Britney Spears
Born: December 2, 1981 in Kentwood, Louisiana, United States
Nationality: American
Occupation: singer, actor
Awards: American Music Award, favorite new pop-rock artist, 1999; Children's Choice Award, 2002.
With a combination of youthful wholesomeness and budding sexuality, Britney Spears has become a famous teen singing sensation whose music sales have reached epic proportions. Her signature hit, " Baby One More Time," was 1999's biggest seller by a solo artist, moving more than eleven million copies, and as of spring of 2000, sales had reached 18 million copies worldwide. Also, in 1999, the single and her debut album of the same title both reached number one, making her the youngest female performer ever to accomplish this dual feat. The ellipses in her song title stand for "Hit Me," which caused many to wonder at, and to object to, the lyrics. "It doesn't mean physically hit me," Spears explained to Steven Daly in Rolling Stone. "It means just give me a sign, basically. I think it's kind of funny that people would actually think that's what it meant." Spears also came under fire for her racy image, which many considered inappropriate for a teenage girl. Again, she deflected the concerns, exuding an innocent persona in interviews and promising that she would never become as risque as Madonna, even though she admires the performer and aspires to have a similarly long-running career.
Spears was born on December 2, 1981, in Kentwood, Louisiana, a tight-knit community of 2,600. Her father, Jamie, is a building contractor, and her mother, Lynn Spears, teaches second grade. Spears has an older brother, Bryan, and a younger sister, Jamie Lynn. Growing up in Kentwood, about an hour north of New Orleans, she showed a natural inclination toward entertaining. She began singing and dancing at age two, and made her debut at age five singing "What Child Is This" at her kindergarten graduation. Soon, she began taking gymnastics and dance lessons. She also attended Bela Karolyi's gymnastics training camp; later, her video for " Baby One More Time," features Spears herself doing a backflip. Meanwhile, her vocal ability stemmed from her love of singing along with radio hits by the likes of Madonna and Mariah Carey. Before long, she was performing at school and in talent shows.
At age eight, Spears attended an open audition for cast members for a new incarnation of The Mickey Mouse Club on the Disney channel, but was considered too young despite her bubbly presence. Weary of the talent show circuit, she began making television commercials and appearing in some off-Broadway plays. In one of them, 1991's Ruthless, she played an evil young girl. Spears and her mother and younger sister temporarily lived in New York City, where she studied at the prestigious Professional Performing Arts School for three summers. She was also a winner on Star Search.
Finally, at age 11, Spears landed a position on The Mickey Mouse Club, filmed in Orlando, Florida. For two seasons, from 1992 to 1993, she was a cast member. Other Mouseketeers at the time included Justin Timberlake and Joshua "JC" Chasez, who later became part of the heartthrob band N'Sync; singer Christina Aguilera; actor Keri Russell of Felicity; actor Ryan Gosling of Young Hercules; and Nita Booth, who was crowned Miss Virginia 1998.
After The Mickey Mouse Club was canceled in 1993, Spears returned home and attended the private Park Lane high school in McComb, Mississippi, near Kentwood. However, she soon grew restless to take the stage again. As she remarked in People, "I did the homecoming and prom thing, and I was totally bored." She went to prom with her older boyfriend, a senior, whom she dated for two years, but the relationship ended even before she became famous. At age 15, she auditioned to be part of an all-female singing group, but decided she would prefer the solo life instead.
Spears got her big chance in June of 1997, when her father contacted entertainment attorney Larry Rudolph. He organized an audition for her at Jive Records. They signed her to a contract at age 15 and sent her to Sweden to work with writer-producer Max Martin, who helped create hits for the Backstreet Boys and Ace of Base. However, it was Spears herself who nixed Jive's suggestion of an animated superhero theme for her video and suggested instead a naughty schoolgirl motif. The cliched fetish was one that apparently has not lost its appeal, given the level of popularity that she achieved after its release.
In coming up with the idea for the video, Spears explained that the director had an idea loosely resembling a Power Rangers theme. However, she related to Daly in Rolling Stone, "I said, This is not right. If you want me to reach four-year-olds, then OK, but if you want me to reach my age group ' So I had this idea where we're in school and bored out of our minds, and we have Catholic uniforms on. And I said, `Why don't we have knee-highs and tie the shirts up to give it a little attitude?' so it won't be boring and cheesy." Ironically, though, the school-age singer was not a student at the time. Due to her hectic career, she had no time for a traditional education, but was taking correspondence courses.
In the summer of 1998, Spears kicked off a tour of 26 shopping malls before even releasing a single on the radio. Jive Records heavily backed up the promotion, setting up a website and sending out hundreds of thousand of postcards. Teen magazines were also pushing her heavily, making her a celebrity even before her song first aired in October. Soon, Spears toured as the opening act for the Backstreet Boys until the beginning of 1999, and landed a Tommy Hilfiger modeling contract that was tied in to the tour.
By the end of 1998, Spears's single, " Baby One More Time," reached the top of the charts, and in January of 1999, her album followed. Before long, she became a headliner as she transformed into the idol of teenage girls and the heartthrob of teenage boys. She landed numerous appearances on television shows and in scores of magazines. In 1999, Spears won an American Music Award for best new pop-rock artist. She was also nominated for a 2000 Grammy for best new artist, but was beat out by her former fellow Mouseketeer, Aguilera.
Especially in light of the fact that she is a practicing Baptist, some criticized Spears for her vixen image. In addition to her sultry schoolgirl video, a 1999 Rolling Stone photo shoot featured unmistakably Lolita-like qualities. On the cover, she wore only underwear and clutched a Teletubbies figure. Inside, she was photographed in a bra and hot pants in her bedroom, surrounded by a doll collection; in another shot, she wore a tube top and hot pants with the word "BABY" spelled out on the back as she stood next to a little girls' bicycle. This spurred a boycott by the American Family Association out of Mississippi, and caused Nestle to pull out of backing her solo tour in the summer of 1999.
Spears, however, explained in People, "I'm not going to walk around in hot pants and a bra on the street, but when you're an artist, sometimes you play a part." She added, "I was becoming a young woman, and it's nice to feel sexy sometimes." And, as she commented to Annable Vered in TV Guide, "As long as I'm comfortable, I don't worry what other people think." Still, Spears has admitted that the attention can, at times, be off-putting. She noted in People, "When I just want to dance and there's a lot of drunk guys just standing there staring at me, it's like, 'Eeewwww!' I have to say the older [fans] are creepy. The 40 year olds, people who are in your face too much."
Because Spears has been stalked by admirers who have tended to show up at her Kentwood home, she finally bought her parents a newer, larger, gated house on seven-and-a-half acres in her hometown to try to prevent such episodes in the future. She continued to live with her parents, and insisted that her celebrity status carries little weight in regard to household chores. "I wash the dishes. I vacuum. I clean, make my bed. I do everything, man!" she exclaimed to Laudadio in Teen Magazine. She admitted, though, "I don't live a completely normal life because I'm not, you know, a typical teenager who goes to school every day. But I try to make it as normal as possible."
Even though her image is undeniably sexy, Spears continues to exude a fresh-faced naturalness, despite persistent rumors that she had breast implants. She has consistently denied the accusation, explaining to Vered in TV Guide, "When I first signed with the record label, we took a lot of photos, and those were pictures that got used. I weighed 105 pounds; I weigh 130 now. I went through a major growth spurt." Spears also has been an opponent of body piercing, telling Marisa Laudadio in Teen Magazine, "I don't want to pierce anything. I think it's outdated. Belly rings and all are, like, old." As for what is current, she noted to Laudadio, "I think just being pure and doing nothing to destroy your body is cool." However, in the typical spirit of teenage fickleness, she relented and had her famous belly button pierced by early 2000.
The five-feet, five-inch Spears has naturally brunette hair that she gets lightened. She admits to being a big fan of Ben Affleck and Brad Pitt, and she avoids what she calls "party movies" that appeal to young audiences, preferring adult fare such as Titanic, Stepmom, and Steel Magnolias. After one viewing of the animated television show South Park, she deemed it "sacrilegious," according to Daly in Rolling Stone. Though she initially scoffed at reports that she was dating N'Sync's Timberlake, the two were spotted together at several functions, according to Vered in TV Guide. By early 2000, she was also romantically linked to Britain's young Prince William, though Spears only admitted to sending a few e-mails back and forth.
Looking ahead, Spears may return to acting. Her scheduled guest appearances on the series Dawson's Creek had to be canceled due to scheduling difficulties. In 2000 Spears was working on a new album, which was expected to include the first original song she wrote, and after that she has plans for a global tour. She has also received a slew of movie offers, and has signed deals worth $6 million with Clairol, Polaroid, and the Got Milk? advertising campaigns. In any event, Spears hopes to avoid the pitfalls of other quickly forgotten pop princesses like Tiffany and Debbie Gibson, hoping instead to smartly manage her career to ensure its long-term success, as did Madonna. As she stated to Daly in Rolling Stone, "I want to be big all over the world."
Spears continued to rack up spokesperson positions when she signed a deal with Skechers USA, a footwear company, in 2000. In early 2001, she signed a multiyear global marketing pact with PepsiCo. Her first commercial for the soft drink company debuted during that year's Academy Awards.
Spears stirred up controversy when she was scheduled to perform at the MTV Video Music Awards on September 6, 2001, with live cheetahs. The organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) wrote to the singer, requesting she drop the wild cats from her performance. According to E! Online, PETA campaigns director Dan Matthews, wrote: "We're writing today in the hope that you'll open your heart to the plight of captive 'wild' animals caged and forced to tolerate bright lights, crowds, and frightening levels of noise." While the performance did not feature cheetahs, Spears walked around with a python on her neck and had a tiger locked up at the back of the stage.
After the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001, Spears announced she would aim to raise as much as $2 million on her 2001-2002 Dream Within A Dream tour of North America for the youngest victims of the attacks. She donated $1 from every ticket sold during the 31-show excursion to the children of the New York police officers and firefighters who were killed in the rescue efforts on September 11. Originally scheduled to start on October 26, the tour's start date was moved to October 31 while Spears recovered from the flu. On November 6, 2001, Spears's third album, Britney, was released. It debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Spears is the first female solo artist to have all three of her albums open in the top slot.
In December of 2001, Spears signed on to appear in PETA's "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" poster campaign. However, while she insisted on being clothed, news of her participation was leaked to the New York Post, which ran a report implying she was planning to be naked. After a media whirlwind that ensued, Spears declared that she would not do anything for PETA. "Notwithstanding the meaningful work that PETA does, we cannot be involved with an organization that would distort the truth," Spears's publicist told Reuters (according to E! Online), adding that Spears "still feels strongly about animal rights" and would "find another organization to be involved with."
Spears sent web surfers into a tizzy when a Pepsi commercial featuring the singer debuted online at pepsi.yahoo.com two hours before its broadcast premiere in January of 2002. The marketing stunt elicited more than one million video streams in its first week. In May of that year, Pepsi aired a commercial for Pepsi Twist that featured Spears and Austin Powers (comedian Mike Myers) as part of a promotional campaign for the film Austin Powers in Goldmember. Spears also had a cameo in that film.
In February of 2002, Spears appeared in the film Crossroads, the story of three young women who embark on a cross-country trip of self-discovery. While critics did not think it was Academy Award-worthy, most thought it was decent film for preteens. According to Entertainment Weekly's Missy Schwartz in her review of the film's release on video and DVD, "Crossroads holds together as a blissfully innocuous teen dream...." Later that year, Spears appeared in the Play Station 2 videogame Britney's Dance Beat. The premise of the game is Spears is holding tryouts for a backup dancer, and players compete for the spot through ten rounds of increasingly complicated routines.
Spears and Timberlake, after months of denying their relationship, finally admitted their feelings for each other. However, after dating for more than two years, they broke up in March of 2002. Troubles continued to mount for Spears. Her parents divorced after 30 years of marriage and she was caught smoking, which contrasted with her squeaky-clean image. However, her troubles did not prevent Spears from being named one of the 50 most beautiful people by People in 2002. Spears also topped the list of Forbes's most powerful celebrities in June of that year, beating other famous people such as golfer Tiger Woods, director Steven Spielberg, and singer Madonna. That same month, Spears signed with NASCAR to star in a feature film about auto racing; Britney Spears Productions was named as the production company for the film.
Spears continued to be busy with the opening of her Southern-tinged restaurant, Nyla, in New York City on June 27, 2002. Named after Spears's two favorite places in the world, New York and Louisiana, the restaurant featured a Cajun-inspired menu. After a disastrous opening that featured heavy rains, B-list celebrities like singer Deborah Gibson and magician David Copperfield, and Spears's hour-late appearance, the restaurant struggled. Nyla's original consulting chefs, as well as partner Bobby Ochs, departed the venture. In November of 2002, Nyla's menu was given a makeover from Southern to Italian. However, the restaurant still was not a hit with food critics. According to E! Online, Reed Tucker, restaurant writer for Time Out New York, said the remade restaurant was "another bad Midtown New York restaurant that just [happens] to be owned by Britney Spears." While some celebrity restaurants that are snubbed by critics are still a hit with the public, Nyla was not one of them, according to Tucker. Inside Nyla, there is "no trace of Britney Spears," he said—no photographs, no records, no memorabilia of any kind. Three Nyla food suppliers went to court to force the restaurant into Chapter 7 bankruptcy on account of unpaid bills. Just one day after the menu revamp was announced, Spears's spokespeople announced in a written statement, according to E! Online, "Britney Spears has severed all involvement with the Manhattan restaurant Nyla and the company which operates Nyla. Spears believes that she has been let no alternative other than to terminate her relationship with Nyla as a result of management's failure to keep her fully apprised of information relating to the restaurant and its operations."
During Spears's 2002 concert tour, she faced criticism for her actions in Mexico. Shortly after arriving in a Mexico City-area airport on July 23, 2002, Spears was caught on film giving the middle finger; she claimed it was not aimed at local fans, but at the photographers. "Actually what happened was, I got off the plane and everyone was driving really recklessly around me, all the paparazzi. And they almost hit our vehicle and they kept on getting out. But I love my fans here, I embrace them completely. It was the paparazzi that I was mad at. I'm human, too. I get mad like everyone else," she explained in a press conference, as quoted by E! Online. Later, on July 28, Spears bailed on her concert after five songs without giving an explanation. Afterward, concert organizers said the show was called off because of thunderstorms. Concertgoers were upset and threw Britney Spears merchandise and chanted "Fraud, fraud"; concert organizers said fans would be able to get a full refund. In a statement released July 29, Spears said, according to E! Online, "The Mexican fans are some of the best in the world. However, for the security of my company and the audience, as well as for the show's quality, I had to suspend my performance."
After her tour wrapped, Spears announced she was going to take an indefinite hiatus from recording and performing. She relaxed at the new $4.5 million Tudor estate in Kentwood, Louisiana, she built for her mother and her own $1.7 million Spanish-style Hollywood Hills mansion. However, after just three months off, Spears was back at work on a new album. On November 4, 2002, she was honored with the Children's Choice Award for her charitable efforts, which included a namesake foundation, a performing arts camp to benefit sick and disadvantaged children, and the money she raised during her Dream Within A Dream tour for children affected by September 11. The book and DVD set, Stages, was released in November of 2002. It featured photos of Spears with her friends and family, as well as onstage and backstage glimpses that were snapped at various points on the road during the tour.
Spears contract with Pepsi expired in 2002, but it was not renewed; instead, the beverage company signed singer Beyonce Knowles. However, Pepsi did say that Spears was not completely out of the picture. "We consider Britney part of the Pepsi family. If a creative idea came about that was fitting we'd certainly love to explore that with Britney," Bart Casabona, Pepsi's North American spokesman, told E! Online. Spears business woes continued when, on December 23, 2002, she sued Skechers USA for $1.5 million, contending the footwear firm exploited her in international print ads, but failed to market Britney-branded skating accessories. The suit also contended that Skechers pulled out of an agreement to sponsor Spears's Dream Within A Dream tour. A lawyer for Skechers threatened a counter suit saying Spears "rejected design after design, leaving Skechers out in the cold with nothing to sell," according to Entertainment Weekly.
In 2003, Spears released her fourth album, on which she attempts to move away from her teep-pop past with cutting-edge dance, techno and reggae inspired tracks. She also captured headlines by making out with Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards at the end of 2003, and again in January 2004 by marrying Jason Alexander. The marriage was quickly annulled and it officially ended two days later.
Albums
- Baby One More Time, Jive, 1999.
- Oops!...I Did It Again, Jive, 2000.
- Britney, Jive, 2001
- In the Zone, Jive, 2003
Further Reading
Periodicals
- Beverage Industry, May 2002, p. 43.
- Drug Store News, March 5, 2001, p. 31.
- Entertainment Weekly, March 5, 1999, p. 20; September 17, 1999, Bonus section, p. 7; December 24, 1999, p. 28; April 5, 2002, p. 125; July 26, 2002, p. 49; January 10, 2003, p. 16.
- Forbes, March 20, 2000, p. 162.
- Mediaweek, February 4, 2002, p. IQ9.
- Newsweek, March 1, 1999, p. 64.
- People, February 1, 1999, p. 35; February 15, 1999, p. 71; May 10, 1999, p. 114; February 14, 2000, p. 98.
- Rolling Stone, April 15, 1999, p. 60.
- Teen Magazine, August 1999, p. 60.
- Time, December 28, 1998, p. 186; March 1, 1999, p. 71.
- TV Guide, May 8, 1999, p. 30; October 9, 1999, p. 28.
- USA Today, February 23, 1999, p. 1D.
Online
- ABCNews.com, http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment
/reuters20020617_488.html?cmp=EM333 (June 18, 2002). - "Beyonce Pushes Pepsi," E! Online, http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,10999,00.html (February 14, 2003).
- "Britney Dumps Half-Baked Nyla," E! Online, http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,10895,00.html (February 14, 2003).
- "Britney Hits It One More Time," E! Online, http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,9119,00.html (February 14, 2003).
- "Britney: I'm A Slave 4 Food," E! Online, http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,10174,00.html (February 14, 2003).
- "Britney, J. Lo, 'NSYNC Turn To Jungle, Ja Rule, Jacko For VMA Performances," MTV.com, http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448715/20010906
/story.jhtml (February 14, 2003). - "Britney, PETA Let The Fur Fly," E! Online, http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,9256,00.html (February 14, 2003).
- "Britney's Menu Makeover," E! Online, http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,10888,00.html (February 14, 2003).
- "Britney Spears' Hiatus Is History," VH1.com, http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1458526/11052002
/spears_britney.jhtml (February 18, 2003). - "Britney Spears," Mr. Showbiz, http://mrshowbiz.go.com (April 3, 2000).
- Britney Spears official website, http://www.britneyspears.com (April 3, 2000).
- "Britney Spears Thanking Fans With Book, DVD," VH1.com, http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1457652/09182002
/spears_britney.jhtml (February 18, 2003). - "Britney Spears To Raise Money For Children Of WTC Disaster," MTV.com, http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1448931
/20010918/story.jhtml (February 14, 2003). - "Oops! Britney Tops Forbes List," E! Online, http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,10137,00.html (February 14, 2003).
- "Oops! - She Did It Again: Britney Spears Tops Albums Chart," MTV.com, http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1450953
/20011114/story.jhtml (February 14, 2003). - "The PETA-Britney Catfight," E! Online, http://www.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,8777,00.html (February 14, 2003).
Source: Newsmakers, Issue 3. Gale Group, 2000.