Aug. 18, 1999
By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
Matthias Rocca was the luckiest
teen in the world (or at least the Chicago area) Tuesday night when Britney
Spears held his hand and sang “Born to Make You Happy” at her sold-out
show at the Rosemont Theatre.
Not that he he didn’t appreciate
it. Rocca--a contest winner--flew in from Germany for the show and got
his wish to meet Spears. It could’ve been the lights reflecting off of
Spears’ body glitter, but I’m pretty sure that even after he returned to
his seat in the audience, I saw love in his eyes.
Oh baby, baby.
The kids were out in full
force for Spears’ first headlining tour, and I’m not just talking about
the little 10-year-old girls (though there were plenty of those, too).
When Spears whipped off her shiny, white jacket to reveal a tight, pink
tube top, the roar eminating from the audience was hormonal and very male.
Currently on her first headlining
tour, the 17-year-old music video star with the washboard abs needed to
do little more than show up to please her young fans. But she put on a
thoroughly entertaining show. Backed by five talented dancers, Spears--herself
no slouch in the dance department--ran through cuts from her quadruple
platinum album “...Baby One More Time.” And when she moaned the familiar
“Oh baby, baby” intro to her breakthrough single of the same name, she
displayed a sexy, but playful quality that kept the song surprisingly clean.
With her girlish voice and
sun-kissed looks, Spears is the female answer to the Backstreet Boys, which
shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise given that Max Martin has penned
hits for both the Boys and Spears; and that Nigel Dick has directed videos
for both. But while the Boys sing songs about that elusive girl that got
away, Spears--like Brandy--does a good job at conveying what it feels like
to be the girl whose heart was broken.
Spears is a good singer
who included a medley of Madonna and Janet Jackson hits into her set. But
she hasn’t developed a style as distinctive as, say, Garbage’s Shirley
Manson. But what’s clear is that while she may sing bubblegum for now,
Spears has enough charm and drive to make the flavor last longer than 15
minutes.
Michael Fredo stood out
among the four opening acts. Tall, lean and impossibly cute, the 20-year-old
former jazz singer debuted cuts from his upcoming fall album “Introducing
Michael Fredo.” With his anthemic single “This Time Around,” Fredo proved
he has the dynamics to translate well in a live setting.
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