Roll up, Roll up Britney's circus is in town
Can Britney keep her balance?
Friday June 19 2009
When Britney Spears takes to the stage of the O2 Arena in Dublin this evening for the first of her two Irish gigs, fans and detractors alike will be watching closely to see if the troubled star can bump and grind her way back from the abyss of her personal travails to hit those pop heights one more time.
Irish spectators of Spears' aptly titled Circus show will also be curious to glimpse first-hand whether or not the 27-year-old is really the ringmaster of her own life and career, or merely a strictly supervised performing animal that's only let out of its cage at the behest of demanding and controlling higher authorities with dollar signs for eyeballs.
Then, of course, there's also the niggling question of whether or not Spears still has what it takes to deliver the goods in an ever-competitive pop world now dominated by the likes of Beyonce and newbie Lady GaGa.
The Circus production certainly sounds amazing: a $50m budget and a cast of 50 dancers, magicians, clowns and acrobats, necessitating the transport of some 60 tons of equipment in 34 trucks and a travelling staff of 200 to put it all together.
However, at the time of writing there are still tickets available for her two performances in the O2, and indeed it looks increasingly likely that neither one will sell out fully.
The dismal economic climate no doubt has its part to play in the sluggish sales (plus it doesn't help that the available tickets cost €142 including service charge) but, nevertheless, it begs the question: has the relationship between Britney and her Irish fans turned a little Toxic? Does she really still have the power to drive us Crazy?
There's no doubt that her fans here and around the world sympathise with all Spears has gone through over the past three years: the breakdowns, the divorces, the rehab, the head-shaving, the custody battles, the hospitalisations.
It's just that, after her extended break away from the stage, there's a real sense that the Britney of old just isn't there any more; that she's lost the joy for performing and is merely going through the motions to please her management, including her 'conservator' father Jamie, who now runs her career, if not her life.
That perceived absence of heart hasn't gone unnoticed by those who have seen Spears' Circus tour performances so far. The critical notices for her shows at the O2 in London a fortnight ago were decidedly mixed. The London Independent credited the production as "spectacular", but added that "for most of the evening a dancer could put on a blonde wig and perform the show while Spears sits backstage babysitting her children. No one would know the difference".
The Observer's reviewer, meanwhile, wrote that the Circus show was "not bad -- just boring, lacklustre, underpowered -- which, in my book, is far worse". What's more, there were even some reports that VIP tickets priced at £100 were discounted to just £2 at the last minute in order to fill the space at the front of the venue and help the singer save face.
Of course, all of this should come as little surprise to anyone who witnessed her shockingly weak performance on The X Factor last December. It wasn't up there with her notorious 2007 MTV Music Award appearance by any means, but anyone watching could see she wasn't operating on full cylinders just yet.
"That performance didn't help her," admits pop impresario and X Factor judge Louis Walsh. "She just seemed to be on a different planet when she came on the show. She seemed to be very childish. I think she was on a lot of medication at the time."
Having said that, Walsh thinks the star is now turning a corner with her comeback. "At least she's out there doing it," he says. "She's done really good business with the tour. Her life is a bit of a soap opera because she was in a bad place, but she seems to be out of that now. She's back on the road, singing a little bit, dancing a little bit. She can only get better."
Walsh's comments raise another criticism that has been levelled at Spears: namely, that she merely mimes through all her performances. Doesn't that short-change her audience who come to see her "live"?
"It's called lip synching," Walsh corrects with a laugh. "But Madonna lip synchs: everybody else does it too. If I had a choice between seeing Madonna or Britney, I'd pick Britney."
James Hyland, former operator of television's Bubble Hits and now manager of Irish pop band Industry, argues that Britney's live vocal talents (or lack thereof) were never the star attraction for her fans, even back in her heyday.
"I think people go to see Britney to see what kind of show she's going to put on," says Hyland. "It's particularly hard for Britney because she's performing so soon after Beyonce's Dublin dates, and she's never going to be able to top vocally what Beyonce can do.
"Britney needs the extra bells and whistles for her show. She's been away for so long that people have forgotten what Britney is all about, and that is glitz, glamour and the shock factor from creating a raunchy show."
Both Hyland and Walsh believe that Spears can still command the love of her fans, despite or even because of her professional and personal flaws.
"There's always going to be some drama with Britney when she plays somewhere and I think the fans almost expect that at this stage," says Hyland. "There's also no guarantee that she'll tour again. Who knows? Touring has taken a lot out of her in the past."
Louis Walsh adds that Spears' trajectory has mimicked that of other troubled chanteuses from the annals of showbiz, such as Judy Garland and Billie Holiday, and that, just like those legends, Spears can make her way back to the top if -- and it's a big if -- she really, truly wants it.
"She's not her own woman at the moment, but she's making progress," he says. "I think there's a chance that she can return to her glory days. The only person that can make that happen is her."
- Declan Cashin
