Posted May 25, 200718 yr A tiny Louisiana town's hopes of cashing in on its most famous resident, Britney Spears, have unraveled in tandem with the pop singer's career. For almost a decade, the 2,200-strong hamlet of Kentwood devoted itself to celebrating the success of Ms. Spears. When she got her first major gig in 1993, on television show "The Mickey Mouse Club," Kentwood's mayor declared April 23 Britney Spears Day. When Ms. Spears found success in the pop charts, visitors flocked to the town, greeted everywhere by pictures and banners of the pop star. Local store Callihan Furniture sold $150 porcelain Britney Spears dolls. Danielle Alford, a waitress, remembers charging photographers $40 just for directions to Ms. Spears's house. Locals say she still owns the gated mansion, but rarely seems to visit. "Britney was just about the only thing Kentwood had going for it," writes Larry Getlen in Radar, who notes that in the late 1990s, 45% of Kentwood's households were getting by on less than $15,000 a year. Hoping to tap into the Spears bounty, residents conceived a Kentwood equivalent to Dollywood or Graceland, a Britney Spears Museum. But the plans eventually fizzled, prompting residents to turn to the Kentwood Historical & Cultural Arts Museum, which was mostly dedicated to celebrating the town's war veterans. The museum now hosts a Britney Spears exhibit featuring a replica of her childhood bedroom. The exhibit's opening coincided with a series of embarrassing episodes in Ms. Spears's life, including shaving her head and a stay in a rehab center. Between Jan. 1 and March 1, 13 people visited the museum. Ms. Spears's contribution to the town, says Katrina Pittman, a reporter for the Kentwood News-Ledger, was "maybe not financial, but she gave us all a dream." A former US President explains why Britney has made herself the biggest pop star in the world. "Persistence - nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not: Nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not: unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not: the world is full of educated derelicts. Source: Wall Street Journal/BSF
