01/13/12Eight years ago, the Grammy award-winning infectious dance-pop-influenced second single from 'In the Zone,' 'Toxic,' produced by Swedish duo, Bloodshy & Avant, was released. The track sold over 5 million copies worldwide, as well as going #1 in 24 countries. 'Toxic' became Britney's biggest hit worldwide since 'Oops!...I Did It Again,' rocketing to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100, and giving Britney her fourth UK #1 single. The dance-pop masterpiece mixes elements of dance-pop and bhangra music with drums, synthesizers, high-pitched strings, surf guitars, as it warps and struts like it’s been fed into the Matrix, with a tempo of 144 beats per minute. The iconic single was supported by her most expensive music video to date, at a cost of over $1 million. Britney has named 'Toxic' as her favorite single from her career.
*****
Quote:
Originally posted by AllMusic
'Toxic' is an irresistible ear candy and it's surely Britney's most ambitious, adventurous singe to date.
Quote:
Originally posted by BBC News - UK
Top 5 Most Played Songs During The Last Decade
02: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
Quote:
Originally posted by Blender
The 500 Greatest Songs Since You Were Born
110: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
Pop princess turns kryptonite into radio activity. Grown and sexy Britney ditched the 'Slave' python to record this taut dance hit that makes toxic waste out of a poisonous ex. The song smacks down an errant lover who sounds suspiciously like her former beau Justin Timberlake. In the Zone was Britney's album about fame, and 'Toxic''s coked-up beats and electronic jitters, concocted by Bloodshy and Avant, mimic the dizzy throb of life in the paparazzi glare.
Quote:
Originally posted by NME
100 Tracks Of The Decade
17: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
The soundtrack to all of the fun of the decade, from little girls at discos to gay clubs and hen nights. So good it was even included on the Doctor Who soundtrack. As nerdy as this is – and we could be even nerdier, Britney’s most current signature tune was appropriated into the massively multiplayer online role playing game World Of Warcraft after all – the very fact this song was included in a 2005 episode of Doctor Who entitled ‘The End Of The World’ (as a recording on an ancient jukebox as an example of “a traditional ballad” from 5 billion years.)
Quote:
Originally posted by NPR (2005)
Greatest Songs Of All-Time
02: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
'We are the Champions' by Queen was crowned number one in the first global search for the world's top song. It was released by Queen in 1977 but lives on as the world's favorite song. Princess of Pop, Britney Spears, and her worldwide hit 'Toxic' clinched the second position, followed by Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean,' The Eagles' 'Hotel California,' Nirvana's 'Smells Like Teen Spirit,' The Beatles' 'Yesterday,' U2's 'One,' and John Lenon's 'Imagine.'
Quote:
Originally posted by NPR (2009)
The Decade In Music: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
A product of the post-teen-pop, pre-Kevin Federline Britney Spears of early 2004, 'Toxic' was the second single from Spears' fourth studio album, In the Zone. No longer apologetic or defensive for breaking away from her '90s virginal teeny-bopper image and sound, the Spears in 'Toxic' is out to have a good time on her own terms. The campy video for 'Toxic' captures the moment perfectly: Spears gleefully adopts different alter-egos and traipses through de Beauvoir's tropes of femininity to steal a poison, ride a motorcycle, steward an airplane and literally cover herself in diamonds. She's sexy and comfortable, even when wearing nothing but diamond-encrusted skin. It was racy enough for MTV to move the video to the adult-friendly 5-10 p.m. time slot (this was during the height of the Janet Jackson 'nipple-gate' scandal), but Spears isn't calculatingly courting controversy. This is genuine fun. Co-written and produced by Bloodshy & Avant, the Swedish duo responsible for the irresistible, stuttering synth that defined the decade's dance-pop, 'Toxic' is as addictive as the 'poison paradise' it imbibes. The buzzing, rockabilly twang and now-classic four-note string interludes still sound fresh and futuristic. Spears' breathy vocals grapple perilously and pleasurably with 'Too high / Can't come down / It's in my head spinning round and round.' The flirtatious dance with toxicity gives in and Spears coos, 'Intoxicate me now / With your lovin' now / I think I'm ready now.' Giving in sounds so good. Spears' best song to date, 'Toxic' isn't a stranger to critical acclaim; it got Spears' her only Grammy and hipster dance-floor credibility, and it became her fourth Top 10 hit in the U.S.
Quote:
Originally posted by Out
Granted, every syllable out of her mouth is grist for the gossip mill. Yes, every move she makes becomes cover fodder for Star or Us Weekly. But say what you will, Britney is a Madonna for the century. When the former Mouseketeer released her debut album, 'Baby One More Time, back in 1999, people scoffed that it would be the last we'd hear of the pop tart, that she wasn't legitimately talented, that she was pushing people's buttons with her scanty wardrobe. Wow. It all sounds mighty familiar. A gazillion sales later, Britney is still with us, making covers of magazines just for being Britney. And the girl makes great music. Out of the box with ''Baby One More Time,' she captured the imagination of young girls (and gay boys) everywhere.This year, Spears had her 'Vogue' (easily Madonna's most innovative single) with 'Toxic.' She also won a recent poll asking, 'Who Are You Most Sick of Hearing About?' But it's Britney. You just can't stay mad at her for long.
Quote:
Originally posted by Pitchfork (2004)
Top 50 Singles Of 2004
03: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
Appreciating Britney Spears was the final frontier of shedding my old pop-fearing husk, so laced was her music and persona with the red flags of hitting/slaving misogyny, leering pedophilia, and mannequin sexuality. But the throttled strings of 'Toxic' finally scuttled all that kneejerk sociology, being just too damn irresistible a pop song for it to matter what media super-entity it was attributed to. It sure didn't hurt that it was the first Britney single in a while not to parasite off of her persona-- finally, she just acted like an adult, rather than constantly reminding us she wasn't a girl anymore. And mysteriously Scandanavian producers Bloodshy & Avant hung the perfect slinky musical drapery: The aforementioned strings, which swell perfectly to that recurring screeching punctuation, and a sinister surf-guitar riff that made the Alias-inspired video an obvious call. Thanks a lot, Britney, now who the **** am I gonna irrationally hate?
Quote:
Originally posted by Pitchfork (2009)
The Top 500 Tracks Of The 2000s
141: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
The thing that made Britney's mid-decade breakdown so distressing is that the lady actually had great pop instincts.It's not like when Jessica Simpson lost her damn mind and we the listeners lost exactly nothing. Sure, Brit bounced back with 'Blackout,' but 'Toxic' was the last great Britney single (so far), the last where it felt like a personality was inhabiting the tune. (Britney always had more individualist pep than her peers, important when you're dealing with steamroller productions from the mind of Max Martin.) And as a bonus, the backing track remains deeply, enjoyably weird-but-catchy: a club-tempo stepping breakbeat colored by James Bond soundtrack outtakes.
Quote:
Originally posted by Pitchfork (2011)
It also may be wishful thinking to believe that one song can change the sound of pop music, but it’s been done before by Britney herself. “Toxic” is still widely credited for changing the face of dance-pop in the 2000s. Although nothing truly captured the exact sound of that monster tune, it introduced an influx of dance-pop into the modern market, providing the blueprint for various smash hits. Despite some negative popular opinion surrounding her, credit must be given where it is due. Britney could very well start the pop-dubstep genre.
Quote:
Originally posted by PopMatters
A pop star will always remain a pop star as long as they keep churning out hits, but pop stars come and go every year, and very few of them make truly lasting impacts. Although the video for “... Baby One More Time” made Spears’ a star, no song since then had matched it in terms of cultural impact. Stellar tracks like “Toxic” only come once in a lifetime. What was remarkable about the Bloodshy & Avant-produced “Toxic”, however, was that Spears’—for once—actually had a good song under her belt. Scratch that: “Toxic” was a great song, a string-laced guilty-pleasure that was upbeat, catchy, and so intoxicatingly over-the-top that it wasn’t long before rock bands of every ilk began covering it ironically, the track eventually scoring Spears’ her first-ever Grammy win to boot. “Toxic” is that rare kind of pop song that achieves a sort of ubiquity that transcends genre boundaries. A perfectly-executed pop song is a hard thing to pull off, but with “Toxic”, Spears’ was finally able to deliver that track that would define her latter-day legacy.
Quote:
Originally posted by Rolling Stone
The Decade-End Critics' Poll
Our picks for the best albums, songs and artists by females of the 2000s
02: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
She may have a lot of strong hits, but none of them match the sexy, boundary-pushing thrills of this high-tech pop masterpiece. It still sounds a decade ahead of its time.
Quote:
Originally posted by The Telegraph
100 Songs That Defined the Noughties
Love it or hate it, the music of the Noughties was inescapable, coming from adverts, video games and that newfangled gadget, the iPod. This is the Telegraph's list of the songs that defined the decade.
04: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
Quote:
Originally posted by The Village Voice
Top 2004 Singles By Female Artists
01: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
The best song of the last 140 years.
Quote:
Originally posted by VH1
100 Greatest Songs Of The 00s
20: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
With obvious metaphorical references comparing love to a toxic drug, 'Toxic' was her fourth top 10 single in the US, and in 2005 won the Grammy Award for 'Best Dance Recording.'
Quote:
Originally posted by Billboard
The 10 Best '00s Music Videos
02: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
In 2004's Joseph Kahn-directed 'Toxic' video, Britney Spears proved that she comes in every flavor: futuristic stewardess, fiery 'Alias'-esque agent, and brunette super-heroine. But the one role that stays constant through the dance-heavy clip: Sultry maneater.
Quote:
Originally posted by Fuse
100 Sexiest Videos Of All Time
02: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
The second sexiest music video of all time, and most notably features Britney wearing nothing but diamonds.
Quote:
Originally posted by MTV (2004)
Britney bathing nude in a trove of diamonds and jewels, emerges in a black leather dominatrix catsuit, her hair a shocking red. Moving with the music, Britney's body bends and flexes, it's an erotic, catlike dance with the music as she twists and tumbles. It becomes an epic, eye-popping moment, as the entire building shatters.
Quote:
Originally posted by MTV (2009)
When Britney Spears shot the video for 'Toxic' in 2003, she had already started to play with her image and was emerging as a pop vixen. When the clip for 'Toxic,' the second single from In the Zone, was released, fans saw Spears as a spy out to seek revenge on her lover. 'It's basically about a girl addicted to a guy,' Spears told MTV in 2003. 'It's an upbeat song. It's really different, that's why I like it so much. This villain girl, she'll do anything to get what she wants. She goes through different obstacles.' For the video, Britney seems to be a flight attendant, but she's actually a secret agent in disguise. 'The plot is pretty nonsensical,' Spears told MTV News. 'It's just fun. It's like James Bond flicks and sex.' That combination only got better when Britney appeared in a suit made of nude material covered in diamonds. 'Britney said she wanted to shoot a scene wearing diamonds and nothing else, and I'm like, 'How do I make this work?' ' director said. 'She said she wanted to dance. I didn't like the bikini she was wearing.' Instead, the pair opted to leave very little to the imagination. 'Joseph's very ambitious. He's a professional,' Britney said. 'I came up with the concept and threw it out there. ... There are jewels all over my body. There's nothing actually underneath.' Some artists know how to get exactly what they want. And some know how to give their fans precisely what they want, but only a few know how to do both at the same time. That's why Britney Spears drags a chubby guy into the bathroom of a supersonic jet in Best Video of the Year nominee 'Toxic,' only to tear off his mask and reveal a hunky blond stud. 'She said she wanted to join the mile-high club and be a stewardess that makes out with someone in the bathroom,' said the video's director, Joseph Kahn. 'My contribution was to make him a fat guy, because you know at some point in her videos she'll make out with hot guys. Picking out the everyguy is a fantasy on one level for her, but you put a chubby guy in there and the common man gets something too.' The director, who also helmed Spears' 2000 'Stronger' video, attributes the understanding of that delicate balance to what he calls the singer's underappreciated, 'incredible' sense of humor. Kahn marveled at how the singer came to him with a fully formed idea for the video, down to the smallest detail. Case in point: Near the beginning of the video, Britney knew she wanted to drip some water in a passenger's lap, provocatively dab it up and then turn around and kiss a child on the head. 'That's part of her brilliance,' Kahn said. 'She has this weird awareness of her appeal. 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. She toys with you and leaves you conflicted.' Once Kahn presented a treatment to Spears based on her story sketch of a slinky female agent out for revenge against an ex-lover, the director packed the cast with friends and acquaintances, like he does on most projects. The gentleman who gets a lapful of water was his longtime casting director, and the lucky bathroom hook-up was the casting director's assistant, a comedian Kahn has also known for years. The $1 million clip was shot on a Los Angeles soundstage in December over three days and features dozens of complicated special effects. As he does in all his videos, Kahn also packed it full of tributes to his favorite movies and artists. From the John Woo-like pack of doves that follows the airplane into the first and last frames to the 'Blade Runner' look of the futuristic city Britney rides through on a motorcycle, Kahn mixed the familiar with some signature touches. One of the clip's most arresting images features the singer naked except for strategically placed diamonds. Though Kahn said people often think Brit is wearing a nude hose over her body, he promised that she went full commando for the shot. 'That's just her naked with diamonds on,' he promised. '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.' Though Britney was adamant about flaunting it, she made Kahn clear the entire set for the shoot, leaving just the two of them and a camera, a job Kahn joked was 'one of the best in the world.' It was also Britney's idea to be dropped onto the back of a motorcycle driven by Tyson Beckford, who pilots her through a scene that features yet another homage to an old movie, this time Marilyn Monroe's 1955 classic, 'The Seven Year Itch.' 'Toxic' features a fleeting shot of a woman having her dress blown up in the air. Kahn said one of the most impressive parts of working with Spears was how intricately planned out her dance routines were. 'She worked closely with her choreographer Brian [Friedman], and they tied all the scenes together with dancing,' Kahn said. 'Directors and choreographers typically have to work together, but this video was strictly structured by the way in which she dances in each scene. It's usually more random than that.' One of the most effects-heavy shots is a perfect example of how Britney's calculated moves drove the drama. Working in front of a green screen, Spears had to pretend to dance through a hallway of imaginary laser beams after stealing a vial of poison. 'She had to imagine what the room looked like and work around them,' Kahn said. 'She just worked on instinct and we animated them later. It was incredible to watch.' Having Britney appear to fly, climb up the side of a glass building and toss a man over her shoulder like he was a rag doll was nothing compared to the video's most amazing trick. 'I mean, she's murdering a man onscreen!' Kahn laughed. 'But the trick was to make it look pop at the same time.' That's where the expression on the face of actor Martin Henderson — who starred in Kahn's big-screen directorial debut, 'Torque' — became key. 'I asked him, 'Would you like to be kissed by Britney Spears?' ' Kahn explained. 'But it was weird telling him that she was going to kill right after.' If you watch closely, just after Brit pours the green poison into Henderson's mouth, but before she closes his eyes, a hint of a smile appears on his face. It was that fleeting look that Kahn said he devised to get the shot past censors.
Quote:
Originally posted by The Telegraph
The Sexiest Music Videos Of All Time
01: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
Quote:
Originally posted by VH1
According to our critics, we have a list where women see the best clips of the 2000s. The list is based on the best video clips, regardless of whether single or not containing in them the indifference of chats and awards, none of the clips contains the interest of having been successful. Made by our critics, the 15 best female video clips of the 2000s are:
01: Britney Spears 'Toxic' [Jive]
THE SONG. THE VIDEO. THE PERFORMANCES. THE LEGACY.
The thing that made Britney's mid-decade breakdown so distressing is that the lady actually had great pop instincts. It's not like when Jessica Simpson lost her damn mind and we the listeners lost exactly nothing
. She is so loved by everyone 
.