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| Britney
Spears
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Britney
Jean Spears known as Britney Spears
was born on December, 2, 1981 in
McComb, Mississippi, and raised
Southern Baptist in Kentwood, Louisiana.
Her parents are James Parnell Spears,
a building contractor, and Lynne
Irene Bridges, a former grade school
teacher. Spears's brother, Bryan,
is one of her managers, and her
sister, Jamie-Lynn, is an actress
and singer. Her maternal grandmother,
Lillian Portelli, was an English
war-bride, who met Spears's maternal
grandfather, Barnett O'Field Bridges,
in England during World War II,
and subsequently moved with him
to the US. Her paternal grandparents
were June Austin Spears and Emma
Jean Forbes. |
Britney
Spears is a Grammy Award-winning American
pop singer, dancer, actress, author and
songwriter. She is best known for her
studio albums, music videos, and songs
such as "...Baby One More Time",
"Oops!...I Did It Again", "I'm
a Slave 4 U" and "Toxic".
In the early 2000s, Spears's success as
a singer led her way to high-profile advertising
deals and endorsements, as well as forays
into other forms of media, including film
and reality television. Her third and
fourth albums, Britney and In the Zone,
were released during this era. Spears
has sold over seventy-six million records
worldwide according to TIME magazine.Having
sold over 31 million albums in the US,
Spears ranks as the eighth best-selling
female artist in American music history.
Appearing
in talent shows and choirs around her
hometown, Britney's talents were obvious
from a young age. She auditioned for The
Disney Channel's 'Mickey Mouse Club' at
the age of eight. Too young for the show,
but too talented to dismiss, a Disney
producer helped her to get an agent in
New York where she spent the next three
summers studying performing arts. She
began to act in TV commercials and off-Broadway
shows. At age 11, with varied and invaluable
entertaining experience already behind
her, Britney graduated to a coveted place
in Disney's 'Mickey Mouse Club'.
Her
first real lead was in a comedy called
Ruthless. In 1992, Britney left Ruthless
and landed a spot on Star Search. She
won the first round, but was beaten by
another contestant in the second. This
setback didn't deter Miss Spears, who
knew in her heart that she was destined
for greater things. Finally, Britney returned
to audition for the MMC again; except
this time she was offered a job! Along
with Justin Timberlake, JC Chasez, Christina
Aguilera, and Kari Russell, Britney rapped,
sang, and danced through over 110 skits
on the show. After two years, in 1994,
MMC was canceled, leaving Britney to wonder
what was next.
After
a couple of years on the show, Britney
went back to New York to start a music
career hoping to follow in the footsteps
of her idols Michael Jackson, Mariah Carey
and Whitney Houston. She started out by
recording several songs on a homemade
demo and then returned to the person who
had helped her out before: Entertainment
Lawyer Larry Rudolph. Rudolph immediately
set Britney up with Jive Records. After
listening to her tape, Jeff Fenster, senior
vice president of artists and recording
for Jive Records, said, "she was
intriguing, so we had her come in and
audition for us in person." What
did she audition to? "Jesus Loves
Me" and "I Have Nothing"
by Whitney Houston. After her performance,
everyone in the room was amazed and Britney
was immediately offered a recording contract.
Shortly
after, Jive went to work on Britney's
first album. The eleven tracks on her
freshmen album were recorded all over
the world: from Sweden at Max Martin's
studio to New Jersey, where she worked
with Eric Foster White. After the production
on her CD was finished, Jive set forth
on promoting their newest artist. Months
before her album came out Britney's name
was on teenager's lips everywhere. She
even embarked on a mini-tour throughout
malls in the US to promote her yet-to-be
released CD. Britney then landed the coveted
spot as *N Sync's opening act on their
1998 tour. But, that was only the edge
of the iceberg for Britney.
In
late December 1998, Jive Records released
Britney's first single "…Baby One
More Time" and by January, it was
a number-one hit. Britney's album debuted
at number one shortly thereafter, paving
the road for one of the world's biggest
stars. Unfortunately, in February 1999,
Britney's luck took a turn for the worst.
While filming the video for her second
single, "Sometimes," Britney
tore cartilage in her left knee and was
forced take a brief break to have surgery.
After she was done recuperating, Jive
immediately set her up with her own headlining
tour sponsored by Tommy Hilfiger. Her
2nd single, 'Sometimes' - a soft summer
ballad - was released in June 1999 and
was warmly received by a rapidly growing
fan base.
After
a massive summer tour across North America,
Britney returned to the charts with another
smash hit, '(You Drive Me) Crazy'. The
highlight of 1999 for Britney was performing
a poptastic medley at the MTV Europe Music
Awards in Dublin, where she was the undoubted
star. She won all four awards for which
she was nominated. The categories were
Best Female Artist, Best Breakthrough
Act, Best Pop Act and Best Song for '…Baby
One More Time'.
Born
To Make You Happy', the fourth single
to be taken from Britney's debut album,
was released in January 2000 and shot
straight into the top of charts around
the World, securing her status as a pop
phenomenon. In between touring and promotion,
Britney recorded new songs for an eagerly
anticipated second album: 'Oops!… I Did
It Again' was the first single from an
album with the same name. Released in
April 2000, the melodious and upbeat song,
accompanied by a stunning music video
directed by Nigel Dick, shot to the top
of music charts around the globe. The
album release followed, debuting at #1
in the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, Korea, Taiwan,
France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden
and 15 other countries worldwide. Its'
reception stamped the title 'Oops!… I
Did It Again' with uncanny appropriateness
- she had indeed 'done it again!'.
The
second single from the album, was 'Lucky'
- a bittersweet tale of loneliness and
stardom - containing the apt lyrical phrase
"the World is spinning and she keeps
on winning!" Britney's 'Oops!…' World
Tour was announced on May 12th 2000. Her
fans couldn't wait to see her perform.
The shows packed 90 minutes full of her
classic hits, energetic dance routines
and magical costume changes. Fans were
left in awe. Stronger' - an attention
grabbing slice of classic up-beat pop
- and 'Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know'
- a smooth ballad, co-written by Shania
Twain - , followed as the final singles
from an exciting sophomoric record, that
showed immense growth as a performing
artist and a tight relationship with a
sound that is undoubtedly 'Britney!' and
now?…
Along
with her rigorous schedule and the release
of her successful 2X Platinum home video
Time Out With Britney Spears in late 1999,
Britney and her mother have written a
book entitled Heart To Heart. As if that
weren't enough, Britney has also created
the Britney Spears Foundation in conjunction
with the Giving Back Fund. Its first endowment
is the formation of a performing arts
summer camp for underprivileged kids in
Massachusetts. "I'm so happy to be
able to give kids the opportunity to learn
about amazing world of dance and music
that I've have been lucky enough to make
such a big part of my own life."
Britney
has appeared on screen and in print around
the globe. 'Time Magazine' (International
Edition), 'Marie Claire' (UK) 'Elle' (UK
and Japan) and 'Vogue' (Spain) are some
of the magazines that have embraced Britney's
charismatic image for their cover stories.
MTV, CHANNEL V, FOX, M6, RTL, along with
a countless number of other television
networks and programs around the world,
anticipate Britney's new releases as fans
would themselves.
Britney
co-headlined at the Rock In Rio Festival
in Brazil in January, 2001, performing
to an audience of over 250,000. Also in
January, Britney appeared with Aerosmith
and *NSYNC at Superbowl 35 during the
half time show, performing Aerosmith's
classic hit "Walk This Way".
Britney presented and won an award at
the 2000 Billboard Music Awards and co-hosted
and performed at the 2001 American Music
Awards.
In
2001, the reigning Queen of Teen Pop shows
us a fresh and more mature side. The new
songs on her third album, 'Britney', reflect
the changes in her life and her development
from a teenage girl to a mature, young
woman. Working with producers such as
The Neptunes, on the first single 'I'm
a Slave 4 U' has allowed her to move on
to the next level. Other producers and
songwriters on the album include Max Martin,
Rami, Riprock 'n' Alex G, Dido, Josh Schwartz
and Brian Kierulf of KNS Productions,
Rodney Jerkins, Justin Timberlake and
Britney Spears herself.
In
early 2001, Britney sparked her career
as an actress, when she began filming
Crossroads, a movie which she had a hand
in creating. To help promote the movie,
Britney began work on a third album, aptly
named "Britney".
The
first single, "I'm A Slave 4 U"
was debuted by a racy performance at the
2001 MTV Video Music Awards that still
has people talking, more than a year after
the performance ended. The album, released
November 6, 2001, debuted at #1, making
Britney the first artist to have her first
three albums debut at #1. The album sold
more than 800, 000 copies within its first
week. A feat that doesn't quite match
her previous attempt, but in comparison
to any other female artist, is still an
amazing accomplishment. She snatched up
the spot for the second fastest selling
album by a female artist. (The feat which
would later be topped by Shania Twain's
comeback album "Up!") Fortunately,
Britney still holds the spot.
"Crossroads"
was released to theaters in February 2002,
bringing in $17, 000 opening week. Not
bad for a movie in which the lead character
is starring in her first film. In June
2002, Britney opened a restaurant called
Nyla (named after her two favourite places
in the world: New York and Louisiana).
Unfortunately, the restaurant didn't do
so well, and in November 2002, Britney
pulled out of the restaurant.
In
late 2002, she went on a 6-month hiatus
from the spotlight to lay low. In early
December, the hiatus was called off, and
she ventured back into the studio to begin
work on her fourth album, later to be
titled 'In The Zone'. With this album,
she worked with a handful of famous producers,
writers and even hooked up with a few
people to costar on the album. Producers
include Moby, R Kelly, P Diddy and more.
She co-wrote 7 of the project's 12 sterling
new compositions, collaborating with such
heavy hitters as Red Zone ("Me Against
The Music," "The Hook Up"),
The Matrix ("Shadow"), Moby
("Early Mornin'"), and Cathy
Dennis ("Toxic," "Showdown").
Also contributing hit worthy material
to the album is R. Kelly ("Outrageous"),
Ying-Yang Twins on "(I Got That)
Boom Boom." roove
of "Me Against The Music" is
quite real, though, and it reveals each
of them at their most kinetic and soulful.
Collaborating with one of her all-time
greatest musical influences was a dream
come true for Britney. The song's accompanying
video clip, directed by Paul Hunter, shows
Madonna enticing Britney through a maze-like
underground club, only to disappear into
thin air when Britney gets close enough
to touch her. The clip is rife with symbolic
gestures of Madonna passing the baton
pop power to Britney --- an image that
the young artist finds exciting, humbling,
and perhaps a bit premature.
Britney
has never had a problem staying in the
spotlight with everything that surrounds
her. Her career has been built out of
controversy and people keep coming back
begging for more. In the beginning of
her career the hottest talk in Hollywood
was that Ms. Spears got breast implants
in hopes to boost her image. No sooner
did that talk die down before new rumors
that she was dating teen heartthrob Justin
Timberlake came out. These happened to
be true, and Justin and Britney emerged
as one of the hottest new couples on the
scene. In March 2002, their four-year
romance ceased due to various speculated
reasons. Justin's "Cry Me a River"
video seems to be the only clues as to
why their relationship ended, essentially
accusing Britney (through a look alike
model) of cheating. Britney, however,
has chosen to remain discreet about her
love life. She did admit that her girl-next-door
image wasn't entirely true: after years
of speculation, she revealed that she
wasn't a virgin. On! top of that, she
smoked and drank alcohol. The media had
a hay day coupling Britney with every
single man in Hollywood, of which Britney
can only laugh. Now, Britney has added
further controversy to her career by kissing
Madonna during their performance at the
2003 MTV Video Music Awards, a move that
apparent Ms. Spears suggested herself.
In
January 2004 she embarked on a bizarre
week-long bender in Las Vegas culminating
in a 'quickie' Vegas chapel style marriage
to school sweetheart Jason Alexander.
When the hangover had finally lifted the
couple divorced two days later with Britney
telling the newspapers: "I wanted
to get married, then I ran away".
In January 2004 Britney visited London
briefly to publicize her new Pepsi TV
commercial filmed with Beyonce Knowles
and Pink. Amazingly, she managed not to
marry anyone. But on September 18, 2004,
Ms. Spears became Mrs. Federline when
she married her former backup dancer,
Kevin Federline. It was the first marriage
for Federline, who previously fathered
two children with Moesha star Shar Jackson.
The two lovebirds honeymooned in various
places including Fiji!
In
2004, she married back-up dancer and aspiring
rap artist Kevin Federline and the following
year she gave birth to their son, Sean
Preston. Their second son, Jayden James,
was born in 2006. Spears filed for divorce
from Federline on November 7, 2006 citing
irreconcilable differences.
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