As Britney Spears nets her twentieth Top 20 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 with her G-Eazy assisted new single “Make Me,” we thought that now was the perfect time to look reflect on and rank all 20 of those hits! Take a look at our ranking below!
20. “S&M” Remix, #1 in 2011
2011 saw Britney Spears topping the Billboard Hot 100 not once but twice. After ringing in the new year with her dubstep-sampling “Hold It Against Me” (more on that later) Brit lent her vocals to Rihanna’s raunchy “S&M” and helped push the track to it’s chart topping pinnacle. Although the Rih-mix (if you will) is far from Brit’s most innovative or (for that matter) vocally excellent it’s hard to deny how fun the collab was. A twerk-tastic music video may have launched the single higher up this chart, but regardless it’s nice to know that the Pop Princess still likes to get a little nasty from time to time.
19. “From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart,” #14 in 1999
If you’re looking for a nostalgic trip down memory lane then look no further than Britney’s sweet torch song “From the Bottom of My Broken Heart.” Released as the fifth single from her massive debut album, “FTBOMBH” saw the teen popstar at her most pensive and hungry for love. Reflecting on a broken relationship, Britney expressed a desire to reignite the spark. Unlike her brazen debut, this effort was a more restrained and heartfelt release. It may be a less memorable cut on her extensive discography, but it is nonetheless an endearing listen.
18. “Scream & Shout,” #3 in 2012
“It’s Will.I.Am. and Britney, Bitch!” After teaming up with Will.I.Am on 2011’s Femme Fatale cut “Big Fat Bass” Brit and the Black Eyed Peas frontman rejuvenated their dance floor love affair with “Scream & Shout.” On the track Britney serves her best club girl act, demanding that listeners “turn this shit up” before joining Will.I.Am on the larger than life chorus. The bouncy production and playful vocals reminded listeners of Britney’s dominance in the clubs and provided fans with yet another summer anthem to dance along to.
17. “Work Bitch,” #12 in 2013
After promising fans her most personal album to date with her eighth studio album Britney Jean, Britney Spears shocked fans with the release of her EDM smasha, “Work Bitch.” Possibly inspired by the massive success of 2012’s “Scream & Shout,” the album’s lead single became a personal call to get to work, bitch. “You want a hot bod-ey / you want a Bugatti / you want a Maserati / you better work bitch” Spears demanded over her most electronic production to date. The inspirational call to arms has become a cult favorite in recent years, and it’s S&M in the desert themed music video has made the single a truly memorable release in recent years.
16. “(You Drive Me) Crazy,” #10 in 1999
Britney Spears delivered one of her most saccharine sweet productions to date on her third ever single, “(You Drive Me) Crazy.” After her brazen debut with “…Baby One More Time” Team Spears explored a more R&B oriented offering with the album’s second single “Sometimes.” The sweet lover’s anthem made a decent showing, but it paled in comparison to Spears’s third outing on “Crazy.” With her sweetly besotted delivery and the dance friendly production were complimented by a 50’s inspired music video that only furthered Britney’s rise to the top.
15. “Piece of Me,” #18 in 2007
Britney Spears’s rise to fame (and her fall from the top and subsequent climb back up) has been incessantly documented in magazines across the globe. B-Girl has consistently been one of the most documented and in demand icons in modern journalism, and in 2007 Spears hit back at her naysayers in her cutting Blackout ode “Piece of Me.” On the track Spears practically spits at those who hungrily devoured convoluted stories about her character, proclaiming herself “Miss Bad Media Karma” amongst other titles and brazenly offering the media a piece of her mind. The biographical track reveals the darker side of her celebrity status and remains a beloved track.
14. “Till the World Ends,” #3 in 2011
2011 has by and far been one of Brit’s most successful years on the charts to date. Armed with a bevy of radio friendly hits on the year’s Femme Fatale, it seemed as though radio could not get enough of the Pop Princess during this era. After soaring to the top of the charts with lead single “Hold It Against Me” (and Rihanna’s “S&M”) Britters made her return to the Top 3 with the album’s second singe “Till the World Ends.” The dance friendly anthem has become without a doubt one of Britney’s most enduring and iconic recent hits, and it unsurprisingly welcomes fans to keep on dancing along with her cooed vocals. Although it may not have truly been sicker than the remix (which featured both Nicki Minaj AND Ke$ha, like damn), there is no denying that “Till the World Ends” is a certified B.O.P.
13. “I Wanna Go,” #7 in 2011
Another spot up the chart and another Femme Fatale track on the list. Brit proved her longevity on the charts with the album’s third single “I Wanna Go.” Armed with a whistle (in the days before the whistle became played to death), one of Britney’s most adorably WTF videos to date, and an earworm worthy chorus “I Wanna Go” is yet another simple pop gem from the Britney pop machine.
12. “If U Seek Amy,” #19 in 2009
Iconic Swedish producer Max Martin has helmed several of Britney Spears’s most successful singles, but few have been as deliciously naughty as her 2009 effort on “If U Seek Amy.” The track delivers bubblegum production and is seemly a sugary sweet ode to a mysterious stranger named Amy, until you get to the chorus and realize the clever double entendre that transforms “if you seek Amy” into… something a little bit naughtier. Accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek visual that saw Spears hosting an orgy in her home but emerging from her front door dressed as the idyllic housewife (pie and all) to greet the waiting media, the track has become of of Brit’s cleverest to date.
11. “Stronger,” #11 in 2000
Britney declared her independence from a cheating lover on her self empowerment anthem “Stronger.” On the track Britney confidently declares herself to be “stronger than yesterday” and capable of taking on any obstacles in her course. Armed with an evocative music video that saw the young popstar boasting crimped hair and serving chair-ography before driving out into a blustering rainstorm. Although beloved upon it’s release, “Stronger” has become all the more important to the Spears discography in recent years. After struggling through a handful of rough years, Britney rose from the ashes quite literally “stronger than yesterday.”
10. “3,” #1 in 2009
What happens when religious imagery meets pop culture? In the case of Britney Spears’s 2009 chart topping single “3,” the answer is a decidedly naughty one. The Max Martin produced dance floor anthem was included on her 2009 The Singles Collection and describes a threesome on the dance floor. “1, 2, 3, not only you and me / got 180 degrees, and I’m caught in between” Spears flirtatiously proclaims over blaring horns on the chorus. In true Spears fashion, the single skirts along a fine line between pornographic and playful; however, Brit’s tongue in cheek delivery keeps it right on the side of playful. The track lives on as one of the few chart topping odes to threesomes in recent memory and is another diamond in the collection of hits.
9. “Womanizer,” #1 in 2008
The world witnessed a Renaissance in all things Britney Spears in 2008. After suffering a high profile divorce and being torn to shreds on the covers of countless tabloids, Britney Spears rose from the ashes and returned to the scene armed with a spitfire single. Her (not quite a) comeback single reintroduced the world to Britney Spears and netted the songstress her first tenure at the very top of the charts since her debut ten years earlier. With it’s chanted chorus and utterly confident delivery it was undeniable that the Pop Princess was more than able to delivering in a new era of greatness.
8. “Hold It Against Me,” #1 in 2011
After waiting ten years for her second tenure atop the charts, Britney’s third (and her fourth and fifth) came in rapid succession. The fourth came in the form of Femme Fatale lead single “Hold It Against Me,” and it did so much more than simply top the charts. In true Britney Spears form, “Hold It Against Me” redefined pop music. An eternal queen of the dance floor, Britney became one of the very first pop acts to incorporate the grimy bass of dubstep in a major release. The extended instrumental breakdown on the bridge and the brazen come ons delivered in Britney’s throatiest vocals make the track definitely hers and definitively cutting edge.
7. “Circus,” #3 in 2008
Following her stuttering reintroduction to the world on “Womanizer,” Britney returned to her pop roots while simultaneously poking fun at her status as a chart topper on “Circus.” Proudly claiming the title of ringleader (and firecracker) the track literally vibrates with energy and features one of her best dance breaks to date.
6. “Everytime,” #15 in 2004
As a reigning queen of pop music, fans are used to hearing Britney commanding a slickly produced beat. She’s demanded that we get to work (bitch), to turn this shit up, and to keep our eyes on her; but it turns out that Britney Spears is capable of much more than than.
Although the majority of her Top 20 hits have been dance floor anthems, one that stands out from the crowd is her self-penned, heartbroken apology to a lover “Everytime.” The In The Zone single is rumored to allude to her failed relationship with Justin Timberlake, but more importantly it showcases Brit at her most fragile and earnest. Armed with little more than a piano and some haunting strings, Spears’s voice is utterly enthralling on the ballad. With the release Britney proved that you don’t need to execute 7 octave melismas to showcase pure emotion and that sometimes a whisper is more effective than a shout. The honesty displayed in her lyricism is touching and makes the track a fan favorite (and apparently a Britney favorite, seeing as it has been included on every tour since its release) to this day.
5. “Gimme More,” #3 in 2007
“It’s Britney, bitch.” Rarely have three words been more impactful on an artist’s career than the opening lines to Britney’s 2007 cut “Gimme More.” The darkly sexual track kicked off her critically acclaimed Blackout era with a bang and lives on in infamy since. The track marked Spears’s first collaboration with Timbaland’s prodigy Danja and catapulted the Pop Princess into a more adult direction. Demanding more (pronounced moah) from a lover, Britney brazenly makes her needs evident and proved herself capable of executing a flawless musical release even in the midst of her darkest days.
4. “Make Me,” #17 in 2016
Britney Spears’s most recent release is yet another testament to the iconic artist’s longevity and ability to consistently reinvent herself between releases. After nearly twenty years of dancing till the world ends on the pop machine, Britney has kicked off her latest era of music with something a little more… artsy fartsy. The songstress has teamed up with producer Burns and Oakland rapper G-Eazy for the lead single, which pulls her in a decidedly more R&B oriented direction. Opting away from her proven strategy of kicking off an era with a dance floor anthem, “Make Me” is an intimate and lusty midtempo that features a delectably refined vocal performance from Brit. Her vocals, especially on the melisma-ridden chorus, are truly exceptional. After the personal album turned relatively generic EDM release that was Britney Jean, it is refreshing to hear Britney sounding so mature and at ease on a release. “Make Me” has proven that Britney is more than capable of defending her legacy years into her career. It has proven that Britney is still at the peak of her craft and is ready to keep moving forward.
3. “Oops!…I Did It Again,” #9 in
After her impressive showing on her debut album, many critics expected Britney to flounder with her sophomore album. Britney Spears proved them wrong almost immediately with the release of the album’s lead single “Oops!…I Did It Again.” Giving birth to the iconic phrase “I’m not that innocent,” Britney effortlessly played the role of a vixen on the track. Armed with a pristine pop production (thanks again Max Martin), a red leather catsuit, and probably a gallon of vegetable oil (have you ever attempted to get into a skintight catsuit before? didn’t think so) Britney Spears proved naysayers wrong and effortlessly reclaimed her throne. Teen Queen indeed.
2. “Toxic,” #9 in 2004
Few songs are more quintessentially “Britney Spears” than her 2004 smash “Toxic.” After struggling to find traction on radio during her Britney era (justice for “Slave 4 U”), “Toxic’s” sleek production put an end to her dry spell on radio. The villainous strings and frenzied synths provided the perfect background to Britney’s breathy vocals and took fans on a ride to a toxic paradise. The track builds to an utter crescendo on the bridge and truly earned it’s iconic spot in Spears’s history.
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“…Baby One More Time,” #1 in 1998
No song is more essential to Britney Spears’s discography than her 1998 chart topping debut “…Baby One More Time.” From the three note riff introduction to Britney’s impassioned delivery and unique phrasing, the Max Martin-helmed song gave birth to a new era of teen pop and established Britney as the ultimate Teen Queen. After she donned her iconic schoolgirl uniform for the music video it was official: Britney Spears had made a lasting impact on pop music on her first go. The single flew to the top of the charts alongside her debut album of the same name and spawned a reign that has continued for nearly twenty years. To this day “…Baby One More Time” is one of the most beloved and influential songs in pop music. The track oozes throwback appeal yet still manages to feel current. It’s the pop masterpiece that started it all, and we don’t see it getting old anytime soon…
Let us know if you agree with our ranking of Britney Spears’s 20 Top 20 singles in the comments below!
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