If U Seek Amy
"If U Seek Amy" | ||||
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Single by Britney Spears | ||||
from the album Circus | ||||
Released | March 10, 2009 | |||
Recorded | 2008 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 3:36 | |||
Label |
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Songwriter(s) | ||||
Producer(s) |
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Britney Spears singles chronology | ||||
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Music video | ||||
"If U Seek Amy" on YouTube |
"If U Seek Amy" (also broadcast on radio as "If U See Amy" or simply "Amy") is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her sixth studio album, Circus (2008). It was released on March 10, 2009, by Jive Records as the third single of the album, chosen by a poll on Spears's official website. "If U Seek Amy" was written and produced by Swedish producer Max Martin, who also wrote previous hits for her first three albums. In the song, Spears is looking for a woman named Amy in a club, and although it appears to be about sex, it is actually about how society perceives her life. Musically, "If U Seek Amy" makes use of instruments such as keyboards and timpani.
"If U Seek Amy" was generally well-received by critics. After its release, the song caused some controversy in various countries because "If U Seek Amy" sounds like "
The music video for "If U Seek Amy" begins with a parody of an America's Newsroom report by Megyn Kelly and portrays Spears at a sex party that takes place at her house. Towards the end, she changes into conservative housewife clothes and opens the front door with her family while paparazzi take pictures of them. It references some of her previous music videos such as "...Baby One More Time" and "Piece of Me". Critics noted the similarities with her past work and also compared it to the film Eyes Wide Shut. "If U Seek Amy" was performed at the Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009) and the Femme Fatale Tour (2011). It was also performed as part of the revamped setlist of Spears' Las Vegas residency show, Britney: Piece of Me (2013–17). Most recently, "If U Seek Amy" was performed on Spears' Piece of Me Tour in 2018.
Background
The song was co-written and produced by
Music and lyrics
"If U Seek Amy" runs through a
The title, "If U Seek Amy", is a pun, meaning to sound like "F-U-C-K me" when heard in the chorus, "All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to, if you seek Amy."[10] This wordplay was compared to passages of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and James Joyce's Ulysses where characters covertly spell out profanities, songs by Memphis Slim, R. Stevie Moore, April Wine, Poster Children and The Script entitled "If You See Kay,"[11] and the title of Van Halen's 1991 album, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.[12]
Critical reception
The song received generally favorable reviews. Chris Williams of
Controversy
Controversy was first reported by Australian music site Undercover.com.au on December 5, 2008, after the release of the album. Leonie Barsenbach, a housewife from Sydney, said, "I was astonished and totally taken aback when I heard my 5 and 7-year-old kids walking around the house singing 'F-U-C-K' ... When I asked them what it was, they told me it was Britney Spears. I was horrified. I got them the Circus album but there was no warning on it ... It is extremely offensive. I feel deceived."[21][22] Rolling Stone writer Daniel Kreps defended Spears, arguing that parents should have been aware of the singer's musical themes.[23] After the song was announced as the third single from the album, American radio stations were unsure about playing the track due to its double entendre in the chorus.[12] Program directors of Z100 and KIIS-FM compared the issues to be faced by their radio stations to the release of the Black Eyed Peas' 2005 single, "Don't Phunk with My Heart", saying that "listeners thought it was the other word, and so we had to change it to 'mess'".[12] Program director Patti Marshall of Q102 said "It's ok to put in on an album, have fun with it, but we're publicly owned, you know? [...] It's not about us. It's about the mom in the minivan with her 8-year-old."[12] WFLZ's Tommy Chuck said his station produced their own edit of the song that replaced "seek" with "see", with the station's disc jockeys referring to it as "If U See Amy".[24]
Shortly after, the
On January 23, 2009,
Commercial performance
According to
"If U Seek Amy" debuted at number 49 on the
Music video
Development
The music video for "If U Seek Amy" was filmed on February 7, 2009, at
Synopsis
The video starts with a news anchor (played by Kristina Mitchell) saying the title of the song above a news banner that reads "Britney Spears song lyrics spell out obscenity in disguise". This is a parody of an America's Newsroom report by Megyn Kelly.[49] It then skips to a house, in which a sex party is coming to an end. Spears starts singing while sitting on the edge of a bed while the people that surround her are getting dressed.[50] She gets up and looks out the window. As the first verse ends, she picks up a pair of panties from the floor, recalling her personal struggles and the "Piece of Me" video.[48] She dances with four male dancers in the first chorus. During the second chorus, she dances with four other female dancers dressed in cheerleading outfits, while many men are watching them dance. The screen fades to white and Spears begins to change into a conservative 1950s-inspired housewife outfit.[50] As the chorus begins again, she comes out of her bedroom. She walks down the stairs, with dancers surrounding her and a woman gives her a potholder, which she uses to pick up a pie.[48] After this, she walks out the front door of the house and is joined by her seemingly conservative-looking husband and children, one of them dressed with the schoolgirl outfit Spears wore in the "...Baby One More Time" video.[48] As they go down the walkway, they are surrounded by paparazzi, who have no idea what goes on behind closed doors.[50] While the kids and husband wave, Spears smiles for the camera and blows a kiss. The video then ends with the news anchor saying, "Doesn't make any sense, does it?".[48]
Reception
James Montgomery of MTV stated that the video manages to combine elements from her previous music videos, such as the style of "Everytime" and the attitude of "Stronger". He also referred to it as "a pretty amazing amalgamation of all things Brit, and a nice primer of her entire career up to this point".[48] Rolling Stone writer Daniel Kreps compared the party in the video to the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut and added that "this may be the first Spears video ever crafted strictly with the morally-lax Internet in mind, a brazen clip that doesn't have to tone down its explicit nature lyrically and visually in order to get airplay".[50] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said, "it's kind of difficult to believe the song's real meaning will get past even the thickest listener, the video itself is pretty tame...almost disappointingly so". The reviewer also compared Spears' hairstyle during the housewife scenes to that of Marilyn Monroe.[51]
Live performances
Spears performed the song during 2009's
"If U Seek Amy" was also performed by Spears at 2011's Femme Fatale Tour. Spears reappeared onstage after "Lace and Leather" to perform a jazz-inspired version of the song, wearing a white skirt and standing over a fan, recalling Marilyn Monroe's iconic scene in The Seven Year Itch (1955). The backdrops behind her showed 1940s crime film-inspired black-and-white footage while photographers in colorful outfits took pictures of her. Rick Florino of Artistdirect said, "Marrying old school detective fare and stadium-size anthems is something no other pop star has done, and once again Britney's the first."[53] Nicki Escudero of the Phoenix New Times stated that it was "nice" to hear remixed versions of older hits, "such as the jazzy 'If You Seek Amy,' [sic] the sultry and Middle Eastern-inspired 'Boys' and the sped-up 'Toxic'."[54]
Spears performed the song at her revamped
In both world tour adaptations of the residency, Britney: Live in Concert and Piece of Me Tour, as well in her Apple Music Festival performance in 2016, "If U Seek Amy" was also performed, mirroring the same performance of the residency.
Track listings
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Credits and personnel
- Vocals: Britney Spears
- Writers: Max Martin, Shellback, Savan Kotecha and Alexander Kronlund
- Producer: Max Martin
- Mixing: Serban Ghenea
- Pro Tools editing: John Hanes
- Programming: Shellback and Max Martin
- Background vocals: Britney Spears, Kinndaand Max Martin
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)[99] | Gold | 35,000^ |
United Kingdom (BPI)[100] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA)[101] | 2× Platinum | 2,000,000‡ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
Release history
Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
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United States | March 10, 2009 | Contemporary hit radio | Jive | |
Ireland | March 13, 2009 | Digital download | Sony Music
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New Zealand | March 16, 2009 | |||
Germany | April 12, 2009 | CD | ||
May 29, 2009 | Maxi CD | |||
United States | June 2, 2009 | Digital download (EP) | Jive | |
United Kingdom | June 15, 2009 | RCA |
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