Music: Britney Spears - Circus

Album: Circus

Artist: Britney Spears

Release Date: December 2nd, 2008

Genre: Pop

Welcome to Circus, Britney's very aptly titled record that was released this Tuesday. So this album has been streaming on imeem.com for weeks now, but I didn't want to listen to it until I had the full album in my hands, because I'm a huge dork like that. Anyways. I've heard very mixed reviews about this, her sixth studio album, but I am liking it more and more after each listen. I will say, it is no Blackout, which was pure pop/dance delight, and probably her best album yet, but this is a pretty good effort. Combined with some heavy promoting which she is actually doing for this album, a newly announced tour (crossing fingers on getting tickets), hot new bod (admit it, she is looking mighty FINE), and chart topping singles Womanizer and Circus, Britney is back, bitch. And no, I am never going to stop using that phrase.

If you're gonna get the album (and it is my unbiased opinion that you do), spend like $5 more and get the Deluxe Version, which comes with 3 bonus tracks and a DVD with a making-of featurette and the Womanizer video. By now, you've heard Womanizer like a million times already- proof that you too can write a hit with a max of 6 words in the entire song, as long as it is stay-in-your-head-all-day catchy. While I enjoyed Womanizer very much, it's not my favorite of hers, and certainly not the best song on the album. Her second single, Circus (the video was leaked, it is SO awesome as I predicted) is so much better. You'd think the title Circus meant like, the state of what her life has become, but it's actually kind of an empowering, 'duh i'm hot, so let me entertain you with my awesome dancing on the dancefloor' kind of song. Yes, it's repetitive. But when the song goes from the slowed down pre-chorus and launches into the amped up chorus...ILOVEIT!

I also love If You Seek Amy, which is easily the other best song on the album. Um, in the context of the song, the way she sings the title, it turns into Eff-You-Cee-Kay-Me (I'm trying not to spell it out for real, for the more conservative readers of the blog). I LOVE WORDPLAY! Is that wordplay..? Soundplay? Whatever. And I've said before that I'm not a fan of her singing ballads, because that's really not the best use of her vocals. Perhaps what made Blackout so great was that there were none on the entire album. There are 3 on Circus. While two are predictably just whatever, man oh man is Unusual You a GREAT song. It's a bit faster than a straight up ballad, but did I mention it's a GREAT song? It is.

Recommended Tracks: Circus, Kill the Lights, If You Seek Amy, Unusual You
Grade: B+