‘Baby one more time’, 25 years of the album that innovated pop and the world of fans

Then the ‘princess of pop’ was born, the title that Britney Spears holds It has been going on for almost three decades, for better or for worse, because it is a clear example of how fame, paparazzi, and even one’s own family can influence an artist.

More than 200 million records sold, thousands of fans and great wealth did not stop him from constantly making headlines for his love life, mental health, and he had to live for thirteen years, until he was 40, under the tutelage of his father.

But her image dressed as an innocent and sexy schoolgirl with whom she shot the video for ‘Baby one more time’ will forever follow her.

Born on December 2, 1981 in McComb, Mississippi, Britney Spears grew up in Kentwood, Louisiana, where there is a museum about her life, including furniture from her childhood room.

She knew from a young age that singing and dancing was her thing and, although at the age of 8, she was not chosen at the first casting for the Disney Channel’s Mickey Mouse Club., precisely because of his youth, the producers encouraged him to continue training. Her natural talent did the rest, and her artistic career will soon take off, especially after the audition at the publishing house Jive Records, where they were delighted as soon as they saw her.

Among the songs that were proposed to him for the first album was the one that would give the name to his album and debut song ‘Baby one more time’, composed and produced by the Swede Max Martin (his name is also associated with the success of the Backstreet Boys).

The American singer has repeatedly admitted that she was delighted by that song from the first moment, although she did not know at the time that she and ‘Baby one more time’ would become a pop phenomenon that would go down in history.

fan phenomenon

The music video for the song ‘Baby one more time’, aired on November 26, 1998, was filmed at the same high school – Venice High School in Los Angeles – as the one from the famous movie ‘Grease’, named Rydell there.

It is said that producer Max Martin originally included the word “Hit” in the song’s title when he thought it was a synonym for “Call”, as the song features a teenage girl asking her ex-boyfriend to call her on the phone. When they realized that it might carry an undertone of violence against women, they shortened it to the definitive ‘Baby one more time’.

The single was a commercial success, topping the charts in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and later in Europe.

For worldwide fans, it was both before and after that song and its video, as well as the album of the same name, which was released on January 12, 1999, that is, 25 years ago!

Combed in two braids and dressed like a schoolgirl, but with a white blouse that showed her navel and a very mini pleated skirt, Spears became the sexiest schoolgirl for millions of teenagers. He sold more than 25 million records worldwide, and fan clubs did not stop creating those who tried to follow his life to the millimeter.

Glory and pain

The singer was soon showered with accolades after her debut, from two Grammy nominations to four awards at the MTV Europe Awards: Best Female Singer, Best Pop Artist, Best Stage Performance and Best Song.

But success can come with equal parts fame and pain, and Spears has lived both from the start.

The artist who was adored by all teenagers and young people – even the English Prince William exchanged messages with her – continued her career with other famous albums such as ‘Oops!.. I did it again’, ‘Britney’ or the Grammy for the best dance song for ‘Toxic’, at the same time, could not handle so much fame.

Proof of this is her love life, since what seemed to all her followers to be an idyllic relationship with singer Justin Timberlake between 1999 and 2002 included the traumatic experience of an abortion at his request when she was only 19 years old. The story that he will reveal in 2023 when his biography “The Woman in Me” is published.

She has lived through three weddings: she married childhood friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas in 2004, and they split just 55 hours later; with dancer Kevin Federline, with whom she spent two years (2004-2006) and had two children; and the marriage with model Sama Asghari lasted one year (2022-2023).

Free Britney movement

From her explosive success in 1999 with ‘Baby one more time’ to today, the artist has gone through countless other vicissitudes.

There was no shortage of eccentric and delusional behavior, drug addiction, detoxification treatments and therapies, public fights with partners, bad relations with his mother and sister, or spending thirteen years – until winning the legal battle in 2021 – under guardianship. his father, who controlled his finances and personal life.

Her situation led to the Free Britney movement, which demanded that she be able to live a free life.

“Even today I don’t know what I actually did, but I didn’t let anyone see me. Nothing made sense. (…) I had to do everything they told me. They told me that I was fat every day, that I had to go to the gym “I don’t remember ever feeling so demoralized or feeling like nothing happened. I agreed because I was afraid,” she will admit in 2022 after winning the court battle against her father.

Since then, controversies have not stopped following her, especially because of her nude poses on social networks, although she defends herself: “I know that many people don’t understand why I like to take pictures of myself naked or in new clothes. But I think other people do it. If they were photographed thousands of times , under pressure and posing for other people’s approval, they would understand that I am very happy to pose the way I feel sexy and take pictures of myself.”