Celeb News: Rihanna, Katy & Britney. Who wins?

RihMark

The NY Times. The toughest music review critic. None of them got good reviews. But I cant really tell who got the best? Who do you think got the most critical appeal? If you didnt stan for any of them, and read these reviews, which show would you see?

Quote:

MUSIC REVIEW
Everybody Wants Her, Whoever She May Be
By JON PARELES
Published: August 3, 2011
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UNIONDALE, N.Y. — “Femme Fatale.” “Temptress.” “Sexy Assassin.” Those were the verbal self-descriptions Britney Spears projected onstage at Nassau Coliseum here on Tuesday night.
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More could be added. Media Figure. Barely-There Singer. Unimpressive Dancer. Smart Trend Follower. Hook Expert. Sex Role Sensor. Ms. Spears, for all the ups and downs of her personal life, has turned out to be a savvy judge of club beats that women want to hear about getting wild. Although her songs taunt and flirt with men, her concert audience is overwhelmingly female, and they screamed happily through the concert.

In what has turned out to be a surprisingly hardy career, Ms. Spears, 29, has gone from coyness to bluntness, from teenage tease to grown-up vamp — or, at least, to songs that insist she is one. She started her arena extravaganza with “Hold It Against Me,” a line in the song’s chorus preceded by, “If I said I want your body now, would you. ...”

In Ms. Spears’s songs the flesh is usually willing, while the body has digital backup. Many came from her latest album, “Femme Fatale,” on which she did none of the songwriting and lends her much-processed voice to booming ingenious, mostly generic songs about lust conquering all.

Her band was just two men working keyboards, computers and guitars generating — or simply setting off — huge synthetic club beats to pound through her songs, pushing them toward their club remixes. Ms. Spears’s job was to strut through dance routines, pipe out vocals with plenty of recorded help and smile at the crowd’s reaction. She worked through her script onstage, smart enough to address the crowd as “Long Island” along with “New York”; she didn’t volunteer anything remotely spontaneous.

“You want a piece of me,” she declared, in a song from her 2007 album “Blackout” that leveraged her notoriety into lyrics. The theme of the show was that everyone wants Ms. Spears, leaving her constantly under pursuit: by a club-wielding SWAT team, tabloid photographers, smitten men and a stalker shown in video interludes vowing revenge against seductive, powerful women (and eventually, anticlimactically, captured by Ms. Spears). She was costumed as Cleopatra and a trench-coated secret agent when she wasn’t revealing her tummy.

Her stage vignettes played power games. She invited a male fan onstage, secured him to a pole and did some bump and grind around him, at one point piggybacking herself onto his shoulders. Returning to

“... Baby One More Time” from her relatively more innocent teenage years, she followed it with a bondage-theme segment, performing Rihanna’s “S&M” and her own “I’m a Slave 4 U” while images of men in painful restraints filled the video screen.

But there was a vacancy at the center of the show of desirability: Ms. Spears herself. Her voice was more a component of the songs than a carnal or emotional presence. Her dancers went into acrobatics while she mostly strolled the stage or got rolled around on props. To sing the obligatory ballad, “Don’t Let Me Be the Last to Know,” she sat on a swing that was raised high, with a dancer doing aerial ballet as a diversion from Ms. Spears’s very shaky vocals. When the rapper and singer Nicki Minaj, one of the opening acts, popped up during the finale — the thumping trance-pop of “Till the World Ends” — she was an earthy, flesh-and-blood presence while Ms. Spears climbed into another prop.

Ms. Minaj was continuing her calling in hip-hop as a closer: an assertive, sharp-voiced, rhythmically varied and startlingly free-associative rapper grabbing cameos on other performers’ songs. In those from her own album, “Pink Friday,” she sometimes sings about insecurities. But onstage she led her own posse of female dancers through a sci-fi concept about saving the world, and she reclaimed her verses from songs she shared with Drake and Ludacris.

She has some star power; the audience roared when none other than Kanye West showed up in person to perform “Monster” with her.

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MUSIC REVIEW
A Star Who Clads Herself in Cool
By JON CARAMANICA
Published: July 20, 2011
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UNIONDALE N.Y. — Rihanna isn’t cool because of her multitude of sexy, clever outfits; or her red hair, which sits flawless and immobile atop her head; or the ease with which she delivers a song, barely breaking a sweat, even on the most involved numbers.
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Chad Batka for The New York Times
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Rihanna at her concert on Tuesday at Nassau Coliseum. Her best songs are the ones that leave her the most vulnerable.
She’s cool because she’s unknowable, a cipher. Some stars manufacture their inaccessibility, but Rihanna comes by it honestly. Never does she give herself over to a vocal so thoroughly that she becomes it. Never does feeling trump presentation. No number of hit singles has changed that, even the emotionally charged ones that she released in the wake of the 2009 attack by her boyfriend at the time, Chris Brown.

Since then Rihanna has become something more than an icy pop star, but still, while her songs answer “what,” they never seem to get to “why.”

Those fine points mattered little Tuesday night at the Nassau Coliseum here, where Rihanna performed for two hours without giving away a thing. This was a show that succeeded with volume and scale, not finesse or detail.

That’s because Rihanna is an able but not powerful singer who mushes her words together into long, bulky blocks and rarely shoots for big moments. That uncertainty and lack of power were most evident when she walked through the crowd during the up-tempo smash “Don’t Stop the Music.” Only in a few more contemplative moments later in the show — “Take a Bow,” “Hate That I Love You” and “California King Bed” — did she relieve her band, her dancers and the sound system from doing the heavy lifting.

Otherwise compensations were the thing here. Onstage Rihanna slithered, she hopped, she sashayed. She’s a dance-pop star who isn’t much of a dancer; every time she moved, her backup crew clustered tightly around her as if to shield her. While singing “The Glamorous Life” by Sheila E., she walked to a platform at the rear of the arena then banged out an exceedingly simple drum pattern on a kit set up there.

Beyoncé, say, would have practiced hard to get her skill level up to passable. But Rihanna is a far more nebulous talent. Chameleonic, yes, but no Lady Gaga. Instead, Rihanna is something closer to Janet Jackson in the early part of her solo career, when she was still malleable, without a voice so strong it was an obstacle to what others envisioned for her.

Rihanna makes R&B songs with almost no R&B DNA in them. There’s arena rock of the 1980s, reggae, balladeer pop, club music, almost anything but soul. In her touring band the lead guitarist is Nuno Bettencourt, one of the key pop-metal figures of the late ’80s and early ’90s. He got a workout during this show, deploying everything from ostentatious filigrees on “Skin” to calm sadness on “Hate That I Love You.”

Mr. Bettencourt often set the mood, as Rihanna toggled between quick stompers and would-be torch songs. “Let Me,” from her forgotten debut, released six years and almost as many image revamps ago, sounded like Morris Day & the Time. “Cheers (Drink to That)” was the most arduous kind of rock. “Man Down,” the reggae-inflected revenge fantasy that’s her latest single, was dispensed with early in the night, dampening its impact.

In spite of Rihanna’s fundamental blankness her best songs are nevertheless the ones that leave her the most vulnerable. That was truest on her 2007 breakthrough album, “Good Girl Gone Bad” (Def Jam); her releases since then have been harsher, sturdier and, at least on paper, angrier. “Rated R,” from 2009, was her darkest statement to date; on last year’s “Loud,” she began to soften a bit.

That she’s skeletonless means she has more flexibility for creative risk in her presentation. For “S&M” she was bound with white chains; at least twice she was in a cagelike setup. On “Raining Men” she emerged atop a pink tank turret, in military regalia. These hyperstyled set pieces spoke louder than Rihanna herself, who didn’t speak much, save to acknowledge her mother and grandmother in the audience: “I like to say I’m a bad bitch, but they’re badder bitches than me.”

At the end of the night Kanye West appeared to share the stage on “All of the Lights” and “Run This Town,” in which Rihanna’s trademark chilliness is a good fit. After he left, she closed with “Umbrella,” still one of her most affecting songs, in which her mechanical repetition on the chorus — “You can stand under my umbrella-ella-ella” — sounded like the sweetest robot come-on.

Rihanna performs Thursday at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J.; rihannatour.net.

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MUSIC REVIEW
Giggles and Cotton Candy Camouflaging the Raunch
By JON PARELES
Published: June 19, 2011
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UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Katy Perry shrewdly polled her sold-out audience — at least 85 percent female, young and eager to scream — at Nassau Coliseum on Friday night. She asked who had just graduated from college, high school and junior high, and junior high won, decisively. That may be why Ms. Perry made her concert all bright colors, candy-shaped scenery and wide-eyed, kewpie-doll smiles. It was camouflage to keep parents from worrying.
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Katy Perry brought her California Dreams Tour to Nassau Coliseum Friday.
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Chad Batka for The New York Times
Katy Perry There was no shortage of screams from the audience during the singer's Nassau Coliseum stop on her California Dreams Tour.
Ms. Perry is a bubblegum pop act for a raunchy era: not uncommercially wholesome, intermittently crude with a wink. Near the end of the show she wore a brassiere top with white tabs dangling from each cup that read, like Hershey’s candy wrappers, “Katy’s Kisses.” There was a video close-up.

Ms. Perry, who started her career as the Christian rocker Katy Hudson, went secular and became a million-selling pop hit maker with coyly calculated naughtiness in her 2008 single “I Kissed a Girl.” The song brags about enjoying a drunken, bi-curious moment but adds, “I hope my boyfriend don’t mind.”

On Friday night she started the song by bringing a shirtless male fan onstage during a jazz-vamping intro, then dismissed him by threatening him with her husband’s jealousy; she left the song’s girl-to-girl embrace to dancers. It wasn’t Lady Gaga’s polymorphous utopia, just a giggly frisson. The concert’s video-assisted story line was about a boy-girl romance with a happy ending.

In the arms race that is current girl-pop Ms. Perry usually plays catch-up. “One of the Boys” leaned toward pop-rock and complaints about boyfriends, à la Avril Lavigne and Alanis Morissette. Ms. Perry’s current album, “Teenage Dream,” from 2010, uses producers who have also worked with Britney Spears, Rihanna and Beyoncé, and it often echoes the dance beats that drove Lady Gaga hits in 2008 and 2009. Ms. Perry even picked up Lady Gaga’s stuttered choruses for songs like “Peacock.”

Ms. Perry’s current single, “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.),” details a party gone wild, from embarrassing photos online to “skinny dipping in the dark/Then had a ménage à trois.” It follows through on Ms. Perry’s “Waking Up in Vegas” from 2008; it also trails the party songs of Kesha, a major rival in 2010.

Ms. Perry isn’t a natural onstage. Her dancing is mostly walking, and her voice is strong but not always well guided. So the concert was showered with special effects: lasers, confetti, pyrotechnics, aerial ballet, a cannon spewing whipped cream, and a pink cloud that Ms. Perry rode out above the audience. One song, “Hot N Cold,” went through seven costumes in four minutes.

Striving to stay in sync with her teenage audience Ms. Perry kept citing social media in her stage patter. She said she listened to songs on YouTube, and she posed with fans onstage for, she proclaimed, “another Facebook picture!” If Facebook should falter, Ms. Perry will no doubt follow the flock to the next sure thing.

Katy Perry’s California Dreams Tour goes to Philadelphia on Friday and Uncasville, Conn., on Saturday; katyperry.com.

Venus

This gawn get locked fast!

Pedro

If none of them got good reviews then those critics' taste is just trashy.

RihMark

I would see Katy or Rihanna's tour if I had to pick from the three. They just really tore Britney apart.

Chemist

The one who didn't have these numbers:

Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville 4,096 / 4,386 (93%) $356,751

CaptainMusic

Britney

RihMark

Quote:

Originally posted by Chemist

The one who didn't have these numbers:

Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville 4,096 / 4,386 (93%) $356,751

Bell Centre Montreal 26,452 / 26,452 (100%) $2,269,580
Palace of Auburn Hills Auburn Hills 10,639 / 11,135 (96%) $474,198
Staples Center Los Angeles 14,148 / 14,148 (100%) $1,045,114

RihMark

None of you even get this. I need an unbiased smart moderator to answer this. Read the three reviews and who would you see after reading?

Wonda

Quote:

Originally posted by Chemist

The one who didn't have these numbers:

Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville 4,096 / 4,386 (93%) $356,751

That's a less than 4500 seat audience and an average of almost $90 a ticket.
Not to mention that it was at a casino.
And Rih still has Europe where she's at her biggest. Can't say the same for the other gurlzz.

skyler

between katy and britney

RatedG²

I'm not reading that

RihMark

Quote:

Originally posted by skyler_

between katy and britney

You would go see Britney after they said she cant sing, doesnt sing, and doesnt dance?

KB.

Rihanna really isn't that bad live. Her voice is strong on her ballads and she has way more stage presence than she used to. Although I do think her chill and Idgaf attitude is evident in some of her performances, it's not too bad. She just seems like she's just vibing to her songs just like we are during a lot of her performances. I actually kind of like that. She dances more. I think she's honestly coming into her own. Her concerts are always entertaining because she has a long line of smash hits from start to end. Her band is pretty damn good too even though at times they tend to drown her sometimes timid voice out.

Katy... it just seems like I'm too old to be going to a Katy Perry concert. She has yet to deliver a performance that convinced me she's worth spending my pennies on. She can keept her and her 6 song discography.

Britney... I don't know where to start. She used to be such an amazing performer, but she just doesn't seem like she enjoys doing it anymore. I don't want to sit through 2 hrs of someone being dragged miserably; however, the small Britney fan in me draws me in to slightly want to see her. Maybe it's just the discography and the fact that it's Britney Spears. Other than that, I don't expect much. Correct me if I'm wrong Brit-Bots.

Who wins?

Personally...
Rihanna> Britney > Katy Perry

Overall, Britney's going to sale from her name alone:

Britney>Rihanna> Katy

RihMark

Quote:

Originally posted by Kay.Bee

Rihanna really isn't that bad live. Her voice is strong on her balleds and she has way more stage presence than she used to. Although I do think her chill and Idgaf attitude is evident in some of her performances, it's not too bad. She just seems like she's just vibing to her songs just like we are during a lot of her performances. I actually kind of like that. She dances more. I think she's honestly coming into her own. Her concerts are always entertaining because she has a long line of smash hits from start to end. Her band is pretty damn good too even though at times they tend to drown her sometimes timid voice out.

Katy... it just seems like I'm too old to be going to a Katy Perry concert. She has yet to deliver a performance that convinced me she's worth spending my pennies on. She can keept her and her 6 song discography.

Britney... I don't know where to start. She used to be such an amazing performer, but she just doesn't seem like she enjoys doing it anymore. I don't want to sit through 2 hrs of someone being dragged miserably; however, the small Britney fan in me draws me in to slightly want to see her. Maybe it's just the discography and the fact that it's Britney Spears. Other than that, I don't expect much. Correct me if I'm wrong Brit-Bots.

Who wins?

Personally...
Rihanna> Britney > Katy Perry

Overall, Britney's going to sale from her name alone:

Britney>Rihanna> Katy

I agree. Many have not seen Rihanna in concert. Rihanna in concert>>>>>>>>>Paris Hilton Live>>>>>>>>Rihanna on TV.

I went with two friends who dont even care for Rihanna and said it was going to be horrible and loved it. Something about her being comfortable in her own concerts shines through. She danced more than she ever has, sang every note and her ballads were extremely strong.

Katy is an ok singer. She isnt horrible. ATRL exaggerates way too much. Many people could only hope for a voice like hers. Her problem, is she can not dance AT ALL. All she can do is walk, and do it very stiffly. Or jump up and down. But again, she hasnt had the experience Rihanna has.

Britney used to be an amazing dancer. She was never a vocalist. But now she doesnt sing, so she should be able to focus on her dancing. Unfortunately she barely dances. If she doesnt sing or dance live, they I dont even know what to call it!

Wonda

Based on these reviews, Katy's concert seems like the one that I'd probably go to, honestly. Followed very closely by Rihanna, and then Britney if I was an unbiased member of the general public.
There's really only one paragraph in that Katy review that I see them making any jabs. They really didn't compliment her too much either, but their harshness wasn't as evident as it was in Britney's review. They did manage to slightly compliment Rihanna though. But they took more time to comment on the girls' songs/singles than their actual performances, so these reviews are crap anyway.

CaptainMusic

Quote:

Originally posted by Rîh.røx.

I went with two friends who dont even care for Rihanna and said it was going to be horrible and loved it. Something about her being comfortable in her own concerts shines through. She danced more than she ever has, sang every note and her ballads were extremely strong.

If she doesnt sing or dance live, they I dont even know what to call it!

So rihanna dances but not britney? Seriously?

Donny

FLOP THREAD

Ryan

The fans win, especially those who love all three.

Electronica

I'd say Katy has the best concert out of those 3 followed by Britney.

S&M

Well they're all bad reviews (not shocking given the history of the reviewer), but out of all of them Rihanna has a SLIGHT edge. I've been to both Katy and Rih's concert, so I can't really judge Britney's. Overall, the 'Loud Tour' has gotten the best reviews of all three.