The Bottom Line
Britney Spears records a song penned by Ke$ha. It sounds tamed in comparison with the songs Ke$ha keeps for herself, and this time around producers Dr. Luke and Max Martin take a step back from the sonic experiments on "Hold It Against Me." The result is a straightforward dance-pop single. It is solid, catchy, and just a touch disappointing when compared with the quality of the previous single.
Pros
- Solid dance floor hook
- Uptempo beat that will make you want to dance
Cons
- Restrained lyrics
- Mix lacking in originality
Description
- Written by Kesha Sebert
- Produced by Max Martin and Dr. Luke
- Released March 2011 by Jive Records
Guide Review - Britney Spears - "Till the World Ends"
"Hold It Against Me" is challenging and feels like all stops are out musically. By comparison "Till the World Ends" sounds a bit safe. However, that does not mean the song is bad by any means. Ke$ha has stated that she intended to write a dance floor banger and that is what this is. The hooks are solid, and you will be inspired to dance.
Ke$ha's own songs tend to contain at least one inspired or offending line or two that amount to memorable lyrics. There is nothing here that truly stands out. It is impossible to know if that is because Ke$ha was uninspired or because Britney Spears would steer clear of some of the more graphic word pictures Ke$ha has kept for herself.
Musically, the experiments with dubstep on "Hold It Against Me" were riveting. Here the mix is fairly standard upbeat dance-pop. Everything is quite slick and polished and not difficult to listen to, but Britney Spears has set the bar high with her most recent music. "Till the World Ends" will sound solid on the radio and bring crowds to the dance floor, but it does not rank among Britney Spears' all-time best.
