The Britney Spears publicity tour rolls through L.A. Live
She came. She spoke. The end.
In true form, Britney Spears left fans saying, "Gimme More."
Hot off the heels of her birthday extravaganza Tuesday -- which included the release of her sixth studio album, "Circus," and a performance on "Good Morning America" in which the resurrected blond bombshell taunted fans with her signature dance moves-- Spears continued her jet-setting promotional tour with a brief (very brief) stop in downtown Los Angeles to help launch "Light of the Angels," a seven-minute light show extravaganza.
Thursday’s event, which also included appearances by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, USC football coach Pete Carroll and Adam Carolla, marked the official opening of L.A. Live, an “entertainment campus” featuring dining, entertainment and residences that has been in development for years.
Host Carolla cited another development in the works for quite some time: Britney’s “comeback.”
“I never thought I would see downtown L.A. making a comeback this way... I wasn’t sure if I’d see Britney Spears make a comeback... like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes... she is back and in a huge way,” he said.
Sure, she was back... but not for long. After mumbling that "Circus" was her favorite track from this album and revealing how she would spend the holidays -- “It’s family time. We usually do the tree thing” -- Britney approached the candy cane lever and officially lighted the tree and launched the light show.
Cue the lights! And her exit.
Britney, had she stayed, would have seen the district’s light show spectacular. Each hour on the hour from 7 to 10 p.m. during the Christmas season, more than 1 million lights will beam to create a fusion of light and music in the L.A. Live courtyard.
The centerpiece of the nightly display is a futuristic 54-foot Christmas tree, featuring 11,382 energy-efficient sphere LEDs that serve as a vast video screen for elements of the show.
But this was actually the second stop on Britney's holiday spectacles tour. She pre-taped (gee, imagine that!) a holiday greeting that was shown during the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree on Wednesday.
You’d think she’d give first dibs to AEG -- L.A. Live’s parent company. They are, after all, producing her 2009 world tour that launches in March. Oops!
-- Yvonne Villarreal
Photo by Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times
