There has scant been a day on Earth that you haven't come across my mind at least once. I remember the first time I was exposed to you: circa Thanksgiving, 1998. I was sitting on my couch, then still covered in plastic, wearing Rugrats jammies. It was on an MTV show hosted by VJ Ananda Lewis, and she began to speak about this new artist by the name of Britney Spears...and there it was, the last video of the program, "Baby One More Time". Little did I know you'd grow to become my favorite female artist of all time.
Subsequent singles from your 1st album were love/hate for me, and it wasn't till the Oops! era that my love for you became cemented in stone. You are essentially the only artist I love that I feel I've grown up with. The only artist whose single/video premieres I vividly remember like yesterday. Oh, and the shocking times too: the Madonna kiss (featuring
HER ), the head shaving and earlier this year when they carried you out on the stretcher...all treated with the same reaction from me (jaw on the floor) but all timeless whether you flinch while reading this or not.
You defy the disposability of music, defy what it means to be a star and defy the textbook definition of a "role model". I look back upon these ten years like a proud father...and while I'll admit my love wavered from you - tapering at times of disappointment and soaring when you triumphed... I take pride in seeing my baby back where she should be: THE TOP.
HAPPY 10TH ANNIVERSARY BRITNEY!!!
Love,
Chris