Toxic (song) - Live Performances

Live Performances

"Toxic" was performed by Spears at Britney Spears: In the Zone, a concert special that aired in ABC on November 17, 2003. She also performed "Toxic" as the headliner of the Jingle Ball on December 8, 2003, at Staples Center. It was the opening number of her set, and Spears appeared wearing a black top and a white fur cape. While the choreography was deemed as "erotic", Corey Moss of MTV commented that some of the effect was lost due to Spears's lip synching and a stagehand fixing a prop during the song. On January 24, 2004, Spears opened the 2004 NRJ Music Awards with a performance of "Toxic". During the ceremony, she also presented the NRJ Award of Honor for the Career to Madonna. Spears performed "Toxic" as the opening number of 2004's The Onyx Hotel Tour. Previous to the beginning of the tour, she deemed it as the song she was most excited to perform, along with "Everytime". After an introduction in which she briefly appeared on a large video screen, Spears took the stage standing on top of a hotel bus, wearing a tight black catsuit. She was surrounded by dancers dressed as employees and columns of LED lighting, suggesting the façade of a glitzy hotel on the Vegas Strip. MTV UK commented, "OK, so she doesn't so much sing than mime along with Toxic, But what do you expect when she's simultaneously performing a vigorous dance routine, ascending moving staircases and descending fireman poles?". "Toxic" was also performed as the last song of the concert during The M+M's Tour. After "Do Somethin'", in which Spears wore a hot pink bra, a white fur coat and a jean skirt, she ended the set with "Toxic", with four female dancers in a Shakira-like style. Following the performance, she thanked the audience and introduced her dancers.

"Toxic" was also performed at 2009's The Circus Starring Britney Spears. Following an interlude in which the dancers showcased their individual moves, the stage was lit with green sci-fi effects and Spears appeared over moving jungle gyms. Jerry Shriver of USA Today said that "fan-favorite Toxic succeeded because the focus was solely on the star." Jane Stevenson of the Toronto Sun named it one of the standout performances of the show, along with "...Baby One More Time" and "Womanizer". Screen commented, "The high point of the show was the back to back performance of two of Britney's biggest hits, 'Toxic' and 'Baby One More Time', which had the crowd break out in wild applause." The song was performed at 2011's Femme Fatale Tour. After a video intermission in which Spears finds and captures the stalker that follows her, the show continues with a martial arts-inspired remix of "Toxic", in which Spears wears a kimono and battles dancing ninjas. Keith Caufield of Billboard felt the performance was comparable to Madonna's "Sky Fits Heaven" at 2001's Drowned World Tour. Shirley Halperin of The Hollywood Reporter stated that " mid-tempo numbers seemed to stall out quickly, where faster offerings like 'Womanizer,' 'I Wanna Go' and 'Toxic' had the sold out crowd jumping in place and pumping their number twos in the air." August Brown of the Los Angeles Times said "The set’s only weak spots were sonic revisions of catalog staples – the Bollywood spy-flick vamp of 'Toxic' remains utterly groundbreaking and didn’t need an Ibiza-inspired revision."