Circus
Advertisement for the Barnum & Bailey Circus, 1900.
Types	Contemporary circus
Ancestor arts	Drama
Originating culture	Ancient Rome

A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists. The word also describes the performance that they give, which is usually a series of acts choreographed to music and introduced by a ringmaster. A traditional circus performance is normally held in a ring 13 m (42 ft) in diameter. This dimension was adopted by Philip Astley to enable a horse rider to stand upright on a cantering horse to perform a series of acrobatic maneuvers and to more easily retain their balance. Most modern circuses have a system of tiered seating around the ring for the public and since the late 19th early 20th century the performance has taken place under canvas and more recently plastic tents commonly called "The Big Top" .

Etymology[link]

First attested in English 14th century, the word circus derives from Latin circus,^[1] which is the romanization of the Greek κίρκος (kirkos), itself a metathesis of the Homeric Greek κρίκος (krikos), meaning "circle" or "ring".^[2]

Early Christian writer Tertullian claims that the first circus games were staged by goddess Circe in honour of her father Helios, the Sun god.^[3] This claim accords well with the fact that many Roman games were indeed dedicated to the Sun god.

History[link]

Origin[link]

In Ancient Rome, the circus was a building for the exhibition of horse and chariot races, equestrian shows, staged battles, displays featuring trained animals, jugglers and acrobats. The circus of Rome is thought to have been influenced by the Greeks, with chariot racing and the exhibition of animals as traditional attractions. The Roman circus consisted of tiers of seats running parallel with the sides of the course, and forming a crescent around one of the ends. The lower seats were reserved for persons of rank; there were also various state boxes, e.g. for the giver of the games and his friends. In Ancient Rome the circus was the only public spectacle at which men and women were not separated.

The first circus in Rome was the Circus Maximus, in the valley between the Palatine and Aventine hills. It was constructed during the monarchy and, at first, built completely from wood. After being rebuilt several times, the final version of the Circus Maximus could seat 250,000 people; it was built of stone and measured 400m in length and 90m in width.^[4] Next in importance to the Circus Maximus in Rome were the Circus Flaminius and the Circus Neronis, from the notoriety which it obtained through the Circensian pleasures of Nero. A fourth, the Circus of Maxentius, was constructed by Maxentius; the ruins of this circus have helped archaeologists to reconstruct the Roman circus.

For some time after the fall of Rome, Europe lacked a large and animal-rich circus. Itinerant showmen travelled the fairgrounds of Europe. Animal trainers and performers are thought to have exploited the nostalgia for the Roman circus, travelling between towns and performing at local fairs. Another possible link between the Roman and modern circus could have been bands of Gypsies who appeared in Europe in the 14th century and in Britain from the 15th century, bringing with them circus skills and trained animals.^{[citation needed]}

Development[link]

Astley's Amphitheatre in London c.1808

The modern concept of a circus as a circular arena surrounded by tiers of seats, for the exhibition of equestrian, acrobatic and other performances seems to have existed since the late 18th century.^[5] The popularity of the circus in England may be traced to that held by Philip Astley in London.^[6] The first performance of his circus is said to have been held on January 9, 1768. One of Astley's major contributions to the circus was bringing trick horse-riding into a ring, though Astley referred to it as the Circle. Later, to suit equestrian acts moving from one circus to another, the diameter of the circus ring was set at 42 ft (13 m), which is the size of ring needed for horses to circle comfortably at full gallop. When Astley added tumblers, tightrope-walkers, jugglers, performing dogs, and a clown to fill time between her own demonstrations, he created a modern circus.^[7][8] Astley never called his performances a 'circus'; that title was thought up by Charles Dibdin, who in partnership with Astley's rival Charles Hughes, opened the Royal Circus on 4 November 1782, a short distance from Astley's 'Amphitheatre of Equestrian Arts' in Lambeth, London.^[9][10]

Astley was followed by Andrew Ducrow, whose feats of horsemanship had much to do with establishing the traditions of the circus, which were perpetuated by Henglers and Sangers celebrated shows in a later generation. In England circuses were often held in purpose built buildings in large cities, such as the London Hippodrome, which was built as a combination of the circus, the menagerie and the variety theatre, where wild animals such as lions and elephants from time to time appeared in the ring, and where convulsions of nature such as floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions have been produced with an extraordinary wealth of realistic display. In 1782, Astley established the Amphithéâtre Anglais in Paris, the first purpose-built circus in France, followed by 18 other permanent circuses in cities throughout Europe.^[11][12] Astley leased his Parisian circus to the Italian Antonio Franconi in 1793.^[13]

Trapeze artists, in lithograph by Calvert Litho. Co., 1890

The Englishman John Bill Ricketts brought the first modern circus to the United States. He began his theatrical career with Hughes Royal Circus in London in the 1780s, and came over from England in 1792 to establish his first circus in Philadelphia. The first circus building in the US opened on April 3, 1793 in Philadelphia, where Ricketts gave America's first complete circus performance.^[7][14] George Washington attended a performance there later that season.^[15]

In the Americas of the first two decades of the 19th century, the Circus of Pepin and Breschard toured from Montreal to Havana, building circus theatres in many of the cities it visited. Victor Pépin, a native New Yorker,^[16] was the first American to operate a major circus in the United States.^[17] Later the establishments of Purdy, Welch & Co., and of van Amburgh gave a wider popularity to the circus in the United States. In 1825 Joshuah Purdy Brown was the first circus owner to use a large canvas tent for the circus performance. Circus pioneer Dan Rice was probably the most famous circus and clown pre-Civil War, popularizing such expressions as "The One-Horse Show" and "Hey, Rube!". The American circus was revolutionized by P. T. Barnum and William Cameron Coup, who launched P. T. Barnum's Museum, Menagerie & Circus, a travelling combination of animal and human oddities, the exhibition of humans as a freak show or sideshow was thus an American invention. Coup was also the first circus entrepreneur to use circus trains to transport the circus from town to town; a practice that continues today and introduced the first multiple ringed circuses.

Circus parade around tents, in lithograph by Gibson & Co., 1874.

In 1840 the equestrian Thomas Cooke returned to England from the United States, bringing with him a circus tent. At this time, itinerant circuses were becoming popular in Britain. William Batty's circus, for example, between 1838 and 1840, travelled from Newcastle to Edinburgh and then to Portsmouth and Southhampton. Pablo Fanque, who is noteworthy as Britain's only black circus proprietor and who operated one of the most celebrated travelling circuses in Victorian England, erected temporary structures for his limited engagements or retrofitted existing structures.^[18] One such structure in Leeds, which Fanque assumed from a departing circus, collapsed, resulting in minor injuries to many but the death of Fanque's wife.^[19][20] Three important circus innovators were Italian Giuseppe Chiarini, and Frenchmen Louis Soullier and Jacques Tourniaire, whose early travelling circuses introduced the circus to Latin America, Australia, South East Asia, China, South Africa and Russia. Soullier was the first circus owner to introduce Chinese acrobatics to the European circus when he returned from his travels in 1866 and Tourniaire was the first to introduce the performing art to Ranga where it became extremely popular.

Following Barnum's death his circus merged with that of James Anthony Bailey, and travelled to Europe as The Barnum & Bailey Greatest Show On Eartth where it toured from 1897 to 1902, impressing other circus owners with its large scale, its touring techniques including the tent and circus train and the combination of circus acts, zoological exhibition and the freak show. This format was adopted by European circuses at the turn of the 20th century.

The influence of the American circus brought about a considerable change in the character of the modern circus. In arenas too large for speech to be easily audible, the traditional comic dialog of the clown assumed a less prominent place than formerly, while the vastly increased wealth of stage properties relegated to the background the old-fashioned equestrian feats, which were replaced by more ambitious acrobatic performances, and by exhibitions of skill, strength and daring, requiring the employment of immense numbers of performers and often of complicated and expensive machinery.

Lion tamer, in lithograph by Gibson & Co., 1873.

In 1919, Lenin, head of the USSR, expressed a wish for the circus to become 'the people's art-form', given facilities and status on a par with theatre, opera and ballet. The USSR nationalized the Soviet circuses. In 1927 the State University of Circus and Variety Arts, better known as the Moscow Circus School was established where performers were trained using methods developed from the Soviet gymnastics program. When the Moscow State Circus company began international tours in the 1950s, its levels of originality and artistic skill were widely applauded, and the high standard of the Russian State circus continues to this day.

Circuses from China, drawing on Chinese traditions of acrobatics, like the Chinese State Circus are also popular touring acts. The International Circus Festival of Monte-Carlo^[21] has been held in Monte Carlo since 1974 and was the first of many international awards for circus performers. In the 1960s and 1970s, the circus began to lose popularity as the general public became more interested in alternative forms of entertainment such as movies, music, and TV shows. Some circuses stayed afloat by merging with other circus companies. However a good number of old-fashioned travelling circuses with their usual mixture of acrobat, clown and animal acts are still active in various parts of the world ranging from small family enterprises on the edge of survival to the three ring extravaganzas like Vazquez Hermanos Circus in Mexico.^[22] Other companies found new ways to draw in the public with innovative new approaches to the circus form itself.

Contemporary types[link]

Cirque du Soleil performing Dralion in Vienna, 2004

Contemporary circus (originally known as nouveau cirque) is a recent performing arts movement that originated in the 1970s in Australia, Canada, France, the West Coast of the United States, and the United Kingdom. Contemporary circus combines traditional circus skills and theatrical techniques to convey a story or theme. Compared with the traditional circus, the contemporary genre of circus tends to focus more attention on the overall aesthetic impact, on character and story development, and on the use of lighting design, original music, and costume design to convey thematic or narrative content. For aesthetic or economic reasons, contemporary circus productions may sometimes be staged in theatres rather than in large outdoor tents. Music used in the production is often composed exclusively for that production, and aesthetic influences are drawn as much from contemporary culture as from circus history. Animal acts appear less frequently in contemporary circus than in traditional circus.

Early examples of nouveau cirque companies include: Circus Oz, forged in Australia in 1978 from SoapBox Circus and New Circus, both founded in the early 1970s; the Pickle Family Circus, founded in San Francisco in 1975; Nofit State Circus in 1984 from Wales; Cirque du Soleil, founded in Quebec in 1984; and Archaos in 1986. More recent examples include: Teatro ZinZanni, founded in Seattle in 1998; Quebec's Cirque Éloize; Les 7 doigts de la main (also known as The 7 Fingers);^[23] and the West African Circus Baobab^[24] in the late 1990s. The genre includes other circus troupes such as the Vermont-based Circus Smirkus (founded in 1987 by Rob Mermin), Le Cirque Imaginaire (later renamed Le Cirque Invisible, both founded and directed by Victoria Chaplin, daughter of Charlie Chaplin), the Tiger Lillies, Dislocate,^[25] and Vulcana Women's Circus,^[26] while The Jim Rose Circus is an interesting take on the sideshow. Swedish contemporary circus company Cirkus Cirkör was founded in 1995. U.S. Company PURE Cirkus^[27] was founded in the subgenre of "cirque noir" in 2004, and in Northern England, (United Kingdom), Skewed Circus^[28] combines punk, rap, dance music, comedy, and stunts to deliver "pop-circus" entertainment to young urban audiences.

The most conspicuous success story in the contemporary genre has been that of Cirque du Soleil, the Canadian circus company whose estimated annual revenue now exceeds US$810 million,^[29] and whose nouveau cirque shows have been seen by nearly 90 million spectators in over 200 cities on five continents.^[30] Despite the contemporary circus' shift toward more theatrical techniques and its emphasis on human rather than animal performance, traditional circus companies still exist alongside the new movement. Numerous circuses continue to maintain animal performers, including Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, UniverSoul Circus, and the Big Apple Circus from the United States, Circus Krone from Munich, Circus Royale and Lennon Bros Circus from Australia, Vazquez Hermanos Circus, Circo Atayde Hermanos, and Hermanos Mayaror Circus^[31] from Mexico, and Moira Orfei Circus^[32] from Italy, to name just a few.

Performance[link]

Fire breathers risk burns, both internal and external, as well as poisoning in the pursuit of their art.

A traditional circus performance is often led by a ringmaster who has a role similar to a Master of Ceremonies. The ringmaster presents performers, speaks to the audience, and generally keeps the show moving. The activity of the circus traditionally takes place within a ring; large circuses may have multiple rings, like the six-ringed Moscow State Circus. A circus often travels with its own band, whose instrumentation in the United States has traditionally included brass instruments, drums, glockenspiel, and sometimes the distinctive sound of the calliope.

Acts[link]

Common acts include a variety of acrobatics, gymnastics (including tumbling and trampoline), aerial acts (such as trapeze, aerial silk, corde lisse), contortion, stilts and a variety of other routines. Juggling is one of the most common acts in a circus; the combination of juggling and gymnastics is called equilibristics and include acts like plate spinning the rolling globe. Acts like these are the some of the most common, and the most traditional. Clowns are common to most circuses and are typically skilled in many circus acts; "clowns getting into the act" is a very familiar theme in any circus. Famous circus clowns have included Austin Miles, the Fratellini Family, Emmett Kelly, Grock and Bill Irwin.

Daredevil stunt acts and sideshow acts are also parts of some circus acts, these activities may include human cannonball, chapeaugraphy, fire eating, breathing and dancing, knife throwing, magic shows, sword swallowing or strongman. Famous sideshow performers include Zip the Pinhead and The Doll Family. A popular sideshow attraction from the early 19th century was the flea circus, where fleas were attached to props and viewed through a Fresnel lens.

Animal acts[link]

Female lion tamer and leopard. Animal rights activists allege that these acts involve cruel training methods.

Elephants from Cole Brothers Circus parade through downtown Los Angeles, 1953

A variety of animals have historically been used in acts. While the types of animals used vary from circus to circus, big cats, elephants, horses, birds, sea lions, bears and domestic animals are the most common.

The earliest involvement of animals in circus was just the display of exotic creatures. Going as far back as the early eighteenth century, exotic animals were transported to North America for display, and menageries were a popular form of entertainment.^[33] The first true animals acts in the circus were equestrian acts. Soon elephants and big cats were displayed as well. Isaac A. Van Amburgh entered a cage with several big cats in 1833, and is generally considered to be the first wild animal trainer in American circus history.^[17] Mabel Stark was a famous female tiger-tamer.

Controversy[link]

Animal welfare groups have documented many cases of animal cruelty in the training of performing circus animals.^[34][35] The animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) contends that animals in circuses are frequently beaten into submission and that physical abuse has always been the method for training circus animals. According to PETA, although the US Animal Welfare Act does not permit the use of electric shock prods, whips, hooks, or similar instruments by trainers,^[36] these are still used today.^[37] According to PETA, during an undercover investigation of Carson & Barnes Circus, video footage was captured showing animal care director Tim Frisco training endangered Asian elephants with electrical shock prods and instructing other trainers to "beat the elephants with a bullhook as hard as they could and to sink the sharp metal bullhook into the animals' flesh and twist it until they screamed in pain."^[37]

In testimony in U.S. District Court in 2009, Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus CEO Kenneth Feld acknowledged that circus elephants are struck behind the ears, under the chin and on their legs with metal tipped prods, called bull hooks. Feld stated that these practices are necessary to protect circus workers. Feld also acknowledged that an elephant trainer was reprimanded for using an electric shock device, known as a hot shot or electric prod, on an elephant, which Feld also stated was appropriate practice. Feld denied that any of these practices harm elephants.^[38] In its January 2010 verdict on the case, brought against Feld Entertainment International by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals 'et al.', the Court ruled that evidence against the circus company was "not credible with regard to the allegations".^[39] In lieu of a USDA hearing, Feld Entertainment Inc. (parent of Ringling Bros.) agreed to pay an unprecedented $270,000 fine for violations of the Animal Welfare Act that allegedly occurred between June 2007 and August 2011.^[40]

On February 1, 1992 at the Great American Circus in Palm Bay, Florida, an elephant named Janet (1965 – February 1, 1992) went berserk while giving a ride to a mother, her two children and three other children. The elephant then stampeded through the circus grounds outside before being shot to death by police.^[41] Also, during a Circus International performance in Honolulu, Hawaii on 20 August 1994, an elephant called Tyke (1974 – August 20, 1994) killed her trainer, Allen Campbell, and severely mauled her groomer, Dallas Beckwith, in front of hundreds of horrified spectators. Tyke then bolted from the arena and ran through the streets of Kakaako for more than thirty minutes. Police fired 86 shots at Tyke who eventually collapsed from the wounds and died.^[42]

In 1998 in the UK, a parliamentary working group chaired by MP Roger Gale studied living conditions and treatment of animals in UK circuses. All members of this group agreed that a change in the law was needed to protect circus animals. Mr Gale told the BBC, "It's undignified and the conditions under which they are kept are woefully inadequate—the cages are too small, the environments they live in are not suitable and many of us believe the time has come for that practice to end." The group reported concerns about boredom and stress, and noted that an independent study by a member of the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit at Oxford University "found no evidence that circuses contribute to education or conservation."^[43] However, in 2007 a different working group under the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, having reviewed information from experts representing both the circus industry and animal welfare, found an absence of "scientific evidence sufficient to demonstrate that travelling circuses are not compatible with meeting the welfare needs of any type of non-domesticated animal presently being used in the United Kingdom." According to that group's report, published in October 2007, "there appears to be little evidence to demonstrate that the welfare of animals kept in travelling circuses is any better or any worse than that of animals kept in other captive environments."^[44]

Sweden, Austria, Costa Rica, India, Finland, Singapore, Switzerland, and Denmark have already restricted the use of animals in entertainment. In response to a growing popular concern about the use of animals in entertainment, animal-free circuses are becoming more common around the world.^[45] In 2009, Bolivia passed legislation banning the use of any animals, wild or domestic, in circuses. The law states that circuses "constitute an act of cruelty." Circus operators had one year from the bill's passage on July 1, 2009 to comply.^[46]

Greece became the first European country to ban any animal from performing in any circus in its territory in February 2012, following a campaign by Animal Defenders International and the Greek Animal Welfare Fund (GAWF).^[47]

In music, films, plays, and books[link]

The atmosphere of the circus has served as a dramatic setting for many musicians. The famous circus theme song is actually called "Entrance of the Gladiators", and was composed in 1904 by Julius Fučík. Other circus music includes "El Caballero", "Quality Plus", "Sunnyland Waltzes", "The Storming of El Caney", "Pahjamah", "Bull Trombone", "Big Time Boogie", "Royal Bridesmaid March", "The Baby Elephant Walk", "Liberty Bell March", "Java", Strauss's "Radetsky March", and "Pageant of Progress". A poster for Pablo Fanque's Circus Royal, one of the most popular circuses of Victorian England, inspired John Lennon to write Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite! on The Beatles' album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The song title refers to William Kite, a well-known circus performer in the 19th century. Producer George Martin and EMI engineers created the song’s fairground atmosphere, one that epitomizes the feel of the entire album, by assembling a sound collage of collected recordings of calliopes and fairground organs, which they cut into strips of various lengths, threw into a box, and then mixed up and edited together randomly, creating a long loop which was mixed into the final production.^[48] Another traditional circus song is the John Phillip Sousa march "Stars and Stripes Forever", which is played only to alert circus performers of an emergency.

Plays set in a circus include the 1896 musical The Circus Girl by Lionel Monckton, Polly of the Circus written in 1907 by Margaret Mayo, He Who Gets Slapped written by Russian Leonid Andreyev 1916 and later adapted into one of the first circus films, Caravan written in 1932 by Carl Zuckmayer, the revue Big Top written by Herbert Farjeon in 1942, Top of the Ladder written by Tyrone Gutheris in 1950, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off written by Anthony Newley in 1961, and Barnum with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics and book by Mark Bramble.

Following World War I, circus films became popular; in 1924 He Who Gets Slapped was the first film released by MGM; in 1925 Sally of the Sawdust (remade 1930), Variety, and Vaudeville were produced, followed by The Devil's Circus in 1926 and The Circus starring Charlie Chaplin, Circus Rookies, 4 Devils; and Laugh Clown Laugh in 1928. German film Salto Mortale about trapeze artists was released in 1930 and remade in the United States and released as Trapeze starring Burt Lancaster in 1956; in 1932 Freaks was released; Charlie Chan at the Circus, Circus (USSR) and The Three Maxiums were released in 1936 and At the Circus starring the Marx Brothers and You Can't Cheat an Honest Man in 1939. Circus films continued to be popular during the Second World War, The Great Profile starring John Barrymore was released in 1940, the animated Disney film Dumbo, Road Show and The Wagons Roll at Night in 1941 and Captive Wild Woman in 1943.

The film Tromba, about a tiger trainer was released in 1948 and in 1952 Cecil B. de Mille's Oscar winning film The Greatest Show on Earth was first shown. Released in 1953 were Man on a Tightrope and Ingmar Bergman's Gycklarnas afton released as Sawdust and Tinsel in the United States; Life is a Circus; Ring of Fear; 3 Ring Circus and La strada an Oscar winning film by Federico Fellini about a girl who is sold to a circus strongman; Fellini made a second film set in the circus called The Clowns in 1970. Films about the circus made since 1959 include B-movie Circus of Horrors, musical Billy Rose's Jumbo, A Tiger Walks a Disney film about a tiger that escapes from the circus and Circus World starring John Wayne. In the film Jungle Emperor Leo, Leo's son, Lune, is captured and placed in a circus, which burns down when a tiger knocks down a ring of fire while jumping through it.

The TV series Circus Humberto, based on the novel by Eduard Bass, follows the history of the circus family Humberto between 1826 and 1924. The setting of the HBO television series Carnivàle, which ran from 2003 to 2005, is also largely set in a traveling circus. The circus has also inspired many writers. Numerous books, both non-fiction and fiction, have been published about circus life. Notable examples of circus-based fiction include Circus Humberto by Eduard Bass, Cirque Du Freak by Darren Shan, and Spangle by Gary Jennings. The novel "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen tells the fictional tale of a circus veterinarian and was made into a movie with the same title starring Robert Pattinson and Reese Witherspoon.

Buildings[link]

Paper postcard of the Old Kharkov Wood Circus

The Circus, by Georges Seurat, painted 1891. Original in Musée d'Orsay, Paris.

In some towns, there are circus buildings where regular performances are held. The best known are

• Blackpool Tower Circus
• Budapest Circus
• Circus Krone Building in Munich
• Cirque d'Hiver, Paris
• Hippodrome Circus, Great Yarmouth
• Moscow Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard in Moscow
• Shanghai Circus World in Shanghai

In other countries, purpose-built circus buildings still exist which are no longer used as circuses, or are used for circus only occasionally among a wider programme of events; for example, the Cirkusbygningen (The Circus Building) in Copenhagen, Denmark or Cirkus in Stockholm, Sweden.

See also[link]

• Aerobatics
• Animal training
• Chautauqua, tent shows that preceded American circus
• Circus clown
• Circus skills
• Cirque du Soleil
• Clown
• Contemporary circus
• Dog and pony show
• List of circuses and circus owners

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Croft-Cooke, Rupert and Cotes, Peter. 1976. Circus: A World History. Elek. London ISBN 0-236-40051-7
• Johnson, William M. 1990. The Rose-Tinted Menagerie. Iridescent Publishing
• National Museum of Performing Arts, Theatre Museum. Circus Guided Tour

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. 

Further reading[link]

• Dfening, Fred D., III (November 2007). "The American Circus in the 1870s: An Overview from Newspaper Sources". Bandwagon (Columbus, OH: Circus Historical Society) 51 (6): 4–60. ISSN 0005-4968. —provides an overview of "low-yield research" into the history of the American Circus as covered in "ragcontent newspapers [and] magazines [such as] White Tops".
• Brooke, Bob (October/November 2001). "Step Right Up: Bob Brooke presents the history of the circus in America". History Magazine. http://www.history-magazine.com/circuses.html. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Circus

• Circus at the Open Directory Project
• Dictionary of Circus Slang (American and British/European)
• Circopedia
• Ukrainian fan-site Cirque du Soleil

Britney Spears
Spears performing at her Femme Fatale Tour in Europe, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Britney Jean Spears
Born	(1981-12-02) December 2, 1981 (age 30) McComb, Mississippi, U.S.
Genres	Pop, dance
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, author, fashion designer, video director
Instruments	Vocals, piano
Years active	1992–present
Labels	Jive, RCA[1]
Associated acts	The New Mickey Mouse Club
Website	britneyspears.com britney.com

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 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, which became the best-selling album by a teenage solo artist.^[2] 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, and became the 'best-selling teen aged artist of all time' before she turned 20,^[3] garnering her the honorific title of "Princess of Pop".^[4]

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", and hits such as "Circus" and "If U Seek Amy". She embarked on her highest-grossing global concert tour,^[5] The Circus Starring Britney Spears, in 2009. In October of the same year, she released a chart-topping single, "3", which became her third single to reach 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, "Hold It Against Me", "Till the World Ends" and "I Wanna Go". The same year, she also gained her fifth number one single when she featured on the remix of "S&M" alongside Rihanna.

Spears work has earned her numerous awards and accolades, including a Grammy Award, 6 MTV Video Music Awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award, 9 Billboard Music Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In 2009, Billboard ranked her as the 8th overall Artist of the Decade,^[6] and also recognized her as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall.^[7] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) also recognized Spears as the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 33 million certified albums.^[8] Nielsen SoundScan ranked Spears the tenth best-selling digital artist of the country, with more than 28.6 million digital singles as of January 2012.^[9] She has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.^[10] Rolling Stone recognized her instant success as one of the Top 25 Teen Idol Breakout Moments of all time,^[11] while VH1 ranked her eleventh on their "100 Greatest Women in Music" list in 2012.^[12] Forbes also revealed that Spears was the sixth most powerful celebrity, and the third best paid musician of 2011-12, having topped the list back in 2002.^[13] In Fall 2012, Spears will serve as a judge in the second season of the American version of The X Factor.^[14]

Biography[link]

1981–97: Early life, and career beginnings[link]

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.^[15][16][17] Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn.^[18] 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.^[19][20][21] 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".^[20] 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.^[22][23] 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."^[20][24]

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.^[25] 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."^[20] She then sang Houston's "I Have Nothing" (1992) for the executives, and got signed to the label.^[26] 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."^[27] 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.^[20]

[edit] 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.^[28] Her debut album, ...Baby One More Time, was released on January 1999.^[29] 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.^[30] It became the biggest selling album ever by a teenage artist.^[21] 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.^[27] 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.^[31][32] "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.^[33] 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.^[34] It would later become the 25th most successful song of all time in British chart history.^[35] Spears is also the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the country.^[36] "(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.^[37]

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."^[38] Shortly before, Spears had announced publicly she would remain a virgin until marriage.^[21] On June 28, 1999, Spears began her first headlining ...Baby One More Time Tour in North America, which was positively received by critics,^[39] but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits.^[40] An extension of the tour, titled Crazy 2k, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show.^[24]

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.^[41] The album sold over 20 million copies worldwide.^[42] 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."^[43] 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.^[36][44] The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively.^[45]

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.^[21][46] 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.^[47] Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake.^[21]

[edit] 2001–03: Britney, Crossroads, and In the Zone

Spears performing at the NFL Kickoff Live in 2003.

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.^[21] 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.^[48] 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.^[36][49][50] 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."^[51] 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".^[52][53] The album's first single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit worldwide.^[54]

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.^[47] 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.^[55][56] The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind Cher's Farewell Tour.^[57] Her career success was highlighted by Forbes in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity.^[58] 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.^[59][60][61] Crossroads, which had a $11 million budget, went on to gross over $57 million worldwide.^[61]

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".^[62] 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.^[63] 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.^[64][65] As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend Annet Artani.^[66] The same year, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst said that he was in a relationship with Spears. However, Spears denied Durst's claims.^[67] 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."^[67] 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.^[61]

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.^[21] Vibe called it "A supremely confident dance record that also illustrates Spears's development as a songwriter."^[68] 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."^[69] 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.^[21] It also debuted at the top of the charts in France and the top ten in Belgium, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands.^[70] In the Zone sold over 10 million copies worldwide.^[71] 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".^[21]

[edit] 2004–07: Compilation albums, motherhood, personal struggles, and Blackout

Spears performing live on The Onyx Tour in 2004

On January 3, 2004, Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage was annulled 55 hours later, stating that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions".^[72] She began The Onyx Hotel Tour in support of In the Zone in March 2004.^[73] 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.^[74] During 2004, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna.^[75]

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.^[21] 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.^[76] Shortly after, she released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, Curious, which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume.^[21] In October 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break to start a family.^[77] Greatest Hits: My Prerogative, her first greatest hits compilation album, was released in November 2004.^[78] 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.^[79] The second single, "Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries of mainland Europe.^[80][81] Worldwide, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative sold over 5 million copies.^[82] 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.^[83][84] Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.^[85]

In November 2005, she released her first remix compilation, B in the Mix: The Remixes, which consists of eleven remixes.^[86] It has sold over 1 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best selling remix albums of all time.^[87] 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.^[21] The following month, she guest-starred on the Will & Grace episode "Buy, Buy Baby" as closeted lesbian Amber Louise.^[88] She publicly announced she no longer studied Kabbalah in June 2006, explaining, "my baby is my religion."^[75] 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.^[21] She gave birth to her second child, Jayden James Federline, on September 12, 2006.^[89] On November 7, 2006, Spears filed for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences.^[90] Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the couple reached a global settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their children.^[91] Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer in January.^[92] 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.^[93] 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."^[21] In May 2007, she produced a series of promotional concerts at House of Blues venues, titled The M+M's Tour.^[94] 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.^[95] Also, in 2007 Spears was sued by Louis Vuitton over her 2005 music video "Do Something" for pimping out her Hummer interior in counterfiet Louis Vuitton cherry blossom fabric. Which resulted in her video being banned on European TV stations.^[96]

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.^[97] Blackout sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide.^[98] 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."^[99] Dennis Lim of Blender commented, "Spears’s fifth studio album is her most consistent, a seamlessly entertaining collection of bright, brash electropop."^[100] 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.^[101][102] 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".^[103] 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.^[104][105] 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.^{[106][107][108]} In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.^[109]

[edit] 2008–10: Conservatorship, and Circus

Spears performing "Freakshow" at The Circus Starring Britney Spears, 2009.

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.^[21] Spears was released on February 6, 2008. Her parents expressed disappointment and concern at the decision to release her.^[110] 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.^[111][112] In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel.^[113] 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".^[114] 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.^[115] 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.^[116]

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.^[117] Circus debuted at number one in Canada, Czech Republic and the United States, and inside the top in many European nations.^[105][118] 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.^[119] She also became the only act in the Soundscan era to have four albums debut with 500,000 or more copies sold.^[118] Circus became one of the fastest-selling albums of the year,^[120] and has sold 4 million copies worldwide.^[121][122] 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.^[123][124] It was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording.^[125] 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.^[126] 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.^[127]

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.^[128] Later that month, she released an application for iPhone and iPod Touch titled "It's Britney!".^[129] 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.^[130] Spears designed a limited edition clothing line for Candie's, which was released in stores in July 2010.^[131] 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.^[132][133] The episode drew Glee's second largest audience, as well as the show's highest ratings ever.^[134][135]

[edit] 2011–present: Femme Fatale and The X Factor

Spears performing "Gimme More" at the Femme Fatale Tour, 2011.

In March 2011, Spears released her seventh studio album Femme Fatale.^[136] 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.^[137] The album peaked at number one in the United States (selling 276,000 copies in its first week), 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.^[138] As of March 9, 2012, Femme Fatale has sold 883,000 copies in the United States and 2.2 million worldwide and has been certified platinum by the RIAA.^[139][140] 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.^[141] 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.^[142] The song reached number one in the US in mid-April 2011, giving Spears her fifth number one on the chart.^[143] 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.^[144]

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.^[145] 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.^[146] 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.^[147] 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.^[147] In October 2011, the music video for Femme Fatale's 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.^[148] 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."^[149] Later that month, due to her continued popularity, Spears became the seventh artist to gain one billion cumulative views on her Vevo account.^[150] On Billboard's 2011 Year-End list, Spears was fourteen on the Artists of the Year,^[151] due to being 32 on Billboard 200 artists and 10 on Billboard Hot 100 artists.^[152][153] Additionally, many critics, including those at Rolling Stone, named "Till the World Ends" one of the best songs of 2011.^{[154][155][156]}