TooFab
Any Britney fan will wanna go-o-o to this immersive experience in Los Angeles, where you can fly the "Toxic" skies or snake charm your way through "I'm a Slave 4 U."
Anyone who's ever wanted to literally step inside a Britney Spears music video better put on their brightest blue flight attendant uniform and hop aboard a plane to Los Angeles for "The Zone," a pop-up experience tailored to the Britney Army.
Opening Friday inside the halls of an old K-Mart, the 30,000 square foot church to the Holy Spearit is made up of 10 rooms inspired by Britney's most iconic music videos, performances and fan favorite albums.
"We wanted to figure out an artist where, imagine you walk into the world of your favorite artist, being in the music videos and interacting in a new way would be so special," Jeff Delson from Black Sky Creative, one of the production companies/creative agencies behind the experience, told TooFab at the space. "Britney was our first choice because her videos are so iconic. We approached her and presented the idea and we got her blessing and her endorsement and she's super excited about it. We spent the last 2 years coming up with all the designs and logistics and three months to build it out."
The first portion of the experience is set in a high school, a la "... Baby One More Time," with interactive lockers, a basketball court and even a special appearance from Britney's longtime family friend and onetime personal assistant Felicia Culotta, reprising her role from the music video. From there, it's off to Mars to recreate the pivotal astronaut moment from "Oops ... I Did It Again," followed by a chair dance to "Stronger," a dance-off against a Spears body double for "Me Against the Music," some in-flight entertainment on the "Toxic" plane, a few "Circus" acts, an altar devoted to "Blackout," snake dancing to "I'm a Slave 4 U" and a paparazzi interaction that ends with your face on the cover of a tabloid.
Check out TooFab's Brian Particelli embarrass himself at one of the photo-ops below:
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"It's super challenging because she has so many iconic videos and all of her videos are etched in our collective memory," said Delson when asked how they narrowed down her discography to those hits. "This is a fan experience, we chose the ones the fans love the most and give a really good snapshot of her career. There have been some changes or additions over time, but we thought this was a good starting point to give everyone a good feel of her iconic career."
"I really love the 'Blackout' altar because that album is so special to me and it's a fan favorite," he added. "We thought it was really special to pay homage to 'Blackout.' But getting 'Circus' and jumping in the ball pit and having a blast and being a kid again is really fun too."
While Britney herself has yet to visit -- "she will be coming," promised Delson -- a number of her backup dancers checked out the space ahead of the press preview.
"We had 50 people, all her dancers from over the years and they were reenacting their choreography in all the rooms," he said, video of which can be seen on the experience's Instagram page (below). "They love Britney so much and everyone does, so it was fun to see all those dances and famous choreography brought back to life in this space."
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Throughout the walkthrough, fans will be able to interact with certain photo-ops with an RFID bracelet, which will then send all your pictures and videos to "The Zone" app. And while it's certainly a tech savvy spot, the goal behind it is to be less of a digital experience and more of a social one.
"We think the world's becoming really digital and people are focused on what they can do on their phones and their couch, and for us, we want to have life changing experiences for people where they get out and experience the world and they get to interact with their favorite celebrities and artists in a new way," explained Delson. "We think this will be something you can't do at a concert, you can't do on your phone, we want people to have a blast and experience technologies and have fun with their friends."
Check out more photos from the experience in the gallery above. "The Zone" opens Friday, January 31 to the public -- tickets can be purchased right here.
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