Britney Spears is planning another comeback as she prepares to release her next album on 2 December in the US - the star's 27th birthday.
Circus will be Spears's sixth studio album, and the first single Womanizer will be released on 22 September, her label Jive/Zomba said in a statement.
Her last album, Blackout, released in 2007, came during a year of rehab stays and a child custody battle.
Although it was certified platinum, it was one of her least successful.
Fit and healthy
A year after the 26-year-old's shambolic appearance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, she returned to the same ceremony last week and provoked a more positive reaction.
The singer won three awards for her song Piece of Me, collecting them on stage looking fit and healthy.
She also drew praise for her guest appearance on US TV comedy How I Met Your Mother.
Spears shot to fame in 1998 with her smash-hit debut album Baby One More Time.
The following year she continued with chart success with Oops! ... I Did It Again.
The singer remains one of the top-selling women artists of the past decade.
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