The Mystery Behind Britney Spears’ Appeal

Heathy Lee Roth of the Cleveland Scene profiled the steady ripple through pop culture that Britney Spears has become, and why all of us care so much about anything she does. Roth writes, “Lack of any musical knowledge aside, Britney’s doe-eyed ‘I didn’t ask for all this’ Southern charm doesn’t allow girls to just write her off cattily, like the warbling, sleazy Christina Aguilera. Girls want to like Britney because she seems as if she deserves the fame and fortune, even though she might be just a prepackaged teenyboppin’ mall tart who sings songs she didn’t write. If she’s got anything, it’s more staying power than most other young female pop singers. To any rock fan with tits, that’s impressive.”