Tuesday, September 9, 2008

New OK! Cover: "Brit Hits Back!"

Britney looks A-MAZING on the new cover of OK! magazine out later this week. OK! has the inside scoop on her amazing transformation, her plan to regain custody of her boys, and her reaction to her mom Lynne's startling new book.

Hope the rest of the tabs follow suit!

Source: Breathe Heavy

Britney Photoshoot With Patrick Demarchelier

Britney has a photoshoot with Patrick Demarchelier in Bel Air.

Source: PoB

Britney Dines At Little Door

Britney was spotted out to dinner at Little Door in Hollywood this evening. Dressed in a white button-up and a black and white-striped sweater, Britney headed into the restaurant with her security and her assistant Brett - who attempted to shield Britney's face from the lenses of the paparazzi.

Source: PoB

MTV's VMA Ratings Rocked

2008's MTV Video Music Awards delivered!

In the key 18-34 demographic, this year's show ratings were 15% higher than the 2007 broadcast and 41% higher than the 2006 edition.

The show was also the highest-rated telecast on all of cable in the 12-34 demo this year.

Dayum!

We guess casting the unknown Brit comic Russell Brand didn't bite the net in the ass!
MTV.com also saw a boost this year.


Its VMA-related pages delivered more than 10 million page views, a 110% increase over last year.

But, y'all know there's a certain someone MTV needs to tip its hat to for the massive ratings.

Britney. Spears.

You know you tuned in just to see her!

Source: Perez Hilton

Britney's Other Conservator Weighs In

The following italicized article is from www.eonline.com:

It's been pretty easy to forget that Britney Spears has two conservators.

With papa Jamie Spears getting all the attention this year for his hands-on involvement with his 26-year-old daughter and the $2,500 he's been getting each week for all that paternal management, coconservator Andrew Wallet has remained in the shadows.

But now he's submitted his bill.

The Los Angeles-based attorney, who has been on the more financial, business-minded end of things—while Jamie has squired his daughter everywhere from Koi to Costa Rica—has filed paperwork requesting that L.A. Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz approve payment of another $141,961 from Britney's estate for services rendered.

Coupled with the fees he has already received, Wallet's services have cost the popster $324,961.
He is also requesting that Goetz approve additional payments of up to $30,000 per month for future investigating, wrangling, deal-making and paper-shuffling on Britney's behalf.


A host of other legal eagles who have been advising Britney and Jamie Spears since the conservatorship was formed Feb. 1 filed transaction requests last week, asking for fees that collectively totaled nearly $350,000.

Source: E! Online

Driving Britney Spears And Russell Brand At The VMAs

I’d been driving executives around the Paramount lot in a little golf cart all week — so much so that it became some sort of joke that I was the “Official VMA Chauffeur” (which, given that my father’s been driving limousines for more than 20 years, only stands to reason).

During the show, I was in the right place at the right time: in control room with my boss, VMAs executive producer Dave Sirulnick. The plan was to shuttle the Video of the Year award winner away from the stage in a cart after the finale, but just before the winner was announced, someone said: “There’s no one to drive the cart!”

Dave scanned the room, pointed to me and said, “Ashley, you’re driving the cart!”

Van Toffler, president of MTV Networks, joked, “You’ve been preparing for this all week!”

We were parked just offstage, waiting for whoever was going to win. Then I heard the stage manager say, “When Britney gets in …” and my legs started shaking.

It was my big moment!

Now, I don’t get starstruck. I drove Kanye West and about five members of his entourage (the cart only holds four passengers) to his Saturday rehearsal, no sweat. But Brit is a very special case!

I’ve been a HUGE fan of her since “Hit Me Baby (One More Time)” (I was 14 years old.) And her 2000 VMA striptease performance made me idolize her! Since then, I’ve stuck with her through everything.

Britney rushed offstage, clutching her Moonman, and sat down in the back with Russell Brand. Flashbulbs were exploding around us. Everyone was staring. And I had to drive this thing in stilettos!

Britney looked beautiful and healthy, like she’s really coming into her own again.

I was so focused on not crashing, all I remember is her joking with Russell and saying, “Where are you taking me?” I am so happy to have been so close to her on such a big night!

Source: MTV Newsroom

Paris Wants To Duet With Britney

The following italicized article is from www.hollyscoop.com:

Everyone assumed there was some sort of feud between Paris Hilton and Britney Spears because they suddenly stopped talking. That is just not the case because the two seemed really happy to see each other at the VMAs on Sunday.

Paris was exceptionally happy. So happy that she wants to record a duet with Britney for her new album.

"My new album's out soon and it would be hot if I could do a duet with Britney. It is really poppy and sounds a bit like Kylie Minogue," Paris said. So are you guys ready for another Paris album? Ready or not, it's coming!

Source: Hollyscoop

Katy Perry Dishes On Britney

In the new issue of Steppin’ Out, “I Kissed A Girl” pop tart Katy Perry vents to Chaunce Hayden about the the girl who got to kiss Madonna and also beat Perry out of a MTV Award for Best New Video…..Britney Spears.

So how do you really feel about Britney Spears?

Dude! I’ve taken tons of lessons from her! She’s like in the lobotomy class where I checked her out first. There are so many different things that go into that type of demise. It may not even be just the successes. I know that has to be a big part of it. I’m definitely not scared of that happening to me. I have people around me who I can trust. I’ve also lived in Los Angeles for seven years. It’s not like I’m fresh off the boat. I’m not saying that I’m not going to make mistakes. I’m in the business of rock and roll and with that comes some political incorrectness. But I make music for myself and for the people who love it. Everybody else can listen to whatever else they want to listen to. I pray for her. I know it’s really hard and somewhat not her fault. The paparazzi can be very aggressive.

Source: PoB

New Photoshoot?

Liz Smith, today: “Vouge’s celebrated Patrick Demarchelier has come to the US from London to photograph Britney Spears, who looked sensational on the MTV Video Music Awards over the weekend. Patrick says: ‘I’m pleased to hear that she’s pulled herself together.’

Source: NY Post/PoB

Britney's Back In Black

The following italicized article is from www.x17online.com:

Britney Spears and manager Larry Rudolph were spotted leaving the Thompson Hotel in Beverly Hills last night, and the pop princess wore all black and didn't flash a single smile. Our photogs congratulated Larry on Brit's VMA wins, but he kept quiet. Why so glum guys? Britney is looking fab and her career is back on track, so we hope to see more smiles in the future!

See more here!

Source: X17

Lynne Spears to Britney: You're Still My "Brave Little Girl"

The following italicized article is from www.usmagazine.com:

In her new memoir Through the Storm, Lynne Spears claims her daughter has overcome her troubles of the past few years and is regaining her "glorious voice."

She adds that they're close again and that Britney remains a "brave little girl who sang to the skies" so long ago, according to The Associated Press, which obtained an early copy of the 211-page book (out Sept. 16 by Christian publisher Thomas Nelson).

Among the highlights:

--She says she first felt she was losing control of Britney after the debut of " ... Baby One More Time," when she posed in panties and a bra for a 1999 Rolling Stone story.

--She says she felt "shock and dismay" at seeing her daughter shave her head, at her brief marriages to Jason Alexander and Kevin Federline and her highly publicized custody battles over her two children.

--She writes that she felt "punched in the stomach" when she learned that Jamie Lynn Spears was pregnant at age 16. (Lynne famously sold the story to OK! magazine for $1 million.)

--She praises Federline as a "caring daddy" and says Britney is "an amazing mother," but only when at her best.

--She writes that she was distraught as then-manager Sam Lufti told her he was grinding pills and putting them in Britney's food, hoping to induce a coma that would enable doctors to cure her of all addictions. She calls her daughter's two hospitalizations this year a "turning point"

Source: US Weekly

Britney's Current iTunes Positions

Top pop 100 albums:

#18 - Blackout (Deluxe Edition)
#22 - Blackout
#60 - GH:MP

Top pop 100 songs:

#20 - Piece of Me
#63 - Break The Ice
#68 - Gimme More

Top pop 100 video's:

#2 - Piece Of Me
#14 -Toxic
#33 - Slave
#40 - Gimme More
#55 - Baby One More Time
#73 - Oops!..I Did It Again
#79 - Break The Ice
#96 - Everytime

Top 100 songs:

#50 - Piece Of Me

Top 100 video's:

#3 - Piece Of Me
#40 - Toxic

Source: Break The Ice

Britney Spears' VMA Appearance A Solid First Step, Experts Say

The following italicized article is from www.mtv.com:

Nearly a year to the day after her performing career went awry at the 2007 VMAs, Britney Spears emerged a new, confident woman on Sunday.

Looking bright-eyed, healthy and bearing the girlish charm that helped the world fall in love with her a decade ago, Spears bantered playfully with actor Jonah Hill and was gracious and humble in accepting her first-ever VMA trophies.

Before Britney's appearance on the show, Jordan Miller, webmaster for the Britney fan site BreatheHeavy.com said his only advice to the singer would be, " 'Get dolled up, look amazing, and just enjoy the show,' " which is exactly what Spears appeared to do. As celebrity blogger Perez Hilton said, "That's what people want. They want to see her smiling. Even if all she does is smile and wave, I say that's mission accomplished."

Since her new album is a work in progress, Spears chose not to perform on the show — which may have been a wise move, according to People magazine Senior Editor Julie Dam.

"She looked fantastic ... really great and together and happy," Dam said. "Physically, she looked amazing, which is already such a dramatic change from how she looked last year. I think people are rooting for her and I'm not surprised she won [three awards]."

Like Spears' first appearance on the sitcom "How I Met Your Mother," the singer's skit with Hill was funny and served to remind the public of her comedic timing, Dam said, which could prove useful in the future should Spears decide to give acting on the big screen another shot.

"Last night was really good in that she looked amazing but didn't perform, because she didn't need to perform last night," Dam said. "It would have been asking too much. She showed up, looked good, accepted her awards, gave brief speeches, thanked God and her kids and, at the end, [manager] Larry Rudolph and her label, which is definitely setting the table for the future."

It was as if she'd said, " 'I'm back and I've won these awards,' " Dam continued. "Let's see what the music says now. Her next big step is to deliver an album that's really good and promote it in a different way than she did the last one [Blackout]," which Spears barely promoted at all.

While fans were undoubtedly excited to see Britney back, the way she presents herself on her next album will be critical, according to Ken Baker, E! executive news editor. Speaking before the VMAs, Baker said that even though she's a mother of two, Britney's fans don't necessarily want her to evolve too much.

"That would be a round peg in a square hole," he said. "Her voice has a certain range. Her style has a certain range. But lyrically, she should have more depth. And her album is going to have a lot of personal experiences on it, some intense things that reflect her life. But a lot of it will be the traditional Britney escapist-bubblegum-dance-pop that she's known for. She shouldn't venture too far out of that. She can't run around in a schoolgirl outfit, that page has turned, but her art doesn't have to be a mirror. That would be depressing. You don't want songs about Britney being in a mental ward."

The fact that Spears was able to bounce back and win three top awards didn't escape the notice of TV Guide Executive Editor Craig Tomashoff, who was hoping for a bit more from the former Mouseketeer. "I'm surprised the opening sketch didn't make any reference to last year," he said. "She seemed kind of nervous and ... I was expecting a little sense of humor about last year, or that there would be some little funny nod to it, something playful that referred to what made it a big deal for her to show up this year."

And, after all the rumors of a possible surprise Britney performance, Tomashoff said he was a bit disappointed that there wasn't more from the singer, adding that she might think about pursuing a parallel or primary career in sitcoms. "She did very well with 'How I Met Your Mother' and I think if she were to try and go in a comedic direction ... she has pretty good skills at that," he said. "She seems to have a knack for TV comedy and doing a couple more shows as much as anything could rehabilitate her image."

Rolling Stone Contributing Editor Vanessa Grigoriadis, who wrote a cover story on Spears' downward spiral for the magazine earlier this year, said she felt the singer did the one thing she most needed to do Sunday night to prove that she's ready for her close-up again: cooperate.

"That is a big deal, because she was so completely, utterly, totally out of control a year ago at this time," Grigoriadis said. "Obviously, she has it in her DNA to learn a song and choreography and do that as well as anybody — as long as she's willing to."

Source: MTV

Lynne Spears to Britney: You're Regaining 'Glorious Voice'

The following italicized article is from www.foxnews.com:

The mother of Britney Spears says that the singer has overcome the tabloid nightmares of the past few years and believes that little by little, her daughter is regaining her "glorious voice."

Lynne Spears writes of her famous child and her other celebrity daughter, Jamie Lynn, in "Through the Storm," to be published Sept. 16 by Thomas Nelson, a leading Christian publisher. The Associated Press obtained an early copy.

The 211-page book, which includes several pages of family photographs, tracks Britney Spears' life through her precocious early years — she was singing and dancing by the time she was 3 — through her explosive rise to her pill-addicted, near-tragic fall.

Lynne Spears describes young Britney as a confident, outgoing girl whose talents were so obvious that family friends would insist she would one day be on Broadway. Spears rejects the image that she pushed Britney into show business, and writes that the singer was always focused on achievement and would constantly practice to the music of Madonna, Whitney Houston and others.

In "Through the Storm," Lynne Spears presents herself as a loving, selfless (she gave up her job as a school teacher for her daughter's sake) but increasingly powerless parent. After the jolting, but pleasant surprise of Britney Spears' debut smash, " ... Baby One More Time," Lynne Spears says she felt she was losing control when a 1999 Rolling Stone magazine story featured a racy cover of the singer in panties and a bra.


Lynne Spears recalls feeling "shock and dismay" at seeing her daughter shave her head, at her brief marriages to childhood friend Jason Alexander and dancer-rapper Kevin Federline, and her highly publicized custody battles over her two children. She also recalls feeling she had been "punched in the stomach" when she learned that Jamie Lynn Spears was pregnant at age 16.


She praises Federline as a "caring daddy" and says Britney Spears is "an amazing mother," but only when at her best. Lynne Spears also writes warmly of her daughter's former boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, but says the willful nature of the young couple helped break them up.

The bottom came in the past two years with Britney Spears' increasingly disturbing public behavior and her drugged private life in her Malibu, California, house. Lynne Spears writes that she was distraught as then-manager Sam Lufti told her he was grinding pills and putting them in Britney's food, hoping to induce a coma that would enable doctors to cure her of all addictions.

Britney Spears was hospitalized twice this year, the second time in February, when paramedics took her to the psychiatric ward of the UCLA Medical Center, where her mother says she finally received the care she needed.

It was, Lynne Spears writes, a "turning point" for the entire family.

On Sunday night, Britney Spears had clearly recovered from last year's fiasco at the MTV Video Music Awards, when she bumbled her way through a performance of "Gimme More." This time, Spears nabbed three VMAs, including video of the year.

"Wow, thank you, I'm in shock right now. I was not expecting this," Spears, looking spectacular in a shimmering silver dress, said as she accepted her third trophy of the evening for "Piece of Me."

Mother and daughter are close again, Lynne Spears writes, and Britney remains a "brave little girl who sang to the skies" so long ago.

Source: FOX News