Blur
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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".
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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...
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As a pop artists you're the sum of your five biggest songs + how you iconicity is remembered and reenacted by the new generation. How many "Slave 4 U" inspired video did we get, just in the past two years ? And that's only focusing on this one song. No one can beat Britney at that game, in the 21 st century, not even Rihanna who has more hits but doesn't have a "Toxic" or a "...BOMT" (yet ?), that is a perfect, once in a lifetime type of songs, or a videography that shaped pop for decades (we underestimate how much Brit's videos were broadcasted on music chanels, all over the world, billions of streams she's lost with that never being accounted at the time). It's interesting to see so much resistance to her finally exploding on streaming, this means she's on the right path (and will, ultimately, be number one for pre-streaming female, when the movie is released and haters will find other excuses to discredit her astounding success... Who'll be surprised though ?). By the way, I've seen people saying things like "folks" are not listening to her album in their entirety (focusing on her evergreen, top hits instead). First, most albums are carried by their hits, this isn't exclusive to her, and it's even more striking for pre-90s solo artists. Second, her first five albums represent almost 100 000 000 units sold, with a big chunk being full priced physical albums, so yeah her albums were definitely listened to, in full (so much that a few gen Z popstars are literally studying those deep cuts for their own album's artistic direction ).
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I think Britney does put herself into question, even if she's not posting a lot about it. There's also the gigantic issue we all have in this virtual world, to deduce her mental state according to what she posts online. There are 24 hours in a day, we absolutely have no idea what she's doing the remaining time. Learning how to knit ? Binge watching Modern Family and Sex and The City ? Reading ? Taking naps ? Or putting the final touch to her own rage room ? Don't forget that Britney, even if she's made her mistakes, didn't choose to be the bandage child of her parent dysfunctional marriage. She also comes from a very religious background and they are the worst type when it comes to dealing with mental help ("She's possessed", "She needs to pray and everything will be back to normal" + other nonsense). I also have someone in my close family circle that has had serious problems with bipolarity but we can't compare a pop legend, with a once in a lifetime fame (the most photographed and number one on google search for close to a decade) to everyday people. Not the same universe. What's even more ironic is that Britney's biggest "fault" for many people is superficial (as in her disgust for the Hollywood machine and longing for normalcy that will never truly happen, unfortunately). She's not acting the part of an A-list celebrity and her online presence is unusual. These people don't want her healthy, they want her to conform to the status quo (when deep down the two are not mutual and Britney could be doing a lot better than we imagine through the tiny lense of her social media). Just my two cents, ultimately only her know what's truly going on with herself + what's strenght she's left with to get better (once again, becoming the biggest star on earth at 16 yo and the most succesful teenager ever is unprecedented so there's no guide book or any one she can look up to).
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Why shoehorn someone that has absolutely nothing to do with the topic at hand, in such a gratuitous way ? And why singling out a 3 years old Shakira tribute (with FAKE accessories, in a gigantic living room) as the worst thing that could happen to someone, decontextualizing Britney's life story + traumas as a measuring stick for a shaky charts/wellbeing dichotomy ? What she went through is so much more complex than that, there's still so many things we don't know about her. One thing is sure, she's a SURVIVOR through and through and deserves better than the constant disrespectful misogyny she gets around here...
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I really applaud her for not touring. She's missing out on so much money, being a generational icon with known songs and signature looks across three decades. I, for one, have never been a fan even if I like a few songs and that last album was really lush. The thing is, touring has become predatory and a bit repulsive to be honest (ticketmaster turning buying ticket into a speculating hellscape + tons of other problematic things like f*cking up the environment even more, for example). It's a bit keeping with the Joneses when going to a concert was supposed to be affordable and not this elite, social proof for the all mighty algorithms of repetitive posts that, often, dies on arrival (and are endlessly replaceable). One thing we tend to forget about Miley is that she's really LOADED. With Hanna Montana alone and the way her image was exploited for all kinds of products, she's set for life. Recently, she co-wrote Flowers, a song that will remain one of the definitive track of the 20s (in Europe, saying it was spammed to death everywhere in 2023/2024 would be an understatement). Even looking at her adult career, and a few risky decisions she's made, you get the feel she can afford, in every sense of the word, to throw us in a loop once in a while. In the end, maybe she'll do a tour eventually but I applaud her for sticking to her gun and not partaking in one of the worst industry currently, the concert industry (which is broken, abusive and needs a wake up call). Kudos to her for also realizing touring is awful for her mental health and priorizing this over greedy profit (because once your mental health is affected, it's very difficult to come back from that, especially in this ruthless industry). PS/ These interviews below, done before the non-success of her last album, falls in line with what I've been getting from her, these past few years.
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Britney just went from having record breaking, extraordinary sales to normal ones. Successful in three formats without really trying + most spread out solo mega hits from all her pre digital peers, that's longevity. The raw numbers don't even tell the whole story, especially how crucial she was in terms of visuals and sounds for an entire generation of popstars til this very day...
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Thanks, I always wondered why the rush in the chorus worked so well, now I know ! Amazing song, by the way. Top tier and an amazing throwback to 70s r'n'b. This specific kind of sensual soundscape is really why Spears' influence remains so enduring. So many pop singers I could name consciously or subconsciously mimicking her (down to her breathing cadence), when entering their "sultry" era... Here's an underrated performance showcasing Britney's natural charisma that came back in full force in 2015-2016 (the first seed imo that would ultimately lead to her rebelling and then, obtaining her freedom a few years later):
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It is but they'll never admit it. By the way, "Criminal", a 2011 unpromoted, flop single that didn't sound like anything in the radio when it was released, is currently outstreaming most of the biggest hits of that year. Not bad for someone whose career ended in 2004, according to some people in here (waiting what they'll pivot on when 2008's SOLO smash "Womanizer" will reach 1 billion streams, in a few months). Speaking of 2004, "Toxic" will soon be closing in 2 billions streams, an AMAZING feat for a pre-2000 teen artist that peaked with her record breaking first album, yet kept on beating the odds till this very day.
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Britney was ranking with veterans in the 00s as one of the biggest touring force WW. Touring was not what it has become but she was still killing it (even with her 2002 tour not going to Europe or Onyx being cut short). Most people didn't know she was setting merch records, before it was really a thing, for example! Circus was the biggest female tour in the US in 2009. And even with FF tour, and 12 millions boxscore unreported, she was beating Katy and was not far from Rihanna, both coming from blockbuster eras (LOUD and Teenage Dream). Also, residency is accounted in touring and she completely changed the game with Piece of Me's success (100 % rejuvenating Vegas, as said by their local press, ushering a spike in tourism). Leading the way, with all her peers following, as usual. I remember her 2017-2018 European tour being successful when most people in here saying she'd flop because she had no demands (which, of course, was untrue). Fast forward to now and her legacy+streaming+the mystery around her (being the ultimate celebrity but not acting the part) being WAY bigger than in 2018, it doesn't take a scientist to know she would sell out her concerts WW, would she announced a tour tomorrow. So yeah, you can say Britney, with her evergreen pop catalogue and bulletproof iconicity, has had touring success for almost 20 years and could add to that if she wanted to. The demand is there, especially with the Y2K revival.
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No matter how you slice it, this is very, VERY impressive when you know how streaming and the entertainment industry works. She's killing it effortlessly (with a complicated, PR nightmare image) and proving everyone here wrong on the enduring impact of her reign, nearly 30 years after her debut. She has strong potential for becoming number one for pre-00s female, all credits included, with the incoming biopic, one of her song going viral or releasing new material. If everything happens all at once, she'll be unstoppable.
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