Singles for the week 8/22.

Pop culture has taken an active role in covering the deeply personal aspects of celebrities’ lives without care or compassion.

Her signature 90s sound — the peppy synth beats, generic bass drops and basic lyrics — feels stale compared to her contemporaries, like Nicki Minaj and Beyoncé. Each song may have topped the charts in Spears’ heyday, but now the tracks feel forced and inauthentic. Her album may have been better received had she made more of an effort to stay current.