...Baby One More Time Tour

The ...Baby One More Time Tour was the debut concert tour by American entertainer Britney Spears. It supported her debut studio album, ...Baby One More Time (1999), and visited the United States and Canada. The tour was announced in March 1999, with dates released a month later. Tommy Hilfiger was chosen as the tour sponsor. The show was divided into various segments, with each segment being followed by an interlude to the next segment, and it ended with an encore. The setlist consisted of songs from her debut album and several covers. The tour received positive feedback from critics; many highlighted Spears' persona and edgy look.[1][2]

...Baby One More Time Tour
Tour by Britney Spears
Backstage access pass for the tour
LocationNorth America
Associated album...Baby One More Time
Start dateJune 28, 1999 (1999-06-28)
End dateSeptember 15, 1999 (1999-09-15)
Legs1
No. of shows56
Britney Spears concert chronology

Background and development

On March 5, 1999, it was reported that Spears was planning her first headlining tour to support her first studio album, ...Baby One More Time (1999).[3] Shortly after, she announced that the tour would start in July.[4] On May 12, 1999, Tommy Hilfiger was announced as the main tour sponsor. During the time of the announcement, Spears was being featured in the "AllStars" campaign launched by the company. Hilfiger spoke about the sponsorship saying,

"My passion for music has always inspired my designs. This year we have really put music in the forefront of everything we do. Britney represents the spirit of Tommy Jeans and of youth today. I cannot think of a better way to continue this exciting year by sponsoring one of today's hottest, young recording artists".[1]

The secondary sponsor was supposed to be Nestlé, but they pulled out soon after provocative photographs of Spears shot by David LaChapelle were published in Rolling Stone.[5] Tour dates were released through Pollstar on April 9, 1999, with the tour kicking off on June 28, 1999, in Pompano Beach, Florida.[6] Several dates were added and rescheduled, and the complete schedule was released two months later.[2]

Spears talked to CNN about her involvement during the development of the tour, stating that she had designed the entire tour herself, including costumes and concept.[7] Spears worked with fashion designer Gia Ventola to create the costumes for her and the dancers.[8] The proscenium stage was simple and had only one main prop, a staircase in the middle. The band was in both sides of the staircase and consisted of five musicians. There were also six dancers, that took the stage during interludes. The setlist consisted of eight songs from her debut album and several covers by well-known artists.[9]

Concert synopsis

The show began with a dance introduction by Spears' dancers among smoke effects.[10] She appeared shortly after at the top of the staircase wearing a hot pink vinyl tube top and white vinyl pants with pink knee patches, to perform "(You Drive Me) Crazy".[10] In "Soda Pop", she danced and interacted with the audience, before leaving the stage while her dancers continued. She appeared sitting on the staircase to sing "Born to Make You Happy" and "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart".[10] The show continued with a dance interlude set to Madonna's "Vogue" in which she named Madonna and Janet Jackson as her biggest inspirations. She then took the stage to perform a cover of Madonna's "Material Girl".[10] After this, she performed two covers of Janet Jackson songs, "Black Cat" and "Nasty".[10] She ended the section with a performance of Sonny & Cher's "The Beat Goes On", accompanied by psychedelic lights.[10] After a dance interlude, she performed the album track "I Will Be There" and a cover of "Open Arms" by Journey, ending with a smile at the top of the staircase.[10] After "Sometimes", she waved and left the stage. The encore consisted of a performance of "...Baby One More Time", in which Spears wore a black bra under pink halter, a pink sequined plaid mini-skirt, and black thigh-high stockings. She then thanks the audience and leaves the stage.

Critical reception

The tour garnered generally positive reviews from critics.[9] Jeffrey Haney of the Deseret News described the show as "funky and flashy".[11] A reporter from USA Today called Spears' performance "assured and energetic".[9] Jim Farber of the New York Daily News pointed out that Spears seemed to have two personas during the show, one when singing songs from her album and a more edgy look when singing the covers. He also added that "Spears' nods to edginess no doubt reflects her desire to grow into a more mature career".[12] Jane Ganahl of the San Francisco Chronicle said that "she may be somewhat entertaining, but she's also just another prefab act – longer on packaging than actual talent".[10]

Broadcasts and recordings

In August 1999, the concert in Orlando, Florida was filmed for the Disney Channel in Concert series which Spears was also joined by New Kids on the Block member Joey McIntyre (who was embarking on his solo career). The concert entitled Britney Spears and Joey McIntyre in Concert aired on October 16, 1999. In the special, Spears performed seven songs in front of the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith attraction at the Disney Hollywood Studios. It also featured Spears visiting her former routes working at the park during her years of The Mickey Mouse Club and shopping at Downtown Disney with her dancers.[13]

Opening acts
  • C-Note (select venues)[14]
  • Steps (select venues)[15]
  • Boyz N Girlz United (select venues)[12]
  • P.Y.T. (select venues)[16]
  • Michael Fredo (select venues)[12]
  • 3rd Storee (select venues)[12]
  • Divine (select venues)[12]
  • Sky (select venues)[15]
  • Joey McIntyre (Orlando)[12]

Setlist

The following setlist was obtained from the concert held on July 29, 1999, at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, California.[10] It does not represent all concerts for the duration of the tour.

  1. "(You Drive Me) Crazy"
  2. "Soda Pop"
  3. "Born to Make You Happy"
  4. "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart"
  5. "Material Girl" / "Black Cat" / "Nasty"
  6. "The Beat Goes On"
  7. "I Will Be There"
  8. "Open Arms"
  9. "Sometimes"
Encore
  1. "...Baby One More Time"

Tour dates
Date City Country Venue
June 28, 1999 Pompano Beach United States Pompano Beach Amphitheatre
June 29, 1999 Tampa USF Sun Dome
July 1, 1999 Atlanta Atlanta Civic Center
July 2, 1999 North Myrtle Beach House of Blues
July 3, 1999 Doswell Paramount Theatre
July 4, 1999[lower-alpha 1] Bethel Max Yasgur's Farm
July 5, 1999
July 6, 1999 Washington, D.C. DAR Constitution Hall
July 7, 1999 New York City Hammerstein Ballroom
July 8, 1999 Hershey Hersheypark Arena
July 9, 1999 Scranton Montage Mountain Performing Arts Center
July 10, 1999 Darien Darien Lake Performing Arts Center
July 11, 1999[lower-alpha 2] Schenectady Proctor's Theatre
July 13, 1999 Hamilton Canada Copps Coliseum
July 14, 1999[lower-alpha 3] Toronto Molson Canadian Amphitheatre
July 16, 1999[lower-alpha 4] Montreal Molson Centre
July 17, 1999[lower-alpha 5] Ottawa Corel Centre
July 20, 1999 Winnipeg Centennial Concert Hall
July 21, 1999[lower-alpha 6] Saskatoon Saskatchewan Place
July 22, 1999[lower-alpha 7] Edmonton Skyreach Centre
July 23, 1999 Calgary Canadian Airlines Saddledome
July 25, 1999[lower-alpha 8] Vancouver General Motors Place
July 26, 1999 Seattle United States Seattle Center Arena
July 27, 1999[lower-alpha 9] Hillsboro DeMar Batchelor Amphitheater
July 29, 1999 Oakland Paramount Theatre
July 30, 1999[lower-alpha 10] Paso Robles CMS Grandstand Arena
July 31, 1999 Los Angeles Universal Amphitheatre
August 3, 1999[lower-alpha 11] Brighton Bromley Companies Stage
August 4, 1999 Denver Paramount Theatre
August 6, 1999 Arlington AT&T Music Mill Amphitheater
August 7, 1999 Houston Aerial Theater
August 8, 1999[lower-alpha 12] New Orleans Lakefront Arena
August 10, 1999 Memphis Mud Island Amphitheater
August 11, 1999[lower-alpha 13] Nashville Grand Ole Opry House
August 13, 1999 Eureka Old Glory Amphitheater
August 14, 1999[lower-alpha 14] Omaha Ak-Sar-Ben Arena
August 15, 1999[lower-alpha 15] Sioux Falls W.H. Lyon Fairgrounds Grandstand
August 17, 1999 Rosemont Rosemont Theatre
August 18, 1999 Columbus Veterans Memorial Auditorium
August 19, 1999[lower-alpha 16] Fairlea State Fair Event Center
August 20, 1999[lower-alpha 17] Adrian Lenawee County Event Grounds Bandshell
August 21, 1999 Orlando Hard Rock Live
August 25, 1999 Indianapolis Egyptian Room
August 26, 1999 Cleveland Nautica Stage
August 27, 1999 Mason Timberwolf Amphitheatre
August 29, 1999 Upper Darby Tower Theater
August 30, 1999[lower-alpha 18] Essex Coca-Cola Grandstand
September 1, 1999 Boston FleetBoston Pavilion
September 2, 1999[lower-alpha 19] Geddes Mohegan Sun Grandstand
September 3, 1999 Wallingford SNET Oakdale Theatre
September 4, 1999 Baltimore Pier 6 Pavilion
September 5, 1999[lower-alpha 20] Allentown Allentown Fairgrounds Grandstand
September 10, 1999[lower-alpha 21] Salt Lake City Utah State Fair Grandstand
September 11, 1999[lower-alpha 22] Hutchinson KSF Grandstand
September 12, 1999 [lower-alpha 23] Detroit State Theatre
September 14, 1999[lower-alpha 24] Allegan ACC Grandstand
September 15, 1999[lower-alpha 25] York Grandstand at the York Fair

Cancelled dates
Date City Country Venue
July 13, 1999 Quebec City Canada Agora du Vieux-Port
August 1, 1999 Las Vegas United States House of Blues

Selected box office data
Venue City Tickets sold / available Gross revenue[20]
Hersheypark Arena Hershey 7,628 / 7,628 (100%) $183,925
Darien Lake Performing Arts Center Darien 8,804 / 10,000 (88%) $176,293
Corel Centre Ottawa 9,202 / 9,202 (100%) $177,853
Saskatchewan Place Saskatoon 8,719 / 8,719 (100%) $166,407
Skyreach Centre Edmonton 9,263 / 9,263 (100%) $176,529
Canadian Airlines Saddledome Calgary 10,620 / 10,620 (100%) $201,766
General Motors Place Vancouver 10,804 / 10,804 (100%) $195,624
Mohegan Sun Grandstand Geddes 17,059 / 17,059 (100%) $439,401
Total 82,099 / 83,295 (98%) $1,717,798

Notes
  1. Part of the 1999 "A Day in the Garden" Festival.[17]
  2. Originally scheduled at Palace Theatre in Albany.[18]
  3. Originally sescheduled on July 17.
  4. Originally scheduled on July 14 at Verdun Auditorium.[18]
  5. Originally scheduled on July 16 at Ottawa Civic Centre Theatre.[18]
  6. Originally scheduled at Saskatoon Centennial Auditorium.[18]
  7. Originally scheduled on July 23 at Edmonton Convention Centre.[18]
  8. Originally scheduled at Plaza of Nations.[18]
  9. Part of the Washington County Fair.
  10. Part of California Mid-State Fair.
  11. Part of the Adams County Fair.
  12. Originally scheduled at Saenger Theatre.
  13. Originally scheduled at Ryman Auditorium.
  14. Part of Douglas County Fair and Expos.[19]
  15. Part of the Sioux Empire Fair.
  16. Part of the State Fair of West Virginia.
  17. Part of the Lenawee County Fair.
  18. Part of the Champlain Valley Fair and Expo.
  19. Part of the Great New York State Fair.
  20. Part of the Great Allentown Fair.
  21. Part of the Utah State Fair.
  22. Part of the Kansas State Fair.
  23. Originally scheduled on August 24, 1999.
  24. Part of Allegan County Fair.
  25. Part of York Interstate Fair.

References
  1. "Tommy Hilfiger Announces Sponsorship of Britney Spears Summer Concert Tour" (Press release). New York: Tommy Hilfiger Corporation. Business Wire. May 12, 1999. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved July 17, 2010 – via FindArticles.
  2. "Britney Spears Prepares To Launch Summer Tour". MTV News. June 25, 1999. Archived from the original on January 9, 2001. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  3. Essex, Andrew; Karger, Dave; Baldwin, Kristen (March 5, 1999). "Bubble Gum Blows Up!". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  4. MTV News Staff (March 23, 1999). "Britney Spears Back In Action, Plans Summer Tour". MTV. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  5. MTV News Staff (April 7, 1999). "Britney Spears On Sponsor-Scaring Pix: "It's Fine And It's Tasteful"". MTV. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  6. John, Richard (April 9, 1999). "Revised Britney Spears Cdn. tour info". Jam!. Archived from the original on July 17, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  7. Tush, Bill (August 2, 1999). "Britney Spears has her say-so". CNN. Archived from the original on February 23, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  8. Ryan, Suzanne C. (August 26, 1999). "MATERIAL GIRL At 23, fashion newcomer Gia Ventola already has designs on the stars". The Boston Globe. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  9. Stevenson, Jane (July 10, 1999). "Spears takes aim at fame". Jam!. Archived from the original on October 13, 2013. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  10. Ganahl, Jane (July 30, 1999). "The musical equivalent of cotton candy". San Francisco Chronicle. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  11. Haney, Jeffrey P. (September 11, 1999). "Teen Queen Spears reigns at State Fair". Deseret News. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
  12. Farber, Jim (July 9, 1999). "Britney's Act: It's So Schizo". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved April 15, 2012.
  13. Essex, Andrew; Karger, Dave; Baldwin, Kristen (July 16, 1999). "Britney Spears, Joey McIntyre Headed To Disney". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 7, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  14. "C-Note Drops Debut Album; Tours With Brandy, Britney, Cher". MTV News. May 26, 1999. Archived from the original on January 8, 2010. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  15. Stevenson, Jane (July 14, 1999). "Sky enjoying sunny days". Jam!. Archived from the original on December 8, 2012. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  16. Ripley, Jackie (June 4, 1999). "Living the teen dream". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on October 7, 1999. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  17. Strauss, Neil (July 7, 1999). "Pop Review; A Woodstock where teeny is everything". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  18. "Britney Spears Lines Up U.S. Tour Dates". MTV News. April 8, 1999. Archived from the original on January 8, 2001. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
  19. "Shows". Official Site of Douglas County, Nebraska. July 16, 1999. Archived from the original on October 23, 1999. Retrieved July 17, 2010.
    • Hershey, Darien:
      Allen, Bob (July 19, 1999). "Boxscore Concerts". Amusement Business. Vol. 111, no. 29. p. 9. ProQuest 209450507.
    • Canada:
      "Boxscore...". Amusement Business. Vol. 111, no. 34. August 23, 1999. p. 32. ProQuest 209436392.
    • Geddes:
      Allen, Bob (September 20, 1999). "Boxscore Concerts". Amusement Business. Vol. 111, no. 38. p. 9. ProQuest 209432253.

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