There were hints before the new year that we”d get a sneak peak of Britney Spears” new song, “Hold It Against Me,” on Friday (7), but it sounds like we”ll have to wait until Tuesday (Jan. 11), although we can pass the time staring at the single cover, as well as listening to a demo of the song sung by Bonnie McKee. The cover is surprisingly innocent, a close-cropped photo of Spears” face, given the sexy song.
The demo is a club thumper, driven by a repeating synthesized beat and the catchy refrain of “If I said I wanted your body now/would you hold it against me.” It”s perfect for Spears. Light as a feather lyrically, but pure fun. We can already see the video, with lots of Brit Brit”s trademark–shyly looking down as she strokes her hair and then looking coyly straight into the camera.
If you”re not aware of McKee, she”s a singer/songwriter that artists like Katy Perry adore. She co-wrote “California Gurls” and “Teenage Dream” with Perry, as well as Taio Cruz”s “Dynamite.” After her demo “leaked,” she tweeted “Well, if you haven”t heard, the demo of me singing the new Brit song leaked. New version is waay crazier and, yes, it has a bridge, foolios.” Foolios, we like it.
Spears herself tweeted of the McKee version, “If u think that”s good, wait til you hear the real one Tuesday.”
McKee was signed to Reprise around 2004, but her solo career didn”t pan out and she left the label. However, word is that she is working on a new studio album.
And, yeah, about that word play, not that most Spears” fans will know this, but in 1979 the country duo The Bellamy Bros., best known for their 1976 crossover hit, “Let Your Love Flow,” scored a smash with a song called “If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body, Would You Hold It Against Me.” Same idea as here, dressed in a very different beat. The saying originally came from Groucho Marx, who would sometimes use the line on female contestants on the ’50s game show, “You Bet Your Life.”
UPDATE: Spears’ new song will debut at midnight EST on Tuesday, Jan. 11, both at radio and on iTunes, where it will be exclusively for sale for the first week. The song is the first single from her seventh studio album, out in March.
Are you ready for Britney’s return?