Often labelled "Pop Princess", Britney Spears became a prominent icon in popular music, and in popular culture in. At only 17, she reached number one on the US charts with her debut album Baby One More Time in 1999, selling over 13 million copies. Being in the spotlight for over 10 years and from such a young age, we as the audience, can compare the different images Britney has adapted since she entered showbiz.
Britney's first video Baby One More Time (1999) was filmed in a high school, the same location as the movie Grease, because she wanted it to reflect the life of her teenage fans. The costumes were cute school uniforms, and pigtails, and this already presents Britney in a very innocent light. She is seen performing gymnastics outside the school, which shows she was popular in high school, possibly one of the cheer leaders. She was the perfect picture of purity, and this is clearly reflected in the costume choice of her video Sometimes (1999), which are comfortable, and the colour white clearly represents her chastity as at the time, she declared herself a virgin until marriage. The narrative in the video, Lucky (2001) was based on a famous celebrity, in this case an actress, having fame, wealth, beauty, but feels she is still lonely and missing something. The music video features Britney as the lonely figure, and the audience is lead to believe that she feels alone, in reality. She is also acting as the narrator in the video, as a guardian angel which again portrays her innocence.
As she matured, her songs and videos started to state her independence, lyrics such as "You thought I was sent from above, I'm not that innocent." and "Now I'm stronger, than yesterday. Now there's nothing but my way." The video for Stronger (2001), where she wears a lot of black and shows more attitude, is seen as a departure from the "candy coloured" videos, and emphasises the transition from the teenage pop star to a true diva. I'm A Slave 4 U (2001) is a complete different turn from her innocent pop image, and was the first of her "seductive" videos. Produced by The Neptunes, the track has an urban vibe, and lyrics such as "All you people, look at me like I'm a little girl" emphasising that she's "grown up" now. She wears revealing costumes and bellydances, and this video was mostly positively recieved by critics.
This was during the time of her relationship with Justin Timberlake, and Britney was eager for people to see her as a mature woman, taking on a movie role in Crossroads (2002). She announced that she'd be taking a six month break from her career after the couple broke up, and Timberlake released a song which lead the audience to believe that she had been unfaithful to him, which deepened her "not-so-innocent" persona. As a response to the track, she released slow ballad, Everytime (2003) and lyrics relating to asking for forgiveness after hurting a former lover sparking unconfirmed rumours that she was referencing to Timberlake. The video begins with paparazzi and fans starting to lose control, and Britney is hit on the head with a camera. She later finds out she had been bleeding, in the bathtub and loses consciousness, it then cuts to a hospital scene where Britney's ghost is seen running into the light. Though the song sold very well, the video was heavily criticised, for glamourising suicide and was seen as a plea for attention, forcing the audience to imagine a world without her and the audience now feels it may have been foreshadowing her mental instability struggles in the future.
A few months later, with a much more upbeat tempo, dance track Me Against the Music (2003) was released on her fourth album, In The Zone, featuring "the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time" (Guinness World Records) Madonna. This album sparked controversy as a few of the songs were explicit such as "Touch Of My Hand" which was about masturbation and there, Britney had gotten rid of her "innocent teen" image completely. Toxic (2004)'s music video featured clips of Britney completely naked except for being covered in diamonds, known for their unbreakable strength and beauty, mirroring the image she wants to portray. The narrative shows Britney taking revenge on her unfaithful boyfriend, poisoning him, and she sports a few different costumes, referencing to superheroines and also raising the issue of female empowerment.
Her personal life underwent a lot of troubles after this video, and she had taken a break from her career to get her life back on track. After three years, she released dance song Gimme More (2007), opening up with the words "It's Britney, B*tch" which became her catch phrase. Wearing a leather black vest, she dances around a pole and flicks her hair about, with night club light effects in the background giving the video a stripper theme. After harsh criticism, she released the video for Piece Of Me (2007) which portrayed her life at the time, with references to the media rumours and news. With lyrics such as "I'm Miss American Dream since I was 17" and "Oh my God, that Britney's Shameless" it is written similar to a biography, speaking of her mishaps, she mocks the press with images of magazines with ridiculed headings. The words "You want a piece of me?" can be seen as a threat or an invitation, and cleverly shows her confidence is still there. Britney then covered Bobby Brown's My Prerogative (2008) which discusses the singer's thoughts and not caring about other people's judgements. The first scene shows her jumping into a pool and starting to sing; this displays her rule-breaking carefree thoughts. The video cuts to her husband, Kevin Federline watching clips of Britney in her lingerie, this references to pornagraphic films as she is wearing little clothing, and she is seductively looking at the camera, presenting her as an object for display. Her music video for 3 (2009) also has inter-textual references to female empowerment, such as the fact that her male dancers are blacked out silhouettes while the spotlight is on her entirely. Her white costume, with large revealing slits seems to be influenced by Kyle Minogue's outfit in Can't Get You Out Of My Head (2001) which was popular for it's fashion style and 'sexiness'. Womanizer (2008) was a definite comeback for the star, as the catchy song reached high peak positions in the charts worldwide. The video opens with a completely naked Britney, covering herself with her hands, in a sauna or hot spa in which the steam emphasises her "hotness". Wearing four different costumes of disguise, she tricks the male lead as her alter egos flirt and continues to lead him on. Ending with a close up of her smile, to make the viewer feel the intimacy of the situation, and the audience is reminded of Britney Spears's beauty. This video clearly represents female supremacy, as the lyrics state she knows his plan and will not be tricked into his ways of pursuing women lecherously, earning her respect back from the media and wowing all her fans.
*Screen prints from Youtube and Sony Music Entertainment.
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