All pop stars have to start somewhere and, for Grammy winner Britney Spears, it began with a bouncy post-break-up song called ...Baby One More Time back in 1998. 'It's hard to put into words what today means to me… 20 years ago, the world heard my music for the very first time!' the 36-year-old mother-of-two - who boasts 113.6M followers - tweeted on Tuesday. 'So much has happened since then… but what I really want to say is thank you to my amazing fans who have been there for me since day 1. Your support over the years has meant the absolute world to me! Love you all!' 20 years ago! All pop stars have to start somewhere and, for Grammy winner Britney Spears, it began with a bouncy post-break-up song called ...Baby One More Time back in 1998 The 36-year-old mother-of-two tweeted on Tuesday: 'It's hard to put into words what today means to me… 20 years ago, the world heard my music for the very first time!' The Mississippi-born beauty was just a Parklane Academy freshman when Jive Records flew her to Sweden to record the song, telling EW: 'It was my first time overseas. They had six songs, [and] I had a week.' Spears managed to upstage Arista artist Deborah Cox for the chance to sing on the track, but only after established groups TLC and the Backstreet Boys had rejected it. Britney even contributed the signature line 'Oh bay-bay bay-bay' to the Martin Dodd demo - produced and written by Max Martin - which spent 32 weeks on the charts. The subsequent music video, directed by Nigel Dick, has amassed 368M views on YouTube, and it was aired in heavy rotation by the brand new MTV show Total Request Live hosted by Carson Daly. 'It was my first time overseas. They had six songs, [and] I had a week': The Mississippi-born beauty was a Parklane Academy freshman when Jive Records flew her to Sweden to record it Origin: Spears managed to upstage Arista artist Deborah Cox for the chance to sing on the track, but only after established groups TLC (L) and the Backstreet Boys (R) had rejected it Ad-lib gone big: Britney even contributed the signature line 'Oh bay-bay bay-bay' to the Martin Dodd demo - produced and written by Max Martin - which spent 32 weeks on the charts The former Mouseketeer came up with the idea of wearing the controversial schoolgirl outfit as well as the Grease-style concept of 'being in a school with a bunch of cute boys and doing some dancing.' 'There are so many other teenagers out there that dress more provocatively than I do and no one says anything about them,' the Clumsy crooner told EW back in 2001. 'How can I explain this? I don't see myself - hand on the Bible - I know I'm not ugly, but I don't see myself as a sex symbol or this goddess-attractive-beautiful person at all.' Spears continued: 'I guess it's because I do have a younger audience that, you know, parents worry about the role model thing. But when I was younger, I looked up to people, but I never wanted to be them. Action! The subsequent music video, directed by Nigel Dick, has amassed 368M views on YouTube, and it was aired in heavy rotation by the brand new MTV show Total Request Live Major contributions: The former Mouseketeer came up with the idea of wearing the controversial schoolgirl outfit as well as the Grease-style concept of 'being in a school with a bunch of cute boys and doing some dancing' The Clumsy crooner lamented to EW back in 2001: 'There are so many other teenagers out there that dress more provocatively than I do and no one says anything about them' Bargain shopping: Fans will be amused to hear that every single clothing item worn by Britney and her back-up dancers was purchased for less than $17 at K-Mart Rolling Stone's Joe Levy told EW: 'The public perception is that the record company created this - the artist, the music, the image. I have to tell you, if the record company could have created more than one Britney Spears, they would have done it, and they tried!' 'I always had my own identity. I'm an entertainer when I'm on stage…and they need to explain that to their kids. That's not my job to do that.' Fans will be amused to hear that every single clothing item worn by Britney and her back-up dancers was purchased for less than $17 at K-Mart. 'The public perception is that this is all created, that the record company created this - the artist, the music, the image,' Rolling Stone contributing editor Joe Levy told EW. 'Fan pre-sale is going on right now!' Spears is reportedly earning $507K for each of her 32 concerts during her second Las Vegas residency Domination, which kicks off February 13 at the Park Theater at Park MGM Still got it! The Make Me... hitmaker's prior Vegas residency Piece of Me at Planet Hollywood's The AXIS amassed $137.7M over 248 concerts between 2013-2017 (pictured last Thursday) 'I have to tell you, if the record company could have created more than one Britney Spears, they would have done it, and they tried! And people, Mandy Moore is an actress.' The Make Me... hitmaker is reportedly earning $507K for each of her 32 concerts during her second Las Vegas residency Domination, which kicks off February 13 at the Park Theater at Park MGM. The Private Show songstress' prior Vegas residency Piece of Me at Planet Hollywood's The AXIS amassed $137.7M over 248 concerts between 2013-2017.<doc-sep>The singer shared a behind-the-scenes video to Twitter Tuesday and thanked her fans for their support over the years. Britney Spears Gets Emotional on the 20th Anniversary of Her Debut Single '...Baby One More Time' “…Baby One More Time” is officially 20 years old and Britney Spears is celebrating! On Tuesday, the 36-year-old singer shared a video to Twitter in honor of the iconic hit from 1998 that launched her into superstardom. Along with the behind-the-scenes clip, Spears emotionally thanked her fans for supporting her career through the years. Get push notifications with news, features and more. “It’s hard to put into words what today means to me…” she began the tweet. “20 years ago, the world heard my music for the very first time! So much has happened since then…” “But what I really want to say is thank you to my amazing fans who have been there for me since day 1…” she continued. Added Spears in a separate tweet: “Your support over the years has meant the absolute world to me!! Love you all!” The singer also shared a link to the full YouTube video paying tribute to her hit song’s 20th anniversary. The short clip features footage of Spears rehearsing for the music video, as well as her on set during the shoot and in interviews before the song made it big. “If I hear my song on the radio, I’ll just be like, crazy. I’d be like, ‘Oh my gosh! '” a young Spears says in the clip. “I think that’d be so cool. I would love that… that’d be a great experience.” Little did Spears know at the time, the song would skyrocket her to the fame. After hearing a demo of the song, written by Max Martin, in New York, Spears agreed to go to Sweden to record the track, as well as a handful of the album’s other singles. Although she was a relatively unknown singer at the time of its release, the song went on to become her first No. 1 hit — and to date, has sold over 10 million copies, according to Billboard. 1C03B2D5 Britney Spears in “…Baby One More Time” Back in August, ahead of the 20th anniversary, Spears had nothing but good things to say about her debut single. “The whole song is about the stress that we all go through as teens,” Spears told The Guardian, explaining that while she always “knew it was a great song,” she had no idea how important it would end up being for her career. “It was different and I loved it, [but] I don’t think you can anticipate how a song is going to be received,” she remarked. Asked to weigh in on how she feels about the song now, Spears told The Guardian that she couldn’t believe so much time had passed already. “Wow, that went quick. It was such a fun and crazy time,” the singer remarked. “It was a bit of a blur.” RELATED VIDEO: WATCH: Dancing with the Superstar! Britney Spears Taught a Dance Class for Young Girls Spears recently announced her return to Las Vegas with a new residency show, titled Domination, just nine months after wrapping her Piece of Me show. Domination will launch at Park Theater at Park MGM, which is the same venue where Lady Gaga, Cher, Bruno Mars, and Aerosmith will be performing their respective shows. She will reportedly rake in $507,000 per show, making her the highest paid performer in Vegas.<doc-sep>Britney Spears took to Twitter on Tuesday (Oct. 23) to celebrate the 20th anniversary of her 1998 debut single, "...Baby One More Time." "It’s hard to put into words what today means to me, 20 years ago, the world heard my music for the very first time," Spears tweeted. "So much has happened since then but what I really want to say is thank you to my amazing fans who have been there for me since day 1."<doc-sep>Tuesday marks the 20th anniversary of Britney Spears' iconic "...Baby One More Time," and while this may prompt you to cry for hours about the passage of time and what to do with your life, we recommend turning up the volume on this evergreen banger and just enjoying the sheer genius that has endured. "..Baby One More Time" was written by Max Martin and debuted on cassette (!) Oct. 23, 1998. Spears herself was a teen at the time, a former Mickey Mouse Club prodigy about to get insanely famous at a young age. The video hasn't aged quite as well, but contains what would become signature elements of Spears' '90s oeuvre; quality dance breaks, a loose narrative, and the extremely Britney "Oh baby, baby" riff throughout. It's a potent dose of mighty nostalgia and a bop to boot. Okay, now you can cry about time.<doc-sep>
Has it really been 20 years? Britney Spears' debut single, "...Baby One More Time," celebrated its 20th anniversary on Tuesday, and the singer marked the occasion with a sweet post thanking her fans. "It's hard to put into words what today means to me ... 20 years ago, the world heard my music for the very first time! So much has happened since then ... but what I really want to say is thank you to my amazing fans who have been there for me since day 1. Your support over the years has meant the absolute world to me!! Love you all!" Spears, 36, wrote next to a behind-the-scenes clip from the song's video shoot. "...Baby One More Time," released on Oct. 23, 1998, became a global hit, turning the 16-year-old former Mouseketeer into one of the world's biggest pop stars pretty much overnight. The catchy single was written by Swedish producer Max Martin, then 27. In an oral history of the song published by Entertainment Weekly this week, Martin revealed he was impressed by Spears when the two first met. "It was pretty obvious that she had something, even though she was very quiet and very shy," said Martin. Before long, Spears was recording Martin's hook-heavy song and brilliantly ad-libbing those "oh BAY-BAY BAY-BAY" lines. Britney Spears on the lookout for "cute boys" in the "...Baby One More Time" video. Youtube According to EW, Spears also came up with the concept of the song's high school-themed video, telling producers, "I want to be in a school with a bunch of cute boys and do some dancing." A simple idea made even simpler by budget fashions: Every article of clothing in the video was purchased at Kmart and cost less than $17! Happy birthday, "...Baby One More Time" — and thanks for the memories!