Overprotected

«Overprotected» is a dance-pop song and single performed by American singer Britney Spears and originally included on her third studio album, Britney (2001). Swedes Max Martin and Rami composed and produced the song, whose lyrics are about a person who wants to be themselves. In December 2001, the Jive Records label released it as the album's second international single, after "I'm a Slave 4 U", while in April 2002, the remix "The Darkchild Remix" was released. produced by Rodney Jerkins—as the third single in the United States. In response, several critics called it one of the album's most important songs and compared it to Spears' previous works, such as the single "Oops!... I Did It Again" (2000). In addition, the Grammy Awards nominated her for best female pop vocal performance.

The double publication led the singer to shoot two music videos. The original video was directed by Bille Woodruff, with whom she previously worked on the video for the song "Born to Make You Happy" (1999), and shows her singing and dancing in a warehouse with a group of dancers, after being harassed by the paparazzi. On the other hand, the video for "The Darkchild Remix" was directed by Chris Applebaum, with whom she worked for the first time, and shows her when she escapes from a hotel and heads to a nightclub after watching a news program where she is criticized. The specialists pointed out that the artist "unleashed" herself in the choreographies of both works and compared her themes to the video for "Lucky" (2000). For their part, the audience made the remix video her ninth number one on MTV's Total Request Live special and classified it as one of her best music videos.

As part of its promotion, the singer performed the song on several television shows and on the Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001 - 2002) and The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004). Thus, in Australia "Overprotected" was certified gold by the ARIA, for sales of 35,000 copies, and in Europe it was Spears' tenth consecutive single to reach the top ten on a continental level, after placing as such in Denmark, Finland, Italy, Ireland, Norway and the Flemish Region of Belgium, and receive gold certifications in France and Sweden. In the United Kingdom it reached fourth place on the UK Singles Chart, where it was her ninth single to reach the top ten, and was certified silver after reaching 200,000 copies sold. Contrary to the above, the remix only reached number 86 on the main chart in the United States, the Billboard Hot 100, where it was the second and last single to appear from the Britney album.

Background and publication

During the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour (2000 - 2001), Spears announced that she wanted to create an album with a more "gross and fun" sound, after being inspired by hip hop artists. like Jay-Z and The Neptunes. Thus, in February 2001 he began recording songs for the soundtrack of his debut film, Crossroads (2002), and for his third studio album at the Maratone Studios in Stockholm, among which was "Overprotected". In April of the same year he finished recording it under the production of the Swedes Max Martin and Rami, and with choirs from BossLady, while in September 2001 revealed its title in an interview. Jive Records made it known when it was released as the second track by Britney, in November 2001. On December 18 of the same year, it was released as the second track. international single from the album, after "I'm a Slave 4 U", while on April 1, 2002 he released the remix "The Darkchild Remix" as the third single in the United States, after "I'm a Slave 4 U". m a Slave 4 U" and "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman."

In 2004, the record company included it in Spears' first greatest hits album, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, while in 2009 it was included in the most complete editions of the compilation The Singles Collection.

Composition

"Overprotected" is a dance pop song composed in the key of E flat major with a tempo of 96 beats per minute and a vocal register that extends from the note A flat major ₃ to the note do₅. Ted Kessler of NME and David Browne of Entertainment Weekly maintained that it also has Europop influences, while Nikk Tranter of PopMatters compared it to Spears' previous songs.

Her lyrics are about the complexities of growing up and being held back by other people's perceptions. Through this, the performer states that she is tired of being manipulated by others and that she does not need to be told what to do, what is perceived in phrases like: «You will have to see from my perspective. I need to make mistakes to know who I am. And I don't want to be so damn protected." Dana Alice Heller, author of Makeover Television: Realities Remodelled (2007), maintained that with "Overprotected" Spears addressed the problem of being a teen star whose personal life and professional is managed by others. The author also compared her to the reality television Britney & Kevin: Chaotic (2005), noting: "Britney frames her makeover as a step toward independence, as a rebellion against her overly controlling parents and standards."

Remixes

In 2001, "I'm a Slave 4 U" reached fourth place on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart, which surveys the most played songs in clubs in the United States., becoming Spears' first disco hit. The following year, Jive Records commissioned composer and producer Rodney Jerkins to create a remix of "Overprotected" more intended for urban clubs. The result was the version "The Darkchild Remix", which he released on April 1, 2002, despite the fact that he would initially release it in the middle of the previous month. Regarding the remix, Jerkins noted:

"They needed a remixel that was crazy. I had a lot of fun doing it because I took it from the old school. It's a rhythm of the old school type, which I think is great, because it's an element that she'd never had, but I gave her her characteristic sound. I've been up all night excited everyone with the music. He's got the same lyrics, I just played the song. [...] She reinvented herself. Everyone thought he'd come back with another "Oops!... I Did It Again", but he turned and returned with "I'm a Slave 4 U", which is basically a discotheque success. One must praise the people who reinvent themselves. I always said I would be one of the people who would be for a while [in industry], because I see it in it."

Rodney Jerkins declared about the creation of the remix "The Darkchild Remix" of "Overprotected" and about Spears.

Additionally, Finnish musician and producer Jaakko Salovaara created the other two official remixes, "JS16 Dub" and "JS16 Remix." In 2002, Jive Records incorporated the latter into the soundtrack of the singer's debut film, Crossroads,. and included "The Darkchild Remix" on the limited edition of Britney.

Critical reception

Music specialists gave mixed comments in their reviews of the Britney album. Jocelyn Vena of MTV argued that with works like "Overprotected" and "Let Me Be", Spears seemed "to be letting out her teenage angst", while Kyle Anderson of MTV noted: "The real first blush with the emancipation of teen pop of the singer came with 'Overprotected'." On the other hand, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic maintained that "Overprotected", "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" and "What It' #39;s Like to Be Me» «are crucial moments in Britney Spears' third album, the work where she strives to delve deeper into her person – which is not the same as her character, of course –, making it more adult while Britney is still recognizable." Similarly, Robert Christgau highlighted the inclusion of "Overprotected" and "Cinderella" on the album and noted of Spears: "Hardly, the first not terribly bright teenager to address self-knowledge through the words of Others." Likewise, Ted Kessler of NME called it "crackling Europop effervescence", while Jim Wirth called it an "unusually vengeful club banger" and specified: "Oddly enough, while competed on The Mickey Mouse Club and became the most famous teenager in the world, all Britney really wanted was to "make mistakes to find out who I am." That's right, guys. Britney says it's okay to lose your virginity at 11 and spend your teenage years snorting washing powder. Well, more or less, whatever. I'll let you know."

On the other hand, David Browne of Entertainment Weekly argued that "Overprotected" brought together everything that is contradictory and frustrating about Britney, and specified: "[... ] Our proud queen of the middle riff growls in "Overprotected", while her voice floats between irascibility and aggression. Good for her, you'll think, until you realize that the Max Martin-produced song is pretty much the same raucous Europop as his previous work. Spears may proclaim that she is not afraid of making a 'mistake', but the song is a study in risk management." In turn, Annabel Leathes of the BBC wrote: "Like declarations of innocence [ by Spears] started to look a little subdued—after all, she was dating the very likable Justin Timberlake—"Overprotected" and 'I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman' They served to level the darts of her critics.

At the same time, Nick Levine of Digital Spy called it a "rebellious Max Martin jam" and listed it as one of the two essential Britney songs, along with "I'm a Slave 4." U", while her colleague Alim Kheraj listed it as the singer's fifth best single and wrote: "Another moment where Britney's music became mysteriously prophetic. [...] It's the classic [combination of] Britney and Max Martin, full of distinctive chord progressions and more hooks than it seems possible to fit into one song." Similarly, Nikki Tränker of PopMatters maintained that it is " a loud and utter reminiscence of Spears' previous Big Bang singles, "Oops!... I Did It Again" and "(You Drive Me) Crazy"", and also specified about the artist: "He sings about freeing himself from the chains of girls around him, he complains about his need for space in the whirlwind that is his life and he lets us know that he doesn't need anyone to tell him what to do." In turn, Jon O'Brien of Billboard called it a "defiant statement of intent" and classified as a safe play after "I'm a Slave 4 U" and as Britney's most notable song, but noted that the hiring of Rodney Jerkins to remix its release as a single in the United States United suggested that Martin's style was going out of style. On the other hand, the 2002 Razzie Awards nominated her for the anti-award "Worst Original Song" from a Soundtrack along with Madonna's "Die Another Day" and "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", with the latter being the "winner". In 2003, the song also received a Grammy Award nomination for best female pop vocal performance, an award that "Don't" nevertheless won. "t Know Why" by Norah Jones.

Music videos

International video

The international video for "Overprotected" was produced by Geneva Films and directed by Bille Woodruff, who in 1999 worked with Spears on the clip for "Born to Make You Happy." Its choreographer was Brian Friedman, who in the same year he co-created the choreography for "I'm a Slave 4 U", while the costumes were provided by the Argentine brand Kosiuko. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar in 2011, the singer classified it as her favorite video and specified: «I think it says a lot. It was directed so well, it's very colorful and the dancing was incredible."

The clip begins with the music of the song "Bombastic Love" in the background when Spears opens a door and leaves a building where several paparazzi are waiting for her. Immediately, she gets into a convertible and heads to an abandoned warehouse where she begins to sing while lying on a couch, but she soon gets up and starts dancing. Her arrival is perceived from a rooftop by several dancers, who enter the place and find her while she sings and dances alone. Immediately, she greets them and they begin to do a choreography. At the same time, scenes of her play while she sings in a room with moving walls covered with photos and headlines about her. The final scene shows her turning her back and walking towards the back wall. In 2002 the video reached number 1 on MTV Mexico in its final year-end count "The 100 Most Ordered"

After its release in late 2001, Rolling Stone maintained that the singer "breaks into a furious, defiant dance," and that the video "bears witness to how she bristled under "the thumb of her handlers" and Alim Kheraj of Digital Spy wrote that it "features one of the best breakdowns in pop music history, allowing Britney to really show off her skills as a dancer." On the other hand, Ryan O'Connell of Thought Catalog wrote: "There comes a time in every pop star's career when they have to make a song about the downfalls of fame. Somewhere in your contract, there has to be a clause that says: "After I achieve a little bit of success, I have to sing about how success is bringing me down." Britney had already addressed the topic with a fake celebrity named Lucky, but with "Overprotected" he ditches the veiled character and puts himself at the forefront. [...] The rest of the video is pretty weak. Britney makes sad faces at the camera and tries to dance from the pain. [...] [The video for] "Lucky" "It was much better." In addition, Jarett Wieselman of New York Post classified it as one of her worst works, along with "I Love Rock'n'" Roll", and called her choreography "unusually bad".

After the premiere, sales of Kosiuko rose considerably in the United States, leading its owner Federico Bonomi to declare: «The truth is that we did not imagine such a response and the demand for these products far exceeded the offer." In 2004, the record company included the work in the compilation album in video format Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, while on October 24, 2010, it was published on the Vevo account of the singer, where she received more than eighty-five million views until February 2019.

Video «The Darkchild Remix»

Spears shot the music video for "The Darkchild Remix" under the direction of Chris Applebaum, with whom he worked for the first time. A Band Apart Productions produced the clip, while Brian Friedman created the choreography, the main part of which It was filmed in the lobby of the Millennium Biltmore Hotel. Filming began on March 3, 2002 and ended at 5 a.m. m. the next day, after 23 consecutive hours of recording in Los Angeles, and featured the participation of the singer's then bodyguard, Big Rob, who played the same role in the video. For his part, Applebaum commented that the resistance and Spears' patience during the marathon filming was impressive, noting that everything went smoothly. The director further revealed that he prepared the video while he was on IV therapy recovering from a stomach ailment at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and that Shel Greb drew the sketches for the sets, sitting next to her resting bed.

The video begins with scenes of Spears and her friends in a hotel room, where they watch a news program in which she is criticized for wearing too little clothing at the presentation of "I'm a Slave 4 U" in the MTV Video Music Awards 2001. In response, she decides not to feel affected by the criticism, puts a cloth in her mouth to disguise her voice and calls the bodyguard waiting outside the room on the phone, to make him leave the place for one moment. When this happens, she begins to escape from the hotel with her friends. In their escape, they make faces at the security cameras of the elevator in which they go down, perform a choreography when they reach the lobby and then steal the van of some men who had just left. get to the hotel. While they flee in the vehicle, one presses a button on the instrument panel and the truck lengthens, creating a space where everyone begins to dance. At the same time, scenes occur in which Spears performs choreography in the hotel lobby, alone or with her friends, and with lights that turn on and off. At night, the girls finally get out of the van and dance in a lonely alley in the rain, while shortly after, they arrive at the entrance of a nightclub called Sugardawg, where several paparazzi begin to photograph them. The last scene shows when the same news program from the beginning reports on the escape that Spears starred in.

The video premiered on March 26, 2002. The following day, it debuted at number eight on MTV's Total Request Live, a program that listed the ten most requested clips daily by viewers. On June 20 of the same year, he managed to have the space send him to retirement, according to the rules, after having remained in the count for fifty consecutive days, a period in which he appeared for thirteen days as the most requested by the audience. In this way it became Spears' ninth number one clip and her tenth video sent to retirement.

As part of its critical reception, MTV's Joe D'Angelo noted: "The clip furthers the 'I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman' crusade." —"I'm not a girl, I'm not a woman either"—by the singer, to avoid her adolescent image", while James Dinh classified it as "highly danceable" and Jocelyn Vena wrote: "One year [and eight months] after the video for "Lucky" —corresponding to the first work in which the singer reflected her relationship with fame—Spears unleashes herself in this clip from her album Britney». At the same time, Rolling Stone maintained that The remix video became best known for being "the first Britney clip ripped from the headlines", and John Boone of E! France classified it as the singer's thirteenth best video in 2013 and noted that her dance is "sick" and that its theme continued in the clips for "Piece of Me" (2008) and "If U Seek Amy" (2009), while Becky Bain of Idolator indicated that it was the most entertaining video for "Overprotected" and noted of the wardrobe: "[The clip] shows Spears cavorting around a hotel facility and wearing such an eye-catching outfit—a bra." "pink under a fluffy-looking green leotard—and ridiculous—a pair of oversized sleeves that don't attach to a shirt, paired with baby pink pieces over a jeans—that only she could make look chic." In 2002, Jive Records included it on the limited edition DVD of the album Britney, while in 2004 it was included on Greatest Hits: My Prerogative and on 2009 on the DVD of the most complete edition of the compilation The Singles Collection. On the other hand, in January 2011, visitors to the Billboard website voted it seventh best video of the singer.

Presentations

Spears performed "Overprotected" for the first time on the 2001 leg of the Dream Within a Dream Tour. During the performance, she danced to it surrounded by laser lights, while the stage screens showed a video in which her hair gradually grew. hair after being bald. In the same period he presented it on the British program Top of the Pops, while in 2002 he performed it again in that space, as well as on the German program Viva Interaktiv and at the Euro Disney tourist resort in France. In the same year, Jive Records included this last performance on the Britney limited edition DVD, under the name "Lights, Camera, Action", released the Dream Within a Dream Tour on the Live from Las Vegas DVD. and included a performance in the credits of Spears' debut film, Crossroads. On the other hand, the repertoire of the second leg of the tour replaced the original version with the remix "The Darkchild Remix" and did not include the original accompanying video on the screens.

The singer performed the song for the last time on The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004), in whose repertoire she was part of the first act under the remix "The Darkchild Remix". During the show, she wore a tight-fitting black suit and He performed choreography together with several dancers.

Business performance

"Overprotected" recorded several commercial achievements outside of Anglo-Saxon America. In Australia, it debuted at number 16, according to the December 23, 2001 edition of the ARIA Charts, which it reached again in the January 20, 2002 edition, after having spent four weeks in the top twenty places. Later, the ARIA certified it gold, after selling 35,000 copies, and listed it among the ninety singles that were most successful during 2002. In Mexico the song reached number 1, in addition to being the best-selling single. of 2002 in that country.

In Europe it was among the top ten weekly hits in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Norway and the Flemish Region of Belgium, and among the top twenty in Spain, the Netherlands, the Walloon Region and France, where The SNEP certified it gold after selling 250,000 copies. In particular, in Sweden it reached second position and was the singer's ninth single to appear in the top ten and the best positioned of the album Britney. The IFPI also certified it as a gold record, after selling 20,000 copies, and Sveriges Radio listed it among the forty songs that were most successful in the country during 2002. The song also debuted at number number 5 on the February 2, 2002 edition of the main United Kingdom chart, UK Singles Chart, where it rose to fourth place the following week, being Spears' ninth single to appear in the top ten and in the second on the album. At the end of the year, the OCC listed it among the ninety most successful songs of 2002, while in 2020, the BPI certified it as Britney's third silver single. /i> after selling 200,000 copies. With all of the above, "Overprotected" reached eighth place on the continental European Hot 100 chart, according to the edition of February 11, 2002, where it was Spears' tenth consecutive album in appear among the top ten places, with all of his singles published on the continent.

In Anglo-Saxon America, its greatest achievement was reaching number 22 in Canada. For its part, the remix "The Darkchild Remix" debuted at number 93 on the April 27, 2002 edition of the main United States chart., the Billboard Hot 100, where it was Spears' ninth single to enter and Britney's second and last after "I'm a Slave 4 U", after the ballad "I' #39;m Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" failed to do so. The following week, it reached position 86, and debuted at number 40 on the Pop Songs radio chart, where it rose to number 37 weeks later. According to Nielsen SoundScan sold 33,000 downloads in the country as of September 2010.

Song list

Positioning in lists

Weekly lists

Country	List	First Week	Position debut	Better. position	Weeks in the Better. position	Weeks in the List	Last Week	Ref.
America
Canada	Top 40 songs	31 January 2002	32	22	1	6	1 April 2002
United States	Billboard Hot 100	27 April 2002	93	86	1	5	25 May 2002
	Pop Songs	4 May 2002	40	37	1	3	25 May 2002
Europe
Belgium (Flands)	Top 50 songs	19 January 2002	21	9	1	11	30 March 2002
Belgium (Valonia)	Top 50 songs	19 January 2002	28	14	1	12	6 April 2002
Denmark	Top 40 songs	28 December 2001	18	6	1	10	15 March 2002
Spain	Top 20 songs	23 December 2001	14	14	2	4	27 January 2002
Finland	Top 20 songs	23 December 2001	12	7	1	7	3 February 2002
France	Top 100 songs	26 January 2002	24	15	2	18	25 May 2002
Ireland	Top 50 songs	24 January 2002	9	9	3	10	28 March 2002
Italy	Top 20 songs	31 January 2002	10	9	1	6	7 March 2002
Norway	Top 20 songs	15 December 2001	18	9	2	12	2 March 2002
Netherlands	Top 100 songs	12 January 2002	77	12	2	10	16 March 2002
United Kingdom	Top 100 songs	2 February 2002	5	4	1	12	20 April 2002
Sweden	Top 60 songs	21 December 2001	11	2	1	18	19 April 2002
Europe	Top 20 songs	4 February 2002	10	8	1	5	4 March 2002
Oceania
Australia	Top 50 songs	23 December 2001	16	16	2	9	17 February 2002

End of year lists

Country	List	Year	Position	Ref.
Europe
Belgium (Flands)	Top 100 songs	2002	87
Belgium (Valonia)	Top 100 songs	2002	95
France	Top 100 songs	2002	82
United Kingdom	Top 200 songs	2002	85
Sweden	Top 100 songs	2002	34
Oceania
Australia	Top 100 songs	2002	89

Certifications

Country	Supplier	Year	Certification	Sales certified	Ref.
America
United States	RIAA	2023	Gold disc	500 000
Europe
France	SNEP	2002	Gold disc	250 000
Sweden	IFPI Sweden	2002	Gold disc	20 000
United Kingdom	BPI	2020	Silver disc	200 000
Oceania
Australia	ARIA	2002	Gold disc	35 000

Credits

• Britney Spears: Voice and Choir.
• Max Martin: Composition, production, recording, mixing and guitar.
• Rami: Composition, production, recording and mixing.
• BossLady: Coro.
• Michel Tucker: Engineering Pro Tools.
• John Amatiello: Pro Tools Engineering and secondary vocal engineering.
• Charles McCrorey: Engineering assistance.
• Daniel Savio: Giradiscos.

Source: Discogs.