Events

1279 BC – Rameses II (The Great) (19th dynasty) becomes pharaoh of Ancient Egypt.

526 – A devastating earthquake strikes Antioch, Turkey, killing 250,000.

1223 – Mongol invasion of the Cumans: Battle of the Kalka River – Mongol armies of Genghis Khan led by Subutai defeat Kievan Rus and Cumans.

1578 – Martin Frobisher sails from Harwich, England to Frobisher Bay, Canada, eventually to mine fool's gold, used to pave streets in London.

1578 – King Henry III lays the first stone of the Pont Neuf (''New Bridge''), the oldest bridge of Paris.

1669 – Citing poor eyesight, Samuel Pepys records the last event in his diary.

1678 – The Godiva procession through Coventry begins.

1775 – American Revolution: The Mecklenburg Resolutions are allegedly adopted in the Province of North Carolina.

1790 – Alferez Manuel Quimper explores the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

1790 – The United States enacts its first copyright statute, the Copyright Act of 1790.

1790 – French Revolution: the Revolutionary Tribunal is suppressed.

1805 – French and Spanish forces begin the assault against British forces occupying Diamond Rock

1813 – In Australia, Lawson, Blaxland and Wentworth, reached Mount Blaxland, effectively marking the end of a route across the Blue Mountains.

1854 – The civil death procedure is abolished in France.

1859 – The clock tower at the Houses of Parliament, which houses Big Ben, starts keeping time.

1862 – American Civil War Peninsula Campaign: Battle of Seven Pines or (Battle of Fair Oaks) – Confederate forces under Joseph E. Johnston & G. W. Smith engage Union forces under George B. McClellan outside Richmond, Virginia.

1864 – American Civil War Overland Campaign: Battle of Cold Harbor – The Army of Northern Virginia under Robert E. Lee engages the Army of the Potomac under Ulysses S. Grant & George G. Meade.

1866 – In the Fenian Invasion of Canada, John O'Neill leads 850 Fenian raiders across the Niagara River at Buffalo, New York/Fort Erie, Ontario, as part of an effort to free Ireland from the United Kingdom. Canadian militia and British regulars repulse the invaders in over the next three days, at a cost of 9 dead and 38 wounded to the Fenian's 19 dead and about 17 wounded.

1884 – Arrival at Plymouth of Tawhiao, King of Maoris, to claim protection of Queen Victoria

1889 – Johnstown Flood: Over 2,200 people die after a dam break sends a 60-foot (18-meter) wall of water over the town of Johnstown, Pennsylvania.

1902 – Second Boer War: The Treaty of Vereeniging ends the war and ensures British control of South Africa.

1909 – The National Negro Committee, forerunner to the NAACP, convenes for the first time.

1910 – Creation of the Union of South Africa.

1911 – The hull of the ocean liner is launched.

1911 – President of Mexico Porfirio Díaz flees the country during the Mexican Revolution.

1916 – World War I: Battle of Jutland – The British Grand Fleet under the command of Sir John Jellicoe & Sir David Beatty engage the Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Reinhard Scheer & Franz von Hipper in the largest naval battle of the war, which proves indecisive.

1921 – Tulsa Race Riot: A civil unrest in Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States, the official death toll is 39, but recent investigations suggest the actual toll may be much higher.

1924 – The Soviet Union signs an agreement with the Peking government, referring to Outer Mongolia as an "integral part of the Republic of China", whose "sovereignty" therein the Soviet Union promises to respect.

1927 – The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line after a production run of 15,007,003 vehicles.

1929 – The first talking cartoon of Mickey Mouse, "The Karnival Kid", is released.

1935 – A 7.7 Mw earthquake destroys Quetta in modern-day Pakistan: 40,000 dead.

1941 – A Luftwaffe air raid in Dublin, Ireland, claims 38 lives.

1941 – Anglo-Iraqi War: The United Kingdom completes the re-occupation of Iraq and returns 'Abd al-Ilah to power as regent for Faisal II.

1942 – World War II: Imperial Japanese Navy midget submarines begin a series of attacks on Sydney, Australia.

1961 – The Union of South Africa becomes the Republic of South Africa.

1961 – In Moscow City Court, the Rokotov–Faibishenko show trial begins, despite the Khrushchev Thaw to reverse Stalinist elements in Soviet society.

1962 – The West Indies Federation dissolves.

1962 – Adolf Eichmann is hanged in Israel.

1970 – The Ancash earthquake causes a landslide that buries the town of Yungay, Peru; more than 47,000 people are killed.

1971 – In accordance with the Uniform Monday Holiday Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1968, observation of Memorial Day occurs on the last Monday in May for the first time, rather than on the traditional Memorial Day of May 30.

1973 – The United States Senate votes to cut off funding for the bombing of Khmer Rouge targets within Cambodia, hastening the end of the Cambodian Civil War.

1977 – The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System completed.

1981 – Burning of Jaffna library, Sri Lanka, It is one of the violent examples of ethnic biblioclasm of the twentieth century.

1985 – 1985 United States-Canadian tornado outbreak: Forty-one tornadoes hit Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario, leaving 76 dead.

1991 – Bicesse Accords in Angola lay out a transition to multi-party democracy under the supervision of the United Nations' UNAVEM II mission.

2005 – ''Vanity Fair'' reveals that Mark Felt was Deep Throat.

2009 – Anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder shoots and kills physician George Tiller during church services in Wichita, Kansas.

2010 – In international waters, armed Shayetet 13 commandos, intending to force the flotilla to anchor at the Ashdod port, boarded ships trying to break the ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip, resulting in 9 civilian deaths when teams of IHH activists on the attacked them with knives and metal rods and abducted one of the soldiers.

Births

1162 – Genghis Khan, Khagan of the Mongol Empire (d. 1227)

1443 – Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII of England (d. 1509)

1469 – Manuel I of Portugal (d. 1521)

1535 – Alessandro Allori, Italian painter (d. 1607)

1557 – Feodor I of Russia (d. 1598)

1613 – John George II, Elector of Saxony (d. 1680)

1640 – Michael of Poland (d. 1673)

1641 – Dositheos, Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem (d. 1707)

1656 – Marin Marais, French composer (d. 1728)

1732 – Count Hieronymus von Colloredo, Austrian Roman Catholic Archbishop (d. 1812)

1753 – Pierre Victurnien Vergniaud, French statesman (d. 1793)

1754 – Andrea Appiani, Italian painter (d. 1817)

1773 – Ludwig Tieck, German writer (d. 1853)

1801 – Johann Georg Baiter, Swiss philologist (d. 1887)

1818 – John Albion Andrew, American politician (d. 1867)

1819 – Walt Whitman, American poet (d. 1892)

1835 – Hijikata Toshizō, Japanese military leader (d. 1869)

1838 – Henry Sidgwick, English philosopher (d. 1900)

1852 – Francisco Moreno, Argentine explorer (d. 1919)

1857 – Pope Pius XI (d. 1939)

1860 – Walter Sickert, English painter (d. 1942)

1863 – Francis Younghusband, British explorer (d. 1942)

1872 – W. Heath Robinson, English cartoonist (d. 1944)

1879 – Frances Alda, New Zealand-Australian operatic soprano (d. 1952)

1882 – Sándor Graf Festetics, Hungarian politician (d. 1956)

1883 – Lauri Kristian Relander, Finnish politician (d. 1942)

1885 – Alois Hudal, Austrian Roman Catholic bishop (d. 1963)

1887 – Saint-John Perse, French diplomat, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)

1892 – Michel Kikoine, Belarusian painter (d. 1968)

1892 – Erich Neumann, German Nazi politician (d. 1951)

1892 – Konstantin Paustovsky, Russian writer (d. 1968)

1892 – Gregor Strasser, German Nazi politician (d. 1934)

1894 – Fred Allen, American comedian (d. 1956)

1898 – Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, American clergyman (d. 1993)

1901 – Alfredo Antonini, American conductor and composer (d. 1983)

1902 – Billy Mayerl, English pianist and composer (d. 1959)

1905 – Florence Desmond, English actress and comedian (d. 1993)

1908 – Don Ameche, American actor (d. 1993)

1908 – Nils Poppe, Swedish actor (d. 2000)

1909 – Aurore Gagnon, French Canadian child abuse victim (d. 1920)

1911 – Maurice Allais, French economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2010)

1912 – Alfred Deller, English countertenor (d. 1979)

1914 – Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (d. 2006)

1916 – Bert Haanstra, Dutch filmmaker (d. 1997)

1919 – Robie Macauley, American novelist and literary critic (d. 1995)

1921 – Alida Valli, Italian actress (d. 2006)

1921 – Howard Reig, American radio and television announcer (d. 2008)

1922 – Denholm Elliott, English actor (d. 1992)

1923 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)

1930 – Clint Eastwood, American film director and actor

1931 – John Robert Schrieffer, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

1931 – Shirley Verrett, American soprano (d. 2010)

1932 – Ed Lincoln, Brazilian musician and album producer

1932 – Jay Miner, American microchip designer (d. 1994)

1933 – Henry B. Eyring, American religious figure; son of Henry Eyring

1935 – Jim Bolger, 35th Prime Minister of New Zealand

1938 – Johnny Paycheck, American singer (d. 2003)

1938 – John Prescott, English politician

1938 – Peter Yarrow, American folk singer (Peter, Paul and Mary)

1939 – Terry Waite, British humanitarian

1940 – Gilbert Shelton, American underground comics illustrator

1941 – Louis J. Ignarro, American pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate

1943 – Sharon Gless, American actress

1943 – Joe Namath, American football player

1945 – Rainer Werner Fassbinder, German film director (d. 1982)

1945 – Laurent Gbagbo, Fourth President of Côte d'Ivoire

1945 – Bernard Goldberg‎, American journalist

1946 – Ted Baehr, American media critic

1946 – Steve Bucknor, West Indian Cricket Umpire

1947 – Junior Campbell, British musician and songwriter (The Marmalade)

1948 – John Bonham, British musician (Led Zeppelin) (d. 1980)

1948 – Duncan Hunter, American politician

1948 – Lynda Bellingham, Canadian-born English actress and broadcaster

1949 – Tom Berenger, American actor

1949 – Nancy Shade, American opera singer

1950 – Gregory Harrison, American actor

1952 – Karl Bartos, German musician (Kraftwerk, Electronic)

1953 – Pirkka-Pekka Petelius, Finnish actor

1954 – Vicki Sue Robinson, American singer (d. 2000)

1954 – Thomas Mavros, Greek footballer

1955 – Susie Essman, American actress

1955 – Tommy Emmanuel, Australian Guitarist CGP

1956 – Fritz Hilpert, German musician and sound engineer (Kraftwerk)

1957 – Jim Craig, American hockey player

1959 – Andrea de Cesaris, Italian racing driver

1960 – Greg Adams, Canadian ice hockey player

1960 – Chris Elliott, American comedian

1960 – Peter Winterbottom, English Rugby player

1961 – Ray Cote, Canadian ice hockey player

1961 – Lea Thompson, American actress

1961 – Justin Madden, Australian politician and footballer

1962 – Corey Hart, Canadian musician

1962 – Sebastian Koch, German actor

1963 – Hugh Dillon, Canadian musician and actor

1963 – Viktor Orbán, Hungarian politician

1963 – Wesley Willis, American musician (d. 2003)

1964 – Leonard Asper, Canadian businessman

1964 – Scotti Hill, American rock guitarist

1964 – Darryl McDaniels, American musician (Run-D.M.C.)

1965 – Giorgos Gasparis, Greek basketball player

1965 – Brooke Shields, American actress and supermodel

1966 – Jeremy Hotz, Canadian stand-up comedian

1966 – Nick Scotti, American actor and singer

1967 – Sandrine Bonnaire, French actress

1967 – Phil Keoghan, New Zealand television personality

1967 – Kenny Lofton, American baseball player

1967 – Vampiro, Canadian professional wrestler

1968 – John Connolly, Irish author

1969 – Mindi Abair, American smooth jazz saxophonist

1971 – Diana Damrau, German soprano

1972 – Frode Estil, Norwegian cross-country skier

1972 – Sarah Murdoch, Australian model

1972 – Karl Geary, Irish actor

1972 – Dave Roberts, American baseball player

1972 – Archie Panjabi, English actress

1972 – Antti Niemi, Finnish footballer

1973 – Dominique Van Roost, Belgian tennis player

1974 – Chad Campbell, American golfer

1974 – Zsolt Erdei, Hungarian light heavyweight boxer

1974 – Adrian Tomine, American cartoonist

1974 – Sean Kent, American stand-up comedian, actor and writer

1975 – Yiasoumis Yiasoumi, Greek-Cypriot footballer

1976 – Colin Farrell, Irish actor

1976 – Matt Harpring, American basketball player

1976 – Tonka Tomicic, Chilean model and television presenter

1977 – Eric Christian Olsen, American actor

1977 – Theodoros Baev, Bulgarian-born Greek volleyball player

1977 – Debbie King, English TV presenter

1977 – Scott Klopfenstein, American musician (Reel Big Fish)

1977 – Phil Devey, Canadian baseball player

1977 – Domenico Fioravanti, Italian swimmer

1977 – Greg Leeb, Canadian ice hockey player

1977 – Joachim Olsen, Danish athlete

1977 – Joel Ross, British disc jockey

1977 – June Sarpong, British television presenter

1977 – Moses Sichone, Zambian footballer

1977 – Petr Tenkrát, Czech ice hockey player

1979 – Jean-François Gillet, Belgian footballer

1980 – Craig Bolton, Australian rules footballer

1980 – Andy Hurley, American musician (Fall Out Boy)

1981 – Jake Peavy, American baseball player

1981 – Tasha Reid, Korean rapper

1981 – Mikael Antonsson, Swedish footballer

1982 – Jonathan Tucker, American actor

1983 – David Hernandez, American singer

1983 – Dustin Wells, New Zealand footballer

1983 – Reggie Yates, English television presenter

1984 – Milorad Čavić, Serbian swimmer

1984 – Nate Robinson, American basketball player

1984 – Jason Smith, Australian actor

1985 – Ian Vougioukas, Greek basketball player

1986 – Waka Flocka Flame, American rapper

1989 – Marco Reus, German footballer

Deaths

1162 – Géza II of Hungary (b. 1130)

1246 – Isabella of Angouleme, queen of John of England (b. 1188)

1349 – Thomas Wake, English politician (b. 1297)

1408 – Ashikaga Yoshimitsu, Japanese shogun (b. 1358)

1410 – King Martin I of Aragon (b. 1356)

1495 – Cecily Neville, Duchess of York, mother of Edward IV of England and Richard III of England (b. 1415)

1558 – Philip Hoby, English politician (b. 1505)

1567 – Guido de Bres, Belgian theologian (b. 1522)

1594 – Tintoretto, Italian painter (b. 1518)

1680 – Joachim Neander, German clergyman (b. 1650)

1740 – King Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia (b. 1688)

1747 – Andrei Osterman, Russian statesman (b. 1686)

1799 – Pierre Lemonnier, French astronomer (b. 1715)

1809 – Joseph Haydn, Austrian composer (b. 1732)

1809 – Jean Lannes, French marshal (b. 1769)

1831 – Samuel Bentham, British mechanical engineer (b. 1757)

1832 – Évariste Galois, French mathematician (b. 1811)

1837 – Joseph Grimaldi, British clown (b. 1779)

1846 – Philip Marheineke, German clergyman (b. 1780)

1847 – Thomas Chalmers, Scottish pastor (b. 1780)

1848 – Eugénie de Guérin, French writer (b. 1805)

1908 – Louis-Honoré Fréchette, French Canadian poet (b. 1839)

1910 – Elizabeth Blackwell, American physician (b. 1821)

1931 – Felix-Raymond-Marie Rouleau, French Canadian cardinal (b. 1866)

1945 – Odilo Globocnik, Austrian Nazi officer (b. 1904)

1954 – Antonis Benakis, Greek politician and art collector (b. 1873)

1957 – Stefanos Sarafis, Greek Greek Resistance figure (b. 1890)

1957 – Leopold Staff, Polish poet (b. 1878)

1960 – Willem Elsschot, Flemish writer (b. 1882)

1960 – Walther Funk, Nazi leader (b. 1890)

1961 – Walter Little, Canadian politician (b. 1877)

1962 – Henry Fountain Ashurst, American politician (b. 1874)

1962 – Adolf Eichmann, German Nazi official (b. 1906)

1967 – Billy Strayhorn, American composer, pianist and arranger (b. 1915)

1970 – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian hockey player (b. 1929)

1972 – Walter Freeman, American physician (b. 1895)

1976 – Jacques Monod, French biologist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910)

1977 – William Castle, American film director (b. 1914)

1978 – József Bozsik, Hungarian footballer (b. 1925)

1983 – Jack Dempsey, American boxer (b. 1895)

1985 – Gaston Rébuffat, French mountaineer (b. 1921)

1986 – Jane Frank (Jane Schenthal Frank), American artist (b. 1918)

1986 – James Rainwater, American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1917)

1987 – John Abraham (director), Indian film director (b. 1937)

1992 – Walter Neugebauer, Croatian comic book author (b. 1921)

1993 – Francis Lynch, American state legislator (b. 1920)

1994 – Herva Nelli, Italian-born soprano (b. 1909)

1996 – Timothy Leary, American professor and LSD advocate (b. 1920)

1997 – James Bennett Griffin, American archaeologist (b. 1905)

1998 – Charles Van Acker, Belgian racing driver (b. 1912)

2000 – Tito Puente, American musician (b. 1923)

2000 – Johnnie Taylor, American singer (b. 1938)

2001 – Arlene Francis, American television personality (b. 1907)

2004 – Robert Quine, American guitarist (b. 1941)

2004 – Étienne Roda-Gil, French songwriter and screenwriter (b. 1941)

2006 – Ryan Bennett, American sportscaster (b. 1970)

2006 – Miguel Berrocal, Spanish sculptor (b. 1933)

2006 – Raymond Davis Jr., American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)

2006 – Lula Mae Hardaway, American songwriter, mother of singer Stevie Wonder (b. 1930)

2009 – Millvina Dean, British survivor of the RMS Titanic sinking (b. 1912)

2009 – George Tiller, American abortion doctor (b. 1941)

2009 – Danny La Rue, British entertainer (b. 1927)

2010 – Louise Bourgeois, French-born American sculptor (b. 1911)

2010 – Brian Duffy, British photographer and film producer (b. 1933)

2010 – William A. Fraker, American cinematographer (b. 1923)

2010 – Rubén Juárez, Argentine bandoneonist (b. 1947)

2010 – Benjamin Lees, American composer (b. 1924)

2010 – Merata Mita, New Zealander filmmaker (b. 1942)

Holidays and observances

Anniversary of Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Brunei)

Castile-La Mancha Day (Castile-La Mancha)

Christian Feast Day:

*Petronella

*Hermias

*May 31 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Visitation of Mary (Western Christianity)

World No Tobacco Day (International)

External links

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

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Category:Days of the year Category:May Category:Discordian holidays

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years active	1992–present
background	solo_singer
birth name	Britney Jean Spears
birth date	December 02, 1981
birth place
genre	Pop, dance
occupation	Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, author, fashion designer, video director
instrument	Vocals, piano
label	Jive, RCA
associated acts	The New Mickey Mouse Club
website	}}

Britney Jean Spears (born 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ''...Baby One More Time'' in 1999. During her first decade in the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s.

In 2001, she released her third studio album ''Britney'' and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film ''Crossroads''. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, ''In the Zone'' (2003), which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went into hiatus. Her fifth studio album, ''Blackout'', was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behavior and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album ''Circus'' was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer", it also included hits such as "Circus", and "If U Seek Amy". She embarked on her highest-grossing global concert tour, The Circus Starring Britney Spears, in 2009. That same year she released a chart-topping single, "3" in October 2009, this gave Spears her third single that reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Her seventh studio album ''Femme Fatale'', released in 2011, has become the first of her albums to yield three top ten singles in the United States, including her fourth US number one single, "Hold It Against Me". She also achieved a second number one single in 2011 when she featured on the remix of S&M; alongside Rihanna.

Spears has sold over 100 million albums worldwide. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 33 million certified albums. Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall. She was ranked the 8th Artist of the 2000s by ''Billboard''.

Biography

1981–97: Early life and career beginnings

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of English heritage through her maternal grandmother, Lillian Portelli who was born in London, and of distant Maltese and Sicilian (Sicani) descent. Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn. At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform as a solo artist at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows. Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age". At age eight, Spears and her mother Lynne traveled to Atlanta for an audition in the 1990s revival of ''The Mickey Mouse Club''. Casting director Matt Casella rejected her for being too young to join the series at the time, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears's vocals and suggested enrolling her at the Professional Performing Arts School; shortly after, Lynne and her daughters moved to a sublet apartment in New York. Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical ''Ruthless!''. She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show ''Star Search'', as well as being cast in a number of commercials. In December 1992, she was finally cast in ''The Mickey Mouse Club'', but returned to Kentwood after the show was canceled. She enrolled at Parklane Academy in nearby McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in ''Clueless'' with all the cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."

In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join the female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song of Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears traveled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing that audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph. Senior vice president of A&R; Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'—is extremely important. And Britney had that." She then sang Houston's "I Have Nothing" (1992) for the executives, and got signed to the label. They appointed her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney." After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt all right with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami Yacoub, among others.

1998–2000: ''...Baby One More Time'' and ''Oops!... I Did It Again''

After Spears returned to the United States, she embarked on a shopping mall promotional tour to promote her forthcoming album. Her show was a four song set and she was accompanied by two back up dancers. Her first concert tour followed, as an opening act for 'N Sync. Her debut album, ''...Baby One More Time'', was released on January 1999. It debuted at number one on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200 and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over ten million copies in a year. It became the biggest selling album ever by a teenage artist. The title track was released as the lead single from the album. Originally, Jive Records wanted its music video to be animated; however, Spears rejected it, and suggested the final idea of a Catholic schoolgirl. The single sold 500,000 copies on its first day, and peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, topping the chart for two consecutive weeks. "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies. It would later become the 25th most successful song of all time in British chart history. Spears is also the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the country. "(You Drive Me) Crazy" was released as the third single from the album. It became a top-ten hit worldwide and propelled ''...Baby One More Time'' to sell 26 million copies.

The April 1999 cover of ''Rolling Stone'' featured Spears lying on her bed, clad with a bra, shorts and an open top. The American Family Association (AFA) referred to the shoot as "a disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" and called to "God-loving Americans to boycott stores selling Britney's albums." Spears responded to the outcry commenting, "What's the big deal? I have strong morals. [...] I'd do it again. I thought the pictures were fine. And I was tired of being compared to Debbie Gibson and all of this bubblegum pop all the time." Shortly before, Spears had announced publicly she would remain a virgin until marriage. On June 28, 1999, Spears began her first headlining ...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics, but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits. An extension of the tour, titled Crazy 2k, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show.

''Oops!... I Did It Again'', her second studio album, was released in May 2000. It debuted at number one in the US, selling 1,3 million copies, breaking the SoundScan record for the highest debut sales by any solo artist. The album sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Rob Sheffield of ''Rolling Stone'' said that "the great thing about ''Oops!'' – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition." The album's lead single, "Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other European nations. The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively.

The same year, Spears embarked on the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour, which grossed $40.5 million; she also released her first book, ''Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart'', co-written with her mother. On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped off her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer. Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake.

2001–03: ''Britney'', ''Crossroads'' and ''In the Zone''

In February 2001, Spears signed a $7–8 million promotional deal with Pepsi, and released another book co-written with her mother, entitled ''A Mother’s Gift''. Her third studio album, ''Britney'', was released in November 2001. While on tour, she felt inspired by hip hop artists such as Jay-Z and The Neptunes and wanted to create a record with a funkier sound. The album debuted at number one in the ''Billboard'' 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called ''Britney'' "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. [...] It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet." The album was honored with two Grammy nominations—Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected"— and was listed in 2008 as one of ''Entertainment Weekly'''s "100 Best Albums from the Past 25 Years". The album's first single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit worldwide.

Spears's performance of the single at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger and a large albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears. To support the album, Spears embarked on the Dream Within a Dream Tour. The show was critically praised for its technical innovations, the ''pièce de résistance'' being a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage. The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind Cher's Farewell Tour. Her career success was highlighted by ''Forbes'' in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity. Spears also landed her first starring role in ''Crossroads'', released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, most critics actually praised Spears's acting. ''Crossroads'', which had a $11 million budget, went on to gross over $57 million worldwide.

In June 2002, Spears opened her first restaurant, Nyla, in New York City, but terminated her relationship in November, citing mismanagement and "management's failure to keep her fully apprised". In July 2002, Spears announced she would take a six month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in November to record her new album. Spears' relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years. In December 2002, Timberlake released the song "Cry Me a River" as the second single from his solo debut album. The music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled the rumors that she had been unfaithful to him. As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend Annet Artani. The same year, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst said that he was in a relationship with Spears. However, Spears denied Durst's claims. In a 2009 interview, he explained that "I just guess at the time it was taboo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her." Spears opened the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with Christina Aguilera, performing "Like a Virgin". Halfway through they were joined by Madonna, with whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized.

Spears released her fourth studio album, ''In the Zone'', in November 2003. She assumed more creative control by writing and co-producing most of the material. ''Vibe'' called it "A supremely confident dance record that also illustrates Spears's development as a songwriter." NPR listed the album as one of "The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade", adding that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work." ''In the Zone'' sold over 609,000 copies in the United States and debuted at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one. It also debuted at the top of the charts in France and the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands. ''In the Zone'' sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The album produced the hit singles: "Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "Toxic"—which won Spears her first and only Grammy for Best Dance Recording; "Everytime" and "Outrageous".

2004–07: Compilation albums, motherhood, personal struggles and ''Blackout''

On January 3, 2004, Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas, Nevada. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions". She began The Onyx Hotel Tour in support of ''In the Zone'' in March 2004. On June 8, 2004, Spears fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". She was taken immediately to a local hospital, where doctors performed an MRI scan and found floating cartilage. The following day, Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. She was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused The Onyx Hotel Tour to be canceled. During 2004, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna.

In July 2004, she announced her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline, whom she had met three months before. The romance received intense attention from the media, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time. The initial stages of their relationship were chronicled in Spears's first reality show ''Britney & Kevin: Chaotic''. They held a wedding ceremony on September 18, 2004, but were not legally married until three weeks later on October 6 due to a delay finalizing the couple's prenuptial agreement. Shortly after, she released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, ''Curious'', which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume. In October 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break to start a family. ''Greatest Hits: My Prerogative'', her first greatest hits compilation album, was released in November 2004. Spears's cover version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" was released as the lead single from the album, reaching the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway. The second single, "Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries of mainland Europe. Worldwide, ''Greatest Hits: My Prerogative'' sold over 5 million copies. In late 2004, Spears went on KIIS-FM radio in Los Angeles, CA to play a new demo titled "Mona Lisa." The demo was to be the first single from an upcoming album called the "Original Doll." However, Spears' label later cancelled the album for unknown reasons. Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.

In November 2005, she released her first remix compilation, ''B in the Mix: The Remixes'', which consists of eleven remixes. In February 2006, pictures surfaced of Spears driving with her son Sean, on her lap instead of in a car seat. Child advocates were horrified by the photos of her holding the wheel with one hand and Sean with the other. Spears claimed that the situation happened because of a frightening encounter with paparazzi, and that it was a mistake on her part. The following month, she guest-starred on the ''Will & Grace'' episode "Buy, Buy Baby" as closeted lesbian Amber Louise. She publicly announced she no longer studied Kabbalah in June 2006, explaining, "my baby is my religion." Two months later, Spears posed nude for the cover of ''Harper's Bazaar''. The picture was heavily compared to Demi Moore's August 1991 ''Vanity Fair'' cover. She gave birth to her second child, Jayden James Federline, on September 12, 2006. On November 7, 2006, Spears filed for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the couple reached a global settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their children. Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer in January. On February 16, 2007, Spears stayed in a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than a day. The following night, she shaved her head with electric clippers at a hair salon in Tarzana, Los Angeles. She admitted herself to other treatment facilities during the following weeks. After completing a month-long program at Promises, she wrote on her website, "I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. [...] was like a bad kid running around with ADD." In May 2007, she produced a series of promotional concerts at House of Blues venues, titled The M+M's Tour. Spears lost physical custody of her children to Federline on October 1, 2007. The reasons of the court ruling were not revealed to the public.

Her fifth studio album, ''Blackout'', was released in October 2007. It debuted at the top of charts in Canada and Ireland, number two in the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200,—held off from the top spot by Eagles's ''Long Road out of Eden''— France, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom and the top ten in Australia, Korea, New Zealand and many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart. ''Blackout'' sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide. Peter Robinson of ''The Observer'' said that "Britney has delivered the best album of her career, raising the bar for modern pop music with an incendiary mix of Timbaland's ''Shock Value'' and her own back catalogue." Dennis Lim of ''Blender'' commented, "Spears’s fifth studio album is her most consistent, a seamlessly entertaining collection of bright, brash electropop." ''Blackout'' won Album of the Year at MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 and was listed as the fifth Best Pop Album of the Decade by ''The Times''. Spears performed the lead single "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance was panned by many critics. David Willis of BBC stated her performance would "go down in the history books as being one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards". Despite the backlash, the single rocketed to worldwide success, peaking at number one in Canada and the top ten in almost every country it charted. The second single "Piece of Me" reached the top of the charts in Ireland and reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The third single "Break the Ice" was released the following year and had moderate success due to Spears not being able to promote it properly. In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.

2008–10: Conservatorship and ''Circus''

On January 3, 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, Spears's visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. On January 31, 2008, Spears was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets. Spears was released on February 6, 2008. Her parents expressed disappointment and concern at the decision to release her. The following month, she guest-starred on the ''How I Met Your Mother'' episode "Ten Sessions" as receptionist Abby. She received positive reviews for her performance, as well as bringing the series its highest ratings ever. In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel. On September 7, 2008, Spears opened the MTV Video Music Awards with a pre-taped comedy sketch with Jonah Hill and an introduction speech. She won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of the Year for "Piece of Me". A 60-minute introspective documentary, ''Britney: For the Record'', was produced to chronicle Spears' return to the recording industry. Directed by Phil Griffin, ''For the Record'' was entirely shot in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and New York City during the third quarter of 2008. Main shooting began on September 5, 2008, two days before Spears' appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. ''For the Record'' was broadcast on MTV on November 30, 2008 to 5.6 million viewers for the two airings on the premiere night. MTV reported that Spears' documentary garnered on average, the highest rating in its Sunday night timeslot, in the network's history.

Her sixth studio album ''Circus'', was released in December 2008. It received positive reviews from critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 64/100. ''Circus'' debuted at number one in Canada, Czech Republic and the United States, and inside the top in many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the youngest female artist to have five albums debut at number one, earning a place in the ''Guinness Book of World Records''. She also became the only act in the Soundscan era to have four albums debut with 500,000 or more copies sold. ''Circus'' became one of the fastest-selling albums of the year, and has sold 4 million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Womanizer", became her first number one in the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 since "...Baby One More Time" and topped the charts in countries such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden. It was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording. In January 2009, Spears and her father James obtained a restraining order against her former manager Sam Lufti, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley—all of whom, court documents claim, had been conspiring to gain control of Spears's affairs. The restraining order forbids Lutfi and Ghalib from contacting Spears or coming within 250 yards of her, her property or family members. Spears embarked on The Circus Starring Britney Spears in March 2009. With a gross of U.S. $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest grossing tour of the year.

She released her second greatest hits album, ''The Singles Collection'' in November 2009. "3" became her third number one single in the US, and was the first song to debut at the top of the charts in three years. Later that month, she released an application for iPhone and iPod Touch titled "It's Britney!". In May 2010, Spears's representatives confirmed she was dating her agent Jason Trawick, and that they had decided to end their professional relationship to focus on their personal relationship. Spears designed a limited edition clothing line for Candie's, which was released in stores in July 2010. On September 28, 2010, she made a cameo appearance on a Spears-themed tribute episode of American TV show ''Glee'', titled "Britney/Brittany". Spears approved of the episode, although her appearances received mixed reviews from critics. The episode drew ''Glee'''s second largest audience, as well as the show's highest ratings ever.

2011–present: ''Femme Fatale''

In March 2011, Spears released her seventh studio album ''Femme Fatale''. Max Martin and Dr. Luke executive produced the album and the album's first single "Hold It Against Me". The single debuted at number-one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. This gave Spears her fourth number-one single on the chart, and made her only the second artist in history to have two consecutive singles debut at number-one, after Mariah Carey. The album peaked at number one in the United States (selling 276,000 copies), Canada, and Australia, and peaked inside the top ten on nearly every other chart. The album's peak in the United States ties Britney with Mariah Carey and Janet Jackson for the third-most number ones among women. ''Femme Fatale'' has sold over 590,000 copies in the United States and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The album received positive critical reviews after its release, receiving a score of 67 on Metacritic, her highest critical score since ''Oops!... I Did It Again,'' with many critics naming the album one of Spears's best. In April 2011, Spears appeared in a remix to the song "S&M;" by Rihanna after Rihanna asked her fans via Twitter who they wanted her to collaborate with. The song reached number one in the US in mid-April 2011, giving Britney her fifth number one on the chart. In early May, Spears' second single from ''Femme Fatale'', "Till The World Ends", reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and had ninety-eight million audience impressions on the ''Billboard'' chart, granting Spears the highest weekly audience of her 13-year chart career.

''Femme Fatale's'' third single "I Wanna Go" reached the top forty on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in June 2011. Among females in the last thirteen years, Spears now has the third-most top forty hits, with twenty-one. In August, the single managed to reach the top-ten on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, which is the first time for Spears to have three songs from one album in the top-ten. On the week ending September 24, 2011, "I Wanna Go" moved 2–1 on the mainstream top 40, becoming her sixth number-one on that chart (making her tied for third all-time) and her first number-one and third top-ten pop song for ''Femme Fatale.'' Spears now has the longest span of number ones on the mainstream top 40, with a length of twelve years, seven months, and four days. In October 2011, the music video for ''Femme Fatale'' fourth single "Criminal" caused controversy when British politicians criticized Spears for using replica guns while filming the video in an area of London that had been badly affected by the 2011 England riots. Members of the Hackney London Borough Council felt Spears "promoted gun violence" and suggested that Spears apologize and make a donation to a Hackney charity. Spears's management briefly responded, stating, "The video is a fantasy story featuring Britney's boyfriend, Jason Trawick, which literally plays out the lyrics of a song written three years before the riots ever happened." Later that month, due to her continued popularity, Spears became the seventh artist to gain one billion cumulative views on her Vevo account. On ''Billboard''s 2011 Year-End list, Spears was fourteen on the Artists of the Year, due to being 32 on Billboard'' 200 artists and 10 on ''Billboard'' Hot 100 artists. Additionally, many critics, including those at ''Rolling Stone,'' named "Till the World Ends" one of the best songs of 2011.

On March 2011, Spears announced that she would tour throughout the United States during summer 2011. The Femme Fatale Tour opened June 16 at the Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento, California to positive reviews. Many critics noted that Spears sang more of the concert live in response to lip-synching accusations during The Circus Starring Britney Spears, and that the dancing is some of her best in years. The first ten US dates of the tour grossed $6.2 million, landing the fifty-fifth spot on Pollstar's Top 100 North American Tours list for the half-way point of the year. The tour ended on December 10, 2011 in Puerto Rico after 79 performances. A concert special of the tour was filmed in 2D and 3D in Canada on August 13 and 14. It premiered on November 12 on Epix, receiving mixed reviews. It was released to DVD on November 21 and sold 19,000 copies, debuting at no. 2 on the US ''Billboard'' DVD Chart behind Lady Gaga's ''The Monster Ball Tour: At Madison Square Garden.'' Since its release, the DVD has been certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and Gold by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA).

On June 15, 2011, it was announced by ''Billboard'' that the RCA/Jive Label Group would be splitting, with Jive Records being fully moved under RCA Records staying intact. In August it was announced that Spears had officially joined the RCA's roster. During the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2011, MTV played tribute to Spears with a group of young female dancers that memorialised Britney's music videos, performances, and style. Following which, Spears accepted the MTV Video Vanguard Award from Lady Gaga, who said that "industry wouldn't be the same without [her]". On September 9, 2011, Spears announced her second remix album, ''B in the Mix: The Remixes Vol. 2'', which was released on October 7, along with the tracklist. On October 7, RCA Music Group announced it was disbanding Jive Records along with Arista Records and J Records. With the shutdown, Spears (and all other artists previously signed to these three labels) will release her future material on the RCA Records brand.

On December 16, Spears confirmed her engagement to her long-time boyfriend Jason Trawick, her former manager. Spears revealed her three-carat diamond ring at a party in Las Vegas on December 17. According to RCA's Joe Riccitelli the executive vice president of promotion for RCA Records, told U.S. radio station Hot 99.5 that Britney is taking time off in 2012. However, on January 30, 2012, will.i.am confirmed that he recorded a track with Spears, set to be included on his upcoming fourth studio album, ''#willpower'' (2012). It was also reported that Simon Cowell is in talks with Spears for her to join the new season of the ''The X-Factor''. According to ''Billboard'' and ''The Hollywood Reporter'', Trawick is already negotiating Spears' contract with the show.

Artistry

Musical style and performance

Following her debut, Spears was credited with leading the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. ''The Daily Yomiuri'' reported that "[m]usic critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson." ''Rolling Stone'' wrote: "Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene." Rami Yacoub who co-produced Spears's debut album with lyricist Max Martin, commented, "I know from Denniz Pop and Max's previous productions, when we do songs, there's kind of a nasal thing. With N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys, we had to push for that mid-nasal voice. When Britney did that, she got this kind of raspy, sexy voice." Following the release of her debut album, Chuck Taylor of ''Billboard'' observed, "Spears has become a consummate performer, with snappy dance moves, a clearly real-albeit young-and funkdified voice ... "(You Drive Me) Crazy", her third single ... demonstrates Spears's own development, proving that the 17-year-old is finding her own vocal personality after so many months of steadfast practice." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to her music as a "blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry." Spears later commented, "With ''...Baby One More Time'', I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging".

''Oops!...I Did It Again'' and subsequent albums saw Spears working with several contemporary R&B; producers, leading to "a combination of bubblegum, urban soul, and raga." Her third studio album, ''Britney'' derived from the teen pop niche, "[r]hythmically and melodically ... sharper, tougher than what came before. What used to be unabashedly frothy has some disco grit, underpinned by Spears' spunky self-determination that helps sell hooks that are already catchier, by and large, than those that populated her previous two albums." Guy Blackman of ''The Age'' wrote that while few would care to listen to an entire Spears album, "[t]he thing about Spears, though, is that her biggest songs, no matter how committee-created or impossibly polished, have always been convincing because of her delivery, her commitment and her presence. For her mostly teenage fans, Spears expresses perfectly the conflicting urges of adolescence, the tension between chastity and sexual experience, between hedonism and responsibility, between confidence and vulnerability."

The prominent use of melisma and vibratos as she continuously raises key into a high range was viewed as an Mariah Carey influence.|format1=Ogg|filename2=Britney Spears - Freakshow.ogg|title2="Freakshow"|description2=The track is built around the 'wobbler' effect of dubstep, and her vocals are pitched down low, making her sound masculine. She was credited as one of the artists who prompted the genre within a pop mainstream audience.}}

Spears possesses a soprano vocal range; her vocal ability however has been criticized, often drawing unfavorable comparison to her pop rival, Christina Aguilera. Critic Allan Raible derides her overdependence in Circus on digital effects and the robotic effect it creates. "She’s never been a strong vocalist..." writes Raible, "Could she handle these songs with stripped down arrangements and no vocal effects? More importantly, would anyone want to hear her attempt such a performance? Does it matter? No. The focus is still image over substance." Her image and persona are also often contrasted to Christina Aguilera. David Browne of ''Entertainment Weekly'' observed "Christina Aguilera may flash skin and belly button, but in her music and manner, she's too eager not to offend — she's a good girl pretending to be bad. Spears, however, comes across as a bad girl acting good ... Spears' artificial-sweetener voice is much less interesting than the settings, yet that blandness is actually a relief compared with Aguilera's numbing vocal gymnastics. In contrast, Allmusic comments: "Like her peer Christina Aguilera, Britney equates maturity with transparent sexuality and the pounding sounds of nightclubs ... Where Christina comes across like a natural-born skank, Britney is the girl next door cutting loose at college, drinking and smoking and dancing and sexing just a little too recklessly, since this is the first time she ''can'' indulge herself. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine notes, "The disparity between Aguilera and Spears can't be measured solely by the timbre and octave range of their voices ... [Aguilera's] popularity has never reached the fever pitch of Britney's."

It has been widely reported that Spears lip-syncs in concert. Author Gary Giddins wrote in his book ''Natural selection: Gary Giddins on comedy, film, music, and books'' (2006) that "among many other performers accused of moving their lips while a machine does the labor are Britney Spears, Luciano Pavarotti, Shania Twain, Beyoncé, and Madonna." Rashod D. Ollison of ''The Baltimore Sun'' observes: "Many pop stars ... feel they have no choice but to seek vocal enhancement. Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket." Giddins adds, "it was reported Britney Spears fans prefer her to lip-sync—despite her denials of doing so (contradicted by her own director)—because they expect flawless digitalization when they pay serious money for a concert."

In Australia, NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge has advised disclaimers be printed on any ticket for concerts which contain any prerecorded vocals. She commented: "There could have been some instances where people actually go and purchase a ticket thinking that they're going to have a live performance ... for some people that means that everything is live, it's fresh, it happens instantaneously, it's not something that's been pre-recorded. You want to make sure that they're actually paying for what they think they're getting." Noting on the prevalence of lip-syncing, ''Los Angeles Daily News'' reported "in the context of a Britney Spears concert, does it really matter? Like a Vegas revue show, you don't go to hear the music, you go for the somewhat-ridiculous spectacle of it all". Similarly, Aline Mendelsohn of the ''Orlando Sentinel'' remarked: "Let's get one thing straight: A Britney Spears concert is not about the music ... you have to remember that it's about the sight, not the sound." Critic Glenn Gamboa comments her concert tours are "like her life—a massive money-making venture designed to play up her talents and distract from her shortcomings with a mix of techno-tinged sex appeal and disco-flavored flash. And, like her life, it is, more or less, a success.

Influences

Throughout her career, Spears has drawn frequent comparisons to Madonna and Janet Jackson, in terms of vocals, choreography and stage presence, citing both as influences in her work. She has also named Michael Jackson as a source of inspiration. According to Spears: "I know when I was younger, I looked up to people... like, you know, Janet Jackson and Madonna. And they were major inspirations for me. But I also had my own identity and I knew who I was, you know." In the 2002 book ''Madonnastyle'' by Carol Clerk, she is quoted saying: "I have been a huge fan of Madonna since I was a little girl. She's the person that I've really looked up to. I would really, really like to be a legend like Madonna."

Many critics have argued that Spears should not be considered in the same league of talent as Jackson or Madonna. Journalists Erika Montalvo and Jackie Sheppard of the ''Rocky Mountain Collegian'' observed "[s]ome may argue that Spears is not only a good recording artist but also an important cultural icon." However, in examining her level of skill as an artist, it is questioned that "[a]lthough she has been classified among female elites such as Janet Jackson and Madonna, what does Ms. Spears really have in common with these divas of rock?" Joan Anderman of ''The Boston Globe'' remarked that "[t]hirteen costume changes in 90 minutes won't bless her with Madonna's intelligence or cultural barometer. An army of cutting-edge R&B; producers won't supply her with Janet Jackson's sense of humor or sincere smile ... Britney's heroes aren't great singers. But they're real singers. Spears sounds robotic, nearly inhuman, on her records, so processed is her voice by digital pitch-shifters and synthesizers."

Reporter Ed Bumgardner commented her transition from teen pop start to adult sex symbol with her third studio album ''Britney'' "takes its cues from two other successful performers—Madonna and Janet Jackson—both of whom she brazenly rips off and both of whom, like Spears, are passable singers, at best." Critic Shane Harrison wrote: "From the minimalist thump and "Nasty" feel of "I'm a Slave 4 U" to the scattered quotes in "Boys", [''Britney''] feels like [Spears's] attempt at 'Control'."

Citing Jackson's resolve to incorporate personal and social issues into her work and Madonna's ability to constantly redefine the boundaries of socially acceptable material in the industry, Spears's catalog ultimately pales in comparison, because "[w]hile Jackson and Madonna wrote their own music about subjects of importance, [Spears's] music sounds like an upbeat version of either, 'I want to grow up but the media won't let me,' or 'Here kitty, kitty, I'm wearing my underwear outside of my leather pants'-type ballads." In contrast, Guy Blackman argues that although "no one would argue that Spears is some kind of pioneering pop auteur, there’s still a lot to like about her back catalogue. During her world-conquering peak, she was just about as cutting edge as you could get in the world of global pop superstardom. Spears didn’t just work with big names, she gave big names their names, and maintained her high currency in the world’s most fickle industry for years, when most aspiring starlets are lucky to manage months."

After meeting Spears face to face, Janet Jackson stated: "she said to me, 'I'm such a big fan; I really admire you.' That's so flattering. Everyone gets inspiration from some place. And it's awesome to see someone else coming up who's dancing and singing, and seeing how all these kids relate to her. A lot of people put it down, but what she does is a positive thing." Madonna's respect for Spears has also been a subject of observation. Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens, authors of ''Madonna's drowned worlds: new approaches to her cultural transformations, 1983-2003'' (2004) note that the most well known cross-generational relationship exists between Spears and Madonna in which "the entertainment newsmedia almost became obsessed with their relationship of mutual admiration." The biographers also report "[s]ome observers of popular culture, however, feel that the comparisons between the two artist are meaningless and fail to recognize Madonna's unique contribution: Madonna was never 'just another pop star' whereas Britney can more easily be seen as a standard manufactured pop act."

Legacy

Spears became an international pop culture icon immediately after launching her recording career. ''Rolling Stone'' magazine wrote: "One of the most controversial and successful female vocalists of the 21st century," she "spearheaded the rise of post-millennial teen pop ... Spears early on cultivated a mixture of innocence and experience that broke the bank". She is listed by the ''Guinness World Records'' as having the "Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist" for her debut album ''...Baby One More Time'' which sold over thirteen million copies in the United States. Melissa Ruggieri of the ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' reported, "She's also marked for being the best-selling teenage artist. Before she turned 20 in 2001, Spears sold more than 37 million albums worldwide". As of 2011, she has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time. She was also ranked as the fourth VH1's "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era" show list, ahead of most of her contemporaries and only behind veterans like Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Whitney Houston. Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall. In December 2009, ''Billboard'' magazine ranked Spears the 8th Artist of the 2000s decade in the United States.

Spears is also known for her iconic performances and music videos. The music video for her debut single, "...Baby One More Time", was ranked number one on ''TRL's'' Final Countdown of the most iconic music videos. On the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards, before performing "Oops!... I Did It Again", the singer appeared behind a backlit screen, and descended down a spiral staircase and started performing "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", while wearing a tuxedo. After performing a shortened version of the track, she tore the tuxedo off, revealing a skin-tight flesh-coloured outfit. The following year, Spears performed her single "I'm a Slave 4 U". Jocelyn Vena of MTV summarized the performance, saying, "draping herself in a white python and slithering around a steamy garden setting – surrounded by dancers in zebra and tiger outfits – Spears created one of the most striking visuals in the 27-year history of the show." She also duetted "The Way You Make Me Feel" with pop singer Michael Jackson on his 30th anniversary concert a few days earlier. During the opening of the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, 2003, Spears joined Madonna, Christina Aguilera, and Missy Elliott. Halfway through the performance, Madonna kissed Spears and Aguilera on the lips. The kiss generated strong reaction from the media. This performance was listed by ''Blender'' magazine as one of the twenty-five sexiest music moments on television history. MTV listed the performance as the number-one opening moments in the history of MTV Video Music Awards. In 2011, Spears was honored with the MTV Video Vanguard Award, for having made a profound effect on the MTV culture.

Barbara Ellen of ''The Observer'' has reported: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination. Many 19-year-olds haven't even started working by that age, whereas Britney, a former Mouseketeer, was that most unusual and volatile of American phenomena — a child with a full-time career. While other little girls were putting posters on their walls, Britney was wanting to be the poster on the wall. Whereas other children develop at their own pace, Britney was developing at a pace set by the ferociously competitive American entertainment industry". In 2011, Adam Markovitz of ''Entertainment Weekly'' commented on the cultural significance of Spears' voice and music. "We don't ask a whole lot from Britney Spears as an entertainer...we'll still send her straight up the charts simply because she's Britney. She's an American institution, as deeply sacred and messed up as pro wrestling or the filibuster. Musically, though, Spears will always have to measure up to her own gold standards of pop euphony: the operatic slither of 2004's 'Toxic' and the candied funk of 2000's 'Oops!...I Did It Again.' Spears is no technical singer, that's for sure. But backed by Martin and Dr. Luke's wall of pound, her vocals melt into a mix of babytalk coo and coital panting that is, in its own overprocessed way, just as iconic and propulsive as Michael Jackson's yips or Eminem's snarls." 'Britney Spears' was Yahoo!'s most popular search term between 2005 and 2008, and has been in a total of seven different years. Spears was named as Most Searched Person in the ''Guinness World Records'' book edition 2007 and 2009.

Spears has been cited as a musical inspiration by contemporary artists. Gwyneth Paltrow's character on 2010 drama film ''Country Strong'' was inspired on the singer's public meltdown. According to film director Shana Fest, "that's where this movie came from. I mean, I was seeing what was happening in the media to Britney Spears. I think it's tragic how we treat people who give us so much, and we love to see them knocked down to build them back up again, to knock them down again." Nicki Minaj has cited Spears as a major influence on her career, and commented, "the fact that she came back out with just so much fire inspires me, and it inspires young women and people all over the world. It just inspires you. A lot of my fans feel like they are the underdog and feel like they are the people who aren’t ever accepted for themselves, or who are laughed at or poked fun at forever. It just goes to show that once you keep at whatever it is you’re doing, people may not like you, people may not love you, but they will have to respect you at the end of the day. And that respect is all that matters." Lana Del Rey revealed that she is compelled by Spears in an interview with MTV, saying, "I'm not really interested in a ton of female musicians but there is something about Britney that compelled me – the way she sings and just the way she looks." Del Rey also said that the "Toxic" music video is a main inspiration of her work. During the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, Lady Gaga said that Spears "taught us all how to be fearless, and the industry wouldn't be the same without her." Miley Cyrus credits Spears as her biggest inspiration, and has referenced the singer in her hit song "Party in the U.S.A." (2009). Spears' personal breakdown was also cited as an inspiration for Barry Manilow's album "''15 Minutes''".

Spears has also become a major influence among many new artists, including Demi Lovato, Katy Perry, Kristinia DeBarge, Little Boots, Marina and the Diamonds, Pixie Lott, and Selena Gomez & the Scene. In 2007, Beyoncé Knowles also expressed her love for Spears in an interview with ''TRL Italy'', saying, "I love Britney, I'm a fan of hers. I like her new album ['Blackout']." Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas revealed to ''The Hollywood Reporter'' that she was happy with Spears' return to the music industry, and continued, "It's amazing. For this many years being in the business, and everything she's been through, it's wonderful to see her make this huge of a comeback. Really, it's a beautiful thing." Simon Cowell explained that he is "fascinated by [Britney]. The fact that she’s one of the most talked about – not just pop stars – but people in the world today, means that you’ve got this star power. [...] She’s still hot, she’s still having hit records and she’s still controversial, there’s a reason for that." Bebo Norman wrote a song about Spears, called "Britney", which was released as a single. Boy band Busted also wrote a song about Spears called "Britney", which was on their debut album. Richard Cheese called Britney Spears "a remarkable recording artist" and also went on to say that she was "versatile" and what the industry calls an "artist". ''People'' magazine and MTV reported that October 1, 2008, the Bronx's John Philip Sousa Middle School, named their music studio in honor of Britney Spears. Spears herself was present during the ceremony and donated $10,000 to the school's music program.

Discography

''...Baby One More Time'' (1999)

''Oops!... I Did It Again'' (2000)

''Britney'' (2001)

''In the Zone'' (2003)

''Blackout'' (2007)

''Circus'' (2008)

''Femme Fatale'' (2011)

Filmography

+Films	! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2000		Flight attendant	Cameo appearance
2002	''Austin Powers in Goldmember''	Herself	Cameo appearance
2002		Lucy Wagner	Teen Choice Awards
2004	''[[Fahrenheit 9/11''	Herself	Cameo appearance Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress

+Television	Year	Title	Character
1993–1994	''The Mickey Mouse Club''	Various Roles (Series regular)
1999	''The Famous Jett Jackson''	Herself
1999	''Sabrina the Teenage Witch''	Herself
1999	''The Famous Jett Jackson''	Herself
1999	''Kenan & Kel''	Herself
1999	''Médico de familia''	Herself
1999	''Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree''	Herself
2000	''The Simpsons''	Herself
2000	''Saturday Night Live''	Herself
2002	''Stages: Three Days in Mexico''	Herself
2002		Donner (voice)
2002	''Saturday Night Live''	Herself (host)
2003	''Punk'd''	Herself
2004	''Britney & Kevin: Chaotic''	Herself
2006	''Will & Grace''	Amber-Louise (1 episode)
2008	''How I Met Your Mother''	Abby (2 episodes)
2008	''Britney: For the Record''	Herself
2010		Herself

Tours

...Baby One More Time Tour (1999–2000)

Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour (2000–01)

Dream Within a Dream Tour (2001–02)

The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004)

The M+M's Tour (2007)

The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009)

Femme Fatale Tour (2011)

See also

Britney Spears products

Honorific nicknames in popular music

List of best-selling music artists

List of best-selling music artists in the United States

Notes

References

Further reading

Dennis, Steve (2009). ''Britney: Inside the Dream''. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0007317516.

Peters, Beth (1999). ''True Brit: The Story of Singing Sensation Britney Spears''. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345436870.

Scott, Kieran (2001). ''I was a Mouseketeer!.'' Disney Press. ISBN 978-0786844708.

Smith, Sean (2006). ''Britney The Unauthorized Biography of Britney Spears.'' Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0330440776.

Spears, Britney (2000). ''Britney Spears's Heart to Heart''. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0609807019.

Stevens, Amanda (2001). ''Britney Spears: the illustrated story.'' Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823078677.

External links

Category:1981 births Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American female pop singers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American music video directors Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Maltese descent Category:American people of Sicilian descent Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Child pop musicians Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Innosense members Category:Jive Records artists Category:RCA Records artists Category:Living people Category:Mouseketeers Category:Musicians from Louisiana Category:Parklane Academy alumni Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Kentwood, Louisiana Category:Sony BMG artists Category:World Music Awards winners

af:Britney Spears als:Britney Spears ar:بريتني سبيرز az:Britni Spirs be:Брытні Спірс be-x-old:Брытні Сьпірс bcl:Britney Spears bg:Бритни Спиърс bar:Britney Spears bs:Britney Spears ca:Britney Spears cs:Britney Spears cbk-zam:Britney Spears cy:Britney Spears da:Britney Spears de:Britney Spears et:Britney Spears el:Μπρίτνεϊ Σπίαρς eml:Britney Spears es:Britney Spears eo:Britney Spears eu:Britney Spears fa:بریتنی اسپیرز fo:Britney Spears fr:Britney Spears fy:Britney Spears ga:Britney Spears gl:Britney Spears ko:브리트니 스피어스 hy:Բրիթնի Սփիրս hi:ब्रिट्नी स्पीयर्स hr:Britney Spears io:Britney Spears ilo:Britney Spears id:Britney Spears is:Britney Spears it:Britney Spears he:בריטני ספירס jv:Britney Spears kn:ಬ್ರಿಟ್ನಿ ಸ್ಪಿಯರ್ಸ್ ka:ბრიტნი სპირსი csb:Britney Spears sw:Britney Spears la:Britney Spears lv:Britnija Spīrsa lt:Britney Spears li:Britney Spears hu:Britney Spears mk:Бритни Спирс ml:ബ്രിട്ട്നി സ്പിയേർസ് ms:Britney Jean Spears mn:Бритни Спирс na:Britney Spears nl:Britney Spears ne:ब्रिट्नी स्पेयर्स ja:ブリトニー・スピアーズ no:Britney Spears nn:Britney Spears oc:Britney Spears pnb:برٹنی سپیئرز pap:Britney Spears pl:Britney Spears pt:Britney Spears kaa:Britney Spears ro:Britney Spears ru:Спирс, Бритни sc:Britney Spears sq:Britney Spears scn:Britney Spears simple:Britney Spears sk:Britney Spearsová sl:Britney Spears so:Britney Spears sr:Бритни Спирс sh:Britney Spears su:Britney Spears fi:Britney Spears sv:Britney Spears tl:Britney Spears ta:பிரிட்னி ஸ்பியர்ஸ் te:బ్రిట్నీ స్పియర్స్ th:บริตนีย์ สเปียส์ tr:Britney Spears uk:Брітні Спірс ur:برٹنی سپیئرز vec:Britney Spears vi:Britney Spears yi:בריטני ספירס zh:布蘭妮·斯皮爾斯

fullname	Taarak Mehta

Taarak Mehta is an Indian columnist/journalist best known for the column ''Duniya Ne Undha Chasma'' in Gujarati Language. The humorous weekly column first appeared in Chitralekha in March 1971 and ever since has been looking at contemporary issues from a different perspective. In 2008 SAB TV, a popular entertainment channel in India, started a show Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah that is based on the column. Taarak Mehta is against translating his column for the English-speaking readers. “Idioms lose meaning. My columns can be adapted but not translated,” he said in an interview to The Statesman newspaper in India.

Bibliography

Duniya ne Oondha Chashmah

Aa Duniya Panjarapole

Action Reply ½

Albelun America Vanthelun America

Bagicha Ni Hadvi Havama

Bahero Hase Be Vay...!

Champaklal Tapuni Jugalbandhi

Betaj Batali Baj Popatlal Taraj

Taarak mehta ka oolta chashmah

References

http://www.thestatesman.net/page.arcview.php?clid=26&id;=245516&usrsess;=1 publisher= The Statesman | accessdate=2009-04-20

http://www.glamsham.com/dramas/features/tarak_mehta.pdf - contains a lot of information about Tarak Mehta

Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

:''This article is about the pinball and video game designer. For the U.S. Air Force officer, see R. Stephen Ritchie.''

name	Steve Ritchie
birth date	February 13, 1950
birth place	San Francisco, CA
death date
resting place coordinates
known for	''Flash'', ''Firepower'', ''High Speed''
employer	Stern Pinball, Steve Ritchie Productions
occupation	Pinball designer
website	Steve Ritchie Productions

Steven Scott Ritchie (born February 13, 1950) is an acclaimed pinball and video game designer. He has been called "The Master of Flow" by pinball aficionados due to the emphasis in his designs on ball speed, loops, and the like.

Ritchie recently left Incredible Technologies for Raw Thrills, a video game production house headed by former WMS employee Eugene Jarvis. He currently suffers from tinnitus and predicts that he will be deaf by 2013. Steve is the older brother of fellow pinball designer Mark Ritchie.

The Atari Years

After serving a stint in Vietnam and Alaska in the United States Coast Guard from 1968-1972, Ritchie joined Atari and first worked on the assembly line as an electro-mechanical technician. Two years later, he was promoted to work at their fledgling pinball division, where he worked on his first game, ''Airborne Avenger''. Ritchie earned the license to make a ''Superman''-pinball based on the Superman comic book, but in the final stages of production of the table, he received an offer from Williams Electronics, a major pinball company, that Ritchie couldn't refuse.

The Williams Years

Ritchie moved to Chicago, Illinois, the home of Williams' headquarters. His first game for the company, ''Flash'' (released in 1979), was noted for its revolutionary figure-8 design and the first pinball game to feature bright Flash Lamps. It would go on to be his best-selling pinball game, having sold 19,505 units. 1980 would be the year for Ritchie, when he designed ''Firepower'' (the first electronic pinball to feature multi-ball, as well as Lane Change), and eight months later, he designed ''Black Knight'', which was noted for having the first two-level playfield and the patented "Magna-Save" feature (in which magnets help prevent outlane drains).

After 1981's ''Hyperball'', Steve took a break from designing pinball games to design a video games at his newly-formed company, King Video Design. "Devastator" was the first 68000 microprocessor video game and it was a spectacular 3D flying-shooting game with remarkable graphics. Steve pioneered automated conversion of video-taped color images into objects in the video game system. After that, he returned to pinball with 1986's ''High Speed'', which was based on a true story about him being chased by the police in his Porsche. ''High Speed'''s bill of materials was higher than other games, and some rival Williams designers nicknamed it "High Cost". The cost increase was minimal, and the game sold 17,080 units. It was the major title that revitalized the entire pinball market. After that, he released ''F-14 Tomcat'' in 1987, and in 1989, he released the sequel to 1980's ''Black Knight'', ''Black Knight 2000'', which was acclaimed for having perhaps one of the best musical soundtracks ever for a pinball game (composed by himself, Brian Schmidt, and Dan Forden). It was also one of the first games to feature a "Wizard Mode", called "The King's Ransom".

Next up was ''Rollergames'' (based on the TV show of the same name which was cancelled well before game production), it was a game with a loud and rowdy soundtrack and the first solid state game to feature mainstream advertising. Ritchie designed ''Terminator 2: Judgment Day'', which featured the voice and likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger. T2 was the first game by Williams to use a dot-matrix display (although Bally's ''Gilligan's Island'' beat it to the market, because T2 had a longer production schedule, and management at Williams felt that other games needed it first.) After T2, he designed ''The Getaway: High Speed II'' in 1992, a sequel to 1986's ''High Speed.'' In 1993, Ritchie released a widebody game, ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', which many pinball fans consider to be Ritchie's best game. For the game, Ritchie enlisted the entire cast of TNG, including Patrick Stewart, Michael Dorn, and Jonathan Frakes to reprise their roles. The game would sell 11,728 units. It was the last pinball machine to sell in the 5-digits. After he was finished with 1995's ''No Fear: Dangerous Sports'', Ritchie left Williams, feeling that he could better serve Williams/Bally/Midway by producing video games at the newly-acquired Atari Games. 1996 was the beginning of the decline of pinball with gradually diminishing sales, eventually leading to the extinction of all pinball manufacturers except Stern Pinball.

Video games and other contributions

Steve Ritchie returned to Atari Games in 1996 as a Senior Staff Producer. There, he would design and produce the racing game, ''California Speed'', which sold 7,856 units for total sales of about $40 million, on a budget of $2 million, with a crew of 16 video programmers and artists.

Ritchie is also known to be an avid fan of pc games, motocross racing, and a dedicated dirt and street motorcyclist as well.

He is a voice actor for many of his own games, as well as Williams and Midway's video games. He is best known for playing the voice of Shao Kahn in the Mortal Kombat series (''MKII'', ''MK3'', ''UMK3'', ''MKT'', ''MK:SM''). In an interview for the Australian publication Arcade and Flipper Pinball Review (December 2001 & March 2002 issues) he stated that he was the announcer in ''MK'' and ''MKII'', along with coming up with the name of Mortal Kombat, which was just called 'Mortal' before his suggestion. Ritchie was also the voice of the Black Knight in both Black Knight and Black Knight 2000, the "Demon" in No Fear, the announcer in Midway's High Impact Football, the monotoned voice of Firepower, and other small parts in many Williams, Midway, and Stern games.

Ritchie Returns: The Stern Years

After designing and selling a few redemption games, he formed Steve Ritchie Productions (SRP) in 2002, and returned to pinball design contracting with Stern Pinball to distribute his games. For his first game for Stern, ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', he once again enlisted Arnold Schwarzenegger to lend his voice and likeness to the game, and also re-assembled the same team who worked with him on the T2 pinball, including software programmer Dwight Sullivan and music composer Chris Granner. After T3, Ritchie released ''Elvis'', which was released in time for the 50th anniversary of Elvis Presley's first song recording. Ritchie's third game for Stern was ''World Poker Tour''. ''World Poker Tour'' was the first game to use Stern's new hardware, S.A.M., which is the successor to their older Whitestar platform. He has recently revealed in an interview that he was forced by Gary Stern to design the game . Currently, Ritchie has just completed his fourth game for Stern, ''Spider-Man'', using characters licensed from all three movies. ''Spider-Man'' was a great success and is still available for purchase.

After completing "24", a pinball machine based on the TV series of the same name, Ritchie was laid off from Stern along with most of the company's other pinball designers. A March 3, 2011 Press Release from Stern reported that Steve had returned to Stern to design the next generation of pinball machines. .

Steve Ritchie's games

Atari

Airborne Avenger (1977)

Superman (1979)

California Speed (1996)

Williams

Flash (1979)

Stellar Wars (1979)

Firepower (1980)

Black Knight (1980)

Hyperball (1981)

High Speed (1986)

F-14 Tomcat (1987)

Black Knight 2000 (1989)

Rollergames (1990)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

The Getaway: High Speed II (1992)

Star Trek: The Next Generation (1993; part of WMS' ''SuperPin'' series)

No Fear: Dangerous Sports (1995)

Midway (Bally)

Elvira and the Party Monsters (1989; co-designed with Dennis Nordman and Jim Patla)

*''Ritchie did parts of the game, after original designer Dennis Nordman was severely injured in an off-road motorcycle accident.''

Stern / Steve Ritchie Productions

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)

Elvis (2004)

World Poker Tour (2006)

Spider-Man (2007)

"24", based on 24(2009)

References

External links

Steve Ritchie Productions

Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Designers from California Category:People from Chicago, Illinois Category:Pinball game designers

Name	Roger Clinton Locher
Birth date	September 13, 1946
Birth place	Sabetha, Kansas
Allegiance
Branch	United States Air Force
Rank	Captain
Battles	Vietnam War
Laterwork	}}

Roger Clinton Locher (born September 13, 1946) is a former F-4D Phantom weapons officer and pilot who during the Vietnam War and Operation Linebacker was shot down only from Hanoi, North Vietnam. The 23 days Locher spent behind enemy lines evading capture was a record for downed airmen during the war. USAF General Vogt "shut down the war" and sent 119 aircraft to recover him. His rescue was the deepest inside North Vietnam during the entire War.

When his aircraft was shot down by a Shenyang J-6 on May 10, 1972, he was on his third combat tour and had over 407 combat missions. He was one of the leading MIG killers in Vietnam with three kills. No one saw him eject or his parachute open, and it was unknown whether he had died or been captured. Over the next two weeks, U.S. air crews in the area tried to raise him on the radio without success. The North Vietnamese did not add his name to the roster of captured airmen, which gave the Americans some hope. Traveling only at dusk and dawn, over three weeks Locher traveled about , evading farmers and living off the land.

On June 1, Locher was finally able to successfully contact a flight of F-4 aircraft overhead. General John Vogt, commanding general of the Seventh Air Force, committed to rescue him and canceled the scheduled attack on Hanoi, diverting all of the available aircraft to assist in his rescue. Despite the proximity of the Yên Bái MiG airfield only away and its well-developed anti-aircraft defenses, there were no losses during his rescue.

Recruitment and training

Locher participated in ROTC and joined the Air Force in 1969. He completed navigator training and was assigned to the F-4 Phantom II. He received transition training at Davis–Monthan Air Force Base in Arizona, and was then sent to the "Triple Nickel" 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, 432d Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, Udorn, Thailand.

MiGCAP patrol

On February 21, 1972, Locher took part in the first U.S. Air Force aerial victory in four years at night over northeast Laos, about southwest of Hanoi. Maj. Robert A. Lodge was pilot and Locher was the weapon systems officer in an F-4D flying combat air patrol to interdict North Vietnamese MiGs (MIGCAP). The two men were the most experienced crew in Southeast Asia. ''Red Crown'', the call sign for the radar-equipped USS Long Beach stationed in the northern part of the Gulf of Tonkin, "called out bandits (MIGs) at our 060° position and proceeded to vector us on an intercept,” recalls Maj. Lodge. During the air battle, they shot down a MiG-21.

Operation Linebacker

thumb|300px|Collings Foundation F-4D Phantom II marked as 555th TFS 66-7463, the same type of aircraft flown by Locher the day he was shot down. On May 10, 1972, the first major day of air combat in Operation Linebacker, Locher's group was one of two flights of the F-4D MiGCap for the morning strike force. Oyster Flight, composed of four F-4s from the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, had three of its Phantoms equipped with the top secret Combat Tree IFF interrogators. The APX-80 electronic set could read the IFF signals of the transponders built into the MiGs so that North Vietnamese radar would not shoot down their own aircraft. Displayed on a scope in the WSO's cockpit, Combat Tree gave the Phantoms the ability to identify and locate MiGs when they were still beyond visual range.

On May 8, 1972, Major Robert Lodge and Locher responded to a request for assistance from ''Red Crown'' from fighters who were engaging MiGs near Yên Bái. Their element leader was Stephen Ritchie and Charles B. DeBellevue in Oyster 03.

They scored their third MiG kill, placing them in the lead of all USAF crews then flying in Southeast Asia.

Two days later, on May 10, at 9:23 a.m., Oyster Flight was warned by EC-121 ''Disco'' over Laos, and then by the US Navy radar picket ship ''Red Crown'', of four MiGs headed towards them. These were from the 921st Fighter Wing. Four J-9s were also flying CAP to protect the Thac Ba hydroelectric power station. The Americans engaged an equal number of MiG-21s head-on, scattering them. Lodge and Locher identified two hostile contacts miles south of Yên Bái. They attacked in a modified fluid-four formation and accelerated to 1.4 mach. At 9:48 they fired two AIM-7 Sidewinder missiles, and the second destroyed one of the MiGs.

Oyster Flight shot down two more MiGs. The second MIG-21 was downed by Lodge’s wingman, 1st Lt. John D. Markle, and his WSO, Capt. Stephen D. Eaves. A few minutes later Capt. Richard S. “Steve” Ritchie and Capt. Charles B. DeBellevue, his weapon systems officer, shot down a third MiG. Lodge and Locher nearly got the fourth MiG-21, but fell victim to a MiG tactic dubbed "Kuban tactics" after those of the Soviet WWII ace Alexander Pokryshkin, in which a GCI-controlled flight of four Shenyang J-6s were launched after the MiG-21s so that they could be steered behind the American fighters maneuvering to attack the MiG-21s. Pilot Nguyen Manh Tung of No. 2 Flight came up from below in his J-6 and hit Lodge and Locher's F-4D Phantom, serial 65-0784, with his three large, 30-mm cannons as they were lining up a second shot on another MiG-21.

Ejection and evasion

Lodge and Locher thought for a few seconds their aircraft was still flyable, but then figured out that the right engine showed zero compression, and the aircraft yawed to the left. Lodge tried the stick and it was dead; the aircraft's hydraulic system was knocked out. Lodge tried the autopilot but it didn't respond. The rear of the jet was on fire, and as the plane yawed the slipstream pushed the flames up over Locher's canopy. Locher later recalled, "We immediately went out of control, flopping from side to side. Then fire started coming in the back of the cockpit. It seared my canopy with bubbles and I couldn’t see out any more. The airplane slowed down and we went into a flat spin." Locher told Lodge that it was getting too hot and he'd better get out. Lodge looked over his right shoulder at Locher and said, "Well, you better eject then."

Lodge had about three weeks previously told fellow squadron members, as he had done several times before, that he would not allow himself to be captured because of his extensive knowledge of classified and sensitive information. Locher successfully ejected at about but because the remaining planes were busy with the other MiGs, and due to smoke, no one saw his parachute canopy. A MiG-21 buzzed Locher as he descended, so he knew the enemy was aware he had survived. He estimated it took about 30 seconds for the jet to impact the ground, but never saw Lodge's chute.

Locher was afraid to use his URC-64 rescue radio as he parachuted because it was difficult to remove from the zippered pocket of his survival vest and he was not sure he could get it back in. He figured out his rough location and managed to steer his chute about away from the plane burning below him and towards a nearby mountain side. After he landed, he couldn't hide his parachute because it was stuck in the trees overhead.

He removed a couple of essential items from his survival pack and left the remainder behind. His survival vest contained a 9mm pistol, two pints of water, a first aid kit, insect repellent, mosquito netting, and a knife. He knew from prior briefings that he could not expect SAR this deep in North Vietnam, north of the Red River. Once on the ground and under the trees, he could not hear any jets overhead. He also knew his radio could not penetrate the dense jungle canopy overhead.

Locher listened to hear if a search party was looking for him. He camouflaged his trail for about and then climbed the eastern side of the mountain to its peak. He got his bearings and then hid in bushes on the west slope. For three days, Locher listened as a search party of local farmers beat the bushes up and down the east side of the mountain, searching for him. He hid in a brush pile and at one point over the next three days, a boy came within of his hiding place. In the evening he returned to the peak. On the second day he picked up radio traffic from American aircraft almost to his south, but they did not hear his radio beeper or voice.

He decided his best chance for rescue was to cross the forested, hilly terrain and get to the heavily cultivated Red River Valley, swim the river, and work his way to the sparsely inhabited mountains to the south. He figured it would take him 45 days. He traveled only at first light and at dusk, avoiding the local farmers, and living off the land.

He was able to find plenty of water but only occasionally fruit and berries to eat. He evaded capture and covered over , gradually losing and his strength. On the 10th day he came within of being discovered. Following a well-used trail early one morning, he suddenly had to evade local farmers. He hid in a nearby field where there was little concealment, but pulled leaves and debris over himself. He lay there all day as children from a village he discovered a short distance away played in his vicinity. At one point a water buffalo nearly stepped on him, and a boy came to fetch the animal, only a few feet from Locher. That evening he spotted a hill near the village alongside the Red River, the last hill before the wide open fields of the Red River basin. He was about from Yen Bai Airfield.

He hid on the hill for the next 13 days and watched for American aircraft. On June 1, 1972, he was finally able to contact a flight of American jets overhead, calling, "Any U.S. aircraft, if you read Oyster 1 Bravo, come up on Guard". Steve Ritchie, in one of the F-4 aircraft overhead and who had witnessed Locher's jet fall out of the sky, remembered Locher's call sign and answered his call. Locher calmly responded, "Guys I've been down here a long time, any chance of picking me up?" Ritchie replied, "You bet!" Locher's transmissions left some Americans who did not hear his call in doubt about the authenticity of his message, and they believed that the NVA may have manipulated a POW into impersonating him, setting a trap for the would-be rescuers.

Search and rescue

A SAR mission of several A-1E and two HH-53 with F-4 and F- 105 fighters providing air protection was launched that same day but was driven off by heavy anti-aircraft fire and MiGs. The A-1 Skyraider and HH-53C pilots came under attack from a MiG but eluded the enemy fighter in a narrow canyon. The rescue force then dodged missiles, another MiG and gunfire, but failed to get through to Locher that day.

On June 2, 1972, General John Vogt, commander of the 7th Air Force, consulted with Army MACV commander General Frederick C. Weyand. Vogt canceled the entire strike mission set for Hanoi that day. He dedicated all the available resources, over 150 aircraft, to rescuing Locher. The direct task force of 119 aircraft included two HH-53 rescue helicopters, bombers, and an array of F-4 escorts, EB-66s, A-1Es, F105G Weasels, and KC135 tankers. Vogt said,

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The Yên Bái MiG airfield, about northwest of Hanoi, was one of the most important and well-defended Vietnamese People's Air Force airbases in North Vietnam. The aircraft bombed and strafed around Yên Bái Airfield for two hours, reducing enemy opposition so that the helicopters could get in. Fortunately for the Americans, during the second half of May 1972 their increasingly fierce attacks on Yen Bai had forced elements of the VPAF 925th Fighter Regiment to relocate to Gia Lam Airfield. Capt. Ronald E. Smith in an A-1E guided Capt. Dale Stovall, piloting a HH-53 from the 40th Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Squadron, to Locher's position. Only when Locher rose out of the jungle canopy riding the jungle penetrator were all of the Americans sure it was him. Despite their proximity to Yen Bai airfield, no aircraft were lost during Locher's rescue. "We shut down the war to go get Roger Locher," Stovall later said.

Locher was flown back to Udorn. The first person to greet him was General Vogt, who had flown up from Saigon in a T-39. Capt. Locher had successfully evaded capture for 23 days, a record for the Vietnam War. The evening of his return, he was greeted at the Officers Club by hundreds of individuals with an ovation lasting 20 minutes.

Recognition

Capt. Stovall had twice flown his HH-53 Jolly Green Giant helicopter further into North Vietnam than had ever been done before. For their efforts in rescuing Locher, both Capt. Ronald Smith and Stovall were awarded the Air Force Cross. Stovall's citation described how "he willingly returned to this high threat area, braving intense ground fire, to recover the downed airman from deep in North Vietnam.". Stovall was also recognized with the 1973 Jabara Award for Airmanship.

Post war

After his return to the States, he attended pilot training and was assigned to the Phantom—this time in the front seat. Roger flew the F-4 in New Mexico, Alaska, and Florida before transitioning to the F-16 and serving in instructor and flight commander positions. He later played a key role in the early days of the super-secret "black program" that produced the Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter. He retired in Sabetha, Kansas, where he resided as of April, 2010.

In popular culture

The TV series Dogfights on the History Channel depicted the dogfight of May 10, 1972 in Season 2, Episode 10, ''The Bloodiest Day'' shown on December 3, 2007.

Notes

References

Category:Living people Category:1946 births Category:United States Air Force officers Category:American military personnel of the Vietnam War