Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing by Savan Kotecha. The song was written in 2009 and registered on Broadcast Music Incorporated under the legal title "I I I Wanna Go O O". On February 22, 2011, Spears posted on her Twitter account a link to a 29-second clip of the song, while calling Martin "amazing". In an interview with Rolling Stone, Spears stated that the song's signature whistle gets her "every time [she] hears it", adding that Martin's melodies are "Incredible ... Who would have thought of that? There is nobody I feel more comfortable collaborating with in the studio." Kotecha told Digital Spy in May 2011 that the song was likely a contender for third single due to positive reaction. On May 11, 2011, a poll was launched on Britney.com in which fans could choose the third single of the album. Two days later, "I Wanna Go" was officially announced as the third single from Femme Fatale by Jive Records through a press release after winning the poll. The cover art was revealed on June 6, 2011, and featured Spears on set of the music video, wearing colored hair extensions and a top with a skeletal Mickey Mouse. Composition "I Wanna Go" is a dance-pop and hi-NRG song, which features a heavy bassline and drum fills; the latter are reminiscent of English band New Order's song "Blue Monday" (1983). Spears squeals and chuckles throughout the song, and her vocals are processed. In the pre-chorus, she draws out the "e"'s in lines such as "Shame on me / To need release / Uncontrollably." The section also has a whistled hook, which was compared by Rich Juzwiak of The Village Voice to the music of French recording artist Bob Sinclar and American recording artist Frankie Knuckles. In the chorus, Spears stutters "I-I-I wanna go-o-o/All the wa-a-ay/ Taking out my freak tonight". Ryan Brockington of the New York Post compared "I Wanna Go" to the music of her fifth studio album Blackout (2007). In the lyrics, Spears sings about losing inhibitions, as evident in lines such as "I-I-I wanna sho-o-ow/All the dir-ir-irt/I got (sic) running through my mind.", while playfully apologizing for her need for sexual release. Jon Caramanica of The New York Times stated that she sings about "the scrum that surrounds her" in "Lately people got me all tied up / There's a countdown waiting for me to erupt".