Is Britney Spears Still An Underdog?

As 'Hold It Against Me' tops charts, is this the year she drops the label?
By Jocelyn Vena, with reporting by Christina Garibaldi


Britney Spears
Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage

Despite selling out stadiums and having her singles, including her newest one, "Hold It Against Me," shoot to the top of the charts, Britney Spears always seems to have an air of underdog about her. After rising to the top of the pop ranks, Spears suffered some personal setbacks that she can't seem to shake even in the wake of professional triumph.

So, is 2011 the year Spears finally loses the stigma? MTV News asked a few experts to weigh in.

Celebrity blogger Perez Hilton compared the Britney of today to the Britney of her pop heyday in the early part of the millennium.

"I think Britney is still an underdog in comparison to her former self," he said.

The last big sit-down interview Spears did was in 2008 for her documentary "For the Record." And aside from smaller magazine write-ups, Spears has managed to stay out of the usual rounds of doing press, an aspect of her public persona that may contribute to the idea that she is an underdog.

"Britney's been an underdog for, like, four years. There's gonna come a point where we're gonna have to stop considering her an underdog," MTV News' Jim Cantiello said. "I still think people do. She's recluse for all intents and purposes. I mean, she doesn't do any press, so I think as long as that mystery surrounds her, people will think of her as an underdog."

But, Entertainment Weekly's Leah Greenblatt notes that being somewhat of a recluse does not make Spears a pop underdog.

"I don't know if she'll ever be an underdog on the pop charts," Greenblatt said. "No matter what goes on with her personally ... if she brings them something and it's good enough, people take it and put it at the top of the Billboard chart."

Do you consider Britney Spears an underdog? Sound off in the comments below!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1655817/-britney-spears-still-underdog.jhtml

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Man Refused Piranha 3D Rental From Blockbuster Due to "Health and Safety" [3D]

You could argue that the Blockbuster employee was merely looking out for Peterborough Mayor Keith Sharp's best interests—saving him 90 precious minutes!—but Sharp was not happy about being banned from renting the movie. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/DYvLQTi_IuU/man-refused-piranha-3d-rental-from-blockbuster-due-to-health-and-safety

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Fujitsu launches 11.6-inch Lifebook PH50/C, complete with AMD Fusion APU

Now that AMD's Fusion is finally real, we're all sorts of excited to see what kind of numbers the E-350 Zacate APU puts up in honest-to-goodness machines like Fujitsu's latest. The minty fresh Lifebook PH50/C is just one of the many new lappies unveiled this week by the company, but this particular 11.6-incher has managed to grab our heartstrings and not let go. Boasting a cute, albeit familiar design, the PH50/C is equipped with a 1.6GHz E-350 APU, Radeon HD 6310 graphics, 2GB of memory, a 500GB hard drive, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n WiFi, Windows 7 Home Premium (64-bit) and a 5,800mAh battery good for up to seven hours of life in ideal conditions. For those more interested in Intel's Sandy Bridge, the like-minded PH74/C gets powered by a Core i3-2310M, and given that it's a Japanese machine designed for Japanese owners, an in-built WiMAX module is thrown in for good measure. We're also getting the impression that both of these can be ordered up with Intel's Wireless Display technology, and considering that Buffalo just introduced a new WiDi adapter for this very market, we'd say things have lined up quite nicely. Pricing remains up in the air, but they should be out in Q1 for under $800 or so.

Fujitsu launches 11.6-inch Lifebook PH50/C, complete with AMD Fusion APU originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 19:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/fujitsu-launches-11-6-inch-lifebook-ph50-c-complete-with-amd-fu/

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Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/01/11/eton-aluminator-afl200-flashlight-review/

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Ubuntu devs discuss the change from GNOME Shell to Unity in Natty 11.04 (video)

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One of the biggest changes in the upcoming release of Ubuntu 11.04 Natty Narwhal is a change away from much-loved GNOME Shell to Canonical's Unity. Such a big change has garnered a lot of commentary on both sides of the fence, but the truth is, you'll be able to switch back to Shell if you don't like Unity!

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Continue reading Ubuntu devs discuss the change from GNOME Shell to Unity in Natty 11.04 (video)

Ubuntu devs discuss the change from GNOME Shell to Unity in Natty 11.04 (video) originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 11 Jan 2011 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/11/ubuntu-devs-discuss-the-change-from-gnome-shell-to-unity-in-natty-11-04/

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Add some color to your iPhone with Incipio Ultra Light Feather Case

Incipio Ultra Light Feather Case for iPhone 4Add some color to your iPhone with Incipio Ultra Light Feather Case On sale right now for just $15.51, the Incipio Ultra Light Feather Case for iPhone 4 is for those who want some color and style without any extra bulk. Comes in black, bright purple, pink, forest green, metallic black, metallic white, metallic gray, coral, turquoise, [...]

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Source: http://www.technewsworld.com/rsstory/71637.html

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Kinect hack simulates your skeletal X-ray, lets you peer inside...

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The odd and interesting Kinect hacks keep rolling in, in part thanks to the official driver release from OpenNI, but also because it seems to have tickled the interests of nerds from all walks of life. Today, some researchers from the Technical University of Munich, Germany, have used Kinect to produce a virtual X-ray that allows users to see the skeleton under their skin.

Rather than trying rather lamely to describe the hack, just watch the video after the break. Basically, the developers have taken a 3D CT scan, and then used the Kinect's motion- and depth-sensing capabilities to overlay the CT scan on the user's body. The user can move up and down, rotate and bend, and Kinect successfully keeps up.

Of course, such a system could show a lot more than just bones -- it could just as easily render an X-ray of your skin, or musculature. Integrated with Google Body, the user could leaf through his or her entire anatomy.

Continue reading Kinect hack simulates your skeletal X-ray, lets you peer inside...

Kinect hack simulates your skeletal X-ray, lets you peer inside... originally appeared on Download Squad on Tue, 04 Jan 2011 06:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://downloadsquad.switched.com/2011/01/04/kinect-hack-simulates-your-skeletal-x-ray-lets-you-peer-inside/

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BlackBerry Curve 'Apollo' leak provides image, details, no relationship status originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 Jan 2011 13:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/01/13/blackberry-curve-apollo-leak-provides-image-details-no-relat/

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