20 Years of “…Baby One More Time”
Today in 1998, the video for Britney Spears’ debut single, “…Baby One More Time,” premiered on MTV’s Total Request Live. And just like that, a star was born.
With that very first music video, Britney Spears changed the game and became the prototype for young white female pop singers. Over the next five years or so, record labels would churn out one act after the other that was modeled after Britney in look and sound. As you can imagine, none of them were able to replicate her success because there is only one Britney. If there ever was a case study for an artist that had the much-coveted X-factor, it would be Britney Jean Spears.
The “…Baby One More Time” video was set in Venice High School (where Grease was filmed), with Britney rocking the now-legendary catholic school girl uniform. According to Nigel Dick, the video’s director, much of the video’s treatment came from Britney, including the decision to tie the shirts at the midriff.
“…Baby One More Time” would go on to become the first of Britney’s four No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 — it was also the first for songrwriter and producer Max Martin, who would go on to write 21 more No. 1s (and counting). I was only [redacted] years old at the time of this video’s release, and I didn’t quite get the hype, but it was clear that it was a new day in pop music.
No Comments