14 DAY TRIAL // She just wrapped up her Circus tour, the Australian leg, just in time to celebrate her birthday. On both a personal and a professional level, the Britney Spears of today is just as big, if not actually bigger, than the teen of ten years ago who sang “Hit Me Baby One More Time.” To honor her long and successful career, the latest issue of Elle magazine makes a curtsy with a stunning photospread and a tribute piece.
The spread sees Britney, as the cover of the mag also promises, as “we’ve never seen her before.” There is a shot of her in a golden ballgown, holding her two boys on her laps, in what has been described the most touching and sweet photo ever taken of the pop star. There are also shots of Britney in an outrageous turquoise goatskin coat with a marabou-feather trim by Valentino. Shots of her behind the bars of what is clearly a symbolic golden cage are also included.
“A decade after her titillating debut in pigtails and a plaid Catholic school skirt, we find ourselves cheering on Britney Spears once again. There have been, of course, speed bumps in recent years – a divorce, feuds with family, a very public breakdown – but the past 12 months have witnessed a cautious yet emphatic comeback. With ‘Circus,’ her triumphant 2008 album and subsequent world tour, Britney reasserted herself as a pop music ringleader, firmly in control of the spectacle. The album is the star’s fifth to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – making her the youngest woman to accomplish that feat.” Elle says in the tribute piece.
“And the nearly yearlong tour, with its elaborate $50 million extravaganza featuring DSquared2 costumes (nine outfit changes a night, including Britney as a trapeze artist, a magician’s assistant, and, somewhat perplexingly, a policewoman), was among the highest-grossing concert tours in the United States last year, rivaling those of U2 and Bruce Springsteen. With another greatest-hits record freshly arrived (and a new single, ‘3,’ which raced up the Billboard chart), we see flashes of vintage Brit, the one we love – blond, happy, and back on top.” the magazine further says.
Britney Spears is featured in the double-cover of the January issue of Elle, whose other cover is dedicated to Lady Gaga. For the full photospread and more on the tribute piece, please see here.
