Her influence

Too busy establishing a TRUE legacy based on her talent and meaningful music. Not one based on looks and a good marketing team

Christina Aguilera

Xtina was the 1st blonde pop star out in the late 90s, and the rest followed including Britney. So that's X's legacy too not Britney's. Britney wasn't even blonde until her 2nd album, right??

Her legacy is her being Britney Spears. Simple.

I can't think of anything she did that Madonna hadn't done years ago.

All those could be debunked. Her writers have come forward saying that she doesn't take credit for her writing after they said that Beyonce lies about her writing credits. She's a very smart lyricist and her writing has lots of imagery and core issues as depicted with her shelved Original Doll album. She also releases songs that are very her and not her trying to be someone she is not. It is also known that she came up with the BOMT video concept and basically marketed herself from the very beginning. LOADS of artists couldn't do that at the start of their career. They could only do that after they become successful like what Gaga did after the Fame era. The good girl gone bad image was not intended to be a marketing scheme. She was going through some tough times and rebelling and it showed in her image as a pop star. She also did it before the other pop girls started doing it and made it trendy. If she didn't do it then there would be no good girl gone bad image. Rihanna exploited it and made it her own which is why she's more known for it than Britney.

Spears became an international pop culture icon immediately after launching her recording career. Rolling Stone magazine wrote: "One of the most controversial and successful female vocalists of the 21st century," she "spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop ... Spears early on cultivated a mixture of innocence and experience that broke the bank".[234] She is listed by the Guinness World Records as having the "Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist" for her debut album ...Baby One More Time which sold over thirteen million copies in the United States.[235] Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported: "She's also marked for being the best-selling teenage artist. Before she turned 20 in 2001, Spears sold more than 37 million albums worldwide".[236]

As of 2011, she has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time based on album sales alone.[237] She was also ranked as the fourth VH1's "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era" show list, ahead of most of her contemporaries and only behind veterans Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Whitney Houston.[238] Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall.[6] In December 2009, Billboard magazine ranked Spears the 8th Artist of the 2000s decade in the United States.[5]

Spears is known for her iconic performances and music videos.[239] The music video for her debut single, "...Baby One More Time", was ranked number one on TRL's Final Countdown of the most iconic music videos.[240] At the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, before performing "Oops!... I Did It Again", the singer appeared behind a backlit screen, and descended a spiral staircase and started performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", while wearing a tuxedo.[241] After performing a shortened version of the track, she tore the tuxedo off, revealing a skin-tight flesh-coloured outfit.[242] The following year, Spears performed her single "I'm a Slave 4 U". Jocelyn Vena of MTV summarized the performance, saying, "draping herself in a white python and slithering around a steamy garden setting – surrounded by dancers in zebra and tiger outfits – Spears created one of the most striking visuals in the 27-year history of the show."[243]

She also duetted "The Way You Make Me Feel" with pop singer Michael Jackson at his 30th anniversary concert a few days earlier.[244] During the opening of the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2003, Spears joined Madonna, Christina Aguilera, and Missy Elliott.[245] Halfway through the performance, Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera on the lips.[246] The kiss between Spears and Madonna generated strong reaction from the media.[247] This performance was listed by Blender magazine as one of the twenty-five sexiest music moments on television history.[248] MTV listed the performance as the number-one opening moments in the history of MTV Video Music Awards.[249]

Barbara Ellen of The Observer wrote: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination. Many 19-year-olds haven't even started working by that age, whereas Britney, a former Mouseketeer, was that most unusual and volatile of American phenomena — a child with a full-time career. While other little girls were putting posters on their walls, Britney was wanting to be the poster on the wall. Whereas other children develop at their own pace, Britney was developing at a pace set by the ferociously competitive American entertainment industry".[250]

In 2011, Adam Markovitz of Entertainment Weekly commented on the cultural significance of Spears's voice and music: "We don't ask a whole lot from Britney Spears as an entertainer...we'll still send her straight up the charts simply because she's Britney. She's an American institution, as deeply sacred and messed up as pro wrestling or the filibuster. Musically, though, Spears will always have to measure up to her own gold standards of pop euphony: the operatic slither of 2004's 'Toxic' and the candied funk of 2000's 'Oops!...I Did It Again.' Spears is no technical singer, that's for sure. But backed by Martin and Dr. Luke's wall of pound, her vocals melt into a mix of babytalk coo and coital panting that is, in its own overprocessed way, just as iconic and propulsive as Michael Jackson's yips or Eminem's snarls."[251] 'Britney Spears' was Yahoo!'s most popular search term between 2005 and 2008, and has been in a total of seven different years.[252] Spears was named as Most Searched Person in the Guinness World Records book edition 2007 and 2009.[253] She was later named as the most searched person of the decade 2000 – 2009.[254]

Spears has been cited as a musical inspiration by contemporary artists. Gwyneth Paltrow's character in 2010 drama film Country Strong was inspired on the singer's public meltdown. According to film director Shana Fest, "that's where this movie came from. I mean, I was seeing what was happening in the media to Britney Spears. I think it's tragic how we treat people who give us so much, and we love to see them knocked down to build them back up again, to knock them down again."[255] Nicki Minaj has cited Spears as a major influence on her career, and commented, "the fact that she came back out with just so much fire inspires me, and it inspires young women and people all over the world. It just inspires you. A lot of my fans feel like they are the underdog and feel like they are the people who aren't ever accepted for themselves, or who are laughed at or poked fun at forever. It just goes to show that once you keep at whatever it is you're doing, people may not like you, people may not love you, but they will have to respect you at the end of the day. And that respect is all that matters."[256]

Lana Del Rey said: "I'm not really interested in a ton of female musicians but there is something about Britney that compelled me – the way she sings and just the way she looks."[257] Del Rey also said that the music video for "Toxic" inspires her.[258] During the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga said that Spears "taught us all how to be fearless, and the industry wouldn't be the same without her."[259] Gaga has also cited Spears as an influence, calling her "the most provocative performer of my time".[260] Miley Cyrus credits Spears as her biggest inspiration, and has referenced the singer in her hit song "Party in the U.S.A." (2009).[261][262] Spears's personal breakdown was also cited as an inspiration for Barry Manilow's album 15 Minutes.[263]





Spears performing on March 5, 2009
Spears has also become a major influence on many other contemporary artists, including Meghan Trainor,[264] Demi Lovato,[265] Katy Perry,[265] Kelly Key,[266] Kristinia DeBarge,[267] Little Boots,[268] Charli XCX,[269] Marina and the Diamonds,[270] Tegan and Sara,[271] Pixie Lott,[272] Girls' Generation, Selena Gomez,[273] Tinashe, Victoria Justice,[274] and The Saturdays.[275] Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that she was happy with Spears's return to the music industry, and continued, "It's amazing. For this many years being in the business, and everything she's been through, it's wonderful to see her make this huge of a comeback. Really, it's a beautiful thing."[276] Simon Cowell explained that he is "fascinated by [Britney]. The fact that she's one of the most talked about – not just pop stars – but people in the world today, means that you've got this star power. [...] She's still hot, she's still having hit records and she's still controversial, there's a reason for that."[277] Jessica Jung and Hyoyeon of the Korean girl group Girls' Generation have also been compared to Spears, due to their blonde hair and the latter's abilities as a dancer.[278]

Marina and the Diamonds named Spears as the main influence behind her album Electra Heart, stating that, "I think people thought I was joking about that for a long time. But when I was a teenager there was a genuine connection with this sweet girl who also had this very sexual side that people didn't really want to accept [...] Britney is really smart. And in the way that she inspired Electra Heart, if you step back from all the cynical stuff, it actually focuses on the idea of innocence being mixed with darkness. For some reason I really like that combination. I suppose because you don't really connect innocence with darkness."[279] Diamandis has also stated that Spears is her main influence when it comes to popular culture and that Spears is one she aspired to being growing up.[280]

Spears has had a direct influence on singer Porcelain Black's work after growing up around her music as a child. Black describes her music as a "love child between" Marilyn Manson and Spears, with Spears's work being one of the main inspirations for Black's debut album Mannequin Factory.[281] Bebo Norman wrote a song about Spears, called "Britney", which was released as a single. Boy band Busted also wrote a song about Spears called "Britney", which was on their debut album. South Korean singer, BoA has also spoken of love and Spears's influence on her. First meeting in 2003 while Spears was promoting In The Zone – Britney would later provide a writing credit to the song "Look Who's Talking" on BoA's eponymous debut English album. Spears's version of the song leaked in 2012.[282][283]

People magazine and MTV reported that October 1, 2008, the Bronx's John Philip Sousa Middle School, named their music studio in honor of Britney Spears.[284] Spears herself was present during the ceremony and donated $10,000 to the school's music program.[285]

Y'all won't care I'm sure, but Britney's influence on K-pop and to a lesser extent J-pop is monumental. K-pop's most influential female singer BoA was literally modeled after her and at least half of her discography could be Britney tracks.

A legacy that who is going to remember, exactly? Fyi, the three fans she has on this site don't count as a legacy. I highly doubt the meaningful, artistic song Your Body is going to be remembered, for example. Must've been too ahead of it's time, right?

Or let's not forget the ICONIC and MEANINGFUL "Woohoo", such an artistic triumph.

Influential
Good dancer
One of the defining artists at the turn of the millenium

OMG yes! I love her self titled album *.* Touched is flawless!

Britney is known as a iconic blonde even though that is not her natural hair color. Whenever she changes her hair color people question if she's trying to not be Britney Spears anymore which is true because whenever she changes her hair color her persona changes as well. Blond Britney = Original Britney Spears, Brunette Britney = Blackout/rebel Britney.

Living.
Laughing.
Loving.

Legend.