Britney Spears - "Work Bitch"

[Juan Carlos]

"Work Bitch"
Written by William Adams, Otto Jettman, Sebastian Ingrosso, Anthony Preston, Ruth-Anne Cunningham and Britney Spears
Produced by Sebastian Ingrosso, Otto Knows and will.i.am
Vocal production by will.i.am and Anthony Preston

"Work Bitch" (stylized as "Work B**ch!") was released as the lead single of Britney Spears' side project for her Las Vegas residency show Britney: Piece of Me eighth studio album Britney Jean back in 2013. It's an EDM track, where the production was held by Otto Knows with the assistance of Sebastian Ingrosso and it resembles "Greyhound" by Swedish House Mafia and the latter was part of. Personally, it's one of my favourite lead singles from her and the production is awesome, which it goes hard and the mainstream audience wasn't used to at that time.

The WW premiere of the track was scheduled for September 16 at 6pm. ET of that year on iHeartRadio, but it leaked a day before, prompting to rush-release its radio premiere there and select Clear Channel radio stations. The track was available to download WW on September 17, with the exception of the UK and Ireland, where it was released on November 3 and a 2-track physical version was released in Germany on October 18. The track sold 174k in its first week in the US, debuting at #12 and becoming her 23rd. overall Top 40 hit there and it reached at #7 in the UK, where it also becomes her 23rd. overall Top 10 hit there. Moreover, it made the Top 10 in Canada, France and Scotland and the Top 40 in Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

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• Check the original thread in the CHR/Pop forum here.
• Check the thread for the remixes in the Dance forum here.

[Ginger Spice]

Weird to think of this as nostalgia already, it still gets played when I go out. Even though it wasn't a big hit (I still blame the awful radio edit), it was big in the clubs and among her fan base it seems to be one of her most loved songs. I never hated Britney Jean like the rest of 'em, but this is the only song that I still play frequently.

[lyhom]

my pop station played the uncensored version lmao

I like the song well enough, even though I rarely listen to it now. the production is nice though

[surfy]

I still listen to this all the time!!! It goes hard!!! <3

[Glove Slap]

This was never that much, but I've found it's a useful tool in separating Britney fans and her impact on their thinking.

If they think this had potential or was some kind of lost big hit, then they're crazy as fuck. Otherwise, they're generally capable of deductive reasoning.

[LBTrocks]

I don't get nostalgic when I hear it, but I do love it. Great beat and production. The lyrics are actually inspiring and motivational... lol.

[Ling-Ling]

Sept 28, 2015 6:02:16 GMT -5 Glove Slap said:

This was never that much, but I've found it's a useful tool in separating Britney fans and her impact on their thinking.

If they think this had potential or was some kind of lost big hit, then they're crazy as f**k. Otherwise, they're generally capable of deductive reasoning.

This, haha. This was mediocre from the jump and it did not flop because of the radio edit. The instrumental was uninspired, she sounded bored, the pre-chorus was a mess. They went for fierce and ended up comatose.

[wjr15]

I didn't like this when it first came out cause I'm not a fan of will.i.am's productions but it has definitely grown on me and this song goes hard at the clubs.

[Relaxing Cup]

hot then, annoying now.

[Caviar]

Terrible

[Deleted]

Its not my faved but its still a great catchy song in the catalog.

[Landmarx]

Just realized I've only been posting in threads for songs I like, so I'll post in this one to balance things out.

Also LMAO at it taking six people to write something like this.

[Choco]

Not one of her best but it's an underrated fun track.

(Also the only gem on that album).

[Relaxing Cup]

It seriously took 6 people to write "Work Bitch"?

[Michael1973]

Feb 17, 2017 19:13:59 GMT -5 Relaxing Cup said:

It seriously took 6 people to write "Work Bitch"?

This is one of my pet peeves regarding today's pop music. I noticed it during the recent Grammy awards. Songs that are incredibly poor quality have 5-10 people credited as songwriters. Why does one song need that many writers anyway?

[Unhinged]

One of my least favorites singles from her. Hate the production.

[Relaxing Cup]

I hate this song.

[Deleted]

I loved this at the time and it’s probably the only song I go back to from that album.

[🇯🇲 lucy88 🇯🇲]

Oct 2, 2018 23:05:26 GMT -5 @drag27 said:

I loved this at the time and it’s probably the only song I go back to from that album.

Same here. It was her only good song from that album. The rest were boring...

[Au$tin]

This was featured in a montage on Bless the Harts this past Sunday night.

[HamedM1 💔]

Still a banger and is the only real takeaway from the dreadful album alongside Perfume and Passenger

[back2blk]

My life lives just a little bit harder when I hear this.

[Positive Tension]

I didn't like the song at the time, but I kind of like it now. Not at all surprised it wasn't a hit, but the song sounds like it has its place in the clubs.

[trustypepper]

Well, I’ll go against the grain here I guess. This song goes hard as f*ck and that climax near the end, iconic.

[Ginger Spice]

How I feel about this song years later varies depending on my mood. I definitely wore it out at the time. I wouldn't consider it one of my overall Britney favorites, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't love it. It's still my go-to club request because it always seems to get such a good response and I tend to go in full on stan mode, especially if I've had a few drinks.

In terms of being a lead single, I wish they would've had something more radio friendly lined up and just pushed this to the clubs. The radio edit of this track is one of the worst in recent memory (even worse than "If U See Amy"), and the song itself just seemed to be the final nail in the coffin for her being a top 40 staple.

[Fat Ass Kelly Price]

Myah did what needed to be done.

[Au$tin]

May 3, 2021 22:23:24 GMT -5 Au$tin said:

This was featured in a montage on Bless the Harts this past Sunday night.

And now Duncanville has used it.

[upsidedown]

Oct 20, 2015 14:27:36 GMT -5 Ling-Ling said:

Sept 28, 2015 6:02:16 GMT -5 Glove Slap said:

This was never that much, but I've found it's a useful tool in separating Britney fans and her impact on their thinking.

If they think this had potential or was some kind of lost big hit, then they're crazy as f**k. Otherwise, they're generally capable of deductive reasoning.

This, haha. This was mediocre from the jump and it did not flop because of the radio edit. The instrumental was uninspired, she sounded bored, the pre-chorus was a mess. They went for fierce and ended up comatose.

all of these comments did not really age well. this has actually been a pretty reliable performer for her on Spotify and YouTube despite the fact that it wasn't a major hit to begin with. It's also been used a ton in pop culture since its release.

Not saying it was going #1, but I think it definitely had bigger hit potential.

She also slayed all the performances of it as well, especially the 2018 NYE one.

[Dreams]

This, much like her last lead single "Make Me," was very boring/lame.

[upsidedown]

Jul 20, 2021 10:03:21 GMT -5 Dreams said:

This, much like her last lead single "Make Me," was very boring/lame.

Work Bitch... boring and lame? Girl...