2004: Life & Achievements
The beginning of the New Year was one of the craziest in singer's life. The 22-year-old pop princess has gotten married - at a little Vegas chapel, wearing a baseball cap, to a childhood friend. A hotel bellman walked her down the aisle. Someone close to the pop star insisted it was all a joke that went too far, and that Spears was making plans to annul the marriage. Britney's husband was Jason Allen Alexander was born in Kentwood, Louisiana. The two tied the knot early Saturday morning (January 3) in Las Vegas. The wedding plan was hatched Friday night while Spears and Alexander were partying at "Ghostbar", the hip club in the "Palms" hotel. Chapel staff told the couple that they couldn't get married 
without a license, so the pair was taken by the limo to the Clark County Marriage Bureau office in the downtown Las Vegas courthouse. They applied for and were granted the marriage license, then rode back to the chapel, where they were married. The whole thing was videotaped by the chapel, and Spears has been showing the world's craziest wedding video to her friends. The honeymoon, such as it was, took place back at a luxury suite at the "Palms" immediately after the wedding. The two arranged an annulment Saturday afternoon in the presence of several people, including a Las Vegas lawyer. The signed annulment was filed on Monday, 55-hours after the marriage.
After the "joke" Britney Spears, Beyonce Knowles and Pink dressed up as Roman gladiators for a new Pepsi advert. And Enrique Iglesias played an evil Roman Emperor in the ad directed by Tarsem Singh. This commercial was one of the most eagerly awaited and much talked about commercials of all time. About collaboration with such big stars Britney said, "I'm such a huge fan of Pink and Beyonce. They're amazing artists so to be in their company is very cool! Filming the ad was awesome, it made me feel empowered and I got to work with these two fantastic gladiator women."
Britney kicked off her "Onyx Hotel" tour on March 2 in San Diego. The stage production took a few cues from Broadway musicals based on events in the 1930s. The singer's set list mostly contained songs from "In the Zone" with several old hits. Among those were "Boys", "Overprotected" and a jazzy and bluesy mix of "Oops! ... I Did It Again", "Crazy" and "... Baby One More Time", which had a cabaret feel.
After beginning of "Onyx Hotel" tour Elizabeth Arden Inc. reported that they have inked a deal to produce and market a line of perfumes and cosmetics by Britney Spears. The first line of products from the cosmetics company would be a fragrance. The New York-based company said that Spears personally involved with all aspects of developing the product.
In the end of April Britney Spears was spotted in Santa Monica with a man goofing off and chilling. He was one of the dancers, whom she met back in 2000 when he was the opening act with L.F.O. for her "Oops! I Did It Again" tour. He had a daughter with his girlfriend Shar Jackson and when he was linked to Spears in April 2004, the former "Moisha" actress was six months pregnant with their second child. Spears met Federline shortly before she left on her European tour, which kicked off in London. The singer spent a few days in Los Angeles, where she went dancing at the "Joseph's." The next day she and Federline, who was a dancer for Justin Timberlake, left the "Beverly Hills" hotel in her white Mercedes and drove to the beach in Santa Monica where they strolled in the sand and posed for paparazzi. Kevin and Britney went on tour together. After the second leg of Britney's tour has finished in Dublin, Ireland, she and her new man Kevin returned to States to shoot a new video for her single "Outrageous".
On June 8, Spears was in Queens, New York, shooting a video for her next single, "Outrageous", and had just completed scenes with guest star Snoop Dogg when she injured her knee around 11:30 p.m. While doing some choreography, her knee gave out and she crashed to the ground. Spears was rushed to a hospital, where she received an MRI scan. Doctors determined that the singer had floating cartilage in her knee, and she underwent arthroscopic surgery. The surgery was necessary to repair severe damage. After injury the third leg of her "Onyx Hotel" tour, which was scheduled to begin on June 22nd in Hartford, was cancelled. And this incident had changed her life since then.
In the middle of June, Britney Spears and her boyfriend Kevin Federline engaged. The news of the engagement was confirmed by Spears' personal publicist and her label, "Jive Records". Kevin Federline asked her to marry him while the pair was on a plane from Ireland to New York. Pop princess confessed that she asked fiance to marry her – and that at first it didn't work. But moments later he turned the tables and asked the singer for her hand. The engagement came about six months after Spears granted an annulment to dissolve her surprise two-day marriage in Las Vegas to a childhood friend. Britney said that she was in love with Kevin and wasn't pregnant. But no wedding date has been announced. Brit has been busy in the months before her wedding. She has been shopping with her mother. There was a trip to Hawaii with Federline and she purchased a new house in California.
Just before her wedding, Britney Spears and her mother, Lynne, have contributed a family recipe for seafood pasta to celebrity cookbook "Star Palate", which benefited the "Marsha Rivkin Center for Ovarian Cancer Research" and the "Breast Cancer Research Foundation". "Both Britney and I are committed to doing whatever we can to help further research for this devastating disease, and were honored to support this project in a significant way," the singer's mother said in a statement. The book also included how-to's from Tori Amos, Anastacia, Billy Joel and Alice Cooper, as well as from noted chefs.
The singer has chosen to remake the 1988 song for the first single off her next project, a greatest-hits album, "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative". The cover didn't sound much like the original and had a Bloodshy & Avant touch. The choice of this particular song could also be interpreted as a statement on the singer's life and the media reaction to some of her recent decisions, including her engagement to dancer Kevin Federline. The song, which hit radio on September 14, was one of two new tracks on this collection. Some of the ideas in the video included a wedding scene.
Nine months after a quickie Las Vegas wedding and annulment, the pop singer did it again, getting hitched to her dancer boyfriend, Kevin Federline, Saturday night, September 18. She married her fiance, dancer Kevin Federline, at a private home in Studio City. Only a couple dozen friends and family members were in attendance. The "Emmy TV" awards were being held in Los Angeles the same weekend and she was hoping that, with Press attention focusing on that, she could secretly tie the knot at home then throw a party. The nuptials were so hush-hush that relatives - including Britney's mom - didn't know until the last minute. Five-minute ceremony took place at 7:30 p.m. Britney wore a strapless white gown by Monique L'Huillier, complete with veil and, as appropriate for a pop princess, a tiara. She carried a bouquet of pink and white roses, while her five bridesmaids and maid of honor wore burgundy dresses and carried red roses. The couple exchanged vows, then guests dined on chicken fingers, crab cakes, ribs and Waldorf salad. The newlyweds danced to Journey's "Lights." The whole party moved to a Sunset Strip nightclub, where Spears and Federline canoodled the night away. After news of the wedding broke on the weekend, news reports have circulated the world suggesting the wedding was a sham but Britney's marriage has been confirmed at her website: "Congratulations to Britney and Kevin on their marriage. The couple held a small, private ceremony in California on the evening of Saturday, September 18th."
Meanwhile, the singer and Elizabeth Arden Inc. have launched the first Britney's fragrance, "Curious Britney Spears". Curious debuted September 14, 2004 at "Macy's" in New York and hit the ground running, selling beyond expectations in department stores throughout the U.S. This new perfume was out-selling big names like "Chanel" and "Dior" in the States. The first fragrance by Britney Spears was the #1 beauty product sold on amazon.com, which was linked through "Sephora". Combined with innovative marketing techniques and groundbreaking programs, it was the number one selling fragrance in Canada and Australia markets in every store in which it was launched. In Australia, after only five weeks of sales, "Curious Britney Spears" became the most successful fragrance launch ever at Australia's largest department store, "Myer".
In October Britney Spears made an announcement. She was going to take a break. "My body was shutting down and needed rest. I want to enjoy all of the simple things that I missed over the past few years due to working way too much. It's amazing what advisors will push you to do, even if it means taking a naive young blonde girl and putting her on the cover of every magazine," she wrote. Britney wanted to take some time off to enjoy life, "My prerogative right now is to just chill and let all of the other overexposed blondes on the cover of Us Weekly be your entertainment. Good luck girls!" Spears also said that her next project would be focusing on being a wife and she hoped to become a mother.
On November 9, Britney Spears released her first official "Greatest Hits" collection, which peaked at the number four spot in the US, and the number one spot in the U.K. The CD and interactive DVD, "Greatest Hits: My Prerogative", included Spears' biggest hits "...Baby One More Time", "I'm A Slave 4 U" and "Toxic." The DVD not only included all of Spears' hit videos in their original forms, but some of the videos in the package had been enhanced with features that enabled viewers to see alternate versions, multi-angle versions, multi-audio versions, hidden bonuses and extra interactive surprises. The DVD had nearly an hour's worth of extra content.
In this year:
- Britney has been nominated for three nominations of TMF Awards;
- She was featured #38 on annual list of "40 Richest Americans Under The Age of 40";
- "Toxic" became the #1 most played song in the US according to "Billboard Airplay Monitor" and "Radio & Records".
- Britney was nominated for the "MTV Total Request Live Awards";
- Britney has been voted as the sexiest woman by "FHM" magazine;
- Britney took part in "Rock in Rio" Festival;
- Britney received six nominations in "Teen Choice Awards 2004";
- ABC Family presented its new movie "Brave New Girl" produced by Britney Spears;
- Britney ranked #3 as a "Sexiest Woman Alive" of "Esquire" magazine;
- Britney and Madonna ware nominated "Favorite Combined Forces" on "People's Choice Awards";
- Britney Spears became a TOP Searched person for 2004 by "America Online";
- Britney became a TOP Searched person for 2004 by "Google"
- "Entertainment Tonight" put Britney #4 at their annual "Hot List";
2005: Life & Achievements
Just weeks after Britney Spears announced that she was taking an extended break from her career to focus on her family she was plunging into work on a new album. "Jive Records" confirmed that Spears was in the "very early" stages of working on an album. Britney played a rough mix of a song from the album on "KIIS-FM" in Los Angeles to get some fan reaction in a surprise visit. "We got a call on the request line from Britney Spears saying she wanted to come by and play her new song," KIIS-FM music director said. Then she showed up and world-premiered her new song "Mona Lisa." Britney dedicated the track - a slinky, mid-tempo number that recalls 'N Sync's "It's Gonna Be Me" - to all the "legends and icons out there". Though Spears said she wanted "Mona Lisa" to be the first single from the new album, she hadn't decided on a title for the project.
Britney Spears always wanted control of her career, and she got it. She co-directed her next video "Do Somethin'" Britney said she had more of a hand in "Do Somethin'" than any other video she's made, as she even came up with all the choreography and styled the entire shoot using "Juicy Couture" clothing. "Do Somethin'," which wasn't played in U.S. video channels, premiered in the U.K, and Britney described this video as "cute".
Later it was announced that Britney Spears set to appear in a movie. Britney, who last appeared in "Crossroads" movie, was reportedly joining Tim Allen, Bette Midler, Cher and Wanda Sykes in the comedy "In the Pink". She had to play a door-to-door saleswoman Drew Heart. Britney really wanted this part, because of a good script and she was determined to prove to her doubters that she can be funny. But this project really never happened...
In March Britney became the main aim of tabloids. All media tried to point out her recent weight giant, rounded belly and bigger breasts. Rumors about possible pregnancy have started. But Britney said that she let herself go once she got married and her tummy has experienced the honeymoon after-effect because she's been lounging around eating and laying out. This, however, didn't stop the rumors. In the end of March the singer left her house in the morning and went to the doctors. After her two hour doctors session Britney with her rapidly expanding stomach and bust line headed back home. "Star" magazine confirmed the pregnancy in the end of March, however, it was still a rumor. According to its issue, Britney was three-months pregnant, and an official announcement confirming the happy news was expected to be released. Britney has canceled all her future work engagements and was busy preparing for her new job - motherhood. Britney and Kevin have been planning how they would handle this if they found out she was pregnant - they'd keep it to themselves until she was at least three months along. On April 12 Britney Spears has revealed: she is 
pregnant! In a posting on her Web site, Spears told fans that she and her husband, Kevin Federline, were expecting their first child together, "The time has finally come to share our wonderful news that we are expecting our first child together. There are reports that I was in the hospital this weekend, Kevin and I just want everyone to know that all is well. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers."
During her pregnancy Britney teamed up with cosmetics giant Elizabeth Arden to celebrate the international launch of her fragrance "Curious." The singer was joined in New Orleans, Louisiana, her home state, by fans from all over the globe, who won special contests in their home countries to experience this international event and all things Britney. "I've always wanted to have a fragrance of my own, and now I've seen my dream come true. It's really nice to share something this personal and special with my fans around the world," she said at a press conference.
Several weeks later Britney Spears and husband Kevin Federline have reached an agreement with UPN to broadcast a new television series that shares their personal love story through exclusive, never-before-seen private home videos they shot themselves during their courtship, engagement and wedding, called "Britney and Kevin: Chaotic". The series included 5 episodes and broadcasted on UPN every Thursday since May, 17. 3.46 million viewers tuned the channel for its first episode! In June during the last episode of the show Britney Spears premiered the video of her new single "Someday (I Will Understand)". The song was produced by Guy Sigsworth and penned by Britney herself two weeks before she found out she was pregnant.
Before giving birth of her first child, Britney Spears had donated $50,000 to "Gilda's Club Worldwide", an organization that supports cancer patients. Britney said in a statement, "When children have cancer, or when their parents or siblings have the disease, there are a few places they can turn to for support. Gilda's club is one of those places. I passionately believe in helping children in need, and so I am very happy to make this gift to help children learn they can cope with what can be a terrible and devastating experience for them."
Just a month before a due date, Britney Spears announced her new fragrance, "Fantasy." The television advertisement premiered on AOL on September 15, and coincided with the fragrance's launch at stores nationwide, including "Macy's", "Nordstrom" and "Sephora", on the same day. As it happened, just a day before the commercial's debut, Britney Spears gave birth to a baby boy. It's happened shortly before 1p.m at Santa Monica "UCLA Medical Center". In a statement posted on her official website Spears and husband Kevin Federline said: "We are ecstatic to announce the birth of our son! Everyone is happy, healthy and doing wonderful. Thank you all for your love and well wishes!" They have named their baby son Sean Preston.
Although Britney decided to be a full-time mother to her son, she continued to surprise her fans. The singer released her DVD "Britney and Kevin: Chaotic", featuring the complete season of the TV show that provided an intimate insight into the lives of Britney and her husband Kevin, on November 13. Following the release of the DVD, Britney presented her official remixes collection titled "B in The Mix: Remixes" on November 22. The CD featured all of her greatest hits reworked by some of the biggest names in the business. The first cut from the release was "And Then We Kiss," remixed by Junkie XL.
The personal life of Britney had seemed far from perfect by the end of year. Though they had a baby boy at home, Kevin returned to his one true love - partying. Britney and her husband had such a heated argument that she wanted a divorce. Britney Spears' marriage was on the rocks. The couple went through a highly publicized split where Britney tossed her husband from the mansion. And while Brit has taken him back several days after she wanted Kevin to stop partying and got his act together.
In this year:
- "Autograph Collector" magazine proclaimed Britney the "Worst Autograph Signer";
- Britney won 1st "Grammy" for "Best Dance Recording" - "Toxic";
- Britney received 4 nominations on "MTV Australian Video Music Awards";
- Britney appeared in the "Teen People's" list of the "25 Hottest Stars Under 25";
- "Toxic" was named one of the "Sexiest Music Videos";
- Britney was offered a role of Daisy Duke in "The Dukes Of Hazzard";
- Britney ranked #1 on Yahoo's annual list of the most-searched;
