"Clumsy" is a song recorded by American singer
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
for her ninth studio album, ''
Glory'' (2016). It serves as the record's second
promotional single
A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...
, being released on August 11, 2016 for
digital download and
streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
by
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
and
Sony Music
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
. It was provided as an instant gratification track for those who pre-ordered ''Glory''. "Clumsy" was written by
Talay Riley
Talay Riley is a British singer-songwriter.
Career
At the age of 18, Talay Riley signed his first major publishing deal with Global Publishing. His first appearance was in 2009, when he appeared on rapper Chipmunk's single which peaked at num ...
,
Warren "Oak" Felder and Alex Niceforo, while production was handled by Felder and Alex Nice;
Mischke served as a vocal producer.
Musically, "Clumsy" portrays a "synth-laden"
electro song which incorporates
doo-wop
Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...
hand claps, stomping drums, finger snaps, soulful vocal riffs and an electronic drop in its instrumentation. Spears also alludes to her 2000 single "
Oops!... I Did It Again" during the track's breakdowns. The lyrical themes of the recording delve on
sex
Sex is the trait that determines whether a sexually reproducing animal or plant produces male or female gametes. Male plants and animals produce smaller mobile gametes (spermatozoa, sperm, pollen), while females produce larger ones (ova, oft ...
and how the singer and her suitor are clumsy during intimate moments. Writers from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, ''
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'',
musicOMH
MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
and ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' considered the track a highlight of ''Glory'' while the latter listed it as one of the best songs of 2016. Commercially, "Clumsy" charted at number 142 in France, where it remained for two weeks on the
SNEP chart. Spears included "Clumsy" on the set list of her
Piece of Me Tour
The Piece of Me Tour (also referred to as Piece of Me: Exclusive Limited Tour) was the tenth concert tour by American entertainer Britney Spears. Although it largely mirrors her Las Vegas residency, Britney: Piece of Me, which concluded in Dece ...
(2018).
Background and release
Even though
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...
' eighth studio album, ''
Britney Jean
''Britney Jean'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Britney Spears. It was released on November 29, 2013, by RCA Records. The album is Spears's second eponymous record after '' Britney'' (2001), though the album's name refe ...
'' (2013), had a lackluster commercial performance,
her Las Vegas residency show,
Britney: Piece of Me, was successful.
In September 2014, she posted a picture of herself in a recording studio. During an interview with ''
Extra
Extra or Xtra may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Film
* ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film
* ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film
Literature
* ''Extra'' (newspaper), a Brazilian newspaper
* ''Extra!'', an American me ...
'', a month later, she said that she was working "very slowly, but progressively" on new music.
In 2015, she released the single "
Pretty Girls", which featured
Iggy Azalea
Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea (), is an Australian rapper. At the age of 16, Azalea moved from Australia to the United States in order to pursue a career in music. Azalea earned public recognitio ...
,
but clarified that she did not have plans to release another studio album that year.
She explained that her children were her priority rather than music.
In late 2016, while promoting her ninth studio album
''Glory'', Spears said that she wanted to explore new musical styles. She described the project as her "most hip-hop album," explaining, "
..there are like two or three songs that go in the direction of more urban that I've wanted to do for a long time now, and I just haven't really done that."
She collaborated with
Talay Riley
Talay Riley is a British singer-songwriter.
Career
At the age of 18, Talay Riley signed his first major publishing deal with Global Publishing. His first appearance was in 2009, when he appeared on rapper Chipmunk's single which peaked at num ...
, who had previously co-written Iggy Azalea's "
Bounce
Bounce or The Bounce may refer to:
* Deflection (physics), the event where an object Collision, collides with and bounces against a plane surface
Books
* Mr. Bounce, a character from the Mr. Men series of children's books
Broadcasting, film and ...
" (2013) and
Nick Jonas
Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...
' "
Levels
Level or levels may refer to:
Engineering
*Level (instrument), a device used to measure true horizontal or relative heights
*Spirit level, an instrument designed to indicate whether a surface is horizontal or vertical
*Canal pound or level
*Regr ...
" (2015).
After the release of the first single "
Make Me..." and the promotional single "
Private Show" on August 8, 2016, Spears and ''
PopCrush
Townsquare Media, Inc. (formerly Regent Communications until 2010) is an American radio network and media company based in Purchase, New York. The company started in radio and expanded into digital media toward the end of the 2000s, starting wi ...
'' announced that "Clumsy" was going to be made available as the second promotional track from the ''Glory'' as an instant grant for those who pre-ordered the album.
It was subsequently released on August 11, 2016 for
digital download and
streaming
Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
.
Composition
"Clumsy" was written by
Talay Riley
Talay Riley is a British singer-songwriter.
Career
At the age of 18, Talay Riley signed his first major publishing deal with Global Publishing. His first appearance was in 2009, when he appeared on rapper Chipmunk's single which peaked at num ...
,
Warren "Oak" Felder and Alex Niceforo, with production being handled by the latter two;
Mischke served as a vocal producer. Spears, Riley, Felder, Zaire Koalo, Trevor Brown and Mischke provided crowd vocals on the track, which were recorded at 158 Studios, Westlake Village, California, and at House of Blues Studio, Encino, California.
Musically, "Clumsy" portrays a "synth-laden"
electro track,
with a "folksy verse stomp"
and a "futuristic club beat."
It additionally incorporates "stomping drums and finger snaps" in its instrumentation, as well as
doo-wop
Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...
"hand-claps and soulful vocal riffs as it builds to an explosive electronic drop."
In an interview with radio show ''The Cooper Lawrence Show'', the singer confirmed that she and her team "literally went into the booth together and did all the claps
..all the sound effects are real, they're from us, our feet and everything, it's all real, so we all did it together, it's like very old-school." Joey Nolfi, writing for ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'', saw "Clumsy" as being " sonically in-line with songs heard on 2011's ''
Femme Fatale
A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...
'' and 2013's ''Britney Jean''."
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' Alex Macpherson opined that "its rapacious giddiness shares something of the same spirit as
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...
's 'Greedy'."
Lyrically, the recording finds Spears "
umblingthrough the early throes of love."
Adam R. Holz of
Plugged In
Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is a fundamentalist Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizations t ...
claimed that the song is "about Spears and a partner 'bangin' all over
hebedroom,'
which can be seen in the lines, "Clumsy, bangin' all over this bedroom again and again."
Sasha Geffen of
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
added that during the track, Spears shows off her "flirty side" with lines like, "I love how you go down."
''
Spin
Spin or spinning most often refers to:
* Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning
* Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis
* Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'' Andrew Unterberger explained that the lyrics of "Clumsy" "offer varying degrees of double-entendred literalness within the clumsiness conceit, as Britney’s lack of physical dexterity leads to her 'slippin’ off this dress."
Writing for ''
Bustle
A bustle is a padded undergarment used to add fullness, or support the drapery, at the back of women's dresses in the mid-to-late 19th century. Bustles are worn under the skirt in the back, just below the waist, to keep the skirt from dragging. ...
'', Alexis Rhiannon noticed that the text of the recording is "frankly pretty filthy" and "also essentially a description of pure sex."
For the pre-chorus, Spears sings, "Call me a fool/ Call me insane/ But don't call it a thing/ Closer to you/ Closer to pain/ It's better than far away", following which she repeats "clumsy" as a hook. During every breakdown of the track, the singer "playfully squeals", "Oops!",
making reference to her 2000 song "
Oops!... I Did It Again".
Throughout the track, Spears delivers vocals in her "nasal come-on tone" as noted by ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' Jon Blistein.
The critic furthermore opined that the song "marks a rhythmic, almost swing-inspired turn for Spears."
Critical reception
Rob Sheffield of ''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'' considered it "one moment that sums up the fantastic new Britney Spears album" and "a perfect Britney song, done and dusted in three minutes. Ooops, she did it again."
Stephen Thomas Erlewine, writing for
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
, declared that "some of the highlights
n the album
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
are the silliest songs", citing "Clumsy" as an example and defining it as a "swinging" track.
Josh Duboff of ''
Vanity Fair'' felt "Clumsy" portrays "the most straight-forward 'club' track" and further explained that "the song is innocuous and propulsive."
Digital Spy
Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
's Lewis Corner named the recording a "four-to-the-floor banger"
..with an infectious clap-beat." Andrew Unterberger of ''Spin'' stated that "the rubbery track is among Britney’s most fun songs of recent years."
Alexis Rhiannon of ''Bustle'', declared, "It's both a relief and a joy to hear Spears return to her former glory with the empowering, x-rated 'Clumsy' lyrics."
Maura Johnston of ''
Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'' labelled "Clumsy" as a highlight from ''Glory''.
Neil McCormick of ''
The Telegraph
''The Telegraph'', ''Daily Telegraph'', ''Sunday Telegraph'' and other variant names are popular names for newspapers. Newspapers with these titles include:
Australia
* ''The Telegraph'' (Adelaide), a newspaper in Adelaide, South Australia, publ ...
'' classified the track as "equating clumsiness with bumping and grinding sex," where "
pears
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in the Northern Hemisphere in late summer into October. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the family Rosaceae, bearing the po ...
switches back and forth between the two approaches so frequently that it almost sound like a duet between sweet and tough alter egos."
''
The National'' Si Hawkins confessed that "Clumsy" is "a return to quirky form,"
while John Murphy of
musicOMH
MusicOMH (stylized as musicOMH) is a London-based online music magazine which publishes independent reviews, features and interviews from across all genres including classical, metal, rock and R&B.
History
MusicOMH was founded and launched by ...
emphasized that the song was an "undoubted highlight".
Jonathan Riggs, penning for
Idolator
An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry.
Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books
*''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music
* Idolator (website), an American music blog
* ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...
, opined that "although none of the more manic moments match the frenzied brilliance of '
Toxic
Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subst ...
' (but what could, really?), Britney keeps control of the pulsating 'Clumsy'."
While noting that "Britney holds her own on the sexually charged 'Clumsy'," Sal Cinquemani of
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...
suggested that
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...
would match better with the recording.
''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' Nolan Feeney observed that "the generic bass drop" of the track is a "missed opportunity."
Alex Macpherson of ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' was largely positive towards "Clumsy", mentioning that it "brings out grinding, Justice-style metallic synths, verses that jitter and hop uncontrollably, beery chants and an absurd moment when Spears' voice gets pitch-shifted thither and yon. But if much of her post-Blackout work seems to have had an absence of character as its end goal,
..Spears sounds like she’s having the time of her life sparring with and riding the kitchen-sink beat.
"Clumsy" was ranked at number 34 on ''Rolling Stone''’s "50 Best Songs of 2016" list by Rob Sheffield, who said that "
he song was ashould-been-a-hit highlight from
pears'scomeback album". He went on to say that "no singer
adever brought that much resonance to the word "oops"" referring to the song's lyrics and considered Britney a "TRL princess turned Vegas queen
ho was revisitingthe high-energy disco-ball hysteria of her youth".
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the liner notes of ''Glory''.
;Recording
*Vocals recorded at 158 Studios,
Westlake Village, California
Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County on its western border with Ventura County. The City of Westlake Village incorporated in 1981 becoming the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks Westlake Vill ...
; House of Blues Studio,
Encino, California
Encino (Spanish language, Spanish for "oak") is a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California.
History
In 1769, the Spanish Portolá expedition, first Europeans to see inland areas of California, traveled north t ...
*Mixed at Larrabee Studios,
North Hollywood, California
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North H ...
;Personnel
*Britney Spears – songwriter,
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
,
crowd vocals
*
Talay Riley
Talay Riley is a British singer-songwriter.
Career
At the age of 18, Talay Riley signed his first major publishing deal with Global Publishing. His first appearance was in 2009, when he appeared on rapper Chipmunk's single which peaked at num ...
– songwriter, crowd vocals
*
Warren "Oak" Felder – songwriter,
producer, crowd vocals
*Alex Niceforo – songwriter, producer
*
Mischke – vocal producer, crowd vocals
*Benjamin Rice – additional vocal recording
*Trevor Brown – crowd vocals
*Zaire Koalo – crowd vocals
*Benjamin Rice – vocal recording
*
Benny Faccone
Benny Faccone is a recording engineer, mixing engineer, and record producer known for his work with Ricky Martin, Santana, Luis Miguel, Maná and Marco Antonio Solís. He has won 5 Grammy Awards and 12 Latin Grammy Awards.
Biography
Faccone wa ...
– recording assistant
*Erik Belz – recording assistant
*Jaycen Joshua – mixing
*Maddox Chhim – mixing assistant
*Dave Nakaji – mixing assistant
Charts
References
{{authority control
2016 songs
Britney Spears songs
Songs written by Talay Riley
Songs written by Oak Felder
Electro songs
Song recordings produced by Oak Felder