Today we commemorate the 35th mortal year of Britney Jean Spears' existence--the official pop princess, duchess, countess, et al, who single-handedly changed modern pop music with her throaty croon, and divine dance-prowess.

We've gone through it all with her, the great, the...not-so-great, but came back with fury and glory: Britney's comeback has been triumphant, and we are better for her.

While every one has a favorite Britney moment--and there are countless: like her truly stellar, serpent-laden performance of "Slave 4 U" at the 2001 VMAs:

Her interview on Oprah, promoting Crossroads, in 2002:

(Here's that performance of a yung Britney and Justin Timberlake)

Her glorious medley at this year's Billboard Music Awards:

And, of course, this little ditty from her Instagram earlier this year:

But this 45 second clip of Britney playing her immortal ballad "Every Time" on a piano from the 2003 ABC Special "In The Zone" takes the cake. SO. TENDER.

Happy birthday, Brit. You are an international treasure.