"Baby One More Time" is the debut single by American singer Britney Spears. It was written by Max Martin and produced by Martin and Rami, and released in 1998, by Jive Records for Spears's debut album of the same name (1999). After recording and sending a demo tape with an unused song from Toni Braxton, Spears signed a multi-album deal with Jive. "...Baby One More Time" is a teen pop and dance-pop song that refers to a girl's feelings after a break-up with her boyfriend.
The music video was filmed on August 6, 7 and 8, 1998, and was directed by Nigel Dick. After being chosen, Dick received criticism from his colleagues about wanting to work with Spears. He responded saying, "It's a great song. I don't know anything about Britney. I never watched The Mickey Mouse Club. She seems like a great kid and she's very enthusiastic, but I just love the song. It's just a great song". The video's original setup was in high contrast to what eventually became the final product. The plan was to have the video in a cartoon-like environment, in a likely attempt to attract the audience of younger children. Spears was unhappy with this, and argued that she wanted her video to reflect the lives of her fans and wanted to set the video in a school. Spears pitched this idea to Dick, and further explained she wanted the video to have dance scenes. The original setting was scrapped and replaced with Spears's concept. Dick's original idea for the wardrobe was jeans and a T-shirt, but during the wardrobe fitting Spears decided to change it for a schoolgirl outfit. Dick said that "Every piece of wardrobe in the video came from Kmart, and I was told at the time not one piece of clothing in the video cost more than $17. On that level, it's real. That probably, in retrospect, is a part of its charm." The knotted shirt design was Spears's idea, she recollects saying, "The outfits looked kind of dorky, so I was like, 'Let's tie up our shirts and be cute'". About the experience of shooting her first music video, Spears said, "It was a wonderful experience. All these people there, working for you. I had my own trailer. It was an amazing experience". The music video was shot at Venice High School, the same school used to film the movie Grease. The video premiered on MTV and other video stations in November 1998.
The video begins with Spears appearing bored in class at a Catholic high school. Her assistant Felicia Culotta played the role of Spears's teacher. When the bell rings, Spears runs out into the hall and begins a choreographed dance in the corridor. After this, Spears is outside, now adorned in an pink athletic outfit, and seen in a car. Along with a couple of other students, she performs a number of gymnastic moves before heading back inside. She is then sitting on the bleachers in the gymnasium watching a basketball game, and she dances in the gymnasium. Her love interest is revealed sitting close to her, played by her real-life cousin Chad. After this short segment, Spears begins her final dance routine and the video ends shortly afterwards, and the bell rings and Spears leaves the gymnasium, revealing that the whole thing had actually just been Spears's daydream. During the very beginning, Spears is seen with her sleeves down. Some people who see the music video may not recognize this, but when the bell rings, the sleeves of exactly the same gray-and-white shirt she is wearing are rolled up, even when she gets into singing.
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