Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is a famous American dance-pop singer and actress.
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2 Media reporting of Britney Spears' personal life 3 Current activities 4 Controversies surrounding Britney Spears 5 Lists 6 External links |
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 Beyoncé 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.
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, 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.
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.
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 Spears are similar to those Madonna received during her early career. Indeed, Madonna's fans belonged to a similar demographic to Spears' fanbase.
History of Britney Spears' career
Media reporting of Britney Spears' personal life
Current activities
Marriage with Jason Allen Alexander
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.News reports about the marriage
Controversies surrounding Britney Spears
Lists
Albums
Music Videos
Acting
External links
Official sites
Fan Web Sites
Message Boards
