Gimme More

"Gimme More" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, '' Blackout'' (2007). It was released on August 31, 2007, by Jive Records, as the lead single from the album. "Gimme More" was recorded in 2006 during Spears' second pregnancy and was one of the first solo productions by Danja. The song opens with an intro in which Spears utters the phrase "It's Britney, bitch". Musically, "Gimme More" is a song with elements from dance-pop, electropop and EDM using breathy vocals. The track closes with a speak-sing outro by Danja.

The song received critical acclaim and peaked at number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming her second highest-peaking single at the time. It also peaked at the top of the charts in Canada, also charting with top-five positions in 14 countries. The accompanying music video premiered on October 5, 2007. It displayed Spears as a stripper and featured a break from Spears's highly choreographed music videos. The video received mixed to negative reviews from critics, who panned Spears's pole dancing as well as the lack of storyline. An alternate cut was leaked on July 18, 2011.

Spears first performed "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards on September 9, 2007, wearing a black, jewel-encrusted bikini. The performance was panned by many critics, who commented extensively on her singing, dancing and wardrobe, with one deeming it as "one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards". On September 10, 2007, Cara Cunningham (then known as Chris Crocker) uploaded a video on YouTube in response to the criticism titled "Leave Britney Alone!", which made her an Internet celebrity and attracted attention from the media. Spears has also performed "Gimme More" at the Femme Fatale Tour (2011) and Britney: Piece of Me (2013–2017). "Gimme More" has been covered and sampled by many artists, including Miley Cyrus, Sia, will.i.am, and Marié Digby.

Background

"Gimme More" was co-written by Jim Beanz, Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica, Nate "Danja" Hills and Keri Hilson, while being produced by Danja.'' Blackout'' liner notes. Jive Records (2007) Spears started working with Danja in July 2006. He explained that the creative process was not difficult at first since he was "left to do pretty much whatever I wanted to", and "if she felt it, she was gonna ride with it. If she didn't, you'd see it in her face." Hilson said that she wrote the song with Spears in mind after Danja played her the instrumental, adding, "I just started singing, 'Give me, Give me,' and added a little more in and just having fun and messing around really." Spears began recording the track in Las Vegas in August 2006, while she was seven months pregnant with her second child, Jayden James. Recording continued at Spears' house in Los Angeles, California, three weeks after she gave birth. Hilson commented that "She gave 150 percent...I don't know any other mother that would do that." In an interview with Rhapsody, Danja commented that he added a speak-sing outro to "stake isclaim", since "Gimme More" was one of his first solo productions. "There's a lot riding on my future, because people think I'm around because of Tim and they don't really know what I'm capable of", he said. The song was mixed by Ms. Lago at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles. Background vocals were provided by Hilson and Beanz. "Gimme More" was released as the album's lead single and premiered on New York City-based radio station Z100's web site. A remix featuring rapper Lil' Kim (titled the "Kimme More" remix) was also made available for digital download.

Composition

"Gimme More" is a song incorporating elements from dance-pop, electropop, EDM, and pop. It is set in a moderate dance groove at a tempo of 113 beats per minute, with Spears vocal range spanning from F♯₃ to C₆. The song was composed in the key of F♯ minor, though the key of the final recording is sharp by a quarter tone. The melody incorporates "low electronic lines" whereas the beat has been described by Bill Lamb of About.com as "disco-ish". Nick Levine of Digital Spy compared Spears's vocals to those of her single " I'm a Slave 4 U" (2001). Lamb described them as "teasing...backed by moaning and heavy breathing" reminiscent of Donna Summer's " Love to Love You Baby" (1975). Sal Cinquemani of ''Slant Magazine'' felt the song was reminiscent of Sabrina's "Boys (Summertime Love)" (1987).

"Gimme More" is constructed in the common verse-chorus form. The song opens with a spoken intro in which Spears says the line "It's Britney, bitch". The chorus consists of the repetition of the hookline "Gimme gimme", that ends with a constantly pitch-shifted "More". The song closes with a speak-sing outro by Danja in which he says the lines "Bet you didn't see this one coming / The Incredible Lago, the legendary Ms. Britney Spears / and the unstoppable Danja".

Critical reception

"Gimme More" garnered universal acclaim from music critics. Dennis Lim of ''Blender'' named the song one of the highlights of the album, calling it "hypnotic pole-dance pop". Alexis Petridis of ''The Guardian'' called the song "futuristic and thrilling". Nick Levine of ''Digital Spy'' said that "somehow, out of personal chaos, pop greatness has emerged. anjamelds tack-sharp beats and a deliciously scuzzy bassline to create a dancefloor throb that feels devilishly sexy". While reviewing '' The Singles Collection'', Evan Sawdey of ''PopMatters'' called "Gimme More" "the best dance track she has done since 'Toxic'". Kelefa Sanneh of ''The New York Times'' said the track set the mood for ''Blackout'', adding that "the electronic beats and bass lines are as thick as Ms. Spears's voice is thin...she delivers almost nothing but slithery come-ons and defiant invitations to nightclub decadence". ''New Musical Express'' compared Spears's vocals to "a sex addict's cry for help". Stephen Thomas Erlewine of ''AllMusic'' said some of the songs of ''Blackout'', "really show off the skills of the producers", exemplifying "Gimme More", "Radar", " Break the Ice", "Heaven on Earth" and "Hot as Ice".

Bill Lamb of ''About.com'' gave the song three and a half stars and commented, "It does seem that Britney's bump-and-grind singing style that we first heard 8 years ago on ' ...Baby One More Time' is still intact, and the 'It's Britney, bitch' announcement that opens the song implies a significant amount of fire remains. The opening alone bumps the song's rating up by half a star". Blogger Roger Friedman of Fox News dubbed the line as "cocky and fun". Eric R. Danton of ''The Hartford Courant'' wrote, "The comedy starts right away, when she plays the role of your drunk friend calling at 3 a.m., slurring, 'It's Britney, bitch'". Mike Schiller of ''PopMatters'' called the opening line "real value...kind of hilarious" and added that the "inserted "more" syllables in the chorus only add to the feel that this is a genetically engineered sort of dancefloor banger". Popjustice named "Gimme More" the tenth best song of 2007. ''The StarPhoenix'' listed it as the second most infectious song of the year.

Chart performance

On September 22, 2007, "Gimme More" debuted at number 85 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. On October 13, 2007, the song peaked at number three on the chart. The same week, it also peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Digital Songs, due to digital sales of 179,000 downloads. It became her fifth top ten hit in the Hot 100, as well as her highest peaking since " ...Baby One More Time". On February 13, 2008, the single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) selling 1,000,000 copies. On December 15, 2007, it peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot Dance Club Songs. As of July 2016, "Gimme More" has sold 1,840,000 digital downloads in the United States. It is her seventh best-selling digital single in the country. In Canada, the song debuted at number 53 on September 22, 2007. On October 13, 2007, it peaked at number one and climbed from number 42, becoming the chart's "Greatest Gainer". It was certified two times platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) for sales of 160,000 copies.

In Australia, the single debuted at number three on the Australian Singles Chart on October 15, 2007. It received a gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments over 35,000 units. In New Zealand, it debuted at number 24 on October 1, 2007. The following week, it peaked at number 15. "Gimme More" was also successful in Europe, peaking at number two in the European Hot 100 Singles. In the United Kingdom, "Gimme More" debuted and peaked at number three on October 21, 2007 (for the week ending date October 27, 2007). According to The Official Charts Company, "Gimme More" has sold 210,000 copies there. It also reached the top five in Belgium, Czech Republic, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Norway and Sweden and peaking inside the top ten in Austria and Finland.

Music video

Background

The music video for "Gimme More" was filmed on July 19, 2007, at a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles, California, with additional scenes later being filmed on August 7, 2007, in the same location. It was directed by Jake Sarfaty, who was handpicked by Spears. According to ''People'', the production was Spears's "concept and vision". Despite this, according to Mikal Sky, who worked as the makeup artist for the video, Spears "sabotaged the director by refusing to perform and follow the script" for unknown reasons. During filming, Spears was spotted wearing a short black dress, black boots and a black hat. On September 13, 2007, it was reported by ''The New York Times'' that the music video was being "tweaked with input from her advisers" since " hegritty, stripper-themed clip...may jolt fans who are more accustomed to the slick, tightly choreographed videos that made her an MTV staple". The music video premiered exclusively in the iTunes Store on October 5, 2007, and in all other outlets, including ''TRL'' on October 8, 2007, and on BET's ''106 & Park'' on October 10, 2007.

Synopsis and reception

The video begins with a blonde Spears sitting and laughing in a bar with two female friends, but stops to look at a brunette Spears calling out to her on a small stage in front of them, wearing a leather vest, a studded belt, panties and fishnet stockings while sporting a tattoo on her biceps. She dances erotically around a pole and up against a mirror. Throughout the video, she continues to dance and flip her hair while special effects lights flash around her as the camera moves slightly in and out of focus to the beat of the song. The video's light systems change from black and white with aura-like blue and pink hues to full-blown color. Around the middle of the video, she is joined by two alter egos of her female friends, who also dance around the pole. The blonde Spears and her friends, while watching the dancing, later draw their attention to an attractive man sitting with his friends at a table across the bar.

The music video received mixed to negative reviews from critics. Michael Slezak of ''Entertainment Weekly'' said "The moral of the story is, if you're going to build an entire video around a stripper pole, then you better work said pole like a nine-to-five. Drop it like it's hot...Alas, in the case of "Gimme More," I've seen sexier pole work during an afternoon of fly-fishing". Andrei Harmsworth of ''Metro'' commented "To her credit, the video is slightly less disappointing than her mimed performance of the track at the Video Music Awards last month but it is still smeared with the same smutty hallmarks". '' Dose'' said the video "sucks less than you think" and added "Spears appears lucid, sometimes happy, and awards-worthy editing makes her appear to be standing upright competently throughout". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said the lighting effects and digital body enhancement of the video "indicate a predilection toward maintaining an image that no longer reflects reality. It doesn't point to an artist who refuses to evolve, but rather one who doesn't know how—or isn't being allowed to." ''IGN'' writer Sketch Longwood called it one of Spears' hottest videos, adding that she "proves to be quite skilled in the art of teasingly slinking around." While reviewing the alternate version of the video in July 2011, Becky Bain of ''Idolator'' stated that "Spears's last few videos — particularly the joyfully silly clip for 'I Wanna Go' — more than makeup for the travesty that was the pop star's video for 'Gimme More'... The stripper concept was a poor choice, the barely-there outfits were ill-fitting, the 'choreography' was a joke, the editing was sloppy."

The video was spoofed by Eminem on his music video of "We Made You".

An alternative version of the video leaked online on July 18, 2011, and included new scenes, which featured Spears strutting down the street in a black outfit and laying down in a zebra-print bed with a cat. The scenes of blonde Spears were cut. Becky Bain of ''Idolator'' said that "Neither the deleted nor added parts add or subtract anything from the experience. This video was kind of doomed no matter how it was edited together."

Live performances

MTV Video Music Awards

After days of media speculation, it was confirmed on September 6, 2007, that Spears would open the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards at the Pearl Theatre in the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 9, 2007. It was also announced that she was going to perform "Gimme More", with a magic act from illusionist Criss Angel in some parts of the performance. However, the bit is thought to have been rejected by the show's organizers at the last minute. Jesse Ignjatovic, the executive producer of the 2007 VMAs, contacted Spears since she wanted to start the show in "a very big and dramatic way", and was confident that Spears would deliver and set the tone for the rest of the night. She also said Spears was excited after she was approached by MTV to perform. On September 7, 2007, Spears started rehearsing at the Pearl Theater. An exclusive video from the rehearsal was posted on MTV.com the following day. The performance began with a close-up of the back of Spears's head, and continued with Spears turning to the camera and lip synching the first lines of Elvis Presley's 1958 song "Trouble": "If you're lookin' for trouble, you came to the right place / If you're lookin' for trouble, look right in my face." "Gimme More" began, and the camera panned out to reveal Spears wearing a black, jewel-encrusted bikini and black boots. She was accompanied by male and female dancers dressed in black outfits. Several pole dancers danced in smaller stages around the audience. The backdrop videos featured images of chandeliers floating and silhouettes of women, which were compared by Gil Kaufman of MTV to the gun barrel and the title sequence of the ''James Bond'' series. At the end of the performance, Spears smiled and thanked the audience before leaving the stage.

The performance was universally panned by critics. Jeff Leeds of ''The New York Times'' said that "no one was prepared for Sunday night's fiasco, in which a listless Ms. Spears teetered through her dance steps and mouthed only occasional words in a wan attempt to lip-synch her new single". Vinay Menon of the ''Toronto Star'' commented Spears "looked hopelessly dazed. She was wearing the expression of somebody who had been deposited at the Palms Casino Resort by a tornado, one that promptly twisted away, taking her clothing and sense of purpose...he waslumbering, in slow motion, as if somebody had poured cement into her streetwalker boots". David Willis of BBC
...