Can Britney Do It 'One More Time'?

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: May 16, 2000 Source: The Associated Press Submitted By: Backstreet News By NEKESA MUMBI MOODY .c The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) - Flip on MTV these days, and you're likely to see a young, pretty blonde singing a fluffy pop tune with a mixture of innocence and burgeoning sex appeal. It could be Britney Spears. Or Christina Aguilera. Mandy Moore or Jessica Simpson. The rise of the teen pop queens can be traced back to 1998, when a then-16-year-old Britney debuted with ''... Baby One More Time.'' Not quite bubble gum but not sophisticated pop, the danceable beats and her sexy yet childlike image propelled the Louisiana native to the top of the charts. Now 18, Spears is set to release her follow-up album, ``Oops ... I Did It Again,'' on Tuesday. Can she repeat her success against increased competition for a fickle teen audience? Some say it won't be a problem. ``The other acts out there, while they are good, she really has her own persona. She just sticks out,'' said Paul Karlson, who oversees top 40 radio promotions at HITS magazine, a radio industry trade weekly. ''... Baby One More Time'' sold 9.3 million copies in the United States alone, according to Soundscan, which tabulates record sales. Several similar acts followed, the most successful of which has been the 19-year-old Aguilera. Like Spears, Aguilera has performed since she was a child - in fact, both appeared on the ``Mickey Mouse Club.'' But unlike Spears, Aguilera's vocal power, compared favorably to Mariah Carey's, has won critical acclaim. She beat Spears for best new artist honors at this year's Grammys. Still, Aguilera's self-entitled debut, while still a smash, sold fewer copies than Spears' - 5.6 million in the United States. Other wannabe teen divas have not done nearly as well - Moore's debut album has sold just over 700,000 copies. Karlson says response to the title track of Spears' ``Oops . Teen-oriented pop has been driving the music industry; the boy band 'N Sync sold a record 2.4 million copies in one week in March. That album's now up to 5.2 million and climbing. Nobody expects Spears' numbers to match that. But Karlson and others say she still has an edge over her competition because she was the first female teen pop star to make such an impact after a wave of boy bands - like The Backstreet Boys and Hanson - and teen-age R&B and country songstresses. ``Kids instantly related to her, especially young girls, and she had that classic young pop singer thing. Girls want to be her, and boys want to date her,'' said Lori Majewski, entertainment director at Teen People, which named Britney one of its ''25 Hottest Stars under 25.'' Tom Calderone, senior vice president of music and talent programming at MTV, which has devoted several days of programming to Spears, doesn't think the extra competition will dent Britney's popularity or sales. ``I think that like in rock and hip-hop, there's room for many people to be in the pool,'' he said. ``I think that for Britney to have a really successful sales story - sort of what The Backstreet Boys did for 'N Sync - only helps Jessica and Mandy.'' Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: johnansaz http://imrdsoacha.gov.co/silvitra-120mg-qrms Submitted by: JimmiNu Piuwui http://www.FyLitCl7Pf7ojQdDUOLQOuaxTXbj5iNG.com Submitted by: dcbvnv 21HpLV , [url=http://ywgfuqjvjhke.com/]ywgfuqjvjhke[/url], [link=http://wcjofybhupab.com/]wcjofybhupab[/link], http://kmmqhlzkreqb.com/ Submitted by: gexcanuq UZXTZJ , [url=http://brpkhdjtgqph.com/]brpkhdjtgqph[/url], [link=http://opbjkmhrdhfh.com/]opbjkmhrdhfh[/link], http://qhqcgipuugsm.com/ Submitted by: Hitsnya I must say Rudy is damn hot as an avatar! Love the fro Commander!That was great fun, guys.How was that put togteher? It sounded pre-scripted and then assembled later. Did you guys get to design your avatars or did she do that for you? Comment on this item. Next Item: A Backstreet Boy goes out on his own (CNN on Johnny No Name) Prev Item: BSB Feature Article in EW's 10th Anniversay Issue