Pregnant Naked Retouched Britney
How did I manage to go this many posts without mentioning Britney Spears? Also notice I avoided some variation of the "Oops...I Posed Naked Again" or "...Baby (With Baby) One More Time" tired joke that will be used as a headline for this picture. Click the link to see the cover. It's a good picture (especially now that she is a brunette). At least she doesn't look like a sideshow attraction on Coney Island.
Which would be where the retoucihng came in. If you saw any pictures from her recent interview (in which she was pleading to be left alone, but now she's posing naked on magazine covers), you know she looked like a train wreck that fell over a cliff.
Britney is going to have her own wing in the pop culture hall of fame. I can't think of an artist whose career is similar to hers, (Don't say Madonna, it's not true) especially since her initial rise took place as the average American was getting comfortable with the internet. She's really the first 21st century megastar, even though her career took off in 1999. Her career trajectory is unique and unpredictable, which is why at some level people are interested in what happens next.
On one hand, I am grateful her initial sunny cheerfullness chased off the pathetic "rock" acts popular in the day. Anyone still playing their Hanson CD's? When's that next Semisonic tour passing through town? How about Smashmouth? Britney (and also the teen boy bands) brought forth a younger audience willing to spend money (their's or daddy's) on younger artists singing pop songs. I would rather listen to the well assembled in the studio "...Baby, One More Time" than an earnest Jewel singing oh so seriously about her hands. You do not become an artist just because you sound serious about something.
But the trend Britney started never (in a macro-sense) went away. Now we get the Ashlee Simpsons and Hilary Duffs of the world trying to recreate the first phase of Britney's career. No one has figured out how to shift the focus away from teen acts and onto another type of music. You may get a few months of a trend, but never a complete shift.
Which is why I think people still pay attention to what Britney does. She is still the leader of the trend, so acts still look to her for guidance (although guidance is about the last thing she seems capable of today). Until someone knocks her off the pedestal, she's the blueprint of the 21st century star.
And's she's been on that pedestal for seven years now...
Which would be where the retoucihng came in. If you saw any pictures from her recent interview (in which she was pleading to be left alone, but now she's posing naked on magazine covers), you know she looked like a train wreck that fell over a cliff.
Britney is going to have her own wing in the pop culture hall of fame. I can't think of an artist whose career is similar to hers, (Don't say Madonna, it's not true) especially since her initial rise took place as the average American was getting comfortable with the internet. She's really the first 21st century megastar, even though her career took off in 1999. Her career trajectory is unique and unpredictable, which is why at some level people are interested in what happens next.
On one hand, I am grateful her initial sunny cheerfullness chased off the pathetic "rock" acts popular in the day. Anyone still playing their Hanson CD's? When's that next Semisonic tour passing through town? How about Smashmouth? Britney (and also the teen boy bands) brought forth a younger audience willing to spend money (their's or daddy's) on younger artists singing pop songs. I would rather listen to the well assembled in the studio "...Baby, One More Time" than an earnest Jewel singing oh so seriously about her hands. You do not become an artist just because you sound serious about something.
But the trend Britney started never (in a macro-sense) went away. Now we get the Ashlee Simpsons and Hilary Duffs of the world trying to recreate the first phase of Britney's career. No one has figured out how to shift the focus away from teen acts and onto another type of music. You may get a few months of a trend, but never a complete shift.
Which is why I think people still pay attention to what Britney does. She is still the leader of the trend, so acts still look to her for guidance (although guidance is about the last thing she seems capable of today). Until someone knocks her off the pedestal, she's the blueprint of the 21st century star.
And's she's been on that pedestal for seven years now...
posted by Beukey @ 7:39 AM
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