Toxic (song)

Name	Toxic
Cover	BS_Toxic.png
Alt	Image of a blond woman with a layer of pink. She has her arms extended over her head. On the upper left side of the image, the words "Britney Spears" are written in white letters. Underneath, "Toxic" is written in big white letters.
Artist	Britney Spears
Album	In the Zone
Released
Format	CD single, 12"
Recorded	2003
Genre	Dance-pop, electropop
Length	3:18
Label	Jive
Writer	Cathy Dennis, Henrik Jonback, Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg
Producer	Bloodshy & Avant
Last single	"Me Against the Music"(2003)
This single	"Toxic"(2004)
Next single	"Everytime"(2004)

"Toxic" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fourth album, In the Zone. It was released on January 12, 2004, by Jive Records as the second single from the album. Co-written and produced by Bloodshy & Avant, the song was initially offered to Kylie Minogue, but she rejected it. Spears has named "Toxic" as her favorite song from her career, and originally had to convince her record label to release it as a single. "Toxic" is a dance-pop song with influences of electropop and bhangra music, accompanied by high-pitched strings and breathy vocals. Its lyrics refer to being addicted to a lover. The song was well received by critics, who deemed it as the strongest track of In the Zone, while praising its hook and chorus.

"Toxic" attained worldwide success, reaching the top-five in fifteen countries, while topping the charts in Australia, Canada, Hungary, Norway and the United Kingdom. In the United States, it became her first single to peak inside the top ten in almost four years. The accompanying music video for the song portrays Spears as a secret agent in the search of a vial of green liquid. After she steals it, she enters an apartment and poisons her unfaithful boyfriend. The video also includes interspersed scenes of Spears naked with diamonds over her body. After Janet Jackson's Superbowl incident, the video was considered too racy for MTV and was moved to late-night programming.

Spears has performed "Toxic" in a number of live appearances, including the 2004 NRJ Music Awards and in two of her concert tours. It was the opening number of The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004), where she sang atop of a bus wearing a black catsuit; Spears also performed the song on The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009), accompanied by her dancers and surrounded by green lightning. "Toxic" has been covered by a number of artists and featured in the films Knocked Up and You Again, and television series Doctor Who.

"Toxic" won Spears her first Grammy at the 2005 ceremony in the category of Best Dance Recording, while gaining her credibility amongst critics. The song has been included in numerous lists as one of the best songs of the decade, and has been noted for redefining the sound of dance-pop music. "Toxic" is also considered one of the defining songs for Spears. The music video is also known for showing Spears for the first time as a confident adult woman, comfortable with her own sexuality.

Background

"Toxic" was written by Cathy Dennis, Henrik Jonback and by Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg from Bloodshy & Avant, while produced by the latter two. The song was originally offered to Kylie Minogue for her 2003 studio album Body Language, but she rejected it. Minogue later commented, "I wasn't at all angry when it worked for her. It's like the fish that got away. You just have to accept it." "Toxic" was recorded at Murlyn Studios in Stockholm, Sweden and Record Plant in Hollywood, California. The song was later mixed by Niklas Flyckt at Khabang Studios in Stockholm. She described it as "an upbeat song. It's really different, that's why I like it so much." In May 2010, Spears revealed through her Twitter account that "Toxic" was her favorite song from her catalogue.

Composition

"Toxic" is a dance-pop song with elements of electropop and bhangra music. It features varied instrumentation, such as drums, synthesizers, strings and surf guitar, that according to Caryn Ganz of Spin, "warps and struts like it’s been fed into the Matrix." The music was also compared to the soundtrack of the James Bond film series. Spence D. of IGN described the song as a mix of "swirling, high-pitched faux strings, and Brit's breathy vocal pulse". According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by EMI Music Publishing, "Toxic" is composed in the key of E♭ major, with a tempo of 144 beats per minute. Spears's vocal range spans from the high-tone of G₃ to the low-tone of F₅. Lyrically, "Toxic" talks about being addicted to a lover. Spears refers to her addiction in the lyrics "Too high / Can't come down / It's in my head spinning round and round." "Toxic" ends with an outro in which Spears sings the lines, "Intoxicate me now / With your lovin' now / I think I'm ready now." Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine said the lyrics made Spears sound afraid of sex.

Critical reception

|alt=A blond female performer. She is standing on a moving jungle gym, wearing black and white clothes.]] Heather Richels of The Paly Voice complimented its hook and catchiness, while deeming it the most appealing song of the album. While reviewing The Onyx Hotel Tour, Pamela Sitt of The Seattle Times called it the album's strongest single. Eric Olsen of msnbc.com said the song "is itself powerfully addicting, and could end up the album’s biggest hit". Caryn Ganz of Spin commented that, "Spears hits pay dirt on 'Toxic'". Christy Lemire of Associated Press said, "The insanely catchy 'Toxic,' [...] actually is one of her greatest hits. The string-heavy, stop-and-start chorus alone makes you want to forgive the Alias wannabe video that accompanies the song." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called it along with "Showdown", "irresistible ear candy in what is surely Britney's most ambitious, adventurous album to date". In a separate review of , Erlewine selected it as one of the "track picks" and described it as "a delirious, intoxicating rush". Jeffrey Epstein of Out compared the innovative sound of "Toxic" to Madonna's "Vogue".

Dave De Sylvia of Sputnikmusic deemed it as "her first real crossover track since '...Baby One More Time'." Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said that "Toxic" and "(I Got That) Boom Boom", "find Britney dabbling in hip-hop, but it's clear her heart lies in the clubs." Jamie Gill of Yahoo! Music Radio commented that, "In the name of fairness, it will be noted that 'Toxic' and 'Showdown' could well have been good pop songs in the hands of any other singer than Spears." Joan Anderman of The Boston Globe named it "a well-titled cascade of frantic, mechanized glissandos and dreadful canned strings that buries the album's coolest (only?) chorus under a joyless mass". The song was ranked at number five in the 2004 Pazz & Jop poll by The Village Voice. "Toxic" was nominated for Best Song at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2004, but lost to Outkast's "Hey Ya!". It won Best Single at the 2004 Teen Choice Awards. Pitchfork listed the song at number three on their Top 50 Singles of 2004 list. Rob Mitchum commented that Spears "finally, she just acted like an adult, rather than constantly reminding us she wasn't a girl anymore."

Chart performance

"Toxic" entered at number fifty-three on the Billboard Hot 100, on the issue dated January 31, 2004. It became the week's "Highest Debut". On March 27, 2004, it peaked at number nine; it was her fourth single to reach the top-ten and became her first single to reach the top ten since 2000's "Oops!... I Did It Again". "Toxic" also topped both the Pop Songs and Hot Dance Club Songs charts. On October 25, 2004, the song was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), for shipments of 500,000 copies. As of August 2010, "Toxic" has sold 1,429,000 digital copies and 12,000 physical units in the United States. "Toxic" also topped the Canadian Singles Chart. "Toxic" debuted at the top of the Australian charts on March 15, 2004, and stayed in the position for two weeks. The song received a gold certification by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) for shipments over 35,000 units.

In New Zealand, "Toxic" debuted at number thirty-eight on the issue dated February 16, 2004, and peaked at number two on March 29, 2004. It stayed at the position the following week, held off from the top spot by Eamon's "Fuck It (I Don't Want You Back)". On March 13, 2004, "Toxic" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming her fourth number-one hit. In April 2004, it was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), with sales over 200,000 copies. According to The Official Charts Company, the song has sold 360,000 copies there. "Toxic" also peaked inside the top-ten in every country it charted. The song topped the charts in Hungary and Norway; reached the top five in Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, France, Sweden and Switzerland; and the top ten in Belgium (Flanders and Wallonia), Finland and the Netherlands.

Music video

Development

The music video for "Toxic" was filmed over three days in December 2003, on a soundstage in Los Angeles, California. It was directed by Joseph Kahn, who previously worked with Spears on the music video for her 2000 single "Stronger". He explained that he was marveled at how she approached him with a fully formed idea for the video, down to the smallest detail, exemplifing the scene in which she drips water in the passenger's lap. Kahn said, "That's part of her brilliance [...] She totally understands that she's naughty and nice, that she's the girl next door gone bad who is constantly titillating you. She's not like most artists who flaunt their pure sexuality." Regarding the first scenes, Spears said she wanted to join the mile-high club and be a stewardess that kissed someone in the bathroom. Kahn explained that his contribution "was to make him a fat guy, because you know at some point in her videos she'll make out with hot guys. [...] You put a chubby guy in there and the common man gets something too." After the treatment was finished, Kahn invited his friends for the shoot, therefore his casting director and his assistant appeared on the plane scenes.

For the scenes in which she was naked and covered in diamonds, Spears made Kahn clear the set, leaving them alone to shoot the sequence. He joked that it was "one of the best [jobs] in the world" and added that "I'm not sure what I was thinking about when she told me about that scene, maybe those intros to James Bond movies, but every video needs an iconic image to remember, and that's it."

Synopsis

The music video begins with an open shot of an airplane flying surrounded by many doves, referencing the works of Chinese director John Woo. She takes off the man's mask to reveal an attractive man (Matthew Felker) and steals a black pass from his pocket. Spears is then dropped into the back of a Ducati 999, driven by a shirtless male (Tyson Beckford) in a futuristic Paris, that was compared to the 1982 film Blade Runner. Spears then enters Toxic Industries, and gains access to a vault from which she steals a vial of green poison. She accidentally triggers a laser trap when she leaves that she evades with elaborate dance moves, including a back handspring. This is followed by scenes of Spears wearing a black superheroine outfit and black hair. She scales a building and enters an apartment, where her unfaithful boyfriend (Martin Henderson) is waiting. She kisses him just before pouring the poison into his mouth, killing him. Spears kisses him again and jumps out of the window. She lands back on the plane sporting her flight attendant outfit, and winks at the camera. The video closes with a shot of the airplane flying surrounded by doves like the beginning. The following day, Spears appeared on TRL to premiere the video. On February 10, 2004, MTV announced that due to Janet Jackson's Superbowl incident, "Toxic" along with other five music videos would be moved from daytime to late-night programming from 10 p.m. until 6 a.m. A spokeswoman for MTV announced that "given the particular sensitivity in the culture right now, we're erring on the side of caution for the immediate future." Critics at the time received the video as Spears's answer to her ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake, with Jennifer Vineyard of MTV commenting that "'Toxic' makes 'Cry Me a River' look like child's play." The video was nominated at the 2004 MuchMusic Video Awards in the category of Best International Artist Video, but lost to Beyoncé's "Crazy in Love". It was also nominated for four VMAs at the 2004 awards in the categories of Best Female Video, Best Dance Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year, but lost all of them. Corey Moss of MTV said that Spears "remains the Susan Lucci of the VMAs." Visual effects supervisors Chris Watts and Bert Yukich won the category of Outstanding Visual Effects in a Music Video at the 3rd Annual Visual Effects Society Awards. The music video for "Toxic" was first released on the In the Zone DVD. An alternate karaoke version featuring the diamonds scene was released on the .

Live performances

"Toxic" was performed by Spears at Britney Spears: In the Zone, a concert special that aired in ABC on November 17, 2003. She also performed "Toxic" as the headliner of the Jingle Ball on December 8, 2003, at Staples Center. It was the opening number of her set, and Spears appeared wearing a black top and a white fur cape. While the choreography was deemed as "erotic", Corey Moss of MTV commented that some of the effect was lost due to Spears's lip synching and a stagehand fixing a prop during the song. On January 24, 2004, Spears opened the 2004 NRJ Music Awards with a performance of "Toxic". During the ceremony, she also presented the NRJ Award of Honor for the Career to Madonna. Spears performed "Toxic" as the opening number of 2004's The Onyx Hotel Tour. After an introduction in which she briefly appeared on a large video screen, Spears took the stage standing on top of a hotel bus, wearing a tight black catsuit. She was surrounded by dancers dressed as employees and columns of LED lighting, suggesting the façade of a glitzy hotel on the Vegas Strip. MTV UK commented, "OK, so she doesnt so much sing than mime along with Toxic, [...] But what do you expect when she's simultaneously performing a vigorous dance routine, ascending moving staircases and descending fireman poles?".

"Toxic" was also performed as the last song of the concert during her 2007 promotional tour, The M+M's. After "Do Somethin'", in which Spears wore a hot pink bra, a white fur coat and a jean skirt, she ended the set with "Toxic", with four female dancers in a Shakira-like style. Following the performance, she thanked the audience and introduced her dancers. "Toxic" was also performed at 2009's The Circus Starring Britney Spears. Following an interlude in which the dancers showcased their individual moves, the stage was lit with green sci-fi effects and Spears appeared over moving jungle gyms. Jerry Shriver of USA Today said that "fan-favorite Toxic [...] succeeded because the focus was solely on the star." Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Sun named it one of the standout performances of the show, along with "...Baby One More Time" and "Womanizer". Screen commented, "The high point of the show was the back to back performance of two of Britney's biggest hits, 'Toxic' and 'Baby One More Time' [sic], which had the crowd break out in wild applause."

Cover versions and samples

Northern Irish singer-songwriter Juliet Turner covered "Toxic" for the 2004 covers compilation, Even Better than the Real Thing Vol. 2. In 2005, American folk group Chapin Sisters recorded an acoustic cover of "Toxic", which was featured on PerezHilton.com and became one of the most requested songs of the year in KCRW. German country-rock band The BossHoss recorded a cover of "Toxic" for their debut album, Internashville Urban Hymns (2005). American rock duo Local H covered the song for their first live album, Alive '05 (2005). American acoustic trio Nickel Creek covered "Toxic" at the 2006 Bonnaroo Music Festival. An instrumental rendition of the song was released by American surf rock band Monsters from Mars. Norwegian alternative rock band Hurra Torpedo covered "Toxic" in their fourth release, Kollossus of Makedonia (2006). English indie rock band Hard-Fi covered the song for the compilation album Radio 1 Established 1967 (2007). The song was fused with The Clash's cover of "Brand New Cadillac". American musician Shawn Lee covered the song in the album Shawn Lee's Ping Pong Orchestra (2007). French singer-songwriter Yael Naim released a piano-driven version of the song in her eponymous debut album (2007). Australian singer-songwriter Kate Miller-Heidke did an opera-pop version of "Toxic" during a mobile phone launch in Sydney on August 2007. She dedicated it to Spears, adding, "She's going through a bit of a hard time at the moment. [...] This one's for you, mate."

British electronic music group Metronomy's cover was described as "something out of a "Weird Al" Yankovic polka medley, only not kidding". Israeli pop singer Shiri Maimon recorded a version of "Toxic" in Hebrew. American post-hardcore band A Static Lullaby released a cover in the compilation album, Punk Goes Pop 2 (2009). A music video was released, which featured different Spears look-alikes wearing iconic outfits from various music videos, such as "...Baby One More Time" and "Womanizer". A cover of the song by American singer-songwriter Christopher Dallman was included in an EP titled Sad Britney, released in November 9, 2009, along with covers of "...Baby One More Time", "Gimme More" and "Radar". American singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson covers "Toxic" regularly on her 2010 Everybody Tour. Michaelson's version ends with her and the band doing a dance break set to Spears's original song. The song was covered on the 2010 American series Glee episode "Britney/Brittany" by New Directions, in a Bob Fosse-inspired performance lead by the character of Will Schuester. In the United States, their version debuted at number sixteen on the Hot 100 and sold 109,000 copies on its first week, according to Nielsen Soundscan. It also charted at number thirty-seven in Australia, fifteen in Canada and seventeen in Ireland.

Legacy

"Toxic" earned Spears her first Grammy at the 2005 ceremony in the category of Best Dance Recording, and gained her credibility amongst critics. "Toxic" was ranked at number fourteen on Stylus Magazine's Top 50 Singles between 2000 and 2005. In a 2005 poll conducted by Sony Ericsson, "Toxic" was ranked as the world's second favorite song, only behind "We Are the Champions" by Queen. Over 700,000 people in 60 different countries cast their votes. The song was also included on The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born list by Blender. Pitchfork listed the song on The Top 500 Tracks of the 2000s. Jess Harvell commented that Spears had great pop instincts and that "Toxic" showed how "Britney always had more individualist pep than her peers, important when you're dealing with steamroller productions from the mind of Max Martin." In 2009, NPR included "Toxic" on their Most Important Recordings of the Decade list. Amy Schriefer noted that the song's synths defined the sound of dance-pop for the rest of the decade, while adding that it "still sound[s] fresh and futuristic." NME called it the soundtrack to all of the fun of the decade, from "little girls at discos" to "gay clubs and hen nights". Bill Lamb of About.com listed the song at number twenty-seven on the Top 40 Pop Songs of All Time. Evan Sawdey of PopMatters commented that "Toxic" is a rare kind of song that transcends genre boundaries, and added that Spears delivered the track that defined her legacy.

In the episode "The End of the World" of the TV show Doctor Who, the character of Cassandra unveils an ancient jukebox that reproduced "Toxic" as an example of “a traditional ballad” from 5 billion years prior. NME noted that the inclusion of the song marks its cultural impact. It was also featured on the 2010 film You Again. The music video for "Toxic" vas voted by users of the music video website MUZU TV as the sexiest music video of all time. The video was also used on Life is Pornography, a 2005 video art by Jubal Brown. Schriefer noted that in the video, Spears was no longer trying to break away from her 1990's teen pop image and style; she was comfortable and having fun, not trying to generate any type of calculated controversy. The video for "Womanizer" (2008) was created by Spears as a sequel to "Toxic". The diamond encrusted look of Lady Gaga in the music video for "LoveGame" (2009) was compared to that of "Toxic". In the 2010 Glee episode "Britney/Brittany", the character of Brittany Pierce danced in a diamond suit during a cover of "I'm a Slave 4 U". |- |Norway |Platinum |- |Sweden |Gold |- |United Kingdom |Silver |align="center"|38 |- |align="left"|Austrian Singles Chart |align="center"|24 |- |Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders) |align="center"|33 |- |Belgian Singles Chart (Wallonia) |align="center"|27 |- |French Singles Chart |align="center"|38 |- |New Zealand Singles Chart |align="center"|11 |- |Swiss Singles Chart |align="center"|17 |}

Chart procession and succession

Notes

References

External links

Category:2000s pop songs Category:2003 songs Category:2004 singles Category:Billboard Hot Dance Airplay number-one singles Category:Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs number-one singles Category:Billboard Pop Songs number-one singles Category:Britney Spears songs Category:Electropop songs Category:Dance-pop songs Category:Music videos directed by Joseph Kahn Category:Number-one singles in Australia Category:Canadian Singles Chart number-one singles Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Category:Number-one singles in Norway Category:Number-one singles in Austria Category:Number-one singles in Spain Category:Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Category:UK Singles Chart number-one singles Category:Yael Naim songs Category:2007 songs Category:Ol' Dirty Bastard songs Category:Songs produced by Mark Ronson Category:Songs written by Cathy Dennis Category:Songs produced by Bloodshy & Avant