"(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On" is a song performed by British singer
Samantha Fox. It was written and produced by
Full Force, and released in 1991 as the first
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
from Fox' fourth album, ''
Just One Night'' (1991).
A
music video was produced to promote the single, directed by American director
Jim Swaffield. Fox personally selected a then-unknown
Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
as a dancer in the video.
The singer initially objected to the "hurt me, hurt me" lyric when first presented with the song by Full Force. She was concerned that the line — which referenced a New York club chant used by patrons calling for more bass — would be misunderstood as something sexually violent.
Her fears were realised, when some radio stations in America refused to play the song, believing it to be about
S&M.
Fox instead insisted the song was actually attacking the expectation by some men that a woman should sleep with her date in exchange for a night out.
Fox blamed the track's lack of chart success in America on record label politics and a lack of promotion, after
BMG BMG may refer to:
Organizations
* Music publishing companies:
** Bertelsmann Music Group, a 1987–2008 division of Bertelsmann that was purchased by Sony on October 1, 2008
*** Sony BMG, a 2004–2008 joint venture of Bertelsmann and Sony that wa ...
declined to extend its distribution deal with her UK record company,
Jive Records
Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, an ...
.
Critical reception
Larry Flick
Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...
from ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' wrote, "Naughty girl seems to be having almost too much fun on this titillating
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
teaser that revolves around whether or not Fox is going to keep her drawers on. In collaborating with
Full Force the singer once again finds all the right buttons to push and has come up with yet another controversial hit that will be crossing over to
top-40 radio in no time flat." Another editor declared the song as a "safe-sex anthem".
Chuck Eddy from ''
Entertainment Weekly'' viewed it as "an insanely impudent single". Pan-European magazine ''
Music & Media
''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...
'' found that it's "less poppy than her previous singles and featuring a heavy dance beat."
Track listings
* CD maxi, US
#"(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On" (LP Version) — 5:45
#"(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On" (Radio Edit - Sam Talks) — 4:06
#"(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On" (The Pants Come Off Mix) — 6:29
#"(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Come Off" (DJ Pierre's Remix) — 6:45
#"(Hurt Me! Hurt Me!) But the Pants Stay On" (Instrumental) — 5:45
#"Hot Lovin'" — 3:48
Charts
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hurt Me Hurt Me But the Pants Stay On
1991 singles
1991 songs
Samantha Fox songs
Jive Records singles
House music songs
Song recordings produced by Full Force