Spears Is Dazzling

Britney Spears brought the "Circus" tour back to Nassau Coliseum last night. And, yes, she was alone. (Really alone, actually, since the Pussycat Dolls had to cancel when Nicole Scherzinger fell ill.)

Toss all the rumors of a definite appearance by Madonna last night on the trash heap along with the reports that "American Idol" is fixed (Alexis Grace, one of the supposed Final Four, was eliminated last week) and that Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony would announce their divorce last month at his Madison Square Garden concert. (Um, they didn't. Instead, the couple introduced fans to their twins Max and Emme onstage. Yeah, that's almost the same thing. Stand strong, Lopez-Anthonys.)

Nevertheless, Spears doesn't need her Material Mom pal to rev up her audience. In fact, the second crowd was far more excited to see Spears than the first crowd. Their cheering lasted all the way into the encore, unlike the first time.

Maybe they were reacting to Spears, who seemed even livelier this time around, as she ran through her array of personas -- Sexy Ringmaster, Sexy Magician's Assistant, Sexy Cop, um, you get the picture.

She even talked more, thanking the crowd three times throughout the 90-minute show, instead of just two. She also obviously sang the ballad "Everytime," daintily and effectively. Spears sang a handful of lines in a few other songs, which is far more than she did the first time. (Hint to fans: You can tell she's singing when you hear her breathing. When she's doing elaborate dance moves and there's no sound of her catching her breath between lines, she's not really singing. When she's being sawed into three pieces, she's not really singing.)

And, speaking of breathtaking, her set-closing one-two punch of "Toxic" and "Baby One More Time" really does show how dazzling Spears really can be.

Source: News Day

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

'Womanizer' Review

The Britney Spears comeback story now has a soundtrack.

Her new single “Womanizer,” which made its debut this morning on Z100 (either three days early or four days late depending on whose timetable you believe), is the first musical sign that she may actually be putting her troubled past behind her.

“Womanizer,” from the Atlanta production team The Outsyders, is an upbeat dance number that crosses her hit “Toxic” with some of the Euro-influenced dance sound from last year’s “Blackout” and adds some pointed lyrics. “You say I’m crazy? I got your ‘crazy,’” sings Spears. “You’re nothing but a womanizer.”

It’s catchy, but more noteworthy is that it involves some tongue-twisting lyrics and doesn’t heavily process Spears’ vocals, meaning that she had to be engaged in the recording process – something that was not evident for “Blackout.”

At this point, can’t we all just admit “Blackout” wasn’t very good? (I know many of you disagreed at the time, but do you still feel that way?) Despite some really catchy songs, it just sounded sad, like Spears vocals were assembled by robots because she couldn’t string two sentences together. “Blackout” hasn’t even broken the 900,000 sales mark yet, despite its massive, car-crash-gawking opening sales week of nearly 300,000 last November.

“Womanizer” is a sign that Spears’ sixth album “Circus,” due out Dec. 2, will fare far better.

Source: News Day