Britney Spears is still under a conservatorship, run by her father and now co-managed by her fiance, almost five years after her public breakdown in January, 2008. That means that she has no legal control over her affairs, including her money and her healthcare. It also means that this 30 year-old woman, who just earned $15 million for one year on The X Factor, can’t get on the Internet and search for whatever she wants, and can’t use her cellphone to call whomever she wants. They’re treating her like a preteen, aren’t they? A source tells Radar that this is all for Britney’s own good, since she was so controlled and manipulated by creepy user Sam Lutfi right before she shaved her head. (Go here for a review of some of the accusations against Lutfi. He’s said to have given her drugs without her knowledge and to have also controlled her phone use.) The three year restraining order against Lutfi has expired, and Britney’s family is said to be concerned that he’ll try and exert his influence in her life again, so they’re controlling her cell phone and Internet use. It sounds kind of counter-intuitive, but they’re said to be doing it for Britney’s own good. Here’s more, thanks to Radar:

“Britney’s cell phone and internet use is restricted and heavily monitored, and this is done for her protection,” a source close to the situation tells Radar. “Britney’s father, Jamie, and her fiance, Jason, want to make sure that her former manager, Sam Lutfi, isn’t able to contact her. Britney and Jason essentially share a cell phone, and it’s routinely checked to see who has been calling. Furthermore, the cell phones have been programmed to block calls from phone numbers associated with Lutfi. Brit’s computer usage is also restricted in the sense that certain websites are blocked. Her family doesn’t want Britney reading negative stories that would upset her. Again, this is all done with love and for her well-being.”

Meanwhile, a restraining order that the conservators had filed against Lutfi on behalf of the pop star and her children expired earlier this year. “After the restraining order expired, the conservators went to extra lengths to make sure that Sam wasn’t able to contact Britney because there was no longer any criminal threat if he were to violate terms of the restraining order,” the source says.

As we previously reported, Lutfi is suing Britney and her parents for defamation and breach of contract. Lufti took particular issue with Lynne Spears’ portrayal of him in her book, Through The Storm, that discussed Lutfi’s role in Britney’s life leading up to her very public meltdown, which resulted in Jamie gaining conservatorship of his daughter in 2008.

Jason Trawick, Jamie and Lynne Spears, talent agent Kevin Huvane and current manager Larry Rudolph are all expected to take the stand against Lufti in the upcoming trial.

[From Radar]

We covered Lutfi quite a bit during Britney’s whole ordeal, and I do believe he’s as bad as Britney’s mom claimed. People came out of the woodwork to say he’d tried to manipulate his way into Britney’s life, and three other people (that we know of) had restraining orders against him before Britney did. He’s a shady character, and this lawsuit is suspicious. Maybe he wants a payoff and thinks that Britney’s people will give him a chunk of money in order to keep it from going to trial.

So because of Lutfi (and probably Adnan Ghalib, although he’s out of the picture) Britney can’t go on the Internet alone, or use her cellphone without getting spied on. People Magazine claimed back when Britney’s man Jason was appointed co-conservator that “Britney enjoys plenty of personal freedom and that the conservatorship is mostly in name only.” That doesn’t sound true if they’re going to all these measures to make sure she doesn’t talk to Lutfi or see anything negative about herself on the Internet. As I’ve said before, I hope that she doesn’t marry Jason if she feels like he’s controlling her. She’s worlds better now than where she was. Are they ever going to cut the cord? Should they?

Britney is shown on 9-11-12. Credit: PCNPhotos and WENN.com

I hope this story isn’t true, or that the “friends” that Jason Trawick had with him are the ones who were into the stripper escorts, not him. The story is pretty damning otherwise. According to Star Magazine, so take it for what it is, Britney Spears’ fiance Jason was partying at a bar with his buddies when they spotted some ladies who happened to be professional escorts. Jason is the one who approached them. Then they moved it to a private club where he was feeling up on them. (The strippers, not his friends.) Then they moved it back to the hotel. Oh no. This story sounds way too familiar, like it could be the start of another scandal. I hope not. Here it is:

Jason, 40, was enjoynig a night out with five buddies in the lobby bar of the W Hollywood hotel, when he spotted two provocatively dressed girls and approached them. “He told them they were hot and asked if they wanted a drink,” an insider reports. It turns out those girls, Alina Ratuska and Marina Zog, work as “erotic dancers” for the lifestyle agency Rocka Chick in LA. “They’re paid to party,” the source explains. “They dance, drink and hook up with a lot of celebrities.”

Alina and Marina invited Jason and his friends to the VIP party Kinky Room, an event at the Hollywood hotspot Tru, where they perform. According to the source, Jason was apprehensive about the party, but his friends wanted to go, so they did.

Once at the club, “Jason was really paranoid about being recognized,” the source says. “He kept saying his fiancee expected him to be home. He knew he was somewhere he wasn’t supposed to be.” But that didn’t stop him from getting cozy with Marina. “He had his hands all over her, caressing her legs and back,” the source reveals. “Meanwhile, Alina was dancing in a cage with whips and chains, looking at Jason the entire time. When he wasn’t canoodling with Marina, he was gawking at Alina.

According to a witness, Jason had been drinking rum and cokes all night and seemed pretty inebriated by 1am, when the group left. “His friends had to carry him out,” the insider reveals. “He literally couldn’t walk at this point.”

But the party didn’t end there. Alina and Marina went with them back to the W Hollywood Hotel, where Jason’s friends were staying. “I don’t know what Jason did with Alina and Marina at the after party,” the insider says, “but from how drunk he was and how he was acting toward them, it definitely wasn’t appropriate.”

[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 1, 2012]

Maybe this is just a fake story meant to promote these services. They name drop enough. If this is true, this isn’t a case of Jason hanging out at a bar or club with some attractive women who may be industry contacts or his friends’ girlfriends (if you give him the benefit of the doubt). These are strippers and paid escorts. When men take it outside the club back to the hotel, that’s when you have to beware. At least there were five other guys there, so maybe he picked up the chicks and brought them back to the hotel for his “friends.” Or maybe he was too wasted to do anything about it.

At least Britney hasn’t married him yet.

photo credit: PCNPhotos and WENN.com

This photo is from Hawaii in July

Last week, a story in The National Enquirer claimed that Britney Spears had not seen her two boys: Sean, now 7, and Jayden, now 6, in about two months. A source claimed that Britney had last seen the boys in mid July, back when she went on a vacation to Hawaii with them prior to filming The X-Factor. In the interim, Britney allegedly hadn’t seen Sean or Jayden and had been turning down scheduled visits. Britney’s people denied the story to Gossip Cop, calling it “completely not true.” No one provided a date that Britney had seen the boys since July, other than the story that she told Ryan Seacrest on air that they were excited for school. (Which could have meant she was simply in touch with them, it’s hard to tell.)

It was a controversial story with a lot of polarized opinions, I’ll say that. I felt that if it was true, that we should give Britney a break. She’s had a rough time and it must have been extremely hard for her go back to work in a high pressure job like X-Factor. (She brought out her inner bitch though, I’ll give her that.) The boys are well cared for with their dad and grandparents, so it’s not like they’re being neglected.

Here’s some good news: Britney threw a party for Jayden’s sixth birthday, which was officially September 12th, and for Sean, who turned seven on September 14th. I forgot how closely to the day she had those boys a year apart. They went to an indoor playplace and it sounds like everyone had an awesome time. There aren’t photos that I can find, and neither Britney nor Jason tweeted anything, but E! has the details:

It was a special weekend for Sean Preston and Jayden James.

Britney Spears threw a huge party on Saturday to celebrate the birthdays of her adorable boys at an arcade and trampoline park called Sky High in Calabasas, Calif., a source confirms to E! News.
Sean turned 7 Friday while Jayden reached the big 6 last Wednesday.

Aside from Brit, her fiancé Jason Trawick and her father, Jamie Spears, around 20 kids—including Sophia Grace and Rosie from Ellen—enjoyed games and cake, but not the war excitement of opening presents. (That was done in the privacy of their own home.)

Either way, our source tells us the party was a huge success!

“Britney was smiling ear-to-ear during the whole party and enjoyed watching her kids play with their friends. It was a really lovely occasion, everyone was in a good mood and in the spirit of the birthday. She looked overjoyed and at one point was singing happy birthday to them.”

They add, “Jason and Britney were beaming and couldn’t have been more proud of Jayden James and Sean Preston.”

[From E! Online]

That sounds awesome. I’m throwing a birthday party for my son this weekend at one of those kids’ play areas, and I’m hoping it will be less stressful since all the activities and food are taken care of. This story just reminds me of how much I still need to do to prepare though. I’m really excited to see him having a good time, there’s nothing like a kid’s birthday party. It may sound silly, but I love going to them! (As long as someone else is running things.) It’s pure joy watching kids have a blast, although it can be exhausting.

Well I’m glad for Britney and her boys. It sounds like things are going really well for her and hopefully that earlier story was exaggerated or not true.

In other Brit-Brit news, X-Factor has a video of all her “It’s Britney, Bitch” (Their title!) moments in the second episode that aired last week. I’ve still only seen the first one, so this was fun for me. Here it is:

photo credit: Fallen Star, PacificCoastNews.com and Adriana M. Barraza/WENN.com

To start I should admit that I haven’t yet seen the second episode of X-Factor. It’s sitting on my DVR waiting for me when I get around to it. (I get that Fox wants another Idol, and that Idol expects viewers to commit significant time to the show, but three hours in the first week is too much. That’s a good movie right there.) A quick google search shows that Britney didn’t have any issues, but that producers are trying to push her. They let a Britney superfan guy audition who wasn’t all there mentally, according to Hollywood.com. The guy came out with roses for Britney, did an awful laughable “performance,” and then begged her to acknowledge him. She didn’t. Britney is a tough bitch, I’m telling you.

The Enquirer has some news this week that suggests that Britney might be focusing so much on the X-Factor that she’s not spending time with her little boys. They say she hasn’t seen Sean, 7, or Jayden, 6, since July. I’m just hoping this isn’t true.

The 30 year-old pop princess had a whirlwind summer jetting around the country to film auditions for her first season on “The X Factor,” which premiered Sept. 12.

But instead of seeing her kids during her downtime, Britney has been enjoying romantic dinners and weekend getaways with her fiance, Jason Trawick, a close source revealed.

“It’s as if she’s tired of being a mom because she’s so caught up in her newfound TV stardom,” the source explained. “She’s losing touch with those kids.”

The star’s ex-husband, Kevin Federline, has full custody, while Britney is entitled to visitation several times a week.

“But Britney has been turning down her scheduled visits,” the source continued. “She says she’s too tired or too stressed. It’s shameful!”

According to the source, The last time Britney saw Sean and Jayden was in mid July.

“The boys had hoped to see her before they started school, but that didn’t happen,” said the source. “Instead, Jason arranged for Britney’s mom, Lynne, to take them to the beach for the day.

“These days, Britney’s kids are more comfortable being around their Grandma Lynne than they are with Britney, Lynne has taken on the role of mommy for the boys.

“Britney likes her new life with Jason,” the source added. “She seems to be forgetting what’s really important.”

[From The National Enquirer, print edition, September 24, 2012]

Well, again I hope this isn’t true or that someone at the Enquirer is jumping to conclusions based on Britney’s lack of photos and Twitpics with the boys. If this is true – I don’t want to shame her for focusing on her career, but it seems like she could at least see her boys once in a while. Two months is a long time! They must miss her.

Remember when she was driving with baby Sean on her lap and when she nearly dropped him while walking in heels and holding the baby on one arm and a highball glass in the other? That’s just a minor example of how far she’s come, but it also goes to show that she’s not the most maternal person. I’m trying to tread lightly here. The most important thing is that the boys are well cared for and loved. It sounds like they have a lot of stability at home with K-Fed and his girlfriend (and their new baby) along with their grandparents. They’re not being neglected. Not everyone wants to be a mother, even after they are one. As a mom it’s hard for me to relate to, but I’m not saying it’s shameful or anything like the Enquirer’s source, you know?

Update: Gossip Cop has a denial of this story from Britney’s people along with the news that Britney told Ryan Seacrest that the boys had a good first week at school. They don’t give a date that she’s seen them other than the fact that they were in Hawaii in July. The last Twitpic I’ve seen of Britney with her boys is from July 5th.

photo credit: WENN.com

Last night was the big premiere of the X-Factor US season two, featuring new judges Britney Spears and Demi Lovato. I’m not a big fan of reality competition shows, although I’ve watched American Idol in the past. X-Factor is different from similar shows and has a kind of gritty realness to it. The emotion seems right on the surface, and they really ratchet up the drama. The backstage scenes make you feel like you’re overhearing conversations instead of listening to a contestant try to impress an interviewer. For instance we got to see two sisters, Kaci and Kaylee, gossiping and mean-girling other contestants with comments like “you look better than she does,” and “she has a run in her stocking.” When Kaci went on stage and failed miserably, there was real satisfaction in it for the at-home audience.

In another scene, a contestant with experience touring in a boy band tried to give advice backstage to his competition, three teenage boys in a band. The boys were receptive, but later told the cameras that they write their own music and play their own instruments and don’t consider themselves a “boy band.” When the veteran failed miserably and the three teens killed it, we got to share in their triumph.

As for how the judges did, I have to say that Demi was my favorite. She was warm, honest and genuine and held her own in some mild spats with Simon. Toward the end of this episode, when the group was in their third location of Providence, Rhode Island, a 19 year-old girl came onstage and told Demi that she looked up to her and was grateful for her anti-bullying campaign. The girl, Jillian Jenson, was the victim of bullying throughout school and explained that she often cried herself to sleep. As she belted out a song everyone was amazed at what a talented, powerful singer she was. Even Simon was moved and got a tear in her eye. Jillian and Demi hugged afterwards as Jillian sobbed.

Britney definitely held her own, I have to say. We’ve heard that she had problems on set and walked off the first day, but none of that was shown. Instead, we got to see her be incredibly blunt and to-the-point with many singers. Even when Britney was giving praise it could come across as harsh. She doesn’t mince words. There were flashes of crazy Britney when we saw her mocking Simon’s accent backstage, but she’s a tough cookie, she came across as in control and she seems fine overall. She was nervous during her introductory segment in which she spoke just to the camera, but other than that I got a very good impression of her. I think this is going to be her comeback.

Oh and there was a scene where a guy auditioned in San Francisco who had sung a duet with Britney 10 years ago. TMZ reported on this audition when it happened. The guy was a mess and was crying before he performed. All the judges told him that his voice wasn’t strong enough and that he couldn’t get through, and Britney very firmly told him “No.” She didn’t seem to cry or fret much about it, or maybe it was edited that way. She’s comfortable judging talent and she’s just as bitchy as Simon. I’m going to watch this show again for sure, I just hope they cut future episodes to one hour because it’s hard to spare two, even after you fast forward through the commercials.

I have to give a shout out to TV Fanatic for their review also. They have a very nice overview of all the contestants last night, good and bad, as well as their thoughts on the judges. They agree with me on Britney and Demi. Oh and I liked L.A. Reid! I didn’t watch last season so I wasn’t familiar with him, and he brings a real industry perspective and comes across like such a professional. Simon is Simon, and is always making rude comparisons. At one point he was incredibly rude to a 14 year-old boy. I wish he would consider who he’s talking to before he opens his mouth.

Photo credit: Fox Television, FameFlynet and WENN.com

The big premiere of X Factor starring Britney Spears, Demi Lovato, L.A. Reid and of course Simon Cowell as judges, is tonight. As part of the build up, Simon has strategically been releasing stories about Britney, because he knows that people are just waiting for her to stir up controversy and/or mess up somehow. Last week, Simon admitted to TMZ that the stories about Britney walking off the X Factor set on her first day were true. This is in contrast to denials made at the time. Simon told TMZ that they tried to smooth the story over with the press, but that it did happen and that Britney had a panic attack. Britney also told Elle Magazine, which she covers this October, that she suffered panic attacks on her first day on set. She said she was “extremely nervous. Like, I was having panic attack after panic attack.”

As part of the big build up to the X-Factor, The Daily Beast has a new profile of Britney’s fiance, Jason Trawick. It’s a well written piece that paints Trawick as a very decent, hardworking guy on one hand but also the architect of Britney’s comeback, and her guardian, on the other. Author Ramin Setoodeh dances around the subject of whether Britney is being manipulated by Trawick. Here are some relevant parts:

Trawick, 40, is often credited with performing a kind of Houdini act on Britney, 30. After her meltdown, which included losing custody of her kids, rehab, hitting paparazzi with her car, being institutionalized, and countless other crazy moments (like the disastrous performance of “Gimme More” at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards), he—in tandem with her father, Jamie Spears—seemingly helped Britney reappear on planet Earth, at least looking normal. He accomplished this turnaround first as the agent who signed her to William Morris Endeavor Entertainment in 2008. In 2009, their relationship turned romantic. In 2011, Trawick quit his job to focus solely on Britney—and last December, they got engaged.

It’s hard to tell who benefits from this relationship more. Spears is one of the most successful acts in the history of pop music. She’s worth an estimated $200 million and her seven albums have sold more than 100 million copies. But in 2007, after the sad series of bizarre personal episodes, Britney’s career hit a wall. (Through her publicist, Spears declined to comment. Trawick offered to look at questions over email, but never responded.) She returned in her 2009 Circus comeback tour, during which Britney stood glassy-eyed in sold-out arenas, lip-syncing her old hits. Some people noticed the new Spears looked vacant, but it didn’t matter. The tour, an exercise in voyeurism, grossed more than $131 million.

Since 2008, Spears’s dad Jamie has been the sole conservator of her estate. In April a court appointed Trawick as the co-conservator, a situation that arises when a court decides a person “can’t adequately provide food, clothing, and shelter” for herself, says Meg Lodise, a partner at a Los Angeles law firm specializing in conservatorships. In other words, Britney has all the rights of a child.

Nevertheless, she’s poised to debut as a judge on The X Factor this week, and sources say that Trawick was key in convincing her to accept a $15 million, one-year contract to join the Simon Cowell singing Olympics. During audition rounds, gossip sites were salivating at reports that Spears frequently had to abandon her judge’s perch for a break—it became part of the hype of the show—and, according to one TV source, Trawick was always waiting in the wings. To prove that she’s normal, he’s booked her first magazine covers and talk-show appearances in a while.

The Britney press tour kicked off with a story in Elle magazine—Elle released images and interview snippets last week. Trawick appears in one of the photos; they cuddle as he holds a guitar. He also let it slip to the writer that Spears pursued him, not the other way around. “OK, that’s enough information, sweetie,” Spears said, interrupting the story. A few days later, a source told Radar Online that Trawick was lying and that he “had feelings for Britney for a very, very long time.”…

Shy or not, Spears gravitated to Trawick’s outgoing personality, and she started to rely on him more and more. He’s not the typical Ari Gold agent, with the greasy handshake and temper tantrums. According to one close former colleague, Trawick is so easy going, he never even raises his voice. Trawick grew up on Long Island, with dreams of becoming a professional hockey player. When those didn’t pan out, he moved to Hollywood and worked his way up from the agency mailroom. He had a reputation for inserting himself into meetings, but because of his nonthreatening demeanor, nobody objected. Once he became a full-fledged agent, he started handling crossover talent, such as singers who were big enough to big actors and vice versa. His roster included Taylor Swift, Hilary Duff, Paris Hilton, and country star Dwight Yoakam…

Trawick’s former work colleagues liked him, too. But looking back, they noticed a drastic physical transformation once he started dating Spears. The Daily Mail reported he lost 50 pounds by cutting carbs from his diet. He traded his bulky plaid shirts for fitted suits. He always brought a heavy-duty hockey duffel with him to work, but he hit the gym more often and toned down. “If he was working out, he wanted her to join him,” says a source. In an effort to be healthier, he and Spears both vowed to quit smoking together. (He failed.). And nearly everyone I interviewed stressed how good a parental figure he’s been to her sons—Sean Preston, who turns 7 this week, and Jayden James, whose sixth birthday is Wednesday. On Halloween, he’d order their costumes online and he was constantly buying them toys, like Spider-Man and GI Joe action figures.

Let’s remember that Trawick is romantically involved with a woman who has the same legal rights as a child. It sounds like a potentially difficult situation.

We fans and viewers won’t get a glimpse of the real Spears until October. That’s when The X Factor transitions from taped auditions to a live competition, and we see what Spears looks and acts like without the powers of editing. If she self-destructs in front of the world again, X Factor ratings will go through the roof, but at the cost of her own well-being.

[From The Daily Beast]

So I guess we’ll have to see how Britney does on X-Factor, but at least part of that will be down to editing. Since producers acted like Britney was fine, they may just cut her walk-offs out of the show. It’s hard to tell now that Simon has owned up to it though. That was clever, and I know it will get me to tune in.

As for whether Jason is pulling the strings, maybe he is. Maybe that’s what Britney needs at this time. I don’t know. I just hope that if she feels like he’s controlling her she also feels like she doesn’t have to marry him.

Update: Here’s Britney doing the “Gangnam Style” dance on Ellen:

And here’s another video of Britney and Simon’s interview. She does seem nervous to me.

Here’s Britney at a hand and footprint ceremony at Grauman’s for The X-Factor. She looks happier and much more relaxed than we’ve seen her in some time.

Britney and Jason in Elle:

This week’s US Weekly had an interesting story in their print edition about how Britney has cold feet about marrying her longterm boyfriend, Jason Trawick. These two got engaged eight months ago and they seem to have had an on-off relationship prior to that, with reports that they were fighting a lot. Plus Jason is one of Britney’s co-conservators, she’s probably wary of marrying him and letting her husband have so much control over her life. It’s been a long time since she’s been on her own, if ever. Here’s part of US’ story, in which they reveal that Britney “won’t even set a date” for the wedding:

Eight months after accepting Jason Trawick’s proposal, [Britney] contines to delay her wedding day. Originally set to marry in Hawaii this summer, the X Factor judge “complained she was too busy,” a source tells Hot Stuff. Now Trawick, 40, is pushing for a big December bash, and Spears isn’t having any of it. “She won’t even set a date,” says a second source. “She’s dragging her feet.”

Why the change of heart? The singer, 30… “sometime’s feels Jason’s more of a mentor than a husband,” says an insider. (A Spears pal counters that the pair look forward to planning the nuptials.) Plus, a friend adds, she isn’t sure what kind of affair to throw. “She doesn’t know what a third wedding looks like.

[From US Weekly, print edition, September 3, 2012]

“Mentor” is another, kinder way to say “handler.” We’ve heard that Jason is very controlling, and we’ve heard that he’s at the X-Factor set with Britney every day. He even recorded a bizarre video in bed thanking her doing a good job. It came off as more controlling than sweet.

It’s actually smart of Britney to postpone her wedding. She saw what happened with K-Fed and with that dude she married for a day who continues to sell old stories about her to whichever outlet will pay him. It’s not a good idea for her to legally marry this guy and take all the risk that goes along with that. If he loves her and wants to be with her, he’ll respect that.

People has a story denying this report, but nowhere do they say that Britney and Jason have set a date or even a season to marry. So I’m buying US’ version. People’s story gets all defensive about why Britney wasn’t wearing her ring recently, and it sounds like they’re protesting too much. The source tells People “There’s no truth to any second thoughts about their wedding. They’re fine and both look forward to working again when The X Factor gets started. They’ve had a great summer.” They’re both looking forward to working, not to getting married? They say the wedding is “still on” and “won’t happen until after Spears finishes her busy commitments for The X Factor.” I’m actually excited to see her on that show. I’ll think she’ll do better than people expect. The fact that she doesn’t want to get married kind of bodes well for her, in my opinion.

Update: Thanks to Kay for pointing out this story on Radar about how Britney is trying to get her conservatorship, specifically the part that controls her personal life, lifted. A source tells Radar “Britney wants the conservatorship to end, it’s fine with her if it stays in place as far as her business and professional life, but she wants to call the shots when it comes to her personal life.” If that’s the case no wonder she doesn’t want to get married. She probably wants to be independent for once.

Britney and Jason are shown on 7-24-12 (with Britney in the black outfit) and on 5-14-12 (in the golf cart). Britney is shown alone on 8-10-12. Credit: FameFlynet

It’s been a few weeks since we’ve heard about Britney having trouble on the set of X-Factor. She seems to have settled into a routine with her new gig, and went on to judge auditions in three other cities without any incidents we heard about. All that changed in Greensboro, North Carolina, where Britney looked “stunned” and stormed off set when a guy auditioned in drag as Britney and sung her hit “Crazy.” (Did you know Melissa Joan Hart was in that video? I barely remember that song.) Two out of the three other judges, Demi and L.A. Reid, followed Britney in what may have been a show of solidarity. Britney came back, told the guy she respected him but that he wasn’t for X-Factor, and then promptly left again. At that point, the crowd booed her. Here’s more:

During The X Factor auditions in Greensboro, North Carolina July 9, Spears was at a loss for words when a contestant dressed in drag performed a cover of her 1999 smash, “(You Drive Me) Crazy.”

Spears, 30, looked visibly bothered as the male contestant, dressed partially as a woman in cat glasses and a bedazzled jean jacket, struggled to sing her pop classic. The Grammy winner eventually left the judges’ table and joined her fiance, Jason Trawick, 40, in the production pit; Demi Lovato, 19, and L.A. Reid, 56, followed Spears off stage, though Simon Cowell, 52, stayed behind to critique the aspiring singer.

“I don’t think she quite understood your tribute,” Cowell told the X Factor hopeful. “You’ve got to be able to sing in tune. There wasn’t a note in tune.”

The teary-eyed singer explained that he “had to fight real hard to get here,” and claimed that because he’s on welfare and can’t afford to pay his phone bill, he nearly missed his X Factor audition call.

Spears eventually returned to the stage, sans Lovato and Reid. With her arms crossed, she leaned into Cowell’s microphone and said, “I really respect the tribute. It was really nice, but I just don’t feel like it’s for X Factor. Sorry, sweetie.”

With that, the Greensboro Coliseum booed the “Criminal” singer as she walked off stage yet again. “Britney just stormed off the set because a guy did a tribute to her,” one attendee tweeted. “She’s such a bitch!”

[From US Weekly]

Maybe Britney was pissed off that they let the guy on and felt like they did it to mock her. I don’t think that her walkoff was a stunt, but surely the whole tribute in drag was. If that guy was doing a Cher song it’s not like he would have made the cut, you know? Simon needs ratings and he’s going to try to get under Britney’s skin if that’s what it takes. Britney could have definitely sucked it up, sat there and handled it better than she did, though.

We’ve also heard that Simon is trying to convince Britney to ditch her ever-present boyfriend/co-conservator, Jason Trawick, since Trawick is a calming influence on her and that does nothing for ratings. Simon’s got to be thrilled that he finally got a reaction out of Britney and now has a nice clip of her leaving the set to play over and over again in promos.

TMZ, which has been getting their news straight from X-Factor, didn’t cover this story at all. They do have a video of Britney jamming out to a contestant’s cover of Vanilla Ice’s “Ice Ice Baby,” and another story about how Demi Lovato bitched out some rappers who were singing about drug use and sent them packing. I have a feeling that Demi is going to be a lot more interesting on this show than Britney.

Here’s a new promo for X-Factor featuring Britney:

Here’s a bikini photo Britney tweeted during her recent trip to Hawaii:

Britney is shown at the airport in Maui on 7-6-12. She’s reading Voltaire’s Candide? Credit: Apollo/Zeus/HiFly/FAMEFLYNET

It looks like Britney Spears has the first phase of judging auditions for the X Factor in the can. Apart from frequent breaks and some lingering questions over whether she would be able to do the job, she seems to be competent enough and we haven’t heard any rumors lately to suggest that she’s having a hard time. Everyone was kind of worried about Britney given her history and the fact that her people worked hard to shield her from the media during her two recent tours. You would think that Britney’s new boss and co-judge, Simon Cowell, would be aware of this prior to hiring her for a reported $15 million dollars. You would assume that he would review recent interviews with her (although they’re few and far between) and see that she’s a shy person who isn’t always comfortable speaking off the cuff. Maybe he might glance at some of the many candid photos of her and realize that she still seems kind of fragile. Simon’s recent comments suggest that he was blinded by Britney’s star power, handed her a bag full of money, and then waited to see what would happen. Here’s what he told People:

Simon Cowell says Britney Spears is serious when it comes to finding talent.

“She’s not on the show to be Britney Spears on a TV show,” the X Factor boss, 52, says of the “Till the World Ends” singer, 30. “She’s actually there to prove to the world there’s more to her, and she’s got the ability to do this job really well. She’s taken the role really seriously.”

Part of what Cowell likes most about the pop star – with whom he is “fascinated” – is her down-to-earth nature.

“It’s quite interesting because when someone has done what she’s done as she has with her career, and being such a public person, you kind of think she is going to be very confident, but in real life she’s shy,” he says. “There’s kind of a mystique about her which I think is what kind of attracted me to her in the place.”

As for fellow judge Demi Lovato, 19, Cowell calls her a “total brat,” explaining that she’s “completely fearless, irreverent.”

Adds Cowell, “A lot of people who watch our show are 16, 17, 18 and younger, so we had to have someone I thought on the panel that could reflect that younger audience, and I’ve never done that before, and I wasn’t sure it was going to work.”

So far it’s working, Cowell says, and the new judges are opening his eyes and ears. “Because the two girls are on the panel,” he says, “I’m kind of seeing and hearing this in a totally different way.”

[From People]

Is this true, did Simon really expect Britney to be confident? He’s a savvy enough businessman, it’s more than possible that he’s playing all this up for ratings. I remember what he said after Susan Boyle couldn’t handle her concert obligations after she shot to fame on British X Factor. He admitted he’d made mistakes with her, but said that he didn’t see how he could have done anything differently since he kept asking Susan if she was OK and she kept saying “yes.” So he doesn’t seem like he’s the most intuitive guy when it comes to interpersonal relationships. Maybe he really does find it fascinating that Britney is shy. To the rest of us, the ones who have paid attention to her for years, we’re kind of fascinated that she’s still doing her thing in the spotlight.

Britney went to Maui with her two boys and her fiance, Jason Trawick, over the weekend. These are some photos of them at the airport in Hawaii on Saturday with a burly bodyguard-looking guy. (She’s also shown in that red bandage dress at auditions in Rhode Island on 6-26-12.) I know she’s just getting off a flight, but the way she does her makeup and hair kind of contributes to the idea that she’s still having issues. Someone needs to teach her how to apply her eye makeup so it doesn’t look like she’s been rubbing her eyes with her hands all day. She doesn’t look bad here comparatively I guess.

Photo credit: WENN.com and FameFlynet

This is a tough story to jump into, because as Kaiser eloquently pointed out in a recent story, Britney Spears currently (and possibly always will) lives in a legal and financial limbo where she inexplicably remains under a conservatorship that is jointly managed by her father, Jamie Spears, and her fiancé, Jason Trawick.

Regardless of the implications of a conservatorship on Britney’s abilities to work and perform in a professional environment, she’s been signed up to her new “X Factor” gig by Simon Cowell, who knew damn well that he’d be getting a ratings boost by casting Britney. Simon doesn’t care about Britney’s well being — he only cares about money. Already, there have been indications that Britney might not be able to do the job. Now a story in this week’s Star has Simon all worked up because Jason is a constant, stabilizing presence on set while Britney works, and now Simon can’t get the on-camera catastrophe that he (allegedly) desires. It further follows that Simon is whispering little hints in Britney’s ear to dump Jason. Is this story true? I wouldn’t put it past Simon to give it an enthusiastic try:

Simon Cowell had no illusions when he hired the emotionally fragile Britney Spears to be a judge on his hit talent competition, “The X Factor”: He wanted her zany antics to create big-time buzz!

Sources tell Star that series creator and fellow judge Simon banked on Britney acting crazy under the pressure and giving the show a ratings bonanza. But her fiancé, Jason Trawick, is getting in Simon’s way, keeping a 24/7 watch over his lady love to keep her calm and focused.

“Simon definitely feels like the show would be more fun if Jason weren’t there,” the insider confided. “He wouldn’t mind Britney having a big freakout on camera, but Jason is always there!”

A Britney source says Jason is “extremely protective over his newfound treasure — Britney and her money. He’s incredibly controlling.”

But Simon is determined to make Britney, 30, dump 40-year-old Jason, a move that would inevitably lead to Britney openly speaking her mind … and possibly to some strange on-camera behavior, another insider explains.

“Simon is getting in Britney’s ear, trying to plant the seed for her to break up with Jason,” the insider said. “He’s tried to intentionally put her in uncomfortable positions. Then he tries to keep Jason from stepping in, which damages their relationship,” the source continues.

And it’s starting to work. “Britney is already pulling away from Jason,” says the source. “And she’s already showing the telltale signs of an impending breakdown, like biting her nails, not being able to sit still and marching off set.”

Simon, meanwhile, is thrilled at his star judge’s less constrained behavior. “If Britney and Jason broke up, Simon would be through the roof with happiness,” the source says. “He loves nothing more than a loose cannon on live TV.”

[From Star, print edition, July 2, 2012]

What a mess. In all likelihood, neither Simon nor Jason has Britney’s best interests in mind when it comes to this television gig, but I guess I’d have to pick Team Jason over Team Simon any day. Even though it’s pretty sketchy that Jason already has so much control over Britney’s finances before they’re even married, I really do believe that he’s a good influence on her. As in, I think that Jason is the one who ultimately keeps Britney from reprising her past performances as a panty-less wonder. Of course, Britney’s dad is the one who initially reigned her in, but I believe that it’s Jason who makes Britney want to wear undergarments. I think Jason truly makes Britney happy. And if this story is true, then Simon is more of an a-hole than he’s shown himself to be in the past.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet