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In light of all the attention the #FREEBRITNEY movement has been getting lately, I felt compelled to share my own Britney story. This is the trip where Aaron and I traveled all the way to Las Vegas for one day to see Britney Spears perform. And before I even start – that night ended up being epic, and also very relevant in what would go on to become a movement just a few years later.
I am telling the whole story below, though it’s likely only a true Britney fan will understand the significance of this event. However, others may enjoy hearing about my gambling fails.
**Side note – every photo was taken on an iPhone 6s. While I’ve tried to edit for quality, some pictures are still a little rough.
One Day in Vegas to See Britney Spears
The Story of My Britney Fandom
I’ve been a Britney Spears fan since I first got her Baby One More time CD in third grade. This is despite the fact that my mom never liked her, and didn’t want her daughter looking up to a “sex symbol”.
However, in the true spirit of doing what their parents don’t like, I continued to love Britney’s music throughout my teenage years. Toxic was my favorite song ever in eighth grade!
I did later watch her downward spiral with sadness, including the head shaving and umbrella incident. Instead of blaming Britney, though, I had the feeling that we had all forgotten she was a person, and judged her very unfairly.
From that point on, I became an even bigger Britney follower, always rooting for her comeback. I was SUPER excited when Gimme More came out, even though she wasn’t quite out of the woods yet with her troubles. In fact, it wasn’t too long after this that her conservatorship began.
The next time I heard from Britney, I was in college watching her For the Record documentary, which is the only time we really hear her talk about the conservatorship. In every other way, though, Britney seemed to be on the up and up. She was back to seeing her kids, performing, and making music videos.
Though I wished Britney didn’t need a conservatorship, everything seemed like it was going really well for her. Eventually, in 2013 Britney announced her Vegas residency, and I knew I had to get there somehow!
To Vegas We Go
I finally bought tickets to Britney’s Piece of Me show in 2017, when I heard the residency was ending soon. Quickly, Aaron and I found cheap flights to Vegas on Frontier and Spirit, and there was no turning back.
I didn’t want to take any more PTO days off from work, so we ended up giving ourselves solely one day in Las Vegas. The craziness of this didn’t really occur to me until it got closer, and it hit me that we’d have hardly any time there. However, we did try to make the most of every single minute, and actually squeezed a lot in.
Admittedly, our plans ended up being a tad too ambitious, and I would never plan something like this again. But for Britney, it was worth it, and I’m so glad we went to her show. Like I said, something totally unexpected and EPIC happened. Seriously, just wait ‘til you hear!
First Night in Vegas
Right off the bat, our short trip got off to a crazy start. First of all, my dad was very late in picking us up to go to the airport. However, this ended up not mattering, as our Frontier flight to Vegas ended up being delayed by about TWO HOURS. We’d had dinner planned that night at a Bobby Flay restaurant, but the longer we waited, it became very clear that this was not happening.
That said, when we arrived into Vegas close to 10 pm, I was still incredibly excited as the lights of The Strip came into view from the plane. I knew we were somewhere unlike anywhere I’d ever been, and I was ready to dive into the scene.
From the airport, we headed to the Bellagio Hotel & Casino, where we probably stood in line around a half hour to check in. By the time we got to our room, it was close to 11 pm. However, I could feel a second wind of energy hitting when I looked out the window and saw the Bellagio’s epic dancing fountains from our room.
Aaron and I quickly freshened up and headed into the jungle of people gambling in the Bellagio Casino. I could not believe how big this hotel was. It reminded me of the size of a shopping mall, with lots of restaurants, shops, and of course plenty of space reserved for gamblers throughout. People were dressed to the nines, and I was surprised to see rampant plastic surgery. We were not in northeast Ohio anymore.
It hadn’t been too long in the casino before we realized we were super tired, and that it was best to turn in so we could have a full day the next day. We made our way back up to our hotel room, and rested up for our big day.
Britney Day
We woke up on our second day in Vegas ready to hit the scene. We grabbed breakfast at a restaurant in the Bellagio, but alas, we did not end up trying one of Vegas’s famous buffets. After this, we beelined straight to the Bellagio’s pool.
Full disclosure, a really good pool was important criteria when I was picking out our hotel. I didn’t want something too wild and potentially full of beer and urine, but I also didn’t want something too boring and stuffy.
The Bellagio was the perfect balance for us. It was a beautiful pool area and still felt like Vegas, as drinks were being served all around us by gals in small outfits. However, people were pretty chill while they lounged and had a relaxing afternoon. Obviously, we were saving up our energy for the big night ahead of us.
By mid-afternoon, it was time to leave the pool and get ready for our upscale dinner date. This was to be at Wolfgang Puck’s Spago restaurant, when was then at Caesars Palace (now it’s at the Bellagio).
We had a really nice dinner together, and everything we ate was so delicious. It’s been years now, but I believe we had duck and some sort of fish. By the time we were done, I was so ready to head back to the casino area for some light gambling and a few drinks before Britney’s Piece of Me show.
We were having so much fun sipping cocktails, as my husband showed me how to play automated blackjack and use the slot machines. I made six whole dollars and felt quite pleased with myself! Maybe I wasn’t too shabby at this whole gambling thing… or was I? More on that later.
It’s Britney Bitch!
Anyways, it was now time for what we had been waiting for: to head to the AXIS Theater (now Zappos Theater) to see Britney! I was having so much fun already that day, that at that point I actually couldn’t believe we still had the main event ahead of us.
While Caesars Palace was right next to the Bellagio, we actually had to grab a cab to get to the AXIS Theater. I was wearing impossible heels and the temps were sweltering, so walking was out of the question.
We quickly arrived at the AXIS, where we joined the line of other Britney devotees waiting to enter the show. I could feel the excitement building within and all around me.
Finally, we all began to file inside and grabbed our seats. As the room filled, I was so excited to see two girls and a guy dressed in iconic Britney outfits take their seats next to Aaron. I quickly made him switch seats with me. I was now next to the guy dressed in the red jumpsuit from Oops I Did It Again, and he was to be my Britney singalong friend for the rest of the evening (Aaron is a trooper, but not the biggest Britney fan).
Finally, it was time. The lights dimmed, and the thumping bass of Work Bitch began to play. Before I knew it, Britney herself came strutting onto the stage, and suddenly I was seeing her in the flesh.
Internally, I was freaking out in super fan girl status! From where I sat, Britney was otherworldly, and I realized there was a reason she was Britney Spears. Even though (at least to me) her best performing days were behind her, she OWNED that stage.
I danced while taking shaky phone footage and trying (unsuccessfully) not to spill wine on myself. I shouted Britney lyrics until I was hoarse, and danced in my heels until my feet hurt. All was going as expected when, suddenly, Britney paused the show and began to speak. Maybe you know what happens next…
“How ya feeling Vegas?!”
Lots of cheering. Britney begins to speak to the crowd.
“Honestly without the music, and just the mic, it kind of feels illegal.” She goes on talking, alluding to her relationship with the media. Recently, some reporter had put into question whether Britney ever actually sings, or if all her vocals are prerecorded. Now here she was, apparently taking great offense to this.
She goes on, “I just wanna make sure I keep having you motherfuckers something to talk about, okay?”. Then she begins to sing “Something to Talk About” by Bonnie Raitt in an extremely rare, completely live performance.
I am not trying to over glorify her vocals in any way. Still, I couldn’t believe that there she was singing completely live before my eyes. And I couldn’t believe the odds that I would actually be there to witness it.
At that time, her mention of speaking being “illegal” didn’t really mean much to me. The #FREEBRITNEY movement hadn’t yet begun.
However, with recent events and statements from her legal team, I am now looking at some of these prior events and statements with new eyes. I just can’t believe I was there to see this rare display from Britney. I’m actually still in shock.
Finally, My Gambling Fails
Once the show was over, I was pretty drunk, both on alcohol and life, and beelined straight to the blackjack machines again. However, the night started to go downhill a bit from there, and my automated blackjack beginner’s luck was quickly fading.
Where at one moment I saw myself ahead $50 on my gambling machine, my newbie gambler self got greedy and began to fight with the machine, and of course, I slowly started to lose money. Instead of quitting while I was ahead, I kept at it, determined to win my money back. Before I knew it, I was actually losing $50.
Thankfully, my husband explained to me how we purposely had set money aside to lose in Vegas, so there was no reason to get upset with the machine. He also convinced me that perhaps it was best to cut our losses and head off to bed. I remembered we had an early flight in the morning, and realized getting up was going to be really, really hard.
Hard it was, but we did make our flight, and even had a little time to do some last minute slot machines in the airport. However, I’ve vowed ever since then that I will not fly out west for one day ever again!
• • •
While I admit to being on board the #FREEBRITNEY movement, I will acknowledge that we do not get to hear from Britney herself. For all we know, she is okay with her conservatorship.
What I can say is that I had an absolute blast at her show in Las Vegas. I will always appreciate how her music lets me relive fun times spanning from my childhood through college years. If being free is what Britney wants, then I truly hope the legal system does its job, and allows this to happen for her.
