Favorite Britney Performances by Era

[filmandstage13]

Since she DELIVERS on stage and is one of the greatest live entertainers of all time, I thought it would be fun to share favorite performances by era.

Baby One More Time Era (1998-2000)

1. Baby One More Time/Crazy Medley - Billboard Music Awards (1999) - Would have made the list for the back handspring alone, but one of my all-time favorite performances of hers. The arrangements, the choreography, the vocals... amazing.

2. Sometimes/Crazy Medley - Teen Choice Awards (1999) - Some of the best vocals and choreography of this era.

3. From the Bottom of my Broken Heart / Baby One More Time Medley - Grammy Awards 2000 - I can't believe she's only performed here once.  Iconic.

4. Baby One More Time - Video Music Awards 1999 - An impressive start to her VMA legacy.  Some great choreography.  Kind of forgot anyone followed this...

 

5. Crazy - The Tonight Show (1999) - Love the vocals here.  Crazy she was only 17 here.

Oops I Did It Again Era (2000-2001)

1. Satisfaction/Oops!... I Did It Again Medley - Video Music Awards 2000 - Possibly my favorite live performance of all time.  Speaks for itself.  Legendary.

2. Stronger - American Music Awards (2001) - We don't talk about this performance nearly enough.  That dance-break is everything.

 

3. Oops!... I Did It Again - Saturday Night Live 2000 - No frills, but absolutely nailed it.  The first time she did this dance-break.

4. Intro/Crazy - Crazy 2K Tour 2000 - The energy for this concert was through the roof.  And she kicked it off with a bang.

5. Don't Let Me Be the Last to Know - Saturday Night Live 2000 - Impeccable vocals.

 

Britney Era (2001-2002)

1. I'm a Slave 4 U - Video Music Awards 2001 - I mean... it had to be #1 for this era.

2. Boys (Co-Ed Remix) - Macy's 4th of July Celebration 2002 - Possibly her best ever choreography.

3. Intro/Oops!... I Did It Again - Dream within a Dream Tour 2001 - I wanted to include so many from the DWAD, but I just love this entrance.

4. The Way You Make Me Feel - Michael Jackson 30th Anniversary Celebration Concert - An incredible moment.  And has anyone looked more beautiful than she does here?

5. Not a Girl (Not Yet a Woman) - American Music Awards 2002 - Some of her best live vocals to date!

 

In the Zone Era (2003-2004)

1. Madonna Medley - Video Music Awards 2003 - I can't believe they didn't just cancel the rest of the show after this.  Too iconic.

 

2. Me Against the Music - American Music Awards 2003 - Everyone talks about the VMAs, but Britney always BROUGHT IT to the AMAs.  All of her performances there show up here.

3. Me Against the Music - Saturday Night Live 2003 - She dances so hard she loses her hat.  And the already impressive choreography never looked so good.

4. Toxic - In the Zone and Out All Night 2003 - This performance is electric.  All of them from this special were.

5. The Hook Up - Onyx Hotel Tour 2004 - Honestly could include almost any Onyx performance on this list, but this is a favorite.  And it might be my favorite tour outfit of all time.

 

Blackout (2007-2008)

1. Gimme More - Video Music Awards 2007 - Despite the controversy and the drama, this is one of the most iconic performances of all time.  Full stop.  (Also posting the supercut from the ponytail performances, because it's so excellent).

2-5. M&M's tour 2007 - We didn't get many performances in 2007, but what we did get was the stuff of legends.  Pretty much by default, her M&Ms performances occupy spots 2 through 5.  There's only super grainy footage, but you can feel the energy.  If I were to rank the songs in the 2-5 positions, I'd personally put 2) Toxic, 3) Do Somethin', 4) I'm a Slave 4 U, 5) Baby One More Time

Circus Era (2008-2009)

1. You Oughta Know - The Circus Starring Britney Spears 2009 - Entirely unexpected and straight fire.  I love how she drags the mic to the center.  She should consider doing a straight rock album.

2. Womanizer - Hey Hey Hey 2008 - She had several excellent promo performances for Womanizer, but this is my favorite.  That double-spin in the second chorus sold it for me.  The choreography looks great here.

3. Piece of Me - The Circus Starring Britney Spears 2009 - A masterpiece in terms of staging and delivery.  One of the most memorable performances and images from this tour.

4. Toxic - The Circus Starring Britney Spears 2009 - I love this performance.  The choreography is super fun and she seems very into it.

5. Circus - Good Morning America 2008 - It's a shame she only ever did this choreography live once.  It's excellent, and both the performances this day were solid.

Femme Fatale Era (2011)

1. Hold It Against Me - Femme Fatale Tour 2011 - What a way to open the show.  She has not performed this song since, but I saw this live and I've never been in a louder environment.  This San Jose performance is fire.

2. Till the World Ends - Femme Fatale Tour 2011 - The tour closer was also undeniably memorable.  It was made especially excellent on the rare occasions when Nicki Minaj (her tour opener) rejoined the stage to perform her verse live.

3. Gimme More - Femme Fatale Tour 2011 - Omitting it from the Circus Tour lineup, this was the first time she performed the song live since her infamous (and iconic) VMA performance.  It was worth the wait.  Her entrance is epic. 

4. How I Roll - Femme Fatale Tour 2011 - Fun and irreverent, this performance was underrated.  And this outfit in Detroit might be my favorite of the whole tour.

5. He About to Lose Me - Femme Fatale Tour - Yes, all of the videos of this era are from the tour.  She had a couple promo and award show performances, but I think her best performances came through on the tour.  This one in particular is simple but effective.  It's a shame that only select tour dates saw this great song performed.

Britney Jean (2013-2015)

1. Work ***** - Piece of Me Residency 2015 - Perhaps the most memorable performance of the residency, and an excellent show opener.  Also, she really seemed to find her groove in 2015.

2. Pretty Girls - Billboard Music Awards 2015 - Kind of between eras, but it's definitely pre-Glory, so I'm putting it here.  It's not my favorite song, but she looks and dances excellent here.  They both look amazing.

3. 3 - Piece of Me Residency 2015 - A surprise highlight!  I love the pole work.  Such a fun performance.  There was also an infamous moment where her zipper came undone down the back, and much as her dancers tried to correct it, Britney just keeps powering through like a champ!  A viral video caused the (at that point) 6-year old song to re-chart on the dance charts: 

Britney's ‘3’ Re-Charts After Vegas Wardrobe Malfunction

POPCRUSH.COM

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After a wardrobe malfunction during Britney's Vegas performance of 3, the song has pulled in millions more views and ranked on new Billboard charts.

4. I’m a Slave 4 U /  Walk It Talk It -Piece of Me Tour 2018 - She brought the fire here, and kept an (at that point) 17 year old song sounding fresh.

5. Something to Talk About - Piece of Me Residency 2017 - A mysterious one-time addition to her set list and we’re still talking about it today. I’ve said it before: her vocals are excellent for rock!

 

[Steel Magnolia]

Immaculate.

[MissSpearsSaysSo]

Thank you for posting, this was so fun to read and relive some cute moments! Yes!   

[ElenaB]

very good list!

i'd add the BOMT performance from the DWAD Tour, but then again, i'd add every performance of that tour bc the britney era is immaculate 

[filmandstage13]

14 minutes ago, ElenaB said:

very good list!

i'd add the BOMT performance from the DWAD Tour, but then again, i'd add every performance of that tour bc the britney era is immaculate 

The Britney era truly is impossibly perfect, isn’t it?!

[JeniLeeSK8]

1 hour ago, filmandstage13 said:

The Britney era truly is impossibly perfect, isn’t it?!

10000000%

[filmandstage13]

I've clearly pushed the upper limits of post length... it keeps cutting out parts of the Britney Jean and Glory eras!  So I've reposted those performances below:

Britney Jean (2013-2015)

1. Work ***** - Piece of Me Residency 2015 - Perhaps the most memorable performance of the residency, and an excellent show opener.  Also, she really seemed to find her groove in 2015.

2. Pretty Girls - Billboard Music Awards 2015 - Kind of between eras, but it's definitely pre-Glory, so I'm putting it here.  It's not my favorite song, but she looks and dances excellent here.  They both look amazing.

3. 3 - Piece of Me Residency 2015 - A surprise highlight!  I love the pole work.  Such a fun performance.  There was also an infamous moment where her zipper came undone down the back, and much as her dancers tried to correct it, Britney just keeps powering through like a champ!  A viral video caused the (at that point) 6-year old song to re-chart on the dance charts: https://popcrush.com/britney-3-chart-hit-wardrobe-malfunction/

4. Break the Ice - Piece of Me Residency 2015 - It took her 6 years to perform it live, but it was worth the wait!  It's a short performance, but a highlight from the Residency. 

5. Toxic - Piece of Me Residency 2015 - I prefer the updated choreography (coming later) but this closer was always a highlight from the Vegas show.

 

Glory Era (2016-2018)

1. Medley - Billboard Music Awards 2016 - Technically in the lead-up to Glory, she delivered one of the best and most memorable performances of her career!  That choreography was on point and we knew we were in for an excellent era.

2. Make Me / Me, Myself, & I - Video Music Awards 2016 - In compiling this, I had forgotten how many amazing performances there were during the Glory era!  An epic return to the VMA stage, she delivered another career highlight.

3. Toxic - **** Clark's Rockin' Eve 2018 - There were a few changes to this crowd favorite, and all were improvements in my mind!  Also, incredible that this is (I think) her most recent televised performance to date!

4. I’m a Slave 4 U /  Walk It Talk It -Piece of Me Tour 2018 - She brought the fire here, and kept an (at that point) 17 year old song sounding fresh.

5. Something to Talk About - Piece of Me Residency 2017 - A mysterious one-time addition to her set list and we’re still talking about it today. I’ve said it before: her vocals are excellent for rock!

 

[BlackoutITZ]

14 hours ago, filmandstage13 said:

Wow, I've never seen this performance before. This may be the most energetic performance from the entire Femme Fatale era. She was really feeling it that night