"Anticipating" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her eponymous third studio album (2001). It was written by Spears alongside the song's producers Brian Kierulf and Josh Schwartz. The song was released on June 25, 2002, by Jive Records, as the fourth single from the album, exclusive to France. "Anticipating" is a disco and dance-pop song, influenced by R&B. Lyrically, the song is about friendship and camaraderie between women. It was met with critical praise, with reviewers complimenting its lyrics and comparing it to the 1980s compositions of Madonna, Rick Astley and Janet Jackson's "All for You".
"Anticipating" achieved minor commercial success, peaking at number 38 on the French Singles Chart. The song was promoted with a performance in the Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001–2002), where Spears wore a patched denim skirt and danced in front of giant crayon drawings. An accompanying music video, directed by Marty Callner, consisted of the performance from Britney Spears Live from Las Vegas. "Anticipating" was also promoted in a commercial Spears filmed for Toyota Vios.
Background
During the Oops!... I Did It Again Tour (2000), Spears revealed she felt inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and the Neptunes and wanted to create a record with a funkier sound. In February 2001, Spears signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, entitled A Mother's Gift. On the same month, Spears started to record material for her third studio album, with "Anticipating" being recorded at Rusk Sound Studios in Los Angeles, California, the DOJO in Jackson, New Jersey, Sound on Sound Studios and Battery Studios in New York City. The song was written by Spears, Brian Kierulf and Josh Schwartz while produced by Kierulf and Schwartz. It was also mixed at Battery Studios by Stephen George. Audio engineering was done by Aaron Kaplan, Rich Tapper, Jill Tengan and Charles McCrorey. Nile Rodgers played the guitar. Bass guitar and programming was done by Kierulf. Background vocals were provided by Spears and Jennifer Karr. Her third studio album, Britney, was released in November 2001. In an interview with the Daily Record, Spears commented on the track, saying, "It's just a fun song that I wrote. It's just like being with your girlfriends and just dancing. I think this track also has a very Seventies' feel to it." It was released as the fourth single from the album on June 25, 2002, in France only. In other European countries, Spears' cover of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was released as the fourth single.
Composition
"Anticipating" is a dance-pop song that lasts for three minutes and 16 seconds. Corey Moss of MTV noted the song also has a 1970s disco sound, while Joan Anderman of The Boston Globe compared it to early Madonna tracks such as "Holiday" (1983). Glenn Gamboa of Newsday compared the song to Janet Jackson's "All for You", calling it "pleasant, shimmering R&B-styled pop". According to the sheet music published at musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, the song is composed in the key of F major and is set in time signature of common time with a tempo of 112 beats per minute. Spears vocal range spans from the low-key of F3 to the high-note of A4. The song has a basic sequence of B(9)–C–Dm7–B(9) as its chord progression. Lyrically, it talks about friendship and camaraderie between women. During the bridge, Spears sings, "Gotta really let me know if you want me / You gotta turn me on and make me feel sexy". During the time of the album's release, her official site stated that "the girl-power anthem 'Anticipating' proves that Britney is, now more than ever, a force to be reckoned with."