I'm Dancing to Britney 'Til the World Ends

I sat in Mr. Vandermer’s chemistry class at in the 10th grade and handed the guy sitting behind me a photo of a young singer that came with her first single. He smiled, thanked me and placed it inside his notebook.

She was pretty. All the guys wanted her, and every girl wanted to be her. The next year for Halloween, I dressed like a schoolgirl. I had to be Britney Spears. Twelve years later, I would still dress like Britney Spears any day of the week and still buy every album she comes out with. My taste in music trends toward heavy metal, rock, indie and electronic, but something about Britney Spears has me mesmerized.

When I was 20, I pulled up in front of my best friend’s work place on her lunch break blasting “In the Zone,” singing at the top of my lungs. It had just come out that day. I remember the smile on her face when I extended my hand out of the car window, passing off a second copy for her.

Britney has been a staple in my life. She brings back memories of me and friends being together. It’s not so much about her music or her dancing or even her. It’s the times in my life that she represents. With each album, I can remember something about what was going on, what my friends and I were doing and the milestones that we experienced together. If I hear “I’m a Slave 4 U” I immediately think of sitting in my freshman dorm, surrounded by my new friends, watching Britney dance on stage at the MTV VMAs with a snake strung across her shoulders (video). That memory is more about the college experience than Britney, but I can also tell you how many girls I knew that replicated that stage costume for Halloween a month later.

For as many tours as she has done since I fell in love with “Baby One More Time” over a decade ago, I had never seen Britney on stage. Last night, my time finally came! Twelve years, and I would see Britney live. It was only as she came onto the stage that my best friend realized I had never seen Britney before, and we were excited to share the experience together. It was one more memory to add to our arsenal.

Britney is about to turn 30 this year. We have watched her go through some insane times over her career, but she has recovered each time and hit the top again. Last night proved that her career isn’t ending. She still has it. We all know that Britney lip-synchs while on stage, but it didn’t matter. She is a performer, and she gave us our money’s worth! She played many songs off of her new “Femme Fatale” album and all of our old favorites. If I could have watched her play for another two hours, I would have done it without question just to hear more songs. The remixes, dancing (and coverage of Rhianna’s S&M) were absolutely mind-blowing. She runs around stage with the energy of a high school cheerleader, and the energy is completely contagious.

It’s been twelve years, and I still have the bug. I cannot wait to see what she does next. I’ll never miss another Britney tour again!