Britney Spears' shaved head notwithstanding, not much really happened with the bubblegum princess of note last year. Well, at least anything that was conceived in a recording studio. Blackout had a handful of standouts but largely suffered from one interminable bassline that traveled from one song to the next with Britney's monotone (and autotoned) voice that sounded very much like she had checked out indefiniately.

But that may all be behind her because she is a leading contender for catchiest song of the year with "Womanizer," which features maybe 108 of the same words over and over but over an attractive and muscular electronic beat. Britney teases her subject (and us!), "Womanizer/Woman-womanizer/You're a womanizer/ Oh womanizer/Oh, you're a womanizer, baby/You, you, you are/You, you, you are/Womanizer, womanizer, womanizer." In-between, she laughs off more telling lines "You think I'm crazy, I GOT you're crazy!" Yes, if there's anyone who's gonna bring it, it would likely be her.

Worth noting that her single comes within the same weeks Christina Aguilera's and the interwebs and their respective fans are making a competition that's not worth fighting for. Aguilera's gimmicky "Keeps Gettin' Better" is an easy-on-the-ears electropop ditty featuring enough words for mainstream radio to want to bleep but keep the general population satiated until after the all-too-soon Greatest Hits album passes by.

Leaks indicate Aguilera's revamp of "Genie in a Bottle" or new track "Dynamite" (both slated for the best-of) have more filling, but Aguilera and Spears are both offering candy coated treats that may or may not hold up for their longterm careers, but they certainly don't sound like they're phoning it in.

"Womanizer": B+

"Keeps Gettin' Better": B