| This article is about the album. To see alternate articles, check out Circus. |
- Album
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- Trivia
- Tour
Circus is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was first released on November 28, 2008,[1] by Jive Records. Spears started work on the album in March 2008[2] [3] with a range of producers, including long-time producers Bloodshy & Avant, Danja and Max Martin. The album consists of electropop and dance-pop. It received positive reviews from critics and was compared with her previous studio album, Blackout. Commercially, the album also performed very well. In the United States, the album debuted atop the Billboard 200 selling over half a million copies and 505,000 copies worldwide in first week. The feat also earned Spears a place on the Guinness Book of World Records due to Spears becoming the youngest female artist in history to have five number one albums. Elsewhere, the album had a good commercial response, topping charts in Canada and Europe.
Circus is Spears' second album since ...Baby One More Time to have two top-ten hits and three top-twenty hits. The album gained a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording for "Womanizer," but lost to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." It has become her biggest-selling album since In the Zone, selling over eight million combined sales of digital tracks and over four million copies worldwide.
Spears embarked on her fifth concert tour in support of the album, titled The Circus Starring Britney Spears. The tour kicked off on March 3, 2009, in New Orleans and finished in Adelaide's Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Spears embarked on four legs of the tour, visiting North America twice and also performing in Europe and Australia. The tour gained controversy in Australia due to accusations of lip-synching. Elsewhere, Spears promoted the album by performing on several television shows and releasing four music videos.
Background[]
In March 2008, Spears confirmed the process of recording her sixth studio album. With the announcement came the additional confirmation of the involvement of producers including Sean Garrett, Lil Jon, Rodney Jerkins, Guy Sigsworth, Danja and Bloodshy & Avant. During its development, Garrett and vocal producer Jim Beanz complimented Spears' 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 record with several of her previous collaborators.
Spears initially said it would have a hip-hop sound, working with various hip-hop producers and describing it as a "more urban" direction. She claimed that Circus marked the longest time she had spent recording an album, adding, "I'm writing every day, right here at the piano in this living room" and considered it her best work to date.
Describing the album's title, Spears said, "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." Circus was initially scheduled to be released worldwide on December 2, 2008, on Spears' 27th birthday. However, after unauthorized online leaks, Imeem.com began streaming the album from their website on November 25. The album was released three days later.
A re-release of the album was rumored to exist, but this remains unconfirmed. Some songs that are possibly intended for the re-release were released on The Singles Collection and Femme Fatale, including "3", "Telephone", "King of My Castle", and "S.O.S (Let the Music Play)", which was not recorded by Spears.
Spotify[]
Track Listing[]
Circus – Standard edition[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Womanizer" | Nikesha Briscoe, Rafael Akinyemi | K Briscoe, The Outsyders | 3:43 |
| 2. | "Circus" | Lukasz Gottwald, Claude Kelly, Benjamin Levin | Dr. Luke, Benny Blanco | 3:12 |
| 3. | "Out from Under" | Shelly Peiken, Arnthor Birgisson, Wayne Hector | Guy Sigsworth | 3:54 |
| 4. | "Kill the Lights" | Nathaniel Hills, James Washington, Luke Boyd, Marcella Araica | Danja, Jim Beanz | 3:59 |
| 5. | "Shattered Glass" | Gottwald, Kelly, Levin | Dr. Luke, Blanco, Kelly Martin | 2:53 |
| 6. | "If U Seek Amy" | Max Martin, Shellback, Savan Kotecha, Alexander Kronlund | Martin | 3:37 |
| 7. | "Unusual You" | Christian Karlsson, Pontus Winnberg, Henrik Jonback, Kasia Livingston | Bloodshy & Avant | 4:23 |
| 8. | "Blur" | Hills, Stacy Barthe, Araica | Danja | 3:09 |
| 9. | "Mmm Papi" | Britney Spears, Henry Walter, Adrien Gough, Peter-John Kerr, Nicole Morier | Let's Go to War, Morier | 3:22 |
| 10. | "Mannequin" | Spears, Harvey Mason, Jr. Rob Knox, James Fauntleroy II | Mason, Jr. Rob Knox | 4:06 |
| 11. | "Lace and Leather" | Gottwald, Levin, Frankie Storm, Ronnie Jackson | Dr. Luke, Blanco | 2:48 |
| 12. | "My Baby" | Spears, Sigsworth Karlsson | Sigsworth | 3:20 |
| 13. | "Radar" (bonus track)" | Karlsson, Winnberg, Jonback, Balewa Muhammad, Candice Nelson, Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Patrick "J. Que" Smith | Bloodshy & Avant, The Clutch | 3:49 |
Circus – Germany Musicload edition and Mexican digital edition (bonus track)[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Rock Boy" | Hills, Araica, Tina Parol-Gemza, Michael Shimshack | Danja | 3:21 |
Circus – Japanese and UK edition (bonus track)[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Amnesia" | Fernando Garibay, Livingston | Garibay | 3:57 |
Circus – Deluxe edition (bonus tracks)[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Rock Me In" | Hills, Araica, Tina Parol-Gemza, Michael Shimshack | Kurstin, Morier | 3:17 |
| 15. | "Phonography" | Karlsson, Winnberg, Jonback, Muhammad, Nelson, Lewis, Smith | Bloodshy & Avant, The Clutch | 3:35 |
Circus – US iTunes Store pre-order and French Amazon MP3 deluxe edition (bonus track)[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Trouble" | Karlsson, Winnberg, Jonback, Muhammad, Nelson, Lewis, Smith | Bloodshy & Avant, The Clutch | 3:34 |
Circus – European iTunes Store deluxe edition (bonus track)[]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16. | "Quicksand" | Lady Gaga, Garibay | Garibay | 4:05 |
Singles[]
"Womanizer", the album's lead single, became a worldwide hit and broke records for having the largest jump to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after debuting at number ninety-six. It became her best-selling single in the US since her debut single "...Baby One More Time".
"Circus", the album's second single, debuted and peaked at number 3 in the US, becoming Spears' second top ten hit from the album. The song's music video received positive reviews from critics, but was criticized by PETA for featuring trained animals. However, the trainers opposed these claims.
"If U Seek Amy", the album's third single, peaked at number 19 in the U.S. It caused controversy for its double entendre that is interpreted as "F-U-C-K Me".
"Radar", the album's fourth single, was originally included on Blackout and was intended to be the album's fourth single, but was scrapped after Spears announced work on the album. It was featured as a bonus track on the album and was released as its final single.
"Unusual You", the album's seventh track, was released as a promotional single in France and Australia. However, the song didn't enter the charts.
"Mannequin" was considered to be the album's fifth single before deciding to release the compilation The Singles Collection.
Unreleased & Unused songs[]
- Main article: List of Unreleased Recorded Songs
Underlined can be found online.
- "Abroad" - Written by Danja & The Clutch. Leaked in 2011.
- "Dangerous" - Written by Nicole Morier & Greg Kusrtin. Leaked in 2011.
- "Entertainment" - Written by Frankie Storm, Kasia Livingston & David Jassy. Demo by Frankie Storm leaked.
- "Every Day" - Written by Britney Spears, Xandy Barry & Wally Gagel. Leaked in 2011.
- "Follow My Fingers" - Written by Britney Spears, Cathy Dennis, Nicole Morier & Freescha.
- "Mad Love" - Written by Britney Spears, Alex Greggs & Lisa Greene. Originally recorded for Blackout.
- "Paradise" - Written by Britney Spears, Xandy Barry & Wally Gagel. Unconfirmed snippets leaked.
- "This Kiss" - Written by Darren Lewis. Nicole Morier & Iyiola Babalola. Leaked in 2012.
- "Take the Bait" - Written by Danja & The Clutch. Demo by Candice Nelson leaked.
- "Telephone" - Written by Lady Gaga & Rodney Jerkins. Demo leaked in 2010.
- "Whiplash" - Later given to Selena Gomez & The Scene for their album When The Sun Goes Down. Demo by Selena Gomez leaked.
Pitched Songs[]
- Main article: List of Songs Pitched to Britney Spears
CD Booklet[]
Physical Versions[]
References[]
- ↑ https://open.spotify.com/album/6vAjySa6CZLX1BpVXeFHo9?si=YamrbD81QWOxcSyrdNNtLA
- ↑ http://www.starstyle.com/britney-spears-alleycat-recording-studio-in-hollywood-sp9683/
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20130414053511/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1044769/britney-spending-summer-in-the-studio
 | |
|---|---|
| Discography | |
| Artists | Britney Spears |
| Releases | Circus |
| Tracklist | Womanizer • Circus • Out from Under • Kill the Lights • Shattered Glass • If U Seek Amy • Unusual You • Blur • Mmm Papi • Mannequin • Lace and Leather • My Baby • Radar • Rock Me In • Phonography • Rock Boy • Amnesia • Trouble • Quicksand |
| Non-Album | Abroad • Dangerous • Every Day • Telephone • This Kiss |
| Other Eras | |
| ...Baby One More Time • Oops!... I Did It Again • Britney • In the Zone • Blackout • Circus • Femme Fatale • Britney Jean • Glory | |