Britney Spears Thread

[Taoboi]

Oh...him. lol.

 

But this really seems to have legs to it. 

 

I will probably watch this week. I'm starting to get really curious.

 

 

[DramatistDreamer]

From Spears' comments, it appears that she finds these documentaries as intrusive and exploitative as the tabloids. 

[Skin]

 

I remember someone stating that the usual shelf life of a popstar is about a decade, before they lose prominence. The Soundscan era kind of created the impression that female led acts had more longevity than they normally do with the extension it gave to artists like Mariah, Celine, Madonna, Janet and Whitney -- but the decade rule of law tends to hold true at large which is what you see when you review other female artists from the 70's to today. Paula Abdul, Donna Summer, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, etc. were only able to capture the Zeitgeist for about that time. It's rare to have it for longer than that.  

 

Britney lasted about 15 years total, which is about what Janet was able to accomplish. The concept of a Madonna is pretty rare, but I think a lot of people overpraise Madonna's longevity as if she is still racking up hits today, when that time has long passed. She hasn't had a solo radio hit since 2002, and she has only had 3 top 10's since she released Music, and two of those were from heavy features of by the moment artists (Justin Timberlake and Nicki Minaj). If Britney wants another comeback, she and her team will have to do something about increasing her social media presence (think the likes of tik tok, and playing the Spotify/Apple Music playlist game a bit better). Several of Britney's songs have gone viral on the platform most notably Gimme More, Circus, Criminal and Toxic. That's the main challenge for her today, she hasn't created a platform of streaming. But Britney isn't alone in that, a lot of artists from the early 2000's are even less prominent than she is. 

 

Look no further than those female acts who followed Britney in the 2000's and her peers -- Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguilera, Mandy Moore (they lasted maybe 6-8 years of prominence), along with the 2005 'it girls' -- Kelly Clarkson, Fergie, Nelly Furtado (less than a decade)  and then again in the late oughts --- Katy Perry, Lady Gaga and Ke$ha (about a decade). All of them have had limited success and burnt out within a decade.  

 

But even with Britney's lack of relevance beyond 2013, she's accomplished a great deal, she was so far ahead of everyone else from her earlier successes that it pushed her years ahead of everyone else. It's now becoming apparent that Taylor, Adele, Rihanna, and Beyonce are starting to get close to her because Britney hasn't really been been active in the last 8 years. Britney hasn't been in the same career-focused mindset as she was from 1998 - 2013. The potential is there, but she needs to put forth effort again. She basically took a decade long hiatus, and the world moved on from her.  

 

 

I don't think the comparison to Beyonce is all that sound though, at least not apples to apples. Beyonce is a hybrid artist, she falls back a lot on Destiny's Child, Jay-Z and urban music platforms to really sell her music -- she's not preoccupied with pop success, and hasn't been since 2010. Which is why I think it's sort of odd to compare Britney to Beyonce. They are different artists with different platforms. Formation was Beyonce's last solo hit, her last number ones were features with Megan the Stallion and Ed Sheeran, her last pop hit was during the I Am Sasha Fierce era (Sweet Dreams). Lemonade was a massive success, but albums are pretty much all but dead now, so don't look for that success to be replicated again. 

 

P!nk has faded quite a bit too. Her last album "Hurts To Be Human" flopped, and she has also been focused mainly on touring. Her last top 10, was Just Like Fire a soundtrack in 2016 from a box office bomb. P!nk also never hit the career highs Britney had. At their peaks P!nk was selling fractions of what Britney sold. 

[DRW50]

I think in recent years a lot of people have projected themselves onto Britney in a way which can often feel gross and invasive. It reminds me a lot of what happened in the last 10-15 years of Michael Jackson's life. 

[DramatistDreamer]

 

I kind of want to capture this comment and move it over to the Janet Jackson thread as well because I think it may perhaps say a lot about why Janet may not be as open as some would like her to be.

[Skin]

I remember reading that Britney's breakdown was the most covered celebrity news story of the oughts' outside of Micheal Jackson's death, which I think says everything about America's culture of celebrity and how exhausting it is. They really are sort of the equivalent to the royal family. The media tear down culture is ravenous for red meat and the way that the press treated Britney was and always will be deplorable. I've always wondered if that was the reason why some stars choose to disassociate away from the media attention, outside of when they have a project to promote. 

[DRW50]

 

Definitely. Janet experienced so much of that first-hand, especially the weird obsession with her love life when she was a young girl - to the point of having to deny, then and repeatedly since, that she gave away a love child. It's one of those things people laugh about, but imagine being the one who has to hear that for 25-30-35 years. 

Edited May 6, 2021 by DRW50

[DRW50]

It looks like so many of the things fans speculated about and which seemed far-fetched at times are true.

 

There is some audio going around which I don't really want to post - she mostly sounds nervous to me but I know some feel otherwise.

 

I just hope Britney can find some sort of help, if that is possible when she has been exploited her entire life. 

 

 

Edited June 24, 2021 by DRW50

[Vee]

Ask not for whom the bell tolls when Ronan Farrow comes calling.

 

 

[dragonflies]

I'm sorry but her dad or someone has to be paying someone off to keep getting this conservatorship to last as long as it has. 

[janea4old]

Another tweet from Ronan Farrow about the same article:

https://twitter.com/RonanFarrow/status/1411269406177599491

“I helped a corrupt family seize all this control.” We investigated the Britney Spears conservatorship for months. Here’s the story, by @jiatolentino and me:

https://www.newyorker.com/news/american-chronicles/britney-spears-conservatorship-nightmare

 

 

Intro from The New Yorker about the same article:
https://twitter.com/NewYorker/status/1411460672798564354On the eve of her recent court hearing, Britney Spears called 911 to report herself as a victim of conservatorship abuse. 
@RonanFarrow  and  @jiatolentino   investigate how Spears was stripped of her rights within an underregulated part of the legal system.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/american-chronicles/britney-spears-conservatorship-nightmare

 

 

This instagram post is from the co-author Jia Tolentino

(instagram account name is jiatortellini)
https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ3R_wCjKWA/

jiatortellini
For months, @ronanfarrow and I have been investigating the Britney Spears conservatorship — the piece, which follows her from teenage superstardom to the 911 call she placed the day before she gave her court testimony, is up at @newyorkermag now. The level of scrutiny, projection, overwork and control that Britney endured as normal long before the conservatorship would crumple any of us in a day; the way her experience of young motherhood was used as a bludgeon against her, by the press and her family, to push her into breakdown and then force her compliance, will never leave me. I hope this piece makes her strength that much clearer, and I hope you’ll read

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️
 

 

 

 

Instagram post from The New Yorker

(instagram account name newyorkermag)

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ3VHY0g4wC/

 

newyorkermag Verified
Since the establishment of Britney Spears’s conservatorship, she has released four albums, headlined a global tour that grossed $131 million, and performed in a hit Las Vegas residency—all while having virtually no say over her life. For 13 years, her father and a team of lawyers have controlled Spears’s spending, communications, and personal decisions. “I thought we were helping,” a former friend of the family said, about testifying to secure the conservatorship. “I wasn’t, and I helped a corrupt family seize all this control.” At the link in our bio, @RonanFarrow and @jiatortellini report on the legal entity that stripped Spears of her rights, and on the pop star’s fight for freedom. 

 

---------------------------

 

If you are having trouble accessing the Britney article in the New Yorker by Ronan Farrow and Jia Tolentino,

here is an archived copy:
https://archive.is/9RCqn

Edited July 4, 2021 by janea4old

[janea4old]

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^ from the New Yorker article 

 

Comments on the New Yorker article:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by janea4old

[BetterForgotten]

Britney Spears’ Longtime Manager Larry Rudolph Resigns As Singer Weighs Retirement

[BetterForgotten]

 

[Liberty City]

One hurdle almost down, another to go.