Britney Isn't Ready For the "Circus" Of Her Own Creation?

A touring "circus" may be too much for Ms. B Spears.

Take this for what it is, but National Enquirer is reporting that Britney Spears wants to scrap the entire "Circus" tour, which starts in March. I always take what Nat'Enq says with a grain of salt (they do have a huge banner stating "Got Gossip? We'll Pay Big Bucks! Call or E-Mail. Click Here" on their website).

A source, who let's face it, could be anybody with a phone line or e-mail address, is claiming that in addition to the exhaustion of rehearsal, she is upset that Fed-Ex, I mean Kevin Federline, will be around to take care of the children and may even pitch a reality show based on the backstage life of the "Circus" tour, which sounds outlandish to me. Where does he get off doing that for a tour which he has no real part in creating or maintaining? Who would air that? (::cough:: MTV ::cough cough::)

"“Britney doesn’t want to do it, and she’s telling her father Jamie that,” an insider tells the Enquirer. “All the dates are booked - and $100 million would be lost if she bails…

“Both her father and ex-husband Kevin Federline are telling her she has to go on for the sake of her kids and their financial future. So Britney is really feeling the pressure, and she says she can’t handle the tours whirlwind schedule…

“She is already exhausted getting in shape for the trip. And her focus has changed, too - Britney just wants to be a stay-at-home mom to her two boys. Britney feels like she is being forced to tour. Jamie has made it clear he wants to get her back to where she was.”"

Hold up, I may just call B.S. "Her Finacial Future?" She's effing Britney Spears. I don't think she squandered away all of her millions just yet, right? In terms of the one in more financial trouble, I would hope for our economy's sake that trouble would fall on Fed Ex's shoulders.

Probably smelling blood, the people at Brit's official website, www.britneyspears.com have posted a few pics of the pop icon rehearsing (and I must say, looking really good -- back to her old self!).

I hope for her fans she goes through with the tour (even though I was surprised it was happening), but I do ultimately agree with her ex-manager/friend Johnny Wright in the comments he made recently, stating Brit just isn't ready to jump back into the music business machine, because her heart isn't in it anymore. It's hard to believe it's been about ten years since the release of "Baby One More Time" (the above pic was from that golden era of pop), but it has, and a lot has changed since then, not just for Britney but for the music landscape as well.

"I want her to be happy in her heart, then go back to the business because she wants to, not because people are convincing her she has to, or that it would be good therapy for her. It’s too soon for her to be a part of a manufactured machine that is pushing her to have to be a success...

Britney has to rival Madonna out there, but Madonna really wants to do it. Seeing Britney do it by the numbers isn’t a good sign. It means she might not want it as much as those around her do." -- Johnny Wright

And it's different this time 'round compared to her last credible album, In the Zone, released back in November of 2003. Back when "Toxic" was a hot jam even for people who didn't dig Britney, when "Me Against the Music" turned heads because a popstar managed to pull Madonna back out of hiding, when "Everytime" dug at your heartstrings and made you wonder if it was really about Justin Timberlake like the rumors said. In The Zone even spawned Britney's first real major award, a Grammy for Best Dance Recording for "Toxic".

Back then Brit was working the grind like the driven work horse she used to be. I'm not saying that type of enthusiasm is a healthy routine for your whole life, but to be a successful musician, it's a grind you need to adopt, at least around your release date. When Blackout was released, she told Ryan Seacrest she spent the night at her house watching movies with friends. I find it hard to believe that any musician, of any age, wouldn't find release night at least a little exciting, even it was for your fifth official album.

In 2003, the biggest players in the game are no longer around right now to an degree they were then (50 Cent, Shania Twain, Norah Jones, Christina Aguilera, Outkast, Evanescence, Linkin Park, Jennifer Lopez). Now Britney has to not only appeal to her old fans, who are older now, as well as the new group of kids who eat up iTunes gift cards like candy and adore Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers. In a way,
Miley IS the new Britney for these kids.

2003 saw the formation of several bands that are very relevant today, several of the emo-persuasion (The Academy Is, All Time Low, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus), as well as Gnarls Barkley and my beloved Candy Coated Chaos (arguably created based on a mutual admiration for Britney herself).

What do you think? Should she go through with the "tour"? Should this be her last tour...for a while at least?