The Onyx Hotel Tour

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The Onyx Hotel Tour

Tour by Britney Spears
Dates	2 March 2004 - 6 June 2004
Legs	2
Shows	54 in total
Britney Spears tour chronology
Dream Within a Dream Tour (2002)	The Onyx Hotel Tour (2004)

The Onyx Hotel Tour was Britney Spears’ tour in support of her fourth #1 album In the Zone.

Beginning in San Diego, California on March 2, 2004, the tour featured futuristic postmodern architecture supposedly inspired by Tokyo. The show didn't feature as much lavish routines as her last tour in favor of a more intimate setting. The tour was canceled after the second leg due to Spears' knee injury on the set of her "Outrageous" music video. Immediately after what was supposed to be her last show, Spears married Kevin Federline.

Her Miami show was televised on Showtime to huge ratings. No official DVD has been released, although there are many bootlegs. Parts of the European Leg were chronicled in Britney and Kevin: Chaotic.

1 The announcement
2 The show
3 Performances and Controversies
4 Opening Acts
5 First Leg
6 Tour Dates

[edit] The announcement

Britney’s set design was based on the mysterious theory of the Onyx stone:

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.

Britney expressed, "I'm especially looking forward to bringing my tour to new markets and performing in front of fans that may not have had the opportunity to see any of my previous tours."

Kelis served as an opening act for several shows before the tour was canceled. Said Britney, "'Milkshake' is one of my favorite new songs, and I am so excited that Kelis, who is so talented, has agreed to open the Onyx Hotel Tour for me."

[edit] The show

While Britney's 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 fan-favorite ballad "Everytime".

Spears had seven 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.

The March 28 show in Miami was filmed for a special that aired on Showtime and attracted huge ratings. The show was rerun several times that year and still drew significantly large numbers. [1] Unlike Spears' previous televised concerts, this show has not been released to DVD.

During the show in Moline, Illinois, Spears suffered a fall during "(I Got That) Boom Boom" and injured her knee. 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, but due to the subsequent cancellation of the entire third leg, never ended up happening.

The third leg of the tour, which would have been a second North American trek, as well as Asia, was canceled because of the injury resulting from a fall on the set of Britney's video shoot for "Outrageous" in Queens, NY. She underwent arthroscopic knee surgery at a New York hospital. The surgery was necessary to repair severe damage caused to the singer's leg by the incident. There have been rumors stating that Britney did not want to tour in the summer, 2004. She wanted to start her life. Many tabloids stated that her injury was an excuse for her to get out of performing for her tour. Many critics found it strange that Britney got married right after the tour was supposed to end which was in October, 2004.

Opening acts were Skye Sweetnam in the US and Europe, Kelis in the US and the final show in Dublin, JC Chasez in Europe, and Wicked Wisdom in Europe, and Toronto based rock/reggae band dodger filling in for 5 dates that Kelis canceled for due to illness.

[edit] Performances and Controversies

The 2004 Onyx Hotel 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".

Britney Spears and a dancer during the performance of Breathe On Me

During the performance of "Touch of My Hand", Spears emerged onstage in a white robe, then after the second verse, removed it, revealing a tight flesh-colored suit covered in crystals (an obvious homage to her diamond-encrusted nude body in her "Toxic" video).

[edit] Opening Acts

Kelis (First Leg)
Skye Sweetnam (First Leg)
JC Chasez (Second Leg)
Wicked Wisdom (Second Leg)

[edit] First Leg

1. Toxic
2. Overprotected
3. Boys
4. Showdown
5 Video Interlude: Mystic Lounge
6. ...Baby One More Time
7. Oops!... I Did It Again
8. (You Drive Me) Crazy
9. Video Interlude
10. Everytime
11. The Hook Up
12. I'm A Slave 4 U
13. Video Interlude
14. Shadow
15 Video Interlude: Hotel Security Cameras
16. Touch Of My Hand
17. Breathe On Me
18. Outrageous
19. Interlude: Drunken MC
20. (I Got That) Boom Boom
21. Me Against the Music

[edit] Tour Dates

[edit] First Leg

(North American Leg begins)

03/02/04 - San Diego, CA - San Diego Sports Arena
03/03/04 - Phoenix, AZ - Glendale Arena
03/05/04 - Fresno, CA - Save Mart Center
03/06/04 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
03/08/04 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
03/09/04 - Oakland, CA - Oakland Arena
03/11/04 - Portland, OR - Rose Garden Arena
03/12/04 - Seattle, WA - KeyArena at Seattle Center
03/15/04 - Denver, CO - Pepsi Center
03/17/04 - Omaha, NE - Qwest Center
03/18/04 - Moline, IL - Mark of the Quad
03/19/04 - Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena (Postponed)
03/21/04 - Detroit, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills (Postponed)
03/23/04 - Atlanta, GA - Philips Arena
03/24/04 - Columbia, SC - Colonial Center
03/25/04 - Jacksonville, FL - Veterans Memorial Coliseum
03/28/04 - Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena
03/29/04 - Orlando, FL - TD Waterhouse Centre
03/31/04 - Philadelphia, PA - Wachovia Center
04/01/04 - Cleveland, OH - Gund Arena (Cancelled due to illness)
04/03/04 - Toronto, CANADA - Air Canada Centre
04/04/04 - Montreal, CANADA - Bell Centre
04/06/04 - Manchester, NH - Verizon Wireless Arena
04/08/04 - Providence, RI - Dunkin' Donuts Center
04/09/04 - Trenton, NJ - Sovereign Bank Arena
04/10/04 - East Rutherford, NJ - Continental Airlines Arena
04/13/04 - Chicago, IL - Allstate Arena (Rescheduled from original 03/19/04 show)
04/14/04 - Auburn Hills, MI - The Palace of Auburn Hills (Rescheduled from original 03/21/04 show)