Written and produced by Chad Hugo and Pharrell Williams of the Neptunes, it was released on September 25, 2001, by Jive Records as the lead single from the album.

The original dance choreography, from the music video and live performances, has also been widely praised and imitated, with Spears doing little to alter it for many years after the song’s release.

[3] "I'm a Slave 4 U" was written and produced by Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo of the Neptunes, who also collaborated with Spears on "Boys", another track from Britney.

[13] Ted Kessler from NME magazine stated that "...the song is funk the way God intended—hypnotic, insistent, mysterious, suggestive—and if Prince was a nineteen-year-old former Disney Club host and virgin, he'd be proud to create such a record.

"[16] Bill Lamb from About.com listed the track at number nine on her Top 10 Songs, saying: "By the time of this single off her third album, it was obvious Britney Spears was becoming an adult.

"But Jackson's not the only influence to appear on 'Slave': ...The Neptunes' minimal, electronic production and Spears' breathy, cooing delivery create a track that smacks of Prince."

Music wrote, "'Slave', written and produced by the Neptunes and originally intended for OG pop bombshell Janet Jackson, evoked the old-school sexcapades of Prince and his protégés Vanity 6—and in many ways, it was a real artistic leap.

"[19] "I'm a Slave 4 U" peaked at number 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the issue date of December 1, 2001,[20][21] becoming Spears' first lead single from an album not to crack the U.S. top ten.

[21] In Europe, "I'm a Slave 4 U" was more successful, becoming a top ten hit in nearly every country that it charted in – in big markets such as Germany and France, it was certified silver by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique for selling over 125,000 copies.

[25] In the United Kingdom, "I'm a Slave 4 U" peaked at number four on the UK Singles Chart[26] and spent a total of 14 weeks within the top 100 and sold over 150,000 copies.

[30] The accompanying music video for "I'm a Slave 4 U" was filmed on a soundstage in Universal City, California, over Labor Day weekend on September 1–2, 2001, under the direction of Francis Lawrence.

[31] It made its world premiere on MTV's Making the Video on September 24 at 5 p.m. EST,[31] the same day the song officially beat the US radio stations.

[1] A month later, she opened the 2001 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on December 4, 2001, with a performance of the track on a stage inside the fountains of the Bellagio Hotel.

[47] On her residency concert in Las Vegas, Britney: Piece of Me (2013–17), Spears initially started the performance sat on a throne surrounded by her female dancers who are playing in a fountain.

[55] According to rehearsal videos published at Spears's social media accounts in late 2018, "I'm a Slave 4 U" was set to be performed at her planned residency Britney: Domination prior to its cancellation.

"I'm a Slave 4 U" was widely seen as being a departure from Spears' girl next door image and signature bubblegum pop sound from her previous two albums ...Baby One More Time and Oops!...

In 2016, Mexican-American singer Becky G paid homage to Spears' 2001 VMA performance by dancing with a yellow snake at Univision's annual awards show Premios Juventud.

In 2021, Billboard named it the third best song of 2001, by noting its impact – "it also blazed a new path for pop stars of the future, letting the world know that how an artist chooses to express themselves is entirely up to them, whether or not you 'like that'.

And the Prince-style spelling makes sense, since the sugar-walls strut of 'I'm a Slave 4 U' splits the difference musically between Vanity 6's 'Nasty Girl' and Apollonia 6's 'Sex Shooter.'

While then seen as controversial, in subsequent years "I'm a Slave 4 U" has since gone down in pop culture history with Billboard regarding the video and song itself as "groundbreaking, daring and artistically creative" in 2013.

The now clichéd trend of a young girl transitioning from the Disney Channel to a squeaky clean pop image than into overtly sexual 'femme fatale'.