Justin Bieber's 3D concert movie Believe was released in
Stateside cinemas earlier this month. He also released his new album,
'Journals' on December 23. In the run up to the album Bieber had been
releasing a new track from the record each week under the umbrella of
his Music Mondays series, including his collaboration with Chance The
Rapper, 'Confident'.
Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/justin-bieber/74623#CCkBxgyx7m8ucUul.99
Read more at http://www.nme.com/news/justin-bieber/74623#CCkBxgyx7m8ucUul.99
Britney Spears has begun her early retirement in Las Vegas with a show
that looks strikingly like the eye-popping Cirque du Soleil productions
found elsewhere on the Strip.
The debut of Spears' long-term casino gig Friday kept an audience of about 4,500 on their feet for 90 minutes.
The young-for-Vegas crowd was there for the danceable hits and the
spectacle, which included acrobatics, a ring of fire, confetti, a live
band, frenetic costume changes and a frequently airborne Spears.
The show's production values are unusually high for a casino residency,
often calling to mind the golden age of music videos. Its high-concept
set pieces featured a cadre of backup dancers who danced in human-sized
hamster wheels and summersaulted over the Grammy-winning star.
Spears, 32, has signed on to perform 50 shows each in 2014 and 2015 at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino.
She cuts a different figure from the typical Strip headliner. Other
successful Las Vegas acts— including Shania Twain, Elton John and Celine
Dion— have generally attracted an older audience. Judging from Friday's
show, her fans are more likely to be found at a casino mega-club than
in front of a slot machine.
Still, the show is not immune to nostalgia, one of the prime currencies
in Las Vegas entertainment. It includes several callbacks to the 1990s
and early 2000s, including plaid shirts tied around dancers' waists and a
recap of the barley-there sparkling costume Spears wore in the "Toxic"
music video.
Spears' younger self haunted the show, with clips of her early
performances playing on huge monitors. Notably absent from those
monitors, to the displeasure of some fans in the cheap seats, were any
live close-ups of what was unfolding onstage.
On his way out, Shane Sodeman, of San Diego, complained that Spears
hadn't donned the sexy school girl outfit or the skintight orange
jumpsuit she wore in sexier days. A version of the jumpsuit was
displayed in the lobby.
Maryn Harberg, 29, spent the night dancing in her $139 seat, on the
upper end of the $59 to $179 scale. She'd come to the Strip for just one
night, for Britney.
"I loved it," said the beaming Boston resident.
Officials with Caesars Entertainment Corp., which owns Planet Hollywood,
say Spears sings her entire set. Entertainment Programming Vice
President Kurt Melien said she sings against a recorded track of her
vocals to help her through the more physically grueling parts of the
set, and add the electronic undertones that characterize many of her
songs. Some audience members said they thought they detected lip
syncing.
Most of the show appeared physically grueling. Spears has lost some of
the crisp precision that characterized her dancing a decade ago, but she
was in constant motion during the show, allowing her backup dancers to
throw her through the air, and flying around in a huge angel costume for
a performance of "Everytime."
She spent downtime marching around stage and posing, banishing the
specter of her disastrous 2007 MTV performance, which also took place in
Las Vegas, and was a career low point.
Younger divas Selena Gomez, Miley Cyrus, and Katy Perry lent moral support from the audience.
Casino executives say the gig may be extended if it proves a success.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Leave a comment