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Tag: Britney Spears (61-70 of 150)

Nov 6 2008 05:24 PM ET

Madonna + Britney + Justin = Sadness

Tags: Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Musics, Strange Bedfellows

Madonnabritneyjustin_l I am decidedly depressed by the news that Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears are both slated to appear during tonight’s Los Angeles stop on Madonna’s "Sticky & Sweet" tour.

I know, I know…back in March, I blogged about how, for the first time in Madge’s career, I was unexcited about one of her album releases. After all, Madonna’s always been at her best when she’s latched on to a slightly underground trend, co-opted it as her own, and foisted it onto an unsuspecting mainstream audience (think: vogueing, electronica, Mirwais). Madonna’s sudden reliance on Timberlake, Timbaland, and Kanye West to make 2008′s Hard Candy a sales success was tantamount to her nervously carrying her lunch tray into the pop-culture cafeteria and trying to score a seat with the cool kids when, really, she should’ve been sitting down at an empty table and confidently forming her own damn posse. And sure enough, seven months after its release, Hard Candy is barely on my radar, except for those occasions when the admittedly excellent "Beat Goes On" pops up on my cardio playlist.

Which makes tonight’s recruitment of Spears even more distressing. Madonna and Britney’s previous collaborations — the faux-lesbian smooch on MTV, the abhorrent "Me Against the Music" — did little to boost either singer’s fortunes. And (hello!) why would you think that fans shelling out hundreds of bucks for a ticket would be excited to have a notorious lip-syncher added to the bill?

What think you, PopWatchers? Am I crazy for expecting Madge to still be setting trends at this stage of her career? And if she really has reached the "follow the leader" stage of her career, could it be time for her to (blasphemy alert) follow Celine Dion and Cher’s leads, and get herself a residency in Vegas? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!

More on Madonna:
Is anyone else unexpectedly unexcited about the new Madonna CD?
EW.com’s "All About Madonna" page
Madonna’s politically charged tour video: Is it any good?
Music Review: Madonna’s ‘Hard Candy’
Madonna’s 10 Most Underrated Songs

Oct 10 2008 05:08 PM ET

'Britney: For the Record': Will you watch?

by Mandi Bierly

Tags: Britney Spears, Musics, Television, To Care or Not to Care, Television, To Care or Not to Care

On Nov. 30, MTV will air the 90-minute documentary Britney: For the Record (watch the trailer below), in which Britney Spears gets to tell her side of the story — the story being "What the hell was I thinkin’?" and, of course, the recording of her new album, Circus, due out Dec. 2, on her 27th birthday. Cameras followed Spears for three months with the purpose of capturing what it’s like for her to try to live a normal life. I know Spears asks herself that "What the hell was I thinkin’?" question, but I’m skeptical that we’ll get an answer out of her. Still, I’ll watch. Will you?P.S. Can you believe her video for "Womanizer" is premiering on 20/20 tonight?

Celebrity News

More on Britney Spears:
"Womanizer": J’adore or J’loathe?
I Read It So You Don’t Have To: Lynne Spears’ memoir
20 Fall Albums We Can’t Wait to Hear (including Spears’)
Britney: Down for the Count? (The 2007 EW cover story)

Oct 1 2008 02:43 PM ET

I Read It So You Don't Have To: Lynne Spears' memoir

by Adrienne Day

Tags: Book, Britney Spears, Hell to the No!, I Saw It, So You Don't Have To!, Musics, Things That Make Me Die Inside

Throughthestorm_l To quote an old editor here, upon his describing some truly awful work of art: "I wouldn’t have watched that with your eyes." Well, PopWatchers, that’s how I felt about reading Lynne Spears’ new book, Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World.

This book’s subtitle implies that it is a tell-all, and it’s anything but: Anyone who’s conversant with Wikipedia can learn as much or more about the beleaguered pop star, true or no. In Through the Storm, Lynne tells us a good deal about her non-famous relatives — her beloved sister Sandra, her British mother Lillian, and Lynne’s husband/Britney’s father, Jamie (described by Lynne as an alcoholic who drags a would-be happy Southern family down the road to dysfunction). But for the most part, the book serves as Lynne’s defense brief — how it was Britney who chose this life for herself, and how Lynne was only trying to be a supportive mom and do the right thing.

After the jump, photographic proof that I not only read every word of the book — all 30 chapters of it — underlining choice graphs and carefully annotated important passages (NB: "barf," pictured, pg 193). To make it even easier on you, I’ve painstakingly pulled quotes that illustrate what the chapter is about (or just strike me as, y’know, ridiculous). I’m running it in two parts, so come back tomorrow to see how it all turns out. Though chances are you know this already.

READ FULL STORY »

Sep 26 2008 01:36 PM ET

Britney Spears' 'Womanizer': J'adore or j'loathe?

by Mandi Bierly

Tags: Britney Spears, Musics, PopWatch Dance Party, Snap Judgment

Britney Spears’ new single, "Womanizer," officially* debuted this morning on NYC’s Z100. Listen below.

Slezak’s gut IM reaction: "J’loathed.** I feel like it was created in a lab in 20 minutes. A Swedish lab. ‘Is sounding like hit, yes?’ And then she sips her frap and shrugs and lays down the track and goes back home. ‘Toxic’ was the last song of hers that felt exciting to me."My take: It starts off a bit Katy Perry, then ends all Pussycat Dolls (and I totally miss "Toxic" Britney, too!). That said, when I listened a second time, I was singing along to "Boy don’t try to front, I-I know just-just know what you are are-are" and trying to pretend that I didn’t hear-hear her say something about a lollipop and a sucker. I won’t buy the single, but I also won’t change the station if I happen to hear it.Your turn.

* We thought it better not to pass judgment on those grainy "Womanizer" snippets leaked on the internet last week.
** You know he feels strongly when he speaks pseudo-French. See also: Le gasp!

Can Britney's good-ish fortune continue?

by Annie Barrett

Tags: Britney Spears, Musics

Fresh off a hot streak of not being a huge disaster for a few weeks, Britney’s decided to release her upcoming album, Circus. We might have gone with Frappe, Blackhole, or I Had the Most Unbeweavable Year, but Circus really is quite apt. It’ll come out on Britney’s 27th birthday, December 2, which seems a little early, as her last effort dropped only last fall. Blackout sold almost 900K copies, nowhere near the haul of Brit’s previous megamillion sellers. (Ugh, I hate when horrible people like me point that out. I’m always like — in the voice of Ms. J — "Girllllll, I’ll TAKE the toy car load of royalty money from one of those "less successful" albums if you don’t want it! Betch.)

Anyway, give us your fall music forecast in the poll below!

Sep 5 2008 09:40 PM ET

Is Britney practicing for Sunday's MTV Video Music Awards or working off her latest frappe?

by Annie Barrett

Tags: Britney Spears, Horror, PopWatch Dance Party, Television, Television

Only time and repeat viewings (not recommended) will tell:

So, this looks somewhat promising…in that she bothered to show up for rehearsal. To be honest, I care less about what our newly toned chicken nugget’s going to do than about how many random SAT words VMA host and vocabulary expert Russell Brand will throw out to a confused audience members. Fatuous. Histrionic. Inscrutable. Viscous. They could all apply! Intemperate. Okay, maybe not.

If you’re game, shake that ass back here on Sunday (9/8 Central) for PopWatch’s VMAs live blog — brought to you by Adrienne Day, Simon Vozick-Levinson, and the letters W, T, and F.

Aug 15 2008 03:23 PM ET

Britney + the VMAs = deadly combo or secret weapon?

by Lisa Raphael

Tags: Britney Spears, HeadScratcher, Television, Television

Britney_l While you all were watching the Russell Brand/Britney Spears VMA commercials and saying, "Why, isn’t that clever! An elephant in the room! And her hair extensions look good, too!" I’ve been at my computer biting my nails, aimlessly googling "Britney Spears 2008 VMA comeback," and wondering what will materialize from these witty ads. Britney and her people have been in talks about doing something at this year’s MTV Video Music Awards, but "what??" is the question. PDubbers, I’ve thought long and hard about this, and here are my three best possible scenarios:

1. Realizing that she still has progress to make in her personal quest to return us to the "Slave (4 U)" days of yore (as pictured, at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards), Britney graciously turns down the opportunity to perform, and instead presents a Best Newcomer moonman, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd.

2. Britney starts the show off just like last year, but minus the trashy extensions and bundle of nerves. After "It’s Britney, bitch!" she begins to actually sing and dance to "Gimme More," redoing last year’s routine with the passion, energy, and self-awareness it lacked.

3. Blowing everyone’s mind, Britney says she’s not going to do anything, but secretly busts out for a cameo during the finale of Madonna and ex-bf Justin Timberlake’s "Four Minutes." This time, Madonna and Britney will start to kiss, but Justin will push Madge out of the way and give Brit a smooch, reassuring us that they were just "on a break" and are totally back together now.

Too far? Help me, PopWatchers — this decision is too much for one anxious fan. I’m going to YouTube some past performances — ignoring 2007′s, of course — and let you guys decide what Britney’s VMA tasks this year should be.

Aug 14 2008 11:00 AM ET

Will you be reading Lynne Spears' memoir?

by Lindsay Soll

Tags: Book, Britney Spears, Hell to the No!, To Care or Not to Care, To Care or Not to Care

Storm_l Did any of you happen to ~~care~~ see that the cover of Lynne Spears’ memoir was "revealed" on Monday (the book is due out Sept. 16)? The title — Through The Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World — suggests that the Spears matriarch is divulging just about everything that has gone on in her life since Brit Brit first stepped onto the Mickey Mouse Club stage.

But I just find that hard to believe, which is only furthering my intrigue with this so called tell-all. I mean, is she really going to tell us what she thought when Britney shaved her head? Or when Jamie Lynn announced she was preggers? What about when she first met K. Fed? Or if she ever knew about Britney being put on "suicide watch" by many of the gossip bloggers out there?

(Full disclosure: I’m in the middle of reading Tori Spelling’s book Stori Telling at the moment, so if you’re wondering where my desire for more scandal! more juice! and more truth! is coming from, now you know. And on that note: I recommend Donna Martin’s book to all; it’s great!)

What about you, Pop Watchers: Will you pick up Mama Spears’ book when it debuts next month? Or do you think it’s just another desperate attempt for publicity?

Aug 12 2008 04:52 PM ET

It's Brand, b---!

by Mandi Bierly

Tags: Britney Spears, Musics, Television, Viral Video!!!, Television

The promos for Sept. 7′s MTV Video Music Awards, featuring host Russell Brand and a healthy (dare we say happy?) Britney Spears are a hit. Are you ready for Britney’s return?