Britney

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. An influential figure in popular music, Spears became the best-selling teenage artist of all time, credited with the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Spears began her professional career in 1992 as a cast member of '' The All-New Mickey Mouse Club'' and signed with Jive Records five years later. Her first two studio albums, '' ...Baby One More Time'' (1999) and '' Oops!... I Did It Again'' (2000), are among the best-selling albums of all time. She adopted a more mature and provocative style for her albums '' Britney'' (2001) and ''In the Zone'' (2003). Spears was the executive producer of her fifth studio album, '' Blackout'' (2007), often referred to as her best work. She returned to the top of the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 chart with the albums ''Circus'' (2008) and ''Femme Fatale'' (2011), and began a concert residency, Britney: Piece of Me (2013–2017), to promote her next two albums, ''Britney Jean'' (2013) and '' Glory'' (2016). Spears' catalog of high-charting singles includes " ...Baby One More Time", " Oops!... I Did It Again", "I'm a Slave 4 U", "Toxic", " Gimme More", " Womanizer", " 3", " Hold It Against Me", and "Scream & Shout".

Spears' life, including her high-profile relationships and personal struggles during the 2000s, received widespread media coverage. In 2008, she suffered a mental breakdown and involuntarily entered into a conservatorship. In 2019, she resigned from regular concert tours to focus on her conservatorship case, leading to the establishment of the #FreeBritney movement and a release of Samantha Stark's documentary '' Framing Britney Spears'' (2021). The conservatorship was terminated in 2021, following her public testimony in which she accused her management team and family of abuse. Spears' 2023 memoir, '' The Woman in Me'', reached number one on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller list in its first week of release. Her other ventures include starring in the film '' Crossroads'' (2002) and launching numerous products, with her 2005 fragrance Fantasy with Elizabeth Arden, Inc. generating over $1.5 billion in sales.

In the United States, Spears is the fourth best-selling female album artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era, as well as the best-selling female album artist of the 2000s. Her accolades include a Grammy Award, 15 Guinness World Records, six MTV Video Music Awards, seven ''Billboard'' Music Awards (including the Millennium Award), the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. ''Billboard'' ranked her sixth on their list of the Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century. "...Baby One More Time" was named the greatest debut single of all time by ''Rolling Stone'' in 2020. ''Forbes'' listed Spears as the world's highest-paid female musician in 2001 and 2012. By 2012, she had topped Yahoo!'s list of most searched celebrities seven times in twelve years. ''Time'' named Spears one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021, placing first in the reader poll.

Life and career

1981–1997: Early life, family, and career beginnings

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, in McComb, Mississippi, the second child of James "Jamie" Parnell Spears and Lynne Irene Bridges. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Portell, was English and born in London, and one of Spears' maternal great-grandfathers was Maltese. Her siblings are Bryan James Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears.

Born in the Bible Belt, where socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a particularly strong religious influence, she was baptized as a Southern Baptist and sang in a church choir as a child. As an adult, she has studied Kabbalist teachings. On August 5, 2021, Spears announced that she had converted to Catholicism. Her mother, sister, and nieces Maddie Aldridge and Ivey Joan Watson, are also Catholic. However, on September 5, 2022, after Spears' ex-husband, Kevin Federline, and youngest son did an interview defending her father's actions during her conservatorship, she stated: "I don't believe in God anymore because of the way my children and my family have treated me. There is nothing to believe in anymore. I'm an atheist y'all".

At age three, Spears began attending dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform as a solo artist at the annual recital. Aged five she made her local stage debut, singing " What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. During her childhood, she also had gymnastics and voice lessons and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows. In gymnastics, Spears attended Béla Károlyi's training camp. She said of her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, ... I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age".

When Spears was eight, she and her mother Lynne traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, to audition for the 1990s revival of ''The Mickey Mouse Club''. Casting director Matt Casella rejected her as too young, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears' singing and suggested enrolling her at the Professional Performing Arts School.

Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the off-Broadway musical ''Ruthless!'' She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show ''Star Search'' and was cast in a number of commercials. In December 1992, she was cast in ''The All-New Mickey Mouse Club''. Other fellow cast members included Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, Keri Russell, and JC Chasez. After the show was canceled in 1994, she returned to Mississippi and enrolled at McComb's Parklane Academy. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in '' Clueless'' with all the cliques. ... I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."

In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join the female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided that he wanted to pitch her to record labels, for which she needed a professional demo made. He sent Spears an unused song of Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, saying that audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany."

Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph. Senior vice president of A&R Jeff Fenster said about Spears' audition that "it's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal ... For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'—is extremely important. And Britney had that." Spears sang Houston's " I Have Nothing" (1992) for the executives, and was subsequently signed to the label. They assigned her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month; he reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney". After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger; more adult contemporary". She felt secure with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop, and Rami Yacoub, among others.

1998–2000: ''...Baby One More Time'' and ''Oops!... I Did It Again''

After returning to the U.S., Spears toured shopping malls as part of her L'Oreal Hair Zone Mall Tour, to promote her upcoming debut album. Her show was a four-song set and she was accompanied by two back-up dancers. Her first concert tour followed, as an opening act for NSYNC. Her debut album, '' ...Baby One More Time'', was released on January 12, 1999. It debuted at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over 10 million copies in a year. It became the biggest-selling album ever by a teenage artist.

" ...Baby One More Time" was released as the lead single from the album on September 29, 1998. Originally, Jive Records wanted the associated music video to be animated; however, Spears rejected this idea, and suggested the final concept of a Catholic schoolgirl. The single peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, topping the chart for two consecutive weeks in January–February 1999. It sold more than 10 million copies, making it one of the best-selling singles of all time. "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies. It would later become the 25th-most successful song of all time in British chart history. Spears is the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the UK. The album's third single, " (You Drive Me) Crazy", became a top-ten hit worldwide and further propelled the success of the '' ...Baby One More Time'' album. The album has sold 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. It is the best-selling debut album by any artist.

On June 28, 1999, Spears began her first headlining ...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics. It also generated some controversy due to her racy outfits. An extension of the tour, titled (You Drive Me) Crazy Tour, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show.

'' Oops!... I Did It Again'', Spears' second studio album, was released in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the US, selling 1.3 million copies, breaking the Nielsen SoundScan record for the highest debut sales by any solo artist. It has sold over 20 million copies worldwide to date, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' said that "the great thing about ''Oops!'' – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition." The album's lead single, " Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and many other European nations, while the second single, " Lucky", peaked at number one in Austria, Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland. The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively.

The same year, Spears embarked on the Oops!... I Did It Again Tour, which grossed $40.5 million ($ in ); she also released her first book, '' Britney Spears' Heart to Heart'', co-written with her mother. On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped off her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer. Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating NSYNC member Justin Timberlake. Spears and Timberlake both graduated from high school via distance learning from the University of Nebraska High School. She also bought a home in Destin, Florida. In her 2023 memoir, Spears revealed that she had an abortion in late 2000 while dating Timberlake after he said they were not prepared for parenthood. Spears called the abortion "one of the most agonizing things I have ever experienced in my life."

2001–2002: ''Britney'' and ''Crossroads''

In January 2001, Spears hosted the 28th Annual American Music Awards, starred at Rock in Rio alongside NSYNC, and performed as a special guest in the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show headlined by Aerosmith and NSYNC. In February 2001, she signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, '' A Mother's Gift''. Her third studio album, '' Britney'', was released in November 2001, with a funkier sound inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and the Neptunes. ''Britney'' debuted at number one in the ''Billboard'' 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom, and mainland Europe, and has sold 10 million copies worldwide.Alt URL
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Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called ''Britney'' "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. ... It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet." It was nominated for the Grammy awards for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for " Overprotected", and in 2007 it was named one of the best albums of the preceding 25 years by ''Entertainment Weekly''. The lead single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit in several countries.

Spears' performance of the single at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger (wrangled by Bhagavan Antle) and a large albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears. Jocelyn Vena of MTV News summarized Spears' performance at the ceremony, saying, "draping herself in a white python and slithering around a steamy garden setting – surrounded by dancers in zebra and tiger outfits – Spears created one of the most striking visuals in the 27-year history of the show."

To support the album, Spears began the Dream Within a Dream Tour. The show was critically praised for its technical innovations, the ''pièce de résistance

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