Blur

It's been five years her streaming numbers have been gradually getting better so the "she sold her catalogue" cop out isn't factual, I fear (always dissociating her from her achievement is type A exhibit of misogyny, btw). Most fans knew that when she'd start getting passable playlisting (not "good" just "passable"), her numbers would increase even more. They were 100% right!

People think her classics are worth more than what she's got which is pretty flattering, in a sense. Then, you also have the general belief that she's a vulnerable person that always gets the short end of the stick. This is not what happened here and Britney is quite savvy, even if she doesn't want people to think that of her and she makes it work in her favor.

Excited to see more and more pop acts sell their catalogue for people to realize a 150/200 millions deal is nothing to scoff at for a retired artist (especially since her share wasn't big, in the first place). Streaming giants such as JB and Katy had deals around 200 millions, even when they co-wrote more than her, are still active and benefit from recency.

All her collaborators said the opposite these past twenty years, we'll take their words above yours.

1st Hot take: Her discography is one of the greatest/smartest in pop music EVER (+ the most influential for the 21st century), yet she barely got any types of credit for that (even the fre*aking VMA's shunned her, at her peak). This total lack of respect, both from the industry and her family, must have taken its toll from 1998 to 2018. Ironically, her music has never been more celebrated, and her streams are smashing rn, but it might be too little too late, for her now. I'd advise reading her autobiography again because it's really enlightening. She's not some dumb bimbo, FAR FROM IT. She proved time and time again how her instincts were the best (asking to change the ...BOMT video for corniness, then changing the jean/t-shirt outfit the director had in mind, choosing Pharrell for Britney and Danja for Blackout, pushing for Toxic, often co-writing on her best songs, without always asking for credit, being strategic for creating Glory in spite of her "epic fail" team...). Yet, she was always second guessed as if she was a newbie, even after having sold 50 millions record before being of legal age ! 2nd Hot take: She's marked history, performed with her idols, recorded some of the most entertaining pop albums ever (Blackout alone will probably never be topped, let's be honest), created a bulletproof iconicity that still reverberates to this day and is one of the most successful popstar ever (if we take impact + clones WW into account, she's number one for the 21 st century). What's left for her to accomplish really ? She's like a champion who got the serotonin shoots of dozens of gold medals. How do you follow when you reached the apex of excellence in your field ? We all know the conservatorship ruined her passion for music and that she hates the Hollywood machine. But I truly think she's smart enough to know people (her rabbid fanbase, especially) would have unrealistic expectations if she ever came back (such as her confiding her most personal wounds when music is a place of escapism for her). All of this when she's got nothing left to prove, in the end.

"Generic", "dated"... All negative buzzwords that can't be attached to an artist that has always pushed pop music forward, in every way possible (vocal fry, baby voice, delocalized the pop industry from the US to Sweden, bombastic teen pop, electropop, Neptunes as pop producers, having produced 1/3 of In The Zone while "Umbrella", "Single Ladies" and "Baby" didn't exist yet, talk singing on 2008's "Trouble" on a similar musical progression as Tik Tok, Gaga as her songwriter before she made it big, dubstep before her peers all started to use it in their songs, wobble and the list goes on). Most pop albums bring us back to the year they were released. This time capsule is part of their charm. But pop artists have to evolve with the trends of their time or they are left behind. Britney actually experimented, while smartly remaining on trend, putting her ahead of the curve a lot of the time, with shockingly on point pop instincts (Britney, In The Zone, Blackout and Femme Fatale being the most obvious example of that). Glory is doing just that familiar sounds with a few, strange curveball thrown in ("Clumsy", "Do You Wanna Come Over", "What You Need" and "Private Show"). Then, the deluxe is going all out, trying so many new things, and I can't think of other major 2016 female pop albums that gave salsa/latin sounds a, year before Havana smashed hard (forward thinking icon, that's right) , spaghetti western pop bop, bonkers hyperpop oddity (even A.J Cook would have been jealous of that one) and minimalist French spoken, sultry electropop (mylene found stanning), ALL in the same album, 100% convincing and never sounding contrived!

"Just Luv Me" and "Make Me" were moments. In an ideal world, she's released an entire album following those templates.

The range, the versatility, the excellence... No one was/is doing it quite like her. We truly didn't how good we had it... PS/ Warming up and playing around right before making history (some nice harmonies toward the end) :

I don't find the album generic, honestly except for "Love Me Down", "Just Luv Me" (still different enough and better sung than "Good For You", obviously) and "Slumber Party" (for the "Hotline Bling" progression, but again many flourishes in the production that keeps it lush and distinct enough). As for the deluxe (now with streaming, the deluxe is basically the version most people will listen to and don't say the streams are bad, we're here for the art here ), we have "Liar" (the glorious western spaghetti experimental pop bop we didn't know we needed), No seas Cortes (doing the Havana sound before Camilla smashed with it, a year later), "Swimming in The Stars" (in all its ethereal, epic glory), "Coupure éléctrique" (minimalist dark electro with auto translated, french lyrics repeated, hypnotically) and the bonkers, hyperpop oddity that is "If I'm Dancing". Only "Better" was really generic (probably the most "by the number song" on the album). By the way, I remember one of the biggest complaint at the time was that the album was lacking HITS (which was true but again, she more than deserved to have her "artsy fartsy" era at this point), so calling it generic is contradictory if no surefire smash was recorded for the project. The normal version is adventurous enough, mixed with familiar sound of its time, but the deluxe was quite daring, for her to release in the face of her money hungry, and artistically challenged team con trying to grift money and f*cking up her legacy, at every turn! She said it herself in her memoir, the warrior in her came back recording this album, which ultimately led to her freedom 5 years later.

People have been unfair to this album. Pure pop was in the trenches and most albums, from the late 10s, had to be political or have a "personal" gimmick to them. Here, Britney just let loose and delivers a career high with variety and risks (singing in different languages, mixing different styles from pop/rock to country to minimalist electro pop and maximalist hyperpop). What's impressive is that even taking the best pop had to offer from 2014 to 2015, she doesn't sound derivative and still expand on that sound (which is what she always did, Sagittarius are adventurous by nature). It's so pleasant to hear her colorful personality that made her a pop legend, fully on display across so many differents genres. Kudos to her also for shouting Selena Gomez (even if her influence is on 1-2 songs, at best). Tons of veterans are inspired by the new generation but they never have the balls to admit it. Best songs: Make Me, Just Luv Me, Liar, Do You Wanna Come Over, Slumber Party, Man On The Moon, Just Like Me, What You Need, Change your mind and If I'm Dancing. By the way love that little story about "If I'm Dancing". Misogynistic pop stans often mistakes her being a team player (who knows her brand and her place in the pop hierarchy) with her being a puppet, with no mind of her own (Justin Tranter debunked this, by the way, emphasizing her talent for creating bulletproof pop melodies). This couldn't be further from the truth (even the FF demos were different from the final product, in spite of the autopilot facade she sometimes displayed at that time). Chantal Kreviazuk ("If I'm Dancing" writer) caught this right away, in the studio:

There's been a clear resurgence for Britney these past few years, with solo daily streams even bigger than some of her active peers rn. That + HMC being a success and her book smashing kinda shielded her from the 90s/00s nostalgia act she almost fell into from 2016 to 2020. During this period her streams were a disaster and her influence on new popstars was still in it's infancy + mostly contained to ex-acts (something more widely established now with Charli's BRAT, Magdalena Bay, Tate McRae or Addison Rae, just from the top of my head). Even during the con years, she made history for reviving Vegas for the youth, got a cult classic with WB and a platinum, top twenty with "Make Me". Like there was still potential to make her current but things never completely fell into place (personally and professionally, for obvious reasons + her brand of pop was really not the sound that was smashing from 2013 to 2017, many huge pop acts such as Gaga and Katy suffered during that period too, by the way, notably with ARTPOP and Witness.)

What is this ? Are you okay ? Don't even know why I'm replying but TONS of your posts seems to point at people by taking what they say out of context, as if half of this board was on an anti-Gaga crusade (funniest thing is that a few artists can apply to what I wrote but I wasn't thinking of Gaga). Constantly pointing fingers is a way of deflecting from something (the mods should get on your case ASAP). Also, paranoia, hypervigilance + creating drama out of nothing can be the sign of poor mental health but I hope it's not that and you're just trolling/stirring the pot.

Crossroad was successful, not in terms of acclaim it would have NEVER happened at the time even if it had been great. Never understood why media and pop fans grouped it with those movies since the studio actually earned money with this one, on a very low budget. It's crazy how sometimes people rewrite reality and a lie becomes the truth. That's some 1984, mass psychosis right here !

No but really, all fighting aside, Britney's catalogue, even the underrated masterpiece that is Glory, tells the story of mainstream pop music, from the late 90s to the early tens. Adding to that, you have iconic moments, in every forms possible, to illustrate her reign + all the girls (her peers included) that were inspired by it (I'm being generous saying that because some girls straight up copied her!) . She's just undeniable, in spite of the fact she stopped playing the game more than 20 years ago (+ was part of a symbolical jail sentence for 13 years that had HUGE effects on her trajectory and success, this cannot be stressed enough really). You can diminish greatness but you can't erase it, that's why she still prevails (a successful duet with legend Elton, record-breaking streams for a 90s artist, one of the best selling books, in recent years + a 200 millions deal for her catalogue, without even lifting a finger). In other words, she's the people's princess not the one pushed by the media (who hated her guts during her peak BTW). Her streaming resurgence is the GP saying to her, "it's been a chaotic road, and we often failed you, but your legendary, timeless music will remain in our hearts".

Congrats to Britney, this is HUGE, no matter how you want to slice it. By the way, the "she sold her catalogue" cop out will not age well, sorry for the people clinging to it. Most popstars WILL sell their catalogues, eventually. Just look at the state of the industry, the way influencers + streamers now are as big or bigger than top, current music stars + the economic crisis. Remember, also, that a catalogue can have is value lowered so people who will wait too long to sell theirs might regret it, in the long run. I know we're looking at the people we discuss in this forum as artists (and they are, for the most part), but they're also VERY money inclined, capitalistic and have tons of people they have to pay to keep their crazy lifestyle going...