There’s something striking about The Atlantic publishing in 2026 a piece asking whether Charli XCX is “the new Britney Spears” or “the new Lou Reed.” Here’s a fact that may make you feel old: Britney Spears first exploded onto the pop scene nearly 30 years ago. She hasn’t released an album in a decade, she’s retired from the industry, and she has just reiterated that she does not intend to return. And yet we keep wondering who the new Britney is.
The New York Times had already devoted a 2025 feature to the phenomenon of the new Britney Spears archetypes in pop. The roster of contenders is constantly refreshed: Addison Rae, Tate McRae, Ariana Grande, Aitana… as if a vacancy remained that someone had to fill.
But Britney did not leave a vacancy. This August marks ten years since Glory, her last album, and in the same month she reiterated that she does not intend to return to an industry that traumatized her. She also said that things aren’t the same as when she was there, when she had to be “too good” and could hardly do anything on her own terms. Today, pop stars can be indie and nobody bats an eye. While Spears describes that period as something she does not want to rejoin, her figure continues to surface throughout today’s pop landscape.
Charli XCX, arguably the most influential pop artist of the moment, has said that “Blackout” is her favorite album of all time, and many have noticed her influence in “brat.” Charli is 34 and belongs to the generation that grew up with Britney. In “2007,” she also sings about being at home, as a teenager, singing into the mirror. It isn’t a song about Britney, but it’s hard not to think of that entire generation that learned how to become a pop star by facing the mirror while watching her videos.
And then there are the calculated nods from other artists. Recently, Tate McRae has used visuals on tour that bear a striking resemblance to Britney’s aesthetics from 2001, triggering the debate almost instantly. Trust me: it’s not by accident. Addison Rae is Britney, through and through. Aitana has inserted an interlude of “Toxic” into her tour. The fan service from Zara Larsson and Tyla to the Britney Army is off the charts. Sabrina Carpenter had already leaned on Britney during the VMAs, and Rosalía even referenced Spears in the video for “Bagdad,” a song about domestic abuse that samples “Cry Me a River.” Even Karol G’s album cover has been compared to “In the Zone,” though the link there seems a bit tenuous.
Tate McRae is receiving criticism as many believe her new visuals are too similar to Britney Spears’ ‘Britney’ era visuals. pic.twitter.com/H1FoB4bpBZ
— MR. POP (@MrPopOfficial) August 2, 2026
All this makes Britney function as a kind of cultural capital of pop, both aesthetically and artistically. Her name, her image, and certain moments of her career have become references that artists reuse to express themselves. Britney now operates almost like an idea or a concept that can be embedded in a work, with varying degrees of taste: “Britney in 07” by Blackbear isn’t exactly a homage; Halsey’s “Lucky” is. In Spain, Britney has surfaced in songs by Rigoberta Bandini or Vicco that speak of nostalgia or mental health. Even an unlikely artist like Florence + the Machine has mentioned Britney in “Morning Elvis.” They aren’t songs about Britney, but she functions as a cultural reference within them that artists use to tell something about themselves.
Ariana Grande stands out as perhaps one of the clearest heirs to that legacy. Her voice sits closer to the powerhouse belters, yet her path to building a global pop star bears a strong imprint of Britney. Aitana occupies a similar slot in Spain. Tate McRae does it through dance. Addison Rae embodies the internet celebrity turned pop star. Tinashe even has a direct link by having collaborated with Britney on “Slumber Party.” And while Zara Larsson or ADÉLA have shown more affinity for Christina Aguilera, they also fit into that tradition of a singer who must be a performer, a dancer, and an image. It’s a model that K-pop has revived and turned into an entire industry apparatus, so this isn’t something that vanished with Britney nor something the Western pop world discovered only now.
There’s also a very personal comparison that comes to mind when I think of Britney, and that’s Vaslav Nijinsky. It’s my own association and I’m not aiming to draw any biographical parallel between them. What it makes me think of in him is something much more concrete: the way he danced. Britney was an extraordinary dancer in her youth, with an astonishing ease at executing highly demanding choreographies and making them look natural. Nijinsky is often praised for similar reasons—his technique and the grace that made incredibly difficult moves look easy. They also shared highly particular physiques suited to what they did.
Over the years, Britney lost some of her dancing faculties and the way she performed on stage evolved. Yet just revisiting her early videos and performances makes it clear why reproducing that is so challenging today. When people say Tate McRae or Addison Rae lack Britney’s “aura,” they aren’t necessarily claiming they dance worse; they’re talking about that power Britney wielded onstage, and that specific blend of technique, physique, and presence.
Whether for the impact she has left behind or simply because she continues to be referenced, Britney is starting to function like other figures who ceased to be merely artists and became icons. Marilyn Monroe and James Dean continue to be used as references even though their careers ended long ago. Their image no longer needs to be tied to a particular work to carry meaning. With Britney, it’s still early to tell if the same will happen, but it’s striking that, a decade after her last album and with Spears herself insisting she has no desire to return, her name remains so present.
That is why the question of who is “the new Britney” may entertain for a while or generate viral content, but it may not be very useful. Britney can appear as an aesthetic reference, as a model of the pop star, as a sample, as a song title, or simply as a name that allows an artist to speak about themselves. Her influence is scattered across a multitude of pop figures. Many have inherited parts of what Britney represented, but they do not necessarily need to become her successor.
