Throwback Thursday: Britney Spears is Getting an Icon Award Because She’s Been Crushing the Game for Decades
By Buckie Wells
The Radio Disney Music Awards will honor Britney Spears with the first ever Icon Award. Because, just in case you forget, she’s been a star for decades.
If you haven’t heard yet, news broke this week that Radio Disney was going to present Britney Spears with an Icon Award designed to honor celebrities who have impacted pop culture, and of course, have ties to Radio Disney Music. Spears will be the first recipient of the award, and to that, I say, duh. Because if you look at the past three decades of music and the voices who stands out, Britney Spears is right at the top. There are good musicians, and then, there are legends.
For some reason, people think you can debate the topic of Britney Spears. As if she’s not one of the top-selling female voices of all time.
Since its Thursday, let’s throw it back to 1998 when this happened. (Yes, I could throw it back to her Mickey Mouse Club days, too.):
“…Baby One More Time” was the moment everybody stopped what they were doing and took notice of Britney Spears. This video was destined to be parodied for the rest of time, but nobody has ever done it better than our OG, Britney.
Everything on that album is perfect. And everything she’s known for was founded on that album. She could’ve stopped after this:
Or this.
By the time 2002 came around, she was beyond famous. She was doing the thing with Justin Timberlake, everybody knew her name, her album was fire. But that wasn’t enough for Britney Spears. She ventured into movies (just because, not because she was destined to be an Oscar winner) and she followed up with Britney.
After this, you know the story. The following years became harder and darker for Britney Spears. But can you blame her? She became less of an artist and more of a commodity at a time when celebrity was becoming especially dangerous. Privacy wasn’t a thing anymore, the internet was coming to life, and Britney Spears was in the middle of it. In order to become the symbol of liberation that she wanted to be, she shaved her head and took back the power.
People wrote her off, said she wouldn’t come back, but let me ask you this: Does she need to? Every single song she released in the past decade is just extra music that she feels like she wants to make. But I don’t think there’s anything left to prove.
She has VMAs, Grammys, Billboard Music Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Kids’ Choice Awards, Teen Choice Awards … she won over 100 awards. She’s in the Guinness Book of World Records, what else is there?
Well, I guess there’s this:
Chris Crocker, everyone. Bless him.
But look, an Icon Award just goes on the shelf next to everything else she has. And make no mistake, she’s an icon. Who else can get an entire country to reschedule their primary elections for one of their shows?
Your fave could never.
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The Radio Disney Music Awards will give Britney Spears the award on Saturday, April 29.