“Britney Spears returns with her sixth album. Mature and dance/pop driven, the collaborations with well-known producers and giving her a fresh sound definitely makes things work. The “Circus” has come to town and the ringmaster Britney Spears is back! A fantastic album!”
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ARTIST: Britney Spears
ALBUM: Circus (Digital Version)
LABEL: Jive
DURATION: 46:15
RELEASE DATE: December 2, 2008
- Womanizer
- Circus
- Out From Under
- Kill the Lights
- Shattered Glass
- If U Seek Amy
- Unusual You
- Blur
- Mmm Papi
- Mannequin
- Lace and Leather
- My Baby
- Radar (Bonus Track)
- Rock Me In (Bonus Track)
- Phonography (Bonus Track)
2008 has been a good year for Britney Spears. The pop diva who has sold over 83 million albums and the first female artist on Nielsen Soundscan to have four consecutive albums debut at #1 is back with her sixth album “Circus”.
When Britney Spear released her 24th CD single “Womanizer”, I had no doubt in my mind that the pop princess would be back on the charts and with new collaborations planned for “Circus”, I was excited to see what kind of music the producers would have in store for Britney.
The album starts off with her first single from the album “Womanizer” which was Spears first #1 hit on the Billboard Hit 100 since her 1998 debut hit “…Baby One More Time”. The song was produced by K. Briscoe and the Outsyders. I love this song! I don’t know how many times I’ve listened to this CD single but overall its a fantastic track!
The second track is the album title track and also Spear’s second single off the album. “Circus” was produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco. Dr. Luke is known for his hit songs for Kelly Clarkson and Avril Lavigne and Benny Blanco who has had hits with Dr. Luke for Katy Perry’s first two singles come up with an upbeat dance track for Britney Spears. The duo produce a second dance track on the album titled “Shattered Glass” which for me was a bit average.  Dr. Luke has a third track which he produced on the album titled “Lace and Leather”.
The third track “Out from Under” is produced by former FrouFrou member Guy Sigworth and this time a beautiful slow jam. Known for his electronica music, the ballad has a catch melody and I really dig this track. Sigworth takes advantage of Britney’s elegant singing voice in a second ballad titled “My Baby” which is another beautiful track on the album.
The fourth track “Kill the Lights” by Danja, known for his collaborative productions with Timbaland for Justin Timberlake and Nelly Furtado features an upbeat dance track that after repeated listening really caught my attention. Very hot! Danja also collaborates with Spears on a second track titled “Blur”.
The sixth track “If U Seek Amy” features another collaboration between Spears and Swedish producer and hitmaker Max Martin (responsible for Spear’s “…Baby One More Time”). A song that is one of my favorites on the album. Both Max Martin and Dr. Luke have produced countless hits together but Martin definitely gave Britney an upbeat pop song that she can work her magic on and definitely dig the musical arrangement and the melody. At first I wondered about the title of the track but realized it’s a clever play on the F-word and “me”. Naughty! Naughty!
The seventh track “Unusual You” is also another collaboration between Spears and Bloodshy & Avant (who produced Britney’s hit song “Toxic”). The mid-tempo track that has a smooth digital, pulsating groove and one of the catchier tracks that are unlike other tracks on the album which are more pop/dance driven.
The ninth track “Mmm Papi” is produced by Let’s Go to War. This track is vintage Britney Spears. A sexy pop track that fans of her older work will probably dig.
The tenth track “Mannequin” continues the upbeat dance track them of the album featuring a collaboration with the Underdogs Harvey Mason Jr. and Rob Knox. Another favorite on the album.
There are also various releases of “Circus” that include bonus tracks. iTunes offers three additional tracks with “Radar”, “Rock Me In” and “Phonography”. Also, a pre-ordered track titled “Trouble” and other iTunes in Europe and also the Britney.com members have access to other tracks as well).
The bonus tracks feature upbeat Bloodshy and Avant tracks such as “Radar” and “Phongraphy” but one track that is my favorite was “Rock Me In” produced by Greg Kurstin. An incredible dance track that I wished was included on the regular album.
The Deluxe Edition features “The Making of the Circus Album”, “Womanizer (Director’s Cut)” and a Digital Booklet – Circus. These can also be purchased on iTunes.
“Circus” definitely was an enjoyable album. For the most part, the album featured a more mature sound but also working with different producers which definitely made the album quite refreshing.
A good number of tracks featured dance tracks infectious melodies and addictive beats and Britney Spears showed us why she is the “pop princess”. And as many dance tracks on the album, I am glad to have the dance breaks with the Guy Sigworth ballads and also Bloodshy & Avant’s “Unusual You”.
As for “Circus”, the album does feature a lot of enjoyable tracks. There were very few that I felt were just OK such as “Blur” and “Lace and Leather” but in the most part, this is a pretty damn good album.
For those who have written Britney Spears off because of her antics in the past, well, the past is past. The “Circus” has come to town and the ringmaster Britney Spears wants to let you know that she’s back! A fantastic album!
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