Britney Spears’ ‘3’ Has a Scandalous Meaning

Music

Britney Spears' "3" has a dance beat that's so good it's easy to ignore the lyrics. With "3," the star took her sexual public image to a whole new level.

Published on June 30, 2024

2 min read

Britney Spears' "3" has a dance beat that's so good it's easy to ignore the lyrics. With "3," the "… Baby One More Time" star took her sexual image to a whole new level. Here's a look at the song and the incredible producer behind it.

Britney Spears' '3' has a risque meaning and a weird classic rock reference

Upon first listen, Spears' "3" might sound like a Sesame Street tune about counting. In actuality, it's about three human beings having sex with each other. It's no "WAP," but, as far as pop singles go, it's still pretty daring. 

Spears uses a weird metaphor in the song. She compared the three sex partners to the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary. Considering Peter, Paul and Mary were a G-rated group, it's unclear why the group has anything to do with the song.

The song's producer said Britney Spears is a genius

"3" was one of many Spears tunes produced by Max Martin, the songwriter behind many hits from the past 25 years. He's worked with the Backstreet Boys, Adele, Taylor Swift, Justin Timberlake, and many others. During a 2019 interview with The Guardian, he lauded Spears. "She's a genius," he said. "So much had happened to her in that [early period] and she had to grow up quickly. We had conversations with her about what she wanted to do and what she wanted to say."

Martin wanted people to be softer on celebrities like Spears. "I think we all should be grateful [to the artists]," he said. "It's easy for us to say that they become these rich, spoilt divas — and I'm not talking about Britney specifically, just in general — but we forget that these artists go out into the world and work and tour and become super-famous for our enjoyment. And then we watch their lives fall apart in front of our eyes for doing something amazing."

Martin didn't want to be one of those producers who treated their artists like puppets. "I don't want to think I'm one of them," Martin said. "We try and do our best to make [the studio environment] diverse, welcoming and inclusive. Let's try and inform and be role models as much as possible in our world and hopefully it will spread."

'3' didn't chart the way that it could have

It would have been fitting if "3" had reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, but it hit No. 1 for a single week. The tune lasted on the chart for 20 weeks, making it one of the most popular singles of Spears' career. "3" might not be as well-remembered as "… Baby One More Time" and "Oops!… I Did It Again" today, but it was trendy and inescapable in 2009.

"3" did not appear on a studio album. Instead, it appeared on Spears' The Singles Collection. That record reached No. 22 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 13 weeks. The Singles Collection includes essential Spears tracks such as "Toxic," "If U Seek Amy," and "Me Against the Music." It shows that Spears' first decade in music was filled with memorable moments and classic dance beats.

"3" is a great song and it deserves to return to the limelight.