BEVERLY HILLS, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Britney Spears has chosen to work with X17online.com exclusively to organize and promote the charitable auction of a signed copy of her new CD “Blackout” to benefit UNICEF.
Spears told X17online: “I think it’s important to give back and with the release of ‘Blackout,’ this seemed like the perfect opportunity to give the fans a chance to bid on something to help children everywhere.”
Spears’ most recent album, “Blackout,” is the #2 album in the US and the first single, “Gimme More,” is the most downloaded single on iTunes.
X17online.com is one of the Internet’s hottest destinations for celebrity news, photos, and video and has become a destination for Britney Spears fans around the world. These fans have been contacting X17online, asking us to ‘give them more’ Britney and here it is!
100% of proceeds will go to the United States Fund for UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund).
Saturday 1 December 2007
Are Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson Buying New Manhattan Lofts?
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (November 12, 2007)-- Britney Spears and Jessica Simpson are looking to buy new houses in New York City.
Britney is said to be looking at lofts in the West Village in the $9 million price range, according to a report by Page Six.
“Britney and her manager recently looked at a couple of places a few weeks ago,” a source told Page Six, “She apparently wants to start over in NYC.”
This wouldn’t be Brit’s first bite out of the Big Apple. She sold an apartment in the Silk Building on East Fourth Street for $4 million last year.
Britney is said to be looking at lofts in the West Village in the $9 million price range, according to a report by Page Six.
“Britney and her manager recently looked at a couple of places a few weeks ago,” a source told Page Six, “She apparently wants to start over in NYC.”
This wouldn’t be Brit’s first bite out of the Big Apple. She sold an apartment in the Silk Building on East Fourth Street for $4 million last year.
Britney's Failure To Pass A Drug Test Is Her Biggest Success In Recent Months
Breaking: Britney Spears fails another court-ordered drug test. But before you judge her, you should know the results were apparently tainted to to the presence of “prescribed narcolepsy medication.”
Oh, Brit. When everyone from court psychologists to Us Weekly have criticizing your parenting skills, the judge has granted you limited supervised visitation provided you pass semiweekly drug tests and “false-positive” is the closest thing you’ve heard to a compliment all year, don’t you think maybe, just maybe, it might be time to throw in the custody towel?
Oh, Brit. When everyone from court psychologists to Us Weekly have criticizing your parenting skills, the judge has granted you limited supervised visitation provided you pass semiweekly drug tests and “false-positive” is the closest thing you’ve heard to a compliment all year, don’t you think maybe, just maybe, it might be time to throw in the custody towel?
TMZ Faces Subpoena Over Britney Video
The celebrity Web site TMZ.com reported Sunday it has been told it will be subpoenaed to turn over videotape showing troubled celebrity Britney Spears, her children in the backseat and a text-message device in her hands, driving through a red light last week.
A judge in Los Angeles is currently considering a request by the children's father, Kevin Federline, to prohibit Spears from driving with the children in the car. Her license has reportedly been suspended, although the video shows her at the wheel last week.
The video, shot at the intersection of Mulholland Drive and Coldwater Canyon Boulevard, shows Spears inching the car through a line of phalanx of paparazzi who had surrounded the car. The driver, identified by TMZ and the photographers as Spears, appears to be busy typing a message into a cellphone's keyboard, and the sleeping children are visible in the back seat.
As photographers yell "red light, red light," Spears inches into the intersection and turns left against a red arrow, as oncoming cars honk. That intersection, at the crest of a hill, has been the scene of numerous crashes.
TMZ reported Sunday that Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, has contacted them and said he will subpoena the tape, which was broadcast last week on the TMZ television show.
A judge in Los Angeles is currently considering a request by the children's father, Kevin Federline, to prohibit Spears from driving with the children in the car. Her license has reportedly been suspended, although the video shows her at the wheel last week.
The video, shot at the intersection of Mulholland Drive and Coldwater Canyon Boulevard, shows Spears inching the car through a line of phalanx of paparazzi who had surrounded the car. The driver, identified by TMZ and the photographers as Spears, appears to be busy typing a message into a cellphone's keyboard, and the sleeping children are visible in the back seat.
As photographers yell "red light, red light," Spears inches into the intersection and turns left against a red arrow, as oncoming cars honk. That intersection, at the crest of a hill, has been the scene of numerous crashes.
TMZ reported Sunday that Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan, has contacted them and said he will subpoena the tape, which was broadcast last week on the TMZ television show.
Did Britney Spears Fail Another Drug Test?
Could it possibly be a Monday morning without some sort of Britney Spears story? Don't be silly.
Sources tell TMZ.com that Britney has failed another drug test, but, somehow got a passing grade anyway. The Britney insider says that the test was a "false positive," and Britney was actually clean. Suuurrrre.
What kind of false positive? That's ridiculous. Did she eat one too many poppy seed bagels before peeing in the cup? A false negative I would believe, but a false positive? Not so much.
Meanwhile, Kevin Federline's lawyer has asked TMZ for their paparazzi video of Brit running a very red light, while Sean Preston and Jayden James slept in the back of the car. He plans to submit it in court on Wednesday.
Another day, another monumental screw up for Britney.
Sources tell TMZ.com that Britney has failed another drug test, but, somehow got a passing grade anyway. The Britney insider says that the test was a "false positive," and Britney was actually clean. Suuurrrre.
What kind of false positive? That's ridiculous. Did she eat one too many poppy seed bagels before peeing in the cup? A false negative I would believe, but a false positive? Not so much.
Meanwhile, Kevin Federline's lawyer has asked TMZ for their paparazzi video of Brit running a very red light, while Sean Preston and Jayden James slept in the back of the car. He plans to submit it in court on Wednesday.
Another day, another monumental screw up for Britney.
Britney's Fury at Book Deal
BRITNEY SPEARS is so furious with her mother for writing a book about her, the troubled pop star looks set to publish her own side of the story. Mum Lynne, 52, has signed a $1 million (GBP500,000) deal to write a book on parenting but the pop princess plans to publish her own tell-all memoir at the same time. Spears is reported to have told a pal, "She is trying to make a quick buck. She says she's not sure if she'll go through with it - but I can't really trust her."
Britney Spears Bad Driver
With the help of the local sheriff’s office to escort her to her brand new Mercedes, Britney Spears was spotted shopping with Sam Lufti at popular baby shop Bel Bambini, on Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles on Friday.
With all the vehicular complications the “Gimme More” singer has dealt with in the past few months, you’d think she would try to obey the traffic laws, especially when Jayden James and Sean Preston are in the car. But instead, on Thursday night she ran a red light on camera, giving K-Fed’s lawyers more fodder for their custody battle.
Mark Vincent Kaplan (K-Fed’s lawyer) pled with the judge not to allow Britney to drive her kids around anymore. “We’re asking that she personally shouldn’t be the driver of the children,” he declared in their court hearing earlier this week.
Unfortunately, the issue of Britney’s fitness to drive her boys herself won’t be discussed until a hearing scheduled for November 26th. Until then, it’s open season on Los Angeles’ traffic laws.
With all the vehicular complications the “Gimme More” singer has dealt with in the past few months, you’d think she would try to obey the traffic laws, especially when Jayden James and Sean Preston are in the car. But instead, on Thursday night she ran a red light on camera, giving K-Fed’s lawyers more fodder for their custody battle.
Mark Vincent Kaplan (K-Fed’s lawyer) pled with the judge not to allow Britney to drive her kids around anymore. “We’re asking that she personally shouldn’t be the driver of the children,” he declared in their court hearing earlier this week.
Unfortunately, the issue of Britney’s fitness to drive her boys herself won’t be discussed until a hearing scheduled for November 26th. Until then, it’s open season on Los Angeles’ traffic laws.
Britney Spears, Almost Triumphant
Thanks to some weird backroom machinations, Britney Spears does not have the number one album in the country. And that's fine; she shouldn't. Long Road Out of Eden, the new album from the reunited Eagles, sold more than twice as many albums as Blackout, the new Britney thing. Not too surprising: Britney has obviously been on a massively public self-destruction rampage over the last couple of years, with pundit after pundit declaiming about how she'll never be able to recover a shred of the stardom she once enjoyed, while the Eagles still have the best-selling album in history; their reunion is a big deal, despite the incontestable fact that they suck. (I have this theory that "Hotel California" is the worst song in the history of the universe. I hatched this theory during freshman year of college, when my roommate was trying to teach himself to play guitar by listening to the "Hotel California" mp3 over and over again and playing guitar along with it. He tried the same thing with "Tears in Heaven," the second-shittiest song in the history of the universe.) Despite the massive disparity in their final sales-tallies, Britney briefly held the top spot because of some arcane Billboard rule that prevented the magazine from charting any album that was sold exclusively at one retail outlet. (You can only buy Long Road Out of Eden at Wal-Mart, and that album's astronomical numbers, 711,000 sold, is another chilling testimony to that chain's power.) Billboard changed its rules at the last second to account for the Eagles' victory, and Britney's failure to top the album charts on anything other than a technicality will probably be seen as the latest in an endless procession of public embarrassments. But Blackout isn't the bomb that slavering tabloid-news shows the world over will almost certainly depict it as. The album sold nearly 300,000 copies in its first week, an impressive number coming from such a pilloried figure. And even if some of those sales did come from the car-crash appeal of its creator, at least a few of them must've come because it's a pretty good album, one that might even yield more than one big single.
At this point, it'd be overkill to even begin to recount Britney's string of misdeeds, but one of the really refreshing things about Blackout is the way it plays around with her trainwreck turboskank image without ever falling back on it. At the beginning of "Piece of Me," she purrs, "I'm Miss American Dream since I was 17," which, you have to give her, is an awfully weird thing to be. Very few people have become as famous as young as Britney Spears without completely falling apart somewhere down the line. But the funny thing about "Piece of Me" is how simultaneously defiant and happy she sounds about the whole turbulent circus she inhabits. It's there, too, on the way she squeaks "center of attention," on the sleek, layered single "Gimme More," as if that position was something to aspire to, not something to dread. On the other hand, her Kevin Federline kiss-off "Why Should I Feel Sad?" is forlorn and tentative where it could be vengeful. But Blackout isn't an album about the inner life of Britney Spears, though I can't think of a single artist more deserving of the cliched "Leave Me Alone" sentiment since Michael Jackson sang it. I always thought it was weird that the first singles from Britney-wannabe pop chicks like Lindsey Lohan and Brooke Hogan were all about how the paparazzi should stop following them when, at the time the songs came out, neither one really merited a whole lot of paparazzi attention and even though most of their intended audience would probably regard the whole paparazzi thing as a good problem, not one deserving of sympathy. It would make a whole lot of sense for Britney to go down that road here, but Blackout is mostly an album about dancing and fucking, and at its best (the first half, basically) it actually does a pretty good job conveying the joy that ideally comes with both activities. "Heaven on Earth," my favorite song on the album, is a full-blown no-joke love-song, one that opens up into the sort of dizzy sunstruck chorus that I've never heard Britney convincingly pull off before.
Writing about Blackout, Sasha Frere-Jones wrote that the album works because Britney had the money and the taste to bring in a dream-team of collaborators, but that doesn't quite seem to be the case either. Most of Britney's collaborators here (Danja, Bloodshy & Avant) aren't quite A-list; if her label wanted to ensure massive success, it might've sprung for Timbaland and Akon instead. T-Pain and Pharrell both pop up, but most of them are there in service of god-awful tracks near the back of the album. Assigning credit on an album like this one can be a dicey business, but the tracks here are mostly streamlined Euroclub dance-tracks that fit Britney's icy monotone a whole lot better, for my money, than the precise Max Martin teenpop that made her famous in the first place. Tracks like these need serious hooks to work, but as often as not the hooks are there. Things only really get out of hand on the second half, when the hooks disappear and Britney tries out when Britney tries out a couple of ill-advised vocal tricks, like operatic wailing or stilted rapping. The godawful rapping, as much as the glossy dance-pop, reminds me of the self-titled album that the internet-beloved Swedish pop singer Robyn released a while back. Maybe not coincidentally, Robyn shows up as a backing vocalist here, and it'd be fun to credit her with some of the album's triumphant moments as well as the rapping. But then, we don't really know much of anything about the creation of Blackout; it's practically the only thing mysterious left in Britney Spears's life. Blackout probably shouldn't exist, and it certainly shouldn't be any good. The Eagles might have blown her out of the water commercially, but Britney Spears should still hold her head high.
At this point, it'd be overkill to even begin to recount Britney's string of misdeeds, but one of the really refreshing things about Blackout is the way it plays around with her trainwreck turboskank image without ever falling back on it. At the beginning of "Piece of Me," she purrs, "I'm Miss American Dream since I was 17," which, you have to give her, is an awfully weird thing to be. Very few people have become as famous as young as Britney Spears without completely falling apart somewhere down the line. But the funny thing about "Piece of Me" is how simultaneously defiant and happy she sounds about the whole turbulent circus she inhabits. It's there, too, on the way she squeaks "center of attention," on the sleek, layered single "Gimme More," as if that position was something to aspire to, not something to dread. On the other hand, her Kevin Federline kiss-off "Why Should I Feel Sad?" is forlorn and tentative where it could be vengeful. But Blackout isn't an album about the inner life of Britney Spears, though I can't think of a single artist more deserving of the cliched "Leave Me Alone" sentiment since Michael Jackson sang it. I always thought it was weird that the first singles from Britney-wannabe pop chicks like Lindsey Lohan and Brooke Hogan were all about how the paparazzi should stop following them when, at the time the songs came out, neither one really merited a whole lot of paparazzi attention and even though most of their intended audience would probably regard the whole paparazzi thing as a good problem, not one deserving of sympathy. It would make a whole lot of sense for Britney to go down that road here, but Blackout is mostly an album about dancing and fucking, and at its best (the first half, basically) it actually does a pretty good job conveying the joy that ideally comes with both activities. "Heaven on Earth," my favorite song on the album, is a full-blown no-joke love-song, one that opens up into the sort of dizzy sunstruck chorus that I've never heard Britney convincingly pull off before.
Writing about Blackout, Sasha Frere-Jones wrote that the album works because Britney had the money and the taste to bring in a dream-team of collaborators, but that doesn't quite seem to be the case either. Most of Britney's collaborators here (Danja, Bloodshy & Avant) aren't quite A-list; if her label wanted to ensure massive success, it might've sprung for Timbaland and Akon instead. T-Pain and Pharrell both pop up, but most of them are there in service of god-awful tracks near the back of the album. Assigning credit on an album like this one can be a dicey business, but the tracks here are mostly streamlined Euroclub dance-tracks that fit Britney's icy monotone a whole lot better, for my money, than the precise Max Martin teenpop that made her famous in the first place. Tracks like these need serious hooks to work, but as often as not the hooks are there. Things only really get out of hand on the second half, when the hooks disappear and Britney tries out when Britney tries out a couple of ill-advised vocal tricks, like operatic wailing or stilted rapping. The godawful rapping, as much as the glossy dance-pop, reminds me of the self-titled album that the internet-beloved Swedish pop singer Robyn released a while back. Maybe not coincidentally, Robyn shows up as a backing vocalist here, and it'd be fun to credit her with some of the album's triumphant moments as well as the rapping. But then, we don't really know much of anything about the creation of Blackout; it's practically the only thing mysterious left in Britney Spears's life. Blackout probably shouldn't exist, and it certainly shouldn't be any good. The Eagles might have blown her out of the water commercially, but Britney Spears should still hold her head high.
Spears' lawyers fear she's 'in denial' in child custody battle
Spears' lawyers fear she's 'in denial' in child custody battle
From our ANI Correspondent
London, Nov 10: Britney Spears' lawyers are pleading her to seek help from a psychiatrist over worries that she is "in denial" in the custody fight for her kids.
The attorneys fear that the troubled pop star is not realising the fact that she could lose Sean Preston, two, and Jayden James, one, in her battle with ex Kevin Federline, who has temporary custody presently.
"They fear that she isn't really worried about the battle. She believes the court is biased in Kevin's favour and is furious she has to undergo drug testing while he doesn't - so she won't play ball," The Sun quoted a source, as saying.
"But Britney won't listen and said she doesn't need a shrink." This week's custody hearing heard the singer, 25, had missed drug tests as she doesn't like rising early," the source added.
Meanwhile Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan accused the 'Toxic' singer of living in a 'parallel universe,' at latest hearing regarding visitation rights for the couple's two children.
Kaplan cited Spears' failure to respond in a timely manner to eight of 14 random drug requests.
He also reminded the court that the presiding judge Scott Gordon has already chastised her thrice for not being reachable by phone.
According to court orders, Britney is required to submit to twice-weekly random drug and alcohol tests, and is required to provide a urine sample within six hours of being called.
However, Spears' lawyers claimed that the missed drug tests often happened because the singer is forced to frequently change her phone number because of nuisance calls.
Lawyer Anne Kiley called the drug testing procedure "unconstitutional".
"Just because Ms. Spears is unable to return a call within one hour doesn't reflect what kind of mother she is. It's a nonsensical procedure. She could be in a movie or travelling. What matters is that she provides a sample within six hours and that she tests negative," Kiley said.
The hearing concluded without any agreement, with both parties required to inform the Commissioner by Nov 13 what decision they've reached.
From our ANI Correspondent
London, Nov 10: Britney Spears' lawyers are pleading her to seek help from a psychiatrist over worries that she is "in denial" in the custody fight for her kids.
The attorneys fear that the troubled pop star is not realising the fact that she could lose Sean Preston, two, and Jayden James, one, in her battle with ex Kevin Federline, who has temporary custody presently.
"They fear that she isn't really worried about the battle. She believes the court is biased in Kevin's favour and is furious she has to undergo drug testing while he doesn't - so she won't play ball," The Sun quoted a source, as saying.
"But Britney won't listen and said she doesn't need a shrink." This week's custody hearing heard the singer, 25, had missed drug tests as she doesn't like rising early," the source added.
Meanwhile Federline's attorney, Mark Vincent Kaplan accused the 'Toxic' singer of living in a 'parallel universe,' at latest hearing regarding visitation rights for the couple's two children.
Kaplan cited Spears' failure to respond in a timely manner to eight of 14 random drug requests.
He also reminded the court that the presiding judge Scott Gordon has already chastised her thrice for not being reachable by phone.
According to court orders, Britney is required to submit to twice-weekly random drug and alcohol tests, and is required to provide a urine sample within six hours of being called.
However, Spears' lawyers claimed that the missed drug tests often happened because the singer is forced to frequently change her phone number because of nuisance calls.
Lawyer Anne Kiley called the drug testing procedure "unconstitutional".
"Just because Ms. Spears is unable to return a call within one hour doesn't reflect what kind of mother she is. It's a nonsensical procedure. She could be in a movie or travelling. What matters is that she provides a sample within six hours and that she tests negative," Kiley said.
The hearing concluded without any agreement, with both parties required to inform the Commissioner by Nov 13 what decision they've reached.
Britney Heads for Number One
Britney Spears' long-awaited musical comeback is comfortably on track to become the top-selling record stateside, unofficial figures have shown.
The troubled singer's latest studio album Blackout - her first since 2003's In the Zone - is forecast to sell 350,000 copies in its first week since going on sale last Tuesday.
The 12-track album is said to have sold 124,000 copies on its first day of release.
But the sales figures pale in comparison to the 600,000-plus that In the Zone - which went on to sell almost three million copies - shifted in its first seven days.
Official Billboard figures will be released on Wednesday, but label Jive Records is confident that Carrie Underwood's reign at the top with Carnival Ride is set to be ended.
Britney, 25, is currently embroiled in an increasingly-bitter custody battle with estranged husband Kevin Federline over the couple's two sons.
Pre-release publicity for Blackout has been conspicuous by its absence, with the singer shying away from interviews and promotional appearances following on from her disastrous live comeback at the MTV Video Music awards.
The troubled singer's latest studio album Blackout - her first since 2003's In the Zone - is forecast to sell 350,000 copies in its first week since going on sale last Tuesday.
The 12-track album is said to have sold 124,000 copies on its first day of release.
But the sales figures pale in comparison to the 600,000-plus that In the Zone - which went on to sell almost three million copies - shifted in its first seven days.
Official Billboard figures will be released on Wednesday, but label Jive Records is confident that Carrie Underwood's reign at the top with Carnival Ride is set to be ended.
Britney, 25, is currently embroiled in an increasingly-bitter custody battle with estranged husband Kevin Federline over the couple's two sons.
Pre-release publicity for Blackout has been conspicuous by its absence, with the singer shying away from interviews and promotional appearances following on from her disastrous live comeback at the MTV Video Music awards.
I hate to defend Britney Spears
I hate to defend Britney Spears, I really do, and not because she's a bad mother -- I have no idea what kind of mother she is outside of what is forced on me through the news -- but because she's so pilloried in the press these days, I'm loathe to attract the hatchet my way.
But here is the thing that bugs the motherly crap out of me about Britney Spears: She's 26, and not only does she financially support her children and their father, she arguably financially supports his children from a previous relationship as well, plus the children in the households of any number of administrative and creative people (hundreds, probably) whose incomes are directly derived from her work. Most fathers would be heralded for that. Yet Britney is vilified because she, among other things, performed (very badly) at the MTV Music Video Awards last September while her ex-husband stayed home with their sons and threw them a double birthday party. Never mind that it wasn't even Britney's sons' birthdays that night.
Never mind that, a few days later, when it was her kids' actual birthdays, Britney might have been home giving them pony rides and lactating all over them with motherly love for all we know. Never mind that it's totally customary for divorced parents to each hold their own separate birthday celebrations for their children. Never mind that.
OK, Christ. I do mind that. Because why should one parent be derided for working to provide for her kids, while her jobless ex who earned less than $8,000 last year is practically proclaimed a saint for opening up a packet of party hats somewhere within the week of their kids' actual birthdays?
I mind that. Just like I mind a recent article reporting that a judge, in a private proceeding, cited Britney's "drug- and alcohol-infused lifestyle," and then three paragraphs later it states that this same judge had ordered the transcripts from the proceedings sealed. My question is, how the hell does this reporter know what the judge said in a private proceeding if the transcripts were sealed?
And what exactly did Britney do to lose custody of her kids? She had a fender bender while trying to park? Were the fenders made of babies? She lacked a California driver's license? Since when does the state listed on your driver's license determine your abilities as a parent? I don't have a California driver's license. I drive in California with my Georgia license all the time. I don't think that makes me a bad mother any more than it makes another mother bad for driving there with a Louisiana one, as Britney did.
Hit and run? The other car was parked, its driver not there, and its fender not bent. Britney's choice to leave without putting a note on the windshield is not one I would have made, but that choice relates to my conscientiousness as a person, not to my abilities as a mother.
Now, if Britney was driving drunk, say, or on drugs, then that would be a valid point, but she's never been convicted or even accused of that by the police. She has, though, been accused of "habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol" – but that accusation was made by her ex-husband, not by a police officer or narcotics investigator or any other outside authority that I can tell, and the fact that a family law judge ordered Britney to undergo drug testing doesn't mean she's a drug addict, it just means she's been accused of being one by her ex-husband. And the fact that she missed a testing appointment doesn't necessarily make her a bad mother, either, just a busy one.
And Britney partied, so what? She shared custody of her children with their father; why should her behavior during K-Fed's custodial period matter at all unless it's illegal? She's young and rich with money that she earned, her kids are cared for in homes that she provides them, she agreed to share custody of them with her ex as well as pay him child support so he could afford to be with them as much as she was – Lord, if she were a man she'd be parent of the year.
Like I said, I hate to defend Britney Spears, but in the end I'm not defending her in particular. I'm defending any parent who worked to support their children while their children's other parent chose not to and then that parent, the working one, went on to face derision afterward – along with an insanely arbitrary and uneven set of standards – during a custody fight. Britney's experience in the court system is now a blueprint for future custody cases, a future in which a parent can lose their kids not for being a bad parent, but for being a bad bureaucrat.
But here is the thing that bugs the motherly crap out of me about Britney Spears: She's 26, and not only does she financially support her children and their father, she arguably financially supports his children from a previous relationship as well, plus the children in the households of any number of administrative and creative people (hundreds, probably) whose incomes are directly derived from her work. Most fathers would be heralded for that. Yet Britney is vilified because she, among other things, performed (very badly) at the MTV Music Video Awards last September while her ex-husband stayed home with their sons and threw them a double birthday party. Never mind that it wasn't even Britney's sons' birthdays that night.
Never mind that, a few days later, when it was her kids' actual birthdays, Britney might have been home giving them pony rides and lactating all over them with motherly love for all we know. Never mind that it's totally customary for divorced parents to each hold their own separate birthday celebrations for their children. Never mind that.
OK, Christ. I do mind that. Because why should one parent be derided for working to provide for her kids, while her jobless ex who earned less than $8,000 last year is practically proclaimed a saint for opening up a packet of party hats somewhere within the week of their kids' actual birthdays?
I mind that. Just like I mind a recent article reporting that a judge, in a private proceeding, cited Britney's "drug- and alcohol-infused lifestyle," and then three paragraphs later it states that this same judge had ordered the transcripts from the proceedings sealed. My question is, how the hell does this reporter know what the judge said in a private proceeding if the transcripts were sealed?
And what exactly did Britney do to lose custody of her kids? She had a fender bender while trying to park? Were the fenders made of babies? She lacked a California driver's license? Since when does the state listed on your driver's license determine your abilities as a parent? I don't have a California driver's license. I drive in California with my Georgia license all the time. I don't think that makes me a bad mother any more than it makes another mother bad for driving there with a Louisiana one, as Britney did.
Hit and run? The other car was parked, its driver not there, and its fender not bent. Britney's choice to leave without putting a note on the windshield is not one I would have made, but that choice relates to my conscientiousness as a person, not to my abilities as a mother.
Now, if Britney was driving drunk, say, or on drugs, then that would be a valid point, but she's never been convicted or even accused of that by the police. She has, though, been accused of "habitual, frequent and continuous use of controlled substances and alcohol" – but that accusation was made by her ex-husband, not by a police officer or narcotics investigator or any other outside authority that I can tell, and the fact that a family law judge ordered Britney to undergo drug testing doesn't mean she's a drug addict, it just means she's been accused of being one by her ex-husband. And the fact that she missed a testing appointment doesn't necessarily make her a bad mother, either, just a busy one.
And Britney partied, so what? She shared custody of her children with their father; why should her behavior during K-Fed's custodial period matter at all unless it's illegal? She's young and rich with money that she earned, her kids are cared for in homes that she provides them, she agreed to share custody of them with her ex as well as pay him child support so he could afford to be with them as much as she was – Lord, if she were a man she'd be parent of the year.
Like I said, I hate to defend Britney Spears, but in the end I'm not defending her in particular. I'm defending any parent who worked to support their children while their children's other parent chose not to and then that parent, the working one, went on to face derision afterward – along with an insanely arbitrary and uneven set of standards – during a custody fight. Britney's experience in the court system is now a blueprint for future custody cases, a future in which a parent can lose their kids not for being a bad parent, but for being a bad bureaucrat.
You know those people?
You know those people -- say, a Britney Spears, a Paris Hilton -- those people who, maybe despite your best efforts, you end up having to hear about their latest stupid moves?
You know how you wish they would just go away?
You wish they wouldn't be allowed to creep into your head because you happened to pass a magazine stand, or someone in your office is talking about them, or worst of all, some news director thinks that their latest exploits actually constitute news.
Maybe a wee part of you enjoys their latest train wreck but ultimately you wish they'd just STFU and go away.
Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing to be able to vote them off the island? (Don't you wish you didn't even know what that phrase means?)
Now just think for a moment how truly lovely it would be to never have to hear about one more Luke Ravenstahl boneheaded move.
You know how you wish they would just go away?
You wish they wouldn't be allowed to creep into your head because you happened to pass a magazine stand, or someone in your office is talking about them, or worst of all, some news director thinks that their latest exploits actually constitute news.
Maybe a wee part of you enjoys their latest train wreck but ultimately you wish they'd just STFU and go away.
Wouldn't it be a beautiful thing to be able to vote them off the island? (Don't you wish you didn't even know what that phrase means?)
Now just think for a moment how truly lovely it would be to never have to hear about one more Luke Ravenstahl boneheaded move.
Green Day back Britney
Billie Joe Armstrong claims Britney Spears is "a manufactured child" who has been "thrown to the lions" by the world's media.
The Green Day singer has expressed his anger at the treatment the pop icon has been receiving in recent months, following her September appearance at the MTV Awards.
Speaking about the show, which saw a universally panned display from the star as she readied new album Blackout, he said: "People want blood. They want to see other people thrown to the lions. Watching Britney Spears was like watching a public execution. How could the people at MTV, the people around her, not know this girl was f--ked up?"
"People came in expecting a trainwreck, and they got more than they bargained for," said Armstrong.
He continued: "She is a manufactured child. She has come up through this Disney perspective, thinking that all life is about is to be the most ridiculous star you could be.
"But it's also about what we look at as entertainment--watching somebody go through that."
The Green Day singer has expressed his anger at the treatment the pop icon has been receiving in recent months, following her September appearance at the MTV Awards.
Speaking about the show, which saw a universally panned display from the star as she readied new album Blackout, he said: "People want blood. They want to see other people thrown to the lions. Watching Britney Spears was like watching a public execution. How could the people at MTV, the people around her, not know this girl was f--ked up?"
"People came in expecting a trainwreck, and they got more than they bargained for," said Armstrong.
He continued: "She is a manufactured child. She has come up through this Disney perspective, thinking that all life is about is to be the most ridiculous star you could be.
"But it's also about what we look at as entertainment--watching somebody go through that."
Britney Spears Should Start Cramming for Those Drug Tests
Why does Britney Spears have poodle hair? Either that, or she's stashing a honey bun atop her head for a snack later on. Jeans pockets aren't what they used to be, people! Well, it turns out that strange hair is about the least of Britney's problems, as she seems to be having a difficult time with her court-ordered drug testing. Apparently, the pop starlet has been unable to make the deadline for 8 out of 14 scheduled drug tests. K-Fed's lawyers cite their frustration at Britney's inability to meet deadlines and/or her unavailability in general and Britney's camp is responding by claiming that the drug tests are "unconstitutional." And a random source chimed in to Us Weekly:
A source tells "the hour that they test [Spears] is very important. If she's out partying the night before, that would be reflected. That's why it's an important issue to Kevin and his attorney."
That source was me. No it wasn't, but it might as well be. I've been writing about this woman every day for the past year and a half or so, so I guess that pretty much makes me an expert. By the same token, that means I'm also an expert at using my cell phone to take pictures, but for some reason, it sounds less impressive.
A source tells "the hour that they test [Spears] is very important. If she's out partying the night before, that would be reflected. That's why it's an important issue to Kevin and his attorney."
That source was me. No it wasn't, but it might as well be. I've been writing about this woman every day for the past year and a half or so, so I guess that pretty much makes me an expert. By the same token, that means I'm also an expert at using my cell phone to take pictures, but for some reason, it sounds less impressive.
More glum news for Britney
Two more bad occurrences for Britney Spears. The Eagles' first new studio album in 28 years, "Long Road Out of Eden," prevented Spears' latest album, "Blackout," from debuting as No. 1 on the Billboard and Nielsen SoundScan national sales charts.
That's because Billboard and Nielsen revised their policy and will now allow album titles that are available through only one retailer to appear on the Billboard 200 and other charts, effective this week. The Eagles effort was available only at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. The actual count: The Eagles sold 711,000 units, Spears 290,000.
Then Spears was ordered to pay $120,000 in legal fees to her ex-husband Kevin Federline, who was awarded temporary custody of their young sons.
Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon made the decision after considering factors including "the notable disparity between the parties' income," the ruling said. Court papers released last week show that Spears makes roughly $737,000 per month and spends lavishly on clothes and entertainment. Meanwhile, Federline "indicates that he does not earn any income," the ruling said. Incidentally, Federline cleaned up really well for court, as the court drawing with this item shows.
Diddy picks Detroiter
Detroit lawyer Heather Thompson, 38, emerged victorious Tuesday on Oprah Winfrey's YouTube-themed show when music mogul Sean (Diddy) Combs selected her as his new personal assistant, concluding an online competition.
Said His Diddyness: "It was just a passion, it was the way she articulated herself. I think she understood what the job entailed. She had a background that was stellar. It was just the way she came across."
He's got another girl
Take that, Heather Mills! In the midst of that bitter divorce from his second wife, Paul McCartney was photographed kissing Nancy Shevell, a member of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, according to the Sun of London, which published the picture.
Shevell, estranged wife of prominent Nassau County lawyer Bruce A. Blakeman and a businesswoman in her own right, has a home on Long Island, as does the former Beatle.
A Nobel host
Dick Clark wasn't available, so the emcee for the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo Dec. 11 honoring winner Al Gore will be Ryan ... nope, just kidding.
It'll be actor Tommy Lee Jones, Gore's roommate at Harvard University. The concert lineup: Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox and Melissa Etheridge.
Crowe gets religion
Rough and rowdy actor Russell Crowe, 43, says he's planning to be baptized. The Oscar-winning actor tells Men's Journal: "My mom and dad decided to let my brother and me make our own decisions about God when we got to the right age. ... If I believe it is important to baptize my kids, why not me?"
BRIEFLY
Arrested: In Beverly Hills, Calif., actress Rebecca De Mornay, 45 or 48 depending on the source, for investigation of drunken driving in Beverly Hills, according to People magazine. Charges are pending.
Added: A second week of performances for "Walking with Dinosaurs" at Cobo Arena. The run dates are now Nov. 14-24.
That's because Billboard and Nielsen revised their policy and will now allow album titles that are available through only one retailer to appear on the Billboard 200 and other charts, effective this week. The Eagles effort was available only at Wal-Mart and Sam's Club stores. The actual count: The Eagles sold 711,000 units, Spears 290,000.
Then Spears was ordered to pay $120,000 in legal fees to her ex-husband Kevin Federline, who was awarded temporary custody of their young sons.
Superior Court Commissioner Scott M. Gordon made the decision after considering factors including "the notable disparity between the parties' income," the ruling said. Court papers released last week show that Spears makes roughly $737,000 per month and spends lavishly on clothes and entertainment. Meanwhile, Federline "indicates that he does not earn any income," the ruling said. Incidentally, Federline cleaned up really well for court, as the court drawing with this item shows.
Diddy picks Detroiter
Detroit lawyer Heather Thompson, 38, emerged victorious Tuesday on Oprah Winfrey's YouTube-themed show when music mogul Sean (Diddy) Combs selected her as his new personal assistant, concluding an online competition.
Said His Diddyness: "It was just a passion, it was the way she articulated herself. I think she understood what the job entailed. She had a background that was stellar. It was just the way she came across."
He's got another girl
Take that, Heather Mills! In the midst of that bitter divorce from his second wife, Paul McCartney was photographed kissing Nancy Shevell, a member of New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority board, according to the Sun of London, which published the picture.
Shevell, estranged wife of prominent Nassau County lawyer Bruce A. Blakeman and a businesswoman in her own right, has a home on Long Island, as does the former Beatle.
A Nobel host
Dick Clark wasn't available, so the emcee for the Nobel Peace Prize concert in Oslo Dec. 11 honoring winner Al Gore will be Ryan ... nope, just kidding.
It'll be actor Tommy Lee Jones, Gore's roommate at Harvard University. The concert lineup: Alicia Keys, Annie Lennox and Melissa Etheridge.
Crowe gets religion
Rough and rowdy actor Russell Crowe, 43, says he's planning to be baptized. The Oscar-winning actor tells Men's Journal: "My mom and dad decided to let my brother and me make our own decisions about God when we got to the right age. ... If I believe it is important to baptize my kids, why not me?"
BRIEFLY
Arrested: In Beverly Hills, Calif., actress Rebecca De Mornay, 45 or 48 depending on the source, for investigation of drunken driving in Beverly Hills, according to People magazine. Charges are pending.
Added: A second week of performances for "Walking with Dinosaurs" at Cobo Arena. The run dates are now Nov. 14-24.
Spears' sex to-do list
Britney Spears would love to have a lesbian affair with US socialite Kim Kardashian.
The troubled singer, who allegedly once tried to seduce her children's nanny and was photographed romping topless in a pool with former assistant Shannon Funk, revealed her lust for Kim during a tell-all game with friends.
When asked which celebrity she would most like to have sex with, Britney reportedly said, "I really love Kim's butt, skin and hair. Kim is a real woman. She is a real horny beast."
Kim, who caused uproar in the US after her homemade sex tape with ex-boyfriend Ray-J was released, isn't the only brunette beauty admired by Britney.
The 'Gimme More' singer also revealed she lusts after stunning actresses Carmen Electra and Halle Berry, while Brad Pitt and George Clooney top her list of sexiest men.
A source said, "She was so graphic. It's funny to hear America's pop darling get so dirty."
Thursday, reports came that Britney allowed a stranger to snort cocaine off her chest during a wild party at her Hollywood mansion - just two days after she lost visiting rights to her children last month.
Guitarist Scott Kohler, who had met Britney earlier that night in Los Angeles club Hyde, claims one male member of the party offered Britney cocaine and "joked he wanted to do a line off her chest and she agreed."
Scott, 29, said Britney "seemed drunk" and alleged she also snorted the class-A drug, even though she passed a court ordered drug test the next day.
Earlier this week, a judge turned down Britney's plea for joint custody after a parenting coach said she "rarely" talked or played with two-year-old Sean Preston or 13-month-old Jayden James.
The troubled singer, who allegedly once tried to seduce her children's nanny and was photographed romping topless in a pool with former assistant Shannon Funk, revealed her lust for Kim during a tell-all game with friends.
When asked which celebrity she would most like to have sex with, Britney reportedly said, "I really love Kim's butt, skin and hair. Kim is a real woman. She is a real horny beast."
Kim, who caused uproar in the US after her homemade sex tape with ex-boyfriend Ray-J was released, isn't the only brunette beauty admired by Britney.
The 'Gimme More' singer also revealed she lusts after stunning actresses Carmen Electra and Halle Berry, while Brad Pitt and George Clooney top her list of sexiest men.
A source said, "She was so graphic. It's funny to hear America's pop darling get so dirty."
Thursday, reports came that Britney allowed a stranger to snort cocaine off her chest during a wild party at her Hollywood mansion - just two days after she lost visiting rights to her children last month.
Guitarist Scott Kohler, who had met Britney earlier that night in Los Angeles club Hyde, claims one male member of the party offered Britney cocaine and "joked he wanted to do a line off her chest and she agreed."
Scott, 29, said Britney "seemed drunk" and alleged she also snorted the class-A drug, even though she passed a court ordered drug test the next day.
Earlier this week, a judge turned down Britney's plea for joint custody after a parenting coach said she "rarely" talked or played with two-year-old Sean Preston or 13-month-old Jayden James.
She's bringing Britney back
Is the voice on this powerful and frankly AMAZING CD really from the same girl who has goes out in the Hollywood Hills without underwear, smashes umbrellas at the paparazzi, or who once sang "Baby One More Time"?
Yes, indeed it is the same girl who wore pigtales and made the belly button ring popular who sings on
"Blackout."
Britney Spears has finally made some progress in her life.
The first track on the album is "Gimme More," which in a previous article I bashed. I take everything back, including that I didn't want to hear Spears sing "gimme, gimme more."
Honestly, this tune is currently my ring tone. While it maybe a great track, its counterparts on the albums also shine.
"Piece of Me" tells the story of Spears. "I'm Miss American Dream since I was 17" is one lyric out of the song.
This song is more tame than the rest of the album, with a milder tone and beat. It's not the best track, but it works.
The vocals on "Radar" will shock you — because they are so good on this poppy, creative song. The beat instantly drags you in, and you can't help but sing along. It sounds similar to a previous Spears' song, "What It's Like to be Me," a duet with Justin Timberlake. Alas, you won't find any JT on this album.
Britney fans looking for an apology for the long delay between albums have it in a song titled "Break the Ice." With its techno-vibe, it is sure to be played in the clubs.
One of the racier songs is "Get Naked (I've got a Plan)." It has an intense rhythm, although the lyrics may surprise some: "My body is calling out for you bad boy. I get the feeling that I just want to be with ya. Baby, I'm a freak and I don't really give a damn."
My favorite song is "Toy Soldier." But instead of all the other songs, this song has military theme. At first it sounds a little like Missy Elliot, but then Britney pulls through with her own vocals. The chorus — "This time I need a soldier, a really bad (expletive) soldier. That know how to take, take care of me . . . " — is supported by lots of studio effects. This would have been the better single to showcase the album — it's definitely the next "Slave 4 U."
Overall, I am truly impressed with Britney. She has finally made an album in which there is not one weak song.
I can't believe I am saying this, but I am officially back to being Britney Spears' biggest fan.
Elizabeth Brennan, 16, is a junior.
Yes, indeed it is the same girl who wore pigtales and made the belly button ring popular who sings on
"Blackout."
Britney Spears has finally made some progress in her life.
The first track on the album is "Gimme More," which in a previous article I bashed. I take everything back, including that I didn't want to hear Spears sing "gimme, gimme more."
Honestly, this tune is currently my ring tone. While it maybe a great track, its counterparts on the albums also shine.
"Piece of Me" tells the story of Spears. "I'm Miss American Dream since I was 17" is one lyric out of the song.
This song is more tame than the rest of the album, with a milder tone and beat. It's not the best track, but it works.
The vocals on "Radar" will shock you — because they are so good on this poppy, creative song. The beat instantly drags you in, and you can't help but sing along. It sounds similar to a previous Spears' song, "What It's Like to be Me," a duet with Justin Timberlake. Alas, you won't find any JT on this album.
Britney fans looking for an apology for the long delay between albums have it in a song titled "Break the Ice." With its techno-vibe, it is sure to be played in the clubs.
One of the racier songs is "Get Naked (I've got a Plan)." It has an intense rhythm, although the lyrics may surprise some: "My body is calling out for you bad boy. I get the feeling that I just want to be with ya. Baby, I'm a freak and I don't really give a damn."
My favorite song is "Toy Soldier." But instead of all the other songs, this song has military theme. At first it sounds a little like Missy Elliot, but then Britney pulls through with her own vocals. The chorus — "This time I need a soldier, a really bad (expletive) soldier. That know how to take, take care of me . . . " — is supported by lots of studio effects. This would have been the better single to showcase the album — it's definitely the next "Slave 4 U."
Overall, I am truly impressed with Britney. She has finally made an album in which there is not one weak song.
I can't believe I am saying this, but I am officially back to being Britney Spears' biggest fan.
Elizabeth Brennan, 16, is a junior.
Sexing up opera
"Did you hear about Britney's performance on the VMAs? Did you see it?"
You wouldn't think a lackluster comeback performance by tarnished pop singer Britney Spears on the "MTV Video Music Awards" would concern an up-and-coming opera singer. But soprano Danielle de Niese proved me wrong when she asked.
De Niese was in Amsterdam performing "The Coronation of Poppea" for De Nederlandse Opera. Interviewed by phone just a day after the infamous awards show in September, De Niese genuinely wanted to know what happened.
Since I missed the show, I wasn't able to share details the way a witness would at the scene of an accident. Still, it seemed odd that 28-year-old de Niese would even care about Spears' tabloid exploits when she herself possesses even greater talents and performance abilities.
Consider this: De Niese sings with an operatically trained and un-amplified voice in the world's great opera houses (some with nearly 4,000 seats). Add to that de Niese's knowledge of multiple languages, great dancing skills and a commanding stage presence.
Oh yeah, de Niese is also a knockout in the looks department, bringing a sexiness that shatters the stereotype that only stationary obese people populate opera.
Once you see de Niese perform live, you'll wonder why the American public obsesses so much about someone like Spears, who couldn't even lip-sync in time to pre-recorded music.
Local audiences get to see de Niese's talents firsthand when she makes her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Cleopatra in David McVicar's critically acclaimed production of "Julius Caesar in Egypt" ("Giulio Cesare in Egitto," if you want to be accurately Italian). It's a role that skyrocketed de Niese to star status in Europe when she triumphed in the production's debut at Britain's Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2005 (the production was also recorded for DVD by Opus Arte).
"I'm really looking forward to getting back on stage and putting on this particular production," said de Niese, proud that her Lyric debut is in the American premiere of McVicar's production, which switches the Roman Empire for the age of the British Imperial Empire. Surprisingly, it's the first time the Lyric has ever staged Handel's 1724 masterpiece, but more significantly it marks French conductor Emmanuelle Haïm's debut -- the first time a woman has conducted at the Lyric.
But "Caesar" isn't de Niese's first Windy City foray. The smaller Chicago Opera Theater can boast about being the first to introduce de Niese locally in 2004 as the sexy title character in Monteverdi's "The Coronation of Poppea" -- the inaugural opera in Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance. De Niese also returned to COT in 2005 as fairy queen Titania in Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
COT General Director Brian Dickie spotted de Niese when she was in the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artist program almost a decade ago.
"I immediately felt at that time that here was an outstanding prospect," Dickie said, casting de Niese as the devious Poppea as soon as he could. "(De Niese has an) extraordinarily instinctive feeling for the stage, she's a knockout actress as well as an outstanding musician."
Director Diane Paulus, who staged that critically acclaimed Las Vegas-set "Poppea," agrees.
"She has it all -- incredible musicianship which is first and foremost," Paulus said. "She's unafraid to try anything physically. You ask her to lie down and sing upside down and she'll do it. For me, she's the epitome of the kind of singer that we all want to work with in the opera, since it's singers like Danielle who will keep the art form vibrant and alive for newer audiences."
Born in Australia to parents of Sri Lankan and Dutch heritage, de Niese started training in dance at age 6 and in classical music at age 8. When de Niese was 10, her family moved to Los Angeles in part to further her dance and singing training.
As a teenager, de Niese hosted a locally-produced TV show "L.A. Kids" and won an Emmy Award for a program dealing with HIV/AIDS. At age 18, de Niese was the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Metropolitan Opera Young Artist program, which led to her Met debut when she was 19 in the small role of Barbarina in "The Marriage of Figaro," appearing alongside such opera heavy-hitters as Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming.
Since her European debuts earlier this decade, de Niese has become a baroque opera specialist. She particularly relishes the music's freedom for singers to add on their own vocal ornaments to the repeating da capo aria structure.
But it was another kind of ornamentation that de Niese brought to the Glyndebourne "Caesar" that really raised the eyebrows of critics and audiences: her dancing. McVicar and choreographer Andrew George incorporated Bollywood and Broadway-style movements into Handel's baroque opera, making each of Cleopatra's arias into showstoppers.
"Everything is incredibly organic -- there was never a moment in the staging where I thought, 'David, what are you asking me to do?'" de Niese said.
It may look effortless on stage, but for de Niese it's a workout to coordinate between tightening her diaphragm for dancing and opening it up to get as much air needed to sing stratospheric trills.
"Having all that dancing to do is a challenge, but that's all part of making something great," de Niese said. "I was so happy that I was able to draw upon some of my training in dance and to be able to marry all of that on the stage."
Needless to say, de Niese pulls focus. Mostly her co-stars don't mind -- too much.
"It's always great to appear with another artist who really pushes you on stage dramatically," countertenor David Daniels recently told the Windy City Times. Daniels co-starred with de Niese for the 2006 Glyndebourne "Caesar" revival and now in Chicago.
"If you don't bring your A-game to the stage, you'll be eclipsed by Danielle, particularly in this production," Daniels said.
With her fashion model looks and her incredible charisma, de Niese has already been targeted by critics like Evan Eisenberg of Slate.com, who says she's the most promising ambassador of popularizing opera since the late Beverly Sills.
De Niese isn't sure she deserves that mantle, but she does make an effort to do youth outreach programs wherever she performs. Two Chicago student outreaches are already scheduled, plus an interviewing/autograph session at Schaumburg's Prairie Center for the Arts, which provides de Niese a golden opportunity to tout her critically acclaimed first CD, a collection of Handel arias on the Decca label.
De Niese may yet get younger audiences focused on opera instead of Britney Spears. At a recent variety and pop concert in London, de Niese sang Cleopatra's final solo aria "Da tempeste" from "Casear" and got a surprising response.
"I'll never believe what I saw," de Niese said. "There were people in the audience actually bopping their heads along like a rock concert."
You wouldn't think a lackluster comeback performance by tarnished pop singer Britney Spears on the "MTV Video Music Awards" would concern an up-and-coming opera singer. But soprano Danielle de Niese proved me wrong when she asked.
De Niese was in Amsterdam performing "The Coronation of Poppea" for De Nederlandse Opera. Interviewed by phone just a day after the infamous awards show in September, De Niese genuinely wanted to know what happened.
Since I missed the show, I wasn't able to share details the way a witness would at the scene of an accident. Still, it seemed odd that 28-year-old de Niese would even care about Spears' tabloid exploits when she herself possesses even greater talents and performance abilities.
Consider this: De Niese sings with an operatically trained and un-amplified voice in the world's great opera houses (some with nearly 4,000 seats). Add to that de Niese's knowledge of multiple languages, great dancing skills and a commanding stage presence.
Oh yeah, de Niese is also a knockout in the looks department, bringing a sexiness that shatters the stereotype that only stationary obese people populate opera.
Once you see de Niese perform live, you'll wonder why the American public obsesses so much about someone like Spears, who couldn't even lip-sync in time to pre-recorded music.
Local audiences get to see de Niese's talents firsthand when she makes her Lyric Opera of Chicago debut as Cleopatra in David McVicar's critically acclaimed production of "Julius Caesar in Egypt" ("Giulio Cesare in Egitto," if you want to be accurately Italian). It's a role that skyrocketed de Niese to star status in Europe when she triumphed in the production's debut at Britain's Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2005 (the production was also recorded for DVD by Opus Arte).
"I'm really looking forward to getting back on stage and putting on this particular production," said de Niese, proud that her Lyric debut is in the American premiere of McVicar's production, which switches the Roman Empire for the age of the British Imperial Empire. Surprisingly, it's the first time the Lyric has ever staged Handel's 1724 masterpiece, but more significantly it marks French conductor Emmanuelle Haïm's debut -- the first time a woman has conducted at the Lyric.
But "Caesar" isn't de Niese's first Windy City foray. The smaller Chicago Opera Theater can boast about being the first to introduce de Niese locally in 2004 as the sexy title character in Monteverdi's "The Coronation of Poppea" -- the inaugural opera in Millennium Park's Harris Theater for Music and Dance. De Niese also returned to COT in 2005 as fairy queen Titania in Britten's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."
COT General Director Brian Dickie spotted de Niese when she was in the Metropolitan Opera's Young Artist program almost a decade ago.
"I immediately felt at that time that here was an outstanding prospect," Dickie said, casting de Niese as the devious Poppea as soon as he could. "(De Niese has an) extraordinarily instinctive feeling for the stage, she's a knockout actress as well as an outstanding musician."
Director Diane Paulus, who staged that critically acclaimed Las Vegas-set "Poppea," agrees.
"She has it all -- incredible musicianship which is first and foremost," Paulus said. "She's unafraid to try anything physically. You ask her to lie down and sing upside down and she'll do it. For me, she's the epitome of the kind of singer that we all want to work with in the opera, since it's singers like Danielle who will keep the art form vibrant and alive for newer audiences."
Born in Australia to parents of Sri Lankan and Dutch heritage, de Niese started training in dance at age 6 and in classical music at age 8. When de Niese was 10, her family moved to Los Angeles in part to further her dance and singing training.
As a teenager, de Niese hosted a locally-produced TV show "L.A. Kids" and won an Emmy Award for a program dealing with HIV/AIDS. At age 18, de Niese was the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Metropolitan Opera Young Artist program, which led to her Met debut when she was 19 in the small role of Barbarina in "The Marriage of Figaro," appearing alongside such opera heavy-hitters as Cecilia Bartoli, Bryn Terfel and Renée Fleming.
Since her European debuts earlier this decade, de Niese has become a baroque opera specialist. She particularly relishes the music's freedom for singers to add on their own vocal ornaments to the repeating da capo aria structure.
But it was another kind of ornamentation that de Niese brought to the Glyndebourne "Caesar" that really raised the eyebrows of critics and audiences: her dancing. McVicar and choreographer Andrew George incorporated Bollywood and Broadway-style movements into Handel's baroque opera, making each of Cleopatra's arias into showstoppers.
"Everything is incredibly organic -- there was never a moment in the staging where I thought, 'David, what are you asking me to do?'" de Niese said.
It may look effortless on stage, but for de Niese it's a workout to coordinate between tightening her diaphragm for dancing and opening it up to get as much air needed to sing stratospheric trills.
"Having all that dancing to do is a challenge, but that's all part of making something great," de Niese said. "I was so happy that I was able to draw upon some of my training in dance and to be able to marry all of that on the stage."
Needless to say, de Niese pulls focus. Mostly her co-stars don't mind -- too much.
"It's always great to appear with another artist who really pushes you on stage dramatically," countertenor David Daniels recently told the Windy City Times. Daniels co-starred with de Niese for the 2006 Glyndebourne "Caesar" revival and now in Chicago.
"If you don't bring your A-game to the stage, you'll be eclipsed by Danielle, particularly in this production," Daniels said.
With her fashion model looks and her incredible charisma, de Niese has already been targeted by critics like Evan Eisenberg of Slate.com, who says she's the most promising ambassador of popularizing opera since the late Beverly Sills.
De Niese isn't sure she deserves that mantle, but she does make an effort to do youth outreach programs wherever she performs. Two Chicago student outreaches are already scheduled, plus an interviewing/autograph session at Schaumburg's Prairie Center for the Arts, which provides de Niese a golden opportunity to tout her critically acclaimed first CD, a collection of Handel arias on the Decca label.
De Niese may yet get younger audiences focused on opera instead of Britney Spears. At a recent variety and pop concert in London, de Niese sang Cleopatra's final solo aria "Da tempeste" from "Casear" and got a surprising response.
"I'll never believe what I saw," de Niese said. "There were people in the audience actually bopping their heads along like a rock concert."
Eagles beat Britney to number one
Veteran rockers The Eagles have topped the UK album chart for the first time.
No band has ever taken longer to reach number one, with a 33-year gap between their debut UK hit, On the Border, and this release, Long Road Out of Eden.
The success of the US group's first full studio album since The Long Run in 1979 means Britney Spears has had to settle for second place with Blackout.
Leona Lewis remains number one in the singles countdown, selling more than the rest of the top five put together.
Her song Bleeding Love is in first place for a second week, with 158,370 sales, followed by Take That's Rule the World.
Westlife have gone in at number three with Home. Timbaland's track Apologize climbs three places to four and Valerie by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse remains at five.
Elsewhere in the singles chart, Ibiza floorfiller Heater by Samim - which features a sample of an accordion - jumps from 29 to 12.
Elvis Presley scores a re-entry at 15 with Viva Las Vegas, the latest of his hits to be re-released in the UK.
And Swedish star Robyn, whose last single went to number one, enters the top 40 at 17 with Handle Me.
On the album chart, last week's bestseller - The Trick to Life by guitar group The Hoosiers - falls to number three.
There is a high new entry - at number four - for Raising Sand, the collaboration between Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and singer-songwriter Alison Krauss.
Whitney Houston's The Ultimate Collection went in at five.
Irish country stars Daniel O'Donnell and Mary Duff are new at six with their collection of duets, Together Again.
And new albums by Queen and the Backstreet Boys enter at 20 and 21 respectively.
No band has ever taken longer to reach number one, with a 33-year gap between their debut UK hit, On the Border, and this release, Long Road Out of Eden.
The success of the US group's first full studio album since The Long Run in 1979 means Britney Spears has had to settle for second place with Blackout.
Leona Lewis remains number one in the singles countdown, selling more than the rest of the top five put together.
Her song Bleeding Love is in first place for a second week, with 158,370 sales, followed by Take That's Rule the World.
Westlife have gone in at number three with Home. Timbaland's track Apologize climbs three places to four and Valerie by Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse remains at five.
Elsewhere in the singles chart, Ibiza floorfiller Heater by Samim - which features a sample of an accordion - jumps from 29 to 12.
Elvis Presley scores a re-entry at 15 with Viva Las Vegas, the latest of his hits to be re-released in the UK.
And Swedish star Robyn, whose last single went to number one, enters the top 40 at 17 with Handle Me.
On the album chart, last week's bestseller - The Trick to Life by guitar group The Hoosiers - falls to number three.
There is a high new entry - at number four - for Raising Sand, the collaboration between Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and singer-songwriter Alison Krauss.
Whitney Houston's The Ultimate Collection went in at five.
Irish country stars Daniel O'Donnell and Mary Duff are new at six with their collection of duets, Together Again.
And new albums by Queen and the Backstreet Boys enter at 20 and 21 respectively.
A.M. A&E: Frank Gehry sued, Sylvester Stallone has a Death Wish, John Mayer loves food
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is suing architect Frank Gehry. The university alleges that the Stata Center, which Gehry designed and which opened in 2004 features leaks, mold growing on its bricks, and snow and ice falling from its oddly shaped walls.
• Rocky Balboa himself might be stepping into Charles Bronson's shoes for a remake of the 1974 vigilante flick Death Wish.
• Singer Britney Spears has been ordered to pay ex-husband Kevin Federline's legal bill stemming from their divorce.
• It looks like Radiohead's new album wasn't as successful as previously thought. Reports indicate that three out of every five people who downloaded In Rainbows didn't pay a cent for it. Cheapskates.
• Pop troubadour John Mayer is considering a career change: from doe-eyed singer/songwriter to, er, food blogger.
• In today's National Post: Bob Thompson talks to the Coen Brothers.
• Rocky Balboa himself might be stepping into Charles Bronson's shoes for a remake of the 1974 vigilante flick Death Wish.
• Singer Britney Spears has been ordered to pay ex-husband Kevin Federline's legal bill stemming from their divorce.
• It looks like Radiohead's new album wasn't as successful as previously thought. Reports indicate that three out of every five people who downloaded In Rainbows didn't pay a cent for it. Cheapskates.
• Pop troubadour John Mayer is considering a career change: from doe-eyed singer/songwriter to, er, food blogger.
• In today's National Post: Bob Thompson talks to the Coen Brothers.
Against all odds, Spears drops a stunning new album
Just when it seemed safe to write off Britney Spears as a punch line only capable of entertaining people through tabloid escapades, she goes and gets all musically relevant on us. "Blackout," her first studio album in four years, is not only a very good album, it's her best work ever -- a triumph, with not a bad song to be found among the 12 tracks. Granted, a Spears rave should be put in its proper context -- it's not like we're talking Bob Dylan here. Spears is a lightweight singer w.
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