Britney Spears' “Baby One More Time” video reaches 1 billion views on YouTube

Hit it, baby, a billion times. One of Britney Spears' most famous music videos – “…Baby One More Time” – has joined YouTube's billion-views club, making it the pop star's second video to reach this milestone, following “Scream & Shout” with Will.i.am reached.

The “…Baby One More Time” video, first uploaded to the site in October 2009 – more than a decade after Spears first released the Max Martin-produced single – opens with the then-16-year-old star in braided pigtails and a revealing schoolgirl look -Outfit tapping her foot and pencil in class out of boredom. After the bell rings, she begins one of pop music's most iconic dance sequences in the school hallways, later performs outdoor choreography in a sports bra and sweatpants, and serenades her love song in a gymnasium.

“My loneliness is killing me/I have to admit, I still believe,” she sings on the hit. “When I’m not with you, I lose my mind/Give me a sign/Hit me, baby, again.”

“…Baby One More Time” was the Princess of Pop's debut single and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1999. It was also the title track of her first-ever LP, which topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks.

Despite being somewhat scandalous for the time, Spears revealed in her 2023 memoir: The woman in Methat the concept of the video was her idea. “The model I saw made me look like a Power Ranger,” she wrote. “This image didn't resonate with me and I felt like my audience wouldn't relate to it either. I told the label executives that I thought people would want to see my friends and I sitting in school bored, and then as soon as the bell rang, boom – we would start dancing.”

“I thought we should wear school uniforms so it would seem more exciting when we start dancing outside in our casual clothes,” she added. “I had the most fun making the video.”

Watch Spears' billion-viewed music video “…Baby One More Time” above.