Me Against the Music " is a song recorded by American singers Britney Spears and Madonna for Spears ' fourth studio album , '' In the Zone '' ( 2003 ) . It was written by Spears , Madonna , Christopher " Tricky " Stewart , Thabiso " Tab " Nikhereanye , Penelope Magnet , Terius Nash and Gary O'Brien . The song was released on October 14 , 2003 , by Jive Records , as the lead single of '' In the Zone '' . After bonding with Spears during a night in New York City , Stewart and Magnet started working on the song for her . During rehearsals for the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards , Spears played Madonna the track and asked her to do the song with her
2003 MTV Video Music Awards
2003 MTV Video Music Awards
Me Against the Music