Imagine, if you will, a parallel universe where a pretty blonde pop star can actually carry a tune, writes her own songs, and frets over artistic integrity. In this universe, when her record company demands more hits, she tells them to shove it and starts her own label. There's no making out with Madonna, no messy divorce, no custody battle, no 5150. Instead there's bankable talent and a credible, long-arc career. In other words, it's the anti-Britney Spears. Meet Robyn, the 28-year-old Swedish singer whose latest US release drops in April. In the mid-'90s, both were courted by the same big label to be molded into the Next Big Thing: Robyn said no. Britney said yes. It was the first choice of many, chronicled here, that would lead one to hipster stardom and the other to madness.

Robyn

1995 After several years as a child performer in her native Sweden, Robyn begins writing her own songs. She is approached by Jive Records but ultimately signs with RCA. "Jive told me they were going to find their own Robyn," she says. (See: Britney, 1996)

1996-97 Robyn taps Swedish producer Max Martin for her debut, Robyn Is Here. It cracks the Billboard 100. Asked to tour with the Backstreet Boys, she declines: "It wasn't the right thing to do."

1998-99 Robyn records her second LP in Sweden, scoring a hit single with "Electric." RCA dislikes her new sound and wants to partially re-record the album. Robyn refuses, and the release never lands stateside.

Illustration: Kerry Roper2000-04 Robyn travels to Africa as a Unicef ambassador. Fed up with record companies, she starts her own label, Konichiwa Records. Teaming with fellow Swedish artists like the Teddybears and the Knife, she begins work on a new album.

2005 Robyn is self-released in Europe to critical acclaim, winning Swedish music awards for best album, best writer, and best pop female.

2007 Shaves the sides of her head to sharpen her image.

2008 Cuts sweet distribution deal with Interscope. Releases Robyn stateside in April and preps for US tour.

Britney

1996 After two years as a child performer on The Mickey Mouse Club, Britney auditions for Jive Records. In 1997, she inks a deal.

1998 Britney taps Swedish producer Max Martin and records his song "Baby One More Time." The album of the same name goes multiplatinum, and she is offered a tour opening for the Backstreet Boys. Britney accepts, and her career gains traction.

1999 At work on her follow-up album, a scantily-clad, 17-year-old Britney is photographed for the cover of Rolling Stone and becomes the Lolita lust object of creepy middle-aged men everywhere.

2000-2004 After winning a Grammy for "Toxic," Britney is named by Forbes as the most powerful celebrity in the world. But she has other ambitions: "The only thing I haven't done so far is experienced the closest thing to God ... having a baby."

2005-2006 Britney has aforementioned baby, then another, with backup dancer/husband K-Fed. Divorce proceedings begin.

2007 Shaves her head in an apparent cry for help.

2008 Tries to cut a deal with DA's office for visitation rights with her children. Released from a two-week stay in an LA mental ward.

PLAY Previous: Vitriolic Artists Send Visitors on a Sulfuric Acid Trip Next: Trying to Design a Truly Entertaining Game Can Defeat Even a Certified Genius