Britney, Kevin mingle as singles

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline aren't going to let a divorce squabble curb their fun out in public. Both were out on the town Wednesday night, showing off happy, relieved faces.
Spears, who has been photographed at several outings in New York this week, stopped by the Sony Music Studios at 1 a.m. Thursday sporting a black micro-mini dress and what appeared to be a wedding band.

Federline, 28, took the stage at Chicago's House of Blues to announce, "You know who's about to be a free man, right?" His left ring finger was bare.

On Tuesday, Spears, 24, filed for divorce after two years of marriage. Wednesday, Federline filed divorce papers, too. Both want legal custody of their sons, 13-month-old Sean Preston and 8-week-old Jayden James.

As Federline struggles with his musical aspirations — album sales are low and tickets to his shows are being given away — Spears is making clear career moves:

•She has been working in the studio since the Sept. 12 birth of son Jayden James.

•She has announced an album due next year.

•She was photographed Tuesday night ice skating at Rockefeller Center with Larry Rudolph, her former manager and the man responsible for launching the teen sensation's career. They parted ways in 2004, shortly before Spears and Federline were married.

"She's still incredibly young, and her peers from the teen pop days (Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake) have been mostly successful. I think she can easily make a record that people want to hear," says Craig Marks, editor of Blender magazine. "With less baggage and less jokes being made about her, she can concentrate on her music."