When the Bugles announced the arrival of the video age with their song, “Video Killed the Radio Star,” nobody could have possibly imagined how it would change the way we interact with celebrities. Compared to earlier times where people relied on magazines and the occasional talk show appearances to see their favorite star in a comfortable setting, the prominence of the Internet and MTV has made it possible to see our biggest icons at their most manufactured and also their most private. One of the biggest ways that it has changed the notion of celebritydom has been the way that it has made stardom a more achievable dream for kids everywhere. One aspiring child star that went on to international stardom was a young girl from Kentwood, Louisiana. A girl called Britney Spears. Regardless of what you think about Britney’s private decisions, you can’t ignore her impact on the music charts. In a scant ten year period, Britney Spears has managed to sell over 76 million records around the world. The first female artist to have her first four albums debut at the top of the album charts, Britney has already climbed to the eighth spot of the top selling female artists in American music history. Her debut album, “...Oops, I Did It Again,” ushered in an age of teen pop that made stars out of such icons as Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Nick Carter, Justin Timberlake and the other members of N Sync. Britney Spears has also managed to make the difficult transition from manufactured teen pop singer to respected pop artist with an ear to the underground. Her last album featured the massive pop hit, Toxic, which brought Spears her biggest commercial and critical hit. To find out more about Spears’ incredible music career, check out the article,

 

Britney Spears Toxic: The Music Career of Britney Spears. However, Britney didn’t first make waves in the music world. Growing up a normal girl who idolized Madonna in the 1980s, Spears was just one of millions of girls that dreamt of stardom. To become a child star, though, means being fortunate to have an equal equation of determination and luck. With supportive parents eager to make her dreams of stardom come true, Britney Spears was able to make her first appearance on the screen as a contestant on the talent show, Star Search. Just ten years old at the time, the little Southern girl with the big voice was able to increase her local stardom with her Star Search appearance. Two years later, Britney Spears was able to land a part of the ensemble for the New Mickey Mouse Club. There are fewer things as American as Disney, a company that has produced contemporary and classic children movies like “Bambi,” Mickey Mouse, and “The Lion King.” The company was attempting to reconnect with its 1960s past by reestablishing itself on the small screen with its New Mickey Mouse Club show. The show was also a respected launching ground for child talent and the 1993-94 cast of The New Mickey Mouse Club was a truly historic one. The show featured the talents of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, future N Sync members Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, “Felicity’ star Keri Russell, and Academy Award nominated actor Ryan Gosling. In addition to meeting her future contemporaries in stardom, Britney Spears had reached the heights of her child acting days. However, it would only be a few years before Spears would become a regular fixture on screens throughout the world. In 1998, there were rumblings that the public was ready to embrace a teen friendly pop sound that hadn’t been popular since the reign of Boston’s New Kids on the Block. Florida based boy bands like Backstreet Boys and N Sync were developing large followings in Europe while trying to popularize their sound in their home country. It would be the release of a video depicting a bored teenage girl prancing around in a tied up catholic school girl uniform that would mark the beginning of a new teen pop age. Britney Spears’ music video for her debut single, “… Oops, I Did It Again” was as instrumental to her initial success as the smooth snyth pop production of the single. Her first video would be the beginning of a massive run at the top of the pop charts for Britney Spears. Although her songs played nicely enough on the radio, the most appropriate medium for Britney Spears was on the screen. Videos for “Drive Me Crazy” and “Sometimes,” made Spears an object of teenager adulation. The developing Britney Spears was able to make the boys ogle but did not intimidate the girls with her regular teen girl persona. As Britney’s career progressed, she was able to use her music videos as artistic statements. Her video for the song, Lucky, drove through the point that her success wasn’t make her life as great as people thought it was. Another groundbreaking music video, “I’m a Slave 4 U” ushered in an age of Spears being more comfortable with her burgeoning sexuality. Through it all, fans couldn’t get enough of seeing Britney Spears on the screen. It would seem that every musician harbors fantasy of being film stars and vice versa. Although actors like Russell Crowe and Billy Bob Thornton have attempted to establish music careers to little success, it has been easier for musicians to have a bit more credibility when acting. On the strength of her high star power, Spears had made cameos on teen friendly shows like “Dawson’s Creek” and “Sabrina: The Teenage Witch.” She also had the distinction of being the youngest person to host and perform musically on the iconic Saturday Night Live. With so much buzz around her career, people assumed that it was a matter of time before Britney Spears would pop on the big screen. Despite being linked to numerous high profile roles, Britney Spears decided that her first film role would be in a small independent movie. The film, “Crossroads” followed Spears’ Louisiana high school graduate, Lucy, embark on a cross country trip to spend more time with her long lost mother. The movie which was part road trip, part girly drama, part family weeper boasted a cast of respected actors including Dan Ackroyd, Kim Cattrall, and Taryn Manning. The movie would go on to make over four times the cost of making it, so it was a financial success. However, the movie has been deemed a critical and commercial bomb with ex-boyfriend Justin Timberlake publicly mocking Britney Spears’ decision to make the movie. To find out more about Spears’ romantic history, check out the article,

 

Britney Spears Exposed: The Romantic Life of Britney. As Britney Spears’ life has descended into regular trips lower down the depths of dignity, the camera has gone from being her friend to her enemy. Spears’ baffling decision to marry back up dancer and future rapper, Kevin Federline, was not helped by the couple’s decision to create a reality TV series about their lives. The public was not already a big fan of Britney Spears and Kevin Federline’s relationship and were appalled by the excesses of their reality TV show, Britney and Kevin: Chaotic. Britney was increasingly becoming white trash and her divorce to Federline has not stemmed the tide of this. Photos of britney spears no panties and britney spears topless have become so easy to find on the Internet that it has caused so much damage to Spears’ sexy image. To find out more about the recent events in Spears’ life, you can check out the article,

 

Britney Spears Bald: The Trials and Tribulations of Britney Spears. However, while many people begin to wonder if Britney Spears can make a comeback, it would be foolish to count her out. Hollywood love redemption stories and Spears can still look incredible at times. Considering her status as a musical icon, Spears can be assured that cameo appearances in movies like “Austin Powers 3: Goldmember” and TV shows like “Will and Grace,” will still be available to her. Additionally, she is still such a young girl so it’s hard to imagine the story of Britney Spears’ acting career having ended already.