As we mentioned on Wednesday, Britney Spears performed “Womanizer” on French talent show “Star Academy” yesterday. I use the term “performed” loosely, because she just kind of strutted around and mouthed the words. Her backup dancers were great and the production was entertaining, but she looked even less comfortable than she did in her performance in Germany on Thursday. At times she seemed scared that her strapless red dress would fall down and clutched her chest.
While trying to figure out how Britney Spears’ latest “comeback” performances are lacking I re-watched a few AMA performances. The difference is that entertainers like Christina Aguilera and Beyonce actually sing. They use background tracks for the chorus, and they belt out the important parts while doing dance moves that are more inventive and demanding than Britney’s choreography. Maybe it’s unfair to compare Britney to her peers, but if she wants to get back to that level of fame she has to earn it. So far she’s hasn’t, she’s just thin and well put together again. Good for her, but I don’t really care if a singer is fit. What matters is whether or not they can actually sing, or barring that, dance. In Britney’s case she hardly does either.
Britney should not have a comeback. People just assume she should because she’s been suffering mentally, and the only way to show everyone that she’s better again is to make a career comeback. But Britney was only ever a pop star with basic pop songs written for her, she is not a serious artist. Her songs worked -at the time- but don’t work now, and it’s just the same old boring stuff rehashed over and over.
And that song, Womanizer, is one of the worst songs I’ve ever heard, and I’m not exaggerating. I could write a better song for Britney, and I’m really not a song writer.
ditto Megan!
and am not only tired of her stupid songs but her stupid face as well, enough already!
eh, I don’t fault her for this (yet). She’s just making baby steps. She’s performing in Europe, away from the most rabid paparazzi, and while those videos will circulate, they just don’t get as much press as a US performance would. i bet by the time she’s performing at home, she’ll be singing. she did seem truly worried that her dress would fall down, and by the end of it, it was – you can see her right breast starting to poof out the side. so, maybe she’ll learn from that. it’s been, like, three years, four years? she’s just practicing getting good again. but the talent that was once there will probably return in full force as her confidence kicks in. it makes sense to me that she would start first with just the dancing and lip synching and THEN move back into actually singing with dancing.
she did have a couple of pauses on the stage that clearly lost her momentum, but she was worried about that ugly dress.
and i don’t know why i’m defending britney, but i kind of want her to do well. for some odd reason.
“and i don’t know why i’m defending britney, but i kind of want her to do well. for some odd reason.”
Me too, Abby. She would make a great poster child for mental health issues. I don’t mean that to be snarky, I mean she could be a real Phoenix from the Ashes and inspire hope in all who suffer from debilitating depression, bipolar disorder, etc. I guess first she has to come to terms with the fact that nobody will ever forget her very public meltdown(s) as well as the reality that, for her, a conservator like her father is going to be a permanent fixture.
not surprising….
take her to the backwoods of loosiana.. or some other swampland and leave her there for a few years!
the last place she needs to be is performing in europe!
I feel like they give her minimal choreography because they feel that the public equates lip synching to heavy dance routines, and with the absence of heavy dance routines, everyone will assume she’s singing. Unfortunately, they need to realize that in the absence of real singing (which anyone with half a brain could spot a mile away), Britney had better be giving us freakin’ backflips. Constantly. While lip synching.
Abby – I agree with this:
and i don’t know why i’m defending britney, but i kind of want her to do well. for some odd reason.
I used to DESPISE Britney. I pretty much hate any manufactured music, which is what the majority of mainstream pop music IS. And she was THE POSTER GIRL for all that crap for many, many years. Anyway I’m new to this whole “Wow, I can’t believe I’m actually rooting for her a little bit” thing. Not sure how to deal with it… 😆
Anyway that performance was painful to watch, I had to turn it off after about a minute & a half. It looks like a high school talent show (with a HUGE prop budget 😆 ) Maybe she really is just working out the kink & jitters. I hope so, because if that’s what’s being marketed as a comeback then someone needs to learn what that word actually MEANS 😛
The only thing she did well was to look good. I’ve never seen a performance that was so obviously lip-synched, and the dancing left a lot to be desired. Remind me again why she has so much money??
A few things:
1. That was a really stupid choice of dress for dancing in and I wonder if it wasn’t deliberately chosen to explain why she’s hardly doing anything besides walking around, flapping her arms, and occasionally doing some of her same old 90s moves.
2. Speaking of, she really needs some new moves. She’s a one-trick pony.
3. The top hat was very intentional–she’s got a badly receding hairline due to years of abuse from weaves. She’s also balding all over and it’s getting harder and harder to cover that. She’ll be in a wig full time long before she’s 40, mark my words. After a while there won’t be much left to attach the weaves to.
4. The song was so bad, I had to turn off the sound.
5. She has to be super micromanaged by court order just to be *this* functional. That says a lot.
I really wish for her sake, for her kid’s sake, and for the world’s sake that she’d just live comfortably on the interest from her money and retire, maybe become a spokesperson for animal rescue, something. She was a packaged Disney deal, then a packaged pop deal, and there’s nothing left in the package because it wasn’t filled with that much talent to begin with.
I feel bad for her because people only want her to do good when it benifits them. But I think if a “real” singer like Xtina or Beyonce would have put on a show like this they would be slammed into the dirt
I don’t particularly despise Britney, I just pity her. And maybe that’s worse.
The thing is that this song (and probably the rest of the album too) is just absolutely awful. And that’s saying a lot for Britney who, in my opinion, has never had particularly inspired or awesome songs. It’s not as bad as Gimme More but then again, what is? Gimme More was just about the hardest rock bottom there was, song-wise.
That being said, I do wish Britney well in her personal life. Going through the turmoil she’s going through must be quite exhausting and I wish that on nobody.
Nevertheless, there is one thing that really, really irks me: the way she shamelessly copies Christina’s Back to Basics album theme (ok, half album theme, the other half was more jazzy/swingy). Christina also had shows that featured a circus theme and she really pulled out all the stops. Britney is just a really, really bad copycat. I wonder why nobody told her or why she doesn’t care. But whoever came up with that idea should be fired.
Painful. She has no business being on the stage.
I don’t think she’s quite ready. I wish the press would let her disappear for a couple years at least instead of pushing her to make a comeback before she’s ready. It makes me sad.
I figured it was common knowledge at this point that Britney can’t sing for shit.
shut up haters! she did great, she looks beautiful and her new album is amazing.
Umm, mari, honey, sorry but: no she didn’t, no she doesn’t and no it isn’t.
Actually, Codzilla, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it turned out that she never sang one note of her songs herself. She used to a an amazing dancer (gotta give her that) but since even that is gone now, there really is no point anymore, is there?
This is not exactly related to Britney Spears’s performance, but Star Academy is pretty high up on the list of things I miss from France. It kicks American Idol’s ass every time.
At best this is a performance for an amateur hour variety show. At this point I think audiences go gaga for her simply because she can stand up, take a few steps to the right,then a few to the left and mouth memorized lyrics at the same time. I give the girl credit for working her way back on to the stage, but I fear the stage is a little too big for her now.
There are so many other things this gal could be doing, but those surrounding her seem convinced that she HAS GOT TO GET BACK ON THE STAGE!!! Well she’s on it folks, now what?
she is not a superwoman.. give this girl a break.. anyway, she is a super entertainer.. she may nt be a voice powerhouse but hey.. she done her job well to keep us entertain 🙂
Britney is a fascinating celebrity. If she was not, I don’t you would even talk about her. She has no confidence now because of the hate that’s directed to her. But she will be her old self when she realized there are still a lot of people who adore her. I’m one of them. Go Brit, celebitchy would be boring without you!
I agree MC – she would have pulled this whole thing off a lot better if she had just gone away for a while to get well. Stay out of the public’s eye and then suddenly WOW everyone with her phenomenal return. Right now, I’m apathetic about it all. I wish her well and I hope she manages to beat this illness she has, but the ‘comeback’ isn’t a comeback – it’s a mess.
Agree, jaundice. Watched her on X-Factor last night and she just stomped around the stage like a baby elephant, lip-synching for all she was worth. It was disasterous and embarrassing.
She needs to go away and get well and review her life. I do wish her well but this is not the way to go.
geronimo, you have hit the nail on the head (again)!
how is lip synching and poor choreography entertaining still? the brit circus needs some new acts…
Wow – some of you people seriously lack compassion! I hope none of you schmucks who write nasty things have the misfortune of experiencing mental illness in your life time. The meds she is taking dampen everything – it would be tough for anyone to feel the music while taking drug cocktails to maintain sanity. Mania can even be an asset for an entertainer.
As for top sellng musicians – dont make me laugh! Most cannot sing, write music or dance. Being HOT is a prerequisite. Talent is only icing on the cake nd it’s the exception NOT the rule(take a look at Rhianna lol – and she has no excuses – her performance is identical to BS).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAjQX_GQe-s
Brit was a performer…as it dance and put on a show. This bored me. Never was a fan and never will be, but I still like to be entertained and this just did not cut it
Same old lip sync shit, same old dance moves.
I don’t understand why her father has her performing, unless there is an acute financial need. She needs a really good therapist that she can trust, and some structure, but not the pressure and hoohaw of a comeback. She seems genuinely happy making appearances, but not when she is performing. And she needs time with a good shrink to get her meds right; that’s a process that takes a lot of time and feedback. I think everybody wishes her well, so that has got to help.
She did GREAT! Leave her alone!!!!!
Well, she didn’t have the dead-behind-the-eyes look that she had a couple of years ago. She seems to be improving, but is still far off the mark. I agree, this is probably why she is doing Europe instead of the US, while she continues recovering.
While this performance is an improvement, she still seems to lack energy. She connected a little more with the song, but there were moments when you could see her checking out mentally and going through the motions. She is on the path, but still has a long way to go.
And the song, granted I’m 44 and maybe I am not supposed to “get” music like hers to begin with; but that song is crap. She could probably do quite well with a comeback over time, but she needs to choose better material. That is just a bad, poorly written song.
Oh, and one final note-as for almost popping out of her costume, she needs new wardrobe people, clearly. It’s easy enough to prevent “wardrobe” malfunctions. The fact that she was worrying about popping out certainly didn’t make her performance any better…and it made her performance look amateurish. She should be able to perform without giving her wardrobe a second thought.