Britney Knows She's Been Bad it's a "Rock Moment"

Britney Spears isn't dumb. She's well aware of the fans who have been alienated in recent months by her headline-generating behavior. "She understands what's going on right now, and she calls it her 'rocky moment,' " says Spears' manager, Larry Rudolph. "Britney knows exactly what she needs to do."

Rudolph is speaking out to address news that on Jan. 31, World of Britney, the largest unofficial fan website devoted to Spears, is closing down after more than six years. Among the reasons: her image. "I've not been happy with the way she's portraying herself," says Ruben Garay, who founded World of Britney (worldofbritney.com) in October 2000 and was attracting more than 30 million fans by 2005. He will continue to run a celebrity blog that includes news about Spears, he says, "but not as a fan."

Rudolph concedes that Spears, 25, has acted out in ways to fuel negative publicity. "I'm not defending it, and she's not defending it." But many of the tabloid reports, he says, are either untrue or exaggerated. When she nodded off during an appearance at a Las Vegas nightclub New Year's Eve, he was getting calls asking which hospital she was in. "We were sitting there drinking orange juice. She got tired in a club, and we took her back to her room. Suddenly, I'm hearing words like 'collapsed' and 'passed out.' "

From a fan's perspective, "from what they've been seeing and hearing, I understand the disappointment," Rudolph says. "But Britney is increasingly motivated to get out there. She sees this as a challenge, that some fans may be questioning her. She is respectful. She sees this as her challenge to win them back."

The singer's next album is about half completed, Rudolph says, and in the next few weeks, her focus will be in the studio. "She's real excited." There is no official release date yet, but Rudolph says an "educated guess" calls for a single released in late summer and an album in late fall. "She's taking all the right steps," Rudolph says. "Britney Spears will be back and absolutely at the top of the entertainment industry very soon."

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