Justin's Grandma Apparently Loves Attention And Press
From Salon.com: All that speculation about lingering antipathy between Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake? Spears says it's a crock. Their split, she tells InStyle magazine, was totally amicable.
'We're climbing two different mountains. His priorities are different from mine right now,' she says. 'It wasn't a bad break-up, we still talk all the time.'
Funny, that's not what Timberlake's grandmother, Sadie Bomar, says.
'We’re delighted they aren't dating anymore,' Bomar tells the U.K. Sun. 'The break-up has been good for him. He has been able to do a lot of songwriting. Britney was a distraction.'
Bomar says she's planning to visit Timberlake in his new Hollywood Hills home.
'I have an invitation to go up there and stay next week,' she says. 'But Britney won't be getting one.'
Geez, Granny, retract them claws!
Entertainment Weekly Offers Britney Career Advice
Brit Pop
What should Britney Spears do next? Brian Hiatt offers career advice for the pop goddess on the eve of her six-month break
Oh Britney, Britney, how were we supposed to know...that something isn't right? With Spears about to take a six-month break from the spotlight, we're not nearly ready to echo the New York Times Magazine's recent claim that the 20-year-old's ''star has fallen.'' But it's clear that she's reached an, um, crossroads in her career.
Spears remains one of the world's biggest stars, but her latest album, ''Britney,'' sold 3.8 million copies -- an impressive number for most artists, but less than half of what her last release moved. Meanwhile, her new single, the heavy breather ''Boys,'' has only reached No. 36 on Radio & Records' pop radio chart, and you're more likely to hear Brit's Pepsi ad on Top 40 radio than her actual music.
Plus, Spears has experienced a wave of negative publicity in recent months, beginning with her high-profile break-up with 'NSync's Justin Timberlake, and continuing on to two recent incidents in Mexico (she brandished her middle finger at some photogs and cut short a concert due to bad weather). Even news of her parents' divorce seems to somehow tarnish that glisteningly perfect image; her sunny sound seems at odds with her suddenly turbulent life. At the same time, musical trends aren't moving in Spears' favor, as fans have embraced the likes of Pink and Avril Lavigne, whose more rock-leaning pop provides a tart alternative to Britney's sticky-sweet bubblegum. So, once she's back from her extended vacation, how can Britney Spears re-create herself for a new era? As always, we have some suggestions:
Choose movie projects carefully One of the brightest spots in Spears' recent career was the $37 million take of her February movie debut, ''Crossroads,'' which received mostly respectful reviews. Britney was right to pick a role that allowed her to sing while showing off a jeans-and-T-shirt anti-glamour. But her appearance as a Fembot in ''Goldmember,'' complete with glossy performance footage, seems like a misstep, contributing to a sense of overexposure while adding little that's new to her image (although the closing-credits gag where she asks for Verne ''Tripod'' Troyer's cell phone number was an excellent dirty joke).
Brit's apparent next cinematic move, a still-untitled project set in the world of stock-car racing, was announced with fanfare as a business deal between NASCAR and Spears' production company. And indeed, with press-release promises to feature ''the heart and family spirit of NASCAR racing,'' the project sounds more like an ad than an artistic venture. Britney should scrap this potential product-placement nightmare before it's too late, and find a less synergistic movie to star in -- preferably one where she can sing, or at least lip-synch.
Lose the Neptunes' phone number The Neptunes are two of the most of pop's most gifted, genre-jumping producers, and Britney's decision to use them on her new album showed a courageous experimental bent. But their melody-scarce, hip-hop-bred sound is just plain wrong for her. ''I'm a Slave 4 U'''s minimalist thump and overdubbed whispers worked, albeit just barely. But their newer collaboration, ''Boys,'' is a disaster, aside from its lush bridge. Who wants to hear Britney Spears rapping with all the panache of Deborah Harry on ''Heart of Glass''? Instead, Spears would be wise to run back to Max Martin and his crew of Swedish pop-meisters, who wrote all of her greatest songs, from ''...Baby One More Time'' to the new album's standout ''Overprotected.'' In the meantime, Spears should seek out new producers, from Glen Ballard to, hell, Pink and Christina Aguilera Svengali Linda Perry. She should also go with her instincts to start writing more herself -- unless, of course, her own songs turn out to suck.
Watch that image Spears seems to be in danger of an Elvis Presley/Michael Jackson scenario, where her outsized presence and inaccessible megastardom -- from tabloid rumors about weight gains to that middle-finger photo -- start to diminish the importance of her recording career. Story after story has Britney disappointing fans waiting outside some personal appearance by running past them, or looking bored at some scripted press event. Britney should take a cue from the PR-savvy likes of Tom Cruise and learn to meet and greet the hoi polloi, instead of running from them like they're members of Al Qaeda. She should also give more informal interviews that would help fans begin to relate to her again. Britney could have used the Justin breakup to humanize her image, but instead she had her publicist spend months denying that it ever happened.
Stick to the six-month plan The absolute best thing Britney could do right now is truly disappear for six months, or even longer: no singles, no videos, no ads, no public appearances with new boyfriend Hugh Grant (just kidding). When she does return, Spears should do so quietly: something like an ''MTV Unplugged'' with her greatest hits would be perfect, if she can pull off the vocal challenge.
Then, for a true comeback, all Britney needs is one more great song. And contrary to popular opinion, she's already had a bunch of those. So, believe it or not, the odds are in her favor -- especially with Max Martin at her side. What do you think Britney should do next?
Britney Spears - Dream Within A Dream Tour 2002 Analysis
From World of Britney: Britney’s Dream Within A Dream Tour has turned out to be one of the most successful tours of 2002. Here is a recap of the attendance and box office for all 38 dates.
Notes: All of the data is from Boxscore as published in Billboard Magazine except for the figures for the Tokyo show which are from a Japanese website.
Included are the attendance figures for the cancelled shows in Lubbock and the second Mexico City show since they represent real fans who purchased tickets but I excluded their grosses in the figures since the ticket price was refunded.
Total Shows 2002: 38 shows (35 in the US and Canada, 2 in Mexico and 1 in Japan)
Gross Ticket Sales: $ $32,147,044
Total Attendance: 646,424
Total Capacity: 664,579
Number of Sellouts: 26
Capacity Utilization: 97%
The biggest single show was the Tokyo Dome show.
The biggest run was the 2 shows at Mexico City’s Foro Sol.
The biggest show in the US and Canada was the Tacoma Dome show.
It is unclear if the figures exclude seats provided as part of the ticket giveaways. For example Pepsi, which paid a large sum to sponsor the tour, had a promotion that could, if every winning bottlecap had been redeemed, have seen 36,000 seats used. It seems as if these seats would not be included in the total gross ticket sales because they would have been given to Pepsi as part of their overall tour sponsorship.
Here are the top 10 tours of the first half of 2002:
1. Paul McCartney $52.8 million
2. Elton John/Billy Joel $44.4
3. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young $34.9
4. NSYNC $33.2
5. DMB $24
6. The Eagles $20.6
7. Green Day/Blink-182 $19.7
8. Britney Spears $18.9
9. Jimmy Buffet $17
10. Barry Manilow $14.7
With the addition of the July dates the Dream Within A Dream Tour would be ranked #5 but keep in mind The Eagles and DMB are continuing to tour and tours from Cher, The Rolling Stones, and Aerosmith will also rank highly but it seems as if the Dream Within A Dream Tour will end up as a Top Ten tour in the year-end issue of Billboard.
Some additional items:
The Mexico City shows had 51,261 attending for a gross of $2,155,292.
The Tokyo show had 62,011 attending for a gross of $2,921, 302.
The average show had attendance of 17,011 and an average gross of $892,973.
The average show (US and Canada) had attendance of 13,768 and an average gross of $796,189.
This Week: Britney On The World Charts
Thanks to Charts & Ratings for sending us this week's world chart update for Britney.
"Boys" on the single charts:
Ireland #13
Canada #21
UK #24
Italy #33
"Anticipating" on the single charts:
France #64
"I Love Rock and Roll" on the single charts:
Argentina #7
Russia #9
Sweden #25
Austria #25
Australia #28
Germany #49
Switzerland #88
"Britney" on the album charts:
Argentina #20
Ireland #26
Austria #28
Belgium #46
Canada #48
France #60
Netherlands #97
Ashanti, Usher, 'NSYNC, Aguilera Remake Disney Classics
From MTV News: Still have a soft spot for Simba, Bambi, Mowgli, Mickey and the rest of the Walt Disney crew? Ashanti, 'NSYNC, Usher and Christina Aguilera share your feelings.
An all-star cast will remake the Magic Kingdom's movie soundtrack hits on Disneymania, due September 17, and among the contributors is Murder Inc's squeaky-clean songstress Ashanti. She'll cover the "Pocahontas" theme "Colors of the Wind," which was originally performed by Vanessa Williams.
Usher will offer a track from "Tarzan," while Smash Mouth will remake a jingle from "The Jungle Book 2: Mowgli's Story." 'NSYNC's contribution will be an a cappella version of the classic "When You Wish Upon a Star."
Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson and the Baha Men will also be featured on the collection. A TV special will accompany the record's release in the fall.
—Minya Oh
Russian space agency gives Lance Bass Aug. 23 deadline to produce payment
From AP: The Russian space agency has given 'N Sync singer Lance Bass five days to come up with payment for a trip to the international space station this fall, a spokesman said Monday.
Konstantin Kreidenko, spokesman for the agency, said that if payment is not received by Friday, Bass will not be permitted to take part in the mission, which is scheduled to begin Oct. 22. The price tag for such a "space tourist trip" is said to be about dlrs 20 million.
Bass, who is hoping to be the third tourist to travel to the station, has been training since July at Star City, the Russian cosmonaut center outside Moscow. Bass, 23, would be the youngest person yet in space.
Bass' supporters have blamed paperwork problems for the delay in transferring payment to Russia. David Krieff, a Los Angeles television producer who plans a series about Bass' trip, said he has lined up three sponsors so far who have committed between dlrs 5 million and dlrs 15 million each. A television show about Bass' voyage is planned.