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Billboard’s Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century: No. 6 — Britney Spears


Britney Spears is one of our Greatest Pop Stars of the 21st Century thanks to her standard-bearing, impossibly iconic run to start the '00s.

The coming-of-age story boasted a noteworthy ensemble, including Zoe Saldaña, Taryn Manning and Kim Cattrall, with Shonda Rhimes debuting her first screenplay — but despite Spears’ affable charm translating well to the silver screen, the movie didn’t hit the mark with critics. Embarrassing and intrusive coverage of her led to headlines labeling her an unfit parent, while flashbulb moments like her shaving her head or attacking a paparazzo’s car with an umbrella turned her into a source for national mockery — but in the middle of the madness, Spears frequented nightclubs for inspiration, while recording what was to become her next album, 2007’s Blackout. She lost physical custody of her sons, while separately, parents Jamie and Lynn Spears (and soon-to-be business manager Lou Taylor) orchestrated a conservatorship over her personhood and estate after putting the singer on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold under California state law.

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