Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of
Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of
English heritage through her maternal grandmother, who was born in
London, and of distant
Maltese descent.
[7][8] Her siblings are Bryan James and
Jamie Lynn.
[9] At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of
Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform a solo at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended
gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows.
[10][11][12] Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "
What Child Is This?" at her
kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age".
[11] At age eight, Spears and her mother Lynne traveled to
Atlanta for an audition in the 1990s revival of
The Mickey Mouse Club. Casting director Matt Casella rejected her for being too young to join the series at the time, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a
New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears's vocals and suggested enrolling her at the
Professional Performing Arts School; shortly after, Lynne and her daughters moved to a sublet apartment in New York. Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical
Ruthless!. She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show
Star Search, as well as being cast in a number of commercials.
[13][14] In December 1992, she was finally cast in
The Mickey Mouse Club, but returned to Kentwood after the show was canceled. She enrolled at
Parklane Academy in nearby
McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in
Clueless with all the
cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."
[11][15]
In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager
Lou Pearlman to join female pop group
Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer
Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a
Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional
demo. He sent Spears an unused song from
Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a
sound engineer. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing audiences wanted pop bands such as the
Backstreet Boys and the
Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another
Madonna, another
Debbie Gibson, or another
Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from
Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph.
[16] Senior vice president of
A&R Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'— is extremely important. And Britney had that."
[11] They appointed her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney."
[17] After hearing the recorded material, president
Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "
Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt all right with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to
Cheiron Studios in
Stockholm,
Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers
Max Martin,
Denniz Pop and
Rami Yacoub, among others.
[11]
1998–2000: ...Baby One More Time and Oops!... I Did It Again
After Spears returned to the United States, she embarked on a shopping mall promotional tour to promote her forthcoming album. Her show was a four song set and she was accompanied by two back up dancers. Her first concert tour followed, as an opening act for
'N Sync.
[18] Her debut album,
...Baby One More Time, was released on January 1999
[19]. It debuted at number one on the U.S.
Billboard 200 and was certified two-times
platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over ten million copies in a year.
[20] It became the biggest selling album ever by a teenage artist.
[12] The
title track was released as the
lead single from the album. Originally, Jive Records wanted its music video to be animated; however, Spears rejected it, and suggested the final idea of a Catholic schoolgirl.
[17] The single sold 500,000 copies on its first day, and peaked at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for two consecutive weeks.
[21][22] "...Baby One More Time" later received a
Grammy nomination for
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.
[23] The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies.
[24] It would later become the
25th most successful song of all time in British chart history.
[25] Spears is also the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the country.
[26] "
(You Drive Me) Crazy" was released as the third single from the album. It became a top-ten hit worldwide and propelled
...Baby One More Time to sell 26 million copies.
[27]
The April 1999 cover of
Rolling Stone featured Spears lying on her bed, clad with a bra, shorts and an open top. The
American Family Association (AFA) referred to the shoot as "a disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" and called to "God-loving Americans to boycott stores selling Britney's albums." Spears responded to the outcry commenting, "What's the big deal? I have strong morals. [...] I'd do it again. I thought the pictures were fine. And I was tired of being compared to Debbie Gibson and all of this
bubblegum pop all the time."
[28] Shortly before, Spears had announced publicly she would remain a
virgin until marriage.
[12] On June 28, 1999, Spears began her first headlining
...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics,
[29] but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits.
[30] An extension of the tour, titled Crazy 2k, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show.
[15]
Oops!... I Did It Again, her second studio album, was released in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the US, selling 1,3 million copies, breaking the
SoundScan record for the highest debut sales by any solo artist.
[31] The album sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
[32] Rob Sheffield of
Rolling Stone said that "the great thing about
Oops! – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of
rock & roll tradition."
[33] The album's lead single, "
Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other European nations.
[26][34] The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for
Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively.
[35]
The same year, Spears embarked on the
Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour, which grossed $40.5 million; she also released her first book,
Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart, co-written with her mother.
[12][36] On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the
2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped off her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer.
[37] Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating 'N Sync member
Justin Timberlake.
[12]
2001–03: Britney, Crossroads and In the Zone
In February 2001, Spears signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with
Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, entitled
A Mother’s Gift.
[12] Her third studio album,
Britney, was released in November 2001. While on tour, she felt inspired by hip hop artists such as
Jay-Z and
The Neptunes and wanted to create a record with a funkier sound.
[38] The album debuted at number one in the
Billboard 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe and sold over 12 million copies worldwide.
[26][39][40] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of
Allmusic called
Britney "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. [...] It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet."
[41] The album was honored with two Grammy nominations—Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "
Overprotected"— and was listed in 2008 as one of
Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Albums from the Past 25 Years".
[42][43] The album's first single, "
I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit worldwide.
[44]
Spears's performance of the single at the
2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger and a large
albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization
PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears.
[37] To support the album, Spears embarked on the
Dream Within a Dream Tour. The show was critically praised for its technical innovations, the
pièce de résistance being a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage.
[45][46] The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind
Cher's
Farewell Tour.
[47] Her career success was highlighted by
Forbes in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity.
[48] Spears also landed her first starring role in
Crossroads, released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, most critics actually praised Spears's acting.
[49][50][51] Crossroads, which had a $11 million budget, went on to gross over $57 million worldwide.
[51]
In June 2002, Spears opened her first restaurant, Nyla, in New York City, but terminated her relationship in November, citing mismanagement and "management's failure to keep her fully apprised".
[52] In July 2002, Spears announced she would take a six month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in October to record her new album.
[53] Spears's relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years. In December 2002, Timberlake released the song "
Cry Me a River" as the second single from his
solo debut album. The music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled the rumors that she had been unfaithful to him.
[54][55] As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "
Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend
Annet Artani.
[56] The same year,
Limp Bizkit frontman
Fred Durst said that he was in a relationship with Spears. However, Spears denied Durst's claims.
[57] In a 2009 interview, he explained that "I just guess at the time it was taboo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her."
[57] Spears opened the
2003 MTV Video Music Awards with
Christina Aguilera, performing "
Like a Virgin". Halfway through they were joined by Madonna, with whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized.
[51]
Spears 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.
[12] Vibe called it "A supremely confident dance record that also illustrates Spears's development as a songwriter."
[58] NPR listed the album as one of "The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade", adding that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work."
[59] 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.
[12] It also debuted at the top of the charts in France and the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.
[60] In the Zone sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
[61] 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".
[12]
