"Me Against the Music" is a song performed by Britney Spears featuring Madonna. The song was written by Spears and Madonna along with Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Penelope Magnet, Thabiso Nikhereanye, Terius "The-Dream" Nash, and Gary O'Brien for Spears' fourth studio album In the Zone, released as the first single of the album.

It became Spears' first number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. "Me Against the Music" won the Billboard Music Award for Hot Dance Single of the Year.

Music and structure

"Me Against the Music" is a moderate dance beat song at a key of an A Major. Britney and Madonna's vocal ranges are spanning between two octave F₃ - B₄. The song is being composed at 120 bpm.

Background and writing

Producer-songwriter Christopher "Tricky" Stewart and Penelope Magnet, known collectively as RedZone, presented Spears , the third song they had written and produced, "Pop Culture Whore." While Spears' management liked the track, Spears rejected it, telling them the song "sucked". After bonding with Spears a night in New York to "get in her world" which "made it a lot easier to actually write and know what she would and wouldn't say, to know where her real vibe is", Stewart and Magnet began working on a new song. Stewart came up with the track while Magnet developed the melody on a piano and wrote most of the lyrics. Terius "The-Dream" Nash became involved into the project after receiving a call from Stewart who was saying "We're gonna cut this song with Britney". The-Dream is credited as a co-writer alongside Thabiso Nikhereanye and Gary O'Brien. The song was designed as a sort of battle between Spears and the song, what Magnet described as "trying to out-dance the track or out-beat the drum or out-pluck the guitar ... as if she's ... losing herself in the music."

Originally, this song was not planned on being the first single from In the Zone, and when it was then decided it would be the first single, a completely different version was in mind. Jive Records was planning on releasing "Outrageous" as the lead off single. They felt that it was urban enough to become a hit across most formats, and they also had to fulfill a contract with R. Kelly who produced the song, which obligated them to release the song as a single.

However, Spears felt that the song was not strong enough to be the first single and lobbied for "Me Against the Music". The original version that Spears had in mind, which she performed on September 4, 2003 at the National Football League season kickoff, did not include Madonna on the song. When Spears finally got her way, all was set to release the single. However, during rehearsals for the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards in which Spears would perform with Madonna, Spears played the song to Madonna who liked it. RedZone handed the track over to her and recorded her vocals over the song and some others that she herself had written and then sent it back to Britney's camp. Britney, being a fan of Madonna, was thrilled that Madonna had recorded herself on the track, hence, it became the first single to be released from the In the Zone album, which was believed to boost attention by the appearance the featured artist herself and as a spin-off of the performance at the VMAs.

Critical reception

David Browne of Entertainment Weekly magazine called "Me Against the Music" "the album's coy, overly busy single". Dorian Lynskey of The Guardian noted the it as "the only duff track" of the album. Jon Pareles of Rolling Stone magazine writes, "Madonna shows up in the album's first song, 'Me Against the Music', as if endorsing Spears' foray into come-hither posing and club-land beats."

Chart performance

"Me Against the Music" was marketed to become Spears' comeback single in the United States, after a year-long hiatus from the music scene and no substantial U.S. hits since 2000. While the song didn't break records of any sorts, it made Spears' musical presence known once again.

The single reached a peak of number thirty-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and it became her first top forty hit since "I'm a Slave 4 U" in 2001. "Me Against the Music" is her lowest charting U.S. lead single off a studio album to date. On the component charts, it peaked the top of the Hot 100 Singles Sales. It also reached the summit of Billboard Hot Dance Club Play, spending two consecutive weeks from the issue dated December 23, 2007, to January 3, 2004. The single's performance on the Hot Dance Club Play chart earned Spears the Hot Dance Single of the Year accolade at the 2004 Billboard Music Awards.

"Me Against the Music" was an international success, reaching the top five in several countries. It was a chart success in the UK making number two, and it was a major hit for Spears in Australia, being her first number-one since "Oops!... I Did It Again". The song topped the Eurochart Hot 100 Singles chart for three consecutive weeks.

Music video

The video was directed by Paul Hunter and produced by Veronica Zelle. The video itself reached number one on the TRL Countdown and stayed there for a record-breaking twenty consecutive days. However, the record was beaten in 2005 by Kelly Clarkson with her hit "Behind These Hazel Eyes". It was filmed from October 8-10, 2003 at Silvercup Studios in Long Island City, New York.

The video starts with Spears parking her car and going into a club. She walks through a series of hallways with wooden walls while Madonna observes her from a room through a video monitor. Arriving in the club, Britney dances, noticing several security cameras, while looking for Madonna, who appears on numerous television screens in the club. The two then approach the same wall from opposite sides and begin dancing in synchronicity. Madonna then enters the wooden hallways with Britney chasing after her and unable to spot her. Madonna drops her cane and disappears into a white room with a tree and swing and begins swinging while Britney finds the discarded cane and continues her search. While Britney reenters the club and starts dancing, Madonna appears on the screen singing her lines as a challenge to Britney. The two appear in a closed room with an empty metal bed frame and begin a series of acrobatic positions and movements along the frame until Madonna inexplicably disappears again. Madonna is back in the observation room and continues singing and dancing while Britney finds Madonna's discarded coat in the swing room. She appears in the observation room and throws Madonna against the wall, moving in for a kiss. Before she can kiss her, Madonna disappears into thin air and her laugh can be heard in the distance as Britney looks around for her.

MadTV created a parody called "Me Against Madonna," which received most of its humor at the expense of Madonna's age. In the video, Madonna (Mo Collins) turns out to be a vampire and eventually drains the youth of Spears (Nicole Parker). The fake director of the video was Guy Ritchie, Madonna's then husband. French and Saunders made a parody of the video, mainly showing how ridiculous the dance routines involving the bedframe were for women of a certain age (meaning Madonna) and they also ridiculed the swing scenes as well as some of Spears' robotic, mellow lyrics in the song.

Awards

Year	Ceremony	Award	Result
2004	Billboard Music Awards	Best-selling Dance Single of the Year	Won

Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Me against the Music".

Australia CD 1 (82876 577552)Release Date: November 17, 2003

1. "Me against the Music" — 3:43
2. "Me against the Music" [Peter Rauhofer Radio Mix] — 3:42
3. "Me against the Music" [The Mad Brit Mixshow] — 5:55

Australia CD 2 Release Date: November 17, 2003

1. "Me against the Music" [Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Remix] — 4:32
2. "Me against the Music" [Passengerz vs. The Club Mix] — 7:37
3. "Me against the Music" [Terminalhead Vocal Mix] — 7:10
4. "Me against the Music" [Video Mix Instrumental] — 3:35

Mexico CD 1

1. "Me against the Music" [Video Mix] - 3:47
2. "Me against the Music" [Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Mix] - 4:32
3. "Me against the Music" [Call Out Research Hook #1] - 0:09
4. "Me against the Music" [Call Out Research Hook #2] - 0:09

Mexico CD 2

1. "Me against the Music" [Video Mix] - 3:47
2. "Me against the Music" [Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Mix Instrumental] - 4:33
3. "Me against the Music" [Peter Rauhofer Radio Mix] - 3:43
4. "Me against the Music" [The Mad Brit Mixshow] - 5:55
5. "Me against the Music" [Passengerz VS The Club Mix] - 7:34
6. "Me against the Music" [Terminalhead Vocal Mix] - 7:07
7. "Me against the Music" [Video Mix Instrumental] - 3:35

UK/Europe CD Single (82876576432) Release Dtae: November 10, 2003

1. "Me against the Music" — 3:43
2. "Me against the Music" [Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Remix] — 4:33
3. "Me against the Music" [Peter Rauhofer Radio Mix] — 3:42
4. "Me against the Music" [The Mad Brit Mixshow] — 5:55

U.S. CD Single (82876 582152)

1. "Me against the Music" — 3:43
2. "Me against the Music" [Trak Starz Remix] — 3:31
3. "Me against the Music" [Gabriel & Dresden Club Mix] — 8:51
4. "Me against the Music" [Peter Rauhofer Radio Mix] — 3:43
5. "Me against the Music" [The Mad Brit Mixshow] — 5:55
6. "Me against the Music" [Bloodshy & Avant “Dubbie Style” Remix] — 5:15
7. "Me against the Music" [Kanye West Remix] — 3:43

U.S. 12" Vinyl (82876 577571)

• Side A:

1. "Me against the Music" [Peter Rauhofer's Electrohouse Mix] — 8:17
2. "Me against the Music" [The Mad Brit Mixshow] — 5:55

• Side B:

1. "Me against the Music" [Gabriel & Dresden Club Mix] — 8:51
2. "Me against the Music" [Rishi Rich's Punjabi Club Mix] — 5:34

• Side C:

1. "Me against the Music" [Peter Rauhofer's Electrohouse Dub] — 6:49
2. "Me against the Music" [Passengerz Vs The Club Mix] — 7:34

• Side D:

1. "Me against the Music" [Gabriel & Dresden Dub] — 7:14
2. "Me against the Music" [Terminalhead Vocal Mix] — 7:07

The Singles Collection Box Single

1. "Me against the Music" — 3:43
2. "Me against the Music" [Passengerz Vs The Club Mix] — 7:34

Other Versions

• Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Remix Instrumental 4:33
• Rishi Rich's Punjabi Club Mix 5:34
• Rishi Rich's Desi Kulcha Remix ft. Penelope Magnet 3:35
• Gabriel & Dresden Radio Edit 3:39
• Peter Rauhofer's Electro House Mix 8:17
• Peter Rauhofer's Electro House Dub 6:49
• Bloodshy & Avant "Chix Mix" ft. Penelope Magnet 5:16
• Bloodshy & Avant "Chix Mix" (Lidrock Edit) ft. Penelope Magnet 3:31
• Justice Remix/Extended Mix 4:01
• B.E.D. Club Mix 3:45
• Scott Storch Mix 3:38
• Dragon Man Remix ft. Penelope Magnet 3:44
• Dragon Man Remix ft. Madonna 3:44
• The Circus Starring: Britney Spears Bollywood Remix

Charts

Chart (2007)	Peak Position
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	1
Austrian Singles Chart	12
Belgian Flemish Singles Chart	5
Belgian Walloon Singles Chart	3
Canadian Singles Chart	2
Danish Singles Chart	1
Dutch Singles Chart	5
European Hot 100 Singles	1
Finnish Singles Chart	5
French SNEP Singles Chart	11
German Singles Chart	5
Irish Singles Chart	1
Italian FIMI Singles Chart	2
New Zealand Singles Chart	13
Norwegian Singles Chart	2
Swedish Singles Chart	5
Swiss Singles Chart	4
UK Singles Chart	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	35
U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Club Play	1
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	11

References

1. |url=http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0045550|title=Britney Spears And Madonna Me Against The Music Music Sheet|publisher=Music Notes|acessdate=11-21-09}}

External links

• Britney Spears — Official Web Site
• Madonna — Official Web Site