"I Also Admire Her As An Artist"

Not to be overdramatic, but...I have to say I lost some respect for Madonna (gasp!) with those seven words...yikes. I mean, what is there of herself to see in Britney aside from being the "It" girl of her generation? Madonna is talented and went through a bratty period (and is still not sweetness and light), while Britney is untalented and mentally unbalanced. Comparing her sowing-the-oats days in NYC to Britney's last few years is like comparing Madonna to a discounted watermelon, or a used copy of He's Just Not That Into You with some pages missing, or to an unwanted penny found tails-up outside a homeless shelter.

Oh, you know there's more...Britney fans, we'll just have to agree to disagree...

Nothing Madonna says in this interview from Britney Spears: For the Money Record is outright wrong. But in context, I find it strange that Madonna rightfully discerns that it should first be about Britney's spiritual journey and her well-being and her relationship with her kids, but has no problem inviting the OBVIOUSLY still fragile superstar out onto her concert stage to get a little publicity booty-bump.

Poor Britney...she looks so unenthused about life and her work ("have to go on with it..."). But as long as she has her figure back and can walk through performances, all is right with the world, eh?

(Sidebar: Madonna looks way better with a version of her old eyebrows, but now the hair looks wrong. Her face is too pulled back to handle this style. She should stick with the glamorous 'do plus fire-engine red lips she's been sporting offstage lately as soon as this concert wraps—it makes her look flawless and natural. And then she should stop playing with her face. I was made fun of for feeling sad when she obviously had surgical intervention early in the year, and look how her face seems to change daily now. Slippery slope.)

Moving on from judgments!

No more an accusation of theft than, say, my extensive Madonna: Hindsight Is 50/50 series. Just fun to note:

  

Comments

[John]

I wonder if Britney's attitude might have a lot to do with anti-depressants she might be taking. You know part of her issues probably involved medications and this might be part of her problem now. Its probably hard to be overly sexual and fierce when you're a little (or a lot) drugged up.

Perhaps Britney is a really nice girl to Madonna and perhaps Madonna just feels a need to help her ... hard to say.

[John]

oh yah...and that face??? Even she has to see what's happening to her. Her problem is that she's never out of the camera long enough to heal and let things settle...most people take a few weeks....guess we should get used to it. It's only going to get more severe the older she gets. I shudder!

[david]

madonna looks horrible. its the desperation of her face that depresses me... she looks like any beverly hills housewife at barneys on wilshire.

britney isn't talentless. she might not contribute to the songwriting process as much as you like, or spend hours in the studio tinkering over knobs and levels, but she is talented: the Circus video shows that. when she's on, like in this video, she is unbeatable. the dancing, the looks to the camera...it certainly does remind one of Madonna. why is that a bad thing?

[Matthew Rettenmund]

I don't see Madonna in Britney's looks into the camera any more than I see Madonna in that hideous monstrosity talking about Britney in the Britney video. Honestly, Madonna looks like hell there. I have liked her look on this tour, and she has looked amazing very recently when she wasn't in full stage makeup. But with the makeup, she looks grody. I'm not impressed with Britney's dancing of late, or ever really. But to each his/her own, "bitch!" :0)

[sabel]

Oooh, I don't know, I just don't think these two are the most balanced people you could wish for, right? B is obviously unwell, and it is sad for what it is: a human being who is suffering, despite the fame and the fortune. I was never a fan, never got her, never will. M is much more complex, I think, but she was always in control, always. I think she undeniably had a sweetness about her when she first started out, but I also think she had a very tough skin from day one. And a plan, probably. I was always a fan, I did get her, but now I am starting to think a few things: overexposed, preachy and yes, Matt, slippery slope. By the way, I love your writing, your insights and your observations. You are biased, of course ;), but not blind - I like that, thanks!

[Alex N]

The most amusing part of this clip, aside from Madonna's wax face and Britney's absolute lack of engagement, is how Madonna just loves to hear herself talk! She speaks as if no one else has ever had an intellectual thought process before, and she is on the verge of constant epiphany and must share it with All immediately with the same enthusiasm and naivete as a 12 year-old girl. In fact, listening to her makes you wonder if Lola imitates her mother or if her mother mimics her. I have thought this ever since I'm Going To Tell You What You Have No Desire To Hear was released. It's actually quite insipid to hear Madonna talk after hearing the same type of discourse and intonation come out of her child.

[WN]

After seeing Madonna sing and dance in concert recently with no lip synching, I don't know where Britney Spears can have the nerve to lip synch during a "comeback." Hey I bought CIRCUS - i like the album very much, but she needs to learn how to sing and dance LIVE without the lip synching. The album is well produced and the video for CIRCUS is fantastic. The lip synching bothers me...if you are going to be a singer, sing. I don't believe Madonna ever lip synched...

[david]

lip synching gets a bad rap. Pet Shop Boys used to argue against the importance of performing live back in the 80's, and I've always tended to agree... she is a VIDEO artist. she looks amazing in her videos, she makes fantastic pop records, and "live" singing isn't even a part of the studio process for her... why is it so important that she delivers live with an amazing vocal performance when we all know that isn't going to happen? she sang EVERYTIME totally live on SNL when IN THE ZONE came out, and it was fine. not great, not hideous, but fine. singing live is not a requirement for a great pop star. a singer songwriter? fine. britney? no.

and, just to clarify, check out...oh...more than half of Blond Ambition live from Nice. madonna is either lip synching or singing along (barely) to a track while she does the same type of aerobicized dancing britney does now.

matthew darling i know you're NEVER going to see the light and enjoy lady spears for what she is, and for that i love you. its fun to have these discussions... just give me this: britney or janet?

[westcoastreport.net]

Madonna has lost a lot of credibility associating herself with Britney over the years. I mean, the kiss was great - but the "Me Against The Music" video was beyond pathetic. I understand Madonna feels sorry for Britney, but she should not be complimenting her as an artist when Britney is not one.

[Matthew Rettenmund]

Britney sang "Everytime" live on SNL. She's been an artist for a decade. That's one of the few times the drop in the bucket went "splash" all on its own. (I also remember a less successful "From The Bottom Of My Broken Heart" on an awards show that blended into a lipped perf of another song). Anyway, I'm not against vocal enhancements and some lip-synching, but if it's not used judiciously, you're not a singer, and I don't think there is any such thing as a video artist or non-singing singing artist. If you can't do it live, then I might LOVE a song (so many great dance tracks come to mind) but I'm not going to pay any attention to the name on it. "Let's Go All The Way" was so fun in the '80s but I didn't have Sly Fox posters on my walls.

You're evil, David, pure evil to ask Britney or Janet! :0) Oh, dear... That is truly hard. I think Janet is crazy and similarly talentless, or at least wildly overhyped for what she brings to the table (usually a knife and fork...did I say that? I'm fat, I can say that). Janet is pro-gay and a liberal, though, and Britney's politics and social beliefs are mired in rumor and innuendo—she voiced Bush support, but that was at the height of 9/11 rah-rah, and she is considered a Republican but without any real proof. She strikes me as a redneck Republican. So I might have to pick Janet based on that alone. But if it's songs and artistry...hmmm...I own all of Janet's first Control singles, but I own some of Britney's songs, too. I have to say it's a tie! haha

WestCoastReport: I lOOOOVEED the kiss! I hated "Me Against The Music" the song and the video. I could handle Madonna pitying Britney, I can't handle Madonna saying she admires her in any way.

[WN]

Britney also sang "Oops! I Did It Again" LIVE without lip synching when she hosted SNL a few years ago. I liked the "Into The Zone" video and song, but 99% of the time Britney lip syncs. The whole lip synching thing just does not work for me when its any singer. If they sing WITH a track or over it, or whatever you want to call it, that's fine by me. You'll never witness Christina A. or Celine D. (love Christina, not a fan of Celine D) lip sync.