...Baby One More Time is Britney Spears' debut studio album which was released on January 12, 1999 through Jive Records.
Tracklisting
- ...Baby One More Time (Max Martin)
- (You Drive Me) Crazy (Jorgen Elofsson, Per Magnusson, David Kruger, Martin)
- Sometimes (Elofsson)
- Soda Pop (Mikey Bassie, Eric Foster White)
- Born to Make You Happy (Kristain Lundin, Andreas Carlsson)
- From the Bottom of My Broken Heart (White)
- I Will Be There (Martin, Carlsson)
- I Will Still Love You (duet with Don Philip) (White)
- Thinkin' About It (Bassie, White)
- E-Mail My Heart (White)
- The Beat Goes On (Sonny Bono, White)
Album Background
Chart Performance
Critical Reception
"...Baby One More Time" received mixed reviews from critics.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album four out of five stars, Billboard's Paul Verna considered the album "a top 40-ready workout filled with hook-laden songs from the same bag as the title cut".
Kyle Anderson of MTV said he "was surprised in more ways than one "with his first listening of ...Baby One More Time, commenting he "expected there to be a lot of filler (there sort of is), though I didn't expect it to be as odd (at least sonically) as it ended up being. There has never been any mystery to why Spears became such a superstar, but these songs probably would have been huge even if Britney wore burlap sacks in all of her videos."
Barry Walters of Rolling Stone gave the album two stars out of five, comparing the album's sound to early hits of Debbie Gibson, Mariah Carey, and Samantha Fox.
Walters also said that "while several Cherion-crafted kiddie-funk jams serve up beefy hooks, shameless schlock slowies, like 'E-Mail My Heart', are pure spam."
A NME reviewer rated ...Baby One More Time 1 out of 10, saying that "we seem to have reached crisis point: pubescent pop is now so rife that 17-year-old Britney 'lizard-lounge' Spears is already halfway through her lucrative showbiz career".
He also found the album premature, commenting, "hopefully, if she starts to live the wretched life that we all eventually do, her voice will show the scars, she'll stop looking so fucking smug, she'll find solace in drugs and we'll be all the more happier for it. Now grow up, girl. Quick!"
Amanda Murray of Sputnikmusic felt that, "with the exception of the terrific title track, ...Baby One More Time is a collection of either competent pop songs underwhelmingly executed or underwhelmingly written pop songs competently executed."
The album has listed as the 16th best female album of all time on Billboard 200.
Promotion
Promotion for the album began in 1998, when Spears did a small tour in malls and food courts that were located mostly in larger cities around the United States and Canada.
Each show lasted around thirty minutes, and she had two male dancers with her on the stage. The promo tour is also known as the L'Oréal Mall Tour, after its sponsor.
Spears made several promotional appearances including talk shows and live performances around the world.
In December of 1998, Spears' first showed up on MTV's and the Box's most-requested video charts. She also appeared on the Ricki Lake Show, the Howie Mandel Show, and was the presenter of the 1999 American Music Awards, prior to the release of the album.
She also appeared on MTV's Spring Break and on the hundredth episode of Nickelodeon's All That.
However, after injuring her knee, Spears had rescheduled appearances several shows such as The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Live with Regis and Kathie Lee. After recovering, Spears embarked on another promotional schedule.
She appeared on 12th Annual Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards on May 1, MTV's FANatic on May 12, Live with Regis and Kathie Lee on May 3, and The Rosie O'Donnell Show on May 25.
Outside the United States, Spears visited German talk show "Wetten, dass..?" and Top of the Pops on June 25, 1999.
She also went to the United Kingdom, making appearances on programmes such as This Morning, CD:UK and National Lottery. She visited a music variety show called Hey! Hey! Hey! Music Champ in Japan, and performed at the Festival Bar in Italy.
Spears was also featured on an episode of ABC television sitcom, Sabrina, the Teenage Witch, where she played herself. She was returning a favor to actress Melissa Joan Hart, who played a cameo role in her' video for "(You Drive Me) Crazy," according to People. The episode aired on September 24, 1999.
During that same month, Spears performed on The Rosie O'Donnell Show on September 27, and visited Carson Daly on MTV's Total Request Live the following day.
She had a mini-Disney concert titled "Britney Spears & Joey McIntyre in Concert" where she and Joey McIntyre performed live in the taped concert event.
In November, Spears performed the album's first two singles at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Promotion for the album continued in early 2000, where Spears performed at the 2000 American Music Awards and also performed "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" in a medley with "...Baby One More Time" at the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards.