Circus (Britney Spears album)
Circus is the sixth studio album by American singer Britney Spears. It was released to coincide with her 27th birthday on December 2, 2008, by Jive Records. Transitioning from the "darker and more urban" themes of her fifth studio album Blackout (2007), Spears wanted to make her next project "a little bit lighter". She recorded much of the album between March and September 2008, after being involuntarily placed under a conservatorship earlier that year, following her highly-publicized personal struggles in 2007. As executive producers, Larry Rudolph and Teresa LaBarbera Whites enlisted Spears' previous collaborators such as Max Martin, Bloodshy & Avant, Guy Sigsworth and Danja, as well as new ones, including Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco and Claude Kelly. Their efforts resulted in a primarily pop and dance record, whose lyrical themes addressed fame, infidelity, and infatuation.
Circus
Deemed Spears' comeback record, Circus received generally favorable reviews from music critics upon its release; the production was complimented but lyrical content and Spears' vocal performance were met with ambivalence. A global commercial success, the album debuted atop the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 505,000 copies, becoming her fifth number-one album. Since then, it has been certified triple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). By September 2009, the album had sold over four million copies worldwide. At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards, its lead single "Womanizer" was nominated for Best Dance Recording.
Circus produced four singles. "Womanizer" debuted at number 96 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and ascended to the summit in its second week, registering the largest leap on the chart at the time. It became Spears' best-selling single in the country since her debut "...Baby One More Time" (1998). "Circus" debuted and peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100; consequently, Circus became Spears' first album since her debut ...Baby One More Time (1999) to have two top-ten singles. Subsequent singles "If U Seek Amy" and "Radar" peaked at numbers 19 and 88 on the Billboard Hot 100, respectively. To further promote the album, Spears embarked on the world tour The Circus Starring Britney Spears (2009).
Background and development[edit]
Throughout 2007, Spears' professional endeavors were tremendously overshadowed by her personal struggles, including the aftermath of her vigorous partying and suffering from a nervous breakdown, during which she shaved her head to intense media scrutiny.[3][4] Despite the difficulties, Spears released her fifth studio album Blackout–considered her best and most influential work by numerous critics–in October.[5][6][7] However, it became her first studio album not to debut atop the US Billboard 200–debuting at number two–but nevertheless produced "Gimme More", Spears' first Billboard Hot 100 top-three hit since her debut "...Baby One More Time" (1998).[8][9] Upon its release, Spears' publicized behavior began clashing with her image; Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic said the album served as a soundtrack "for Britney's hazy, drunken days, reflecting the excess that's splashed all over the tabloids", while noting that the album had a coherence that the public Spears lacked.[10]
In January 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to her ex-husband Kevin Federline's representatives. She was subsequently hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center after police that had arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an unidentified substance. The following day, Spears's visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of their sons. She was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold under California state law. The court placed her under a conservatorship led by her father Jamie Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets.[11] She was released five days later,[12][13] while the conservatorship would not be terminated until November 2021, following Spears' highly publicized battle against her father and others involved in the conservatorship.[14] Soon after being placed under the conservatorship, work on Spears' sixth studio album commenced. Consequently, the release of "Radar" as the fourth single from Blackout was canceled so Spears could focus on Circus.[15]
Title and packaging[edit]
Spears commented on the title of Circus: "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."[22] Spears also revealed she titled the album Circus due to her life being "a circus" at the time.[56] The album's cover artwork and booklet images were photographed by Kate Turning and feature Spears in circus-styled settings.[57] Spears revealed the album's cover alongside its track listing via her official website on October 31, 2008.[58]
Singles[edit]
"Womanizer" was released as the lead single from Circus on September 26, 2008. The song was met with positive response from critics, who complimented its hook and empowering lyrics, deeming it a return of form and a "comeback" single for Spears.[82] It debuted at number 96 on the US Billboard Hot 100 before leaping to the summit the following week, breaking the record for the largest leap on the chart.[83][l] The song has sold over 3,500,000 digital downloads in the United States.[85] Internationally, it reached number one in Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Finland, France, Israel, Norway, Sweden and Turkey, and on the European Hot 100 Singles.[86][87][88][89][90] At the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards (2010), the song was nominated for Best Dance Recording.[91] Its accompanying music video premiered on October 18, as a spiritual sequel to "Toxic" (2004); both videos were directed by Joseph Kahn. 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.[92] The video won Best Pop Video and was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.[93] "Womanizer" is remains one of Spears' biggest hits and has been covered by numerous other artists.[94]
"Circus" was released as the second single from Circus on December 2, 2008.[95] It debuted and peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.[96] The song has sold over 3,200,000 digital downloads in the US.[85] Internationally, it peaked atop the Türkiye Top 20 and within the top ten in Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, Hungary, Israel, New Zealand, Scotland and Sweden.[97][98][99][100] Its Francis Lawrence-directed 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, those claims were dismissed.[95] It won a Best Video award on Fuse TV,[101] and was nominated for three MTV Video Music Awards in 2009.[102]
"If U Seek Amy" was released as the third single from Circus on March 10, 2009. Due to the song's double entendre in the chorus, 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.[103] A clean edit of the song, titled "If U See Amy", was later sent to radio by Jive Records.[103] The song peaked at number 19 on the US Billboard Hot 100,[104] making Circus Spears' first album since ...Baby One More Time to produce three top-20 singles. Internationally, it peaked atop the Brasil Hot 100 Airplay, whilst reaching the top ten in Belgium, Israel, Malaysia and Mexico.[105][106][107][108] Its Jake Nava-directed accompanying music video was released on March 12, and depicts Spears poking fun at American culture.[109]
"Radar" was originally included on Spears' fifth studio album Blackout (2007) and set to be released as its fourth single. However, its release was canceled when Spears began work on Circus, and it was instead released as a promotional single in 2008.[15] It was subsequently included as a bonus track on Circus and was released as its fourth single on June 5, 2009. The song originally entered the US Digital Songs at number 52 due to digital downloads from Blackout. After being confirmed as a single, entered the US Billboard Hot 100 at number 90, peaking at number 88 the following week; it became Spears' lowest-peaking US-released single on the chart.[110] Its Dave Meyers-directed accompanying music video portrays Spears as an aristocrat at a polo mansion, who's involved in a love triangle with two polo players.[111]
Despite not being released as singles, several tracks from Circus appeared on Billboard's component charts upon its release. "Shattered Glass", peaked at number 70 on the US Billboard Hot 100, higher than the actual single "Radar". It additionally peaked at number 29 on the US Digital Songs and number 75 on the Canadian Hot 100.[112][87] The song also entered the US Pop 100 chart, peaking at number 57.[113] "Lace and Leather" and "Mmm Papi" peaked at numbers 84 and 94 on the Pop 100, respectively.[113] "Out from Under" debuted at number 40 on the Swedish Singles Chart on August 14, 2009, reaching number 32 the following week and staying on the chart for five weeks.[114]
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