Britney Spears Faces Tough Criticism In Oz
Britney Spears was photographed walking with her head held high as she made her way to her second concert performance in Perth, Australia in the wake of rampant reports of fan disapproval of her concert performance style. The press has been running wild with reports of fan outrage over Britney’s performance style, claiming that many fans walked out of her show angry and unsatisfied. Here are the new pics of Britney making her way to her second Perth show and some of the criticism that has been thrown her way:
BRITNEY Spears was holed up in a Perth hotel yesterday as the row over her lip-synching concerts threatened to derail her Australian tour. Fans walked out after only three songs at Perth’s Burswood Dome on Friday, upset by her lacklustre performance. Many claimed her show was not worth the $200 they had paid. The lip-synch controversy has dogged Spears since she arrived in Australia and made headlines around the world, including on US TV’s CNN. Adding to Spears’ woes, media companies, including News Limited, refused to photograph the concert after being asked to signrestrictive agreements by her management. None were imposed on video journalists. Spears mimed most of her songs on stage, singing only on ballads. Among fans who walked out early was Amanda Hawlet, 22, who drove from home two hours away and spent almost $500 on a weekend to see Britney. She left only half an hour into the action, angry at the miming. “I want my money back or I want her to sing properly,” she said. “The ticket cost me $200 and she lip-synched the whole thing. It’s cost me half a week’s wage and you’ve got bills to pay, but you look forward to this concert, it’s a night out – and what do you get? Nothing! It was a waste of $200 – I could have got four pairs of shoes for that.” The lack of big screens – masking Spears’ miming and taking the focus away from her rigid performance – left many in the cheap seats fuming. Fans complained that the US pop star spent large portions of the in-the-round show with her back to them. “You couldn’t tell if it was Britney or not,” Mel McGuigan, 25, said. A Burswood spokesman said a record concert crowd had made it a huge success. No complaints had been received from fans, a statement said.
But while these folks were walking out of the show, another 18,272 people stayed inside to enjoy the show … which I understand set a new audience attendance record for Perth, Australia. The previous attendance record was set by P!nk with an audience of around 17,000. So, while Britney has a small number of critics, she also has a much larger audience of supportive fans who love and appreciate her entirely. Sounds like the fan climate down in Oz is about the same as it is here in the US. Our dear Britney has been thru worse … I’m sure she’ll weather this bit of controversy just fine.
[Photo credit: Splash News; Source]
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November 7th, 2009 at 12:23 pm
do they not read any blogs over there??? this whole not singing live isnt a new thing…shes never sang live.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
The thing is, most Aussies perfer their concerts live. That’s what we pay for. Even if it’s not up to scratch (meaning the singing), we’d prefer that to listening to lip-syncing. I mentioned this way back when she first started the tour and got lambasted by a lot of folk on here, but I was just saying it as it is. On the other hand, many fans will take anything just to see their favourtie performer live on stage, as is the case with this concert. If fans are happy with a watching more of a show than a live performance, then they’ll hang around. For $200 a ticket, I want a live performance. My choice.
And again, what’s with the winter gear? It’s frigging 90 degrees + down here…why rug up? Especially as we all know she loves to get around in next to nothing. This is the perfect weather for that sort of get up.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:32 pm
There are less than a few people that I would actually spend $200. on tickets, to see in concert….(she’s definitely NOT one of them)..
AND: If I did spend that much for tickets, I’ll be damned if I left before that show was over! LOL… It would have to suck pretty damn bad.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
@debho: If it was winter-time there, I bet she’d be wearing shorts, a tank top and flip flops. She’s not the brightest bulb in the box… :-P
November 7th, 2009 at 12:35 pm
i agree Nicole, its hard to really feel bad for these people. Are they really that surprised? Its a well known fact she lip syncs. If you’re a big enough fan you’d shell out $200 for a ticket, you should also follow her enough to know thats one of her biggest criticisms.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:36 pm
If you’re gonna spend $200 on a concert ticket, then do your research!!! Find out if the artists lipsynchs, or does anything else you probably won’t like. But to spend the money and then bitch, that’s just stupid!!
Personally I hate the heavy lipsynching at a concert, but for Britney, I’d make an execption because I know I would enjoy the rest of the show that much. It’s just a pity the Aussies complaining didn’t do that, and now they’re ruining the tour for the people who did.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:37 pm
Are these fans new? I went to see Britney in April, and I didn’t really expect her to sing live at all. The fact that she did sing some songs live was pretty much a treat in my opinion. I love Britney, and her music/performances, but it’s not like she’s the world’s best singer or something (and I don’t think she ever has been or ever claimed to be).
November 7th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
WHAT?! Britney lip synchs?!!?! This is a HUGE news flash to the world!!
The majority of the people who went to that concert are her fans there. And the majority of those people know- or should know – that she is about the spectacle, not the singing. It’s their own damn fault. It’s not as if she was gonna lip synch all over europe and the u.s but then suddenly change for Australia. Ugh. People are dumb.
Keep doing your thang Brit!
P.S @ debho – Preferring your concerts live isnt an “Aussie” thing, its a people thing.
November 7th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
Does anyone really go to a Britney concert for the singing? I mean really, it’s the whole spectacle that you go for right?
While Brit Brit is not an awful singer, I do not think she will go down in history as one of the greatest *singers* of her time. If this was an Xtina show, or Adele or anyone who is recognised as a great singer okay. But Britney?
“Amanda” is clearly not the sharpest tool in the shed if she expected Brit to be singing live. And would she really have wanted her to?
November 7th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
I am from australia, and unless I do not know what news services are called is news limited even credible? I bet they were paid to just complain about anything..
The thing is if you were a fan, Surely you would have heard or seen something of the tour overseas before your show, so why it is a big shock to them i dont know. in the full article people complained about the general vip area, that people were jostling for a better position – that happens at every concert. If you didnt think the show was worth the money – it certainly isnt if you leave early – why not stay and get more value for your ticket, and these “fans” who “left after 3 songs” how do they know it didnt get better after they left? they didnt even give it a chance..that means they left after radar, and i am guessing there is at least 10-15 songs left…
I am so pissed about all this controversy over nothing! I am looking forward to this so much and i personally dont mind the whole lip sync thing..I have spent $1000 on 3 tickets and I know I would get my money’s worth!
November 7th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I don’t and haven’t ever liked her music so I’d never spend a dime to see her live or even buy an album of hers. I would think that if someone was willing to shell out such a laughable amount of money on tickets to her charade or “spectacle” or what have you, that you’d know something about her lack of ability to sing live which is just all kinds of ironic to me. Maybe I need to move to Australia. I kinda love how important live music is down there. And I’ve been a huge silverchair fan since ‘97. ;)
November 7th, 2009 at 1:01 pm
So dumb. Everyone knows she lip-synchs. I personally prefer lip-synching, i wanna go to a show and here what i hear in my radio and see a cool performance. I don’t wanna hear something thats all off, especially if their voice isn’t at their greatest that day.
November 7th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
my first though it are they living under a rock? i don’t think i’ve ever seen her perform live? shouldn’t be a shocker. and $200 a ticket that is crap!i would NEVER pay that much EVER. not unless that included backstage passes and a guaranteed meet and greet. taht is a ridiculous amount of money for any concert
November 7th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
For a decent seat at any concert we’ll pay that amount. So given that, you don’t have to be a huge fan to pay that for a seat. Many people are going to Britney’s concerts just because she’s Britney. Not everyone reads blogs. Or does research before a concert. A famous name will sell tickets. Yes, shame on those that paid money to see a concert and were disappointed that it wasn’t live. How naive to think that someone of her echelon wouldn’t perform live. Especially when we’ve just had P!nk down here who had nothing but rave revues for her concerts which were all done live. The thing is, Aussies are notorious critics. People have been boo’d off the stage for less. Anyone who tours down here should do research too. I spoke with a friend who went to see her the other night and while they didn’t really have a problem with her not actually singing, they did have a problem with the lack of interaction between her and the audience. On the whole though, they liked her concert. I think it’s stupid that people left before the end of the concert…that’s their fault that they’ve done their dough. Also, we all know that the media likes to sensationalise situations. And that’s what all this more than likely is.
@Claire..music is important to us down here. lol And I used to babysit Daniel Johns when he was little!
November 7th, 2009 at 2:23 pm
can i just say that, that this whole issue has been blown out of proportion in the australian media – the only people that expect her to sing live are the greying male reporters talking about it on the news. Everyone know’s that she lip syncs. I work at a ticketek and everyone I’ve encountered while selling tickets has been going just to see her – not hear her. Wait until the concerts hit the east coast – there won’t be as much complaining.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
Someone needs to rush the stage and prove she FAKING IT.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Not suprised. I saw her in 2000 for her Oops…tour and it was literally like someone had pushed play on her CDs and she bopped around the stage. Circus Tour was no better, though she did try and jazz it up by reworking the songs. If people who love pop music really want to see a star shut it down live in concert, go see Madonna. She is well worth the amount of money and also has the “spectacle” that Brit tries so hard to capture.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
I WISHED I HAD BOUGHT A TICKET TO HER SHOW JUST TO RUSH THE STAGE TO EMBARRASS HER AND PROVE THAT SHE IS NO BETTER THAN ASHLEE SIMPSON.
November 7th, 2009 at 2:34 pm
people should seriously get over the whole lip-synching thing. the should’ve known she was going to lip-synch, i did and i am going to one of her sydney concerts anyway. i’d like to see them perform and dance like that while singing.
November 7th, 2009 at 3:15 pm
Call me old fashioned but I don’t think you should have to do research on the internet to see if the singer is actually going to sing when there on stage? If Brit Brit doesn’t plan on singing shouldn’t the promoters bill it as an “appearence”? Doesn’t that singer P!NK do acrobatics in the air while singing? ——-that being said, I love my Aussies…but anyone who expects anything out of a girl (still not a woman) who can barely walk and talk? Who in there right mind would pay $200 for her?
November 7th, 2009 at 3:58 pm
I don’t think people should have to “research” a singer before they go and see them. If the promoters are going to bill it as a LIVE concert, then we expect LIVE singing, not some lip synching crap. And for all the people who say that you can’t sing while dancing like that, well P!NK managed, as did Christina Aguilera. Plus, people wouldn’t even mind the lip synching so much if she even acknowleged that the audience was there and interacted with them a little bit, that’s part of the joy of going to a concert, getting to interact with the singer/band. Or maybe if they had at least been able to SEE her on the big screens, instead of just watching a tiny dot on the stage. To expect all that money off people and then give them a terrible show just isn’t done in Australia, and debho is right, people have been boo’d off the stage for less.
Oh and Justin? I’m sure heaps of Aussie fans would love to go and see Madonna, if she would only tour down here.
November 7th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
To those people who are horrified that us Australian’s would pay $200 a ticket – shut up. Concert tickets aren’t cheap in Australia. If we have international acts flying in we have to pay big money to go see them. I paid $150 to see Justin Timberlake a few years ago and this was just an average ticket cost. I didn’t mind it was a great show.
Britney has never toured Australia before. So this is a big deal. People are gonna fork out big money to go see her. We know she lip-synchs. I really doubt many people walked out. They just want a scandal.
I’ve got my Britney ticket. I am going to sing along and enjoy the concert rather than criticize it.
November 7th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Seriously this doesn’t require any real research. I’m a fan of Britney AND Pink. I went to both of their concerts this year. I went to Britney’s knowing she wouldn’t sing most songs, and I went to Pink’s knowing she would be singing. I think any legitimate fan would know these things about these artists,
I remember, back in the day, my mom always liked Christina better and my grandma always liked Britney better. I loved both for different. Christina is hands-down the better singer, while I always thought (and still do think) Britney puts on a better overall performance. I don’t think Britney’s awesomeness has ever been based on having a supreme voice.
And I think Pink’s a badass because she does cirque du soleil craziness and sings her ass off at the same time. Hence why she’s one of my favorite singer/performers :).
November 7th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
wait, britney spears lip syncs?!
November 7th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
any new is publicity. i think the show was good. it was good to see brit back on stage and doing her thing.
November 7th, 2009 at 5:42 pm
Yeah I think this whole talk of “research” is silly. People that are willing to spend that much on a ticket are obviously fans, so really should know that Britney is famous for lip synching. This conversation has been going on for over 10 years regarding Britney and people need to get over it.
November 7th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
People are fucking stupid. If you can’t afford to go somewhere then why do you bitch about the price? I mean, c’mon now. In my opinion, $200 dollars isn’t even that much. It’s cheap. I spent $525 for Britney (including my sister’s ticket) and I had a blast. I know what I was expecting. Britney is a performer, not a singer. She could sing and she does sing well but Jive doesn’t want her to expose her singing voice. It’s quite good, I think. People are just inane with all of their bitching. Britney is extremely talented but I don’t know what her deal is these days but people need to get over it. Who cares if you spent a weeks wage? It’s your fault. This is Britney Spears we’re talking about. Idiots. Oh, and I would rather here someone fake sing then gasp for air.
November 7th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
AND MICHAEL JACKSON LIPSYNCHED 95% OF HIS CAREER! His famous Mow Town performance, his concerts,and everything else he lipsynched. Did people give him flack for it? No, they didn’t. If Rihanna or Beyonce lipsynched would they get any flack? No, the media wouldn’t even DARE to do so. Double standards are gross.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:23 pm
@Lana… so true
anyway i cant wait to see her on the 16th… im sure i’ll enjoy it heaps… i mean come on its BRITNEY SPEARS…
November 8th, 2009 at 3:14 am
Just thought I would preface this by saying that I am Australian… Anyway, the thing I don’t get is what these whingers expected… it is Britney Spears, of course she is lip syncing. I’m not having a go at her vocal ability, just commenting that she spends most of the time dancing and performing, and that is what you go to see. Its not likely that she is going to be able to deliver a decent vocal performance at the same time, so she lip syncs, which is fair enough I reckon. If you want a live show, go and see someone else… easy!
November 8th, 2009 at 3:50 am
I think that the thing really is, she is a performer, who performs quite well. An entertainer that entertains quite well. But she is also a singer, but she doesn’t sing.
Wait, if I did my job half ways, would I get paid my entire pay check ? No. And that is wrong.
But I love Britney and I wanted to see her when she came over here, but I was on holiday =(
November 8th, 2009 at 4:30 am
For the love of Britney!!! they walk out after only 3 songs? … jeez – give a performer a chance to warm up!!
Why do I think this was an pre-organised walk out? … if they were ‘real’ fans (as they claimed to be) they would have stuck it out till the end.
November 8th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I’d rather see a kangaroo, mate.
November 8th, 2009 at 11:28 am
This is why she lip-syncs:
http://fromtheleft.wordpress.com/2009/11/07/this-is-why-britney-spears-lip-syncs/
November 8th, 2009 at 11:31 am
@Bubba — Those vocals have been manipulated to make her sound that way. The same hoax was perpetrated on Beyonce earlier this year.
November 8th, 2009 at 1:12 pm
those boots again!! why does she love those fugly boots so much?? they remind me of her crazy days.
November 8th, 2009 at 4:05 pm
I went to the Perth concert Saturday night. It was a good show, but not having big screens was a problem. They didnt sell all the tickets so for the last couple of weeks they have been going for $50. I paid $150 so i feel like im just funding K-Fed. Thats why it was a record crowd cos of the cheap tickets and most of the venue was allocated to standing (only reason for record number). I have to say Pinks concert was awesome and i was disappointed by Britneys.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Damn, after a decade of the same thing, people should know by now that when you see Britney Spears in concert, it’s 99% lyp-synched.
November 8th, 2009 at 5:51 pm
I went to the Perth Friday night concert and i thought it was awsome ! I bought the tickets full well knowing she would be lip syncing but bought the tix anyway I was more interested in seeing her performance. I think she did a great job and would go see her again! And i did not see mass amounts of people walking out what a load of rubbish !
November 9th, 2009 at 6:12 am
It is kind of hard to get that audotune sound live without lipsyncing. :-P
November 9th, 2009 at 6:18 am
PINK KICKS BRITANY’S LIP SYNCING ASS!!!
SINGERS WILL SING AND DANCE IF THEY CAN
FAKERS JUST FAKE AND DANCE IF THEY CAN’T
November 9th, 2009 at 6:27 am
i have seen Pink live twice, she is amazing. Always sings live and is a good performer. I have seen Christina twice always sings live and is also a good performer. Have never and will never see Britney live, I can watch the same performance from Britney for free on my tv, I am a dancer and her dancing is also lackluster so to use that as an excuse for her lipsynching really isnt a good point.
November 9th, 2009 at 6:28 am
OOPS SPELT THE FAKE’S NAME WRONG!
sorry i was using the new ‘Britney spell checker’ ;)
EVEN PINK’S NAME IS EASY TO SPELL.
why would anyone waste money on a lip syncing singer at a LIVE concert?
maybe it should be called LIVE CONCERT-(except for pathetic lip syncing).
November 9th, 2009 at 10:15 am
I have always felt that Britney should lipsynch because honestly she can’t sing live – I remember her singing Everytime live on some award show and it was dreadful, I felt really bad for her. She looked like she wanted to run off stage and I wouldn’t have blamed her if she did. She is a performer more so than a singer.
If I had a choice to hear her sing or watch her dance I would choose dancing. Her recordings are so over dubbed and manipulated that she could sound like her albums anyway.
It’s hard to sing and dance so the bottom line for me if I am going to see Christina then I want to hear her sing, if I am going to see Britney I would rather see her dance…
November 9th, 2009 at 11:20 am
I went to her Saturday concert and while I wasn’t expecting her to sing live, it was a tad disappointing that there wasn’t much audience interaction. Nonetheless, she really did put up a great performance and that was more important to me. The dance routines and the stage works were awesome! And finally seeing her perform live is like a childhood dream come true!
November 9th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
I have a feeling more people would have walked out if she HAD sang live!
November 10th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
It’s sad that people are OK with the fact that she lip-syncs…Why pay so much money for someone to dance to a song you already have. The Aussies made a good point, it could have been ANYONE on that stage. Hell, go to any club in the USA and look for a cute, bleach blonde girl dancing to “3″…and you see it for free. GO AUSSIES FOR STANDING YOUR GROUND! I really don’t like that the US Media has been dissing the Aussie fans for taking a stance. For shame!