Britney Spears‘The Princess of Pop!’

Quick bio of Britney…Britney Jean Spears was born in rural Louisiana (Kentwood) to Jamie Spears and Lynne Spears. As a child, Britney attended dance classes, and she was great at gymnastics, winning many competitions and the like. But, most of all, Britney loved to sing. At age 8, Britney tried out for "MMC" (1989), but was turned down due to her young age. This directed her to an off-Broadway show, "Ruthless", for a 2-year run as the title character. At age 11, she again tried for "MMC" (1989) and, this time, made it as a ‘mouseketeer’ alongside many stars of today (Justin Timberlake and J.C. Chasez of *NSYNC and Ryan Gosling). Her big break, however, came when she was signed as a Jive Recording Artist in the late 90s. With the release of her debut album, "...Baby One More Time" in early 1999, Britney became an international success, selling 13 million copies of "Baby" and 9 million (as of July 2001) of her sophomore album, "Oops!...I Did It Again", released in May of 2000 and has since then conquered the world of pop with numerous sell-out tours, a series of number 1 singles and albums, as well as some not so successful songs. Britney has not only produced soundtracks but has also dabbled within the acting world and has starred in films such as ‘Crossroads’, as well as having cameo rolls in the U.K and U.S hit Glee, along with a number of perfumes and books.

Britney’s relationshipsShe has had relationships with the likes of

-Justin Timberlake

-Collin Farrell

-Jared Leto

-Fred Durst

-A 55 hour marriage with childhood friend Jason Alexander

-A turbulent marriage to Kevin Federline (of whom she had two children with Sean Jean Preston and Jayden James, of whom now her ex-husband ‘Kev-Fed’ now has sole custody of.)

And she is now currently in a relationship with talent agent Jason Trawick which is said to be ‘just peachy.’

‘Hit me baby one more time’

This was Britney’s debut album and was a pop hit around the globe! The video was one of the (then 16 year old) Britney’s first controversial acts as it featured her dressed in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform bearing her midriff; which ultimately became her trademark. Her debut album was released a few months later in early 1999 and, like the single, took to the top of the album charts, where it remained number one for six weeks. The album has now sold millions worldwide and is officially 14 x platinum in the US.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-u5WLJ9Yk4&ob=av2e

‘You drive me crazy’

Crazy was the third single that Britney released in September 1999, and instantly became a top 10 hit. Britney ended 1999 selling over 10 million copies of her debut album!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4VK9_CfOLQ

‘Oops I did it again’At just 18, Britney released her second album in 2000, number one smash hit "Oops! I did it again" and single of the same title, which topped the singles chart for 5 weeks. Smash singles "Stronger" and "Lucky" followed. It was around this time it seemed some people weren't too happy with the message she was sending their impressionable young children. On one hand, Britney was the perfect picture of innocence, declaring herself a Virgin until marriage yet, on the other hand, she was sexually charged and provocative, with performance such as the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000, when her costume made her appear scantily-clad. As the young woman was growing up, it seemed there was an internal conflict between her, her management and her mother, all pulling her in different directions. Yet the image the public saw was a gorgeous young woman, beautifully dressed and damn close to perfection, often labelled the "Pop Princess" around the world. Still, the awards kept rolling in and, in early 2001, Britney struck a lucrative deal with Pepsi-Cola for sponsorship and advertising. The 19-year-old was growing up fast, with the media constantly fixed on what she was and wasn't doing, her "rivalry" with former fellow Mouseketeer Christina Aguilera and also her blossoming relationship with *NSYNC heartthrob Justin Timberlake. Britney was keen that people saw her as a growing woman as she began to ready the public for her next LP release in late 2001.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CduA0TULnow&ob=av2e

‘I’m stronger than yesterday because she’s so lucky…’

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJWtLf4-WWs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4vvBAONkYwI

‘I’m a slave 4 u’In November, she hit the top 10 with the sexually charged "I'm a slave 4 u" which took a completely different turn in musical direction from her previous singles and, in the same month, released her third LP, self-titled "Britney", which shot to the top of the albums charts, breaking records for a female artist. Her performance of "Slave" at the MTV VMA's caused outrage among animal rights campaigners, as she performed with a live giant snake and wearing little herself. It was a far cry from the Britney of just three years ago, and perhaps the critical moment when what some people would say "she started going downhill". Sales of her third album, while impressive, where not nearly as high as her former releases, perhaps due to the increase of new pop female singers flooding the market, yet Britney, still incredibly popular, carried on. In early 2002, the 20-year-old Britney released "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman", taken from the soundtrack of her debut movie Crossroads (2002/I), which was released in February of that year. She soon after hit the charts with "Overprotected" and also toured worldwide on the "Dream within a dream tour". Yet, it seemed it was all getting too much for Britney, her four year relationship with Timberlake ended suddenly and very publicly and she soon announced she was to take 6 months off, after all, she had achieved so much by such a young age and in such a short space of time. Her star was by no means fading, with "Forbes" declaring her "The World's most powerful celebrity" in mid-2002.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mzybwwf2HoQ&ob=av2n

‘You’re toxic I’m slipping under’Britney then released one of her biggest selling singles ‘Toxic’ which silenced all the critics that she could not make a comeback after her break from music. In which her princess image was slipping as she was pictured drinking and smoking. She was also linked to Fred Durst, Collin Farrell and had that infamous kiss on stage with her idol Madonna at the MTV Music Video Awards. It was around this time that Britney began dating Kevin Federline, a former backup dancer who she had taken on tour with her a few months previously. The snag here was that Kevin came with baggage - in the form of an "ex" girlfriend, heavily pregnant "Moesha" (1996) actress Shar Jackson and their young child. Britney and Kevin soon became engaged and, in September 2004, were married in a secret ceremony, soon after the birth of Kevin's second child. That same month, Britney released a single off her upcoming "Greatest Hits" album (released in November 2004) a cover of Bobby Brown's 1988 hit "My Prerogative".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWOpsKcHqio

‘I wanna get in the zone’

Britney released her fourth studio album, In the Zone, in November 2003. She assumed more creative control by writing and co-producing most of the material. In the Zone sold over 609,000 copies in the United States and debuted at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one In the Zone sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The album produced the hit singles: "Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "Toxic"—which won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording; "Everytime" and "Outrageous".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jd23R46bbkhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YzabSdk7ZA

‘Why don’t you do somethin’?’

In October 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break to start a family. Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, her first greatest hits compilation album, was released in November 2004. Spears's cover version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" was released as the lead single from the album, reaching the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway. The second single, "Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries of mainland Europe. Worldwide, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative sold over 5 million copies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zoCR7n8HqBk

‘Do you want a piece of me?’

Her fifth studio album was released after a turbulent break which saw Britney being portrayed as a bad mother, shaving all of her own hair off, and being emitted into rehab. Blackout, was released in October 2007 and has sold staggeringly over 3.1 million copies worldwide. Her single ‘Piece of me’ which is from the album reached the top of the charts in Ireland and reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Whereas her third single from the album ‘Break the Ice’ obtained moderate success as she was not able to promote it properly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4FF6MpcsRw&ob=av2e

‘You’re a womanizer baby’

Her sixth studio album Circus, was released in December 2008. It received positive reviews from critics. Circus debuted at number one in Canada, Czech Republic and the United States, and inside the top in many European nations. Circus became one of the fastest-selling albums of the year, and has sold 4 million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Womanizer", became her first number one in the Billboard Hot 100 since "...Baby One More Time" and topped the charts. Spears embarked on The Circus Starring Britney Spears in March 2009. With a gross of U.S. $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest grossing tour of the year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMqayQ-U74s

‘Shame on me’

In March 2011, Spears released her seventh studio album Femme Fatale. Max Martin and Dr. Luke executive produced the album and the album's first single "Hold It Against Me". The single debuted at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100. In April 2011, Spears appeared in a remix to the song "S&M" by Rihanna after Rihanna asked her fans via Twitter who they wanted her to collaborate with.The song reached number one in the US in mid-April 2011, giving Britney her fifth number one on the chart. In early May, Spears' second single from Femme Fatale, "Till The World Ends", reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and had ninety-eight million audience impressions on the Billboard chart, granting Spears the highest weekly audience of her 13-year chart career. Femme Fatale's third single "I Wanna Go" reached the top forty on the Billboard Hot 100 in June 2011. Among females in the last thirteen years, Spears now has the third-most top forty hits, with twenty-one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzU9OrZlKb8&ob=av2e

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-sxSd1uwoU&ob=av2e

VMA Tribute

Britney Spears was given a tribute at the VMA’s with a memorable performance of young girls who performed many of her hit songs. Britney said it was ‘An Honor’ and stayed humble throughout her tribute. She claimed she was amazed by it all especially her kiss with Lady Gaga’s male alter Joe Calderone. She was blown away.