We are on the cusp of the release of Britney Spear’s seventh studio album and her next comeback attempt and fans are frothing at the mouth for anything Britney-related as they sit (or dance) in anticipation. Thus the stage was set Friday night for a homage at Rain nightclub at the Palms featuring Britney’s best video moments. Then, surprise, Britney pops out of the one of the speakers and she puts on a 45 minute show, singing her fan favorites (“3”, “Slave 4 U”, and “Gimmee More”). So why the blog entry when MTV has covered (orchestrated) the event and every pop website on the Internet has a post?

Well, one has to question whether this was such a wise move. Yes, the Jersey Shore’s Pauly D, fresh off of the Jersey Shore Season 2 finale, opened up for the video montage and the Real World has returned to Sin City. I am sure the MTV execs envisioned this as a shining moment in station branding, but they forgot what Vegas represents to music, it is the place artists go to revel in nostalgia and abandon any hope of existing at the forefront of relevancy.

At some point in time in the next month Britney Spears is going to announce her tour, her first since 2009’s Circus Tour, and millions of fans are going to type in a Google search for Britney Spears tickets, but that is hardly a comeback. She will not be courting any new fans, just as Cher did not suddenly become any more relevant to the under-35 crowd by performing a revue in Vegas.

However, this is where a stream of conscious writing exercise takes an interesting turn. Is it archaic to even suggest she must court new fans? This new crop of teen pop music fans has Lady Gaga and Ke$sha. They are not going to add Britney to an already saturated field of musical or celebrity talent (let’s face it, as it has always been, not all pop artists are actually that talented). Is Britney, or more likely her handlers, simply on the ball when they admit Britney is simply selling to the fans she already has?

Certainly performers like Elton John, Jimmy Buffett, Bob Seger, Celine Dion, and Prince are going to clean up at the box office. The difference is that Britney will still earn platinum certification for her new album, no matter what critics say, in addition to playing before sold out arena crowds.