Circus Review

I still remember the first time I heard Britney Spears: I was probably six years old and her video for Sometimes came on the Disney Channel. My mom said "I think she's coming this summer." I loved that video (the white, the dancing on the boardwalk). I loved that album. I performed almost the whole thing for my parents one time. Her second album Oops...I Did It Again was the soundtrack to the trip I took to Europe with my parents back in Summer 2000. I fondly remember the red jumpsuit from the Oops video and the chair dance and car going over the cliff in the Stronger video. I think there was a period where I lost interest for awhile, but when I discovered her third album Britney, I loved it. There are so many great songs on that album, and it's underrated. Overprotected and Anticipating are amazing. Then, when I heard about In the Zone coming out, I was obsessed. I bought it the day it came out I believe. I loved Me Against the Music with Madonna, and I liked Toxic before it became a single and modern classic. That album wasn't as great as the past three, but that was okay. Then, came the crazy years where the Britney I knew and loved went downhill. Then, came the genius Gimme More last year and she released Blackout: a really great dance album that I didn't appreciate when it first came out. It included such choice cuts as Piece of Me, Heaven on Earth, Toy Soldier, Radar, and Break the Ice. All things weren't right in Britney world though, but finally she started to get things together this year with help from her dad and various others.

Now we have her sixth album, Circus which came out Tuesday. When Womanizer, the first single came out, I thought it was kinda bad, but then it really grew on me and now I really like it. It's such a good song to dance to, and the video is funny and well done. The second single called Circus is really great. I think it's my favorite off the album. My favorite part is when the song slows down between the verse and the chorus and she sings "When I put out a show....". It's such a cool, slow-mo moment, and it works so well. Kill the Lights is another notable song. It's really different, and I love the ominous brass in the background. The lyrics are good, and I like how she sings it. I love after the chorus when she sings: "I killed the lights". The ways she says killed is perfect. Then comes Shattered Glass which I really, really like. It has another one of those slow-mo moments like the one in Circus when she sings: "You're gonna see me in your dreams tonight...". I love how that part is the chorus. I do wish the song was longer. Then, comes the somewhat infamous If U Seek Amy which I think is very clever. It's very in your face, stomping, taunting, and kind of obnoxious at points. The chorus has circus-kind of music in it. The song is done by producer/writer Max Martin who has done a lot of Britney songs along with So What by Pink and Hot N Cold by Katy Perry. It's very catchy. Unusual You is a very different song for Britney, nice electro. The rest of the songs are pretty good, but not amazing. Mmm Papi is amusing, and Lace and Leather has a funny guitar solo that I enjoy. It's a pretty funky song. I really think she should have one of the bonus tracks, Trouble, on the album. The beat is awesome, and the synths are perfect. The way they bounce around reminds me of the very first video game: Pong and the sound it would make in song form, if that makes sense. It's just a very good song, and I love it. Another good bonus track is Amnesia which has a chunky, bang-bang beat with a tinge of 80's going on in the chorus along with lots of synths. It's another song that's very different for Britney. Overall, this isn't the masterpiece I was expecting, but that's okay. There are some classic Britney songs here, and that's good for me.