Briteny Spears Biography

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999, which became the best-selling album by a teenage solo artist.^[2] During her first decade in the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s, and became the 'best-selling teen aged artist of all time' before she turned 20,^[3] garnering her the honorific title of "Princess of Pop".^[4]
In 2001, she released her third studio album Britney and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film Crossroads. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, In the Zone (2003), which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went into hiatus. Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behavior and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album Circus was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer", and hits such as "Circus" and "If U Seek Amy". She embarked on her highest-grossing global concert tour,^[5] The Circus Starring Britney Spears, in 2009. In October of the same year, she released a chart-topping single, "3", which became her third single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Her seventh studio album Femme Fatale, released in 2011, has become the first of her albums to yield three top ten singles in the United States, "Hold It Against Me", "Till the World Ends" and "I Wanna Go". The same year, she also gained her fifth number one single when she featured on the remix of "S&M" alongside Rihanna.
Spears work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award, 6 MTV Video Music Awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award, 9 Billboard Music Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, Billboard ranked her as the 8th overall Artist of the Decade,^[6] and also recognized her as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall.^[7] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) also recognized Spears as the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 33 million certified albums.^[8] Nielsen SoundScan ranked Spears the tenth best-selling digital artist of the country, with more than 28.6 million digital singles as of January 2012.^[9] She has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.^[10] Rolling Stone recognized her instant success as one of the Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments of all time,^[11] while VH1 ranked her eleventh on their "100 Greatest Women in Music" list in 2012.^[12] Forbes also revealed that Spears was the sixth most powerful celebrity, and the third best paid musician of 2011-12, having topped the list back in 2002.^[13] In Fall 2012, Spears will serve as a judge in the second season of the American version of The X Factor.^[14]

Contents

• 1 Biography
• 1.1 1981–97: Early life, and career beginnings
• 1.2 1998–2000: ...Baby One More Time, and Oops!... I Did It Again
• 1.3 2001–03: Britney, Crossroads, and In the Zone
• 1.4 2004–07: Compilation albums, motherhood, personal struggles, and Blackout
• 1.5 2008–10: Conservatorship, and Circus
• 1.6 2011–present: Femme Fatale and The X Factor
• 2 Artistry
• 2.1 Musical style, and performance
• 2.2 Influences
• 3 Legacy
• 4 Other ventures
• 5 Philanthropy
• 6 Discography
• 7 Filmography
• 8 Tours
• 9 See also
• 10 Notes
• 11 References
• 12 Further reading
• 13 External links

Biography

1981–97: Early life, and career beginnings

1998–2000: ...Baby One More Time, and Oops!... I Did It Again

2001–03: Britney, Crossroads, and In the Zone

2004–07: Compilation albums, motherhood, personal struggles, and Blackout

2008–10: Conservatorship, and Circus

2011–present: Femme Fatale and The X Factor

Artistry

Musical style, and performance

Following her debut, Spears was credited with leading the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. The Daily Yomiuri reported that "[m]usic critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson."^[188] Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone wrote: "Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene."^[189] Rami Yacoub who co-produced Spears's debut album with lyricist Max Martin, commented, "I know from Denniz Pop and Max's previous productions, when we do songs, there's kind of a nasal thing. With N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys, we had to push for that mid-nasal voice. When Britney did that, she got this kind of raspy, sexy voice."^[190] Following the release of her debut album, Chuck Taylor of Billboard observed, "Spears has become a consummate performer, with snappy dance moves, a clearly real-albeit young-and funkdified voice ... "(You Drive Me) Crazy", her third single ... demonstrates Spears's own development, proving that the 17-year-old is finding her own vocal personality after so many months of steadfast practice."^[191] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to her music as a "blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry."^[192] Spears later commented, "With ...Baby One More Time, I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging".^[193]

Influences

Throughout her career, Spears has drawn frequent comparisons to Madonna and Janet Jackson, in terms of vocals, choreography and stage presence, citing both as influences in her work. She has also named Michael Jackson as a source of inspiration.^[214] According to Spears: "I know when I was younger, I looked up to people... like, you know, Janet Jackson and Madonna. And they were major inspirations for me. But I also had my own identity and I knew who I was, you know."^[215] In the 2002 book Madonnastyle by Carol Clerk, she is quoted saying: "I have been a huge fan of Madonna since I was a little girl. She's the person that I've really looked up to. I would really, really like to be a legend like Madonna."^[216]

Discography

Main articles: Britney Spears discography and Britney Spears videography

• ...Baby One More Time (1999)
• Oops!... I Did It Again (2000)
• Britney (2001)
• In the Zone (2003)
• Blackout (2007)
• Circus (2008)
• Femme Fatale (2011)

Filmography

Main article: Britney Spears filmography

Films
Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Longshot	Flight attendant	Cameo appearance
2002	Austin Powers in Goldmember	Herself	Cameo appearance
2002	Crossroads	Lucy Wagner	Teen Choice Award for Best Actress Drama/Action Adventure Teen Choice Award for Best Chemistry (with Anson Mount) Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Dressed
2004	Fahrenheit 9/11	Herself	Cameo appearance Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress

Television
Year	Title	Character
1993–1994	The Mickey Mouse Club	Various Roles (Series regular)
1999	The Famous Jett Jackson	Herself
1999	Sabrina the Teenage Witch	Herself
1999	The Famous Jett Jackson	Herself
1999	Kenan & Kel	Herself
1999	Médico de familia	Herself
1999	Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree	Herself
2000	The Simpsons	Herself
2000	Saturday Night Live	Herself
2002	Stages: Three Days in Mexico	Herself
2002	Robbie the Reindeer in Legend of the Lost Tribe	Donner (voice)
2002	Saturday Night Live	Herself (host)
2003	Punk'd	Herself
2004	Britney & Kevin: Chaotic	Herself
2006	Will & Grace	Amber-Louise (1 episode)
2008	How I Met Your Mother	Abby (2 episodes)
2008	Britney: For the Record	Herself
2010	Glee	Herself
2012	The X Factor	Judge

Tours

Main article: List of Britney Spears concert tours

• ...Baby One More Time Tour (1999–2000)
• Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour (2000–01)
• Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001–02)
• The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004)
• The M+M's Tour (2007)
• The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009)
• Femme Fatale Tour (2011)

DNA tests as Argentina seeks children of 'disappeared'

An Argentine judge has ordered the heirs to a powerful media empire to take DNA tests to establish if they are victims of a forced adoption scheme.

Under the country's former regime, babies were often given to families considered loyal to the military.

Rights groups believe the two children of media mogul Ernestina Herrera de Noble were taken from political prisoners who gave birth in custody.

Felipe and Marcela were adopted by Ms Herrera de Noble in 1976.

They both gave their blood samples at a federal forensics agency, their lawyer said.

They made no comment after giving the sample, but a spokesperson said the family had nothing to hide.

The move to take the sample at the agency rather than the state-run National Bank of Genetic Data - which holds DNA samples of families of the disappeared - has angered campaign groups.

The Grandmothers of the Plaza de Mayo group, which seeks to find some 500 children born to prisoners or abducted along with their parents during the 1976-1983 dictatorship, has demanded that the DNA be collected at the data bank.

The group's founder, Estela de Carlotto, said on Tuesday that the tests would not be valid and said they would take further legal action to ensure a fully independent investigation.

Last month, the Congress backed a proposal from the group, allowing the forced extraction of DNA from adults who may be the children of political prisoners - even when they do not want to know.

Saudi Arabia arrests officials in flood investigation

At least 40 Saudi officials have been arrested in an investigation into the authorities' response to devastating floods in Jeddah, local media say.

Some 150 people were killing in the floods in the port town last month.

The officials included a number of senior assistants to the mayor of Jeddah, the reports said.

The Saudi government have launched an unprecedented public investigation after a wave of criticism over the handling of the floods.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, who ordered the inquiry, has said that those responsible will be punished.

Local government officials, consultants and, and construction contractors are among the people arrested by police, it was reported.

Heavy rainfall sparked a flash flood in the town, Saudi Arabia's second city, on 25 November.

Angry Saudis have blamed local authorities for not providing basic protection from floods and failing to act fast enough.

Arabic media reported that the arrests did not necessarily mean the officials were being accused, but that the it was necessary for them to be detained to ensure the inquiry could be completed.

It was not clear if they would be released on bail, but they would be prevented from leaving the country, Arab News reported.

The public anger in the wake of the floods has been dubbed by some Saudis as a turning point, with Saudis for once forcing the authorities to take responsibility for their mistakes.

But correspondents say that while some members of the local government may be named and shamed, the endemic corruption that Saudis privately hold responsible for the disaster, and for the fact that no adequate drainage was in place in Jeddah, is unlikely to be tackled in any systematic way.

Lithuania hosted secret CIA prisons

The CIA used at least two secret detention centres in Lithuania after the 11 September 2001 terror attacks on the US, a Lithuanian inquiry has found.

The report by a Lithuanian parliamentary committee says that in 2005 and 2006 CIA chartered planes were allowed to land in Lithuania.

It says that no Lithuanian officials were allowed near the aircraft, nor were they told who was on board.

Poland and Romania hosted similar CIA "black sites", media reports say.

In Lithuania, at least eight terror suspects were held at one centre on the outskirts of the capital Vilnius, the investigation found.

It was formerly a riding school and the suspects were reportedly held there between 2004 and 2005.

In August this year, US media reports claimed that Lithuania, Poland and Romania all hosted secret CIA interrogation centres.

But the parliamentary report appears to absolve Lithuania's political leaders of responsibility for any human rights violations that may have been committed by the CIA, the BBC's Rupert Wingfield-Hayes reports from Moscow.

It says even the president was unaware of exactly what the US intelligence service was doing.

Secret flights

The practice of "extraordinary rendition" and the long-suspected network of secret US detention facilities became among the most controversial aspects of the Bush administration's response to the 11 September attacks.

"Extraordinary rendition" is the tactic of capturing militant suspects in one country and transporting them to another without judicial oversight.

The BBC's defence and security correspondent Nick Childs says critics of the Bush administration saw it as a way of avoiding legal constraints and, in some cases, as they put it, "contracting out" torture - although American officials repeatedly denied the allegations.

The issue caused considerable strains between Washington and some of its key allies during President Bush's administration.

Many governments - not least the British - have been under pressure to disclose what they knew, Nick Childs says, and the tactics the Americans did or did not use, and how extensively, remain murky.

US officials have hinted at perhaps dozens of prisoners having been held in secret detention centres. A controversial European Parliament report, however, spoke of hundreds of so-called "rendition" flights.

So far, only one case has actually gone to trial. Recently an Italian court convicted more than 20 American agents in their absence of being involved in the abduction of a Muslim cleric from the streets of Milan in 2003.

US President Barack Obama announced early on that he was closing the foreign detention centre network.