In the Zone

Danger Zone
by: john reed

Do you think that ol’ Britney Spears is trying just a bit too hard to copy her apparent idol, Madonna? Yes, the whole smooching thing at the MTV Music Awards last year's was overblown and goofy, (and probably done more to revive Madonna’s sagging record sales than it was to boost Brit or Christina - who also shared saliva with that Material Girl that day) and was the same shock value schtick that Ms. Ciccone used to successfully used in the early 90’s.

But what worked for her may not do the same for Britney.

Where as Madonna did campy stunts and acted fairly obnoxious at times, she had the credibility of the tunes to back it up - a place where Britney is seriously lacking.

The initial single from In The Zone, “Me Against the Music,” (featuring – oddly enough- Madonna) is a flat attempy at hopping on the Techno trend, failing as a dance ditty, a strong pop song and a strange video didn't help. Knowing this, she follows up with the just as lame “Toxic,” which will be known more for its video of a barely clad Brit who smooches and acted the flirt with a number of gents (hey…didn’t Christina do the “naked thing” last year? And much better?)

However, she does score on the CD on “(I Got That) Boom Boom,” which features the Ying Yang Twins, who are still lingering with the buzz they created last year due to their collaboration with Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz on “Get Low.” But, as good as the song is the idea of a pop star inviting a rapper to guest really an original idea anymore?

One does hold out hope for Britney as – like her or not – she is a huge pop sensation. But you just hope that somewhere down the road she will do something original (or at least interesting) to merit the fact that her bank account has swelled to figures that we (who work much harder) can only dream of. 16-Feb-2004 2:45 PM