 Christopher Stewart and Penelope Magnet , known collectively as RedZone , presented Spears with the third song they had written and produced , " Pop Culture Whore " . While her management liked the track , she rejected it , telling them the song " sucked " . After bonding with Spears during a night in New York City to " get in her world " , as Magnet explained , it was easier to " actually write and know what she would and wouldn 't say , to know where her real vibe is " . Stewart and Magnet began working on the first version of " Me Against the Music " ; Stewart came up with the track , while Magnet developed the melody on a piano and some of the lyrics . During the recording sessions , Stewart recalls that the studio 's air @-@ conditioning died for three days , but Spears " didn 't complain or anything , and for me that shows she 's where she is for a reason . " While rehearsing for their performance at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards , Spears played a finished version of " Me Against the Music " to Madonna . After Madonna commented that she liked the track , Spears asked her to do the song with her . RedZone then handed " Me Against the Music " to Madonna , who arranged and recorded her vocal additions on her own , therefore making the song a duet . Spears , who has been a fan of Madonna for years , was " beyond surprised " when she heard Madonna 's verse . She said " I just asked her to do a little thing , but she really went there . She did a lot of stuff to it . " RedZone were then enlisted to work on several more songs for the album , including co @-@ writing " Early Mornin ' " , recording background vocals for " Outrageous " and producing " The Hook Up " . 
