"Hold It Against Me" debuted #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. With HIAM, Britney tied Mariah Carey for the most singles to debut atop the Hot 100 (2).
Without radio deals, HIAM broke the record for the most first day radio spins with 705, beating out Mariah Carey’s 498 with “Touch My Body” back in 2008.
At the time, HIAM had the second fastest rise to the top of iTunes ever (8 hours), despite being released at midnight. Taylor Swift’s “Mine,” which accomplished the fastest rise to the top in 5 hours, was released at 4 p.m.
"Hold It Against Me" hit #1 on iTunes in 14 countries, nearly simultaneously.
“Hold It Against Me” also debuted atop the Hot Digital Songs chart, with 411,000 copies sold. At the time, HIAM's 411K was the most first week downloads for a song by a female artist - beating the previous record held by Taylor Swift’s “Today Was a Fairytale” (2010).
End of 2011 Charts: Despite being the first major song of 2011 to be released, HIAM was still strong enough to end up #66 on the Digital and Radio Songs Charts and #60 on Hot 100 songs.
The music video premiered on MTV on Feb. 17, 2011. The four minute Hold It Against Me video premiere aired immediately before Jersey Shore and averaged a 1.7 adults, 18-49 rating and nearly 3.5 million viewers. More viewers than the season finale of "America's Next Top Model."
Hold It Against Me demo, sung by Bonnie McKee.
Hold It Against Me lyric rough draft from Bonne McKee.
Critical Acclaim
Billboard cites Britney as a key force in driving the dubstep wave in 2011:
Quote:
Originally posted by Billboard
Dubstep music has been burgeoning overseas and in patches of the U.S. for years, but the electronic genre emerged into the mainstream in 2011, with Sonny Moore, aka Skrillex, leading the way. After Britney Spears added a pinch of dubstep to her single "Hold It Against Me" and Korn announced a dubstep-heavy new album, Skrillex scored a Best New Artist nomination at the 2012 Grammys, marking the first time an electronica DJ has scored a nod in the category.
Quote:
Originally posted by Rolling Stone
...she sounds stronger than several thousand yesterdays. “Hold It Against Me” is prime Britney, all aggressive electro jitters, with a weird breakdown in the middle where Brit moans, blows kisses, and snaps her gum over Dr. Luke’s glitchy synth blurts.
Quote:
Originally posted by NYDaily News
"Hold It" offers a promising hint of Britney's better past hits. It's got the requisite, double-entendre lyric, clever arrangement and careful usage of the star as an ornament rather than a driving force. With all that behind her, the "Oops" girl may yet do it again.
Quote:
Originally posted by Chicago Tribune
...that grips the road like an earth-mover, rumbling the lower regions of speaker cabinets everywhere, then morphs into an ebullient disco groove. It’s one of the tougher-sounding Spears singles yet and should do the job as a dancefloor-filler for listeners who are starting to wear out on the latest singles from Katy Perry and Black Eyed Peas.
Flawless "Hold It Against Me" performance for the Femme Fatale Tour and also various promo performances. The Chair Breakdown >>>>>>
Fun Facts
- HIAM was inspired after songwriter Bonnie McKee and Katy Perry joked about pickup lines at a bar.
- The song was originally offered to Katy Perry, but Dr. Luke thought it didn't fit her.
- The song was produced by Dr. Luke and Max Martin with songwriting from Bonnie McKee
- No auto-tune is used in HIAM. Voices between background vocalist Myah Marie and Britney are filtered on top of eachother to create a very distinct sounding vocal.
A year already?! Wow. It doesn't seem that long ago. I actually remember clearly.. The lead up to it, when the demo leaked then to the official release on iTunes. It was so exciting! I only heard it on the radio like, 3 times though.
one of her best songs ever.
though I still loathe the "I need a vacation tonight" line.
i like what see on the scrap paper though: "and you're gonna be gonna be mine". I like it so much more.
I cant believe its been a year. I still remember the day it leaked ...
I remember being glued to the computer screen for the entire week leading up to the release. Going to bed at like 4am incase it leaked....waking up like 2 hours later in case it leaked.
A year already?! Wow. It doesn't seem that long ago. I actually remember clearly.. The lead up to it, when the demo leaked then to the official release on iTunes. It was so exciting! I only heard it on the radio like, 3 times though.