Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)

Music and lyrics[edit]

Music writers noted electropop, dance-pop, EDM, and synth-pop styles on Femme Fatale.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22]} Music journalist Jody Rosen wrote of the album, "Conceptually it's straightforward: a party record packed with sex and sadness".^[23] The album was compared to Spears's previous albums, In the Zone (2003), Blackout (2007) and Circus (2008).^[24][25] Although Spears was criticized for her lack of involvement from the album's production and writing, she wrote the song "Scary", produced by Fraser T Smith, which was included on the Japanese deluxe edition of the album.^[26] The album opens with "Till the World Ends", co-written by Kesha, was described as an uptempo dance-pop and electropop song, with an electro beat and elements of techno and Eurodance.^{[17][27][28][29]} The song opens with sirens and a "sizzling" bassline.^[30][31] Critics complimented the song's "anthemic nature" and "chant-like chorus".^[32] The second track and lead single "Hold It Against Me" is a dance-pop song which features industrial beats, a dubstep-influenced breakdown and employing elements of grime^[33] and a final chorus with elements of rave. The lyrics portray the singer seducing someone on the dancefloor, while the chorus revolves around pick-up lines, with Spears singing: "If I said I want your body now, would you hold it against me?"^[34] "Hold It Against Me" and Spears were complimented by Rick Florino of Artistdirect for "stepping into new territory and pushing the boundaries of dance-pop once more."^[35] The third track "Inside Out" is an electropop song. It features themes of dubstep and R&B, complemented with "earth-shattering synths".^[36][37] The song was praised for its intricate production and has been compared to her earlier work on albums In the Zone and Circus, and also to Janet Jackson and Madonna's album Ray of Light (1998) and song Music (2000).^[24][38] Spears crescendos: "Baby shut your mouth and turn me inside out" during the chorus section,^[39] and then goes on to "Hit me one more time it's so amazing" and "You're the only one who's ever drove me crazy", referencing her songs "...Baby One More Time" and "(You Drive Me) Crazy".^[40] "I Wanna Go", the fourth track, is a dance-pop and Hi-NRG song, that includes elements of techno and a heavy bassline.^[41][42] The song contains a whistled melody. In the chorus, she stutters: "I-I-I wanna go-o-o / All the wa-a-ay / Taking out my freak tonight".^[43] The "builds and breaks" were compared to her album Blackout.^[25]


"How I Roll" is the fifth track, produced by Bloodshy, Henrik Jonback and Magnus, where Spears "pirouettes from a gulping in-and-out breath effect", and was described as a "bubbly, playful pop song".^[44] Spears's voice is heavily altered, with her voice being put through many distorters, filters, and blenders. The song uses constant rushed handclaps, with elements which were compared to Janet Jackson's "Strawberry Bounce".^[45] The sixth and seventh tracks "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" and "Seal It With a Kiss" were commented as "fillers" by Christopher Kostakis of Samesame.com.au.^[24] However, Keith Caulfield of Billboard states that "with giggly lyrical couplings like 'your body looks so sick, I think I caught the flu' and 'you must be B.I.G. because you got me hypnotized' -- '[Drop Dead] Beautiful' doesn't take itself too seriously."^[46] "Big Fat Bass" is Femme Fatale's eighth track, and it was said that it "sticks to dancefloor essentials".^[20] The song was further noted as being catchy, but repetitive by Idolator.^[47] "Trouble for Me", the ninth song on the album, features a pre-chorus filled with "melting, wheezing synths" likened to a "Wiley grime wobble," segueing into a "Janet Jackson vocal."^[48] Spears's voice had been Auto-Tuned, but her voice was described as "raw" and the tones and wines as "sexy" and "one of a kind".^[45] "Criminal", the last track on the album's standard edition, is a guitar-driven midtempo song, which incorporates a folk-style flute melody.^[20][24] Erin Thompson of the Seattle Weekly said the song "takes a breather from aggressive, wall-to-wall synths, driven instead by a steady guitar rhythm and an oddly Asian folky-sounding flute melody."^[49] In the verses, Spears sings about being in love with a bad boy and outlaw, in lyrics such as "He is a hustler / He's no good at all / He is a loser, he's a bum, bum, bum, bum" and "He is a bad boy with a tainted heart / And even I know this ain't smart". During the chorus, she pleads to her mother not to worry in lines such as "But mama I'm in love with a criminal" and "Mama please don't cry / I will be alright."^[45]


According to Billboard, "Up n' Down" "heads back to the dance floor, where we find ourselves picturing an aggressive Spears going 'Up N' Down.'" ^[46] The fourteenth track, "He About to Lose Me" is a pop rock-influenced ballad stated as "[packing] a serious emotional punch. Spears sings about being at the club, entranced by a new man she's made contact with -- all the while thinking of her current beau, who's at home. Will she leave the club with the new guy? Or will she go home to her man -- a guy she's not even all that sure loves her anymore?"^[46] The final track on the deluxe version, "Don't Keep Me Waiting", has been described as "a new wavey rock moment for Spears, where fuzzzed-out guitars are paired with what sound like live drums on the ready-for-the-arena track."^[46] The seventeenth and final track on the Japanese deluxe edition of the album "Scary" is another up-tempo dance song that finds Spears on the prowl. 'I just want your body, and I know that you want mine,' she sings. As the chorus opens up, Britney reveals the extent of her lust: "It's scary, yeah / I think I need some hypnotherapy / I want you so bad it's scary."^[50]