One of the most well known artists in the world, Britney Spears rose to fame with her first two albums, …Baby One More Time and Oops!… I Did it Again in the late 90’s and early 2000’s. To date, she has sold well over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Born on December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi, Britney Spears started out as a dancer at the age of three. A natural performer, she also took up singing and gymnastics, eventually winning many competitions and talent shows on the way. When she was five years old, she performed on stage for the first time at her kindergarten graduation with a rendition of, What Child is This?.
In 1990, the blonde auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Although she was ultimately deemed too young for the show, her impressive singing led the casting director to introduce her to a talent agent, who later suggested that she enrolled at the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City. Taking his advance, she soon moved into an condo in New York with her mother and siblings.
Two years later, she made her television debut in The Mickey Mouse Club alongside Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, Keri Russell, and Ryan Gosling.
How Britney Spears Became Famous
Towards the late 90’s, the blonde, who was now well into her teens, started to express an interest in singing. After recording a professional demo, she landed a record deal with Jive Records after being rejected by three other labels.
On January 12, 1999, the teen released her long awaited debut album, …Baby One More Time. A mix of pop and dance pop, the project contained eleven tracks including The Beat Goes On, Thinkin’ About You, …Baby One More Time, (You Drive Me) Crazy, and Born to Make You Happy.
Although initial reviews are mixed, it quickly proved to be a massive success, debuting at the top of the US Billboard 200 with over 121,000 first week sales. The breakthrough she’d been waiting for, it instantly launched her into the realms of super stardom. Outside of the US, the album also charted in Canada, Germany, Hungary, Australia, France, and Japan- marking her international success.
Her best selling album to date, …Baby One More Time eventually attained diamond status in the United States after selling over 12 million copies across the country.
Britney Spears’ Continued Success
A year after her breakthrough debut, the artist dropped her second studio album titled, Oops!…I Did it Again on May 16, 2000. Another smash hit, it sold 500,000 copies on the first day alone; by the end of the initial week, more than 1.3 million copies have been sold.
Nominated for a Grammy Award, the album featured many of her best known hits including Oops!…I Did it Again, Stronger, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, and Don’t Let Me Be the Last to Know. Not only did it reach the top of the Billboard Top 200 in the United States, but it also charted at number one in several other countries including Switzerland, Spain, Scotland, Sweden, Portugal, Canada, among many others.
To date, more than 20 million copies of her second album have been sold across the world, making it her second most successful release of all time.
On November 5, 2001, the artist released her eponymous album, Britney. Although it didn’t achieve the same caliber of success as her previous titles, it was a commercial success nonetheless. With over 745,000 sales in the first week, it had debuted at the top of the US Billboard Top 200. Later certified 4x platinum, the 12-track-project has since sold close to 5 million copies in the US and 15 million copies worldwide.
Since then, Britney has came out with a several additional albums including In the Zone (2003), Blackout (2007), Circus (2008), Femme Fatale (2011), Britney Jean (2013), and Glory (2016). While not as successful as those released at the peak of her career in the early 2000’s, they’ve sold close to 20 million copies combined as of 2017.
Britney Spears’ Endorsement Deals
One of the most popular idols of the early 2000’s, Britney signed a $8 million promotional deal with Pepsi back in 2001. That same year, she’d also teamed up with the popular shoe company, Sketchers.
In 2009, she became the face of the clothing brand, Candie’s. Then a year later, she helped to design a limited edition line for the brand which was later made available in stores in the summer of 2010.
Some of the other brands that she’s partnered up with in the past include Sony, Plenty of Fish, Make Up For Ever, and Hasbro, to name a few.
Britney Spears’ Love Life
In early 2004, the pop singer married Jason Allen Alexander, a childhood friend in Las Vegas, Nevada; the marriage was however, later annulled just a few days later.
In July 2004, Britney became engaged to Kevin Federline, a dancer whom she’d met just three months prior. At the time, their relationship received intense media attention due to the fact that he’d just recently broken up with Star Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child. The couple were eventually married on October 6, 2004; three years later, they divorced in 2007.
Britney Spears’ Philanthropic Efforts
In the early 2000’s, the singer founded The Britney Spears Foundation- a charity that helped to provide support to children in need. Many years after it was established, it was closed in 2011.
As far as other organizations go, she’s involved herself with numerous charities in the past including Spirituality for Kids, Promises Foundation, Gilda’s Club Worldwide, and United Way. In October 2015, the pop idol also made a personal donation of $120,000 to the Nevada Childhood Cancer Donation.
Britney Spears’ Business Ventures
In 2004, Britney released her first fragrance line called Curious with Elizabeth Arden. Extremely popular, it quickly broken the company’s first week gross.
By 2009, she had eight different fragrances available on the market, including Fantasy- one of the best-selling celebrity perfumes in the world.
More recently in 2016, she created her own RPG game titled, Britney Spears: American Dream after teaming up with Glu Mobile.
Britney Spears’ Snapchat Name – BritneySpears
In August 2014, Britney Spears announced through Twitter that she had joined Snapchat. If you would like to add Prince Royce onto your Snapchat account, you can do so by clicking here.
Britney Spears’ Other Social Media Accounts
Britney Spears’ Facebook Account
It’s no surprise that the 35-year-old star has her own official fan page on Facebook; you can find her on the site under the username @britneyspears.
Britney Spears’ Instagram Account
Want to have a glimpse of her everyday life? You can view her photos and videos on her official Instagram account, @britneyspears. As of July 2017, the star has well over 17 million followers on the platform.
Britney Spears’ Twitter Account
Want to stay up-to-date with the pop singer on Twitter? You can follow her at @britneyspears, where she currently has over 55 million followers around the world.
Britney Spears’ Youtube Account
To stream some of her most popular songs and music videos, you can visit her official Youtube channel at @BritneySpears. Since she launched her page in 2005, she has received over 61 million views.
Aside from her personal account, she also has a VEVO account on Youtube, which was established in 2009. To date, it has amassed more than 3.7 billion lifetime views.
