Britney Spears Club - All About Britney

Britney Spears' Fans: As Blackout's Release Looms, Who Exactly Are They?

2007-10-23T11:52:00.000-07:00

Fans — some of them closeted — try to ignore the drama and focus on the music.

Forget the head-shaving, the custody drama, fender benders, trips to rehab, wardrobe malfunctions, divorces and all of Britney's non-music-related train wrecks. When it comes to her true fans, the wait for Blackout has been harder than any tabloid travail. And despite having a solid hit with "Gimme More," the buzz around her first album in four years (see "Britney Spears' New Album, Blackout: A Track-By-Track Report"), which is slated for release next week, has been a bit muted.

We asked some Britney fans, peers and music professionals to help us figure out just who is holding their breath to hear the singer's fifth studio album. From former tweeners to DJs and producers who are sure she's still got more music in her, from fans in Britney's traditionally strong gay following to now-former fans, what we found is that despite her ups and (OK, mostly) downs, all said that great music can make a big difference.
"I've been a Britney fan since I was 10 and now I'm 18," wrote fan and Britney Spears Community member Stefania Segovia in an e-mail. "Even though she has let me down so many times during this year, I've never got to the point of thinking, 'I don't like her anymore,' because I've changed as she has in these eight years." However, Segovia, who lives in Italy, said she doesn't really talk about Spears with her friends because they don't share her adoration for the troubled pop star and think it's "odd" that Segovia still likes Spears.

"She has become a woman, a wife, a mother, and unfortunately for her this has been pretty difficult," Segovia added. "About her music? There's never been a song [of hers] that I didn't like — and of course I love 'Gimme More,' I can't stop listening to it. I'll definitely buy the album because that's the only way I can help her and I'll do it because I want to have a peaceful woman to look up to, as I had a peaceful and successful teenager/ young woman to look up to."

That kind of response doesn't surprise Billboard magazine Director of Charts and Senior Analyst Geoff Mayfield. "She's not been doing [her old style] of music for a while," he said of the spare electro sound of "Gimme More," referring to the transition Spears underwent on her third album, 2001's Britney, on which she shed her teenybopper image for a more hard-edge dance sound on songs like "I'm a Slave 4 U."

"Somewhere along the line on songs like 'Toxic,' she morphed into more of a dance-oriented artist and she's been doing that for a while now," he continued. "She's no longer getting the same numbers she got at the height of teen pop, but she wasn't going to keep that audience anyway."

In general, Mayfield said some of the generation of teen pop artists Spears came up with (Backstreet Boys, 'NSYNC) have been able to hang on much longer than previous generations, but he's not surprised "Gimme More" has had such strong legs. The song has been firmly in the Billboard Hot 100 for more than a month, holding strong at #3 for several weeks. He said that the tune has done well at top-40 radio and it's grown from week to week, with especially strong support on the East and West Coasts and in Florida.

Though young girls likely made up Spears' biggest fanbase early on, Mayfield suspects some young men hold a soft spot in their heart for their teenage crush. "The song has succeeded on its own merits, [though] I'm sure there are some people who are turned off by the stuff that comes out in the gossip rags," he said.

Ruben Garay, a producer at CelebTV.com and former webmaster of the fan site World of Britney (who famously quit his gig after tiring of the singer's antics), said he thinks her core audience of young girls has dropped off over the years as Spears' personal life has gone into freefall, splintering her supporters into a number of different camps. "I think that right now Britney has three or four different kinds of fans," he said rather cheekily. "I think her biggest fans right now is the gay community ... and then she has the fans that are just as much a train wreck as she is, and then she has Chris Crocker."

Garay said he also thinks that Spears has likely lost that core early audience who went to her concerts and bought her albums because she's managed to "piss off every single mom in America with her antics. ... So do you think that mothers all across America want to take their kids to a Britney Spears concert? No, forget it."

But another Britney Community member, 18-year-old artist/student Isaac Curry of Columbus, Ohio, wrote that he thinks "Gimme More" is popular for the same reason Spears has always connected with fans: It's hot. "I think that anyone who has ever been a Britney fanatic would probably agree that she's always sounded the same," he said. "Maybe she had a little more vocal skill at the beginning, but her fans know that she's not famous for her voice. It's the energy she gives that's so amazing."

Like Segovia, Curry said his friends think Britney is a "lost cause," and even he admitted to not being blind to the tarnishing of her image through repeated scrapes with the courts and outrageous behavior. Actually, he added, when it comes to Britney, it's sometimes best not to overthink things. "A lot of the time fans grow up and realize, like I did, that what she's doing isn't music," he wrote. "There's no message, no pulse and no meaning. It just leaves you in a trance-like state. [The music is] good for working out, but that's about it."

In-demand DJ/remixer Tommie Sunshine (Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco, Pink, Avril Lavigne) said that even though he doesn't play "Gimme More" in his sets, he's a fan of the tune because, like "Toxic," he thinks it's a well-written, well-performed, immaculately produced song. "I'm at a point where I'm stewed in totally forward-looking dance music and playing things that won't come out for six months, but that didn't stop me from playing 'Toxic' for three-quarters of a year when it came out, because even though people thought I was being ironic, it was totally relevant," said Sunshine, who added that even Spears' numerous personal problems don't matter when she's putting out hot songs.

"This song is a good song, and at the end of the day ... you go to Middle America, where people don't give a f--- what she's doing in her personal life and when they turn on a song on the radio and they like it, all that doesn't matter," he said. "People in Ohio will buy the record and won't hate on Britney Spears because they bought the last one. In clubs, the reaction is a mixture of, 'Oh hey, great new song,' 'Oh, it's the new Britney song' and, 'Oh, it's that train wreck.' " As for Sunshine, he's eagerly awaiting a phone call to remix the tune, which he said he'd jump at "in two seconds."

One person who is on record as being an ex-Britney fan is blogger Perez Hilton, who told MTV News, "I may be a hater, but [that's] because I used to be her biggest fan," he said. "[It comes from a] place of love and disappointment. Britney, you just need to go away for a while, for real, whether that be rehab or L.A. or somewhere else." Former "TRL" host Carson Daly expressed similar views on the red carpet at the Video Music Awards, just before Spears' notoriously shambolic performance. "She has the opportunity to step back and find a touch of class, I'm sure that's not going to happen," said Daly, who wished the singer happiness, but lamented that her former squeaky-clean "Disney, 'TRL,' pop, mass-media appeal to little girls" has brought on a backlash due to her rebellious acts.

Not surprisingly, songwriter Sean Garrett (Beyoncé, Usher, Chris Brown) says he's a huge Britney fan, though that might have something to do with his work on Blackout. "I'm really excited about Britney's new album," he said at the VMAs, noting that he was slated to have three songs on it. "Me and [producer] Bloodshy did something different for her, something crazy for her, exciting. I really like it, she eased in, she didn't hit you too hard ... It's going to be hot, it's going to be really hot. Everyone wants to see her come back, because she had the world dancing for her. You give her an opportunity to show what she's made of."

Britney has long had a strong following in the gay/lesbian community and "Gimme More" has already become a dance-floor staple in many gay clubs. But in a poll that ran on the Gay.com Web site over the weekend, the support for Brit was somewhat mixed. Asked about general feelings about Britney, 22 percent of respondents said "I have always loved her. LEAVE BRITNEY ALONE!," while 29 percent clicked "Are you serious? How can you love trash?" Coming in a close third at 21 percent was "I feel for a girl who's clearly troubled, but no love," and a tie at 8 percent with respondents voting "I love her these days! I needed a new spectator sport" and "I hate Britney phenomenon but still like her music."

The results were more clear-cut when the votes were tallied on the question of whether respondents liked the single. An overwhelming 63 percent said "Love it, love it, love it," while 10 percent said "It's OK, but no 'Toxic,' " 8 percent dubbed it "crap on a platter" and 12 percent said "I never, ever want to hear it."

In the end, former superfan Garay had a grim assessment of who might turn out for Blackout next week. "I think the biggest chunk of people that are interested in Britney ... are the people that just like to watch a car accident happen," he said. "If that's going to translate into actual album sales, that still remains to be seen."

Britney Spears Regains Visitation Rights Of Her Children

2007-10-22T12:07:00.000-07:00

Singer's lawyer tells Associated Press Spears has temporary visitation rights of sons.

Britney Spears has regained visitation rights with her children.

Her lawyer Anne Kiley told The Associated Press on Sunday (October 21), "Yes, she has visitation with the children."

The singer was seen driving with her two sons — Sean Preston and Jayden James — on Saturday, according to photos obtained by the magazine and TMZ.com. An unidentified woman, possibly the court-appointed monitor who had been ordered to accompany Spears during the visits, is pictured in the front seat of the singer's white Mercedes convertible. Spears was driving in Studio City, California, according to People.

While the news may come as a surprise, it was not completely unanticipated. Last week, Mark Vincent Kaplan, an attorney for Spears' ex-husband, Kevin Federline, said he expected her to become involved in the lives of her sons after she complied with part of a court order she previously had not met. Her initial failure to comply with the order led to a suspension of her visitation rights with them on Wednesday.

Kaplan also confirmed last week that Spears and Federline were about to start attending co-parenting therapy sessions, as required by the court, and had begun evaluations by a third party as to the quality of their parenting skills, also as required by the court. Even so, legal experts said Spears would have to go the extra mile if she wanted to see her own children without a court-appointed monitor.

On October 11, Spears was given one monitored overnight visit per week with her sons after having lost the right to see her children unsupervised the previous week. The singer's lawyer had requested an emergency hearing that to see if the judge in Spears' custody case would extend her visitation time with her two sons to include overnight stays, since she had passed her first week of random drug tests.

Britney Spears Will Have To Go Extra Mile To Get Back In Her Kids' Lives, Legal Experts Say

2007-10-20T11:58:00.000-07:00

Kevin Federline's lawyer says singer is likely to become involved with sons again after complying with court order.

First Britney Spears has her kids — then she doesn't. She gets visitation rights — and then she loses them. The singer's recent child-custody dispute has been one big yo-yo, so what are the chances she'll get her two sons back at all?

Earlier this week, the singer's visitation time with her two young sons was suspended after she failed to comply with a court order. Since then, Spears has made amends and complied with the part of the court order in question, and even ex-husband Kevin Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan expects her to become involved in the lives of Sean Preston and Jayden James once again as a result.

Spears and Kevin Federline are also about to start attending co-parenting therapy sessions, as required by the court, and have begun evaluations by a third party as to the quality of their parenting skills, also as required by the court, Kaplan confirmed. Even so, legal experts expect that Spears will have to go the extra mile if she wants to see her own children without a court-appointed monitor.

"This judge has been very stringent with Britney," celebrity-divorce attorney Raoul Felder — who handled the Robin Givens/ Mike Tyson split, among many others — said of Los Angeles Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon, the judge in Spears/Federline custody dispute. "And yet, at the same time, he's actually been overly kind, and that's the problem. It's not working, because you can't just keep yanking the kids and the visitations. It's absurd."

Felder recommends that Gordon do something more drastic to get the singer's attention, like take custody away entirely until Spears goes to rehab, since Felder believes she has shown a pattern of not following the court's orders. "She's a mess," Felder said. "You can't be this dumb, this careless, this indifferent. It's as if she doesn't want the kids, she doesn't want the responsibility, because she doesn't seem to get she's had an opportunity here, even with supervision, to see her kids. And yes, if she doesn't get to see them, it'll be terrible for the kids too, but they're safer without her."

"She needs a plan," suggested Susan Reach Winters, chairperson of the Family Law Department at the New Jersey firm Budd Larner, P.C. Winters recommended that Spears not wait for the judge to require rehab but to offer to go before it becomes a court order.

"She can redeem herself," she said. "If she goes to the court and says, 'Give me a chance, judge, to show you I can exercise good judgment, and I'm not the party girl you think I am. Even though I'm not addicted, I'm going to put myself in a program, and go beyond what you think I need to do.' Because if the judge thinks she's doing drugs, even if she's not admitting a substance-abuse problem, she has to acknowledge that something's amiss and show she's willing to put herself through rehab for the sake of her children. Because she has to go beyond at this point."

Felder reiterated that Spears needs a non-celebrity rehab program, a "real boot-camp rehab," to get her back on track. Otherwise, he said, "How can she take care of the kids? She can't even take care of herself."

Winters also recommended that Spears offer explanations for why she violated previous court orders, and make it clear she's going to follow them from now on. "From the judge's perspective, if you snub your nose at what he orders, he can take your kids away," Winters said. "But if you go overboard and do exactly what the judge orders you to do, to the letter, and you're on your best behavior? He's going to do what's in the interest of the children."

In all the custody cases Felder has worked on, he said, it's "very rare" for the mother to lose custody entirely, yet he believed Federline will win in this case. "I think that will be the final decision," he said. "Kevin will get permanent custody. The options are very limited at this point. And if she doesn't go to rehab, she should just give up."

"I think ultimately they'll end up with shared parenting," Winters countered. "It takes two parents to bring a child into the world, and it takes two to raise a child. That's what the court is looking to do. That's got to be everybody's goal: joint custody. Nobody wins with sole custody, least of all the kids. And if she can show she's fit, she'll have a chance."

And now, CMJ’ers, something from the left end of the musical spectrum — last night a decently sized, but still smaller than it should have been crowd

2007-10-18T13:14:00.001-07:00

Singer's visitation with sons 'is suspended pending [her] compliance with court orders,' according to document released Thursday.

Just one week after her visitation rights with her sons were expanded, Britney Spears has lost the right to be with them yet again.

Legal representatives for the singer and her ex-husband, Kevin Federline, had an ex-parte hearing for an hour on Wednesday with Commissioner Scott M. Gordon, the judge in the couple's custody case. The emergency hearing — for which neither Spears nor Federline were present — was held at the request of Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan, who one week ago criticized Spears for requesting an emergency hearing to get overnight stays with her two children.

According to a court document released Thursday (October 18), Kaplan's request that Spears lose custody was granted. "[Spears'] visitation with minor children is suspended pending [her] compliance with court orders," the document reads. The orders are not specified in the document, as the hearing was closed and the rest of the transcript is sealed.

Spears and Federline are both required to be present for the next hearing in the custody dispute, to be held October 26. Gordon has requested that, at the hearing, the parenting coach have a report ready to share with the court on Spears' progress. Spears was previously ordered to partake in random drug testing, individual counseling and parenting coaching, while also attending joint co-parenting counseling and re-enrolling in a Parenting Without Conflict program with Federline.

Spears was temporarily stripped of custody on October 1 and was later granted visitation rights approximately every other day with Sean Preston and Jayden James, so long as a court-appointed monitor would be present. Last week, the couple's lawyers compromised outside of the courtroom to give the singer one overnight visit per week, since she had made progress by passing her first week of random drug tests.

Spears' attorney did not return requests for comment by press time.

Britney Spears Booked On Traffic Charges

2007-10-18T13:13:00.001-07:00

Singer was photographed and fingerprinted Monday night.

Just weeks after finally getting her California driver's license, Britney Spears turned herself in to Los Angeles police Monday night in connection with a pair of minor traffic offenses. Reuters reported that a gum-chewing Spears, wearing a black minidress, leather jacket and large designer sunglasses, spent 45 minutes being fingerprinted and photographed at a police station in the Los Angeles suburb of Van Nuys around 9 p.m. PT.

The singer was booked for an August 6 incident in a Los Angeles parking lot where her car scraped up against another parked vehicle — an incident that was captured on film by some of the many paparazzi trailing her on the outing (see "Britney Spears Charged With Two Driving-Related Misdemeanors"). At the time, Spears got out of the car, looked over the damage to her car, and then walked into a nearby building, not leaving a note for the other vehicle's owner, who filed a police report three days later.

Spears was later charged with one misdemeanor count each of hit-and-run and driving without a California driver's license, (see "Britney Spears Now Has A Valid Driver's License"), and is scheduled to be arraigned on the charges October 25 in Van Nuys Superior Court. Each count carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail or a $1,000 fine.

Reuters described the uneventful booking as an "oddly low-key affair" for the drama-prone Spears, who is typically trailed by a horde of paparazzi. As just a handful of reporters looked on, she walked through the front door of the police station accompanied by a male companion, turning down an offer from police to use a back entrance to avoid making a scene.

LAPD officer Mike Lopez told the Associated Press that Spears was, "fine, cooperative" and that she "did her business and came out." Asked how she was treated while (briefly) in custody, Spears told reporters, "They were nice," explaining that she was wearing sunglasses at night because she is suffering from pinkeye.

Britney Spears' New Album, Blackout: A Track-By-Track Report

2007-10-15T01:51:00.000-07:00

Collaborators Pharrell Williams, T-Pain, Sean Garrett, Danjahandz talk about the creation of Brit's new LP, due October 30.

There's hardly been a media Blackout for Britney Spears' next album, especially after many of the songs purportedly recorded for it leaked onto the Internet. Just two days ago, Britney's label, Jive, announced it was moving up the release date by two weeks, from November 13 to October 30, due to those leaks.

But as it turns out, few of those tracks are on Blackout — most of the leaked songs may have been demos — and the album contains some of Spears' strongest material from these sessions.

"This is Britney's fifth studio record, and it shows a lot of growth as a performer," said the singer's A&R rep, Teresa LaBarbera Whites. "She was very involved in the songs and how they turned out. It's her magic that turns these songs into what they are."

Not to mention studio magic. "Piece of Me," Spears' mission statement of sorts, finds the singer so vocoder-ized that it's hard to tell where the real Britney begins and ends — which is part of the point. "I'm Mrs. 'Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,' I'm Mrs. 'Oh my God, that Britney's shameless," she "sings" while dissecting some of her own media coverage. She sings "you want a piece of me?" with moans and sighs, as if she's offering herself up on a platter, but then she tweaks the idea with a wink, suggesting she's "bad media karma" and that we're all going to suffer in the end. "Now are you sure you want a piece of me?"

"Radar" — produced, like "Piece of Me," by Bloodshy & Avant (the Swedish duo did "Freakshow" and "Toy Soldier" as well) — also tries for an electro/Eurodisco approach, but keeps Spears' vocals more in the foreground. Instead of emulating a video game, she's accompanied sparingly by sonar pulses and distorted synths to keep the sound dangerous, because she's on the prowl. "I got my eye on you," she speaks at one point. "I can't let you get away."

The uptempo "Break the Ice" might have been a stronger album leadoff track than "Gimme More" (see "Britney Spears Fans [And Haters] Weigh In On 'Gimme More' Video"), since she re-introduces herself at the top and apologizes for being gone for so long. "It's about two people, a girl and a guy," Keri Hilson, one of the song's writers, said, "and the girl is saying, 'You're a little cold. Let me warm things up and break the ice.' " Here, Spears' breathy vocals are layered, so that she's singing, "Hot hot hot — ahh," on top of the chorus, and stopping the song à la Janet Jackson to say, "I like this part. It feels kind of good."

The Giorgio Moroder-inspired "Heaven on Earth" is far more layered — which is a good thing, considering her vocals are especially airy here. Three different vocal lines take place over the throbbing beat, in a way similar to Moroder's signature song, Donna Summer's disco classic "I Feel Love." Reciting what she wants as a come-on in one line ("Your love, your teeth, your tongue"), she tells her lover sleepily to "lay your head on my chest and drift away," while simultaneously singing in a more bouncy style in a third lyric: "You've taken me so far away, one look and you stop time." It's one of the more complex tracks she's attempted, with whispers sneaking in and out of other lyrics so that two or three songs could be happening at once.

By comparison, "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)" is far more simple. Produced by Danjahandz (who also did "Gimme More"), it's simply meant to be an uptempo dance track. "My body is calling for you bad, boy," she sings amid squiggly synth lines as a separate male vocal line makes the song sound tipsy. "I just want to take it off," she sings in response. "She wanna dance, she wanna dance, she wanna dance," Danja said of that track. "That's all she want to say. She just wanted high-energy music, and that's what we did."

"No disrespect to Danja, but 'Gimme More' is definitely not the best joint," said Sean Garrett, who co-produced and sang on "Toy Soldier." "They just warming up. I got the 'Whoop!' It's starting this artillery style of heat. It's going to be hot."

Garrett said that while most of the album "is definitely dance," a lot of the songs are also talking about Spears' life, "how she feels, how she sees things. It's hard to stay in the pop world that long," he said. "Obviously, she has something special. She's just down-to-earth. She's her. She's not trying to be nobody else but her. And she makes mistakes — we all make mistakes — but you gotta love her. She'll have the world dancing for her, if you give her an opportunity to show what she's made of."

And according to the bouncy "Hot as Ice" (known as "Cold as Fire" to those who heard the leaked version), Britney is made of fire and ice. "I'm just a girl with the ability to drive a man crazy," she sings in a higher register, as if she's trying to sound like a little girl. "Make him call me 'mama,' make him my new baby." T-Pain, who arranged the song and provided background vocals, said Spears was ultra-professional when they recorded the track, even though she was in the midst of her purported "breakdown."

"I thought she was going to be sitting on the couch eating Doritos or nachos or something," he said, "but she came in, shook my hand, gave me a hug and went right in the booth. She got in there and put it down" (see "T-Pain Talks About Recording With Britney Spears: 'She Was About Her Business' ").

Likewise, Hilson said she was amazed at Spears' work ethic — considering she was very pregnant when they did "Break the Ice" and "Perfect Lover," which is just about what it sounds like. "It's just, 'I would be the perfect lover for you,' " Hilson explained.

"When we were arranging the vocals in the studio at her house," she added, "she was about eight months pregnant, and she was standing up in the vocal booth, just banging it out. Three weeks later, she had the baby."

Despite everything going on in her life during the making of Blackout, all of Britney's co-workers said she put the music first. That was a huge accomplishment in itself, said Pharrell Williams, who produced her closing track, "Why Should I Be Sad."

"She's going through a lot that people don't recognize," Pharrell said. "You got to understand, she was a child star and she's held on way longer than most people can. You got to understand the pressure. Her record is cool, but you got to give her a second to get things back together. You're seeing a reality show that no one's producing, that no one's directing, and that's a problem."

The album, though, had plenty of producers adding to the mix in many different ways. "There's plenty in there for people to love," Danja said. "Take your pick. If you're a fan of Britney, you're going to love it."

Blackout's track list, according to Jive Records:

1. "Gimme More"
2. "Piece of Me"
3. "Radar"
4. "Break the Ice"
5. "Heaven on Earth"
6. "Get Naked (I Got a Plan)"
7. "Freakshow"
8. "Toy Soldier"
9. "Hot as Ice"
10. "Ooh Ooh Baby"
11. "Perfect Lover"
12. "Why Should I Be Sad"

Britney Spears Granted One Overnight Visit Per Week With Kids

2007-10-15T01:49:00.000-07:00

Singer, who has been passing drug tests, had to testify at hearing; weekly visit with sons will be monitored.

Britney Spears has been given one monitored overnight visit per week with her sons after losing the right to see her children unsupervised last week. The singer's lawyer requested an emergency hearing on Thursday (October 11) to see if the judge in Spears' custody case would extend her visitation time with her two sons to include overnight stays, now that she's passed her first week of random drug tests. Ex-husband Kevin Federline initially opposed the request outright, but the judge, Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon, asked the couple to work out a compromise.

They met for 45 minutes and didn't reach one, at which point Gordon asked them to try again to work out an arrangement. Following the hearing, Federline's lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan said Commissioner Gordon was appreciative that the could have brokered an agreement.

In order to even get the once-weekly, monitored overnight visitation rights, Spears had to agree to meet other conditions, as Federline wanted to make sure the kids were "protected." The specifics of those conditions were not provided, nor was it disclosed which night she will get the overnight visit.

"He agreed, he didn't have to allow additional time provided there were assurances in place," Kaplan told reporters after the hearing.

In cases in which economics or other factors are an issue, family members are sometimes allowed to act as monitors. But counsel for Federline opposed the notion on the grounds that having a family member be the monitor would be a conflict of interest. The monitor, therefore, will not be changed.

Although not compelled to be at court, Spears arrived at noon after a phone call from her lawyer. The singer testified at the hearing — and was described by a court officer as having a "soft and respectful voice." The content of her testimony is not being made public. When Spears left the courthouse after the hearing, her white Mercedes was mobbed by photographers and cameramen as she was stopped at a red light.

Kaplan had opposed the hearing on the grounds that it was premature, as Spears' progress report is scheduled to be submitted to the court on October 22, with a hearing to follow on October 26 to reassess. "The fact that a party, one week after a full court hearing, attempts to change the orders of the court, in the absence of an emergency or without any new facts, suggests a continued lack of respect and understanding for what an order of the court actually means," Kaplan said in a statement.

"We hope she made progress," he reiterated after the hearing. "[But] again, we're a week into an order."

Spears' attorney, Anne Kiley, counter-argued that the singer's request was for the benefit of the children, because the current visitation schedule is disruptive to the boys' sleeping schedules and requires them to be woken up from their naps. Kiley called it "traumatizing" for Sean Preston and Jayden James to be without their mother, but Gordon countered that it could be just as traumatizing for the boys to be around a mother who has substance-abuse and emotional issues.

"I think the fairest way to put it is that it is a compromise between two parties," Superior Court spokesman Allan Parachini said. "[Commissioner Gordon] emphasized that this is a relationship between young parents. [He] wants to be sure that their commitment level to be good parents are what he thinks is necessary."

Britney Spears' Highs And Lows Blown Up For Hollywood Art Show

2007-10-11T08:46:00.000-07:00

Perez Hilton, Chris Crocker and art aficionados comment on large-scale paintings and bubble-gum works depicting the pop star.

HOLLYWOOD — We've watched her go from sexy schoolgirl to hit-making superstar to train wreck. We've had a peek at her toned abs, bald head and, um, beyond. Never before, however, has Britney Spears been on display quite like she was over the last few weeks.

From a super-size painting of Brit's unmentionables to a mural made from Band-Aids called "It's Mickey, B---h!," the "Just Britney" show at the World of Wonder art gallery had every imaginable "tribute" to the singer. And if those works weren't shocking enough for you, the exhibit — which closed Wednesday (October 10) — also boasted a chewed-chicle masterpiece titled "Gum Blonde," and "Britocchio," a painting of Brit with Pinocchio's nose, sitting in a field with her privates exposed.

"On the one hand you've got people who absolutely love her making pictures out of her from bubble gum," said exhibit curator Steven Corfe, surveying a floor filled with pink-haired fans dining on Cheetos and Pepsi. "Then, on the other end of the scale, you've got pictures of her flashing ... and generally being a bad mom. ... It's 50 percent love and 50 percent mockery."

"The artist was probably inspired to make this out of gum," super-blogger Perez Hilton said of the Britney portrait constructed from 500 pieces of chewed candy, "because gum is disposable — much like Britney's music and her career."

At the show's opening, a cross-dressing dancer took the stage and re-created Spears' recent VMA performance; nearby, a station was set up for fans to have their heads shaved. Not everyone, however, was standing alongside Hilton in his desire to kick the tabloid target while she was down.

"I'm glad to see people making great art about a great artist," insisted Chris Crocker, the Internet sensation who shot to stardom with his tear-filled clips of support (see "Britney Spears, Bad Parent? Taryn Manning, Perez Hilton Weigh In"). "I would tell [Britney] to tune everybody out, and just find the performer that we all know and love is in there, and just go with her heart."

Whether they love her or hate her, the artists did seem to agree on one thing: Only Spears could serve as muse for a show like this.

"This is [honoring] when she was in her prime, when she started out and was nice and young and fresh," explained Plastic God (a.k.a. Doug Murphy), pointing to his work of several Lego-people portraits of Brit, surrounding a bigger depiction of her in a straitjacket. "Then we come to the ultimate sparkly version, which is the rhinestone Britney, [made of] actual rhinestones hand-sewn onto the canvas. We move on to when she gets a little older, a little more womanly ... and the main piece is touching on the weaknesses. Basically, it was when she went through her crazy phase. I've put her in a pink mental-patient outfit, with the Hannibal Lecter [mask], and I put her in a padded cell."

"My piece is called 'Rat Race,' and it's all about how Britney Spears' parents pimped her out to the Mouse when she was a kid," explained Lenora Claire, plugging in the hamster wheel that powered her cage-and-Barbie-doll depiction. "It's a lot of metaphors on top of metaphors, with the gilded cage and her running the rat race. There's a strobe light to simulate the paparazzi [flashbulbs], the wheel spins like she's running on it — and instead of getting cheese at the end, it's Cheetos."

Corfe calls "The Snake Charmer," the aforementioned 6-by-10-foot image of Britney emerging from Paris' car, the exhibition's centerpiece. "It's already been censored [at other exhibitions]," he noted, "but we don't have any phobias here."

The piece's creator, Jamie Boling, explained how he'd been censored. "I had a studio in Richmond, Virginia, and there's a gallery ... Barack Obama's people had decided to come and do a fundraiser there," he said. "Obama's people were requesting that the work be taken down, covered up or replaced, and my reaction was, 'No — it's a bit hypocritical for a presidential candidate to be asking that a work be censored, don't you think?'

"They placed a big blue curtain in front of it during the event," he shrugged. "They were afraid that somebody would take a picture of him in front of it, but I think it would have been a great opportunity for somebody who is wanting to lead our country to talk about freedom of speech ... unfortunately, he decided to be more afraid of the consequences."

Brit critic Hilton, on the other hand, grinned when he saw the piece. While Obama wouldn't be photographed in front of it, "I, on the other hand, took about 30 pictures!" he said. Hilton also tried to spur on a "Britney Boycott" at the event. "Come to the art show, but don't buy Britney's single," he said of "Gimme More," minutes before shaving the head of one of the museum's curators. "I still can't believe it went to #1 [on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs]. ... Britney is all sorts of messed up, and she needs a lot of help."

"We need to have a Perez boycott!" fumed Crocker, launching the first of many Britney debates that erupted on the art-show floor. "I don't even see why [Hilton] is here. It's a Britney art show — Britney fans come here. I don't understand why Britney haters are coming."

"She's everything: She's pop, she's America," reasoned Claire, who has set up a notepad next to her artwork so attendees can leave Britney messages of love — or hate. "She's the American dream gone wrong, for now. But I think she'll get back on top. I'm sure."

Britney Spears Plans An Early Blackout; Plus Diddy, Black Eyed Peas, Bobby Brown, Justin Timberlake & More, In For The Record

2007-10-11T08:45:00.000-07:00

Diddy hit with another suit; Peas cancel concert mid-show in El Salvador; Brown recovering from mild heart attack.

Britney Spears' arraignment was delayed earlier this week, but the singer needs to make another adjustment on her calendar — her upcoming Blackout LP has bumped from a November 13 release to October 30. Jive, her label, chalked up the release-date shift to album tracks being leaked online. "Due to these numerous unauthorized online leaks, the label is doing everything possible to prevent and avoid any future illegal distribution of songs, including moving up the release date of the album to October 30," it said in a statement. ...

Hip-hop promoter James Waldon has filed a $5 million lawsuit against Sean "Diddy" Combs, claiming that after he chatted with the Bad Boy boss at the Box nightclub in New York, three of Combs' bodyguards attacked him. According to The Associated Press, the 27-year-old said one bodyguard punched him in the mouth, knocking him backward onto a table, while two others repeatedly hit and kicked him, then chased him around the club before he escaped. Waldon claimed the beating left him with a number of injuries, including mouth and teeth problems. Combs' lawyer said he had not yet seen the filing. ... In other Diddy legal news, a Los Angeles judge ruled Wednesday that the hip-hop mogul doesn't have to provide photos of his rings to a man who says Combs hit him outside the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel nightclub in February, according to The Associated Press. Gerald Rechnitzer's lawyer had argued that the photos were critical to his case. ...

Bobby Brown is recovering after suffering a mild heart attack, according to People. His representative Paedra Parks told the magazine that the singer is in "great spirits and has a great prognosis from his doctor." Brown's girlfriend, Alicia Etheridge, rushed him to the Tarzana Regional Medical Center in Tarzana, California, on Tuesday afternoon when he experienced chest pains. He is expected to be released later Wednesday (October 10) and still plans to perform at Los Angeles radio station V100's Taste of Soul fest on Saturday. ...

Black Eyed Peas ended a concert mid-show in San Salvador, El Salvador, last week after Fergie apparently became ill, according to AP. The singer announced onstage that she was suffering from food poisoning, saying, "I've never canceled a show in my life," according to a video that has been circulating online. The show's organizer announced Tuesday that the show will be rescheduled in 90 days, and refunds will also be offered. ... Justin Timberlake has become the first male solo artist this decade to score six top 40 hits from the same album, according to Billboard. His FutureSex/LoveSounds song "Until the End of Time" recently jumped from #41 to #28 on the magazine's Hot 100. The last solo male artist to accomplish the feat? Michael Jackson, naturally. ...

Kiefer Sutherland released a statement Wednesday in regards to his recent DUI arrest. "I'm very disappointed in myself for the poor judgment I exhibited recently, and I'm deeply sorry for the disappointment and distress this has caused my family, friends and co-workers on '24' and at 20th Century Fox. I appreciate the support and concern that has been extended to me these last weeks both personally and professionally." Sutherland will have to serve 48 days in county jail — 30 for driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of .08 percent, as well as 18 for violating his probation for another DUI case in 2004. He will be sentenced December 21. ...

Disgraced boy-band svengali Lou Pearlman is hitting back at allegations in a Vanity Fair story in which former members of male groups he worked with alleged inappropriate activities and sexual improprieties. Speaking to Radar magazine, Pearlman called the story "slander" and denied any wrongdoing. "I don't think there's anything wrong [with having one's] own sexual preference, but no, I've never dated nor have I been interested in men sexually," Pearlman said in response to a question about whether he is gay. He dismissed a number of the allegations against him as mostly sour grapes from people who are or have been in litigation with him, or whose careers did not take off. Pearlman also denied giving massages to any of his former clients and the allegation that he told a young man that in order to get into a band he had to perform a sex act on him. He also said former Take 5 member TJ Christofore made up a story about Pearlman wrestling on a bed with a number of young men while wearing only a towel. "T.J. [Christofore] is making up this story," Pearlman said. "He sued me in child-labor court and lost. If what he says is true, you would think he would have brought it up to help his case. The fact that he never mentioned this in court should tell you where he's coming from. He's just trying to join the lynch party. Besides, I've never owned a towel that could wrap all the way around me anyway." ...

Forget about Angelina Jolie, Jessica Biel and Scarlett Johansson — Charlize Theron is the sexiest woman alive, according to Esquire magazine. The "In the Valley of Elah" actress graces the cover of the mag's new issue, which streets Tuesday. ... It seems that a few hospital staffers wanted to know a little too much about George Clooney. Twenty-seven employees at North Bergen, New Jersey's Palisades Medical Center — where the "Michael Clayton" actor and his girlfriend were hospitalized in September after being involved in a motorcycle accident — have been suspended for four weeks for allegedly looking at Clooney's confidential medical information. "This is the first I've heard of it," Clooney said in a statement. "And while I very much believe in a patient's right to privacy, I would hope that this could be settled without suspending medical workers." ...

More disturbing information has surfaced concerning alleged animal abuse at rapper DMX's Arizona home. According to a report in The Arizona Republic, several of the 12 undernourished pit bulls recovered from the grounds back in August suffered from valley fever, an infectious lung disease that also affects humans. Also, three dogs that were discovered buried in the rapper's backyard may have died from heat after air conditioning in the house reportedly broke down. The Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which is still investigating the matter, told the Republic that a "usable amount of marijuana" was also recovered from the rapper's home, along with a small amount of cocaine. The cause of death of the three dogs, which showed signs of bruising, could not be determined, as their bodies were severely decomposed. Two burned dogs, a 20-pound puppy and a 40-pound female, were found together, wrapped in a beige bed sheet and placed inside a plastic bag. ...

Mos Def and hipster rapper Spank Rock have come together to remix French house duo Justice's VMA-nominated "D.A.N.C.E." The two MCs are now labelmates after Mos Def recently signed to Downtown Records (also home to Gnarls Barkley and Cold War Kids), the rapper's label and management confirmed to MTV News. The remix was produced by 19-year old Baltimore beatmaker Benny Blanco who, along with Spank Rock, just released a 2 Live Crew tribute EP, Bangers & Cash. ...

The Police have been forced to cancel two gigs on their current world tour due to frontman Sting's alleged voice problems. The band canceled an Antwerp, Belgium, concert set for October 2, along with another in Manheim, Germany, that was scheduled for October 3. Sting is suffering from a throat infection and doctors have told him to rest his pipes. ... Leave it to the Flaming Lips to conjure a Halloween party for the ages. According to Oklahoma City's OK Gazette, the hometown heroes are participating in the city's Ghouls Gone Wild parade on October 27. Frontman Wayne Coyne will be the grand marshal — and march in his famed plastic bubble, no less! — and the band is trying to rally 1,000 costumed folks to be part of its March of a Thousand Flaming Skeletons. ... Mötley Crüe's upcoming live double-disc set, Carnival of Sins, has been scheduled for an October 23 release. The set features 23 tracks spanning the band's entire career, including "Too Young to Fall in Love," "Home Sweet Home," "Shout at the Devil" and "Dr. Feelgood." ...

The Beatles fans pumped for the November 6 double-DVD re-release of the band's "Help!," might want to buy a ticket to Cleveland — the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum has constructed a new exhibit devoted to the 1965 flick. The exhibit, which will open November 16, will feature rare artifacts and photos shot during the making of the movie, including George Harrison's original script, call sheets, costumes and more. Speaking of Harrison, nine albums from his solo catalog debuted digitally on Tuesday, with the rest set to be made available next year. Fans will probably want to nab the iTunes versions, as they come with bonus tracks.

10.09.07

Looks like there's finally some good news for Britney Spears. The singer has been passing her court-ordered random drug tests and has a 50/50 chance of regaining custody of her children, her lawyer Sorrell Trope told People. Also, while Spears has lots of court dates to keep track of these days, she has one less for her calendar this week — her arraignment on misdemeanor driving charges (for hit and run, causing property damage and driving without a valid California license). Though her arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday, a Los Angeles judge decided Tuesday (October 9) that Spears could have until October 25 to enter a plea. The judge also ordered the singer to be booked by police and show proof of that booking by her arraignment, according to a court clerk. Spears' next hearing in her custody case will be the following day, on October 26. ...

Kiefer Sutherland will serve time in Los Angeles County Jail as part of a plea deal in his DUI arrest, AP reports. He will have to serve 48 days in county jail — 30 for driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of .08 percent, as well as 18 for violating his probation for another DUI case in 2004. The actor must also enroll in an 18-month alcohol-education class and go to weekly alcohol-therapy sessions for six months. On Tuesday, Sutherland's attorney Blair Berk entered a no-contest plea on the actor's behalf for driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, though a second misdemeanor DUI charge was dropped. The actor was most recently arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles in September — he was already on probation for the 2004 DUI arrest. He will be sentenced December 21. ...

Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Linkin Park and — yes, you're reading this right — Daughtry are tied for the most American Music Awards nominations this year, it was announced Tuesday. Each artist earned three nods for various categories. In terms of pop/rock, Akon, Timbaland and Timberlake are facing off for Favorite Male Artist; Beyoncé, Fergie and Avril Lavigne are vying for Favorite Female Artist; Linkin Park, Maroon 5 and Nickelback are competing for Favorite Band, Duo or Group; and Daughtry, LP's Minutes to Midnight and JT's FutureSex/LoveSounds are going head to head for Favorite Album. As for rap/hip-hop, Fabolous, T.I. and Young Jeezy are vying for Favorite Male Artist; Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Pretty Ricky and Shop Boyz for Favorite Band, Duo or Group; and Bone Thugs' Strength & Loyalty, T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. and Jeezy's The Inspiration for Favorite Album. And on the soul/R&B front, Akon, Ne-Yo and T-Pain are up for Favorite Male Artist; Beyoncé, Fantasia and Rihanna are squaring off for Favorite Female Artist; Beyoncé's B'Day, R. Kelly's Double Up and JT's FutureSex/LoveSounds have been nominated for Favorite Album. There are also Favorite Artist categories for adult-contemporary music (Daughtry, Norah Jones and John Mayer); alternative rock (Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance and the White Stripes) and Latin music (Daddy Yankee, Juan Luis Guerra y 440 and Jennifer Lopez). Daughtry, Plain White T's and Robin Thicke have been noticed for Favorite Breakthrough Artist, while Carrie Underwood landed two country-music noms: for Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Album (Some Hearts). For the first time, the AMAs are opening up voting to the general public online — it began Tuesday on the AMA site and ends November 2. The show, to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be broadcast live at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on November 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. ...

John Graziano, the young Marine who was injured in Nick Hogan's car crash in late August, is on life support and will require lifelong care, Florida's St. Petersburg Times reports. According to documents obtained by the newspaper, the 22-year-old Graziano will, at best, be able to open and close his eyes from time to time. His mother is petitioning a judge to let her assume guardianship of her son, who remains in critical condition. A hearing will be held Wednesday. ...

Rehab was a "sobering" experience for Lindsay Lohan, she told In Touch in her first interview since leaving Utah's Cirque Lodge Treatment Center on Friday. The actress also insisted that while she went to the clubs right after finishing a rehab stint in July, she's not going to be rekindling her nightlife anytime soon — to avoid distractions, she'll be staying in Utah until she starts shooting the upcoming flick "Dare to Love Me." "Going out all the time was very self-destructive," she said. "Partying and having all of those pictures taken distracts from the work that I do. It's not why I started acting. I didn't get into acting to be written about. ... I want to act like a woman rather than a teenager. I am doing the best I can." Lohan also opened up about seeing her estranged father for the first time in more than three years, while at Cirque Lodge. "It was really good for me ... it was really important for me to get a connection back with my dad, because I hadn't had that in a while." And if you heard those rumors about Lohan developing a relationship with a man while in rehab ... well, apparently they were true. "Yes, I am seeing someone," she confirmed. "His name is Riley. I am really happy and taking it day by day." The Riley in question is Riley Giles, a 25-year-old snowboarder from California. Last but not least, just as Paris Hilton said she was committing herself to philanthropic efforts after her own debacle, Lohan revealed that she's trying to put together a December trip to Africa with the Red Cross. ...

"Hannah Montana" fans will want to change the channel from Disney to ABC on Tuesday night when Miley Cyrus breaks out a new duet with her father, Billy Ray, on "Dancing With the Stars." The two will perform "Ready, Set, Don't Go" on the results show, with the single hitting country-radio stations immediately afterward. ... What do Diddy, Panic! at the Disco's Ryan Ross and Fred Durst have in common? They've all earned the less-than-distinguished honor of being selected for Blender's "The 40 Worst Lyricists in Rock" list. Will.I.Am, Billy Corgan, Anthony Kiedis, Common, Dashboard Confessional, Timbaland and, of course, Kevin Federline, also make the (F) grade, with Sting landing in the #1 spot. The list appears in the magazine's November issue, which streets October 16. ... Kid Rock commented to Dave Letterman about his ex-wife Pamela Anderson's recent remarriage — she got hitched to Rick Salomon in Las Vegas over the weekend. After making a salty remark about the couple on "The Late Show With David Letterman," he quipped, "I wish them much happiness." ...

Wyclef Jean seems to be the go-to guy for special causes these days. After playing at "CGI and MTV Present: Giving - Live at the Apollo" late last month, he's now been tapped for another special performance, at supermodel Petra Nêmcová's upcoming Heart of Gold Ball benefit auction. The event, to take place Wednesday at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, will have various sports, travel and event packages up for auction. All proceeds will go to Nêmcová's Happy Hearts Fund, which supports education and medical and emotional support for children affected by natural disasters. ... Say what you will about those rumors of Britney Spears putting in an application for a fall-back bartending gig while staying at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, California, last week. The manager at the hotel's Cameo Bar tells MTV News that while Spears has been there in the past, anyone applying has to have one to two years of fine-dining experience and must pass a drug test. The manager didn't confirm whether Spears had in fact submitted an application. ...

Avenged Sevenfold will play a free gig at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California, on October 20. The set will be taped for later broadcast on MySpace's "The List." Want in? No problem. Just show up in your Halloween costume and get there early — entry to the show will be on a first-come, first-served basis. ... Jimmy Eat World are going all in with their new single "Big Casino," fashioning their Chase This Light album-release party after the gambling concept. On Monday, the band will turn Los Angeles' El Rey Theatre into a faux casino, with fans able to play poker, blackjack, craps and other games for prizes — a flyaway to see the band perform in another city, JEW merchandise, El Rey tickets and more. The band will end the evening with an intimate set as Chase This Light drops at midnight. Entrants will get gambling money and a commemorative poster. ...

Causes, a charity album benefiting three organizations working to stop the Darfur conflict, will be released on iTunes on November 27 and feature exclusive and rare tracks from Bloc Party, the Shins, Bright Eyes, Animal Collective, the Cure, Death Cab for Cutie, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Travis and Spoon. All proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam America. The album will only be available on iTunes for 90 days, though a limited-edition CD can be ordered right here. ... Queens of the Stone Age are booked for "The Late Show With David Letterman" on Wednesday and are expected to perform their latest single, "3's & 7's." ...

R.E.M. are teeing up a new album for the spring, and what better place to reveal some of it than on ... CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360"? On Wednesday, Michael Stipe and company will perform "Until the Day Is Done," which will be synced up to clips of CNN's "Planet in Peril" environmental documentary. The song will also play over the doc's closing credits and appear on the band's yet-untitled spring LP. R.E.M. Live, a CD/DVD that stands as the band's first concert release, is due October 16. ... Hot Rod Circuit have called it a day. The band issued a statement about the split but didn't offer a reason for it. The boys thanked their fans for supporting them and said they'll miss playing live gigs. ... Senator Hillary Clinton's 60th birthday bash has just gotten a little bit sweeter: Elvis Costello will perform at the Thursday concert, to be held at New York's Beacon Theatre. Tickets range from $250-$2,300 for the bash, for which 2,800 people are expected to attend. Let's hope Costello isn't planning to jump out of a cake. ...

Capitol/Priority is putting some shine on classic rap material with a pair of releases from the vault. N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton is getting the 20th-anniversary treatment via a bonus-track-laden reissue due December 4. The set will feature five extras: a live version of "Compton's N the House" performed by Dr. Dre and MC Ren, and covers of Compton tracks by Snoop Dogg and C-Murder, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Mack-10 and WC. Also on the way is the label's Featuring ... Eazy-E, which pulls together his top collaborations and hard-to-find solo recordings. Four out-of-print tracks are getting new life on the disc, including his "Beverly Hills Cop III" soundtrack contribution, "Luv 4 Dem Gangsta'z," and a rare "We Want Eazy" remix. That disc hits stores December 4 too. ...

Jammie Thomas, the woman who was hit last week with the first-ever copyright infringement jury verdict, said she plans to appeal the $220,000 fine. She announced the decision on her MySpace page, explaining that her lawyer's appeal will take issue with the jury's decision that making songs available online violates copyright laws. "This would stop the RIAA dead in their tracks," she wrote. "Every single suit they have brought has been based on this making-available theory, and if we can win this appeal, they would actually have to prove a file was shared." At press time, Thomas announced that more than $3,800 had been raised so far on FreeJammie.com. ... TiVo has announced that it will offer users of its set-top boxes access to Rhapsody's library of more than 4 million songs. (Rhapsody is part of a joint venture with Viacom Inc., MTV's parent company.) TiVo subscribers with broadband boxes will be able to listen to music streamed over the Internet from Rhapsody in the coming months, though they won't be able to download songs through their TiVo box.

Britney Spears Reportedly Passing Drug Tests; Plus Kiefer Sutherland, Lindsay Lohan, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce & More, In For The Record

2007-10-10T03:31:00.001-07:00

Sutherland to serve 30 days in jail for DUI; Lohan calls rehab 'sobering'; Timberlake, Knowles nominated for American Music Awards.

Looks like there's finally some good news for Britney Spears. The singer has been passing her court-ordered random drug tests and has a 50/50 chance of regaining custody of her children, her lawyer Sorrell Trope told People. Also, while Spears has lots of court dates to keep track of these days, she has one less for her calendar this week — her arraignment on misdemeanor driving charges (for hit and run, causing property damage and driving without a valid California license). Though her arraignment was scheduled for Wednesday, a Los Angeles judge decided Tuesday (October 9) that Spears could have until October 25 to enter a plea. The judge also ordered the singer to be booked by police and show proof of that booking by her arraignment, according to a court clerk. Spears' next hearing in her custody case will be the following day, on October 26. ...

Kiefer Sutherland will serve 30 days in Los Angeles County Jail as part of a plea deal in his DUI arrest, The Associated Press reports. He must also enroll in an 18-month alcohol-education class and go to weekly alcohol-therapy sessions for six months. On Tuesday, Sutherland's attorney Blair Berk entered a no-contest plea on the actor's behalf for driving with a blood-alcohol level over the legal limit, though a second misdemeanor DUI charge was dropped. The actor was most recently arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles in September — he was already on probation for a DUI arrest stemming from 2004. He will be sentenced December 21. ...

Justin Timberlake, Beyoncé, Linkin Park and — yes, you're reading this right — Daughtry are tied for the most American Music Awards nominations this year, it was announced Tuesday. Each artist earned three nods for various categories. In terms of pop/rock, Akon, Timbaland and Timberlake are facing off for Favorite Male Artist; Beyoncé, Fergie and Avril Lavigne are vying for Favorite Female Artist; Linkin Park, Maroon 5 and Nickelback are competing for Favorite Band, Duo or Group; and Daughtry, LP's Minutes to Midnight and JT's FutureSex/LoveSounds are going head to head for Favorite Album. As for rap/hip-hop, Fabolous, T.I. and Young Jeezy are vying for Favorite Male Artist; Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Pretty Ricky and Shop Boyz for Favorite Band, Duo or Group; and Bone Thugs' Strength & Loyalty, T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. and Jeezy's The Inspiration for Favorite Album. And on the soul/R&B front, Akon, Ne-Yo and T-Pain are up for Favorite Male Artist; Beyoncé, Fantasia and Rihanna are squaring off for Favorite Female Artist; Beyoncé's B'Day, R. Kelly's Double Up and JT's FutureSex/LoveSounds have been nominated for Favorite Album. There are also Favorite Artist categories for adult-contemporary music (Daughtry, Norah Jones and John Mayer); alternative rock (Linkin Park, My Chemical Romance and the White Stripes) and Latin music (Daddy Yankee, Juan Luis Guerra y 440 and Jennifer Lopez). Daughtry, Plain White T's and Robin Thicke have been noticed for Favorite Breakthrough Artist, while Carrie Underwood landed two country-music noms: for Favorite Female Artist and Favorite Album (Some Hearts). For the first time, the AMAs are opening up voting to the general public online — it began Tuesday on the AMA site and ends November 2. The show, to be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will be broadcast live at Los Angeles' Nokia Theatre on November 18 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC. ...

John Graziano, the young Marine who was injured in Nick Hogan's car crash in late August, is on life support and will require lifelong care, Florida's St. Petersburg Times reports. According to documents obtained by the newspaper, the 22-year-old Graziano will, at best, be able to open and close his eyes from time to time. His mother is petitioning a judge to let her assume guardianship of her son, who remains in critical condition. A hearing will be held Wednesday. ...

Rehab was a "sobering" experience for Lindsay Lohan, she told In Touch in her first interview since leaving Utah's Cirque Lodge Treatment Center on Friday. The actress also insisted that while she went to the clubs right after finishing a rehab stint in July, she's not going to be rekindling her nightlife anytime soon — to avoid distractions, she'll be staying in Utah until she starts shooting the upcoming flick "Dare to Love Me." "Going out all the time was very self-destructive," she said. "Partying and having all of those pictures taken distracts from the work that I do. It's not why I started acting. I didn't get into acting to be written about. ... I want to act like a woman rather than a teenager. I am doing the best I can." Lohan also opened up about seeing her estranged father for the first time in more than three years, while at Cirque Lodge. "It was really good for me ... it was really important for me to get a connection back with my dad, because I hadn't had that in a while." And if you heard those rumors about Lohan developing a relationship with a man while in rehab ... well, apparently they were true. "Yes, I am seeing someone," she confirmed. "His name is Riley. I am really happy and taking it day by day." The Riley in question is Riley Giles, a 25-year-old snowboarder from California. Last but not least, just as Paris Hilton said she was committing herself to philanthropic efforts after her own debacle, Lohan revealed that she's trying to put together a December trip to Africa with the Red Cross. ...

"Hannah Montana" fans will want to change the channel from Disney to ABC on Tuesday night when Miley Cyrus breaks out a new duet with her father, Billy Ray, on "Dancing With the Stars." The two will perform "Ready, Set, Don't Go" on the results show, with the single hitting country-radio stations immediately afterward. ... What do Diddy, Panic! at the Disco's Ryan Ross and Fred Durst have in common? They've all earned the less-than-distinguished honor of being selected for Blender's "The 40 Worst Lyricists in Rock" list. Will.I.Am, Billy Corgan, Anthony Kiedis, Common, Dashboard Confessional, Timbaland and, of course, Kevin Federline, also make the (F) grade, with Sting landing in the #1 spot. The list appears in the magazine's November issue, which streets October 16. ... Kid Rock commented to Dave Letterman about his ex-wife Pamela Anderson's recent remarriage — she got hitched to Rick Salomon in Las Vegas over the weekend. After making a salty remark about the couple on "The Late Show With David Letterman," he quipped, "I wish them much happiness." ...

Wyclef Jean seems to be the go-to guy for special causes these days. After playing at "CGI and MTV Present: Giving - Live at the Apollo" late last month, he's now been tapped for another special performance, at supermodel Petra Nêmcová's upcoming Heart of Gold Ball benefit auction. The event, to take place Wednesday at Cipriani Wall Street in New York, will have various sports, travel and event packages up for auction. All proceeds will go to Nêmcová's Happy Hearts Fund, which supports education and medical and emotional support for children affected by natural disasters. ... Say what you will about those rumors of Britney Spears putting in an application for a fall-back bartending gig while staying at the Viceroy Hotel in Santa Monica, California, last week. The manager at the hotel's Cameo Bar tells MTV News that while Spears has been there in the past, anyone applying has to have one to two years of fine-dining experience and must pass a drug test. The manager didn't confirm whether Spears had in fact submitted an application. ...

Avenged Sevenfold will play a free gig at the Key Club in West Hollywood, California, on October 20. The set will be taped for later broadcast on MySpace's "The List." Want in? No problem. Just show up in your Halloween costume and get there early — entry to the show will be on a first-come, first-served basis. ... Jimmy Eat World are going all in with their new single "Big Casino," fashioning their Chase This Light album-release party after the gambling concept. On Monday, the band will turn Los Angeles' El Rey Theatre into a faux casino, with fans able to play poker, blackjack, craps and other games for prizes — a flyaway to see the band perform in another city, JEW merchandise, El Rey tickets and more. The band will end the evening with an intimate set as Chase This Light drops at midnight. Entrants will get gambling money and a commemorative poster. ...

Causes, a charity album benefiting three organizations working to stop the genocide in Darfur, will be released on iTunes on November 27 and feature exclusive and rare tracks from Bloc Party, the Shins, Bright Eyes, Animal Collective, the Cure, Death Cab for Cutie, the (International) Noise Conspiracy, Travis and Spoon. All proceeds will go to Doctors Without Borders, Human Rights Watch and Oxfam America. The album will only be available on iTunes for 90 days, though a limited-edition CD can be ordered right here. ... Queens of the Stone Age are booked for "The Late Show With David Letterman" on Wednesday and are expected to perform their latest single, "3's & 7's." ...

R.E.M. are teeing up a new album for the spring, and what better place to reveal some of it than on ... CNN's "Anderson Cooper 360"? On Wednesday, Michael Stipe and company will perform "Until the Day Is Done," which will be synced up to clips of CNN's "Planet in Peril" environmental documentary. The song will also play over the doc's closing credits and appear on the band's yet-untitled spring LP. R.E.M. Live, a CD/DVD that stands as the band's first concert release, is due October 16. ... Hot Rod Circuit have called it a day. The band issued a statement about the split but didn't offer a reason for it. The boys thanked their fans for supporting them and said they'll miss playing live gigs. ... Senator Hillary Clinton's 60th birthday bash has just gotten a little bit sweeter: Elvis Costello will perform at the Thursday concert, to be held at New York's Beacon Theatre. Tickets range from $250-$2,300 for the bash, for which 2,800 people are expected to attend. Let's hope Costello isn't planning to jump out of a cake. ...

Capitol/Priority is putting some shine on classic rap material with a pair of releases from the vault. N.W.A's Straight Outta Compton is getting the 20th-anniversary treatment via a bonus-track-laden reissue due December 4. The set will feature five extras: a live version of "Compton's N the House" performed by Dr. Dre and MC Ren, and covers of Compton tracks by Snoop Dogg and C-Murder, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Mack-10 and WC. Also on the way is the label's Featuring ... Eazy-E, which pulls together his top collaborations and hard-to-find solo recordings. Four out-of-print tracks are getting new life on the disc, including his "Beverly Hills Cop III" soundtrack contribution, "Luv 4 Dem Gangsta'z," and a rare "We Want Eazy" remix. That disc hits stores December 4 too. ...

Jammie Thomas, the woman who was hit last week with the first-ever copyright infringement jury verdict, said she plans to appeal the $220,000 fine. She announced the decision on her MySpace page, explaining that her lawyer's appeal will take issue with the jury's decision that making songs available online violates copyright laws. "This would stop the RIAA dead in their tracks," she wrote. "Every single suit they have brought has been based on this making-available theory, and if we can win this appeal, they would actually have to prove a file was shared." At press time, Thomas announced that more than $3,800 had been raised so far on FreeJammie.com. ... TiVo has announced that it will offer users of its set-top boxes access to Rhapsody's library of more than 4 million songs. (Rhapsody is part of a joint venture with Viacom Inc., MTV's parent company.) TiVo subscribers with broadband boxes will be able to listen to music streamed over the Internet from Rhapsody in the coming months, though they won't be able to download songs through their TiVo box.

08.08.07

Mariah Carey has a suggestion for troubled young female celebs: Find your center. When asked by Glamour what words of advice she would give Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, she replied, "I wouldn't want to speak to those people specifically, but I would say you need to be very centered, and spiritually know where you're at, all the time. Don't read the tabloids. Don't be obsessed with what people are writing or saying. Live your life for you. My lifestyle has changed since making it. It's not a financial struggle, but I'm still struggling in a lot of ways." Carey graces the cover of the magazine's November issue. ...

Diddy has had a tumultuous few days — first he was sued by a former associate who claimed the hip-hop mogul owes him $19 million for work by the Notorious B.I.G., and then he accepted legal responsibility for his sixth child, The Associated Press reports. In the suit, James Sabatino claims he flew the late rapper to Miami in 1994 to play a gig and hit the studio — he recorded a 17-minute freestyle session, and 90 minutes of Biggie video was allegedly captured on video as well. Since Sabatino paid for the travel expenses and studio time, he says it was understood that the music and video belonged to him, even though a contract was never signed. Diddy claims the delay was due to Los Angeles police naming Sabatino as a person of interest in Biggie's death and that it might be misconstrued if people discovered Bad Boy had paid Sabatino. The ex-associate was later imprisoned on unrelated charges but continued trying to get the money from Diddy and was told it would be coming soon, the suit alleges. Sabatino is seeking $19 million for actual and punitive damages. While that dilemma recently emerged, Diddy put another one to rest when he took legal responsibility for his 15-month-old daughter, Chance — who is said to have factored into his split with ex-girlfriend Kim Porter. Diddy previously denied he had fathered the child of an Atlanta woman, Sarah Chapman, but has acknowledged that DNA tests have confirmed that he is the father. Diddy has arranged support terms and visitation over his daughter with Chapman. ...

Trent Reznor is a free man. According to a post on Nine Inch Nails' Web site, he and his band have fulfilled their contractual obligations to Interscope. "I've waited a long time to be able to make the following announcement: As of right now, Nine Inch Nails is a totally free agent, free of any recording contract with any label," he said in the post. "I have been under recording contracts for 18 years and have watched the business radically mutate from one thing to something inherently very different and it gives me great pleasure to be able to finally have a direct relationship with the audience as I see fit and appropriate. Look for some announcements in the near future regarding 2008. Exciting times, indeed." NIN were signed to TVT prior to joining Interscope in 1994. ...

Beanie Sigel's attorney says the rapper will surrender to authorities next week after an arrest warrant was issued for his failure to return a rented car, AP reports. Sigel (real name: Dwight Grant) is planning to face the charges on October 15, Fortunado Perri told the news service, elaborating that the Payless rental car — which was due back in August and reported stolen September 6 — is being covered. "Whatever money is owed to the company has been paid or will be paid shortly," Perri added. The car was returned to Payless on Friday as detectives were on their way to arrest Sigel at his home in the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdale. It is not yet known who returned the vehicle, which had accumulated $5,000 in late fees. ...

Paris Hilton's alleged bean spillage during VMA weekend aside, Christina Aguilera isn't doing too good a job keeping her supposed pregnancy under wraps. "Access Hollywood" reports that Aguilera picked out a baby registry at a trendy boutique in West Hollywood, California, on Saturday night. With husband Jordan Bratman and his mother and sister in tow, the singer shopped for blankets, bottles, bags and other items for what "AH" called an "upcoming baby shower." ...

Want to live just like Ozzy and Sharon? Your chance is about to arrive. The Osbournes are planning to auction art, furniture and collectibles from their homes in Southern California and England, with a portion of proceeds going to the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Foundation. Items up for sale include Jack Osbourne's black leather bedroom furniture, a cast-iron crucifix that was hung in Ozzy's den and other memorable objects that appeared on "The Osbournes." The auction will be held November 30-December at the Gibson Guitar Showroom in Beverly Hills — although bids can also be placed by phone or online — and Ozzy will also perform a related benefit show at Los Angeles' Staples Center the first night. Expect to hear plenty more from Ozzy in the near future, by the way: In addition to his upcoming tour with Rob Zombie, he'll likely be headlining Ozzfest next year, according to Billboard. When asked if he would be at the top of the bill, he said, "As far as I know." He did not say whether the fest would be free again, stipulating that it was Sharon's decision. He did, however, say he's still up for recording a new Black Sabbath album, though the band's plans are up in the air. ...

Amy Winehouse, the Arctic Monkeys, Paul McCartney and Kylie Minogue were honored at the annual Q awards on Monday (October 8). Winehouse's Back to Black earned Best Album, the Monkeys were named Best Act in the World Today, Macca was awarded as a Q Icon and Minogue landed Q Idol honors. ... Speaking of Winehouse, producer Mark Ronson tells RollingStone.com, "As soon as I finish up the Daniel Merriweather record, I am going back into the studio with Amy Winehouse to work on her new record. ... She is actually dying to go back into the studio already. ... She can't go in November because she is on tour, so we are figuring it out." Winehouse's second album, Back to Black, hit U.S. stores in March. ...

A new book claims that Bono's daughter, Jordan Hewson, was nearly kidnapped by Irish criminals as part of an abduction plot 10 years ago, according to The Irish Examiner. Author Frances Cahill, daughter of murdered crime boss Martin Cahill, says in her recently released book, "Martin Cahill, My Father," that her dad stopped the alleged plot, through which five other Irish criminals were hoping to get a multimillion-dollar ransom from the singer (the U.S. equivalent of roughly $8 million). "He told them it was a bad idea," Cahill reportedly writes in the book. "Martin had nothing against Bono's family. They had never done him any harm and he wasn't going to get involved." ...

Deftones have begun work on the follow-up to last year's Saturday Night Wrist, which took the band more than three years to record and release. According to a MySpace post from the guys, they've been working on the effort since late July and will maintain a blog to document the recording process. ... In addition to the standard CD version of their new self-titled album, Avenged Sevenfold will also be releasing a MVI version of the effort on October 30. The interactive DVD will feature a making-of featurette, a studio tour, pre-encoded MP3s of all the tracks, an animated short and more. ...

Cribs bassist Gary Jarman was hospitalized over the weekend and has been treated for blood poisoning, his publicist confirmed to MTV News. It's believed the rocker contracted the condition after accidentally cutting himself with the strings of his bass during a recent gig. He had complained of pains in his arms on Saturday but managed to make a gig in Sheffield, England, that same night. He was admitted early Sunday morning and is doing fine, according to his publicist. ... Want to get down and dirty with Moby? Stop by New York's Hiro Ballroom on Thursday night when he, Juan McClean, Stretch Armstrong and DFA artist Alex Frankel christen his new DJ series, called "Degenerates." Moby will tinker around with new material as part of the residency, which is expected to be ongoing and will encompass additional DJs. ...

Jena, Louisiana, Mayor Murphy R. McMillin is lashing out over John Mellencamp's new track "Jena," which the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-nominated rocker recently wrote and posted online (with an accompanying video) in support of the Jena Six. "The town of Jena has for months been mischaracterized in the media and portrayed as the epicenter of hatred, racism and a place where justice is denied," McMillin reportedly told AP. "However, the Mellencamp video is so inflammatory, so defamatory, that a line has been crossed and enough is enough. ... I do not want to diminish the impression that the hanging of the nooses has had on good people. I do recognize that what happened is insulting and hurtful. ... [But] to put the incident in Jena in the same league as those who were murdered in the 1960s cheapens their sacrifice and insults their memory." Prior to the mayor's reaction, Mellencamp discussed his intention behind the track via a post on his site. "The song is not written as an indictment of the people of Jena but, rather, as a condemnation of racism," he wrote. ...

Bruce Springsteen defended his anti-war stance in an interview with "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday, telling correspondent Scott Pelley that it would be "unpatriotic" not to speak out on his new album, Magic, and accompanying tour. "It's unpatriotic at any given moment to sit back and let things pass that are damaging to someplace that you love so dearly and that has given me so much," Springsteen said. "I still feel and see it as a beacon of hope and possibility. That part of America is live and well." He also sounded off on other political issues of the day, saying, "When people think of the American identity, they don't think of torture. They don't think of illegal wiretapping. They don't think of voter suppression. They don't think of no habeas corpus. No right to a lawyer ... you know. Those are things that are anti-American." ...

Not too long ago, the thought of a Police reunion tour was inconceivable. Now comes news that the rock legends, who are currently on tour in Europe, might throw together a new studio effort while they're at it. "I would see it as a challenge, to make an absolutely brilliant pop album at this stage of our career, and that would be something quite remarkable," guitarist Andy Summers told reporters in Dublin, Ireland, over the weekend, according to AP. But he added that the trio have not discussed the project in detail and that the reunion tour is "all-devouring." ...

Maybe the third time will indeed be the charm for Pamela Anderson, who married Rick Salomon — perhaps best known for making that sex tape with Paris Hilton — on Saturday in Las Vegas. Anderson wore a white denim Valentino dress, People reports, and the vows were squeezed in between the 7 p.m. and 10 p.m. shows of Hans Klok's "The Beauty of Magic," which Anderson is a part of, at the Planet Hollywood resort. It's Anderson's third marriage and Salomon's second.

Britney Spears - Gimme More

2007-10-07T09:45:00.000-07:00

"Gimme More" is a song written by James Washington, Keri Hilson, Marcella Araica and Nate Hills for Britney Spears's fifth studio album, Blackout. Produced by Danja, it is the first single from the album and Spears's highest peaking single in the United States since "...Baby One More Time", having reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100.

Single release

On August 30, 2007, "Gimme More" premiered on New York City radio station Z100's web site, followed by premieres in other major markets such as KIIS-FM in Los Angeles, 97.1 ZHT in Salt Lake City and Hot 99.5 in Washington, D.C. Later on September 28, 2007, the song was officially released for radio airplay in the United Kingdom.

On September 25, 2007, the song was digitally released in Australia and North America.

The song will be released as a CD single in Australia on October 6, 2007 and in the UK on November 5, 2007. It will be released in the same format on the rest of the European contries on October 29, 2007.

The video was shot in a warehouse in downtown Los Angeles on July 19 and August 7, 2007. [10]

The music video is set to premiere on MTV's Total Request Live on October 8, 2007.[11]

An exclusive promotional video was released on iTunes Friday, October 5, 2007. This directors cut starts with a blonde-haired Britney and friends sitting at a bar in a strip club when a brunette Britney wearing a hat starts walking towards the pole. She starts to dance on the pole, then takes off her hat and dances harder and sexier while a man watches her. The blonde Britney and her friends are happy and seem interested in the man. After Britney becomes surrounded by other female dancers, she removes her vest and uses it to cover her chest while she continues to dances on the pole. The video ends with the blonde Britney and her friends looking at the man and being joyful.

Music video

According to People Magazine, even though details about the final version of it are being kept a secret, Spears, 25, was spotted in costume at a Los Angeles warehouse back in July, reportedly filming a video. Her outfit consisted of a short black dress, black boots and a black hat. But it is not for certain that the footage from that particular shoot made the final cut that will air on TRL. "In fact, the video will contain footage from two different shoots, sources say"

Britney Spears - Everytime

2007-10-07T09:41:00.000-07:00

"Everytime" is a song co-written by American pop singer Britney Spears and her back-up singer Annette Artani, and is included on Spears' fourth album In the Zone (2003). Produced by Guy Sigsworth, it was released as the album's third single during the second quarter of 2004 . The song is a piano ballad about the loss of a loved one, and it's considered one of Britney's best songs both by critics and fans.

Britney Spears - Toxic

2007-10-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

"Toxic" is a dance-pop song written by Bloodshy & Avant, Cathy Dennis, and Henrik Jonback for Britney Spears' fourth studio album In the Zone (2003). The song describes having an affair with a married man. It was released as the album's second single in early 2004 . "Toxic" enjoyed international success, topping many singles charts. The song was chosen as the second favorite song of the world (all time) in a global survey made by Sony Ericsson, in which 700,000 music fans of 66 countries contributed, behind "We Are the Champions" by Queen.

It has been covered by The BossHoss, Local H, the Chapin Sisters, Juliet Turner, Nickel Creek, Hurra Torpedo, The Zoo, Mark Ronson and Hard-Fi. Marillion played it during their Marillion Weekend in February 2007 in the Netherlands, and their performance was released (in audio only) on the DVD version of the single "Thankyou Whoever You Are / Most Toys" in June 2007. Monsters From Mars has released an instrumental surf version. The song's cowriter, Cathy Dennis, recorded the demo for the song.

Britney Spears feat Madonna - Me Against The Music

2007-10-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

"Me Against the Music" is a dance-pop song performed by Britney Spears featuring Madonna. The song was written by Spears and Madonna along with Chris "Tricky" Stewart, Penelope Magnet, Thabiso Nikhereanye, Terius Nash, and Gary O'Brien for Spears' fourth studio album In the Zone (2003).

It was released as the album's lead single in late 2003 . In 2004, "Me against the Music" gained a Billboard Music Award for Hot Dance Sales Single of the Year.

Britney Spears - Lucky

2007-10-07T09:34:00.000-07:00

"Lucky" is the second single from Pop singer Britney Spears' album Oops!... I Did It Again. It was released during the third quarter of 2000.

The song was primarily written and produced by Max Martin and Rami, and is about an actress, who despite being very "lucky" and seemingly having it all - fame, wealth, beauty, is truly lonely on the inside for unknown reasons ("If there's nothing missing in my life, then why do these tears come at night?").

Britney Spears - Oops.. I did it again

2007-10-07T09:30:00.000-07:00

"Oops!... I Did It Again" is the first single from American pop singer Britney Spears's 2000 album of the same name during the second quarter of 2000.

The song was written and produced by constant Spears suppliers Max Martin and Rami. The upbeat dance track describes toying with a new lover and thinking of love as a game.

"Oops!" is generally perceived as one of Spears' signature songs by the media and public, partially due to it becoming one of her most successful singles, but also because it, similarly to "...Baby One More Time", has become one of the more famous singles of the teen pop revival at the turn of the Millennium. The music video for this song also ranks among her most famous, and began to more openly express a sexually-provocative Spears.

This track has been covered by Richard Thompson, Children of Bodom and The Last Dance. It was parodied as "Oops! I Farted Again" by Bob Rivers. The track was also the subject of a parody cover which claimed that it was "the original" 1932 recording by Louis Armstrong. Although convincing, the track is in fact a hoax.

Britney Spears - Born To Make You Happy

2007-10-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

"Born to Make You Happy" is the fourth European single from American pop singer Britney Spears' debut album, ...Baby One More Time. In Canada and Europe, among other regions, it was released during the fourth quarter of 1999.

Composed in the key of B minor, the song was written by Andreas Carlsson and Kristian Lundin, and was also produced by the latter. In this mid-tempo ballad, Spears recalls a relationship she desires to correct, not quite understanding what went wrong as she comes to the realisation that she was "born to make you happy."

Britney Spears - (You Drive Me) Crazy

2007-10-07T09:27:00.000-07:00

"(You Drive Me) Crazy" is the third single from pop singer Britney Spears, originally released from her debut album ...Baby One More Time in the third quarter of 1999, but was also later included on her compilation Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The "The Stop Remix!" version of the song, which was the single (rather than the original non-remix), was first included on the original motion picture soundtrack of the film Drive Me Crazy. The soundtrack was released on September 28, 1999.

The song was primarily written and produced by Spears' musical parent, Max Martin. This dance-based single is about Britney falling head over heels in love with someone, as she proclaims "you drive me crazy".

2002 saw the release of two major-label cover versions of the track. British nu metal band SugarComa released a cover of the track as the second single from their album Becoming Something Else, receiving strong airplay in the UK, and Richard Cheese covered it in a Jazz style on his album Tuxicity

Britney Spears - ...Baby One More Time

2007-10-07T09:21:00.000-07:00

"...Baby One More Time" is the debut single from pop singer Britney Spears, released from her debut album ...Baby One More Time during the fourth quarter of 1998

The song, which was written and produced by long time hit-makers Denniz PoP and Max Martin, recalls the singer regretting her previous decision to end a relationship and how much she wishes to reconcile because of what he means to her, emphasizing how much she wants him to "hit me baby one more time".

As a result of its international success, the single is generally perceived as Spears' signature song. Its accompanying music video is also perhaps her best-known, and is famous in the way that it has come to symbolize the late '90s teen-pop revival. The schoolgirl outfit that Spears performs in for parts of the video has also become one of her unofficial trademarks, an easily-recognizable public way of representing her, and something that has been used in spoofs multiple times to easily show that someone is impersonating her. ...Baby One More Time is ranked at No.25 on Rolling Stone & MTV's 100 Greatest Pop Songs of all time and it's the 38 best song all time in United World Chart and #5 in the chart from 1999 to the present (only behind Cher's Believe, Shakira's Hips Don't Lie, James Blunt's You're Beautiful and Madonna's Hung Up).

Britney Spears Fans (And Haters) Weigh In On 'Gimme More' Video

2007-10-06T06:23:00.000-07:00

'Britney, Britney, Britney,' fan Jacqueline Tulian sighs after previewing pole-dancing clip; plus, Spears' LP gets a name.

Britney Spears must have a list of male fantasies she's trying to run through in her music videos. Naughty schoolgirl, check ("... Baby One More Time"). Flight attendant, check ("Toxic"). And with her latest single, "Gimme More," she's a stripper. The question is, can the pop star still pull it off?

"It really makes you want to strip," Internet celebrity Chris Crocker, a.k.a. the "Leave Britney alone!" guy, said after viewing a sneak peek of a clip for the first single from Spears' November 13 album, which has been given the title Blackout. "I'm really tempted to give everyone in this room a lap dance."

Spears doesn't actually attempt lap dances in the "Gimme More" video — she's mostly dancing near a pole and stripping just a little, with a director's-cut version revealing nearly bare breasts with star-shaped pasties. Though Spears shows more focus than in her VMA performance, her efforts to reclaim sex-symbol status got mixed reviews from fans who got a sneak peek in Santa Monica, California.

"She's taking off her clothes, that's pretty much it," Jacqueline Tulian said. "It's not surprising."

"She wants to be a stripper?" Britney Silvera said. "I like that. Sean Preston's probably right over there in the corner watching: 'Yeah, that's my mama.' Did she just take her shirt off? Britney!"

"It's a great video for the kids," Christian Valencia said (we think sarcastically). "It's a how-to — how to strip."

"She's dancing topless," Soen Tgeratia said. "But it's too conservative. There's no power. Even this does not turn me on. That's it?"

Spears developed the concept for the video and handpicked a first-time director, Jake Sarfaty. But even then, there's not much concept to be had — a brunet Britney strips, a blond Britney watches. So fans wondered why the video for "Gimme More" wasn't more developed, even if they did rate it as being better than her VMA performance of the song.

"Britney, Britney, Britney," Tulian sighed.

"This is not one of those videos she did a lot for," Silvera observed. "They only shoot from one angle. Could they only do it in 10 minutes?"

More like two days.

Crocker, however, thinks the cheap look and simplicity are selling points. "She's proving you don't have to have a very intricate video to have a great video," he said. "It's very '80s. It's not much of a concept. She's just letting them know she's Britney Spears."

Is that enough? Even though the people polled by MTV News are fans, many of them expressed disappointment, calling the lip-syncing too obvious, the hair extensions too fake, the energy level too low.

"She's headed downhill," remarked Adrienne Ocariza.

"She totally screwed herself," Brandon Dickens said.

"This video is not helping," Darwin Ilac said. "She's trying to be sexy goth, but it's not working for her. Christina Aguilera already did this. Sorry, Britney!"

The verdict? They want more. Something, anything more. Crocker suggested the video would have been better had he made a cameo. Valencia wanted someone like T.I. or Lil Mama (who appear on remix versions) to pop up. "See, if she would have thrown T.I. in there, this video would have been much better, honestly," Valencia said. Still, he added, it doesn't matter, because the song is a bona fide hit. "You know what? She could do all this, and people are still going to buy her album. They're not going to drop her because she has a crappy video."

"I'm feeling it," Crocker said. "It's great, because it sends a good message out to teens that you don't have to be really thin to be sexy. It's slamming 'Umbrella' down the block. Watch out, Rihanna. You're not the new Britney anymore. Britney's back."

That may explain why even those who panned the clip asked us, "Can I watch it again?"

Britney Spears Investigated On Former Bodyguard's Child-Abuse Claims

2007-10-06T06:16:00.000-07:00

Tony Barretto's lawyer says Department of Children and Family Services is looking into allegations of nudity, drug use.

It's one step forward, two steps back for Britney Spears.

Just as a Los Angeles judge decided late Wednesday that the singer could resume contact with her children (albeit with supervision), another agency was deciding to investigate Spears on child-abuse claims made by her former bodyguard.

Tony Barretto and his attorney, Gloria Allred, filed a child-abuse referral under the California Child Abuse and Neglect Reporting Act and then met with authorities at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services for two hours Wednesday night. "It was our understanding at the end of the meeting that based on our filing that the department will investigate to the best of their ability," Allred said.

Barretto has already made some of these claims, in a court deposition filed September 17 that may have contributed to the restrictions the court placed upon Spears and Federline (see "Britney Spears Must Undergo Regular Drug Testing, Parenting Classes In Custody Case"). At the time, Allred characterized the claims as involving "issues of nudity by Ms. Spears, drug use, and safety issues involving the children post-rehab."

Barretto elaborated on those issues during appearances on the "Today" show on September 24 and "Larry King Live" on September 27. Talking with Matt Lauer on "Today," Barretto claimed he saw Spears do drugs on two occasions: once at a nightclub, when he was holding a curtain to make her area private, and the other in a restroom, when he checked in on her. On "Larry King Live," Barretto elaborated that he observed drugs and drug paraphernalia in one of her hotel rooms. "It was a white, powdery substance that had a straw next to it," Barretto said. "It appeared to be a narcotic ... [and] a pipe. It was a clear pipe. I don't believe it was a crack pipe. I don't know, it could have been marijuana — perhaps a methamphetamine pipe." Based on the singer's appearance and behavior, Barretto added, "I think she was under the influence."

Allred said, however, these claims were not the extent of Barretto's observations. "Some of the details have not been revealed publicly," she said, noting that the specifics of what Barretto disclosed to DCFS are confidential. "Even though the family court orders are a good start, there are resources and services that the Department of Children and Family Services can add to help protect the children," she said. "They can provide the parents assistance in obtaining trained social workers, and they have the legal authority to take other action to help protect the children."

Allred called upon Spears to cooperate with the impending investigation and provide an interview to DCFS. "Rather than avoiding them, she should speak with them as soon as possible and give them the truth," Allred said, "so that they can fulfill their legal mandate to protect the children and keep them safe."

Spears has already been questioned three times by DCFS, about incidents ranging from driving with Sean Preston in her lap instead of a car seat in February 2006; Sean Preston falling out of his high chair at home in April 2006; and a host of tabloid claims, including that she filled baby bottles with soda, in August 2007. Spears was cleared of all complaints.

Officials at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services did not return calls by press time.

Britney sex tape surfaces

2007-10-04T02:08:00.001-07:00

Things have just gone from bad to worse for Britney Spears – with new reports emerging that the pop-tart has been caught up in yet another sex tape scandal.

Just one day after losing primary physical custody of her two children to ex-husband Kevin Federline, an unnamed 28-year-old man has confessed his sex tales with the 25-year-old to a U.S. tabloid magazine.

The mystery man - who bedded Spears while she was vacationing on Hawaii in June 2007 – claims to have caught their sweltering one night affair on tape.

However her one-night-stand man claims that he has refrained from releasing the tape because of his slapdash performance.

He told the In Touch Weekly: "It was just normal sex, we didn't do anything crazy. It was a little disappointing. It lasted for about 25 minutes and then we passed out."

The 28-year-old was living in Hawaii when he met Spears at a bar on 7 June 2007.

They retired to her room at the Four Seasons hotel on the KonaKohala Coast where they had sex.

The mystery man admits Spears had no knowledge he was filming their sex session.

Britney Spears' Constant Presence In Public Eye Could Be Behind Custody Loss

2007-10-04T01:08:00.000-07:00

'She's addicted to the publicity,' TMZ's Harvey Levin says; Perez Hilton, Us Weekly correspondent, photo-agency owner also chime in.

Sure, we make fun of Britney Spears' excuses — it was the cobblestones, it was the nanny, it was the paparazzi. But does the pop star have a legitimate complaint when it comes to how the media have covered her? How has this coverage affected her losing custody of her children? Could the trappings of fame be partly to blame?

"When you become a celebrity and you choose to be in the spotlight, there are certain things that come along with that," said Us Weekly correspondent Jill Martin. "You don't see Jessica Simpson getting into this kind of trouble."

Of course Jessica doesn't have children — but she does have a team. Britney, meanwhile, lost her personal rep, two different managers and two divorce/custody lawyers in the last year — largely because of her erratic behavior (see "Britney Spears Seems To Be Drowning In Troubles, So Why Won't She Listen To Anyone?"). Without a consistent team, she doesn't have the ability to run a campaign, dodge bombshells or otherwise effectively get her side of the story out there. So while her stock continues to plummet, her ex-husband's has continued to rise.

"People hated Kevin Federline when Britney filed for divorce," said TMZ Managing Editor Harvey Levin. "And now, 77 percent of our viewers that we polled think the kids are better with Kevin."

"Have I seen K-Fed in action as a parent? No. But I definitely think he's the better parent," said celebrity-gossip blogger Perez Hilton (see "Britney Spears, Bad Parent? Taryn Manning, Perez Hilton Weigh In"). "It's because of the environment he's created for the children. His house is away from the paparazzi. You never see him out and about with the children."

"It doesn't up the value of the photos to have Britney with the kids at this point," said Brandy Navarre, who owns the photo agency X17. "Now, if we saw Kevin with the babies, that would be bigger. A shot of him with both kids in a public situation doesn't exist."

Which of course begs the question — wouldn't Britney being photographed spending time with the kids at least prove that she spends time with the kids, versus handing them off to a nanny? Do we actually know what Kevin does with Sean Preston and Jayden James? "What is he doing all those hours with the kids?" Navarre asked. "He's locking them up in the house? That's kind of weird."

So while Federline may make just as many parenting mistakes as Spears, hers are the ones that are documented and scrutinized. When a Los Angeles judge ordered that both of them enroll in a Parenting Without Conflict program (or seek help from a mental-health professional) and participate in joint co-parenting counseling, the headlines focused on Spears' end of the bargain (see "Britney Spears Must Undergo Regular Drug Testing, Parenting Classes In Custody Case").

"If we have a really big exclusive Britney story, it can double our traffic in one day," Navarre said.

Sure, Federline is less of a celebrity, but it's also a juicier story to proclaim Spears is a bad mother versus Federline as a bad father. He's already been down that road and has been actively working to counteract that image ever since leaving Shar Jackson while she was pregnant with his second child. Lucky for him, he's had a consistent team to help him do so, and once he filed for custody, that team has been in overdrive.

"Kevin Federline has had this campaign, this anti-Britney campaign, going for the past few months," Navarre said. "I think he and his legal team have been playing pretty dirty, and it does seem to be having an effect."

"The media gets played all the time," TMZ's Levin said. "We get played. I will openly admit it. When people call us with info, we have to make sure it's true and consider their reason for telling us. There are people who want to put certain stories out there."

All those planted leaks from unnamed "sources" (sometimes legitimate, sometimes not) also help divert attention elsewhere, even if they confuse matters with the court. So while Federline is left alone, the paparazzi swarm Spears and potentially endanger her and her children, at least from her point of view. Her bodyguard was charged in September for attacking a paparazzo in Las Vegas in an attempt to protect Sean Preston (see "Britney Spears And Parenting: A Timeline Of Tumult"). But was Britney seeking the attention to begin with?

"I think ... she's addicted to publicity," Levin said. "She is much smarter than people give her credit for, in terms of knowing that she's going to attract cameras and sometimes it seems like she courts it. ... I think she gets a rush [from it]."

"She knows a lot of our photographers," X17's Navarre said. "We have a special relationship with Britney."

"She seems to like the paparazzi," Us Weekly's Martin said. "On many occasions, she's invited the paparazzi to come along with her."

Could Spears be seeking out the paparazzi in a misguided attempt to control her own publicity? Is this her version of damage control, to make sure she remains in the public eye? Then again, if damage control is what's on her mind, then why back out of interviews for Allure and OK! magazines or run out of the photo shoots (see "Britney Spears 'Meltdown' Chronicled In Revealing Magazine Article")?

"I've been screamed at, hugged, but I've never been stood up [before]," said Allure contributing editor Judith Newman, who was to interview the singer after she completed the photo shoot for the magazine's September cover. "Britney, you should have done it. We would have had a good time."

"She's started to give interviews, then backed out, and then she gets all these negative magazine covers," Navarre said. "I'm sure if she had someone trying to protect her it wouldn't be quite so bad for her. I'm not sure Britney can do her own damage control. I don't think she's up for it."

"I don't think Britney can do the proper damage control because she doesn't understand what's going on around her," Levin said. "She either doesn't understand or she doesn't care."

Lucky for Britney, she doesn't have it all on her own shoulders anymore. With her yet-untitled studio album, which is due November 13, her record label is shifting into gear with its own campaign — to promote the music. Whether that's a form of damage control in itself is too soon to say, but it sure couldn't hurt to have somebody looking out for the singer besides her latest divorce attorney.

"It's not Jive's place to fashion a public-relations campaign with respect to Britney's personal issues," label spokesman Allan Mayer said, "but Jive does care about her and does support her. We're not pointing fingers — because the media and the paparazzi wouldn't exist if there weren't an appetite for it. But there's no question that when you have someone at this level of celebrity, they become like cartoons or soap-opera characters, and we forget that they're human beings. People say that's the trade you make, that you have to give up your privacy or the ability to lead a normal life, but sometimes you make that bargain before you realize what it entails and it's too late. Britney's a grown woman, and she makes her own choices, and we respect that. But she's been at a disadvantage [without a consistent team], and obviously that makes it harder to cope."

Jive isn't planning on trotting out Spears for publicity purposes — at least not yet. The label has other promo plans involving the "Gimme More" single and video for now, which should give the singer a break and allow her to consider the following advice from Perez Hilton: "Britney, you just need to go away for a while, for real."

Perhaps a break from all the publicity — good, bad and otherwise — would do her some good.

Britney Spears Now Has A Valid Driver's License

2007-10-04T01:07:00.001-07:00

Singer was issued temporary California license on Tuesday.

Britney Spears has one less thing to worry about: She now has a valid California driver's license.

On Monday, the singer paid a visit to a California Department of Motor Vehicles in Van Nuys with a male friend (according to video footage circulating the Internet), where she applied for a temporary license, which was issued to her on Tuesday in Santa Monica. Video footage shows that Britney never had to leave her car during her second stop to the DMV, since the paperwork was brought to her while she waited.

"She's completed all the requirements for a California driver's license," a DMV spokesperson told MTV News, noting the singer actually took her written exam in April. Spears' actual license should arrive in the mail within two to four weeks, according to the DMV.

As it turns out, Spears' lack of a driver's license in the state of California had considerable bearing on the court's decision.

Commissioner Scott Gordon had asked for proof of valid California driver's licenses, and Spears' attorney Sorrell Trope was unable to comply. During Monday's closed hearing, Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan expressed concern over the singer's driving habits after she was charged on September 21 for driving without a license (see "Britney Spears Charged With Two Driving-Related Misdemeanors").

Trope told People magazine that Spears lost custody because she was accused of not taking a random drug and alcohol test, and couldn't provide a California driver's license. "We weren't able to prove compliance with what the judge ordered," Trope said. "The judge ordered that by 10 a.m. [Monday] morning, both parties show valid California driving licenses. I've been unable to produce evidence of that."

A source close to the situation told MTV News that Gordon was also disappointed that Spears had not followed the rules he had laid forth in a previous hearing, in which he ordered her to take random drug tests and parenting classes (see "Britney Spears Must Undergo Regular Drug Testing, Parenting Classes In Custody Case"). In particular, Spears' failure to take a drug test was at issue, and the judge wanted her to realize the seriousness of the situation. "She didn't follow the rules," the source said. "One parent follows the rules and one doesn't. It's as simple as that."

"There's no evidence that she actually failed a test," Trope pointed out to People.

(For a timeline of Spears' chaotic activity in recent years, check out "Britney Spears And Parenting: A Timeline Of Tumult.")

Speculation ran rampant that her former bodyguard Tony Barretto's claims of the singer's drug use had some bearing upon the court order to revert custody to Federline, at least temporarily. But Federline's lawyer said that wasn't the issue. "Today's proceedings did not involve [Barretto's] testimony," Kaplan said on Monday. "He may be called as a witness in the future."

The next hearing in the custody case is scheduled for Wednesday (October 3). Spears' arraignment on the misdemeanor charges is set for October 10.

Britney Spears Seems To Be Drowning In Troubles, So Why Won't She Listen To Anyone?

2007-10-04T01:05:00.000-07:00

Dr. Drew from 'Loveline,' prominent publicist and others speculate on pop star's lone-wolf attitude.

One of the perks of being a superstar is that it frees you from worrying about the little things, like what clothes to wear to a photo shoot, how to style your hair, how you're getting to the recording studio and where your next meal is coming from.

Sure, hands-on multitaskers like Madonna, Jennifer Lopez, Justin Timberlake and Gwen Stefani make a point of being involved in even the most minute decisions about their next project or a product bearing their name, but they also know when to let go and listen to the advice of their trusted teams of advisers, managers, publicists and assistants.

So why does it seem like Britney Spears — who is estimated to be worth more than $300 million — does everything on her own? From reportedly acting as her own publicist/manager/stylist to helping direct the still-unreleased video for her current hit, "Gimme More," to driving her two young children around Los Angeles (without a valid license) and picking the outfit for her ill-received VMA performance, Spears has been painted as an artist-as-island.

Reportedly feuding with her mom and recently dropped by both her attorney and manager, Britney not only doesn't follow the advice of the dwindling members of her professional team, according to reports, she appears determined to listen to no one but herself. And given some of her recent choices, the decision seems to be seriously affecting both her personal and professional lives — and it could have its roots in some troubling causes.

There are two likely reasons for this type of seemingly reckless go-it-alone behavior, according to Dr. Drew Pinsky — host of the syndicated radio show "Loveline" and a board-certified addictionologist — and both of them are potentially disastrous.

"Everyone is looking at this woman and trying to make rational the disease we call addiction, and it's not rational," said Pinsky, who is not treating Spears, but explained that the singer must be suffering from some form of addiction because a person cannot be admitted to a treatment center in California — as Spears was earlier this year — without meeting certain criteria for addiction. "Work, people we love, eating — everything is usurped by this desire to do drugs and alcohol, and all that thinking serves a broken motivation, so the things people do can look nutty because they're not making sense."

Someone suffering from what Pinsky speculates is a combination of different drug addictions in Spears' case is likely to act irrationally and suffer from paranoid delusions, usually directed at friends, family, co-workers and neighbors. Getting someone in that condition to listen to the advice of those around them is a major challenge.

"Involving law enforcement and the legal system — anywhere you can create a consequence where you can break that addiction — will help," Pinsky said, citing the judge's ruling this week to temporarily remove Spears' two children from her home after the singer reportedly failed to attend the court-ordered parenting classes and submit to random drug tests (see "Britney Spears Lost Custody Because 'She Didn't Follow The Rules,' Source Says"). "That's what the judge and [ex-husband Kevin] Federline are trying to do."

But depending on what issues are ailing Spears — which, Pinsky said, could be a serious psychiatric problem that may encompass postpartum depression, addiction to multiple drugs, personality issues and the rigors of a stressful career and personal life — getting the singer to start listening to those around her will not be easy and could be impossible — unless she begins to understand that "her very life hangs in the balance."

So from her meltdown at a magazine photo shoot earlier this summer to driving her kids around repeatedly without a valid California driver's license, why does the 25-year-old singer insist on keeping her own counsel?

There are many reasons why an artist might shut out their most trusted advisers, from a chemical imbalance to the substance-abuse problems Pinsky suggested. And, perhaps most importantly, fear could be the biggest factor, according to a publicist who worked closely with some of the biggest and most notoriously unwieldy rock acts of the 1980s and early '90s.

"Fear of a lack of control, fear of having regrets," said the publicist, who requested anonymity. "Generally people who are hugely successful don't have any preparation for that fame when they're growing up, and dealing with fame is very, very destructive. It takes people down faster than money."

But at the end of the day, publicists, managers, lawyers and assistants can't help until the artist is willing to be helped, the source said.

"You have to just listen and pay attention and wait for that moment when you can insert a suggestion," the source said. "You can't sit them down and slap them silly like a parent, because you're not a parent and you don't have any authority when you're working with someone who can fire you at a moment's notice.

"I've been in situations where I cared deeply and wanted to do everything I could to help, but it's like holding onto a comet," the publicist added. "It's like Michael Jackson, who doesn't do himself a lot of good and is sometimes his own worst enemy. When they become their own worst enemy, you try to protect them from themselves, but there's no legal basis for you to do that, so you sometimes have to just wait for your moment."

Looking at how Spears has isolated herself, another veteran entertainment publicist who has worked with a number of "very challenging" celebrities said that kind of lone-wolf attitude is what happens when you don't hold on to long-term personal and professional relationships.

"When you're someone who doesn't have anyone in their life who you've had a longstanding relationship with, then you can get into these modes of distrusting everyone," the publicist said. "Because they're never really sure what their motivations are. 'Are they being nice because they're being paid to like me?' It's the nature of the celebrity beast [to have those feelings], but drugs really don't help."

You combine those two factors and you have an artist in a place of complete distrust. "And then they won't listen to anything and they think their way is the only right way."

Britney Spears, Legally Speaking: Top Lawyers Say She Can Get Kids Back, If She Follows Advice

2007-10-04T01:03:00.000-07:00

'She needs to be an angel until this whole custody battle is over,' one expert says.

'She needs to be an angel until this whole custody battle is over,' one expert says.

Britney Spears was dealt quite a blow Monday when a Los Angeles judge ordered her to hand over her children to her ex-husband (see "Britney Spears Ordered To Give Up Custody Of Her Children"). But legal experts agree: The singer can win them back if she's willing to follow some advice, even if it means going to rehab.

"I think she blew it," said celebrity-divorce attorney Raoul Felder, who handled the Robin Givens/ Mike Tyson split, among many others. "She should have lost custody the first time around. Still, if she checks into the toughest rehab — the one with the worst reputation for coddling people, a real rehab, not Promises — and she sticks it out, she could have another shot."

"She's going to have to take a page out of the Lindsay Lohan book," agreed Fox News analyst Kimberly Guilfoyle. "Britney will be able to get her children back — if she gets treatment."

The problem is, Spears has resisted and rebelled against efforts to put her in rehab, despite her stays at the Crossroads Centre, a rehab facility on the Caribbean island of Antigua, and Promises Malibu Alcohol and Drug Rehab Treatment Facility in Southern California earlier this year. Her first two efforts lasted less than a day each (see "Britney Spears Leaves Rehab; Federline Requests Emergency Hearing"), but she did undergo a month-long program at Promises — only to disparage it.

"Like, my management totally knew what they were doing when they sent me to rehab," she said, in a mock-Valley Girl voice, after playfully grabbing a paparazzo's camera and filming herself with it in April. "Till this day I don't think it was alcohol or depression," she wrote on her Web site in May (see "Britney Spears Admits 'I Was So Lost' In Online Letter"). "I was like a bad kid running around with ADD. I had a manager from a long time ago try to come in and direct me and my life after I got my divorce. ... I think it is actually normal for a young girl to go out after a huge divorce."

Normal behavior or not, addiction or no — divorce attorney Lois Liberman of New York firm Blank Rome said that Spears needs to check into rehab now to show the court she means business. "This is an emergency," said Liberman, who handled the Donald Trump/ Marla Maples divorce. "Even if the court is wrong and she's right, it doesn't matter. She has to show she's placing the children as her top priority and she'll do anything to keep them and keep them safe."

It's actually unusual for the courts to award custody to the father, according to matrimonial attorney Seymour Reisman, a partner in the Garden City, New York, firm Reisman Peirez & Reisman. "Fathers are awarded custody less than 20 percent of the time," he said.

"You have women with criminal records and convictions who are drug addicted, and they don't get their kids taken away," Guifoyle said. "The courts favor the mother."

It wasn't so long ago that Federline was widely considered a bad father himself, but Felder believes Spears has only herself to blame for the shift in perception. "She must have wanted this to happen on some level," Felder said. "She can't be that stupid when the judge has been laying it all out for her, what he wants to see (go to 'Britney Spears Lost Custody Because 'She Didn't Follow The Rules,' Source Says'). But he says not to drive, and she drives. He says not to party, and she parties. Now she's backed into a corner.

"If I were her lawyer," Felder continued, "I'd hold off on these hearings. Her credibility is at stake. No judge is going to trust her."

"It's going to take a lot of time to win back the trust," Liberman said. 'It's going to take a lot of baby steps."

(For a timeline of Spears' chaotic activity in recent years, check out "Britney Spears And Parenting: A Timeline Of Tumult." )

Rehab would only be the first of those steps. Coming out of a rehab program, Spears would need a sponsor — as well as a hired sober companion — and would need to attend meetings to demonstrate her sobriety to the court, which would set up a procedure for her supervised visits with her children during the interim.

"How embarassing would that be that you can't be with your own children without being supervised?" Liberman said. "If that's not a wake-up call, I don't know what is. It could be either Kevin supervising, or an arm of the court. There are services you can hire for this. That's the thing that actually makes it easier for Britney: She can afford a facility. She can afford a companion."

Liberman estimated that Spears would be allowed one-to-two-hour supervised visits before she could build to longer stays such as overnights or weekends, and it would take at least three months of testing clean before the court would consider allowing Spears unsupervised visits with her children. "The court is going to err on the side of caution now," Liberman said. "It will be a gradual opening of the floodgates. But the court's goal is to reunite the family in some fashion."

A temporary order such as the one the judge issued Monday in Spears' case could last anywhere from two weeks to two years, estimated Los Angeles family lawyer Kelly Y. Chang. "If I represented Britney, I would tell her the ruling was very bad for you, but all is not lost," Chang said. "But if you don't shape up, the temporary order will become the final order.

"She needs to be an angel until this whole custody battle is over."

"The only other thing Britney can do right now is pray," agreed Felder. "The power of prayer. Get a good rabbi. That's about it. Otherwise, ballgame over."

Britney Spears' Custody Loss Met With Sympathy From Fans, But Not Surprise

2007-10-04T01:02:00.001-07:00

Some say singer needs to get her act together; others question Kevin Federline's motives.

When news broke Monday that a judge had granted full custody of Britney Spears' children, Sean Preston and Jayden James, to their father, Kevin Federline — at least temporarily — it seemed no one was without an opinion. Both die-hard fans and casual observers spoke to MTV News and flooded our inbox with thoughts on whether she's fit to be a mother, the media coverage of her supposed downward spiral, and Federline's role in the heated battle.

"Everyone should have seen this coming," wrote Morgan, 19, of Newark, Delaware, of Spears' most recent setback (see "Britney Spears Ordered To Give Up Custody Of Her Children"). "That woman is a train wreck. If this isn't her wake-up call, I don't know what is. Maybe now she'll get herself together for the sake of her children."

John, 22, of New Jersey, wasn't too surprised about the ruling, either. "The no-panty sightings and stuff like that is probably not too good an idea," he told MTV News of her recent behavior (see "Britney Spears And Parenting: A Timeline Of Tumult"). "I mean, I heard she was using drugs in front of the kids or something like that, and that's not too cool."

Many felt that Britney has been putting her career and social life ahead of her children's well-being. "Britney should have given up partying when she decided she wanted to be a mother," said Renata, 27, of New Orleans. "She spends more time with her friends and at clubs than she does with her own kids."

Added Kelly, 27, of Huntington, California: "I honestly don't think her 'comeback' is necessary, as it will lead to another downfall. The most important thing in her life should be her kids, not resurrecting her career."

But Spears received a great deal of sympathy for her tough times too.

"She's a first-time parent, and I guess she's still getting used to being a mother, so I don't think that's cool that they took her kids away," said 15-year-old Karlo, from New York.

"I feel so bad for Britney!" said Rebecca, 18, of New York. "You can tell that she means well and really loves her children but has not grown out of childhood herself. She should really have her mother on her side right now, supporting her to make this easier, but instead she has no one."

And many blame Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon's ruling on the incessant media attention Spears has received during her divorce and attempts to recover from an alleged substance-abuse problem.

"I think Britney Spears is going through a tough time that a lot of women go through after divorce, but everyone makes it a bigger deal because she's Britney Spears," said Krystal from Dallas.

Some were skeptical that Kevin Federline will be a better parent than his ex-wife. "Kevin is a party person, I don't really see him as a dad type," said Alexis, 17, from New York. "I think Kevin wants the kids for more attention from the media."

Shavonda, 23, also from New York, had a more cynical opinion of K-Fed. "I think he's doing all of this so he can get the kids, so she can pay child support," she said. "He's just trying to get extra money from Brit."

As for the future, while Sarah, 16, of New York said this latest setback will cause Britney to "go more into depression," others said the pop star still has a chance to recover and get her children back.

"My advice to Britney: Go somewhere that only the people who are important to you know about, and just get away from all of this media attention," said Kristin, 18, of Macon, Georgia. "Relax, breathe and fix yourself. Then come back and show everyone the new you."

Britney Spears, Bad Parent? Taryn Manning, Perez Hilton Weigh In

2007-10-04T00:59:00.000-07:00

The "Leave Britney alone!" guy also shares his take on the singer's recent child-custody setback.

Britney Spears has lost custody of her two children — at least temporarily — but the oft-troubled pop singer hasn't yet lost the faith of her fans, who are "with her ... when she's down and out," Internet celebrity Chris Crocker, a.k.a. the "Leave Britney Alone!" guy, told MTV News.

"I'm not delusional. I was kind of expecting this, to be honest with you," he said. "[But] I think there's a good side to this. She's not herself right now. If anything, this can push her to be a better person."

Best known for his staunch defense of Spears' VMA performance in the video plea — which has been viewed nearly 3 million times since it was posted on YouTube on September 9 — Crocker steadfastly remains by the 25-year-old singer's side, despite a court order that would seem to throw into question her abilities as a parent: On Monday (October 1), Spears was ordered to hand over custody of children Sean Preston and Jayden James to ex-husband Kevin Federline.

(For a timeline of Spears chaotic activity in recent years, check out "Britney Spears' Sad Saga Continues With Judge's Child-Custody Order.")

"Britney has her whole life ahead of her — she still has time to change," Crocker said. "We're with her. Just because someone is not in the right state of mind to be a mother, that doesn't mean that she is a bad person."

Also coming to her side is Taryn Manning, Spears' co-star on the 2002 film "Crossroads." She says life hasn't always been this way for the singer.

"I will say that she is a very, very good person. Very kind and very sweet," Manning said. "Things have changed, obviously."

Manning also stressed that it's important to remember that while Britney is a mother, she's only 25 years old. Combine that with the fact that she's been protected by the public spotlight all her life and you get someone who never really had to grow up, Manning argued.

"I think she's a young girl who is going through something that we all kind of experience," Manning opined.

"The little bit of fame that I've experienced drives me crazy. I can't even imagine or fathom what she goes through," Manning continued. "I feel for her."

While Manning defended Spears, blogger and gossip columnist Perez Hilton wasn't so understanding. He called her a bad parent and insisted that "the judge obviously had the best interest of the children in mind" when he gave full custody to their father.

"What took them so long?" Hilton asked, his voice rising. "I think Kevin is a better parent. Do you want to have two young children around [Spears]?"

While he refuses to give Britney the unconditional support that Crocker does, Hilton does agree at least in part with the 19-year-old YouTube sensation, calling the day's events a "good wake-up call."

"She needs to get her life in order," Hilton argued. "I don't think Britney Spears knows who she is. Having your kids taken away is very serious. Hopefully Britney will take it seriously."

" 'Comeback' is the appropriate word; maybe she can 'come back' to her senses," Crocker added, a hint of doubt in his voice. "I hope so."

For more on Britney's child-custody setback, check out:

· "Britney Spears Seems To Be Drowning In Troubles, So Why Won't She Listen To Anyone?"
· "Britney Spears' Custody Loss Met With Sympathy From Fans, But Not Surprise"
· "Britney Spears, Legally Speaking: Top Lawyers Say She Can Get Kids Back, If She Follows Advice"
· 'Things Are Looking Really Bad' For Britney Spears, SuChin Pak Says"
· "Britney Spears Lost Custody Because 'She Didn't Follow The Rules,' Source Says"

Britney Spears And Parenting: A Timeline Of Tumult

2007-10-02T09:58:00.000-07:00

Judge's child-custody order was another disappointing development in a troubling history.

It's been motherhood under a microscope for Britney Spears, who lost custody of her two children — at least temporarily — on Monday (October 1) when a judge ordered the singer to turn over her children to ex-husband Kevin Federline until further notice, effective Wednesday.

From day one, Spears has faced scorn and scrutiny for her choice of a husband — but strangely, Federline's image has now improved relative to hers. Even if Britney hasn't cracked under the pressure, the judge in her custody case isn't taking any chances when it comes to her young brood, 2-year-old Sean Preston and 1-year-old Jayden James. The couple's theme song used to be "Chaotic," and maybe that's part of the problem.

2004

» April: Britney Spears and Kevin Federline meet, frolic and run away to Europe together. Kevin tells a then-pregnant Shar Jackson, the mother of his first two children, that he's shooting a commercial overseas. Well, he was only half-lying — he shot "Chaotic." Shar tells People magazine, "It wasn't like just breaking up a relationship. It was like breaking up a family."

(Check out photos of Britney and K-Fed from throughout their two-year marriage.)

» June: Britney pops the question, busts her knee and cancels her tour. The couple announce their engagement (see "It's True: Britney's Engaged").

» July 20: Shar Jackson gives birth to Kaleb, her second child with Kevin.

» September 18: Britney and Kevin have a surprise marriage ceremony (see "Britney Spears Marries Kevin Federline").

2005

» April 12: Britney announces she's pregnant on her Web site (see "It's Official: Britney's Pregnant").

» June: A pregnant Britney appears in a video for her single "Someday (I Will Understand)."

» September 14: Sean Preston — Britney and Kevin's first child together, his third — is born (see "Britney Spears Gives Birth To A Baby Boy").

2006

» February 6: Britney is photographed driving with Sean Preston on her lap, not in a car seat. Britney is questioned by the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services. She blames the paparazzi.

» April 1: Sean Preston falls out of his high chair at home. Britney is questioned again by the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services. She blames the nanny.

» May 9: Britney appears on "Late Show With David Letterman" to announce she's pregnant once again.

» May 18: Britney nearly drops Sean Preston — but not her coffee — in New York. She blames the cobblestones.

» June 16: Britney cries and smacks her gum while defending her parenting techniques to Matt Lauer on "Dateline." About driving with Sean Preston in her lap? "I did it with my dad. I'd sit on his lap and I drive. We're country."

» August 31: Britney and Kevin spoof their image as bad parents when they appear together via satellite on the Video Music Awards.

» September 12: Britney and Kevin's second child together is born, Jayden James.

» November 6: Britney makes her first official appearance after giving birth, as a surprise guest on "Late Show With David Letterman."

» November 7: The next day, she files for divorce (see "Britney Spears Files For Divorce — It's Official"), asking for sole custody (allowing visitation rights). Kevin finds out via text message. She celebrates by going ice-skating at New York's Rockefeller Center.

» November 8: Kevin fights back, filing for sole custody (allowing visitation rights; see "Kevin Responds To Britney's Divorce Filing: He's Going To Fight").

» Mid-November: Spears' response is apparently to party hard — with Paris and without panties. Cameras catch everything — even her Caesarian scar.

» December 7: Britney explains her behavior on her Web site, saying she got carried away. "Thank God for Victoria's Secret!" she writes (see "Britney Speaks: 'Thank God For Victoria's Secret's New Underwear!' ").

2007

» January 5: The panty-less partying doesn't stop — nor do Spears' apologies. "Trust me, I get it," she writes. "I know I've been far from perfect" (see "Britney Tells Fans 'I Get It ... I Know I've Been Far From Perfect' "). Later that month, the couple agree to a temporary joint-custody arrangement which included a three-days-a-week visitation schedule for Federline.

» February 14: Britney checks into Crossroads Centre, a rehab facility on the Caribbean island of Antigua, only to check out a day later.

» February 16: Britney shaves her head in Sherman Oaks, California (see "Britney Spears Shaves Head, Gets Tattoo").

» February 20: Britney checks into Promises Malibu Alcohol and Drug Rehab Treatment Facility in Malibu, California, only to check out less than 24 hours later (see "Britney Spears Leaves Rehab; Federline Requests Emergency Hearing").

» February 22: Britney checks back into Promises, as Kevin asks the court for an emergency hearing to help sort out custody issues (see "Britney Back In Rehab Yet Again").

» March 20: Britney completes her program at Promises, as Kevin celebrates his 29th birthday (see "Britney Spears Leaves Rehab").

» March 29: Britney and Kevin reach a settlement "on all issues of their marriage and child custody," in which the couple are to split custody 50/50 (see "Britney Spears, Kevin Federline Reach Divorce Settlement").

» April 16: Britney fires her manager Larry Rudolph after mocking him in a paparazzi video. "Like, my management totally knew what they were doing when they sent me to rehab," she tells X-17's camera guy in a mock Valley Girl voice. Or was it her real voice?

» May 17: Britney fires bodyguard Tony Barretto for failing to pick up a hat. He later files a deposition in her child-custody case claiming to be witness to "nudity, drug use and safety issues" involving her kids.

» May 29: Britney posts her now-infamous "I was so lost" letter (see "Britney Spears Admits 'I Was So Lost' In Online Letter"). "Till this day I don't think it was alcohol or depression," she writes of her behavior prior to rehab. "I was like a bad kid running around with ADD. I had a manager from a long time ago try to come in and direct me and my life after I got my divorce ... I think it is actually normal for a young girl to go out after a huge divorce."

» June: Britney's personal publicist resigns.

» July 26: Britney takes the kids out of state (a no-no when it comes to the custody agreement), only to have a tussle with a paparazzo outside the Wynn hotel and casino in Las Vegas. Her bodyguard Cesar Julio Camera is later charged with battery in connection with the incident. Strangely enough, the only post on the singer's Web site for the month — and ever since — has been an apology to another paparazzo, one she attacked with an umbrella. The singer blamed her actions on a movie role. "I was preparing a character for a possible movie role where the husband doesn't play his part so they swap places," she writes.

» July 30: The divorce is finally made official ...

» August 2: ... but nothing is settled, as Federline's team starts to serve a series of subpoenas to Spears' friends and employees, starting with her assistant Alli Sims.

» August 6: Britney has a minor fender-bender when she hits a parked car. Well, minor except for the fact that she doesn't have a driver's license in the state of California, and she leaves the scene — while being photographed and videotaped.

» September 9: Britney performs on the VMAs, while Kevin throws a birthday party for the kids.

» September 17: A Los Angeles judge orders Britney to do random drug testing, counseling and parenting classes as he evaluates the couple's opposing custody wishes (see "Britney Spears Must Undergo Regular Drug Testing, Parenting Classes In Custody Case"). Kevin is also ordered to take parenting lessons. Britney swaps lawyers.

» September 18: Britney parts company with her management and swaps lawyers once again.

» September 21: Britney is charged with two misdemeanor counts of hit and run causing property damage and driving without a valid license (see "Britney Spears Charged With Two Driving-Related Misdemeanors"). She continues to drive anyway, and is photographed and videotaped driving with the kids in the car.

» October 1: A Los Angeles judge orders Britney to give the kids to Kevin, by Wednesday, at least temporarily.

Britney Spears, Bad Parent? Perez Hilton, 'Leave Britney Alone!' Guy Weigh In

2007-10-02T09:56:00.000-07:00

'She needs to get her life in order,' Hilton said after judge ordered singer to give up custody of her children.

Britney Spears has lost custody of her two children — at least temporarily — but the oft-troubled pop singer hasn't yet lost the faith of her fans, who are "with her ... when she's down and out," Internet celebrity Chris Crocker, a.k.a. the "Leave Britney Alone!" guy, told MTV News.

"I'm not delusional. I was kind of expecting this, to be honest with you," he said. "[But] I think there's a good side to this. She's not herself right now. If anything, this can push her to be a better person."

Best known for his staunch defense of Spears' VMA performance in the video plea — which has been viewed nearly 3 million times since it was posted on YouTube on September 9 — Crocker steadfastly remains by the 25-year-old singer's side, despite a court order that would seem to indisputably throw into question her abilities as a parent: Earlier Monday (October 1), Spears was ordered to hand over custody of children Sean Preston and Jayden James to ex-husband Kevin Federline.

(For a timeline of Spears chaotic activity in recent years, check out "Britney Spears' Sad Saga Continues With Judge's Child-Custody Order.")

"Britney has her whole life ahead of her — she still has time to change," Crocker said. "We're with her. Just because someone is not in the right state of mind to be a mother, that doesn't mean that she is a bad person."

Being a bad mother is almost the very definition of being a bad person, countered blogger and gossip columnist Perez Hilton, who insisted that "the judge obviously had the best interest of the children in mind" when he gave full custody to their father.

"What took them so long?" Hilton asked, his voice rising. "I think Kevin is a better parent. Do you want to have two young children around [Spears]?"

While he refuses to give Britney the unconditional support that Crocker does, Hilton does agree at least in part with the 19-year-old YouTube sensation, calling the day's events a "good wake-up call."

"She needs to get her life in order," Hilton argued. "I don't think Britney Spears knows who she is. Having your kids taken away is very serious. Hopefully Britney will take it seriously."

" 'Comeback' is the appropriate word; maybe she can 'come back' to her senses," Crocker added, a hint of doubt in his voice. "I hope so."

Britney Spears Fans Want 'More' On iTunes; Plus Lindsay Lohan, Kanye West, Paula Abdul, Spice Girls, Ghostface & More, In For The Record

2007-10-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

Lohan to spend five days at remote lodge with father; West launches blog; 'Idol' judge wants kids.

Britney Spears may not have wowed audiences at the VMAs with her dancing, but fans are still apparently digging her music. Spears' current single, "Gimme More," sits atop the digital-sales charts on iTunes and is at #8 on the iPhone ringtone charts, just before former love Justin Timberlake's "SexyBack." ...

Lindsay Lohan's father, Michael, will spend five days with the troubled starlet at a remote lodge in the Utah mountains as part of her recovery, People reports. The two saw each other for the first time in three and a half years when Michael visited Lindsay at the Cirque Lodge rehab center in early September. "It can only help her recovery," Lindsay's mother, Dina, told People in an e-mail of the visit, which is set to begin Tuesday morning. "It's time to mend. He is visiting Lindsay alone because we are giving her dad a chance to make amends." ...

Hold your breath: Kanye West has started a blog. He recently launched a blog on Kanye UniverseCity and has put up a clip of his recent performance on "Saturday Night Live," party pics, videos by Lupe Fiasco and Feist and more. ...

Paula Abdul is getting ready for the seventh season of "American Idol," which starts in January — but she might be expecting something even bigger in the near future. She told USA Today that having children is "the next step in my life," adding that she would like to give birth "definitely within the next two years. I thought by now I'd have three grown children." Adbul, who has been roaming the country as part of the "Idol" auditions, also said: "With modern medicine, people are having kids in their 40s and even up until their late 40s. In their 50s, they're having their second child. If it doesn't happen naturally like that, I would always consider adopting." ...

Looks like the Spice Girls haven't lost their "girl power" — the reunited group's London concert, set for December 15 at the O2 arena, sold out in a mere 38 seconds, BBC News reports. Three more dates — for December 16 and 18 and January 2 — have been added to the reunion run and will be sold exclusively to fans via e-mail. ... Ghostface, Rakim and Brother Ali will hit the tarmac together as part of the inaugural Hip Hop Live! tour, which will span an October 29 gig in Los Angeles through a November 21 show in Philadelphia. The innovative show will find the rhyme-slingers backed by a 10-piece instrumental band, the Rhythm Roots Allstars. ...

Pamela Anderson's application for a marriage license with former Paris Hilton beau Rick Salomon has been granted by Clark County, Nevada's Marriage License Bureau, according to The Associated Press. The license means the couple can get married any time during the next year. Anderson had previously been married to Kid Rock and Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee. ...

Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello's alter ego, the Nightwatchman, has been named the support act for System of a Down frontman Serj Tankian's upcoming North American solo tour. Morello will play his own headlining date October 11 in Nashville and then join Tankian in Chicago (October 12), Toronto (October 14), Boston (October 15), New York (October 17), Philadelphia (October 18) and Atlanta (October 20). ... Deftones frontman Chino Moreno's Team Sleep side project will take to the road in November for a string of gigs. Joining them on the trek will be former From First to Last frontman Sonny Moore, Monster in the Machine and Strata. The tour kicks off November 29 in Orangevale, California, and continues through December 16 in San Francisco. ... The Mars Volta's next album won't drop until next year. Bedlam in Goliath, which had been planned for a fall release, has bumped to January 29 for unknown reasons. ...

Duran Duran are headed to Broadway. The English new-wave veterans will play a nine-show run at the Barrymore Theatre in New York during the first two weeks of November to promote the upcoming release of their Red Carpet Massacre album, which drops November 13. The group will play the entire LP — which features production from Timbaland and Danjahandz and a cameo from Justin Timberlake — each night, then sprinkle in some classic hits. Tickets will cost $75, $125 and $150. ... Add the Pipettes to the growing list of bands canceling U.S. treks due to visa problems — the British female pop trio has postponed a series of dates on its upcoming North American tour, Pitchfork reports. The outing was originally set to start Tuesday in Chicago but will now launch October 25 in Los Angeles. ...

David Gilmour says he has no desire to reunite with his Pink Floyd bandmates, despite a recent European poll in which fans clamored for the band to do so. He claims he's focused on his solo career. "I can't see why I would want to be going back to that old thing," he explained recently to Rolling Stone. "It's very retrogressive. I want to look forward, and looking back isn't my joy. I don't know how one puts it, but going back into all that just wouldn't bring me joy. It's my time of life to be selfish — please myself." Last week, digital-music firm Music Choice published a poll in which 26 percent of respondents said Floyd top their list of bands they'd like to see reunite. ...

Tuesday could be a pivotal day in the ongoing war between the Recording Industry Association of America and rogue downloaders. According to Wired magazine, the RIAA will face off in a courtroom with a Minnesota mother in the first copyright jury trial that could set a precedent on the amount of proof a jury would have to consider to find a defendant liable for copyright infringement. The mother, Jannie Thomas, has adamantly claimed she did not download the 1,702 audio files she is accused of sharing on Kazaa in 2005. ...

A man who pleaded guilty in a plot to extort more than $1 million from Tom Cruise for the actor's stolen wedding photos was found dead in his home, according to an AP report. Investigators believe David Hans Schmidt, 47, who had been under house arrest and faced up to two years in federal prison, committed suicide. He was found dead in his home Friday afternoon after police noticed a tracker placed on him had not moved, and he had not checked in.

09.28.07

Beyoncé's planned concert in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has been canned amid protests by local Muslim groups, Billboard reports. The groups are reportedly upset that the singer has refused to obey the country's strict dress code for performers, although the November 1 concert's promoter, Pineapple Concert, did not give a reason for the cancellation in a statement issued Friday (September 28). Female performers are not allowed to show skin from the tops of their chests to their knees. In August, Gwen Stefani's concert in the country was also preceded by protests for the same reason — but she reluctantly abided by the guidelines, saying in a press conference before the show that she had made a "major sacrifice." ...

Ludacris, Yung Joc, Angels & Airwaves, Fabolous, Keyshia Cole, the Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Busta Rhymes will hit the stage October 6 at Radio City Music Hall in New York for the Boost Mobile RockCorps volunteer show, to be hosted by Nick Cannon. The concert will act as a reward to 5,000 Big Apple volunteers who have carried out at least four hours of service in their community. Earlier in the day, Luda, along with pro skateboarder Terry Kennedy and snowboarder Keir Dillon, will join 100 NYC volunteers to revitalize Manhattan's DeWitt Clinton Park. ...

R. Kelly's child-pornography trial, which was to have started September 17 in Chicago, doesn't have a new start date in sight. In a status hearing on Friday, the only thing that was determined, according to the state's attorney's office, is the next status hearing date, for November 2. ... Owen Wilson is "doing really well," Ben Stiller told Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show on Friday. "I sort of like to protect his privacy, 'cause I feel like it's his own thing. But he's a really good friend of mine. He's an incredible guy, and I wish him as everybody does, all the best." The two actors were due to begin shooting "Tropic Thunder" this month, but Wilson dropped out of the flick following a suicide attempt in late August. His role has since been filled by Matthew McConaughey. ...

Nicole Richie has enrolled in an alcohol-education program that will last 18 months, according to People. The socialite, who was arrested for driving under the influence in December, reportedly signed up for the SB 38 Alcohol Program on Wednesday. The program involves 52 hours of group counseling; in-person, biweekly interviews; and 12 hours of alcohol education. ... Richie probably won't be too happy to hear about Think Skateboards' fall line of decks. The line's "Jailbaits" series feature her mug shot — and Lindsay's and Paris' — with a thought bubble hovering over each of their heads: Inside the bubble is the phrase, "If only I could Think." ... Joey Fatone, no stranger to Britney Spears, has some words of advice for the troubled singer. "Britney, call me, come over to my house, come to Orlando [Florida], get way from it all ... it's a good thing to get out of L.A.," he recently told "Extra," adding that Spears needs "some time to really heal." Fatone admitted he hasn't seen her in a while, but all the same, he said, "I'm here for you, sweetheart." ...

With Jamie Foxx's "The Kingdom," a flick about a series of terrorist bombings in the Mideast, hitting theaters this weekend, it seems it was only a matter of time before the outspoken actor piped up with his views about U.S. intervention abroad. While promoting the film, he told MSNBC that he doesn't see an end in sight to the Iraq war — and that President Bush's big problem is that he lacks "charisma." "It's not the way America has handled the war, it's the way George Bush has handled it," the actor said. "I think George Bush and the guys that are there just don't have the charisma to pull off the things that they're trying to do. I can understand if you want to go to war, but how do you go to war? They go to war in a high-risk, high-return or high-risk, no-return ... situation. You'll be in Iraq for another 30 years. You can't get out." Foxx added that he's supporting presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama, but that he'll support whoever wins the Democratic nomination. ...

Uncle Kracker (real name: Matthew Shafer) was given a 60-day suspended sentence, 12 months of probation and a $1,500 fine after pleading guilty to an assault charge in a Wake County, North Carolina, court on Friday, local TV station NBC17 reports. He must also complete a substance-abuse assessment as part of the plea deal. Kracker was arrested in August on a second-degree forcible-sex-offense charge after an alleged incident at a downtown Raleigh nightclub called the Ess Lounge. He wound up facing a lesser charge in light of the plea deal. ... Kiefer Sutherland was formally charged with two misdemeanor drunk-driving counts on Friday in Los Angeles. The actor, who is on probation for a drunk-driving charge in 2004, could face up to a year and a half in jail. Sutherland was arrested Tuesday morning in Hollywood after police pulled him over for making an illegal U-turn. ...

U2's Bono accepted the Liberty Medal for his humanitarian work in Africa on Thursday night in Philadelphia, according to The Associated Press. Bono urged Americans to work toward solving the world's problems and spoke of those who are without freedom. "When you are trapped by poverty, you are not free," he said. "When trade laws prevent you from selling the food you grew, you are not free. When you are a monk in Burma this very week, barred from entering a temple because of your gospel of peace ... well, then none of us are truly free." Bono was presented with the award by last year's co-recipient, President George H.W. Bush, at the National Constitution Center. The award carries a $100,000 prize, which the rocker plans to donate to humanitarian organizations. ...

A new Radiohead Web site has popped up hinting that they might be planning a big announcement this weekend. Radioheadlp7.com is displaying a countdown clock, set to expire Saturday morning. Given that the lads have been leaving several coded messages on their Web site regarding their forthcoming seventh set, which they recently finished, some are speculating the new site will spill all of the beans on the outing. Only time will tell. ... Cat Power is blanketing her fans with cover songs again. The indie starlet has lumped together a sequel to her noted 2000 collection, The Covers Record, according to Billboard. The track list has yet to be revealed for Covers II which is due January 22. ...

Ryan Adams reportedly threw another in-concert tantrum, this time at a show Thursday night in Minneapolis, according to AP. The singer/guitarist was reportedly complaining throughout the evening about the sound monitors, at one point moving two of them and other equipment. About an hour and 10 minutes into the show, Adams said he'd be playing his last song and didn't come back for an encore, spurring concertgoers to boo. Four years ago, Adams gave an even more tumultuous performance, during which he also complained about the sound, at the city's First Avenue venue. ...

Evanescence have tapped Australian rockers Sick Puppies as the support act for their upcoming tour, which is scheduled to launch October 23 in Miami and run through December 4 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. ... The reunited Sex Pistols have booked an invite-only gig in Hollywood. The band will take the stage at the Roxy Theatre on October 25 for a show that's being co-sponsored by Indie.103.1, the radio station Steve Jones DJs for, and "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock," which includes a newly re-recorded version of the Pistols' "Anarchy in the U.K." ...

Remember EMF? Well, as "Unbelievable" — or "crumbelievable" (so goes the Kraft commercial knockoff of the band's song) — as it may sound, the band will reunite for a London gig set for December 18. It will be the first time in five years the boys have performed together in a public forum. The band announced on its Web site that Pop Will Eat Itself's Richard March will take over on bass for original member Zac Foley, who died in 2002 from a drug overdose. ...

According to former Offenders drummer Pat Doyle, his former bandmate, bassist Mikey Donaldson, died in his sleep on Saturday in Barcelona, Spain. He was 46. An official cause of death has yet to be determined. "Mikey is universally regarded as one of the most innovative and inimitable masters of the bass guitar," Doyle said. "He played his Rickenbacker like it was an outsized rhythm guitar. Mikey pioneered an aggressive speed-picking style and liberal employment of bass chords that few have been able to emulate in the past 20 years. He will be sorely missed."

Britney charged over hit-and-run

2007-09-25T05:48:00.000-07:00

Pop star Britney Spears has been charged with hit-and-run and driving without a valid licence.

The charges, which each carry a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 (£500) fine, stem from an incident in a private car park.

The 25-year-old singer is accused of hitting a parked car and driving away.

She was sent a letter on Friday, notifying her of the charges. A hearing, which the troubled singer does not have to attend, has been set for October 10.

Earlier this month the pop princess delivered what was considered a disappointing performance of her new single Gimme More at the MTV Video Music Awards.

The mother of two's professional life has been overshadowed by her personal crises, which have become constant fodder for supermarket tabloids.

Britney Spears Charged With Two Driving-Related Misdemeanors

2007-09-25T05:46:00.000-07:00

Charges include misdemeanor hit and run causing property damage, driving without valid license.

After hitting another car while attempting to park last month, Britney Spears was charged Friday (September 21) with misdemeanor hit and run causing property damage. She's also charged with driving without a valid license.

According to the Los Angeles City Attorney's office, the singer hit a parked car on or about August 6 in the San Fernando Valley without leaving a note for the driver of the other vehicle or filing a police report. The incident was caught on video (widely available on the Internet), in which Spears, driving a black convertible, hits a parked white station wagon.

"Uh-oh, I'm a brainiac," she tells the crowd of paparazzi photographers and videographers surrounding her. "Sorry about that. What do I do?" After parking her car, she gets out to examine her car, but not the one she hit. "Did I hurt my car?" she asks before examining the front end. "It's not bad." She's then videotaped walking away.

According to the California Vehicle Code, drivers are required to locate the owner of any damaged property or leave their information in a conspicuous place and inform local law enforcement of the incident. In the court papers filed Friday, the prosecution claims Spears "did willfully and unlawfully fail, neglect, and refuse" to do that.

The North Hollywood division of the Los Angeles police department then received a formal complaint from the victim on August 9, and then discovered that the Department of Motor Vehicles had no record of issuing a California driver's license to Spears — despite the wide array of photographs and video taken of the singer driving various cars throughout Southern California.

Spears faces a maximum of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine for each of the misdemeanor counts. Her arraignment is set for October 10. The singer recently suffered setbacks in her child-custody case (see "Britney Spears Must Undergo Regular Drug Testing, Parenting Classes In Custody Case").

Britney Spears Reportedly Goes Partying; Plus Justin Timberlake, Kanye West, Amy Winehouse, Ashlee Simpson, Game & More, In For The Record

2007-09-25T05:44:00.000-07:00

JT says he hasn't spoken with Brit in years; West, Winehouse score MOBO Awards; Simpson talks new LP.

So a judge orders Britney Spears to submit to random drug tests and abstain from alcohol, and what does she apparently do next? Goes partying! The singer reportedly went clubbing into the wee hours Tuesday night in West Hollywood, California, hitting both Winston's Bar & Grill and the Hyde Lounge — with a flurry of paparazzi on her tail, of course. Observers told People magazine that the singer was brought shots at Hyde, though it's unclear whether she actually drank them. Meanwhile, Spears has changed legal counsel again. On Monday, her divorce attorney Laura Wasser had stepped down to be replaced by Marci Levine, and on Wednesday (September 19), Levine prepared to step down to be replaced by Sorrell Trope. Trope's office told MTV News on Wednesday that the firm was in the process of being retained by Spears and anticipated that the necessary paperwork would be signed and taken care of by the end of the day. ..

In other Britney news, Justin Timberlake talked a bit about the singer Wednesday on "Oprah." When asked what he thinks is "going on" with her, Timberlake said, "I don't know, to be honest with you. I haven't spoken to her in years. I mean, there's no ill will — I have nothing but love for her. It's funny because we dated each other at a time ... wow, I haven't talked about this in a long time. It's interesting. ... We were teenagers, you know? I think that's basically the best way to describe what happened to us. I think she's a great person, and I don't know her as well as I did. ... What I do know about her is she has a huge heart, and she is a great person." ...

Talk about adding insult to injury. After pounding 50 Cent in the first week of their album showdown, Kanye West has bested his rival a second time by clinching the Music of Black Origin Award for Best Hip Hop artist. Amy Winehouse scored the Best U.K. Female prize, surprisingly, while Rihanna nabbed Best International Act honors, and Ne-Yo's "Because of You" earned Best R&B Title and Best Song. ...

If you caught Ashlee Simpson giving her yet-untitled album a test-drive at the VMAs earlier this month, you probably noticed the Cure's Robert Smith didn't make it onto the LP. In July, Smith voiced doubt about the supposed collabo taking place, and while Simpson told MTV News during her "Chicago" run in London late last year that "To work with Robert Smith would be an honor," she recently told Rolling Stone, "I am a huge fan, but would never expect to write with Robert Smith from the Cure." Boyfriend Pete Wentz also doesn't appear on the November disc — "We both keep our music separate from each other," she told Rolling Stone — however Timbaland, the Neptunes, Kenna and Gym Class Heroes' Travis McCoy did make the cut. ...

Game better be game to take on a new lawsuit — an Indian music-and-film company is suing him and Timbaland over "Put You on the Game." The song was featured on the Compton, California, rapper's Aftermath debut, The Documentary, and produced by Timbaland. According to documents obtained by MTV News, Saregama India — which filed a similar copyright-infringement suit in 2002 against then-Aftermath artist Truth Hurts — claims the duo used the song without its permission and also cites a number of additional parties, including Aftermath Entertainment, G-Unit Records and producer Danjahandz, who co-produced the track. The company is suing for a yet-undetermined sum. ... But everything isn't so dire these days for Timbo — the super-producer is soaping up for a scheduled appearance on an upcoming episode of "One Life to Live" scheduled to air October 9. He will perform two songs from his recent Shock Value LP, with the artists who accompanied him on the studio tracks: "The Way I Are" with Keri Hilson and "Apologize" with One Republic. ...

Let's set one thing straight: Chris Brown does not dislike Ciara, even though he's quoted as saying "I don't want Ciara" in the current issue of Vibe. "I didn't say I didn't like her," the singer recently told MTV News. "They mixed it around. Ciara, you know you're my homie." The article states that Brown's face "curls up as if he'd just noticed a foul odor" when the topic of Ciara is broached. "They made it seem totally bogus," he explained. "I don't have any grudges. I'm not a negative person. And I don't have a certain type. I don't care if you're a model or if you work at a gas station. Everyone's human. Everyone's a loving human being. And everyone has a chance with me." ... The New York Times loves Justin Timberlake's Southern Hospitality — the "SexyBack" singer's baby-back ribs in particular. "The most confounding thing about Southern Hospitality is those baby back ribs. Because they are, against tall odds, good," Peter Meehan wrote in his review, which was published Wednesday. "They are juicy but not fatty, seasoned simply and evenly and scented with a strong but not overpowering hit of smoke." ...

Australian Web site Undercover has reported that Rage Against the Machine are tipped to be one of the headliners of the upcoming Big Day Out festival. Though organizers haven't yet announced the lineup of the January shows, the group has reportedly booked gigs in Sydney and Melbourne on January 22 and 30, respectively, which closely coincide with BDO shows in those cities. ... The Foo Fighters will serve as the musical guest on "Saturday Night Live" on October 13, little more than two weeks after the band's Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace lands in stores. ...

Mya is stepping up for a good cause: The singer will perform at Skool'd, a benefit event to be hosted by Richie Rich on Wednesday night at Sol in New York. Eve DJ Miss Saigon and Le Tigre's JD Samson will spin at the benefit, the proceeds from which will go to the Ali Forney Center and the Reciprocity Foundation — organizations that assist lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender homeless youth in New York. Later Wednesday evening, she will host a party celebrating the launch of travel and lifestyle magazine Terrace at New York's Pink Elephant. ... A number of hip-hop and R&B acts have signed on to play a September 29 concert in support of the Jena Six, the black teens charged in connection with the beating of a white teen in Jena, Louisiana. Among the acts scheduled to play the Jena 6 Empowerment Concert at Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex in Birmingham, Alabama, according to the event's promoter, are Lloyd, Baby Boy, Twista, Jagged Edge, Tank, Killer Mike, Disturbing Tha Peace's Small World, B5, LAX Boys and Hurricane Chris. ...

Prince gave London Fashion Week the royal treatment on Wednesday when he delivered an unannounced performance during Matthew Williamson's catwalk show, Reuters reports. Once Prince's "U Got the Look" song reportedly began playing at the show, two models started dancing on the runway — after which the singer, who was sitting in the front row, started singing into a microphone from his seat. Prince them hopped on the runway and was joined by his band for the performance. "He really wanted to do this, and you don't say no to Prince," Williamson told the news service after the show. ... Bo Bice has seen the light, and it's Wal-Mart. The former "American Idol" finalist is planning to release his new album, See the Light, through the retail giant on October 23, with a presale on Walmart.com taking place beforehand. Wal-Mart will be the only terrestrial store carrying the disc, although it will be available through other online outlets. Bice, who parted ways with RCA last year, is putting out his second album through Sugar Money/ StratArt. "We had no inhibitions about what this was going to be," Bice said in a statement about the disc. "We just went in and did whatever we wanted to. The freedom shines through." ...

The Shins hope to indie-rock the mtvU Woodies this year — the band has scored three nominations, including Woodie of the Year. Lily Allen, Gym Class Heroes and Linkin Park have picked up two noms apiece, while Amy Winehouse, Common, Lil Wayne, TV on the Radio, M.I.A., Thom Yorke and Spoon have also been noticed. Don't miss the show when it airs November 15 on mtvU. ... A source told the Chicago Sun-Times that Michael Jackson is planning big things for his long-gestating comeback album. Comparing the music being recorded to the tunes on Jackson's landmark Thriller album, the source speculated that the yet-untitled, unscheduled disc might contain appearances by sister Janet Jackson and some of the other Jackson siblings. ...

Millions have watched Chris Crocker scream "Leave Britney alone!" on his hugely popular viral-video clip that recently made the rounds, and now reality-TV programmer 44 Blue Productions is hoping to parlay that success onto the small screen. Variety reports that a TV documentary soap is being developed around the 19-year-old Internet sensation — who still lives with his grandparents in Tennessee. ... According to reports from London, Babyshambles frontman Pete Doherty — who has publicly stuggled with drugs — has written a song for fellow hot English mess, Amy Winehouse. The tune, "Amy on the Mend," was reportedly intended to lift Winehouse's spirits as she deals with her recent health issues and an alleged drug overdose last month, and was allegedly sent to Winehouse in a frame and signed, "Love, Pete." The Daily Star reported that the tune, timed with Winehouse's 24th birthday, features the lines, "Amy on the mend, all that passion to spend/ Like a paper Boadicea in a battle to the end, end, end." ...

Barry Bonds has piped up about Marc Ecko's move to let fans decide the fate of the baseball slugger's record-breaking 756th home-run ball, which Ecko won in an auction over the weekend, on Vote756.com. "He's stupid," Bonds said. "He's an idiot. He spent $750,000 on the ball and that's what he's doing with it? What he's doing is stupid." He added of the fans' voting, "All of those options don't weigh anything. In baseball, that number [756] stands." According to The Associated Press, Ecko issued a statement Wednesday saying he would make a custom T-shirt reading, "Marc Ecko paid $752,467 for my ball, and all I got was this 'stupid' T-shirt.' " Meanwhile, the hip-hop fashion mogul's philosophy has caught on — the man who submitted Bonds' record-tying home-run ball also plans to let fans vote on whether the item should go to Cooperstown or be destroyed. "I give [Ecko] a lot of credit in all sincerity," Ben Padnos told AP. "I understood the potential value in this." Speaking of which, there is one difference in Padnos' approach: He's selling ads on his Web site, EndtheDebate.com. ...

Owen Wilson was only supposed to have a minor cameo in Ben Stiller's "Tropic Thunder" flick, but all the same, Matthew McConaughey has stepped in to fill the actor's shoes after Wilson dropped out of the film following a suicide attempt last month, Variety reports. The movie, which is filming in Hawaii, will also star Jack Black, Robert Downey Jr. and others. ...

Former Great White tour manager Daniel Biechele is now eligible for parole, having served one-third of his four-year prison sentence, AP reports. Rhode Island's parole board will meet on Wednesday to decide whether to grant parole to Biechele, who was imprisoned for igniting pyrotechnics that sparked a deadly fire four years ago at the Station nightclub in West Warwick, Rhode Island. The blaze killed 100 people and injured more than 200 others.

09.18.07

Joel Madden spoke on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on Tuesday (September 18) about his plans to marry Nicole Richie, People reports. The Good Charlotte rocker — who saw his marriage-proposal secret slip after Regis Philbin spilled the beans — told Seacrest, "Obviously, marriage is in our future. I don't know when or where or how, but right now our priority is our family and is the baby. That's all we've been thinking about. We are in love and are really happy." Richie announced on "Good Morning America" in late July that she was four months pregnant. And it looks like Madden is taking on some of the shopping responsibilities. "I already went to Target and got a stroller and a playpen," he told Seacrest. ...

Vanessa Hudgens, who has recently been dogged by leaked nude photos, is facing a new problem: The "High School Musical" star's attorney is suing her for $150,000 in unpaid fees, TMZ.com reports. The suit, filed by Brian L. Schall, alleges that she owes him for contract-signing services dating back to October 2005 and that he wants 5 percent of her earnings. ...

Kanye West and Jay-Z were all smiles on Tuesday, the day before the first-week-sales figures for 'Ye's Graduation and 50 Cent's competing Curtis were due to be released. "Everyone is coming up to me and telling me how proud they are of me," West told The Associated Press, adding, "it feels overwhelming." Jay was a bit more cautious in his enthusiasm over the yet-unannounced results, saying, "We're not gloating. He's celebrating his win ... in his mind, he believed he could win the whole time." ...

Hell has frozen over ... and Zack de la Rocha has finally put the finishing touches on his forever-in-the-works solo LP, Billboard reports. According to the news outlet, sources say de la Rocha plays keyboards on the yet-untitled effort — which has been in the works since the singer initially left Rage Against the Machine in 2000 — and that it sounds like a cross between Led Zeppelin and Dr. Dre. Ex-Mars Volta drummer Jon Theodore also collaborated heavily on the album, according to Billboard, and some of it was recently recorded at Jack Johnson's Los Angeles studio. De la Rocha is reportedly unsigned and considering offers for how to distribute the LP. ...

Nicole Scherzinger is launching her second single this week, "Baby Love" (featuring Will.I.Am). But the Black Eyed Pea doesn't get to play her love interest in the video, despite the song being "about us being in love." "I love Will, but I'm not in love with Will," the singer laughed. "I have a guy playing my lover, a sweet guy with a great energy that I cast for it." Francis Lawrence (Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani) directed the clip, which takes place off the coast of Southern California's Catalina Island. ... Fat Joe has hooked up with Imperial Records — a division of Capitol and Terror Squad — for the release of his eighth album, The Elephant in the Room. The LP, due early next year, will be studded with stars: Diddy, Rick Ross and Fabolous make guest appearances, while Scott Storch, Danjahandz and DJ Khaled lend their production skills. ...

The last of four secret Van Halen rehearsal shows reportedly took place Sunday night in Los Angeles before more than 500 fans — including guitarists Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine and Kirk Hammett of Metallica. Also on hand, apparently, was Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Zakk Wylde, who attempted to get onstage during the set but was denied by frontman David Lee Roth. In a video making the rounds on the Internet, Wylde, who appeared to be in the front row, tried to hoist himself onto the stage. Security shuffled in to remove him, but Roth took to the microphone. "Nah, nah, nah. Are you in show biz?" he said. "Then get off the stage. Get off the f---ing stage." ...

Legendary punk rockers the Sex Pistols have announced that they'll squeeze into their bondage pants again for one night only on November 8 at the Brixton Academy in London for a 30th anniversary celebration of the release of their landmark 1977 album, Never Mind the Bollocks ... Here's the Sex Pistols. Original singer John Lydon, guitarist Steve Jones, drummer Paul Cook and bassist Glen Matlock will be on hand for the show, the group's first in more than four years. Bollocks, the only studio album recorded by the Pistols, features such punk classics as "God Save the Queen" and "Anarchy in the U.K." ...

The Gorillaz are prepping their second B-sides collection, D-Sides. The 22-track double-disc is slated for release November 6 and will feature demos; B-sides ("68 State," "Murdoc Is God," "Hongkongaton"); and remixes of songs like "Kids With Guns" and "Dare" by everyone from DFA and Hot Chip to Jamie T and Soulwax. ... Our long national nightmare is over ... sort of. After years of holding out, Radiohead have finally begun offering their albums for download. The group, which has held back from offering landmarks like The Bends and OK Computer to iTunes in the past because of its dislike for the site's practice of allowing individual songs for download, is now offering all its albums and some early singles in a high-quality, DRM-free format on 7digital.com. The albums will only be sold as complete packages. ...

David Bowie has made a $10,000 donation to the Jena Six Legal Defense Fund and is lending his voice to aid the six black teenagers who defenders have said faced overly aggressive prosecution and extended incarceration over their role in an alleged altercation with a white classmate in the small town (population: 3,000) of Jena, Louisiana, last year. The teens are alleged to have assaulted a white student in December, months after an incident on campus in which three nooses were hung on a tree at the local high school set off a series of tense, racially charged confrontations. "There is clearly a separate and unequal judicial process going on in the town of Jena," Bowie said in a statement. "A donation to the Jena Six Legal Defense Fund is my small gesture indicating my belief that a wrongful charge and sentence should be prevented." Thousands of people, including rapper Mos Def, are expected to descend on the town on Thursday to protest the prosecution of the five teenagers and a minor. ...

Perry Farrell — whose Satellite Party has stumbled out of the starting gate with poor sales of their Ultra Payloaded debut — is kissing the major labels goodbye and launching his own indie label, Bells Are Ringing. Although it was originally released by Columbia in late May, Ultra Payloaded will now act as the first Bells Are Ringing release. "I'm very excited to become part of this new independent trend where artists will have more creative freedom, make higher profits on the sales of their music, and most of all, it allows me, the artist, to own my art, my masters," Farrell said in a statement. ... Don't tell Neil Young: Alabama Governor Bob Riley has announced that the state's tourism agency will be using Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama" to market the state next year, AP reports. The classic-rock song was released in 1974 as a response to Young, who was critical of the South. ...

The Dead Kennedys will release a greatest-hits collection on October 9 called Milking the Sacred Cow. The set will feature a dozen tracks, including "Holiday in Cambodia," "Too Drunk to F---" and "Halloween." ... The dates for Sevendust's upcoming Ladies Get Out of Jail Free Tour '07, along with 10 Years, Black Light Burns and Neverset, have been revealed. The trek launches October 19 in Maplewood, Minnesota, and gigs are booked through November 10 in Atlanta. ... 3rd Strike have re-formed with a brand-new lineup. The band is currently working on new songs and posted one of them, "Battlecry," on its MySpace page. The band has booked an October 19 gig at West Hollywood, California's Whisky A Go Go, and the gig will also feature Drowning Pool and the Exies. ...

Expect to see even more kids accompanying Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie in the future. "We're not done," Pitt recently told AP. "[People] say, 'Any plans for a fifth?' And I say, 'And a sixth, and a seventh, and an eighth and a ninth.' That's my answer," he said. The actor, who stars in Friday's "Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," also let it be known that he and Jolie have crafted a 9-foot-wide bed that fits them and their four children. "One more [child] and we'll have to go to 11 feet," he said. ...

Wesley Snipes must pay United Talent Agency $1.7 million in a default judgment issued Tuesday, according to CBS News. The company, which helped the "Blade" actor get roles in multiple films, sued him in July 2006 for an alleged breach of oral contract. UTA claims Snipes agreed to pay 10 percent of any money he earned for movie roles the talent agency got for him, but he did not pay commissions for "The Shooter," "Chaos" and other films.

Britney Spears Must Undergo Regular Drug Testing, Parenting Classes In Custody Case

2007-09-25T05:42:00.000-07:00

Brit's lawyer resigns amid hearings; singer also has no personal, managerial representation.

This week is shaping up to be another tough one for Britney Spears. On Monday alone, the singer parted ways with her lawyer and her manager — right in the middle of her battle for custody of her children. That battle is now requiring Spears to undergo random drug testing and counseling, court papers reveal.

Ever since the singer's VMA performance on September 9, Spears has been caught in a freefall. With her "comeback" a backfire, she's left trying to set up her yet-untitled next album (due November 13) as she fights ex-husband Kevin Federline for custody of the couple's two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James.

That fight isn't going well — Spears suffered a series of setbacks in her child-custody dispute during a closed hearing at Los Angeles Superior Court on Monday, when Commissioner Scott Gordon found that "there is a habitual, frequent and continuous use" of controlled substances and alcohol, and ordered the singer to undergo twice-weekly random testing. The results of the drug tests, which are to be conducted at Spears' expense, are to be filed under seal and will not be made public. But both Spears and Federline were ordered to abstain from alcohol and nonprescription medication during and for 12 hours immediately preceding any period either has the children in his or her custody.

Spears is also to undergo individual counseling at least once a week (with a therapist to be determined within 10 days) and meet with a parenting coach for a minimum of eight hours a week, in at least two sessions a week. The coach is to be determined by both Spears' and Federline's lawyers within five days, and if they can't agree upon one, they're to propose a list of three and the court will decide for them. The parenting coach is to file a written progress report by October 22 and appear at the next custody court date.

Spears and Federline were also both ordered to enroll in a Parenting Without Conflict program within five days or, in lieu of that, to seek help from a mental-health professional. In addition to that program, Spears and Federline must participate in joint co-parenting counseling, for which they are to share the costs, and were ordered to select a therapist within five days. If the former couple can't agree upon a therapist, like the situation with the parenting coach, they're to propose a list of three and the court will decide for them.

Spears and Federline also face new rules for their interactions with each other, their children and their children's caregivers. Neither is allowed to take the children out of the state without prior written consent of the other parent or the court; use corporal punishment (or to allow anyone else to do so); or make derogatory remarks about the other, the other's family or the other's significant other (or allow anyone else to do so) in front of the children. Caregivers must be certified by the American Red Cross in Infant and Child CPR and know basic first aid, or get certification immediately. And if a caregiver should be hired or fired, the other parent is to be notified within 24 to 48 hours.

Some of these orders could be due to a "secret witness" — who turned out to be one of the singer's ex-bodyguards, Tony Barretto — who came forward on Monday to file a declaration to the court on "issues of nudity by Ms. Spears, drug use and safety issues involving the children post-rehab," according to his attorney, Gloria Allred. He was employed by Spears after she left rehab in March (see "Britney Spears Leaves Rehab") until May 17, when he claims he was fired for failing to pick up the singer's hat, an order he has said he failed to hear. Neither Spears nor Federline attended the hearing.

Spears' attorney chose not to cross-examine Barretto, so the ex-bodyguard did not take the stand. "Since neither the court nor Ms. Spears' attorney chose to examine our client from the witness stand regarding the particulars of his highly explosive and relevant declaration, it stands unrefuted and unchallenged," Allred told reporters outside the courthouse.

Don't expect much more information to be leaked in the custody case, however. Commissioner Gordon also decided in an order filed Monday that "in the best interest of the children," who face "an immediate threat to [their] safety" as well as "unnecessary embarrassment and stigma," the records would be redacted, or edited, and sealed. Some of the information to be deleted from court papers include addresses related to the children, their activities and their care; the mental and physical health issues of Spears, Federline and the children; the dates and locations for exchanges of custody relating to visitation; and specific custody and visitation schedules. Spears and Federline's current 50/50 custody arrangement remains for now.

Though her (now former) divorce attorney Laura Wasser defended her client outside the courthouse on Friday, telling reporters, "I think [Britney] just wants to be a mom," she has stopped defending the singer inside the courtroom as of Monday. Wasser confirmed to MTV News that she's no longer representing Spears, who has since found a new lawyer in Marci Levine, according to Levine's office.

Shortly after Wasser resigned, Spears' management company, the Firm, quit as well, after repping the singer for little over a month. "It saddens us to confirm media reports that we have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears," read a statement from the company. "We believe Britney is enormously talented and has made a terrific record, but current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job. We wish Britney the best." (Spears currently has no personal representation either. Her former rep, Leslie Sloane, tells MTV News, "I haven't worked with her since June.")

Meanwhile, the level of absurdity surrounding the Spears/Federline saga reached a new height with reports of an alleged contract hit on Federline's life, which surfaced Monday. According to the FBI's Los Angeles office, a "non-specific," "low-credibility" and "uncorroborated" threat on Federline's life was received. "Since there was no federal jurisdiction, we shared the information with the local authorities," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told MTV News. "We take every threat seriously. But there was no specificity, no corroboration, and it could not be substantiated."

A representative for the LAPD, who seemed to take the threat a little less seriously, laughed when asked about it, telling MTV News, "We do not have a current investigation."

Federline's rep had no official comment, but his lawyer Mark Vincent Kaplan told reporters outside the courthouse on Monday, "Until I see what the alleged threat was, I can't speak to that." Kaplan also said he didn't see a quick end to the custody dispute, since the next hearing isn't set until November 26, with another court date to follow in December. "I don't see it being resolved before that time," he said.

Britney to have drug tests

2007-09-25T05:40:00.000-07:00

Britney Spears has been ordered to undergo random drug tests in her custody battle for her two children, according to reports from the US. A court commissioner also told the troubled pop star to hire a parenting coach to help her raise her children with ex-husband Kevin Federline, court papers apparently showed.

The documents, posted on celebrity website TMZ.com, came from the bitter custody battle between Spears and Federline over their two sons - Sean Preston, aged two, and Jayden James, one.

"Based on the evidence presented, the court finds that there is habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol by the petitioner," Superior Court Commissioner Scott Gordon wrote in his ruling.

Federline had been asking for increased custody, but Mr Gordon maintained a 50-50 joint arrangement - at least for the time being.

The arrangement is likely to last as long as Spears can prove she is clean of drugs.

Gordon ordered both Spears, 25, and Federline, 29, to complete a "parenting without conflict" programme, and said they must stop making derogatory remarks about each other.

But he saved his most stringent requirements for Spears, who in recent months has exhibited odd behaviour after completing rehab in March.

Among the many notorious incidents, Spears has shaved her head, attacked the paparazzi, fired staff and stripped down to her underwear for an impromptu ocean swim in front of photographers.

Recently she was derided at MTV's Video Music Awards after dressing as a stripper and miming out of synch to her new song Gimme More.

Mr Gordon ordered Spears to undergo testing for drugs and alcohol twice a week on random dates and times.

Britney Spears Suffers Setback In Hearing; Plus Dave Grohl, Kanye West, 'High School Musical' & More, In For The Record

2007-09-25T05:39:00.000-07:00

Grohl opens up about Kurt Cobain; West mocks himself at Emmys; 'HSM' stars still in negotiations for third flick.

Britney Spears suffered a setback in her child-custody dispute with ex-husband Kevin Federline during a hearing on Monday (September 17). An anticipated "secret witness" — who turned out to be one of the singer's ex-bodyguards — came forward to file a declaration to the court and make himself available to testify on "issues of nudity by Ms. Spears, drug use and safety issues involving the children post-rehab," according to his attorney Gloria Allred. Spears' attorney chose not to cross-examine Tony Barretto, so the ex-bodyguard did not take the stand, which "shocked" Allred, she said. "Since neither the court nor Ms. Spears' attorney chose to examine our client from the witness stand regarding the particulars of his highly explosive and relevant declaration, it stands unrefuted and unchallenged," Allred told reporters outside the courthouse. However, contents of that declaration were not made public Monday, nor were the court's minutes from the closed hearing, so there's no word on how the declaration was received. Federline's attorney Mark Vincent Kaplan told reporters he didn't see a quick end to the custody dispute, since the next hearing isn't set until November 26, with another court date to follow in December. "I don't see it being resolved before that time," he said. To make matters worse for Spears, she lost two members of her team on Monday. Attorney Laura Wasser is no longer providing her with legal representation in the custody battle, Wasser confirmed to MTV News — the singer has new representation in Marci Levine, according to Levine's office. Shortly after Wasser threw in the towel, Spears' management company, the Firm, quit as well, according to People. "It saddens us to confirm media reports that we have terminated our professional relationship with Britney Spears," read the statement. "We believe Britney is enormously talented and has made a terrific record, but current circumstances have prevented us from properly doing our job. We wish Britney the best." ...

Meanwhile, the level of absurdity surrounding the Spears/Federline saga has reached a new height. As the former spouses' custody battle continued in Los Angeles Superior Court, another story started to unravel outside the courthouse: that of an alleged contract hit on Federline's life. According to the FBI's Los Angeles office, a "non-specific," "low-credibility" and "uncorroborated" threat on Federline's life was received. "Since there was no federal jurisdiction, we shared the information with the local authorities," FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told MTV News. "We take every threat seriously. But there was no specificity, no corroboration, and it could not be substantiated." The LAPD, who seemed to take the threat a little less seriously, laughed when asked about it, telling MTV News, "We do not have a current investigation." Federline's rep had no official comment, but his lawyer told reporters outside the courthouse on Monday, "Until I see what the alleged threat was, I can't speak to that." ...

Dave Grohl has opened up to U.K. newspaper The Guardian about the death of his former Nirvana bandmate Kurt Cobain. "Kurt dying shocked me into running away from music for a while," he divulged. "I started Foo Fighters because I didn't want to retreat. I couldn't imagine joining another band and sitting behind the drum set, because I would always think about Krist [Novoselic] and Kurt." Grohl also revealed that while one of the Foos' earliest songs, "I'll Stick Around," was not directed at Cobain's ex-wife, Courtney Love, he wouldn't be surprised if similar comparisons are made over "Let It Die." The song, featured on the Foos' new album, Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace, features the lyric "A simple man and his blushing bride/ Intravenous, intertwined." The tune was "written about feeling helpless to someone else's demise," Grohl said. "I've seen people lose it all to drugs and heartbreak and death. It's happened more than once in my life, but the one that's most noted is Kurt. And there are a lot of people that I've been angry with in my life, but the one that's most noted is Courtney. So it's pretty obvious to me that those correlations are gonna pop up every now and again. I still remain a little secretive about it all." ...

Even at Sunday night's Emmys, where he wasn't nominated for anything, Kanye West couldn't win. The rapper notorious for loudly expressing his award-show-freeze-out frustrations playfully lampooned his sore-loser reputation during a skit in which actor Rainn Wilson ("The Office") beat Kanye at a game of "Don't Forget the Lyrics" based on 'Ye's song "Stronger," with the loser doomed to retiring from show business. After West slipped up and sang "that's how long I've been on you," comedian Wayne Brady joked that Mr. West picked "the wrong time to speak properly," pointing out that the lyric ends with the words "on ya." A smiling West exclaimed, "I never win!" The consolation? West had a front-row seat for the Los Angeles ceremony, right next to multiple winner Tony Bennett. Later on in the evening, he popped over to Justin Timberlake's concert at the Staples Center for a rendition of West's "Stronger," according to TMZ.com. ...

The stars of "High School Musical" are still in negotiations for a third flick, Corbin Bleu told People magazine. "Truthfully as long as it's a good script and as long as everybody is being paid fairly, I would be more than happy to go and have one last hurrah," he said. The 18-year-old actor also revealed that he's never actually been to an "HSM" premiere due to various scheduling conflicts. ... Comic book fan Ghostface Killah is partnering with Adult Swim for a free tour set to hit college campuses next month. The trek, which will feature Witchdoctor as the opening act, will begin October 1 at the State University of New York in Albany and run through an October 19 gig at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. Indie-rockers ... And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead and Dethlok — the once-fictional animated band featured on the Adult Swim program "Metalocalypse" — are joining forces for a separate free trek, but shows have not been announced beyond the October 29 start date. ...

Will Ferrell isn't your typical actor, so it makes sense he wouldn't be your typical charity donor either — he's raising money for a friend's cancer foundation by auctioning a cameo spot in his new flick, The Associated Press reports. Online bidding for an appearance in "Step Brothers" began Monday and ends September 26, and the opening bid was $5,000. The winner will be announced September 27; get to meet with Ferrell at the Cancer for College golf tournament dinner at Temecula Creek Inn in Temecula, California; and shoot a scene with the actor in October. The proceeds will go to Craig Pollard's Cancer for College foundation — Pollard and Ferrell were fraternity brothers at the University of Southern California. ...

Apparently Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor plans to disband the group's current lineup following the final gig on its current tour, which is set for Tuesday in Honolulu. Reznor told Honolulu's Star-Bulletin that he wants "to switch things around a bit." Nine Inch Nails, he said, "as a rock band configuration [has] done it and we've done it again. I see other ways I can present the material in concert, more challenging, something new. I don't want it to go stale." The band has been touring together for more than two years and currently includes drummer Josh Freese, guitarist Aaron North, bassist Jeordie White and keyboardist Alessandro Cortini. ... Marilyn Manson is teaming up with a French family-run distillery, Matter-Luginbuehl, to produce thousands of bottles of his own brand of absinthe, called "Mansinthe." Production on the line started last month, and so far, 6,000 bottles have been made. No word on when "Mansinthe" will be commercially available, or for that matter, where. ... Former Evanescence members Ben Moody and David Hodges have collaborated with Celine Dion for a track slated to appear on the singer's forthcoming Taking Chances LP, due November 13. The duo wrote and produced one track for Dion, called "This Time." ...

Live Nation, which runs the House of Blues chain, has either canceled or moved to alternate venues five heavy-metal concerts previously scheduled at House of Blues clubs located on Walt Disney Co. property in Anaheim, California, and Orlando, Florida, according to the Los Angeles Times. In Anaheim, a gig that had been booked two months earlier and was set to feature Machine Head, Arch Enemy, Throwdown and Sanctity on September 7 was moved to a different venue; a show that was supposed to feature Cannibal Corpse, the Black Dahlia Murder, the Red Chord and the Absence on September 13 was also shifted to a different club; and Obituary's planned September 26 concert has been canceled. Two other shows, scheduled for the House of Blues in Orlando, have been moved as well. John Vlautin, vice president of communications for Live Nation, said in a statement that "House of Blues offers a range of entertainment to match the audience at our venues. It was determined that the mix of entertainment at our two Disney locations should be different from our other venues." ...

After months of delays, the free-download site SpiralFrog finally launched on Monday, offering users the chance to choose from more than 700,000 songs and 3,500 videos from a number of independent labels and Universal Music Group acts like Amy Winehouse, Timbaland, Rihanna and Fall Out Boy. The ad-supported site requires users to wait 90 seconds while downloading tracks and sign in every month to answer some questions about their buying habits. Unfortunately for iPod users, the site doesn't work with the biggest-selling MP3 player, and users can't burn the songs onto CDs.

09.14.07

Kanye West's Graduation is proving to be quite the bear. The album leads with 781,000 copies sold over the 603,000 moved by 50 Cent's Curtis according to projections, Billboard reports. "It's just a few days out," Fiddy told the news outlet, qualifying the numbers. He said the music industry "would consider me to be a hip-hop favorite because of my sales history, and people like to root for the underdog." He also took some time Thursday to sound off about Sunday's VMAs on New York's Hot 97, saying he was shorted compared to 'Ye — even though West has also been complaining he didn't get enough airtime during the show. Fif also managed to take a swipe at his record label, Interscope, during the VMA rant: "As far as the VMAs were concerned, Kanye received the upper hand. I ain't going to front. He had four looks — his song 'Stronger,' his new record 'Good Life,' he had a performance with Soulja Boy, 'Crank [That],' and then he came out with me. So I feel like Def Jam is doing a better job of promoting the CD than Interscope. Interscope is just relying on my base and the actual music. I was on the VMAs for one minute and 20 seconds. I should've just stayed home." ...

Last weekend, Britney Spears had the VMAs to worry about — this weekend, it's her kids. On Friday (September 14), a Los Angeles Superior Court judge postponed making a ruling on whether court documents relating to the singer's divorce and custody case with ex-husband Kevin Federline should be sealed or open to the public. "Access Hollywood" and People magazine were among the media outlets representing the public's interests. Outside the courtroom, Spears' divorce attorney Laura Wasser spoke to reporters, telling them this is a frustrating time for the singer. "I think she just wants to be a mom," Wasser told reporters, "and both of her kids' birthdays are this week, and I think she would've liked to celebrate with them without having to worry about the entire nation — the entire world — being concerned about what's going on with her personally and her custody battle with Mr. Federline." On Monday, the judge will hear Federline's order to show cause for primary physical custody of the couple's two children: Sean Preston, who turned 2 on Friday; and Jayden James, who turned 1 on Wednesday. ...

Earlier this week, the "American Idol" judges had at Britney Spears' VMA performance — now "Dancing With the Stars" judge Carrie Ann Inaba is following suit. "When I watched it, I think they gave her a great place to make a comeback," she told Newsweek. "It was more mature than we've seen in the past. The thing that was unfortunate is that the center of the performance was Britney, and she was only giving about 30 percent. That's why it fell short. The backup dancers focused all the energy right to Britney, and she was the weakest link. ... I think fear got the best of her." ... Jamie Foxx got a place on Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Friday, and when he chatted with reporters at the induction ceremony, he inevitably gave his two cents on Spears' performance. "I think Britney's gonna be fine," he said. "I think that she was courageous to get up there and do her thing. I wish her well for that." ...

Common and Q-Tip will co-headline this year's 2K Sports Bounce Tour, which will kick off September 22 in Milwaukee and conclude October 14 in Los Angeles, according to Filter magazine. Q-Tip is featured in "NBA 2K8" as a playable character and is on the video game's soundtrack as well. ... Mark Ronson — who manned the ones and twos inside the Palms' Pearl Theatre during last weekend's Vegas VMAs — has slapped two U.S. tour dates onto his itinerary: October 3 (Los Angeles) and October 5 (New York). ...

A fire broke out at the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Friday afternoon, injuring four people, according to Austin360.com. The flames erupted inside a trailer located behind the beverage-vendor tents between two of the festival stages, and Pete Yorn's set was stopped as the fire was extinguished. All four people were transported to Brackenridge Hospital, and two are in critical condition. ...

Madonna, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher attended a Kabbalah conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, on Friday to celebrate the Jewish New Year, according to The Associated Press. She reportedly didn't speak with the media, and the conference was closed to TV cameras. ... Master P visited Monroe Middle School in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday and spoke to roughly 800 students about the importance of education, good financial management and a vision for success, AP reports. The rapper was approached by math teacher Bonnie Mwanda, who reportedly heard he would be in town and thought his success might be an inspiration for her students, many of whom come from similar backgrounds as the hip-hop mogul. "If the principal tells me y'all have a good year, I'm going to bring Romeo back to do a concert," he told the students, according to AP. ...

Fred Durst has been keeping a relatively low profile these days, but the Limp Bizkit frontman was given a 120-day suspended jail sentence after pleading no contest to seven misdemeanors way back on August 16, AP reports. He was also ordered to perform 20 hours of community service and fined $1,500 for assault, battery and reckless driving, for deliberately hitting two people with his car in Los Angeles in October 2006. Moreover, Durst was hit with a restraining order, is not allowed within 100 yards of the two victims — whose names have not been revealed — and cannot possess a firearm. ...

Elton John made a surprise appearance onstage during a Prince concert at London's O2 arena Thursday night. BBC News reports that John joined Prince for a cover of the Beatles' "The Long and Winding Road." After the two-hour-plus show, Prince ducked into the O2's smaller theater and played another two-hour gig, which included covers of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" and another Beatles song, "Come Together." ... Led Zeppelin fans are getting more time for a chance at tickets to see the band perform a one-off reunion gig November 26 at London's O2 arena. Organizers behind the concert — a tribute to late music icon Ahmet Ertegun — are extending the lottery-application process to Wednesday, Billboard reports. The Web site set up to handle registrations received 89.5 million attempts in a 12-hour period on Thursday, according to the news outlet. ...

Members of underground-rock heroes Shudder to Think will reconvene for a one-off gig at New York's Mercury Lounge on Monday, Pitchfork reports. Frontman Craig Wedren and guitarist Nathan Larson — whose conflicts were part of the reason the band broke up in the late '90s — will get together with drummer Kevin March for the gig, although bassist Stuart Hill will not be accompanying them. ... Glassjaw have booked three California dates for next month. The reunited band will play October 28 in Hollywood; October 29 in San Diego; and October 30 in Pomona, California. ... Iconic punk band Operation Ivy's 1991 self-titled compilation LP will be reissued on November 6 on Hellcat. The classic release has been remastered and will also be available for download for the first time. ... PJ Harvey's White Chalk album has shifted from a September 25 release date to October 2. ...

AT&T's Blue Room, the site where political comments made by Pearl Jam during Lollapalooza were censored a month ago, has announced a new policy to avoid repeating that controversial practice during its webcast of this weekend's Austin City Limits Music Festival. According to AT&T spokesperson Steven Schwadron, "AT&T has developed an AT&T Blue Room policy to maintain integrity of the live performances featured on the site. AT&T will not edit any audio during the live webcast, of performances. We may edit visual content — either through camera angle changes or video blackouts — if there is strong sexual content. Also, we are going to have a clear viewer-discretion messaging both before and during the webcasts. The terms and conditions of the site, which users accept when they choose to view the webcast, requires users to be at least 13 years of age." ...

It's been 42 years since Johnny Cash's arrest in Starkville, Mississippi, for picking flowers from a resident's garden. But a judge who is reviewing the matter could potentially pardon the late musician, according to BBC News, and the city plans to instead honor him with the Johnny Cash Pickin' Festival from November 2-4. Cash wrote the track "Starkville City Jail" — which he performed at his legendary live At San Quentin prison LP — after spending a night in the city's prison.

Britney Spears to lose custody of children today?

2007-09-25T05:36:00.000-07:00

Reports say she could be denied access to her boys this morning
8 hours ago
Britney Spears is reportedly at serious risk of losing custody of her two children as early as this morning (September 17).

Gloria Allred, lawyer for Spears' ex-husband Kevin Federline, is bringing a 'secret' witness to court at 8.30am Los Angeles time today for a closed hearing which could see the removal of Jayden James and Sean Preston from Spears' care.

According to a report on Foxnews.com, the witness in question is a man who has closely observed Spears with her children, and it is thought he will report that the toddlers witnessed drug use by Spears in their home.

The witness has signed a declaration, effectively a written testimony, which was filed to Commissioner Scott Gordon, the judge in the case, who accepted the declaration and apparently praised the work of Allred.

The witness will not have to testify in court unless Spears and her lawyers question the information in the declaration.

The witness will be with Federline's lawyer when she goes to court to fight for the custody of his children this morning in Los Angeles.

Allred told Foxnews.com that despite the fact the witness may be recognised as he enters the court, the man is "not famous" and is "just someone who is concerned about the kids".

Meanwhile, reports that Spears would apologise at the Primetime Emmy's last night (September 16) proved unfounded.

Rumours had been rife that Spears would appear live to address her disastrous performance at the MTV VMAs last week (September 9).

2007: Personal struggles

2007-09-24T05:31:00.000-07:00

In January 2007, Spears's aunt, Sandra Bridges Covington, whom she had been very close to, died after a long battle with breast cancer. On February 16, 2007, Spears stayed in an off-shore drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than twenty-four hours. The following night, Spears went to a haircutting studio in Tarzana, California and shaved her hair off with clippers. A few days later, on February 20, 2007, Spears admitted herself to a treatment facility in Malibu, California. A statement by her manager read, "We ask that the media respect her privacy as well as those of her family and friends at this time." She left the facility briefly but returned on February 22, 2007. The previous day, Kevin Federline had requested an emergency hearing regarding the custody of his children with Spears but his attorney announced that his client asked to cancel the court appearance. No further explanation was given. Spears left the rehabilitation center on March 20 according to her manager, who said she was released after "successfully completing their program". Throughout early 2007, Spears embarked on a series of controversial behavior, including attacking a photographer with an umbrella. As the legal battle over the custody of the children Sean Preston and Jayden James continued, many of Spears's entourage have been given subpoenas to appear and testify against her parenting skills.

In September 2007, the official findings in Spears' custody battle were announced by the court. "Based on the evidence presented, the Court finds that there is a habitual, frequent, and continuous use of controlled substances by Petitioner Spears." She was ordered to undergo random drug and alcohol testings conducted by the court, and also ordered to attend parenting counseling. Spears and Federline continue to share joint custody of their two children on a conditional basis. A few days later, Spears was officially charged with misdemeanor hit-and-run and driving without a license. If convicted, she could face a year in jail.

2004–2006: Marriage, children and divorce

2007-09-24T05:21:00.000-07:00

Spears began a relationship with Kevin Federline and in July 2004, announced her engagement three months after they met. Federline had very recently been in a relationship with actress Shar Jackson, who was eight months pregnant with his second child. These initial stages were chronicled in Spears's first reality show Britney & Kevin: Chaotic, which aired on UPN in May and June 2005. On the night of September 18 2004, Spears married Federline in a surprise, non-denominational ceremony at a residence in Studio City, California, filing legal papers on October 6 2004.

After the marriage, Spears announced via her website that she would be taking another career break to start a family. She stood by her intent of starting a family; announced her pregnancy seven months after the marriage writing, "the time has finally come to share our wonderful news that we are expecting our first child together." Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14 2005 in Santa Monica, California by a scheduled caesarean section.

A few months after giving birth to Sean, speculation emerged about Spears being pregnant for a second time. In May 2006, she announced her second pregnancy with an appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman. Spears appeared on Dateline NBC the next month to discuss tabloid rumors about an impending divorce, and motherhood. She addressed an incident which occurred in February 2006 when photos revealed her driving with her son unrestrained in her lap, explaining, "I see a bunch of photographers and I’m scared and I want to get out of the situation... They’re coming up on the sides of the car which is a scary situation for me... so I get my baby out of the car and I go home." The month following the televised interview, Spears posed nude for the August 2006 cover of Harper's Bazaar. In the accompanying interview, Spears stated that she is not ready to retire from performing.

Just two days shy of Sean's first birthday, Spears gave birth to her second son Jayden James Federline on September 12 2006 in Los Angeles, California.

Spears filed for divorce from Federline November 7 2006 citing irreconcilable differences and asking for both physical and legal custody of their two children, with visitation rights for Federline. The following day, Federline filed a response to Spears's divorce petition, seeking physical and legal custody of their children. Laura Wasser has been hired to represent Spears in the case. However, on September 17, 2007 Wasser announced that she would no longer be working for Spears and instead, Spears is now represented by both Melvin Goldsman and Marci Levine. According to a representative for Federline's lawyer, the divorce filing "caught Kevin totally by surprise". On March 29 2007, Spears and Federline reached a settlement, "All parties signed a global settlement agreement on all issues concerning their marriage and custody of their two children," said Michael Sands, a spokesperson for Federline's lawyer. Although divorce seemed imminent, it was not finalized because the papers were never signed by a judge. On July 30 2007, their marriage was officially over. Spears's attorney stated, "They are divorced. Everything is finalized."

Personal life: 2002–2004

2007-09-24T05:14:00.001-07:00

In early 2002, Spears's four-year relationship with Justin Timberlake ended. Speculation that Spears had been unfaithful began circulating due to Timberlake's 2002 song "Cry Me a River" and its subsequent music video. The song's music video showed an actress playing what could be construed as a Spears look-alike with certain physical features resembling Spears. Timberlake has denied that it was meant to portray Spears. June 2002 saw the opening of Spears's restaurant Nyla in New York City, serving Louisianan and Italian styled cuisine. However, she was pulled out of the business venture in November as a result of debts and management issues.

Spears married childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander on January 3 2004 at The Little White Wedding Chapel in Las Vegas. The marriage lasted fifty-five hours, ending with an annulment granted on January 5, which stated that Spears "lacked understanding of her actions to the extent that she was incapable of agreeing to marriage because before entering into the marriage the Plaintiff and Defendant did not know each other's likes and dislikes, each others' desires to have or not have children, and each other's desires as to State of residency."

Months after the Las Vegas incident, Spears embarked on The Onyx Hotel Tour which was cancelled in June, after Spears injured her knee during the filming of the video for the single "Outrageous". An MRI showed floating cartilage in her knee.

Spears reportedly became involved in the Kabbalah Centre in September 2004 through her friendship with Madonna. However, she publicly left the religion in 2006, stating on her website, "I no longer study Kaballah, my baby is my religion."

Product and endorsement

2007-09-24T05:10:00.000-07:00

Spears's success had made her notable in the music industry as well as popular culture. In early 2001, she caught the attention of Pepsi who gave Spears a multi-million dollar promotional deal which included numerous television commercials, point-of-purchase promotions and Internet ties between Spears and the company.

Spears has had four books published including A Mother's Gift. She has also had seven DVDs including her 2005 reality series Britney & Kevin: Chaotic, a doll, a video game, and participated in seven tours including The Onyx Hotel Tour in 2004. She has grossed over US$150 million from tour ticket sales and over $45 million in merchandise from her tours.

Spears endorsed a fragrance, Curious, for which she earned a reported US$12 million. After one year of sales, the product netted more than US$100 million. Curious was named the best selling perfume of 2004. Following the success of "Curious", Spears released her next Elizabeth Arden fragrance, Fantasy, in September 2005. In April 2006, Spears launched Curious: In Control as a limited edition fragrance. 2006 also saw the release of another perfume: Midnight Fantasy. On August 8, 2007 a promotional photo featuring Spears was released for her newest fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, Believe.

Film and television

2007-09-24T05:07:00.000-07:00

Spears attended New York City's Professional Performing Arts School for three summers, beginning when she was eight years old. She has also performed as an understudy in 1991's Ruthless! and made appearance in several off-Broadway productions. When Spears was eleven, she joined the The New Mickey Mouse Club where she was featured from 1991–93. In the show, she appeared in various sketches and musical videos, mostly displaying her comedic and singing abilities.[16][17]

Spears had her first starring role in the 2002 film, Crossroads.[5] She played the character "Lucy", a Georgia high school graduate who decides to find her long-lost mother in Arizona, and travels along with her two friends who wish to visit California. The movie, along with Spears's performance, was poorly received by critics who mostly saw it as an advertisement for Spears's music and endorsements.[68] Crossroads debut at number two on the box-office charts in its first weekend. The film grossed over US$60 million worldwide, about five times its budget of US$12 million.[69] Spears received a Razzie Award for Worst Actress and for Worst Original Song "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman".[70] In other films, Spears has made cameo appearances in Austin Powers in Goldmember in 2002 as herself, and Longshot in 2000 as a flight attendant.[71]

Spears has appeared on Saturday Night Live both as host and musical guest twice; first on May 13, 2000, and secondly on February 2, 2002 She also was a musical guest on October 18, 2003 with Halle Berry as host.[72]

In a September 2003 interview with Tucker Carlson of CNN, on the subject of the 2003 Iraq War, Spears said, "Honestly, I think we should just trust our president in every decision he makes and should just support that, you know, and be faithful in what happens."[73] The footage of this quote later appeared in Michael Moore's documentary film Fahrenheit 9/11.[74]

On March 30 2006, Spears was a guest-star on an episode of NBC's television show Will & Grace titled Buy, Buy Baby. She played "Amber-Louise", a closeted lesbian posing as a conservative Christian, to co-host with Jack McFarland on his talk show "JackTalk". NBC received criticism from conservative Christian groups for the episode.[75][76] The episode was the third highest rated in the final season of the series.[77]

NBC has a show in development reportedly titled Occasional Wife, with Matthew Perry as the lead. This supposed remake of a sitcom of the same name in the 1960's would also star Spears as the opposite since she has tested the role and received positive response.

2007: Return to music

2007-09-24T05:03:00.001-07:00

Spears has been recording an album with producers such as Sean Garrett, Jonathan Rotem and Nate "Danja" Hills.[59][60] In May 2007, she produced a mini-tour for the House of Blues under the name The M+M's, including live performances across San Diego, Anaheim, Los Angeles Las Vegas, Orlando, and Miami. Those in attendance reported that Spears did not perform the songs live in the fifteen-minute show, but danced and lip synced to recorded accompaniment of five previous hit songs.[61][62] Spears is allowing fans to name her upcoming album on her website.[63] The album is scheduled to be released on November 13, 2007.[4]

The track "Gimme More", her first single produced by Nate Hills, debuted worldwide on August 30, 2007.[4]

Spears's performance at 2007 MTV Video Music Awards received much media attention and was lauded as her "comeback". She performed "Gimme More", the lead single from her upcoming album. Reviews of the performance were unfavorable; many noted that Spears seemed confused and disoriented on stage and appeared to have forgotten the lyrics and dance moves to her performance.[64][65]

On September 18, it was announced that Spears had been dropped by her management company, The Firm.[66][67]

Music career: 2001–2003: Career development

2007-09-24T05:00:00.001-07:00

Spears released her third studio album Britney in November 2001. This was the first album where Spears assumed some creative control by co-writing five of the album's tracks. It had a successful debut at number one in the U.S., selling 745,744 units during its first week, surpassing Michael Jackson's album Invincible.[40] The album's success made her the only female artist in SoundScan history to have their first three albums debut at number one.[41][42] The album fared well with critics such as All Music Guide who gave it 4.5 out of 5 stars, describing the album's title tracks as being "pivotal moments on Britney Spears's third album, the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney."[43] In contrast Rolling Stone said of the album, "Britney" belabors the obvious: "Spears is one month away from entering her twenties and clearly needs to grow up if she's going to bring her fans along."[44] The singles did not perform as well; Britney's lead single "I'm a Slave 4 U" peaked at 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 making it the album's biggest hit.[45] To help promote the album, Spears embarked on the Dream Within a Dream Tour in November 2001. The tour hit a sour note in Mexico City when she was forced to cut short her last show due to bad weather, resulting in many upset audience members.[46] With the end to her tour, Spears announced she would take a six month break from her career.[47] Her career success was highlighted by Forbes in 2002 as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity.[48]

At a performance at the MTV Video Music Awards, Spears appeared with Christina Aguilera performing the song "Like a Virgin", and was later joined by Madonna. Spears locked lips with Madonna in a highly-publicized kiss.[49][50][51][52]

Audio samples:
"I'm a Slave 4 U" (2001)

Britney Spears's lead single from her third album Britney.
"Toxic" (2003)

Britney Spears's comeback single from In the Zone album.

Problems playing the files? See media help.
November 2003 saw the release of Spears's fourth studio album, In the Zone, jettisoning the Max Martin-produced synthpop of her earlier releases. The album took in lesser-known producers such as RedZone and big names including Moby and R. Kelly. Spears co-wrote eight of the album's thirteen songs and co-produced several pieces of her material for the first time. In the Zone topped the U.S. charts in its debut week, selling over 609,000 copies. This made Spears the only female in music history to have her first four studio albums debut at number one.[53] The album had a mild reception from critics. Stylus Magazine gave the album a D and even blamed Spears's career choices by stating, "Ultimately, In the Zone suffers greatly from Britney's uneasy transition from teen tart to sexually powerful woman. Had Britney been in charge of her career direction instead of mercilessly prostituted by her management, she might have been able to produce something with some semblance of musical vision."[54] The Guardian praised the album's melodies and her effort, giving it 4 out of 5 stars and writing, "Unlike previous Britney albums, In the Zone has no filler and no shoddy cover versions, just 57 varieties of blue-chip hit-factory pop. There is southern hip-hop, deep house, Neptunes-style R&B, the ubiquitous Diwali beat and, most importantly, oodles of Madonna."[55] The album spawned the international number one and U.S. top ten hit single Toxic, winning Spears her first ever Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording.[3]

Childhood and discovery

2007-09-24T04:50:00.000-07:00

Britney Spears was born in McComb, Mississippi,[11][12] and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana as a Southern Baptist. Her parents are James Parnell Spears, a building contractor, and Lynne Irene Bridges, a former grade school teacher. Spears's brother Bryan works as a manager for the Spears family interests[13] and her sister Jamie Lynn is an actress and singer. Her maternal grandmother Lillian Woolmore was an English war-bride [14] who met Spears's grandfather Barnett O'Field Bridges in England during World War II. Her paternal grandparents were June Austin Spears and Emma Jean Forbes.[15][14]
Spears was an accomplished gymnast, attending gymnastics classes until age nine and competing in state-level competitions.[16] She performed in local dance revues and her local Baptist church choir. At age eight she auditioned for the Disney Channel series The New Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was considered too young to join the series at the time, a producer on the show introduced her to a New York City agent.[16] Spears subsequently spent three summers at NYC's Professional Performing Arts School and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions, including 1991's Ruthless!. In 1992, she landed a spot on the popular television show Star Search. Though she won her first round in the competition, she ultimately lost. At age eleven, Spears returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on the New Mickey Mouse Club in Lakeland, Florida, and was accepted.[16]
Spears was featured on the show from 1993 to 1994, until she was thirteen. Other future celebrities on the show included fellow pop singer Christina Aguilera, 'N Sync members Justin Timberlake and Joshua Chasez, Felicity actress Keri Russell, and The Notebook star Ryan Gosling.[17] After the show ended, Spears returned to Kentwood and entered high school for a year.[18]
In 1997, Spears briefly joined the all-female pop group Innosense.[19] Later that same year, she decided to go solo. After recording a demo, she was signed by Jive Records.[16] She began touring American venues for a series of concerts sponsored by American teen magazines, and eventually became an opening act for 'N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.[20]