Britney’s ‘3’ Reappears on Charts After Vegas Wardrobe Malfunction

The Internet can be a strange place, in that it can allow us to rescue almost any material from relative obscurity or faded interest and give it new life. All digital content can become viral with the right audience and the right context.

That's precisely what's happened for Britney Spears and her 2009 single "3," Billboard reports. The single has experienced a resurgence in popularity following a wardrobe malfunction during her performance of the song at her Piece of Me residency in Las Vegas a few weeks back. A fan was able to capture the whole debacle on video (the actual malfunction happens around the 1:38 mark):

As is to be expected, Britney handles the setback with grace and poise: She doesn't miss a beat in her choreography as her backup dancers scramble to rectify the situation.

And when life tries to hand Britney lemons, she always somehow manages to turn them into the most life- and career-affirming lemonade. "3" has since hit number 16 on Billboard's Dance/Electronica Streaming Songs chart, the website reports. The song has also pulled in an additional 1.3 million views (a 766% increase), 94 percent of which came from YouTubers watching and re-watching the wardrobe malfunction unfold.

"3" was originally recorded for and released as the only new single from her Singles Collection in 2009, and its naughty threesome storyline quickly jettisoned it to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and number two on the Mainstream Top 40. Although it hit number 6 on the Dance/Electronica Digital Songs chart in January 2010, it never appeared on the newer Streaming Songs chart (which begin in 2013) until now, according to Billboard.

How fitting, then, that a wardrobe malfunction gave this steamy single its musical reawakening.

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