Overprotected

"Overprotected" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her third studio album, ''Britney'' (2001). It was written and produced by Max Martin and Rami. The song was released on December 10, 2001, by Jive Records as the second international single from ''Britney''. "Overprotected" is a dance-pop song about a girl who is tired of being overprotected and just wants to be herself. The song received generally positive reviews from music critics. Its remixed R&B form, produced by Darkchild, was released as the third US single from ''Britney'' on April 2, 2002.

While it peaked only at number 86 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, "Overprotected" peaked at number 22 in Canada and reached the top five in Italy, Romania, Sweden and the United Kingdom. An accompanying music video, directed by Billie Woodruff, portrays Spears dancing inside an abandoned factory; the music video for The Darkchild Remix, directed by Chris Applebaum, portrays Spears dancing and having fun with her friends. Spears has performed "Overprotected" a number of times, including during the Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001–2002) and The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004). In 2003, the song received a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

Background

During the Oops!... I Did It Again Tour (2000), Spears revealed she felt inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and The Neptunes and wanted to create a record with a funkier sound. In February 2001, Spears signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, entitled ''A Mother's Gift''. On the same month, Spears started to record material for her third studio album,''Britney'' liner notes. Jive Records (2001) with "Overprotected" being recorded at Maratone Studios in Stockholm, Sweden. Additional recording was done in April 2001 at Maratone in Sweden, in which the song's vocals were completed. Background vocals were provided by Spears and Bosslady, with the track being mixed by Martin and Rami at Maratone Studios. Her third studio album, ''Britney'', was released in November 2001. In an interview with the '' Daily Record'', Spears concluded she can relate to "Overprotected" "on a personal basis, because I feel kind of overprotected. When I want to go out, everything has to be organized in advance. I think that other kids of my age can relate to it to a certain extent."

Composition

"Overprotected" is a dance-pop song that lasts for three minutes and 18 seconds. David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'' noticed Europop influences on the song, while other critics compared it to previous songs released by Spears. According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, "Overprotected" is composed in the key of C minor and is set in time signature of common time, with a moderate tempo of 96 beats per minute. Spears vocal range spans from A3 to C5.

Lyrically, the track is about a girl who is tired of being manipulated by people around her and doesn't need to be told what to do, which is perceived in lines such as "You're gonna have to see through my perspective/ I need to make mistakes just to learn who I am/ And I don't want to be so damn protected". Dana Alice Heller, author of ''Makeover television: realities remodelled'' (2007), said that, with "Overprotected", "Spears addresses the problem of being a teen star whose personal and professional are handled by others." She also compared "Overprotected" with the singer's first reality show, '' Britney and Kevin: Chaotic'' (2005), saying that "Britney frames her makeover as a move toward to independence, a rebellion against overly controlling parents and their stand-ins."

Remixes

The song's main release in North America was a reworked R&B remix by Rodney "Darkchild" Jerkins. Jerkins said that the label "needed a remix that's crazy" and that the remix has "an old-school-type rhythm, which I think is kinda cool because it's an element hat Spearsnever had, but I still gave it her edge. I was up all night rocking that joint. t has thesame lyrics, I just reproduced the track." "The Darkchild Remix" was originally scheduled for release to radio stations in the United States in mid-March 2002; this date was pushed back and the song was released on April 1, 2002. The remix was heavily played in dance clubs, and Jerkins said he was not surprised with its popularity, stating "pearsreinvented herself. Everybody thought she was gonna come back with another ' Oops!... I Did It Again', but she went left and came with the ' I'm a Slave 4 U' joint, which is basically a club banger. You gotta big up people who reinvent themselves. I always said she was gonna be one of the people that's gonna be around for a minute, because I see that in her."

Finnish musician and record producer Jaakko Salovaara also created two remixes for the track, titled "JS16 Dub" and "JS16 Remix". The latter was included on the promotional soundtrack of Spears' film, ''Crossroads'' (2002).

Critical reception

Upon release, the track received generally positive reviews from music critics. Jocelyn Vena of MTV said that "with songs like 'Overprotected' and 'Let Me Be', Spears seemed to be letting out her adolescent angst", while Kyle Anderson of MTV Newsroom said, "the real first blush with emancipation from he singerteen pop past came with Overprotected'. While reviewing Spears' third studio album ''Britney'' (2001), Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said the track, along with "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" and "What It's Like to Be Me", "are pivotal moments on Britney Spears' third album, the record where she strives to deepen her persona (not the same thing as her character, of course), making it more adult while still recognizably Britney". Christopher Rosa, from '' Glamour'', deemed it Spears' eight best song, and said that "feeling overly controlled or scrutinized is a consistent theme in Spears's discography, but this motif started with Overprotected", calling the song "introspection with a killer hook.

Critic Robert Christgau also considered "Overprotected" and "Cinderella" as the highlights of ''Britney'', while saying, "hardly the first not-terribly-bright teenager to approach self-knowledge via the words of others". Nikki Tranker of ''PopMatters'' said the song "is an absolute belter reminiscent of Britney’s previous big-bang singles, 'Oops! I Did It Again' and 'You Drive Me Crazy' 'sic''">sic.html" ;"title="'sic">'sic'', while commenting that Spears "sings about ridding herself of the girlie chains around her, gripes about her need for space in the whirlwind that is her life, and lets us know she don’t need nobody telling her what to do". The staff from ''Entertainment Weekly'' placed it at number 24 on their ranking of Spears's songs and said that "there’s an eerie amount of foreshadowing for what was to come in her personal life. And Max Martin shows once again he had an unassailable gift for crafting that decade’s most indelible hooks". In 2003, the song received a Grammy