(Drop Dead) Beautiful
Encyclopedia
" Beautiful" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears
, taken from her seventh studio album Femme Fatale
(2011). The dance-pop
song features American recording artist Sabi
. Spears started recording songs for the album in 2009. During the recording sessions, the singer contacted Ester Dean
, who co-wrote two songs that were recorded for the album, one of them being "(Drop Dead) Beautiful". Additional writing and song production was done by Benny Blanco
, Ammo
, JMIKE, and Billboard
. It received mixed reviews from contemporary critics, who deemed it as one of the best offerings of the album, despite criticizing Sabi's verses and one considering her a Nicki Minaj
wannabe.
After trying to choose between the song, "Criminal" and "Inside Out" to be the fourth single from Femme Fatale, "Criminal
" was selected, although Sabi revealed she pictured a music video for "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" in a similar style to the performance of 2011's Femme Fatale Tour
. The performance consists of Spears singing and dancing to the song while her dancers are carrying picture frames. Sabi performed the song with Spears in selected cities. Despite not being released as a single, "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" managed to peak at number forty-one on South Korea's Gaon
International Chart, due to digital sales separate from Femme Fatale, and also appeared on Billboard
s Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart.
about the sessions for Femme Fatale, commenting that she had been recording the album for two years. During the recording sessions, the singer contacted songwriter Ester Dean
in 2009, after receiving a demo tape with the song "Drop It Low
". The song, however, was later released as Dean's debut single. Spears then recorded two songs co-written by Dean for Femme Fatale. "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" was written by Dean, Jeremy Coleman, Joshua Coleman, Mathieu Jomphe, and Benjamin Levin, while being produced by Blanco, Ammo
, JMIKE, and Billboard
. It features American recording artist Sabi
. Spears first heard about Sabi after listening to songs from The Bangz, an old music group the latter participated. Sabi explained that, after she was asked to collaborate with Spears, she felt it was so surreal that she refused to believe her luck until the song was recorded.
Although both singers worked with producer Benny Blanco
in studio on "(Drop Dead) Beautiful", Spears recorded her vocals for the song before Sabi, who actually raps on the track. The latter also revealed she felt lucky and honored because Spears does not do features often, while commenting that "it's just pretty crazy, I mean, I grew up watching Britney Spears. All my friends watched Britney Spears and we even had a routine to ['...Baby One More Time
'] that we were gonna perform, like, for a middle-school talent show. So it's a dream come true. Never did I ever think that I'd be in the mix with Britney. I'm just lucky." When asked about how she learned about Sabi in an interview with Rolling Stone
, Spears revealed, "friends and people around me are always showing me new artists that they love and that's how I learned about Sabi and ended up working with her on '(Drop Dead) Beautiful'. I have always wanted to feature a new artist on one of my albums and she is really cool." A small teaser of the song was unveiled by the singer on March 7, 2011. Four days later, it leaked in full online, along with another Femme Fatale track, "Inside Out". On August 5, 2011, Spears posted a poll on her Facebook
page asking fans whether her next single should be "Criminal
", "Inside Out" or "(Drop Dead) Beautiful." After the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
, she revealed to MTV News
that "Criminal" was chosen as the fourth single.
, Spears revealed that her idea initially was to make an album that was "fresh-sounding [...] for the clubs or something that you play in your car when you're going out at night that gets you excited, but I wanted it to sound different from everything else out right now." "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" is a party song with a heavy club beat. The elements used on the song's background were compared to similar used on songs by The Black Eyed Peas
, Usher
, Rihanna
, and Lady Gaga
, while its bass line
was said to be "a cousin of the ground" for the Eurythmics
' 1983 single "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
".
In the verses, Spears is flirting with a guy, in lyrics such as "Look at you/Look at you/Be my sweetie/Be my honey tonight/Look at you/Look at you/Be my sweetie/Be my honey tonight/'Cause you're beautiful/Drop dead". Sabi rap's also alludes to the theme of the song, with lines such as "I think I like you/Boy, boy, look at you/I want to get next to you/Got me kind of hot but I ain't sweating you/Steaming like a pot full of vegetables". Spears' vocals on "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" were deemed as "robotic", but similar to the ones of "Oops!... I Did It Again
" (2000). Jocelyn Vena of MTV
noted the singer uses her deep vocals in lines such as "And, yeah, your body looks so sick, I think I caught the flu" and "You must be B.I.G. 'cause you got me hypnotized".
noted Spears "does what pop stars invariably do in lieu of having a detectable character of their own: goes on and on about sex", while commenting that "after a while, you get the feeling the lyricists just gave up trying in the face of her indifference: 'You got me kind of hot … Steaming like a pot full of vegetables,' she sings, which somehow makes you think not of thrillingly sweaty congress but the smell of boiled cabbage." Contemporary critic Robert Christgau
noted the songs on the album are "such a convincing illusion that any guy who goes all the way with it has too much libido invested in the bimbo fantasy", saying that the singer is "just too straight-faced" on "the nauseous 'Your body look so sick I think I got the flu'". A reviewer of Samesame.com.au
compared the background vocals of the song to Kesha
's "Blow
" (2010), and noted "guest rapper Sabi wish[es] she was Nicki Minaj
". Slant Magazine
's Sal Cinquemani considered "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" one of the album's "best offerings", comparing the song to Christina Aguilera
's "Desnudate" (2010).
Keith Caufield of Billboard
noted the song "doesn't take itself too seriously. Halfway through the number, the luckiest rapper in the world, Sabi, appears, inexplicably rhyming 'sweatin' you' with 'vegetables'," while Digital Spy
's Robert Copsey considered it "self-assured". The A.V. Club
s Genevieve Koski commented that "inane lyrical premises like those" on the song "are salvaged by the mightiest of hooks, pummeling the listener into lobotomized musical escapism". David Buchanan of Consequence of Sound
said both "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" and "I Wanna Go
" "brings Dirty Vegas
memories, plus phoning in that Far East Movement
'Like a G6
' backing track would have been put to better use with Spears' producers". Thomas Conner of the Chicago Sun-Times
noted Spears "drags her down low as if she's Rihanna
" in the song. MTV
writer Eliot Glazer said that, "even as a mom with two kids, Britney still manages to ooze sex appeal in "Beautiful," cementing her place as the world's number one MILF". Hannah Rishel of The Daily Collegian said "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" was "possibly [her] favorite song on the album", commenting that "it’s cheesy and ridiculous, but Spears makes it work in the song". Following the release of Femme Fatale, "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" reached number forty-one on South Korea's Gaon
International Chart, after selling 7,500 digital units of the song alone. The song also appeared on Billboard
s Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart on the week of April 23, 2011.
, a video interlude in which the stalker talks about femme fatales in history sees the the beginning of the third section. Spears returns to the stage wearing a golden outfit and performs an Egyptian-inspired version of "Gimme More
", containing a barge and fireworks. In her next number, "(Drop Dead) Beautiful", Spears is surrounded by her dancers carrying picture frames, and includes an appearance by Sabi in select cities. Sabi revealed she pictured the music video for the song based on the live performance of the tour, saying, "what we do onstage is very Egyptian, Middle Eastern-like feel and a lot of vanity kind of stuff. So I would just imagine what we kind of did for the green screen, where there's mirrors and there's boys that are like oiled up. [...] I would imagine us in goddess-looking outfits and us looking vain". On August 3, 2011, ABC Family
announced that "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" would be available for free download on their website, until the premiere of the Teen Spirit series on August 5, 2011.
liner notes.
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, taken from her seventh studio album Femme Fatale
Femme Fatale (Britney Spears album)
Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records . Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who served as the...
(2011). The dance-pop
Dance-pop
Dance-pop is dance-oriented pop music that originated in the early 1980s. Developing from post-disco, it is generally up-tempo music intended for clubs with the intention of being danceable or merely dancey...
song features American recording artist Sabi
Sabi (singer)
Jenice Dena "Sab-bion" Portlock , also known as Sabi, is an American pop singer-songwriter, dancer and actress from Los Angeles, California. She was formerly known in the late 2000s as the lead singer of the Hip hop girl group The Bangz that split in early 2010...
. Spears started recording songs for the album in 2009. During the recording sessions, the singer contacted Ester Dean
Ester Dean
Ester Renay Dean is an American singer and songwriter, and record producer signed to Zone 4 Records/Interscope Records. She is most notable for her dual appearance on Rio: Music From The Motion Picture and her 2009 US hit single "Drop It Low", which featured singer Chris Brown...
, who co-wrote two songs that were recorded for the album, one of them being "(Drop Dead) Beautiful". Additional writing and song production was done by Benny Blanco
Benny Blanco
Benjamin Levin , better known as Benny Blanco, is an American songwriter and producer from Reston, Virginia. He first came to the attention of Internet blogosphere producing a collaborative EP with Spank Rock. Working with producer Dr...
, Ammo
Ammo (musician)
Ammo is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. In November 2008, Ammo was signed to producer Dr. Luke's publishing company Prescription Songs as an exclusive producer and songwriter...
, JMIKE, and Billboard
Billboard (producer)
Mathieu Jomphe, better known as Billboard, is a Canadian songwriter and record producer, and remixer from Montreal. His productions include dance-pop as well as dubstep influences. He has produced for international artists such as Britney Spears, Kesha and Robyn.-Discography:-External links:* at...
. It received mixed reviews from contemporary critics, who deemed it as one of the best offerings of the album, despite criticizing Sabi's verses and one considering her a Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
wannabe.
After trying to choose between the song, "Criminal" and "Inside Out" to be the fourth single from Femme Fatale, "Criminal
Criminal (Britney Spears song)
"Criminal" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. The Radio Mix of the song was released as the fourth single from the album. "Criminal" was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Tiffany Amber...
" was selected, although Sabi revealed she pictured a music video for "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" in a similar style to the performance of 2011's Femme Fatale Tour
Femme Fatale Tour
The Femme Fatale Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Britney Spears, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was officially announced in March 2011, with dates for North American venues revealed. The tour was initially planned as a co-headlining tour with Enrique...
. The performance consists of Spears singing and dancing to the song while her dancers are carrying picture frames. Sabi performed the song with Spears in selected cities. Despite not being released as a single, "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" managed to peak at number forty-one on South Korea's Gaon
Gaon Chart
The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts...
International Chart, due to digital sales separate from Femme Fatale, and also appeared on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart.
Background
Spears spoke to VV (American magazine)
V magazine is an American fashion magazine published since 1999. The magazine is printed seasonally and highlights trends in fashion, film music and art. A men's fashion quarterly entitled VMAN started as an offshoot in 2003.-History:...
about the sessions for Femme Fatale, commenting that she had been recording the album for two years. During the recording sessions, the singer contacted songwriter Ester Dean
Ester Dean
Ester Renay Dean is an American singer and songwriter, and record producer signed to Zone 4 Records/Interscope Records. She is most notable for her dual appearance on Rio: Music From The Motion Picture and her 2009 US hit single "Drop It Low", which featured singer Chris Brown...
in 2009, after receiving a demo tape with the song "Drop It Low
Drop It Low
"Drop It Low" is the first single released by American singer-songwriter Ester Dean. The official version features vocals from R&B singer Chris Brown. This is also released as the second single from the soundtrack for the film More Than a Game. The original version of the song did not have Chris...
". The song, however, was later released as Dean's debut single. Spears then recorded two songs co-written by Dean for Femme Fatale. "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" was written by Dean, Jeremy Coleman, Joshua Coleman, Mathieu Jomphe, and Benjamin Levin, while being produced by Blanco, Ammo
Ammo (musician)
Ammo is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. In November 2008, Ammo was signed to producer Dr. Luke's publishing company Prescription Songs as an exclusive producer and songwriter...
, JMIKE, and Billboard
Billboard (producer)
Mathieu Jomphe, better known as Billboard, is a Canadian songwriter and record producer, and remixer from Montreal. His productions include dance-pop as well as dubstep influences. He has produced for international artists such as Britney Spears, Kesha and Robyn.-Discography:-External links:* at...
. It features American recording artist Sabi
Sabi (singer)
Jenice Dena "Sab-bion" Portlock , also known as Sabi, is an American pop singer-songwriter, dancer and actress from Los Angeles, California. She was formerly known in the late 2000s as the lead singer of the Hip hop girl group The Bangz that split in early 2010...
. Spears first heard about Sabi after listening to songs from The Bangz, an old music group the latter participated. Sabi explained that, after she was asked to collaborate with Spears, she felt it was so surreal that she refused to believe her luck until the song was recorded.
Although both singers worked with producer Benny Blanco
Benny Blanco
Benjamin Levin , better known as Benny Blanco, is an American songwriter and producer from Reston, Virginia. He first came to the attention of Internet blogosphere producing a collaborative EP with Spank Rock. Working with producer Dr...
in studio on "(Drop Dead) Beautiful", Spears recorded her vocals for the song before Sabi, who actually raps on the track. The latter also revealed she felt lucky and honored because Spears does not do features often, while commenting that "it's just pretty crazy, I mean, I grew up watching Britney Spears. All my friends watched Britney Spears and we even had a routine to ['...Baby One More Time
...Baby One More Time (song)
"...Baby One More Time" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. It served as Spears' debut single from her debut studio album, ...Baby One More Time . Written by Max Martin and produced by Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami Yacoub, "...Baby One More Time" was released on September 30, 1998,...
'] that we were gonna perform, like, for a middle-school talent show. So it's a dream come true. Never did I ever think that I'd be in the mix with Britney. I'm just lucky." When asked about how she learned about Sabi in an interview with Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Spears revealed, "friends and people around me are always showing me new artists that they love and that's how I learned about Sabi and ended up working with her on '(Drop Dead) Beautiful'. I have always wanted to feature a new artist on one of my albums and she is really cool." A small teaser of the song was unveiled by the singer on March 7, 2011. Four days later, it leaked in full online, along with another Femme Fatale track, "Inside Out". On August 5, 2011, Spears posted a poll on her Facebook
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
page asking fans whether her next single should be "Criminal
Criminal (Britney Spears song)
"Criminal" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. The Radio Mix of the song was released as the fourth single from the album. "Criminal" was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Tiffany Amber...
", "Inside Out" or "(Drop Dead) Beautiful." After the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards
2011 MTV Video Music Awards
The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards took place on August 28, at Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring the best music videos from the previous year. On July 20, the nominees were announced...
, she revealed to MTV News
MTV News
MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...
that "Criminal" was chosen as the fourth single.
Composition
In an interview with Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, Spears revealed that her idea initially was to make an album that was "fresh-sounding [...] for the clubs or something that you play in your car when you're going out at night that gets you excited, but I wanted it to sound different from everything else out right now." "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" is a party song with a heavy club beat. The elements used on the song's background were compared to similar used on songs by The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas
The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...
, Usher
Usher (entertainer)
Usher Terry Raymond IV , who performs under the mononym Usher, is an American singer-songwriter, and actor. He is considered around the world to be the reigning King of R&B. Usher rose to fame in the late 1990s with the release of his second album My Way, which spawned his first Billboard Hot 100...
, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
, and Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...
, while its bass line
Bassline
A bassline is the term used in many styles of popular music, such as jazz, blues, funk, dub and electronic music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played by a rhythm section instrument such as the electric bass, double bass, tuba or keyboard...
was said to be "a cousin of the ground" for the Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
' 1983 single "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)
-Personnel:*Annie Lennox – vocals, keyboards, synthesisers, flute*David A. Stewart – guitar, keyboards, synthesisers, programming, backing vocals-Additional personnel:*Robert Crash - Guitar/ E-Drums/ Synth/ Robotic vocals...
".
In the verses, Spears is flirting with a guy, in lyrics such as "Look at you/Look at you/Be my sweetie/Be my honey tonight/Look at you/Look at you/Be my sweetie/Be my honey tonight/'Cause you're beautiful/Drop dead". Sabi rap's also alludes to the theme of the song, with lines such as "I think I like you/Boy, boy, look at you/I want to get next to you/Got me kind of hot but I ain't sweating you/Steaming like a pot full of vegetables". Spears' vocals on "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" were deemed as "robotic", but similar to the ones of "Oops!... I Did It Again
Oops!... I Did It Again (song)
"Oops!... I Did It Again" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. The song was written and produced by Max Martin and Rami for Spears' second studio album, Oops!... I Did It Again . It was released on March 27, 2000 by Jive Records, as the first single from the album. "Oops!.....
" (2000). Jocelyn Vena of MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
noted the singer uses her deep vocals in lines such as "And, yeah, your body looks so sick, I think I caught the flu" and "You must be B.I.G. 'cause you got me hypnotized".
Reception
"(Drop Dead) Beautiful" received mixed reviews from contemporary critics. While reviewing Femme Fatale, Alexis Petridis of The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
noted Spears "does what pop stars invariably do in lieu of having a detectable character of their own: goes on and on about sex", while commenting that "after a while, you get the feeling the lyricists just gave up trying in the face of her indifference: 'You got me kind of hot … Steaming like a pot full of vegetables,' she sings, which somehow makes you think not of thrillingly sweaty congress but the smell of boiled cabbage." Contemporary critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
noted the songs on the album are "such a convincing illusion that any guy who goes all the way with it has too much libido invested in the bimbo fantasy", saying that the singer is "just too straight-faced" on "the nauseous 'Your body look so sick I think I got the flu'". A reviewer of Samesame.com.au
Samesame.com.au
Samesame.com.au is an Australian LGBT website created by Tim Duggan and a partner. The website is run by Sound Alliance in the Sydney suburb of Surry Hills...
compared the background vocals of the song to Kesha
Kesha
Kesha village is a small village nestled in the mountains of Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan province, China, located at latitude 29 05' 50", longitude 109 57' 9". The name is pronounced in Standard Chinese. The official language is Manderin Chinese....
's "Blow
Blow (song)
"Blow" is a song by American recording artist and songwriter Kesha, from her first extended play , Cannibal. The song was released as the EP's second single on February 8, 2011. It was written by Kesha, along with Klas Åhlund, Lukasz Gottwald, Allan Grigg, Benjamin Levin and Max Martin, with...
" (2010), and noted "guest rapper Sabi wish[es] she was Nicki Minaj
Nicki Minaj
Onika Tanya Maraj , better known by her stage name Nicki Minaj; ), is a Trinidadian-born American recording artist...
". Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine
Slant Magazine is an online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York Film Festival.- History :...
's Sal Cinquemani considered "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" one of the album's "best offerings", comparing the song to Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...
's "Desnudate" (2010).
Keith Caufield of Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
noted the song "doesn't take itself too seriously. Halfway through the number, the luckiest rapper in the world, Sabi, appears, inexplicably rhyming 'sweatin' you' with 'vegetables'," while Digital Spy
Digital Spy
Digital Spy is a British entertainment and media news website. According to Alexa Internet traffic statistics, as of February 2011, Digital Spy is the 93rd most popular website in the United Kingdom, with an overall Alexa ranking of 2,088....
's Robert Copsey considered it "self-assured". The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
s Genevieve Koski commented that "inane lyrical premises like those" on the song "are salvaged by the mightiest of hooks, pummeling the listener into lobotomized musical escapism". David Buchanan of Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound
Consequence of Sound, also known often as CoS, is a Chicago-based music website featuring news, album and concert reviews, and editorials. In addition, the website also features the Festival Outlook micro-site, which serves as an on-line database for music festival news and rumors...
said both "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" and "I Wanna Go
I Wanna Go
"I Wanna Go" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears, released as the third single from her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Savan Kotecha. Spears first posted a snippet of the track in February...
" "brings Dirty Vegas
Dirty Vegas
Dirty Vegas is a Grammy Award-winning British house music trio made up of Ben Harris and Paul Harris on instruments and production and Steve Smith on vocals...
memories, plus phoning in that Far East Movement
Far east movement
Far East Movement is an Asian American electro hop quartet based in Los Angeles. The group formed in 2003 and consists of Kev Nish , Prohgress , J-Splif , and DJ Virman...
'Like a G6
Like a G6
"Like a G6" is a song from Far East Movement's 2010 album Free Wired. The track features female vocals by Dev and male vocals by Far East Movement. It was written and produced by The Cataracs. It was number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks ending November 6, 2010, and then again for...
' backing track would have been put to better use with Spears' producers". Thomas Conner of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
noted Spears "drags her down low as if she's Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...
" in the song. MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
writer Eliot Glazer said that, "even as a mom with two kids, Britney still manages to ooze sex appeal in "Beautiful," cementing her place as the world's number one MILF". Hannah Rishel of The Daily Collegian said "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" was "possibly [her] favorite song on the album", commenting that "it’s cheesy and ridiculous, but Spears makes it work in the song". Following the release of Femme Fatale, "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" reached number forty-one on South Korea's Gaon
Gaon Chart
The Gaon Chart is a national record chart of South Korea. It is complied by the Korea Music Content Industry Association and sponsored by South Korea's Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism; with an aim to create a national chart for Korea similar to the Billboard charts and Oricon charts...
International Chart, after selling 7,500 digital units of the song alone. The song also appeared on Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
s Dance/Electronic Digital Songs chart on the week of April 23, 2011.
Promotion
"(Drop Dead) Beautiful" was first performed by Sabi only, at the Wango Tango of 2011. On 2011's Femme Fatale TourFemme Fatale Tour
The Femme Fatale Tour is the seventh concert tour by American singer Britney Spears, in support of her seventh studio album, Femme Fatale. It was officially announced in March 2011, with dates for North American venues revealed. The tour was initially planned as a co-headlining tour with Enrique...
, a video interlude in which the stalker talks about femme fatales in history sees the the beginning of the third section. Spears returns to the stage wearing a golden outfit and performs an Egyptian-inspired version of "Gimme More
Gimme More
"Gimme More" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears from her fifth studio album, Blackout. It was released on September 27, 2007 by Jive Records as the lead single of the album. The song was written by Jim Beanz, Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica, Nate "Danja" Hills and Keri Hilson...
", containing a barge and fireworks. In her next number, "(Drop Dead) Beautiful", Spears is surrounded by her dancers carrying picture frames, and includes an appearance by Sabi in select cities. Sabi revealed she pictured the music video for the song based on the live performance of the tour, saying, "what we do onstage is very Egyptian, Middle Eastern-like feel and a lot of vanity kind of stuff. So I would just imagine what we kind of did for the green screen, where there's mirrors and there's boys that are like oiled up. [...] I would imagine us in goddess-looking outfits and us looking vain". On August 3, 2011, ABC Family
ABC Family
ABC Family, stylized as abc family, is an American television network, owned by ABC Family Worldwide Inc., a subsidiary of the Disney-ABC Television Group division of The Walt Disney Company...
announced that "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" would be available for free download on their website, until the premiere of the Teen Spirit series on August 5, 2011.
Credits and personnel
Credits for "(Drop Dead) Beautiful" adapted from Femme FataleFemme Fatale (Britney Spears album)
Femme Fatale is the seventh studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was released on March 25, 2011 by Jive Records . Recorded between 2009 and 2011, the album featured Spears working mainly alongside longtime collaborators Max Martin and Dr. Luke, who served as the...
liner notes.
- Britney SpearsBritney SpearsBritney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
– lead vocals, background vocals - SabiSabi (singer)Jenice Dena "Sab-bion" Portlock , also known as Sabi, is an American pop singer-songwriter, dancer and actress from Los Angeles, California. She was formerly known in the late 2000s as the lead singer of the Hip hop girl group The Bangz that split in early 2010...
– guest vocals - Ester DeanEster DeanEster Renay Dean is an American singer and songwriter, and record producer signed to Zone 4 Records/Interscope Records. She is most notable for her dual appearance on Rio: Music From The Motion Picture and her 2009 US hit single "Drop It Low", which featured singer Chris Brown...
– songwriterSongwriterA songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer... - Jeremy "JMIKE" Coleman – songwriter, producerRecord producerA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
- Joshua "Ammo" ColemanAmmo (musician)Ammo is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. In November 2008, Ammo was signed to producer Dr. Luke's publishing company Prescription Songs as an exclusive producer and songwriter...
– songwriter, producer - Mathieu "Billboard" JompheBillboard (producer)Mathieu Jomphe, better known as Billboard, is a Canadian songwriter and record producer, and remixer from Montreal. His productions include dance-pop as well as dubstep influences. He has produced for international artists such as Britney Spears, Kesha and Robyn.-Discography:-External links:* at...
– songwriter, producer - Benjamin "Benny Blanco" LevinBenny BlancoBenjamin Levin , better known as Benny Blanco, is an American songwriter and producer from Reston, Virginia. He first came to the attention of Internet blogosphere producing a collaborative EP with Spank Rock. Working with producer Dr...
– songwriter, producer - Serban GheneaSerban GheneaSerban Ghenea is a four-time Grammy Award and three-time Latin Grammy Award-winning mixer. He has mixed songs for such artists as Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake, Usher, Faith Hill, Carrie Underwood, Jewel, Santana, Ozomatli, Shakira, Jill Scott, R. Kelly, Rod Stewart, and Dave Matthews Band...
– audio mixingAudio mixing (recorded music)In audio recording, audio mixing is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels, most commonly two-channel stereo. In the process, the source signals' level, frequency content, dynamics, and panoramic position are manipulated and effects such as reverb may...