Britney Spears A-Z

Britney Spears — "Miss American Dream since I was 17," as she aptly put it in her 2007 single "Piece of Me" — has been through it all: ups, downs, marriages, divorces, triumphs, comebacks. And she's not even 30. Now, as the 29-year-old teen queen-turned-pop princess comes to The Palace of Auburn Hills tonight on her celebrated Femme Fatale tour, we're taking a look back at Spears' career, from the highs to the lows and everything in between. And we're doing it from A to Z. Love her or dismiss her, and there are plenty of folks in both camps, it's impossible to deny Spears is the embodiment of fame in the 21st century. And no matter how many times she's appeared to be down for the count, she keeps crawling back.

A Alexander, Jason: Britney's childhood friend — not to be confused with the actor who played "Seinfeld's" George Costanza — married Spears at a quickie ceremony in a Las Vegas wedding chapel in January 2004. Their marriage was annulled 55 hours later.

B Baby: Not only part of the title of Britney's first and most famous hit, "… Baby One More Time," but a word that pops up constantly in her repertoire; by our count, it shows up in more than 50 of her songs. Oh, baby baby, indeed.

C "Crossroads": Spears' 2002 bid at big-screen stardom, the story of a small-town girl with big dreams, netted a decent $37 million at the North American box office. The cast included Justin Long, Kim Cattrall, Dan Aykroyd and a young Zoe Saldana.

D Disney: Spears' early showbiz home, where she starred on a reboot of "The Mickey Mouse Club" (known as the "MMC," natch) from 1993-94, alongside Ryan Gosling, Christina Aguilera, and a certain someone who would go on to sing in a group called *NSYNC.

E Eagles: The veteran rock act cost Spears a No. 1 debut for her album "Blackout," when their 2007 Walmart-only album "Long Road Out of Eden" debuted at No. 1 after a last-second Billboard rule change allowed single-retailer albums to be eligible for the sales charts. To date, "Blackout" is Spears' only album not to debut at No. 1 on Billboard's Top 200 albums chart.

F Federline, Kevin: The former backup dancer married Spears in September 2004 and fathered two children with her: Sean Preston and Jayden James. The couple divorced two years later, but not before starring in the abominable UPN reality series "Britney & Kevin: Chaotic."

G Grammy: Britney has been nominated for eight Grammy Awards and won one, a 2005 Best Dance Recording trophy for "Toxic."

H "How I Met Your Mother": Spears appeared as Abby, a receptionist at a tattoo-removal clinic, on two 2008 episodes of the hit CBS sitcom. She also appeared on an episode of "Will & Grace" in 2006, playing Peg, a "hardcore lesbian" masquerading as "Amber Louise," an ultra-conservative television producer.

I Implants: A 2008 Rolling Stone cover story alleged Spears underwent breast augmentation surgery early in her career but later had the implants removed. She has denied ever having them.

J Justin Timberlake: Spears' former "MMC" co-star and her boyfriend from 2000-02. Their messy breakup was detailed in his song "Cry Me a River" and its subsequent video, and Spears followed with an apology in the form of the 2003 ballad "Everytime."

K "Karate Kid": The 2008 documentary "Britney: For the Record" ends with Spears saying she avoids situations from the past that may threaten her. When asked how she does this, she replies, straight-faced, "I go through life like a Karate Kid."

L Louisiana: Spears' home state. She was raised in Kentwood, a rural town of around 2,000 in eastern Louisiana near the Mississippi border.

M Madonna: Britney shared a smooch with the Queen of Pop at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, and the two collaborated on the 2003 single "Me Against the Music." Madonna has said she feels a kinship with Spears.

N Nicki Minaj: Spears' current tour mate appears on a remix of Britney's "Till the World Ends," alongside glitter-splattered songstress Ke$ha, who co-wrote the song.

O "Oops": Britney titled her second album "Oops! I Did it Again" (2000), and the "oops" tag has since attached itself in the press to every career blunder or misstep she's ever made.

P Python: At the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards, Spears appeared with a large python draped across her shoulders during her performance of "I'm a Slave 4 U."

Q "Quicksand": A bonus track from Spears' 2008 album "Circus" that was penned by Lady Gaga. Gaga also penned "Telephone" for the singer, but when Spears didn't use it, Gaga turned it into a hit for herself on her 2009 "The Fame Monster" EP.

R Rihanna: Spears appears on the remix of Rihanna's 2011 hit "S&M." The song spent one week at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, marking Spears' fifth No. 1 hit (following "… Baby One More Time," "Womanizer," "3" and "Hold It Against Me").

S "SNL": Britney has appeared on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" three times, as host and musical guest in 2000 and 2002 and as musical guest during a Halle Berry-hosted episode in 2003.

T Tinky-Winky: The purple Teletubby that appeared on a risque cover of Rolling Stone with Britney in 1999.

U Umbrella: In February 2007, Spears — who had shaved her head bald — attacked a paparazzi photographer with an umbrella. Soon after, she checked into rehab and was placed under the conservatorship of her father.

V VMA: MTV's Video Music Awards have been home to some of Britney's most memorable performances, and also her most disastrous, such as when she opened the 2007 VMAs with a lazy, dead-eyed non-performance of "Gimme More." In a cover story, Entertainment Weekly described the performance with the following headline: "Oh, the horror!"

W Wade Robson: The choreographer who is said to have come between Spears and Timberlake. He went on to join the cast of the hit Fox series "So You Think You Can Dance."

X "X Factor": Spears appeared on Britain's "The X Factor" in 2008, netting the show a record high of 12.8 million viewers.

Y Ying Yang Twins: The Atlanta crunk-rap duo teamed up with Britney on "(I Got That) Boom Boom," a song from her 2003 album "In the Zone."

Z "Zoey 101": A teen series on Nickelodeon from 2005-08 starring Spears' kid sister, Jamie Lynn Spears.