Britney Spears Fans React To Instagram Name Change

Singer Britney Spears changed her name on Instagram and fans are scratching their heads wondering what it all means.

The "Hold Me Closer" singer has a back-and-forth relationship with social media. Although she does not often use Twitter, she occasionally will delete her Instagram account entirely, sometimes for days, before reappearing without a word.

Although her "erratic" Instagram use has caused some troubles with her two teenage sons, Jayden and Preston, fans were confused when Britney changed her name to "Channel 8" earlier this month without dropping any clues as to what it might mean.

Earlier this month, the “Stronger” singer suddenly changed her name to “Channel 8” on Instagram but fans don’t have a clue of what it all means. Several of her followers pointed out that her ninth studio album, “Glory,” dropped in 2016, so it can’t be a reference to her eighth album. However, it’s possible that Britney can still be hinting at her new music.

The song, “Hold Me Closer” with Sir Elton John,” was released last month and marks Britney’s first song in six years and the first since her stifling 13-year conservatorship ended in November 2021. Britney became ecstatic on social media when her song hit the number one spot in several countries, and it’s possible that the fan reaction to her music has convinced her to make a brand new album or at least a new song.

One fan shared a reaction post, writing, "New album coming (I know the reach is real but a girl can hope 😭)."

One user retweeted their own post, tweeting, "Good morning. ☀️ I’m still curious as to why @britneyspears changed her name to 'Channel 8' on Instagram?"

One user asked “Could Channel 8 mean this?” and attached a screenshot of a link that explains that the number 8 “resonates with authority, self-confidence, inner strength, inner wisdom, social status, ego, and at the same time has to love for humanity and a desire for peace. Eights are extremely professional and so are very successful, especially in business.”

However, one user had another interesting explanation as to what "Channel 8" could be in reference to.

In February 2022, Page Six revealed that Britney Spears, 40, had signed a $15 million dollar deal with the publishing company Simon & Schuster to publish a memoir and reveal what happened during the conversation from her point of view.

Although the book is reportedly done, Publishers Weekly indicated earlier this year that there is a "paper crunch" in the industry and her book may be delayed for an undetermined amount of time.

At a Publishers Weekly webinar earlier this year, Midland Paper Vice President Bill Rojack said, “I’ve been doing this for 25 years and I’ve never seen a market like this before.” Although he said that book-quality paper has been on the rise, it has fallen by almost 50% in "recent years." It seems that paper mills have shifted over to producing corrugated cardboard and other material instead of book-quality paper, which is hurting the book business pretty hard.

“This is more than a market cycle,” Rojack explained. “It is a structural transformational sea change that happened so much faster than anybody expected because of Covid.”

As Page Six pointed out, it didn't affect Simon & Schuster from publishing “The Official Britney Spears Coloring Book,” which was released by indie publisher Ulysses Press in November 2021, right around the time her 13-year conservatorship ended.

Britney hasn't been all that vocal about her new memoir in her latest social media posts, but fans still can't wait for it to be released!