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Born on 2nd December
1981, Kentwood, Louisiana, USA. One of the last teenage
superstars of the millennium, Spears enjoyed her breakthrough
success at the end of 1998. She appeared in local dance revues
and church choirs as a young girl, and at the age of eight
auditioned for The Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was too
young to join the series, a producer on the show gave her an
introduction to a New York agent. She subsequently spent three
summers at the Professional Performing Arts School Center. She
appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions as a child
actor, including Ruthless (1991). She returned to the [ Walt ]
Disney Channel for a spot on The Mickey Mouse Club, where she
was featured for two years between the ages of 11 and 13. She
began to audition for pop bands in the New York area, her demo
tapes eventually landing on the desk of Jive Records' Jeff
Fenster.
''Her vocal ability and commercial appeal caught me
right away,'' he recalls. She was expensively groomed by Jive,
who put her in the studio with Eric Foster White (producer and
writer for Boyzone, Whitney Houston and others). They employed
top R&B writer Max Martin (of Backstreet Boys fame) to produce
her debut single, ''... Baby, One More Time'', and an album of
the same title. They also set up a promotional free phone
number where fans could listen to Spears' music and interviews
throughout the summer of 1998. She toured American venues for
a series of concerts sponsored by US teen magazines,
eventually joining 'N Sync on tour. The careful planning paid
off when her debut album and single went on to top the
American charts at the start of 1999. The album and single
enjoyed similar success in the UK and Europe. The ballad
''Sometimes'' and the funky ''(You Drive Me) Crazy'' were also
substantial transatlantic hits. ''Born To Make You Happy''
topped the UK charts in January 2000. The demand for new
Spears material was satisfied when her sophomore set, Oops!
... I Did It Again, was released in May. The album contained
the expected quota of well-produced, expertly crafted pop
songs alongside a risible cover version of (I Can't Get No)
Satisfaction.
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