In Defense of Britney
So, there has been a lot of discussion of Britney Spears and her “big comeback” that wasn’t.
Before she performed, I wasn’t ready to count her out. I know she’s been drinking, and driving around aimlessly, has been investigated by Child Welfare Authorities and has been forgetting her underpants but I thought maybe that was all a stunt. Maybe she was playing us all, using the lens of celebrity scrutiny that she’s been under since she was 15 to play a joke on us all, and when she wasn’t drinking and going commando she was practicing on her dance routines and when the time came to unveil her new song on MTV she’d blow us all away with a killer bod and a fabulous performance. After all, the VMA has been a site of triumph for her before. She sang with a python! She made out with Madonna! This was a place where she had taken the world by storm, who’s to think she wouldn’t do it again?
So I’ll admit, I was disapointed when I watched the video on Youtube and I largely had to agree with a lot of what her critics said. She didn’t dance very well, and when she moved around it lacked energy and she didn’t look like she was on her game. Britney was content to let the stripperesque dancers writhe on their poles to count as her performance. And unfortunatley, the audienece agreed. The slack-jawed looks of the audience as they watched in horror didn’t help those watching at home form a positive opinion. Watching Britney, you knew she knew it wasn’t going well. And I’d bet a lot that she was wishing at that moment that she’d skipped the bars, skipped all of that and spent more time on her comeback. And that makes me think that maybe she will.
However, I don’t think the furor and all of the claims of “fat and flabby” were founded. Give her a break! She’s just had two children for crying out loud! And while she hasn’t demonstrated the best judgment, she had to work plenty hard to get where she was. And maybe this embarassment is what she needs to get herself back together, to remember her underwear, maybe give up ‘da club and try a semester of college. Or at the very least, get herself back into the gym.
All in all, I don’t think its fair what she’s been through. She was famous young, had too many people caring about the choices she made–so with that much money and that much attention and the inevitable insulation, yeah, she made some bad calls. But none of that takes away from the drive and focus she had to demonstrate to get there.
I like to listen to Britney Spears’ songs, especially when I’m running. There is nothing like Stronger to get you started or to get you through that last mile. And I like to imagine that Spears listens to her own music, gets the slightly cliched message that she sings. About being stronger, about focusing on what she can do with her life, and figuring out what she really wants.