
Right off the bat Circus lobs the goods at you in full force. Lead single "Womanizer" still sounds hot to me now as it did before. The chorus can get irritating, coming off like a playground rhyme, but the beat is so hot and the song is so catchy, that it's forgivable. Britney continues her reign as the girl you could rely on for a catchy lead single. Even if you hate her songs, chances are you can sing her shit at karaoke without even needing to look at lyrics - which means her job is done. "Womanizer" is that song. Insanely catchy, with a chorus that just worms its way into your head and refuses to leave. Title track and second single "Circus" is even hotter and would've made a cracking lead single. Producer Dr. Luke showcases his new production style which takes a Danja-esque turn. The song is tailor made for a single and live performances, with it's dance breakdown section bang in the middle. Too bad Britney doesn't look to have stepped up to the performance plate with this song.

"If you seek Amy" is a hot ditty of a song, which cleverly plays on it's own title. The song channels old skool "Oops...I did it again" Britney, which is no doubt down to the song being produced by the man who helmed her hits "...Baby one more time" and "Oops...I did it again!": Max Martin. This would made a hot single, especially with the controversial angle where the song title is concerned. "Mannequin" is a hot little banger. Those of you who remember the video of Britney dancing in a dance studio to a new song will re-call this track. The producers of the song (Rob Knox and Harvey Mason Jr of The underdogs) rip off Timbaland and Danja's style completely. But credit where it's due: the beat is fire and the song is mad catchy. Even if the lyrics are complete nonsense about God knows what.

The bonus tracks are all absolute trash. The international bonus track "Radar" everybody has already heard, liked and been done with. And the rest all sound whack. The fact that Bloodshy & Avant's tracks got relegated to bonus tracks and sound like such crap is shocking. These guys usually give Britney some hot tracks, but they fell off on this occasion.

Britney easily could have fallen off completely with this album by either putting together an album of weak material or an album which sounded just like Blackout. Thankfully, she's done neither. Stick Blackout & Circus on a playlist and you've got a pretty solid set of songs to enjoy.
Album highlights:
■ Womanizer 🔥
■ Circus
■ Kill the lights 🏆
■ If U seek Amy
■ Blur
■ Mannequin 🔥