When I learned that Britney Spears will be visiting London for few days to promote her new single Work Bitch (releasing on Nov 3), her eighth studio album “Britney Jean” and her upcoming two-year Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood starting on December 27, I was desperately trying to find a way to see her, meet her or just be near the presence of the “Holy SPEARitt”. I have seen her in concert twice but it’s not the same as seeing her up close.
Her four day trip to the capital also included an early morning interview on BBC Radio 1 Breakfast show with Nick Grimshaw and I knew that would be my best opportunity to see her. Then again, there was always that worry of investing so much time and sacrificing sleep to see her and who knows, she could easily just walk past and not even wave to her fans. If there’s one thing that Britney fans aka the Britney Army know, then it’s Britney’s hesitation to interact with large groups of crowd, screaming people and photographers/papparazzis. These are the very people that made Britney who she is today; they bought her records, went to see her shows and published stories that has made her one of the most photographed and recognized face in the world today. Her breakdown which occurred between the years of 2006-2007 may have happened due to personal reasons but the presence of the tabloid media and dishonest people has a large part to play in abetting it further. Since then, Britney Spears has never quite been the same. Coming across very distant in interviews, little or no interaction with fans in reality and doing very little to promote her last two albums post-breakdown. The 31 year old star and mother of two is still under conservatorship and all decisions that are made have to be run past her father who is receiving approximately $16,000 a week to look after the superstar.
As we got to the location at 6.30AM, there were already people waiting for Britney. She arrived around 7.30AM and by that time there were more photographers than fans and let’s just say the photographers would do everything they can to get their best shot. And in some ways, we were just like them… trying to get our best shot too. Fans of Britney had travelled from Sheffield, Nottingham, Leicester and Newcastle. I honestly didn’t realize she still had such die-hard fans. The most amazing thing and something that none of us expected is that Britney actually walked around the barrier and signed autographs for quite a lot of people. Whilst everyone screamed “Britney!”, “We Love You”, “Look this way Britney”, “Britney you look beautiful”, the star showed little emotion and smiled only a few times as she slowly made her way into the studio. And yes, she also signed my DVD and my friend’s notebook too. After an hour, security came outside to ensure the fans and photographers were in place and few minutes after that, Britney came out and gave more autographs and that was the moment I decided to take a “selfie” with Britney in the background. It wasn’t an easy task with all the fans going crazy and photographers pushing me. Oh well, we’re in the same photo. Two lucky fans got to take a selfie with her and that is just out of the world. The new Las Vegas Planet Hollywood residency meet and greet package is already sold out for the first 16 dates with fans paying $1500 – $2000 to take a photo with the pop legend. Those two fans are so so lucky!
Once Britney left the building she made her way to KISS FM for another short interview. Kiss FM was only few minutes away so we thought we might as well go for it and see how it goes there. By the time we arrived, Britney was already in the building and there were 30-40 photographers just waiting for her to come out. Whilst we waited, a car pulled up and everyone was eager to see who was sitting inside the blacked out windows. The door swung open and Daniel Radcliffe aka Harry Potter stormed out of the car and headed straight into the building in a span of few seconds. Unlike Britney’s entourage and security team, Daniel only had few in his team. When Britney did leave the building she made a straight dash towards her vehicle and in a matter of few minutes the car and all the photographers disappeared. That was it. That was my experience of seeing Britney Spears.
Once I got home and read about how a fan waited outside the TV studio in Waterloo from 1.30PM till 9PM for Britney Spears and missed the opportunity to see her and also missed her train back home and had to pay an additional £160, I felt so lucky to have seen Britney Spears, be so close and receive an autograph from Godney! The Holy Spearritt! Woooppp!!!
PS. Britney Spears will be making her first solo TV talk show appearance in six years. Don’t forget to catch her on Alan Carr’s Chattyman on Friday at 10PM, Channel 4.
Photos I took!
Professional Photos of Britney Spears – 16/10/2013
Daaaan … looks so cute