How Did You Feel When Circus (Album) Came Out?

[bas che]

Like I was on cloud 9 (the same ones Britney is surrounded by here)

[Isla]

I actually became a fan when the album was released. At the time, I felt like I wasn't super tuned into her personal life, so I was just here for the music. I enjoyed Circus considering it was the first album I listened to by her. It's hardly my favourite Britney album but still has some great songs. I remember at the time, I overlooked Unusual You but it's now my favourite song on the album.

I vaguely heard about the c-ship at the time but I didn't really know too much about it. I wasn't really a 'superfan' who cared about seeing her live at the time either.

[jordeezy river red]

I actually had an internet radio show on my college campus and it was so nice that people were requesting Britney songs. My format was the Top 10 requested songs on campus. I brought up the Conservatorship and my co-host and producers did not seem to believe me and it made me feel weird. In the Circus era, we all thought she was simply "getting back on track" and her dad would stop the conservatorship eventually. I honestly thought it would be her last album ngl

[Lil-Jay]

I wasn't a fan back then so I wouldn't know. 

BUT I remember seeing her in TV news and newspaper back in 2007 for obvious reasons and felt bad for her. 

So when I read in 2009 that she is back with live performing (Circus tour) I was really happy for her! Also that article wrote about her being "a bit chubby", like her tummy isn't that flat like before...so disgusting, right? 

And there was a photo od her sitting on the air, I vividly remember that, so it must be the performance od Everytime

ALSO I remember it said she was 27 so I was really surprised: 'She is that young??' Because I knew she had already a quite long career. I loved Marilyn Monroe on 2009 so I knew that she became really huge in 1953 when she turned 27 so I thought to myself: that's good, so Britney has plenty of time to dominate again and have success. She is on the right path now and it could be her new beginning. 

 

Little did I know...

[MasterMindz]

I was so excited when I got the album as a gift! I already loved Womanizer and Circus. Womanizer was easily one of her best videos - she SERVED. And Circus was a masterpiece - easily one of her signature songs. They were huge radio hits, and would constantly play on TV.

Shattered Glass remains one of my favorite songs, and I still think that Unususal You, Kill the Lights, Lace and Leather, and Out From Under aged well with the fans. I wish Quicksand was added to the album instead of Radar though. 

I also remember watching the GMA performance, and I remember her interview with ET when she said that Mannequin will be added to the Circus show (they promoted the hell of that interview! teased it for days). And For the Record was sad.

[MasterMindz]

Whether you love or hate the Circus era, it was an EVENT in every way possible. I think the Circus era reminded everyone that Britney was never casted out, and re-established her as the world's biggest pop princess. It was a huge changing point in her career. 

Britney was everywhere even though competition was MASSIVE with Gaga's The Fame, Beyonce's Sasha Fierce, Rihanna's Rated R,  Katy's One of The Boys, and Ke$ha serving her early hits.

Pop girls were everywhere, and Britney came out as a big winner with a missive comeback.  She reminded everyone that "there's only two types of people in the world"! 

[MasterMindz]

1 hour ago, jordeezy said:

I actually hard an internet radio show on my college campus and it was so nice that people were requesting Britney songs. My format was the Top 10 requested songs on campus. I brought up the Conservatorship and my co-host and producers did not seem to believe me and it made me feel weird. In the Circus era, we all thought she was simply "getting back on track" and her dad would stop the conservatorship eventually. I honestly thought it would be her last album ngl

I was blown away when Circus was still topping radio charts and requests even in March of 2009. Months after its release! 

[Irvine]

I was certain by the title and tracklist that it would be a very dark album with deep and as I said dark content. But yeah, we got Bratz movie soundtrack remake 

[strongertomorrow]

 Reading this thread, it makes me so sad, obviously she still a great popstar, but compare her to in the zone era, she’s like a different person

It’s weird because I remember when circus came out and womanizer, so many people did not connect the dots that the Britney from Slave and ooops and toxic and even Gimme more/pom was the same person from womanizer

I feel like she gained a lot of new fans around that era, and a lot of them were not aware of her legacy from before

[Sasha Banana]

16 hours ago, DJBringItBack said:

Every person in here is full of complete **** “but I felt something was off” LIES you are saying this now in hindsight y’all ate circus era tf up and didn’t even know what a conservatorship was I’m so tired of the fake users on here if you thought something “was off” the same year the conservatorship started why didn’t you do anything? Because you are lying 

Oh Please ! Speak only for yourself. I remember the old days on here when everyone was called a 

conspiracy theorist 

Many People felt she was off and medicated and not ready mentally for such a big Comeback just yet. 

[limecakes]

I was excited for her comeback. But then I started to feel like something was off. Her dancing was not the same, her energy was nit the same. Her eyes looked very sad most times. I was annoyed she was not her usual self. Took me a while to understand what was happening to her. The I saw For the Record and I felt really bad for her. She seemed like an adult child who was now grounded forever. I also remember another documentary “I am Femme Fatale” and she looked so miserable when shooting “Til the world ends”. It just felt all wrong. I kept buying her records and seeing every interview, and did not really like that every interview where the same questions and she was always looking to someone off camera (probably Larry and Robin) 

[limecakes]

I also wanted to add, that Britney’s circus album photoshoot, she looks sad in all the photos. Like she was actually going thought it the day of the shoot. She looks sad in the pics. 

[filmandstage13]

The past few years have really clouded this era, but I remember it coming out when I was in college, and a few thoughts I remember having at the time:

• It's hard to emphasize how quickly everything happened.  She was hospitalized earlier THAT year, and if I'm remembering correctly, "Womanizer" came out in October-ish?  So everyone was thinking: "How did she turn things around so quickly?!" Little did we all know the full backstory...
• Womanizer had leaked a few days early and I remember thinking it was a BOP!  And the music video did not disappoint!  After the Blackout era videos, this felt like a return to form.  And it set the record (soon to be broken by Kelly Clarkson) for the biggest jump to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and her first #1 since Baby One More Time (don't get me started on how her other songs were screwed over by the chart rules and radio bans). As a fan it felt like she was "back!"
• The promotional push was a LOT.  She was everywhere in the leadup, which was such a stark contrast to the barely promoted Blackout.
• Her return to the VMAs was a moment.  That standing O from her peers was really wonderful.
• For the Record hit totally differently not knowing what we know now, but it was still incredibly fascinating and heartbreaking.  I was very proud of her.  And it felt like for the first time the public was cheering for her.  Which OG fans from the late 90s will tell you, it almost NEVER felt that way before.
• It was the first time she had 2 top 10 hits simultaneously ("Womanizer" & "Circus"), so it really felt like she ruled the charts again.
• There was some talk about her dancing during some of the live performances, but the Mannequin rehearsal video really set the internet afire.  She totally still had it.  I also think that the chroreo during the Circus dance break holds up well against some of her earlier choreography.
• I've never liked the album cover.  Feels more Jessica Simpson than Brit.  My favorite covers of hers are from Oops - In The Zone, and it's bene a mixed bag ever since.
• The album had more "poppy" songs on it than Blackout, but it was less of a listen-from-start-to-finish kind of album. 
• Loved "Shattered Glass" (but always thought it was too short).  I was so happy when it sold so many copies on iTunes that it actually charted on the Hot 100 at #70
• I absolutely remember thinking - "What on earth is Radar doing on here?!"  Even crazier when that was the 4th single after already being a couple years old!
• I particularly liked her voice on the pre-chorus to "Kill the Lights." 
• She DELIVERED on the bonus tracks!  So many of them, and some great ones (I'm looking at you, "Trouble" and "Amnesia!"). It started a trend of having some really awesome deluxe edition tracks that in some cases (*cough* Glory! *cough*) should have been on the standard edition!

Overall, it was a really exciting time for fans.  It's still a great album, but maybe not as high as others in her discography (she just has too many other great albums).  But 10 years into her career, she proved that she's remained relevant in a way that few of her peers have.

I'm so excited for her to do whatever she wants now on her own terms! She remains relevant even not going near the industry!

[Rex]

There were a few bops on the album for me, and no none of them were any of the singles. The album fell short of any expectations, which were slim to none, since Britney absolutely dominates no matter what genre of music and such. But yeah the album didn't cut it for me. Not to mention two days later For The Record came out and that really put into perspective the album. It wasn't anything fun for Britney and you could see in her eyes on that documentary the agony she felt having to make this album a showstopper when all she wanted was a break. Especially more so now, finding out how she hates touring, it explains how tiresome it was having to put any effort out there for something she never intended to do, but was forced. You all should have watched FTR first then listened to the album. It makes the listening experience feel lonesome and eerie, knowing behind the scenes how Britney truly felt.

[BanMeBoop]

12 hours ago, Sascha Banana said:

Oh Please ! Speak only for yourself. I remember the old days on here when everyone was called a 

conspiracy theorist 

Many People felt she was off and medicated and not ready mentally for such a big Comeback just yet. 

I didn’t say no one questioned what happened, my point was no one took any action except for say something “was off” but that didn’t stop anyone buying music, attending tours and buying merchandise. 

[SpearsSpearsBrit]

When Circus came out, I was 12 years old.  At the time I thought it was great that she was back and I was worried that she would have another relapse.  I remember being  disappointed in the choreography of the era itself, however on bs.com they put a lot of photos and messages for the fans, which radiated positivity and joy.
  I think my bubble burst in the FF era, before I was in a state of denial that Britney might be in pain... I preferred to believe that she really wanted to keep making music.

[TheDukeDan]

On 1/21/2022 at 10:08 PM, Kletus said:

If you were a fan at the time, how did you feel?  I was a member of this forum and I remember liking the music videos and being happy her music was smashing, but I definitely felt something was off. I did know about the conservatorship, like everybody else here, and it just felt really… creepy. It was just an unsettling vibe the entire era. What were your thoughts?

I totally agree! I loved some tracks on this album, but I really felt at that time her team tried to get something out quickly after Blackout, only to make us forget the last year (head shaved, ambulances, psychiatric hold, etc.).

But I also think it had big shoes to fill, being the follow-up to Blackout.

My favorite Circus tracks are : Womanizer, Shattered Glass / If U Seek Amy / Out From Under / Unusual You / Kill The Lights

[TimeLoveJoySpaceKnee]

I was a senior in high school in the Circus era so I was old enough to see her at her absolute peak. Oops was my first album and I was literally obsessed until high school. Blackout was the last album I remember liking her general sound. 

Circus came out and I actually liked most of the album but I still liked Blackout better. 3 was actually the last MV I saw before I kind of moved on from her music (I know I'm a terrible fan) and I just remembered she looked tired. No energy and just going through the motions. She looked nothing like any of her past performances and I'd seen the 2000 and 2001 VMA performances live on TV. I was just dumb and didn't put 2 and 2 together. Had a lot of personal **** go on since then and I just paid almost zero attention except a single here and there til I saw the 2021 docs and went woah where the **** have I been? 

[TakeYourHand]

I also remember the first song to leak was this fake KTL demo. I remember loving it as it has that Blackout vibe to it. Such a wasted instrumental tbh. I was bummed after learning it was fake and she wasnt continuing that sound. 

For some reason the version above doesnt have the original ending so I found this one that includes vocals. Better than the original tbh.

 

[PCROBERTO]

The only thing that I know for sure is that she was already loosing her freedom and artistic control. I was excited for her to be on the top but sad that, deep inside we all knew that something was happening to her. 

If Britney decides to make a comeback right now, it would be the REAL comeback, something that she would really enjoy cause she would express herself the way she wants. I hope she does it at some point so she can say, I did it the way I Wanted to do it.