Britney Spears' former makeup artist is speaking out about the pop star's dark relationship with fame that eventually led to her infamous 2007 breakdown. 

Julianne Kaye, a Hollywood makeup artist, was 23 years old when she was hired to work for Spears, and the two immediately formed a close friendship.

2001 - #BritneySpears with Make-Up artist Julianne Kaye getting ready for the AMA's

In an interview with Mirror, Kaye spoke about her and Spears' close bond, and the events leading up to Spears' conservatorship being placed on her.

Long before Spears' mental breakdown, Kaye said she started noticing cracks in the singer's mental health.

Sometime before Spears suffered her highly-publicized breakdown in 2007 and 2008, the pop singer was slowly starting to feel the negative effects of fame. 


Kaye, while talking to Mirror, detailed a trip she'd accompanied Spears to in London, where the car they were in had become mobbed by fans and paparazzi.

"[Britney] just started crying and she was like, ‘Oh my God, what’s going on? I just want to go shopping,’" Faye told the publication.

"It just got really crazy. And then it meant her having to be locked into her hotel room because it just was dangerous."

The singer's former makeup artist admitted that all Spears wanted was "to be normal," but the excessive amount of fame she'd acquired made it a nearly impossible feat to accomplish.

"She really loved entertaining and she really loved performing, she loved that part of the job, but she hated all the other stuff because she wasn’t the kind of celebrity that just could walk outside of her hotel room," she continued.

Spears' volatile relationship with the media during the early years of her career had been a major contributor to her declining behavior.

In a 2008 Rolling Stone cover story about Spears, a friend close to the singer recalled a specific incident in which the press had leaped on her following rumors she'd gotten breast implants.

"When Britney saw the papers, she was crying in the bathtub uncontrollably, asking, ‘Why is everyone being so mean to me?'” the friend told Rolling Stone.

“It was very hurtful for her to go through something so private so publicly.”

Kaye remembered feeling horrified while watching Spears' mental health continue to deteriorate.


In February 2007, after battling with her mental health, and her split from Kevin Federline, Spears was checked into Eric Clapton's famous Crossroads Centre in Antigua.

However, just 24 hours later, Spears left the facility and flew back to Los Angeles, where she infamously entered a hair salon in Tarzana and shaved off her hair.

Following the incident, Spears would be in and out of rehab two more times before she suffered her terrifying January 2008 breakdown. 

The 'Lucky' singer was seen being escorted from her home while strapped to a gurney after locking herself in the bathroom with her youngest son, Jayden, and prescription amphetamines.

She was placed on a 72-hour psychiatric hold, also known as a 5150, and weeks later her father, Jamie Spears, was appointed co-conservator of her estate.

Looking back at that time, Kaye told Mirror that she was horrified to see Spears working again so soon after.


"She had her well-publicized breakdown and when I saw [Britney] on X-Factor or whatever show she was doing, it was like the lights were on but nobody was home," she recalled.

"I was like, ‘That’s not Britney.’ I thought, ‘If somebody just had a complete mental breakdown, why are they going back to work?’ She didn’t look like herself ever again."

Following the end of Spears' conservatorship in November 2021, Kaye expressed her "delight" that the singer was able to have control of her life again.

"Britney was a huge star, but during the conservatorship, the light that shined so brightly was gone. You could see it in her eyes."

Source:By Nia Tipton — Written on Dec 07, 2022

Britney Spears’ long-time friend and makeup artist Julianna confirms Justin Timberlake cheated on Britney first! ☕️

“She had her questions about who he was with because stuff would be out in the press … I think the way he handled it was wrong.”

Confirmation yet again... Timberflake took to long to say sorry to Britney

Britney Spears is back in the music scene — this time as a free woman, finally.

Just hours after the track allegedly leaked online, Spears’ “Hold Me Closer” duet with Elton John hit streaming services on Friday (Aug. 19). The song, which is a fresh take on John’s 1972 classic “Tiny Dancer” produced by Grammy winner Andrew Watt, features the pop princess and the “Rocketman” himself singing the opening verse of John’s 1992 hit, “The One” over a club-ready beat, before diving into the chorus of 1971’s “Tiny Dancer.”

“Since most say they are honored TO KNOW ME SO WELL and only want happiness for me … you can bet your bottom dollar that THIS collaboration will heighten my year by joining your brilliant hands of play,” Spears wrote on Instagram ahead of the song’s release. “Thank you for your generosity and just thinking of me to join you on such a brilliant song !!! How cool is it to be a background voice ON YOUR song !!! Sir Elton I did it thanks to your genius, creative, and legendary mind !!! I am so grateful !!! I just keep on giving don’t I ??? Can I get an AWWWWE ???”

“Hold Me Closer” is Spears’ first new music since her 2016 studio album Glory, which also included deluxe tracks “Mood Ring,” “Swimming in the Stars” and the Backstreet Boys-assisted “Matches” that were released in 2020. Most notably, the collaboration will mark Spears’ official return to music since the end of her 13-year conservatorship.

“Tiny Dancer,” originally included as part of John’s 1971 album Madman Across the Water, was released as a single in 1972 and peaked at No. 41 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2000, the song was famously featured in a sing-along bus scene in Cameron Crowe’s film Almost Famous.

Source https://www.billboard.com/music/pop/britney-spears-elton-john-hold-me-closer-2-1235128575/

Listen to Spears and John’s “Hold Me Closer” below.

 https://youtu.be/8hLtlzkoGPk