Britney Spears Circus tour photographs: the comeback show in New Orleans

Britney Spears kicked off her Circus tour in her home state of Louisiana at the New Orleans Arena before a nearly sold-out crowd

Britney didn't interact much with the crowd - the only thing she uttered to the audience was "Thank you, New Orleans" at the end of the nearly two-hour show - and she appeared at times to be lip-synching

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Britney started the show with the title track to her new CD, Circus, wearing a short red and black ringmaster ensemble

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She then launched into Piece of Me, which she performed largely from a cage, continuing the circus theme

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Acrobats twirled from suspended fabric as Britney got frisky with two male dancers and performed Touch Of My Hand while sporting a blindfold

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Another circus act that found its way into Britney's show was the tattooed lady

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Along the way, there were magic tricks such as the Zig Zag Lady...

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...and a vanishing act

Britney also titillated the audience with a sexy police outfit...

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...and a gold, studded, swimsuit

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She adopted a Bollywood theme for Me Against The Music, dressed in harem pants

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In the past five years, Britney has gone through more tumult than many endure in a lifetime: she's been married and divorced, had two kids, gone to rehab, gone through a custody battle and found herself briefly committed

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But the release of the album Circus has been seen as a return to form of sorts for the singer. It has sold more than 1.3 million copies

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Over the next three month, Britney will perform at venues across the US and Canada

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She will perform six shows at London's O2 Arena in June

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