"Private Show" is a song recorded by American singer Britney Spears for her ninth studio album, Glory (2016).
Spears' vocal range spans over two and a half octaves from E3 to C6[16] "Private Show" is an R&B and doo-wop song,[17][18][19][20] with "staccato-like rhythm", "snaps, claps and other percussive flares" in its instrumentation.
Anna Gaca of Spin was favorable with the track, calling it "a bubbly, pole dance-inspired number" with a "clipped [...] chorus that sounds tailor-made for a Vegas show.
"[26] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic declared that "some of the highlights [on the album] are the silliest songs," adding "Private Show" and "Slumber Party" as examples, defining them as "a pair of heavy-breathing come-ons that never manage to seem sexy despite the flood of innuendo.
"[27] Nolan Feeney of Entertainment Weekly shared a similar view, writing that "even weaker tracks, such as the grating strip-tease 'Private Show,' feel like glimpses of the real Britney—her musical tastes, her voice—imperfections and all.
"[28] For Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone, "the conceptual centerpiece [of the record] is the deceptively giddy 'Private Show,' which isn't quite the stripper-in-a-stupor lapdance goof it pretends to be.
"[25] Andy Gill of The Independent praised the varied usage of her voice on the track, "where the excess sass suggests an attempt to occupy Katy Perry territory.
"[29] Alex Macpherson of The Guardian commented positively about her vocals, writing that "the zany 'Private Show' is a showcase for Spears to explore first helium-textured cartoon coquettishness, which seems a touch inspired by young Cyndi Lauper, and then an oddly snappy chirrup about working the pole.
He also praised the producer Young Fyre for "keep[ing] the song from veering into parody by going retro with a doo-wop swing that would make Meghan Trainor jealous.
"[17] In a less favorable review, Robbie Daw of Idolator thought that the song "is Britney sounding her most Chipmunk-like, singing sexy lyrics about stripper poles through filters and studio wizardry atop a throwback soul track.
"[31] Michael Cragg of The Observer, Nick Levine of NME and Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine considered the song a "misstep",[18][32][33] with Cragg referring to it as "horrendous,"[32] Levine opining that "Spears doesn't have the lung power to pull off vampish R&B tracks like 'Private Show',"[18] and Cinquemani saying that the song is "as sexy as getting a lap dance from someone with the flu, as Britney's trademark adenoidal whine sounds more like a sinus infection.
"[34] "Private Show" landed at number nine on Time magazine's list of the worst songs of 2016, writing that "the superstar’s girly-girl voice gets distorted in overproduction, while uncomfortable allusions to working a stripper pole feel more forced than enticing.
"[36] Sheffield wrote that its commercial failure added to its meaning's intimacy: "The fact that the single really was a private show — i.e., nobody bought it, played it on the radio, or even noticed it came out — just adds to the mise en scene.
[39] Near the end of the commercial, Spears wears a "shimmering silver bodysuit," which was compared to a scene during the "Toxic" music video (2004), where she is seen naked with nothing but diamonds glued to her body.