THE ONYX HOTEL TOUR

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. The tour grossed $48.7 million in the first two legs. Spears would have grossed an additional $30 million if she continued onto the third leg.
Spears' tour merchandise grossed over $30 million in sales, breaking records for the most grossed in tour merchandise by a female performer.
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 ''. The Lisboa Festival in Lisbon, Portugal aired and broadcasted live on SIC Radical, a Portuguese TV channel. The Miami show was also aired on the UK TV channel, channel 4.

Contents

The announcement

The show

Performances and controversies

Opening acts

Set list

Tour Dates

Cancelled Shows

Rumored Canceled Dates

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."

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 (18 March 2004), Spears suffered a fall during "(I Got That) Boom Boom" and injured her knee, causing her to stop the show and not perform the finale "Me Against The Music." Spears went on stage and told the audience "I hurt my leg really bad, sorry I cannot finish the show. But thank you, Moline". 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 and Australia, 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.

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".
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).

Opening acts

★ Kelis (First Leg)

★ Skye Sweetnam (First Leg)

★ JC Chasez (Second Leg)

★ Wicked Wisdom (Second Leg)

Set list

#Toxic
#Overprotected
#Boys
#Showdown
#''Video Interlude:'' Mystic Lounge
#...Baby One More Time
#Oops!...I Did It Again
#(You Drive Me) Crazy
#''Video Interlude:'' Mystic Garden
#Everytime
#The Hook Up
#I'm A Slave 4 U
#''Video Interlude:'' The Onyx Zone
#Shadow
#''Video Interlude:'' Hotel Security Cameras
#Touch Of My Hand
#Breathe On Me
#Outrageous
#''Interlude:'' Drunken MC
#(I Got That) Boom Boom
#Me Against The Music

Tour Dates

Date	City	Country or State	Venue
'North America'
March 2 2004	San Diego	California	San Diego Sports Arena
March 3 2004	Glendale	Arizona	Glendale Arena
March 5 2004	Fresno	California	Save Mart Center
March 6 2004	Las Vegas	Nevada	MGM Grand Garden Arena
March 8 2004	Los Angeles	California	Staples Center
March 9 2004	Oakland	California	Oakland Arena
March 11 2004	Portland	Oregon	Rose Garden Arena
March 12 2004	Seattle	Washington	Key Arena
March 15 2004	Denver	Colorado	Pepsi Center
March 17 2004	Omaha	Nebraska	Qwest Center
March 18 2004	Moline	Illinois	The MARK of the Quad Cities
'March 19,' '2004'	'Rosemont'	'Illinois'	'Allstate Arena'
'March 21 2004'	'Auburn Hills'	'Michigan'	'The Palace of Auburn Hills'
March 23 2004	Atlanta	Georgia	Philips Arena
March 24 2004	Columbia	South Carolina	Colonial Center
March 25 2004	Jacksonville	Florida	Veterans Memorial Arena
March 28 2004	Miami	Florida	AmericanAirlines Arena
March 29 2004	Orlando	Florida	TD Waterhouse Centre
March 31 2004	Philadelphia	Pennsylvania	Wachovia Center
April 1 2004	Cleveland	Ohio	Gund Arena
April 3 2004	Toronto	Ontario	Air Canada Centre
April 4 2004	Montreal	Quebec	Bell Centre
April 6 2004	Manchester	New Hampshire	Verizon Wireless Arena
April 8 2004	Providence	Rhode Island	Dunkin' Donuts Center
April 9 2004	Trenton	New Jersey	Sovereign Bank Arena
April 10 2004	East Rutherford	New Jersey	Continental Airlines Arena
April 13 2004	Rosemont	Illinois	Allstate Arena
April 14 2004	Auburn Hills	Michigan	The Palace of Auburn Hills
'Europe'
Date	City	Country	Venue
April 26 2004	London	United Kingdom	Wembley Arena
April 27 2004	London	United Kingdom	Wembley Arena
April 29 2004	Glasgow	United Kingdom	SECC
April 30 2004	Glasgow	United Kingdom	SECC
May 1 2004	Manchester	United Kingdom	Manchester Evening News Arena
May 3 2004	London	United Kingdom	Wembley Arena
May 4 2004	London	United Kingdom	Wembley Arena
May 5 2004	Birmingham	United Kingdom	National Indoor Arena
May 7 2004	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Ahoy
May 9 2004	Copenhagen	Denmark	The Forum
May 10 2004	Oslo	Norway	Oslo Spektrum
May 11 2004	Stockholm	Sweden	Globe Arena
May 14 2004	Frankfurt	Germany	Festhalle
May 15 2004	Hamburg	Germany	Color Line Arena
May 16 2004	Berlin	Germany	Velodrom
May 18 2004	Lyon	France	Halle Tony Garnier
May 19 2004	Milan	Italy	Fila Forum
May 20 2004	Zurich	Switzerland	Hallenstadion
May 22 2004	Vienna	Austria	Wiener Stadthalle
May 23 2004	Budapest	Hungary	Budapest Sports Arena
May 25 2004	Munich	Germany	Olympiahalle
'May 26,' '2004'	'Riesa'	'Germany'	'Erdgas Arena'
May 28 2004	Oberhausen	Germany	König Pilsener Arena
May 29 2004	Ghent	Belgium	Flanders Sports Arena
May 30 2004	Paris	France	Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
June 1 2004	Belfast	United Kingdom	Odyssey Arena
June 2 2004	Dublin	Ireland	Point Arena
June 3 2004	Dublin	Ireland	Point Arena
June 5 2004	Lisbon	Portugal	Rock In Rio
June 6 2004	Dublin	Ireland	RDS Showgrounds

'Bold Text' = Canceled Show

Cancelled Shows

(Canceled Due To Knee Injury)

★ 06/22/04 - Hartford, Connecticut - Meadows Music Theatre

★ 06/23/04 - Mansfield, Massachusetts - Tweeter Center

★ 06/25/04 - Scranton, Pennsylvania - Montage Mountain Performing Arts Center

★ 06/26/04 - Darien Center, New York - Darien Lake Performing Arts Center

★ 06/27/04 - Toronto, Ontario - Molson Amphitheatre

★ 06/29/04 - Cleveland, Ohio - Gund Arena (replay of canceled date)

★ 06/30/04 - Noblesville, Indiana - Verizon Wireless Music

★ 07/01/04 - Milwaukee, Wisconsin - Marcus Amphitheatre

★ 07/03/04 - Columbus, Ohio - Germain Amphitheater

★ 07/04/04 - Hershey, Pennsylvania - Hersheypark Stadium

★ 07/08/04 - Wantagh, New York - Tommy Hilfiger at Nikon Jones Beach Theater

★ 07/09/04 - Wantagh, New York - Tommy Hilfiger at Nikon Jones Beach Theater

★ 07/10/04 - Bristow, Virginia - Nissan Pavilion at Stone Bristow

★ 07/12/04 - Camden, New Jersey - Tweeter Center at the Waterfront

★ 07/13/04 - Holmdel, New Jersey - PNC Bank Arts Center

★ 07/14/04 - Burgettstown, Pennsylvania - Post-Gazette Pavilion

★ 07/16/04 - Minneapolis, Minneapolis - Target Center

★ 07/17/04 - Tinley Park, Illinois - Tweeter Center

★ 07/19/04 - Maryland Heights, Missouri - UMB Bank Pavilion

★ 07/20/04 - Antioch, Tennessee - Starwood Amphitheatre

★ 07/22/04 - Raleigh, North Carolina - ALLTEL Pavilion at Walnut Creek

★ 07/23/04 - Charlotte, North Carolina - Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Charlotte

★ 07/24/04 - Virginia Beach, Virginia - Verizon Wireless Amphitheater Virginia Beach

★ 07/27/04 - West Palm Beach, Florida - Sound Advice Amph

★ 07/28/04 - Tampa Bay, Florida - Tampa Bay Amphitheater

★ 07/30/04 - New Orleans, Louisiana - New Orleans Arena

★ 07/31/04 - The Woodlands, Texas - Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion

★ 08/02/04 - Dallas, Texas - Smirnoff Music Centre

★ 08/03/04 - San Antonio, Texas - Verizon Wireless Amphithatre

★ 08/05/04 - Alburquerque, New Mexico - Journal Pavilion

★ 08/07/04 - Irvine, California - Verizon Wireless

★ 08/08/04 - Concord, California - Chronicle Pavilion

★ 08/10/04 - Marysville, California - Sleep Train Amphitheatre

★ 08/11/04 - Mountain View, California - Shoreline Amphitheatre

★ 08/13/04 - Chula Vista, California - Coors Amphitheatre

★ 08/14/04 - Las Vegas, Nevada - MGM Grand Garden Arena

★ 08/15/04 - Bakersfield, California - Centennial Garden

Rumored Canceled Dates

Cancelled Asia Dates

★ 08/22/04 - Shanghai, China - Shanghai Arena

★ 08/22/04 - Shanghai, China - Shanghai Arena

★ 09/01/04 - Bangkok, Thailand - Impact Arena

★ 09/02/04 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - Merdeka Stadium
Cancelled Australia Dates

★ 09/09/04 - Brisbane - Entertainment Centre

★ 09/10/04 - Brisbane - Entertainment Centre

★ 09/12/04 - Sydney - Entertainment Centre

★ 09/13/04 - Sydney - Entertainment Centre

★ 09/15/04 - Sydney - Entertainment Centre

★ 09/17/04 - Melbourne - Rod Laver Arena

★ 09/18/04 - Melbourne - Rod Laver Arena

★ 09/20/04 - Melbourne - Rod Laver Arena

★ 09/22/04 - Adelaide - Entertainment Centre

★ 09/23/04 - Adelaide - Entertainment Centre

★ 09/26/04 - Perth - Burswood Dome

★ 09/27/04 - Perth - Burswood Dome