Britney Spears: Comeback Kid

When her Circus tour pulls into the St. Pete Times Forum Sunday, it’ll be a splashy tent revival with magic and acrobats

By JIM ABBOTT | Orlando Sentinal

March 6, 2009

 

“The Circus Starring Britney Spears” Tour Opens In New Orleans (Jeremy Cowart, Getty Images for Jive Records / March 6, 2009)

She’s been bubble-gum cute, a Lolita vixen, a mom, a mess. And now, Britney Spears is back again, as the Comeback Kid. When the pop star’s Circus tour pulls into the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa on Sunday, it’ll be a splashy tent revival with magic and acrobats. At times, the singer will be perched atop a giant umbrella, suspended from the ceiling and sawed in half as part of a magician’s routine.

Like a good magic trick, her comeback defies expectations, too. Circus yielded the pulsating hit “Womanizer,” that put Spears, 27, at the top of the pop singles chart for the first time since “Baby, One More Time” in 1998. The song’s one-week ascension from No. 96 to No. 1 set a Billboard record, recently broken by Kelly Clarkson.

And although she’s in the midst of a breach-of-contract lawsuit involving a former manager, the singer’s outrageous, occasionally panty-less tabloid exploits are in the past tense — for now, at least. In a music industry that is struggling, her tour is one of the bright spots.

“If you are deemed a must-see attraction, people are still ponying the money up,” says Gary Bongiovanni, editor-in-chief of Pollstar magazine. “A good example is the Britney Spears tour. It went on sale in the middle of the meltdown, and business has been very good.”

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Britney Spears: Mighty Aphrodite, Troublesome, Tawdry, Erotic New Show!

Actress/singer Britney Spears appears on ABC’s “Good Morning America” to promote her new album “Circus” and celebrate her 27th birthday at Lincoln Center in New York City on December 2, 2008. (UPI Photo/Ezio Petersen)