Britney Spears Videography

Britney Spears Videography

The videography of American recording artist Britney Spears consists of thirty-four music videos, four home videos, two concert tour videos, one music video compilation, and two documentaries. In 1997 Spears signed a recording contract with Jive Records. Spears' first music video "...Baby One More Time", in which she chose to dress as a Catholic schoolgirl, propelled her to superstardom. It ranked number one on TRL's Final Countdown of the most iconic music videos. The music video for the lead single from Spears' second album, "Oops!... I Did It Again", was similarly successful. Set on Mars, Spears dons a tight-fitting red jumpsuit. The "Stronger" music video had a more sophisticated, adult feel to it. 2001's "I'm a Slave 4 U" let Spears move further into a more mature territory, performing a complicated dance routine in a risqué outfit.

"Me Against the Music", which featured Madonna, was released in 2003. Director Paul Hunter talked to MTV News about the video, saying, "Madonna is an icon of an earlier generation, and then Britney of the newer generation. I wanted it to be a bit of a cat-and-mouse sort of game and a little bit of a foreplay between Britney and Madonna and just sort of tease the audience." Spears came up with the storyline for "Toxic", directed by Joseph Kahn. Spears plays three different incarnations of herself and poisons her unfaithful lover. Throughout the video, there are scenes of Spears naked covered in diamonds. The music video for "Everytime", directed by famed photographer David LaChapelle, was notably darker than Spears' previous videos. The video portrays Spears as a star hounded by paparazzi, who drowns in her bathtub when she starts bleeding from a wound in her head. In the hospital, doctors fail to resuscitate her while a child is born in the next room, implying she has been reincarnated. The original treatment would have had Spears killing herself from a drug overdose, but the plot was removed after it received criticism by several organizations, who perceived it as a glamorization of suicide. Featuring many religious references, the music video was noted by contemporary critics for predicting Spears's future struggles with fame. The clip for Spears' cover of "My Prerogative" was described the video as " an element of old Hollywood glamour and mystery". The video begins with Spears driving erratically in a Porsche and crashing it into a pool.

The music video for Spears' 2007 comeback single "Gimme More" displayed Spears as a stripper and featured a break from Spears's highly choreographed music videos. It received mixed to negative reviews from critics, who panned Spears's pole dancing as well as the lack of storyline. "Piece of Me" referenced Spears' life at the time, while "Break the Ice" was accompanied by an animated music video showing Spears as a superheroine. 2008's "Womanizer" was seen as a return to form for Spears. Described as a sequel to "Toxic", the concept was again pitched to director Kahn by Spears. The video for "Circus" portrayed Spears as the ringmaster of a circus accompanied by different performers, and it is interspersed with scenes of Spears in different circus settings. "If U Seek Amy" saw Spears at a sex party that takes place at her house, before she transforms into a typical American housewife, while "Radar" pays tribute to Madonna's "Take a Bow". The clip for "3" was described as "simple" and "very, very minimal." The video for Spears's fourth number one single Hold It Against Me was highly complimented from her dancing to her maturity in it.Her single Till the World Ends features Spears at a dance party and is described as very sexy & erotic.I Wanna Go's video received positive revews from critics,naming it one of her best dancing videos.The video for Criminal (Britney Spears song) was complimented for her acting and sexy moves.It features her real-life boyfriend. Overs the years,Spears has given some of the most contreversial music videos of all time.At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards,she has been honored with a tribute by young dancers & an MTV Video Vanguard Award presented by her big & all-time fan Lady Gaga, who said that the industry would not be the same without her.

Spears ranked #4 VH1's "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era" show list, ahead of most of her contemporaries and behind only veterans like Madonna, Janet Jackson, and Whitney Houston. She also appeared in a music video for the song cover of "Sweet Dreams" for Marilyn Manson.