 "Outrageous" is an R & B song with influences of hip hop. The beat was compared by Gavin Mueller of Stylus Magazine to R. Kelly's 2003 single "Snake". Jennifer Vineyard of MTV noted that "she whispers and moans [...] with a snake charmer melody giving the song an exotic feel". Nick Southall of Stylus Magazine compared the background vocals to those of Punjabi musician Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. According to the sheetmusic published at Musicnotes.com by Universal Music Publishing Group, "Outrageous" is composed in the key of D major, with a tempo of 105 beats per minute. The song's lyrics talk about materialism and amusement, with Spears referencing in the chorus a number of things that give her pleasure, such as "my world tour" and "my sex drive". Vineyard noted, "the cumulative effect seems like it's designed to put the listener in the lover's shoes — taking full advantage of the aural male gaze". Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine said the track "includes a telling parallel that reveals a lot about one of music's biggest — as Alanis Morissette would put it — treadmill capitalists: she sings" my sex drive "and" my shopping spree "with the same dripping gusto".
