Britney Jean Spears is an American pop icon of the 2000s. She became famous after the release of the song “Baby, One More Time” in 1998, and then she gave the world dozens of hits, including “Oops, I Did It Again”, “Gimme More” and “Toxic”. After a series of scandals that culminated in mental disorders and therapy in a psychiatric clinic, the custody of Britney passed to her father. Now the singer rarely pleases fans with new creativity, but her life is gradually returning to normal.
Childhood
American pop icon Britney Spears was born on December 2, 1981, in McComb, Mississippi. Nevertheless, the artist’s childhood was spent in Kentwood, Louisiana. Mom, Lynn Spears, worked as a teacher in elementary school, dad James was a builder and a cook in different years. Britney also has an older brother, Brian, and a younger sister, Jamie. Despite the outward well-being, family relations were strained. Britney’s mother Lynn filed for divorce but eventually took the documents back, fearing the anger of her parents. James was an alcoholic. After drinking, he not only verbally humiliated his relatives, sometimes it came to beatings. Britney was not touched by her father, but as a child she often watched him beat her mother. The deeper James plunged into alcoholic depths, the poorer the family became. The family faced hunger, they did not have enough money to buy anything, and James had to go hunting – to shoot squirrels and rabbits. Lynn planned to break out of suffocating poverty. It was not shameful to her to use children for this purpose with all her might. Fortunately, baby Britney showed great promise. Until the age of 9, she was professionally engaged in rhythmic gymnastics and even participated in regional competitions. Besides, Britney has sung since childhood. Spears began her singing career with a church choir by singing religious hymns.
Career start
Britney Spears’ way to success began at age 8 when she came to New York to audition for the Mickey Mouse Show. The producers liked the girl, but she did not suit the project by age. She was sent to acting school, where she studied performing arts for 3 years and even performed on stage in small roles. After completing the training course, she returned to The Mickey Mouse Show, where she was happily accepted. This is a very famous show – such world stars as Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Jaycee Chases, Keri Russell, Ryan Gosling, and others began their careers within it.
In 1993, The Mickey Mouse Show was closed and Britney returned to Louisiana. She again began to study at school, and at the same time, she sang in an ensemble with her friends. Their group was very popular in the city and the girls were often invited to perform at various events and holidays. However, Britney dreamed of more. 3 years later, she recorded a demo disc with her songs and addressed it to Jive Records. They wanted to know more about the talented girl and sent a response with a proposal for cooperation. Britney began performing in supermarkets and working backing vocals in various ensembles.
Career heyday
In May 2000, Britney released the second album “Oops! I did it again” which, according to music critics, has grown in terms of music and lyrics. During the year, more than 8 million copies of the album have been sold worldwide. In the summer of 2000, Britney embarked on her first world tour. In the same year, Britney Spears received two Billboards Music Awards and received a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Album and Best Live Performance.
Britney Spear’s fever spread up all over the world. Teenagers all over the world awaited Britney’s clips on MTV and hung her posters in their rooms. T-shirts, dolls, calendars, and mugs with the image of the singer were sold out at lightning speed.
In 2001, Britney became a member of the Pepsi advertising campaign. She signed a multi-million dollar deal and became the face of a soft drink. At that time, the campaign was the most expensive and large-scale in the history of PepsiCo. As part of the contract, Britney recorded the video “The Joy Of Pepsi” which became very popular. Britney’s 3rd album was released in November of the same year. Spears traveled extensively with her music tour, starred in commercials, and even opened her own restaurant in New York, but the business turned out to be unprofitable.
In November 2003, the 4th album “In the Zone” was released. For the single from this album called “Toxic”, the singer received her first Grammy.
In the fall of 2004 was released a collection of hits “Greatest Hits: My Prerogative’, followed by a collection of remixes “B in the Mix: The Remixes”.
Until 2007, due to her personal life, Britney Spears took a break from her musical career. This year, she released “Blackout”, critically acclaimed as the worst album of her career.
Britney Spears’ next studio album “Circus” was released in 2008 on the singer’s birthday – December 2.
In 2011, the singer released her next album “Femme Fatale”. In the same year, she received the MTV Generation Recognition Award.
In 2012, Britney Spears joined the judges for the second season of the American version of The X Factor.
In 2013 was released the 8 studio album “Britney Jean”. In the same year, she recorded the soundtrack for The Smurfs 2. In the video for this song, she starred with her sons.
Since 2013, the singer has been performing “Britney: Piece of Me” at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
In 2016 was released the singer’s 9th studio album “Glory”.
Britney Spears has also starred in films and TV shows. In addition, the singer has released four books and eight DVDs, including the reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic and the documentary “Britney Spears: Life behind glass”.
