Oops! We Did it Again

What is wrong with us? I mean we Americans? What are we thinking? Are we thinking? Here is the situation as I see it.

First of all, ten years ago Britney Spears became a superstar by singing a song that was too old for her (Hit me Baby, One More Time). The video became famous because although she was a teen-ager at the time (15??), she appeared to be very sexy. Her dress, her dance and her attitude were all very sexy. She was an overnight sensation. And against all odds, she seemed to maintain a 'good-girl' image, at least for awhile. There were a string of hits and television and video appearances that reinforced her position as pop star innocence with a naughty side. Songs like Oops, I Did It Again and Drive me Crazy reminded us of young love and sent teen and pre-teen girls into a frenzy. They bought the music, but unfortunately, they began to buy the image as well.

Then the wheels began to come off the cart. First there was the 24 hour marriage to her high school sweetheart, rumors of drug use and wild parties, and then the squeaky clean image was gone. By now Britney was an adult. And as we should have expected, she started to make adult mistakes. She married (her second marriage) one of her dancers. Everyone seemed puzzled by this. Then there was a reality series on MTV that focused on the sex lives of the pop star couple. Two children followed, and then all hell broke loose.

The couple broke up- which was unexpected by no one. Britney was spotted at parties, drinking, drugging and more. Pictures of Britney, always considered pretty, in various stages of immodest nakedness appeared all over the internet. But now it has all changed. Last week a judge ordered Britney to give her to children to her ex-husband. She has lost custodial rights with her children. And all of this happened before her 26th birthday.

But really, as sad as this story is, the worst part is still to come. Britney, who refuses to get help for her addictions, who has performed publicly in various stages of intoxication, and who has shaved her own head in an apparently substance-induced haze is still a star. Now, Britney's most recent record, Gimme More, has moved to number 3 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. Last week, the same song, was the most downloaded song in America. It is Britney's biggest hit since Baby, One More Time.

The cynical side of me wonders if Britney has made the connection between her messed-up life and her record sales. I hope not. The conspiracy theorist in me wonders if all of the scandal, the trouble and the heartbreak have been orchestrated to a marketing advantage for Britney's career. I hope not. The pessimist in me wonders if Britney has done all of this on purpose for the sake of rejuvenating her career. Again, I hope not.

I think that the story of Britney Spears' fall is a tragedy. We should all learn from her the lessons of stardom and the dangers of self-importance. But most of us will never be stars. We will never have hit songs. But a whole lot of us are buying Britney. We have done this to her. We are doing it to her by watching the Britney update on the television news every day. We are ruining her life by loving the tabloid newspaper and magazine coverage of her every mistake. And now we are making it worse. By buying her music, we are buying Britney Spears. And when we buy Britney's music we are sending the message that this is all okay.