Saturday, November 29, 2008
New 'Circus' Review: Britney's Back
The following Italicized article is from www.newsday.com:Don't call it a comeback.
"Comeback" doesn't even come close to describing what Britney Spears has done on her new album, arriving in stores Tuesday, her 27th birthday. Not only is "Circus" (Jive) the best album of her career, but it could return her to the kind of massive, multiplatinum sales that she hadn't seen since the turn of the century.
"Circus" is overflowing with smart, savvy dance pop -- the kind of hits that she has hinted at in the past with "Toxic" and "I'm a Slave 4 U" -- that creates the perfect escapist soundtrack for these downsized times. All these accomplishments are made that much more incredible considering how low she had sunk -- personally and professionally -- last year with her string of tabloid-worthy exploits and the embarrassment of her clumsy train wreck of a performance on MTV's "Video Music Awards."
Her last album, "Blackout," sounded so cobbled together and half-done that many wondered if Spears would even be able to record another album, much less one as impressive as "Circus." Though she worked with essentially the same producers and songwriters this time out, the results are so different that Spears herself -- generally known for her choreography and packaging rather than her studio chops -- must be responsible for the change.
The monster hit "Womanizer" is only the beginning of the radio-ready barrage Spears is about to throw down. The title track, written by Dr. Luke, is another sleek dance-floor filler, as is the dizzying "Mannequin." And she has the disco-influenced "Lace and Leather," with its scratch guitar and Chic-inspired bass line.
"Lace and Leather" is another example of the biggest surprise of "Circus" -- the way that it nods to previous classics before taking the songs in a new, contemporary direction. Spears has never been one to look back in her music, but there's a bit of Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High" on "Mmm Papi," a bouncy little multi-culti trifle that telescopes several decades of sugary pop into a little more than three minutes. "Kill the Lights" -- which chronicles her dealings with paparazzi, or maybe one particular paparazzo ex-boyfriend, as she says, "Is that money in your pocket or are you happy to see me?" -- opens with a call-and-response similar to Aretha Franklin's "Respect." And on the bonus track "Amnesia," one of the album's catchiest tracks, Spears comes over like a cross between the Ronettes and Fergie as she coos, "I get amnesia when I'm sitting next to you-ooh-ooh."
It's all part of what seems like a new direction for Spears, one that values musicianship. She tackles some ballads, both from Robbie Williams collaborator Guy Sigsworth, that accomplish their missions. "Out From Under" shows how her voice, which is still a bit limited, can carry a song, even with spare accompaniment, while "My Baby" is a bit schmaltzy, as it conveys how Spears is a loving mother now -- the cornerstone of her image rehab.
In many ways, "Circus" has Spears switching musical role models. She seems determined to be more like Gwen Stefani, a hit maker who knows how to use her strengths and weaknesses, and less like Madonna, who thrives on shock value and controversy. Yet somehow, Spears has delivered the biggest shock of all -- compelling reasons to reverse her cartoonlike tabloid image and take her seriously as a singer.
Forget the release of "Chinese Democracy" as the year's biggest surprise. "Circus" is a Britney Spears album I never expected to hear -- one that matters.
BRITNEY SPEARS: "Circus," in stores Tuesday
GRADE: B+
BOTTOM LINE: A pleasant surprise
Source: News Day
Win A Trip To Japan To Meet Britney Spears
The Sunday Telegraph and Sony Music are giving you the chance to meet Britney Spears in Japan in December.One lucky winner and their guest will recieve return economy airfares to Japan, 3 nigths accommodation and the chance to meet Britney after she appears on Japanese TV.
For your chance to win, enter your details below and tell us in 25 words or less "Why you want to meet Britney in Japan?"
Sign up here!
Source: Daily Telegraph
Britney Has Arrived At X-Factor
Are you sitting comfortably?Then we’ll begin. Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, we need to make an announcement of pant-wetting proportions…
BRITNEY HAS ARRIVED!
News from The X Factor studios has filtered through and informed us that the pop princess is officially in the building!
She flew in from Paris earlier today and is currently in her Winnebago preparing for her dress rehearsal… she'll be singing Womanizer on the results show later tonight.
Britney fever has swept through The X Factor corridors and excitement levels are quadrupling by the minute.
When we know more, you’ll know more.
[Scream!]
Source: X-Factor
Britney's Back In Town
The following Italicized article is from www.star-magazine.co.uk:BRITNEY Spears will help The X Factor reach a record audience tonight.
The 26-year-old will make her first UK TV appearance for five years.
Bosses expect her fans to give them a boost by tuning in for new single Womanizer during the results show.
Britney warmed up for her appearance with a show-stopping act in Germany.
An X Factor source said: “We’ve had some big names on the show, but Britney’s outshining them all.
“We’ve never had so much interest in a guest. We hope she will attract the biggest ever audience for one of our results shows.”
The last five acts will all sing Britney’s hits tonight.
Boyband JLS are performing her debut smash …Baby One More Time.
The first show will feature a recorded performance by Hannah Montana sensation Miley Cyrus, 16.
Britney will then perform in the results show, which has been scheduled against BBC1’s Match Of The Day.
Source: Star Magazine UK
PCD Opening Britney's Tour?
According to several online rumors the Pussycat Dolls will be opening up for Britney on her upcoming tour: "The Circus Starring: Britney Spears." This was reportedly confirmed by an e-card from AEG Live, the company that is funding the tour.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Britney Spears: Pretty in Paris
The following Italicized article is from www.celebrity-gossip.net:Continuing on her European promotional tour for her forthcoming album Circus, Britney Spears was spotted out and about in Paris, France earlier today (November 28).
The “Womanizer” songstress smiled and waved to fans and paparazzi as she peered over the balcony of the Plaza Athenee, later making an exit out the main entrance.
See more pics here!
Source: Celebrity Gossip
EXCLUSIVE: Britney at her dope German digs
Check it: These are pictures taken at Britney's hotel in Germany. The photos with her family and crew are taken on her balcony. The group shot is Adam, Larry, Jamie, Brett and Britney.
Britney's Back!
The following Italicized article is from www.people.com:It's official. She's ba-ack!
Britney Spears slipped back into her hotpants Thursday at a German awards show – her first live performance since her disastrous turn at the 2007 VMAs.
Looking remarkably like onetime B.F.F. Madonna, the 26-year-old donned black patent leather boots, a sheer blouse and a top hat for a live rendition of "Womanizer" at the Bambi awards in Offenburg, Germany. (Like many pop stars, she seemed to be either lip syncing or singing with the assistance of a loud backing track.)
"Britney looked a little nervous," said an onlooker. "[But] she had the audience excited."
After the elaborate routine, legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld emerged to present Spears with the Pop International Bambi (which is, naturally, in the shape of a deer).
"I admire you ... not just for your art, but for your energy," he told her at the podium. "[You are] coming back not only as a phoenix, but as a bird of paradise."
Spears, still winded from her performance, smiled brightly and waved at the crowd saying, "Thank you, Germany!"
That was the first stop on the singer's comeback tour, as she promotes her new album, Circus, and continues to put the troubles of the past year behind her.
Even before the awards show had ended, Spears and her dancers hopped a flight to France, where she reportedly holed up at Paris's luxurious Hotel Plaza Athénee. On Friday, she'll reprise the "Womanizer" routine on the top-rated Star Academy, France's answer to American Idol.
Then it's on to London, where she'll perform on Simon Cowell's hit X Factor.
The singer – who turns 27 on Dec. 2 – will be back in the States in time for her special "Happy Birthday" appearance on Good Morning America.
Source: People
Exclusive Britney Behind The Scenes 'Rolling Stone' Pics
If you guys are like me, you can't get enough of the sexy Rolling Stone photos of Britney. She looks hot!
Britney Spears Performs At Germany’s Bambi Awards
The following Italicized article is a review from www.accesshollywood.com:Britney Spears made her return to European TV screens on Thursday night, appearing at Germany’s Bambi Awards.
Dressed in a top hat, fishnets and a figure-hugging black outfit, Britney performed “Womanizer” at the awards show where she was honored as Best International Pop Star, by the German media.
Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld presented the pop princess with the statue, which resembles a shining gold deer, but it was the pop star’s performance that attracted the most attention.
The performance, clips of which have already surfaced on YouTube, featured a host of “Circus”-themed dancers, who paraded around as Britney appeared in silhouette at the start of the number. Britney then walked through a ring of fire, hitting the stage looking as shapely as ever as she danced and strutted her way through the song, before ending it atop a metal globe.
On Saturday, Britney will appear on British TV screens, performing on Simon Cowell’s “X-Factor,” an “Idol”-like talent competition.
Britney releases her sixth studio album, “Circus,” stateside on December 2.
Source: Access Hollywood
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Exclusive Behind The Scenes Bambi Awards Pics
Here are some EXCLUSIVE pics of Britney and her crew behind the scenes at tonight's Bambi Awards. Britney's dancers looked awesome, and so did she!Positive Circus Review
The following Italicized article is a review from www.thesun.co.uk:***1/2
IT is a decade since school-uniformed Britney Spears back-flipped her way to the forefront of popular culture – achieving her first and only number one in the States with Baby One More Time.
The world has since watched in horrified fascination her steady decline from teen queen virgin to a twice-divorced fallen star.
After 2007’s ill-timed and overproduced Blackout, an unconvincing attempt at maintaining her once glossy façade, Britney has finally chosen to embrace the pantomime chaos and release a more honest body of work on new album Circus.
Britney proves that it truly is show time, as she steps into the ring on tip-top form and wears her heart on her sleeve.
She confronts issues of fame, broken relationships and motherhood against a masterfully engineered soundscape, which at times verges on the electronic complexity of a Daft Punk remix.
Having already found global success with the first single — the dark and aggressive pop powerhouse that is Womanizer — and with a guest spot on tomorrow night’s X Factor, it looks like Britney’s new extravaganza will be coming to speakers near you.
Here POPPY COSYNS takes you on a track-by-track taste of the album, which sees the Princess of Pop transformed from media clown to whip-cracking ring mistress:
WOMANIZER: Siren synths trigger the start of what is already a dance floor favourite from Louisiana to Lewisham. Savvy lyrics and an obnoxiously repetitive chorus guarantee pop perfection.
CIRCUS: “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,” sings Brit, reaffirming her bad-girl image on the album’s infectious second single.
OUT FROM UNDER: A starker vocal and acoustic guitar backing herald the first of the few slower tracks. This is a sincere story of a suffocating relationship.
KILL THE LIGHTS: A full-on bolshy tirade, attacking sleazy parasitic paps with a vocal performance reminiscent of leotard-era Madonna.
SHATTERED GLASS: Creepy electro beats pulsate through this warped tale of an irreparable partnership and it becomes positively robotic as it reaches its crescendo.
IF U SEEK AMY: “Oh baby baby,” starts this track recalling a certain sound byte in our audio archives and the “ha ha hee hee” chorus is appropriate to the album’s carnivalesque overtone.
UNUSUAL YOU: The backing track on this tune leaves it sounding like the discovered dregs of a would-be late Nineties hit.
BLUR: An anthem for all those who have misbehaved under the influence: “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?” showing Britney at her brutally honest best.
MMM PAPI: Mashing up whimsical sound effects with girlish vocals and bizarre lyrics which reference her love/hate father-daughter turmoil.
MANNEQUIN: Another Queen Madge moment, this slickly produced feisty pop number is one of three tracks co-penned by Spears herself.
LACE AND LEATHER: Something of a return to Lucky era Britney, only this time with racier lyrics and moments of electro pizazz – in particular the guitar which cuts in halfway through.
MY BABY: The most pared-down track on the album, fully exposing Spears’ fragile vocal – this is a tooth-numbingly saccharine ode to her babies. Aw.
RADAR: A hearty helping of electronic R&B which sounds like the Pussycat Dolls at their most risqué.
AMNESIA: Almost Eighties-sounding in its synth-led campness, Britney tops off her show with an old school pop formula, marrying chorus, bass line and melody in a perfect trinity of chart-topping potential.
Source: The Sun
Lynne Spears On Britney’s Return To Performing: ‘This Is When She’s Most In Her Element’
The following italicized article is from www.accesshollywood.com:On the eve of Britney Spears’ return to U.K. television this coming Saturday, her mother Lynne Spears told Britain’s “GMTV” that the pop star is eager to perform.
“I think Britney’s just ready to get started again,” Lynne, who appeared via satellite, told “GMTV” host Lorraine Kelly “This is when she’s most in her element.”
As previously reported on AccessHollywood.com, Britney will appear on “The X-Factor” in Britain this weekend, following a stop in Germany, where the singer is presently.
When asked if Britney’s recent career moves mean she’s back, Lynne, who was promoting her own memoir during the appearance – “Through The Storm” — said things are still working themselves out, but everything was following the right path.
“The balance is going to have to be worked out with work and everything, like any other performer has to do,” Lynne said. “But… everything is gonna be fine because we have a lot of people… that are helping us now. We’re gonna get this done and it’s all gonna be good. You just wait and see.”
When asked why Britney has been doing so well of late, Lynne said it was thanks to the support of those that love the singer.
“I think with a lot of love and care and help,” Lynne said. “Sometimes you have to just settle down. You have to stop [and] think. There’s a lot of people that care about Britney and love Britney and Britney’s doing great now.”
And the singer is also thriving as a mother to Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden James, 2, Lynne said.
“She’s a wonderful mother,” Lynne smiled. “She’s funny, she’s extremely affectionate and she’s just a normal mother.”
Source: Access Hollywood
