MANILA, Philippines – Less a pop singer than a pop icon if that makes any sense Britney Spears has given us more than her fair share of indelible pop culture images. Supreme looks back at her greatest hits:
1998: High school lolita
Straight out of the gate, Britney displayed her flair for creating iconic images with the classic …Baby One More Time. While her handlers smartly chose to highlight her jailbait appeal, it was Britney herself who insisted on tying up her Catholic school uniform to show some stomach a decision that spelled the difference between one-hit wonder and pop phenomenon.
2000: America’s sweetheart
Because every princess needs a prince, one of the most important parts of the Britney mythos is her doomed romance with fellow teen pop survivor Justin Timberlake. While the relationship fizzled out years ago, it has inspired Timberlake’s own contribution to the pop music cannon, Cry Me A River. And really, how can you not get the image of the two pop stars in head-to-toe denim stuck in your head? Classic.
2000: High-class stripper
Britney gave a taste of what was to come in this classic performance from the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. After cooing her way through a breathless cover of The Rolling Stones’ Satisfaction, America’s Sweetheart proceeded to strip off her suit and shimmy a rendition of Oops! I Did It Again.
2001: Snake charmer
Showcasing her mastery of snake-handling, Britney followed up her stripper medley by debuting her song Slave 4 U at the next year’s MTV VMAs. “All you people look at me like I’m a little girl…” Perhaps, the first signs of the virgin-whore complex that would eventually eat her up were seen here.
2003: BI-curious babe
Calling a momentary truce with pop rival Christina Aguilera, Britney joined a threesome of a VMA performance with Xtina and Madonna that would eventually climax in the kiss heard ’round the world. Seven years before Black Swan, you guys! Britney, always the forward-thinker.
2004: Material girl
Perhaps her best song to date, Britney premiered her Grammy-winning Toxic with an Alias-inspired video that included images of her in nothing but diamonds. It has since been covered by everyone from Mark Ronson to that girl who sings New Soul in the iPod ads.
2007: Bald beauty
In the latter part of the 2000s, Britney shaved her hair to climax the slow motion train wreck of a public breakdown she had post-Federline. If anything, it at least taught millions of girls that no bad day is ever worth getting a drastic haircut.
2007/2008: Miss bad media karma does good
She would resurface a few months after with Piece Of Me. Baiting her critics (“I’m Miss Extra Extra This Just In. Do you want a piece of me?”), Britney displayed the superstar charisma that seemed to have totally disappeared during the dark days of her breakdown. It foreshadowed her triumphant return (sans clothes, of course) with the comeback hit Womanizer.