20 years since Britney Spears first topped the Billboard pop chart
Britney Spears' "...Baby One More Time" was number one on the Billboard pop chart 20 years ago today.
Spears was 16 when she recorded the song, about a girl hoping to hear from a former boyfriend. The song's refrain of "hit me baby one more time" was criticized for its seeming allusion to domestic violence — but as music historian John Seabrook explains, Swedish songwriter Max Martin thought "hit me" was American slang for "call me."
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