Last year’s “Blackout” album was intended to be Britney Spears’ comeback album. While she won numerous awards for her paparazzi-shout out “Piece of Me” track, Spears’ latest album, “Circus,” establishes that Britney is back.
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Ten years after the release of her very first single, Spears’ revealing video for “Circus’” first single, “Womanizer,” made headlines after premiering on “20/20.” From that point, I have not been able to get enough of the single and the first track on the album.
The chorus is catchy and simple at first listen, but after a few more plays I found myself stumbling over when exactly to sing the word “womanizer.” I love when an artist can trick me into thinking I know the song backward and forward, then remind me that, no, I do not know the song as well as she does, so I should probably listen to it again. And again after that.
The next single off the album is the second song and the title track of the compact disc. “Circus” is your basic cookie-cutter pop song but that does not make this song any less enjoyable.
It is the first song I have heard from Spears in the last seven years where she sounds comfortable with what she is doing. The analogy of the circus being her life and she being “the ringleader” seems to speak straight to the undeniable fact that all eyes are on her “in the center of the ring/ Just like a circus.”
Apart from the two singles from the CD, the next best track is “If U Seek Amy.” It is a playful song, and from the way it sounds, Spears does her own background vocals. The track plays with synthesizer rhythms, which have become a trademark on Spears’ newer albums. But even with the synths, I can still hear some of the old Britney at three minutes into the song.
The CD lacks the slower songs where Spears tends to shine in her vocals. Only four down-tempo tracks are on the album of 13 songs, and “Out From Under” best shows off Spears’ voice. “Unusual You” sounds too studio edited, and “Blur” is over complicated with a computerized violin sound and a reverberating background effect. “My Baby” is underdeveloped, sounding the same through the entire song. Plus, Spears sings in her upper register, and I prefer her deeper sound.
All the songs on the album are worth listening to. Fanatics can purchase the deluxe edition of the album, those looking for a good CD can buy the standard version and those who want a few quality tracks should download “Womanizer,” “Circus” and “If U Seek Amy.”
