I don't mean to attack her or anything - there is nothing wrong with being a slut in the proper venue - but I don't understand how she can put out videos like the "I'm a Slave" one, without any commotion. Her core audience is 10-14 yera old girls. Is that really the stuff we want them to be seeing. Meanwhile, I was watching a rap video tonight and they had blurred out a guy's hands because he was making a gun signal. I don't advocate violence, but why would that be blurred out when Britney can make heavy breathing sounds half naked while surrounded by an orgy of similarly half-naked men (watch the video).
i have issues with this also...but even i contradict myself with it as well. i understand as a musician ( b/c i am one as well ) you always want to grow with every step you take in your career, i am speaking musically not image wise....so bare with me a little here. my problem with her musically is IMHO she has had one legitamate hit....the first one with "Baby hit me one more time". the second single sounded just like that song with differant lyrics, "oophs, i did it again". everything after that has been extremly shallow even by pop standards IMHO. this brings me to the image side... her core audience is young & i believe she should take some responsiblility for her actions. i keep hearing this " Madonna " comparision in that she wants to control her image...instead of the Media controling her......OK....i think i follow you at this point....but exactlly what are you saying with this new single " like a slave "??? i understand that young people with hormones raging.......i was once and not that far removed from this now....but what about a counter messege to temper your point home....like desire is not always intended or good idea to surrender to...sometimes its just for romance or the chase...and that's a good thing too. enjoy being young...but don't be irresponsible with it.....show some moral boundries with your God given emotions. desiring someone to love or craving love is not wrong....it is by divine design and good.....but can be mis-used and mis-directed......don't confused sex with love.....THEY ARE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS. i personally do see what the continued interst in her is beyond that first single which was and still is a good song ( ...and great video ). ...but musically,...she has not earned her " Madonna " reputation by a long shot.......Madonna has a greatest hits vol. 2 coming out today nov. 13th check it out and ask yourself.......could Britney fill two greatest hits with this good of matierial? Madonna for all her "freaky-ness" was at her core a true musical talent and knew how to work a song and have something to say.......does anybody know what Britney has to say that is as relavent??? Baby hit me one more time was her " like a virgin", but i have yet to hear a "like a prayer", "express yourself", "Beautiful Stranger" you name any Madonna single that you like.......its better than anything i've heard from miss Spears.....Britney is the Freakshow w/o the music to back her up or be her legacy that Madonna has...........just my opinion.
I'm gonna stick up for Britney here. She has grown up into a sexy young woman, and the rest of the world needs to realize this. She is trying to break the bubble gum image everyone has portrayed her in (and in my opinion, she has succeeded). I think that one of the problems in America is that we expect the television to baby-sit our kids. It sure as hell isn't Britney Spear's responsibility to be a role model to kids anymore than its Charles Barkley's responsibility. Just my two cents.
Calling Brittany a slut because she arguably has sexual content in her videos is ridiculous. If she is a slut, so are 90% of the female artists out these days. Also, it's not her fault that the majority of her audience has been with her since she first blew up 4-5 years ago. Should she sacrifice her career and put out horrible feel good teenie bopper music so that she doesn't offend a certain age group of fans? NO, it should be the parents responsibility to censor what their kids listen to.
I think the Slave song has a powerful message. I have seen the video twice, and I can't remember most of the lyrics, but the basic theme is a -"You think I'm a little girl, and I'm not anymore. I control my image, but you control my image for the masses" --type stuff. I started to have a new respect for here with the single "Stronger," and I have even more respect for her now. If anyone right now is capable of taking the throne from Madonna, it is her, but you're right in that she still has a long way to go. I thought she'd disappear after the Baby One More Time song, but she proved me wrong. I'm interested at least to see where she goes from here. Besides, shes HOT.
Well with Madonna being my favorite artist ever (with Britney and CCR close behind) I would definitely say she is far ahead of Britney musically (by critical standards more than my tastes). However, what you have to remember is a little thing called age. Madonna was 25 when her first album came out, Britney has yet to turn 20. Madonna grew into her Like a Prayer, Express Yourself stuff in 89 I believe which would make her 31. That gives her a 12 year advantage on Britney here and you can't expect Britney to already be living up to the peak moments of a legends career at 19. There seems to be no doubt that Britney, in all of the controversy/success/media hype, is on the path to being Madonna's heir yet it is far from certain she will live up to this. If nothing, she is the closest we have seen to Madonna since Madonna and if Britney isn't the next one it will be a while before we get to her. About all the being too provocative/sexual and stuff, well she can't be too sweet for too long. As a 19 year old male, I have absolutely no problem with and while I understand she has young fans, she does have older fans and would probably like to gather a broader, older audience for continued success. Plus, little girls don't have to copy everything Britney does. Anyway, I don't have any problem with what Britney does and I hope for her continued success. Also, her album apparently will sell around 700K this week and debut number 1.
<b>RocketsPimp</b>: "Calling Brittany a slut because she arguably has sexual content in her videos is ridiculous. If she is a slut, so are 90% of the female artists out these days." <b>RR</b>: Now there's a keen observation. I mean it. We are closer and closer to completely sexualizing childhood. That's great for our young people. They will be sad, sad adults.
Love her or hate her, she's controversial and getting people to talk about her and her music. Initially her target audience was pre-teens however she is now trying to branch away from that with her new CD. I don't like "I'm A Slave 4 U", but it was produced by The Neptunes if that lends any credibility. Two of the best tracks on her new CD, "Before The Goodbye" and "When I Found You" were mixed by BT. She's also starring in a movie with Dan Aykroyd and Kim Cattrall. She's no Madonna...yet. Some kids may perceive her to be a role model because of who she is but ultimately I believe its the parents responsibility to let their kids know that she is a performer/entertainer on stage. The guy making a gun signal with his hands is also a performer, but I can't really answer why the channel (I assume MTV) would decide to censor him but not the Britney video. I guess the censors decided that a Britney scream is not as dangerous.
If Britney wants ot break out into a mature stage, then, especially knowing who the large majority of her fans are, she should do it in a more mature way. She doesn't have to be a role model, but she is one, and that is one of the drawbacks of making millions uon millions of dollars to sing crappy songs (and no matter how hot you may think she is, you can't possibly argue that her songs are good - she doesn't have a good voice even). When I called her a slut, I did it in a joking fashion. I doubt she is actually a slut. But her new video is beyond just dressing up in a sexy outfit and dancing. She greases herself up, greases everyone else up, makes sexual noises, etc, etc. Of course, I watch it when it comes on, but I just wonder whether TRL is the proper venue for a video of that nature. In either case, I wouldn't care as much, but what about censorship of other videos. Not every rapper in a video who flips the bird or makes the gun sign is a murderer either. If it truly is the parents responsibility, then they shouldn't censor their style of expression.
The following comments are just my opinion and are not intended to insult anyone. Its not her, nor any other public figure's, responsibility to be a role model for kids. You don't want your kids watching that stuff, heres an idea, don't let them. In my opinion one of the major problems in this country is that parents are more concerned with looking cool and hip in their kids eyes instead of doing what they know is the right thing to do. I think its pretty messed up that todays parents have made television and video games babysitters then complain about the content. On a lighter note, I sure would like to take Briney and......**** sorry.
...i'm not comparing her to Madonna,...Madonna is not comparing her to herself.......its Britney's PR people creating the spin/hype who are paid by .......Britney......that's my only point she is creating her career which i have no problem with....i would do the same thing.........only she is creating a standard for herself i hope she can live up too.......... for now..........i don't see it myself..........she has had one great song & video.............and a couple of good ones and a lot of forgettable stuff. that's all she's cute.....i like her, and wish her well........i just don't see her living up to her own hype, but that is just my opinion
In terms of popularity like name recognition, she's close to if not already on the same level as Madonna. Music wise, she hasn't had enough time (songs) to be the next Madonna or Janet Jackson. I don't think her voice is that bad - she has that cute Southern accent. I admit her lyrics suck though, but is that really her fault. Her record company hires people to write her songs (Dido, Shania Twain's husband, etc.) and occassionally she will write one or two. I don't think her record company does her justice by the songs they release. Those songs are targeted towards her pre-teen fan base. Unless she becomes more mainstream, there is no way she can even be considered the next Madonna. The thing is that there really isn't another female artist who is as big as Britney. On censorship, her last two videos were not shown in their entirety on Disney and Nickelodeon. Those channels are marketed for kids while MTV is not.
i was right there with ya Smokey until this comment......i would think that Sheryl Crow for one has the clout & integrity to pretty much make me forget about..........who are we talking about??? just imagine Sheryl's lips right now.........
F4P, did you just mention Madonna, Britney and CCR in the same sentence???? Yes, yes I did. What can I say, I am a man of extremely varied musical tastes who listens to just about everything, and those are my 3 favorite artists/bands. While Britney's PR people certainly create hype around Britney for many things, the comparisons to Madonna have been made by the mainstream public and the music industry in general. Most seem to agree she is the closest thing to the next Madonna we have seen and that is just based on everyone's observations of the many similarities that exist, not anything PR can create. And as for Madonna, she has started to compliment Britney often and seems to marvel at how well Britney has it together for such a young age.
I was right with ya till you said Sheryl Crow. I'll assume you were only talking about personal tastes when you said Sheryl was bigger than Britney and not general public popularity/clout.
