Super, sexy Spears

Britney wows 'em at the 'Dome

CALGARY -- Oh baby, baby!

She may have sang You Drive Me Crazy, but it was bubble-gum singing sensation Britney Spears who drove thousands of screaming fans crazy at the Saddledome last night.

The 17-year-old pop princess gave the crowd -- which was almost evenly split between adoring girls and lusty boys -- what they wanted: A flashy, splashy extravaganza featuring all her biggest hits.

Both of them.

Wearing a pink tube-top that revealed the most famous midriff since Shania Twain's, the scintillating superstar teased the crowd by descending to the stage while a snippet of Baby One More Time boomed across the venue.

She began her set with the heavy dance beat of (You Drive Me) Crazy and later on in the show, made one young male fan a very happy fellow by inviting him onstage and serenading him with the gorgeous Born to Make You Happy.

"I can't believe it -- that guy's so lucky!" one envious male fan shouted out.

I'll admit that Spears has strong stage presence and is a natural entertainer, but her voice isn't particularly stunning and her songs -- like the insipid Sometimes -- are disposable for the most part.

Spears will need more than a cute smile and a fancy light-show to follow up the success of her debut album, Baby One More Time.

But for the thousands of fans in the audience, many of whom were probably attending their first concert, Spears could do no wrong.

And sometimes, you can't get too cerebral about it -- you just have to let the fun and energy of it all take you away.

Britney had great rapport with the crowd, who loved it when she ran across the stage from side to side, waving and blowing kisses.

"What's up, Calgary? I'm so excited to be here. This is my first tour on my own and there's only one rule -- you have to have fun!" she said between songs.

"Has anyone ever been in love?" she asked before one ballad, triggering a chorus of screams.

Obviously, there was no lack of love for Britney last night in Calgary.

Tommy Jeans model Michael Fredo started the evening off on a rather mediocre note.

Dwarfed by a huge white Tommy Jeans logo backdrop, Fredo had the voice and the looks that made the young girls swoon and jealous guys hurled unprintable insults at him -- especially when he ripped off his bright-yellow shirt to reveal his well-toned chest.

Unfortunately, Fredo's songs weren't quite as impressive.

They were vacuous and utterly forgettable. Even the bootie-shaking beauties who flanked the singer couldn't add much excitement to his unoriginal material.

British superstars Steps fared a little better, even though they spent half their set trying to teach the audience how to dance.

You see, the co-ed five-piece are called Steps because they have certain steps that are unique to each of their singles.

However, the crowd was much too psyched and impatient to see the star of the show to concentrate, no matter how hard the perky quintet tried. But the group's unbelievable energy works wonders for them.

They came across like five Young Canadians who had just been given a shot of pure adrenaline and a stack of Abba's entire back catalogue of recordings.

In fact, if you closed your eyes and listened to the group's final song, a cover of The Bee-Gees' Tragedy, you could swear it was Benny, Bjorn, Agnetha and Frida together again.

Montreal's Sky seemed like the odd band out, but the duo's smooth, jazzy, R&B-flavoured pop proved to be a nice break in a night that was otherwise filled with tooth-rotting sweetness.

While they may not have the same well-rehearsed dance moves as Steps and Spears or the teen-dream looks of Fredo, Sky was certainly the most musically accomplished of all the acts.

Set List		Concert rating