by Stuart Oldham

Following an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," pop star Britney Spears unveiled U.S. tour plans in support of her new album, "Circus." The tour, which begins in March in New Orleans, is the singer's first full-length trek in five years. Her previous ensemble, 2004's Onyx Hotel Tour, grossed $34.1 million and was seen by over 600,000 fans across the U.S.

Spears has made a number of 'warm-up' appearances this past year including a 2007 VMA's stint, an onstage sing-along with Madonna on her 'Sweet&Sticky' tour, and a recent Bamboo Awards performance in Offenberg, Germany.

The 27 year-old pop star has been on the mend after a much-publicized meltdown, which included a bitter custody battle with ex-husband, Kevin Federline, and an ongoing writhe with the papparrazzi.

Larry Rudolph, the starlet's former manager, has joined forces with the Spears camp to help refurbish the singer's maligned reputation.

"Circus," Spears' fourth studio album, arrives in stores today.

Tour Dates:

· March 3 - New Orleans, LA @ New Orleans Arena
· March 5 - Atlanta, GA @ Philips Arena
· March 7 - Miami, FL @ American Airlines Arena
· March 8 - Tampa, FL @ St. Pete Times Forum
· March 11 - Uniondale, NY @ Nassau Coliseum
· March 13 - Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
· March 16 - Boston, MA @ TD Banknorth Garden
· March 18 -- Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
· March 24 - Washington, DC @ Verizon Center
· March 26 - Uncasville, CT @ Mohegan Sun Arena
· March 27 - Pittsburgh, PA @ Mellon Arena
· March 31 - Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
· April 2 - Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
· April 3 - Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
· April 6 - Edmonton, Alberta @ Rexall Place
· April 8 - Vancouver, BC @ General Motors Place
· April 9 - Tacoma, WA @ Tacoma Dome
· April 11 - Sacramento, CA @ ARCO Arena
· April 12 - San Jose, CA @ HP Pavilion At San Jose
· April 14 - Salt Lake City, UT @ EnergySolutions Arena
· April 16 - Los Angeles, CA @ STAPLES Center
· April 19 - Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
· April 24 - Glendale, AZ @ Jobing.com Arena
· April 25 - Las Vegas, NV @ MGM Grand Hotel
· April 28 - Rosemont, IL @ Allstate Arena

MTV's Video Music Awards turned 25 Sunday night and celebrated with a ho-hum ceremony that only served to drive home the enormous gulf in modern pop music when it comes to depth of material and star power.
Once again, Rihanna displayed a presence far superior to her peers though it's doubtful anyone over the age of 30 is paying attention; Christina Aguilera demonstrated attributes that clearly place her as the strongest overall performer with Disney in her teen credentials; and Lil Wayne, an inexplicable powerhouse, let his drawers droop and a bakcing track roll and his corner of marketplace went wild. Go figure. Meanwhile, Kanye West, backed by an army of drummers, operates on a plane that others just do not visit.
There were a host of bombs and question marks elsewhere, starting with host Russell Brand, whose "humor"  or even "style" never clicked. Whew! Talk about "not ready." The man made jokes about being big in the U.K. but that did not conceal his mediocre material and horrid delivery.
Elsewhere: Kid Rock continues to be the model of non-originality as he sang over the chords  of "Werewolves of London" and "Sweet Home Alabama" and the room responded by sitting on its collective hands; and the Jonas Brothers need to hear the clock ticking as their magnetism feels like it will expire by the end of 2009. They delivered a truly uneventful performance.
Held on the Paramount Studios backlot, show was a bit of corporate synergy intended to allow the acts to connect with Hollywood history that mostly did not pan out. Pink made the most out of it, moving between a tenement street  and a stage,  intentionally losing a significant piece of clothing along the way; her performance, like Aguilera's, had a power and conviction most of these acts seem incapable of  conveying.
Trophy-wise it served as a Britney Spears lifetime achievement tribute but poor Ms. Spears appears fit for the cameras but not prepared to speak - she delivered the same speech twice and gave the superficial "this is for the fans" dedication on her third visit to the podium.
Much as awkward actors and casts of shows and movies that few have heard of talked about historically significant videos and acts, 25th edition was a reminder of how this show is a shadow of its former self. The crowd seemed nonplussed by the bulk of the activities. An improvement, as a telecast, over last year's mess from Las Vegas, but MTV execs may be scrambling come Monday to mention anything as unpolished as the first hour of this year's VMAs. Perhaps it's just another indication of the channel's lack of interest in music of videos, choosing to peddle celebrity at all cost, even when the cost is a reputation.

A year after her disastrous appearance on MTV's VMAs, Britney Spears has returned to pitch in with the promotion of the awards fest. A trim and coherent Brit is seen in two videos with host Russell Brand. The 2008 MTV Video Music Awards will air live from Paramount Pictures Studios in Los Angeles on Sept. 7.

Naturally, the newspaper reports that come out of this Jive Records announcement will land on Jay Leno's "Headlines." The "Tonight Show" writers are probably already working on a  punch line that involves underwear. The news: Britney Spears' "Blackout" will be released on Oct. 30 instead of in the middle of November.

The unspectacular Video Music Awards drove the point that so much of modern music is disposable.
Highlighting songs with the shelf life of bread crumbs, Britney Spears' ill-prepared, lip-synch performance provided the perfect distraction. While Kanye West, Justin Timberlake and Foo Fighters will have long careers and make some of pop's most memorable  songs, there's little sense that these will be remembered as classics a decade from now.  Good as Kanye was, there's only one "Jesus Walks"; Timberlake  could get away with remaking "Sexy Back" for his next four albums and fans would probably not notice.
Meanwhile...
While West's performance was one of the better ones on the show, he says he will not appear on the network again. Ever. 
Roger Friedman says Britney Spears' horrid performance kills off hopes for significant sales of her Nov. 13 release - and he blames her manager.
Mark Caro come up with advice for other pop tartlets who see the VMAs as a comeback arena.
Time magazine's blogger had a good take on the deterioration of MTV.
Like an episode of "Cops," one scraggly tattooed longhair dude is charged with beating on another scraggly tattooed longhair. Rather than fighting over some crack addict, this gal was pretty.

New York's Z100 is playing Britney Spears's single "Gimme More" on the all-things-Britney portion of the station's website. Jive confirmed Friday that it will release her first full-length album in four years on Nov. 13
The New York Daily News reports that Spears will perform the song at the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 9 while illusionist Criss Angel makes her disappear.