Gossip in the City

The controversial yet phenomenal pop icon, Britney Jean Spears, attempted to land a spot in the entertainment business at the age of eight when she auditioned for the series of Disney Channel titled The New Mickey Mouse Club. Unfortunately, she was too young at that time so she didn’t make it. Three years later, she formally became part of The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993-1994. She also joined Innosense, an all-female pop group in 1997. In the same year, Jive Records signed her after a solo demo. Spears’ opening acts for boy bands like Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync gave her further exposure.

The release of “…Baby One More Time”, Britney’s debut single, in October 1998 created a turning point in her career. In January 1999, the single occupied the top spot of the Billboard Hot 100 and topped it for two weeks. The single also made waves in the United Kingdom when it debuted in the UK Singles Chart at number 1. Aside from the success that the single gained, Spears’ debut album with the same title raked money and popularity for her after having sold more than 25 million copies. She successfully nailed Female Artist of the Year along with three other Billboard Music Awards.

Britney Spears continued to earn good and bad criticisms when she posed for Rolling Stone magazine and when she vowed to “remain a virgin until marriage. ” Her then-relationship with another pop artist, Justin Timberlake didn’t escape the public’s scrutiny after such declaration.

In May 2000, Spears released her second album Oops! … I Did It Again which sold more than 10 million copies in the United States alone and earned her another two Billboard Music Awards. In 2001, Britney, Spears’ third album was released. The mark of an adult Britney Spears was evident.

True enough, being an adult is quite complicated. Her relationship with Timberlake ended in 2002. She starred in a movie Crossroads that earned her the title Worst Actress for Razzie Awards. Her marriage with Jason Allen Alexander in 2004 only lasted 55 hours. She practiced Kabbalah.   Britney married Kevin Federline in 2005 and got divorced in July 2007. She got into another relationship in December 2007 with a paparazzi named Adnan Ghalib. The pop star has a three-year restraining order against Ghalib granted in March this year. Now, Britney Spears is with her agent Jason Trawick. With six studio albums, six concert tours, thirteen TV and movie appearances, two children and a few failed relationships; the Disney Channel star turned total performer still has a long way to go to redeem herself from all the controversies that she has gotten herself into.

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