Britney Spears Biography

Britney Spears	Britney Jean Spears Born: 1981-12-02 Birthplace: McComb, MS Race: White Religion: Baptist Field: Singer Famous for: Oops!... I Did it Again Britney Spears Offical Website: http://www.britneyspears.com/
Field: Singer

Britney Jean Spears is an iconic American pop music singer, songwriter and dancer. Her career encompasses chart-topping records, high-profile advertising and a foray into both acting and reality television. She is recognized throughout the world despite the controversy surrounding the sexuality of her music and image. Her sweet, mellow voice is also responsible for bringing back the soubrette to popularity in contemporary music after the late 1980s and '90s saw a surgence of music written for brassy, rangy voices, ornamented with lots of melisma and vocal altitude.

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

In 2004, Spears, 22, announced her engagement to dancer Kevin Federline, 26. Federline was formerly in a relationship with the actress Shar Jackson, with whom he has two children.

On the night of September 18, 2004, Spears married Federline before 20-30 guests in a private, non-denominational ceremony at a residence in Studio City, California. Spears wore an off-white dress and Federline wore an off-white dinner jacket. The wedding party famously donned light blue and pink sweatsuits after the ceremony and ventured out to an L.A. nighclub. The legitimacy of the marriage was initially questioned, but on November 18, 2004 a representative of the Los Angeles County registrar's office confirmed Spears and Federline had successfully filed their marriage license with the county within ten days of their ceremony and were therefore legally married.

In April 2005, she announced through her website she was pregnant with her first child, and reports have surfaced that she may be carrying twins, and at least one is speculated to be a girl. She is due this coming October.

Her first album on Jive Records, ...Baby One More Time, debuted at #1 on the Canadian charts as well as the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart on January 12, 1999, where it remained for six weeks. The single of the same name was also a #1 hit in many countries, including the U.S. and UK, and was accompanied by a music video in which Spears wore a schoolgirl outfit and danced down a high school corridor. Follow-up singles included the top thirty "Sometimes", top ten "(You Drive Me) Crazy" and the top twenty "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart". Another single, "Born to Make You Happy", was released outside the U.S. and went to #1 in the UK.

Spears broke the record for the youngest artist, at age 17, to have their first single reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart with "...Baby One More Time". Spears also broke the record for the youngest artist, at age 17, to have their first single and album simultaneously reach #1 on the Billboard charts. Spears still holds this record. ...Baby One More Time is to-date the best-selling album by a teenager, with certification for shipment of over 14 million copies and sales of over 10.5 million copies in the U.S. alone.

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..

Her follow-up album, Oops!... I Did It Again, released on May 16, 2000, also debuted at #1 in the U.S. and Canada, and was a similarly huge hit. It sold over 1.3 million units its first week in the U.S., making it the fastest-selling album by a female artist. The album has shipped over 10 million copies and sold over 9 million copies in the U.S. alone. Singles off the album include the title track, which was a top ten hit in the U.S. and a #1 in several countries around the world, the top thirty "Lucky" and the top twenty "Stronger". Another single, "Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know" was also released, but failed to achieve much success.

Following the success of her first two albums, Spears' career skyrocketed, and a multi-million-dollar music, film, advertising, concert and TV-special 'industry' sprang up around her. Her most popular ads were for Pepsi, for which she earned a reported $7-$8 million. In 2003, there was media speculation the soft drink behemoth was planning to replace Spears with Destiny's Child frontwoman Beyoncé Knowles. This speculation turned out to be false, and Spears has since gone on to promote other Pepsi products. Spears has also participated in ads for McDonald's and Skechers, among other companies. During this time, she also branched out as an author by co-writing a book with her mother Lynne called Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart.

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.

Her next album, Britney, was released on November 6, 2001, and again debuted at #1 on both the U.S. and Canadian charts, selling over 740,000 units its first week in the U.S. This made her the only female artist in SoundScan history to have her first three albums debut at #1. The first single, the top thirty hit "I'm a Slave 4 U", was produced by The Neptunes, and its R&B stylings heralded the starlet's attempt to grow with her audience, young and old. Other singles included "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", "Overprotected", "Anticipating", "Boys" and "I Love Rock 'N Roll". Though these tracks did well internationally, they all failed to make much of a stir on U.S. radio. Over 4 million copies of Britney have been sold in the U.S. alone, and while the album was very much a hit by anyone else's standards, these figures are low in comparison to the sales of her previous two albums.

In 2002, Spears starred in a movie, Crossroads, which reached #2 in its first week at the box-office charts, but quickly dropped from sight. 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 Actress, tied with Madonna. One of the tracks from Britney, "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman", also 'won' the Worst Original Song award, and in 2005 Spears was again 'honored' by the Golden Raspberry judges when she was proclaimed Worst Supporting Actress for her cameo role in the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11. 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 addition, she also released the follow-up novel to Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart; this one was entitled A Mother's Gift.

In September 2002, she took a break from the spotlight, and in 2003 many music industry critics speculated her career was in decline. Over the course of her first three albums, Spears had sold over 50 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 receive either award.

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 took 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. Zone rose straight to the top of the U.S. album charts in its debut week, making Spears the only female in music history to have her first four albums debut at #1. After an opening performance in which she kissed Madonna at the August 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, the pop legend was also featured on the album's first single, "Me Against the Music". The single only went top forty in the U.S., though it was a #1 hit in many other countries around the world. Zone, however, has sold 3 million copies in the U.S.

The day before the release of Zone, Spears received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

On 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 was granted on January 5, ending their 55-hour marriage. Following the wedding, Spears released the second single from Zone, "Toxic", which became a worldwide and #1 hit in over twenty different countries. The single also marked Spears' first top ten hit on the Hot 100 since "Oops!".

In March, Spears 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 was a top twenty hit in the U.S., it was a #1 hit overseas in such countries as the UK and Australia. In June, she cancelled the remaining dates of her tour after supposedly injuring her knee during the filming of a video for the fourth single from Zone, "Outrageous", which was released only in the U.S. and Japan; however, it did not perform well on the charts (besides becoming a moderate dance hit), perhaps due to the fact that the video was never released.

In 2005, Spears received her first Grammy award for "Toxic" in the category of Best Dance Recording.

During the later half of 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break in order to start a family. Though she stopped making many public appearances, the 'Britney Spears industry' seemed to continue running itself.

In September 2004, Spears released her first fragrance, "Curious", a floral scent with vanilla and musk. The fragrance had the biggest debut in sales in history from Elizabeth Arden, breaking the record for first-week gross for a perfume; in its first three months alone, the scent made $30 million. Spears reportedly earned $12 million from the fragrance. In addition, the scent ended up as the #1 fragrance of 2004 in department stores, and in 2005, "Curious" was honored by the Fragrance Foundation, naming it Best Women's Fragrance.

Following the success of "Curious", Spears is set to release another fragrance in September 2005: "Fantasy". The scent is described as "more romantic and sexy" than its predecessor, and is once again being produced by Elizabeth Arden. Where the bottle for "Curious" was a light blue, the bottle for "Fantasy" is set to be a shade of fuschia.

On November 9, 2004, Spears released her first hits collection: Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The album debuted at #4 on the U.S. charts, selling over 255,000 copies in its first week of release; since its release, the set has sold over a million copies in the States. Spears also notched up the biggest-selling first week for a greatest hits compilation by a female artist in UK chart history (115,341 copies).

The collection includes all of her biggest hits, such as "...Baby One More Time", "Oops!... I Did It Again" and "Toxic", as well as two new songs and a cover of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative", which was featured as the lead single. A second single, one of the two new tracks entitled "Do Somethin'", was released in early 2005.

On May 17, 2005 Spears' reality show with husband Kevin Federline, entitled Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, premiered on the UPN station. In total, the series included five episodes that debuted weekly every Tuesday at 9PM ET/PT up until the hour-long finale on June 14, 2005. Both Federline and Spears are credited as executive producers.

The series consists mainly of home videos created by Federline and Spears, along with some added commentary, beginning with their courtship during the European leg of Spears' "Onyx Hotel Tour" in Spring 2004, and ending with their marriage that September. The series averaged about 3 million viewers per episode; despite this being higher than a usual UPN show, the media marked the series as a flop.

Spears' next single, "Someday (I Will Understand)", premiered on the season finale of Chaotic. It has yet to makes waves on U.S. radio.

On December 29, 2004, Spears did a live interview on the KIIS FM radio station in the U.S., stating her new album was already half done and that it would be named Original Doll, appropriately enough for her changing image. Additionally, after the interview, the first single from the new album, entitled "Mona Lisa", was played. She announced the album would probably be out in the late Spring or early Summer of 2005. Jive Records later released a statement saying the album would not be released until at least (2006). Spears called into TRL U.S. in early 2005 and mentioned there would probably be no new album for that year, though she did say she was working on a song for an upcoming show. Although reports claimed the song was for a Madonna special for MTV, Madonna's representatives later dismissed these rumors. In the end, the song turned out to be "Chaotic", the theme to Spears' reality show Britney and Kevin: Chaotic.

According to the VH1 special "The Fabulous Life Of... Britney & Kevin", Spears has renewed her contract with Jive, signing a three-album deal for a reported $10.5 million.

Spears has said that she plans to finish recording her album 3 months after she gives birth to her first child.

Spears' success has rested on a mixed fanbase. Millions of girls became enthusiasts for her work, adopting her as an idol. Some parents of young daughters have ambivalent or even negative feelings towards Britney Spears. To many critics, the singer has combined a very raunchy 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.

This has raised the question of how fast girls or young teens should move from childhood towards an early emotional adolescence. Some parents may worry that Britney Spears provides an unsuitable role model for their daughters' lives and career plans.

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

The sexualized public image 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.

The 2004 "Onyx Hotel Tour" brought new criticism. While Spears and her on-stage dancers performed her songs "Touch of My Hand" and "Breathe on Me", they were seemingly nude and were performing explicit routines simulating gay sex, orgies and masturbation. Given that some underage fans were in the audience, there was some outrage at the lack of subtly of the performances, and there were reports of adult chaperones angrily storming out with children they brought to the concert.

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 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. Spears' show-stealing kiss with Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards received much media attention, as have her recent marriages. Her provocative image and, ironically, seemingly down-to-earth personality have both equally contributed to her success. Many have compared Spears to a young Madonna.

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 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.