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Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American pop singer. Her career encompasses chart-topping records, high-profile advertising and a foray into acting.

Biography

Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears first came to fame as a member of the Disney Channel's New Mickey Mouse Club in the 1993 and 1994 seasons.

Her castmates on the show included Justin Timberlake and Joshua Chasez (who later became members of the pop band NSYNC), Keri Russell (star of the TV show Felicity), Christina Aguilera, also a pop singer, and actor Ryan Gosling. Spears dated Timberlake for about five years.

...Baby One More Time

Her first album on Jive Records, ...Baby One More Time, debuted in the number one spot on the Billboard Charts in early 1999, and also topped the charts in the UK. The single of the same name was also a number one hit in many countries, and was accompanied by a music video in which Spears wore a schoolgirl outfit and danced down a high-school corridor.

Spears broke the record for the youngest artist, at age 17, to have their first single debut at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. (This record was recently broken by 13-year-old artist, JoJo, whose single "Leave (Get Out)" debuted at #1.) Spears also broke the record for the youngest artist, at age 17, to have their first single and first album debut simultaneously at #1 on the Billboard charts. Spears still holds this record.

In 2000, Spears was nominated for two Grammy awards: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single "...Baby One More Time", and Best New Artist. She did not receive either award.

Oops!... I Did It Again

Her followup album, Oops!... I Did It Again, released on May 16, 2000, also debuted at number one, and was a similarly huge hit.

Following the success of her first two albums, Spears' career skyrocketed, and a multimillion-dollar music, film, advertisement, concert and TV-special "industry" sprang up around her. Her most popular ads were for Pepsi. In 2003 there was media speculation that the soft drink behemoth were planning to replace Spears with Destiny's Child frontwoman Beyoncé Knowles. This speculation turned out to be false, and Spears has gone on to sponsor other Pepsi products.

In 2001, Spears was again nominated for two Grammy awards: Best Pop Vocal Album for Oops!...I Did It Again and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for the single of the same name. She did not receive either award.

Britney

Her next album, Britney, was released on November 6, 2001, and debuted at number one in the charts. The first single "I'm A Slave 4 U" was produced by The Neptunes, and its R'n'B stylings heralded the starlet's attempt to grow with her audience, young and old. Over 4 million copies of Britney were sold in the United States alone, and the album went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. While the album was very much a hit by anyone else's standards, these figures are low in comparison to the sales of her other albums.

In 2002, Spears starred in a movie, Crossroads, which reached number two in the box office charts. Songs from the album Britney appeared in the film. Spears' performance was poorly received by critics and she netted herself a Razzie Award for worst performance of 2002. In June 2002, Spears branched out as a restaurateur with the opening of a New York City eatery, NYLA, but the venture was not a success and the restaurant closed in 2003.

In September 2002, she took a break from the spotlight, and in 2003 many music industry critics speculated that her career was in decline. Over the course of her first three albums, Britney Spears had sold approximately 54 million copies worldwide.

In 2003, Spears was nominated for two Grammy awards yet again: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected", and Best Pop Vocal Album for Britney. She did not win either award.

In The Zone

Her fourth album, In the Zone, was released on November 18, 2003. Jettisoning the Max Martin produced synth pop of her earlier releases, the album takes in lesser-known producers such as RedZone as well as such big names as Moby and R. Kelly. Spears co-wrote eight of the album's thirteen songs. In the Zone rose straight to the top of the album charts in its debut week. Spears is the only female in music history to have her first four albums debut at No. 1. After an opening performance in which she kissed Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards in August, Madonna was also featured on the album's first single, "Me Against the Music". The single only reached No. 35 on the Hot 100, but was a No. 1 hit in other countries.

On Saturday, January 3, 2004, Spears married her childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. The couple promptly arranged for an annulment, which occurred on Monday, January 5, 2004, ending their 55-hour marriage. Following the wedding, Spears released the second single off In The Zone, "Toxic", which became a worldwide hit and a No. 1 hit in over twenty different countries. The single occupied the No. 1 slot in the US for four consecutive weeks.

In March 2004, she embarked on her fourth world tour, "The Onyx Hotel Tour", which grossed over $34 million dollars and was seen by over 600,000 fans in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, the album's third single, "Everytime", was starting to receive radio play. While the song only reached No. 15 on the US charts, it was a No. 1 hit overseas in such countries as the UK and Australia. In June 2004, Spears cancelled the remaining dates of her tour after injuring her knee during the filming of a video for her fourth single, "Outrageous". Shortly after returning from hospital, Spears, 22, announced her engagement to dancer Kevin Federline, 26. The couple are set to wed in November 2004.

In August 2004, Spears won the Choice Single award for "Toxic" at the Teen Choice Awards. She has also been nominated for four Video Music Awards, including Best Female Video and Best Video Of The Year. Since its release In The Zone has sold close to three million copies in the United States, and over six million copies worldwide.

Controversy

Spears' success has rested on a mixed fanbase. Millions of prepubescent girls became enthusiasts for her work, adopting her as an idol. It also appears that many young adult males are also fans. Writers on popular music for the mainstream press, however, have generally been dismissive of Spears' music, considering it to be commercial and shallow.

Some parents of young daughters have ambivalent or even negative feelings towards Britney Spears. To many critics, the singer has combined a very "sexy" public image with a major marketing "play" for the hearts, minds and pockets of prepubescent girls, often as young as seven or eight. The sexualization of such girls is arguably a trend that is visible elsewhere in popular culture, for example in the film and fashion industries.

Some parents take the view that their daughters deserve a chance to participate fully and happily in the pleasures of childhood before being led into an early emotional adolescence. There is also an open question as to whether young children are ready for the often complicated feelings that come with sexual maturity. Lastly, parents may worry that Britney Spears provides an unrealistic role model for their daughters' life and career plans.

In October 2003, Maryland First Lady Kendel Ehrlich, the wife of Governor Robert Ehrlich, was criticized for saying that she would like to "shoot Britney Spears" in an address to a domestic violence conference. After her comments made national headlines, she was forced to apologize.

The sexual iconography of Britney Spears once again became a topic of debate as a result of her 2003 semi-nude photo spread for the men's magazine, Esquire. Prompted by this, Playboy reportedly offered the star over a million dollars to pose nude for their magazine. Spears has publicly declined the offer.

While young girls seldom address this debate in the same terms as their parents, many are divided on whether they consider Britney Spears appealing, especially in the light of more recent developments in her career.

For her part, Spears has responded to their concerns by stating that she is "not their babysitter. It's the parents' responsibility. If you don't like it, turn the T.V. off. The only person I want to be a role model is to my sister, Jamie Lynn." (From ABC's Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer).

The criticisms leveled against Spears are similar to those Madonna received at the start of her career. Indeed, Madonna's early fans belonged to a similar demographic to Spears' current fanbase.

In common with a number of other popular female figures in show business, Britney Spears' private life has attracted considerable media attention. Indeed, some people feel that she has courted it by cultivating, in her early years at least, a chaste, God-fearing and "wholesome" image somewhat at odds not only with the traditional pressures, temptations and opportunities of "pop 'n' roll" but with the increasingly sexualized content of her own songs. Regardless of where the responsibility for the gossip industry surrounding the pop star lies, Spears' public response has been to repeatedly express regret and resentment at the intrusive media coverage.

Trivia

• Britney Spears' sister, Jamie Lynn or simply Jamie Spears, is currently starting a career as an entertainer in the Nickelodeon show, All That. Her brother, Bryan Spears, is her co-manager. Britney's parents, Lynne and Jamie, have divorced.

• One of Spears' best friends, Jenny, was in the unsuccessful girl-group Innosense. Spears was also a member of the group, but left and debuted as a solo artist before the band released their first record. One of her closest friends is Felicia Culotta, her assistant.

• In May 2004 Spears had a Hebrew tattoo (מהש) inked into the nape of her neck. She was under the impression that it meant "new era", while a more scholarly rendering was "protection". A source said, "She's taken Kabbalah pretty seriously and this was a big deal for her." This echoes a similar incident in 2003 when Spears was informed by her friend, actress Taryn Manning, that her hip tattoo (the Japanese Kanji character 奇) read "strange" rather than "mysterious".

• Spears publicly declared that she was a virgin early in her career, but after her split from Justin Timberlake he revealed that this was no longer true. Spears has been quoted as saying, "I thought he was the one".

• "...Baby One More Time" is the 24th best selling single of all time in the UK.

Lists

Albums

• 1999: ...Baby One More Time
• 2000: Oops!...I Did It Again
• 2001: Britney
• 2003: In The Zone
• 2004: Greatest Hits: My Prerogative

Singles

• ...Baby One More Time
  • "... Baby One More Time" — December 1998
  • "Sometimes" — June 1999
  • "(You Drive Me) Crazy" (The Stop Remix!) — September 1999
  • "Born to Make You Happy" — January 2000 (Europe)
  • "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" — January 2000 (U.S.)
• Oops!...I Did It Again
  • "Oops!...I Did It Again" — April 2000
  • "Lucky" — August 2000
  • "Stronger" — November 2000
  • "Don't Let Me Be the Last To Know" — March 2001
• Britney
  • "I'm a Slave 4 U" — September 2001
  • "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" — December 2001
  • "Overprotected" (Europe — Album Version) — December 2001
  • "Overprotected" (U.S. — Darkchild Remix) — March 2002
  • "Boys" (Co-Ed Remix featuring Pharrell Williams) — July 2002
  • "I Love Rock 'N Roll" (Europe) — November 2002
• In The Zone
  • "Me Against the Music" (featuring Madonna) — October 2003
  • "Toxic" — January 2004
  • "Everytime" — April 2004
  • "Outrageous" — June 2004
• Greatest Hits
  • "My Prerogative" — September 2004 (planned)

Acting

• 1990s: Ruthless! (Off-Broadway)
• 1993/1994: The New Mickey Mouse Club (Television)
• 1999: Longshot (Movie/Cameo)
• 2000: The Simpsons "The Mansion Family" (Television) (Herself)
• 2002: Crossroads (Movie/Lead Actress)
• 2002: Austin Powers in Goldmember (Movie/Cameo)

External links

Official sites

• Britney Spears Online
  • Britney Spears Foundation
• Jive Britney Spears Web Site

News reports about the marriage

• The Marriage License

Fan Web Sites

• BritneySpears.org
• BritneySpears.ac
• World of Britney
• Go Britney Media
• Britney Japan

Message Boards

• World of Britney Forums
• Britney Forums Mania
• EFG Britney Forum

Other links

• IMDB: Britney Spears

• Pop singers
• Female singers