It's not that Britney Spears is back, Ms. Spears never left. Her latest single, “Womanizer," hit the سب, سب سے اوپر of the charts in December 2008, proving, once again, that America is ہوم to second, if not third, acts.
Over the last decade Ms. Spears, 27, has made millions of dollars as one of America's biggest pop music, merchandise and endorsement engines. But long ago, in 2007, media and fair-weather شائقین were busily writing off Ms. Spears because of bizarre behavior -- her public scenes, questionable parenting skills and a shaky comeback performance at the MTV Awards -- and her tortured personal life after divorcing her former backup dancer, Kevin Federline. In January 2008, Ms. Spears was involuntarily admitted for treatment at the U.C.L.A. Medical Center.
Born in the small town of Kentwood, La., on Dec. 2,1981, Ms. Spears spent summers at New York's Off-Broadway Dance Center and the Professional Performing Arts School, and earned a role on the off-Broadway play Ruthless in 1991. A سال later, she became a Mouseketeer with The Mickey ماؤس Club, participating in the دکھائیں from age 11 until 13.
She became a pop سٹار, ستارہ in 1999 on the strength of her hit ''... Baby One مزید Time.'' Her performances spurred controversy as her style changed from flirt to vamp, from Catholic schoolgirl attire to barely dressed. Under the determined management of her mother, Lynne, Ms. Spears became a pop phenomenon.
Her career sputtered four years پہلے after her last major tour was cut short. Based on the strength of her first two albums, ''... Baby One مزید Time'' and ''Oops! I Did It Again,'' she received nearly a $10 million advance for her 2003 album ''In the Zone'' and a net earning of $6.5 million after production costs, according to reports published after her prenuptial agreement was leaked. سے طرف کی contrast, she was paid $4 million for ''Blackout,'' according to people briefed on her affairs, but she probably took ہوم only a fraction of that for the album, which was مزید than a سال in the making.
Ms. Spears’s real money comes not from records یا کنسرٹ tickets but from sales of T-shirts, key chains, dolls and countless other Britney-branded goods. At her peak, Ms. Spears has earned well over $12 million for endorsing companies like Toyota, Nabisco, Kirin beer, Sketchers, Clairol and McDonald's; $9 million was from Pepsi alone. And Ms. Spears continues to get at least $2 million to $3 million a سال from a perfume deal she signed with Elizabeth Arden in 2004. The company builds on what it has made worldwide from three Britney perfume lines.
Under difficult circumstances Ms. Spears can demonstrate the staying power of a star. ''Because we're so incredibly fickle as a society, the perfect entertainment is someone who's in the bottomless pit and rising again,'' کہا one person, who because of a relationship with Ms. Spears spoke on the condition of anonymity. ''If she's together, fit, beautiful and on her game, it'll be just printing money.''
Ms. Spears kicked off a major tour at the Nassau Coliseum on March 12, 2009. Even though she is essentially operating under the auspices of her father, Jamie Spears, who last سال was granted legal conservatorship over her, she is finally in righteous possession of the anger and frustration that has long animated some of her best music, but never her persona.
Not that she was sneering her way through the warp-speed-quick hour-and-a-half performance. It was less a کنسرٹ -- the vocals were almost certainly pre-recorded -- than a Las Vegas-style revue of intimidating complexity. Throughout, though she spoke little, Ms. Spears appeared radiant and unfettered, often smiling and never uncommitted.
Ms. Spears leaned heavily on the surprisingly strong "Circus," her sixth album, released late 2008, and "Blackout," with songs about empowerment and disempowerment set to frantic production. Rarely varying from script, Ms. Spears was resisting deep reading, though midshow, she briefly erupted into a military shout. "I don't know what you've been told," she said. "This mama is in control." She seemed certain of it.
Over the last decade Ms. Spears, 27, has made millions of dollars as one of America's biggest pop music, merchandise and endorsement engines. But long ago, in 2007, media and fair-weather شائقین were busily writing off Ms. Spears because of bizarre behavior -- her public scenes, questionable parenting skills and a shaky comeback performance at the MTV Awards -- and her tortured personal life after divorcing her former backup dancer, Kevin Federline. In January 2008, Ms. Spears was involuntarily admitted for treatment at the U.C.L.A. Medical Center.
Born in the small town of Kentwood, La., on Dec. 2,1981, Ms. Spears spent summers at New York's Off-Broadway Dance Center and the Professional Performing Arts School, and earned a role on the off-Broadway play Ruthless in 1991. A سال later, she became a Mouseketeer with The Mickey ماؤس Club, participating in the دکھائیں from age 11 until 13.
She became a pop سٹار, ستارہ in 1999 on the strength of her hit ''... Baby One مزید Time.'' Her performances spurred controversy as her style changed from flirt to vamp, from Catholic schoolgirl attire to barely dressed. Under the determined management of her mother, Lynne, Ms. Spears became a pop phenomenon.
Her career sputtered four years پہلے after her last major tour was cut short. Based on the strength of her first two albums, ''... Baby One مزید Time'' and ''Oops! I Did It Again,'' she received nearly a $10 million advance for her 2003 album ''In the Zone'' and a net earning of $6.5 million after production costs, according to reports published after her prenuptial agreement was leaked. سے طرف کی contrast, she was paid $4 million for ''Blackout,'' according to people briefed on her affairs, but she probably took ہوم only a fraction of that for the album, which was مزید than a سال in the making.
Ms. Spears’s real money comes not from records یا کنسرٹ tickets but from sales of T-shirts, key chains, dolls and countless other Britney-branded goods. At her peak, Ms. Spears has earned well over $12 million for endorsing companies like Toyota, Nabisco, Kirin beer, Sketchers, Clairol and McDonald's; $9 million was from Pepsi alone. And Ms. Spears continues to get at least $2 million to $3 million a سال from a perfume deal she signed with Elizabeth Arden in 2004. The company builds on what it has made worldwide from three Britney perfume lines.
Under difficult circumstances Ms. Spears can demonstrate the staying power of a star. ''Because we're so incredibly fickle as a society, the perfect entertainment is someone who's in the bottomless pit and rising again,'' کہا one person, who because of a relationship with Ms. Spears spoke on the condition of anonymity. ''If she's together, fit, beautiful and on her game, it'll be just printing money.''
Ms. Spears kicked off a major tour at the Nassau Coliseum on March 12, 2009. Even though she is essentially operating under the auspices of her father, Jamie Spears, who last سال was granted legal conservatorship over her, she is finally in righteous possession of the anger and frustration that has long animated some of her best music, but never her persona.
Not that she was sneering her way through the warp-speed-quick hour-and-a-half performance. It was less a کنسرٹ -- the vocals were almost certainly pre-recorded -- than a Las Vegas-style revue of intimidating complexity. Throughout, though she spoke little, Ms. Spears appeared radiant and unfettered, often smiling and never uncommitted.
Ms. Spears leaned heavily on the surprisingly strong "Circus," her sixth album, released late 2008, and "Blackout," with songs about empowerment and disempowerment set to frantic production. Rarely varying from script, Ms. Spears was resisting deep reading, though midshow, she briefly erupted into a military shout. "I don't know what you've been told," she said. "This mama is in control." She seemed certain of it.
