Child stars create pop divas

Britney. Miley. Christina.

The power of the first name. All of these pop icons are known worldwide by one single name. But what do they all have in common? They were all child stars.

Britney Spears

When Britney was just 8-years-old she traveled to Atlanta, Georgia, where she auditioned for the TV series hit Mickey Mouse Club, according to Fox News. This popular show aired on and off starting in 1955, before finally ending in 1996. Spears was first rejected by the show before being cast a year later in 1992. After the show ended, she began sending out demo CDs. She was rejected by many labels, but by the time she was 16 her debut album, …Baby One More Time, was released. Her stardom skyrocketed from that point on, selling 10 million copies that year.

Miley Cyrus

According to the Biography Channel, this pop icon originally started her acting career around the age of 8, where she played in minor roles in TV shows and movies. When Miley was 14, she received her own show on Disney called Hannah Montana. This immediately launched her singing career. She released two albums with the TV series both selling over 3 million copies. When Cyrus was 16, she released her album that went along with her movie: Hannah Montana: The Movie. She became the youngest singer to have 4 albums to go to number one on the Billboard charts. She has because the most watched music video on Vevo in 24 hours and was even the first artist to reach 100 million views on their site.

Christina Aguilera

Christina began her singing career at the age of 8. She finally got her big break when she premiered on the live talent show Star Search when she was 11-years-old. Soon after, she was cast in Mickey Mouse Club. When she was 14, Christina recorded her first single and from then she was recognized and chosen to sing on the soundtrack of Mulan, which landed her on the charts for the first time. Her self-titled first album was released in 1999, and landed her at number one on the charts. She went on to win “Best New Artist” at the Grammys that same year. She is also ranked 58th in Rolling Stone’s “100 Greatest Singers”. She went from teen pop star to pop diva. To date, the pop diva has sold over 50 million albums worldwide.

-Maeve Dale