Britney Spears Career
Childhood and Early Years
Britney Spears was born on December 2nd, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist. Her parents are Lynne Irene (née Bridges), a former elementary school teacher, and Jamie Parnell Spears, a building contractor. She has one brother, Bryan who is a manager for the Spears family interests. Britney also has one sister, Jamie Lynn who is also an actress and singer. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Woolmore, was an English war-brideborn in Tottenham, London who met Spears's grandfather Barnett O'Field Bridges in England during World War II. Her paternal grandparents were June Austin Spears and Emma Jean Forbes.
Spears attended gymnastics classes until age nine and was an accomplished gymnast, competing in state-level competitions. She also performed in local dance revues and sang in her local Baptist church choir. At age eight she auditioned for the Disney Channel series The New Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was deemed too young to join the series, a show producer introduced Britney to a New York City agent. Spears consequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions, including 1991's Ruthless!. In 1992, she got a spot on the popular television show Star Search. She won the first round of competition, but in the end lost. At age eleven, Spears returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on The New Mickey Mouse Club in Lakeland, Florida. She was featured on the show from 1993 to 1994, until she was 13. After the show ended, Spears returned to Kentwood and attended high school for a year.
In 1997, Spears joined the all-female pop group Innosense for a short time. Later that same year, she recorded a demo solo and was signed by Jive Records. She began a U.S. concert tour sponsored by American teen magazines, and ultimately became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.
1998–2000: The beginning of fame
Spears's debut single "...Baby One More Time", released in the end of 1998, became an instant international hit; it peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. With nine million copies sold worldwide. The United World Chart ranked "…Baby One More Time" as the 38th best song and second most charted song of all time. The song was also ranked 25th on Rolling Stone and MTV's "100 Greatest Pop Songs of all time".
Britney Spears performed during the Baby One More Time Tour, in 1999.The album of the same title was released in January 1999, reaching number one on the Billboard 200. Baby One More Time was certified Diamond in the U.S. and afterward achieved worldwide sales of 25 million copies. The album got mixed reviews. All Music Guide gave it 4 out of 5 stars, stating that the album "has the same blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry that propelled the New Kids and Debbie Gibson." While Rolling Stone gave it 2 out of 5, noting that "While several Cherion-crafted kiddie-funk jams serve up beefy hooks, shameless schlock slowies, like 'E-Mail My Heart', are pure spam." Britney also was the first artist to get a #1 album and #1 single on both the U.S. Billboard charts and on the United World Chart.
In December 1999, she won four Billboard Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year. A month later, she took home the Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist award at the American Music Awards. At the 2000 Grammy Awards, Britney received two nominations in the categories of Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for …Baby One More Time, but lost to Christina Aguilera and Sarah McLachlan in that order.
Following the success of her earlier album, Spears released the album Oops!... I Did It Again. It debuted at number one in the U.S. by selling 1,319,193 units during its first week of sales.This broke the SoundScan record for the most album sales in its debut week by any solo artist. The RIAA awarded the album with a Diamond certification with 10 million copies sold in the U.S. Rolling Stone awarded 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."
The album’s lead single "Oops!… I Did It Again" broke the record for “most radio station additions in a single day,” and rapidly became a top ten hit in the U.S. and other countries. The same year, Britney launched her first world tour, the "Oops!… I Did It Again World Tour". She finished the year with two more Billboard Music Awards, and two Grammy nominations for Oops!… I Did It Again in the categories of Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
2001–2003: Career development
Britney Spears released her third studio album Britney in November 2001. Although not as successful as her previous albums, she took some creative control by co-writing five of the album's tracks. It surpassed Michael Jackson's album Invincible when it had a successful debut at number one in the U.S. by selling 745,744 units during its first week. The album's success made her one of the few female artists to have her first three albums debut at number one. The album did well with critics like All Music Guide who gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, saying that the album's title tracks were "pivotal moments on Britney Spears's third album, the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult."
Spears made her third consecutive MTV Video Music Awards performance. While performing "I'm a Slave 4 U", she controversially utilized caged animals and danced erotically with a large albino python draped over her shoulders. The Animal-rights group PETA claimed the animals featured in the performance had been mistreated and cancelled plans for an anti-fur billboard to feature Britney. Her career success was also highlighted by Forbes Magazine in 2002 as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity. At a performance at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, she appeared with Christina Aguilera performing the song "Like a Virgin", and was later joined by Madonna. Spears locked lips with Madonna in a now famous kiss.
In November 2003, Britney Spears released her fourth studio album. The album used in lesser-known producers such as RedZone and well known names such as Moby and R. Kelly. Spears co-wrote eight of the album's thirteen songs and co-produced several portions of her material for the first time. In the Zone reached number one in the U.S. charts during its debut week, selling over 609,000 copies. This made Britney Spears the only female in music history to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one. The album had a luke-warm reaction from critics. The Guardian praised the album's melodies and her effort, giving it 4 out of 5 stars and writing, "Unlike previous Britney albums, In the Zone has no filler and no shoddy cover versions, just 57 varieties of blue-chip hit-factory pop. There is southern hip-hop, deep house, Neptunes-style R&B, the ubiquitous Diwali beat and, most importantly, oodles of Madonna."
The album spawned the hit single "Toxic", winning Britney her first ever Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording. "The Onyx Hotel Tour" began in March 2004 to promote the album. The tour's choreography generated much controversy and criticism, with the presence of young children in the audience.
2004–2005: Greatest hits and remix album
Following her marriage to Kevin Federline, Spears announced via her website that she was taking a second career break in order to start a family. In November 2004 she released her first greatest hits collection, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The album featured her version of Bobby Brown's 1988 hit "My Prerogative". The compilation did not include "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart".
In November 2005, Britney released her first remix album, B In The Mix: The Remixes. The album ranged from "…Baby One More Time" to "Toxic". Her newest single "Someday (I Will Understand)" was also remixed. Another single, "And Then We Kiss", was only released in Asia, where it charted in many countries. The song peaked at number 15 on Billboard's Hot Dance Airplay chart, despite not being officially released in the U.S.
2007–2008: Return to music
In May 2007, Britney Spears formed a mini-tour for the House of Blues under the name "The M+M's", with 6 shows in total. She managed to sing live during some lines of her songs. She recorded her latest album with producers such as Sean Garrett, J. R. Rotem and Nate "Danja" Hills throughout 2006 and 2007.
The release of Spears's fifth album, Blackout, was rescheduled to 30 October 2007 rather than November 2007 because of online leaks. Blackout debuted at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 charts. It was reasonably well received by critics. Rolling Stone gave the album 3.5 out of 5 stars, saying that "Blackout is the first time in her career that she's voiced any real thoughts about her life. The old provocation game is still afoot, but Britney's stubbornly holding on to her freakness — it's the only form of rebellion she's got left."
On August 30 Blackout's first single, "Gimme More" debuted worldwide at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. . The song, the first Spears's had produced by Danja, peaked at number three on Billboard's Hot 100 on October 3, making it her most successful single in the U.S. since her debut "…Baby One More Time".
Britney Spears's highly-anticipated performance of "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards was reviewed as a pathetic attempt at a comeback. The BBC said "her performance would go down in the history books as being one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards",and The Times said that "Spears was out of synch as she lip-synched and at times just stopped singing altogether." Despite the dissing of her performance, the single achieved success.
