Britney Spears has been performing since she was a child, and has been a major force in pop music after her 1998 debut single “…Baby One More Time” became a global smash when she was only 16-years-old. Being world famous since she was a teen robbed Britney of her youth, and now at age 39 she’s still on a now three year break from performing. The reason is actually so sad yet healthy, as Brit says she just wants to “be a normal person” in a new Instagram post on Feb. 9.
Britney shared a video from a 2017 performance of her mega hit “Toxic.” She wore a tiny, shiny red bodysuit, and owned the stage with her energetic dance moves and wild blonde hair whipping. “Can’t believe this performance of Toxic is from 3 years ago !!! I’ll always love being on stage…but I am taking the time to learn and be a normal person,” Brit confided in the caption.
Learning to be a normal person? That is just heartbreaking! Britney has never had the chance to be “normal” as she’s worked nearly all of her life. As a girl, she competed on Star Search in 1992. A year later in 1993, she was cast in The All-New Mickey Mouse Club in its sixth season on the Disney Channel. Then came “…Baby One More Time” when she was only 16, and her life changed forever, and nothing would ever be “normal” again. Between world tours, promotional appearances, endorsement deals and more, Britney became a business and not a person anymore. She eventually had a well-publicized breakdown in 2007, yet managed a triumphant career comeback.
Britney Spears gives a free outdoor concert Sunday in Mexico City on Sunday, December 3rd, 2011. Photo credit: MEGA.
Britney continued in her caption, “I love simply enjoying the basics of every day life!!!! Each person has their story and their take on other people’s stories!!!! We all have so many different bright beautiful lives!!! Remember, no matter what we think we know about a person’s life it is nothing compared to the actual person living behind the lens.”
Britney is still in a conservatorship battle with her dad, who has had control over her career, health decisions and finances since 2008. In the new FX/Hulu documentary Framing Britney, Liz Day of The New York Times said the “unique legal arrangement” is “usually designed for elderly people who are unable to take care of themselves or their money,” and that the conservatorship is “unusual because Britney is so young and productive,” calling it “surprising in that Jamie wasn’t a huge figure in her life before this.” Britney’s lawyer Samuel D. Ingham III told the court in a Nov. 2020 hearing, “My client has informed me that she is afraid of her father. She will not perform again if her father is in charge of her career.”
Britney Spears performs at 102.7 KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball on Dec. 2, 2016. photo credit: MEGA.
Britney’s last major live performance was in Las Vegas on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 2017…save for an appearance at the U.S. Grand Prix in Oct. 2018. She had a mega-successful Las Vegas residency show Piece of Me that ran from 2013-2017 at the Axis Planet Hollywood. The mother of two had another residency Britney: Domination scheduled to kick off at the Park Theater MGM in Feb. 2019, until her dad Jamie fell ill and Brit cancelled the gig a month before it was supposed to begin, despite already being deep into rehearsals.
Britney then moved back to Southern California full time, living in a mansion in Thousand Oaks, CA. She loves to go the the beach in Malibu, do freestyle dances around her living room and spend time with loving boyfriend Sam Asghari, who she met on the set of shooting her 2016 music video for “Slumber Party.” Britney enjoys hiking and biking, yet is pretty much a homebody who rarely goes out.