So Britney Spears  was on the VMA’s last night and suffice it to say, it was interesting. So this morning as I’m reading about the fallout from this memorable performance, it got me to thinking. Since Britney has arrived on the scene, the only thing that has changed more, has been technology. So lets take a look back at the timeline and see who wins the award for evolving and changing the most.

In January 1999, Britney released her first studio album …Baby One More Time. Around this time Apple releases the PowerMac G4. In December of that year, she wins four Billboard Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year. A month later, she took home the Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist award at the American Music Awards.

We give the edge to Britney.

In 2000 Britney releases her studio album Oops!… I Did It Again. Featuring the single which debuted at number one in the U.S., selling 1,319,193 units during its first week of sales, the record for any female artist. But Microsoft Officially launches  Windows 2000.  So I think it’s a push at this point

But…That same year,

Intel releases very limited supplies of the 1 GHz Pentium III chip.

Sony releases the PlayStation 2.

Intel releases the Pentium IV.

Edge goes to….Technology

But wait!

2000 also saw Spears launch her first world tour, the Oops!… I Did It Again World Tour. During the tour, she made a stop in New York for the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. As part of her performance, she ripped off a black suit to reveal a provocative nude-colored and crystal-adorned outfit that generated mucho controversy. She finished the year with two more Billboard Music Awards and two Grammy nominations for Oops!… I Did It Again in the categories of Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

With that knowledge in hand, the edge goes to… Britney

2001 was a big year for technology, so there’s no possible way Britney could win…Or could she?  In 2001 Apple Computer released the now famous iPod as well as the Mac OS X and Microsoft releases Windows XP and Xbox. So it was a monstrous year for technological advances. However…

In 2001 Spears released her third studio album Britney in November 2001. It had a successful debut at number one in the U.S., selling 745,744 units during its first week, surpassing Michael Jackson’s album Invincible.

Michael Jackson, notwithstanding, we have to give the edge to… Technology

In 2002 Britney’s career success was highlighted by Forbes, as Spears was ranked the world’s most powerful celebrity in 2002. Also that year at the MTV Video Music Awards, Spears appeared with Christina Aguilera performing the song “Like a Virgin”, and was later joined by Madonna. Spears locked lips with Madonna in a highly-publicized kiss… Based on the kiss we have to give the nod to Britney and won’t even bother with technology for 2002. Oh, we almost forgot, Spears had her first starring role in the film, Crossroads that year as well.

Edge… Britney

2003 Gives us the creation of Weblog and syndication format Atom. and the Human Genome Project is successfully completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy. Oh and that year also brought us the Computer worm called “The Blaster “which infected thousands of computers worldwide, … 
 

Ok so we’re reaching in 2003, but what was Britney up to? November 2003 saw the release of Spears’s fourth studio album, In the Zone. In the Zone topped the U.S. charts in its debut week, selling over 609,000 copies. This made Spears the only female in music history to have her first four studio albums debut at number one… Guess that means that 2003 was her year too.

Edge? Spears

In 2004 Mozilla Firefox 1.0 was released, which became Microsofts’ biggest browser competitor since Netscape Navigator. The Computer Worm My Doom is considered to be the fastest worm ever to infect the internet and Software giants Oracle  and PeopleSoft merge. Now thats big stuff! But in 2004 Britney Spears announced via her website she would be taking another career break in order to start a family. She takes lots of breaks…

So Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander. The marriage lasted fifty-five hours, ending with an annulment which stated that Spears “lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to marriage because before entering into the marriage the Plaintiff and Defendant did not know each other’s likes and dislikes, each others’ desires to have or not have children, and each other’s desires as to State of residency”.

Months after the  Vegas incident, Spears embarked on The Onyx Hotel Tour which was cancelled in June, after Spears injured her knee during the filming of the video for the single “Outrageous”. Spears reportedly became involved in the Kabbalah Centre in September 2004 through her friendship with Madonna. But that didn’t last. 2004 also saw the release of her first greatest hits collection, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The album debuted at number four on the U.S. charts. Impressive for most but not Brit. Spears began a relationship with Kevin Federline and in July 2004, announced her engagement three months after they met.  On the night of September 18, 2004, Spears married Federline in a surprise, non-denominational ceremony on October 6 2004.

We’re skipping over a lot and merely trying to hit the high notes here, so bare with us, but nevertheless we are going to have to give 2004 to Britney. She had a lot going on that year.

Ahh 2005, Spears gave birth to her first child,  released her next Elizabeth Arden fragrance, Fantasy, in September of 2005, and released a remix album, B In The Mix: The Remixes. The album contained remixes of Spears’s biggest hits.

In 2005 Microsoft releases the Xbox 360 gaming console in North America.  Apple Computer releases Mac OS X v10.4 for the Apple Macintosh, AMD starts shipping their first dual-core 64-bit desktop processor, the Athlon 64 X2. Microsoft announces their next consumer operating system, Windows Vista, to be released in early 2007.

Edge to…. A tie

In 2006 Apple Computer introduces the MacBook Pro, their first Intel-based, dual-core mobile computer, as well as an Intel-based iMac; and Intel introduces the Core 2 processors, marking the retirement of Intel’s Pentium brand name. Also in 2006 The one billionth song is purchased from Apple iTunes.  But Britney…

In May 2006, she announced her second pregnancy with an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Spears appeared on Dateline NBC the next month to discuss tabloid rumors about an impending divorce, and motherhood. She addressed an incident which occurred in February 2006 when photos revealed her driving with her son unrestrained in her lap. The month following the televised interview, Spears posed nude for the August 2006 cover of Harper’s Bazaar.

Also in 06′, Spears gave birth to her second son and She files for divorce from Federline  citing irreconcilable differences and asking for both physical and legal custody of their two children. Oh, and in  2006, Spears launched Curious: In Control as a limited edition fragrance. 2006 also saw the release of another perfume: Midnight Fantasy.

Sorry technology, Britney wins again.

And here we are at 2007…

Microsoft Corporation launches Windows Vista more than 5 years after their last major, new operating system, Windows XP, was released….

and Britney in succession, goes to rehab, shows her kibbles and bit, shaves her head, and wows the VMA audience.

Edge goes to Britney.

In summation lets just say, that technology needs to be more proactive if it wants to stay with Britney Spears in newsmaking items. It’s clearly evident that Britney refuses to rest on her laurels and is constantly trying to redefine her space. Technology? You need to do more.