The year was 1999, and Britney Spears was desperate to do anything she could to shake off her good girl image. Just a few months earlier butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth, but now she’s got more crop tops than Topshop’s festival edit, and she’s taken a tong to her hair (because everyone knows good girls don’t have beach babe waves) and her whole psyche has changed. Though her video may have signalled the dawn of a new Spears era at the time, in the 18 years (f*$%!) since it’s debut it’s become an emblem of the ‘90s. On a scale with Spice World the movie and Tony Blair’s ascent to office, the video is a moment frozen in history.
1. Evidence One: Melissa Joan Hart Made A Cameo
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This article originally appeared on The Debrief.