What was the general public, fans, media's reaction to Womanizer and her comeback to ''classic'' Britney?

[No Seas Cortes]

Some time ago, I made a thread about reactions to Gimme More. Now it's Womanizer's turn but this thread isn't only about the song but also about her ''comeback'' to the classic Britney. It's honestly shocking when you compare 2007 and 2008. She went so fast from her ''naughty days'' to this perfect pop star she used to be. They changed her hair to blonde, she was releasing a hit after hit, her music videos were ''extra'' again, she started performing again, acting etc. and she was good in it and it looked really good, she looked amazing. And the album and the tour. The ''Circus'' theme... Like can you think of something more ''colorful'' and fun? They tried to save her image and convince everyone that everything was amazing so bad

But I'm pretty sure that a lot of you were excited as hell that the ''early 2000s'' Britney was back  You got Gimme More, Piece of Me, Break The Ice, Blackout album, Womanizer, Circus, If U Seek Amy, Circus album in such short time period omg. Probably a lot of you weren't aware of what was going on behind the scenes with the conservatorship  It honestly seems like a film when it comes to this ''perfect barbie doll'' pop star that behind the scenes is unhappy and totally doesn't have control over her life. 

What was the general public, fans, media's reaction to her comeback to ''classic'' Britney, new singles, album, tour etc? 

[BanMeBoop]

Womanizer slapped from the get go especially when we first heard it through a radio dj leaking a clip and getting suspended from his job    Iconic times 

[JP9101]

Lot of fans renewed their stan subscription 

 

i never left 

[rik]

It led the album and era, setting the tone for the tour. The album came out a few days before my 12th birthday and it introduced an entire generation to Britney at full force imo

[Mattbaritone25]

I remember it vividly. It was such a hype, really. Everyone just love it, and fans were really impressed. We said "the old Britney is back".

Then, the Circus Tour happened, and everyone was wondering about how simple the choreo were.

[Urbanney]

1 minute ago, Mattbaritone25 said:

Then, the Circus Tour happened, and everyone was wondering about how simple the choreo were.

“walkney”

”armography”

[Tar_isa]

Personally, as part of the general public back then, I thought this was an amazing song, it made me finally respect her and her music for good. And I think that was the general sentiment, at least among my friends (most of whom weren't fans and just knew the hits and the gossip)

I wasn't into popstars at all but how did she do it, bringing not just hits that played everywhere, but hits that even I thought were amazing songs? I remember my flatmate showing me the video, and I think that's when I realized how good she really was, doing that after what she'd been through. 

[everybodygoesdown]

GP was obsessed with the song. 

[PokemonSpears]

I think fans loved it

But when it comes to the GP, at least from MY experience, living outside the US, the people I knew, the comments I heard, etc, was that yeah, people liked it, but I started to see this disassociation in the sense that, for whatever reason, it's like people didn't really connect that this Britney was the same Britney that used to sing BOTM, Oops, Toxic, etc. I know it doesn't make sense, and I don't know about you, but for the longest time I found myself from Circus to BJ, explaining over and over that this was the same Britney, that Britney wasn't gone, that she was still making music, that she never really stopped making music, that no, she was not trapped in 2007 head-shaved and hitting cars with umbrellas, the most ironic of everything was people not knowing that she was the one in Scream & Shout, despite her literally saying "Britney *****". 

It was like the beginning of this blindness to everything Britney was doing from this moment on, and I still don't quite grasp how it happened or how it worked, but it was definitely a thing. For the positive and the negative alike. I mean, just think about it, FF era for example. All fans complained about how she looked and behaved etc. With how cruel the media was and everyone in general, don't you think more people would've made fun of her, like comedians and just like the internet in general, and I'm not talking about Twitter stans, but like, the actual GP, but it's like from the entirety of the conservatorship the GP was blind to anything that Britney was doing, good or bad. They may have HEARD the songs at most, but visually speaking it's like for the longest time they just kept thinking of Britney as this bald person hitting cars, so it was just unconceivable for them to connect that this current hit they were listening on the radio was that same Britney they remembered "ending her career" in 2007. 

Maybe in the US it wasn't the case, but despite the success she had with Circus and FF, it was definitely never the same as back in her early career. Maybe if she actually performed at the VMAs 2008, the impact would've been different. 

But anyways, that's one of the effects I notice since the conservatorship started. 

[Moscow]

People were obsessed. 

[handmedown]

33 minutes ago, PokemonSpears said:

They may have HEARD the songs at most, but visually speaking it's like for the longest time they just kept thinking of Britney as this bald person hitting cars, so it was just unconceivable for them to connect that this current hit they were listening on the radio was that same Britney they remembered "ending her career" in 2007. 

Nailed it, especially this part.  And it's been that way ever since.  

To the GP she is still the 'crazy' woman who shaved her head and pretty much all she's done ever since is say 'It's Britney *****' a lot (great point about most people not even releasing Britney Spears sings on Scream & Shout, to most it sounds like a song some DJ has remixed with no input from her).   If you're younger she's that 90s pop star who acts goofy on Instagram.  The #FreeBritney movement just added some sympathy into the equation.   Now instead of laughing at her people pity her.

I remember her performing Womanizer in 2008 on UK XFactor and all the coverage was about how Britney just wasn't there - the lights were on but no-one was home.  According to the newspaper coverage the next day, the dancing was robotic, the lip-syncing was cringe considering this was a singing show and when the host tried to interact with her afterwards it was like they were speaking two different languages.  The general public just weren't buying this 'comeback' at all and, I'd wager, most never did.

Just because the music did well doesn't mean Britney had been redeemed in the eyes of the GP.  After all, a catchy song is a catchy song and will always sell records.

Meanwhile us fans were desperately trying to convince ourselves everything was ok, I think we knew the truth all along...

[jordeezy river red]

"Womanizer", "Single Ladies", "Poker Face" were the late 2008 trinity 

[Oprah Winfrey.]

I was gp and vividly remember this song always playing on the radio, all the cool kids were singing it

[Oprah Winfrey.]

24 minutes ago, jordeezy said:

"Womanizer", "Single Ladies", "Poker Face" were the late 2008 trinity 

Omfg yes I remember this time period it was a magical time pop was at a peak it won’t ever reach again 

[Oprah Winfrey.]

1 hour ago, PokemonSpears said:

the actual GP, but it's like from the entirety of the conservatorship the GP was blind to anything that Britney was doing, good or bad. They may have HEARD the songs at most, but visually speaking it's like for the longest time they just kept thinking of Britney as this bald person hitting cars, so it was just unconceivable for them to connect that this current hit they were listening on the radio was that same Britney they remembered "ending her career" in 2007. 

Maybe in the US it wasn't the case, but despite the success she had with Circus and FF, it was definitely never the same as back in her early career. Maybe if she actually performed at the VMAs 2008, the impact would've been different. 

But anyways, that's one of the effects I notice since the conservatorship 

Team con tried really hard to change and CONTROL the narrative after they took over. They became friends with the media and Tmz. I believe we heard less about Britney to take attention away from everything legally going on with Britney. Journalists had A LOT of questions they wanted to ask Britney about and it wasn’t about the music. Rumors were swirling forever about the conservatorship but it still wasn’t well known.

no one was able to gain access to Britney the way they could a year ago, all the interviews and live speaking moment were heavily scripted

so I think the media just decided to stop talking about her since the drama was “gone”, tmz agreed to work with team con, Britney legally silenced.

[Tar_isa]

1 hour ago, PokemonSpears said:

I think fans loved it

But when it comes to the GP, at least from MY experience, living outside the US, the people I knew, the comments I heard, etc, was that yeah, people liked it, but I started to see this disassociation in the sense that, for whatever reason, it's like people didn't really connect that this Britney was the same Britney that used to sing BOTM, Oops, Toxic, etc. I know it doesn't make sense, and I don't know about you, but for the longest time I found myself from Circus to BJ, explaining over and over that this was the same Britney, that Britney wasn't gone, that she was still making music, that she never really stopped making music, that no, she was not trapped in 2007 head-shaved and hitting cars with umbrellas, the most ironic of everything was people not knowing that she was the one in Scream & Shout, despite her literally saying "Britney *****". 

It was like the beginning of this blindness to everything Britney was doing from this moment on, and I still don't quite grasp how it happened or how it worked, but it was definitely a thing. For the positive and the negative alike. I mean, just think about it, FF era for example. All fans complained about how she looked and behaved etc. With how cruel the media was and everyone in general, don't you think more people would've made fun of her, like comedians and just like the internet in general, and I'm not talking about Twitter stans, but like, the actual GP, but it's like from the entirety of the conservatorship the GP was blind to anything that Britney was doing, good or bad. They may have HEARD the songs at most, but visually speaking it's like for the longest time they just kept thinking of Britney as this bald person hitting cars, so it was just unconceivable for them to connect that this current hit they were listening on the radio was that same Britney they remembered "ending her career" in 2007. 

Maybe in the US it wasn't the case, but despite the success she had with Circus and FF, it was definitely never the same as back in her early career. Maybe if she actually performed at the VMAs 2008, the impact would've been different. 

But anyways, that's one of the effects I notice since the conservatorship started. 

I kind of agree with this (I'm also not from the US, nor the UK).  I think it's because even if we weren't fans, we grew up seeing her everywhere for so many years, first as a teen popstar and then as a party girl in gossip magazines, and then when the conservatorship started she was isolated and we stopped seeing her everywhere, so there was this feeling of her just not being around and when she came with a new hit we didn't have a fresh image of her, so we had a hard time associating her new music with a new image, because we still had the old image in our minds.

There was a feeling of feeling like she wasn't around anymore so some of us were actually surprised when we realized that song we liked so much was actually Britney's. I remember I loved Scream&Shout but didn't realize it was hers until I was in a pub where they played the video, then I said "oh ****, is this Britney's? where has she been??" And she had actually never left!!! 

[PokemonSpears]

1 hour ago, Tar_isa said:

I kind of agree with this (I'm also not from the US, nor the UK).  I think it's because even if we weren't fans, we grew up seeing her everywhere for so many years, first as a teen popstar and then as a party girl in gossip magazines, and then when the conservatorship started she was isolated and we stopped seeing her everywhere, so there was this feeling of her just not being around and when she came with a new hit we didn't have a fresh image of her, so we had a hard time associating her new music with a new image, because we still had the old image in our minds.

There was a feeling of feeling like she wasn't around anymore so some of us were actually surprised when we realized that song we liked so much was actually Britney's. I remember I loved Scream&Shout but didn't realize it was hers until I was in a pub where they played the video, then I said "oh ****, is this Britney's? where has she been??" And she had actually never left!!! 

Yeah, I mean, fans fans obviously did know what was going on with her latest releases etc, but now you had to actually look for the info about her.

For example, up until Circus, I missed a lot of the leaked stuff, or rumors about upcoming important dates, etc, because I was used to getting all the info related to Britney through TV shows, or magazines, etc, like, Britney was always a topic everywhere during her first four, even five albums, but not anymore.

It was precisely around the release of 3 I guess, that I only found out almost by accident, a few days after it had come out, and I was like wait, why did I not know about this earlier? And that's how I knew I had to start looking online for her news, because tv wasn't telling me anymore. By 2011, I had literally started googling her everyday just to check if there were any news (that's how I found Exhale). HIAM and TTWE videos were barely played on MTV (Latin America). Yes, they barely played videos anymore at this point, but they did have a block early in the morning, right before I went to school, when they would play the "hottest" videos, but these would never come up, so if I was just waiting for them to show me the latest Britney video, I would've never found out if I didn't look for them on the internet. Now, the opposite was for IWG which was played like no tomorrow, and Criminal which was a massive hit on VH1's Top 20, all the way into 2012.

 

 

[davidspears]

I seem to remember a snippet of the song leaking and it getting bad feedback so they took it back to the mixing studio.

[danielpierce]

I remember she came across very guarded and secretive like nobody could touch her.  I think everyone could feel the difference betwen ITZ to breakdown and then Circus. Something was just missing. Everybody was trying to figure out what mental health issues she might have. It was like she is here only to get the job done. The conservatorship very much effected the perception about her. She was like objectified as a product making machine you wouldnt see the fun, goofy or even rebellious scandalous Britney anymore, she stoped doing interviews and award shows. This was weird and left us confused because we were used to having something always happen in Britney world. She suddenly went from being a supestar to catering for her fans. The songs were hits tho and still to this day are the most iconic Britney songs with the GP everyone knows Womanizer, If U Seek Amy. 

[britneyqueenn]

5 hours ago, Mattbaritone25 said:

I remember it vividly. It was such a hype, really. Everyone just love it, and fans were really impressed. We said "the old Britney is back".

Then, the Circus Tour happened, and everyone was wondering about how simple the choreo were.

Simple choreo is not always a bad thing..for example on Vmas 2000 the choreo was simple.. basically Britney just did arm movements for the whole second verse + chorus of oops I did it again on vmas 2000..sometimes is not about the choreo but it's about the execution-the charisma-the stage presence- the energy and the rhythm.. Circusney still had all of that.. Britney lost some of these things during femme fatale era unfortunately...