Britney Spears: Chained-Up Album Art Linked To Conservatorship Cries

Britney Spears said she was "having the best day ever" on Sunday. The pop star's elation came when her 2016 album "Glory" surged into the #1 spot on the iTunes charts.

"I have no idea what happened," Spears said in a video, but what had happened was a fan-driven movement seeking #JusticeForGlory - so it's actually hard not to believe the changing out of its four-year-old artwork on Friday wasn't done in direction connection.

The artwork itself, though, is thought to be even less of a coincidence.

Britney Spears | Instagram

2016's "Glory" might be best known for its hit "Make Me" (featuring hip hop star G-Eazy). Its now-previous artwork - a non-descript close-up - is in rather stark contrast with the revamp. But now, the revamp is all-but-confirmed to be the original.

This "new" depiction shows a glistening Spears arching her near-naked body on the floor of a near-empty desert - except for the absolutely giant chain surrounding her.

Isolation? Entrapment? Captivity? Supporters of the #FreeBritney movement held a majority view that these are the themes of Spears' not-so-subtle-symbolism.

Britney Spears | Twitter

#FreeBritney, through an ongoing examination of the conservatorship, believes Spears is being held and/or controlled against her will.

A powerful parallel was drawn between this "fresh" album cover and the (actual) original video for "Make Me." Ultimately replaced with a more standardized Spears clip, the fully-produced, already-promoted video showed the 38-year-old conservatee dancing in the confines of a poolside cage.

It was shot by famed photographer David LaChapelle - the same man behind the lens of Friday's desert shots. Check out the leaked clip here:

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Vimeo

Billboard reported the video was abandoned "for being overly sexual." Considering the topic at hand was a Britney Spears video, the PC reasoning didn't really fly - especially over at Buzzfeed.

But exactly one year ago - on April, 29 2019 - "Glory" photog and "Make Me" director LaChapelle shared the simple, shocking instruction Spears gave him on the video's set: that he "film her in the cage."

Given that - in a previous shoot, all she asked was to "die in the video" - he wishes he would've seen the signs.

Britney Spears | Instagram

"At the time I didn’t understand why would you want to be filmed in a cage? ...I could tell something was off."

Briefly chronicling their lengthy relationship, LaChapelle revealed that "Britney never showed up" for a mid-2000s shoot because "she was getting married in Vegas."

"I have known Britney since she was 17. I shot her first cover, Rolling Stone, it was shot in Louisana at her family home, filled with pageant trophies. I could tell even back then something wasn't right."

"Looking back now it seems to me these were cries for help, that she wanted to communicate through her videos."