popularized in 1970s disco music.[8] Throughout the song, Spears' vocals are autotuned. The song lasts for three minutes and twenty-five seconds. However, eight seconds of silence are added in the end to total the duration to 3:33; a nod to the title of the song.
The song's lyrics are about threesomes.[8] Unlike "If U Seek Amy", the song has no double entendre and it's more straightforward lyrically. The innuendo in the lyrics such as "Merrier the more, triple fun that way" have been compared to the songs in Prince's 1980 studio album Dirty Mind.[12] The chorus has been compared to a playground chant and closes with an extended moan.[8] During the second part of the chorus, there is a reference to the folk group Peter, Paul & Mary.[13] Todd Martens of the Los Angeles Times called the reference "the cut's biggest oddity".[14]
Critical reception[edit]
"3" received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Monica Herrera of Billboard commented that the song "builds to a climax of wildly pulsing bass that summons fans to the dancefloor" and added that "[it] will be another notch in this pop provocateur's belt".[15] On its online edition, Rolling Stone's writer Daniel Kreps praised the song for its up-tempo melody and racy lyrics, while comparing it to Flo Rida's recent work, saying that "3" "is more of a surefire dance-floor stomper than anything Brit loaded onto Blackout or Circus".[12] On the printed issue, the magazine gave the song four stars and called it an "instant Britney classic".[16] Clark Collis of Entertainment Weekly called it "a fembot voice, near-seizure-inducing dance-floor frenzy".[13] While crediting the production for "elevating the song above typical dance products", the Los Angeles Times said that Spears sounded "sweetly generic".[14]
In his review of The Singles Collection, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic selected "3" as one of the "track picks" and commented, "[it is] much better than any of the three new cuts on My Prerogative".[17] Bill Lamb of About.com said that although the lyrics are controversial, "the bottom line is this is another irresistibly catchy pop confection that beats out most everything else on pop radio today". He praised the chorus and the middle section and called the track "classic Britney". The song was also compared to Madonna's "Celebration", since they "musically present nothing particularly new, but they do manage to encapsulate many of the elements that make the singer a star".[18] A.J. Mayers of MTV picked it as the eighth best song of 2009.[19]