Britney Spears doesn't do a lot of interviews, and apparently she wasn't willing to make an exception for us in advance of her tour stop in Des Moines Friday. Given the roller coaster her life has been, that's understandable. Once you've been photographed shaving your head and attacking a car with an umbrella, you might be a little press-shy.
So instead, we found a few Brit-Brit fans to talk about their love for the "Oops... I Did it Again" über-star.
Carrie Rich, 24
Age she became a Britney fan: 12 or 13.
First reaction to hearing her music: "I was pretty much obsessed. I still have every show she was on or video she made on tape to this day."
Past Britney experience: "I went to my first Britney concert when I was 15. I remember her performing, and being in awe and wanting to meet her."
Concert day plans: "I'm going to search around hotels downtown, looking for her tour bus. I've wanted to meet her for a while. I'm a huge 'NSync fan and I went around town and found their hotel and got to meet them. I want to reenact that with Britney."
Her dream: "Even to this day, I want to live with her. I could be the nanny to her kids. It's crazy."
Erin Linn, 27
Age she became a Britney fan: 10
When she discovered Britney: "I first saw her on the Mickey Mouse Club. I was 10 maybe. That show was the reason I checked out her solo album when it came out in '98. I wanted to follow her so bad."
Past Britney experience: "I saw her in concert in '98 when she opened for 'NSync at the Civic Center. Her single had not come out yet and no one knew who she was. When she was performing, no one was standing up or dancing except for my friend and me. We got yelled at to sit down by the people behind us."
Connection to Britney: "She and I are the same age. I like to go back to when I was 16. She was cool. That's what I remember the most."
Thoughts on "Circus": "I really like the whole album, but I hope she does some of her old stuff first. This last album is more of a comeback kind of thing, which is why I'm excited. If she had come to Des Moines three or four years ago, I probably wouldn't be as interested."
Random facts about Britney's Circus tour:
- She has six bodyguards, including two former NFL players, an ex-cop and two ex-Israeli army soldiers. The sixth guard? Don't quote us, but we hear it's Batman.
- The tour has 225 traveling crew members and hires an additional 150 in each city. They consume 250 pounds of meat, 800 cups of coffee, and 2,400 bottles of water a day.
- It takes six buses to transport Britney, her band and crew, and 32 trucks to transport all the equipment, including six for just the stage.
- Britney changes costumes nine times per show, taking an average of 15-45 seconds per change.
Source: Iowa Events Center
