Pop parallels
Outrageous success early on
Jackson was 12 when he had four No. 1 singles with the Jackson Five, including The Love You Save, ABC and Ill Be There. Twelve years later, his solo effort Thriller became the best-selling album of all time.
Spears was 17 when her single
Baby One More Time went to No. 1. When her debut album was released the following year, it entered at No. 1 and stayed there for six weeks. The album sold 10 million copies the first year.
Spears is just the latest illustration of how early fame appears to fundamentally corrupt many of the child stars who enjoy it, wrote Today producer Noah Oppenheim. (WireImage / LAT)
Twin unfortunate potential baby-dropping moments
In November 2002, the world recoiled when photos appeared of Jackson dangling an infant with a towel over its head out a fifth-floor hotel room in Berlin as fans watched below. They were chanting to see my child, so I was kind enough to let them see, Jackson said.
In May 2006, the world watched on the Internet as Spears almost dropped her son Sean Preston while making her way to her car after leaving the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in New York. The incident, coming on the heels of images of Spears driving a convertible with her son on her lap, added to media speculation about her competency as a parent. (Tobias Schwarz / WireImage)
Awkward VMA openers
In 1994, Jackson got to open MTVs Video Music Awards, but not with a musical number. He and his new wife, Lisa Marie Presley, stood on stage to substantial applause. When it died down, Jackson said, And just think, nobody thought this would last, then grabbed his wife and proceeded to make out with her in a weird, uncomfortable way. (The marriage ended two years later.)
Can anyone who watches television, reads newspapers, listens to the radio or talks to people not know what happened when Spears opened the VMAs with her new single Gimme More? In case you are a hermit, she flubbed it big-time. (Getty Images / AP)
Animals R Us
Jackson had a large collection of exotic animals at Neverland Ranch, including giraffes, elephants, snakes, orangutans, tigers and a crocodile.
Before she started popping out babies, Spears was a frequent pet buyer. She had a Chihuahua, Bit Bit, a Maltese named Lacey, a parakeet and a Yorkie. Her former husband, Kevin Federline, kept sharks. (WireImage / Getty Images)
