I've never made any secret about the fact that I think Britney Spears has yet to make a comeback. We can slap the word "comeback" before as many concerts, tours, or appearances as we want, but it doesn't make it so. No matter what happens, I won't believe that Spears it truly back until that light is back in her eyes. I've never known exactly what I was looking for, other than that I'd know it when I saw it, and guess what? I think I see it. It's in the video of Spears pranking her "bodyguards" while appearing on Neil Patrick Harris' new show Best Time Ever. During her appearance, he has her pull a prank on three men she's supposedly interviewing for the position of her new bodyguard.
The prank is part of a segment called "Voices In Your Head," in which a celebrity has a hidden ear piece through which they receive instructions from NPH and a celebrity guest, in this case Joe Jonas. The show has chosen three candidates, who think they're sitting down with Spears as part of the final interview in the process of becoming her bodyguard, and you can watch in the video as Spears gets more and more comfortable ribbing them. Every time she gets a new instruction in her ear, she seems almost delighted to say it out loud, layering on funny faces, mugs to the camera, and just generally embodying this ditzy "Britney Spears" character she's supposed to be playing.
She gets so into the charade at one point, having a great time directing one applicant to "sit on this couch, no over here, no actually over here," that I was convinced it was something she was being told to do, but, when we cut back to the studio, Harris was cackling, saying Spears had "gone rogue." It was honestly delightful to see her playing like that, and it gave me a sense of optimism about Spears and her career that I haven't felt for years now.
Along came this sparkly-eyed, excited person again, and all of a sudden I remember Old Britney. She's right here in the video, making a man dance alongside her onstage, shouting "I'M NOT SAFE" when he leaves her side for a second. She's there pulling a face to camera when she says something so ridiculous that she can't even believe it came out of her mouth. And she's there sticking her hand out at an interviewee, confidently saying, "It's Britney, b*tch."
And you know what? I think it finally is. Welcome back, lady! We've missed you. Check out the awesome video below.
Image: BestTimeEverwithNeilPatrickHarris/YouTube; Giphy
