If you’re a pop idolator, going to a Britney Spears concert is like making a pilgrimage to the mother land. Brit (along with tour opener Nicki Minaj) brought her Femme Fatale tour to LA’s Staples Center last night, and Spears’ two-hour set was jam-packed with musical goodies: the girl had so many hits to get through, many times she had to coast through a song’s opening verse and a chorus (as she did with “Piece Of Me”) so she could move on to the next number.
The show was quite an impressive spectacle from start to finish, with as many set pieces and costumes as one might require of a pop star’s live concert. The one part that still needed some improvement, though, was the pop star at the center of it all.
The themes of the night ranged from sexy noir (white trenchcoats during “3″, Marilyn Monroe-esque skirts billowing above air vents for “If You Seek Amy”), Egyptian shtick (Brit enters via a golden duck boat for “Gimme More”), 80s rock cheese (Brit rides a giant pink guitar during her cover of Madonna’s “Burning Up”) and just barely futuristic (LED lights on Brit and her dancer’s jackets as she concludes the night with “Till The World Ends”). Many of her songs from her catalog were tweaked and remixed, though some arrangements worked better in theory than in practice. (The Middle Eastern hints on “Gimme More” worked unexpectedly well; the jazzy rendition of “If You Seek Amy” wasn’t as convincing.)
But the question everyone really cares about is of course — how was she? Was she more engaging than she had been during her recent TV performances? Could she actually dance? The answer is yes, and sort of. For choreography that mostly contained walking from one side of the stage to the other, flipping her hair, and moving her arms, Brit was completely on point. She hit every mark, knew every step. She’s no Amy Winehouse bumbling across the stage — the woman was well-rehearsed.
But an audience can still pick up when you’re just going through the motions, which is Britney’s biggest problem as a live performer nowadays. (That and the inability to sing live, which is unfortunately so expected of her at this point it feels pointless to complain about it.) There was no moment more telling about the absence of Britney’s enthusiasm than when Nicki Minaj emerged to deliver her verse in the show’s closing number “Till The World Ends”. Much like the duo’s performance during the Billboard Music Awards, just by just standing in one spot, Harajuku Barbie —eyes popped, energy bubbling — held the attention of the entire Staples Center while Brit just shuffled her feet beside her.
It would have helped make her appear less robotized if she was given a mid-show break to talk directly to the audience for a bit, and make us see there’s a real person in there, as opposed to some animatronic zombie pop star whose only purpose is to serve us Top 40 songs. But sadly, much like with her interviews, Brit isn’t allowed much room to say or do anything not already planned for her.
It doesn’t even bother me if Britney can’t replicate the difficult moves she did when she was younger (as Justin Timberlake assumes is the case), though I find it hard to believe that she can’t. It almost seems like she just won’t — as though she just stopped putting 100% energy or passion into each dance move. The choreography may have been simple, but even walking from one side of a stage to the other can be commanding if you really put your all into every step.
All in all, we — along with the thousands upon thousands of other fans in the crowd, who continued to echo the “whoa-oh-oa”‘s from “Till The World Ends” while leaving the venue — had a really fun night jamming to Britney’s songs. We just wish it seemed like Britney did, too.
Anyway, Idolator, you won’t get attention from Britney’s management! My comment: BULLSH*T!)
You better follow Rolling Stone’s reveiew of the concert))))…Losers )))
Rolling Stone is the only magazine that gave positive review and is probably paid to do so… It was also later shown that she doesn’t sing a song live, but it’s all prerecorded, so she is lip-syncing again and she’s a boat which is sinking!
Go and kiss Britney’s ass, better do that than continue talking bullsh*t, loser)))
No matter what you say, BRITNEY ALWAYS WINS !
It’s really a good and objective review, beacuse the one thing is so obvious and that’s that the pop star is not the center of the show! It’s like she’s barely present at the show!
Go and kiss Britney’s ass, better do that than continue talking bullsh*t, loser)))
BRITNEY WINS! AGAIN AND AGAIN!!! ALWAYS ON TOP!!!
There is also a lot of things ripped off from The return of the Spice Girls tour.
I was on their show which was amazing and those girls who were more than 35 years old at the time and about 8 years away from ther spotlight, they succcced to give an amazing performance with live singing during whole show and dancing much more complicated choreos than Britney’s.
The funniest thing is also that tour is called Femme Fatale and Britney with her weight and attitude doesn’t seem like one!
Once more, kiss Brit’s ass, foolish))
Hate such antibritney losers ))))
BRITNEY!!! BRITNEY!!! BRITNEY!!! THE WINNER!!!) THE LEGEND!!!
Great review! Every word makes sense, while Britney s tour doesn’t make any.
It’s no wonder why she doesn’t have any show not only sold out, but not even 80% sold!
Another foolish kid)) BRITNEY – THE QUEEN!)))
I know this stupid girl)) she always makes me laugh with her stupid thoughts!!!)
OBVIOUSLY BRITNEY RULES 2011!!!
Marihanna, Virtue and other monsters – you talk about Britney means Britney WINS)))) always know about that))))
F**CK U, f*ckin Marihanna))) you loser monster))) i hate you)))
And I hate this site for the foolish jelous review!!!!
VLADIMIR u have a problem with all these hate. Gooosh u need to relax and find something else to do instead of spending whole day hating and insulting people that doesn’t have the same view as you.
SHUT UP, B*TCH!!!WE SEE THAT YOU VOMIT YOU HATE HERE NOT ME!!!
ALL I CAN SAY – ANTWAY BRITNEY WINS!! BRITNEY SPITS ON THIS REVIEW!!
I aggree with Idolator.
I’ve been recently at Kylie’s and Gaga’s concert and this is not even close to spectacle and performance they gave!
“Rolling Stone is the only magazine that gave positive review and is probably paid to do so… It was also later shown that she doesn’t sing a song live, but it’s all prerecorded, so she is lip-syncing again and she’s a boat which is sinking!”
Is this a joke? It’s almost UNANIMOUS that she sings live now with a backing track like everyone else.
Oh and it’s just not rolling stones, billboard too and the tour just started. but all of them are paid right?
You can be paid too for your comment here))) loser)
She lip-sync, she doesn’t sing live a verse!
Billboard gave mixed review, I’ll point out this:
“Most of the show, as expected, seemed to be lip-synced. Occasionally, especially in the early portion of the night, what sounded like live ad-libs from Spears could be heard.”
They also discussed the lack of originality of the show, point that it’s very similar to previous shows, as well as some Madonna’s and Kylie’s concert.
Honestly, all these reveiew are bullsh*t and garbage!! Fans and audinece like her shows and love Britney – THAT MATTERS!! THAT’S THE IMPROTANT!!! so you can continue carrying nonsense about the show and Britney)) good luck) and kiss Brit’s ass)))
and yeah, Gaga’s video for “edge of monsters” is epic flop ))) continue voting for that))) ahahahahahhahhhaaaaa)))
The only reviews which really matters are RollingStone, MTV, PerezHilton, JustJared. Others like Idolator are out of sight))) bye-bye)))
cmon it was amazing….and she was singing live too and dancing and energy was 200% loved it…….
Robo-Britney !!!
Would the real Britney stand up and DANCE instead of sitting on your arse ?
S!
from what i saw, she did slightly better than my expectation. at least she busted some more moves that she did in a long while…nonetheless it still feels awkward, specially when her dancers are so energetic and passionate with their every move. come on britney.
Britney’s Femme Fatale Tour is absolutely the most spectacular tour you’ll ever go to. She’s probably stressed from hearing ridiculous articles writing the FF tour in a negative light. People, she is obviously having fun and is trying hard, if she doesn’t want to perform she wouldn’t, but she IS and thus real fans better not dish out of the tour because of some rumour they heard. Ask people who’ve been to the show and they’ll all say the tour is fantastic and it was worth the money.
I will always <3 Britney. Stay strong!
This concert was totally amazing…she was on fire and brought the house down…A++++ AMAZING performance. I saw it in Houston at Toyota Center…packed house/sold out crowd. The crowd was on its feet the entire time. She sang live throughout almost all of the concert…yes LIVE 85% of songs…She is smoking hot and had great dance moves..She killed it and had a lot of audience interaction..PHENOMENAL PERFORMER and ENGAGING ENTERTAINER..truly magnificent….gotta go see it..no doubt the best concert I have ever been to…