Britney Spears may be all smile in the shot above, but if new reports are to be believed she won’t have much to smile about regarding her involvement (or lackthereof) in the next season of The X Factor USA.
Famously signed up this season for a whopping $15 million, the ‘My Prerogative’ singer failed to rocket the ratings for the Fox show – which continues to trail behind more successful competitors American Idol and The Voice – the latter of which has, up until recently, starred Spears’ longtime rival Christina Aguilera.
According to US Weekly, the show’s producers were banking (quite literally) on getting “bonkers Britney”. What they received instead was a vapid shell of the singer’s former self, boasting all the personality of a boiled egg. Something we feel is amply deserved. For, anyone with a legit ear and eye to the trainwreck that continues to be Britney’s latter day career would have known she hasn’t been “herself” for almost 7 years. As such, joining in on the clear exploitation of an act who clearly needs to not be in the spotlight at present ultimately blew up in many a corporate face. So much so that they supposedly are ready to bin Britney for the show’s upcoming 3rd season.
Of course, it’s imperative to point out that the 31 year old was only ever signed to a one-year deal; a fact which ignites debate as to whether she’d actually be getting “fired” or simply “moving on”. However, in keeping it all the way 100, if her stint was the raving success intended, both parties would be doing bad business by dissolving it. Indeed, the show would continue to benefit from a A-star name, while Britney could reap the reward of weekly exposure without having to embarrass herself with the rigours of doing what most artists have to do – perform. The fact the opposite is seemingly happening speaks volumes.
However this plays out, it serves as yet more proof that ratings aren’t generated by simply throwing money at a format – or in this case, a “lacking” entity.
With budget cuts highly likely for the show, here’s hoping this forces the producers to actually produce a compelling product rather than relying on a barely there judge to do it for them. There are many creative ways to spend $15 million, and as time has shown, Britney Spears isn’t one of them.