Britney Spears is everywhere these days, and in a refreshing change of pace, it's not because her life is going to hell in a hand basket. She's back at work - her newest album, Circus, is set to drop on December 2, her 27th birthday - and in For the Record, a revealing MTV documentary airing at the end of the month, Britney opens up about living in the spotlight and the chaotic turn her life took after she split with Kevin Federline.
In the interview, which Rolling Stone called a "rigorously micromanaged process," Britney sounds more grounded than she ever has before. "I feel like an old person now," she says. "I do! I go to bed at, like, 9:30 every night, and I don't go out or anything."
Britney lost custody of her sons, Sean Preston and Jayden James, though now that her life is back on track (thanks, in part, to her father and conservator, Jamie Spears), she sees them on a regular basis. "Every time they come to visit me, I think about how they're such special people," she says. The boys have picked up a bit of foul language that Britney attributes to her ex: "Preston says the f-word now sometimes. He doesn't get it from us. He must get it from his daddy. I say it, but not around my kids."
Britney's got a lot of supportive people in her corner, including Larry Rudolph, her longtime manager. The two have weathered their own personal storms - Britney fired Larry in mid-2007 - yet Larry has resumed his position and is as supportive of Britney as ever, saying Circus is going to be the album that "cements her legend status."
In an interview with the L.A. Times, Larry explains that Britney wanted a chance to tell her story, which is how the idea of a documentary was born.
"She really wanted to be able to tell her story, talk about where she's been, where she is today and where she is going," he says. "She wanted to do it very honestly, but on her own terms. I think there is a part of her that is tired of allowing the media to guide her image and her story. She wanted to tell that story herself."
There's no doubt that Larry respects Britney as an artist and cares for her as a person and friend: "I've known this girl for over half her life, since she was 13. We have a very close friendship, but it's sort of hard for me to explain my relationship with her. It's a friendship, it's a business relationship, there are some paternal aspects to it. We get along very well. I understand her better than everyone other than her immediate family. There's a shorthand we use in terms of dealing with each other that just works. The bottom line is I think she's amazing. I love her. She's been a big part of my life, and I've been a big part of her life. Being a part of this new phase in her career is something I was very open to."
With folks like this on her side, Britney seems destined to make the comeback she's been working so hard at a success. Broaching the subject of her very public breakdown makes her seem more human, and, oddly enough, to someone like me, who isn't a real 'fan', more appealing. You can catch Britney's interview in Rolling Stone when it hits newsstands this Friday; For the Record airs November 30 at 10p.m. on MTV.
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