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09/10/2007: "Not The Reaction She'd Hoped For"
There are few things sadder than watching someone you respect try to carry on a flagging career long after they should have hung it up. The star baseball slugger who can't get around on a decent fastball. The child star whose cuteness just doesn't translate as an adult. The rock singer who won't go on stage without a corset to hold in his gut and can't come close to hitting those high notes that made him famous in the 70's. The sex kitten actress who refuses to admit that people just aren't as interested in seeing her body at 55 as they were at 25. The list goes on.
Last night, we got one more example of someone who should just allow themselves to gracefully fade away - but won't. For months, we've been watching with morbid curiosity the pathetic fall from grace by one-time pop tart Britney Spears; we've documented the high points here in the past. Recently, there's been talk of an attempt to revive the flagging career that would kick off with a performance at the MTV Video Music Awards. Admittedly, music stars have used the VMAs to successfully advance a career - we still talk about Madonna's performance of "Like A Virgin" at the '84 edition. Execs, sensing a "moment" in the making, even gave her the prized opening slot in the telecast. Good or bad, it was going to be memorable ...
Thud.
I could add some kind of pithy comment here, but I think I'll let CNN.com - not known as a source to unduly berate their subjects - tell the tale:
As in most train wrecks, it was hard to focus on just one thing as the Britney Spears disaster unfolded. There was just so much that went wrong.
Out-of-synch lip-synching. Lethargic movements that seemed choreographed by a dance instructor for a nursing home. The paunch in place of Spears' once-taut belly. At times she just stopped singing altogether, as if even she knew nothing could save her performance.
Ouch.
Look, she has a ton of cash, so we have no reason to feel sorry for her. She could just walk away and spend the rest of her days counting her blessings and raising her kids in luxury.
She won't, of course ... so we'll no doubt have many more moments like this in the future .... 
