Britney Spears' new album Circus is a three ring hit

Most Stars would hate to see their life turn into a circus sideshow.

Not Britney Spears.

In the title track off her latest album, out Tuesday, Spears openly embraces her role as a glare magnet.

"There's only two types of people in the world," she declares. "The ones that entertain and the ones that observe/I'm a put-on-a-show kind of girl."

Apparently, it doesn't matter that the show Spears has been putting on for the past two years has rarely had anything to do with singing, dancing or recording. Then again, Spears knows intuitively that her shenanigans might even be an advantage in the voyeur-mad age of reality TV. Witness how even her most fumbling, or half-hearted, recent attempts at a comeback have clicked - as if the audience were willing this to happen just to see what comes next.

Spears' perceived surge began in September with her sweep of the MTV Video Music Awards. This, even though she made it clear she wouldn't sing a single note on the show. Her odd rise escalated with "Womanizer," the first single from the new album, which hit No. 1 despite being the most maddeningly repetitive pop song since 1970's "Gimmie Dat Ding."

In a happy twist, "Womanizer" turns out to be one of the least appealing cuts on the disk. The full "Circus," released to coincide with Britney's 27th birthday Tuesday, represents a somewhat more convincing comeback for the '90s teen queen. It revives the mix of chirpy Swedish pop and driving modern dance beats that first fired her to stardom. It also captures a more engaged vocal performance than the star's last, jerry-built CD, the aptly named "Blackout." Released at the tail end of what was a disastrous '07 for her, "Blackout" sounded as if it had been pieced together almost entirely by producers, with the singer's contribution kept to a mumbling minimum.

"Circus" puts Britney's vocals back at the center of the recording, even if they're hardly the songs' most fetching feature. When she tries to emote - as in the ode to her kids, "My Baby" - get ready to cringe. Luckily, most cuts boast just enough clever hooks and snazzy beats to hold fans' attention by themselves. "Lace and Leather" mixes '90s candy pop with an undulating funk bass line. "Shattered Glass" has real bubblegum snap, and "Unusual You" features perhaps the first truly pretty melody Spears has ever sung.

In the lyrics, Spears plays her troubled experiences of the past two years both ways. She childishly rags on the paparazzi in "Kill the Lights," then eagerly tells them "I'm ready for my closeup." She presents herself as an in-control star in the center ring of "Circus," then sings about having pass-out sex with a stranger in "Blur."

Not only do such contradictions have no negative effect on the singer, they actually enhance her current image as a train running off the rails that may or may not be able to get back on track. Clearly, it's a narrative a lot of people still want to gawk at. At least with "Circus," the star has given her garish story line a juicier soundtrack.
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