Six years ago, a 20-year old midriff-bearing, chart-topping blonde phenomenon belted out, “I’m not a girl, not yet a woman.”

Britney Spears is certainly a woman now, and to say she has had a rough couple of years would be an understatement.

After some questionable decisions and appearances (think her disastrous 2007 “Gimme More” performance at the VMAs), many wondered if the public was ever going to catch another glimpse of the sweet Southern girl who revolutionized pop music.

But two marriages, two children and one head-shaving incident later, Spears is back and, hopefully, “stronger than yesterday.”

Spears attended the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 7 in Los Angeles, a year after her supposed comeback performance at last year’s award show.

This year, she had something to prove: she was ready for her real comeback in the music industry. And come back she did.

Her “Piece of Me” video won awards in all the categories it was nominated for: Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video of The Year.

Wearing a silver, sparkly dress, Spears looked tanned, toned and pretty, reminiscent of her late-’90s teen star self.

Finally resembling the woman we all knew and loved, she opened the show and concurrently opened the door for her serious professional comeback.

On Oct. 7, the former Mousketeer released her newest single as a digital download from her yet-to-be-released sixth studio album, “Circus.”

“Womanizer” was highly anticipated – so much so that a version of the recording circulated among the Internet gossip blogs in late September, forcing her label to push the release date back a bit.

Nevertheless, the song has become an overnight hit, making a record-breaking jump from No. 96 to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

This is Spears’ second No. 1 single, the first being her breakout hit “… Baby One More Time” a decade ago.

This chart-topping hit features a definite dance vibe with some futuristic pop elements.

Some have criticized Spears’ synthesized, robot-esque singing and the fact that she repeats the word “womanizer” ad nauseum within the song’s four-minute time block.

Nevertheless, “Womanizer” has a catchy hook and fun, girl-power lyrics, two factors that have previously given her much success.

Clubs across the country will surely have “Womanizer” blasting from their DJ booths, while tween girls will be belting out the song in front of their mirrors with hairbrush microphones.

The music video for “Womanizer” premiered on ABC immediately following “20/20” on Oct. 10.

The video features a naked Spears from a strategic camera angle and Spears as an office worker, a waitress and a limo driver.

So far, the music video has garnered a lot of positive feedback, received millions of views on YouTube and shot to the top of iTunes’ download chart.

Her forthcoming album is set to be released on Dec. 2, the singer’s 27th birthday.

In addition to the new record, Spears has been reported to perform on the British reality show “The X Factor” before the end of the year.

She also revealed to New York radio station Z100 that a 2009 worldwide tour encompassing songs from both “Circus” and her 2007 album “Blackout” is in the works, with rehearsals starting already.

Spears’ career and personal life have been scrutinized to the nth degree since the moment she stepped out into the hallway in that infamous schoolgirl outfit for the “… Baby One More Time” video.

With an estimated 83 million records sold worldwide, her success as a recording artist is undeniable.

Even though we all saw her fall from her reign as the princess of pop, it seems as though many people are – secretly or not – rooting for her to do well and to regain her regal status in the music industry.

The world is pushing for a successful comeback from Spears, and it seems as though she is willing and able to give it to us, with three brand new awards, a healthier look and a blazing new single.