Me and Britney. Sort of.
Britney Spears
Singer
Whether she is baring her stomach in a school uniform, laminated on the moon in a skintight catsuit or shaving her head in a backstreet salon, Britney Spears has epitomised popular culture for over a decade.
Her descent from Pop Princess to hospitalised mother of two has been chronicled by every newspaper, radio station and television channel.
People are quick to dismiss and trivialise her impact, describing her music as vacuous, moaning she doesn’t write her own lyrics, and saying she’s dead behind the eyes. They forget the woman who has survived 12 years in the music industry, selling 100 million albums, and still able to make her latest track the number one download in 17 countries within days of its first airplay. The Mandy Moores, the Jessica Simpsons, the JoJos have all come and gone. She is my icon; don’t hold it against me.
Britney has truly been the soundtrack to my life. First love with ‘Born to Make You Happy’, sexual awakening to the grinding beats of ‘Slave 4 U’, even finding the strength to come out to ‘Overprotected’. Even in her darkest hour, the hypnotic beats of ‘Gimme More’ and ‘Break the Ice’ inspired my alcohol-fuelled post uni-burnout.
It was also Britney’s phoenix-like recovery that saved me from a life of underachievement. Her abs inspired my fitness regime. Her reinvention inspired me to job hunt. Her success and drive inspired me to strap on a pair and reach for my dreams.
At the bottom of my (broken) heart, I am inspired by the achievement her legacy leaves. I see a young girl (not yet a woman), with a dream of the stage. Whatever you say about the music, no one can deny her work ethic. I guess I see a little bit of myself in that little girl with a dream.
Britney’s right; there are two types of people in the world. The ones that entertain and the ones that observe. Thanks to Britney, I have the inspiration and strength to be one of the entertainers.
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