Hitting Us, Baby, One More Time

There are two camps that would scoff at the notion that Britney Spears is poised for a comeback. One is the camp that never sees that happening. The other would snort, “She never went anywhere!”

Take into consideration her residency in Las Vegas. No small feat. This is where Celine Dion, Jennifer Lopez, Siegfried and Roy — well, you get the picture. In September, she even announced a two-year, $35 million deal to extend her show.

Spears has raked in global sales of over $200 million for albums and hit singles.

Then there’s her Billboard Millennium Award, which she will receive this coming Sunday. Again, no small feat. New music is due soon, too. Very soon.

But first things first. This Sunday’s honoring is interesting stuff. The 34-year-old “Princess of Pop” will follow in the footsteps of previous big name winners of the prestigious Billboard prize that marks outstanding career achievement, including Beyonce and the late Whitney Houston. Rarified air, to be sure.

These are ladies with pipes, while Spears is a lady with a different set of pipes that garner attention. And thanks to Instagram, they helped to keep her relevant this past year, if not more so. It’s been nothing but selfies lately, and the gal sure has made it an art form. Then again, what else were you expecting from the performer who once danced with a snake on her shoulders at an award show?

It has truly been a tumultuous career for Spears, who exploded onto the scene in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform in 1998 with “Baby One More Time,” only to fizzle out once her 2002 feature film debut “Crossroads” bombed and Justin Timberlake notoriously cut her loose. Again, that vocal fan base of hers — and this is a sizable camp, mind you — would scratch their heads at the mere mention of any fizzling out, though.

Take this, too, into consideration: Spears has raked in global sales of over $200 million for albums and hit singles. Sure, 2013’s “Britney Jean” hit a record low as far as records are concerned, but the die-hards don’t seem to mind. Furthermore, since the release of her debut single “… Baby One More Time” in 1998, Britney has gone on to win seven Billboard Music Awards, including New Artist of the Year and Female Artist of the Year.

In addition to this latest — and obviously greatest — Billboard award, Brit has also received her fair share of recognition from the MTV Video Music Awards panel, who have presented her with their Lifetime Achievement Award in addition to five further top awards over the years. Britney also has the notable honor of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Had enough? Forbes named her the fifth highest-earning female musician of 2015, ahead of powerhouses like Rihanna and Nicki Minaj.

And all by the ripe old age of 34.

So maybe these fans are onto something? And maybe it’s something they are just fine with the rest of us being clueless about. But Spears … she wants the rest of us paying attention as well. Desperately. Trouble is, we are only doing it via social media. Right now anyway.

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Case in point: This past Mother’s Day, a published letter Spears wrote to her boys in Time magazine hit cyberspace in a big way. An excerpt:

To Jayden and Preston

Always believe in yourself and know anything is possible. I pray dreaming awakens your soul to limitless possibilities. I hope the most precious mysteries of life stay with you always and you are never ashamed of how bright your light truly is. I hope you learn praying alone is when you are most connected to God, and know you are never alone. He is with you always.

Set that sucker to music and you’ve got your next “I’m Not A Girl (Not Yet A Woman)”!

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But with Spears, there is always a hesitation, a waiting for the other shoe to drop. That’s what happens when you abruptly shave your head and take a baseball bat to a parked car. (Was it parked? I don’t remember. Does it really matter?)

These days Brit’s “squad” presents her onstage as fully in control, and backstage as the mastermind of her show, an artist just about hitting her stride, as opposed to gawking at it in a rear-view mirror. That view is, of course, at odds with the conclusions routinely drawn about her at probate court in Los Angeles, where an undisclosed mental illness and substance abuse problem led her family to take action some years ago.

Since then, her life has been controlled by a court-approved conservatorship, known in other states as a guardianship, designed for people who cannot take care of themselves.

She is taking care of herself physically at least, with media outlets gushing over her toned bod practically nightly, thanks to the aforementioned selfies. Is that a precursor to the debut of her in peak mental form too, this coming Sunday night, and beyond? Only time will tell.

She is also slated to perform a medley of her greatest hits, as well as her new single “Make Me (Oooh)” from that upcoming ninth studio album, “B9.” From and “Oops…” to an “Ooh…,” Britney may surprise us all yet.

The 2016 Billboard Music Awards will air Sunday, May 22 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.