Britney's not wasting any time. On the heels of her three wins at the [article id="1594398"]2008 VMAs[/article], the singer's label announced Monday (September 15) that she'll be releasing her next album on December 2, her 27th birthday.

According to Jive Records, the album will be called Circus, an apt title considering the events of her life since the release of Blackout. The first single, "Womanizer," produced by the Outsyders, is slated to hit the radio on September 22.

Britney-watchers, and even some of her collaborators, had predicted the album wouldn't come out until early next year. A December release date leaves a tight window for the singer to complete her sixth studio album. But [article id="1590959"]Spears has been recording[/article] since earlier this summer, and she has more sessions coming up, according to songwriter and producer [article id="1594580"]Keri Hilson.[/article]

She's got plenty of help too. In addition to known collaborators Hilson, the Outsyders, Sean Garrett, Rodney Jerkins, Lil Jon and Nate "Danjahandz" Hills, Spears is also working with with Dr. Luke (who wrote and produced the album's title track), Guy Sigsworth, Bloodshy & Avant (who produced past hits "Piece of Me" and "Toxic") and Max Martin (who wrote "... Baby One More Time" and "Oops! ... I Did It Again").

There's no word yet on what kind of promotion Spears will be able to do for Circus. For Blackout, she shot a few videos, did one interview (sort of) on Ryan Seacrest's show and then became a daily headline fixture for anything but her music.

She may need to do much more to make Circus a success, Perez Hilton told MTV News. "She needs to do what's involved [this time]," he said. "Do interviews, do a tour. Don't release it until you're ready to promote it."