Britney went to England to do Top of the Pops. She also did CDUK, A Saturday morning teen show, and the Frank Skinner Show, which is much like our Late Night with David Letterman. Britney went to France to perform at the Grand opening of the Euro-Disney and appear at the Radio Awards Show there. She went to Germany to do several TV shows. 

After the ten day whirlwind European trip, we met in Chicago Tuesday night. On January 23rd Brit and I taped The Oprah Winfrey Show, which will air on February 4th. Like everyone else, we were impressed by Oprah and her wonderful staff. That night we met Rob Robson for soccer lessons. She practiced stunts for three hours while I read a movie script. I have read the book the script was written from, and I think it should be a good movie. Britney had to learn some basic soccer skills in order to do a Pepsi World Cup commercial. After watching the lesson, I realized that I never would have mastered those soccer skills, especially in just one lesson! 

The next day Britney shot the commercial in ten long hours. She only took a 45 minute lunch break. I am amazed at her stamina. Thinking of her upcoming four-day tropical vacation probably got her through the shoot. After the commercial wrapped, she promptly left for the much-needed vacation. The holiday site was beautiful with crystal blue waters, lush foliage, a luxurious hotel and absolutely no schedule. 

Saturday Night Live is Jan. 22nd, this weekend. All week she’ll work on sketches for the show. Brit’ll be in New York again, but Bryan will be in North Carolina on business. They were hoping to get together. My children fly like most people drive cars -- too much! Even though, I too, am a frequent flyer, I am not a “good” one. 

Justin is coming to see Brit on SNL. Laura Lynn and other family friends are coming to New York for the show as well. We’re excited about the trip. Hopefully, Brit and I will have time to go to some of the Sunday flea markets. Britney, Jamie Lynn and I love them. 

Britney Spears will reprise her role as Pepsi pitchwoman in commercial breaks during Sunday's Super Bowl, according to a spokesperson for the soft-drink company. Spears will perform her renditions of Pepsi jingles past and present in "Now and Then," a 90-second spot that revisits the company's ad themes of the past five decades, including the late '50s dance craze and sleek '80s chic. The commercial is scheduled to premiere during the second commercial break of the first quarter of Super Bowl XXXVI, which takes place on February 3rd. 

Fans can select the ad's encore beginning Monday (January 28th). Britney's three favorite eras — "Doo Wop," "Surf's Up" and "New Millennium" — are competing for 30 seconds of airtime during the game's second quarter. Voting, which is taking place at pepsi.yahoo.com/britney, ends at midnight on Friday (February 1st).

An online sweepstakes and charity auction offering props and costumes from these commercials and Spears' first Pepsi ad is being held in tandem with the new campaign. "Now and Then" memorabilia will hit the auction block at halftime with proceeds benefiting the Britney Spears Foundation.

Commercial veteran Joe Pytka, who directed the "Now and Then" campaign, helmed music videos for the Beatles' "Free as a Bird," John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "(Just Like) Starting Over" and Seal's "Fly Like an Eagle" from the movie "Space Jam," which he also directed.

The singer will be in the Pepsi commercials during the Super Bowl, American Football's cup final.

The slots are costing Pepsi £5.7m - or £63,000 a second - and Britney is said to be getting a sizeable chunk of that.

Jingles

But instead of showing her midriff, she will dress more modestly in the two slots which show her starring in US Pepsi advertisements from the 1950s to the present day. 

She will be seen singing jingles from the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, starting in black and white, then colour and wearing the outfits of the time.

Internet users will be able to choose between two 30-second videos representing the present day - although Britney will be dressed in a fringed outfit from head to toe in both.

Tight

The Super Bowl ads are the most expensive on US TV and are watched by the biggest audiences of the year.

This year Sir Paul McCartney is playing live at the game, which is taking place in New Orleans amid tight security.

Pepsi are paying a reported $8m (£5.7m) for the two ads featuring the singer, which are being shown during American Football's Super Bowl this Sunday. 

The timeslots are traditionally the most expensive on US TV - the game has an average audience of more than 80 million. 

The first 90-second advert shows the singer wearing outfits and singing songs from the 1950s through to the present day. 

Fans of Spears are also being given the chance to vote on the drink company's website over which advert should be shown in the second timeslot. 

In addition to singing, acting and writing, the American superstar has now admitted she's a budding mystic. 

The pop chart-topper says, "I feel people's energy immediately. I know what they're about. It's kind of scary." 

She continues, "My mum and I are in tune with things like that. Maybe it's genetic. Things have happened to me that I've dreamt of. 

"Once I prayed for someone who was ill in my family. We hadn't spoken in a really long time, and I wanted to make a connection with her. At 7 o'clock the next morning she called, saying, 'I was thinking about you'." 

And Britney's brushes with the paranormal don't end there. Her phenomenal success was predicted 10 years ago by a small-town mystic whom the singer visited while on holiday in New Orleans. 

Britney recalls, "She told me, 'In 10 years time everyone will know your name. You're going to be this huge superstar'. I thought she was totally crazy, but I have to say, it was on my mind."
 

But in an interview with British music website WORLDPOP, the band defended talent shows like POPSTARS, POP IDOL and their own MAKING THE BAND series. 

O-Town's JACOB UNDERWOOD says TV Talent shows help kids define what is real and what is false. 

He says, "False hope is when you put up a picture of Britney Spears and tell kids she looks like that naturally. That's the false hope." 

He adds, "I think everything that's on television gives kids false hope. If anything our show does the opposite and shows them that anybody can make it... 

"Kids can watch us and see that we're normal people with big dreams whose talent and drive have got them somewhere."
 

Britney's boyfriend JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE plays Elton in his new video THIS TRAIN DON'T STOP HERE ANYMORE, and now he wants the pop pair to team up in his next promo. 

ROBERT DOWNEY JR starred in I WANT LOVE, the first video from Elton's new SONGS FROM THE WEST COAST album, and the British singer admits he likes the concept of having today's newsmakers appear in his promos. 

In This Train..., Timberlake dresses up as Elton to recreate a backstage scene from a typical wild mid-1970s night. 

Elton says, "I like this concept and my director wants to do a continuation of the same night - the same era but from a fan's perspective. 

"Justin will come onstage and we want to use a girl, get it from her perspective. If we do it, my personal favourite will be Britney Spears. I want to play her dad in the video. That would be incredible. 

"It'll be along the lines of I won't let her out and she wants to go to the concert and she runs away."
 

DANZEL NEAL thought that Spears had left the shower running when she heard water splashing in the bathroom of the RITZ-CARLTON hotel she was cleaning and went in to turn it off. 

It was there she discovered a burly bouncer stepping out of the shower - completely naked. 

Outraged Neal complained to her bosses but was told there was nothing they could do, so she took matters into her own hands and phoned Britney's room demanding an apology. 

The singer was so furious about the cleaner's attitude, she checked out of the hotel a day early - costing bosses a whopping $9,000 (GBP6,000). The hotel's management promptly sacked Neal. 

She says, "The manager told me Britney was so mad over my phone call that she and her whole crew left a day early."
 

Britney's Dance Beat will be available on store shelves this spring. 

Britney drank from the glass during an interview with Cologne radio station EinsLive on January 15.

The glass with the dried remains has been to five cities. It finishes its tour in Detmold on January 26.

At each stop tour organisers put the glass on a pedestal to let fans see it.

The glass has visited Dormagen, Herne, Cologne, Castrop-Rauxel and Ahlen. The station has reported live from each destination.

At the end of the tour, the station will pick a fan to drink the juice from the bottle which she didn't finish during the interview.

"It is definitely her glass," EinsLive spokesman Andreas Neuhaus told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. 

BILLBOARD TOP MUSIC VIDEO: Britney: The Videos
week (9) ending 01.26.02 #2
week (8) ending 01.19.02 #2
week (7) ending 01.12.02 #2
week (6) ending 01.05.02 #2
week (5) ending 12.29.01 #2
week (4) ending 12.22.01 #3
week (3) ending 12.15.01 #2
week (2) ending 12.08.01 #1
week (1) ending 12.01.01 #1(debut)
 

BILLBOARD HOT DANCE MUSIC/CLUB PLAY: I'm A Slave 4 U
week (11) ending 01.26.02 #10
week (10) ending 01.19.02 #6
week (9) ending 01.12.02 #4
week (8) ending 01.05.02 #4
week (7) ending 12.29.01 #7
 

BILLBOARD 200 HISTORY: Britney
week (11) ending 01.26.02 #21
week (10) ending 01.19.02 #20
week (9) ending 01.12.02 #14
week (8) ending 01.05.02 #12
week (7) ending 12.29.01 #4
week (6) ending 12.22.01 #3
week (5) ending 12.15.01 #4
week (4) ending 12.08.01 #5
week (3) ending 12.01.01 #3
week (2) ending 11.24.01 #2
week (1) ending 11.17.01 #1 (debut)
 

But the meeting never went ahead, she admitted during an interview for ITV1's Frank Skinner Show. 

Skinner asked the 20-year-old chart topper about her relationship with the 19-year-old prince, and if she had become "quite friendly" with him.

She said, "Yeah, it was just like, all blown out of proportion — we exchanged e-mails for a little bit and he was supposed to come and see me somewhere but it didn't work out."

Skinner added: "You were blown out by Prince William?" Spears replied, "Yeah." 

Spears said she had no idea why William had changed his mind about meeting, but Britain's Sun tabloid reported the prince had opted to go fox hunting instead. 

What About Harry?

Spears was in Britain to promote her new single, "Overprotected." She says she and the prince have never actually met and denied rumors of a cyber romance. 

The midriff-bearing singer, who is in a long-term relationship with pop group 'N Sync's Justin Timberlake, has long acknowledged her admiration for a number of English celebrities, like the prince and England soccer captain David Beckham.

Later this month, she plans to film a Pepsi commercial for the World Cup with the soccer hunk, and said she looked forward to meeting him.

"I think he's cute," she told The Associated Press. "I'm hoping he'll help me with the soccer moves for the commercial."

Timberlake needn't worry, however; Beckham is already married, to the Spice Girls' Victoria Beckham (she's Posh Spice).

And during the ITV interview, Skinner suggested she pursue someone else instead of Prince William, who, as second in line to the British throne, is considered one of the world's most eligible bachelors.

"Go with the brother," he said, referring to 17-year-old Prince Harry, who recently admitted smoking marijuana and underage drinking. "He's much more fun," Skinner told Spears. 

The interview was taped last week and will be broadcast Saturday.  

Speaking at a conference yesterday, Pink admitted that she can annoy people, and that might have been the reason.

"I can be very loud so I can understand that,' she said "If you're not the party type then you wouldn't want to stay next to me."

Anyway, she met Britney at Top Of The Pops last week, and made nicey.

"She's cool,' said Ms. Pink. "She came in and I gave her flowers and she thanked me. She was tiny and cute and cool. If she does hate me then she's a good liar."

Pink also said that she'd like to go and entertain the troops in Afghanistan when she gets a moment.

"When my record company leave me alone I'll go," she said. "I have a tremendous respect for soldiers and anyone that fights for freedom. I want to do something a little more meaningful that just going over and singing a song. I'm sure it's a great distraction for some artists but it's all done for press."

Bless her.  

Spears was the opening act at the NRJ awards--France's version of the Grammys--which kicked off this year's Midem, the international trade show for music professionals, Saturday. The big winners of the night included Dido and Garou. Mick Jagger also performed his new single, "Visions of Paradise."

The singer was at Midem, which is being held this year in Cannes, to promote her new movie "Crossroads"--which premieres in the U.S. in February--and her third album 'Britney'--which has already sold close to eight million units worldwide, Variety reports.

Although Spears' acting debut in 'Crossroads' is being received with apprehension by the critics, the 20-year-old is hopeful and excited to be on the big screen, as evidenced by her comment at a recent London press conference, 'Everything the critics like, I hate.'"
 

Ms. Spears has repeatedly denied reports that she and 'N Sync's Timberlake are engaged. But in an interview Saturday, she said, "It will happen some time in the future, but not this year," Ms. Spears said. The couple recently bought a California home for a reported $3 million."
.

She says she even sent Britney a bunch of flowers during their recent visit to London.

Both singers were in the UK last week to perform their new singles on Top Of The Pops.

It had been reported Britney Spears changed hotels after discovering she was staying in the same hotel as Pink.

But Pink told Radio 1: "I didn't even see her, I didn't know she was coming. Honestly, don't believe everything you read. I sent her flowers. I am pretty loud though, I can understand it."

Pink is currently at number two in the UK singles chart with Get The Party Started.

Britney's new single Overprotected was released this week.

Overprotected is available to buy on CD for £2.99 through Ananova's ecommerce partner and Get The Party Started is available for £3.99.

Pink's new album Missundaztood is out on January 28 and can be pre-ordered through HMV for £12.99. 

It is thought the pair want to team up to buy 50% of its shares.

White is reported to have been in discussions with Planet Hollywood founder Robert Earl. 

The celebrity chef's spokesman Alan Crompton-Batt told the London Evening Standard: "I don't know if Britney is a good cook herself and I don't think she would have been telling him what to put on the menu, but they would certainly have talked about the company." 

Meanwhile, Britney Spears, Janet Jackson and Diana Krall were the first artists named to present trophies at the February 27 ceremony at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

U2, who have another huge performance slated for February at the Super Bowl, lead the list of Grammy nominees with eight, including nods in the esteemed Record of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year categories. Bono and his bandmates have won 10 Grammy Awards in past years.

Soulful newcomer Alicia Keys, third in total nominations behind U2 and India.Arie, will compete for six trophies, including Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best New Artist.

Jackson is the only announced presenter with nominations this year; she's competing in the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Best Dance Recording and Best Pop Vocal Album categories. 

Comedian Jon Stewart will mark his second consecutive year as host of the ceremony, which will be broadcast on CBS from 8-11 p.m. ET.