Pop stars were an integral part of my childhood and have remained a constant fixture in my life. Lately I’ve found myself watching videos from the late 90s and early 2000s and wondering how old many of these artists were when they made these iconic and often times scandalous music videos.
When I think of pop stars, my top spot always goes to Britney Spears. Did you know that she was only 21 when her hit single for Slave 4 U was released? What’s even crazier is that fact that Spears was only 17 when Baby One More Time dropped! When I was that age I was still trying to cope with juggling Drama Club and homework. Britney Spears has been in the spotlight through all of her ups and downs, but I find it most interesting that most of her ups occurred in her very early 20s.
There are plenty of other pop stars whose Golden Years have occurred or might even be happening currently during their early 20s: Christina Aguilera was 22 at the release of her song Dirrty; Miley Cyrus was 21 during We Can’t Stop, Kesha was 22 at the time of Tik Tok, and those are just a few. There is no doubt that the music industry makes its money off of these young stars when they’re in their prime, although it is interesting to see many peoples’ reactions to some of the music videos newer generations are churning out.
It is a bit odd to see this younger generation of pop stars breaking out onto the scene because you see where their influences come from and sometimes it’s annoying but really it just gets repetitive after a while. It’s so easy to drag a pop star for being problematic or for making a racy/scandalous video but it’s important to keep in mind that they’re young and they’re still learning. History repeats itself in new ways all the time, so while it may be shocking to see a pop star gyrating on a stage in little to nothing, just remember it’s nothing new. It’s all recycled, over-sensationalized, and completely conventional at this point. What I’m trying to say is not to worry about whether or not someone’s music video is too risqué. As long as they’re not hurting themselves or others, it’s all good and entertaining.
