Published: April 17, 2008

Britney Spears went from being a teen role model and pop star to a troubled tabloid icon whose biggest task right now is becoming a normal person again.

You’re probably living under a rock if you do not know who Britney Spears is, because she has been in the public radar since she was a young child and continues to make big headlines for one scandalous act after another. Many of us watched this girl grow up right in front of our very own eyes. She is a real-life “Truman Show” in my opinion. She’s had many highs and many lows, but I feel Brit Brit is reaching for the stars again and trying to get her sanity back. Her road to fame began when she appeared on Disney’s “The Mickey Mouse Club.” We got to see her singing, dancing and acting abilities on that show but that wouldn’t be the last time. At the very young age of 17, Spears debuted her first solo album, which became a huge hit and made “Britney” a household name. Her successful career consisted of catchy pop songs and dance moves in her music videos. Her sold-out concerts made way for a small acting career, during which she starred in the film “Crossroads,” and even began her own business with a restaurant called “Nyla,” as well as a perfume line called “Curious.”

As the years progressed, Britney kept on making hit after hit, selling out concert after concert, appearing on one famous talk show after the next, talking about her perfect life and perfect family. She was always in the spotlight and seemed to be the object of envy by many other female musicians on the pop scene, such as Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore. Beyond all that success, she was dating the very handsome and successful front man of *NSYNC, Justin Timberlake, who has gone onto even more success with a solo career of his own. Britney still has a lot from her successful career: she kept her money and most certainly has her fame by being a tabloid star who makes a good song every so often (even if it’s not about her music anymore).

But I, along with the experts, believe that her downfall began with the loss of Justin Timberlake. She lost Timberlake after her rumored infidelity with a dance instructor they both shared, Wade Robson. While Timberlake made songs like “Cry Me A River” to show Britney he had moved on, Spears made a response song called “Everytime,” which has been interpreted as an apology to Timberlake for her “mistake.” She clearly has not moved on from that relationship and probably never will. But her life has really suffered because of it. Britney never imagined a life without Justin Timberlake. We all know that we expected them to have a happily ever after, and this is probably all she saw and the life she expected as well. She could not see anything beyond this, and when it came time for her to realize that she needed to figure out a plan B, she really didn’t have one. She came up with a bad plan, and this was plan Kevin Federline. The many celebrity experts who have studied Britney and her downfall saw it happening as a result of these events, and I would have to wholeheartedly agree with them. She got involved with now ex-husband Kevin Federline and had two children with him (I call this a fatal mistake). The children may have been planned, but the drama and pain the marriage cost her certainly was not. This bad boy was certainly not husband material and brought Britney down. He became a leech, if anything, and tried to launch a music and acting career as Mr. Britney Spears. The children and marriage became a contract that physically, legally and monetarily attached Spears to Federline for eternity. A divorce settlement made Federline come out pretty good with half of Britney’s earnings. So now, with a leech to support for the rest of her life, she is losing on the money side, and the love side, but sure still has that fame.

After the divorce, the bitter Britney made the paparazzi fall in love with her when she performed crazy acts such as shaving her head, attacking Federline’s car, not returning the children to Federline when ordered to do so by the courts, entering a psych ward, developing a British alter-ego and flashing private parts around town after excessive drinking and partying. She was even rumored to be involved with a paparazzo named Adnan Ghalib, who was also aiming to use her by trying to sell pictures that he took when they were together in private. He was trying to be the second leech in her life, and the confused and hurt Britney could not see this and probably still struggles because of her previous relationship problems. I believe that Britney felt so alone at this point in her life. Her failed relationships haunt her, her parents got divorced and were nowhere to be found, her sister had just got pregnant at the age of 16, and she clearly has her own issues to deal with.  Spears began to think the paparazzi that followed her around for money, actually followed her around because they liked her and were her friends. She was obviously mistaken but, once again, couldn’t see clearly and didn’t know better. She started hanging out with the wrong kind of company again. Leech-type characters that were seemingly crazy, violent and toxic like Sam Lutfi, a so-called film producer who tried to live the good life with Britney…on her expense, of course.

The media prepared her obituary as many began to see in her another Anna Nicole, clearly on the path to destruction. Dr. Phil and other famous celebrities expressed their concern over her issues and wanted to intervene and try to get her back onto a healthy path. I think some celebrities, like ex-Backstreet Boy AJ Mclean and Sharon Osbourne, were looking for their comments about helping Britney to get a bit of media attention that they so desperately crave. Dr. Phil being a family friend is an entirely different case, even though I still think he couldn’t offer much help to Britney—or anyone else for that matter.

After a few very difficult years, Britney seems to be back on track, and I am one of those hopefuls who thinks not only will she avoid a tragic ending, but she will have a very rewarding life as well. She is outside in the daytime being productive, instead of at night getting trashed, since she decided to teach a dance class for young children. She has continued to release singles that get radio play quite frequently. She is getting more time with her children; her family is more present in her life and around to help her stay healthy and in check. Moreover, she recently guest starred on an episode of “How I Met Your Mother,” where she gave a performance of a lifetime, which started the rumors going around about the possibility of her getting her very own show. The used-to-be, so-called “train wreck” is being repaired in my eyes, and at a very fast pace. Britney has bounced back from the grave many predicted she would fall into and disappear forever. I believe she has gained enough control over her life so that we no longer have to speculate about truly scandalous and shocking circumstances that usually filled her world. Her demise, which started with love lost for another, has been reversed with the love that Britney has found for herself.