Boys (Britney Spears song)
"Boys" | ||||
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Single by Britney Spears featuring Pharrell Williams | ||||
from the album Britney and Austin Powers in Goldmember: Music from the Motion Picture | ||||
B-side | "I'm a Slave 4 U" | |||
Released | June 24, 2002 | |||
Recorded | 2001 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
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Label | Jive | |||
Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) | The Neptunes | |||
Britney Spears singles chronology | ||||
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Pharrell Williams singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"Boys" on YouTube |
"Boys" is a song by American singer
While the song did not perform well on the Billboard charts in the United States, it reached the top ten on the Belgian charts and in Ireland and the United Kingdom, and charted in the top 20 in Australia, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland, and Denmark. The song would later be certified gold in Australia. The song's accompanying music video, directed by Dave Meyers, was nominated at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Video from a Film. The clip features Spears and Williams at a party. Spears has performed "Boys" a number of times including at the 2002 NBA All-Star Game, on Saturday Night Live, and on several of her concert tours.
Background
"Boys" was originally recorded by
Composition
"Boys" is a song that combines
Critical reception
Calling the song "a decidedly lubricious duet", Alex Needham of
The staff from Entertainment Weekly placed "Boys" at number 21 on their ranking of Spears' songs, writing that "anyone who ever fantasized about a mash-up of Britney and Janet Jackson got their wish with this track. [...] ['Boys'] sounds a lot like Miss Jackson's 1986 smash '
Chart performance
The song failed to make much of an impact in the United States, only appearing on the
Music video
The music video for "Boys" was directed by
Live performances and usage in media
Spears performed "Boys" on multiple occasions. On the 2001
On The Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004, it featured male dancers pushing her while she was standing in luggage carts.[33] During her performance of the song on The Circus Starring Britney Spears, the singer performed wearing a military costume, while surrounded by her dancers, some of them riding bicycles.[34] The rendition was described as a "Rhythm Nation-like military stomp."[35] On 2011's Femme Fatale Tour, Spears wears a golden cape for a snake charming number of the song.[36] Spears included "Boys" on the setlist of her 2013–17 Las Vegas residency, Britney: Piece of Me. During this performance, she and her dancers wear neon outfits. Sophie Schillaci from MTV considered the performance "crowd-pleasing".[37]
The song has been performed in a mashup with Justin Bieber's "Boyfriend" by Kevin McHale and Darren Criss (respectively as their characters Artie Abrams and Blaine Anderson) in the musical TV series Glee in the second episode of season four, "Britney 2.0" (aired on September 20, 2012), the show's second tribute episode to Spears.[38]
Track listings
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Charts
Weekly charts
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Year-end charts
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Certifications
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
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Australia (ARIA)[24] | Gold | 35,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United States | June 24, 2002 |
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Jive | |
United Kingdom | July 29, 2002 | RCA | ||
Japan | August 7, 2002 | Maxi CD | Avex Trax | |
Australia | September 2, 2002 | BMG | ||
Germany | September 30, 2002 | |||
France | October 22, 2002 | CD | Virgin |
References
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- ^ Nissim, Mayer (November 20, 2009). "Britney Spears: 'The Singles Collection'". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi Médias. Retrieved December 1, 2012.
- ^ Chad Hugo, Pharrell Williams (2001). "Boys: Britney Spears Digital Sheet Music". Music Notes. EMI Music Publishing. SC0012017 (Product Number).
- ^ New Musical Express. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ^ "Milwaukee Journal Sentinel : CD SPOTLIGHT". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. NewsBank. July 26, 2002. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ "Britney The Album". Britneyspears.com. NVU Productions. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ a b Browne, David (November 12, 2001). "Britney (2001)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ^ "Britney – Plugged In Online Album Reviews". Plugged In. Focus on the Family. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ Tranter, Nicki (November 6, 2001). "Britney Spears: Britney". PopMatters. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ^ "Britney: We Rank 17 of Her Greatest Hits!", Greenblatt, Leah, Entertainment Weekly, November 26, 2009, archived from the original on April 8, 2014, retrieved April 16, 2022
- ^ Halaby, Catherine (November 9, 2001). "For Spears, maturity is, like, cool". Yale Daily News. Archived from the original on June 6, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ^ "Every Britney Spears song, ranked". Entertainment Weekly. September 1, 2016. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ Hautman, Nicholas (December 2, 2019). "All 40 of Britney Spears' Singles Ranked, From '...Baby One More Time' to 'Slumber Party'". Us Weekly. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ Barbour, Shannon (October 26, 2018). "A Definitive Ranking of Britney Spears' Best Tracks for the Britney Stan in Your Life". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- Pink News. Retrieved April 10, 2020.
- ^ Ganz, Caryn (December 2, 2018). "The 30 best Britney Spears songs". Spin. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- ^ "The Best R&B Songs by White Singers in the 2000s". Complex. August 28, 2013. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-89820-162-8.
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- ^ a b "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2002 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association.
- ^ a b "Britney Spears feat. Pharrell Williams – Boys" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
- ^ "Boys Co-Ed Remix – Britney Spears – Music Video". MTV. Archived from the original on March 10, 2011. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
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- ^ "2003 MTV Video Music Awards Winners". Billboard. August 28, 2003. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
- ^ a b Reid, Shaheem; Moss, Corey (November 2, 2001). "Britney Goes Bald, Plays Tiny Dancer, Gets Caught In The Rain At Tour Kickoff". MTV. Archived from the original on April 18, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
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- Gannett Company, Inc. Retrieved February 12, 2011.
- ^ Stern, Bradley (March 18, 2009), "Britney Does Boston: The Review", MuuMuse, retrieved March 9, 2012
- The McClatchy Company. Archived from the originalon June 19, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2011.
- ^ Schillaci, Sophie (December 28, 2013). "Britney Spears Pours On 'Cheese' (And Glitter) For 'Piece Of Me' Las Vegas Kickoff". MTV. MTV Networks. Retrieved May 10, 2014.
- ^ Goldberg, Lesley (September 5, 2012). "'Glee' Season 4 to Feature Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, Britney Spears Songs". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 16, 2022.
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- OCLC 29800226. Retrieved June 18, 2020 – via World Radio History.
- Les classement single. Retrieved February 11, 2011.
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