In November 2021, Britney Spears’ controversial conservatorship came to an end following a worldwide fan movement to change the way in which the pop superstar’s life and career were managed. Over the past year-and-a-half, Spears, who had been under the conservatorship for 13 years, settled into a new reality. The pop icon — whose debut single “…Baby One More Time” became the first of her five No. 1s on the Billboard Hot 100 and catapulted the teenager into international stardom — has been active on social media, posting videos and messages that have stoked fan and media speculation over the last 18 months. Since the end of her conservatorship, she also scored her biggest hit in years, crashed an unexpected Billboard chart for the first time and watched fans interact with and champion a catalog of music that stretches back a quarter century.
Details about the future of Spears’ recording career, including any new full-length to follow 2016’s Glory, are scarce. Yet millions of listeners remain engaged with her brand of pop on streaming platforms, radio stations and on social media sites like Instagram and TikTok. Looking at data on Luminate, we can observe how certain songs and albums have evolved on these platforms over time — Spears’ biggest catalog hit on streaming platforms today, for instance, was not her biggest hit at the time of its release.
Here are five fascinating facts about the current state of Britney Spear’s music consumption — which may give some clues into what’s next for Britney.
