I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman

"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" is a song by American recording artist Britney Spears. The song was written by Dido, with additional writing and song production by Max Martin and Rami Yacoub for Spears' third studio album, Britney (2001). It was released on February 5, 2002 by Jive Records, as the second single from the album in the United States and Canada and the third worldwide. The soft rock song, speaks about the angst and heartache of puberty, and was considered by Spears as inspirational and one of her favorites that she has ever sang.

"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" received positive reviews from music critics. The song was considered to be Spears' standout statement on Britney, while comparing the song to the powerful ballads written by Dianne Warren. However, it won the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Original Song. While the song did not perform well on the Billboard charts in the United States, "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" reached the top ten in Austria, Australia, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, Sweden and United Kingdom. The song would later be certified Gold in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), for selling over 35,000 physical units of the single.

A music video for the single, which was directed by Wayne Isham, was released along with Crossroads (2002), Spears' first movie as a protagonist. The music video portrayed Spears singing about the transition from child to adult, and was filmed at Antelope Canyon, Arizona. Spears performed "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" on her Dream Within A Dream Tour, when she sat down next to a piano player and talked to the audience before moving into the song's performance.

Background and composition

In early 2001, Spears her team started to develop a script for a movie where the singer could be the main role.^[1] "I talked to [Rhimes] and told her what I wanted the movie to be about and she elaborated on it," Spears said. "It was my little project. When you do a movie, I think you have to be really passionate about it. I was having a lot of offers, but this is something my heart was into."^[2] After finishing the script, the movie, that was later titled Crossroads, had the working titles of What Are Friends For and Not a Girl.^[2][3] "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", written by Dido, Max Martin and Rami, was originally intended to be included on the movie's soundtrack; however, Spears later decided to use it on her third studio album, Britney (2001).^[4] The song was produced and mixed by Max Martin and Rami Yacoub. Spears recorded her vocals for the song in May 2001 at Maratone Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, and in June of the same year at Battery Studios in New York City, New York. Background vocals were provided by Martin and Jeanette Oison.^[5] Spears considered the song as one of her favorites, while praising Dido for the songwriting, saying "it was truly an honor for you to be part of my album. Thanks for your input."^[5] "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" is a soft rock power ballad, founded on a strong piano melody,^[6][7] that lasts for three minutes and forty-nine seconds. The song is composed in the key of E♭ major and is set in time signature of common time, with a moderately slow tempo of 76 beats per minute.^[8] The song's lyrics talk about the angst and heartache that teenage girls suffer with puberty,^[7] where Spears claims, "I used to think I had the answers to everything."^[9] "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" has a basic sequence of E♭–A♭2–Fm7–B♭ as its chord progression.^[8]

Reception

Critical response

"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" received positive reviews from music critics. Yale Daily News writer Catherine Halaby called it a "well-executed ballad", while saying, "it comes across as a hybrid of advice to her young female fans on how to deal with puberty, and an explanation of her girly but not childlike attitude."^[7] Jim Farber of the Daily News while reviewing the Dream Within a Dream Tour called the song "sugar pop dittie", along with Spears' previous ballad single "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know".^[10] Nikki Tranker of PopMatters considered the song "Britney's standout statement on [Britney], [...] a power ballad that allows [the singer] to showcase her expert vocals while still adhering to the rules of safe pop." Tranker compared the song to powerful ballads written by Diane Warren.^[6] Katie Perone of the Loyola Greyhound said the song "clearly defines the theme of the record: Britney's growing up, and wants to do her own thing."^[11]

Chart performance

"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" achieved moderate success. Though it was meant to help promote Crossroads, the song did not make much impact in the United States, and failed to enter the Hot 100, peaking at number two on Bubbling Under Hot 100.^[12] However, the song did manage to peak at number twenty-one on Billboard Pop Songs, and at number fifty-one in Canada.^[13] The song reached number two in the United Kingdom, after being on the chart for seven weeks.^[14] In Australia, the song peaked at number seven, and was certified Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association for selling over 30,000 physical units of the single.^[15] It also peaked inside the top ten in Austria,^[16] Germany,^[17] Ireland,^[16] Netherlands,^[16] and Sweden.^[16]

Music video

The music video for the track was directed by Wayne Isham, whose concept for it was to have Spears on a natural environment. Isham stated the video was filmed completely on location and none of the scenes were shot on green screens. He also remarked on Spears attitude on set, saying, "She went out there and, without a safety cable, just stood there with those cowboy boots on. She was standing on the edge in her cowboy boots, looking hot. We'd be right on the edge, and she had not a blink of fear".^[4] Spears, however, revealed, "the wind started picking up a lot and almost dropped me over. [..] And I was like, 'OK, gotta go.'".^[4] Isham also considered the music video as one of his favorites, commenting, "I have nothing but positive things to say about my experience with her and what she's doing right now," he said. "She stepped into it with positive energy. She ended up stepping out and kicking ass."^[4] The music video features Spears singing the song mostly atop a cliff and inside a canyon, while a second version includes scenes from Crossroads (2002). The music video won the award for "International Music Video of the Year Short-Form" on the 2003 Japan Gold Disc Awards.^[18]

Live performances

"I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" was performed on 2001's Dream Within a Dream Tour. After the performance of "Boys", Spears sat down next to a piano player and talked to the audience before moving into a performance of the song.^[19] Spears also performed the song in several television appearances, including on The Rosie O'Donnell Show,^[20] The Late Show With David Letterman,^[20] the American Music Awards of 2002,^[21] The Oprah Winfrey Show,^[21] and Saturday Night Live.^[21] "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" was also performed on the show Wetten, dass..? in Germany,^[21] and on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.^[21][22] A MTV special titled "Total Britney Live" included an exclusive performance of the song, along with performances of "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Stronger".^[23]

Track listings

Credits and personnel

• Britney Spears – lead vocals
• Dido Armstrong – songwriting
• Max Martin – songwriting, producer, mixing, background vocals
• Rami Yacoub – songwriting, producer, mixing
• Jeanette Oisson – background vocals
• Esbjörn Öhrwall – guitar
• Tom Coyne – audio mastering

Source: ^[5]

Charts and certifications

References

External links

• Official music video on Vevo