By Jae-Ha Kim
Chicago Sun-Times
March 23, 2000
It would be a fair assumption to say that the vocal male contingent at Britney Spears’ sold-out concert Wednesday night at Allstate Arena wanted her in a big way.
Get in line buddies. The 18-year-old princess of pop is pen pals with Prince William and rumored to be setting up house with ‘N Sync hottie Justin Timberlake.
Spears – who performs another sold-out concert tonight – showed why she has got a leg up on blonder competitors such as Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson and Mandy Moore. Aguilera may have a better voice (and a Grammy to validate it), but Spears has that “it” factor that worked for pinup queens of the past, such as Farrah Fawcett.
Spears is not the best dancer or even necessarily the most beautiful, but she is charismatic and exudes genuine niceness, a factor that eludes diva-in-training Aguilera. And for a young woman who knows how to work her body so well onstage, she is surprisingly wholesome.
After one song in which she sang about being “not that innocent,” Spears reminded the audience that the lyrics aren’t representative of who she is.
Fans who saw her sold-out gig last August at the smaller Rosemont Theatre, or her mini-set last October at B96’s Halloween Bash at Allstate Arena, knew what to expect with this concert. The setting was bigger, but the format was the same. The show starts with the familiar schoolroom roll call, and then Spears emerges – this time in a tight, white-fringed outfit that bares her belly button.
She teased the crowd with a snippet of her breakthrough hit, “. . . Baby One More Time,” before launching into a “(You Drive Me) Crazy.” Was it live or Memorex? Eh, who cares. Spears’ concerts aren’t so much about music as they are presentation. To her credit, the performer seemed to be having a great time onstage.
After the ballad “Born to Make You Happy,” Spears and her entourage of eight dancers disappeared from the stage while a video montage of them cutting up in rehearsal ran on an oversized video screen. Cute stuff, but it went on for a few minutes too long.
A couple of costume changes later, she debuted songs from her upcoming May album, including the tepid ballad “Don’t Let Me Be the Last to Know.” Taking a cue from ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys, she “flew” over the audience on a magic carpet. Genie in a bottle, anyone? Oh wait, that’s Aguilera.
For “From the Bottom of My Broken Heart,” four young men who looked like they could form a boy band right there competed for the honor of sharing the stage with Spears.
The winner – a cap wearing, lollipop sucking, camera mugging kid named Stevie – looked more thrilled to be in front of an audience than to be thisclose to Spears.
I was rooting for one of the pimply little boys who looked as if he would die if selected.
