It seems like the princess of pop is back for real. Despite her erratic life in the past year, Britney Spear’s “Circus”  has sold more than 500,000 copies during its first week, easily placing it at the top of the charts.

As far as the actual album is concerned, “Circus” is probably one of the most human material Britney has ever recorded. There’s much less vocal processing this time around, therefore much more sincerity. This album has also given Spears her first Number 1 single, "Womanizer," since her 1998 debut. So what you give is what you get, indeed.

The title song of "Circus" splits the world between entertainers and observers, and then announces "I'm a put-on-a-show kinda girl."

That show takes place onstage and off, lurching between scripted self-promotion and constant paparazzi surveillance. However the lyrics about Britney as mannequin, sex object, paparazzi victim and leather-clad mistress have grown tedious.

The album already gave the No. 1 hit single "Womanizer" and received numerous positive reviews.

However, “Circus” is still far behind some another 2008 openings. In fact, the album is solely the sixth biggest opening in 2008, behind Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III, AC/DC's Black Ice, Coldplay's Viva la Vida, Taylor Swift's Fearless and T.I.'s Paper Trail.