Britney Spears performs on 'The X Factor'

Britney Spears made her first UK television appearance in four years tonight (November 29) as she performed her current single 'Womanizer' on 'The X Factor'.

The singer, who was dressed all in black and appeared to be miming, jetted in for the special appearance, which saw flames and pyrotechnics shoot from the stage.

The five remaining finalists also covered one of her songs. Eoghan Quigg performed 'Sometimes', 'Ruth Lorenzo' sang 'I Love Rock 'N' Roll', Diana Vickers covered 'I'm Not A Girl, Not Yet A Woman' and JLS did a take on 'Baby One More Time'.

Miley Cyrus also performed her new single '7 Things' on the show, which this year has seen Take That, Mariah Carey and Girls Aloud all perform.

Meanwhile, record companies are taking action to ensure Spears' and Take That's new albums reach stores in time after leading CD distributor Entertainment UK (EUK) collapsed when Woolworths was put into administration earlier this week.

EUK delivered up to 30% of physical music in the UK, and its customers included retailers such Zavvi, Asda, Sainsbury's, Morrisons, WH Smith, as well as Woolworths, reports BBC News.