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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 music and dance-pop.

The album received positive reviews from critics and drew heavy comparisons to her previous studio album Blackout. Commercially the album also performed very well. In the United States the album debuted atop the Billboard 200 selling over half a million copies in one week. The feat also earned Spears a place on the Guinness Book of World Records due to Spears becoming the youngest female artist in history to have five number one albums. Elsewhere the album had a good commercial response topping charts in Canada and the European charts.

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. 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 eight million combined sales of digital tracks and over four million copies worldwide.

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".

Background
On October 30, 2007, Spears released her fifth studio album Blackout. It debuted at the top of charts in Canada and Ireland, number two in the U.S. Billboard 200—held off from the top spot by Eagles's Long Road out of Eden—, France, Mexico and the United Kingdom, and in the top ten in Australia, New Zealand and many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart. During the months prior to the album's release, her divorce from Kevin Federline, the battle for the custody of her two sons Sean Preston and Jayden James, her partying and public behaviour drew attention from the worldwide media. Her performance of "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards to promote the album was universally panned by critics. In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzo Adnan Ghalib. On January 3, 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after police that arrived at her house in Los Angeles, California noted that she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, her visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. On January 31, 2008, Spears was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets. Spears was released on February 6, 2008. In July 2008, she regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel.

It was confirmed in 2008 that Spears was in the process of recording her sixth studio album. Producer Sean Garrett was confirmed as a producer saying "I'm just happy to see her back and recovering. She's really shaping up and getting her whole situation back together. I'm really proud and happy to see her" after her much publicized breakdown. Spears manager Larry Rudolph confirmed development of the album would take place in summer 2008 saying despite no official album confirmation at the time that they were happy with her progress and that she had been working with a range of producers. Spears told reporters at OK! that it was her longest time spent recording an album and she stated that it was her best work ever. She added ""I think it is more urban [...] I’m writing every day, right here at the piano in this living room". Producer of the record Claude Kelly talked about the development and lack of concept saying "When I went in with Luke we knew we were going to maybe write something for her, but there was no concept, it was just knowing her style and knowing what she does. The album title was released alongside the Take That album The Circus with the same release date and title. Spears talked about the name of the album saying: "I like the fact that you're always on the edge of your seat when you're at a circus. You're never bored [...] You're just really engulfed in what's going on around you. And you want to know what's going to happen next."

Spears talked about the initial recordings stating that she chose to write a lot of the material for the album and she also confirmed that she was developing a more pop-influenced record with producers she had worked with in the early stages of her career. The confirmation that Spears would be recording the album in the summer of 2008 also came with confirmation of producers such as Sean Garrett, Guy Sigsworth, Danja and Bloodshy & Avant. Max Martin, who produced Britney's first hit "...Baby One More Time", produced "If U Seek Amy" for the album. Guy Sigsworth, who previously produced the singles "Everytime" and "Someday (I Will Understand)", spent time in the studio with Spears in June 2008. It was then confirmed that Jim Beanz would be the vocal producer and co-writer of the album calling her "a true professional" and calling her "amazing". Another notable collaborator is The Outsyders, an Atlanta-based production team, who produced the album's first single. Fernando Garibay revealed on his official website that he was working on two songs for Spears, "Amnesia" and "Quicksand", which both became bonus tracks. Danja reported that he worked on the tracks at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and Spears recorded them at Glenwood Place Studios in Burbank. He said he was inspired by Hans Zimmer's scores, such as Pirates of the Caribbean soundtracks. Lil Jon, Rodney Jerkins, Sean Garrett, and Taio Cruz, among others all announced they were working with Spears, but none of their tracks appear on the album or as bonus tracks.

Composition
Circus takes influence from a variety of pop genres, such as electropop and dance and has been called a sequel to Spears' previous album, Blackout. She described the album as lighter than its predecessor, which was more urban sounding. The songs of the album have been compared to the styles of many artists, such as Janet Jackson, Eurythmics, New Order and the songwriting of Prince, Leiber & Stoller and Phil Spector. To a lesser degree, the album draws elements from other genres, such as a 1960s go-go rock guitar in "Mmm Papi". Circus focuses on different themes and Spears "does double duty as a dance diva and brokenhearted balladeer". Lyrically, it has been compared to Blackout, due to the fact that they are "fiery" and "confrontational". In songs such as "Circus" and "Kill the Lights", the lyrics discuss fame, a theme she has previously acknowledged in "Lucky" and "Piece of Me". The album's opening track, "Womanizer" as well as "Shattered Glass" are songs that talk about a womanizing man. The third track, "Out from Under", chronicles the end of her relationship with Kevin Federline.

"Womanizer" the first track was chosen as the lead single and was described by Spears as a girl anthem and lyrically talks of a cheating man. The song features synth sirens with a repetitive chorus. The second song, "Circus", talks about Spears' feelings as an entertainer and the emotions she feels while performing with the lyrics "All eyes on me in the centre of the ring just like a circus/When I crack that whip everybody gonna trip just like a circus". It has been described as featuring "thudding electronic dance production" and has gained comparisons to Spears' earlier single "Break the Ice". The third track, "Out from Under" gathered comparisons Spears' track "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" with acoustic guitar backings. The song lyrically has been linked to Spears' relationship with ex-husband Kevin Federline and has been noted as a story of a suffocating relationship. "Kill the Lights", the fourth track, is a dance-pop song that talks about Spears conflict with the paparazzi and draw comparisons to her earlier "Piece of Me". With an introduction that states "our very own pop princess, now Queen of Pop". The song has gained comparisons to music by Madonna. "Shattered Glass" the fifth track is features dark electronic beats and lyrically it discusses a broken non-repairable relationship.

"If U Seek Amy" the sixth track is a Pop song with elements of "glam-rave" and gained controversy for its double entendre which consisted of the "If U Seek Amy" name sounding phonically like "F.U.C.K. me". The seventh track, "Unusual You", is a synthpop song, that deals with a woman finding unexpected love. "Unusual You" has been compared to works by the Eurythmics' during the 1980s and has been noted as a "pulsating ballad" with other critics noting the 1990s music themes. "Blur" the eighth track is a pop song with an urban influence and recalls a morning after a party with lyrics ""Can't remember what I did last night/I gotta get my head right, where the hell am I? Who are you? What'd we do last night?". It has gained comparisons to the track "Early Mornin" from her fourth studio album In the Zone. "Mmm Papi" is the ninth track, with critics noting the Latin-pop dance hall themes they also noted the track was fun, but panning it for appearing to "revisit the Lolita persona of "…Baby One More Time". It has been suggested that its lyrics deal with either her father Jamie Spears or paparazzi Adnan Ghalib. "Mannequin" the tenth track is a dance-pop song with a trip hop influence, with critics noting it for being risky and futuristic while some others saying her vocals sound "lifeless" whilst the eleventh track "Lace and Leather" has gathered comparisons to Vanity 6's works from the 1980s with the final track "My Baby" written by Spears about her two sons; Sean Preston Spears and Jayden James Spears.

Release
The album was planned for worldwide release on December 2, 2008, Spears' birthday. After online leaks, the album was made available for digital download prior to its planned release.

Critical reception
The album received a rating of 64 out of 100 on aggregator score site Metacritic. The A.V. Club gave the album a positive review saying "Spears specializes in the sort of songs dominated by smoke and mirrors, and when ensconced within those trappings, she reaches the highest heights of shiny dance music. Hence, Circus is exhilarating when Spears is at her most artificial, but it stumbles under some misguided attempts at sentiment." Rolling Stone gave the album a positive review saying "Britney may have left the psych ward, but on Circus, she proves she's still a freak. The clubby, adventurous pop on her sixth album—her first since getting committed and losing custody of her kids—would have made a fine follow-up to 2003's In the Zone." The New York Times gave the album a positive review saying "Most of her new songs are crisp, cunning dance-pop with a touch of schoolyard singsong. Just before they grow mechanical, they’re zapped with new effects or catchy melodic interludes." PopMatters gave the album a mixed review saying "The music slides, cracks, inhales in anticipation and explodes, and somehow sounds dense and amazingly expansive at once. So, to review: one song dropkicks the dudes (perhaps the same ones who might have kept the single from topping the Hot 100) out the exit door, and the other launches her straight past them to clutch the brass ring. It’s brilliant."

Allmusic gave the album a mixed review saying "With its title, Circus nods knowingly at the madhouse that is Britney Spears' life, acknowledging that things got a little rough after the release of 2007's Blackout." The Guardian gave the album a mixed review saying "In fairness, it's a rare lapse into abject awfulness. Circus isn't bad as pop albums go, but whether by default or design, it's substantially less edgy and exciting than its predecessor. You're left to conclude that the sound of Britney back on track is substantially less interesting than the sound of Britney going off the rails." Slant magazine gave the album a mixed review saying "With Circus, Britney Spears drops the richly self-referential posture she almost reluctantly adopted on last year's Blackout in favor of a far more risky mode: self-actualization, which is probably why the album frequently sounds so hollow. Instead of wallowing in the great drama that was her train-wreck quarter-life crisis, as Blackout did, her new album represents the rebirth of regression." NME gave the album a mixed review saying "Britney Spears is quite simply rubbish at being sexy. Her voice – treated and autotuned to within an inch of its life throughout – still sounds like that of the Mouseketeer who brought us …Baby One More Time. Los Angeles Times gave the album a mixed review saying "the lyrics about Britney as mannequin, sex object, paparazzi victim and leather-clad mistress have grown tedious. When the wittiest one is based around an adolescent text-message-style joke, you know it's time to refocus. That might be why "Unusual You," a ballad from Bloodshy & Avant, stands out." Nick Levine of Digital Spy said "Circus is essentially a sequel to last year's Blackout album - it has the same fierce electro sound, but Britney sounds more confident and there's less reliance on the vocoder."

Chart performance
Circus debuted atop the US Billboard 200, moving over 505,000 units in its first week. It earned Spears a place in the 2010 Guinness Book of World Records for being the youngest female artist in history to have five albums debut at number one. The album became the sixth fastest selling album of 2008. The album has spent nine weeks in the top 10, making it Spears' longest-running top 10 album since Oops!... I Did It Again, which spent twenty-three weeks in the top 10 in 2000. Circus was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on January 29, 2009. According to Nielsen SoundScan, as of December 2010, the album has sold over 1.6 million copies in the United States. With over 51,000 units sold, the album opened at number-one in the Canadian Albums Chart, her best sales effort since Oops!... I Did It Again, which racked up 95,000 copies in May 2000. In less than a month, Circus became the ninth best-selling album of 2008, with 143,000 copies, and one of the top ten selling digital albums of the same year with over 10,100 downloads. In March 2009, Circus was certified 3× platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association, denoting 240,000 shipped copies to retailers. In Mexico, the album debuted at the top of the international chart and at No. 3 in the overall chart, selling over 46,000 copies and going gold in its first week.

In Oceania, the album has been a top ten hit. It debuted at number three in Australia and was certified Platinum after three weeks, selling over 70,000 copies. It has since gone on to be certified 3× platinum for sales over 210,000. In Europe the album spent sixteen weeks on the European Hot 100 chart. In the United Kingdom the album debuted and peaked at number 4 in the United Kingdom albums chart spending thirty-one weeks on the chart. The album was certified Platinum in the United Kingdom. In France the album sold 18,319 copies in its first two days of release, debuting at number five on the French Weekly Album Charts. In Asia the album charted in the Japanese Oricon albums chart peaking at number 5 on the albums chart and gaining a Gold certification.

Singles
"Womanizer" was the lead single from the album released on September 26, 2008. Described by Spears as a girl anthem, the song's lyrics recall a womanizing man, "Womanizer" was well-received by contemporary critics, with reviewers complimenting its hook and empowering lyrics, and deeming it as a return of form and a "comeback" single for Spears. The music video premiered on October 18, 2008 and is a sequel to her 2004 hit "Toxic" video. It portrays Spears as a woman who disguises herself in different costumes and follows her boyfriend through his daily activities to expose him in the end. Womanizer debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number ninety-six before jumping the next week to number one. The song broke the record for the largest leap to any position. The record was later broken by Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You". The song is considered one of Spears' biggest hits and has been covered by several other artists. "Womanizer" has sold over 3,200,000 digital downloads in the US.

"Circus" was chosen as the second single off Circus, released to radio stations the same day as the album. It's lyrics discuss being an entertainer and putting on shows and the "idea of fame". "Circus" debuted and peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100. The accompanying music video portrays Spears as a ringleader of a circus accompanied by different performers, and features scenes of Spears in different circus settings. The video received positive reviews from critics, but was criticized for featuring "cruelly trained animals", however claims were dismissed. "Circus" was released on December 4, 2008, a day before its first scheduled date to an online leak. The video received strong positive reception and won a Best Video award on Fuse TV. "Circus" has so far sold over 2,763,000 digital downloads in the US.

"If U Seek Amy" was voted as the third single from the album and was released on March 10, 2009. After its release, "If U Seek Amy" caused controversy for the double entendre in the sentence "All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to if u seek Amy", which can be interpreted phonetically as "All of the boys and all of the girls are begging to F-U-C-K Me". Sharon Dastur of Z100 stated that Spears had recorded a new version of the song and the new edit would be provided by Jive Records. The Parents Television Council (PTC) threatened to file indecency complaints with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) against any station that played the song between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. The music video was released on March 12, 2009 to Virgin Mobile's website and Spears' official site. The video shows Spears at a sex party and pokes fun at American culture, it was noted by critics for referencing many of her past. Despite controversy, "If U Seek Amy" managed to peak at number nineteen on the Hot 100.

"Radar" was originally included on her 2007 album Blackout and was set to be released as the album's fourth single. However, the single release was canceled due to Spears starting on new material for Circus, and "Radar" was released only as a promotional single in 2008. "Radar" was then included as a bonus track on Circus and was released as the album's fourth and last single on June 23, 2009. The music video portrays Spears as an aristocrat at a polo mansion involved in a love triangle with two men who are polo players. "Radar" originally entered the Billboard Digital songs chart at number fifty-one due to digital downloads from Blackout and after being confirmed as the fourth and final worldwide single from Circus, finally entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number ninety and then peaked the following week at number eighty-eight.

Other charted songs
Despite not being released as singles, several songs from "Circus" appeared on Billboard's component charts after the album's release. "Shattered Glass", peaked at number seventy on Billboard Hot 100, higher than the album's fourth single "Radar". It peaked at number twenty-nine on U.S. Hot Digital Songs, while peaking at number thirty-six on Canadian Hot Digital Songs. The song also entered the Pop 100 chart, peaking at number fifty-seven, and at. "Lace and Leather" peaked at number eighty-four on Billboard Pop 100 "Mmm Papi" peaked at number ninety-four on the same chart. "Out from Under" also charted in Sweden. The song debuted at number forty on the week of August 14, 2009, reaching number thirty-two on the following. It stayed five weeks on the chart.

Promotion
In order to promote the album Jive Records set up a hotline where fans could leave a message for Spears, with some of the callers receiving a return phone call from her. Some tracks off the album were previewed via the website of the New York radio station WKTU and Amazon.com. MTV aired a 90-minute documentary titled Britney: For the Record November 30, 2008. The show was about her return to the pop music spotlight. In May 2009, Jive's official website held a Britney Spears Global Fan-Fiction Contest, in which requires a fan to submit a 200 word story based on one of the songs from Circus. The public were allowed to vote for their favorite short story which would be produced into an animated music video. The winning story was based on the song "Kill the Lights" and the video premiered on July 27, 2009. Spears' live comeback began on November 6, 2008 with a cameo appearance at the Dodger Stadium show of Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour, midway through the performance of "Human Nature", Spears joined Madonna on stage.

The week before the release of the album saw a string of performances in several different countries with the Circus Promo Tour. On November 27, 2008 Spears performed "Womanizer" live at the Bambi Awards in Offenburg, Germany, where she received an award for "Best Pop International Artist". In addition, she performed "Womanizer" on The X Factor, in the United Kingdom, on November 29, finishing the European pre-release promotional tour. Her performance on The X Factor was watched by an average of 11,880,000 UK citizens. Spears premiered her second single "Circus" on the Big Apple Circus at the "Good Morning America" in New York, and also performed "Womanizer" on December 2, 2008 which coincides with her 27th birthday and the release of Circus album, most fans often considered it as her official comeback. On December 15, 2008, Britney visited the popular musical variety show in Japan, "Hey! Hey! Hey!" and performed "Womanizer" there. The following day, she performed on NTV Japan's-3000 "Best Artist of 2008".

Tour
The Circus Starring Britney Spears was announced as Spears' fifth worldwide concert tour on December 2, 2008 whilst performing on Good Morning America She announced a first leg of twenty-five dates in the US and two dates in the UK. 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 stage was composed of three rings and set in-the-round to resemble an actual circus. Fashion designers Dean and Dan Caten created the costumes. A giant cylinder screen was set above the stage to showcase videos and backdrops. Effects were provided by Solotech. The setlist was composed generally from her albums In the Zone, Blackout and Circus. In June 2009, Britney announced she would tour Australia for the first time. Spears was also rumored to tour South America, however, Her manager Adam Leber denied this despite their efforts to do so. Her longtime manager, Larry Rudolf stated that the tour would "blow people's minds and promises to show Britney's fans something they will never forget." He later added, "she goes full–speed the whole show — about an hour and a half. It's pretty intense. This is a full–blown, full–out Britney Spears show, It is everything everybody expects from her — and more!" Spears explained that since she did not tour to promote Blackout, she was excited about having to include songs from that album into the setlist.

The tour received generally well-received responses with critics, the tour generated positive responses from critics, while some praised its aesthetics and complimented it as an entertaining show, others criticized Spears' "lip-synching". This was followed by controversy during the Australian leg, when a reporter said that a great number of fans had walked out during the performances. However, this was later denied by Spears's management and promoters. The tour was ranked as the fourth highest grossing tour of the year in North America, becoming the highest grossing tour of the year by a solo artist. In February 2010, Pollstar released their Top 50 Worldwide Concert Tours of 2009. The tour ranked as the fifth highest-grossing tour, worldwide, of the year, with a gross of $131.8 million. In May 2010, Hollyscoop ranked the tour at the fifth position in their 15 Most Profitable Female Tours Ever list.

Deluxe edition
First confirmed by Amazon and the promo packet released by Jive Records, a two-disc Deluxe Edition of Circus was released on December 2, 2008. The Deluxe Edition contains two additional tracks, "Rock Me In" and "Phonography", and a bonus DVD. It was released on November 28, 2008 in most of the European Union, November 29, 2008 in Australia and Philippines, and December 1, 2008 in the United Kingdom. The Deluxe Edition also includes a special collector's two sided poster.

Personnel

 * Adapted from album booklet.
 * Performance


 * Britney Spears – primary artist, background vocals, piano
 * Cathy Dennis – background vocals
 * Greg Kurstin – bass, guitar, keyboards
 * Guy Sigsworth – strings, keyboards
 * Max Martin – background vocals
 * Leah Haywood – background vocals
 * Andy Page – synthesizer, acoustic guitar, piano, strings, electric guitar, synthesizer bass
 * Chris B. Worthy – guitar
 * Nicole Morier – background vocals
 * Kesha Sebert - background vocals


 * Henrik Jonback – bass, guitar
 * Windy Wagner – background vocals
 * Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald – guitar, drums, keyboards
 * Kasia Livingston – background vocals
 * Debi Nova – background vocals
 * Candice Nelson – background vocals
 * Claude Kelly – background vocals
 * Luke Boyd – background vocals
 * Myah Marie – background vocals
 * Fernando Garibay – background vocals, synthesizer
 * Stefani Germanotta – background vocals


 * Miscellaneous


 * Teresa LaBarbera Whites – A&R executive
 * Jackie Murphy – art direction
 * Jeri Heiden – art direction
 * John Heiden – design
 * Nick Steinhardt – design


 * Kate Turning – photography
 * Steven Jacobi – production
 * Laura Duncan – wardrobe styling
 * Chris McMillan – hair
 * Pati Dubroff – make-up


 * Technical


 * David Boyd – engineer
 * Greg Kurstin – composer, programming, producer, wngineer
 * Shelly Peiken – composer
 * Guy Sigsworth – composer, producer, drum programming
 * Ron Taylor – digital editing
 * Tom Coyne – mastering
 * Max Martin – composer, programming, producer
 * Harvey Mason Jr. – composer, producer
 * Britney Spears – composer
 * Andrew Hey – engineer
 * Andrew Wyatt – engineer
 * Balewa Muhammad – composer
 * Emily Wright – engineer, vocal editing
 * Wayne Hector – composer
 * Andy Page – engineer, drum programming
 * Eric Weaver – engineer
 * Arnthor Birgisson – composer
 * Dabling Harward – engineer
 * Nicole Morier – composer, vocal producer
 * Henrik Jonback – composer, engineer
 * Teresa LaBarbera Whites – executive producer
 * Seth Waldmann – engineer
 * Larry Rudolph – executive producer, video producer
 * Ezekiel Lewis – composer
 * Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald – composer, programming
 * Alexander Kronlund – composer
 * Kasia Livingston – composer


 * Nathaniel "Danjahandz" Hills – composer
 * Candice Nelson – composer
 * James Fauntleroy – composer
 * Claude Kelly – composer, vocal producer
 * Marcella "Ms. Lago" Araica – composer, engineer
 * Jim Beanz – engineer, vocal producer
 * Frankie Storm – composer
 * Luke Boyd – composer
 * Rob Knox – composer, producer
 * Brendan Dekora – engineer, vocal recording
 * Savan Kotecha – composer
 * Karl Schuster – composer
 * Nikesha Briscoe – composer
 * Pontus Winnberg – composer
 * Stacy Barthe – composer
 * Adrien Gough – composer
 * Peter John-Kerr – composer
 * Jim Carauna – composer
 * Ronnie Jackson – composer
 * Rafael Akinyemi – composer
 * Ezekial Lewis – composer
 * James Washington – composer
 * Henry Walter – composer
 * Christian Karlsson – composer
 * Benjamin Levin – composer
 * Patrick Smith – composer
 * Stefani Germanotta – composer