Starting in December, Sin
City will be the only place in North America where you can see Britney
Spears perform over the next two years. After months of hearsay, the pop
princess confirmed her Las Vegas residency show, via a dramatic
announcement in the desert. Titled “Britney: Piece of Me,” the
hour-and-a-half performances will take place at Planet Hollywood Resort
& Casino beginning Dec. 27.
“I’m so excited to finally
share this news with all my fans,” Spears said. “‘Piece of Me’ is a
labor of love and I can’t wait to perform it.”
Spears’
arrival comes as the average age of the city’s tourist demographic is
dropping, thanks in large part to the electronic dance music scene that
has made the metropolis its primary home.
“There
is a burgeoning nightclub scene attracting the 21-and-over customer,”
said Kurt Melien, vice president of entertainment at Caesars, which owns
Planet Hollywood. “These people are twenty- and thirty-somethings who
are not interested in seeing traditional entertainment. That was a big
opening for us in terms of why we are offering a show to that targeted
demographic. We wanted to have a residency for the first true pop
contemporary artist.”
Touted
as a celebration of one of the most illustrious careers in music
history, “Britney: Piece of Me” promises to be a spectacular all-ages
21-song extravaganza. Concertgoers will have the opportunity to hear
reprised hits such as “Oops, I Did It Again,” as well as brand new
material from “Britney Jean,” Spears’ highly anticipated eighth studio
album from RCA Records. “You’ll be moving through a storyline presented
on stage through a video package that is inside the theater and video
will play on the walls around you,” Melien explained. “It’s a lot to do
in 100 minutes.”
Planet Hollywood is renovating an existing theater specifically for Spears’ contracted 50 shows a year,
upgrading it into a 4,600-seat theater. The end result is a space
designed to feel like a real club — complete with a live band, live
singing and a dance floor. A number of bars will be placed strategically
inside the theater so 21-plus patrons don’t have to miss a minute of
the show.
According to Melien, it’s
all part of a vision that came together this summer after weekly
meetings between Spears and director Baz Halpin. “There are some
surprises ahead, including elements of audience interaction,” Melien
hinted.
Melien will,
however, go into the particulars about the day when the reality of the
residency crystallized for him. He was standing on the
stage of the theater with Spears and her manager, Larry Rudolph. It was
a Saturday afternoon in the spring.
“The
first moment when Britney walked out and looked out toward the empty
audience and Larry was describing what the theater renovation looked
like, you could see her
eyes brighten,” Melien recalled. “You could see it in her face and you
could see she was clearly a performer. We knew right then that she was
the right fit and that confirmed it.”
Tickets for “Britney: Piece of Me” are on sale now, with prices ranging from $59 to $179. For more information, visit www.britneypieceofme.com.