Britney Spears: Is it time to reconsider the singer's legacy? (2023)

The ongoing emancipation of Britney Spears was one of the defining events of 2022 pop culture, and the singer isstill making headlines. Spears is a superstar who inspires a unique kind of devotion: Her fans are so loyal that they started a social movement, #FreeBritney, to bring global attention to the conservatorship that denied the arts agency her personal and business affairs for more than 13 years. . . The restrictive legal regime –describedby Spears as "abusive", but imposedamid concerns about his mental health– ended in November 2021, allowing him to take control of his own life and career again. In June this year she married her partner of six years, Sam Asghari; then, in August, he returned to the charts with Hold Me Closer, a deft collaboration with Elton John that combines elements of his classic songs Tiny Dancer, Don't Go Breaking My Heart, and The One. It peaked at number six on the charts. US and three in the UK, becoming their highest charting single in both markets for a decade.

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If Hold Me Closer feels like a measured return—it's a top-notch duet with an instantly familiar chorus—it's soulful, too. Even if it doesn't mean a long-term return to recording and touring for Spears, who at this point owes nothing to anyone but herself, it presents a good opportunity to reassess her musical legacy. Spears didn't always get what she deserved: a particularly cruel attituderevisionfrom their successful second album, Oops! ... 2000's I Did It Again dismissed her as a "true cipher, a costumed doll programmed to satisfy as many different fans and fantasies as possible." But 24 years after her success with ...Baby One More Time, an iconic debut single that defined a new golden age of teen pop, it's no exaggeration to say that Spears is the most influential pop artist of her generation. .

Initially dismissed as a 'dress up doll', Spears has proven to be a singer, a performer and one of the most influential pop stars of her generation (Credit: Alamy)

She has been hailed as an inspiration by everyone from Lady Gaga, who in 2009describedher as "the most provocative interpreter of my time", for Lana Del Rey. "There's something about Britney that attracted me," Del Reyisin 2012, "the way she sings and the way she looks." Most recently, acclaimed British-Japanese singer-songwriter Rina SawayamaisSpears was the first artist he fell in love with. He remembers watching music videos of her when she was a child and thinking, "I love her like a big sister." Spears' videos may be high-concept affairs, where she played a reclusive Hollywood actress (Lucky) or a vampire flight attendant (Toxic), but with the 2000 single Stronger, she proved she could grab our full attention with nothing more. than their dance moves. and simple accessories like a chair and cane. Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Styrke is equally effusive when asked how Spears has influenced her as a musician. "Oh, how come she hasn't done it herself?" she told BBC Culture. "She inspired a perhaps delusional striving for pop stardom [in me], wanting to be a pop princess with a pure heart. Her voice, her dance, her blonde hair... it was all influential. ".

Without fear

Spears is also a longtime LGBTQ icon who has influenced the contemporary drag scene with her high-octane dance routines. Jonbers Blonde, a drag performer from Northern Ireland who was a finalist on the latest series of RuPaul's Drag Race UK, says she was particularly entranced by two of Spears' audacious performances at the MTV Video Music Awards. In 2000, Spears delivered a clever mix of (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction and Oops!... I Did It Again that really showcased her commanding stage presence and precise dance moves. Then, the following year, she sang I'm A Slave 4 U with a live python hanging from her shoulders. "I think it was the bravery that she showed in her appearances on MTV that inspired me," says Blonde. "In drag, you have to be fearless, even coming out in drag is brave, and that's something Britney definitely is."

Spears gave an iconic performance at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, singing I'm a Slave 4 U wrapped in a Burmese python (Credit: Getty Images)

So why, given all the accolades from the artists who followed in her wake, is Spears still a bit underrated? In part, she is the result of what we might call an "origin story." As a child growing up in Kentwood, Louisiana, a small town in the Bible belt of the United States, Spears displayed an unearthly talent for acting. "She was in my own world. I found out what I'm supposed to do at a young age," she recalled in 1999.Rolling Stone magazine cover. At age 12, after appearing on the talent show Star Search and several television commercials, Spears was cast in The Mickey Mouse Club, a hearty Disney variety show in which she sang and danced with her future A-mates. listers.Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera and Ryan Gosling. But when she launched her music career in 1998, four years after she ended the show, the "Mouseketeer" label seemed to stick a little more to Spears than to her peers.

It could be argued that Spears' rise in the late 1990s was so meteoric that the media at the time had trouble processing it. Written and produced by Max Martin, the Swedish songwriting genius who has penned more Billboard Hot 100 hits than anyone except John Lennon and Paul McCartney, Spears' irresistible 1998 debut single...was just a smash, but a pop culture phenomenon. Aided by a memorable music video in which Spears opted to wear a schoolgirl outfit, a look often interpreted as suggestive but also reflective of her age, it became one of the best-selling singles of all time. the times. Her debut album, also called ...Baby One More Time, ended up selling 26 million copies worldwide after spawning other big hits with Somes and (You Drive Me) Crazy. "When ... Baby One More Time was released, the market, particularly in the US, was saturated with boy bands," says Alim Kheraj, a music, culture and LGBTQ journalist. "I don't think since Madonna there has been a female artist that has really exploded in pop like that."

After starting out as a teen star, Spears honed her vocal technique and wrote more of her own songs, inspiring the likes of Lady Gaga and Charli XCX (Credit: Getty Images)

When it emerged in the late 1990s, at the end of an era dominated by powerhouse vocalists like Celine Dion and Mariah Carey, Spears' distinctive voice was often underappreciated. Kheraj points to her third, more mature album, 2001's Britney, on which she embraced R&B on I'm A Slave 4 U and soft rock on I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman, as the point at which she really came into her own. honed his vocal style. "She pushes her voice into whisperier textures, playing with the different sounds she's able to create to elevate a song," says Kheraj, comparing her to Kylie Minogue and Janet Jackson in that regard. "Although, in my opinion," she adds, "Spears' ability to be an actress in her own voice, taking on different pitches, timbres, and vibes, is unparalleled." Andrew Watt, a producer who worked with her on this year's Elton John duet Hold Me Closer, echoes that assessment of Spears' vocal technique. "She's amazing at layering her voice and dubbing, which is one of the hardest things to do," he said.The Guardianin August, adding, "She's so good at knowing when she's got the right take. She's taken full control."

finding her voice

As Spears' career progressed, she also took more control of her music early on in the creative process. Kheraj says he liked finding collaborators who "disrupt the pop status quo," such as the R&B duo Neptunes, who produced his early-2000s hits I'm a Slave 4 U and Boys, and Moby, who worked in his trance. Early Morning' influenced theme. The latter appeared on Spears' 2003 album In the Zone, her fourth, on which she co-wrote eight of the 12 songs, including the beautiful ballad Everytime. "The video was always on MTV when I was 11 years old, and I remember feeling so sorry for her," says Styrke, referring to the song's pitiful lyrics, as well as the video that shows the dark side of fame. "Hearing that [now] still makes me feel so sorry for her."

In the Zone was another step for Spears, but her magnum opus came four years later with 2007's Blackout, an incredibly groundbreaking album she produced. Home to the smash hits Gimme More and Piece of Me, Blackout not only featured cutting-edge production that blended elements of techno, EDM, and dubstep (then a very new genre); it also highlighted Spears' bravery. A song that sends negative perceptions about her at the time, Piece of Me is as self-referential as pop music. "I guess I don't see anything wrong with working and being a mom," Spears sings. "And with a child on my arm, I still have an exceptional source of income." It doesn't matter that Spears didn't write it; she said everything she needed to get it out there. Blackout was a highlight, but Spears has shown a knack for picking winning material throughout her career. "Have you heard her albums? They're so smart," avant-garde singer-songwriter Charli XCX.isin 2014. "The way his songs are created is really amazing. I think [his] music is really interesting and smart."

In February 2008, just three months after the release of Blackout, Spears was unknowingly placed under a conservatorship that would last 13 years. She released four albums during this period, 2008's Circus, 2011's Femme Fatale, 2013's Britney Jean, and 2016's Glory. While Femme Fatale was sonically spectacular, spawning the impressive singles Hold It Against Me and Till the World Ends, it's arguable that only Glory was the work of a fully invested Spears. "I was very specific about who she worked with and learned to say no," she said.NMEshortly after the release of Glory. "I'm a people pleaser so that's hard for me, even if I don't like something I do it to make one person happy. I made sure this album was everything I wanted it to be. I was very selfish about it. ".

Spears has inspired a loyal following, with many fans taking part in the 'Free Britney' movement (Credit: Getty Images)

That shouldn't detract from the series of dazzling performances he gave early in his career, both on tour and in music videos. And if the #FreeBritney movement has taught us anything about Spears, it's that she retains an ineffable quality that makes people genuinely root for her. "My feeling for her from the beginning has been so special and different from other pop stars," adds Styrke. "And I think a lot of people feel the same way. For some reason, it seems like you really know her." Kheraj argues that the public's overwhelmingly sympathetic response to the details of her guardianship is further evidence of her lasting impact. "Britney Spears is pop culture [because she] encapsulates all aspects of what she is as a modern celebrity," she adds. "She is the American dream, the cautionary tale, the redemption story, and now a symbol of liberation." And there's no chance she's out of the spotlight entirely: Next year she's bringing a revealing memoir in which Spears vowed to address "events in my life [that] I've never been able to openly express." For this reason, even if her 2022 chart return turns out to be a one-off rather than a sign of things to come, Spears' place at the top of the pop pantheon is firmly secured.

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