It’s Britney, bitch. Okay, that particular phrase wouldn’t arrive for another few years, but on this day 25 years ago, Britney Spears made one thing VERY clear: she wasn’t a little girl anymore.
On September 24th, 2001, the Princess of Pop officially released “I’m a Slave 4 U,” the lead single from her third studio album, Britney. And yes, pop culture was never quite the same.
Twenty-five years later, the song remains one of Britney’s signature records, an instantly recognizable piece of early-2000s pop culture and the beginning of one of the most important eras of her career.
But before we could buy it, request it or play it over and over again, Britney introduced the world to Slave in the most Britney Spears way imaginable.
THE NIGHT EVERYTHING CHANGED
Just a few weeks before the single’s official release, a then-19-year-old Britney walked onto the stage at New York City’s Metropolitan Opera House during the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards. Nobody had seen her perform the song before.
On September 6th, 2001, Britney used one of the biggest stages in music to debut “I’m a Slave 4 U” to millions of people watching around the world. There were no months of concert performances leading u...