Swift isn't as big as Britney circa 1999-2003 was. Not even close, really.

Spears is closer to Elvis or MJ while Taylor is just a huge pop star.

Really? I like Britney (for the most part) but am pretty far removed from being any kind of a devoted fan, but I still kinda feel like there hasn't been anything since that matched her impact 1999-2001.

It really felt like she just exploded overnight and she basically ended up birthing an entire generation of pop stars as a direct consequence. I don't think it would be that much of a stretch to call it the biggest solo debut in pop music history.

Yeah, I agree that it was really the group acts who set the stage for the bubblegum pop explosion of the late 90s/early 00s, but I guess the advantage of being a solo act is the ability to command a much greater degree of media attention/public interest as a pop culture zeitgeist compared to pop groups, which oftentimes have a tendency to feel faceless. Britney caused much more of a stir than those acts did when they broke through.

nice song from highschool musical but not enough costume changes if you ask me

Did Britney really make any musical impact though? She had a huge impact on culture and fashion, possibly even empowering women through their sexuality, but music? That was just her outlet. It's like saying Pamela Anderson had a huge impact on television.

The impact was Max Martin's and still continues to shape the pop landscape between his output and that of his less talented protégé (Dr. Luke).

Lmao, plz.

1. Around 1999-2004 she was the biggest pop female singer and with the biggest impact, the closest thing to her was Lady Gaga in 2009-2011, but we all know how that went.

2. She shaped the. Eay for all of her copycats, Christina wasnt supposed to start that way, but her debut was shaped to be Britney 2.0, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore's career.

3. Blackout introduced electropop (a sound that ruled the charts 2009-2012) to mainstream audience and is cited as one of the biggest reasons why electropop blew up the way it did.

4. Hold it Against Me brought dubstep and made it explode in 2011.

So to say Britney hasnt had any impact on pop music. Or that. Taylor is as big as she was during her peak It's freaking bullshit

I can't decide whether to give you a Chip answer or actually explain why your last two points are so off. It doesn't really matter anyways. Taylor Swift is not comparable to Britney, which is why I gave her the Yeezy comparison. Even that might be underselling her though. Her fanbase has grown up with her and isn't going anywhere. She'll be selling out concerts around the world until she dies. To achieve that kind of status already is fucking insane. Britney's fanbase mostly abandoned her during the meltdown years. Gaga's peak was bigger than Britney and Taylor put together, and even her fans jumped ship. Taylor's fans will never ever ever do that.

What the fuck are you talking about? Lady Gaga was extremely popular but if you think she had a larger fanbase at her peak than Britney Spears did at her peak, you're on crack. The success of Circus and her other work since then (latest album aside) pretty much confirms her fan base didn't "abandon" her. Her problem today is she has been around long and is so well known that she just is not fresh or original. Doesn't change the fact that she is a living legend and people will pay attention to her every move for the rest of her life.

As for Swift ever losing her audience, it's really just a matter of time. It happens to everyone.



Magnus, I know you're a smart dude & normally on the ball with pop culture but if you think Swift or anybody is on Britney's level crica early 2000s, I'd have to say you are very wrong.

Bubblegum pop had been on the rise for a few years with boy groups like Hanson, Backstreet Boys, and NSync, & girl groups like Spice Girls, TLC though they were more urban, Destiny's Child, etc. The key word there is GROUPS. And while members of some of those groups went on to become super stars (Timberlake, Beyonce), at the time, they were the lead most popular member of the GROUP.

Britney Spears got all the hype and buzz the groups got, the only difference is she was one person. She was a straight up phenomenon in a way Swift will never be (it would have happened already). An enormous part of her appeal was that she appealed to both sexes.

For example, guys did not listen to any of the boy bands. Girls weren't THAT crazy over the girl bands. Both groups had specific audiences. Spears music was ridiculously popular with girls while her extreme sex appeal made her crazy popular with men. She was the unquestioned biggest active star in the world for a good 4-5 year period. I don't think anybody today, including Taylor Swift, can possibly claim that title as it seems to rotate with each passing year, i.e. Rihanna in 2007, Taylor Swift 2008, Beyonce 2009/2010, Adele in 2011/2012, etc with each star remaining very famous in the off peak years but not to quite the degree the other was.

With Britney Spears, that was just never the case. Even when others were having more successful music, there was no debate about who people were more interested in. She was/is someone whose popularity transcended music. MOST people find Taylor Swift's personal life ANNOYING, hence the horrible magazine sales, for example. Britney Spears never ever failed to fascinate. It got to the point where it was obviously really sad for her, but that's just the case of being the most celebrity in the world. There are countless trends which arose that can be attributed almost exclusively to Britney Spears.

-The obvious explosion of true bubblegum pop in the early 2000s. Aguilera, Simpson, Mandy Moore, at all all other labels attempts to match Spears
-The low cut jeans she rocked in Crossroads
-Stomach revealing shirts
-Her overall personal style of music - breathing heavy and seductively singing

Britney Spears was at the forefront of the new millennium craze where it seemed like the "next big thing" in every industry was getting ridiculous hype. Dozens of actors and actresses which do not need to be mentioned, in sports folks like Kobe Bryant, Randy Moss, Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods were the new 'breed' of all world athletes for whom unforeseen greatness awaits. And so forth.

Swift is a mega star, but she is far from the most famous star in the world. Britney Spears was the unquestioned biggest name in entertainment for several years, a group which only a very select handful of people in history can claim to be a part of. Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Britney Spears. The most famous musicians in history.

If you say the name Britney, everyone knows who you're talking about. Folks with uniqieu names aside (Beyonce, Gaga), nobody has that. Honestly, the only person for who currently receives attention even resembling the coverage Britney Spears got those first 3 or 4 years is Kate Middleton.

I guess I just don't remember it like that. Your point about being solo stars is legit. However I think she was adopted by a new fanbase post-Meltdown.

Baby One More Time was massive, and her sex appeal was universal. However in terms of pop music, she was always behind BSB, Nsync, and Eminem even at her peak. Gaga was a dominant #1. Just look at the charts. Everything before her was hip-hop/r&b oriented, while almost all of the early 2010s monster hits were dance oriented. Ke$ha was her Aguilera, yet every other song sounded like her as well. Including Britney, Christina Aguilera, Usher, etc... All of the 2000s premier forces of pop music.

Taylor can't say that either. I think her longevity will set her above the rest though.

Omg Excel you just won my heart.

Well that in some ways reflects the point. Britney Spears was way bigger than music. Beyonce's 2003 music was more successful, but there was no question regarding who was the bigger star. Eminem was huge at the time too, but his mainstream appeal as a personality was obviously limited. I would say Spears was the worlds biggest name in entertainment probably through 2004-2005ish, when people started to lose respect for her after the marriages and what not.

Swift is huge but there are huge stars of every era. 50 cent? Nelly? Nelly Furtado? All had HUGE peaks and could turn any song into a smash at a certain, but where are they now? Does anybody care about them? IDK what it is or why it is but Spears captured the public's attention like only a handful of entertainers in history.

Comparing the charts required an understanding of how they worked back then. It is much easier for 'name brand' pop stars to get high charting hits today with such a massive emphasis on downloads and youtube videos, hence why several of Spears biggest hits chart wise have come since 2008 even though they were obviously not as influential as Baby 1 more time or Oops I did it Again etc. The periods are so different that the comparison just doesn't work.

In todays market, HMB1T would have been #1 for months, Sometimes would have been top 5 and Crazy would have been #1 for a few as well. Oops I did It Again would have been #1 forever, and Stronger would have hit it as well as would Toxic. Womanizer, Hold It Against Me, and 3 all hit #1 with Circus, Till The World Ends, and Scream & Shout hitting #3 since than obviously were not as popular as the aforementioned songs which didn't chart as well.

Gaga had huge hits in Pokerface and Bad Romance, along with several other big but smaller hits. Those 2 songs were all pretty influential. But nothing of Lady Gaga's is comparable to Hit Me Baby One More Time or Oops I Did It Again.

You can't just point to the charts and say one was more popular than the other. Common sense regardless should tell you nothing of Gaga's really touched Spears top 2 or 3 songs.

Everybody and their mother knows OIDIA and HMBOMT. Cant say the same for gaga.

I'm not denying Eminem being huge. His movie had much more mass appeal and was expected to better for obvious reasons. Crossroads doesn't even get made if she isn't in it. 8 Mile was just like Rocky but with rapping.

Eminem didn't get the attention Spears got. That's just a fact. If they announced Spears was opening the MTV VMA's, ratings would explode in a way nobody else could bring.

IDK about 10 million but it would have done very well. Swift is like prime Shania Twain/Faith Hill with crossover appeal to country and pop, but she is younger so younger folks like her more. No denying that.

But again, if they announced Taylor Swift was opening the VMA's there would be a collective groan from many non country folks. Remember how those 4 magazine's featuring on the cover were the lowest sellers of the year for that brand? That would never have been the case with Britney Spears. She was a genuine pop culture phenomenon and didn't really lose any ground until 2005, which interest her seemingly increased while her credibility was destroyed.

Not true at all. How many films were there back whose two made movies? Crossroads had no mainstream appeal & looked like something that belong on Lifetime. Zero appeal to men and most women. Britney spears is the only reason that movie inflates to $53 million.

If she did something more mainstream, i.e. 8 Mile or Austin Powers: Goldmember, her impact would have much obvious, I think. Though she was probably too famous of a personality to really get away with acting, just like Michael Jackson.

I don't think swift is as big with the country crowd as the 'true' country stars were. She is just much bigger with the pop crowd.

Eminem was bigger than Britney.

No, he wasn't. Kevin Federline is beyond household name status for one reason. Think about it.

Kate Middleton is the only person on earth who gets attention today comparable to what Britney got in her prime.

Kevin Fedeline is not a household name.

Kim Scott is a household name because of Eminem.

Britney was a WW. Phenom, Taylor doesn't even come close to that level overseas.

David Hasselhoff is huge in Germany.

Argument won.

Wait, we are arguing about The Hoff right?

It's really difficult to properly gauge Britney's true popularity. Sure she was huge for a time, but her name has since become synonymous with "crackpot" thanks to those years where she cracked. Then she kept her name out there with the help of gossip magazines and TMZ. I'd argue that if she had stayed sane and never broke down, she may have faded away completely and maybe would be making some sort of nostalgic comeback by now.

Oh and Britney Spears did not budge the needle on ratings for The X-Factor US. If she really was this megastar today, she would have helped ratings. If anything, she turned people away.

That show was doomed from the beginning and people are kind of over her. She still has a huge fan base and what not but the freshness is gone.