derrick rose

Derrick Martell Rose (born October 4, 1988) is an American professional basketball player for the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Born in Chicago, Rose learned the game of basketball from his three older brothers.^[1] In high school, he won two state championships and was rated by scouts as the top point guard prospect in the country after graduation.^{[citation needed]} He played for the University of Memphis Tigers and reached the NCAA national championship game in 2008. Shortly after, Rose declared for the 2008 NBA Draft and was selected first overall by the Chicago Bulls.^[2] In his first year of professional basketball, Rose was voted the Rookie of the Year^[3] and was selected to the All-Rookie Team.^[4] In his second season, Rose was selected as an NBA All-Star for the 2010 NBA All-Star Game;^[5] he was also named a starter for the U.S. Team at the 2010 FIBA World Championships.^[6] Since being drafted, Rose has led the Bulls to the NBA Playoffs every year. In 2011, he received the NBA Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the youngest player ever to win this award. He joined Michael Jordan as the only Chicago Bulls players to win the honor.
In 2009, an NCAA investigation revealed that Rose's SAT scores had been invalidated, making him retroactively ineligible to play for Memphis. As a result, the NCAA vacated Memphis's entire 2007–08 season.^[
Early life
Derrick Rose was born and raised in the Englewood area, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods on Chicago's South Side. He was Brenda Rose's fourth son after Dwayne, Reggie and Allan, but the first in seven years. All three were talented basketball players who taught Rose the in and outs of basketball on nearby courts.^[1] As his talent for the sport grew, Rose began to attract much more outside attention in Chicago's basketball circles, leading his mother and brothers to restrict outside contact to him, fearing his road to the NBA would be exploited and derailed by outside parties such as street agents, such as with the case with former Chicago prospect Ronnie Fields
College
Rose accepted a scholarship to play for the University of Memphis Tigers under John Calipari, who recruited him after seeing the high schooler play in an AAU game.^[33] Strong efforts were made by Indiana University and in-state University of Illinois to sign Rose to their own programs.^[34] Illinois in particular planned to pair Rose and their five-star recruit Eric Gordon, who had played AAU basketball with Rose, together.^[35] Gordon however retracted his verbal commitment from the Fighting Illini, opting to play for Indiana, and Rose subsequently gave his verbal commitment before the start of his senior season.^[36] Rose chose Memphis because of the school's history of putting players in the NBA and the prospect of Rod Strickland, a 17 year veteran of the league, mentoring him. Rose switched to #23, unable to wear his customary #25, retired by the school in honor of Penny Hardaway.^[37]
With the addition of Rose and led by veteran upperclassmen Joey Dorsey and Chris Douglas-Roberts, the Tigers started out the season ranked third in the nation. Memphis sprinted to a 26–0 start and claimed the number one ranking in the country for the first time in over 25 years before falling to the University of Tennessee Volunteers 66–62 in February.^[38] Memphis was able to bounce back and capture the Conference USA Tournament to qualify for the "Big Dance" with a 33–1 record.^[39] Rose averaged 14.9 points per game, 4.7 assists and 4.5 rebounds per game during the regular season and earned All-American Third Team honors among others.^[40] He finished as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award as well as the John R. Wooden Award.^[41]
Memphis was seeded No. 1 in the South Region and blew out most of its competition on its way to the Final Four. Rose earned high praise for his increased focus on defense, hounding Texas Longhorn guard D.J. Augustin into a low-percentage game in the Elite Eight.^[42] In a match-up against the UCLA in the Final Four, Rose finished with 25 points and 9 rebounds while putting tight pressure on Bruins' point Darren Collison to lead the Tigers to the NCAA championship game against the University of Kansas Jayhawks with a 85–67 victory.^[43][44] The win set a NCAA mark for most wins in a season (38).^[45] Against Kansas, Rose scored 17 points on 7–17 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and dished seven assists, but missed a critical free throw at the end of the second half, and Memphis fell in overtime, 75–68.^[46] Memphis concluded the season 38–2. Rose was named to the All-Final Four team after averaging 20.8 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6 assists during the tourney.^[47]
On April 15, Rose declared for the 2008 NBA Draft.^[48]

Grading controversy:

According to the University of Memphis' legal counsel Sheri Lipman, a month after the loss to the Kansas Jayhawks, the NCAA sent a letter to the school stating that Rose had "an invalidated standardized test score the previous year at Chicago's Simeon High School". The next January, the NCAA sent another letter, charging Memphis with knowing that Rose had someone else take his SAT for him.^[49] Memphis started its own investigation and sent its response back on April 24.^[50]
On May 28, the Memphis Commercial Appeal obtained the letter through the Freedom of Information Act and released it. Although the player's name was redacted due to privacy laws, process of elimination and sources revealed the player as Derrick Rose. The next day in a separate investigation, James Sullivan, Inspector General of the Chicago Public Schools district's Board of Education, released a report of his investigation stating that four student-athletes of a CPS school had one-month grade boosts to alter their college transcripts.^[51] The Chicago Sun-Times revealed the school as Simeon Career Academy and that three of the four were Rose and his former teammates Kevin Johnson and Tim Flowers, prominent members of the back-to-back championship teams.^[51] The newspaper claimed that Rose's grade was changed from a D to a C.^[51] Another part of the report stated that "high school staff lost the original permanent records for three of the above mentioned students athletes" (including the unknown four).^[52] Sullivan started the investigation because "none of the grade changes were supported by any documentation”. He also failed to find a suspect as "at least seven people at Simeon had the ability to access student grades and records".^[51] Illinois High School Association (IHSA) executive director Marty Hickman reacted by saying, "It is obvious that this is worth taking a look into".^[52] Robert Smith, who coached the Wolverines from 2004 to 2007, denied any wrongdoing.^[51] District spokeswoman Monique Bond said the students involved probably didn't know about the grade change.
Additionally, allegations surfaced that Rose's brother, Reggie, had been allowed to travel with the team for free on several occasions.^[53]
Memphis contended that it had learned of the allegations about Rose's SAT score shortly after he enrolled at the school. It conducted its own investigation, in which Rose was questioned by four school officials. Ultimately, Memphis was unable to find any evidence that Rose had cheated based on what was available at the time, and cleared him to play.^[54]
Rose released a statement through his lawyer Daniel E. Reidy: “Mr. Rose is aware of the allegations reported in the press. Mr. Rose cooperated fully with the University of Memphis' athletic and legal departments’ investigation of this issue when he was a student, and that investigation uncovered no wrongdoing on his part."
On August 20, the NCAA vacated Memphis' 2007–08 season. It took the line that even though Rose's score hadn't been thrown out until after the season, strict liability required that he be declared ineligible.^[8] It also determined that even without the questions about his test score, Rose would have lost his eligibility in December 2007 due to Reggie being allowed to travel for free
NBA career
2008–09 season: Rookie of the Year
Rose was selected first overall in the draft by the Chicago Bulls,^[2] an unlikely event considering that Chicago had only a 1.7% chance of capturing the top pick in the draft lottery held that past May.^[56] He was selected to the U.S. Select Team to scrimmage against and prepare the National Team for the Olympics in Beijing.^[57][58][59] In mid-July, he played two games in the Orlando Pro Summer League until forced out by tendonitis in his right knee, ending his summer,^[60] but returned in October to play all eight preseason games.^[61]
Rose started his rookie year strong, becoming the first Bulls draftee to score 10 points or more in his first 10 games since Michael Jordan,^[62] and earned Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month honors for November and December.^[63][64] During the All-Star Weekend, Rose played in the Rookie Challenge,^[65] and won the Skills Challenge, where he beat out several All-Stars to become the first rookie to claim the trophy.^[66] Overcoming a January and February slump, Rose returned to form and won monthly rookie honors in March. Meanwhile, the Bulls, re-energized by the trade deadline acquisitions of John Salmons and Brad Miller, finished the regular season on a 12–4 spurt to qualify for the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference. Chicago's late push contributed to Rose's winning Rookie of the Year, joining Michael Jordan (1985) and Elton Brand (2000) as the only Bulls to do so.^[3] He was also the first number-one draft pick since LeBron James to win the award. He averaged 16.8 points on 47.5% field goal shooting, 6.3 assists (leading all rookies) and 3.9 rebounds per game and was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team.^[4]
In his playoff debut against the defending champion Boston Celtics, Rose recorded 36 points (tying Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's NBA record for points scored by a rookie in his playoff debut set 1970), 11 assists, and 4 rebounds as the Bulls prevailed in a 105–103 overtime win on the road.^[67][68][69] Rose became the second player in NBA history to record 35 points and 10 assists in his playoff debut, after Chris Paul. Rose averaged 19.7 points on 47.5% shooting, 6.3 assists and 4.9 rebounds per game in his playoff debut, as the Bulls were defeated by the Celtics in 7 games.
2009–10 season: All Star bid
Rose's sophomore season started off on a bad note when he injured his ankle in his first preseason game. Rose would go on to miss the rest of the preseason. Rose did start the Bulls season opener against the San Antonio Spurs but played limited minutes in a win. Rose's ankle bothered him for most of November, but as his ankle healed, his game improved greatly. On January 28, 2010, Derrick Rose was elected to his first career All Star Game as a reserve for the Eastern Conference, making him the first Bulls player to make the All-Star game since Michael Jordan in 1998.^[71] Rose had eight points, four assists and three steals in his first game as an All-Star. The Bulls once again made the playoffs in the 2009–10 season finishing with a 41–41 record. In the playoffs Rose averaged 26.8 points and 7.2 assists, but the Bulls still lost in five games to the Cleveland Cavaliers.^[72]
On April 13, 2010, Rose scored 39 points against the Celtics, making 15–22 field goals, and 9–10 free throws.
According to a January 2010 report by ESPN, Rose had the 4th best selling jersey in the league.
2010–11 season: MVP season
On October 30, 2010, in the Bulls' second game of the season, Rose scored 39 points in a 101–91 win against the Detroit Pistons. Two days after, Rose contributed 13 assists, helping Luol Deng score his career high 40 points in a win against the Portland Trail Blazers.
On December 10, 2010, Rose scored 29 points and had 9 assists, leading the Bulls to their first victory over the Los Angeles Lakers since December 19, 2006.
On January 17, 2011, Derrick Rose finished with 22 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists recording his first career triple-double against the Memphis Grizzlies.
On January 27, 2011, Rose was announced as a starting guard on the 2011 NBA All-Star Team for the East squad.^[74]
On February 17, 2011, in the Bulls' last game before the All-Star break, Derrick Rose recorded a regular-season career high 42 points, along with 8 assists and 5 rebounds, as the Bulls beat the San Antonio Spurs 109–99.
On March 26, 2011, Rose had a career high 17 assists, along with 30 points, and 3 rebounds, in a 95–87 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.
At the end of the 2010–11 NBA season the Bulls finished with a league leading record of 62–20.^[75] Their 60+ wins was the Bulls' first since the 1997–98 season and sixth 60+ win in the team's franchise history.^[76]
At season's end, Rose became only the third player in the past thirty years of the NBA to record 2,000 points and 600 assists in a single season. The other two players were LeBron James and Michael Jordan.^[77]
On May 3, 2011, Rose, at the age of 22, was named the NBA Most Valuable Player, surpassing Wes Unseld as the youngest player in league history to receive the award (Unseld won the award during the 1968-69 NBA season at age 23). Rose joined Michael Jordan as the only players to receive the award in Chicago Bulls history.^[78]
In the 2011 NBA Playoffs, the Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks in the first two rounds. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Bulls faced the Miami Heat, led by their three All-Stars LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Bulls lost the series in five games. During the 2011 playoffs, Rose averaged 27.1 points per game, but only shot 39% from the field and 24% for three pointers.^[79]

Stat	High	Opponent	Date
Points	42	vs. San Antonio Spurs	02011-02-17 February 17, 2011
Points	42	vs. Indiana Pacers	02011-03-18 March 18, 2011
Field goal percentage	12–14 (.857)	at Oklahoma City Thunder	02009-03-18 March 18, 2009
Field goals made	18	vs. San Antonio Spurs	02011-02-17 February 17, 2011
Field goal attempts	33	vs. Washington Wizards	02010-01-15 January 15, 2010
Field goal attempts	33	at Phoenix Suns	02010-11-24 November 24, 2010
Free throws made, none missed	12–12	at Milwaukee Bucks	02011-03-26 March 26, 2011
Free throws made	18 (OT)	vs. Indiana Pacers	02011-03-18 March 18, 2011
Free throw attempts	21 (OT)	vs. Indiana Pacers	02011-03-18 March 18, 2011
Three-point field goals made	6	at Atlanta Hawks	02011-03-22 March 22, 2011
Three-point field goal attempts	11	vs. Utah Jazz	02011-03-12 March 12, 2011
Rebounds	12	at Phoenix Suns	02010-11-24 November 24, 2010
Rebounds	12	at Detroit Pistons	02010-12-26 December 26, 2010
Offensive rebounds	5	vs. Atlanta Hawks	02008-11-11 November 11, 2008
Defensive rebounds	11	at Phoenix Suns	02010-11-24 November 24, 2010
Defensive rebounds	11	at Detroit Pistons	02010-12-26 December 26, 2010
Assists	17	vs. Milwaukee Bucks	02011-03-26 March 26, 2011
Steals	6	at New York Knicks	02010-12-25 December 25, 2010
Blocked shots	3	vs. Boston Celtics	02010-04-13 April 13, 2010
Blocked shots	3	at Washington Wizards	02010-12-22 December 22, 2010
Blocked shots	3	vs. Miami Heat	02011-01-15 January 15, 2011
Blocked shots	3	vs. Cleveland Cavaliers	02011-01-22 January 22, 2011
Blocked shots	3	vs. Toronto Raptors	02011-04-02 April 2, 2011
Turnovers	9	at Golden State Warriors	02011-02-05 February 5, 2011
Minutes played	55:20 (2 OT)	at Miami Heat	02009-03-09 March 9, 2009

london bridge image

London Bridge is a bridge over the River Thames, connecting the City of London and Southwark, in central London. Situated between Cannon Street Railway Bridge and Tower Bridge, it forms the western end of the Pool of London. On the south side of the bridge are Southwark Cathedral and London Bridge station; on the north side are the Monument to the Great Fire of London and Monument tube station.
It was the only bridge over the Thames downstream from Kingston until Putney Bridge opened in 1729. The current bridge opened on 17 March 1973 and is the latest in a succession of bridges to occupy the spot and claim the name.^[1]
The bridge carries part of the A3 road, which is maintained by the Greater London Authority;^[2] the bridge itself is owned and maintained by Bridge House Estates (see City Bridge Trust), an independent charity overseen by the City of London Corporation. The area between London Bridge and Tower Bridge on the south side of the Thames is a business improvement district (BID) and is managed by Team London Bridge.^[3]
The name London Bridge is often^{[citation needed]} mistakenly applied to Tower Bridge, which is the next bridge downstream.
History
A bridge has existed at or near the present site since the Roman occupation nearly 2000 years ago. The first bridge across the Thames in the London area, probably a military pontoon bridge, was built of wood by the Romans on the present site around AD 50.
Around AD 55, a piled bridge was constructed, and the Romans built a small trading settlement next to it—the town of Londinium. The settlement and the bridge were destroyed in a revolt led by Queen Boudicca in 60. Her victory was short-lived, and soon afterwards the Romans defeated the rebels and set about building a new walled town. Some of the 2nd-century Roman wall has survived to this day. The new town and bridge were built around the position of the present bridge, and gave access to the south-coast ports via Stane Street and Watling Street (the A2).
The bridge fell into disrepair after the Romans left. As Londinium was also abandoned, there was little need for a bridge at this point, and in the Saxon period the river was a boundary between the hostile kingdoms of Mercia and Wessex. With the impact of the Viking invasions, the reconquest of the Roman city by the kings of Wessex and its reoccupation by Alfred the Great, the political conditions arose for a Saxon bridge to be built here. However there is no archaeological evidence for a bridge before Aethelred's reign and his attempts to stem the Sweinian invasions of the 990s. A much later skaldic tradition states that the bridge was pulled down by the Norwegian prince Olaf in 1014, to assist the Anglo-Saxon King Aethelred to divide the forces of the Danes who held the walled City of London and Southwark, on either side of the river; thus regaining London. This episode has been thought to have inspired the well-known nursery rhyme "London Bridge is Falling Down".^[4]
The earliest contemporary written reference to a Saxon bridge is in 1016, when it was by-passed^{[clarification needed]} by King Cnut's ships in his war to regain the throne from Edmund II "Ironside". The rebuilt Norman London Bridge was destroyed in 1091 by a storm that spawned a T8/F4 tornado, which also struck St Mary-le-Bow, and is known as the London Tornado of 1091.^[5] The repair or replacement of this was carried out by William II "Rufus" through forced labour, along with the works at the new St Paul's Cathedral and the development of the Tower of London. It was destroyed yet again, this time by fire, in 1136

britney spears2011

1981–97: Early life and career beginnings
Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of English heritage through her maternal grandmother, who was born in London, and of distant Maltese descent.^[8][9] Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn.^[10] At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform a solo at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows.^[11][12][13]
Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age".^[12] At age eight, Spears and her mother Lynne traveled to Atlanta for an audition in the 1990s revival of The Mickey Mouse Club. Casting director Matt Cassella rejected her for being too young to join the series at the time, but introduced her to Nancy Carson, a New York City talent agent. Carson was impressed with Spears's vocals and suggested enrolling her at the Professional Performing Arts School; shortly after, Lynne and her daughters moved to a sublet apartment in New York.
Spears was hired for her first professional role as the understudy for the lead role of Tina Denmark in the Off-Broadway musical Ruthless!. She also appeared as a contestant on the popular television show Star Search, as well as being cast in a number of commercials.^[14][15] In December 1992, she was finally cast in The Mickey Mouse Club, but returned to Kentwood after the show was cancelled. She enrolled at Parklane Academy in nearby McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in Clueless with all the cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."^[12][16]
In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song from Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears travelled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing audiences wanted pop bands such as the Backstreet Boys and the Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph.^[17]
Senior vice president of A&R Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'— is extremely important. And Britney had that."^[12] They appointed her to work with producer Eric Foster White for a month, who reportedly shaped her voice from "lower and less poppy" delivery to "distinctively, unmistakably Britney."^[18] After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt all right with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz Pop and Rami, among others.^[12]
Musical style and performance
Following her debut, Spears was credited with leading the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. The Daily Yomiuri reported that "[m]usic critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson."^[145] Rolling Stone wrote: "Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene."^[146] Rami Yacoub who co-produced Spears's debut album with lyricist Max Martin, commented, "I know from Denniz Pop and Max's previous productions, when we do songs, there's kind of a nasal thing. With N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys, we had to push for that mid-nasal voice. When Britney did that, she got this kind of raspy, sexy voice."^[147] Following the release of her debut album, Chuck Taylor of Billboard observed, "Spears has become a consummate performer, with snappy dance moves, a clearly real-albeit young-and funkdified voice ... "(You Drive Me) Crazy", her third single ... demonstrates Spears's own development, proving that the 17-year-old is finding her own vocal personality after so many months of steadfast practice."^[148] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to her music as a "blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry."^[149] Spears later commented, "With ...Baby One More Time, I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging".^[150]
Oops!...I Did It Again and subsequent albums saw Spears working with several contemporary R&B producers, leading to "a combination of bubblegum, urban soul, and raga."^[151] Her third studio album, Britney derived from the teen pop niche, "[r]hythmically and melodically ... sharper, tougher than what came before. What used to be unabashedly frothy has some disco grit, underpinned by Spears' spunky self-determination that helps sell hooks that are already catchier, by and large, than those that populated her previous two albums."^[152] Guy Blackman of The Age wrote that while few would care to listen to an entire Spears album, "[t]he thing about Spears, though, is that her biggest songs, no matter how committee-created or impossibly polished, have always been convincing because of her delivery, her commitment and her presence. For her mostly teenage fans, Spears expresses perfectly the conflicting urges of adolescence, the tension between chastity and sexual experience, between hedonism and responsibility, between confidence and vulnerability."^[153]
Her vocal ability has also been criticized, often drawing unfavorable comparison to her pop rival, Christina Aguilera^[154] Critic Allan Raible derides her overdependence in Circus on digital effects and the robotic effect it creates. "She’s never been a strong vocalist..." writes Raible, "Could she handle these songs with stripped down arrangements and no vocal effects? More importantly, would anyone want to hear her attempt such a performance? Does it matter? No. The focus is still image over substance."^[155] Her image and persona are also often contrasted to Christina Aguilera. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly observed "Christina Aguilera may flash skin and belly button, but in her music and manner, she's too eager not to offend — she's a good girl pretending to be bad. Spears, however, comes across as a bad girl acting good ... Spears' artificial-sweetener voice is much less interesting than the settings, yet that blandness is actually a relief compared with Aguilera's numbing vocal gymnastics.^[156] In contrast, Allmusic comments: "Like her peer Christina Aguilera, Britney equates maturity with transparent sexuality and the pounding sounds of nightclubs ... Where Christina comes across like a natural-born skank, Britney is the girl next door cutting loose at college, drinking and smoking and dancing and sexing just a little too recklessly, since this is the first time she can indulge herself.^[157] Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine notes, "The disparity between Aguilera and Spears can't be measured solely by the timbre and octave range of their voices ... [Aguilera's] popularity has never reached the fever pitch of Britney's."^[158]
Like other dance-oriented pop stars, it has been widely reported that Spears lip-syncs in concert. Author Gary Giddins wrote in his book Natural selection: Gary Giddins on comedy, film, music, and books (2006) that "among many other performers accused of moving their lips while a machine does the labor are Britney Spears, Luciano Pavarotti, Shania Twain, Beyoncé, and Madonna."^[159] Rashod D. Ollison of The Baltimore Sun observes: "Many pop stars ... feel they have no choice but to seek vocal enhancement. Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket."^[160] Giddins adds, "it was reported Britney Spears fans prefer her to lip-sync—despite her denials of doing so (contradicted by her own director)—because they expect flawless digitalization when they pay serious money for a concert."^[159]
In Australia, NSW Fair Trading Minister Virginia Judge has advised disclaimers be printed on any ticket for concerts which contain any prerecorded vocals. She commented: "There could have been some instances where people actually go and purchase a ticket thinking that they're going to have a live performance ... for some people that means that everything is live, it's fresh, it happens instantaneously, it's not something that's been pre-recorded. You want to make sure that they're actually paying for what they think they're getting."^[161] Noting on the prevalence of lip-syncing, Los Angeles Daily News reported "in the context of a Britney Spears concert, does it really matter? Like a Vegas revue show, you don't go to hear the music, you go for the somewhat-ridiculous spectacle of it all".^[162] Similarly, Aline Mendelsohn of the Orlando Sentinel remarked: "Let's get one thing straight: A Britney Spears concert is not about the music ... you have to remember that it's about the sight, not the sound."^[163] Critic Glenn Gamboa comments her concert tours are "like her life—a massive money-making venture designed to play up her talents and distract from her shortcomings with a mix of techno-tinged sex appeal and disco-flavored flash. And, like her life, it is, more or less, a success.^[164