Britney: Domination was a planned Las Vegas residency by American recording artist Britney Spears. The show was scheduled to take place at the Park MGM from February 13, 2019 to August 17, 2019, but was ultimately canceled.
Background[]
Spears at the announcement of her new residency at Park MGM
On October 12, 2018, Spears made a surprise appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show to confirm the upcoming residency.[1] The show was described as having an “urban, street, and hip-hop" vibe.
The official announcement took place on October 18, 2018, outside the Park MGM in Las Vegas, and was livestreamed on The Ellen DeGeneres Show's YouTube channel. Following a video introduction, Spears appeared, signed autographs, and then quickly exited, escorted by her team. The reception to this announcement was widely criticized by fans and media for being chaotic and for how Spears hurried.[2]
Cancellation and Court Revelations[]
Family photo used for the Indefinite Work Hiatus post
On January 4, 2019, Spears' social media team announced that Spears was going on a 'indefinite work hiatus" and the cancellation of Britney: Domination to focus on her father, Jamie Spears, who had suffered a severe colon rupture and required hospitalization.
However, on April 16, 2019, an anonymous former paralegal associated with Spears’ conservatorship left a voicemail on the Spears’ Gram podcast. He alleged that Spears was not taking her prescribed medication and was being involuntarily held in a treatment facility from mid-January to April 2019. According to the paralegal, Jamie Spears explicitly instructed her team to use his health crisis as the public excuse for canceling the residency.ow.
As media outlets began reporting on this, Spears broke her silence on April 23, 2019, via Instagram. In a video recorded from what appeared to be a treatment facility, she assured fans that "all is well." In the caption, she mentioned that her management team was receiving threats and denied emails from 2007 that were circulating online, stating they had been fabricated by Sam Lutfi.
On June 23, 2021, during a landmark court testimony, Spears disclosed that she was coerced into signing the contract for Britney: Domination and the Piece of Me Tour under the threat of not being allowed to see her children for Christmas. She also revealed that she had personally taught her dancers choreography for "Scream & Shout" during rehearsals in 2018. Spears alleged that, after refusing a dance move, she was punished by being taken off her usual medication and placed on lithium, commonly used to treat bipolar disorder, against her will, leading to her forced stay in a treatment facility.
In her memoir, The Woman in Me, Spears confirmed that she ignored cameras and remained silent at the residency announcement because she "simply" did not want to do it.
Planned Setlist and Creative Direction[]
Spears teaching her dancers in rehearsals for her cancelled residency.(2018)
The residency's creative direction was led by Emmy-winning choreographers Nappytabs, who hinted that "My Prerogative" and "Overprotected" were set to be included in the performance. It is speculated that Spears herself requested these songs due to their themes of independence, but her management reportedly opposed them, fearing they would fuel narratives about her conservatorship.
Several rehearsal clips featuring a stand-in performer, as well as Spears alongside her backup dancers, surfaced online. The following songs were confirmed through these leaked rehearsals:
- "Break the Ice" / "Piece of Me" (click here)
- "Do You Wanna Come Over?" (click here)
- "Coupure Électrique"
- "I'm a Slave 4 U" (click here)
- "Gimme More" (click here)
- "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)" (click here)
- "Circus" (click here)
- "Scream & Shout" (Hit-Boy remix; click here)
- "Work Bitch" (click here)
- "My Prerogative"
- "Overprotected"
- "…Baby One More Time"
- "Oops!… I Did It Again"
- "Toxic"
- "Till the World Ends"
- "I Love Rock 'n' Roll"