“Dilapidated”, “self-destructive”, “almost forgotten”… The American press did not hesitate to say harsh words towards Britney Spears. The singer, who was once America's most reactionary pop breakthrough, had a “rapid and astonishing rise” from glamorous emerging star to pop icon in the early 2000s, seemingly receding into the past of active music annals after a “very difficult period of her life, marked by self-destruction, family strife and a troubled motherhood.” However, interest in the person and name of the artist has not yet faded to the point that the idea of holding her concert on the beach in Rio de Janeiro, “like Madonna and Lady Gaga,” would look completely stupid and unthinkable.
The organizers of Madonna and Lady Gaga's famous (and free to the audience) beach concerts in Rio de Janeiro in 2024 and 2025 say that 44-year-old Britney Spears has not yet exhausted her “musical potential” and “resource needs”. To the surprise of observers and the press, they confirmed that they were considering Britney Spears as the “future headliner” of the show on Copacabana beach.
“We still believe in it,” said the project representative, answering a direct question from journalists about rumors “about Spears”, which not only detonated a “mine of information”, but also created a wave of discussion about the pop star's possible return to the stage.
Britney has not appeared on stage since 2018, ending the Piece of Me tour as almost her “last gasp”. The Domination residency in Las Vegas, planned for a full season, was canceled in 2019 before it began; The male singer later explained this decision was due to family circumstances. In an official statement, she emphasized that she is “focused” on her loved ones and hopes to return to performing “when able to do so on her own terms.”
Recently, Spears suddenly announced that she would never perform in the US again due to “extremely sensitive reasons”. At the same time, she made it clear that she does not rule out performances abroad. In general, she gave this to Kristina Orbakaite – with the only difference that the country did not immediately spew poisonous bile to her favorite person. “I hope to perform in the UK and Australia soon,” she wrote on social media, but said that music is now “not a career move but a way to heal”.
Now the press notes that the concert at Copacabana, if it takes place, would consider the outline of these statements “a plausible scenario: outside the American industry, without residency contracts, with maximum symbolism and freedom.” “Pop music history teaches that big comebacks sometimes start with rumors like this,” commentators argued.
And while there has been no official announcement yet, organizers of the Rio beach shows are confident that if Britney Spears takes the stage at Copacabana, she will “definitely continue her tradition of record-breaking performances.”
In May 2025, Lady Gaga gathered about 2.5 million spectators at Copacabana, 500 thousand of them from all over the world, performing for the first time since 2012 in Brazil. The two-hour concert was a “very strange” part of a world tour in support of Mayhem's eighth album. However, Madonna's concert at Copacabana in May 2024 is still considered a “reference” in this form – it was the last performance of her The Celebration Tour, dedicated to the 40th anniversary of her creative activity and which attracted 1.6 million people.
Fans and music experts are now wondering how “convincing” Britney Spears' challenge will be if she makes it to Rio de Janeiro.
