How Britney Spears lost control of her life 8 years ago and then made an incredible career comeback

Business Insider

2016-08-25T20:05:00Z

In early 2008, after having lost custody of her children, Britney Spears suffered a public breakdown that led to the collapse of her career.

Following days of odd behavior in the spotlight — including reckless driving, shaving her own head, and attacking paparazzi with an umbrella — Spears was admitted to UCLA Medical Center's psychiatric hospital in January 2008.

While Spears was in the hospital, her father, Jamie, was granted a "temporary conservatorship" that allowed him to control her treatment and daily life. The legal judgment stabilized Spears' career at the time, and it still controls her personal life and finances to this day.

Since 2008, however, Spears has signed a lucrative Las Vegas performance contract and released three albums to varying degrees of success.

On Friday, Spears will release her ninth LP, "Glory," which many are deeming yet another comeback for the singer, following the relative failure of 2013's "Britney Jean," which was the lowest-selling album of her career.

The story of Britney Spears is, essentially, a series of comebacks.

Read on to see how Britney Spears made an impressive return to form from her low point:

In late 2007, around the time her album "Blackout" came out, Britney Spears was embroiled in a custody battle with her ex-husband, Kevin Federline. After a judge found that she engaged in "habitual, frequent, and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol," Spears temporarily lost custody of her children.

Source: CNN

In January 2008, following an infamous public breakdown, Spears was admitted to the UCLA Medical Center for emergency psychiatric treatment. Her father was then granted a legal conservatorship over her personal life and finances.

Source: The New York Times

Spears largely retreated from the spotlight, doing very little promotion for "Blackout." There was never a tour for the album.

However, the conservatorship that continues to this day stabilized Spears' life and career. In July 2008, she won visitation rights to her kids, which she had completely lost following her forcible hospitalization in January. She now shares custody with Federline.

Source: People

Spears went on to release her single "Womanizer" in September of that year. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and its video became the year's most watched on YouTube.

Source: Rolling Stone

Following the success of "Womanizer," Spears' sixth album, "Circus," debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's chart, making it her fifth No. 1 album. Her tour for the album in 2009 was also one of the year's highest-grossing tours.

Sources: Billboard, Poll Star Pro

In 2011, the MTV Video Music Awards paid tribute to Spears with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for career achievement, but the pop star still had more music to make.

Spears released her seventh album, "Femme Fatale," in March 2011. Though the album boasted three top-10 singles, it was also her first non-platinum-selling LP.

Source: Billboard

In 2013, Spears made a huge career move when she signed a $30 million residency contract to perform 100 shows at the Sin City casino in Las Vegas over the course of two years. She recently renewed the contract through 2017.

Sources: CNN, New York Daily News

Spears' eighth studio album, "Britney Jean," debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in December 2013. It was her lowest-peaking album of her career, and it went on to become her lowest-selling album as well, with only 272,000 copies sold in the US.

Source: Billboard

In 2014, however, Spears entered the world of fashion design when she launched her own lingerie line, "The Intimate Britney Spears," and in 2015, Forbes named her the world's sixth-highest-earning female musician.

Source: Yahoo, Forbes

In May 2015, Spears collaborated with rapper Iggy Azalea on the single "Pretty Girls." The song peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 100 chart, but it proved to be a false start for her upcoming ninth album.

Source: Billboard

Spears returned this summer with "Make Me..." the official lead single from her new album "Glory," which drops on Friday.

With "Make Me..." peaking at No. 17 on the Billboard 100 chart, many are expecting "Glory" to be a big comeback record for Spears — or at least a more financially successful one than 2013's "Britney Jean."

Source: Billboard

On Sunday, Spears is slated to perform "Make Me..." at the MTV Video Music Awards, where she has made a number of iconic appearances over the years. It would be hard to forget that snake during "I'm a Slave 4 U" in 2001, or her kiss with Madonna in 2003.

While Spears has had her low points, and has yet to achieve total legal control over her career and life, she's also been one of the most resilient acts in pop history.

Music Britney Spears

How Britney Spears lost control of her life 8 years ago and then made an incredible career comeback

In January 2008, following an infamous public breakdown, Spears was admitted to the UCLA Medical Center for emergency psychiatric treatment. Her father was then granted a legal conservatorship over her personal life and finances.

Spears largely retreated from the spotlight, doing very little promotion for "Blackout." There was never a tour for the album.

However, the conservatorship that continues to this day stabilized Spears' life and career. In July 2008, she won visitation rights to her kids, which she had completely lost following her forcible hospitalization in January. She now shares custody with Federline.

Spears went on to release her single "Womanizer" in September of that year. The song debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and its video became the year's most watched on YouTube.

Following the success of "Womanizer," Spears' sixth album, "Circus," debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's chart, making it her fifth No. 1 album. Her tour for the album in 2009 was also one of the year's highest-grossing tours.

In 2011, the MTV Video Music Awards paid tribute to Spears with the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award for career achievement, but the pop star still had more music to make.

Spears released her seventh album, "Femme Fatale," in March 2011. Though the album boasted three top-10 singles, it was also her first non-platinum-selling LP.

In 2013, Spears made a huge career move when she signed a $30 million residency contract to perform 100 shows at the Sin City casino in Las Vegas over the course of two years. She recently renewed the contract through 2017.

Spears' eighth studio album, "Britney Jean," debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 chart in December 2013. It was her lowest-peaking album of her career, and it went on to become her lowest-selling album as well, with only 272,000 copies sold in the US.

In 2014, however, Spears entered the world of fashion design when she launched her own lingerie line, "The Intimate Britney Spears," and in 2015, Forbes named her the world's sixth-highest-earning female musician.

In May 2015, Spears collaborated with rapper Iggy Azalea on the single "Pretty Girls." The song peaked at No. 29 on the Billboard 100 chart, but it proved to be a false start for her upcoming ninth album.

Spears returned this summer with "Make Me..." the official lead single from her new album "Glory," which drops on Friday.

With "Make Me..." peaking at No. 17 on the Billboard 100 chart, many are expecting "Glory" to be a big comeback record for Spears — or at least a more financially successful one than 2013's "Britney Jean."

On Sunday, Spears is slated to perform "Make Me..." at the MTV Video Music Awards, where she has made a number of iconic appearances over the years. It would be hard to forget that snake during "I'm a Slave 4 U" in 2001, or her kiss with Madonna in 2003.

While Spears has had her low points, and has yet to achieve total legal control over her career and life, she's also been one of the most resilient acts in pop history.

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