Britney Spears Biography
Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is a famous American dance-pop singer and actress.
History of Britney Spears' career
Born 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) and Christina Aguilera, also a pop singer. Spears dated Timberlake for about five years.
Her first album on Jive Records, Baby One More Time, debuted in the number 1 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 1 hit in many countries, and was accompanied by a music video in which Spears wore a school-girl outfit and danced through a high-school corridor. Her followup album, Oops I Did It Again, also debuted at number 1 and was a similarly huge hit.
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.
Following the first two successful 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 Beyonc?Knowles. This speculation turned out to be false, and Spears has gone on to sponsor other Pepsi products.
Her next album, Britney, was released on November 6, 2001, and debuted at number 1 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 or old. Over 4 million copies of Britney were sold in the United States alone, and the album went on to sell over 12 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 September 2002, she took a break from the spotlight, and in 2003 many music industry critics speculated that her career was in decline. Britney Spears, over the course of her first three albums, had sold approximately 54 million copies worldwide.
Media reporting of Britney Spears' personal life
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In common with a number of other popular female figures in show business, Britney Spears' private life has attracted considerable media attention. Her situation illustrates a common tension between publicity and privacy: while an increased "profile" can carry with it the loss of certain liberties many of the rest of us take for granted, a certain amount of attention increases the performer's prominence in the media, and perhaps even increases the sales of her artistic products (recordings, films, etc.). Indeed, some people feel that Ms. Spears has brought on this kind of public attention 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 lays, Ms. Spears public response has been to repeatedly express regret and resentment at the intrusive media coverage.
Her fourth and latest 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. Her latest single, "Me Against the Music" (featuring Madonna), while a staple on MTV's Total Request Live, fared less well on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, though it performed well on other charts.
In June 2002, Britney 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. Her appearance in the movie Crossroads, which reached number two in the box office charts, netted her a Golden Raspberry Award ('Razzie') for worst performance of 2002.
Britney Spears's 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 Ms. Spears best friends, Jenny, was in the unsuccessful girl-group Innosence. Ms. Spears was a former 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.
On Saturday, January 3 2004, Britney 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.
Jason Allen Alexander was born on October 16, 1981. His father is Dennis Edwards Alexander, an auto mechanic, and his mother Anita Doreen Duncan. He lives in Ms. Spears' hometown, Kentwood, Louisiana, USA.
Controversies surrounding Britney Spears
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 in modern society that is
visible elsewhere, for example in the film and fashion industries.
A view taken by some parents is 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 children of age 7-8 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.
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. It is believed that Spears
is still deciding whether to accept the offer.
While young girls seldom address this debate in the same terms as their
parents, many are divided as to whether they consider Britney Spears
appealing, especially in the light of more recent developments in her
career.
For her part, Ms. 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 Britney Spears are similar to those Madonna received
during her early career. Indeed, Madonna's fans belonged to a similar
demographic to Spears' fanbase.
Spears poses nude for magazine
Britney Spears then began a relationship with Kevin Federline and in July 2004, she announced her engagement three months after they met. Federline had very recently been in a relationship with actress Shar Jackson, who was at the time pregnant with his second child. These initial stages were chronicled in Spears' first reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic, which aired on UPN during May and June of 2005. On the night of September 18, 2004, Spears married Federline in a surprise, non-denominational ceremony at a residence in Studio City, California, filing legal papers on October 6, 2004.
After the marriage Britney announced via her website that she would be taking another career break in order to start a family. Her artistic career did remain low profile only releasing her first hits collection, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The album debuted at number four on the U.S. charts and featured three new songs, including "My Prerogative". Spears stood by her intent of starting a family; and seven months after her marriage she chose her website to announce her pregnancy writing, "the time has finally come to share our wonderful news that we are expecting our first child together.” Spears gave birth to her first child, son Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005 in Santa Monica, California by a scheduled caesarean section.
A few months after giving birth to Sean, speculation about Spears being pregnant for a second time began to swirl. In May 2006, she announced her second pregnancy with an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Britney appeared on Dateline NBC the next month to discuss tabloid rumors about an impending divorce, and motherhood. She addressed an incident which occurred in February 2006 when photos revealed her driving with her son unrestrained in her lap,[57] explaining, "I see a bunch of photographers and I’m scared and I want to get out of the situation... They’re coming up on the sides of the car which is a scary situation for me... so I get my baby out of the car and I go home.” The month following the televised interview, Spears posed nude for the August 2006 cover of Harper's Bazaar. In the accompanying interview, Spears stated that she is not ready to retire from performing.
Just two days shy of Sean's first birthday, Britney gave birth to her second son Jayden James Federline on September 12, 2006 in Los Angeles, California. Spears filed for divorce from Federline in early November, citing irreconcilable differences and asking for both physical and legal custody of their two children, with visitation rights for Federline. Laura Wasser has been hired to represent Spears in the case. According to a representative for Federline's lawyer, the divorce filing "caught Kevin totally by surprise."Finally, on March 29, 2007, Spears and Federline reached a settlement, "All parties signed a global settlement agreement on all issues concerning their marriage and custody of their two children," said Michael Sands, spokesperson for Federline's lawyer, Mark Vincent Kaplan.
Rumors of a Britney Spears sex tape surfaced in November of 2006 and it's said to be 4 hours long. Spears also had been seen hanging around with a new friend - Paris Hilton.
In February of 2007, Britney Spears shaved her head:
In April of 2007, news broke about Britney Spears and Howie Day:
Britney Spears is allegedly dating bad boy singer/songwriter Howie Day after meeting him in rehab.
In May of 2007 news stories broke on Britney Spears over leaked topless photos:
Pop star Britney Spears is reportedly hopping mad after topless photos of her
surfaced on the internet. In the pictures, which were taken in a botanical
garden, the Toxic singer is kneeling on a rock, while holding two flower petals
over her breasts. And Spears is furious over the timing of the pics, as they
leaked right after her glorious California comeback on May 1.
"Britney's furious these photos have become public. She never dreamed they'd be
leaked,” Contact music quoted a pal of Spears, as telling British newspaper The
Daily Star.
As for why Britney is hopping mad, well that’s because she’s afraid the pics
will make her look ‘trashy’.
“She's concerned the photos will damage her credibility and just make her look
trashy,” the friend said.
"She's concentrating on her career and this draws the focus from her music,” the
pal added.
Albums List for Britney Spears
- 1999 : ...Baby One More Time
- 2000 : Oops!... I Did It Again
- 2001 : Britney
- 2003 : In the Zone
Film List for Britney Spears
- 1990s : Ruthless (Broadway)
- 1993/1994 : Mickey Mouse Club (Television)
- 1999 : Longshot (Movie/Cameo)
- 2002 : Crossroads (Movie/Lead Actress)
- 2002 : Austin Powers in Goldmember (Movie/Cameo)
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