October 15, 2008

Britney Spears Reportedly Signs Deal With AEG Live To Produce Tour

By Gil Kaufman (MTV.com)

The last time Britney Spears attempted a comeback, with 2007's Blackout album, she didn't tour, didn't do any interviews and didn't really promote the album beyond appearing in a few videos.

This time, though, Spears appears poised for a true return. According to E! Online, the singer, who said last month that she planned to hit the road to support her upcoming Circus album, has signed a deal with major promoter AEG Live to produce her new stage show.

E!'s unnamed source did not say when an official announcement would be made - and reps for Spears and AEG Live could not be reached for comment by MTV News at press time - but given Spears' comments on New York's Z100 a few weeks ago that she hopes to tour the world in 2009, the reported hookup makes sense. AEG is the same company that booked sold-out multi-night runs for Prince and the Spice Girls at the O2 Arena in London and recently handled sold-out world tours for Bon Jovi and Justin Timberlake.

Spears appears to have overcome some of the personal problems that caused her life and career to veer off the tracks in recent years and has already made a strong comeback bid with the seductive video for "Womanizer," the first single from Circus. The clip, in which Spears appears naked, has been too-hot-to-handle for some outlets, and some fans have already predicted the success of Britney 2.0.

"Britney is by far the Madonna of our generation, and through the good and bad she just keeps on doing it again and again," one fan, dalton1202, commented after MTV posted the uncensored version of the video.

"She's amazing," Sannah22 wrote. "And I love how she steers the wheel with her foot!"

And headoverheels echoed many others' sentiments, saying, "I cannot believe she is finally back. I love her, always have and always will. This song and video rock."

Spears will finally break her silence about her past few tumultuous years on November 30, when she stars in a 90-minute MTV documentary, tentatively titled For the Record, in which the singer promises to "set the record straight."