Thaindian News

Britney Spears went all out to prove that she can still hold her own in the pop arena alongside Madonna and Kylie Minogue on her New Orleans show ahead of her US tour. But she did not sing live.

She changed her costume a dozen times, danced and did the smoke and mirrors trick, but she only lip-synched. So while fans were happy critics were not, seeing the sham as an obvious disappointment.

There was not much shared between the crowd and the 27-year old mother of two, but Britney signed off saying, “Thank you New Orleans, you have a good night.” Nearly all tickes for the show were sold out for Britney’s return to the stage after 2004 but some remained unsold because they were too unaffordable in an economic crisis.

Critics maintained that the show was good but her vocals and dancing left them not satisfied. Her dance was criticized as “nothing special - defined by much strutting and stripper-like shimmying, with the minimum amount of acrobatics to prove her mettle as a dance-pop queen.” But even though fans rocked to her tunes and the marvelous spectacle on stage, MTV’s James Montgomery said, “At times, Britney herself is almost dwarfed by the spectacle.”

She has regained her figure and flaunted it in one costume after another during the show. From metallic robot-style corsets to transparent bodysuits, from a ringmaster’s outfit to PVC hotpants and a Swarovski-studded bra, from sequinned jodhpurs to

Bollywood style harem pants, Britney clearly set aside her clean-cut image of the nineties and set the stage on fire.

Britney Spears is hopeful that this tour will bring her former popularity back. She has had a troubled hiatus with a shaved head, messy custody battles and psychiatric evaluations coming her way.