Britney Spears "Circus" Debuts At #1

The career comeback strategy at campappears to be working. Nielsen SoundScan estimates that Circus has sold 500,000 copies during release week, putting her in top spot on the album charts.

Said Barry Weiss, chairman and CEO of the BMG Label Group, "This is going to reinforce her icon status, it's not just a No. 1 album."

Actually this is her second comeback attempt. She also came out of the blocks with a strong showing when Blackout released. It quickly faded because she was not able to properly participate in its promotion because her life at that time was in total chaos.

The train wreck for Brit seemed to escalate in 2007 and come to a head with a court ordered 72 hour hospital stay at the end of January 2008. She battled in court over the custody of her sons and relinquished control of her business and personal affairs to her father, Jamie Spears. Her turn around has been slow and steady and calculated to restore her image and her singing career.



Her biggest cheerleader, manager Larry Rudolph had this to say about his client, "At the end of the day, I think she is America's pop princess."

The verdict is still out but things are definitely moving in the right direction.

Poster photo gallery below.