The story of Britney Spears’ new video for “Radar” is a strange one: The song was originally the third track on Brit’s 2007 album Blackout and charted that year on the Hot 100. Then it inexplicably reappeared in its exact same form as a bonus track to 2008’s Circus (Spears’ publicist responded it was the same version when RS reviewed Circus last year). Now, in 2009, “Radar” returns once again as a music video. For a song that’s been around so long, you’d expect that better ideas would have percolated during its video’s pre-production stages — especially after the great clips for “Womanizer,” “Circus” and “If U Seek Amy” — but instead we’re treated to Spears’ weakest video since the disastrous “Gimme More” spot.

The plot is eerily similar too, with the Dave Meyers-directed video essentially copycatting Madonna’s “Take A Bow” video. Instead of falling in love with a matador like the Material Girl, Spears has her eye on a polo player. While Madonna dressed the role of a distressed aristocratic senorita in the stands, Spears’ wardrobe and giant hat mirror the elite at the Kentucky Derby. (more…)

Photo: Cowart/WireImage

A Los Angeles judge instructed Britney Spears‘ former manager Sam Lutfi and lawyer Jon Eardley not to contact, threaten or act on behalf of the pop star until 2012, according to the AP. As Rock Daily previously reported, the two men, along with Spears’ paparazzo ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib, were accused of attempting to overturn Jamie Spears’ conservatorship over his daughter. That legal agreement grants Jamie control of Britney’s finances as well as legal and business decisions; it stems from Spears’ breakdown in January 2008, which led to the singer being hospitalized twice and losing primary custody of her two sons.

(Track Britney’s rise, fall and comeback, in photos.)

During testimony in this case, the judge heard an alleged voicemail from Spears in which she asks for help, but Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Aviva K. Bobb ultimately sided with Jamie Spears. “Never before in the history of the world has a restraining order been issued against someone who merely responded to cries for help,” Lutfi’s lawyer Bryan Freedman said. Spears’ attorney Joel Boxer admitted that the restraining order request was “unusual,” but argued it was necessary in order to protect the Cirus singer from “people who I think are fairly characterized as predators.” (more…)

Photo: Cowart/WireImage

In January, Britney Spears‘ father Jamie — who controls her financial and legal affairs via a conservatorship put in place after her hospitalizations in early 2008 — filed three restraining orders against men he believed were interfering in his daughter’s life: her ex-manager, Sam Lutfi, her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Ghalib, and a lawyer who said Britney had asked him to fight the conservatorship named Jon Eardley. Eardley is now demanding that the singer go to court to justify the order when her Circus tour comes to Los Angeles’ Staples Center later this week, E! reports. (When Spears’ tour began, RS was there for a full report plus photos.)

Jamie Spears has been in court extending the restraining order against Eardley, saying the lawyer caused “substantial emotional distress” for his daughter. Eardley is requesting Spears testify on her behalf as to whether she did try to hire him to contest the conservatorship — as it stands now, Jamie will remain in control of Britney’s affairs for an indefinite period of time — and whether he caused her distress. At a recent court date at which Lutfi fought his own restraining order, the judge heard an audio recording of a voice message allegedly left by Britney Spears during which she asks for help battling the conservatorship. (more…)

Photo: Cowart/Getty

Since Britney Spears‘ father seized power over her affairs via a legal conservatorship in early 2008, the pop star hasn’t made any public statements about losing the right to control her finances and career decisions. In the For the Record documentary (produced by the Spears team) that ran on MTV last fall, she described her post-breakdown life: “Even when you go to jail, y’know, there’s the time when you’re gonna get out. But in this situation, it’s never ending. It’s just like Groundhog Day.” And in a Los Angeles courtroom today, the lawyer representing her former manager Sam Lutfi as he fights his restraining order likened Spears’ life to a “prison,” Us reports.

Living under the conservatorship is causing Spears “emotional distress,” said John Anderson, Lutfi’s lawyer and not the lead singer of Yes. Jamie Spears’ lawyer countered that Lutfi was an “alleged extortionist” who threatened to disseminate “threatening information” against Spears. In more strange testimony, Lutfi’s sister Christine told the court that she smuggled Britney a cell phone from Lutfi and ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib in an attempt to get a lawyer to fight the conservatorship. Christine testified that she met Britney at the gym of Beverly Hills’ Peninsula Hotel, handed her the phone and Spears recorded a message that’s since made its way around the Internet: (more…)

Photo: Cowart/WireImage

Want a surefire way to survive the recession? Become a lawyer for Britney Spears. According to the Los Angeles Times, since Jamie Spears’ seized control of his daughter’s affairs with a legal conservatorship last year, the family has spent roughly $2.7 million in legal fees. In the months since she was deemed unfit to run her own finances, Spears and her father have rifled through 17 lawyers and law firms while racking up a sizable tab.

While Spears is currently on the road with her Circus tour (Read Rock Daily’s review here), it seems like every other week Jamie Spears is in a courtroom, extending his conservatorship or seeking restraining orders against past characters in the Britney Show like former manager Sam Lutfi, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and lawyer Jon Eardley, who Brit reportedly hired to fight the conservatorship. The $2.7 million in fees was just from the first 11 months of the conservatorship, so that tally doesn’t even include the time spent in a courtroom banning those three men from Britney’s life. Spears also spent cash on her divorce and custody settlement, a trial for her driving-without-a-license charge and a handful of civil suits. (more…)

Photo: Mazur/WireImage

Britney Spears put another notch in her comeback belt by powering through the nearly two-hour opening date of her Circus Starring Britney Spears tour last night (March 3rd) in New Orleans. The show, in her home state of Louisiana, marked the pop star’s long-awaited return to the stage: she ditched her Onyx Hotel Tour (which supported 2003’s In the Zone) in June 2004 after suffering a knee injury on the set of “Outrageous” video and only took the stage a handful of times since, most notably in 2007, when she performed a few poorly received nightclub gigs billed as the M+Ms.

(Check out photos of Spears decked out in sexy circus outfits at her opening-night gig here.)

As MTV News reports, surrounded by a giant Big Top spectacle and acrobats and backup dancers aplenty, Spears danced her way through the almost exclusively upbeat set list, which kicked off with a video greeting starring Perez Hilton. Each of the show’s four acts (Circus, House of Fun - Anything Goes, Freakshow/Peepshow, Electo Circ) featured a plethora of outfit changes that ranged from revealing to very revealing — she donned a naughty policewoman’s outfit for closers “Womanizer” and “Circus,” a Madonna-esque swirl bra for “Radar” and an Indian-inspired look for her Bollywood remix of “Me Against the Music” (which unfortunately didn’t feature a cameo by the Material Mom — though the tour has only just begun). (more…)

Photo: Devaney/Wireimage(Spears), Bezjian/WireImage (Ghalib), Canham/Getty (Lufti)

Britney Spears has filed new retraining orders against Sam Lutfi and Adnan Ghalib, the two men most associated with her chaotic decline a little over a year ago that ended with a pair of trips to Los Angeles psychiatric hospitals and the loss of custody of her two children. Attorney Jon Eardley, who at one time said he represented Spears, was also named on the order. Lutfi, who enjoyed a stint as Spears’ domineering manager, and Ghalib, Spears’ temporary paparazzi boyfriend who peddled private pictures of the singer on the side, were both reportedly “trying to gain control of the singer’s affairs,” according to the AP.

Britney’s father, Jamie, seized the reigns of Britney’s career and assets when he was named her conservator last year. In a restraining order filed in 2008, Jamie claimed Lutfi had drugged Britney and prevented her from making phone calls in an attempt to control her. The original restraining order against Lutfi expired in July 2008, and it’s unclear why a new one was filed now. Documents detailing the specifics of the new orders were behind locked doors, a court official told the AP, but court papers obtained by Spears fan site Breathe Heavy indicate that attorney Eardley, who once tried to get Britney’s conservatorship case moved to a federal court, has been in touch with Lutfi and Ghalib. (more…)

Photo: Devaney/WireImage

The Parents Television Council is livid that Britney Spears‘ cunningly titled “If U Seek Amy” is getting radio play, despite the fact that the title and lyrics essentially say “F-U-C-K Me.” Parents in Australia first complained about the song’s content, and now that the track has become the third single off Circus, American parents are lining up to demand radio stations cease playing the song between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. as it “violates the broadcast indecency law.”

“There is no misinterpreting the lyrics to this song, and it’s certainly not about a girl named Amy,” PTC president Tim Winter said. “It’s one thing for a song with these lyrics to be included on a CD so that fans who wish to hear it can do so, but it’s an entirely different matter when this song is played over the publicly owned airwaves, especially at a time when children are likely to be in the listening audience.”

Despite the PTC outcry, radio stations continue to play the track, as evidenced by its Number 92 debut on the Billboard Pop 100. A Jive-edited version of the song excises the “k” from “Seek,” thus “If You See Amy” (which is pretty much still “F-U-C Me.”) (more…)

Photo: Sato/Wireimage

Is the Britney Spears Circus tour in trouble before it even starts? According to reports, the show’s original director and lead choreographer, Wade Robson and Andre Fuentes, have both left “The Circus Starring Britney Spears” tour, which is expected to embark March 3rd in New Orleans. The official reason for their departure hasn’t been revealed, but according to Brit fan site Breathe Heavy, Robson simply said he “had it.” Stepping in for Robson will be Jamie King, who is responsible for Madonna’s massively successful Sticky & Sweet Tour and worked with Spears during her Oops… I Did It Again trek. The hire was confirmed by King’s reps at the MSA Agency, who added that Simon Ellis is the tour’s new musical director. Ellis previously worked with the Spice Girls and was dubbed a “genius” by American Idol mastermind Simon Fuller.

In other Spears news, a judge increased the monthly pay Spears’ father Jamie receives for his role as Britney’s conservator, upping his salary from $10,000 to $16,125 a month. (more…)

Britney Spears‘ new Barnum & Bailey-themed video for her new album Circus‘ title track has been unleashed. The clip features roaring lions, stilt-walkers and a gorgeous shower of sparks — but how does it stack up to some of Brit’s most iconic clips? Spears played a saucy spy in “Toxic,” simulated a paparazzi-fueled suicide in “Everytime,” dueled Madonna in “Me Against the Music” and sweated up a storm in the uber-sexy “Slave 4 U.” Flip through all 27 of her clips here and take a look back at the pop star’s rise, fall and comeback via her videos:

• Britney Spears: The Complete Video Guide

Related Stories: (more…)

Photo: Winter/Getty

Parents who bought their children a copy of Britney Spears‘ Circus have begun coming to the realization that the song “If You Seek Amy” is just a sneaky way to say “F-U-C-K Me,” and predictably they’re not too happy. “I was astonished and totally taken aback when I heard my 5 and 7 year old kids walking around the house singing ‘F-U-C-K’,” said one parent. “When I asked them what it was, they told me it was Britney Spears. I was horrified.” (more…)

The 2008 Hot Issue represents Britney Spears’ seventh appearance on the cover of Rolling Stone. Click above for exclusive behind the scenes footage of Spears’ latest photo shoot, as well as insight from photo director Jodi Peckman on Britney’s cover history. Also check out the gallery below for a look at Brit’s past covers.

• Britney Spears: The Rolling Stone Cover Gallery

Related Stories:

• Cover Story: Britney Returns

• Photo Gallery: Behind the Scenes at Britney Spears’ Cover Shoot

• Britney Spears’ Life in Photos: A Timeline of Her Rise, Fall and Comeback

• Album Review: Britney Spears, Circus

Photograph by Peggy Sirota

It’s amazing to consider that Britney Spears has been in show business for two thirds of her 27 years. In that time, she’s been a Disney TV star, a teen-pop phenomenon, a tabloid staple, a tragedy and a comeback queen. With her new album out tomorrow (her birthday!) and a spot back on the cover of Rolling Stone, now is a great time to take a look at Spears’ career in photos. Click below for a complete look at her showbiz life in photos, from the early years to Circus.

• Britney Spears’ Timeline: The Rise, Fall and Comeback of a Pop Icon

Related Stories:

• The Return of Britney Spears

• Video: Behind the Scenes at Britney Spears’ Cover Shoot

• Britney Spears on the Cover of Rolling Stone

• More From Issue 1067

For the 2008 version of the Rolling Stone “Hot Issue,” Britney Spears found her way onto the cover of the magazine for the seventh time on the heels of her new album Circus and her seemingly unlikely comeback. Click above to go behind the scenes at Britney’s cover shoot and to hear Rolling Stone’s Jodi Peckman discuss the ideas behind the cover.

Related Stories:

• Cover Story: Britney Returns

• Photo Gallery: Behind the Scenes at Britney Spears’ Cover Shoot

• Britney Spears: The Rolling Stone Cover Gallery

• Britney Spears’ Life in Photos: A Timeline of Her Rise, Fall and Comeback

• Album Review: Britney Spears, Circus

Photo: Winter/Getty

Another track from Britney Spears’ Circus, “Kill The Lights,” hit the internet today. Like Blackout’s standout “Piece of Me,” “Kill” documents Brit’s often love-hate relationship with the paparazzi, with “the lights” in this case being the flashbulbs that follow her everywhere. “Kill” also reunites Brit with producer Danja, who featured prominently on Blackout. And in case you like a dose of indie rock with your pop music, check out this awesome Hood Internet mash-up of Brit’s chart-topping “Womanizer” with the Department of Eagles’ excellent “No One Does It Like You.” (more…)