There was a lot going on during Britney Spears' almost sold-out show at the United Center on Friday night. From pyrotechnics to dancers and Cirque De Soleil-style acrobatics, to myriad sexy costume changes and trapdoors and a stage that moved up, down and around. But all of the dazzling distractions couldn't disguise Spears' near-robotic performance.



It wasn't just the lack of actual singing, that was pretty much a given at a Spears' show. She wasn't necessarily inanimate, either. There were constant choreographed numbers. She walked a catwalk. She rode a giant guitar while covering Madonna's "Burning Up." She rode an actual car. She rose from the stage on a swing during "Piece of Me." But with each step and each hair-whipping/hip-thrusting cue, her execution felt increasingly dispassionate. She was just going through the motions.

It was in stark contrast to opener Nicki Minaj. While Minaj appeared over reliant on backing tracks versus live singing as well, the energy Minaj exuded set them chasms apart. From the one-two out-of-the-gate punch of "Roman's Revenge" and "Did It On'em," Minaj owned the stage. The high-octane atmosphere pumped through her 45-minute set, which included her Kanye West collaboration, "Monster." And "Check it Out," with its fun "Video Killed the Radio Star" sample, featured Will.i.am on a video screen singing his parts.

Spears' set focused on recent album, "Femme Fatale," and the overly auto-tuned material furthered the already-synthetic vibe that ensued. First, there was the show's narrative, told via video clips that were littered throughout Spears' set. In it she was a femme fatale on the lam, and there was a bad guy whom she defeats. That device was seemingly meant to pull the action onstage together, giving a reason for Spears to run from dancing police, be locked up to gyrate behind bars during "Up N' Down," and in the end, rise from the stage wearing wings during encore "Till the World Ends." Where the dancing ninjas and motorcycles fit into the clip's storyline was anybody's guess, but what it mostly did was kill the show's pacing.

There was also the matter of Spears' dancing, which has always been a strong part of her repertoire. But on Friday, it was forced. It was especially apparent during "Gimme More." Despite the defiant "It's Britney, Bitch" declaration, Spears looked bored, as if the stairs she scaled for the choreography were too much to tolerate.

While the overall mechanical feel prevailed, some life came through during the Asian-themed "Toxic," which was sped up and had a more driving beat. Spears seemed like she might finally be enjoying herself. Or perhaps it was relief; by then there was only one song left before a confetti drop signaled it was over.

Britney Spears,entertainment,Femme Fatale,Gimme More,music,ShowBiz