The Song That Britney Should’ve Sung

July 14th, 2008

My enjoyment of the pop-trash Pussycat Dolls? No secret. Even the once questionable “When I Grow Up” has reached high rotation on my gym playlist. And you know what? I like PCD better than Britney! Yeah, that’s right. But on the real: I think that “When I Grow Up” should have been Britney’s song.

Most supastars reach a point where they acknowledge their fame in a song – Lindsay Lohan in “Rumors”, “J-Lo in “Jenny From The Block”, Fergie with “Glamorous” – and Britney’s no stranger to this idea. Remember “Lucky”? Or the video for “Everytime”?

And then there’s “Piece Of Me”, a fun slice of synth-pop pie on Brit’s part, but the lyrics are way too self-aware to be interesting. It’s another “page out of my diary” snippet that we’ve come to expect from a Britney lyric. “I’m Mrs. ‘Oh my God that Britney’s shameless”? Cute, but we get it – you’re on to us. You know what we’re saying about you. What else is new? And while the song was extremely topical (released in the most recent heydey of her tabloid overexposure), it was still kind of… boring. You know? At least in my opinion. She didn’t even write it, anyway – but the lyricists could have come up with something a bit more fresh … enter PCD.

“When I Grow Up” is more tongue in cheek than most other songs about fame (save for Lily Allen’s excellent “I Don’t Know”), and the chorus features a bit of a twist that teases the more sinister aspects of celebrity. Here’s a taste of the lyrics:

We all wanna be famous
So go ahead and say what you wanna say
You know what it’s like to be nameless
Want them to know what your name is
‘Cause see, when I was younger I would say

[Chorus]
When I grow up
I wanna be famous
I wanna be a star
I wanna be in movies

When I grow up
I wanna see the world
Drive nice cars
I wanna have groupies

When I grow up
Be on TV
People know me
Be on magazines

When I grow up
Fresh and clean
Number one chick when I step out on the scene

But be careful what you wish for
‘Cause you just might get it
You just might get it
You just might get it

How delicious would it be to hear these words coming from Britney’s growly mouth? It’s all so appropriate considering her own experience, and coming from Brit, “be careful what you wish for, cause you just might get it” is the ultimate warning. And when I think of the Britster taking a step back, looking at the obvious pitfalls of fame and then sounding her omen – well, it makes me a little misty-eyed and frankly, that’s the Britney I want to welcome back with open arms.

Posted on Monday, July 14th, 2008 at 5:21 pm by Wendy and is filed under Celebrities & Pop Culture.