Las Vegas Weekly

November 12, 2008 · 10:17 AM

Exclusive: Negotiations are underway for Britney Spears’ New Year’s Eve appearance on the Strip

By Robin Leach

Britney Spears onstage during a Madonna concert in Los Angeles.

Photo: Britneyspears.com

Mastermind manager Larry Rudolph always told me that the royal return he was engineering for pop superstar Britney Spears would be “the biggest and best comeback in showbiz history.” He’s within 30 days of seeing that promise come true: He is in the midst of carefully executing his top secret plan, and Vegas has a mighty lot to do with it!

Photo: Britneyspears.com

Britney Spears during dance auditions.

Photo: Britneyspears.com

Britney Spears onstage with Madonna in L.A.

Here’s what I’ve learned so far since the rumor mill went into heavy overdrive:

*Negotiations are going down to the wire for Britney to appear on the Strip on New Year’s Eve with a special two-song performance on network television -- and she’ll co-host part of the year’s retrospective in music segment.

*Her new album, Circus, will be released on her birthday Dec. 2.

*Britney herself will soon announce a new world Circus tour, with tickets going on sale in early December.

*The pop princess has confided that she’s hiring three new male backup dancers to add to her current crew specifically for the tour. One will be a “Womanizer” to tie into her super-hot No. 1 single (is that a slap at ex-hubby K-Fed?), and the other two will be her court jesters. Click HERE for the YouTube video for "Womanizer." And, click HERE to hear the new release.

Photo: Britneyspears.com

Britney Spears during dance auditions.

This morning, Britney herself posted photos and details of the upcoming projects on her Web site britneyspears.com. She even says the talent she found among the 70 dancers trying out for her and manager Larry Rudolph was “amazing.”

By the way, that’s guru Larry in the white T-shirt and baseball cap sitting right alongside her! He’s a Vegas regular and always stays at George Maloof’s Palms, where he is a partner in the Sunset Tan salon in the new Palms Place condo tower.

Britney also posted a new MySpace page this week that includes new photos of her taken at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, where she won three awards for her song “Piece of Me.” Last weekend in Liverpool, England, she scooped up another series of MTV Europe Music Awards.

“She’s gotten really hot over the past few weeks, and she’s getting hotter. It’s all part of a very serious, very well thought out, highly disciplined, highly work ethic, ordered plan for her comeback,” I was told. “Larry’s not leaving anything to chance. He wants the very best for Britney, and he’s determined to make it all happen without any hitches.

“It’s safe to predict by the end of the winter, she will be right back at No. 1 -- right back at the very top with giant record sales, incredible box office ticket sales and the superstar ranking all over again!”

Her return debut last week planned by Larry for the Los Angeles leg of Madonna’s new world tour also was an incredible success, and both critics and fans raved about her performance.

“It was a teaser for the excitement and adoration to come. She’s feeling great and looking great, and Britney is fully back to normal all over again. She now has the confidence to know she’s on her way back up to the top all over again, too,” my confidante told me.

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