AMERICA'S POP PRINCESS

NEW YORK (AP) — Britney Spears' latest CD, "Circus," has landed her back at a familiar position — No. 1. The singer's comeback CD — actually, make that her second comeback CD — will top the album charts next week, according to her label, Jive. Though Nielsen SoundScan does not release its official figures until Wednesday, estimates have the record selling as many as 500,000 copies in its first week of release."This is going to reinforce her icon status," said Barry Weiss, chairman and CEO of the BMG Label Group, which includes Spears' label. "It's not just a No. 1 album."
Indeed, it's not. For Spears, who has rebounded after a disastrous year that included rehab, a custody battle for her two sons and court-ordered supervision by her father, it is another step in her bid to reclaim her status among pop's elite.
"At the end of the day, I think she is America's pop princess, and the world's pop princess, and this just reconfirms it to everyone who doubted it," said her manager, Larry Rudolph.