Britney Spears showed girls how to grow up –but she was never allowed to

She sang of innocence and experience, but was muffled when she went off script. At her explosive court appearance this week, Britney has reclaimed her voice

The saying goes that pop stars are forever frozen in time at the age they became famous. Despite the lasting iconography of the schoolgirl outfit she wore in the video for her debut single, 1998's ... Baby One More Time, this has somehow never felt true of Britney Spears, whose first four albums painted a convincing picture of evolving girlhood.

She was naive and lovestruck on her 1999 debut, and gained power and self-awareness on 2000's Oops! ... I Did It Again. Released in 2001, Britney was the first album that Spears, then 19, co-wrote: it juxtaposed her sexuality (I'm a Slave 4 U) with her frustration at being treated like a child (I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman). Two years later, In the Zone revelled in eroticism and experimentation, reflected in a more adventurous sound.