Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/m...recession.html
By Jonathan Lieu
This week sees the release of Britney Jean, the eighth studio album by Britney Spears, to go with her six greatest hits compilations.
This is the story of how a girl from Kentwood, Louisiana, changed pop music forever.
But first, a quiz. Can you name the five biggest-selling female artists of 1998?
Of course you can. They're Shania Twain, LeAnn Rimes, Janet Jackson, Paula Cole and Celine Dion.
Preeeeeeetty boring. Now, here are the five biggest-selling female artists of 2003.
That's Beyonce, Aaliyah (RIP), J-Lo, Christina Aguilera (Career RIP) and Avril Lavigne. Not necessarily better, of course - but different. And better.
So what happened in those five short years to inspire this seismic cultural shift? This happened.
In January 1999, Britney Spears released her debut single, ...Baby One More Time. The ellipsis replaced the words 'Hit Me', which were removed because of their potentially sadomasochistic interpretation. "It doesn't mean physically hit me," she said later. "It means just give me a sign."
Britney changed everything. Politically, she held a mirror to the rapidly-changing fin-de-siecle America. As the screenwriter and novelist Tom Perrotta wrote:
"Britney and Cobain are fated to be forever linked in our national consciousness as the opposing bookends of the 1990s, poster children for a schizoid decade. There's Cobain on the left, mumbling, unshaven, representing a gloomy time of war and recession. And there's Britney on the right, the offical superstar of the late-90s boom, the chipper emblem of a fat, happy country bubbling over with irrational exuberance."
Britney had her finger on the pulse of modern America. While pop icons of the past generally tried to disturb the established cultural order, Britney was perfectly happy the existing cultural order as it was, thank you very much.
Musically, pop changed forever. Let's have a look at how those stars of '98 turned out.
Shania Twain vamped herself up. LeAnn Rimes stripped herself down. Janet Jackson had her wardrobe malfunction. Celine Dion is currently going through her own mildlly saucy reinvention. Meanwhile, Paula Cole changed her name to Cheryl and enjoyed a string of popular hits. All products of the new, Britney-fied pop universe.
As pop adapted, so did Britney. A lot. In so doing,
she created some of the most enduring images of the decade.
Even today's pop stars, from Miley Cyrus to Lady Gaga to Lana del Rey, have recognised their debt.
Still not convinced of Britney's influence? Look at this graph, which plots Britney album sales against annual US GDP growth.
The evidence is clear.
When Britney sneezes, America catches a cold. The story of Britney is the story of America.
So let's cut a long story short.
Britney Spears is single-handedly responsible for the reinvention of popular music...
...recording some of the greatest songs of all time...
...redefining US culture in the early 2000s...
...continuing to influence the music of today...
...and surviving for 15 years in the world's most cut-throat industry.
Oh, and she predicted the recession.
THE END.
Source:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/m...recession.html
