- Pussycat Dolls On Joining Britney Spears' 'Amazing' Circus Opening for Britney Spears on her Circus tour would be a daunting task for anyone. But for the Pussycat Dolls, performing each night on Brit's massive in-the-round stage presents one rather unique challenge:
"You always wanna stay connected to the audience. That's why we're here, for the fans. So it's hard, because when you're on one side, your butt cheeks are facing everyone else. And when you go to another part of the circle, then your back is against someone else," PCD's Nicole Scherzinger laughed. "So you constantly wanna keep it moving and be able to spread the love everywhere, even though your backside is to some of the people."
And that's tougher than you would imagine. Still, the Dolls pulled it off on the opening night of Britney's Circus tour, managing to spread the love everywhere while still showing off the goods. That is pretty amazing, considering that less than 24 hours prior they were wrapping up the first leg of their own Doll Domination Tour half a world away.
"We just came back from Serbia," Scherzinger sighed. "We finished our leg of our tour — which is completely the opposite of this — and just landed last night. So we're still working ... just working everything out. It's pretty unbelievable."
"I used to dance for the Miami Heat, and we had to perform in big arenas, so I've done stuff like this before," Doll Jessica Sutta added. "But the first day is so ... it's so dizzying. The key is, you just have to find the focusing point — so you don't throw up."
And let the record state that no one in PCD threw up on opening night, which automatically qualifies it as a smashing success. And it'll only get better from here, as the Dolls say they're going to work their new version of "Jai Ho (You Are My Destiny)" — the Oscar-winning tune from "Slumdog Millionaire" — into upcoming stops on Britney's tour. So fans heading out to dates might wanna get there a little earlier — the Dolls are far from just your average opening act.
"This whole show is amazing ... it's a perfect match, really," Doll Ashley Roberts said. "Britney Spears is truly a Pussycat Doll, and she's an icon and she's someone I have watched and always looked up to, as a triple-threat entertainer. So it's a perfect match — PCD and Britney Spears, in the circus."
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1606419/20090305/the_pussycat_dolls.jhtml
Labels: britney spears, news
- Britney Spears Performs First Comeback Concert For Circus Tour Britney Spears has made her fans happy with her comeback concert in New Orleans, Louisiana on Tuesday night, March 3, 2009 for her Circus Tour. Britney bean the show at New Orleans Arena by coming down from the ceiling on a circular trapeze, singing “Circus.” Later, she straddled a stripper pole for “Radar” and did “Gimme More” with dancing ninjas. In “Me Against the Music,” which was her collaboration with Madonna, she used a Bollywood routine.
This was Britney’s first arena concert since 2004. The Circus tour will cover 40 dates, ending in London on June 14, 2009.
Good for Britney - it looks like she’s doing well.
Labels: britney spears, news
- Kohl's takes risk with Britney Spears as Candie's sponsor
Kohl's has joined the Britney Spears circus.
Yes, that's a risk, given that Spears hasn't exactly been a stable personality in recent years. But some marketing experts say it might be worth it.
"I think since she's got a very hot album, as long as that stays nice and solid, it probably will work for Kohl's," said Jan Owens, associate professor of marketing at Carthage College in Kenosha.
Spears' comeback moved forward this week with the kickoff of her "Circus" tour in New Orleans and her first clothing sponsorship: for Candie's, a line of clothes carried exclusively by Menomonee Falls-based Kohl's Department Stores.
It's been a rough few years since Spears' last tour, in 2004. In that time, she's been married and divorced and had two children. For a time, she was on TV and in tabloids almost daily, with reports of drug abuse, a custody battle, pantyless partying and rehab. A California court appointed her father, Jamie Spears, to oversee her affairs indefinitely.
Yet over the past year, Spears' life and career have rebounded. Her "Circus" CD, released in December, has already sold more than 1.3 million copies, and she's had two hits off the CD, the No. 1 "Womanizer" and the top-five "Circus."
Spears' return has been carefully orchestrated, beginning with well-received appearances on the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother" last year to her comeback appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards last fall following her disastrous performance on the awards show in
2007. She has given few interviews, and those that have been granted have been heavily managed.
"Britney is an international celebrity and pop culture icon who embodies the spirit of the Candie's brand," said Vicki Shamion, Kohl's vice president of public relations. "Also, she is in a healthy, exciting environment right now where she excels. Regarding her past, we respect her right to privacy, and her personal life does not reflect the views of Kohl's."
Past Candie's girls have included celebrities Fergie, Hayden Panettiere, Hilary Duff and Jenny McCarthy. The short-term endorsement agreements are negotiated with Iconix Brand Group Inc., which owns the Candie's brand.
Candie's strategy has been to line up the hottest celebrity of the year as an endorser, said Laura Ries, an Atlanta marketing consultant and author. Spears is a bigger celebrity than any of her Candie's predecessors, but Ries sees a few problems with the choice.
"Candie's is a brand, like Pepsi, where you find that the target isn't the same as the market," Ries said. "The target is 18, but the market is much broader than that."
The Candie's brand appeals to girls younger than 18, a time when parents are still involved. "And parents are pretty turned off by the whole Britney Spears thing," Ries said.
James Pokrywczynski, associate professor of advertising and public relations at Marquette University, has mixed feelings about the Spears endorsement.
"There's the obvious risk of being associated with a controversial person like Britney," Pokrywczynski said. But the flip side is that Spears has a rebel image that young people like.
Kohl's is seen as a little more mellow in terms of its product offering than teen specialty stores such as Abercrombie, Pokrywczynski said. So the Spears alliance probably has some benefit to Kohl's, if the store wants to position itself as more edgy.
"A lot of celebrities have missteps," Pokrywczynski said. "But the ones who save themselves are the ones who straightened themselves out."
The 27-year-old pop superstar's "Circus" tour kicked off Tuesday in her home state of Louisiana at the New Orleans Arena. There, a nearly sold-out crowd cheered on their idol as she gyrated and slithered across the stage while singing some of her biggest hits, from the recent "Womanizer" to her first hit, "Baby One More Time."
The "Circus" tour, which takes Spears to 27 cities in the United States before heading to Europe in June, is the pop star's biggest opportunity to connect with her still formidable fan base.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.twincities.com/ci_11843094
Labels: britney spears, news
- Assistant Mystery Solved! On the eve of her new tour, Britney Spears welcomed back an old face into the fold, re-hiring former assistant Felicia Culotta (who was working for The Jonas Brothers). But the move had Britney watchers wondering, what happened to her other assistant and constant companion Brett? Was this a sign of further turmoil in Spears land?
"Nothing is wrong, there is no chaos, [Brett] just took a vacation," a source confirms to RadarOnline.com exclusively. "The job is too much for one person. Felicia will handle more of the personal stuff and Brett will focus on the business side."
Culotta had parted ways with Spears in 2007. At the time, Culotta sent out an e-mail about the difficult separation saying, "I cannot convince her in ANY way to love herself...I cannot save her from herself." Culotta's ties to the family were so close that she often spent the holidays with them and was viewed as one of Britney's closest advisors and friends.
The Circus tour kicks off on March 3 in New Orleans.
http://radaronline.com/exclusives/2009/02/britney-rumor-patrol-assistant-mystery-solved.phpLabels: britney spears, news
- Britney Spears Adds "Saved By The Bell" Magician To Tour
Britney Spears has added a magician to her "Circus" tour. Illusionist Ed Alonzo, who had a recurring role as Max on "Saved by the Bell", will be doing magic while Brit sings and dances.
Word is Britney has been rehearsing 8 hours a day for the big tour.
A stage designer said: "Britney is a perfectionist. When she comes in the room, it's a really intense, high-pressure environment. She is totally fit and her body is back in shape. She is really confident right now."
The shows begin March 3rd.
http://www.411mania.com/music/news/97430/Britney-Spears-Adds-%5C%5CSaved-By-The-Bell%5C%5C-Magician-To-Tour.htmLabels: britney spears, news
- Britney May Be Trying to Break Away From Daddy's Control
Was Britney Spears trying to make a break for it? Or does some avid fan just want her to be able to run free like the wind?
A woman claiming to be Britney left three voice mails last month asking an attorney for help to extricate herself from her ongoing conservatorship, according to audio recordings played to E! News.
On the recordings, the woman says she wants out of the arrangement and indicates that she is at odds with dad Jamie Spears.
In the first message, left at 1:34 a.m. on Jan. 19, she says, in a hushed tone, "Hi, this is Britney Spears. I want Jon Eardley...to represent me as coappointed attorneys for my best interest and best wishes. Goodbye."
A rep for Spears could not be reached for comment, though a source close to the popster says the voice on the recordings is "absolutely not her."
Eardley was the New York-based attorney, supposedly retained by Sam Lutfi, who last year tried to have Britney's conservatorship case transferred to federal court, claiming her civil rights had been trampled on by her parents and the L.A. Superior Court system.
All of his claims were denied, with a judge ruling that, because Spears had been found unfit to hire her own counsel, Eardley had no grounds on which to work on the singer's behalf.
In the second message, left 20 minutes later, the woman, who misstates the date, says, "Hi, this is Britney Spears. It's January 18th. I just want out of this conservatorship....I'm confined, restrained, stripped of my civil rights and I demand the State of California to review this case because I feel it is meaningful. Bye."
Britney's camp obtained a restraining order against Eardley, whom her father and attorneys have accused of being in cahoots with Sam Lutfi to undermine the conservatorship, on Jan. 30. The order is also in place against Lutfi and former Spears' paramour, paparazzo Adnan Ghalib.
In the third message, dated Jan. 21 at 12:29 a.m., the woman says, "Hi, my name is Britney Spears. Um, I called you earlier. I'm calling again because I just wanted to make sure during the process of ending the conservatorship...I just want to be guaranteed that, um, everything will be fine with the process of, um, you guys taking care of everything and...things will be the same as far as...my custodial rights."
In the petition for a restraining order against Lutfi, Eardley and Ghalib, Spears' conservators alleged that the three men had been "working in concert to disrupt the conservatorship." They also attached a letter sent from Eardley to Britney a year ago informing her that "civil rights were violated" and offering his assistance.
http://www.eonline.com/uberblog/b100993_britney_may_be_trying_break_away_from.html
Labels: britney spears, news
- Spears hires TV magician for 'Circus' tour
Britney Spears has reportedly recruited a magician for her upcoming world tour.
The 'Womanizer' singer is hoping that TV illusionist Ed Alonzo will add some flair to 'The Circus Starring Britney Spears', reports In Touch.
"She'll be singing, dancing and doing illusions at the same time," said Alonzo, who has previously appeared on Saved By The Bell and America's Next Top Model.
Indian choreographer Rujata, who has helped design the show, revealed that Spears has been rehearsing eight hours a day, often wearing just a string bikini to ensure that her moves are flawless.
"Britney is a perfectionist. When she comes in the room, it's a really intense, high-pressure environment," she explained. "[She] is totally fit and her body is back in shape. She is really confident right now."
Spears will kick off her US tour on March 3 in New Orleans, before playing a mini-residency at London's O2 arena from June 3 and a one-off show in Manchester on June 17.
http://www.digitalspy.com/music/a147274/spears-hires-tv-magician-for-circus-tour.html
Labels: britney spears, news
