"SMS (Bangerz)" is a song by American singer Miley Cyrus taken from her fourth full length studio album, Bangerz. It features additional vocals from American recording artist Britney Spears.
Background[]
"SMS (Bangerz)" was written by Michael Williams, Destiny Cyrus, Sean Garrett and Marquell Middlebrooks. It was produced by Williams.
The track was originally titled "Struttin' My Stuff," with "SMS" as an acronym for that phrase. Co-writer Garrett recorded a demo of the second verse, which was sent to Britney Spears for her contribution. Cyrus chose Spears for the duet, stating "There's only one bitch that I want on my album, and that is Britney, bitch!"
The collaboration between Spears and Cyrus on the track "SMS (Bangerz)" was first hinted at in July 2013, following an X exchange where Spears expressed interest in learning how to twerk from Cyrus. In response, Cyrus offered to teach her, provided Spears taught her the choreography for "I'm a Slave 4 U."
In August 2013, Garrett confirmed that Spears and Cyrus had recorded a "crazy" track together for Cyrus's upcoming album, Bangerz. He revealed that while Cyrus had considered featuring artists like Gwen Stefani or Nicki Minaj, she ultimately felt that collaborating with Spears was "absolutely the right one."
On September 10, 2013, after breaking the Vevo record for the most views in 24 hours with her "Wrecking Ball" video, Cyrus unveiled the tracklist for Bangerz on Twitter. This announcement confirmed the collaboration with Spears on the song "SMS (Bangerz)."
Lyrical theme[]
The lyrics of "SMS (Bangerz) are playful and assertive, with lines like "All the boys like to ask me what you doing with that" and "You say you love me, I ain't fooling with that" emphasizing independence and self-assurance. The track draws inspiration from the style of the female rap trio Salt-N-Pepa, aiming to create a female anthem that blends hip-hop and pop elements.
Composition[]
"SMS (Bangerz)" is a 2-minute and 49-second track that blends elements of pop, hip hop, dance-pop, and Euro-house. The song draws inspiration from the 1980s, particularly the style of the female rap trio Salt-n-Pepa. Garrett described the track as "like five different things," highlighting its multifaceted nature as a hip-hop-infused female anthem.
Release[]
Upon its release, "SMS (Bangerz)" received mixed reviews from critics. Nick Catucci of Entertainment Weekly provided a favorable review, calling the track one of the best included on Bangerz and describing it as "a merry rap-off with Britney." Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian opined that Spears' inclusion was "a stroke of skewed inspiration," contributing to making its parent album Cyrus' "game-changer." Writing for Slant Magazine, Kyle Fowle called the song an "Auto-Tuned Euro-house jam" that helped make the album both "a message of empowerment" and "a straightforward party album." In contrast, Mariah Eakin of The A.V. Club provided a more mixed review, saying that "Cyrus absolutely cannot rap, as horrifyingly evidenced by her Kreayshawn-like turns" highlighted in the track. Evan Sawdey from PopMatters cautioned that "braggadocio can only go so far (especially with a song that features such a formless sense of melody)," and felt that Mike Will Made It has a "horrid sense of how hooks work, leaving a slew of missed-attempts and mangled opportunities in his wake."
Chart Performance[]
Although the song never entered the Billboard Hot 100, the album's strong digital downloads helped it reach number 10 on Billboard's Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart, as well as number 157 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is marked as explicit by the RIAA due to its explicit language. Although in October 2013 Cyrus claimed she wanted the song to be the third single off Bangerz, "Adore You" was the album's third single release instead. Talking about plans for a music video, Cyrus hoped "that the video will be as epic as the 'Work Bitch' one, so I think that would be the smartest choice."
Lyrics[]
[Intro: Miley Cyrus]
Bangerz (Bangerz)
(Mike WiLL Made-It)
Fuckin' bangerz (Bangerz)
(Ear Drummers)
Bangerz (Bangerz)
Fuck-fuck-fuckin' bangerz (Bangerz)
[Verse 1: Miley Cyrus]
All the way in the back with a tree on my lap
All the boys like to ask me, "What you doing with that?"
Yeah, yeah
You say you love me, I ain't fooling with that
They ask me how I keep a man, I keep a battery pack
One day he wants me
One day he wants me not
I don't do chances, 'cause time just ain't what I got
If he's like that, I got a world tour that they need me at
I can't be sittin' 'round here waitin' on a man
To tell me where the fuck my seat be at
Where Mike WiLL at?
[Chorus: Miley Cyrus]
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (I be struttin' my stuff)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Fuckin' bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (I be struttin' my stuff)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Fuckin' bangerz)
[Verse 2: Britney Spears & (Miley Cyrus)]
I'm flying high up on the bird; acrophobiac
I slick, caught her eyeing down my purse
Where the dollars at?
I let her know the rent's due on the first
They can call the hearse
'Cause, if there's any violation, I go off with that
Catwalk, slick talk, flirting with a big dog
(Why I need his millis when I got Billy on the speed dial?)
You know I'm on that "meow", quick to scratch your eyes out
Strutting on the court, make them nervous, call a timeout
[Chorus: Miley Cyrus]
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (I be struttin' my stuff)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Fuckin' bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (I be struttin' my stuff)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Bangerz)
We be struttin' that stuff, that stuff, that stuff (Fuckin' bangerz)
[Bridge: Miley Cyrus]
The plane, boss, the plane
‘Bout to get that big rock
Slip that on my hand
Make that media big talk
The plane, boss, the plane
Psych, that must be the purple
Got up in my brain
Had me a little bit dismal
[Outro: Miley Cyrus]
I, I, I (Bangerz)
I, I, I (Fucking bangerz)
I, I, I (Bangerz)
I, I, I (Fucking bangerz)
I, I, I
I, I, I
I, I, I
I, I, I
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Spears' vocals in the released version are from the demo sung by American songwriter Myah Marie. This was confirmed after fans noticed that the vocals did not sound like Spears'. This also happened with many songs from the Britney Jean era for unknown reasons.
- On July 29, 2021, Cyrus performed the song at Lollapalooza in Chicago in front of over 100,000 people, using the demo version of the song. In Spears' verse, the stage screens showed the phrase FreeBritney.
- A demo performed by Cyrus and American songwriter Sean Garrett leaked online. You can listen to the demo here
