NEW ethnography topic

So, because my last topic choice was quite vague and involved too many variables, I have narrowed down my topic and almost completely changed it, but not quite.

In the past few months I have once again realized how influential of a pop icon Britney Spears is. After listening to some of her more recent songs, I became curious about the change she and her music have undergone in less than ten years. The once innocent teenage pop star has gone through marriage and divorce, rehab, and some very chaotic times up till now. Recently she has just released a new album that is very upbeat and sexual, completely different from her original albums. The interesting thing is that the style and sound of Britney Spears has not changed over night, but with each album there was a different attitude involved. What I would like to investigate for my ethnography project is the teen Britney vs. the now Britney.

Some questions I hope to address are...

• how has Britney Spears' fan base changed over time?
• what kind of influence has the media had on Britney Spears?
• how has the image of Britney Spears changed over time? what could be some of the causes for these changes?
• Why is Britney Spears so successful? is she successful?

The methods I plan on using to research this topic reading and keeping up with the fansites on-line, interviewing people to see what kind of fanbase exists now, hopefully going to one of her concerts, and also looking into the events of her life and how they have affected her music. I also want to look into her songs and find changes in her subjects and "messages."