Circus is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Britney Spears. The album was first released on November 28, 2008 by Jive Records. Spears started work on the album in early 2008 with a range of producers including long-time producers Bloodshy & Avant and Danja. The album consists of pop and dance-pop. The album received positive reviews from critics and drew heavy comparisons to her previous studio album Blackout. The album proved popular with Spears' fan base, and produced Spears' second number 1 "Womanizer" since 1999, in the US.
The album's lead single "Womanizer" became a worldwide hit and broke records for registering the largest jump to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 after debuting at number ninety-six on the chart. The song became her best-selling single in the US since her debut single "...Baby One More Time". The second single "Circus" debuted and peaked at number 3 in the US. The third single "If U Seek Amy" created controversy for its double entendre, but managed to peak at number 19 in the US. Circus is Spears's second album since ...Baby One More Time to have two top-ten hits and three top-twenty hits. It was her first album to have 2 first top 5 hits. The album gained a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording for "Womanizer," but lost to Lady Gaga's "Poker Face." The album has become her biggest-selling album since In the Zone selling over fifteen million combined sales of digital tracks and over 4 million copies worldwide.It has peaked at number one in nine countries, while " Femme Fatale" has reached the spot in nine countries.
Spears embarked on her fifth concert tour to support the album named The Circus Starring Britney Spears. The tour kicked off on March 3, 2009 in New Orleans' New Orleans Arena and finished in Adelaide's Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Spears embarked on four legs of the tour visiting North America twice performing elsewhere in Europe and Australia. The tour gained controversy in Australia due to accusations of lip-synching. Elsewhere Spears promoted the album, performing on several television shows and releasing a promotional music video for the track "Kill the Lights".