Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. Spears has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. She has earned numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award, 15 Guinness world records, six MTV Video Music Awards, seven Billboard Music Awards (including the Millennium Award), the inaugural Radio Disney Icon Award, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Her heavily choreographed music videos earned her the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award.
After appearing in stage productions and television series, Spears signed with Jive Records in 1997 at age fifteen. Her first two studio albums, ...Baby One More Time (1999) and Oops!... I Did It Again (2000), are among the best-selling albums of all time and made Spears the best-selling teenage artist of all time. With first-week sales of over 1.3 million copies, Oops!... I Did It Again held the record for the fastest-selling album by a female artist in the United States for fifteen years. Spears adopted a more mature and provocative style for her albums Britney (2001) and In the Zone (2003), and starred in the 2002 film Crossroads. She was executive producer of her fifth studio album, Blackout (2007), often referred to as her best work. Following a series of highly publicized personal problems, promotion for the album was limited, and Spears was involuntarily placed in a conservatorship.
In the United States, Spears is the fourth best-selling female album artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era, as well as the best-selling female album artist of the 2000s. She was ranked by Billboard as the eighth-biggest artist of the 2000s. Spears has had six number-one albums on the Billboard 200 and five number-one singles on the US Billboard Hot 100: "...Baby One More Time", "Womanizer", "3", "Hold It Against Me", and "S&M (Remix)". Other hit singles include "Oops!... I Did It Again", "I'm a Slave 4 U", "Toxic", "Gimme More", and "Piece of Me". "...Baby One More Time" was named the greatest debut single of all time by Rolling Stone in 2020. In 2004, Spears launched a perfume brand with Elizabeth Arden, Inc.; sales exceeded $1.5 billion as of 2012. Forbes listed Spears as the world's highest-paid female musician in 2001 and 2012. By 2012, she had topped Yahoo!'s list of most searched celebrities seven times in twelve years. Time named Spears one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021. Spears placed first in the Time reader poll.
Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, in McComb, Mississippi, the second child of James "Jamie" Parnell Spears and Lynne Irene Bridges. Her maternal grandmother, Lillian Portell, was English and born in London, and one of Spears' maternal great-grandfathers was Maltese. Her siblings are Bryan James Spears and Jamie Lynn Spears.
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Born in the Bible Belt, where socially conservative evangelical Protestantism is a particularly strong religious influence, she was baptized as a Southern Baptist and sang in a church choir as a child. As an adult, she has studied Kabbalist teachings. On August 5, 2021, Spears announced that she had converted to Catholicism. Her mother, sister, and nieces Maddie Aldridge and Ivey Joan Watson, are also Catholic. However, on September 5, 2022, after Spears' ex-husband, Kevin Federline, and youngest son did an interview defending her father's actions during her conservatorship, she stated: "I don't believe in God anymore because of the way my children and my family have treated me. There is nothing to believe in anymore. I'm an atheist y'all".
In January 2001, Spears hosted the 28th Annual American Music Awards, starred at Rock in Rio alongside NSYNC, and performed as a special guest in the Super Bowl XXXV halftime show headlined by Aerosmith and NSYNC. In February 2001, she signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, A Mother's Gift. Her third studio album, Britney, was released in November 2001, with a funkier sound inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and the Neptunes.[65] Britney debuted at number one in the Billboard 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom, and mainland Europe, and has sold 10 million copies worldwide.
Spears performing at the NFL Kickoff Live in September 2003
In August 2003, Spears opened the MTV Video Music Awards with Christina Aguilera, performing "Like a Virgin". Halfway through they were joined by Madonna, whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized. In 2008, MTV listed the performance as the number-one opening moment in the history of MTV Video Music Awards, while Blender cited it as one of the 25 sexiest music moments on television history.
Spears released her fourth studio album, In the Zone, in November 2003. She assumed more creative control by writing and co-producing most of the material. Vibe called it "A supremely confident dance record that also illustrates Spears' development as a songwriter." NPR listed the album as one of "The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade", adding that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work." In the Zone sold over 609,000 copies in the United States during its first week of availability in the United States, debuting at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one. It also debuted at the top of the charts in France and the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands. The album produced four singles: "Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "Toxic"—which won Spears her first Grammy for Best Dance Recording; "Everytime", and "Outrageous".
In January 2004, Spears married her childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at A Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, following a petition to the court that stated that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions".
In March 2004, Spears embarked on the Onyx Hotel Tour in support of In the Zone. The tour was canceled in June 2004, when she fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". She underwent arthroscopic surgery and wore a thigh brace for six weeks, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation. That year, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna.
In July 2004, Spears became engaged to dancer Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months earlier. The romance was the subject of intense media attention, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time. The stages of their relationship were chronicled in Spears' first reality show Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, which premiered on May 17, 2005, on UPN. Spears later referred to the show in a 2013 interview as "probably the worst thing I've done in my career". They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement.
If you want to read a whole lot more, go here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britney_Spears
- SERVES
- 6
- COOK TIME
- 45 Min
The Amish are known for many homestyle dishes, and this warm and comforting Amish Country Casserole is no exception! It's so tasty, it's no wonder it's been passed down from generation to generation.
- 1 1/2 pound ground beef
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 (16-ounce) package wide egg noodles
- 1 (10-3/4-ounce) can condensed tomato soup
- 1 (10-3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- Preheat oven to 375º. Coat a 3-quart casserole dish with cooking spray.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, saute beef, onion, and garlic 5 to 7 minutes, or until browned; drain off liquid.
- Meanwhile, in a soup pot, cook noodles according to package directions; drain well and return noodles to pot. Add ground beef mixture and remaining ingredients, except paprika; mix well. Place in casserole dish and sprinkle with paprika.
- Cover and bake 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through.
1947 – Albert Brooks, American comedian
On July 22nd, relax in the shade and enjoy National Hammock Day. These portable, comfortable slings create excellent napping spaces no matter where you are!
A hammock is a sling made of fabric, rope or netting. When suspended between two points, a hammock forms a sling used for swinging, sleeping or resting. We usually suspend a hammock between trees or posts.
The hammock dates back thousands of years to Central America where it protected people from creatures and dirt. However, the netted bed didn’t find Europe until explorers brought it back in the 17th century. Not long after, the hammock found its way onto naval ships, providing comfort and maximizing space.
After swaying across the oceans, the hammock eventually became a more leisurely item. Made from a variety of fabrics, it is suspended between trees in backyards and at lake cabins. Easily packed into a backpack, hammocks became essential elements of survival. Hikers, campers, and mountain climbers added the light and compact sleep sling to their kits.
If the leisure of hammocks seems ho-hum to you, don’t go the relaxing route. Extreme hammocking puts the adventure into your rest and relaxation. Thrill-seekers sleep in hammocks hundreds of feet above a canyon floor.
Whether you use a hammock to take a nap or as a convenient tool in your camping kit, July 22nd second recognizes one innovative way to catch some sleep.
HOW TO OBSERVE NATIONAL HAMMOCK DAY
Hang up your hammock and take a nap. Use your own or borrow a hammock to celebrate. Host a hammock event, encouraging others to relax in the great outdoors. You can also conduct some research.
- Do you sleep better in a hammock or in a bed? According to a Swiss research team at the University of Geneva, the hammock wins. Conduct your own tests to see if it’s true.
- Which is easier to pack, a hammock or an air mattress?
- Sticking to our hammock vs. air mattress test, which is easier to set up?
- Manufacturers make hammocks out of a variety of materials; Which one do you prefer?
- Answer this question: Which is easier to get out of, a hammock or mattress?
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