Blame the post-circus eras

[TheLightningThief]

So much tea in this thread. I hope Britney Team takes these numbers as a wake up call. 

As long as Britney is stuck in Vegas she will be seen as a has been by the GP. Launching a new era in the middle of a residency was one big mistake. They could've lined up more promo and rehearsed better performances but Britney had to drag her *** back to Vegas again. The more she stays there, the more her fan base will diminish.

Right now, Britney is seen as an uninteresting figure. Interviews are useless because she'll only talk about her kids and how she's so boring at home. No one is here for that. When asked about her music and creative process, she'll only say it was fun and cool. 

They need to step up their game and stop being cheap. Her current creative team only has worked with basic performers like Meghan Trainor and Salsa Gomez. This is Britney Spears, she shouldn't settle to their level. Her team needs to be ******* smart and stop doing things like releasing a mediocre song with the most hated rapper in America (pg), or booking her in a Karaoke show where she'll get dragged for not singing much, or overhyping a performance if they'll deliver a basic performance. It sucks that half the promo she did backfired and made the GPs attitude even more negative.

[Cookie Lyon]

5 hours ago, laurelhenessy said:

Sorry, Femme Fatale is a flawless album. It took her to the new decade. The promos sucked but Femme Fatale made her sound current. It spawned Hold It Against Me and the club-banger Till The World Ends, which is still being played until now.

If you wanna know the truth, VEGAS is the career-ender. A lot of people keep saying it helped her regain confidence and that she changed the face of Vegas but it did nothing for her career and relevance with the GP.

 

But the ff tour really damaged her reputation as a performer, that is why i wrote "FF tour"

[blue.monopoly]

That's great but while you're blamin' and complainin' are you streaming or nah? Cos that's what matters right now. 

You can stream while you **** on her team is my motto.

 

[BraveGraphics]

Dem essays in here were fun to read.

 

[adrenaliner]

5 hours ago, Spearsfan said:

It literally is the last thing holding on but she wouldn't be able to tour right now. 

if gwen can tour so can she

[CriminalLegend]

3 minutes ago, adrenaliner said:

if gwen can tour so can she

yeah in usa, not in europe... 

[SlayOut]

2 hours ago, Hypnotherapy said:

Circus was the start of it, in fact.

Circus sold well because of the comeback hype. The CD was averagely reviewed and dropped off quickly. The tour was praised for its production, but Brit herself was panned. She did basically no promo after the CD was released and her promo performaces in Europe (or at least the UK) faced some of the worst criticism she's ever had.

Femme Fatale actually had great chart numbers, but again the promo was criticised and Brit wasn't visible after the CD was released. The tour was praised a bit more than Circus, but there wasn't enough of a push from Britney to get a the GP more involved.

X-FActor was a hugely wasted opportunity. Brit didn't talk much let alone perform a single or push her stuff on TV. Again faced criticism for being distant and absent, especially compared to Demi who used the show as a platform.

BJ was the nail in the coffin as not only was the music weak, but there was zero promo and Brit hid away in Vegas. Her brand has changed and it works amazingly for her. She can easily fill the theatre and is performing really well. However, you can't expect the GP to buy into you as a current Top 10 artist if you're playing to crowds of 3000 6 weeks on and off and with no public performances for 4 years.

Over thae last year Britney has improved more than she has in a decade. Her body is incredible. Her performances have gotten better. She seems more comfortable on stage and off stage. She seems to have taken real care with the album and Glory is a great album, she's done a few good promo performances even, but this should have came years ago. People wanted Brit to succeed, but its taken almost a decade after her comeback to get to a consistent standard of music and performances. They should have taken a longer break after Blackout and came back fully prepared and happy.

At this stage it's Brit's nostalgia and star power that she is known for, not for her skills or talents.

And maybe that's how it just has to be for her. Judging by Ellen and Carpool, she is not comfortable on TV. The 'it's unfair she followed Beyonce' comments are insulting. She's Britney ******* Spears, Beyonce OPENED for her once upon a time. Brit is her contemporary, and should be expected to put on as good a show as she does. However, if she can't then we have to accecpt she's not going to enjoy HUGE commercial success from the GP. Let's be honest, Brit hasn't had a performance on tour or TV since 2004 that could 'shut down' an awards show. BBMAs was great and sets the bar for Britney going forward I think. VMAs was good, and she should certainly aim to not fall under that standard.

Britney is such a weird artist in many ways. She purposefully shuts off her audience. She doesn't sing a word live. Every. Single. Song. is about *** pretty much. She doesn't know what her songs mean, who writes them etc, she's just putting out fun music. And that's great. But in today's world people buy into an artist who connects with them, invites them in, releases meme-able music and interviews and portraits this obtainable celebrity lifestyle. Live vocals are more prevalent than they have been in years. Even basic pop stars are trying to put meaning into songs and talking about mental health, politics etc and giving their stuff SOME meaning. There's no denying that no other popstar is judged on how 'happy and healthy' they are. And we know why Brit's an exception here.

Britney's fanbase grew up with her, but her career hasn't grown in so long. You can't expect the millions of fans who loved her at 16 to still want to listen to the same sort of song a decade or two later really. 

And that's fine. Britney's most important priority is being happy and healthy and her family. And I'm always going to be a fan of that, we should just stop worrying about charts and GP's opinion on her because she's not changing so let's just hope for the best Britney she can be.

LOL I'm not even 100% sure how much sense I made there...

 

 

This. You made perfect sense. It's "harsh" but also so real and more fans need to hear this. Because some fans are operating in a different reality, where they think Britney's name/nostalgia/star power are enough or can propel her forward. Then they bash people who (like you) realistically show what's happening for what's being real. So thank you for taking the time to be real and not delusional! It's freshening to see that other people feel similarly AND still love Britney. Criticism and love aren't opposites of each other all the time, like some delusional fans think.

[Sparks]

5 hours ago, laurelhenessy said:

Sorry, Femme Fatale is a flawless album. It took her to the new decade. The promos sucked but Femme Fatale made her sound current. It spawned Hold It Against Me and the club-banger Till The World Ends, which is still being played until now.

If you wanna know the truth, VEGAS is the career-ender. A lot of people keep saying it helped her regain confidence and that she changed the face of Vegas but it did nothing for her career and relevance with the GP.

 

this tbh

[laurelhenessy]

16 minutes ago, Cookie Lyon said:

But the ff tour really damaged her reputation as a performer, that is why i wrote "FF tour"

I don't disagree that the FF tour was bad, but I kinda disagreed with your original post saying "Everything that went wrong after Circus..." The rest of that comment was a general reaction to people thinking her decline started with Femme Fatale, because I honestly don't think so.

Anyway, to a broader point, not just as a response to you, but my thoughts on everything else - 2011 is supposed to be a great year. Hold It Against Me debuted at #1, Femme Fatale debuted at #1, TTWE peaked at #3 and IWG peaked at #9. Personally, I would have opted for her to release "Trouble For Me" as the 4th single with Inside Out or How I Roll as the 5th single to close the era. ******* fans however voted for "Criminal" because they think it's intriguing and what-not. Pile of ****, really. Criminal killed an era when we could have had 5 single releases.

In 2011, she had radio hits. HIAM, TTWE, and IWG all performed well on radio, even though HIAM got dropped due to Born This Way and Gaga's new era. Still, Britney was competitive. She's relevant. She's current. People were actually excited. Her videos, despite lack of dancing, were doing well and pushing her career forward. Let's not forget how excited people were with HIAM - especially since in the era of Katy vs. Gaga, the more visual, the better. HIAM was a visual feast, if you ignore the product placements. Even IWG made people excited.

She won the Vanguard award, and would have gotten the Millennium Award at the BBMAs if she wanted. It was a great era overall, even though we all got awkwardney and stiffney.

Femme Fatale Tour underperformed because of ticket prices, and her promo appearances didn't help break the 'awkward' and 'stiff' narrative. Heck, almost EVERY ARTIST in that era had to reduce ticket prices just to sell venues. But she still commands a strong following that time. I personally know a lot of people who got converted as stans during the Femme Fatale era, mostly due to the music. 

Femme Fatale era brought her forward. The will.i.am era signaled her decline. I'm saying will.i.am era because that includes X-Factor, Scream and Shout, and the infamous Britney Jean. 

For Britney Jean - lack of promo was a huge miscalculation, not to mention the fact that she didn't even perform ANY of the songs on the album. I am not buying the idea that she didn't perform because she's preparing for Vegas. In my opinion, that's exactly the best time to perform - because she's preparing for Vegas. Work *****'s choreo was finished in AUGUST. Or if she's not comfortable, she didn't need to dance her *** off on all TV appearances. She just needed to sit down, grab a mic, and sing PERFUME live. She doesn't need to hit the high notes. Even her performances of Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know, I'm Not A Girl Not Yet A Woman, and Everytime aren't perfect. 

The reason for lack of promo - LAZINESS. That's it, really. Scream and Shout became a huge hit even though the only friggin promo she did was premiere a short snippet of the video on X-Factor and that's it. Nothing. She didn't even friggin perform the song live. She already has that platform and she decided not to. If she's really hardworking, she could have spared a few minutes of her time to do something. 

I'm really not excusing the lack of promo because of anxiety whatever because her post-breakdown performances during the Circus era were fine. She didn't move much, but at least she looks appealing enough to merit people actually buying tickets to watch the Circus tour. If she really had that much anxiety, it would have manifested post-breakdown, not 3 or 4 years later. How are we excusing this? We shouldn't. Overall, this all could have been managed efficiently and effectively by a competent team. Look at Beyonce's team - Beyonce isn't appearing on talk shows, or even making promotional appearances on daytime or variety shows, but she's a credible (although guarded) performer. But her team is able to handle that kind of limitation easily. 

And look, she can't even friggin do lipsynching well. MY GOODNESS. How hard could lipsynching be if it's your own voice, and you just need to listen to that friggin song on loop while you're at home or something. That kind of amateurish mistake is not something that ITZney will do. 

She's just not it in anymore. She can come up with good music, sure, but let's not pretend that she's relevant. She isn't, and that's the saddest part of all this. She can be relevant again, but she needs to earn it. No amount of excusing, bitching, or half-assing would change that.

[Shadow.]

Tea is spilling all over this thread tbh. and I agree with it all

[adrenaliner]

20 minutes ago, CriminalLegend said:

yeah in usa, not in europe... 

I knew someone would say that. But I am sure Britney would still be able to tour worldwide. I mean Mariah Carey can

[Prince Ali]

The tea in this thread is boiling!

[BOBIBCFBG]

People don't care about Glory for two reasons:

1) Make Me... is not a good first single choice

2) She didn't promote it enough

[Prince Ali]

5 hours ago, justkeepdoingit said:

britney seems happy, she looks the best she has in a decade, her new music is amazing...

but so much went wrong this era.

scrapping the first high budget video, releasing a horrible low-budget version instead... the mexico leak (which cost her MILLIONS of streams and a lot of sales), the carpool-controversy, the vma performance (incl. horrible lipsyncing)... the underwhelming today show-performances, only a handful promo appearances (which was a HUGE step up, but still nothing compared to other artists' schedules), no magazine covers prior to the release (V mag was in ******* spring), her ellen appearance now...

idk, the overall era feels messy af. and it hurts so much bc i ******* LOVE the album.

i also feel like people are over the lipsyncing. BIG ******* time.  

i don't even wanna imagine how the UK is going to grill her after the apple music festival. 

The problem is that back in the day she was basically the only pop act out there so she could slay those performances with epic choreos and lipsyncing was kinda justified... But now? Every girl in pop SINGS live! I'm not even talking about big names but girls like pia mia, tinashe, bonnie mckee ffs  her supports on tour were singing live: destinee & paris, pussycta dolls, cascada in Germany...

she literally is now THE ONE AND ONLY who lipsynces all the time... And that's what pushes people off... With internet and getting everything immediately people no longer waste their time on sloppy performances...

sadly, but she needs to start singin live or she and her brand will be dragged harder and harder..

Im actually worried about Apple Music now

 

[Allmylife]

22 minutes ago, BOBIBCFBG said:

People don't care about Glory for two reasons:

1) Make Me... is not a good first single choice

2) She didn't promote it enough

It's a lot more than that. Britney needs to make her image more current and stop lipsyncing so obviously. 2016 audience has much different demands of her than people who were much easier on her back in 2008-2011

[Hypnotherapy]

54 minutes ago, SlayOut said:

This. You made perfect sense. It's "harsh" but also so real and more fans need to hear this. Because some fans are operating in a different reality, where they think Britney's name/nostalgia/star power are enough or can propel her forward. Then they bash people who (like you) realistically show what's happening for what's being real. So thank you for taking the time to be real and not delusional! It's freshening to see that other people feel similarly AND still love Britney. Criticism and love aren't opposites of each other all the time, like some delusional fans think.

Thanks!

And I love Brit, I only became a fan during Circus and FFT was the first time I saw her and I loved it and te CD.

But it's different for me as fan who is invested in her narrative to the public who isn't fully aware of everything.

We have to accept Britney is transitioning from being a Rihanna or Beyoncé to a Mariah/Christine type act sales wise (though still wayyyy beyond Christina of course in terms of fan base and success, but you know what I mean)

And I think there's no harm in having higher standards for Britney, she's an icon, she should push herself and challenge herself. However if she's happy to be a Vegas act and mother then we have to accept that and adjust expectations. And to reiterate: Britney in the last year has been the best Britney career and personal wise since 2004.

[PRIVATE.SHOW]

So here's my essay/mini meltdown:

It pissess me off so much how we can never have a perfect era - Blackout, well, you know. Circus had few promo performances and Radar as a single. Plus, she didn't give her best at the tour and was dragged a lot in the media. FF was good for the GP (I was part of it back then and she was everywhere in my country) but looking back at it now Britney looked.. bad, during the tour. She sounds lifeless in the songs. I'm not even gonna talk about the HIAM and TTWE videos and the promotional performances. BJ was basically an album for the fans, but fans would want Britney to sing on her own album, and promote it. I still can't believe Britney would be okay with offering us an album she barely sang in. The era was a ******* disaster from beginning to end. Glory.... We don't know how things might turn out yet but it's beginning to look kinda hopeless. First, the underwhelming VMA performance. They raised our expectations a lot and then delivered ****. The MM video fiasco which is the main reason this era is like that now. 0 excitement. She's stuck in that shitty Vegas theatre and can't show the world how amazing Glory is. Look at Beyonce. She manages to keep her life extremely private but still delivers a world tour, 12 ******* videos and great performances for her fans. Honestly, I'm so jealous of her stans 

My idea is, if they don't get their **** together very soon, I don't think the fans will stick around for a very long time. I, myself, am getting very tired of being treated like sheep and just everyone expecting me to put up with whatever crap Brit or her team offers me. I know she's a mom and I get it but will this excuse be used 10 years from now when her sons have grown up? And since I spend as much money on Britney stuff as I can, I should receive something in return - a good video for example, a thing she hasn't had since 3 was released (yes, I didn't like WB). Or a performance near me where I can afford to see her..

[laurelhenessy]

27 minutes ago, BOBIBCFBG said:

People don't care about Glory for two reasons:

1) Make Me... is not a good first single choice

2) She didn't promote it enough

You have to recognize the logic behind the choice of "Make Me" as a first single.

 

Work ***** was the first single during the BJ era - didn't even make it into the Top 10. It flopped on the radio because at that time, most critics comment that it's not radio-friendly.

Pretty Girls flopped big time. 

 

A lot of people have been complaining for quite some time that Britney should do something mid-tempo, or something slower and not necessarily a club-banger. The label (and hopefully Britney) decided to give us "Make Me" which is far from any lead single that she has released since 2003. BOMT, OIDIA, and I'm A Slave 4 U are technically 'slower' and 'milder' when you compare to MATM, Gimme More, Womanizer, Hold It Against Me, and Work *****. They were obviously angling for something different, something radio-friendly. 

Regarding promoting it, I know a lot of people will not agree but the VIDEO really made all the difference in the world. It killed any enthusiasm for the song. I remember when Make Me was released in August, a lot of people were excited for the different sound, etc. When some snippets from the video began to leak, a lot of people were excited, some were kinda hesitant due to some of the more vulgar scenes, but overall, it definitely looked and felt different. No amount of promo will compensate for the fact that the video fiasco killed any momentum heading into the era. These disgruntled fans are the ones who are ideally going to push the song since the GP doesn't really care.

That's the thing that Britney and her team needs to understand. THERE IS NO ONE LEFT EXCEPT THE DIE-HARD FANS. If they need the GP to care again, it would be the die-hard fans who would push for it. Like Radio - the GP will suddenly not go online and request on Mediabase or something just because she has a new release. The die-hard fans will do the work, request, and tweet whatever. Despite all of that though, they keep pissing the die-hard fans ALL THE TIME. It's as if you continuously undergo some stan initiation or something. 

I've said this using my old nickname here, and I'll say it again. Britney is losing fans every era due to idiotic and pathetic decisions. A lot of these could have been handled effectively but her team is so incompetent that whenever momentum builds up, they do something that kills it immediately.

The second single better be handled carefully and effectively. If not, this promising era was ruined by an idiotic decision to kill any enthusiasm and release a rather shallow music video. I'm sorry Britney. The Make Me video you decided to release wasn't fun at all. It was pathetic. If you released that back in 2002, it would have been cute, but it's 2016. You don't need to be making videos that audition guys for a sextape or something.

[brit4u1998]

4 hours ago, nels64 said:

I mean maybe that was the point all along? The people around her didnt want her to get better so that they can continue the conservatorship. 

Femme Fatale is the whole reason the conservatorship continued most likely. I mean her ******* "fiance" became her conservator. That's ****** up ****. 

I think Britney is just playing along until she finds a good way out. 

She's settling her lawsuits. She's distancing herself from Jamie and having Brian "take care" of her more often. She's definitely trying to get better and trying to be free. But she also has two boys to worry about. If she started a **** storm right after circus, she wouldnt have been able to see her kids. 

She's overprotected and it's not because she's fragile, it's because the people around her want to control her. But it'/ no longer working. The Spears brand is sonewhat fading and maybe that's her plan. 

Make her conservators stop being interested in making money off of her. Then she can get out. 

I know I sound like a conspiracy theorist and a looney. But there is no reason she should be in a conservatorship for this long. She was no where near as erratic and ****** up as say Amanda Bynes which hmm you guessed it...is still acting erratically and is NOT under a conservatorship. 

Conservatorships are temporary when used in Britney's case OR for SEVERELY inept people. Like people with alzheimer's or dementia who literally dont know where or who they are. 

Not even people with schizophrenia or severe bipolar disorder are put under conservatorships most of the time. 

She was an ablebodied ableminded person before the breakdown. She had a tough time. She was burnt the **** out. Even if she did have a mental disorder. There is nothing severe enough she could possibly have to have her under conservatorship for almost 10 years. 

The whole situation is ****** up and designed to protect and make money. 

I'm going to sound like a ****, but I don't trust her parents. 

[Catalin]

I hope you all stream while writing these essays.