On the evening of January 3, 2008, after not sleeping for over four days, Spears refused to give up custody of her children to Federline's representatives. On January 31, a court placed Spears under temporary co-conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallete, giving them complete control of her assets. As a result of an order placed by her psychiatrist, she was taken to UCLA Medical Center to be put on a 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold for the second time that month. On February 1, a restraining order was issued against Sam Lutfi, a prominent figure in Spears's life. She was released from the hospital on February 6, amid speculation that she has bipolar disorder, although medical records are classified, and no confirmation has been made. Her parents expressed disappointment and concern at the decision to release her.
On September 7, 2008, Spears opened the MTV Video Music Awards for the third time. Although having not performed, a skit with Jonah Hill was pre-taped, as well as an introduction speech to the official opening of the show. Spears won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video Of The Year for "Piece of Me".[
On September 15, Jive released a statement announcing the title of her sixth studio album, Circus as well as the first single, "Womanizer". The single was released to radio stations on September 26, and the release date for the album is December 2, Spears' 27th birthday. On October 15, the song made a record-breaking jump to number one on the Billboard Hot 100, breaking the record set by T.I.'s Live Your Life. It also garnered first-week download sales of 286,000, the biggest opening-week tally by a female artist since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking digital downloads in 2003. It marked Spears's first number one single on the Hot 100 since her debut ...Baby One More Time.
MTV signed a deal with Spears and Jive records to release a documentary title For the Record, it will air on November 30, 2008, two days before the release of Circus.
On October 21, 2008, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Steele declared a mistrial and dismissed the August 2007 driving without a license misdemeanor charges against Spears, who was represented by attorney J. Michael Flanagan. Spears claimed she had a valid Louisiana license and a California permit was not required.
On November 6, 2008, Spears made a live appearance on Madonna's Sticky and Sweet Tour at the Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, California. The singers performed a remix to Madonna's 1994 hit single "Human Nature". The same day, she won two awards at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2008, "Album of The Year" for Blackout and "Act of 2008", and despite not being present, two acceptance videos were taped and shown at the show.
On November 9, 2008 Spears son Jayden was hurried to a Kentwood, Louisiana area hospital at 1:30 p.m. Jayden was taken to the hospital after pain an allergic reaction. Doctors concluded he had a reaction to something he ingested.
