MTV News is running a "Britney Spears Tournament: 30 Videos for 30 Years" and in the final stretch only two remain. Her new single "Criminal" is up against old-school "Slave 4 U," and Brit dished the story behind her provocative 2001 music video.

The 2001 "Slave 4 U" video was a make-or-break career move for Spears. The pop singer, who started in a more wholesome image in "Baby One More Time," came out of her shell as a more provocative performer.

Director Francis Lawrence directed the music video which launched Spears into full-on sexy siren status. Appearing in a somewhat steamy background and drenched in sweat, it was the most seductive image that the singer, then 19, had offered her audience.

Spears revealed in an interview with MTV that the theme for the music video was to put her in the middle of a sexy dance party. She said that it also mirrored who she was at that time.

"We're in Los Angeles shooting my first single off my new album," Spears said.

"It's basically saying, 'I'm a slave for the music.' Like, when you go into a club, you can't help yourself; you're enraptured in it. When I go to a club, I can't just sit there and chit-chat. I'd much rather be on the dance floor, just dancing. And that's what the song's talking about."

Lawrence, who later directed Spears' "Circus" video, said he wanted the video to go far beyond sleek dance clubs in New York or Los Angeles.

"I came up with this concept of having this club be in this abandoned Asian bathhouse and having it be filled with young world travelers, the kind of people who would go to these far exotic places to go to a place like this," he said.

Spears later revealed that her videos prior to "Slave 4 U" were high in concept but this one was more focused on her dance moves. The singer said the video was simply about going to an "I wish I was there" kind of club.

Also Read:

'X Factor' USA Honors King of Pop, Jackson Children Take Front Row Seats

Rihanna Goes Blonde in Her New Music Video

RELATED STORIES