This led to the Parents Television Council (PTC) threatening to file indecency complaints against any radio station that played the song during daytime.

An edited version of the song titled "If U See Amy" was released in some regions, including in stations owned by Clear Channel Radio and Austereo.

The music video for "If U Seek Amy" begins with a parody of an America's Newsroom report by Megyn Kelly and portrays Spears at a sex party that takes place at her house.

The song was co-written and produced by Max Martin, who wrote hits for Spears' first albums, including "...Baby One More Time" (1998) and "Oops!...

[4] "If U Seek Amy" runs through a dance-oriented beat and features many instruments, including keyboards, snare, bass drums, electric guitars and timpani.

"[10] This wordplay was compared to passages of William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and James Joyce's Ulysses where characters covertly spell out profanities, songs by Memphis Slim, R. Stevie Moore, April Wine, Poster Children and The Script entitled "If You See Kay,"[11] and the title of Van Halen's 1991 album, For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.

[8] Ricardo Baca of The Denver Post named the song the most fascinating track of the album and commented on the euphemism, saying "It's trashy and clever, and it's also quite fun.

Leonie Barsenbach, a housewife from Sydney, said, "I was astonished and totally taken aback when I heard my 5 and 7-year-old kids walking around the house singing 'F-U-C-K' ...

"[21][22] Rolling Stone writer Daniel Kreps defended Spears, arguing that parents should have been aware of the singer's musical themes.

[23] After the song was announced as the third single from the album, American radio stations were unsure about playing the track due to its double entendre in the chorus.

[12] Program directors of Z100 and KIIS-FM compared the issues to be faced by their radio stations to the release of the Black Eyed Peas' 2005 single, "Don't Phunk with My Heart", saying that "listeners thought it was the other word, and so we had to change it to 'mess'".

[28] On January 23, 2009, Tom Poleman, senior vice president of programming for Clear Channel Radio, announced they planned to play an edited version.

[25] David Hinckley of the Daily News commented that "Clear Channel, which laid off 9% of its workforce this week, is hardly in the mood to finance an FCC fight right now".

[31] According to Nielsen SoundScan, "If U Seek Amy" sold over 107,000 digital copies in the United States within two weeks of the album's release.

[32] On May 9, 2009, the song peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Circus the first Spears album to have three top 20 hits since her 1999 debut, ...Baby One More Time.

[39] "If U Seek Amy" entered the UK Singles Chart at number 45 on April 6, 2009, due to its rising digital sales.

[46] During the scenes at the party, she wears American Apparel wet-looking leggings and a black corset from London lingerie designer Bordelle with diamond-shaped holes.

[46][47] When she is dressed as a housewife, Spears has a blonde wig, wears a pale pink sweater, a white skirt from Derek Lam and a Lacoste polo shirt.

[48] After this, she walks out the front door of the house and is joined by her seemingly conservative-looking husband and children, one of them dressed with the schoolgirl outfit Spears wore in the "...Baby One More Time" video.

[48] Rolling Stone writer Daniel Kreps compared the party in the video to the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut and added that "this may be the first Spears video ever crafted strictly with the morally lax Internet in mind, a brazen clip that doesn't have to tone down its explicit nature lyrically and visually in order to get airplay".

[50] Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly said, "it's kind of difficult to believe the song's real meaning will get past even the thickest listener, the video itself is pretty tame...almost disappointingly so".

Jerry Shriver of USA Today said in the opening night of the tour, "[the] single 'If U Seek Amy' draws a huge roar and sing-along from the crowd as Spears shakes her long blond mane".

[10] Craig Rosen of The Hollywood Reporter commented, "The artist that raised the ire of parents from the beginning in her scandalous schoolgirl outfit also continues to use shock-and-awe tactics.

Spears reappeared onstage after "Lace and Leather" to perform a jazz-inspired version of the song, wearing a white skirt and standing over a fan, recalling Marilyn Monroe's iconic scene in The Seven Year Itch (1955).

"[53] Nicki Escudero of the Phoenix New Times stated that it was "nice" to hear remixed versions of older hits, "such as the jazzy 'If You Seek Amy,' [sic] the sultry and Middle Eastern-inspired 'Boys' and the sped-up 'Toxic'.

"[54] Spears performed the song at her revamped Las Vegas residency show, Britney: Piece of Me, at The AXIS theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino, starting in 2016.