Britney plays it smart and svelte

Miraculously shedding years of motherhood, cheetos, high risk behavior and self pity, last week Britney Spears shocked the world by appearing trim and attractive from multiple camera angles.

Everybody wondered what was up. Well the procedure, which is just beginning to catch on in America, is called lipodissolve. It's like liposuction but instead of sucking the fat out of the body the doctor basically shoots a kind of fat melting acid into the body. It has been described as the "greatest discovery in cosmetic medicine since botox." Judging by those Britney photos and reecalling what she looked like a month ago it may surpass botox yet.

What else was up was Britney was in the midst preparing for a comeback. It kicked off last night in San Diego with a "surprise" concert at the House of Blues. Britney performed for between 12 and 16 minutes, depending on who you asked, and definitely lip sank every word that wasn't "hello San Diego."

Some have argued this brevity constitutes a rip off to the fans who paid as much 500 dollars a ticket. But what was she supposed to to do? Britney wasn't selling an album -- she hasn't released new music in four years -- and has only between 12 to 16 minutes of good material in her catalogue.

I think Britney is on to something. Svelte bodies and svelte set lists are where it's at. Especially for pop singers who are known more for the way they look than for how they sound. Let the haters hate. And then make them listen to all of In The Zone.