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| Britney - Femme Fatale Tour Bogotá |
This story starts quite similarly to the A*Teens chapter of my life, which in summary, began with in the city I lived, Armenia (Quindío, Colombia) that was hit by an earthquake in January 25th, 1999. I spent some time living in another city with some relatives until I came back for school and kept moving with my life. In those days it was difficult to focus in my classes because schools were not in the best condition, and for me, music was one of the ways to escape from that reality. We all watched MTV everyday (when it was actually a music channel) and other networks like Nickelodeon. One day a school mate asked me if I have already watched a music video of a blond woman, dressed as a schoolgirl, to which I responded “no” and he told me to watch it because he knew I was going to love the song. So, one day while watching MTV I got to see the video from the beginning and it caught me immediately. The melody of …Baby One More Time was so simple, but it filled me with an incredible energy. That song started to be played in all radio stations, the video was broadcasted again and again, but by then I didn’t consider myself as a Britney fan, I just liked that one song.
When Britney released Sometimes my love for her was increasing, and even though the song was excessively corny and “sweet” for my taste I couldn’t take my eyes off that video. I remember thinking she looked gorgeous surrounded by those dancers in that white outfit, showing her “innocent” side. I was by then, in that spot when the artist is about to conquer a new fan, and she conquered me when (You Drive Me) Crazy - The Stop Remix was released. I believe my love for her and pop in general developed when I saw the video for the first time; she in her waitress uniform side by side with Melissa Joan Heart was too much for me. I loved that song (actually I can’t stand it right now), I loved the choreography, it was the perfect music video for me and lead me to ask my family to buy me the album. When I listened for the first time ...Baby One More Time I had three interesting moments: first, I listened to the original version of Crazy, which I thought was incredible even though I preferred the remix so far, the second moment was to feel a great positive energy when listening to I Will Be There and Deep In My Heart, but the third and most important moment was to listen Born to Make You Happy. That song was from that moment on, my favorite; I couldn’t stop listening to it and it was one of the reasons to become a Britney fan.
The next year Oops!..I Did It Again was released. I still remember that since the premier of the video, MTV broadcasted it every hour that day and I could not get over it. For me she managed to overcome all the things she did so far, I loved that video insanely, that song was incredible and awakened in me the wish of having her album in my hands. And listening to that album was amazing; I liked every song even if I wasn’t completely related to the lyrics. Listening to Stronger, What You See Is What You Get and One Kiss From You took me to another planet where I couldn’t think in sadness or trouble; I just let myself go with the music, her presentations, choreographies, videos; everything complemented and generated in me the need of listening to her music every day.
On 2001 one of her most iconic moments happened in MTV when I’m A Slave 4 U was released for the first time, and in November her third album, Britney, came out, and I was able to have it in my hands in the beginning of 2002. This moment was the one that defined my taste for her music. I was 15 years old, I had to be far away from my mom, handle with some bullies, change my school, live in a new house under very tight rules and finally get to accept my homosexuality. What does Britney has to do with it? Her music, like the one from other groups and artists were my escape valve to reality and precisely in that album I found songs like Overprotected, that became like an anthem to me during that stage of my life. Even if the song is quite simple, it described those moments when I felt locked and controlled by my overprotecting family, while I was far away from my mom in that crucial stage of my teenage years. With that song I really felt a connection with Britney.
On 2003 I was finishing my high school. I remember Britney’s kiss with Madonna, I liked to see it again and again, and scandalize my grandparents. Then The Zone was released, it was one of my graduation gifts; Toxic and Breathe On me were my favorite songs and I was finally getting involved and feeling related to some of her lyrics like Everytime. I started college on 2004 and in that year My Prerogative came out and that strange stage on Britney’s career began. I remembered when she introduced the demo of Mona Lisa, and how much I liked that song. It was great to see another musical side from Britney (even if the final production damaged the charm and mystery of the song). Time went by, B In The Mix came out, she got married and had her two kids. When 2007 came around, I missed some new music, but suddenly everything looked like the twilight zone when she shaved her head. It was incredible to see that the sweet and cute girl was starting to become a little bit mad, the media were all aver her covering her crisis every single day: all the crying, the fights, her nightlife, and actually that made me very sad. It’s difficult to see someone you admire sinking so low. The worst moment was her performance of Gimme More in the VMAs that year, and when the show was over I was trying to convince myself that it had been a good show, but deep inside I knew that was a big fat lie and it has been a disaster. I spent all that week in a very bad mood, and all I wondered about was how someone could finish one show in that way. I felt a very deep disappointment, but that disappeared when Blackout was released. That is without a doubt her best job, the energy on that album is unbelievable and in that moment, for me at least, made Britney’s music shine brighter than the image media displayed about her.
In 2011 when the Femme Fatale Tour was announced with one stop in Bogota, it was a very exciting moment that I thought was never gonna happen. Having that ticket in my hand made me feel incredible, and even if it sounds corny or dumb for some people, for me it was a dream come true. On November 26 everything was about Britney Spears. While everybody was on a line, in the morning, some friends and I had the chance to interview Marco Da Silva, one of the tour dancers. I arrived to the Simon Bolivar Park in the afternoon ready for the concert. I can’t describe the emotion, the countdown was incredible and when she finally came out to the stage with Hold It Against Me I was completely paralyzed. It was a special feeling to see that lady that I heard all over my teenage years, the one that gave me the music for my best and worst moments, the woman that had been trough all kind of troubles was there performing in front of thousands of Colombians that, like me, wondered about seeing her. In that moment I said: Britney is real. It was so exciting that I cried in several moments, and actually the funniest thing I can remember is that I cried in Gimme More (yes, I cried in the bitchiest and less emotional song.) I didn’t care what others say; yes, she’s not the same girl, but she is the woman that for several years gave me the best energy with her melodies.
I knew this was going to be quite a long post, and actually I feel it’s summarized, but I wanted to tell you about those emotions that an artist got to arouse in me. And I will end this post in the same way I ended the one for A*Teens; it doesn’t matter what artist you love, what really matters is the energy, and what their music makes you feel, and with Britney I discovered that when you keep away the image of the artist from its work, you get to enjoy their music, the thing that actually matters.
The most important in my collection: The The Singles Collection Box Set and the Femme Fatale Premium Fan Edition.
What I would like to have: The Stages dvd. (Update: I GOT IT!)
My favorite Britney’s songs: Stronger, Breathe On Me, State of Grace, Gimme More, Amnesia, Womanizer, He About To Lose Me, Born to Make You Happy, Hot As Ice.
I’m sharing with you the video of Gimme More that I recorded in the Femme Fatale Tour Bogotá:
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