Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer and entertainer. Spears is ranked as the eighth best-selling female recording artist in the United States with 32 million sold albums certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.[2] As of November 2007, Spears has sold over 83 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists.[3] Spears is currently the best selling female artist of the decade and the fifth best selling artist of the decade overall. [4]

Raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears first appeared on national television in 1992 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 to 1994. In 1997, Spears signed a recording contract with Jive, releasing her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999. The album established her as a pop icon and "bona fide pop phenomenon", credited for influencing the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s.[5]. Her next three albums debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making her the first female artist to have her first four albums debut at number one. In late 2008, her sixth studio album, Circus, also debuted at number one.Early life, career debut, and Innosense
Spears performing in 1999.

Britney Spears was born and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist. [6] Her parents are Lynne Irene (née Bridges), a former elementary school teacher, and Jamie Parnell Spears, a former building contractor and chef. Spears has two siblings, Bryan and Jamie Lynn. Bryan Spears is married to Jamie-Lynn's manager, Graciella Rivera.[7]

Spears was an accomplished gymnast, attending gymnastics classes until age nine and competing in state-level competitions.[8] She performed in local dance revues and sang in her local Baptist church choir. Spears entered New York City's Professional Performing Arts School when she was eight. Spears's parents would often argue, and they eventually divorced in 2002.[citation needed]

At age eight, Spears auditioned for the Disney Channel series The New Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was considered too young to join the series at the time, a producer on the show introduced her to a New York City agent.[8] Spears subsequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions. She was an understudy in the 1991 off-Broadway musical Ruthless!.[8] In 1992, she landed a spot on the popular television show Star Search. She won the first round of competition, but ultimately lost. At age eleven, Spears returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on the The New Mickey Mouse Club in Lakeland, Florida.[8] She was featured on the show from 1993 to 1994, until she was 13.[9] After the show ended, Spears returned to Kentwood and attended high school for a year.[10]

In 1997, Spears briefly joined the all-female pop group Innosense.[11] Later that same year, she recorded a solo demo and was signed by Jive Records.[8] She began a U.S. concert tour sponsored by American teen magazines, and eventually became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.[12]

1998–2000: ...Baby One More Time and Oops!... I Did It Again
Britney Spears on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1999.

"...Baby One More Time" (1999)
Play sound
Britney Spears's first major hit single worldwide.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Spears released her debut single, "...Baby One More Time", in October 1998 which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1999 and topped the chart for two weeks.[13][14] Gillian G. Gaar, author of She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll (2002), documented that "eyebrows were raised over the schoolgirl-in-heat persona Spears projected in her [music video for ...Baby One More Time], along with an increasingly revealing series of stage outfits".[15] Spears's debut album ...Baby One More Time peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 in January 1999.[16] Rolling Stone magazine, in a review of the album, wrote: "While several Cherion-crafted kiddie-funk jams serve up beefy hooks, shameless schlock slowies, like [']E-Mail My Heart,['] are pure spam".[17] NME commented "[Spears's debut album and its title-track] are the kind of soullessness that saturates Stateside charts and consists of nothing but over-chewed bubblegum beats and saccharine sensibilities".[18] In contrast, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote: "Like many teen pop albums, ...Baby One More Time has its share of well-crafted filler, but the singles, combined with Britney's burgeoning charisma, make this a pretty great piece of fluff".[19] ...Baby One More Time was later certified fourteen times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting fourteen million units shipped within the United States.[20] Spears posed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in April 1999, shot by photographer David LaChapelle.[21] Geoff Boucher of The Los Angeles Times reported, "there was no mistaking the titillation factor in the recent Spears cover story and accompanying photos in the April 15 issue of Rolling Stone, which sent eyebrows arching throughout the music industry, where several executives half-jokingly called it "child pornography".[22] Gillian G. Gaar reported, "The American Family Association charged that the pictures, which showed Spears in push-up bras and a minuscule pair of shorts with 'Baby' in rhinestones on the bottom, presented a 'disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality' and asked that all 'God-loving Americans' boycott stores carrying her albums".[15] More controversy arose when Spears declared that she would "remain a virgin until marriage".[23] This pledge has been questioned due to her apparently sexual relationship with fellow pop singer Justin Timberlake.[24][25]

In late 1999, Spears appeared on the sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and performed the song "(You Drive Me) Crazy"; this cameo was a cross-promotion for the film Drive Me Crazy, which starred Sabrina's Melissa Joan Hart and was named after the song.[26] In December 1999, she won four Billboard Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year. A month later, she received the Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist award at the American Music Awards.[27]

Following the success of her previous album, Spears released the album Oops!... I Did It Again in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the U.S. by selling 1,319,193 units during its first week of sales, breaking the SoundScan record for the highest album sales in its debut week by any solo artist.[28] The RIAA awarded the album with a diamond certification with over 10 million copies sold in the U.S.[29][30][31] Allmusic gave it awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the album "has the same combination of sweetly sentimental ballads and endearingly gaudy dance-pop that made "...Baby One More Time."[32] Rolling Stone gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 by noting the album as "fantastic pop cheese" and "Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary."[33] The album's lead single "Oops!... I Did It Again" broke the record for most radio station additions in a single day, and quickly became a top ten hit in the U.S. and other countries.[34] The same year, Spears launched her first world tour, the "Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour". During the tour, she made a stop in New York for the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. As part of her performance, she ripped off a black suit to reveal a provocative nude-colored and crystal-adorned outfit that generated much controversy.[35] Spears earned two Billboard Music Awards for Oops!... I Did It Again.[36]Early life, career debut, and Innosense
Spears performing in 1999.

Britney Spears was born and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist. [6] Her parents are Lynne Irene (née Bridges), a former elementary school teacher, and Jamie Parnell Spears, a former building contractor and chef. Spears has two siblings, Bryan and Jamie Lynn. Bryan Spears is married to Jamie-Lynn's manager, Graciella Rivera.[7]

Spears was an accomplished gymnast, attending gymnastics classes until age nine and competing in state-level competitions.[8] She performed in local dance revues and sang in her local Baptist church choir. Spears entered New York City's Professional Performing Arts School when she was eight. Spears's parents would often argue, and they eventually divorced in 2002.[citation needed]

At age eight, Spears auditioned for the Disney Channel series The New Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was considered too young to join the series at the time, a producer on the show introduced her to a New York City agent.[8] Spears subsequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions. She was an understudy in the 1991 off-Broadway musical Ruthless!.[8] In 1992, she landed a spot on the popular television show Star Search. She won the first round of competition, but ultimately lost. At age eleven, Spears returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on the The New Mickey Mouse Club in Lakeland, Florida.[8] She was featured on the show from 1993 to 1994, until she was 13.[9] After the show ended, Spears returned to Kentwood and attended high school for a year.[10]

In 1997, Spears briefly joined the all-female pop group Innosense.[11] Later that same year, she recorded a solo demo and was signed by Jive Records.[8] She began a U.S. concert tour sponsored by American teen magazines, and eventually became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.[12]

1998–2000: ...Baby One More Time and Oops!... I Did It Again
Britney Spears on the cover of Rolling Stone in 1999.

"...Baby One More Time" (1999)
Play sound
Britney Spears's first major hit single worldwide.
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Spears released her debut single, "...Baby One More Time", in October 1998 which peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1999 and topped the chart for two weeks.[13][14] Gillian G. Gaar, author of She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll (2002), documented that "eyebrows were raised over the schoolgirl-in-heat persona Spears projected in her [music video for ...Baby One More Time], along with an increasingly revealing series of stage outfits".[15] Spears's debut album ...Baby One More Time peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 in January 1999.[16] Rolling Stone magazine, in a review of the album, wrote: "While several Cherion-crafted kiddie-funk jams serve up beefy hooks, shameless schlock slowies, like [']E-Mail My Heart,['] are pure spam".[17] NME commented "[Spears's debut album and its title-track] are the kind of soullessness that saturates Stateside charts and consists of nothing but over-chewed bubblegum beats and saccharine sensibilities".[18] In contrast, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote: "Like many teen pop albums, ...Baby One More Time has its share of well-crafted filler, but the singles, combined with Britney's burgeoning charisma, make this a pretty great piece of fluff".[19] ...Baby One More Time was later certified fourteen times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting fourteen million units shipped within the United States.[20] Spears posed for the cover of Rolling Stone magazine in April 1999, shot by photographer David LaChapelle.[21] Geoff Boucher of The Los Angeles Times reported, "there was no mistaking the titillation factor in the recent Spears cover story and accompanying photos in the April 15 issue of Rolling Stone, which sent eyebrows arching throughout the music industry, where several executives half-jokingly called it "child pornography".[22] Gillian G. Gaar reported, "The American Family Association charged that the pictures, which showed Spears in push-up bras and a minuscule pair of shorts with 'Baby' in rhinestones on the bottom, presented a 'disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality' and asked that all 'God-loving Americans' boycott stores carrying her albums".[15] More controversy arose when Spears declared that she would "remain a virgin until marriage".[23] This pledge has been questioned due to her apparently sexual relationship with fellow pop singer Justin Timberlake.[24][25]

In late 1999, Spears appeared on the sitcom Sabrina, the Teenage Witch and performed the song "(You Drive Me) Crazy"; this cameo was a cross-promotion for the film Drive Me Crazy, which starred Sabrina's Melissa Joan Hart and was named after the song.[26] In December 1999, she won four Billboard Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year. A month later, she received the Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist award at the American Music Awards.[27]

Following the success of her previous album, Spears released the album Oops!... I Did It Again in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the U.S. by selling 1,319,193 units during its first week of sales, breaking the SoundScan record for the highest album sales in its debut week by any solo artist.[28] The RIAA awarded the album with a diamond certification with over 10 million copies sold in the U.S.[29][30][31] Allmusic gave it awarded the album 4 out of 5 stars, saying that the album "has the same combination of sweetly sentimental ballads and endearingly gaudy dance-pop that made "...Baby One More Time."[32] Rolling Stone gave the album 3.5 stars out of 5 by noting the album as "fantastic pop cheese" and "Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary."[33] The album's lead single "Oops!... I Did It Again" broke the record for most radio station additions in a single day, and quickly became a top ten hit in the U.S. and other countries.[34] The same year, Spears launched her first world tour, the "Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour". During the tour, she made a stop in New York for the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. As part of her performance, she ripped off a black suit to reveal a provocative nude-colored and crystal-adorned outfit that generated much controversy.[35] Spears earned two Billboard Music Awards for Oops!... I Did It Again.[36]