Boys by Britney Spears

Album: Britney (2001)

Charted: 7

License This Song

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

In this song, Britney sings about seducing a guy on the dance floor. It's pretty obvious what she plans to do to him - subject matter that would have been too adult for her first album but appropriate for Britney, her third album, released when she was 20 years old. By this time, we knew she was not that innocent.
Along with "I'm A Slave 4 U," this was one of two tracks on the album written and produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo - The Neptunes. Much of their work to this point was on tracks like "Danger" by Mystikal and "I Just Wanna Love U (Give It 2 Me)" by Jay-Z, where they gave hip-hop tracks pop appeal. On "Boys," they went in the opposite direction, injecting hip-hop vibes into Britney's pop sound.
Mike Myers appeared in the video as Austin Powers. Britney was in the movie, but wasn't the star - that would be Beyoncé, who soon took over for Spears as spokeswoman for Pepsi. In the movie, Britney plays a fem-bot who gets in a dance battle with Myers early in the film. He comes up victorious, making her head explode and delivering the line, "Ooops, I did it again."
The Neptunes remixed this with a hip-hop beat for the movie Austin Powers In Goldmember. This version is known as the Co-ed remix, and features vocals by Pharrell Williams. This remix was the first single from the Austin Powers In Goldmember soundtrack.

Comments: 9

Dave from Cardiff, WalesVictoria - you're quite correct, Ryan Adams is indeed from North Carolina. My mistake :-) When he first began making waves in the UK, the British music press claimed he was Canadian, probably as a result of THAT other singer I mentioned...
Casie from Denver, CoIts really cool the remix but I think I like the one in the cd better. I was a huge fan of Brit until the whole slutty girl and she continued this slutty girl but Christina said who the hell cares Im gonna be that girl who expresses her feelings like trust the voice within.
Victoria from Halifax, CanadaThis is a response to Dave from Cardiff. I just want to clarify that Ryan Adams is not Canadian, but is in fact from North Carolina, USA. And he lives in New York.
Sarah from Austalia, AustraliaI know sum1 already mentioned this but i noticed that britney's BOYS and SLAVE 4 U sound alot like Vanity 6's NASTY GIRL. For example:
NASTY GIRL: TONITE I CANT CONTROL IT..TONITE I CAN NO LONGER HOLD IT.
SLAVE 4 U: I CANNOT HOLD IT, I CANNOT CONTROL IT.
NASTY GIRL: TONITE IM LIVING IN A FANTASY..MY OWN LITTLE NASTY WORLD.
BOYS: LETS TURN THIS DANCE FLOOR INTO OUR OWN LITTLE NASTY WORLD.
NASTY GIRL: NASTY GIRLS DANCE
BOYS: GET NASTY GET NASTY

i love the song but you'd think she could be just a little more original!!
Chester from Lincolnshire, EnglandThis song was remixed because Britney's record label felt that the original album version of 'Boys' was TOO POPULAR! They felt that it was getting too much airplay already, so when the song was released commercial - the public would view it as an old song and there wouldn't be the usual hype that surrounds Britney's singles. However, the song still HAD to be released, because the makers of Austin Powers 3 had already secured a deal with Jive records to have the song feature as the lead single from the Austin Powers soundtrack.

So the Neptunes (who produced it originally) were drafted in to remix the hip-hop tune. Britney told them she wanted it to be more funky, with a more commercial, electro-pop sound, lots of bass and a short interlude for a dance routine...

Pharrell Williams decided he was so proud of the song that he wanted to feature on the song and video with Britney... and he did!
Chester from Lincolnshire, EnglandDotmusic.com reviewed this song, and called it Britney's "greatest ever single yet". Since then, they have awarded that title to both Britney's song 'Toxic', and the bittersweet chart-topper 'Everytime'.
Dave from Cardiff, WalesWhen reviewing this song, several reviewers also noticed an uncannily resemblance with the song "Quiet Life", a 1981 UK Top 20 hit for London-based synth-rock act Japan!!
Dave from Cardiff, WalesThe critically-acclaimed Canadian singer-songwriter Ryan Adams (not to be confused with his more famous countryman and near-namesake Bryan Adams) was so angry about what he called the "blatantly sexist lyrics" that he recorded his own tongue-in-cheek version as a pointed reply to Britney's, though he never released it.
Monica from Shawnee, KsThis song is BLAH.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

He Ain't Heavy, He's My BrotherThe Hollies

The motto for Boys Town, which was a Nebraska home for troubled youth, inspired the song "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" by The Hollies.

Nothing Compares 2 USinéad O'Connor

Two tears roll down Sinead O'Connor's face toward the end of the video for "Nothing Compares 2 U." They were shed because she associated the song's lyrics of love and loss with her mother, who was killed in a car accident in 1985.

BootyliciousDestiny's Child

In 2004, the word "Bootylicious" made the Oxford English Dictionary, three years after the Destiny's Child song was released. Definition: "Blend of booty buttocks and delicious."