Britney Spears became a music sensation seemingly overnight when she was only a teenager. Since then, Britney has amassed an amazing net worth and received many accolades, including a mind-numbing number of awards and nominations.

However, she has not always enjoyed her fame. Throughout the years, Britney has been on the receiving end of merciless criticism from fans and haters alike. She’s had her share of mental breakdowns, including the time Spears shaved her head in public in 2007.

Because of that, fans have questioned her mental health throughout her career, looking for red flags in every performance and public appearance.

In 2016, Britney Spears Won An Exclusive Award

Britney’s list of awards and nominations is almost endless, with almost each of the star’s albums receiving a nod.

In 2016, Britney received the Billboard Millennium Award which recognizes singers with great impact on the music industry. During the same year, Britney also became Woman of the Year and won the Music Choice Awards.

Winning this exclusive award must have meant a lot for the star because it celebrated all her achievements, from her first ever hit, “Baby One More Time,” and put her in the company of record breakers like Whitney Houston and Beyoncé.

RELATED

Britney Spears’ Ex Jason Trawick Claims She “Needed” The Conservatorship (That He Helped Run)

Britney Spears’ ex-fiance Jason Trawick still says she needed the conservatorship, but was he biased as he helped run it?

However, all was not well in Britney’s world at the time. As she revealed in her recent memoir, Britney was struggling with the conservatorship imposed on her in 2008 by her father. Using her mental health as an excuse, the conservatorship meant that Britney had no control over her money, career, and choices in life.

“I became a robot. But not just a robot — a sort of child-robot. I had been so infantilized that I was losing pieces of what made me feel like myself,” she wrote in her memoir.

“The conservatorship stripped me of my womanhood, made me into a child. I became more of an entity than a person onstage. I had always felt music in my bones and my blood; they stole that from me.”

After Britney’s conservatorship ended in court in 2021, evidence came up that it may not have been warranted.

For example, Jamie Lynn Spears, who’s sadly on the receiving end of a feud with her big sister, talked about Britney’s role in raising her. Jamie Lynn said that Britney “was almost like a second mom” to her.

Britney Spears Performed A Medley Of Her Hits

During her appearance at the Billboard Music Awards, Britney performed a medley of some of her most beloved songs in front of an audience of fellow musicians and fans.

Wearing a revealing red outfit, Britney opened her performance alongside a large group of dancers.

RELATED

Britney Spears Discusses Sam Asghari Online As She Gets Close To New Man In PDA-Filled Picture

Britney kissed a friend on the cheek in an Instagram post where she referenced her dramatic divorce.

She started with “Work Bitch,” a single she released in 2013. She then segued into “Womanizer,” which received the MTV Video Award for Best Pop after its release in 2008. She rode a guitar next during a short performance of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” before returning to some of her best hits: “Breathe On Me,” “I’m a Slave 4 U,” and “Touch of My Hand.”

To close her performance, she chose “Toxic,” one of her most iconic songs other than “Baby One More Time.”

Britney’s performance was flawless, as was her outfit. However, fans didn’t fail to notice that everything was a bit too perfect—as if Britney had dissociated from her on-stage persona and was just going through the moves.

Fans Called Britney’s Medley Performance “Soulless”

Despite the audience’s reaction being mostly positive to Britney’s performance, the comments to the YouTube video above make it clear that the viewers found her performance robotic and soulless.

Some are wondering if these were the effects of the conservatorship, namely that Britney had had no say on the songs chosen, her outfit, or even her appearance at the Billboard Music Awards. They think that her Hollywood friends should be ashamed of not having fought for her rights as a human being.

Despite criticizing her stilted choreography, most fans also prized Britney, especially given what was happening in her life at the time.

RELATED

Britney Spears Still Refuses To Talk To Dad Jamie Despite Hospitalization For Life-Threatening Infection

Britney has apparently considered reconciling with her dad, but so far hasn’t made a move.

One anonymous commenter summarized how these viewers felt about Britney’s performance:

“Man, I seriously love her. I remember hearing ‘Baby One More Time’ on the radio In 1998, and I was so obsessed with it and I burned it on a CD. I loved every single that came after that. She’s a living icon and has survived through so much. I will say though, I don’t appreciate the lip-syncing. I’m not sure if she doesn’t feel strong enough to hit the notes anymore or whatever her family told her she needs to do. You made my teenage years so great, Brit!” the person wrote.

Despite the red flags that the fans had noticed during the performance, Britney’s situation was going to continue for another long five years. Unfortunately, even now, fans worry about the singer’s mental health, but it all started years ago.