Welcome to Pop Pantheon, the podcast where we completely overanalyze all of your favorite

pop stars and then rank them in the official Pop Pantheon.

This is your host, DJ Louis, the 14th, reminding you that our dance party,

main pop girls, Britney versus Gaga, is happening tomorrow night in New York City. I will be at Parkside

Lounge playing all your favorite Gaga and Britney tunes, plus music by all your favorite pop divas.

T. Kyle and Bradley from Legends Only podcast will be there hosting. You don't want to miss it. Tickets

are available in the show notes of this episode. I am so excited for this. See you all tomorrow night. Parkside Lounge. Of course, gorgeous, gorgeous. New York is also happening on April 11th at the Sultan Ruman Bushwick. Tickets for that are also available in the show notes of this episode. Don't forget to rate review and subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening to it now. Follow us on social media at Pop Pantheon pod by our merch at Poppantheonpod.com, and our Patreon, Poppantheon, all access, is available at patreon.com slash Poppantheon or subscribe for the audio only directly in the Apple Podcasts app. Okay, this is the fourth installment of our Britney series. As I've said in every episode so far, if you haven't listened to the previous episodes, I recommend going through them in order before you get to this one. This is the episode in which we'll be talking about the final leg of Brittany's professional career, as well as the details of the conservatorship, Free Britney and how it all came to an end. We'll touch on her memoir, and then we'll talk about her legacy. Next week, we will be talking about Britney's tier ranking. So without further ado,

here it is, Britney Spears Part 4. By the turn of the 2010s, Britney Spears's career and public image were in a strange, almost uncanny place.

On the one hand, she was revivified, at least on the surface, hitting her marks, looking gorgeous,

and experiencing one of the most consistent hit runs of her entire career.

And yet, something was different about Britney Spears. The spark in her eye, that evident passion, which powered her entire career. And yet, something was different about Britney Spears.

The spark in her eye, that evident passion,

which powered her auspicious arrival on the scene a decade earlier,

seemed only present in fleeting moments at very best.

In its place was a sense of marking in going through the motions,

an eerie, vaguely unplaceable feeling that she didn't want to be there.

All the pieces of the facade were in place.

The music slayed, the videos were expensive and spectacular, the world tours and residencies

marched on, and the records often flew off the shelves.

But who was ultimately propping it all up seemed like it was perhaps not, as it once was,

Brittany herself.

And yet, as maybe the ultimate testament to the enduring magnetism,

...