''Circus'' is the sixth studio album by American singer

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

released on November 28, 2008, by

Jive Records Jive Records was an American independent record label founded by Clive Calder in 1981 as a subsidiary to the Zomba Group. In the US, the label had offices in New York City and Chicago. Jive was best known for its successes with hip hop, R&B, ...

. A transition 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 the album during the spring and summer of 2008, after being involuntarily placed under a

conservatorship Under U.S. law, conservatorship is the appointment of a guardian or a protector by a judge to manage the financial affairs and/or daily life of another person due to old age or physical or mental limitations. A person under conservatorship is a ...

earlier that year. As

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

s, Larry Rudolph and Teresa LaBarbera Whites enlisted collaborators including Spears' longtime colleague Max Martin and Danja. Their efforts resulted in a primarily

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

and dance record with urban influences. Upon its release, ''Circus'' received generally favorable reviews from music critics, who complimented its production but were ambivalent towards its lyrical content. It debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, making it her fifth album to reach the top of the chart. The album has sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Four singles were released, three of which became international hits. Its

lead single A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date. Release ...

, " Womanizer", peaked atop the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and registered as the largest jump to the top of the chart at the time after debuting at number 96. It became Spears's best-selling single in the country since " ...Baby One More Time" (1998), and received a

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

nomination for Best Dance Recording at the

52nd Annual Grammy Awards The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards took place on January 31, 2010, at Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording year beginning October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009. Neil Young was honored as the 2010 MusiCares P ...

(2010). The second and third singles, "

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and uni ...

" and " If U Seek Amy", peaked at numbers three and 19 in the country, respectively. Consequentially, ''Circus'' became Spears's second studio album after her debut '' ...Baby One More Time'' (1999) to have two top-ten singles and three top 20 singles, also being her first to have two top-five singles in the United States along with five charting songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. To promote the album, Spears embarked on a

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

titled

The Circus Starring Britney Spears The Circus Starring Britney Spears, commonly referred to as the Circus Tour, was the seventh concert tour by American entertainer Britney Spears. It was launched in support of her fifth and sixth studio albums, '' Blackout'' (2007) and ''Circus'' ...

, which commenced in March 2009.

Recording and production

During the summer of 2008, it was confirmed that Spears was in the process of recording her sixth studio album. With the album's announcement came the additional confirmation of the involvement of producers Sean Garrett, Guy Sigsworth, Danja and Bloodshy & Avant. During its development, Garrett and vocal producer Jim Beanz complimented Spears's work ethic after her much-publicized personal struggles the previous year. Spears chose to write much of the material for the album and worked to develop a more pop-influenced record with collaborators she had worked with earlier in her career. She stated that ''Circus'' marked the longest time she had spent recording an album, adding, "I think it is more urban ..I'm writing every day, right here at the piano in this living room" and also described the album as her best work to date. Producer

Claude Kelly Claude Kelly (born December 27, 1980)Shirley Halperin and Bob Love"THR Names Music's 35 Top Hitmakers,"''The Hollywood Reporter'', February 6, 2013. is an American singer, songwriter and music producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee, a ...

discussed the album's initial lack of concept saying, "When I went in with

r. Luke R. or r. may refer to: * ''Reign'', the period of time during which an Emperor, king, queen, etc., is ruler. * '' Rex'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning King * ''Regina'', abbreviated as R., the Latin word meaning Queen * or , abbreviat ...

we knew we were going to maybe write something for ritney but there was no concept, it was just knowing her style and knowing what she does. Max Martin, who produced Spears' debut single " ...Baby One More Time", produced " If U Seek Amy" for the album. The Outsyders, an Atlanta-based production team, produced the album's first single, while Fernando Garibay worked on two bonus songs for Spears. Danja reported that he worked on the tracks at Chalice Recording Studios in Los Angeles, and Spears recorded them at Glenwood Place Studios in

Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...

; the Canadian trio Let's Go to War co-wrote and produced the track "Mmm Papi".

Lil Jon Jonathan H. Smith (born January 17, 1971) better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, producer and former frontman of the rap group Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz. He was instrumental in the emergence of the hip hop subgenre cr ...

Rodney Jerkins Rodney Roy Jerkins (born July 29, 1977), also known by his stage name Darkchild, is an American record producer, rapper, and songwriter. He has collaborated with a broad range of popular artists. Jerkins has won multiple Grammy Awards. Among hi ...

, Sean Garrett, and

Taio Cruz Jacob Taio Cruz (; born Adetayo Ayowale Onile-Ere, 23 April 1980), better known professionally as Taio Cruz (stylized TΛIO CRUZ), is an English singer, songwriter and record producer from London, England, currently based in Los Angeles. In 200 ...

announced they were working with Spears, though their songs weren't included on the official track listing. Bonus track and the fourth single from the album "

Radar Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance ('' ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...

" was, since it was included on Spears's previous studio album '' Blackout'' (2007), recorded on November 8, 2006, the day after Spears filed for divorce from Kevin Federline, at Sony Music Studios in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

Music and lyrics

''Circus'' is a

and dance record, which has been described as a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the sam ...

to Spears' fifth studio album '' Blackout''. Spears described the album as "lighter" than ''Blackout'', which was more urban sounding. Its "fiery" and "confrontational" lyrics have been also compared to those of its predecessor. The album has been compared to the works of

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

, Eurythmics, New Order and the songwriting of

Prince A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

, Leiber & Stoller and

Phil Spector Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...

. ''Circus'' incorporates themes that were acknowledged in Spears's earlier work. "Circus" and "Kill the Lights" discuss fame, which was previously seen in " Piece of Me", while "Womanizer" and "Shattered Glass" talk about a womanizing man. ''Circus'' opens with its

" Womanizer". It features synth sirens with a repetitive chorus, and lyrically discusses a cheating man; it was described by Spears as a girl

anthem An anthem is a musical composition of celebration, usually used as a symbol for a distinct group, particularly the national anthems of countries. Originally, and in music theory and religious contexts, it also refers more particularly to short ...

. "

" addresses her feelings as an entertainer and performing, highlighted in the lines "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". Its electronic dance elements were compared by PopJustice to those of Spears's earlier single " Break the Ice". The ballad "Out from Under" incorporates acoustic guitar backings. " Kill the Lights" is a

dance-pop Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...

song that talks about Spears's conflict with

paparazzi Paparazzi (, ; ; singular: masculine paparazzo or feminine paparazza) are independent photographers who take pictures of high-profile people; such as actors, musicians, athletes, politicians, and other celebrities, typically while subjects ...

. Critics noted similarities to Spears's own " Piece of Me". "Shattered Glass" utilizes dark electronic beats and details a non-repairable relationship. " If U Seek Amy" integrates "glam-rave" elements with traditional pop styles; it gained controversy for its

double entendre A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, of which one is typically obvious, whereas the other often conveys a message that would be too socially a ...

, where the title sounds phonetically like "F-U-C-K me". The

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...

track "Unusual You" deals with a woman finding unexpected love. It has been compared to musical themes from the 1980s and 1990s, and has been noted as a "pulsating ballad", with the song also drawing comparisons to the "shimmering waterfall mood first popularized by

". "Blur", which features Spears singing in a lower register, sees the inclusion of urban influences, and lyrically recalls the morning after a party with lyrics "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?"; it drew similarities to Spears' song "Early Mornin" from '' In the Zone''. "Mmm Papi" draws elements from a 1960s

go-go Go-go is a subgenre of funk music with an emphasis on specific rhythmic patterns, and live audience call and response. Go-go was originated by African-American musicians in the Washington, D.C. area during the mid-60s to late-70s. Go-go has lim ...

rock guitar and Latin-pop

dance hall Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for dancing. From the earliest years of the twentieth century until the early 1960s, the dance hall was the popular forerunner of the discothèque or nightclub. The majority of towns and cities i ...

themes. Despite its "fun" nature, it was criticized for appearing to "revisit the

Lolita ''Lolita'' is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the pseudonym Humbert Hum ...

persona of "''...Baby One More Time''". It has been suggested that its lyrics deal with either Spears's father Jamie or paparazzo Adnan Ghalib. "Mannequin" is a

song with a

trip hop Trip hop (sometimes used synonymously with " downtempo") is a musical genre that originated in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom, especially Bristol. It has been described as a psychedelic fusion of hip hop and electronica with slow temp ...

influence; while being noted for its "risky" and " futuristic" nature, it has also been suggested that Spears's vocals sounded "lifeless". "Lace and Leather" is an electro- funk track which gained comparisons to "'' Control'' era

, and Vanity 6's works from the 1980s and featured a then-unknown

Kesha Kesha Rose Sebert (; born March 1, 1987), formerly stylized as Ke$ha, is an American singer and songwriter. In 2005, at age 18, Kesha was signed to Kemosabe Records. Her first major success came in early 2009 after she was featured on Americ ...

as a

backing vocalist A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

. "My Baby", described as having a "faux-

vocal", was written by Spears about her two sons Sean Preston and Jayden James Federline.

Title and artwork

Spears commented of the album's title: "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." Spears also revealed she titled the album ''Circus'' due to her life being "a circus" at the time. The

cover art Cover art is a type of artwork presented as an illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book (often on a dust jacket), magazine, newspaper (tabloid), comic book, video game ( box art), music album ( album ...

work and booklet images for ''Circus'' feature Spears in circus-styled settings. The photos were shot by Kate Turning.

Release and promotion

''Circus'' was initially scheduled to be released worldwide on December 2, 2008, Spears's twenty-seventh birthday. However, after unauthorized online leaks,

imeem The online service imeem was a social media website where users interacted with each other by streaming, uploading and sharing music and music videos. It operated from 2003 until 2009 when it was shut down after being acquired by MySpace. The c ...

began streaming the album from their website on November 25. The album shared a release date with the similarly titled album '' The Circus'' by British group

Take That Take That are an English pop group formed in Manchester in 1990. The group currently consists of Gary Barlow, Howard Donald and Mark Owen. The original line-up also featured Jason Orange and Robbie Williams. Barlow is the group's lead sin ...

. Both standard and deluxe editions of the album were released in Europe on November 28, 2008, and in the United States on December 2, 2008. To promote the album,

set up a hotline where fans could leave a message for Spears, some of which received a return phone call from her. Some songs were previewed through the website of the New York radio station

WKTU WKTU (103.5 FM) is a rhythmic adult contemporary formatted radio station licensed to Lake Success, New York, a suburb of New York City. WKTU is owned by iHeartMedia and broadcasts from studios in the former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neigh ...

and Amazon.com. MTV aired a ninety-minute long documentary '' Britney: For the Record'' on November 30, 2008, documenting her return to her career. In May 2009, Jive's official website held a Britney Spears Global Fan-Fiction Contest, which required a fan to submit a two-hundred-word story based on one of the songs from ''Circus''. The public were allowed to vote for their favorite short story which would be produced into an animated

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devi ...

. The winning story was based on the song " Kill the Lights"; the video premiered on July 27, 2009. Spears's live comeback began on November 6, 2008, with a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...

at the

Dodger Stadium Dodger Stadium is a baseball stadium in the Elysian Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. It is the home stadium of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers. Opened in 1962, it was constructed in less than three years at a cost of ...

show of Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour (2008–09). Midway through the performance of "

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

", Spears joined Madonna on stage. The week prior to the album's release, Spears performed in several countries as a part of the Circus Promo Tour. On November 27, 2008, Spears performed " Womanizer" live at the 2008 Bambi Awards in

Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the administrative capital ...

, Germany, where she received an award for Best International Pop Star. In addition, she performed the song on ''

Star Academy ''Star Academy'', called ''Operación Triunfo'' ("Operation Triumph") in Spanish-speaking countries, is a highly successful television pop music talent contest with viewer voting and reality show elements. Format There are many versions of t ...

'' in France the following day and on ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' in the United Kingdom on November 29. Her performance on ''The X Factor'' was watched by an average of 11,880,000 citizens in the United Kingdom. Spears premiered her second single "

" at the Big Apple Circus on ''

Good Morning America ''Good Morning America'' (often abbreviated as ''GMA'') is an American morning television program that is broadcast on ABC. It debuted on November 3, 1975, and first expanded to weekends with the debut of a Sunday edition on January 3, 1993. ...

'' in New York City, and also performed "Womanizer" on December 2, 2008, which coincided with her twenty-seventh birthday and the release of ''Circus''. On December 16, 2008, she performed on NTV Japan's-3000 ''Best Artist of 2008''. Circus 09 (1)

While performing on ''

'' on December 2, 2008, Spears announced her fifth worldwide

, titled

. She first revealed the first leg of twenty-five dates in the United States and two in the United Kingdom. Her longtime manager Larry Rudolph stated that the tour would "blow people's minds and promises to show Britney's fans something they will never forget", later adding, "she goes full-speed the whole show — about an hour and a half. It's pretty intense. This is a full-blown, full-out Britney Spears show, It is everything everybody expects from her — and more!" Spears also expressed excitement in including songs from '' Blackout'' into the setlist, as she didn't tour to promote it. The tour began on March 3, 2009, in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

New Orleans Arena Smoothie King Center (locally referred to as SKC) is a multi-purpose list of indoor arenas, indoor arena in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is located in the city's Central Business District, New Orleans, Central Business District, adjacent to Caesar ...

and finished on November 29, 2009, in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater A ...

's Adelaide Entertainment Centre. There were four legs of the tour, visiting North America twice, and others being Europe and Australia. The stage was composed of three rings and set in-the-round to resemble an actual circus. Fashion designers Dean and Dan Caten created the costumes. A giant cylinder screen was set above the stage to showcase videos and backdrops. Effects were provided by Solotech. The setlist was composed generally from her albums '' In the Zone'', ''Blackout'' and ''Circus''. In June 2009, Spears announced she would tour Australia for the first time; she was also rumored to tour South America, though her manager Adam Leber denied this despite their efforts to do so. Controversy arose during the Australian leg of the tour after several fans walked out of the performances due to Spears's alleged lip-synching; such claims were later denied by Spears's management and promoters. The tour was ranked as the fourth highest-grossing tour of the year in North America, becoming the highest-grossing tour of the year by a solo artist. In February 2010,

Pollstar ''Pollstar'' is a trade publication for the concert and live music industry. The publication was purchased by Oak View Group, a venue consultancy founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff, in July 2017. History and profile Founded in 1981 in ...

released their Top 50 Worldwide Concert Tours of 2009; ''The Circus Starring Britney Spears'' was ranked as the fifth highest-grossing tour worldwide of the year, with a gross of $131.8 million. In May 2010, ''Hollyscoop'' ranked the tour at the fifth position in their 15 Most Profitable Female Tours Ever list.

Singles

" Womanizer" was released on September 26, 2008, as the album's lead single. The song was met with positive response from critics, who complimented its hook and empowering lyrics and deemed it as a return of form and a "comeback" single for Spears. Womanizer debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number ninety-six before jumping to number one the next week. The song broke the record for the largest leap to any position. The record was later broken by

Kelly Clarkson Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of '' American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her de ...

's " My Life Would Suck Without You". The song is considered one of Spears's biggest songs and has been covered by several other artists. "Womanizer" has sold over 3,500,000 digital downloads in the United States. The music video premiered on October 18, 2008, as a spiritual sequel to "

Toxic Toxicity is the degree to which a chemical substance or a particular mixture of substances can damage an organism. Toxicity can refer to the effect on a whole organism, such as an animal, bacterium, or plant, as well as the effect on a subs ...

" (2004). 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. Womanizer had received above 70 million views at that time, making it one of the highest viewed YouTube videos in YouTube at the time. "

" was released on December 2, 2008, as the album's second single, a day earlier than planned due to unauthorized leaks. It debuted and peaked at number three on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. "Circus" has sold over 3,200,000 digital downloads in the United States. The 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 claims were dismissed. It won a Best Video award on

Fuse TV Fuse is an American pay television channel launched in 1994 which was originally dedicated to music. After merging with the Latino-oriented NuvoTV in 2015, Fuse shifted its focus to general entertainment and lifestyle programming targeting multi ...

. " If U Seek Amy" was released on March 10, 2009, as the album's third single. Due to the song's

in the chorus, the Parents Television Council (PTC) threatened to file indecency complaints with the

Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisd ...

(FCC) against any station that played the song between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. A clean edit of the song, titled "If U See Amy", was later provided by

. The song peaked at number nineteen on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The music video was released on March 12, 2009, and depicts Spears poking fun at American culture. "

" was originally included on '' Blackout'' and to be released as its fourth and final single. However, its release was cancelled when Spears began work on ''Circus'', and was instead released as a promotional single in 2008. "Radar" was included as a bonus track on ''Circus'' and was released as the album's fourth and final single on June 5, 2009. The music video portrays Spears as an aristocrat at a polo mansion involved in a love triangle with two men who are polo players. "Radar" originally entered the US Digital Songs at number fifty-two due to digital downloads from ''Blackout'' and after being confirmed as a single entered the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number ninety and then peaked at number eighty-eight the following week. "Mannequin" was supposed to be the fifth single for ''Circus'' but was canceled due to Spears already working on her second greatest hits album, '' The Singles Collection''.

Critical reception

Upon its release, ''Circus'' received generally favorable reviews from

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of hundred to reviews from mainstream critics, ''Circus'' received an

average In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7, ...

score of 64, based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Stephen Thomas Erlewine provided a favorable review, describing it as a "friendly remake of the hedonistic '' Blackout''", but preferred its predecessor for being more "sleek or addictive" than ''Circus''. Genevieve Koski of '' The A.V. Club'' appreciated that Spears appeared to "put some real effort into her ''Circus'' performances", rather than seeming "flat-sounding" as she felt ''Blackout'' had. Writing for

Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...

, Nick Levine opined that Spears "sounds more confident" than she had on ''Blackout''. While Chris Willman from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cult ...

'' appreciated the overall production of ''Circus'', he was critical of Spears' recently established pattern of "putting out albums with titles that promise more self-revelation than she's ultimately able to provide."

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

gave ''Circus'' a two-star honorable mention, stating that it was "still fun more often than not". Jon Pareles of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' expressed his enjoyment of the "crisp" material that incorporated "catchy melodic interludes". Caryn Ganz from ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' opined that the "clubby, adventurous pop" included on the album could have been a satisfactory successor to her fourth studio album '' In the Zone'' (2003). Writing for ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virg ...

'', Steve Jones applauded Spears for being "resilient" and " nowingwho she is as a singer" and not " astingtime searching for artistic direction or overthinking her appeal." ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' considered it "no better or worse than Janet Jackson's dominatrix-lite ''

Discipline Discipline refers to rule following behavior, to regulate, order, control and authority. It may also refer to punishment. Discipline is used to create habits, routines, and automatic mechanisms such as blind obedience. It may be inflicted on ot ...

''." Alexis Petridis of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

'' gave a more mixed review, suggesting that Spears "frequently sounds disconnected, even a bit bored" throughout the record, whereas ''Blackout'' was a "relentless, risky album made by a woman whose obituary was apparently being prepared by

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. n ...

." A writer for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publishe ...

'' gave a negative review, opining that Spears' vocal delivery sounded emotionless in mid-tempo and ballad-paced tracks.

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...

's Eric Henderson shared a similar sentiment, suggesting that the album's "self-actualization" gave off a "hollow" feel through the majority of the record. Ann Powers from ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the ...

'' felt that ''Circus'' served as a "bang-up job" of stating that "Spears is still a young woman trying to manage an impossible situation." Writing for '' NME'', Hamish MacBain was disappointed that "Spears is quite simply rubbish at being sexy", adding that ''Circus'' is the "umpteenth attempt to turn the perceived chaos of Britney's transition to adulthood – she's 27 next week! – into sleazy, raunchy, dirrty adult-pop product."

Accolades

Commercial performance

''Circus'' debuted at number one on the US ''Billboard'' 200, with first-week sales of over 505,000 copies. It was the second biggest debut week sales by a female artist of 2008, only behind

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bo ...

's ''

Fearless Fearless or The Fearless may refer to: Psychology * Lack of fear * Courage or bravery Film, television and audio Film * ''Fearless'' (1978 film), an Italian film directed by Stelvio Massi * ''Fearless'' (1993 film), an American drama directed ...

''. The album spent nine weeks in the top ten, making it Spears's longest-running top ten album since '' Oops!... I Did It Again'', which spent twenty-three weeks in the top ten in 2000. ''Circus'' was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

(RIAA) on January 29, 2009. According to

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

, by March 2015, the album had sold 1.7 million copies in the United States. With over 51,000 units sold, the album opened at number one on the

Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Monday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen SoundScan, and published every Tuesday by ''Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding ...

, her best first-week sales in the country since ''Oops!... I Did It Again'', which sold 95,000 copies in May 2000. In less than a month, ''Circus'' became the ninth best-selling album of 2008, with 143,000 copies, and one of the top ten selling digital albums of the year with over 10,100 downloads. In March 2009, ''Circus'' was certified triple platinum by the

Canadian Recording Industry Association Music Canada (formerly Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA)) is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It a ...

(CRIA), denoting 240,000 shipped copies to retailers. In Mexico, the album debuted atop the international chart and at number three on

Top 100 Mexico Top 100 México is a record chart which accounts for sixty percent of the albums sold in Mexico. The chart has the support of major record distributors in Mexico and is issued by the Mexican Association of Producers of Phonograms and Videograms, A. ...

, selling over 46,000 copies and being certified gold by the Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas (AMPROFON) in its first week. In Oceania, the album was a top-ten success, peaking at number three in Australia and number six in New Zealand, and was certified platinum by the

Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) is a trade association representing the Australian recording industry which was established in the 1970s by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replac ...

(ARIA) after three weeks for shipments of 70,000 units. It has since gone on to be certified double platinum for shipments of 140,000 units. In the United Kingdom, the album debuted and peaked at number four on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...

, spending thirty-one weeks on the chart. The album was certified Platinum in the United Kingdom. In France, the album sold 18,319 copies in its first two days of release, debuting at number five on the French Albums Chart. In Japan, the album peaked at number five on the

Oricon Albums Chart The Oricon Albums Chart is the Japanese music industry standard albums popularity chart issued daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by Oricon. Oricon originally published LP, CT, Cartridge and CD charts prior to the establishment of the Oricon ...

and was certified gold by the

Recording Industry Association of Japan The is an industry trade group composed of Japanese corporations involved in the music industry. It was founded in 1942 as the Japan Phonogram Record Cultural Association, and adopted its current name in 1969. The RIAJ's activities include p ...

(RIAJ). Worldwide, ''Circus'' has sold over 4 million copies. Despite not being released as singles, several songs from "Circus" appeared on ''Billboard''s component charts after the album's release. "Shattered Glass", peaked at number seventy on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, higher than the album's fourth single "Radar". It peaked at number twenty-nine on the US Hot Digital Songs, while peaking at number thirty-six on Canadian Hot Digital Songs. The song also entered the Pop 100 chart, peaking at number fifty-seven. "Unusual You", "Lace and Leather" and "Mmm Papi" peaked at numbers eighty, eighty-four and ninety-four on the US

Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009. It ranked songs based on airplay on Mainstream Top 40 radio stations, singles s ...

, respectively. "Out from Under" debuted at number forty on

Swedish Singles Chart Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish ...

on the week of August 14, 2009, reaching number thirty-two following week. It stayed on the chart for five weeks.

Track listing

Notes *Track 3, "Out from Under" is a cover of the 2007 Joanna Pacitti song recorded for the soundtrack of ''Bratz: The Movie''. * signifies a vocal

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

* signifies a co-

Personnel

Credits adapted from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

. * Jim Beanz –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

, vocal producer *David Boyd – engineer * Luke Boyd – background vocals * K. Briscoe –

*Jim Carauna – engineer *Tom Coyne – mastering *Brendan Dekora – assistant, engineer * Cathy Dennis – background vocals *Patti Dubroff –

make-up Cosmetics are constituted mixtures of chemical compounds derived from either natural sources, or synthetically created ones. Cosmetics have various purposes. Those designed for personal care and skin care can be used to cleanse or protec ...

*Laura Duncan –

wardrobe A wardrobe or armoire or almirah is a standing closet used for storing clothes. The earliest wardrobe was a chest, and it was not until some degree of luxury was attained in regal palaces and the castles of powerful nobles that separate acco ...

*Eric Eylands – assistant, assistant engineer *Niklas Flyckt – mixing *Serban Ghenea – mixing *Angela Golightly – production coordination *Aniela Gottwald – assistant, assistant engineer * Dr. Luke – drums,

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

, keyboards, programming, *

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

– background vocals, songwriter *Tatiana Gottwald – assistant engineer *Dabling Harward – engineer * Leah Haywood – background vocals *Jeri Heiden –

art direction Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in Theatre, theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

*John Heiden – design *Andrew Hey – engineer *Wade Martin – producer, recording *

Henrik Jonback Henrik Jonback (born 1973) is a Swedish producer, songwriter and musician. Writing credits include Britney Spears, Madonna, Avicii, Galantis, Miike Snow, Kelis, Kylie Minogue, David Guetta, Dolly Parton, Ms. Dynamite, Sugababes, and Christina Mili ...

–

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

, engineer, guitar *Chris Kasych – assistant, assistant engineer *

– vocal producer, background vocals * Rob Knox – producer *Kasia Livingston – background vocals *

Myah Marie Mya may refer to: Brands and product names * Mya (program), an intelligent personal assistant created by Motorola * Mya (TV channel), an Italian Television channel * Midwest Young Artists, a comprehensive youth music program Codes * Burmese ...

– background vocals * Max Martin – producer, programming, background vocals *

Tony Maserati Tony Maserati is an American record producer and audio engineer specializing in mixing. He was involved in the development of the New York R&B and hip-hop scene in the 1990s, working with Mary J. Blige, Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy, and Que ...

– mixing * Harvey Mason, Jr. – mixing, producer *Chris McMillan – hair stylist * Nicole Morier – vocal producer, background vocals *Jackie Murphy – art direction *Candice Nelson – background vocals *Jared Newcomb – assistant, mixing assistant *

Debi Nova Deborah Nowalski Kader, better known by her stage name Debi Nova () born 6 August 1980, is a Costa Rican singer-songwriter who resides in Los Angeles. She was involved in six Grammy award nominated projects, including a dance song, "One Rhythm" ...

– background vocals *Andy Page – drum programming, engineer, guitar, mixing,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

, strings, synthesizer, synthesizer bass *Tim Roberts –

Pro Tools Pro Tools is a digital audio workstation (DAW) developed and released by Avid Technology (formerly Digidesign) for Microsoft Windows and macOS. It is used for music creation and production, sound for picture ( sound design, audio post-prod ...

* Larry Rudolph –

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

– background vocals *Guy Sigsworth – drum programming, keyboards, producer, strings *

– vocals, background vocals, concept, songwriter *Nick Steinhardt – design *Ron Taylor – Pro Tools *Valente Torrez – assistant *Kate Turning –

photography Photography is the visual art, art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It i ...

*Windy Wagner – background vocals *Seth Waldmann – engineer *Eric Weaver – assistant, assistant engineer, engineer *Theresa LaBarbera Whites – A&R, executive producer *David Wright "Touch" – production coordination * Emily Wright – engineer, vocal editing *

Andrew Wyatt Andrew Wyatt Blakemore is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. Born and raised in Manhattan, New York, he began his career playing in New York bands such as The A.M. and Black Beetle. He gained wider notability as the frontman ...

– engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Notes

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2008 albums Albums produced by Benny Blanco Albums produced by Bloodshy & Avant Albums produced by Danja (record producer) Albums produced by Dr. Luke Albums produced by Greg Kurstin Albums produced by Guy Sigsworth Albums produced by Max Martin Britney Spears albums Jive Records albums Albums produced by Fernando Garibay