To say that Britney Spears’s life has changed over the course of the past two years is somewhat of an understatement. Since the release of her Jive Records debut "…Baby One More Time" (which made Britney the youngest artist in Soundscan history to have a certified RIAA 12x platinum album, and included four hit singles including the title track and "(You Drive Me Crazy"), Britney has gone from being a star in the making to a superstar and the Queen Of Teen. In 1999 alone she was nominated for two Grammys (including the coveted Best New Artist), swept the 1999 MTV Europe Awards (where she nabbed Best Female, Best Pop, Best Breakthrough Artist and Best song), brought her explosive live show around the globe and appeared on every major televised award show both here and in Europe.

Perhaps even more importantly than the accolades and the sales figures, Britney has become an icon to millions of fans worldwide and her infectious brand of pop/R&B has become the template for girl pop.

Now Britney is back ready to take it to the next level. Featuring tracks from Diane Warren, Rodney Jerkins, Mutt Lange, Max Martin and Britney herself, "Oops!… I Did It Again" is destined to be the album of the summer and is much more than just a follow-up. It’s a record that shows the progress from phenomenon to artist. A bit wiser and more confident and self-assured, "Oops!… I Did It Again" is Britney Spears as you’ve never heard her: sexy, sassy and solidly in control.

Ask Britney about the direction of her new CD and she is modest. "I'm not really doing anything different this time around but I am really growing up, as a person and that just all flows with the overall sound and feel of this record. There’s no master plan! I’m just gonna be me and hope it all works out!"

Signs are evident that it has already begun to "work out". The title track, which deals with romantic misintentions, was written and produced by longtime collaborators Max Martin and Rami and has already broken the record for first week adds at CHR/Pop radio with 155 adds. "It’s an incredible song!" Britney declares, I think it’s even better than "Baby One More Time!" Also incredible is the video whos futuristic/Barbarella concept was Britney's idea.

The most noticeable aspect of the single, the video and the album is maturity, which is just what Britney had in mind. "People have to remember that when I did my first album I was only 16. I had never been in the studio, it was all new to me and so before I let people help me out and honestly I think that was because I was just so new to the music industry, not only because I was young. But making records and being part of the process and becoming more in charge of my sound was something I had to experience and grow with and on this album I’ve had the chance to do that.

This album is closer to who I am. It’s funkier!"

That funkier spirit is loud and clear on uptempo rump shakers like "Stronger" and "Don't Go Knockin’ On My Door" which find Britney in a frisky and fierce state of mind. But as she proved on her debut, Britney can deliver ballads with as much intensity as her more high energy cuts. On the aching "When Your Eyes Say It" (written by Diane Warren and produced by Steve Lunt and Robert Jazayeri) and the thoughtful "Don't Let Me Be The Last To Know" (penned by Shania Twain and Robert Mutt Lange and produced by Lange), Britney shows her depth. "I don’t want to just be some singer who sings a song just to sing it," Britney offers speaking to the emotional range of the album. "When you sing a song with feeling and do your all you connect and that’s crucial to me. Especially since I think that the songs on this album are ten times better than on my first album, so I really want my fans to feel and hear how much these songs mean to me."

In keeping with that need to communicate is "Dear Diary", co written by Britney. Britney began writing melodies and songs while on the road and she has plans to learn guitar (she is proficient on the piano) in hopes of writing more songs in the future. "I think I’ve always had these songs that I've been writing in my head," Britney explains. "Now I feel ready to let people start to hear them."

Along with her rigorous schedule and the release of her successful 2X Platinum home video Time Out With Britney Spears in late 1999, Britney and her mother have written a book entitled Heart To Heart. As if that weren’t enough, Britney has also created the Britney Spears Foundation in conjunction with the Giving Back Fund. Its first endowment is the formation of a performing arts summer camp for underprivileged kids in Massachusetts. "I’m so happy to be able to give kids the opportunity to learn about amazing world of dance and music that I’ve have been lucky enough to make such a big part of my own life."

Britney began performing at an early age, and when she was 8, she auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was too young for the show, a producer helped her secure an agent in New York City where Britney spent the next three years studying dance and music. She also had bit roles in commercials, theatre and films. When she tuned 11, Britney was old enough to earn a spot on the Mickey Mouse Club and starred on the popular show for two years, relocating with her family to Orlando.

After her stint on TV, Britney returned home but she still had dreams of making it in the music industry. "I've always wanted to be a singer," she declares. Armed with those desires and a powerful voice, Britney went back to New York when she was 15 and began to make the rounds of record labels. She sang accapella for executives at Jive Records who saw and heard right away that in the teenager from Kentwood, LA, there were the makings of a star. Britney was signed soon after her audition and began work thereafter on what would become "…Baby One More Time."

One listen to "Oops!.. I Did It Again" and Britney will make a believer out of you one more time. -- From Peeps.com

Britney Facts & Favs

Full Name: Britney Jean Spears
Birthday: December 2, 1981
Birthplace: McComb, Mississippi
Hometown: Kentwood, Louisiana
Zodiac Sign: Sagittarius
Siblings: Bryan, 21 and Jamie Lynn, 8
Parents: Jamie and Lynne Spears
Nicknames: Bit-Bit, Brit
Hair: light brown
Eyes: brown
Height: 5'5
Career Start: Baby One More Time
Weight: 105lb
Worst part of body: Her feet.
First kiss: Justin, of N'SYNC
First date: Homecoming ball with her previous boyfriend Reg.
Most like to be with: Ben Affleck.
Hobbies: shopping, seeing movies, riding her go-kart
Also enjoys: reading romance novels, swimming, days at the beach
Influences: Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Otis Reding
Goals: A successful album & a college degree in business or communications
She has a dog and he's a rottweiler and his name's Cane
She's a fan of the Backstreet Boys
Britney doesn't want to get married until she's at least 26.
Her favorite experience in life as of January '99 was shooting the video
Drives a 1999 Mercedes Benz convertible
Favorite Food : Ice Cream (cookie dough) , Pasta, Hot Dogs.
Favorite Song :  Purple Rain  
Favorite Color : Baby Blue  
Favorite Movies : My Best Friend's Wedding, Steel Magnolias  
Favorite Clothing Designers : Betsey Johnson, Bebe, A/X by Giorgio Armani
Favorite Sports: Basketball, swimming  
Favorite Teams : Chicago Bulls, New York Yankees  
Favorite Actors: Tom Cruise, Mel Gibson, Brad Pitt  
Favorite Drink: Sprite

Did you know...

...that Britney picks her toenails?
...that Britney hates her feet? She thinks her toes are ugly!
...that Britney does not want to get married until she is at least 26 years old?
...that a fan once tracked Britney to her house?
...that Britney has a crush on the famous movie star Ben Affleck?
...that the song "The Beat Goes On" from Britney's CD is a cover of an old Sonny & Cher tune?
...that there is a hidden promo for the Backstreet Boys' album "Millennium" on Britney's CD?
...that Britney does not like the hidden Backstreet Boys promo on her CD?
...that Britney's little sister, Jamie Lynn, is also a singer?
...that Britney's favorite junk foods are Cheetos and Doritos?
...that Britney was actually turned down the first time she auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club?
...that there was a special Britney trading card inside the first few runs of the "...Baby One More Time" single?
...that Britney wears hair extensions?
...that Britney likes to play "true or dare" when she hangs around with her friends at home?
...that Britney once ate a bowl full of mashed-up raw eggs, cheese and all kinds of gross sauses? It was a dare!
...that Britney plans to start her own tv-show/sitcom like Beverly Hills 90210 someday?
...that Britney is thinking of making a tour video with her dancers, like Madonna's "Truth or Dare"?
...that Felicia, Britney's close pal and chaperone, calls her "Boo"?
...that Britney's favorite sandwich is turkey with cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and mustard?
...that Britney once got a picture of Brad Pitt on her refrigerator that she kissed every morning?
...that Britney has got a guitar, and that she is learning how to play on it?
...that Britney has bought her own private jet plane, and that she has decorated it in the same colours, that her bedroom in Kentwood has?
...that Britney has established her own foundation (The Britney Spears Foundation), which has the purpose - as the first good thing - to send the children and youngsters of limited means on a summer camp, where they can learn to sing and dance and work with other forms of art?
...that Britney beat the all time record for winning more awards than any artist has ever won? It happened at the MTV Europe Music Awards 1999 where she took all four awards in the categories she was nominated for!
...that Britney is the youngest artist in Soundscan history to have a certified RIAA 8X platinum album?
...that Britney's album is still on the Billboard Album 200 chart? It has been there since it was released the 12th January 1999!
...that Price Albert of Monaco once tried to score Britney by inviting her onboard his yacht in Monte Carlo for a little chat? Britney refused!
...that Britney and Ben Affleck went out on a date back when she was 17 years old? Ben never called her back. Rick Dees says it was the most heartbreaking thing that she had ever experienced!
...that Britney is the youngest artist in Soundscan history to have a Diamond certified album for sales of 10 million?
...that Britney has got her navel pierced with a small silver-and-turquoise ring?
...that Britney got her wisdom teeth removed during Christmas 1999? Because of this she did not get to enjoy the traditional holiday sweets!
...that Britney loves to drive when she comes home? This worries her mother a lot because she has not had the experience that the other kids her age have had driving, and she is constantly turning the radio or changing the CD player!
...that Britney has got a tattoo of a small black-winged fairy on the back of her spine? She got it when she returned to New York after a Christmas trip to Hawaii with some friends!
...that Britney has bought a £2.25 million house in the British Village of Charlton Kings, UK.
...that Britney's newest album 'Oops!...I Did It Again' sold more than 1.3 million copies in its first week of release? Only 'NSync's album 'No Strings Attached' has sold more in the same period of time. They sold more than 2.4 million copies!
...that Britney used fake breast enlargements in her red catsuit in the video for 'Oops!...I Did It Again'? The red catsuit reportedly made her chest look flat!
...that Britney prefers g-string panties rather than Calvin Klein camouflage? She revealed this after being asked during a Japanese news conference!
...that Britney has bought yet another house in the UK? It is a five story house in the trendy Primrose Hill in North London!
...that Britney first superhit '...Baby One More Time' was a song originally written for TLC?