3 (Britney Spears song)

"3"
Single by Britney Spears
from the album The Singles Collection
Released	September 29, 2009 (2009-09-29)
Recorded	July 2009
Studio	Maratone (Stockholm, Sweden)
Genre	Electropop dance-pop[1]
Length	3:33
Label	Jive
Composer(s)	Max Martin Karl Schuster Tiffany Amber
Lyricist(s)	Max Martin
Producer(s)	Max Martin Shellback
Britney Spears singles chronology
"Radar" (2009) "3" (2009) "Hold It Against Me" (2011)
Music video
"3" on YouTube

"3" is a song by American singer Britney Spears from her second greatest hits album, The Singles Collection (2009). It was written and produced by Max Martin and Shellback, with additional writing from Tiffany Amber. The song was released on September 29, 2009, by Jive Records, as the only single from The Singles Collection. "3" is an uptempo electropop song that features a heavy bassline and synthesizers, and lyrics that talk about threesomes, while referencing American folk-singing trio Peter, Paul and Mary during the chorus as sexual slang.

"3" received positive reception from contemporary music critics, with some reviewers calling it a classic Spears song. The song was a commercial success, topping the charts in the United States and Canada, as well as reaching the top ten in many countries around the world, including Australia, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In the United States, the song debuted at number one in the Billboard Hot 100, and became her third number-one single in the country.

An accompanying music video for "3", directed by Diane Martel, features Spears and her dancers in front of different black and white backgrounds. Martel described it as sexy and playful, while contemporary critics gave it positive reviews, complimenting its simplicity. A director's cut was leaked on December 15, 2009. Spears has performed "3" during her Femme Fatale Tour (2011) and her concert residency Britney: Piece of Me (2013–2016).