How Britney Spears ended the nineties -- The freshman class of Y2K -- Avril esta morta -- In defense of Ashlee Simpson -- Beyoncé before Beyoncé -- Kelly Clarkson, manic pixie dream girl -- Miss bad media karma -- How Taylor Swift invented the Internet -- When Rihanna met reverb -- Little monsters everywhere -- The end of a decade -- The start of an age

"Low-rise jeans, butterfly clips, The Lizzie McGuire Movie, and Paris Hilton's nights out. The early 2000s were a time of major moments in fashion, media, celebrity culture, and especially music. The aughts were a particularly fruitful era for female artists--still theonly decade in the history of recorded music when women made up more than half the list of highest-grossing performers--and especially pop stars. Artists such as Britney Spears, Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Beyoncâe were leading the charge--their success not only leading to a new respect for female artists, but for pop stardom itself."--Provided by publisher