The Onyx Hotel Tour
| Tour by Britney Spears | |
| Associated album | In the Zone |
|---|---|
| Start date | March 2, 2004 |
| End date | June 6, 2004 (September 15, 2004 w/o Cancelation) |
| Legs | 5 (3 Legs Canceled) |
| No. of shows | 25 in North America 29 in Europe Total54 shows |
| Britney Spears concert chronology | |
The Onyx Hotel Tour is the fifth concert tour by America pop singer Britney Spears, in support of her fourth studio album In the Zone. The show toured North America and Europe, and was set to retour North America along with Asia and Australia. The tour was canceled after the European leg though due to Spears' knee injury on the set of her "Outrageous" music video. The tour grossed $65 million dollars[1]
Background
By way of introduction, Spears stated:[2]
An "onyx" by definition is a precious black gemstone that emits various colors of light depending on the light you shine into it. The Onyx Hotel is a unique, mysterious hotel powered by an onyx stone. Each guest who enters this hotel shines their own light into the onyx, and in return, makes their fantasies come to life. It's a vibrant, whimsical place where wondrous dreams are realized, and the darkest of secrets are revealed.
While Spears' last tour, Dream Within A Dream was Vegas-style theatrical, The Onyx Hotel Tour was more New York-style theatrical. This show was purposely less lavish than the previous tour and featured little pyrotechnics or other visual effects, as compared to Dream Within A Dream, apparently to make the show more intimate and focused more on the songs and dancing. However, Spears' production team spared no expense on the show's setup. They were reportedly inspired by the city of Tokyo, with its futuristic, postmodern architecture, and designed their stage based on it, with state-of-the-art video screens and set pieces. Most of the songs performed were from her then-current album, In the Zone, but a few of her earlier efforts did appear on the set list, in remixed form. Spears also played piano briefly during her ballad "Everytime".
Spears had eight costume changes throughout the show, with various outfits ranging from a black catsuit during the show's opener to a pair of bikini underwear. The clothes came courtesy of several designers such as Roberto Cavalli and Dsquared, who also designed costumes for Dream Within a Dream Tour.
Notes
The tour brought new criticism for Spears, for in certain routines she and her dancers were seemingly nude and performing explicit routines simulating gay sex, orgies, and masturbation during "Touch of My Hand" and "Breathe on Me".[citation needed]
Injury
During the show in Moline, Illinois (March 18, 2004), Spears suffered a fall during "(I Got That) Boom Boom" and injured her knee, which caused the show to come to a halt without an encore. Spears went on stage and told the audience, "I hurt my leg really bad, sorry I cannot finish the show. But thank you, Moline". Shows in Chicago and Detroit were postponed to the end of the first leg of the tour. The show in Cleveland was postponed to the summer leg because of illness, and canceled altogether when the summer shows were scrapped.
The third, forth, and fifth legs of the tour, which would have been a second North American trek, Asia and Australia, were canceled because of the injury resulting from a fall on the set of Britney's video shoot for "Outrageous" in Queens, New York. She underwent arthroscopic knee surgery at a New York hospital to remove floating cartilage. Spears would not perform onstage again until The M+Ms Tour in 2007.
Opening acts
- Kelis (North America and Europe) (select venues)
- Skye Sweetnam (North America and Europe) (select venues)
- JC Chasez (Europe) (select venues)
- Wicked Wisdom (Europe) (select venues)
- Dodger (North America) (select venues) [3]
- Eamon (North America) (was to open third leg) [4]
Set list
- Act 1 - Check-In
- "Toxic"
- "Overprotected" (The Darkchild Remix)
- "Boys" (The Co-Ed Remix)
- "Showdown"
- Act 2 - Mystic Lounge
- Act 3 - Mystic Garden
- "Everytime"
- "The Hook Up"
- "I'm A Slave 4 U"
- Act 4 - The Onyx Zone
- "Shadow"
- Act 5 - Hotel Security Cameras
- Act 6 - Take it to the Streets
- "(I Got That) Boom Boom"
- Act 7 - Checking Out
Tour dates
Broadcasts and recordings
No official DVD has been released, although there are many bootlegs. Parts of the European Leg were chronicled in Britney and Kevin: Chaotic. The Rock in Rio Festival in Lisbon aired live on SIC Radical. Since the show was nestled between already scheduled dates in Dublin, Ireland, the full set was not built. Screens were mounted on the main stage and staircases were assembled resembling the original stage set up. Props such as "the bus" were used. "Oops!...I Did It Again" and "Touch of My Hand" were not performed.
The show at the American Airlines Arena was filmed for a special that aired on Showtime, entitled, Britney Spears: Live From Miami - The Onyx Hotel Tour attracted huge ratings. The show was rerun several times that year and still drew significantly large numbers.[5] The show at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena was filmed as a backup to the Miami show.
References
- ^ "Popdirt Boxscores:Britney,Christina,Justin and Beyonce". Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "For The Record: Quick News On Travis Barker, Beastie Boys, Michelle Williams, Jadakiss, Scott Weiland & More". MTV News. MTV Networks. 2004-01-09. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
- ^ "biography". Dodger Official Website. Retrieved 2009-01-16.
- ^ "Eamon Added To Britney's Next Tour". MTV News. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
- ^ "August 2004 - ROI TV Review". Media Live. Retrieved 2008-12-06.
| Studio albums | |
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| Remix albums | |
| Extended plays | |
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