Britney Spears' Circus Hits No. 1

The comeback of Britney Spears is officially a success. (ABC Images)"]

It seems like just yesterday, a chubby Britney Spears was aimlessly driving around L.A. with a bad weave and a British accent stealing lighters from gas stations. Actually, it was a year ago - and since then, Britney has made a remarkable transformation - shedding the extra pounds as well as the extra side of crazy.

Thanks to the conservatorship of her father Jamie Spears and the management of Larry Rudolph, Britney has emerged once again, on top as Spears' latest CD Circus is the No. 1 album after selling half a million copies last week.   The last couple of months have been an all-out media blitz for Spears, who recently released an MTV docu-interview, was on the cover of Rolling Stone and has performed her lip synching act in Europe as well as Good Morning America.

"This is going to reinforce her icon status," said Barry Weiss, CEO of BMG, which includes Spears' label, Jive. "It's not just a No. 1 album."