On an upcoming MTV documentary that will promote her sixth CD, Circus, Britney Spears says that she's ''been through a lot in the past two or three years.'' No kidding. The superstar's stream of mind-boggling personal problems has both damaged and frequently eclipsed her — wait, what did she do again? Oh, right! — singing career. But that could be changing. Due on Dec. 2 (her 27th birthday), Circus was whipped up by a team of A-list producers, including Nate ''Danja'' Hills, who worked on Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveSounds, and legendary pop auteur Max Martin, who wrote Britney's 1998 breakthrough, ''...Baby One More Time.''

Circus comes just 13 months after Spears' last CD, Blackout, which was supposed to be her big comeback following a four-year break from making albums. It ended up selling a relatively modest 913,000 copies. This time, Spears is hoping to get back to being a singer, not a tabloid freak. ''She's about her business,'' says Danja of her current work ethic. ''We'll see plenty more of her for years to come.'' But see her where? Atop the charts, or playing Vegas? Being funny ha-ha in a sitcom, or funny peculiar on TMZ? Going country, or just going off the rails? With Spears' tangled past in mind — and a raft of experts on hand — we consider six possible futures for our favorite pop spectacle.

POSSIBLE FUTURE NO. 1: The Big Comeback

Though Spears looked positively clownish during her infamously dismal performance at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, Circus just might reestablish the singer as pop's preeminent ringmistress. ''It's the start of a huge comeback,'' says Dr. Luke (Kelly Clarkson, Katy Perry), who produced three of Circus' tracks, including the title song. The good doctor could be a little biased, of course, but more objective industry insiders are also predicting big things, especially given the success of first single ''Womanizer,'' which topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart in October and currently sits at No. 7. ''I can't get the freakin' hook out of my head,'' says Michael McCoy, program director at Columbus, Ohio, top 40 station WNCI. ''I think Circus is going to come out pretty healthy.'' Early radio play suggests this album might well outperform Blackout. ''We're playing the song in power rotation,'' says Sharon Dastur, program director at New York's Z100. ''We actually did have a lot of success with three songs from Blackout. 'Womanizer' seemed to grow faster than those did.''

Released in October of 2007, Blackout followed directly on the heels of Spears' MTV fiasco, hitting at the peak of her highly public custody battle with Kevin Federline over their two young sons. The besieged star did little to promote the disc, and despite respectable first-week sales of 290,000 copies, it failed to match the success of her previous albums. What's more, many purchasers may have bought the collection out of sheer prurient interest: What kind of music does an apparently troubled person make in between shaving her head and beating a car with an umbrella?

Circus, ironically enough, comes at a time when the Britney carnival seems to have left town. ''There's less of a slowing-down-at-a-car-accident aspect this time,'' says Tim Quirk, vice president of programming for the digital music service Rhapsody. ''We're seeing very similar numbers for her as we are seeing for the Jonas Brothers, and that should be good news for her record company. You say 'Jonas Brothers,' record companies are happy.''

And this time Spears seems committed to getting behind her new collection. She made a happier appearance at this year's VMAs and duetted with Madonna during the Material Girl's Nov. 6 Dodger Stadium show. On Nov. 30, MTV will broadcast a 90-minute documentary, Britney: For the Record, which was made with the singer's cooperation. And Spears is set to perform on Good Morning America the day the disc debuts. She has reportedly said she intends to hit the road in support of the CD next year, something she hasn't attempted since 2004's aborted Onyx Hotel Tour. ''Blackout was a great album,'' says Tom Carrabba, executive vice president of Spears' label, Jive. ''But there were other parts of her life that she had to focus on. Now she's given us the time and the focus.''

The album should also benefit from a pre-Christmas release date, and retailers seem confident that Spears can help make the season a festive one. ''When you look at her schedule, there's endless things lined up that seem to be driving the album,'' says Andrew Gyger, senior music product manager for the Virgin Megastore chain. ''It's the Britney people want to see, and they want to support her.''

POSSIBLE FUTURE NO. 2: Road Warrior

So what if Circus ends up underperforming? Well, exactly: So what? These days touring is where the real money is, and if Spears does hit the road in the spring she could prove a major live attraction — even without strong album sales. Madonna's most recent disc, Hard Candy, sold just 669,000 copies, but her current Sticky & Sweet shows are grossing, on average, an impressive $6.1 million a pop. Spears' last tour grossed $30 million before the singer cut it short because of an injury. ''I believe people will come out and support her,'' says Sean Saadeh, executive director of booking at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz., where Spears performed in 2004. And the singer's ex-manager Johnny Wright predicts that the rumored 2009 tour could prove as popular with the public as recent dates by younger pop sensations. ''I don't think she's going to have a problem selling tickets,'' says Wright, citing the over-the-top visual extravaganza of Spears' past tours. ''The Jonas Brothers is a musical experience more than it is a production. Miley, she's got a 
 production, but — I'll say this straight up — it can't hold a torch to [Britney's 2001–02] Dream Within a Dream tour.'' Given that outing's ostentatious glitz, another option could be an extended run in Vegas, Celine Dion-style. ''If she hooks up with the right producers, and they put her in the right venue, she could make it work,'' says Paul Davis, vice president of entertainment at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. Of course, she would have to avoid such previous Sin City faux pas as that ''accidental'' 2007 crotch shot and 2004's quickie marriage to Jason Alexander.

POSSIBLE FUTURE NO. 3: Country Singer

Given the outcome of her ill-fated couplings, we're not likely to hear the twice-married star cover ''Stand by Your Man'' anytime soon. But that doesn't mean she won't sing other country songs. Pop stars like Bon Jovi, Jessica Simpson, and Jewel have courted the Grand Ole Opry crowd with some success. But slow down there, cowgirl. Spears lacks Simpson's spiritual bona fides, and she could be a tougher sell to Nashville. ''Jessica has not that different of a voice from Carrie Underwood,'' says veteran country producer Tony Brown, who has worked with George Strait, Vince Gill, and Steve Earle. ''Britney, she's more of an image than a voice. Country music tends to fret about that stuff.'' Brown's opinion is echoed by newly Nashville-centric Hootie & the Blowfish singer Darius Rucker, whose solo single ''Don't Think I Don't Think About It'' recently topped the country charts. ''I don't think country is for her,'' he says. ''She's a pop queen. She should stick to that.''

POSSIBLE FUTURE NO. 4: Sitcom Star

The Fresh Princess? Don't rule it out. Spears has a long small-screen résumé: She's sung for Disney (The Mickey Mouse Club), guested on a sitcom (Will & Grace), and raunchily cavorted with Kevin Federline (on the 2005 UPN Brit 'n' Kev reality show, Chaotic). And industry insiders really paid attention when her March and May appearances on How I Met Your Mother garnered both positive reviews and beefed-up ratings (the March cameo gave the show a 36 percent bump over its season average). It's not insane to imagine Britney following other singers–turned–sitcom stars like Will Smith and Reba McEntire onto prime-time TV. ''She wanted to come in and act, not be 'Britney Spears comes onto our show,''' says HIMYM executive producer Craig Thomas. ''Watching the episode, I found myself really rooting for her. She has that unquantifiable likability quality.'' Peter Traugott, executive producer of Samantha Who?, was also impressed: ''I thought she was really good, and they got a big pop in the ratings. There would be a lot of interest in figuring out a vehicle for her.'' In the right setting, she could even be ''the Lucille Ball of the teens,'' according to one high-profile showrunner. Of course, she could also be the Emeril Lagasse, whose crossover from celebrity chef to sitcom star proved embarrassingly short-lived. ''Successful comedies are usually developed around a comedian who has an act you can draw their character from,'' says a network exec. ''Like Roseanne or Ray Romano. If someone is able to capture her voice, she could be more than just a curiosity. But is she Mary Tyler Moore? I don't know about that.'' Alternatively, she could follow in the footsteps of Tyra Banks and front her own chatfest and/or America's Next Top Model-type show. ''I think that is possible,'' says another TV exec. ''In the world of television she could be an industry unto herself.''

POSSIBLE FUTURE NO. 5: Tabloid Freak Show

Has the Mickey Mouse Club graduate stopped goofing up? So far, so good. ''She came really focused and she knocked it out,'' says Harvey Mason Jr., who produced the Circus track ''Mannequin.'' ''She wrote on the record, she drove the direction. And she's singing so strongly. This wasn't something we had to grind and grind to get a vocal track out of her.'' Even the paparazzi seem impressed by her recent behavior. ''We've been watching her for years,'' says Francois Navarre, who owns the paparazzi agency X17. ''There's such a difference between now and a year ago.'' But it's easy to imagine any number of scenarios where the once-troubled star has yet another epic meltdown, from canceled concerts to freakouts involving photographers (a profession Spears references during Circus' uptempo ''Kill the Lights,'' on which she sings, ''All the poses/Out of focus/I despise'') to more TV disasters (and anyone who thinks things couldn't get worse than the 2007 MTV VMAs debacle may care to recall Mariah Carey's loopy Glitter-era TRL appearance). They say that the average person is only a few paychecks and a few bad choices away from becoming homeless. Well, pop stars are only a few royalty checks and a few bad choices away from sitting next to Kenickie from Grease in a group therapy session on Celebrity Rehab. Still, it's saying a lot that this entry is near the bottom of our list. A year ago, this was the only future many people could envision for Spears.

POSSIBLE FUTURE NO. 6: VP Candidate

Spears is attractive and fertile, has appeared as herself on Saturday Night Live's ''Weekend Update'' (in a 2003 skit with Will Ferrell), and probably doesn't know much about the ''Bush doctrine.'' Sound familiar? ''I don't know her politics,'' says Jive's Carrabba. ''But I do know her focus. You know what? Britney can do anything she wants.''