Britney Spears is one of the most well known artists of the 2000’s. As a common household name, the public perception of this popstar has always been very thrown around. After starting her popstar career in 1998, Britney has been through many years in the public eye; this consisted of love, hate, and many tabloids.
Spears released her first single, “Baby One More Time,” on October 23, 1998. After the release of this iconic song, Britney Spears rose to fame. The public loved the innocent yet beautiful look of Britney, making her climb to the top a smooth and quick course. Spears’ single became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with over 10 million copies sold. This single and album peaked at number one in most countries, got her nominated for “Best New Artist” at the Grammy Awards, was certified diamond, and was named the greatest debut single of all time by Rolling Stone in 2020. After the very successful release of this single and the album to follow it (Baby One More Time), live performance opportunities started to come left and right for Ms. Spears. Britney’s debut and very popular performance was a rendition of her first single, “Baby One More Time,” at the VMA Awards, along with a thrilling dance number that is still viewed today. Upon Britney’s live debut, the world started to take Britney Spears more seriously as a singer, dancer, and overall performer.
After returning from her successful 1999 tour supporting her first studio album, Spears was at a public peak. She had a new boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, and her fame was at an all-time high. It was then time to start working on her next album titled Oops!… I did it again, released on May 3, 2000. Britney’s team had a different idea for this album. Instead of maintaining the innocent girl in love brand, Britney was given songs that highlight her best qualities; with the change in music came a change in fashion. Britney started to wear smaller clothes that showed her stomach, legs, shoulders, and everything else that the public hated. The press began to speak out against Britney’s outfit choices due to her young audience; instead of listening to them, Spears used this as fuel to continue this trend in clothing. Many thought Britney was strong and confident after this because she stated many times that she did not care what others thought she should wear, but many others believe this was the slow start to the downward spiral of Britney Spears’ public perception. Even with the backlash given to Spears for her clothing, she managed to top the charts yet again, with her new album charting at number one in over twenty countries. Oops!… I did it again also received a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 43rd Annual Grammy Awards and became her second album to be certified diamond. Britney performed on and hosted Saturday Night Live for the first time in the success of this album, which was followed by a tour titled Oops!… I Did it Again Tour (2000).
In light of her first two album’s success, Britney’s team was eager to get another one out; Spears’ third studio album, titled Britney was released on October 31, 2001. The press at the time were all eyes on Britney. Whether it was her personal life, her relationship with Justin, or her family, the press managed to keep an eye on all corners of her life, which started to affect Britney behind the scenes. Spears wanted something different for this album, something never done before. Britney wanted to sound more mature, so she got to work co-writing six of the album’s tracks. The leading single of this album was titled “I’m a Slave 4 U” and was arguably one of Britney Spears’ most problematic songs. While the music of the album was some of her most loved by critics, she was looked down upon for the “provocative” tone of the music and her music videos. Parents of young fans were instantly triggered, causing even more backlash to Britney Spears, except this time, it was starting to get to her. Britney yet again topped the charts with this album against all odds and even received a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards (2003). Statistically, Britney is one of the best-selling albums of the 21st century. With Britney still, at the head of the Pop music industry, she was asked to perform at the 2001 VMAs; Britney performed her single “I’m a Slave 4 U” along with an iconic dance number, making this performance one of her most iconic and memorable ones. Britney then embarked on a tour yet again titled Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001).
Following her last tour, Britney and Justin Timberlake decided to call it quits in March 2002. Not only was this one of the worst times in Britney’s personal life, it was also one of her worst times in the press. While Britney kept quiet, Timberlake was very open about their relationship in a bad way. Justin went to the press often, releasing that Britney had cheated on him, threatened to sell her love letters on eBay, and, worst of all, exposed that Britney was no longer a virgin. In the early 2000s, especially for a celebrity with a younger audience, this was heavily looked down upon. Justin, of course, forgot to mention the many years of abuse he put Britney through, including cheating on her and allegedly forcing her into an abortion. Britney was ridiculed for months about her relationship with Justin, but she never did speak out on her own behalf until many years later. While this was blowing over, Britney got to work on her fourth studio album titled In the Zone, which was released on November 15, 2003. This album included a track with Madonna titled “Me Against the Music,” which was also the leading single of the album. Once again, with the limelight prominently on her wrongdoings, In the Zone topped the charts and made Spears the first female artist to have four consecutive number-one albums. This album was the mark of her transition from Teen Pop to becoming an adult artist. Another single off of this album, “Toxic,” won Britney her first Grammy. In support of this new album, Britney Spears went on her next tour, titled the Onyx Hotel Tour (2004).
After Britney released her fourth album, she did not release another record for four years. During the time in between, Britney’s mental health was slowly deteriorating. After Spears’ breakup with Justin, she was married twice, annulled and divorced, had two sons, went to rehab for drug abuse, and lost custody of her sons. Throughout all of this behavior, everyone failed to realize the pain that she was in; she was slowly breaking down, yet no one knew. Britney then released her fifth studio album on October 25, 2007, titled Blackout. This music was definitely a change from what she had released previously, but many people enjoyed it. This Britney album was the first not to reach number one on the charts; many say that this was caused by the bad press she had gotten in the previous years. As time went on, this album began to be popularized among younger age groups. It won Best Album at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards and has now become one of Britney’s most popular albums among all age groups. Spears performed her lead single “Gimme More” at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, which is thought to be her worst performance to date. Spears lip-synced the entirety of the performance and provided an overall lack of energy to the audience; this sparked a plethora of backlash against Britney, causing her mental health to decline even more. It has since been revealed that Britney did not want to do the performance at all; she felt very uncomfortable with the outfit and the outfit. Britney then had a breakdown; she shaved her head and even bashed a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella. The press had finally worked her to her breaking point. In response to these actions, Britney’s dad took her to court and received a conservatorship over Britney; this took away her personal and financial rights, yet no one knew.
After the mess of events in previous years, Britney had a comeback and released multiple albums, Circus (2008), Femme Fatale (2011), Britney Jean (2013), and Glory (2016). Britney also had a residency in Las Vegas for four years. After Britney’s last album, Glory, she no longer made music. In 2020, people on social media started to recognize that Spears had been acting weird; they left many comments asking her to do things like “Hold up a peace sign if you need help,” which Britney surprisingly often followed. In 2021, it was released to the public that Britney had been under conservatorship and had not been in control of her life for years. This started extreme backlash towards Britney’s family and a trending hashtag titled “#FreeBritney.” Britney was released from her conservatorship on November 12, 2021. With her freedom finally being reinstated, Spears released a memoir titled “The Woman in Me,” on October 24, 2023; this memoir cleared many things from Britney’s name, and people finally started to listen to the full, true story.
In light of Britney’s career, I asked a few people what they thought about Britney Spears: “Britney Spears is such an icon. I would do anything to get to be a teenager in her time and experience teenage Britney in person. Britney overall is such a role model and I’m so jealous of not getting to experience her during her prime time.” – Addi Weatherford, 17. Alivia Martin, 17, added, “I loved growing up and listening to Britney Spears in the car with my mom.” Addi and Alivia are both high schoolers, and though they are young, they still remember and applaud the light that is Britney Spears. I also wanted to hear from someone who was in high school during Britney’s peak. Amanda Young, 39, stated, “All childhood performers go through some kind of trouble later in life, instead of leaving her alone, her parents and the conservatorship made it so much worse.” After speaking to a few people about this, it is undeniable that Britney Spears is and always will be viewed as an icon. As a female artist, she broke many records and really set the tone for what the music industry is today. Britney Spears will always be remembered for the legendary work she did throughout her career.
