Originally written April 28, 2006.

Having a tour around some Britney forums today, I found that the mood is generally somewhat downbeat right now. The news of Britney's second pregnancy in two years hasn't been especially well-received. Although plenty of people are happy for her because she's happy there's also a lot of disappointment that there may not be any new material from her for a while and some are even saying "She had a chance to redeem herself and get it all back but she blew it".

I was thinking about all this and wondering why her fans should be so disappointed in her for taking a break which is no more than the interval between new Xtina albums. Is it just that they're so used to her high past productivity rate? I'm wondering why they're so sure she's going to let us down this or next year. Since her break started in June 2004, she hasn't exactly neglected us - we've had GH, Chaotic, the remix album, three perfumes, a Will & Grace appearance.... Don't you think she'll give us something in 2006 or early 2007? If not, WHY not? Why are people doubting her role in the future of pop music?

I think a different problem is starting to come into play, and that problem is "discontinuity". Do you still listen to Britney albums and do you still watch her videos? I think for some fans an artist is only validated when currently active. If Britney announced her retirement everything she produced in the past would be classified under "she's over" and put in a closet somewhere or sold in a second-hand store. I guess at present Britney is kind of "in jail on suspicion of being over" for these fans.

And they're becoming ever more suspicious that in Britney's mind the balance she sees between family and career falls a long way short of full commitment. Maybe her next album won't come out till 2010. Maybe she won't do any major tours again. Maybe this time next year we'll all be discussing her third pregnancy and in 2008 we'll be discussing her fourth. One of the UK tabloids calls her "the blonde baby factory" and it could be that some fans see her that way too. She seems just a little TOO happy with her baby on her arm. Where's the steely, selfish determination that drives people to become stars?

Fans who think this way have already wasted two years of their lives hanging around waiting for Britney to show some sign that she's still a viable project and they really don't want to waste another two years doing the same thing, only to discover that she pulled the plug on her proposed new album some time around March 2006 but didn't bother to tell anybody.

So that's one kind of fan. But there is another kind. These fans rejoice in what has already been created and to them it's like the artist lives IN and THROUGH their albums and videos. These, I think, are the true fans. They can still love Karen Carpenter and Dusty Springfield and Jeff Buckley, they still play albums by the Cowsills and Spanky And Our Gang and Mama Cass..... Elvis and Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain and Jim Reeves and Frank Sinatra never really died. If Britney never made another album, fans in this category would still love her. But here's the great thing - she's still alive and only 24 and will probably make some more music in the future. Even if it's only an album every five years.

I'm not about to be self-righteous. I'm no great example here. Before I became a Britney fan I was a devout follower of the great Queen Mariah......but when she took her looonnnggg break after her alleged "breakdown" I was a traitor and I moved on. But that was my BIG mistake because Mariah came back to be queen of the charts - and to be revered and respected even more than before, because she survived the tests that build character and make icons. She gained a lot of new fans but she kind of lost me along the way and I feel so ashamed.

This time around I'll light a candle (or at least a tea-light) for Britney each day and keep her alive in my heart.

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