Genre: Pop
Running time: 46:15
Circus is the sixth studio album by American singer Britney Spears. It was released on November 28, 2008, by JIVE Records. Looking to transition from her “darker and more urban” fifth studio album Blackout (2007), Spears wanted to make her next project “a little bit lighter”.
It debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 with first-week sales of over 505,000 copies, making it her fifth album to reach the top of the chart. The album topped charts in nine additional countries. The record eventually exceeded sales of 4.5 million copies and 15 million digital tracks, in doing so it became Spears’ best-selling album since her fourth studio album In the Zone (2003).
Four singles were released from the album, two of which became international successes. Its lead single “Womanizer” peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100 and registered as the largest jump to the top of the chart after debuting at number ninety-six. It became Spears’s best-selling song in the country since “…Baby One More Time”, and gained a Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording. The second and third singles “Circus” and “If U Seek Amy” peaked at numbers three and nineteen in the country, respectively.