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Circus is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was first released on November 28, 2008 by Jive Records. Spears started work on the album in early 2008 with a range of producers including long-time producers Bloodshy & Avant and Danja. The album consists of pop and dance-pop. The album received positive reviews from critics and drew heavy comparisons to her previous studio album Blackout. The album proved popular with Spears' fan base, and produced Spears' second number 1 "Womanizer" since 1999, in the US.
The album's lead single "Womanizer" became a worldwide hit and broke records for registering the largest jump to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after debuting at number ninety-six on the chart. The song became her best-selling single in the US since her debut single "...Baby One More Time". The second single "Circus" debuted and peaked at number 3 in the US. The third single "If U Seek Amy" created controversy for its double entendre, but managed to peak at number 19 in the US. Circus is Spears's second album since ...Baby One More Time to have two top-ten hits and three top-twenty hits. It was her first album to have 2 first top 5 hits. The album gained a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording for "Womanizer," but lost to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." The album has become her biggest-selling album since In the Zone selling over fifteen million combined sales of digital tracks and over 4 million copies worldwide.It has peaked at number one in nine countries, while " Femme Fatale" has reached the spot in nine countries.
Spears embarked on her fifth concert tour to support the album named The Circus Starring Britney Spears. The tour kicked off on March 3, 2009 in New Orleans' New Orleans Arena and finished in Adelaide's Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Spears embarked on four legs of the tour visiting North America twice performing elsewhere in Europe and Australia. The tour gained controversy in Australia due to accusations of lip-synching. Elsewhere Spears promoted the album, performing on several television shows and releasing a promotional music video for the track "Kill the Lights".
User Album Review
Arriving little over 12 months since her last album Blackout, Circus is designed to put Britney firmly back in people's minds as a pop star rather than a daily source of gossip. Although ''It's Britney, Bitch'' may be unforgettable, this album, her 6th, arrives with manager Larry Rudolph back in charge and Britney herself sounding less like some producers have artificially recreated her voice just to be able to release an album.
Circus, echoes its title through the album with unnerving beats and creepy riffs. Innocent little Britney that we knew ten years ago can hardly smile sweetly any more after such a public breakdown, so as expected it's an album of dark electronic drums pausing only briefly to be demure on the restrained Out From Under and in the bizarre pastel colours of the cover artwork.
Announced as 'the former princess now the queen of pop' on the aggressive Kill The Lights, Britney sets her self up for a meeting with the paparazzi declaring, ''All the flashing trying to cash in hurts my eyes''. Like a sequel to Piece of Me, Britney battles through the frantic chorus with her hatred of Lights, Camera, Actions. Conversely, on title track, Circus, she loves the attention being shone directly on her as the ''ringleader'' as she sings of adrenaline flowing through her veins when it's time to put on a show. The more heavily produced a track is the better, with Lace And Leather pounding with dark industrial beats, and the crude pun of If You Seek Amy, in which Britney returns to super producer Max Martin pushing its way out as album highlight - it’s ''ha ha he he ha ha ho'' chorus centered over playful yet sleazy drums that will be irresistible to dance to.
Despite this, there are perhaps one too many tracks that fall flat. We don't want to hear Britney sing acoustically on My Baby or messing about with silly voices on the nauseating Mmm Papi. We want Womanizer with its over repetitive chorus, and slamming sirens. Britney 2.0 needs to be full of wild dancefloor driven moves, and when Circus gets them, only then does it excel.
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