At last night's Billboard Awards, pop icon Britney Spears performed a highly anticipated dual set with Rihanna of "S&M" and Nicki Minaj OF "Til The World Ends". It was the first time that Britney performed on awards show since the infamous 2007 MTV Video Music Awards.
Frankly, it should be her last for awhile.
I was reading Toya'z World earlier today and she wrote that the Britney Spears of yesteryear, who would've absolutely slayed her performances last night, was dead. Unfortunately, I think I agree. There was something genuinely troubling about her performance last night. Britney, a performer once known for her high-octane energy and pristine, crisp movement, was stumbling about the stage like a toddler. It was obvious who the better performer was when she and Rihanna did those power poses; in fact, Britney didn't really pose at all. She didn't even seem engaged during the pillow fight at the end of the performance.
Britney performing well two years ago on X Factor
It's unbelievable that a woman who delivered show-stopping performances in the past could have fallen so far off her game. Far be it for me to speculate about Britney's personal feelings, but it appears that she simply doesn't care anymore. I remember when she came back with "Womanizer" in 2008 and she performed on X Factor. Back then, even though she lipsynced the whole thing, there was still that fiery persona that we all came to love. She was truly putting on a show. These days, she's hard pressed to a genuine hair toss, shown particularly in her Good Morning America concert a few months back. Let's be honest here: Britney reached her incredible heights of fame because of her performance quality. If she can't even do that, why exactly is she still a pop star?
Maybe she still loves it, but is just too focused on raising her two children to care. Maybe she is still dealing with the ramifications of her public breakdown in 2007/2008. Maybe she is just a puppet for Jive, used to make as much as money before Justin returns with his new album. Also possible, she is secretly delivering crap performances and promotion as a way of rebellion, or to prove she is capable enough to be set free, she is just going through the motions.
Whatever the case is, it is no longer acceptable for Britney to be walking the stage like a zombie when there are people actually investing in seeing her succeed like she has in the past. It is insulting to her fans (me being one of them), who are constantly coming up for excuses for her, saying that she can't perform as well because she's gotten older. Yet, Jennifer Lopez could kill it at 45 on American Idol, or Janet at 45 on tour. Hell, even Michael Jackson was making executive moves at the age of 50. Let's not even get into Beyoncé, who killed it last night with her performance. It just discredits Britney even more.
My serious advice to Britney Spears is take two years off and honestly reexamine her priorities. If she wants to be a pop star, she needs to snap out of this funk and train and whatever else to get back into shape, literally and figuratively. If she doesn't, and she just wants to be a mom, that's totally fine too. She's earned the right to just raise her kids and find some peace with the millions she's made. If she wants to do both, she needs to learn (with a new manager possibly) how to balance both roles, because it can be done.
The Britney Spears we are getting right now is nowhere near her true potential as a talented pop megastar. It isn't fair to her fans, to the public, and herself. I just hope she realizes before she begins chipping at a hard-won legacy.
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