The video premiered on television on '' Making the Video '' on October 21 , 2003 at 23:00 EDT . Its online premiere was on Yahoo! Music . It was viewed more than 2 million times in its first five days . The video reached number one on the AOL Music Top Video chart in November 2003 , with 3,356,007 million streams . In January 2004 , the video topped the same chart again with 1,198,920 million streams . Jocelyn Vena of MTV said , " It was the changing of the guard – or at least the meeting of two of the most influential pop divas of all time . ... The superstars tantalize the audience ( and each other ) throughout the flirty video . " Antonella Lazzeri of '' The Sun '' commented , " Just weeks after snogging at the MTV Video Music Awards they teamed up for another raunchy double act . ... The video highlight comes with the pair embracing against a wall , only for Madonna ... to vanish just as they are about to kiss . " Julie Andsager stated the ' fantasy-fulfillment ' strategy of Spears continued with the Madonna kiss and the " Me Against the Music " video , but added that " she has , perhaps , taken her sexuality to its extreme – for network television , at least – at the age of 22 " . Laurenz Volkmann said that it showcases an entire range of different female roles between ' older ' and ' younger ' sign systems . Author Judith Ann Peraino commented , " In 1963 , Judy Garland presented Barbra Streisand as her protégée as songstress and gay icon ; in 2003 , Madonna instated Spears as her protégée in same-sex erotica and icon of polymorphous sexuality . " Spears performed " Me Against the Music " for the first time at the 2003 NFL Kickoff Live on September 4 , 2003 at the National Mall . She sported a shoulder-length blond wig and was dressed in black football pants , a black-and-white referee halter top and boots from Reebok . The performance segued into a medley of " ... Baby One More Time " and " I 'm a Slave 4 U " , which included pyrotechnics . Her outfit was later auctioned off to benefit the Britney Spears Foundation . On September 14 , 2003 , Spears played a surprise concert at Rain Nightclub in the Palms Casino Resort , and " Me Against the Music " was the first song in the set . On October 18 , 2003 , the song was performed by Spears during the twenty-ninth season of the American comedy show '' Saturday Night Live '' . William Shaw of '' Blender '' stated , " Dancing and singing , Spears is in her element . She drips song-and-dance confidence . Within a few seconds , her shiny hat falls off , sending her blond hair everywhere , but Spears does n't miss a step . When it comes to Madonna 's verse , she ca n't help mouthing along to the words . " Spears opened the 2003 American Music Awards telecast with a performance of " Me Against the Music " . She floated down on a wire from the rafters in a gold overcoat , which she quickly shed to reveal a pink bustier , black vinyl thigh-high boots and black hot pants . She was accompanied by a troupe of brightly dressed faux punk rock dancers and a dizzying set that featured shooting flames , Vegas-style neon signs and a massive video screen
2003 American Music Awards
American Music Awards of 2003 (November)
Me Against the Music