Britney Spears' Las Vegas residency was the best thing she ever did for her career

Britney Spears concluded her first Las Vegas residency on New Year's Eve 2017. For the last four years, the pop star Piece Of Me show at Planet Hollywood, With countless costumes and dancing, body rolls and hair flicks, her 24-song performance became a staple within the Las Vegas music scene.

While the Piece Of Me The One More Time 2015, the singer – who rocketed to stardom with the debut single "… Baby One More Time" – signed on to perform her greatest hits for another two years. It seemed like a no-brainer for Spears to continue this nostalgia fest; the perfect way to reconnect with her base fan while banking an estimated $ 30-35m a year.

It's a far cry from the late 2000s when the pop icon was dealing with mental health issues (who can forget the pictures of her distressed and shaven headed?). She had two stints in rehab; a year in prison after a hit and run (in Los Angeles); lost a close family member; Kevin Federline. Kevin Federline.

The public perception of Spears – a teen pop idol adored by millions of young fans around the world – had shifted, and the fall of grace that followed the impact of both her music, her personal life, and her career.

But rather than ignoring the media, she played with her perceived image on 2007's Blackout. The record, a radical departure from her previous work, was meant to show a more mature Spears. But the record polarized both critics and fans, and was not helped by a poor publicity campaign. Nevertheless, the album's reputation among fans has been improved over the past decade Blackout has become something of a cult classic – or as close to a cult classic as an album by one of the world's biggest pop stars can be.

Following Blackout, Spears released two records: Circus and Fatale woman. While each of them had hits ("Womanizer", "Radar"), Spears popularity had begun to wane. So it makes perfect sense to accept the Vegas residency. It was an ideal way for her to capitalize on her 20-year career, to interact with fans and it gave her the structure of regular work, but also time to spend with her family. It was an undeniable win-win.

Piece of Me has had a profound effect on pop star residencies in Vegas. Formerly, it is important to know that there are only a few things that can be done. Jennifer Lopez, Backstreet Boys, and Lady Gaga are following her lead. A residency is a brilliant – and lucrative – strategy for reviving an artist's career.

Britney was reasserting herself to the public by performing her greatest hits and showing off the world; it was Spears saying: "Do not count me out."

On December 27, Spears played the first of her final five shows. I was nine-years-old when she released "… Baby One More Time" and have been following her career ever since, watching as she soared, stumbling and trying to regain her strength over the course of two decades. That night was the first time I'd seen her perform live. From a jazzy performance of "Toxic" set in a makeshift rainforest to a glimmering "Everytime" atop huge angel wings, Spears' spirit and passion for putting on a show was infectious. She rode a guitar like a mechanical bull during her cover of "I Love Rock 'n' Roll" Crossroads) and called a male member of the audience up so she could walk him like a dog.

The set encompassed every phase of the life of a teen pop idol to a certified pop badass. She looked immortal in her sparkly, barely there bodysuits and thigh-high boots, dancing non-stop in between set change after set change.

Spears' residency was perhaps the smartest thing she ever did when it came to finance, rehabilitating her image and communicating with her longstanding fan base.

Time then for the singer to recover and hit the studio because her fans are desperate to see what she'll do next. We'll welcome a signature "It's Britney, bitch" whenever she's ready.

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