Tours

Tours of Britney Spears

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

American recording artist Britney Spears has embarked in five concert tours, four of which have been worldwide. Her first tour happened as an opening act for 'N Sync. Spears' 1999–2000 headlining debut, the ...Baby One More Time Tour, was based in North America only, and its success prompted an extension of dates entitled Crazy 2K. The tour was positively received by critics, but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits. Jae-Ha Kim of the Chicago Sun-Times commented that "Spears has that 'it' factor that worked for pinup queens of the past". In 2000–01, she performed on the worldwide Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour. It was critically appreciated for Spears' energy and performance, as well as the band. She then followed this with the Dream Within a Dream Tour in 2001–02, visiting Japan and Mexico for the first time. The performances were accompanied by many special effects, the pièce de résistance being a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage during the encore performance of "...Baby One More Time". Other moments included singing "Oops!... I Did It Again" in a girating wheel and jumping in bungee cords for "I Love Rock 'n' Roll".

The Dream Within a Dream Tour was followed by 2004's The Onyx Hotel Tour. Spears was inspired to create a show set in different areas of a hotel, and mixed it with the concept of an onyx stone, that symbolized untapped desire. The tour was cancelled after Spears hurt her knee while shooting the music video for "Outrageous". The Onyx Hotel Tour grossed $34 million, in addition to $30 million of merchandise, making Spears the highest grossing female artist. She did not tour again until The Circus Starring Britney Spears. All the North American shows were sold out, and it broke attendance records in some cities. It went on to become the fifth highest grossing tour of 2009, as well as the fifth highest grossing tour ever by a female artist, with approximately US $131.8 million in ticket sales. As of September 2009, Spears has performed concerts for over ten million people. Spears has also embarked in two promotional tours: the L'Oreal Hair Zone Tour (1998) and The M+M's Tour (2007).

Concert tours

Year	Title	Duration	Number of performances
1998	'N Sync Tour	November 17, 1998 – December 27, 1998 (North America)	22
Spears' first concert tour was as the opening act for fellow Jive pop group, 'N Sync. Spears opened for them in 21 U.S. cities, such as Atlanta, Cleveland, St. Louis and Minneapolis. Although Spears contrasted with the female audience chanting for their male idols, she won the crowds with her frenetic dance routines and high-energy songs.
1999-2000	...Baby One More Time Tour	June 28, 1999 – April 20, 2000 (North America)	80
The ...Baby One More Time Tour was Spears' debut headlining concert tour, and promoted her similarly titled first album. Spears designed the stage and worked on the fashion with Gia Ventola. During the 1999 concerts, Spears sang a number of cover versions by well-known artists such as Madonna, Janet Jackson and Journey. A 2000 extension of 24 dates, entitled Crazy 2K, included songs from her upcoming second album, Oops!... I Did It Again. The tour received mostly positive reviews from critics, who called Spears's performance "assured and energetic". She also received accusations of lip synching, which she neither confirmed or denied.
2000–01	Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour	June 20, 2000 – September 20, 2000 (North America) October 8, 2000 – November 21, 2000 (Europe) January 18, 2001 (Brazil)	90
The Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour was Spears' first world tour, reaching North America, Europe and Brazil. The show was more elaborate than her previous tour and included pyrotechnics and other special effects. Reviewers praised the tour, adding that "[the concert] proved that many [of her] criticisms are off-base observations from people who have never actually attended [her] shows". Concert promoters SFX Entertainment guaranteed Spears a minimum of $200,000 per show before the tour began, and many of the shows sold out in one day. The Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour grossed $40.5 million and became the second highest-grossing tour of the year by a solo artist.
2001–02	Dream Within a Dream Tour	November 1, 2001 – December 21, 2001 (North America) April 25, 2002 (Japan) May 24, 2002 – July 28, 2002 (North America)	68
The Dream Within a Dream Tour was the third concert tour by Spears, in support of her third studio album, Britney. Concert West was chosen as a promoter after a much publicized battle with Clear Channel Entertainment. A portion of the tickets and merchandise was donated to the children affected by the September 11 attacks. The name of the tour was based on Edgar Allan Poe's poem of the same name, and the theme was Spears's coming of age and newfound independence. The performances were accompanied by many extravagant special effects – during the encore, there was a water screen that pumped two tons of water into the stage. Although critics argued that the innovations took attention away from the music, the tour was a commercial success, grossing $43.7 million.
2004	The Onyx Hotel Tour	March 2, 2004 – April 14, 2004 (North America) April 26, 2004 – June 6, 2004 (Europe)	54
The Onyx Hotel Tour was the fourth concert tour by Spears, in support of her fourth studio album, In the Zone. The show was majorly inspired by Broadway musicals and films by Joel Schumacher and Tim Burton. Critics appreciated the tour as a "theatrical extravaganza", comparing it to Madonna shows such as The Girlie Show World Tour. The tour was marketed to a more mature audience than her previous shows, resulting in slower ticket sales. Tour merchandise sold $30 million in total, making Spears the highest grossing female artist. It was cancelled after the second leg when Spears hurt her knee during a music video shoot. The Onyx Hotel Tour grossed $34 million.
2009	The Circus Starring Britney Spears	March 3, 2009 – May 5, 2009 (North America) June 3, 2009 – July 26, 2009 (Europe) August 20, 2009 – September 27, 2009 (North America) November 6, 2009 – November 29, 2009 (Australia)	97
The Circus Starring Britney Spears was the fifth concert tour by Spears, in support of her sixth studio album, Circus. The stage was set in-the-round to resemble an actual three ring circus. A week after the tour was announced, 500,000 tickets were sold, prompting promoters to add more dates. The tour also broke attendance records in many cities, and all the North American shows were sold out. With a gross of $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest grossing tour of 2009, as well as the fifth highest grossing tour ever by a female artist. The show generated controversy on the Australian leg after a reporter said that a great number of fans had walked out during the performances. However, this was later denied by Spears's management and promoters.

Promotional tours

Year	Title	Duration	Number of performances
1998	L'Oreal Hair Zone Tour	June 1998 – August 1998 (North America)	Exact number unknown
After Spears finished recording her first album in Sweden, she embarked a promotional tour in malls across the United States; the same method was used to promote 1980's female popstars such as Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. Spears performed a four-song set and was supported by two back-up dancers. She also met fans and magazine editors in the way, promoting a four-track demo from her upcoming album. The tour was deemed a success.
2007	The M+M's Tour	May 1, 2007 – May 20, 2007 (North America)	6
It was a series of six concerts at House of Blues venues across the US; Spears performed under the name The M+M's. Before opening night, speculation caused some tickets to resell as much as $500 each. Spears was accompanied by four female dancers and performed a thirteen-minute set that included her songs "...Baby One More Time", "I'm a Slave 4 U", "Breathe on Me", "Do Somethin'" and "Toxic".