Lets start by getting one thing straight. Rebekah Devlin, who started what quickly developed into Britney-gate this week in Australia, clearly got it very, very wrong. At the Britney Spears show tonight at Rod Laver Arena, there were no mass walk-outs, there were no disgruntled fans and the audience was genuinely entertained.
Just for the record, I am not a Britney fan but ‘Circus’ is a very good show. Forget the "but she mimes" argument. It is irrelevant for Britney. She is a popstar. She has never pretended to be a serious musical act like Radiohead. She is what she is and has never denied it.
Keep in mind at parts of their shows, Cher has lip-synched, Madonna lip-synchs, even Roger Waters did it. So lets just eliminate that from the scorecard and score the Britney show for what it is ... a very entertaining show aimed at her core fans.
If you are a Britney fan, you are going to love ‘Circus’. It is over two hours of escapism and yes it is a real circus. Actually, if Ms. Devlin focused on the freak show featuring the midget or an amputee on a trampoline she might have been able to beat-up a better story. Did she even notice that? Not that it mattered. It was visually compelling.
Yes, a Circus it truly is, with magicians, acrobats, a tightrope and ... was that Perez Hilton dressed up as The Queen?
The costume changes are covered up with musical segways. One featured Marilyn Manson ‘Sweet Dreams’ and another Michael Jackson ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Something’.
Lets give a special shout-out to the two kids in the front row. Britney’s children Sean and Jayden watched what Mom did for a living with Mom’s new beau Jason Trawick . For the record Ms Devlin, Jayden left earlier so your headline tomorrow should read "Even Britney’s Kid Can’t Stand Her". Sean left before the encore, so you can beat that up into a headline as well.
In Vegas, this show would be up for "show of the year". In Perth, based on a one-woman jury, it doesn’t rate at all. Melbourne, the home of Australian theatre, accepted another good show.
Britney is more than 90 shows into a world tour with Circus. How funny that Ms Devlin wasted her 15 minutes of fame on something that has never pretended to be anything more than a pop show.
Britney Spears has hit back at critical media reports of her Circus tour, saying she came to Australia for her fans.
The pop star arrived in the country last week amid controversy over her lip-synching stage performance, and soon faced reports that disappointed fans walked out of her opening show in Perth.
Spears has been keeping a low profile since arriving in Melbourne earlier this week, but she responded to the criticism.
"I hear there is a lot of controversy in the media about my show," Spears said in a statement.
"Some reporters have said they love it and some don't. I came to Australia for my fans!"
Spears is due to play the first of three sold-out shows in Melbourne on Wednesday night, and has been indulging in some retail therapy.
"Went shopping on Collins Street yesterday and got a lot of my Christmas presents. Melbourne is beautiful. Can't wait to see more. -Britney," she wrote on Twitter.
Aussie DJ Havana Brown, who is touring with Spears, said she is surprised by the savaging the pop princess has received here.
Brown said there was no negative reaction from fans and the media about lip-synching and lacklustre performances in Europe, where they toured before Australia.
"I think it's quite well known that she has lip-synched in the past. I don't think it's any surprise to anybody," Brown said.
"There was nothing like that in Europe. I think everyone knew what they were in for, and I think everyone should know here as well.
"I'm not quite sure what the fuss is about."
Brown was personally chosen by Spears' father and manager to open the Circus tour in Europe and Australia.
The Melbourne native gets the crowds warmed up for Spears each night and then sits back to enjoy the spectacle.
She said there was an "incredible response" at the first two shows in Perth, and she hoped Aussie fans would make up their own minds about the concert.
"It's sad. I want people to be positive about her - she's doing so well, and she's looking so good, and the show is amazing," she said.
"I want everyone to make their own opinion, rather than be persuaded by what's been in the media."
The 3 music video is now available on iTunes. The song is doing really good. I don't think Womanizer was doing this good last year, it went to number one then slipped down pretty far. 3 is still in the top ten and only went down to 8 from 7 last week. Anyway click below and buy your copy of the 3 video!
“She’s a nice girl. I used to scream for her in Times Square and now I work for her. When I was 13 she was the most provocative performer of my time. I love her so much! Britney certainly doesn’t need any freakin’ tips from me! Britney Spears is the queen of pop. I learned from her.”
The 3-day countdown to the “3” video premiere starts NOW! Here’s the deal: During the next 3 days, Britney will launch her video through a series of Twitter-focused events, culminating with the “3” video “Premiere Tweet” on Day 3 — Friday, Oct. 30. Are you in?
Day 1: Photo Release Three never-before-seen photos from the final “3” video will be released via Britney’s official Twitter today — one photo will be sent out every 3 hours. Triple fun that way.
Day 2: Video Challenge We will release three 5-second clips of the “3” video starting tomorrow morning — one clip will be sent out every 3 hours via Britney’s Twitter. The clips will be sent out of order and will be available as downloadable .mov files on Britney.com. B fans will be challenged to piece together the three clips to form a 15-second video teaser. Now are you game?
Day 3: 3-Day On Friday, Oct. 30, Britney will Tweet the link of the video premiere for your viewing pleasure. Livin’ in sin is the new thing.
On the eve of her Australian “Circus” Tour, Britney Spears offers fans, an insight to her taste in music, holidays and television shows in this EXCLUSIVE Courier Mail Q&A.
Beatles Or Elvis? Beatles. They are just so iconic
What’s the most frequently played song on your iPod? Right now, its Beyonce’s “Halo” - it just puts me in a trance. Its so well written and she is so intense singing it.
Will you get to do any sightseeing in Australia? Hit the beach maybe? I hope to do some sightseeing and I will definately be going to the beach. I hear they are the most beautiful in the world.
What was the last concert you saw (besides your own)? The last concert I saw was Alicia Keys. I was hoping to see Beyonce, but I missed it
What TV Show do you never miss? I love True Blood. I record it just in case I do miss it.
What’s the best holiday you’ve had? Last Christmas was the best. I got to enjoy it with my boys, They were just old enough to understand Santa and realise all of the toys were for them. It was so much fun to watch and see how excited they were to rip open each gift. I can’t wait for this Christmas.
What song do you wish was yours? Chain Of Fools
Have you ever met a fan with a Britney tattoo? If so, what was your reaction? One of my biggest fans, who has been to every single show has a whole bunch of tattoos of my songs tattooed on him. I think its sweet but I was a little shocked. I don’t know why someone would want a tattoo that would represent me.
Whats the first thing you do when you check into a hotel? First thing I do when I get into a new hotel is look at how the room is decorated - I love that they are all so different - then I unpack all of my clothes.
The Circus Starring Britney Spears is at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre Sunday November 22nd to November 25th.
The director of the video for Britney Spears' single "3" tells Life & Style exclusively how the steamy sequence came together.
"I think it's her next sexy video," says director Diane Martel. "It's a very simple video for her -- I don't think you've seen her this much under a magnifying glass. Everything's really strong and playful."
Britney helped with the look of the video, too. "We collaborated on the wardrobe and had meetings about hair and makeup people," reveals Martel. "We talked a lot on the phone and met Tone and Rich — two of the best choreographers."
Martel says Britney was great to work with. "She's so sweet and funny and so normal and down to earth. It's really fun as a director to see her in front of the camera. She's so creative with this stuff. The video is very simple, it's very, very minimal. So it's her, her, her. And she's totally engaging every second. She really knows how to work with a camera and move.
"I was really impressed, and I have worked almost with every female artist in the business," Martel adds.
So its been REALLY slow lately on the Britney home-front BUT I hear shes in Mexico chillaxin before the Australian Leg of The Circus Starring Britney Spears.
In the meantime here's some Carrie Underwood to keep your ass goin'. Hot, can sing, can dance... She's the country version of Brit. Enjoy!
After seein' this vid, I'm thinking a GREAT idea would be to get these two in the studio together. Collaborating with one of country's biggest names GREAT, Carrie collaborating with arguably THE biggest celebrity GREAT. I say do it!
