Rolling Stone 'Circus' Review

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. "Toxic" producers Bloodshy & Avant hit pay dirt again with the melodic, glowing "Unusual You." The Max Martin-produced "If U Seek Amy" (say it fast) is a saucy, swinging standout, and the photographer-taunting stomper "Kill the Lights" recalls the synth crush of 2007's Blackout.

Britney's vocals on Blackout sounded phoned in, but on Circus, she put in real studio time, actually singing some slow jams. Frou Frou's Guy Sigworth contributes "Out From Under," Spears' best ballad since "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman." But there are creepy ones too: Danja's "Blur" updates 2003's hungover "Early Mornin'," as the mom of two sighs, "Where the hell am I?" She does her kids a greater disservice with "My Baby," the trite ballad dedicated to them. And Mommy shows she has psychodrama to spare on "Mmm Papi," a go-go romp with daddy issues ("Grab me tight and don't let go/Mmm Papa, love you"): Is it about the papa who controls her affairs or the paparazzi she had an affair with? The fact that we're even curious shows Britney hasn't lost her talent: Her fans still can't look away.

Source: Rolling Stone

Britney to Commish: I Gotta Dance!

The following italicized article is from www.tmz.com:

Britney Spears and her conservators have formally asked the court commissioner handling her conservatorship to allow her to go on a U.S. tour next year, with the possibility of taking it worldwide.

We've learned when Britney was in court Friday, she told the judge she wants to tour, feels competent to do so and she wants her conservators to make the necessary deals with backup singers, roadies, venues, ticket brokers and the many others involved.

We're told the conservators, including daddy Jamie, are on board and have laid out how the deals will be structured. They told the commish they will submit all of the contracts for court review.

The proposed order is on the commissioner's desk, and she could sign it as early as tomorrow. If that happens, we're told the conservators will immediately begin making deals for the tour.

This is an incredibly complicated undertaking, in no small part because Britney can't legally make any of the deals herself.

Source: TMZ

30 Second "Circus" Music Video Preview!

Source: Britney.com

Britney Spears Is More 'Self-Conscious' And 'Reserved' Now, Rolling Stone Photo Editor Says

The following italicized article is from www.mtv.com:

Jodi Peckman isn't new to working with Britney Spears on a photo shoot. Rolling Stone's director of photography has worked with the pop star several times over her career and admits that 2008 Britney isn't the bubblegum pop star she met back in 2002.

"There was a difference now than in 2002," she told MTV News about the recent Rolling Stone cover story on Spears. "She was really childlike then. She came bouncing in with her iPod and chewing her bubble gum with her thick Southern accent. She was very outgoing.

"I think she feels less comfortable now, and that's natural for any woman getting older," she added. "I think she's more self-conscious now. She didn't hold back, it's just that she's more reserved."

Peckman also worked with Spears in 2003, and she already saw Spears rapidly maturing from a bouncy kid to a woman. "She was a little more down to earth in 2003. It was quite different," she told MTV News. "She was more to herself, smoking cigarettes in the parking lot. She kept to herself more. She was a bit more private."

Peckman has noticed over the years that the people and the energy surrounding Spears have never been the same. And despite any issues RS writer Jenny Eliscu had gaining access to the singer, Peckman said that the shoot went smoothly.

"It was much more low-key this time around. There was much less pressure on us," she said. "She arrived to the shoot before I did. She came with her publicist and her personal assistant. Her mom was with her; her manager showed up about an hour later. Very calm, very mellow. It was really stripped-down. The time before, it had been more high-intensity, more controlled."

The theme for the shoot was no theme at all. Peckman wanted to show everyone the natural Spears. No costumes, no sets, no drama. "She's still a young girl, but she looks more mature. There's something about her. She's a mom now, and she's been through a lot, and maybe just her motherly aura comes through."

And the inspiration was simple for the shoot: stripped-down Marilyn Monroe — not glossy, sexy Marilyn Monroe. "We wanted her to be natural, almost as a reference was Marilyn Monroe in the actor's studio," Peckman explained. "We just let her under the beautiful light and let her be herself. We kept it simple."

And the moment Spears took the picture that would end up as the cover shot, Peckman knew. "Well, first of all, having a celebrity on the cover where there's no eye contact with the reader isn't the norm. But it was such a spontaneous, caught moment. It wasn't posed that way," she said. "The minute we got that picture, I knew right away. Caught moments just translate so well.
"She's so great that she can do high-concept and stripped-down," Peckman added. "She really gives it to the cameras. ... We just wanted to make her look like a beautiful woman."

Source: MTV

"Circus" Music Video Release December 5th

Source: ET Online

Circus DVD Previews

A lucky Britney fan got their hands on the new Circus DVD which features more scenes from Britney's upcoming music video for "Circus" including a sick dance scene.

Click on the pic to see them!

Source: Breathe Heavy

More Pics From Rolling Stone Shoot

See more pics here!

Source: Rolling Stone

Fans At Britney's Times Square Ad

One of BTI's readers, Almir, sent me this cool picture of him and his friends under Britney's ad in Times Square.

Ps: If you have any cool pics of you at something Britney related please sent them to breaktheiceblog@aol.com and I'll put them up.

Britney Spears Takes Her ‘Circus’ To Europe

Britney Spears caused a mild fracas yesterday afternoon when she arrived at LAX airport here in SoCal to catch a plane bound for Europe. Our dear Britney, whose new album Circus is streaming in full right HERE on Pink is the new Blog and who is featured on the cover of the new issue of Rolling Stone magazine, has made her way to Germany to do some promo work for her new album there before she makes her way to France to perform on Star Academy and then to London to perform on X-Factor. Homegirl has got a lot of work to take care of this week leading up to the release of her new album next Tuesday. Here are a few pics of Britney and her entourage upon arrival at LAX yesterday afternoon:
Although a long holiday weekend is right around the corner, Britney Spears is getting to work promoting her upcoming album, Circus, in Europe. The singer boarded a flight from Los Angeles to Frankfurt, Germany on Monday for several appearances in support of the album, which is scheduled to be released Dec. 2. Spears is traveling with several close associates and family members, including her father, Jamie, and manager Larry Rudolph. According to an eyewitness, the singer – dressed in a brown fedora, black sweatpants and a pink top – jumped out of her white Cadillac Escalade smiling and holding her dad’s hand at the airport. After a short time in Germany, Spears is expected to appear on the French program, Star Academy, and on Simon Cowell’s X Factor in England before returning to the U.S. next week. She is scheduled to go on a worldwide tour in the spring of next year.

Here we go. As I keep saying, I really hope that she is ready for the coming onslaught. There is a lot coming her way. I sincerely hope it all goes smoothly … successfully and, most of all … healthily for her.

Source: Pink Is The New Blog

Britney Hits Frankfurt

The following italicized article is from www.celebrity-gossip.net:

With her new album Circus hitting stores next Tuesday (December 2nd), Britney Spears is hot on the comeback trail. And she was spotted arriving in Frankfurt, Germany earlier today to get her European Tour started.

The “Womanizer” singer was accompanied by her father/conservator of her affairs Jamie Spears as she joked with friends, lit up a cigarette, and hopped into a limousine.

See more pics here!

Source: Celebrity Gossip

Britney Spears On Her Kids & Opening Herself Up For ‘Circus’

The following italicized article is from www.accesshollywood.com:

They’re still toddlers, but Britney Spears said her sons are picking up some bad habits.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Britney said her boys – Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden James, 2 — have started using some less-than-appropriate language.

“They’re starting to learn words like ‘stupid,’ and Preston says the f-word now sometimes,” Britney told the mag. “He doesn’t get it from us. He must get it from his daddy. I say it, but not around my kids.”

Britney, who spoke only about her

music and her children for the cover story, which hits newsstands on Tuesday, said she takes great joy in spending time with her two little ones.

“Every time they come to visit me, I think about how they’re such special people,” she said.

The singer, who was not asked about the conservatorship she is under during the interview, said she would spend more than the three days a week the

court has allowed her to see her children, if it weren’t for the break up of her marriage to Kevin Federline in 2007.

“I didn’t think my husband was gonna leave me,” Britney told writer Jenny Eliscu, who had to submit her questions for approval before the interview. “Otherwise I’d be with my babies 24/7. But since they’re almost like twins, they both take care of each other. I think they look like me.”

Because of the restrictions Rolling Stone said were put on the interview by the pop singer’s team, Britney revealed very little, but she did hint that her new album has a song that offers some insight into the 20-something woman.

“[It’s] about artistic expression and the masquerade of people acting and putting on shows,” Britney said of the unnamed cut she wrote last summer. “Through that, you create your own world. The song talks about how other people are coming into this girl’s world, but she didn’t invite them in. So she’s saying, ‘Why are you here, if I didn’t invite you?’ It’s complicated, but you can tell it’s me who wrote it, because it’s in my voice and there’s a difference.”

Though she revealed herself in at least one of the expected songs on “Circus,” Britney told the magazine she was frightened of being too open.

“It’s scary to put yourself out there and be like, ‘Oh, God, is that cool?’ If you’re not going to really go for it, you can’t just go there halfway,” she said. “But sometimes, when you go for it, you can’t lose.”

Source: Access Hollywood

Britney Returns

The following italicized article is from www.rollingstone.com:

There's an understanding among those who know Britney well: When she's blond, she's happy. When she's brunette, she's sad. When she's pink, she's crazy. Her hair was back to glowing and golden this fall, when she spent her time diligently shuttling back and forth from her Beverly Hills mansion to dance rehearsals and video shoots and recording studios, in preparation for her new album, Circus. It was a complete transformation, following a year in which she spent a month in rehab, endured a brutal custody battle with her ex-husband Kevin Federline and careened toward a massive — and very public — meltdown that culminated in two involuntary psychiatric hospitalizations in January.

"I feel like an old person now," she says one afternoon, as a manicurist applies rhinestones and girly pink lacquer to her chewed-up nails. "I do! I go to bed at, like, 9:30 every night, and I don't go out or anything, you know what I mean? I just feel like an old fart."

The beauty rest has done her well: In a Hollywood recording studio in September, dressed in black jeans, platform heels and a bedazzled hoodie, Spears looks more like her former self than she has in years. She has makeup on, but it's faded just enough that it could be yesterday's. She says she's considering lopping off the weave she's worn since shaving her head in 2007, and when she counts up her tattoos — "Seven! Oh, my God, y'all!" — she falls back into the couch giggling, kicking her feet in the air.

Spears has always been like this: silly, sweet, humble. She has never been very articulate, but she always tries to be accommodating. Tonight, she's listening to mixes and finishing work on a track called "Lace and Leather." When I ask how she knows if a song is going to be a hit, she says, "You just hear it, and you're like, oh, my God, if somebody else takes this song, you're gonna kill yourself, you know what I mean? Like, this one I'm doing tonight, I think it's good, and it's, like, really quirky and different and girly."

"A little naughty," says her manager, Larry Rudolph, 45, sitting nearby in a T-shirt and jeans.

"A little naugh-tay," Spears agrees, sounding half-embarrassed.

There are differences in Britney, too, from the last time I saw her, in 2006, when we hung out in her New York hotel room watching American Idol while her son Sean Preston crawled around on the bed nearby. She is shyer, more guarded, remote — like the old Britney but with the volume turned way down. Her last hit single, "Piece of Me," dealt with her public image ("I'm Miss Bad Media Karma/Another day, another drama"), but she says she's not sure she wants to include anything so revealing on Circus. "It's scary to put yourself out there and be like, 'Oh, God, is that cool?' If you're not going to really go for it, you can't just go there halfway." And then, as though changing her mind midthought, she adds, "But sometimes, when you go for it, you can't lose."

Of all the things Britney has lost in the past year, it's the custody of her sons, Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden, 2, that has shaken her hardest. "Every time they come to visit me, I think about how they're such special people," says Spears, who currently sees the boys three days a week, with one overnight stay. "Like, they're going to preschool now! I went there to pick them up on Friday, and seeing them in their little classroom and seeing Jayden being bad or not listening? It's like, those are mine, and it's just crazy, you know what I mean? And the things that are coming out of their mouths right now — they're learning so much, and it's new, and you never know what they're going to say, and they're so smart yet so innocent. They're obsessed with monsters, and every night we look outside, and we have to show them that there's no monsters out there. It's dark outside, but there's nothin' out there, you know?"

Ever since she was a little girl growing up in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears dreamed of having her own children. She considered the experience "the closest thing to God," she said in 2004 in a note on her fan site. "To be a really good mom, I feel your child needs to be your full-time job. I want to raise my kids and share all of those precious moments with them."

But things haven't turned out like she imagined. "I didn't think my husband was gonna leave me," she says, deadpan. She laughs to break the tension. "Otherwise, I'd be with my babies 24/7. But since they're almost like twins, they both take care of each other. I think they look like me," she says, going from affectionate to bitter as she gets distracted by thoughts of Federline, whom she sees only when one of them is picking up the boys. "They don't look like their father at all," she continues. "And it's weird 'cause they're starting to learn words like 'stupid,' and Preston says the f-word now sometimes. He doesn't get it from us. He must get it from his daddy. I say it, but not around my kids."

Of course, Britney hasn't quite turned out to be a model parent, either, and it was her own erratic behavior that led to her losing custody. During Britney's second trip to the psych ward, when her dad, Jamie, wanted to convince her to let him take control of her life, he told her he would help her get her babies back. He and attorney Andrew Wallet filed for a legal conservatorship that makes them responsible for overseeing her finances and her personal life — Britney today has about as many legal rights as when she was in the Mickey Mouse Club. She is watched over day and night by security guards Jamie hired (and she's paying for); it's also rumored that Britney's phone calls are closely monitored and that she's not allowed to drive her own Mercedes. Recently, says one source with ties to the Britney camp, Jamie fired a guard who let the singer use his phone. (Her rep denies the claim.)

Source: Rolling Stone

Interview With Rolling Stone Writer + More Pics From Shoot

Mediabase Chart Update

Britney's new single 'Womanizer' is currently at #6 on Mediabase with 7377 spins and 60.2 est. million listeners!

Click here to vote for 'Womanizer' on your local radio station!

Source: Break The Ice

Keep Voting For Britney To Win People's Choice Award

Hey all, just a quick reminder to keep on voting for Britney to win a People's Choice Award. Our girl is nominated for Favorite Scene Stealing Guest Star for her role in How I Met Your Mother. Voting closes soon so make sure you get your votes in now!

Click here to vote!