Britney Spears

For her relatively short nine years in the public spotlight, Britney Spears has managed to generate more controversy than your average celebrity manages in a lifetime.

From the outset, her sexually provocative image, aided by the slickest hit-making machine, has guaranteed non-stop headlines and constant media scrutiny.

It is all a long way from young Britney’s first televised performance on Star Search in 1990. This led to the eight year-old Spears auditioning for Disney’s The Mickey Mouse Club. Initially, she was deemed by producers as being “too young” but, undeterred, she finally made the cut, aged eleven, and appeared singing, dancing, even rapping her way through 110 appearances, alongside fellow Mouseketeers Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera.

The show’s cancellation in 1994 left Britney’s future uncertain. Demo tapes led to an audition for Jive Records in which she performed 'Jesus Loves Me' and 'I Have Nothing' by Whitney Houston, to amazed record executives, who signed her instantly.

Appearing as the opening support for *NSYNC’s 1998 tour paled into insignificance with the release, in December 1998, of her first solo single, '…Baby One More Time', which achieved 9 million sales worldwide. Dressed in a provocative Catholic-schoolgirl outfit in the memorable video, the debate over sexual exploitation raged, spurring record sales.

A hugely successful first album was succeeded by the hit-laden 'Oops I did It Again', a skilful retread of the formula. However, Britney’s private life was beginning to capture as many headlines as her music career. Dating teen heartthrob Justin Timberlake, they made the perfect pop couple, until the relationship died three years later.

Her attempt to capture an older audience failed, and 'Slave 4 U' and sister singles all missed the Top 10. A slated film appearance in 'Crossroads', and a “joke” marriage to a childhood sweetheart, which was annulled hours later, did little to reassure this was not a career in crisis.

'In The Zone' marked an indisputable return to commercial form with a new adult sound. A duet with her idol Madonna, coupled with the show-stopping kiss between the two, at the 2003 MTV Music awards, confirmed that Britney was again the Pop Princess of her generation.

After these incredible highs, Britney's career began to wobble in 2004 as her controversial private life started to steal the limelight. Her January Las Vegas wedding to childhood friend Jason Alexander was annulled after less than three days. Within a few months she was dating rapper and dancer Kevin Federline, to whom she was engaged by July. The couple were married in October of that year, divorcing in November 2006.

While married to Kevin, Britney gave birth to two children, Sean Preston Federline and Jayden James Federline. She maintained a low profile as a performer, releasing only her first Greatest Hits collection in November 2004. She has however declared that her career is not over, just on hold while she raises her young family.

2007 also started as a difficult year for Britney, with her erratic behaviour including the surprise shaving of her hair in February and a number of admissions to drug rehab facilities as she fought a custody battle for her children. In September, an LA judge ordered Ms Spears to undergo random drug and alcohol tests twice a week as part of the conditions of her child custody case.

Shortly afterwards, Britney's management company announced that they had terminated their contract with her.

Things went from bad to worse for the troubled star when she was charged with hit-and-run and driving without a valid licence. She's accused of hitting a parked car and driving away from a Los Angeles car park in August. The 25-year-old could face six months in jail and a $1,000 (£495) fine if convicted.In October 2007, a Los Angeles judge said Kevin Federline should be given custody of Sean Preston, two, and one-year-old Jayden James, until "further notice".

The decision came two weeks after the same judge said the pop star engaged in "habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol".

On 3 January 2008, police were called to Britney's home after she refused to relinquish custody of her children to Federline. She was subsequently hospitalized after she "appeared to be under the influence of an unknown substance," though blood tests show negative for any illicit substances. She was held for psychiatric evaluation for two days. On 31 January, a court placed Britney under temporary co-conservator ship of her father James Spears and his lawyer, giving them complete control of her assets.

In March that year, Britney made a successful guest appearance on the CBS sitcom 'How I Met Your Mother'. The pop star played a love-struck receptionist in a tattoo-removal clinic who falls for the main character Ted. Her performance was widely viewed as a positive first step along a possible road to recovery. Britney reprised her role in May 2008, leaving the storyline open for a future return.

On 7 September 2008, Britney opened the MTV Video Music Awards for the third time. Although she didn’t perform, a pre-taped sketch with Jonah Hill and an introduction speech for the show’s opening was shown. To top it off, Britney won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video Of The Year for 'Piece of Me'.

On 15 September, Jive released a statement announcing the title of her sixth studio album, ‘Circus’, as well as the first single, ‘Womanizer’. The single was released to radio stations on 26 September, with a release date of 2 December, coinciding with the star's own birthday. On 15 October, the song made a record-breaking jump to number 1 in the US and garnered the biggest ever recorded first-week download sales by a female artist. It marked Britney's first number one single on the Hot 100 since her debut ‘Baby One More Time.’

Later that month, the charges against Britney for driving without a license were dismissed, upholding Britney’s claims she had a valid Louisiana license and so a California permit was not required.

In the latter months of 2008, it looks as though Britney’s career is back on track with a host of new projects in the pipeline including a new fragrance.

MTV also signed a deal with her and Jive records to release a documentary entitled ‘Britney: For the Record’ which was aired to coincide with the release of ‘Circus.’ The 60-minute documentary was a hit with viewers and was watched by no less than 5.6 million viewers. According to MTV, that marked the highest rating in the network’s history for a programme shown during its Sunday night slot.

‘Circus’, the star’s sixth studio album, was released in December 2008 to positive reviews and went straight in at number one in the US charts. This feat gave her an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the youngest female artist to have five albums debut at the number one spot. The Circus tour began in March 2009 and became the fifth highest grossing tour of that year, netting a cool $131.8 million.

Despite being only 28 at the time, Britney released her second greatest hits album in November 2009. The song ‘3’ from ‘The Singles Collection’ became the singer’s third number one single in the US. In September 2010, Britney returned to the small screen with a cameo appearance in the hit US TV show, ‘Glee’, which produced the highest rating the show had ever seen.

After a protracted period of turmoil and struggle for the star, the future began to look bright. Britney began 2011 with the announcement that she would be releasing her seventh studio album, ‘Femme Fatale’, on 29 March 2011.

The album Femme Fatale has been one of the singer's most successful in recent years, with the record's first single 'Hold It Against Me' debuting at number one in the US Billboard charts. The album also reached the top spot in Australia and Canada.

Femme Fatale was received well by fans and critics alike. Tom Gockelen-Kozlowski of the Daily Telegraph gave Spears four stars for the album, saying that "despite her weak voice and empty lyrics, [Spears] has placed herself at the avant-garde of pop with this masterful mixture of uber-cool dubstep and sugary pop".

Spears began her Femme Fatale tour in the summer of 2011, supported by up-and-coming female rapper Nicki Minaj. The tour opened to mostly positive reviews, with critics praising the star's dancing and stage present. This was a stark contrast to the reception she received for her Circus tour two years earlier, when she was accused by many on overly relying on lip-synching.

 In 2013 she has been released her new album Britney Jean. The album is her first studio album since the dissolution of her long-time record label, Jive Records, in 2011. Spears began recording in May 2013 and continued into October of that year. Upon its release, Britney Jean received mixed reviews from music critics, who praised the album for being personal, but were ambivalent towards its dated production. The record debuted at number four on the U.S. Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 107,000 copies.

Here you can see some of Britney Spears songs in Britney Jean.