Written by Rick Ellis, Monday, November 17th, 2003

I have a lot of sympathy for Britney Spears. She's at an age where she's exploring new things, pushing boundaries, learning more about herself. And she gets to do it all in the public eye.

Even worse, she has a new CD coming out at a time when the music industry is in turmoil, pop music is out of favor and many of her contemporaries have fallen out of favor quicker than you can say "O-Town."

Still, I find myself wanting to occasionally reach over and slap the young Ms. Spears when I watch her bounce through interview after interview spitting out the same carefully choreographed spiel. She obviously has learned much about spinning the publicity machine from watching Madonna. But at this late date, the spin just seems more laughable than heartfelt.

Take the new ABC special Britney Spears-In The Zone. It opens with a musical number in which she grinds into a flurry of dancer's crotches while pretending to sing along to her own backing track. At one point, she's blindfolded, surrounded by writhing bodies while she arches her back and smiles. And yet in the very next segment, she complains that critics accuse her of using sex to sell her music.

And so it goes through the rest of the hour-long special. Spears intercuts highly choreographed dance tunes with "behind-the-scenes" segments designed to show just how normal she is despite her success.

The problem with all of this is that much of it comes off as--to be charitable--misguided. In the special, as in her recent interview with Diane Sawyer, she complains about how had she works, how difficult her daily life is with the constant turmoil and incessant interest of the media. She argues that the press always focuses on her sexuality and is unwilling to just let her music stand on its own.

And yet, she never lets an interview pass without mentioning her new tune "Touch Of My Hand," and how it's all about pleasuring yourself. It's this cognitive dissonance between what she says and the way she acts that drives me absolutely freaking nuts.

Let's be clear. I have no problem with her being as sexy and provocative as she wants to be. She can pull it off better than just about anyone. But if you're going to dry hump a dancer and air it at 8:15 PM on a Monday evening, then don't complain when some folks find the whole thing a tad inappropriate. Especially when you then argue that critics are focusing too much on your sexuality.

Furthermore, I understand that when you're dancing at the level Spears does in some of her numbers, it's tough to also sing every note of the song. But in this special, she seems even more distant from the actual tracks than normal. In most cases, you can't even tell if the mike is even turned on.

If her recent interview with Diane Sawyer is any indication, she apparently believes that it's not lip-synching if she's mouthing along to her own voice, and her microphone is live. I hate to tell you Britney, but I'm guessing that most people would consider that being--at best--your own backup singer. And while there's nothing wrong with that, it's laughable to go out there and continue to claim that your live voice is the primary thing we're hearing in your live performance.

Britney Spears is a talented singer and dancer, and I hope that she eventually finds her way. Perhaps if she were a bit less interested in spinning her story and more willing to just let her music do the talking, I would be more likely to go out and purchase her new CD. What I wanted from Britney Spears-In The Zone was a strong performance. One that would give me a reason to love her.

Instead, I got an oddly distant multimedia extravaganza that was edited more than the average Star Wars film.

Britney Spears can go out there and hold her ground with anyone. You just wouldn't know it from this special.