Britney Spears "upset" over Australian tour complaints

Reuters - November 8, 2009 7:54 PM PST
Story photo: Britney Spears Singer Britney Spears performs on ABC's "Good Morning America" in New York on December 2, 2008 in this file photo. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/FilesReuters

CANBERRA (Reuters) - Britney Spears has done it again, hitting the headlines during her first Australian tour over a row about lip-synching and a lacklustre performance that her tour promoter said had left her "extremely upset."

Australian media reported that fans walked out of the first of Spears' 14 Australian performances that was staged in Perth on Friday after just a few songs, describing it as "boring," "stiff," mimed and lacking interaction with the audience.

But the promoter of Spears' Australian "Circus" tour, her manager and some fans rushed to her defense, saying this savaging has left the U.S. pop singer traumatized.

"Britney is aware of all this and she's extremely upset by it," Paul Dainty, Spears' tour promoter, told The Australian newspaper on Monday.

"She's a human being. I'm embarrassed, with such a big international entourage here with Britney, to be part of the Australian media when I see that kind of totally inaccurate reporting."

Dainty said it was a total fabrication to suggest that fans had stormed out of the show as early as the third song after paying between $200 to $1,500 to see the 27-year-old singer who has rebuilt her career after a high-profile meltdown.

Before her world tour started in March to promote her sixth studio album, Spears had only done a handful of live concerts in recent years as her personal life ran out of control.

This included stints in psychiatric care, an ugly divorce, losing custody of her two sons, shaving her head and partying without panties.

Spears has been at the center of debate over lip-synching since she arrived in Australia last week, even though it's no secret that she mimes as she dances in her circus-themed show.

The Fair Trade Minister for the state of New South Wales, Virginia Judge, ignited the debate by saying Australians would not tolerate a "Mickey Mouse" performance by Spears, who rose to fame as a member of Disney's "Mickey Mouse Club" TV series.

Judge suggested concert tickets should carry disclaimers about whether parts of concerts were pre-recorded and mimed.

Dainty said it was well known that part of Spears concert was lip-synched and blasted any inference that this was hidden.

"It's been all over the Internet for nine months," Dainty said. "This show is about an incredible spectacle, which it is."

Spears' manager Adam Leber took to Spears' Twitter account to defend the singer to her 3.7 million followers.

"Its unfortunate that one journalist in Perth didn't enjoy the show last night. Fortunately the other 18,272 fans in attendance did. - Adam" he wrote.

The management from the Burswood Dome in Perth, where Spears' show was staged, told local reporters that they had not received any complaints from the 17,000 people who were at the show. A similar number attended Spears' show the next night as well.

Thousands of fans flooded Spears' personal website and Twitter to congratulate her on her comeback, describing her Perth performances as "amazing," "awesome" and "brilliant."

(Editing by Miral Fahmy)

comments

comments

comments 1-10 of 212  |< newest · < newer · older > · oldest >|  hide comments · post a comment
  • Artie Morty
    Is it expecting to much that, if you pay to see a singer, they do actually sing. Pity Miss Spears hasn't seen Australian performers like INXS, Tina Arena, Wolfmother, Jet, The Angels and Cold Chisel. She may learn what a real performance is. Perhaps she should leave the circus at home and bring the one thing people actually want to see - her supposed talent.
    report abuseposted November 14, 2009 5:15 PM PST
  • Joan
    It's awful people pay so much money for a singer to lip-sync at a concert. If you want to see the greatest band ever coming to Australia in Dec. go see Fleetwood Mac. They are a class act and you would never ever see Stevie Nicks or any other band member lip-sync at their concert.
    report abuseposted November 12, 2009 2:22 PM PST
  • OrderlyL
    Britney Spears is a stupid, lazy oaf. At home, the way she acts you would think she was running important errands, but she's going to TARGET. When she's performing, she's plodding around onstage, lip-synching.
    report abuseposted November 11, 2009 11:06 PM PST
  • Johnny
    Britney keep up the good work i love ya.
    report abuseposted November 10, 2009 5:47 PM PST
  • Johnny
    Britney keep up the good work i love ya.
    report abuseposted November 10, 2009 5:47 PM PST
  • Tom
    You poor youngsters have no idea what a real entertainer is. A guy like James Brown could dance like a fiend and sing like a banshee for hours, and he didn't need no sequencer. Years later, Prince followed in the Godfather's steps and did the same kind of shows. There have always been no-talent teeny-bopping idols like Britney, but technology makes it easier for them to pretend
    report abuseposted November 10, 2009 2:29 PM PST
  • LJ K
    "But the promoter of Spears' Australian "Circus" tour, her manager and some fans rushed to her defense, saying this savaging has left the U.S. pop singer traumatized." ============================================================ If THIS tramatizes you Britney, You best call it quits, hang up your microphone & head into seclusion. you're
    report abuseposted November 10, 2009 2:24 PM PST
  • Chupacabara Ric
    Let's see... Dancing around to pre-recorded music in skimpy outfits, while gyrating in a seductive manner... Correct me if I'm wrong for drawing this conclusion, but what's the difference between that, and what the strippers at the local Spearmint Rhino do? Wonder what she charges for a lap dance?
    report abuseposted November 10, 2009 1:51 PM PST
  • Dena C
    i think everyone knows that she lip syncs like every time she sings...look at all the time she sang and u can tell she never sings live...but i still like her her songs are so good!
    report abuseposted November 10, 2009 9:15 AM PST
  • Marcos
    I am all in favor of a "singer" disclosing that they are in fact NOT singing during their "concert". It is called truth in advertising, something apparently some people do not care about as they make excuses for Ms. Spears, for various reasons. The fact that it is Australians standing up and holding her accountable says something about them and everyone else tha
    report abuseposted November 10, 2009 9:08 AM PST
comments 1-10 of 212  |< newest · < newer · older > · oldest >| 

Post A Comment

sign in to post a comment.

sign in

Help us to improve! - Send Your Suggestions