A bit-sized Britney: Pop singer takes the Twitter approach to promotion

A total of 15 seconds of Britney Spears' "3" were released online today, all in easy-to-digest 5-second clips. It's a tease for a song that is -- for all intents and purposes -- a tease itself.

The whole shebang will debut tomorrow. Yet you'll probably be able to tell if you want to seek it out based on the little morsel above. 

A commercial in 140 characters or less, Spears has attempted to turn the release of her new clip into a three-day Twitter-fueled event. Yesterday, the artist dropped three photos from the video online.

She's taking advantage of her status as the pop music queen of Twitter. With 3.6 million followers, Spears is significantly out in front of any other artist on Twitter, according to data from Big Champagne. For those keeping track of figures that largely can't yet be monetized, John Mayer is a distant second, with about 2.5 million followers.

--Todd Martens

Related: Britney Spears' '3': Odd lyrics, but a production seduction

Britney Spears' '3': Odd lyrics, but a production seduction

The latest addition to the Britney Spears empire was unveiled this morning: a new cut in "3" that hit on all the hallmarks that have made the Britney brand strong for much of the last decade. Swedish producer Max Martin was behind the boards, the man who helped Britney craft such synthy-dance hits as "...Baby One More Time" and, more recently, "If U Seek Amy."

And the message? The song stays close to the Spears playbook of sex and more sex, deflecting all attention away from her  myriad controversies to put the focus squarely on the come-on. "Living in sin is the new thing," Spears coos in the lyrics, but the topic is old news for her.

The song is slick, but it's cold, and therefore in line with Spears' recent trek around the globe. Her Circus comeback tour was an elaborate stage get-up, one to prove that the franchise is alive and well, if alive and well is judged solely by dollar signs. Gymnasts, magicians and clowns put on a massively designed three-ring show, all while Spears shredded one glitter-soaked midriff-exposing outfit for another.

Yet there was little attachment to the song, zero interaction with the audience, and skin stood in for emotion -- or even talent. Like "Blackout" and "Circus," "3" is a study in production; give Spears' team credit for  elevating the song above typical dance products.

Britney Spears' 'Circus' tour: The verdicts are in

It's been a week of premieres in the pop-culture world. On Monday, NBC debuted "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon," and on Tuesday, Britney Spears unveiled the 2009 version of her comeback, the much-ballyhooed "Circus" tour.

But unlike a late-night talk show, which will evolve over time, a tour on the level of Spears' arrives on Day 1 as a Broadway-like machine. The surprises (a Perez Hilton introduction) and the set list landed before the show even launched, and the costume changes are online for your viewing perusal. Britney as the Naughty Cop, an outfit donned during "Womanizer," is at left.

If you're interested in seeing Spears when she comes to the Staples Center for a two-night stay beginning April 16, chances are you already have tickets. A Ticketmaster search reveals nothing available for the first night in Los Angeles, and only the premium-priced tickets are showing up for Sunday ($150 and up).

So how good is the show you're going to see? The Times' Ann Powers writes a largely positive review, but hers comes with reservations. She writes of "daring" dance sequences, including a well-choreographed, Bollywood-edition of "Me Against the Music," but also notes the backing track has a large presence, and Britney's dance moves aren't significantly advanced from anything you might see at your local gentleman's club.

But in terms of eye candy and bang for your buck, Powers writes, the "Circus" tour will likely deliver for fans. "She is back up on the beam," writes Powers. "The director, Jamie King, has made sure of that. If your star is a bit unstable, the best solution is to surround her with a backing troupe that can step in when she fumbles. Much like her music, the 'Circus' tour is all about added value. Instead of purchasing the coolest new beats and synth-pop augmentations, King and Spears signed up those experienced carny stars to not only fill in the gaps between numbers but enhance — distract from? — her own time onstage."

MTV noted that Spears herself is "dwarfed by the spectacle," but what a spectacle it was.

"Britney's Circus, a big, huge, loud, funny, nonsensical three-ring affair that includes everything under the big top — even an actual big top," wrote James Montgomery. "Broken down into four acts — 'Circus,' 'House of Fun,' 'Freakshow/Peepshow' and 'Electro Circ'— the two-hour show is every set designer and choreographer's wet dream, or nightmare, or both. There are literally dozens of costume changes, dancers of all shapes and sizes and acrobats and set pieces that fly about willy-nilly."

Acrobats, magicians and a bit of erotica: Britney Spears’ ‘Circus’ opens in New Orleans

The pop star pulls out all the bells, whistles and clowns in a sparkly New Orleans show that dazzles fans and sets her up for a big comeback.

Reporting from New Orleans -- Her singing was dominated by a backing track. Her moves were nothing special -- defined by much strutting and stripper-like shimmying, with the minimum amount of acrobatics to prove her mettle as a dance-pop queen. Her physical form, still beautiful, didn't take one's breath away the way it did when she was 17.

But on Tuesday's opening night of her "Circus" tour at the New Orleans Arena, Britney Spears, the mighty Aphrodite with the troublesome tawdry streak, nonetheless renewed her claim as one of the world's most adept manipulators of the public interest. Powering through a 90-minute show that integrated her impetuous teen hits with the more perverse material from the albums she released after a very public breakdown that made her a constant in the tabloids, the Louisiana native flashed her famous good ol' girl smile at the fans, mostly female, who still find her a worthy patron saint of the erotic arts.

The intensely bespangled show -- which sticks closely to the big-top theme that also defines her latest album -- featured a huge array of tricks and extra players, including jugglers, clowns, magicians, martial artists, acrobats and rings of fire. Somewhere in there was Spears herself, looking hearteningly happy as she took on the role of ring mistress, clearly relishing the chance to prove herself healthy and in control.

Britney's 'Circus' comes to town: the set list

I'm in New Orleans awaiting the start of the most anticipated tour of the year (except by those crazy Animal Collective fans at the Troubadour the other night): Britney Spears' "Circus" extravaganza. I'll be filing after the show tonight, so please look here for the review before midnight. In the meantime, the set list has leaked. Looks like P-Daddy Hilton might be introducing her. Laissez les bons temps rouler!

Set list after the jump.

-- Ann Powers

Taylor Swift's "Fearless" returns to No. 1

Heading into the clubhouse turn of the holiday sales season, Taylor Swift recaptured the No. 1 spot on the national album chart with “Fearless,” returning to the top of the heap five weeks after debuting there.

The 18-year-old singer-songwriter’s second album has now sold more than 1.5 million copies, adding to her already impressive year in which her 2006 debut album, “Taylor Swift,” was the fifth bestselling album of 2008, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

“Fearless” sold 249,000 copies, a 29% increase from the previous week and more than enough to move her ahead of Britney Spears’ “Circus,” last week’s No. 1 seller. “Circus” dropped to No. 2 in its second week, with sales of 200,000. The good news for the struggling record industry is that every album in the Top 10 sold more than 100,000 copies.

No new albums entered the Top 10. The highest charting debut was Musiq Soulchild’s “OnMyRadio,” which starts out at No. 11 with sales of 91,000 copies.

The Billboard-Nielsen list of 2008’s top sellers is skewed with last Christmas’ biggest hits because the sales period the magazine considered ran from Dec. 1, 2007, through Nov. 29, 2008. Alicia Keys’ “As I Am” came out on top, followed, in order, by Josh Groban’s “Noel,” Lil Wayne’s “Tha Carter III,” the Eagles’ “Long Road Out of Eden,” “Taylor Swift,” Kid Rock’s “Rock N Roll Jesus,” Coldplay’s “Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends,” Vol. 26 in the “Now That’s What I Call Music!” hits compilation series, Carrie Underwood’s “Carnival Ride” and Garth Brooks’ latest compilation “The Ultimate Hits.”

-- Randy Lewis

Photo of Swift winning the award for country female artist during the 2008 American Music Awards by Vince Bucci/Getty Images for AMA

Britney Spears' 'Circus' vaults to No. 1

Britney Spears' "Circus" takes the singer back to the top of the national sales chart after selling 505,000 copies during its first week of release. Billboard notes that it makes her the first act with four albums to sell 500,000 or more copies out of the gate.

She had been tied at three with Jay-Z, Garth Brooks, 2Pac and 50 Cent. It is her fifth No. 1 album.

Her biggest first-week figure came in 2000, at the height of the teen pop craze, when “Oops! I Did It Again” rang up 1.3 million sales in a single week.

“Circus” was one of only two new albums to land inside this week's Top 10. Akon's "Freedom" entered at No. 7 after selling 111,000 copies. And Guns N' Roses years-in-the-making "Chinese Democracy" tumbled from No. 3 to No. 18 in its second week on the chart after a 78% sales drop, the largest dip for any Top 50 album last week.

Other new chart entries include Scarface’s “Emeritus,” which enters at No. 24 on sales of 42,000, and Neil Young’s “Sugar Mountain — Live at Canterbury House 1968,” starting out at No. 40 with 26,000 copies.

Update: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that "Circus" was the only new album to debut inside the Top 20 this week.

-- Randy Lewis

Related: Album review: Britney Spears' 'Circus'

Related: Britney Spears' comeback: A snap judgment

Related: Britney Spears: Life in pictures

(Photo courtesy AP)

The Britney Spears publicity tour rolls through L.A. Live

She came. She spoke. The end.

In true form, Britney Spears left fans saying, "Gimme More."

Hot off the heels of her birthday extravaganza Tuesday -- which included the release of her sixth studio album, "Circus," and a performance on "Good Morning America" in which the resurrected blond bombshell taunted fans with her signature dance moves-- Spears continued her jet-setting promotional tour with a brief (very brief) stop in downtown Los Angeles to help launch "Light of the Angels," a seven-minute light show extravaganza. 

Thursday’s event, which also included appearances by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, USC football coach Pete Carroll and Adam Carolla, marked the official opening of L.A. Live, an “entertainment campus” featuring dining, entertainment and residences that has been in development for years.

Host Carolla cited another development in the works for quite some time: Britney’s “comeback.”

“I never thought I would see downtown L.A. making a comeback this way... I wasn’t sure if I’d see Britney Spears make a comeback... like the proverbial phoenix rising from the ashes... she is back and in a huge way,” he said.

Sure, she was back... but not for long. After mumbling that "Circus" was her favorite track from this album and revealing how she would spend the holidays -- “It’s family time. We usually do the tree thing” -- Britney approached the candy cane lever and officially lighted the tree and launched the light show.

Cue the lights!  And her exit.

Britney, had she stayed, would have seen the district’s light show spectacular.  Each hour on the hour from 7 to 10 p.m. during the Christmas season, more than 1 million lights will beam to create a fusion of light and music in the L.A. Live courtyard.

The centerpiece of the nightly display is a futuristic 54-foot Christmas tree, featuring 11,382 energy-efficient sphere LEDs that serve as a vast video screen for elements of the show. 
 
But this was actually the second stop on Britney's holiday spectacles tour. She pre-taped (gee, imagine that!) a holiday greeting that was shown during the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree on Wednesday.

You’d think she’d give first dibs to AEG -- L.A. Live’s parent company.  They are, after all, producing her 2009 world tour that launches in March. Oops!

-- Yvonne Villarreal

Photo by Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times

Britney Spears' comeback: A snap judgment

It’s not that Britney Spears isn't trying. It's not that her team, led by her longtime handler Larry Rudolph, hasn't carried out a strict, carefully orchestrated comeback game plan.

You just can’t force the girl, a mother of two who today celebrates her 27th birthday and the launch of her new album, “Circus,” to want a comeback, even while the world seems eager for it (fans sent her single, “Womanizer,” to the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart in its second week of release). Being back in the spotlight has worked its magic on her hair, her body and even her personal life.

But the fire in her eyes? And Britney's once consistent ability to turn it on when the curtain rises? That appears to be absent, at least at the moment. In its place we’ve got the former pop princess on autopilot, and it’s as devastating to watch as her 2007 MTV VMA performance of “Gimme More.”

First, there was this year’s VMAs.

MTV would support its onetime golden girl and present her with her first-ever "moonmen," including one for the ceremony’s top honor, video of the year. Spears’ appearance would also be decidedly low-key: no performance, just a taped sketch with Jonah Hill and her thank you speeches. Comedy is usually Spears’ strong suit no matter what insanity has gone on in her personal life -- just watch her past appearances on “SNL” and her more recent role on “How I Met Your Mother” -- but her bit with Hill fell flat.

Viewers stuck around to see what might happen. The awards show was watched by 8.4 million people, an increase of 19% from the year prior. Still, it was the first sign things weren’t quite back to normal.

Britney Spears unveils 2009 tour plans

With her new "Circus" album landing in stores today, the day she turns 27, Britney Spears is expanding her birthday festivities with the announcement of a full-scale 2009 tour, including a pair of Southland shows in April.

“The Circus Starring Britney Spears” will open March 3 in New Orleans and will take her to more than two dozen cities in the U.S. and Canada through the end of April. Her Southern California stops will be April 16 at Staples Center and April 19 at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The Pussycat Dolls will open the North American dates. She’ll subsequently take the production, directed and choreographed by Wade Robson, to Britain for a pair of shows June 3 and 4 in London.

Tickets go on sale Saturday. The full tour itinerary and ticketing information are available on her website.

--Randy Lewis 

Photo  of Britney Spears performing on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Dec. 2 by Peter Kramer/AP