...Baby One More Time - Critical Reception

Critical Reception

...Baby One More Time received mixed reviews from critics. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic gave the album four out of five stars, and commented that, by the time Spears launched her career, "everything old was new again", comparing the album to Hangin' Tough (1988) by New Kids on the Block. Erlewine further complimented the quality of the singles while praising Max Martin, "who is also the mastermind behind Spears' debut." Entertainment Weekly's Beth Johnson noted the singer "sounds remarkably like the Backstreet Boys' kid sister", saying, however, that this was "not surprising, since BSB hit-meister Max Martin wrote the candy-pop-with-a-funky-edge smash debut." Robert Christgau commented Spears portrayed a "Madonna next door" in the album with songs like "...Baby One More Time" and "Soda Pop", while Craig McDennis of The Hamilton Spectator said the album "offers a glib compendium of soul/pop cliches, served with a giddy, uptempo verve that recalls Debbie Gibson on a chocolate high." Amazon.com's Rickey Wright gave ...Baby One More Time a mixed review, saying that "a few of the disc's cuts are pleasantly catchy", noting, however, "neither does the 17-year-old Spears's debut album contain anything else that remotely approaches that instant hit single ." Billboard's Paul Verna considered the album "a top 40-ready workout filled with hook-laden songs from the same bag as the title cut".

Toronto Sun journalist Jane Stevenson found it "somehow appropriate that the first new teen queen of 1999 is a former Mousketeer", despite commenting that "for the most part, this 11-song collection threatens to turn your brain into mush." Stevenson, however, noted "it's only when the material slightly elevates itself, that Spears—who counts her favourite singers as Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey and Michael Jackson—is not half bad", praising songs like "Sometimes", "Soda Pop", "I Will Be There", and the cover version of "The Beat Goes On". Kyle Anderson of MTV said he "was surprised in more ways than one "with his first listening of ...Baby One More Time, commenting he "expected there to be a lot of filler (there sort of is), though I didn't expect it to be as odd (at least sonically) as it ended up being. There has never been any mystery to why Spears became such a superstar, but these songs probably would have been huge even if Britney wore burlap sacks in all of her videos." Barry Walters of Rolling Stone gave the album two stars out of five, and compared the album's sound to early hits of Debbie Gibson, Mariah Carey, and Samantha Fox. Walters also said that "while several Cherion-crafted kiddie-funk jams serve up beefy hooks, shameless schlock slowies, like 'E-Mail My Heart', are pure spam." A NME reviewer rated ...Baby One More Time 1 out of 10, saying that "we seem to have reached crisis point: pubescent pop is now so rife that 17-year-old Britney 'lizard-lounge' Spears is already halfway through her lucrative showbiz career". He also found the album premature, commenting, "hopefully, if she starts to live the wretched life that we all eventually do, her voice will show the scars, she'll stop looking so fucking smug, she'll find solace in drugs and we'll be all the more happier for it. Now grow up, girl. Quick!" Amanda Murray of Sputnikmusic felt that, "with the exception of the terrific title track, ...Baby One More Time is a collection of either competent pop songs underwhelmingly executed or underwhelmingly written pop songs competently executed."