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Britney Spears‘ “Hold It Against Me” was different from her previous dance singles because it was a dubstep song. The “I’m a Slave 4 U” singer explained why she embraced the genre. She also made some interesting pronouncements about her taste in music.

Britney Spears said ‘Hold It Against Me’ was distinct from every other song

During a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, Spears revealed why she experimented with dubstep on “Hold It Against Me,” the lead single of her record Femme Fatale. “I listen to a lot of different music from all over the world and I guess I just gravitate towards what sounds fresh and what makes me want to move,” the “Womanizer” singer explained. “I really didn’t want to record anything on this album that could be mistaken for anyone else out there. I think my first two singles, ‘Hold It Against Me’ and ‘Till The World Ends,’ sound completely different from anything else and I think when my fans hear the rest of Femme Fatale they’ll see how fresh every song is.”

“Hold It Against Me” came out in 2011, which was the middle of the peak era of dubstep. While the genre languished underground for years, it had a major breakthrough with Skrillex’s “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” in 2010. “Hold It Against Me” was a hit the following year and 2012-2013 saw the rise of a few more dubstep hits such as Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble,” Justin Bieber’s “As Long as You Love Me,” and Alex Clare’s “Too Close.” Afterward, the genre was overshadowed by less abrasive forms of electronica.

What Britney Spears wanted to accomplish with ‘Femme Fatale’

The “Everytime” star expanded her goals for Femme Fatale. “I wanted to make a fresh-sounding album for the clubs or something that you play in your car when you’re going out at night that gets you excited but I wanted it to sound different from everything else out right now,” he said. “I also wanted to experiment with all the different types of music I love which is why you hear a mixture of pop, hip-hop, and dance throughout the album.”

Spears revealed her taste in music was eclectic. Her favorite artists included Adele, Robyn, the Black Eyed Peas, and Deadmau5. She also got a thrill out of following artists who were still underground. The “…Baby One More Time” singer said he was a big fan of Sabi, which is why she included her on the song “(Drop Dead) Beautiful.”

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‘Hold It Against Me’ became a huge hit

“Hold It Against Me” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week. The tune stayed on the chart for 17 weeks. To date, it’s Spears’ most recent solo No. 1 single.

The song’s parent album, Femme Fatale, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a week. It spent a total of 33 weeks on the chart. Femme Fatale became Spears’ first record to produce three top 10 singles. “Till the World Ends” reached No. 3 and “I Wanna Go” reached No. 7. The fourth single from the album, the uncharacteristically folky “Criminal,” merely peaked at No. 55. “Criminal” would later become an internet meme.

“Hold It Against Me” became a huge hit. It showed that Spears had her finger on the pulse of popular music.

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