"Anticipating" was the fourth single to be released in France from Britney Spears' third studio album Britney, while "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" was released as the fourth European single. In Brazil, "Anticipating" was released in 2003 during the summer. The track was the fifth single to be taken from Britney.
The song was written and produced by Brian Kierulf, Josh Schwartz, as well as by Britney: it is her first single that has her own writing credits. The track was featured in a commercial for the Toyota Vios, which caused the song to prove popular on Taiwan radio stations. Spears said of the song, "It's just a fun song that I wrote. It's just like being with your girlfriends and just dancing. I think this track also has a very Seventies' feel to it."