Originally written October 12, 2005.

Around the launch of In The Zone, the media were agog at the some of the words from Showdown - “I don’t really want to be a tease, but would you undo my zipper please?” and “I see you body rise, rise”. It looked like Britney was on a mission to consign her kiddy-pop image to the past. If they had noticed another line, “And when you come don’t get too hot”, they would have known for sure that the era of Sexy Britney was upon us.

 Showdown was written by the same team that brought Toxic to an appreciative world, except for some involvement by Britney herself in the writing process. So that’s B. Spears, C. Dennis, C. Karlsson, P. Winnberg and H. Jonback. Brit anoraks will observe that when she contributes even a word to the writing, publishing rights are automatically assigned to Britney Spears Music, administered by Zomba Songs. So if you’re a songwriter, watch out!

When most of the above-named writing team put on their production hats they become Bloodshy and Avant, with whom Britney has had something of a love affair since 2003. Their productions aren’t exactly lavish, but they are quirky, dynamic, forceful and often unusual.

On Showdown we find some live musicians - Henryk Jonback plays guitar and Thomas Lindberg plays bass, just as he did on Oops I Did It Again and I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman. Otherwise, it’s all synth programming by Bloodshy and Avant. The backing vocals are by Britney, Cathy Dennis (who used to be a pretty good pop singer herself and made a decent solo album), Emma Holmgren and BlackCell.

The words of the song sound clear enough, but there’s a lot of disagreement over detail on the internet songwords sites. Here’s a kind of general consenus version, with a few obvious errors corrected. Some parts still seem a little odd, so your suggestions would be valued!

[Spoken]
Sometimes I just love to have it off
Just something a girl’s gotta do, way-ah

Never thought I’d see you like this
You’re lookin’ good when you’re half dressed
Just let me give you one last test - is that a sin
Am I too hot for you though
Did you check out my video
There’s some things you don’t know - like this

I’ll take you to spend in my way
Just give in when you are ready to play
Uh, like this

[Chorus]
Here comes the showdown
What goes around comes around
And the crowds are waiting, way-ah
‘Cause if we break up
Then we can make up
Shake my booty all night
Here comes the showdown, way-ah

[Spoken]
I don’t really wanna be a tease
But would you undo my zipper, please
Uh uh, please don’t talk....listen
I’ll let you touch me if you want
I see your body rise, rise
And when you come, don’t get too hot
Butterflies

I’ll take you to spend in my way
Just give in when you are ready to play
Like this

[Chorus]

Forget the tension when we fight
You make it up turn down the light
It’s just a lover’s game we play, yeah
After the screaming’s at an end
Why don’t we all do it again
That’s when the fun really begins
Oh, whoa

[Chorus]

The structure of the song is unusual. There are delicate little Latin-tinged sections oddly contrasted with rockier beats, and the spoken parts are, in effect, the verses. Britney half-whispers them in her familiar seductive manner. Even in the chorus she sings quite softly, but in the middle-eight she shows her interpretative instincts once again by introducing power and drama only where its effect is most telling. Listen to how she sings the section beginning “After the screaming’s at an end...”

The vocals are presented in a somewhat perverse manner. Only during the spoken parts is Britney’s lead vocal track positioned centrally. In all the sung parts, it’s double-tracked into stereo pairs at left and right. As usual with Britney, she sings most of the backing vocals herself, with some added volume here and there from Emma Holmgren and Cathy Dennis, and a few whoops and yells from BlackCell.

Henryk Jonback’s guitar plays a major role, principally in banging out some power chords during the chorus. He interjects a few strums and plucks elsewhere but the guitar-sounding lead-in to the middle-eight and to the final chorus is actually a keyboard effect. Thomas Lindberg delivers some interesting bass runs and a solid contrapuntal underpinning to the chorus. The percussion track is perfunctory and consists mainly of a series of highly synthetic splash effects and the occasional cymbal crash.

The production is clear and relatively simple, especially as compared to Max Martin’s later work with Britney, but there are some points of interest that lift it a little above the ordinary. For example, during the opening bars, bass guitar and synth-bass drum reverberate between left and right. The “way-ahh” sound Britney makes throughout (and which is probably the most memorable part of the recording) is actually reversed - a fact that few fans have ever acknowledged. And the chorus positively explodes from the speakers.

It has to be said that Britney fans are divided over Showdown. A lot don’t like it at all. Those who do like it may also recognised the strategic role it plays on the ITZ album. After the noise and energy of MATM and Boom Boom, it’s a little chill-out zone, but where an r 'n' b girl would have inserted a ballad, Britney uses this cool, spacey vibe to maintain the athletic momentum and growing sexual excitement.

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