Forget the head-shaving, the custody drama, fender benders, trips to rehab, wardrobe malfunctions, divorces and all of Britney’s non-music-related train wrecks. When it comes to her true fans, the wait for Blackout has been harder than any tabloid travail. And despite having a solid hit with Gimme More, the buzz around her first album in four years, which is slated for release next week, has been a bit muted.

We asked some Britney fans, peers and music professionals to help us figure out just who is holding their breath to hear the singer’s fifth studio album. From former tweeners to DJs and producers who are sure she’s still got more music in her, from fans in Britney’s traditionally strong gay following to now-former fans, what we found is that despite her ups and (OK, mostly) downs, all said that great music can make a big difference.

I’ve been a Britney fan since I was 10 and now I’m 18, wrote fan and Britney Spears Community member Stefania Segovia in an e-mail. Even though she has let me down so many times during this year, I’ve never got to the point of thinking, ‘I don’t like her anymore,’ because I’ve changed as she has in these eight years.

However, Segovia, who lives in Italy, said she doesn’t really talk about Spears with her friends because they don’t share her adoration for the troubled pop star and think it’s odd that Segovia still likes Spears. She has become a woman, a wife, a mother, and unfortunately for her this has been pretty difficult, Segovia added. About her music? There’s never been a song [of hers] that I didn’t like - and of course I love ‘Gimme More,’ I can’t stop listening to it.