While average people are making due with less, those involved in helping pop princess Britney Spears rise to the lip-syncing top again are cashing in. Britney’s father Jamie, long credited for helping his daughter regain the sobriety and body shape required to reach mass appeal again, got an extra $51k from his daughter this Christmas. The court awarded him the money as back pay for overtime and increased work, which brings his value to around $75 per hour, or $16,125 per month retroactively. Jamie Spears will also get another $1,200 a month to rent an office.

Britney’s brother Bryan Spears is going to receive a whopping $200,000 for work he did for his sister before the conservatorship. Bryan is a co-trustee of Britney’s estate along with an attorney.

TMZ reports that Britney is due to receive another bill from the team of overpaid lawyers presumably working on her conservatorship case. She owes something near $1 million. For her custody battle with ex Kevin Federline this year she owed nearly $900,000 to teams on both sides. That means she will have racked up $2 million this year in legal fees alone.

In related Britney news, she’s fired the team of two choreographers responsible for the same repetitive hand-waving performance she’s been giving in media appearances. Life & Style reports that they’re history and that Britney will presumably hire other people to help her look competent on tour. She’s not singing live so she has to have something going for her other than looking cute:

Britney Spears is moving on from longtime choreographers Wade Robson and Andre Fuentes, the duo who successfully launched the pop star’s comeback with appearances in Europe and Japan and on U.S. TV, Life & Style has learned. “Wade and Andre were only hired to choreograph the promotional tour for Circus, which ended in Japan last week,” an insider tells Life & Style. Wade directed Brit’s dance moves for her first big U.S. tour in 1999, and Andre has worked with Britney since her 1998 L’Oréal Hair Zone Mall Tour. There’s no word yet who will replace the pair. But we’re sure Brit will have somebody on board soon!

[From Life & Style, received via e-mail]

Britney needs to mix it up a little because there are a lot of overpriced leeches depending on her. Her dad deserves the compensation, but it’s pretty clear there were more than a handful of lawyers attached to her various cases dragging things out for billing purposes.

Britney was seen out driving again on Sunday. Her driving without a license charges were dismissed this October after a mistrial was declared. She has a valid Louisiana driver’s license, but has not transfered her license to California as required. Britney’s side argued that she planned to move back to Louisiana and still considered it her home. She has enough people on the payroll there.

Credit: Fame Pictures

In news that sure to send Paris Hilton into a tizzy, Britney Spears is said to be dating Benji Madden, Paris’ most recent ex. Paris has a history of going back for seconds with her ex boyfriends, and although she broke up with Benji she’s only stated publicly that they’re taking a break. If In Touch is to be believed, Benji might soon be unavailable to return at Paris’ whim. They claim he’s been enjoying quiet paparazzi-free dates with the divorced mother of two at her home and at a hotel. In Touch has enough details of separate meetings between Britney and Benji to make this sound possible:

In Touch can exclusively reveal that the pop star is now secretly seeing Paris Hilton’s ex-boyfriend, Benji Madden. A friend says that Benji, 29, who split with Paris a month ago, is “perfect for Britney. He’s very attentive and that is exactly what she needs right now.”

“They’ve only been on a few dates, mostly at Britney’s house,” the friend reveals. “But they met once at the Peninsula hotel in Beverly Hills for dinner in a private suite.”

Britney, 27, and Benji were set up in a way that’s only possible in Hollywood – by her manager, Larry Rudolph.

What’s more is that In Touch claims that Britney is using the Tom Cruise and Jennifer Aniston dating strategy of allowing her people to scout out dates for her. The list of potential mates her manager and her dad came up with included Michael Phelps, Benji, and Jesse Metcalfe, with Benji being most open to dating Britney:

After she complained that she was lonely, Larry and her father, Jamie, created a list of potential boyfriends including Benji, Gossip Girl star Chace Crawford, actor Jesse Metcalfe and Olympic swimming champ Michael Phelps….

“Larry made some phone calls and Benji ended up being the most interested in being fixed up.”

[From In Touch, print edition, December 29, 2008]

It’s unclear if all of those guys mentioned were contacted about dating Britney, because In Touch claims some on the list were cut for “various reasons.” They go on to say that Britney isn’t super serious about Benji and is also pursuing a guy in her hometown of Louisiana named Ryan who happens to be the best friend of her sister’s boyfriend, Casey Aldridge.

As much as Paris bugs me and anyone who dates her is suspect, Benji seems like a decent guy who is looking for a long term commitment. I can’t really see him settling down with Britney, and it’s up to question whether this story resembles reality in any way, but they could make a good couple. Britney seems needy and like she’s looking for someone to stick with her while Benji comes off as the type who wants a woman who depends on him. We’ll have to see if we hear more about this supposed new couple and if they go the next step if this story is even true.

Photo credit: WENN and PRPhotos

Kevin Federline and his two sons with Britney grace the cover of the upcoming issue of People Magazine. People has a preview on their website and in the accompanying article Federline talks about how he coped with Britney’s breakdown and calls his sons more important than anything. He also claims that Britney blindsided him by divorcing him without warning, which contradicts Britney’s recent statements that Kevin left her, not the other way around. I would tend to believe his side of the story because there’s video of him looking shocked while receiving a text message the day before Britney filed divorce papers.

Do you remember when you first met Britney?
I met her at a club in Hollywood, Joseph’s. Our eyes met and that was it. We just hit it off right away. I learned real fast how much of a whirlwind the press and everything was.

What are your happiest memories of the marriage?
Well, getting married. I never thought that I would get married but it wound up happening. That was a really, really, happy, exciting moment. I pretty much realized that I was giving my life to her, and I was doing it without question.

What went wrong?
It’s hard enough to be in a marriage, and then have a kid, then kids, it changes everything. For me, I’d become more concerned with my children. Not that I ignored Britney, but my kids are always most important … I mean, we were having complications. I didn’t give her an ultimatum, but I was trying to work stuff out with her, and she didn’t even talk to me or anything and went behind my back and filed [for divorce]. [I was] completely blindsided.

A lot of people assumed you fought for custody of the kids because of money.
My first question to [my lawyer] was, “Am I ever going to be able to see my children?” I told him that I would spend every last dime that I had to make sure that my children are okay. That’s all that mattered. I didn’t know how much power Britney had. That really scared me.

How did you react in January when Britney locked herself in the bathroom with Jayden and was later taken to the hospital on a gurney?
That whole night is a blur. You want to talk about one of my lowest points of depression, that was probably one of them. I was very, very worried for her ’cause I care about her. That’s the mother of my children. Just because I’m not in love with her doesn’t mean that I don’t love her. I’m definitely rooting for her. There’s nothing more that I want than for her to be in the best health and doing what she loves to do.

[From People]

Kevin has definitely matured a lot, there’s no question about it, but considering what an ass he used to be he had nowhere to go but up. He did step up when his boys needed him and he deserves credit for that. It sounds like in this interview he completely skips over the fact that he left his girlfriend Shar Jackson, who was pregnant at the time with his second child, for Britney. Maybe that’s all ancient history to him. The guy has gone through a lot and is moving forward with his life for the sake of his family. I wonder if he’s still considering that reality show he was said to be shopping around. I wouldn’t put it past him.

Kevin Federline and Sean Preston are shown on Halloween outside school. Credit: Fame

There was a lot of buzz about Britney Spears potentially being the surprise guest at the live lighting of the enormous Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center in New York City tonight. According to insiders quoted by OK! Magazine, Britney was originally scheduled to attend and to give a “live” performance moving her arms around and lipsyncing. Britney decided to scrap the performance though and at one point she wanted to tape it ahead of time, but then she decided not to perform at all. Instead of even showing up for the tree lighting she then cut her appearance down to just a taped message. She was over an hour late for her scheduled recording time, angering crew that had waited and changed things for her multiple times and seemingly on a whim:

“You have no idea how many times Britney has changed things on us, at least 14 times since I got here on Thursday,” a source connected to the TV special tells OK!. “It is Britney Spears and she can do that because they want her to boost ratings, but no one is happy putting up with this. I probably shouldn’t say this, but guys on the crew were making bets about whether she would show up at all.”

One eyewitness tells OK! that Britney had been scheduled to appear live on Wednesday night’s broadcast, but that plan was ultimately scrapped in favor of a pre-taped “message.”

“She was originally supposed to perform live and then she wanted to pre-tape her performance instead,” the source says. “Then she didn’t want to do that. She keeps changing her mind and now she’s not performing at all.”

Following her delayed appearance at Rockefeller Plaza, where it took multiple takes for Britney to record her “Happy Holidays” message, it was off to the Rainbow Room high atop 30 Rock.

[From OK! Magazine]

Maybe Britney is rebelling against her father’s control over her life by focusing on the things she can change, and promotional appearances could be one of the last things she has any say over. It’s not Groundhog Day every day if she switches a few things around according to her mood. She’s not helping her comeback by behaving like an entitled diva and not honoring her commitments though.

OK! also has details of Britney’s birthday dinner last night at the Rainbow Room. Britney’s parents, staff, and both of her sons were there. Jayden, 1, got upset and was calling for his dad and had to be taken away by his nanny. Britney literally snapped her fingers to get her security guys to follow her at one point. She seems to be getting back into the swing of things.

I can’t say I’m really looking forward to seeing much more Britney. We’ve already been bombarded with her repetitive music and bland image for months if not years. Maybe she doesn’t like being “normal” and “nice” all that much, either.

Britney is shown performing on GMA yesterday (credit: Fame) and pre-taping her holiday greeting at Rockefeller Center (credit: Bauergriffin)

Britney Spears did her arm moves and lip sync routine on Good Morning America to celebrate her birthday and CD release this morning. She did her first performance of “Circus” in tight black pants and an ab-baring half top. The choreography for “Circus” was better than we’ve seen from Britney in her overseas “Womanizer” performances. She really brought it for “Circus,” although I would have liked to have heard her actually sing.

Wearing high waisted short shorts, black shiny boots and a half sweater, Britney’s “Womanizer” performance was more of the same from the pop princess. She seemed more sure of herself, though, and looks like she’s getting back into the groove of performing.

Taped birthday greetings were played for Britney from celebrities like Hugh Jackman, Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift and Nicolette Sheridan and a tiered circus-themed cake was brought out.

Britney’s tour dates for 2009 were announced today. She will start performing in March in New Orleans and has 20 dates planned throughout the US.

Happy Birthday Britney.

Courtney Love has given a surprisingly intelligible interview, which really would be any interview which didn’t involve her chewing the furniture while demanding ashes of Kurt and Internet access so she could broadcast her random thoughts her myspace. She told Elle Magazine that she was the one who pioneered the public breakdown and that she did it first before Britney. Love also said that she didn’t get a gastric band to lose weight as has been rumored, and that she did by simply not eating.

She told Elle magazine: ‘I had a long, hard fall. I set the stage for Britney to crash and burn. I went through it all first.’

The 44-year-old also set the record straight about rumours she used a gastric band to lose weight.

She said: ‘Baby, if I could get a gastric band I would. I’ve heard it’s a lot of vomiting and a pain in the ass but it’s still easier than a diet.’

Also, she said a Hollywood doctor vetoed the idea after which she tried liposuction, which ‘was horrible and didn’t work’.

After slimming by ‘simply not eating’, the Hole singer was shocked to ‘look like a skeleton’.

She said she then started eating again. Love also described the family unit with Cobain and Frances Bean before the rock star shot himself in 1994: ‘We were excellent parents and I say that despite pretty much always having an edge on.’

She said she has told Frances Bean that she took drugs early in pregnancy but her daughter was born healthy and a good size.

Love also put to bed claims she has been sleeping with Russell Brand. She added: ‘Russell and me are just good friends.’

Metro

While some might suggest that it is unlikely perpetually high parents can parent a child well, Francis Bean seems to be a reasonable sort of teenager. Of course, she’s only 16 so it’s not like she’s all grown up yet. It’s reckless to say that ‘you can take drugs and parent’ because you shouldn’t encourage that sort of thing.

Maybe this is just proof that Courtney is as batshit crazy as her myspace rants suggest, and an excellent editor can always find some kind of line to include for an interview. I have a vision of Courtney lying on the floor slurring down the phone various thoughts that pop into her head, and the Elle reporter turning them into clear statements.

Courtney Love is shown out shopping on 9/16/08. Credit: Fame Pictures

Maybe my expectations for Britney Spears are too high. She had her third “comeback” performance on an overseas show and instead of improving from her first show on Thursday it seemed like she started off on a mediocre note and just went downhill from there. She was appearing on the show X-Factor, a UK singing competition for which Simon Cowell is a judge. Again, all she did was strut around and move her arms a lot. In this performance she added what I call her “Purell” move in which she rubbed her hands together like she was washing them. She was wearing a headset microphone but it clearly wasn’t on because you couldn’t hear her thank the audience and the announcer had to hand her his microphone at the end of her performance so that you could hear her.

This album is sure to be a best seller for Britney and her singles will infect the airwaves for months, but does she really need to promote it by lipsynching and doing arm aerobics? I wish her well, but I don’t see how she’s improved all that much. It’s like the moment she was moderately stabilized and got thin again she was thrust back into the spotlight to do it all over again. Isn’t this how she lost touch with reality in the first place?

Britney’s 90 minute documentary, “For The Record,” aired on MTV last night. She is quoted as saying that she lives for her boys and her job, and she de-emphasizes the significance of her head-shaving incident:

“At this point I have two precious boys and my job. Those are the two things that have kept me going and kept me strong for the past two years,”

So the question many people want to ask is, why did Britney shave her head, well there is no great story behind this, according to the star a lot of people do it and its normal:

“People shave their heads all the time,” she also stressed that it was not because she was going crazy!

In a powerful documentary, it’s clear that the young star has been through troubled times but at least Britney Spears is not there sulking, according to the star, it’s all about choice:

“I choose to be a happy person. I choose not to be bitter.”

[From MTV.co.uk]

Yes and plenty of women go out night after night in short skirts without underwear. Maybe it’s just me but Britney is really not living up to the hype, and there’s plenty of it. She also graces the cover of Glamour this month and claims in the accompanying interview to be a homebody who likes “staying in bed and watching ‘Dancing With The Stars’ or reading a Danielle Steel novel. I’m kind of boring,” she adds. Many people would agree.

Here’s footage from Britney’s out at nightclub G-A-Y in London celebrating her birthday. It’s not officially until Tuesday, when she’ll celebrate with an appearance on The Today Show and a party in New York.

Britney, her father, bodyguards and staff are shown leaving Heathrow airport on 11/30/08. Credit: Bauergriffin

As we mentioned on Wednesday, Britney Spears performed “Womanizer” on French talent show “Star Academy” yesterday. I use the term “performed” loosely, because she just kind of strutted around and mouthed the words. Her backup dancers were great and the production was entertaining, but she looked even less comfortable than she did in her performance in Germany on Thursday. At times she seemed scared that her strapless red dress would fall down and clutched her chest.

While trying to figure out how Britney Spears’ latest “comeback” performances are lacking I re-watched a few AMA performances. The difference is that entertainers like Christina Aguilera and Beyonce actually sing. They use background tracks for the chorus, and they belt out the important parts while doing dance moves that are more inventive and demanding than Britney’s choreography. Maybe it’s unfair to compare Britney to her peers, but if she wants to get back to that level of fame she has to earn it. So far she’s hasn’t, she’s just thin and well put together again. Good for her, but I don’t really care if a singer is fit. What matters is whether or not they can actually sing, or barring that, dance. In Britney’s case she hardly does either.

Britney Spears performed Womanizer on the Bambi Awards, Germany’s equivalent to the Oscars, last night. Wearing a black bra and granny panty outfit with a top hat that was more than reminiscent of Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet costume, Britney performed her hit “Womanizer.” It was pretty clear that she was lipsynching the entire song, but she put on a good show.

I’m sorry to say this, but it reminded me way too much of her disastrous 2007 VMA performance. Britney shock her chest and stood and strutted throughout the performance. She really had it together, but the choreography was too similar to her “Gimme More” performance. She pushed a male dancers away just as she did in that show, and she even had her leg grabbed by a guy in the exact same way. She would have done well to hire someone else to work with her on the routine.

Britney looked great, though, if not a lot like Madonna. Photo agency WENN created the side by side of Britney and Madonna below. Britney should have copied some of Madonna’s dance moves too.

Britney Spears is looking great lately, and not just on her digitally altered album cover, but in her videos and new documentary. Her comeback is even featured on the upcoming issue of Rolling Stone, with her top pulled up as if her mental health correlates with how flat her stomach is. Apparently she thinks she’s getting along just fine, but her last hospital admission was February. That’s really not that long ago. TMZ reports that Britney wants her adulthood back, in the form of being released from her dad’s control.

We’re told Britney has been fighting with her dad quite often and one of the sore subjects is the dreaded Adnan. Britney wants to see him, but Jamie absolutely refuses. She is still in touch with her douchy ex, but they haven’t spent time together — even though Brit has been asking to see Adnan for months.

She’s also been complaining that daddy won’t let her go out, especially when she wants to go clubbing at night. Britney also doesn’t understand why Jamie won’t let her take the kids out during the day.

Bottom line — she doesn’t like her dad as her conservator, but as someone put it, “she likes others even less.” On Friday, we’re told Britney was complaining about Jamie in court to the Commish — to the point where she called Brit into chambers with one of the lawyers and spoke with Britney for 45 minutes.

So here’s what we’re told. Britney is acting like a 15-year-old and isn’t very “contrite” about the behavior that led to the conservatorship in the first place.

The good news — she seems to appreciate what Jamie has done to get her business affairs in order. She clearly doesn’t understand he’s doing the same for her personal life.

TMZ

I can sort of understand that Britney feels she has put so much work into getting her life back on track, and still no one trusts her. But it has only been a few months since her breakdown, and she really was a mess. Getting out a new album and touring might be too much for her if she has a mental illness, so she needs to be taken care of by people who love her, rather than those who might be just interested in making money from her. After all, Britney probably never needs to work another day in her life financially, so she could take a career break, there’s no need for her to get back on that treadmill.

While Jamie might have gotten her business affairs in order, keeping her private life private and maintaining her image is part of that. Not being photographed coming out of clubs is a good image for a young mother (even though there may be no reason for her to stay home on her nights without the children) and not being seen with Adnan helps people put her past behind her.

Header thanks to BritneySpears.com