The Britney Jean Spears Topic: Pop Princess, Louisiana Sweetheart, Survivor

[UYI]

I'll be honest, I've never been a huge fan of her music, except her first two albums when I was a kid and preteen. But I do like her as a person. And with the Britney Ever After TV movie on Lifetime coming soon, I felt I should start a thread for her. 

[methodwriter85]

I loved Britney Spears "Blackout"/"Circus" era. Just a lot of really good electropop tunes. It's honestly shocking that she's still around making music hits when all of her teen queen pop contemporaries (Christina, Jessica Simpson, Mandy Moore) are all off doing other things.

[NutMeg]

She is so much like a male Elvis Presley, and I'm very happy that she pulled through after the (almost inevitable) dark years. I still think Piece of me is the best ever answer to paparazzi. I have it on my playlist as well as old timer like One more time, I'm not crazy about her recent outputs, but she definitely started a new trend and is therefore an legit icon.      

[Richard]

I feel like Britney has a big disconnect from her career. Like, if she had a choice in the matter, she would walk away from it and just be a mom. 

[methodwriter85]

On 2/6/2017 at 3:54 PM, Richard said:

I feel like Britney has a big disconnect from her career. Like, if she had a choice in the matter, she would walk away from it and just be a mom. 

Her residency basically is that. She's probably having the most stable time in her life because she no longer tours. She'll probably do this for as long as Vegas will have her.

[vibeology]

I recently watched one of Britney's "fashion show" instagram videos and it reminded me of something. Britney looks great in pants and I wish her team would let her dress in pants for some of her red carpet appearances instead of the same mini-dress with sheer panels look that she's been wearing for the last few years. Let her wear pants and an interesting top once and a while. They wouldn't look out of place at most of the events she attends.

(Also, she can rock a hat and since her hair/extensions can be rough a hat might not be the worst idea every so often.)

[methodwriter85]

Yeah, I really don't get why they keep putting her in mini-dresses. She wasn't blessed with long legs. She was blessed with a long torso that looks great when it's toned and being shown off in crop tops. There's a reason why she really helped make the whole low-riding pants look of the late 90's and early 00's so popular.

[Petunia13]

I actually really like her muscular legs and her look in minidresses but I agree she's great in pants and a cropped top! 

Her bf is really hot! And seems to be crazy about her and has a career of his own. 

[UYI]

An interesting piece from last year about Britney by Sady Doyle, whose new book, Trainwreck, talks a LOT about her public image over the years.

https://qz.com/770807/the-britney-spears-comeback-narrative-is-all-about-saddling-women-with-impossible-expectations/

Edited September 18, 2017 by UYI

[Annber03]

That's an awesome and spot on article. 

Quote

In her early career she was so beholden to our culture’s contradictory expectations of women that she seemed to be attempting to satisfy all of them. (Preach abstinence? Sure! Strip down to a transparent jumpsuit on live television? Also sure!)

God, yes, this. I was 12, 13 years old when she first came on the scene in the late '90s, and even then, it drove me bonkers to hear people talking about whether or not she was a "good role model" for girls like me. I never saw her as a role model, and neither did any of my friends. We just liked the songs! We weren't going around taking our life cues from her. It's not her job to teach young girls how to behave. That's supposed to be their parents' job, and/or the job of other important adults in their everyday lives. 

And while much of the sexual aspects of her music and persona were no doubt industry-influenced...at the same time, she wasn't exactly any different from most other teenagers out there. Lots of teens try and explore their sexuality, as well as the limits of what they can get away with in terms of how they dress and behave and whatnot. They always have and always will. The vast majority of them just don't have those moments broadcast by the media 24/7 the way Britney did.

But the way some people were talking when Britney came out, they made it sound like teenagers were never that wild before she was a thing, and...no. Just...no. 

[UYI]

I will say that the Rolling Stone cover on her childhood bed in a bra and underwear, when she was BARELY 17, makes me VERY uncomfortable. Even if she wanted to do that, as she claims she did, there is just something so sleazy attached to that, almost as if the photographer got off on doing something like that where Britney grew up, right under her parents' noses, taking advantage of an idea of supposed Southern naviete (they are from Louisiana, after all, and a small town at that), and then the issue was released and they realized just what had been going on in there (sexualizing their underage daughter, as opposed to just cute, smiley pictures of her showing off her room, instead showing her in various states of undress surrounded by the dolls she had collected over the years). Just...ew.

For the record, Britney always said that she never saw her herself as a role model to anyone but her sister Jamie Lynn (and I suppose now her sons/nieces and nephews, too). Taylor Swift, on the other hand, when interviewed on 60 Minutes in 2011, said she had a responsibility to be role model, and to be aware of it. Make of that what you will. 

[UYI]

BTW, here's the Rolling Stone article in question from 1999. Some of those descriptions of 17 year old Britney are...detailed, to say the least.

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/britney-spears-teen-queen-rolling-stones-1999-cover-story-20110329

[vibeology]

Quote

 

Well, in fairness to me, I wasn't talking about Blackout-era Britney. I mentioned her cutting her hair because, well, I think it's time to reinvent herself. I'm aware of the last time she shaved her head, but I don't think she should go that far. But I would like to see her with a sportier 'do. It might make her look a bit younger. Other than that, if she did this song, it would be a return to form of the fun, trashy Britney we all know and love. We've had ten years of the boring, catatonic, introverted Britney who sleepwalks through choreography and seems bored by her own manufactured sexiness. No fun.

You're right about Britney. She's so...dead behind the eyes. It's actually a little sad. I really hope she gets to a place where she can get off whatever medication she's on, because she is like a weird cyborg version of herself.

 

I just have to say that Britney right now is far from catatonic. Whatever med mix they have her on (because I think we all know she's taking something for her illness) is a good mix. There have clearly been times where her medications haven't been well-balanced but for the past year or so she's been looking and acting much healthier. She'll never been the Britney we knew before the breakdown, but it seems she's living her best life in years. Plus, while her dancing isn't pre-breakdown levels she's not a robot on stage anymore. Videos of her show someone comfortable performing. She even sang a live cover a few weeks back. I just worry when we talk about Britney Spears we see her as a fixed thing, but really mental illness is something that's very much active and that she lives with every day. And right now it seems like (because all we've got to go on are videos from concerts and her instagram) she's very much fun and happy and that should be celebrated!

[Annber03]

6 hours ago, UYI said:

I will say that the Rolling Stone cover on her childhood bed in a bra and underwear, when she was BARELY 17, makes me VERY uncomfortable. Even if she wanted to do that, as she claims she did, there is just something so sleazy attached to that, almost as if the photographer got off on doing something like that where Britney grew up, right under her parents' noses, taking advantage of an idea of supposed Southern naviete (they are from Louisiana, after all, and a small town at that), and then the issue was released and they realized just what had been going on in there (sexualizing their underage daughter, as opposed to just cute, smiley pictures of her showing off her room, instead showing her in various states of undress surrounded by the dolls she had collected over the years). Just...ew.

For the record, Britney always said that she never saw her herself as a role model to anyone but her sister Jamie Lynn (and I suppose now her sons/nieces and nephews, too). Taylor Swift, on the other hand, when interviewed on 60 Minutes in 2011, said she had a responsibility to be role model, and to be aware of it. Make of that what you will. 

Yeah, that cover would definitely be an example of the industry pushing a sexy image on her, I completely agree. I remember the controversy over that cover when it came out. And that's a perfect example of why people criticizing Britney herself for her sexy image was even more dumb. 

As for Taylor's comments, speaking on a general level here, I tend to feel a lot of celebrities feel like they have to say that "I need to be a role model" stuff. Not to say that some of them don't truly believe that, mind, or try and genuinely present themselves as such-I think in Taylor's case she truly did feel that way, but so much of the time, that statement comes off feeling like something their handlers told them to say.  Even if they do truly believe they should be role models, well, that's fine and very admirable...but that's still a lot of responsibility for them to live up to, and makes it so much easier for any moments when they don't act like a perfect role model to be scrutinized and picked apart as a result, as we've seen with so many other teen pop idols who've crashed and burned along the way. 

Like I said, the bottom line is that at the end of the day, these people aren't their fans' parents or moral compasses. They start their careers when they're teenagers themselves, after all, they're still learning and figuring out how the world works, too. I don't understand some people's need to put all these other expectations on them. 

Edited September 18, 2017 by Annber03

[methodwriter85]

Britney's Residency will be ending December 31st. Huh. Kind of surprised. It's still doing good money but I guess she was ready for a change?

[GaT]

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

Britney's Residency will be ending December 31st. Huh. Kind of surprised. It's still doing good money but I guess she was ready for a change?

She announced it back in April.

[Neko]

On 9/18/2017 at 6:28 AM, vibeology said:

I just have to say that Britney right now is far from catatonic. Whatever med mix they have her on (because I think we all know she's taking something for her illness) is a good mix. There have clearly been times where her medications haven't been well-balanced but for the past year or so she's been looking and acting much healthier. She'll never been the Britney we knew before the breakdown, but it seems she's living her best life in years. Plus, while her dancing isn't pre-breakdown levels she's not a robot on stage anymore. Videos of her show someone comfortable performing. She even sang a live cover a few weeks back. I just worry when we talk about Britney Spears we see her as a fixed thing, but really mental illness is something that's very much active and that she lives with every day. And right now it seems like (because all we've got to go on are videos from concerts and her instagram) she's very much fun and happy and that should be celebrated!

I agree with this and will add that she is ten years older than she was when she had her breakdown.  Britney and I are the same age, and I can say with confidence that I am not the same person at 36 that I was at 26.  Everyone gets older and tireder, lol.

Edited October 23, 2017 by Sweet Summer Child

[UYI]

I found the old Chaotic thread on TWOP through the Wayback Machine, and...holy shit. I know her breakdown was a few years later, but these comments are BRUTAL. Poor Britney.

http://web.archive.org/web/20140403002953/http://forums.televisionwithoutpity.com/topic/3127129-britney-and-kevin-chaotic-cheetos/

Edited November 2, 2017 by UYI

[UYI]

Hell may soon freeze over, because there's talk that Britney may FINALLY soon be free of her conservatorship after ten years (source: US Weekly, so grain of salt and all that):

https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/britney-spears-dad-is-looking-into-ending-her-conservatorship/

[Just Here]

Entertainment Weekly has a long oral history article on the making of Baby One More Time.

[27bored]

Can I just say I’ve always found very little of what Britney did way back when shocking or scandalous. I always found Britney’s “moments” to be sort of watered down moments we’d already seen from Madonna and Janet. Also, I think You Drive Me Crazy (Stop Remix) is way better than Baby One More Time in terms of song and video. Britney actually sounds like a good-at-singing person on Crazy. That said, Sometimes might be the closest thing to pure pop perfection for Britney.

Also, go listen to Lonely, Don’t Go Knockin on My Door, and Touch of My Hand. 

[GaT]

5 hours ago, 27bored said:

Also, I think You Drive Me Crazy (Stop Remix) is way better than Baby One More Time in terms of song and video. Britney actually sounds like a good-at-singing person on Crazy.

That's my favorite Britney song.

[Neko]

On 10/27/2018 at 4:36 PM, 27bored said:

Can I just say I’ve always found very little of what Britney did way back when shocking or scandalous. I always found Britney’s “moments” to be sort of watered down moments we’d already seen from Madonna and Janet. Also, I think You Drive Me Crazy (Stop Remix) is way better than Baby One More Time in terms of song and video. Britney actually sounds like a good-at-singing person on Crazy. That said, Sometimes might be the closest thing to pure pop perfection for Britney.

Also, go listen to Lonely, Don’t Go Knockin on My Door, and Touch of My Hand. 

I agree with all of this.  Also, I'd like to add "Inside Out" to the underrated Britney playlist. :)

[RealHousewife]

I'd like to add "And Then We Kiss" to the underrated Britney list.