Britney Spears’ Career Could Have Ended With ‘The Micky Mouse Club’
Disney has launched the careers of various stars in Hollywood. Celebrities such as Selena Gomez, Zendaya, and Miley Cyrus got their big breaks from Disney shows. Back in 1993, a particular crop of soon-to-be celebrities starred in The Mickey Mouse Club.
These celebrities included Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Ryan Gosling, and Christina Aguilera. Back then, these child stars had little to no fame. Although Aguilera and Timberlake had starred on Star Search, they hadn’t yet gotten to the superstardom that The Mickey Mouse Club gave them.
Spears’ career almost ended with The Mickey Mouse Club. She, however, refused to let her dreams got to waste and pursued a career in music. Read on to learn more about how Spears rose from the conclusion of The Mickey Mouse Club.
How did Britney Spears become famous?
Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi, on December 2, 1981, to James Parnell Spears and Lynne Irene Bridges. She has a sister Jamie Lynn Spears and a brother Bryan James. She was born into Protestantism and was baptized as a Southern Baptist.
When Spears was three, she enrolled for dancing lessons in Kentwood, Louisiana. She was then selected to perform solo at the local annual recital. The star made her stage debut at her kindergarten graduation, where she sang What Child Is This?
She had gymnastics and voice lessons in her childhood. When Spears turned eight, she and her mother traveled to Georgia to audition for The Mickey Mouse Club revival. She got rejected after the casting director said she was too young.
He nevertheless introduced Spears to a New York City talent agent called Nancy Carson. Carson realized Spears was a great singer and suggested she gets enrolled at the Professional Performing Arts School.
The Toxic singer landed her first professional role in the Off-Broadway musical Ruthless! as an understudy. She also had a stint in Star Search. She was consequently featured in several commercials.
Britney Spears’ career almost ended with ‘The Mickey Mouse Club’
The All-New Mickey Mouse Club aired from 1986 until 1996. The show featured an ensemble cast that went on to achieve worldwide stardom. Spears got cast in The Mickey Mouse Club when she was 12. When the show wrapped up in 1996, most of its cast went on to pursue other career paths.
Spears returned home when the show ended and went back to school. Although it would have been easy for her to move on with her life and put fame aside, Spears felt she needed to do more. She refused to let her dreams go to waste and instead pursued her true passion: music.
Spears was initially rejected by music executives
In 1997, the pop singer tried to join the female pop group Innosense. After talking to Larry Rudolph, their family friend, he decided to pitch her tape to record labels. In the demo, Spears sang one of Whitney Houston’s songs.
Rudolph then sent Spears an unused Tony Braxton song, which she rehearsed and recorded then sent back. The singer then traveled to New York to meet with four record label executives. She got rejected by three of the labels she talked to who said that they needed pop bands such as the Spice Girls and not another Tiffany or Madonna.
Two weeks later, Jive Records executives called Rudolph back and scheduled a meeting with him and Spears. The record’s senior vice president noted that Spears delivered commercial and emotional appeal. After she sang Whitney Houston’s I Have Nothing, Spears got signed to the label.
She was assigned to producer Eric Foster White, who helped shape her sound into the unmistakable voice fans know as Spears. Once the record label’s president heard Spears recorded work, he asked the pop star for a full album.
Spears’ first single, Baby One More Time, sold more than half a million copies on its first day and charted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Spears has since wowed her fans with hit after hit, including Oops!… I Did It Again, Outrageous and Gimme More.
