Britney Back On Stage

(CBS/AP)  Britney Spears strutted her way back to center stage with a short, sexy set at the House of Blues that's believed to be her first public concert appearance in nearly three years.

The erstwhile pop star, more recently derided as a pop tart for her highly public forays into midnight carousing, appeared to be back in top form.

The 25-year-old mother of two went onstage late Tuesday wearing nothing more than knee-high go-go boots with a short white skirt and a sparkly pink bra top that showed off her belly button ring — and no evidence of the weight gain that landed her on celebrity tabloid covers last year. A long brown wig completed the outfit, covering the head she shaved in February.

She launched a short set with her classic "Baby One More Time," using a cafe chair as a burlesque prop while she pranced around the small club stage backed up by four dancers.

During one moment in the show, a young man in the audience was brought on stage and seated on a chair where he enjoyed a sexy performance from Spears and her backup dancers. Some celebrity blogs are saying that the lucky guy was Spears' rumored boyfriend, singer Howie Day.

"She's so good!" yelled San Diego hairstylist Ally Murray, 29, as Spears showed off her aerobic choreography.

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Photos: Britney Spears

Photos: Britney & K-Fed

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Spears sped through the songs — all standards from her earlier albums — wrapping up after less than 15 minutes. She gave a shy goodbye before an old Madonna song came on over the sound system. "Thanks, everyone, for coming," she told the packed club.

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Timeline: Britney's Meltdown

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The comeback didn't hit a high note for everyone, some of whom paid upward of $125 a ticket.

"It looked like she lip-synched her way through the whole thing," said a disappointed Morgan Segall, 20, who flew in from San Francisco for the night.

The performance, under heavy club security, was shrouded in mystery. The club marquee advertised a show by "The M&Ms," and it wasn't until an hour after the doors opened that a disc jockey mentioned Spears' name, prompting shrieks from girls jammed in front of the stage.

Rumors of a Spears show had spread on the Internet and via local radio stations late last week, prompting a run on tickets by die-hard fans.

Spears' last concert tour ended in summer 2004. Earlier this year, she told fans she hoped for a career comeback. "I look forward to coming back this year bigger and better than ever," Spears wrote on her Web site in January, also noting she'd "been far from perfect."

"Whatever, we love her," said Raul Flores, 22, who waved a foam placard of his favorite pop star at the club exit. "She's amazing."

In March, Spears completed a stint at a luxury Malibu rehabilitation treatment facility after a series of run-ins with the paparazzi that included a stop at a San Fernando Valley hair salon, where she was caught on video shearing her own locks. Other photographs splashed across the Internet appeared to reveal Spears went out partying wearing nothing underneath her short skirts.

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Video: Britney Comeback Performance

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She was seen going out with Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan after filing for divorce from aspiring rapper Kevin Federline last November, just two months after giving birth to their second child, Jayden James. The pair also have an older son, Sean Preston, now 20 months.

The two reached a divorce settlement in March.

At one point in the show, Spears and her posse played at taunting a male dancer who, dressed in a natty gray suit, looked vaguely like Federline.

"The M&Ms" had two other concerts scheduled at House of Blues venues in Southern California — one in Anaheim on Wednesday and the other Thursday in West Hollywood — according to the club's Web site.

[itwasntme000]

her music sucks and she is a mental case so who cares if she ever performs again? The only way I would watch her is if she did porn, which she probably will end up doing if she can't keep that beak of hers out of a pile of blow
Posted by killtheliars at 04:26 PM : May 02, 2007

agreed. She really needs to talk to Hugh Hefner.

[samthetvcat]

PS 15 minutes on stage - what poetic irony . . .

[samthetvcat]

wow, she looked really bad in the video . . . like some off-strip vegas dancer - as a woman I hate to use this term, but 'used up' was the first thing that went through my mind.

I think if she can get somebody to write her a cool song, she'll be just keep going on her same course of disaster - if her next album tanks, she's probably going to have a nervous breakdown and possibly do something REALLY desperate . . .

I almost wish tabloids would just focus on other people and like their productive work, or their everyday stories that are normal - like how they deal with husband issues and whiny kids, or how they've redecorated their homes and stuff . . . Britney Spear and Lindsay Lohan are trainwrecks I can't help but look at but it's really not a pleasant scene . . .

[ecuadoriana]

"Britney Back On Stage"

The only stage she should be on is the next one out of town.

Never thought she had talent,
was never impressed at all,
if this is her "come back"
what next,
the mall?

Yeah. I rock & I didn't even lip synch.

[pared1]

oops she lip-synched again. The girl needs lots of help.

[nowhereman00]

I think this says it all...

http://www.buzzdash.com/?page=buzzbite&BB_id=11625

[suttonjo]

it looks like she's doing the good old lip syncing trick...watch out Ashley Simpson, Britney might be climbing the charts to become the new lip syncing queen. The song tooooooo pure and crisp to not be a tape considering the movements that she is doing.

[killtheliars]

her music sucks and she is a mental case so who cares if she ever performs again? The only way I would watch her is if she did porn, which she probably will end up doing if she can't keep that beak of hers out of a pile of blow

[inventagod2]

Actually watched the video, and the girl has nothing left to sell, just going thru the motions.
Hope she finds a day job before the royalities run low...
Has-been...

[lawandorder6]

superchez1, if you think B.S. is talented, I have a pig you can have to sing you to sleep.