Britney's big comeback shows hailed a success

Britney Spears has kicked off her first tour in five years to promote her new album, Circus. An opening night in New Orleans gave the pop princess the chance to mount her comeback near her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana. The 27-year-old performed in front of an adoring sell-out 16,400-strong audience alongside jugglers, acrobats, rings of flame and lip syncing. Spears sang more than a dozen songs in a parade of skimpy costumes. The 44-concert tour heads to Britain in June. The 27-year-old became a worldwide phenomenon when she burst onto the music scene ten years ago. But she has done only a handful of live concerts in recent years as her personal life careered out of control, including stints in psychiatric care, an ugly divorce, losing custody of her two sons and shaving her head. Her return to the concert circuit and sales of her album appear to be a measure of her ability to still attract the attention she once garnered from fans around the world. Circus, her sixth studio album, debuted at number one in the US and five other countries when it was released in December and won her three MTV Video Music Awards.

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ITN | March 4, 2009

Tags:. .studio. .songs. .concerts. .album. .stints