Okay, I have a few things to address. This might be rather long, so I hope at least one person takes the time to read it.
I will begin by saying that the
most influential thing that Britney has ever done was the release of her first two albums in the period of 1999-2001. She and Christina are both remembered because they came into the picture at a time when boy bands were absolutely dominating the pop music scene and showed that female solo artists were capable on standing on their own two feet and competing. They both shifted the focus in some sense from boy bands to pop music, in general, bringing the sexual imagery full-force with them.
The second thing I have to address is the album
Blackout. Many people claim this album is one of the most influential pop albums of the last decade. First of all,
Blackout is a great album. It is my second favorite Britney album and I really like it. Though it preceded the large movement to electronic music in pop, I
DO NOT believe that it can treasured for starting it. Robyn, along with the help of some of Britney's producers came out with her self-titled album
Robyn two years before Britney's
Blackout and I feel as if the influences of that album are clearly seen on
Blackout (most clearly when Robyn actually stands in for backup vocals on one of the songs, which she also demoed for Britney).
In addition to being preceded by a very similar and influential album,
Blackout didn't have much of a part in changing the pop music scene. It is generally seen as Britney's largest commercial "flop." It didn't sell a lot of copies, the singles weren't hugely successful, and the pace of pop music didn't change as a result. It wasn't until a few years later when pop music, especially in the US really started turning towards an electronic sound, and, though I'm sure it will enrage many of you, I would argue that the Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga played a larger part in influencing the pop music scene in an electronic manner.
On top of this, the
relatively poor performance of Britney's two singles (I'm not trying to bring promo complaints or fan wars into this) might further indicate that the world is
still not prepared for the electronic sound that Britney has brought to the table on
Blackout and
Femme Fatale, which Robyn also exhibited on
Robyn and
Body Talk.
I do not believe Britney is
the or even
a Queen of Pop. She is a pop singer that did have a huge part in the development of female pop acts in the early 21st century. She managed to obtain and maintain a devoted fanbase, even over the course of ten years. However, other than her initial entrance into the industry, which was based more on sexual imagery (since most of her early songs
did not chart extremely well), she has shown relatively little power in actually shifting the direction of pop music at large, and thus, is not a "Queen," in my opinion.
Quote:
Originally posted by BnPac
For better or worse Madonna IS the Queen of Pop. That can't be denied. But Britney is sometimes call that because at some point in her career, she shakes the pop world in a sense that only Madonna managed to do.:
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The last thing I have to address is this Madonna comment. Everyone on this site says Madonna is "The Queen of Pop, forever and ever." Madonna is the most influential female pop artist of all time, yes. She is without a doubt,
A Queen of Pop. But being the first does
not mean you are the greatest. Someone
is capable of coming onto the scene and being more of a pop influence than Madonna. It's like saying that Google is forever the most influential company on the web, the King of the Web, even when we now see Facebook emerging as the powerhouse of the web. The truth is, it's too soon to tell which company influenced the web more. The same is true with Madonna and any current artists. It is impossible to tell now (and maybe forever) which one really had more of an influence, because influence is a largely ambiguous term. But ultimately, Madonna can be not said to forever and always hold the title of having the largest influence on pop music and it annoys me when people assume that it is some universal truth.