Britney Spears is Irrelevant in 2016

Britney is back and just as bland and shallow as ever. Is there room for her in the new era of politically active pop music?

Today’s pop music stars have evolved significantly from those of the golden era of bubblegum pop. Gone are the days of the virginal teen starlet crooning innocuously about love. The bland teenyboppers of yesteryear have been replaced in this new decade by bolder more outspoken stars like Beyoncé or Rihanna.

Once a typical 90’s pop singer herself, Beyoncé is now known for marching to her own intersectional feminist drumbeat, singing about her experience as a powerful black woman and serving as an unofficial pop music ambassador to the Black Lives Matter movement. From Beyoncé’s 2014 performance in front of a giant lit up FEMINIST sign, to her entrance on the red carpet of the 2016 VMAs with the “Mothers of the Movement”, it is impossible to miss that we now live in the era of the culturally aware “woke” popstar.

It is all but mandatory for pop singers in 2016 to have some kind of important social or political platform. Every major star that dominates the charts these days is using their song lyrics to send a message about body positivity or feminism or taking advantage of their strong social media following to promote their views of LGBT equality, criminal justice reform, or race relations. Many of them have used their own personal experiences to illustrate important issues and try to inspire their fans or spark social and political progress.

INGLEWOOD, CA – AUGUST 24: Honoree Beyonce performs onstage during the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum on August 24, 2014 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images)

It’s an exciting time for pop music. The mood of the pop world in 2016 invokes that of the 1960s when popular artists were harnessing their talents to speak out against the Vietnam War or voice their support for the Civil Rights Movement. Back then the general consensus was, if you don’t have a message, don’t bother making noise. That politically charged theme is coming back into fashion now.

This year also marks another Britney Spears comeback. She made her triumphant return to the VMA stage this year, the first time since that infamous disaster of a performance in 2007. Following nearly a decade of intense personal turmoil which culminated in her being placed under a legal conservatorship for her own safety, the old Brit is more-or-less back. Is that a good thing though?

An awful lot has changed in the world since the last time Britney was topping the charts, but it appears as though she and her music are stuck in the past. 34-year old Britney has not evolved significantly from 19-year old Britney, either in her song lyrics, public persona, or stage presence. She’s still the same body glitter-wearing Barbie doll, gyrating in her sparkly underwear and lip syncing to vapid songs perfectly engineered to make you dance.

NEW YORK, NY – AUGUST 28: Britney Spears performs onstage during the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards at Madison Square Garden on August 28, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images)

While it is fantastic to see her re-emerge into the spotlight looking happy and healthy after everything she’s been through, there isn’t really any other reason to be interested in her return to the pop world. Britney’s personal ups-and-downs would make for an inspirational story of battling mental illness and overcoming public humiliation and ridicule to prove to everyone that she’s unbreakable. Unfortunately, this empowering tale is not one that she wants to tell.

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Other stars like Demi Lovato have publicly battled their own demons and returned triumphantly into the spotlight. Lovato has been extremely vocal about her personal struggles since seeking treatment for substance abuse, self-harm, and an eating disorder in 2010. Lovato’s battle with her own emotional demons was highly publicized, but rather than retreating from the spotlight, she used her fame to her advantage. She has drawn from these personal experiences to act as a public advocate for body positivity and ending the stigma surrounding mental health issues. She may not be Beyoncé, but Demi Lovato has her own important message to spread.

Although the circumstances of Britney’s psychological struggles are murky, we do know that she remains under a strict conservatorship which controls her every decision. This probably keeps her from speaking publicly about her personal life. It may very well also be part of the reason she has remained completely apolitical. Britney Spears in 2016 stands for nothing. She is her name and her image and a library of breathy danceable sugar-coated songs.

Britney Spears is not outwardly a feminist and she doesn’t openly support any political causes or movements. She has never made any statements supporting LGBT equality or Black Lives Matter or equal pay for women, or anything else that matters. She doesn’t appear to be against any of these things, but rather lives in her own reality where these issues presumably do not exist.

Britney Spears (wearing David Dalrymple) performing on the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in new York City, 9/7/00. (Photo by Frank Micelotta/Getty Images)

The only controversy she has ever stirred was over the aggressively sexual image she portrayed in her younger days. For years she was at the center of the endless national debate over body image and what kind of message Hollywood sends to young girls about their bodies and sexuality.

Through all of that, she was only the vessel upon which everyone laid their opinions. She never had much to say about her role in our society. Britney was only her body. Her scandalous belly button, her shocking clothing choices, her provocative dance moves. There was no underlying feminist message in her image, only a record company capitalizing off of the male gaze.

Having a cause or a message never used to be a prerequisite for popstars. But we live in a much different world now, where we can no longer separate politics or social issues from the rest of our lives. It’s become the thing to do. Celebrities who do not speak out or stand for anything are seen as self-involved narcissists who don’t care about what’s going on in the world around them. It’s almost better to have a controversial or unpopular viewpoint than to have no viewpoint at all.

In the last couple of years we’ve seen a surge in celebrities with opinions. Rihanna spoke out against Indiana’s 2015 anti-LGBT law. She also teamed up with several other popular singers like Beyoncé, Pink, and Alicia Keys participated in a video to bring light to institutionalized racism in America. Miley Cyrus, who began her career as a squeaky-clean Disney starlet like Britney, is now known as a vocal supporter of LGBT rights, an advocate for homeless youth, and a proud vegan.

This is what we expect from a well-rounded star now. You can no longer simply be a good singer and dancer, but you must have personality and opinions of your own as well. Even Taylor Swift, a relatively (but not entirely) non-controversial figure, has been sure to identify herself as a feminist at the very least. Although her brand of feminism is a source of debate, at least she has a stance.

Where does Britney Spears fit into this scene? She has not evolved at all as a singer or a public figure. Her songs are the same now as they were a decade ago, nothing but empty calories and fluff. Her persona on the stage and off, remains bland and neutral. Her Instagram account reveals little about her as a person. She enjoys books and food and clothing and her children. She has zero personality, essentially.

A sample of Britney Spears’ rich inner life via Instagram

It’s hard to connect with a star that feels so carefully manufactured and maintained. When a celebrity goes out on a limb and takes a stance on some kind of issue, it makes them more relatable. Whether you agree or disagree with their opinion, you can see them as a person with their own thoughts. This can invoke intense feelings towards the star, either good or bad.

Ask anyone what they think of Rihanna or Miley and you’ll likely get a strong emotional response, “I hate her” or “I love her”. That response is often based not solely on the singer’s music but on their personal life. Plenty of people love Rihanna’s music but disagree with the things she says or the way she lives her life. Still others aren’t big fans of Beyoncé’s tunes but admire her as a powerful black feminist.

What is there to say about Britney Spears these days? Her new songs are catchy. Her VMA performance was uninspired. She still lip syncs. Her hair has grown back nicely. She looks good in a bathing suit. You either enjoy her infectious tunes or you don’t. Otherwise, you’re not dedicating much time to thinking about her as a person or a leader. It is hard to remain interested in a person who has no remarkable personality traits or ideological viewpoints for us to latch onto to make sense of her.

It’s a shame that Britney Spears never had a chance to evolve. The full extent of her personal problems is a mystery to the world, and it certainly isn’t her responsibility to share it with us. But until she is able to offer audiences anything more than mindless musical entertainment, until she proves to be a more complex person than she appears, she no longer has any relevance in this world of socially aware popstars. Today’s stars are complex and interesting. They make us think, they make us feel, they do more than just sing songs and look pretty.

Next: Meet Teyana Taylor, Star of Kanye West’s ‘Fade’ Video

Maybe it’s time for the world to let go of Britney and make room for stars who want to do more than turn us on and make us dance.

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