Who is Britney Spears?

Entertainment Weekly has given Britney Spears’s new album, Blackout, a positive review, grading it a B+ and saying it “may put the once-celebrated pop star back on top.”

But having sampled a little bit of Blackout and read some of the lyrics, I cannot help but wonder about just who is Britney Spears.

Clearly, from everything we see day in and day out she’s a troubled young woman. But, for better or for worse, she also is an artist. What kind of artist she is, though, I don’t know.

In Blackout’s “Freakshow,” EW says, Spears “coos, ‘I'm bout to shake my ass / Snatch that boy so fast / Make dem other bitches mad.’”

What? Really? Will that really come out of my speakers?

Is this the same girl who once sang, “Sometimes I run / Sometimes I hide / Sometimes I’m scared of you / But all I really want is to hold you tight / Treat you right / Be with you day and night / Baby all I need is time”?

Spears certainly has come a long way, and I suppose I’m happy her production team has assembled some good songs for her. I always enjoyed her fun musical confections, and I probably will give Blackout a full listen.

But isn’t a bit puzzling that this is what she’s selling these days? A sound and songs that really, more than likely, don’t amount to anything other than a decent beat.

Don’t call it a comeback, for she’s too far gone to care. Call it a day, and let her sort herself out.

Photo: PopCrunch.com.