Producer Max Martin has reflected on the impact of Britney Spears’ debut single …Baby One More Time 25 years after its release.
Released October 23, 1998, the single introduced Spears, who this week released her debut memoir, to the world and according to the musician “changed the landscape of pop music”.
Alongside a selection of images from the era, he penned on Instagram: “On October 23, 1998, @britneyspears released her debut single ‘…Baby One More Time’ in the U.S.A, the pop classic that became No 1 in every country where it was released, and that launched Britney’s career as an international pop icon.”
Calling the track a “masterpiece” that marked the beginning of “a new era” in pop, he continued: “After exactly 25 years to the day, so much has been said about this masterpiece of a song — the artists who could have recorded it, its controversial lyrics, its iconic music video, the record-breaking sales figures, how much it has changed the landscape of pop music and defined a new era,” he wrote.
“Da Vinci painted ‘Mona Lisa’ and Max Martin composed ‘…Baby One More Time’, and I think this is no overstatement to claim that every single second of ‘…Baby One More Time’ is f**king glorious,” he added. “’Baby’ is one of these songs that you just can’t ignore, whether you are a pop music lover or not.”
Following its release …Baby One More Time became an immediate hit for the teen star, topping the charts worldwide and becoming one of the best-selling singles of all time, with over 10 million copies sold.