USA: BRITNEY SPEARS CONTINUES NORTH AMERICAN TOUR.

Record ID: 545945

  • Title: USA: BRITNEY SPEARS CONTINUES NORTH AMERICAN TOUR.
  • Date: 31st July 1999
  • Summary: SPEARS PERFORMING ON STAGE
  • Embargoed: 15th August 1999 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Arts
  • Reuters ID: LVA8Y17LXW6P7LC0YOSGTJUJF1FX
  • Story Text: Seventeen-year-old platinum recording artist Britney Spears has taken her act on the road, performing in Los Angeles on Saturday (August 31) and finding the time to talk about stage fright, life at the top, and the pressures of remaining a normal teenager.
    Spears' show at the Universal Amphitheatre was the fourth leg of a 32-city solo North American tour in promotion of her multi-platinum album "Baby One More Time." The frothy pop confection with tinges of R&B and non-threatening hip-hop has sold more than five-million copies and has earned the Louisiana native the tag "Solo Spice.The teenybopper phenomenon performed to a packed house of mostly screaming adolescent girls, their somewhat more demure mothers and a smattering of transvestite lookalikes and dress-alikes.
    Spears' one and a half hour show included her hits "Baby One More Time," "(You Drive Me) Crazy" and "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart." Pre-pubescent female shrieking accompanied thestart of each song.
    Prior to the concert, Spears spoke about performance anxiety and how it has lessened with practice."I'm still nervous but it's the type of nervous energy that just gets you pumped up for the show, which is good," she said.
    Spear's success has not come without a price.Many critics are openly disparaging of her work; the accompanying music videos have been further lambasted for their highly suggestive nature, earning the condemnation of conservative and religious organisations.In the video for her hit single "One More Time"
    Spears is dressed in a Catholic schoolgirl uniform while adopting poses and mouthing ambiguous lyrics that had some wags tagging her as "jailbait." For now Spears appears resigned to the carping."Sometimes they'll say anything just to sell a magazine so I'm just kind of over it right now," she said.
    Spears meteoric rise to the top of the charts has allowed allowed her to explore other media, including a guest stint on the television series "Dawson's Creek, but says "music will always be my main focus."
    Coinciding with her Los Angeles concert was a "Britney Spears look-alike" contest won by Robert Stephens, a dancer in the Mulan stage show at Disneyland.Stephens showed up at the concert for a scheduled meeting with his idol only to have the one-on-one cancelled by her management, leaving him miffed at her dislocation from her fans but blaming her handlers."I think she's being mismanaged right now because her people are treating her fans like shit," said Stephens, fully decked out in schoolgirl attire."I haven't gotten an apology and it's been hours," he continued.
    For her part Spears believe she must act as a role model for her fans."I hope they look at me and see that they can do this too," she told Reuters.
    Opening up for Spears was the young British band Steps.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: Audio restrictions: This clip's Audio includes copyrighted material. User is responsible for obtaining additional clearances before publishing the audio contained in this clip.
Register