Britney is brilliant, Live in London
‘Izzy, I think I might throw up’. My friend laughs at how ridiculous i’m being and turns back to the stage while we wait for the lights to dim in anticipation of Britney’s arrival. My fingers are sporadically tapping a beat on my knees, my heart is working overtime and it takes me a while to realise that I’m actually nervous for her to come out.
Like most people in the crowd at The O2, I’m someone who’s grown up with Britney being in their lives for as long as they can remember, from "Baby One More Time" to "Crossroads" to "Glory", and to be honest it feels like this moment has been a long time coming.
Since her triumphant show at Brighton Pride, which was so popular it literally caused the city to shut down, the internet’s been abuzz with Britney. And from the start of her nearly 30 song set, Britney is entirely in charge. Starting with a pumped up version of "Work B*tch", there was no way that the seats in arena were ever going to be used.
About half an hour in, after letting the crowd terribly dance and scream along there’s a change in speed. The dancers have changed into beautifully flowing garments, Britney herself has changed, and the opening notes of "Baby One More Time" ring through the arena. I don’t know if i’ll ever understand the hype around magic, but tonight the way in which she was able to transport an entire stadium back to 1999 with just a few words felt pretty surreal to me. And with no time for recovery on our parts, the smoothest transition of the night occurred, with "Baby One More Time" slipping into "Oops!...I Did It Again" - and i suppose it was true, she had done it again, we were putty in her hands. Every subtle wink to the audience, flick of her ponytail and laugh with her dancers was just another way to endear us all.
Throughout the entire night she had an aura about her that said, I’m not a girl and I AM now a woman. We’ve seen her grow and tackle everything thrown at her for over 20 years now, she’s not just the punchline to ‘leave Britney alone’, she’s a mum, she’s an artist, she’s sensual, she’s powerful, she’s an entrepreneur and she’s totally Britney Bitch.
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