| "...Baby One More Time" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single byBritney Spears | ||||
| from the album...Baby One More Time | ||||
| B-side | "Autumn Goodbye" | |||
| Released | September 29, 1998 (1998-09-29) | |||
| Studio | Cheiron (Stockholm) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:30 | |||
| Label | Jive | |||
| Songwriter | Max Martin | |||
| Producers |
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| Britney Spears singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "...Baby One More Time" onYouTube | ||||
"...Baby One More Time" is a song by American singerBritney Spears from herdebut studio album of the same name (1999). It was written byMax Martin and produced by Martin andRami Yacoub. Released as Spears' debut single on September 29, 1998, byJive Records, the song became a worldwide success, topping the charts in over 20 countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, where it earned quintuple and triple-platinum certifications from theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and theBritish Phonographic Industry (BPI), respectively, and was the latter's best-selling single of 1999. Ateen pop anddance-pop song about longing for the return of an ex-boyfriend, "...Baby One More Time" is one of thebest-selling singles of all time, with over 10 million copies sold.
An accompanying music video, directed byNigel Dick, features Spears as a high-school student who starts to sing and dance around the school, while watching her love interest from afar. In 2010, the music video for "...Baby One More Time" was voted the third most influential video in the history ofpop music, in a poll held byJam!. In 2011, "...Baby One More Time" was voted byBillboard to be the best music video of the 1990s. It has been featured on all of her greatest hits and other compilation albums. In 2020,Rolling Stone named "...Baby One More Time" as the greatest debut single of all time.[1] In 2021, the song was ranked at number 205 on the list ofRolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Spears has performed "...Baby One More Time" in a number of live appearances and during all of her concert tours. The song was nominated forBest Female Pop Vocal Performance at the42nd Annual Grammy Awards (2000), and has been included in lists byBlender,Rolling Stone andVH1. It has been noted for redefining the sound of late1990s music. Spears has named "...Baby One More Time" as one of her favorite songs from her catalog. It was also the final song to be played on theBBC's music programmeTop of the Pops in the 1990s. A cover of the song by Windy Wagner was featured in the 2011 dance video game byUbisoft,Just Dance 3. In 2018, readers of German teen magazineBravo voted "...Baby One More Time" to be the biggest hit since its first music compilation was released in 1992.
In June 1997, Britney Spears was in talks with managerLou Pearlman to join femalepop groupInnosense.[2] Her motherLynne Spears asked family friend and entertainment lawyerLarry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over aWhitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures.[2] Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo.[2] He sent Spears an unused song fromToni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with asound engineer.[2] Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to her hometown ofKentwood, Louisiana the same day.[2] Three of the labels rejected her, arguing audiences wanted pop bands such as theBackstreet Boys and theSpice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be anotherMadonna, anotherDebbie Gibson, or anotherTiffany."[2] Two weeks later, executives fromJive Records returned calls to Rudolph.[2] Senior vice president ofA&R Jeff Fenster stated about Spears' audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'—is extremely important. And Britney had that."[3] They appointed her to work with producerEric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney."[4] After hearing the recorded material, presidentClive Calder ordered a full album.[4] Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger moreadult contemporary" but felt all right with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me."[5]
I had been in studio for about six months listening and recording material, but I hadn't really heard a hit yet. When I started working withMax Martin in Sweden, he played the demo for 'Baby One More Time' for me, and I knew from the start it [was one] of those songs you want to hear again and again. It just felt really right. I went into the studio and did my own thing with it, trying to give it a little more attitude than the demo. In 10 days, I never even saw Sweden. We were so busy.
Fenster asked producer Max Martin to meet Spears in New York, after which he returned to Sweden to write her a handful of songs with long-term collaboratorDenniz Pop. Pop was ill, so Martin asked producerRami Yacoub to help. When six songs were ready, Spears flew toCheiron Studios inStockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded in May 1998,[7] nominally produced by Martin, Pop and Yacoub.[3][5][8] Pop, however, was too ill to attend any of the recording sessions, and Spears never met him. In his place, Martin was the acting producer.[9]
Martin showed Spears and her management a track titled "Hit Me Baby One More Time", which was originally written for Americanboy band Backstreet Boys and theR&Bgirl groupTLC, but they both rejected it. The label thought the song would work for the English groupFive, but they also passed on it.[10] Spears later said that she felt excited when she heard it and knew it was going to be a hit record. Jive A&R man Steve Lunt recalled, "We at Jive said, 'This is a fuckin' smash'";[11] but other executives were concerned that the line "Hit Me" would condonedomestic violence. The title was revised to "...Baby One More Time".[8]
Spears recorded her vocals for the song in May 1998 at Cheiron Studios.[12] She stayed up late the night before listening toSoft Cell's "Tainted Love" ("What a sexy song") to get the growl she wanted: "I wanted my voice to be kind of rusty."[1] Spears revealed that she "didn't do well at all the first day in the studio [recording the song], I was just too nervous. So I went out that night and had some fun. The next day I was completely relaxed and nailed it. You gotta be relaxed singing '... Baby One More Time'."[13] The song was produced by Martin and Rami, and was alsomixed by Martin at Cheiron Studios.[12] Thomas Lindberg played the guitar, while Johan Carlberg played the bass guitar.[12]Background vocals were provided by Spears, Martin andNana Hedin.[12] Denniz Pop was credited as producer even though he was not present for the recording or mixing.[9] Spears also recorded a track called "Autumn Goodbye", written and produced by Eric Foster White, that was released as aB-side to "...Baby One More Time".[14] "Autumn Goodbye" was recorded in 1998 at 4MW East Studios inNew Jersey.[14]
"...Baby One More Time" was released by Jive as Spears' debut single on October 23, 1998, when she was only 16 years old.[15] Spears said "...Baby One More Time" was one of her favorite songs in her entire catalog,[16] naming "Toxic" and "He About to Lose Me" as the other two.[16]
"...Baby One More Time" is ateen pop anddance-pop song[17] that lasts three minutes and thirty seconds. The song is composed in thekey ofC minor and is set in thetime signature of 4/4common time with a moderatetempo of 93beats per minute. Songwriting and production is largely based on previous Cheiron productions, most notablyRobyn's "Show Me Love", which shows similar song scheme, drum patterns, wah guitars and piano hits. Spears' vocal range spans over one octave from E♭3 to C5.[18][19] The song begins with a three-note motif in the bass range of the piano, an opening that has been compared to many other songs, such as "We Will Rock You" (1977), "Start Me Up" (1981), and the theme song of the 1975 filmJaws due to the fact the track "makes its presence known in exactly one second".[13] According to magazineBlender, "...Baby One More Time" is composed by "wah-wah guitar lines andEKG-machine bass-slaps".[13]
Claudia Mitchell and Jacqueline Reid-Walsh, authors ofGirl Culture: Studying girl culture: a readers' guide (2008), noted the lyrics of the song "gesture toward [Spears] longing for the return of an ex-boyfriend."[20] Spears said "...Baby One More Time" is a song "every girl can relate to. She regrets it. She wants him back."[21] The lyrics, however, caused controversy in the United States, because the line "Hit me baby one more time" supposedly hassadomasochistic connotations.[22] As a response, the singer said the line "doesn't mean physically hit me. [...] It means just give me a sign, basically. I think it's kind of funny that people would actually think that's what it meant."[5] Music journalist John Seabrook has said "Everybody thought it was some sort of weird allusion to domestic violence or something. But what it really was, was the Swedes using English not exactly correctly. What they really wanted to say was, "hit me up on the phone one more time" or something. But at that point, Max's English wasn't that great. So it came out sounding a little bit weird in English."[23]
Marc Oxoby, author ofThe 1990s (2003), noted the song "was derided as vapid by some critics, yet tapped into the same kind of audience to whom the Spice Girls music appealed, young teens and pre-teens."[24] Amanda Murray of Sputnikmusic commented, "[" ... Baby One More Time" is] well-composed, tightly arranged, and even with Spears' vocal limitations it goes straight for the proverbial pop jugular."[25] She also said that the song was a highlight in the pop music genre and added, "There is little doubt that '...Baby One More Time' will be long remembered as one of the cornerstones of pop music in general, and it is a strong front-runner as the prototype for the late 90s pop resurgence."[25] Bill Lamb ofAbout.com considered "...Baby One More Time" as Spears' best song, saying, "the song is full of hooks and a big mainstream pop sound. The accompanying schoolgirl video caused a sensation, and, when the single hit No. 1, Britney was assured of stardom."[26] In a list compiled by Sara Anderson ofAOL Radio, "...Baby One More Time" was ranked sixth in a list of Spears' best songs. She noted the singer "somehow made the school girl outfit and pink pom-pom hair-ties trendy again, worn by every tween in the succeeding years."[27]
Larry Flick ofBillboard wrote, "Produced by famedEuro-popsters Max Martin and Eric Foster, "Baby, One More Time" chugs with an insinuating faux-funk beat and super-shiny synths. Spears has a charmingkewpie-doll voice that has asoulful quality that leaves the listener intrigued and wondering where she'll go with time and experience."[28] Beth Johnson ofEntertainment Weekly called it a "candy-pop-with-a-funky-edge smash",[29] whileStephen Thomas Erlewine ofAllMusic said the song was "ingenious",[30] Brian Raftery ofBlender called it "a perfectly fine, slickly conceived pop tune. [..] At the time, teen-pop was still a boys' club, but while the guys were crooning about crushes, Spears was already planning the sleep-over party".[13] In 2009,Jody Rosen ofRolling Stone called it "some of the best radio pop of the past decade-plus".[31]NME considered "...Baby One More Time" "incredible",[17] commenting that "it's a symphony of teenage lust as fully realised as anythingBrian Wilson ever wrote—a truly grand pop song that overwhelms any lingering undercurrent ofLolita paedo-creepiness through the sheer fanatical earnestness of its delivery."[17] "...Baby One More Time" won aTeen Choice Award for Single of the Year at the1999 Teen Choice Awards and anMTV Europe Music Award for Best Song at the1999 MTV Europe Music Awards.[32]
The song was officially sent tocontemporary hit andrhythmic contemporary radio on September 29, 1998.[33] On November 21, 1998, "...Baby One More Time" debuted on theBillboard Hot 100 at number 17 and topped the chart two and a half months later for two consecutive weeks, replacing R&B singerBrandy's "Have You Ever?".[34] Simultaneously, it climbed to number one on theCanadian Singles Chart.[35] The song reached the top spot of theHot 100 Singles Sales and stayed there for four consecutive weeks.[36][37] This eventually propelled the single to aplatinum certification by theRecording Industry Association of America.[38] Though not as strong as its sales tallies, "...Baby One More Time" also experienced considerable airplay, becoming her first top ten hit on theHot 100 Airplay, peaking at number eight.[39] The single also became an all-around hit onTop 40 radio, going top ten on both theTop 40 Tracks andRhythmic Top 40, and to number one for five weeks on theMainstream Top 40.[35] It spent 32 weeks on the Hot 100 and ended up at number five onBillboard's year-end chart.[40][41] As of June 2012, "...Baby One More Time" has sold 1,412,000 physical singles, with 511,000 paid digital downloads in the United States.[42] It is Spears' best-selling physical single in the country.[42] "...Baby One More Time" debuted on January 31, 1999, at number 20 on theAustralian Singles Chart,[43] a month later reached number one and stayed there for nine consecutive weeks.[43] The song eventually became the secondhighest-selling single of the year,[44][45] only behindLou Bega's "Mambo No. 5",[44][45] and was certified three-times platinum by theAustralian Recording Industry Association for selling over 210,000 copies.[44][45] In New Zealand, the single spent four non-consecutive weeks at the top of the charts and after shipping over 15,000 units to retailers theRecording Industry Association of New Zealand certified it platinum.[46][47]
The track reached the top spot in the majority of countries in which it charted.[48] "...Baby One More Time" spent two consecutive weeks at number-one on theFrench Singles Chart and was certified platinum by theSyndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique after selling over 500,000 units in the country.[48][49] Additionally, the song topped theGerman Singles Chart for six consecutive weeks and sold over 750,000 copies, resulting in a three-times gold certification by theInternational Federation of the Phonographic Industry.[50] In the United Kingdom, according to Jive Records, "...Baby One More Time" sold more than 250,000 copies in a mere three days after its February 1999 release.[51] Spears broke a first-week sales record for a female act in the UK at the time when "...Baby One More Time" sold a total of 460,000 copies.[52] Eventually, theBritish Phonographic Industry certified it two-times platinum on March 26, 1999.[53] The single went on to sell over 1,445,000 units by the end of 1999,[54] making it thehighest-selling single of that year and the8th biggest song of the 1990s. As of 2018, it is the32nd best-seller of all time in the UK.[55] The song has sold two million units in the country as of August 2022.[56] Additionally, "...Baby One More Time" is the fifth best-selling single by a female artist in the country, behindCher's "Believe", Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You",Adele's "Someone like You" andCéline Dion's "My Heart Will Go On".[55] "...Baby One More Time" is one of thebest-selling singles of all time, with over 10 million copies sold worldwide.[57] As of May 2020, "...Baby One More Time" has generated over 285 million streams in the US.[58]
The music video was directed byNigel Dick.[59] After being chosen, Dick received criticism from his colleagues about wanting to work with Spears. He responded saying, "It's a great song. I don't know anything about Britney. I never watchedThe Mickey Mouse Club. She seems like a great kid and she's very enthusiastic, but I just love the song. It's just a great song".[21] The video's original setup was very different from what eventually became the final product. The plan was to have the video in acartoon-like environment, a likely attempt to attract an audience of younger children.[59] Spears was unhappy with this, and argued that she wanted her video to reflect the lives of her fans and wanted to set the video in a school.[21][59] Spears pitched this idea to Dick, and explained she wanted the video to have dance scenes. The original setting was scrapped and replaced with Spears' concept.[21] Dick's first idea for the wardrobe was jeans and a T-shirt, but during the wardrobe fitting Spears asked for aschoolgirl outfit. Dick said that "Every piece of wardrobe in the video came fromKmart, and I was told at the time not one piece of clothing in the video cost more than $17. On that level, it's real. That probably, in retrospect, is a part of its charm."[21] The knotted shirt was Spears' idea, she recollects, saying, "The outfits looked kind of dorky, so I was like, 'Let's tie up our shirts and be cute'".[60] About the experience of shooting her first music video, Spears said, "It was a wonderful experience. All these people there, working for you. I had my own trailer. It was an amazing experience".[21] The music video was shot on August 7 and 8, 1998, atVenice High School, the same school used to shoot the 1978 filmGrease.[61][59] The video premiered onMTV and other video stations on November 26, 1998.[62][63]
The video begins with Spears appearing bored in class at high school.[59] Her assistant Felicia Culotta played the role of Spears' teacher.[59] When the bell rings, Spears runs out into the hall and begins a choreographed dance in the corridor. After this, Spears is outside, now adorned in a pink athletic outfit, and seen in a car. Along with a couple of other students, she performs a number ofgymnastic moves before heading back inside. She is then sitting on thebleachers in the gymnasium watching a basketball game, and she dances in the gymnasium. Her love interest is revealed sitting close to her, played by her real-life cousin Chad.[59]
The schoolgirl outfit is considered to be one of Spears' most iconic looks as well as amongst the hallmarks ofpop culture. It is on display at theHard Rock Hotel and Casino inLas Vegas,Nevada.[64] The ensemble caused controversy among parents associations for showing themidriff of a sixteen-year-old.[21] Spears faced the criticism saying, "Me showing my belly? I'm fromthe South; you're stupid if you don't wear a sports bra [when you] go to dance class, you're going to be sweating your butt off."[21] In 1999, "...Baby One More Time" earned Spears her first threeMTV Video Music Award nominations,[65] in the categories ofBest Pop Video,[65]Best Choreography,[65] andBest Female Video at the1999 MTV Video Music Awards.[65] In a list compiled byVH1 in 2001, it was listed at number ninety in the best videos of all time.[66] The video was the first of fourteen of her videos to retire on MTV's television seriesTotal Request Live (TRL). On its final episode, a three-hour special aired on November 16, 2008,[67] "...Baby One More Time" was number one in their final countdown as the most iconic music video of all time and was the last video to be played on the show.[67]Wesley Yang in his essay "Inside the Box" inn+1, compared the music video toBritny Fox's "Girlschool" because it featured "a classroom full of Catholic schoolgirls gyrating to the beat in defiance of a stern teacher. [..] But that was a sexist video by a horriblehair metal band that exploited women. Britney Spears was something else—an inflection point in the culture".[68] The music video is also referenced in the video for Spears' 2009 single, "If U Seek Amy".[69] After Spears comes out of her house dressed as a housewife,[69] her daughter is dressed with a similar schoolgirl outfit while wearing pink ribbons in her hair.[69] The video was ranked at number four on a list of the ten most controversial music videos in pop byAOL on September 29, 2011.[70]Rolling Stone placed "...Baby One More Time" at number 30 onits list of the 100 greatest music videos of all time.[71]
The first live performance of the song was at the Singapore Jazz Festival in Singapore on May 16, 1998. That day, Spears also performed the song "Sometimes" for the first time. Spears performed "...Baby One More Time" on several occasions. She performed the song on July 6, 1999, during her appearance inBethel, New York at the original site ofWoodstock.[72]Neil Strauss, fromThe New York Times, noted that "all the backing music was on tape, and most of the vocals were recorded, with Ms. Spears just reinforcing selected words in choruses and singing an occasional snippet of a verse".[72] It was also performed at the 1999 MTV Video Music Awards;[73] after a classroomroll call ended, Spears appeared on the stage and began performing the song. Halfway through, she was joined byJustin Timberlake and the members ofNSYNC for a dance routine. Afterwards, the band performed their hit "Tearin' Up My Heart".[74] The song was also performed at the 1999 MTV Europe Music Awards, along with "(You Drive Me) Crazy", the1999Billboard Music Awards, the 1999Smash Hits Poll Winners Party, the Christmas Day edition ofTop of the Pops and the Greenwich Millennium concert on December 31, 1999. She also performed it with broadcastersDavid Dimbleby andMichael Buerk on2000 Today. Spears performed the song in a medley with "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" at the42nd Grammy Awards. Spears was wearing a turtleneck and a full tulle skirt at the beginning of the performance, while dancers surrounded her with enormoushand fans. After singing a shortened version of the song, she then took a few moments to shuffle into a form-fitting red rhinestone outfit (with side cutouts) and emerged onto a stage to perform "...Baby One More Time." Spears was also criticized of lipsynching the song during her performance.[75] Later, in 2003, Spears performed the song in a remixed form atBritney Spears: In the Zone, a concert special that aired inABC on November 17, 2003.[76] "...Baby One More Time" was also performed at the2003 NFL Kickoff Live on September 4, 2003, at theNational Mall, in a medley with "I'm a Slave 4 U" (2001), which includedpyrotechnics.[77][78][79] She sported shoulder-length blond hair and was dressed in black football pants, a black-and-white referee halter top and boots fromReebok.[80] Her outfit was later auctioned off to benefit the Britney Spears Foundation.[78]
"...Baby One More Time" has been performed in seven of Spears' concert tours since its release.[81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88] On 1999's...Baby One More Time Tour, the encore consisted of a performance of the song,[81] in which Spears wore a black bra under pink halter,[81] a pink sequined plaid mini-skirt,[81] and blackthigh-high stockings.[81] On 2000'sOops!... I Did It Again Tour, "...Baby One More Time" was performed after a dance interlude in which the dancers showed their individual moves while their names appeared on the screens.[82] Spears took the stage in a conservative schoolgirl outfit to perform the song.[82] She ripped it off halfway through the song to reveal acheerleader ensemble.[82] The song was also the encore of 2001'sDream Within a Dream Tour.[83][84] It began with a giant projection of a hologram of Spears onto a water screen.[83][84] The projection gradually shrank until Spears rose from the stage while wearing a plastic cowboy hat, blue hip-huggers, and a matching bra top.[83][84] She began performing "...Baby One More Time" in a ballad version until reaching the end of the runway.[83][84] Pyrotechnics surrounded the stage while the song changed to a more uptempo version with elements oftechno.[83][84]
OnThe Onyx Hotel Tour, after performing "Showdown", a video interlude followed featuring Spears and her friends outside a club.[85] While she was leaving, she noticed a woman dressed in1930s fashion.[85] She followed her and the woman asked Spears to enter the "Mystic Lounge".[85] Spears reappeared wearing a corset to perform "...Baby One More Time" along with "Oops!...I Did It Again" and "(You Drive Me) Crazy".[85] All of the three were reworked for the show with elements ofjazz andblues.[89] "...Baby One More Time" was also performed on the promotional tour made on someHouse of Blues locations, calledThe M+M's Tour.[86] The show started with Spears singing a short version of the song dressed in a whitego-go boots,[86] a whiteminiskirt and a sparkling pinkbikini top.[86] OnThe Circus Starring Britney Spears, the song made into the Electro Circ act.[87] It was the final song of the act,[88] performed after "Toxic".[88] The performance consisted on Spears and her dancers performing a remix of the song.[88] On 2011'sFemme Fatale Tour, "...Baby One More Time" was performed in a medley with the remix ofRihanna's "S&M" (2010).[90] At Spears' residency showBritney: Piece of Me in Las Vegas, the song was included on its setlist.[91]
"...Baby One More Time" has been covered on numerous occasions. One of the earliest live covers of the song was by the Scottish bandTravis, recorded during one of their concerts inRobin Hood's Bay,North Yorkshire, England.[92] The song was later included in the release of their 1999 single, "Turn". Lead singer Francis Healey said, "We did it for a laugh the first time. [..] And as we played it, the irony slipped from my smile. It's a very well-crafted song. It [has] that magic thing."[13]The Guardian said this cover showed a new and more "dark" side of the band, commenting "slowed down to a mournful crawl, it was amazing how ominous the couplet "This loneliness is killing me / Hit me, baby, one more time" sounded".[92] PopWreckoning.com called it "perhaps the most well done cover of Britney's catalyst to eternal fame".[93] Spears heard their version while shopping in a mall and said, "It was so weird. I liked it though, I thought it was cool. It was a very different vibe from what I did".[94]In July 2005,the Dresden Dolls performed a cover during their summer concerts while opening forPanic! at the Disco. On July 18, 2006, frontmanBrendon Urie joined the band to perform the song inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania. PopWreckoning.com said the cover was "a strange twist to this pop ditty. It's obviously darker and actually tortured as opposed to Britney's school girl despair".[93]
On July 13, 2009,Tori Amos covered the song live during herSinful Attraction Tour at theParamount Theatre inOakland, California.[95] On October 15, that year,Kris Allen covered the song for the first time at a concert inSeton High School inCincinnati, Ohio. His rendition received positive reviews.[96] The song is heard, prominently but briefly, during the climactic fight-scene in the 2005 animated filmRobots.[97] Fender Pinwheeler (voiced byRobin Williams), while wearing a skirt, was busy fighting to the beat of the song.[98] An excerpt was used in thecomedy film, but was not included on thesoundtrack album.[99] In 2000, Britishdeath metal cover band Ten Masked Men included a rendition of the song on theirReturn of the Ten Masked Men album.[100] A cover byAhmet andDweezil Zappa was featured in the soundtrack of the 2000 filmReady to Rumble.[101] The song was covered twice inFearless Records'Punk Goes... compilation album series, first bypop punk band Nicotine for 2002'sPunk Goes Pop and then bymetalcore bandAugust Burns Red for its 2009 successor,Punk Goes Pop Volume Two. In 2003, the song was covered by American pop punk bandBowling for Soup for thesoundtrack of the filmFreaky Friday and commented that their version was "really, really, dark and reallyrock, [..] not the kind of 'pop'-py stuff that we usually do."[102] In 2005,power pop bandFountains of Wayne covered the song for their compilation albumOut-of-State Plates.Robert Christgau ofThe Village Voice highlighted their rendition saying the song is "as redolent and fetching as any of [Fountains of Wayne]'s peaks".[103]
In the 2010Gleeseason 2 episode "Britney/Brittany", the character ofRachel Berry, played byLea Michele, covered the song using similar outfits to the ones of the music video. Spears also made a cameo, taking the teacher's role, previously played by Cullota.[104]In the 2010Nickelodeon film,The Boy Who Cried Werewolf, the song was featured in the end credits performed by the actors as their respective characters.[105][106][107]Darren Criss also ofGlee performed a mash-up of "...Baby One More Time" with "Für Elise" onSing Out, Raise Hope forThe Trevor Project and theElizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation in December 2011.[108] In 2012, British singerEd Sheeran performed an acoustic version of the song onNOW 100.5 FM.[109] A year later he covered it onZ100'sElvis Duran and the Morning Show and added arap verse.[110] The song is sung by actressesSelena Gomez,Vanessa Hudgens,Ashley Benson andRachel Korine inHarmony Korine's filmSpring Breakers.[111] Swedish singerTove Styrke released a cover of the song on July 24, 2015.[112]Charli XCX andTroye Sivan referenced the song on their single "1999" on XCX's albumCharli.Alternative rock bandSlothrust recorded a cover of the song as part of their 2017 EPShow Me How You Want It to Be.Anne Marie also references the song on her single "2002". The music video also pays homage to Spears. Both singles were released in 2018. In 2020, Italiansymphonic death metal bandFleshgod Apocalypse paid homage to the song in their single "No", slightly interpolating the chorus lines and melody near the end of the track with altered lyrics.[113]
In 2018, the sitcomSuperstore also used "Baby, One More Time" inseason 4, episode 2, "Baby Shower", during a scene of Amy Sosa (America Ferrera)'s baby shower.[114] In addition, the song was also used in the trailer ofHitman's Wife's Bodyguard in 2021.[115] In 2022, the song was re-versioned for the MexicanNetflix television seriesRebelde. It was performed by Brazilian actress Giovanna Grigio and Mexican actorAlejandro Puente and was included in the soundtrack of the series released on January 5, 2022, bySony Music Mexico.[116]
The song appears in the 2019 Max Martinjukebox musical& Juliet where it was performed byJuliet Capulet in Act 1.[citation needed]
Arock cover of the song byTenacious D is featured in the end credits of the 2024 animated filmKung Fu Panda 4, which stars Tenacious D frontmanJack Black in the titular role ofPo.[117][118][119]
In 2025, South Korean singerSeulgi sampled the guitar riffs from the song, for her comeback single "Baby, Not Baby".[120]
"One of those pop manifestos that announces a new sound, a new era, a new century. But most of all, a new star. [...] '...Baby One More Time' is an apocalyptic thunder-clap of a song, with Max Martin's mega-boom production [...]. In the great tradition of debut singles, it was a divisive statement that drew a line between past and future. [...] With '...Baby One More Time,' [Spears] changed the sound of pop forever."
In 2020,Rolling Stone ranked the song at number one on a list of the 100 Greatest Debut Singles of All Time.[1] In 2021, the same magazine ranked the song at number 205 on their updated list of500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[121]Billboard's Robert Kelly observed that Spears' "sexy and coy" vocals on the track "kicked off a new era of pop vocal stylings that would influence countless artists to come."[122] "...Baby One More Time" was listed at number twenty five in the greatest pop songs since 1963, in a list compiled byRolling Stone and MTV in 2000.[123]Blender listed it at number nine in the 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born.[13] The song was also listed as the 2nd best song of the 1990s by VH1[124] and in a listing compiled in 2003, ranked at number one in 100 Best Songs of the Past 25 Years.[125] Bill Lamb of About.com ranked "...Baby One More Time" at number one on a compiled list with the Top 40 Pop Songs Of All Time.[126] The music video was voted the third most influential promo in the history of pop music on a poll held byJam!.[127] "...Baby One More Time" is also one of thebest-selling singles of all time, with over 9 million copies sold,[128] and also earned Spears' first nomination for aGrammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.[129] In April 2005, the British TV networkITV aired a short series calledHit Me, Baby, One More Time hosted byVernon Kay.[130] The show pittedone-hit wonders who generally had their moments of fame in the 1980s against each other to play their own hits and a currently popular cover song.[130] The favorites were chosen by audience voting.[130] The American version of the show also aired onNBC later in the year, and it was also hosted by Kay.[131] In the 2012 poll created byThe Official Charts Company andITV to discoverThe Nation's Favourite Number 1 Single of all time, "...Baby One More Time" was listed as the seventh favorite song bythe United Kingdom.[132] In 2018, readers of German teen magazineBravo voted "...Baby One More Time" to be the biggest hit since its first music compilation was released in 1992.[citation needed] In 2021,Billboard andAmerican Songwriter both ranked the song number two on their lists of the greatest Britney Spears songs.[133][134]
Spears led the teen pop pack ofChristina Aguilera,Jessica Simpson andMandy Moore, who were all seen as "pop princesses" gaining chart success in 1999.[135][136][137] These four performers had each been developing material in 1998, but "...Baby One More Time" changed the market in December, opening the door for the others.Rolling Stone wrote that Spears "spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop ... Spears early on cultivated a mixture of innocence and experience that generated lots of cash".[138] Barbara Ellen ofThe Observer has reported: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination. Many 19-year-olds haven't even started working by that age, whereas Britney, a former Mouseketeer, was that most unusual and volatile of American phenomena—a child with a full-time career. While other little girls were putting posters on their walls, Britney was wanting to be the poster on the wall. Whereas other children develop at their own pace, Britney was developing at a pace set by the ferociously competitive American entertainment industry".[139]
Scott Plagenhoef ofPitchfork noted: "songs likeNirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit",Dr. Dre's "Nuthin' But a 'G' Thang", and Britney Spears' " ... Baby One More Time" altered the landscape of pop culture so quickly in large part because they were delivered to all corners of the U.S. simultaneously by MTV. ... MTV's ability to place a song and musician into the pop music conversation was unparalleled at the time, and by the end of the decade that meant absurd levels of both financial and creative commitment to music videos."[140]PopMatters's writer Evan Sawdey commented that Spears' concept for the song's music video was the one responsible for her immediate success, saying that, as a result, the singer "scored a massive No. 1 single, inadvertently started the late '90s teen pop boom, and created a public persona for herself that was simultaneously kid-friendly and pure male fantasy. Her videos got played on both MTV and theDisney Channel at the same time, showing just how well Spears (and her armies of PR handlers) managed to walk that fine line between family-friendly pop idol and unabashed sex object."[141]
| Award | Year | Category | Result | Ref(s). |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ASCAP | 2000 | Most Performed Song | Won | |
| APRA Music Awards | 2000 | Most Performed Foreign Work | Nominated | [142] |
| Billboard Music Awards | 1999 | Female Singles Artist of the Year | Won | [143] |
| CDDB Awards | 1999 | Most Played Single on Computers | Won | |
| Grammy Awards | 2000 | Best Female Pop Vocal Performance | Nominated | [144] |
| Guinness World Records | 2000 | Fastest Most No.1 Singles on UK chart by a Teenage Female Solo Artist | Won | [145] |
| Indonesia Music Choice Awards | 1999 | Best Pop Song | Won | [146] |
| Best Song | Nominated | |||
| Best Music Video | Won | |||
| J-Wave Awards | 1999 | Song of the Year | Nominated | [citation needed] |
| M6 Awards | 1999 | Best Song | Won | [147] |
| March Music Madness Awards | 2014 | Greatest Pop Song of the Modern Era | Won | [148] |
| MTV Europe Music Awards | 1999 | Best Song | Won | [149] |
| Best Pop | Won | |||
| MTV Video Music Awards | 1999 | Best Pop Video | Nominated | [150] |
| Best Choreography | Nominated | |||
| Best Female Video | Nominated | |||
| International Viewer's Choice | Nominated | |||
| Now That's What I Call Music! | 2018 | Best Song of NOW Years (1983–2018) | Won | [151] |
| Best Song of the 90s | Won | |||
| Radio Music Awards | 1999 | Song of the Year: Contemporary Hit Radio/Hot Adult Contemporary | Nominated | [152] |
| Teen Choice Awards | 1999 | Choice Single | Won | [153] |
| Choice Music Video | Nominated | |||
| The Record of the Year | 1999 | The Record of the Year | Won | [154] |
| TRL Awards | 2007 | Most Influential Video of All Time | Won | [155] |
| Vevo Certified Awards | 2014 | Vevo Certified Awards for 100 Million Views | Won |
|
|
Credits for "...Baby One More Time" and "Autumn Goodbye" are taken from the single's liner notes.[12]
"...Baby One More Time"
| "Autumn Goodbye"
|
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
Decade-end charts[edit]
All-time charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[236] | 3× Platinum | 210,000^ |
| Austria (IFPI Austria)[237] | Platinum | 50,000* |
| Belgium (BRMA)[238] | 3× Platinum | 150,000* |
| Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[239] | Platinum | 90,000‡ |
| France (SNEP)[240] | Platinum | 500,000* |
| Germany (BVMI)[241] | 3× Gold | 750,000^ |
| Italy (FIMI)[242] | Platinum | 100,000‡ |
| Netherlands (NVPI)[243] | Platinum | 75,000^ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[244] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Norway (IFPI Norway)[245] | 3× Platinum | |
| Portugal (AFP)[246] | Platinum | 40,000‡ |
| Spain (PROMUSICAE)[247] | Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| Sweden (GLF)[248] | Platinum | 30,000^ |
| Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[249] | Platinum | 50,000^ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[250] | 4× Platinum | 2,400,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[251] | 5× Platinum | 5,000,000‡ |
| Summaries | ||
| Worldwide | — | 10,000,000[57] |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | September 29, 1998 | Jive | ||
| October 23, 1998 | ||||
| Australia | January 11, 1999 | Maxi CD | Festival Mushroom | |
| France | February 8, 1999 | Jive | ||
| Germany | February 15, 1999 | Rough Trade | ||
| United Kingdom |
| Jive | ||
| February 22, 1999 | Maxi CD[a] | |||
| France | March 23, 1999 | CD | ||
| United States | September 26, 2025 | 4-inch vinyl[b] | Legacy |
