"Scream & Shout" is a song by American rapper will.i.am and American singer Britney Spears, taken from the former's fourth studio album, #willpower (2013). It was released on November 19, 2012, by Interscope Records as the second single from the album, and sent to mainstream radio in the United States on November 27. The song was written by will.i.am, Tulisa, Jean Baptiste, and producer Lazy Jay, with additional production by will.i.am. "Scream & Shout" is an upbeat dance pop song; its lyrics are about having a good time on a night out. It includes a reference to the lyric "Britney, bitch" from Spears' 2007 single "Gimme More".
"Scream & Shout" received mixed reviews from music critics. Some critics described the song as a dark club track, but others criticized the use of Auto-Tune on the vocals. The song was a commercial success worldwide, topping the charts in over 24 countries and reached the top five in Australia, Czech Republic, Russia, Slovakia, South Korea and Sweden. In the United States, the song peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and became the first number one song of the newly established Dance/Electronic Songs chart. In the United Kingdom, "Scream & Shout" became will.i.am's second consecutive song to top the UK Singles Chart, Spears' sixth, and her first since "Everytime" in June 2004.
An accompanying music video directed by Ben Mor was shot in October 2012, and premiered in the U.S. during a live episode of The X Factor on November 28. The theme of the music video is multiplicity, and critics complimented its futuristic setting. "Scream & Shout" also served as the theme song for a television commercial for Beats by Dr. Dre Color headphones. A remixed version of the song, featuring Hit-Boy, Waka Flocka Flame, Lil Wayne and Diddy, was uploaded to will.i.am's official YouTube account on January 25, 2013, after it was leaked on the internet earlier the same day. A music video for this version was filmed in January 2013 and released on February 14.
Background and release After Spears spent a year promoting her seventh studio album Femme Fatale (2011), RCA Records executive vice president of promotions Joe Riccitelli said that Spears would take a year off from the music business to "be a mom and get married." Later in May 2012, it was confirmed that Spears would be joining fellow singer Demi Lovato as a judge on the second US season of The X Factor. On August 28, 2012, Spears confirmed that she was recording new material with will.i.am, and said on social network Twitter, "Can't wait for y'all to hear @iamwill's next single featuring me." They had worked together the previous year on two tracks for Femme Fatale, one of which, called "Big Fat Bass", was included on the album. The song, rumored to be named "Sexy Sexy" at the time, was going to be released on will.i.am's album #willpower on October 15, 2012; however, will.i.am changed the release date after several tracks from the album were leaked online. He said, "I’m trying to finish #willpower…& now because of all the leaks I have push the album back to make new songs…"
On October 12, 2012, Spears confirmed that the track would be called "Scream & Shout". On November 17, 2012, the song was leaked in full online. When asked about how he felt about it being released earlier than expected, will.i.am said, "Well, that's done. You can't undo it. It's out. It made it real. But once things go to the editing and coloring, it's not in your control." Spears used her official Facebook account to express her sadness about the early release of the song, but added, "I AM super excited that my fans seem to love it as much as will.i.am and I do. It hits radio tmw and iTunes later in the week." Billboard confirmed the release of "Scream & Shout" on U.S. radio station 102.7 KIIS-FM on November 19 at 12:00 pm Pacific Standard Time. The same day, the song had its UK radio premiere on Capital FM at 8:00 pm Greenwich Mean Time, and had a digital promotional release in Europe. The song was released for digital download worldwide the following day, and was officially sent to mainstream radio by Interscope Records on November 27, 2012. will.i.am revealed the cover art for "Scream & Shout" on November 19 on his Facebook account.
British singer Tulisa co-wrote the original version of "Scream & Shout" with Jean Baptiste and recorded it under the title "I Don't Give a Fuck". The track was intended for her debut album The Female Boss (2012). However, the producer of the track, Lazy Jay, did not want Tulisa to have the song and gave it to will.i.am, who re-wrote the song with Spears in mind. Despite Tulisa's claim that her vocals can still be heard on the song, she was not credited with co-writing "Scream & Shout" originally, which prevented her from collecting any royalties from the song's release. She filed a lawsuit in 2012 against will.i.am and won in 2018, entitling her to 10% of publishing rights.
Composition
"Scream & Shout" is an upbeat dance-pop track, set to a moderate tempo of 130 beats per minute. It contains lyrics about having an enjoyable night out. The track begins with Spears rapping the first eight lines with Nicki Minaj-esque vocals. As the song proceeds to its chorus, will.i.am joins Spears on vocals. "Scream & Shout" includes a reference to the lyric "It's Britney, bitch", which was first used on Spears' 2007 single "Gimme More", and is used before every breakdown on the track.
Spin writer Marc Hogan wrote that "Scream & Shout" has similarities to Azealia Banks' song "212" (2011), and compared "Scream & Shout"s background vocals to those of "Are We All We Are" (2012) by Pink. Keith Caulfield of Billboard said that the song "features a very different look for Spears, whose voice is roboticized to a nearly unrecognizable degree." After the song was leaked, a reviewer for Idolator said, "we're pleased to report that it's pretty goodand slightly kooky," and that the lyrics, "When you hear us in the club / You're gonna turn this shit up" are "probably accurate". Idolator also praised the use of the "It's Britney, bitch" line. Rebecca Macatee of E! Online wrote that the track is "clubby, catchy, cool", and compared Spears' vocals to those of Madonna, and wrote about the use of pitch-correcting software Auto-Tune on the song. Bill Lamb of About.com wrote that "the digital effects are seamless and the use of modulations of Britney Spears' voice to build the chorus sounds perfectly natural in this context", and that, "the spacey, free form bridge is beautiful despite will.i.am's singing talent limitations." A Rap-Up reviewer noted the use of Auto-Tune on will.i.am's vocals.
Critical reception "Scream & Shout" received mixed reviews from music critics. Michael Murray of RyanSeacrest.com said the song "is like nothing we’ve ever heard", commenting that will.i.am utilizes "his signature electric beats" while Spears embraces an alter-ego. MTV contributor Jocelyn Vena called the track "a club banger", and said it is "an amped up dance-floor anthem, full of tempo changes, sassy one-liners and dubstep aplenty." Robert Copsey of Digital Spy wrote that upon first hearing the track he found it confusing, but after repeated plays he found it a "surprisingly catchy robo-pop stomper." After detailing the release of "Scream & Shout", a reviewer for Take 40 Australia wrote that the track "has all the hallmarks of a hit Will.i.am song". An AOL On reviewer called it a "dance floor anthem" and stated that "perhaps the best part of the song is the best one-liner from Britney's 'Gimme More' – "It's Britney, bitch."
Jenna Hally Rubenstein of MTV Buzzworthy called "Scream & Shout" a "futuristic electro jam", and wrote that parts of it "had us weeping and repenting, like that moment where Brit does a heavy Madonna-fied English accent and that other time will.i.am goes all 'Gimme More' on us with 'It's Britney, bitch'." Chris Eggertsen of HitFix rated the track a B−, and wrote that, "the dubstep-y beat on offer is certainly a booty-shaker, but it lacks the extra "oomph" and originality that would make "Scream and Shout" a truly memorable single. It's the kind of club track that's serviceable enough in the moment, but it's not likely to stick in your head on the cab ride home at 2 a.m.". Emily Exton of PopDust contributor wrote that Spears' contribution is an improvement from "will's monotonous requests to 'lose control', 'let it go' and 'hit the floor'," but said that the song needed "something more from Britney to balance this out." Jason Lipshutz of Billboard news writer wrote that will.i.am "could have utilized Spears' presence in a more efficient manner, but [the song's] goal of inspiring awkward dance moves via its impossibly straightforward chorus ... is soundly accomplished."
Yahoo!'s Kathleen Perricone gave "Scream & Shout" a mixed review, and said it was "not exactly worthy of all the hype", and Alicia Lutes of Hollywood.com criticized its lyrical meaning and repetitive production. Malene Arpe of Toronto Star wrote that it "is really terrible and rather than making you want to scream and shout, it sorta lulls you into a nice nap-like state of ceasing to care around the three-minute mark." The Huffington Post journalist Kia Makarechi called the song a "competent piece of airy dance pop", and wrote that the only mildly inspiring moment on "Scream & Shout" is the sample from "Gimme More". An editorial writer from Popjustice was negative towards "Scream & Shout" and Pitbull's song "Feel This Moment" (2012), stating that what the "two songs represent is pop music writhing around in its own shit." Kurt Schlosser of NBCNews.com also criticized the song's lyrical content, and wrote that it "plays like a forgotten sample from a Black Eyed Peas song, with Britney doing the Fergie talkie parts ... " and that it is will.i.am's song.
It is also the victor of Billboard's 2013 reader-voted March Madness contest, against hits by Kelly Clarkson, Rihanna and Pink, among others.
Chart performance "Scream & Shout" made its first chart appearance on November 28, 2012, debuting at number 27 on the Spanish Singles Chart, before leaving the top 30 the next week. On its 14th week, the song reached the top of the chart. On the French Singles Chart, for the week of November 19, 2012, "Scream & Shout" debuted at number 6. The next week it reached number 2, staying there for two weeks. On the week ending January 26, 2013, the song peaked at number 1. In the United Kingdom, "Scream & Shout" became will.i.am's fourth consecutive top five single, and debuted on the UK Singles Chart at number 2. It was also Spears' first UK top five hit since "Womanizer", which peaked at number 3 in 2008. On January 13, 2013, it reached number 1, where it stayed for two weeks, making it will.i.am's fourth number one single and Spears' sixth and her first number one since "Everytime" (2004). In two months of release, it sold over 513,000 units in the UK according to the Official Charts Company. "Scream & Shout" also debuted at number 1 on the UK R&B Chart, where it stayed for seven weeks. Elsewhere in Europe, the song remained number one in Germany for nine consecutive weeks, Belgium(Flanders) and Luxembourg for eight weeks, Netherlands for seven straight weeks (her first number 1 since "Oops!...I Did It Again" in 2000), Belgium(Wallonia) and Finland for five straight weeks, Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Italy, Norway and Switzerland for four weeks and Scotland for three weeks. It also reached the top 10 in Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden. In South Korea, it entered the Gaon Chart at number 3, with over 30,000 digital units sold.