Album review: Britney Spears' 'Circus'

It's time for the annual declaration: Britney Spears is not going away. Last year she might have seemed like a human Superfund site, oozing bad fumes and impossible to repair -- but in 13 short months, she's churned out a perfectly viable album that telegraphs self-awareness, sexual confidence and her most sought-after commodity, control.

"Circus" already has given her a big hit, the "Cabaret"-meets-"Flashdance"-flavored "Womanizer," and considering the expensive production credits neatly lined up on each track, more seem inevitable. Then there will be the tour, which should be great, if she can keep herself from crying uncontrollably because she misses her kids and the pressure's really getting her down. But hey, there's always Xanax.

As tabloid fodder, Spears remains a New Marilyn, embodying lust and disaster in every swing of her hips. Musically, she turned a corner with 2004's "Toxic," when she fully matured into her role as a vehicle for other people's experiments. Last year's "Blackout" worked well as daring dance-pop, but Spears was too absent for comfort. On many songs, her presence was almost indiscernible, carefully buried within layers of effects and heavy singing support from Keri Hilson and other studio A-listers.

Not so on "Circus," whose up-tempo songs foreground Spears' mildly sultry bark and whose ballads have her hiccuping emotion from deep in the back of her throat.

She's also game for any vocal tricks her producers suggest, squealing and giggling and even trying on a fairly horrific pan-Latin accent in "Mmm Papi." That song recalls nothing so much as Rosemary Clooney's "Come On-a My House," which came from the time when even great jazz singers sometimes made a buck by wearing fruit on their heads.

Justin and Britney to perform with Madonna tonight?

Don't have your Madonna tickets for tonight's Dodger Stadium show? You're not alone. Pop & Hiss found some prime seats a week ago, and as of 9:44 a.m., some $95 seats, plus Ticketmaster fees, are still on the market.

But if you were on the fence before, does the rumor that Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears are to appear tonight make it easier to spring for tickets? Multiple press outlets have picked up on comments made by Ryan Seacrest on KIIS-FM host DJ BoyToy Jesse's Wednesday afternoon show.

Searcrest is quoted as saying, "They are going to be onstage performing with Madonna. ... If Justin and Britney end up on that stage with her ... I don't know if I've ever seen anything quite like that before."

A Justin appearance isn't a total shock, as Madonna's "4 Minutes" belongs as much to him as it does her. Additionally, Timberlake performed with Madonna earlier this year, appearing at her New York City club show this spring.

And Madonna and Britney have certainly worked together (see Britney's "Me Against the Music," or the 2003 MTV VMA kiss). But putting the three on stage at once, with the added context that Britney and Justin once dated, will certainly be tabloid fodder for weeks to come.

Pop & Hiss tried to get some official word on this before making this post -- and inspiring readers to plop down some cash -- but a Madonna spokesperson hasn't responded. So take the rumor, perhaps, with a grain of salt, but know that it has not been denied and has now been picked up by such major outlets as Billboard and MTV.

Ultimately, it just comes down to how much you trust one Sir Seacrest.

--Todd Martens

Photo credit: Warner Bros.

What does Britney's 'Womanizer' mean for 'Circus'? Not much

Britney is back!

That was the buzz this morning after her "Womanizer" shot to No. 1 on Billboard's singles chart. The single sets the table for her "Circus," which is due in time for holiday sales on Dec. 2.

After it sold 286,000 digital downloads, "Womanizer" bolted from No. 96 straight to the pole position and narrowly bested a previous first-week sales record for a female artist. In the pre-"Womanizer" era, the record holder was none other than Mariah Carey, whose "Touch My Body" had sold only about 200 tracks less than "Womanizer" in its opening week. 

This post isn't going to dispute the impressive figure posted by "Womanizer," nor is it going to review the track. Instead, it will ask what "Womanizer" might foretell about the first week sales of "Circus."

About one year ago, Spears released "Gimme More" in advance of her "Blackout." The former racked-up impressive first-week numbers as well, selling 179,000 digital copies when it was made available. Though that's significantly less than "Womanizer," it was no small feat, because Spears was releasing the song after an embarrassing performance at the MTV VMAs and wasn't doing much, if anything, in the way of promoting the song. Unless, of course, you count countless unscripted appearances on TMZ.com as promoting a record.

"Womanizer," however, was treated as a news event. MTV has done its part, applauding and rewarding the artist for avoiding any major scandals in recent months, and then ABC got in on the action, showing the video on its Friday night news magazine program "20/20."

Britney Spears rides 'Womanizer' to No. 1

Britney Spears is hot, hot, hot once again, scoring the biggest leap to No. 1 in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart. Her new “Womanizer” rocketed from No. 96  to No. 1. The track registered 286,000 downloads last week, according to Billboard, the highest figure for a female artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking downloads in 2003.

"Womanizer" edged out Mariah Carey’s “Touch My Body,” the previous record holder, by just 200 downloads, Billboard noted. It’s the first single from Spears' forthcoming “Circus” album, due Dec. 2.

On the album chart, T.I.’s “Paper Trail” is on top again, selling 177,000 copies during its second week. Rise Against’s “Appeal to Reason” entered at No. 3 with first week sales of 65,000 copies.

Oasis' “Dig Out Your Soul” bows at No. 5, selling 53,000 copies out of the gate. It’s the British group’s first Top 10 album since “Be Here Now” came out in 1997.

Bob Dylan landed right behind Oasis at No. 6 with the eighth volume in his “Bootleg Series” of albums culled from his archive of previously unreleased material, “Tell Tale Signs,” spanning tracks he recorded from 1989 to 2006. It’s also the best reviewed album of 2008 so far, scoring a composite 91 points (out of a possible 100) at Metacritic.com.

--Randy Lewis