Grading Britney: how she’s rated through the years
She has a another hit album. On March 3, she began her world tour in support of 2008’s “Circus.” The Times’ Ann Powers is in New Orleans, and her review from the concert can be found on the Pop & Hiss blog.
With Spears embarking on a massive tour, one that brings her to Los Angeles on April 16, we take a look back at how The Times has rated her past albums and live performances.
Is Britney in the flesh better than Britney on record? (Peter Kramer / Associated Press)
Album review: “. . . Baby One More Time”
Released in January 1999, “. . . Baby One More Time” followed the massive success of its title track. Nevertheless, The Times was mixed on Britney’s first offering, writing, “The 17-year-old former Mouseketeer’s debut recalls ‘80s-vintage Madonna and
Read the full review. (Lori Shepler / Los Angeles Times)
Album review: “Oops ... I Did it Again”
Spears’ sophomore effort was an international hit, but it was panned in The Times. Her live performances from the era received better marks (see next slide).
In its review of the album, The Times cited a “dearth of emotion,” blaming the “almost fully automated music, but Spears doesn’t even convey the sense of fun she exuded the first time around. Some interludes of chatty dialogue about cute boys and poor little rich girls seem intended to inject more personality into the mix, but they sound every bit as hollow and fake as the songs.”
Read the full review. (Richard Hartog / Los Angeles Times)
Live review: 2001 Dream Within a Dream tour
Her 2001 concert stop in
Lewis wrote, “Most shows by teen-pop performers develop into nothing more than random acts of hyperkinetic choreography, but Spears’ work ethic and genuine charisma infuse much of her lightweight material with a sincerity her peers can’t touch.”
Read the full review. (Karen Tapia-Andersen / Los Angeles Times)
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Live: 2004’s Onyx Hotel tour
Robert Hilburn attended Spears’ 2004 trek and found this was no longer kid’s stuff.
He wrote, “In the past, Spears has had the luxury of having critics try to look at her show through the awe in the eyes of the 8- to 12-year-olds who made up her target audience. And it was easy to be charmed by the teen innocence and action-girl hero stance.
“In keeping with Spears’ attempt to elevate her target audience from 12 to, say, 22, she has moved to a more torrid mix of sensual imagery and dance-floor heat -- and requires to be judged by adult standards.
“ ‘I don’t wanna be a tease,’ she sings in one song. ‘Will you undo my zipper please.’ ”
Read the full review. (Glenn Koenig / Los Angeles Times)
Live review: 2007 Video Music Awards
Spears’ return on the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards has gone down in Brit history as one of the singer’s odder moments, to say the least. The Times’ Ann Powers noted she was “sleepwalking” through her performance, but the whole show felt like little more than an advertisment for MTV.com.
Read the full review. (AFP/Getty Images)
