Career and Voice

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Career achievements

• Spears is the best selling female artist of the 2000s (2000-2005).

• Named "Woman of the Century" by VH1.

• Record sales topping 85 million according to the IFPI and TIME magazine.

• Having thirty-one million RIAA-certified albums sold in the U.S., Spears ranks as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history.

• Only female artist in SoundScan history to have her first four albums debut at number one.

• In the U.S., Spears, Madonna, Céline Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Dixie Chicks are the only female artists with multiple diamond (shipped over ten million copies) albums (Spears has two: '...Baby One More Time and Oops!... I Did It Again).

• Holds the record for youngest artist (at age seventeen) to have his or her first single ("...Baby One More Time") and first album (...Baby One More Time) simultaneously reach number one on the Billboard charts.

• Holds the record in the UK for biggest first-week sales for a greatest hits compilation by a female artist (225,341 copies) with Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.

• "...Baby One More Time" was the UK's biggest selling single of 1999, and is the 18th best selling single of all time worldwide.

• Has grossed over $145 million USD from tour ticket sales.

• Has grossed over $30 million USD in merchandise from her tours.

• Has topped Yahoo!'s annual list of the most-searched names three times in the past four years.

• According to Forbes her net worth is more than $150 Million.

Although Spears does not have the power of Whitney Houston or the range of Mariah Carey, her soft vocal style has helped bring the pop soubrette into popularity. Spears' voice was seen as distinctive when she first came onto the music scene in 1999.

However, her detractors have accused her of being derivative of Paula Abdul, Madonna and especially Janet Jackson. This is a claim Spears has not outwardly denied nor confirmed, saying "I grew up loving a wide variety of music." There has also been some controversy over her singing abilities, with some even accusing her of lacking them or depending too much on backup singers, backing tracks or digital alterations, but her style has remained consistent. Her range continues to be disputed and is subject to argument. Her classification as a soubrette is due to her singing style, which is generally light, sweet, and feminine.

In 2006, during Spears' career hiatus, she claimed that when she began recording with Jive they held her back from showing off her voice. From singing to her baby, Spears reported that she has now rediscovered her full vocal ability.

Legacy

Spears' role in pop music has been largely disputed. While she is often derided as untalented, she's nonetheless become a modern day icon for popular culture. She was ranked number 20 out of the 200 top popculture icons of all time by VH1 and People. Singles such as "...Baby One More Time," "Oops!... I Did It Again," "I'm a Slave 4 U" and especially "Toxic" have gone on to become major successes and pop music classics.

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors, This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Britney Spears".

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