If you like the Beatles, then Louisian-born teen-idol Britney Spears
is a milestone in popular music.
If you think the Beatles were the biggest rip-off of all times, then...
they were the second biggest. The biggest is Britney Spears, a trivial
singer and a trivial dancer dancer who has mastered the art of copying
the trends,
although a product on which the music industry has lavished millions
of dollars to create an overnight sensation.
And an overnight sensation she became when (barely 18) she debuted with
Baby One More Time, a catchy refrain propelled by martial hip-hop beats
(courtesy of Max Martin,
the same man behind the music of the Backstreet Boys).
The album Baby One More Time (Jive, 1999) will sell ten million copies
in just one year.
The production work was certainly state-of-the-art, but what "sold" was her
image of malicious (quasi-nymphomaniac) teenager and her throaty "oh baaaby".
She became the youngest artist ever to top the charts for both singles and
albums.
Teenagers around the world went nuts, the same way their grandfathers had
done when the Beatles first uttered "yeah yeah yeah".
The media scrutinized her private life and websites overflew with sexy photos
of Britney's tits and Britney's thighs.
Not having left much to uncover, Spears returned with an equally terrible
collection, Oops (Jive, 2000), that includes the new hit, the equally
catchy, romantic and danceable Oops I Did It Again.
But the fans remained faithful: this one sold "only" eight million copies
in one year.
Britney (2001) and In the Zone (2003)
mainly capitalized on her sexy persona (the
"grown up" version of Britney the poster girl).
Spears was slowly evolving towards a Madonna-lookalike
and soundalike.
Her behavior too changed dramatically: after promising to remain a virgin
until she got married, she married at 22 and then divorced a few days later.
Then she got married for real, gave birth to two children, and divorced again
after just three years.
Her escapades became much more popular than her music, whether posing half-naked
for a weekly magazine or being photographed with no underwear.
For millions of middle-class families, she became the poster girl of
everything that was wrong with the middle-class kids of her generation.
In 2007 she returned to live shows after a three-year hiatus, and she launched
a new hit, Gimme More, but she caused a furor when she appeared
(overweight, out of shape and unprepared) in a tight bikini at an MTV show.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da John Politico)
Se ti piacciono i Beatles,in questo caso la louisiana teen-idol Britney Spears e' una pietra miliare della musica
popolare.Se pensi che i Beatles fossero la piu grande fregatura di tutti i tempi,beh.....loro sono la seconda piu'
grande.La pi— grande e' Britney Spears,una cantante insignificante e una ballerina ancora piu' insignificante che
ha fatto sua l'arte di copiare le mode,cioe' la strategia sulla quale l'industria musicale ha prodigato millioni di
dollari per far colpo improvvisamente.E un colpo improvviso divento' quando (appena 18 anni) debutto' con il
singolo Baby One More Time,un orecchiabile ritornello sospinto da marziali ritmi hip-hop (per gentile
concessione di Max Martin,lo stesso uomo che sta dietro alla musica dei Backstreet Boys).L'album Baby
One More Time (Jive, 1999) riesce a vendere dieci millioni di copie in appena un anno.Il lavoro di produzione
era certamente all'avanguardia,ma quello che vendeva era la sua immagine di maliziosa(quasi
ninfomane)teenager e la sua gutturale "oh baaaby".
Britney Spears divento' l'artista piu' giovane che avesse mai scalato le charts sia per singolo sia per album.I
teenager in giro per il mondo erano pazzi di lei,la stessa cosa che i loro nonni avevano fatto quando i primi
Beatles urlavano a squarciagola "yeah yeah yeah". I media esaminarono minuziosamente la sua vita privata e i
websites straripavano con sexy-foto delle tette di Britney e le cosce di Britney.
Non avendo lasciato molto da scoprire,la Spears ritorno' con uguale terribile collezione, Oops (Jive, 2000), che
include la nuova hit,con la stessa orecchiabilita',romantismo e danzabilita' Oops I Did It Again.Ma i fans
rimangono delusi:questo album infatti vendette "solo" otto millioni di copie in un anno.
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