# What is the essential Britney Spears? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2007, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270 "2007-11-21T01:13:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/1 "2007-11-21T01:13:23Z")
> [@Anonymous freind of Christopher <<acting naturally>>](#): > > I’m not interested in any Britney bashing or even critisizm of her talents. I don’t care if she wasn’t the best singer. I don’t care if she wasn’t the best dancer. The fact is, now that she is a complete wastoid, she has actually developed a little character. > Now, I have downloaded “Oops I did it again” and I actually like that tune. Unfortunately, I have listened to a few others and been underwhelmed. So what really is the essential Britney Spears? Seriously, I’m not interested in the sarcastic BS Britney bashing. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/2 "2007-11-21T01:18:45Z")
\*Toxic _and_ I’m a Slave 4 U \*seem to be held up as two of her best singles though I don’t actually like either. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/3 "2007-11-21T01:20:50Z")
I confess that I like the song “Oops!.. I Did It Again” too. “Stronger” and “Baby One More Time” are also on my iPod. Haven’t got anything from her newest album. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/4 "2007-11-21T01:34:22Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] What is the essential Britney Spears? [/QUOTE] A couple of Rolling Stone covers, the virgin/not a virgin debate, her kiss with Madonna, track suits at her wedding, a pantyless crotch shot, a bouncing baby and three crumpled cars. Oh, and “Hit Me Baby One More Time” ---
**Author:** ![Kid\_A\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Kid\_A\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kid_A_1)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 2:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/5 "2007-11-21T02:07:12Z")
Toxic…which actually has less to do with her and more to do with whoever produced that tasty beat. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/6 "2007-11-21T02:29:14Z")
I like the ones mentioned–plus the new one, “Gimmie More.” It’s not hugely memorable, but it’s cute. I started realizing I liked “Oops” when I heard it being used in a scene for “The Sopranos.” I had to admit, her music was catchy and actually kind of fine. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/7 "2007-11-21T05:11:09Z")
Doesn’t she have a best of out? That might be a good place to start. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/8 "2007-11-21T06:01:15Z")
[QUOTE=Aesiron] \*Toxic _and_ I’m a Slave 4 U \*seem to be held up as two of her best singles though I don’t actually like either. [/QUOTE] I never cared for either of those songs. I always liked the early stuff, and she was a hell of a dancer in her prime. ---
**Author:** ![enigm4tic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ba0ec/32.png) [@enigm4tic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enigm4tic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/9 "2007-11-21T06:12:21Z")
Find the Rammstein/Britney Spears mix of Stronger/Du Hast, that has to be one of the most essential Britney Spears songs ever ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/10 "2007-11-21T06:42:55Z")
[QUOTE=Justin\_Bailey] A couple of Rolling Stone covers, the virgin/not a virgin debate, her kiss with Madonna, track suits at her wedding, a pantyless crotch shot, a bouncing baby and three crumpled cars. Oh, and “Hit Me Baby One More Time” [/QUOTE] OK, someone didn’t read the OP. :rolleyes: More of a Christina Aguilerra fan (especially after “Ain’t No Other Man” and “Candy Man”), but my favorite Britney song is probably “Oops, I Did It Again”, largely for the mildly surreal music video taking place on Mars with the astronaut and also for the dance mix that came with Dance Dance Revolution 5th Mix. It’s probably about as representative a piece of Classic Britney (which I arbitrarily classify as anything before I stopped paying attention, some time right before “I’m a Slave For You”) as you’ll find. ---
**Author:** ![Hail\_Ants](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dc4da7/32.png) [@Hail\_Ants](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hail_Ants)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/11 "2007-11-21T08:32:24Z")
**"Hit Me Baby One More Time"** , a song which she didn’t write the lyrics or music but has been dutifully remaking for a decade now :eek: is Britney’s 15 minutes of fame. Actually her 3 minutes and 29 seconds of fame played over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over… Sorry for the sarcasm dude, but you can’t put up a post with a title like that and not get any. And seriously, Spears’ music is simply not ‘deep’ in even the remotest way. It is the very definition of bubblegum pop. So its kind of like asking what’s the essential The Archies or The Knack or Aqua. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/12 "2007-11-21T08:42:59Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] Doesn’t she have a best of out? That might be a good place to start. [/QUOTE] She does and it’s good. I’d take the track listing off of the Greatest Hits, then add in “Gimme More”, “Break the Ice”, “Toy Soldier”, and “Cold as Fire” off of the new CD. The track listing from her GH: > [@](#): > > 1. My Prerogative > 2. Toxic > 3. I’m A Slave 4 U > 4. Oops!..I Did It Again > 5. Me Against The Music feat. Madonna > 6. Stronger > 7. Everytime > 8. …Baby One More Time > 9. (You Drive Me) Crazy (The Stop Remix!) > 10. Boys > 11. Sometimes > 12. Overprotected (The Darkchild Remix) > 13. Lucky > 14. Outrageous > 15. I’m Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman > 16. I’ve Just Begun (Having My Fun) > 17. Do Somethin’ ---
**Author:** ![WarmNPrickly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/d78d45/32.png) [@WarmNPrickly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WarmNPrickly)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/13 "2007-11-21T18:05:45Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] OK, someone didn’t read the OP. [/QUOTE] It was inevitable. Thanks for the responses. I now have Toxic, I’m a Slave 4 U and …Baby One More Time (as it is titled in iTunes.) That’s really all the Britney I need, as its not really the music I listen to. I’ve been getting back into 80’s though, and it kinda fits. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/14 "2007-11-21T18:14:47Z")
[QUOTE=Raguleader] OK, someone didn’t read the OP. :rolleyes: [/QUOTE] Why would you say that? I included the only song that Britney-seekers need to know about and then I hit the other highlights of her fame. I seriously question how anyone thinks Britney’s “music” career can be divorced from her “tabloid queen” career. Because without the latter, the former would have fizzled out in 2004 and we wouldn’t be having this discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Ephemera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8baadc/32.png) [@Ephemera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ephemera)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/15 "2007-11-21T18:51:43Z")
Probably because the OP asked a straightforward question and specifically asked that we skip the bashing. I don’t like her music or what I can glean of her personality from her tabloid exploits either but was still able to post without trashing her. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/16 "2007-11-21T20:23:25Z")
[QUOTE=Hail Ants] **“Hit Me Baby One More Time”** , a song which she didn’t write the lyrics or music [/QUOTE] If you’re holding all singers up to that standard, you have to exclude a lot of greats. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2007, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/17 "2007-11-21T20:26:15Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] If you’re holding all singers up to that standard, you have to exclude a lot of greats. [/QUOTE] Yeah, Elvis didn’t write most of his own songs. Neither did a lot of Motown groups. Granted, nowadays it is de rigeur–since the Beatles, I guess. But I personally don’t think it’s necessarily that important that a singer write their own music. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/18 "2007-11-22T04:15:32Z")
[QUOTE=SmackFu] If you’re holding all singers up to that standard, you have to exclude a lot of greats. [/QUOTE] You know, I always thought that Johnny Cash was a no-talent ass clown when he did that cover of “Ring of Fire” 😃 _ducks and runs for cover_ ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 7:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/19 "2007-11-22T07:59:13Z")
[QUOTE=Christopher] I’ve been getting back into 80’s though, and it kinda fits. [/QUOTE] On behalf of the 80s, I must protest! ---
**Author:** ![mamboman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecb155/32.png) [@mamboman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mamboman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2007, 10:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270/20 "2007-11-22T10:14:29Z")
[QUOTE=Hail Ants] **“Hit Me Baby One More Time”** , a song which she didn’t write the lyrics or music but has been dutifully remaking for a decade now :eek: is Britney’s 15 minutes of fame. its kind of like asking what’s the essential The Archies or The Knack or Aqua. 😃 [/QUOTE] Off on a slight tangent, I’m always surprised there was never a lawsuit over “… Baby One More Time”. It just _sounds_ like another song, but I can never figure out which one. Anyone care to opine. I always think there’s a Barry-Gibbishness to it… And I am a huge Britney fan. New album is great! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-essential-britney-spears/427270.md?page=2)