This Week in HIstory

On March 5, 2009, Britney Spears brought the Circus to Philips Arena. During her fifth concert tour, the pop star pulled out all the stops. Along with special guest, The Pussycat Dolls, Britney made sure that the sold out crow did not leave disappointed. The show felt like a circus, with its three-ring stage, acrobats, jugglers and Britney as the ringmaster. The concert was divided into four acts, “Circus”, “House of Fun”, “Freekshow/Peepshow” and “Electro Circ”. While the concert mainly included music from Britney's most recent albums, it also a remix of her hit “…Baby One More Time”. The Circus starring Britney Spears was fifth highest grossing tour of 2009.

This Week in History

During his third solo tour, Justin Timberlake made a stop at Philips Arena on February 27, 2007. Along with special guest Pink, Timberlake proved that he is a forced to be reckoned with in the music business. In addition to performing hits from both FutureSex/LoveSounds and Justified, Justin’s dynamic dance moves brought the sold out crowd to their feet. As a special surprise in Atlanta, Justin was also joined on stage by hometown favorite, T.I. to perform “My Love”. Stepping out of the shadows of *NSYNC, JT proved with this tour that he was an entertainer all his own.

Grammy Roundup

On music’s biggest night, some of our hometown favorites shined brightest. At last night’s Grammy Awards, Usher took home the award for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance, and joined his protégé, Justin Bieber, on stage for a special performance. Both singers wowed crowds at Philips Arena back in December and last night’s show was no different. Another Georgia native, Cee Lo Green, rocked the stage performing his hit “Forget You” with the help of Gwyneth Paltrow. Lady Antebellum, with Augusta natives Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, also gave Georgia reason to cheer as one of the biggest winners of the night, winning the awards for Record and Song of the Year for their hit “Need You Now”.

Congratulations to all of this year’s winners!

On February 8, 2006, one of the greatest rock’n’ roll bands of all time took the stage at Philips Arena. Touring in support of their album, A Bigger Bang, The Rolling Stones opened their Atlanta show with fireworks and the sound of “Start Me Up”. In addition to many classic hits, The Stones’ gave an enthusiastic crowd a look at some songs from their new album, such as “Rain Fall Down”. The band brought all of their energy to this show, especially Mick Jagger with his age defying dance moves. However, this was just one amazing night that was part of a tour that sold over 4,500,000 tickets to fans in 118 different cities and left each one wanting more.