Would Britney Have Ended Up like Katy Perry if She Never Had a Breakdown?

[Agyness]

1 hour ago, OutofKontrol said:

No. Britney success would have continued. When Britney divorced kevin, everyone was back on britneys side & couldn't wait until she released new music. Also, ITZcould have sold more. ITZ started to decline when Britney canceled the tour & stopped promoting. 

 

Britney still had selling power. Her greatest hits album kinda proved that. It sold really well considering the promotion was minimal. 

i agree

[Wendy Williams]

2 hours ago, Agyness said:

wtf  is this thread

Yep, this is really stupid comparsion.

I'd like see her more like Taylor Swift - less performances, just writing and releasing music, living normal life, but just more in touch with fans.

[Freakshow__]

On 1/31/2022 at 2:34 AM, danny1994 said:

I don't know. I guess what this question comes down to is would Blackout and Gimme More have had commercial success without her breakdown? I think yes.

 

But I think it's a fair question, Do Somethin and My Prerogative weren't big hits (I know they had some success in the UK)

In the US. WW they were BIG. Specially MP. 

[agustinmalandra]

The next debbie 

 

 

[Donavan Ward]

On 1/31/2022 at 3:20 AM, Avenger said:

Okay what Britney did before 2007 : 

1. Best selling debut album by any act - Whitney who? 

2. 48M album sold before turning 20 - Katy when? 

3. MJ called her to perform, Katy? 

4. Janet Jackson gave her a standing ovation when Britney performed. 

5. Performed with Aerosmith in Super Bowl 

6. Performed with Madonna 

7. Have 4 pop funkos to her name - Katy when? Most for any pop star. 

8. Iconic VMAs - Katy when? 

9. GH : MP released after 4 albums - does katy have one? 

Britney was already seeing a legendary status, the comparison with Katy is awful. 

Apart from this, Britney not only impacted pop but also impacted fashion culture, media, people wanted to look like her be like her Britney dominated her days like nobody and not to mention she became a global pop star. 

Not even MJ or Madonna has these many iconic performances like Britney no shade to them but Britney was her own league back then - in my belief if conservatorship never happened Britney would've evolved and maybe gave us something like Ray of light etc etc I think she was already was shifting from dance pop and wanted to grow more and more so legendary status would've come either way but yes her story also gives her a lot of benefit to this status too. 

Leave Whitney out of it she’s more iconic then u

[agustinmalandra]

1 hour ago, Freakshow__ said:

In the US. WW they were BIG. Specially MP. 

exactly, MP in Latin America was a hit. And also they didn't get any promotion compared with previous singles

[Donavan Ward]

Lol as a fan from day one I will say this as this is how it felt experiencing it. She would’ve been BIGGER without the breakdown. She is still that ***** either way but she would’ve been the biggest sellin female artist probably ever. After itz she took like 4 years off and ppl were tired of her in the news and wanted her back doin wat she did best. When she appeared on letterman she had so much coverage and hype for just sayin hi. Ppl were happy she was lookin good and on her side after finally leaving Kevin. Had she kept the image from there then dropped the gem that is blackout. She would’ve gotten the respect that album deserved and would’ve been wayyyy bigger especially considering there would be no meds to **** with her dancing or lack of confidence from vmas 2007. It took 10 years for her to get back on that stage 

[Moscow]

3 hours ago, Donavan Ward said:

Leave Whitney out of it she’s more iconic then u

I just stating facts, I wasn't shading Whitney 😒

[S jones]

On 1/30/2022 at 11:43 PM, la_land said:

She was bigger than any of those combined. Her biggest hit ever actually came from her 4th studio album: Toxic.

Every artist popularity drops over time. 

We don't know what could have happened. 

Agree! Britney 5th album was Blackout. She would be more powerful I guess 

 

we would have blackout 2.0 by now

[Wendy Williams]

On 1/31/2022 at 9:20 AM, Avenger said:

1. Best selling debut album by any act - Whitney who? 

 

I wish Whitney could pull an umbrella out at you.

[Sia]

On 1/30/2022 at 10:33 PM, HisNameisChase said:

There is no denying Britney's breakdown propelled her into legendary status and gave her a new layer of mystery no other pop star -- arguably other than Michael Jackson -- has achieved. Even though it is terrible what she went through, it was suddenly cool to like and appreciate Britney as both a person and artist. People started appreciating her work and artistry when prior to the breakdown she was, in some ways, the underdog.

However, if 2007 never happened, would her career be like Katy Perry's?

Britney was once deemed in the early 2000s as possibly the next Debbie Gibson. Britney always had more talent and a fascinating aura about her and her natural charisma helped her in more ways than one.

Britney's popularity was declining with each album release after Oops, so would she have ended up as a flop and burning out how we see most popstars like Debbie Gibson and today's Katy Perry, or would she have been able to reinvent herself like Madonna in some shape or form? Maybe a similar career to Christina's, if slightly more popular but still not talked or cared about other than a nostalgia act?

I know this topic has been explored before in terms of what-if, but in this particular context, how would things have unfolded career wise?

I don't think it's shade towards Britney and those who see it that way are too caught up in this magical land where Britney is the queen of everything that they can't see there is more to the entertainment industry than just Britney.

We like to think of Britney today as this icon (which she is), but the reality is that much of that status has been a product of the controversy that's kept her in the spotlight.

For younger fans, it may not seem as obvious but following her peak around the Oops!/Britney era, Britney was seen as a guilty pleasure. Britney was not necessarily taken very seriously as an artist and while she was still successful, it paled in comparison to her popularity from 1999-2001. Due to issues with promotional contracts, she was often backlisted from radio so many of her songs didn't get radio play which means her songs didn't chart well. Her popularity was really just measured from album sales and touring which were both starting to slow down. Add to that her "antics" from 2004-2007, it was really assumed that her career was over.

Blackout was clearly a pivoting moment for her but you could argue that the reason people even paid attention to the album was because people were more interested in the controversy and the public was more curious to see if the girl they had labeled a train wreck was capable of putting out good music. 

After 2007, we could say that the only reason she kept going was because the conservatorship put her in a position where she had to keep working. Had she not have been in a conservatorship, I honestly don't think Britney wouldn't kept with music the way she has the past 13-15 years. You have to remember, she fired her manager before Blackout, she wasn't represented well and had to partially fund Blackout herself (which is why she's an executive producer on it) so clearly, Britney was not getting support from her label either.

Would Britney have had the wherewithal to keep going on her own? Who knows...

Personally, I do think her career would've taken a direction similar to Katy Perry's or perhaps someone like JLo who would just have sleeper hits here and there.

I think you bring up a good question and again if people only see it as shade then they are truly very unaware of the circumstances leading up to 2007.

[Cancer]

Britney had youth, charisma and talent on a massive scale, comparable to Michael Jackson. Also an elusive charm that attracts manic levels of attention.

Katy Perry was a faux-lesbian pop rock chick of the moment who was commercialised well for a few years.

BIG difference!

[BrittonJeanSpears]

I don't think Katy is forgotten or washed-up. She's not a top pop girl like she used to be, but her fans are still just as devoted to her as we are to Britney. Her main issue isn't a lack of talent, it's that she's not picking the right music. "Smile" was a cute album, though.

And to answer the main question, no. Britney wouldn't have ended up like Katy is right now. Look at all of her albums. Aside from Blackout (last-minute rule change), Britney Jean (bad quality) and Glory (lack of promotion in arguably her most inactive career period), all of her albums have debuted at number one.

She still has selling power, and lots of it. I mean, look at the current success of HMC.

[Buffie]

I don't know about Katy but I think the breakdown gave her a new light, almost godly.. she is like a new @The JayTawndre Show now... 

such a legend 

 

[Lisa88007]

Better question would be, if it weren’t for the conservatorship, would Britney be as relevant as Beyoncé or more? IMO Britney and Beyoncé were the only two from that era that had potential to reach Madonna MJ levels. 

[Wendy Williams]

Spoiler

@Slayer just saw how old is this thread

 

[Wendy Williams]

1 minute ago, Lisa88007 said:

Better question would be, if it weren’t for the conservatorship, would Britney be as relevant as Beyoncé or more? IMO Britney and Beyoncé were the only two from that era that had potential to reach Madonna MJ levels. 

Beyonka who? I heard about her for the last time around Single Daddies song 

[stanLOONA]

I don't think so, there is really like an obsession with Britney

I do think that if the c didn't happen, she would have retired early already 

[Mr. AmericanDream]

Absolutely not. She would have been sitting comfortably and exclusively as Beyonce truth be told. I do think Britney would have taken more time away from the spotlight and maybe wouldn't have been AS consistent as Bey has been but def would have maintained that equivalent icon level 

[Donavan Ward]

4 hours ago, Avenger said:

I just stating facts, I wasn't shading Whitney 😒

Comparing a lip synch queen to the greatest voice of all time is shade