Spring Break
The Playlist: "Decades Most Important: No.5: Britney Spears
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 10/29/09 Section: Focus
For the remainder of the semester, The Playlist will be counting down the 10 most important artists of this decade - artists that have had a serious impact on music as we know it.
Britney Spears emerged amidst a crowd of European-influenced American pop superstars, artists with songs we all know the words, to even to this day. Her 1999 debut album "…Baby One More Time" catapulted the dead-end career of the former Mouseketeer to pop superstardom overnight, a sudden success that The Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera and *NSYNC shared with her at the turn of the century's pop explosion.
But there was something different about Spears, and we can all see that looking back on her career now. Something about the cover of "…Baby One More Time" just didn't set well with me (certainly more so now than then). Here's this 17-year-old Louisiana artist singing a song that, on the surface, was about a schoolgirl crush-but really was about something that had every male from ages 12 to 52 fantasizing. Yeah, a car crash was coming.
But despite the fizzling of teen pop's dominant run on the airwaves and the worldwide broadcast of Spears' life and career as it went up in flames, she returned from the ashes almost unscathed. Everyone wrote her off as a nut, and no one expected her to bounce back the way she did.
When you really look at it, the careers of both Spears and my pick for No. 6 last week, Eminem, have taken very similar paths. They both emerged at the turn of the decade as products of MTV's "TRL," marketed toward the teenage audience. They both saw long strings of chart-topping hits, records that sold millions and awards aplenty. They both lost control of their public images due to issues in their personal lives and ultimately bounced back. Spears just did it with more success, and that's why she's higher on this list. Heck, I even considered them to tie for the spot.
I'm not saying Spears is a better artist (to be honest I've never been a fan), but if you were to tell me that after her embarrassing public downfall that she would have returned as triumphantly as she did (minus that return Video Music Awards performance), I wouldn't have bought it.
As amazing as the impact she had on the music world earlier this decade, Spears' redemption story (hate her or love her) is an inspiring one that will surely be remembered in music's history, and her iconic videos will rank amongst pop's upper echelon.
Britney Spears emerged amidst a crowd of European-influenced American pop superstars, artists with songs we all know the words, to even to this day. Her 1999 debut album "…Baby One More Time" catapulted the dead-end career of the former Mouseketeer to pop superstardom overnight, a sudden success that The Backstreet Boys, Christina Aguilera and *NSYNC shared with her at the turn of the century's pop explosion.
But there was something different about Spears, and we can all see that looking back on her career now. Something about the cover of "…Baby One More Time" just didn't set well with me (certainly more so now than then). Here's this 17-year-old Louisiana artist singing a song that, on the surface, was about a schoolgirl crush-but really was about something that had every male from ages 12 to 52 fantasizing. Yeah, a car crash was coming.
But despite the fizzling of teen pop's dominant run on the airwaves and the worldwide broadcast of Spears' life and career as it went up in flames, she returned from the ashes almost unscathed. Everyone wrote her off as a nut, and no one expected her to bounce back the way she did.
When you really look at it, the careers of both Spears and my pick for No. 6 last week, Eminem, have taken very similar paths. They both emerged at the turn of the decade as products of MTV's "TRL," marketed toward the teenage audience. They both saw long strings of chart-topping hits, records that sold millions and awards aplenty. They both lost control of their public images due to issues in their personal lives and ultimately bounced back. Spears just did it with more success, and that's why she's higher on this list. Heck, I even considered them to tie for the spot.
I'm not saying Spears is a better artist (to be honest I've never been a fan), but if you were to tell me that after her embarrassing public downfall that she would have returned as triumphantly as she did (minus that return Video Music Awards performance), I wouldn't have bought it.
As amazing as the impact she had on the music world earlier this decade, Spears' redemption story (hate her or love her) is an inspiring one that will surely be remembered in music's history, and her iconic videos will rank amongst pop's upper echelon.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
jennadale
posted 10/29/09 @ 3:09 AM EST
AMEN TO THAT. ONLY THE REAL POP PRINCESS CAN DO THIS. GO BRITNEY!!!!! AND LET THE HATERS DIE!!!
Nick
posted 10/29/09 @ 5:20 AM EST
Yay go britney! We all love you
You made a successful comeback :]
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