news archives

November 30, 2003 - getalifeyall writes "Poor, Britney Spears haters... I really do feel sorry for all of you. You probably think she's gonna disappear in the next couple of years. Most haters thought she would have already been gone by now. But sadly for you all, you're gonna be seeing her for a long, long time to come." Read more.

November 30, 2003 - The New York Daily News reports Britney Spears has gotten off the hook with PETA. Within days of her album 'In the Zone' hitting shelves, PETA started getting calls from fans upset to see the singer wearing what looked like a fur jacket on the back cover. The group promptly checked with the star's management, which said that the coat is a "very good fake."

November 30, 2003 - Britney Spears was photographed shopping at Anthropology on Wednesday (November 26). Check out pictures from Volumized.net.

November 30, 2003 - During Madonna's interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Wednesday night, Jay asked the singer about working with Britney Spears. "I see her as my little sister. She asks me career advice," Madonna revealed. "For the most part I try to make her understand this isn’t real life and she can’t take everything people say seriously. I can understand some of the stuff she’s going through. I help her with that."

November 30, 2003 - Rich Copley of the Lexington Herald-Leader says: "I have officially had it with Britney Spears." He explained, "With the imminent release of her new CD, 'In the Zone,' coming out Tuesday, it has been clear that for Spears, it is not about music. It's about her body. If you think the Rolling Stone shoot was hot, see her bottomless cover for Esquire, not to mention the inside shots, in which only well-placed necklaces stood between her and our imaginations. It's been going this way a long time. Her initial gimmick was dressing in a school uniform with the front of the shirt knotted instead of tucked in, to look a little naughty. Since then, less has been more - more media, more exposure, more money." Read more.

November 30, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "GoBritney.com has the whole episode of Britney Spears featured on The Graham Norton Show. They show male Britney look-alikes, play a guessing game, and Britney suggests that the wife of the govenor in Maryland needs to get laid after she said she wanted to shoot Britney. Check it out here."

November 30, 2003 - 'In the Zone' marks a musical departure for Britney Spears. Instead of traditional pop, the singer opts for a darker, more dance-oriented sound. "It was a weird process at first," Spears tells Billboard. "I didn't exactly know what direction I wanted to go in, but I took my time. That's why I like this album so much. I did it right. I waited to find myself with other people that I really had chemistry with and could really be creative with." Read more.

November 30, 2003 - Mark of Deansplanet.com reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', giving his track-by-track opinion. To sum it up, Mark wrote, "Well hopefully this CD will bomb and she will disappear or at least do Playboy. The problem with Britney is that she does nothing new or groundbreaking. It's all the same old sh** and I think that American music needs a change. The only 'zone' Britney knows is the Twilight Zone and we are all in an episode." He advises, "Kids, save your money and buy a Beatles album instead." Read more.

November 30, 2003 - Justin Timberlake's grandmother Sadie Bomar agrily responded to the suggestion the *NSYNC star's ex Britney Spears made about his undersized manhood. "I helped raise him — and I can assure you there is nothing wrong with him physically," Bomar insisted. Read more.

November 30, 2003 - popdawg writes "GoBritney.com has photos of Britney Spears vacationing during Thanksgiving in Hawaii on the beach and walking around without a top. See them here."

November 30, 2003 - The San Francisco Chronicle reports a local spy saw Britney Spears at the Four Seasons Hotel on Kona. During dinner at the hotel, Spears took her bodyguard with her when she went to the bathroom. He stood guard outside, prohibiting entry to anyone else, even while she lingered inside smoking a cigarette. When she emerged, however, fellow diners were repaid for the inconvenience when she accepted an invitation to sing one song with the Hawaiian trio that was performing there.

November 30, 2003 - britney_rocks_2003 writes "Madonna congratulated Britney Spears for the success of her album 'In the Zone' in America with an ad in the 'Hollywood Star Ads Magazine'. In the ad, Madonna says: "Britney - Well Deserved! Much continued success. Madonna." Britney's record company Jive also put an ad to congratulate Spears for her Hollywood walk of fame star. Check out a photo of the ad here."

November 30, 2003 - Steppin' Out magazine spoke with Dido and asked the singer what she felt about singers such as Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Destiny's Child star Beyonce Knowles, or even now Jewel stripping their clothes to sell albums. "It's weird, isn't it? First of all, I think Christina Aguilera is an amazing talent. I think she has a great voice. But it's weird, isn't it," she said. "Look at Beyonce, who is an extraordinary talent. She writes, she sings, she produces, and she looks incredible. And trust me, I'm a woman and I know it's great to show off every asset you've got. But what I've noticed in this society is that somehow wearing almost nothing has detracted from the other things in other people's eyes. People see artists like Britney Spears as something less because of it. It's really weird because you would think, well if you look that hot, why can't you show it off and be really sexy? Do you know what I mean?" Read more.

November 30, 2003 - Carly Carioli of the Boston Phoenix weighed in on both Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone' and Pink's 'Try This'. Carioli says, "The songs on In the Zone find Britney getting drunk, hooking up with anonymous Joes, passing out on the couch, waking up alone and masturbating, calling up her ex and offering a weepy apology." And with Pink's latest, "Most of the songs have Rancid’s identifiable three-chords-and-an-attitude simplicity, though they’re buoyed by dance-friendly rhythm sections, and Pink’s tough-girl delivery lights them with an aura of gospelly soul power." Read more.

November 30, 2003 - MeAgainstTheMusic writes "According to Neil Sean of Sky News, Britney Spears has recorded a cover of Madonna's 'Justify My Love'. The track was secretly recorded as part of an extra package for her new album 'In The Zone'. Rumor has it that since 'Me Against The Music' failed to get any higher than 38 on the charts, Britney is keen on releasing her extra steamy take on the song. The one thing missing so far is the permission of Madonna who owns the song."

November 27, 2003 -  Entertainment Weekly's Ken Tucker reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In the Zone' for NPR's 'Fresh Air'. Listen to the review here.

November 27, 2003 - Colleen Maree Quill of HipOnline.com spoke with Britney Spears and asked the singer about the new crop of singers being labelled as anti-Britney's, and whether with her new album 'In The Zone', she's become sort of an anti-Britney herself. "Well that was a very deep question. No. I think that I'm always going to be me, but like I think every day we change and express ourselves in different ways," she said. "So I'm not anti-Britney at all. I totally love everything that I've every done, you know. It's not an egotistical thing but that was me at that moment in that time, and that's what I believed in. So I definitely don't regret the things that I did in the past. And as far as, you know, Avril Lavigne's and all of those girls like that, they all have their game and what they do. But at the end of the day we're all one. We're all the same. And, you know, when I see Avril Lavigne on TV or Gwen Stefani or Christina Aguilera, I take pieces from them but, you know, I don't copy their music, but like I see emotions in their music that I'm like that inspires me. And instead of, you know, girls being like anti this or anti that, we should like just be around to support each other and to inspire each other at the end of the day. And just, you know, lift each other up, instead of being, you know, kind of, you know, competitive and anti this and anti that. That's kind of shallow to me." Check out the entire interview here.

November 27, 2003 - potpot writes "It only takes a watchful music fan to know why Britney Spears' 'Me Against The Music' failed to break the top 30 in the Billboard charts." Read more.

November 27, 2003 - Anonymous writes "The UK's Daily Sport has reported that Britney Spears' pop career is in serious trouble after new album, 'In The Zone', failed to make it into the Top 10 of the UK chart this week. They report that friend of the star are saying she may quit pop altogether because she is miserable after her split from childhood sweetheart Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC. A source said: "Britney was really nervous about her album not doing well and she knew that if this album bombed her career might be over. She has aspirations for a film career and hoped this would kick-start it. But not even stripping for the front cover of Rolling Stone magazine and snogging Madonna could save her.""

November 27, 2003 - Star magazine reports Britney Spears refused to do red carpet interviews at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles and took off from the ceremony as soon as her opening performance was over. "She jumped in a car and was out of there," an eyewitness revealed. Star adds that on the previous night, Spears partied at the Spider Club, the VIP lounge at Hollywood hot spot Avalon, looking like she felt the effects of a grueling schedule. "She looked messy," a fellow partier remarked.

November 27, 2003 - Contactmusic.com reports Britney Spears made another embarassing gaffe, calling Kylie Minogue and Paulina Rubio Spanish singers. Spears was speaking to a Spanish journalist, who asked if she liked the country's music. Britney replied, "Yes, I really like it. From Paulina Rubio to Kylie Minogue." When she was told that Kylie is Australian and Paulina is Mexican, she hastily tried to cover up her embarrassing mistake by adding, "I still think they're great."

November 27, 2003 - xanthe writes "As a Christina Aguilera fan, when defending my favourite singer I constantly have one line thrown in my face from Britney Spears fans. 'You're Jealous.' I am accused of being jealous that Britney has sold more albums than Christina, or that Britney's Madonna kiss received more attention, among other things." Read more.

November 27, 2003 - Britney Spears is auctioning off the boots, black football pants, shorts and referee halter-top she wore during the NFL kickoff concert in September. The boots are even autographed. The clothes are for sale at MaryBirdAuction.com, and the proceeds will go to the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center.

November 27, 2003 - Melissa Ruggieri at the Richmond Times-Dispatch handed out her eighth annual Turkey Awards to Michael Jackson -- for several reasons, "the producer/director who decided to cut to Justin Timberlake's reaction to the Madonna/Britney Spears kiss on the MTV Video Music Awards", whoever stole a wig from Cher at her Richmond show, Britney Spears -- for her insistence that she doesn't lip-sync, Jack Russell of Great White, and KISS for touring again despite several previous "farewell tours." Read more.

November 27, 2003 - Actress and musician Bette Midler was on CNN's Larry King Live on Wednesday where she commented on raising eyebrows after saying the Britney Spears and Madonna kiss was kind of tacky. "Whose eyebrows did I raise? I don't think I've ever -- oh, nobody cares what anybody says anymore," she said. "And nobody cares if they did it. I thought it was cheesy because I thought -- because there were -- that's a show that little ones watch, you know, the little ones, the 7-year-olds, 8-year-olds." Read more.

November 27, 2003 - Britney Spears hopes that people notice a change in musical approach on her new album, 'In the Zone', where she moves away from hip-hop and more into electronic dance-club sounds. "I think on the last album [2001's 'Britney'], there was a lot of hip-hop stuff," she tells Gary Graff of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I love hip-hop music; I'm very inspired by it. But I wanted to just do something different. I love to dance, too. I like trancey stuff, so there's a lot of trancey, club-scene stuff on this album just to have a taste of something a little bit different."

November 27, 2003 - New Releases from Missy Elliott, No Doubt, Korn, Dixie Chicks, Puddle of Mudd, Enrique Inglesias, and Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz won't be able to take down Britney Spears' new album for the second week. 'In the Zone' should log at least another 300k by the end of this week, according to early reports from national accounts, making it an easy #1 for the second week running. Look for Enrique to sell around 150,000 copies of 'Seven'. Read more.

November 25, 2003 - Anonymous writes "According to aria.com.au, Kylie Minogue debut at #2, going 2x platinum with her new album 'Body Language', while Michael Jackson's album 'Number Ones' debut at #8 going gold and Britney Spears album 'In The Zone' debut at #10 going gold. To check out the charts, click here."

November 25, 2003 - Anonymous writes "In this weeks UK albums chart, there were three notable entries. Michael Jackson's 'Number Ones' entered at #1, Kylie Minogue's 'Body Language' entered at a disappointing #6, and Britney Spears' 'In The Zone' flopped, entering at #14. Much was made of the supposed battle between Kylie and Britney for #1, with each of them doing incredible amounts of promotion, but in the end, neither were anywhere near. #14 marks Britney's worst ever debut placing, even her last album, 'Britney', which had very poor total sales in the UK, entered in the top 5 in its first week."

November 25, 2003 - Popdirt.com's recent poll asking which female pop singer is most likely to someday be in a leaked sex tape saw 42.4% say Christina Aguilera, easily beating Britney Spears, who received 25%. Jennifer Lopez was well behind in third with 8.9%, despite Suge Knight claims that he already possesses a sex tape of the diva. Check out the complete survey results here.

November 25, 2003 - Us Weekly reports that after Britney Spears suggested Michael Jackson was "a great person at heart" and that "he probably just need some friends" in an interview with Diane Sawyer, Jacko told Us Weekly he would like to meet the Princess of Pop. "I can related to Britney," Jackson said, before word of his child molestation charges. "Ultimately we're both human and we need other people to understand what we go though, and why we feel the way we do. Britney can call me anytime she wants. It's been too long since I've talked to her."

November 25, 2003 - Britney Spears appeared on the Graham Norton Show earlier this month. Check out pictures from Volumized.net (page1 / page2) and RexFeatures.

November 25, 2003 - hellahooked writes "You can download Britney Spears' interview and 'Me Against The Music' performance on Monday's episode of Regis and Kelly at GoBritney.com."

November 25, 2003 - The New York Post reports that during Britney Spears' partying at Lotus on Thursday night with pals, the singer supposedly vomited. Lotus marketing director Wendy Hinton denied the rumor insisting, "There's no truth to the rumor that she was puking. She was in good form."

November 25, 2003 - Jive writes "Teen People magazine did a feature on Britney Spears and some exclusive behind-the-scene snaps of Britney and Madonna on her music video set of 'Me Against The Music'. Check out the pictures here."

November 25, 2003 - Convinced that her fiance Ben Affleck had a fling with Ben Affleck before they started dating, Jennifer Lopez flew into a rage when she saw Britney Spears tell Diane Sawyer in her 'Primetime' interview, "Ben Affleck, he's cute." J.Lo, crying on the phone to a friend, moaned, "How dare she?" The source tells Star magazine, "She was very upset and crying. She just kept saying, 'How dare she? On national television? Where's her respect? She knows Ben is with me!'"

November 25, 2003 - Britney Spears has become the most recent addition to the list of celebrities taking a shine to Anthony Nak Jewelry by wearing their pieces in a number of stunning shots on her new album, 'In The Zone'. Spears fell in love with the $6,000 Anthony Nak necklace during her provocative photo shoot. Anthony Camargo and David Nakard Armstrong, the design team of Anthony Nak Fine Jewelry created the 18K, shelled multi-colored aquamarine necklace with multi-colored zircon briolettes. Co-owner Anthony Camargo was extremely pleased that the megastar chose Anthony Nak jewelry to be permanently featured on her c.d. He added, "It is also very cool that someone so young like Britney is a fan of our sophisticated jewelry. We sent her a number of pieces and she chose an especially elaborate necklace; it's really wonderful to have such a wide range of clients enjoying our work." Read more.

November 25, 2003 - From t.A.T.u., the Madonna and Britney Spears kiss, to 'Girls Gone Wild,' it's becoming chic for straight women to act gay. So what is behind the new trend? Watch a video clip including commentary from Dr. Drew, guys who promote it, and true lesbians, who consider it a slap in the face, at KTLA.

November 25, 2003 - 'American Idol' judge Simon Cowell weighed in on several pop stars including Mariah Carey, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Jackson, and Avril Lavigne. His opinion on Spears? "At the outset of her career, most girls related to Britney," he said. "They didn't feel threatened. Years later, she tried to make herself sexy by wrapping pythons around her neck, but only made herself look ludicrous. It's like your younger sister putting on makeup for the first time." Cowell insisted Britney will "never be sexy."

November 25, 2003 - Laura Sessions Stepp of The Washington Post profiled the high level of Britney Spears hatred, claiming the singer "has come to epitomize the widespread belief that there's something rotten in girl culture, something that tells girls that their bodies, not their brains, are the means to power and success, especially if they're wrapped in skintight pants that stop just above the pubic bone." Karen Kreutzberg, a Navy commander with an 11-year-old daughter, explained, "The old Britney was really fun. Innocence was a part of it. Her choreography was new and fresh, she was kind of an original. But in the ensuing years, she's gotten cheap. If you're promoting yourself only from the sexual angle, you're missing a whole life." Read more.

November 23, 2003 - Jamie Gill of Dotmusic.com reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', giving it only 2 out of 10 stars. Gill writes, "In about a hundred years, some academic genius will write a dispassionate and wildly intelligent analysis of the late 20th and early 21st century which recognises the vital importance that pop music - the most inventive and creative art form of that time - played. And in this book there will be a chapter entitled, simply, 'Britney Spears - why?'" Read more.

November 23, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "GoBritney.com has a clip of Britney Spears admitting to Christina Aguilera randomly kissing her one night at a club. Britney says: "We were at a club, and she came up to me and she put her tounge down my throat! Like, hello! I havn't seen you in two years!" Check it out here."

November 23, 2003 - Brandon Tucker of The Indiana Digital Student spoke out on how he's grown up with Britney Spears, reviewing her new album 'In The Zone' in the process. Tucker writes, "Today, opinions about Britney are mostly divided into two categories. The first is she can't sing, is a slut and her music sucks. The rest say, 'she can't sing, but she can dance, is sexy and her songs are decent.' At the tender age of 21, Britney, just like anyone her age, is facing a small identity crisis and is having a pretty good time doing it as she contemplates her next move into adulthood. Perhaps instead of criticizing her, we, facing the same issues on a much more personal scale, should relate to her." Read more.

November 23, 2003 - Bernard Zuel of the Sydney Morning Herald reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', giving it 3 stars. Zuel writes, "This album apparently shows that Britney has grown into a fearless artist. Ah, not quite. If anything, 'In the Zone' shows she is fearful and unsure where to go next." He added, "The album is not half bad, but is half enough? Either way, Britney better decide which route she's taking because her audience may not wait, if it hasn't already left the building." Read more.

November 23, 2003 - Jimmi Jammes has mixed Britney Spears' latest single 'Me Against The Music' featuring Madonna with Herbie Hancock's instrumental 'Rockit'. Download and listen to 'Me Against The Break' here.

November 23, 2003 - WaneInTheZone writes "Britney Spears is auctioning off the hot sports car she drove in her new video 'Me Against the Music.' Not only did she drive this sports car, but she also autographed the hood and steering wheel. All proceeds of this auction will go to The Britney Spears Foundation. Auction starts December 1st, At 5 pm. Ends December 11th. Check out more information here."

November 23, 2003 - Britney Spears visited the Z100 studios in New York to chat with Cubby the other day. Check out pictures from the visit here.

November 23, 2003 - Tracy Zhang of the Cornell Sun reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', giving it two stars. Zhang writes, "Although society's reasons for hating Britney are often creative and diverse, the main complaint about Spears, at least in terms of her music, has always been that she's merely a manufactured product of careful business planning, an image rather than an actual musician. Well, at least she's consistent. Familiar sounding because it is so formulaic, In the Zone attempts to play off the recent success of R&B beats with 11 dance-friendly tracks and two obligatory ballads." Read more.

November 23, 2003 - Britney Spears and Tyra Banks visited MTV's Total Request Live on Tuesday (November 18) at MTV Studios, Times Square in New York City. Check out pictures from GettyImages and WireImage.

November 22, 2003 - Britney Spears held an 'In The Zone' CD Signing on Tuesday (November 18) at Virgin Mega Store in New York City. Check out pictures here.

November 22, 2003 - ISIFA has additional photos of Britney Spears and her brother Bryan hanging out on the balcony of her Santa Monica apartment the other day. Check them out here.

November 22, 2003 - Britney Spears was on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday (November 17). Check out pictures from GettyImages and Volumized.net.

November 22, 2003 - Maddfan writes "Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears have always been cordial with each other from the very beginning. They both dismissed rumors of a feud or rivalry between each other, although I believe they both were/are secretly in competition with each other. But if you think about it, the way Christina explained the situation in Blender, Britney kind of gave her the cold shoulder at the VMA rehearsals. Kind of like "I'm the new Queen of pop and I’m best friends with Madonna, ha-ha, I'm not going to talk to you anymore". I know that sounds petty on my part but that’s just the impression I got as I read the article." Read more.

November 22, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Volumized.net added some pictures of Britney Spears leaving her apartment heading for TRL studios on Tuesday (November 18). You can find the pictures here."

November 22, 2003 - Ken Barnes of USA Today spoke with readers in an online chat on Tuesday, and was asked about Britney Spears and the sales hopes for her new album 'In The Zone'. Barnes said, "I haven't gotten it yet, but I will predict that it will not come close to the sales of her first two, which were up around 10 million apiece if I recall. With the relentless publicity assault surrounding this album, it may have a shot at exceeding the last album's 4 million total." He later added, "I tend to be a little more tolerant of Britney than most of our critics, but the first single ['Me Against The Music'] is truly annoying, so my hopes aren't high." Read more.

November 22, 2003 - Fans had been lining up for days in the hope of meeting their idol Britney Spears, who was signing copies of her CD in New York City at Virgin Megastore. Watch a video clip featuring remarks from fans and Britney signing autographs here.

November 22, 2003 - According to HitsDailyDouble.com, Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone' is set to sell a whopping 550k in its first week and may even hit 600k, according to early reports from national accounts. The figure is enough to easy beat Blink-182's self-titled effort, which is likely to sell over 300k for the week. The Beatles' 'Let It Be... Naked' could cross the 200k threshold before the week's over. Meanwhile, Michael Jackson's 'Number Ones' is on pace for almost 100k, but his legal troubles may impact that number in either direction. Read more.

November 22, 2003 - Jeannette Walls of MSNBC.com reports Playboy magazine is offering Britney Spears a seven-figure fee to pose in the nude. "Playboy is desperate to get her," an insider remarked. "She’s this generation’s sex symbol." Read more.

November 22, 2003 - Staunch conservative Brent Bozell, President of Media Research Center, is on the attack against Britney Spears and Pink. Bozell writes, "These women are not sympathetic figures or role models. They're parental nightmares, goads to little girls to dress up like street-walkers and dance like strippers, and to behave like rich white trash. Parents need to find their music-starved young daughters some better singing role models." Read more.

November 22, 2003 - The New York Daily News reports that theh thong is losing its popularity as more women are trading in butt floss for roomier underwear. "The visible thong string as fashion statement is just skanky," says 27-year-old Kayte Terry. Women aren't the only ones who think thongs are naughty without being nice. "Girls wear thongs out on the weekends and it starts off looking Britney and J.Lo-ish, but by the end of the night it ends up looking horrible and embarrassing," says Matt Donnelly, 25, a bartender in Montclair, New Jersey. "If girls could see what their thong outfits looked like from my perspective at last call, they would never wear one out again." Read more.

November 22, 2003 - Entertainment Tonight fashion guru Steven Cojocaru weighed in on the week's best and worst dressed women for the week, citing the 'American Music Awards' outfits worn by Jessica Simpson and Hilary Duff as 'Best-Dressed', while Britney Spears and Pink were dubbed 'Red-Carpet Blunders'. Watch a video clip featuring the outfits and Cojo's remarks here.

November 22, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Volumized added some pictures of Britney Spears heading back to her Santa Monica apartment on Wednesday (November 19). Check them out here."

November 22, 2003 - Spence D. of IGN.com reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', giving it 4.8 out of 10 rating. Spence writes, "It's not that the music of Britney Spears is bad; it's just disposable, like so much pop music cranked out by the industry machine in the past 10 years. Her fans will most likely praise this new collection. Critics will no doubt dismiss it. And it will undoubtedly make a few dents in the pop charts and at next years music awards. Aside from the intriguing musical contributions of folks like Moby and a few moments where Spears seems to drop her sexually charged vixen persona ('Everytime'), 'In The Zone' becomes a collection of innocuous post-millennial dance pop." Read more.

November 22, 2003 - Westlife manager Louis Walsh has branded Kylie Minogue "talentless." He told industry mag The Hit Sheet: "She’s the most overrated, talentless little girl in the world – apart from Britney Spears."

November 22, 2003 - Anonymous writes "After a troubling past year dealing with heart break, family problems, fame, and everything else that could go wrong, Britney Spears is back with a vengeance. You have seen her with Suchin Pak on MTV, Diane Sawyer on ABC, but now Britney speaks with Chad Kennedy about her new CD, her new life, and what it's like to live life in the fast lane. In the interview Britney speaks of her kiss with Madonna and questions what all the fuss was about. "If you think it's me trying to make a publicity stunt, hell no, I'm just doing my job. I'm performing. I'm doing my thing." To read more of this interview with Britney Spears check out TeenSceneMag.com."

November 22, 2003 - Daily Mail reporter Jenni Murray came away disappointed after her interview with Britney Spears. Asked about the negative influence some parents think she has on their daughters, Spears responded, "The reason everyone talks about the younger fans is that the parents are concerned and really they shouldn't be concerned, because I think, like, they should trust their kids. I think it's a beautiful thing to be able to watch your kids play around and not take it so seriously. It's just a performance. It's not that deep." Read more.

November 22, 2003 - Groovevolt.com reports Britney Spears along with two male friends visited a popular gay bar in New York's east village on Tuesday night. "It was cool to get to meet her. She seems really nice," according to a clubgoer, "These are the type of things Madonna used to do in the past. I know alot of people are making her look like a copycat but we need people like to her to keep the realism of a shady world." Read more, including thoughts on Michael Jackson's legal troubles, here.

November 22, 2003 - Howard Stern said on his show Thursday morning that the show's producer Gary Dell'Abate almost got Britney Spears to come in today since she's on a promotional tour for her new album 'In The Zone'. Howard said they had her on the phone one time and it would have been a good time. He said one of her people must have thought better of it and stopped it from happening.

November 19, 2003 - Britney Spears was on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday to promote her new album 'In The Zone' and perform 'Me Against The Music' later. Britney answered questions submitted from the audience and showed off what she considers her least flattering body part -- her big toe, and talked about two tattoos on her foot. The Tonight Show band's vocalist Vicki Randle appeared to make her preferences known by performing two of her favorites by rival Christina Aguilera: 'Fighter' and 'Lady Marmalade'. Read on for a rough transcript.

November 19, 2003 - Jay Leno joked about Britney Spears during his Tonight Show monologue on Monday night before she came on as a guest. He joked, "Actually, I just apologized to Britney for walking into her dressing room as she was stepping out of the shower. [Laughter] I said, 'I'm sorry.' She said, 'No, no, this is what I'm wearing tonight,' so I don't know. [Laughter and applause] How many of you have heard about the new song on the cd? It's pretty controversial. [Cheers and applause] It's a song about masturbation. [Cheers] I think it's called, 'I can see you watching my video -- stop doing that.' [Laughter] I think that's the true title."

November 19, 2003 - Jeanine Tan of Channel News Asia profiled Britney Spears and how she's setting herself up to become the Madonna of this generation. Tan writes, "At the peak of Spears' popularity in 2000, before there was any talk of working together, Madonna wore a T-shirt with Britney's name splashed across the front. It was of her own accord and a public nod to Spears' career." According to Natasha Theseira, senior product manager at Universal Music: "If Britney were born in Madonna's era, she would be a Madonna. I think she could be the new Madonna. Madonna sees that, too. That's why she chose Britney and not [Christina Aguilera]." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - J. Grant Swank, Jr. of the conservative website MichNews.com says "I'm really tired of Britney Spears." He writes, "Yep. I came to that conclusion viewing this evening’s PrimeTime interview with Diane Sawyer. Britney. Watching that hour I said to my wife, 'That girl’s a ready candidate for suicide.' Ooops. What possessed me to say that?! Well, it’s the multi-dimensional, juxtapositional personality who’s developed in the last 21 years. How can she hold it together sanely?" Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Nekesa Mumbi Moody of The Associated Press reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', proclaming the singer "ends up sounding more juvenile than ever." Nekesa added, "Though there are a few entertaining parts, the majority of the disc is pretty insipid. That's not any different from any other Britney album, but with all the heavy hitters involved — including R. Kelly, Moby and Madonna — this time the disappointment is more of a surprise." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Mark Brown of Rocky Mountain News wrote a rather terse column after taking part in a telephone press conference with Britney Spears, upset at the singer's demands that questions that were acceptable by her people would be allowed. He explained, "When it comes to another reporter, he demands to know why the lip-sync questioner was cut off and restated the question before he could be cut off. Spears, who obviously lip-syncs concerts and most TV spots, denied the charge and blamed questions about her ability to sing on critics being 'jealous or whatever'." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Greg Kot of the Chicago Tribune reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', and the state of the music industry in general. Kot writes, "Those looking for insights into Spears' personality will have to settle for a few lines in the closing song. The billowy ballad 'Everytime' could be interpreted as an apology to her ex-boyfriend, [*NSYNC star Justin Timberlake]: 'My weakness caused you pain.' Otherwise, the new 'adult' Spears sounds like a lap-dancer seducing a client: 'After the screaming's at an end, why don't we do it again'; 'I find myself flirting with the verge of obscene'; 'don't stop, because I'm halfway there.' On Kelly's 'Outrageous,' she equates sex with a shopping spree. 'Touch of My Hand' is about pleasuring herself." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Tom Bishop of BBC News Online reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone'. He writes, "Coupled with bland lyrics and average vocals, the promised emergence of Britney's own 'voice' never takes place. And despite her dancefloor ambitions, she allows herself to slump into the safety net of ballads 'Everytime' and 'Shadow'. 'In The Zone' is the sound of Britney catching up with her chart rivals when she was expected to easily overtake them." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Throngs of cheering fans were on hand as Britney Spears became the 2,242nd performer honored with a bronze star embedded in Hollywood's Walk of Fame on Monday (November 17). "I'm seriously speechless right now," the giddy singer told onlookers. "This is something I've dreamed about since I was a little girl... Thank you so much for even coming out today and sharing this memory with me that I'll never forget." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Something may be bothering Britney Spears and Bonnie Fuller of America Media gave the Fox News Channel insight on what it might be. Watch her interview here.

November 19, 2003 - Rex Features has photos of Britney Spears showing a friend her new apartment and then going shopping in California the other day. Check out the pictures here.

November 19, 2003 - The Daily Star reports *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake was embarrassed by Britney Spears' latest, tearful, interview with 'Primetime' host Diane Sawyer about their relationship. An insider claims Timberlake "cringed with embarrassment" when he heard about Spears' tearful breakdown. "He and Britney were childhood sweethearts, and that's where it ends," said the source. "He couldn't care less about Britney getting sympathy from people after that outburst. For all he knows, it could have just been a stunt." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Radio 1 reports Kylie Minogue said in a press conference over the weekend that people should go easy on Britney Spears, following her on-camera tears, because she's young and has a punishing work schedule. "Promotion is probably the most gruelling aspect of the job. You pass all these other performers, pop stars, singers and bands, and everyone just looks as tired as everyone else, everyone's just crossing paths, and they all look as exhausted as you feel," Minogue said. "I didn't see the [Diane Sawyer 'Primetime'] interview, but when I was her age I was finding some things pretty difficult as well. I think we forget she's 21 years-old. It seems like she's got her family around her, and that's where I turned when things got difficult for me. I think if you have that you'll be fine."

November 19, 2003 - hellahooked writes "Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine reviewed Britney Spears latest album 'In The Zone' giving it a rating of 3 out of 5 stars. Cinquemani writes, "It’s been fashionable to hate Britney Spears since the day she first tapped her pencil on the side of a desk in her slutty little school girl outfit and pigtails. Since then she’s showed hints of potential here and there, but that’s only served to aggravate critics even more. For the most part, 'In The Zone' is a big, fat, thumping love letter to the dancefloor, which makes Madonna’s involvement (on lead single 'Me Against The Music', arguably one of Britney’s finest moments and one of her mentor’s worst) even more appropriate. Britney’s unabashed devotion to dance-pop is, perhaps, the one thing that truly links her to the big M, as she presses her body 'up against the speaker' the way Madonna did back in the early 80s." Read more."

November 19, 2003 - Anonymous writes "I like how some people think that just because in a couple of cities, that it's doing well everywhere and is going to break records. I went to a few stores today looking for a CD single and Britney Spears' 'In The Zone' CDs had barely been touched. Instead, the Beatles album 'Let It Be...Naked' was what was "flying off the shelves". So, I suggest everyone hold onto their britches and wait until the one-day numbers and predictions come in tomorrow and later in the week, before they start declaring a "victory". A lot can change in the course of a week. And it will be annoying if every psycho Britney fan on this site posts an irrelevant report from their own city."

November 19, 2003 - The New York Daily News reports Britney Spears thrilled a bunch of her fans at a CD signing in Times Square at Virgin Megastore last night but left a good number of them chilled, too. 15-year-old Ashley Curry said, "It's crazy, I'm so happy." But NYU student Sumit Galhotra, 19, said, "After 17 hours trembling in the cold, despite the fact that I love Britney, it wasn't exactly worth it. It was very quick and it was impersonal." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - The Sun Justin Timberlake's reputation as a ladies' man was hurt after ex-girlfriend Britney Spears said she was "just a little bitter" about their high-profile split, emphasising the words "just" and "little" while using her thumb and finger to indicate a tiny length. An insider on the MTV special, 'In The Zone + Out All Night' revealed, "She didn't actually use Justin's name but as she always says he has been her only lover, it must have been him she was talking about. After she said it she fell about laughing with her camera crew." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Entertainment Tonight has a pair of video clips featuring Britney Spears receiving a star on the Walk of Fame and speaking with Steven Cojocaru on Madonna, fame and her newly dubbed on-stage name 'Britania'. Watch the clips here.

November 19, 2003 - Britney Spears was on MTV's Total Request Live on Tuesday to promote her new album 'In The Zone'. Spears responded to criticism from Christina Aguilera that she was "fake" and "superficial" by pointing out Aguilera kissed Madonna as well, adding that despite her "amazing voice", "she says things sometimes are are kind of rude." She also joined Tyra Banks to weigh in on guys like Ashton Kutcher, Brad Pitt, Paul Walker, Will Smith, and Ben Affleck. Read on for a transcript.

November 19, 2003 - Britney Spears was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday (November 17) in Hollywood, California. Check out pictures here.

November 19, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Whoa, I went to the Virgin Megastore at 7:00am and the line for Britney Spears' in store record signing was nearing the 1,500 people mark! Not only that, but only 500 people were going to recieve an autograph! Anyway, the Virgin Megastore opened at 9:00 am, and even people were at the front door waiting to buy CDs. As soon as the doors opened people rushed to Britney's section, and people were grabbing 1-4 copies at a time! By the time I left, (20 minutes later), each copy was gone, and only one lie in a separate section. Of course they restocked but, the Britney album is going faaaast!"

November 19, 2003 - Reuters reports five hundred people, some who had waited three days outside the Virgin Megastore, were ushered into a room where they would meet Britney Spears on Tuesday and get their copies of 'In The Zone' autographed by the singer. "Nothing Britney does could suck," said Jessica Mullen, one of the first in line. Nearby were Mirta Delacruz and her 16-year-old son, Charles, who had been in line since Sunday after flying in from Miami expressly for the chance to meet Spears. "He's a loyal Britney fan and I'm his mom and I'm here and supporting him. She's a good role model," she said. Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Britney Spears' mother Lynn posted a new message on her daughter's newly revamped website on Thursday. She wrote, "Where do I begin? I have been traveling quite a bit lately with Britney. I still don't see how she does it. Tonight is the Diane Sawyer Special. She has told me all about it. It was shot October 20th. Brit left that filming and immediately went to work on her ABC special doing the promos and camera blocking. She also did an MTV interview the same day. Britney shot the ABC Special October 23rd. Bryan, Brit and Fe caught a private jet at 6.00 AM the next morning and was at Jamie Lynn's last pep rally, which I have previously mentioned. She went to London the same day to perform on various shows. After so many days of that crazy schedule, Britney came down with the flu. Those 14 hour days finally caught up with her. Fe had been sick too, but not with as bad a strain of flu as Brit. When Brit called and asked me what I had to do the next day, I thought she was making conversation. Instead, she asked me to pick her and Fe up at the airport. Now, don't get me wrong, I didn't like the fact that she was sick, but I was excited to have her coming home." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Anonymous writes "I'm from Brooklyn, New York and the new Britney Spears' CD 'In The Zone' is flying off the shelves! I went to Best Buy to pick up the lastest CD, inside they had four shelves of the Britney Spears' CD and the first shelf of the CDs were all gone by 10:30am and Best Buy opened at 9am! I checked back later after work, around 6, it was all gone. I asked the guy that worked that and he told me that it was sold out and it was gone by midday and they're not restocking until tomorrow! (They should restock it right away to help boost the album sales) I'm very surprised that ALL FOUR shelves of the lastest CD has been sold out! Britney is definitely back into the game!"

November 19, 2003 - Joan Anderman of the Boston Globe reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone'. She writes, "The devil might argue that 'In the Zone' is Spears' most revealing album so far: a techno-drenched, trance-laced tribute to growing up. But her delivery -- a stock catalog of clenched groans and pinched chirps -- is, as ever, so profoundly vacant it's impossible to believe that freedom makes her feel anything but numb. For all the steamy beats and juicy come-ons, that's how it makes us feel, too." Read more.

November 19, 2003 - Britney Spears became the youngest ever recording artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday (November 17). Watch video clips of Spears accepting the honor and speaking with reporters, and fans opinions of the singer, at Reuters and AssociatedPress.

November 19, 2003 - TV Guide editor Lisa Bernhard was on the Fox News Channel on Tuesday talking about Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', the ABC special that aired Monday night, and her new image. The clip also has Bernhard talking about the young surfer who lost arm to a shark attack. Watch it here.

November 19, 2003 - Entertainment Tonight has American Music Awards highlight clips including brief red carpet interviews with Hilary Duff, who talked about her excitement to meet Britney Spears, Clay Aiken, who talked about his sexy date, Ruben Studdard, who talked about his performance, and more brief remarks from Rod Stewart, Ashanti, and Sheryl Crowe. And in another clip, Cojo was backstage with Ruben, Paula Abdul, Clay, Kid Rock, Hilary Duff, and Rod Stewart. Watch the video clips here.

November 19, 2003 - 3 Doors Down, Ashanti, Ashlee Simpson, Avril Lavigne, Bone Crusher, Bow Wow, Brandy, Britney Spears, Chevelle, Clay Aiken, Evanescence, Ginuwine, Good Charlotte, Heather Headley, Hilary Duff, Jenny McCarthy, Jermaine Dupri, Jessica Alba, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, Lance Bass, and JC Chasez of *NSYNC, Kid Rock, Lionel Richie, Macy Gray, Metallica, Missy Elliott, Nick Cannon, Nick Lachey of 98 Degrees, OutKast, Pamela Anderson, Paula Abdul, Phoenix and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, Pink, Randy Jackson, Rod Stewart, Ruben Studdard, Sean Paul, Sheryl Crow, Sugar Ray frontman Mark McGrath, and Uncle Kracker were on hand for the 31st Annual American Music Awards on Sunday (November 16) at The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, California. Check out pictures here.

November 19, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Volumized.net added some pictures of Britney Spears and her brother Bryan hanging out on the balcony of her Santa Monica apartment. Check them out here."

November 19, 2003 - Mike Bell of the Calgary Sun reviewed Britney Spears' just released album 'In The Zone', proclaiming it "without a doubt the best thing she has released in her four-disc career." He added, "Granted, that's a pretty relative thing, as the Britney canon is as rich as a Bre-X sample. But even on its own merits, 'In the Zone' is an entertaining, incredibly well-realized, sweaty, fun and eclectic dance record, that also has a certain amount of credibility and believability in its grooves." Read more.

November 17, 2003 - The new poll at popdirt.com asks, "Which female pop singer is most likely to someday be in a leaked sex tape?" Britney Spears is one of the choices. Vote here.

November 17, 2003 - After Britney Spears snubbed the boys from Busted at her album launch party in London last month, the boyband is getting revenge by beating Spears on the singles charts with 'Crashed The Wedding ' topping 'Me Against The Music'. "Maybe Britney will talk to me next time, now that we’ve beaten her to No1," band member Charlie Simpson remarked to The Sun. "We were looking forward to meeting her — we all think she’s incredibly fit and our song Britney is dedicated to her. But I was totally put off when I went to her party. She had 20 security guards around her — she looked so pretentious. Nobody could talk to her. I felt like saying 'It’s your own fu**ing party — why are you hiding yourself away?’ I won't ever become like that — if you are going to hold a party you have to talk to people. She was so pretentious and I think that's fu**ing stupid. It's just pathetic." Bandmate James Bourne had similar thoughts. Read more.

November 17, 2003 - Britney Spears appears on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno on Monday and MTV's Total Request Live on Tuesday.

November 17, 2003 - GoBritney.com has a clip of *NSYNC star Lance Bass interviewing Britney Spears on the red carpet of Sunday night's American Music Awards. Spears talks about her performance, her new album 'In The Zone', and how she was looking forward to meeting Hilary Duff, who also lip synched her performance. They also have a video clip of her AMA performance of 'Me Against The Music'. Download and watch both here.

November 17, 2003 - The Sun reports Christina Aguilera moaned that Britney Spears hardly spoke to her at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York, the scene of that kiss with Madonna. Christina is also angry that TV cameras ignored her own kiss with Madonna but showed Britney’s smooch in full. "MTV didn’t screen my kiss properly — they got Justin’s reaction," Aguilera complained. "How predictable — let’s see how the ex responds. It’s Pathetic."

November 17, 2003 - Busted have shot to the top of the UK singles charts, dashing Britney Spears' chances of going in at number one. The London teenagers went straight to the top spot with their single 'Crashed the Wedding'. Spears settled for second with her new hit 'Me Against The Music', featuring Madonna. Read more.

November 17, 2003 - The Glasgow Daily Record reports weighed in on Britney Spears' new single 'Me Against the Music', featuring Madonna, claiming that while it appeared "good match on paper... the reality is less spectacular." They added, "Christina Aguilera has made a career out of being a slapper (ie. promiscuous woman) but she has not relied on sexuality alone music has played part." Read more.

November 17, 2003 - Lucky Cheng's watiress Delta spoke with Us Weekly after Britney Spears brought her mother Lynne, ssiter Jamie Lynn, and brother Bryan to the drag-queen themed restaurant on November 9th. "She was super-sweet," Delta revealed. "I told Britney, 'I wish I was looking like Madonna tionight because I want to kiss you'." Witnesses at the restaurant add that Spears was on her "best behavior" -- abstaining from cigarettes and sticking to soda pop all night.

November 17, 2003 - Craig Kilborn joked during his Late Late Show monologue on Friday night, "In an interview last night on ABC Diane Sawyer made Britney Spears cry. Diane Sawyer apologized saying, 'I’m sorry but I thought you liked kissing old ladies?'"

November 17, 2003 - The Associated Press reports that in a radio interview to be broadcast Monday on BBC radio, Britney Spears said parents should not be worried if their children want to copy her. "I probably have more older fans than the younger ones, but I think the reason why everyone talks about the younger fans so much is because the parents are concerned," Spears said. "And in the end they shouldn't be concerned because they should trust their kids and believe in their kids." Read more.

November 17, 2003 - Us Weekly spoke with Jimmy Kimmel ahead of his 'American Music Awards' hosting gig. Asked what he has in store for Britney Spears, Kimmel said, "I've been trying to think of a bit where we make out. But so far, they all sound like I'm trying to trick her, which I am."

November 17, 2003 - BBC Radio 2 host Michael Parkinson spoke with The People about interviewing Britney Spears after seeing the singer cry in an interview with Diane Sawyer on 'Primetime'. "I came away from talking to Britney with the impression of a girl who is all style and very little substance," Parkinson revealed. "Watch her talk. She's got hardly anything to say and fills the gap with 'whatever', 'just hangin' out' and 'hey, cool'. Seeing her crying on American TV, I realize the real gap she's got to fill is the one created when Justin Timberlake walked out of her life." Read more.

November 17, 2003 - musichomme writes "There is something remarkably charming and endearing about Britney Spears. Sure enough that she puts on a good show, lip-synching or not, dances up a storm, writes some rather catchy tunes but it is her approach to others and life that truly makes her above the others." Read more.

November 17, 2003 - Globe magazine reports that pals of Britney Spears are worried the singer is partying out of control and is on the brink of collapse. "Britney doesn't know when to stop," a pal said. "She gets out of control with her partying. I've seen her near the breaking point many times. So many people around her, including me, have warned her to put the brakes on." Another source who has known Spears since childhood added, "Britney's fooling herself. She may try to act like she's got it together, but inside, she's a mess. And if she doesn't start taking care of herself, she's going to end up in such trouble physically and emotionally, it'll be hard for her to recover."

November 17, 2003 - Jim Farber of the New York Daily News caught up with Britney Spears and asked the singer about ex-love Justin Timberlake. Spears says that while she and Timberlake no longer speak, she's now unperturbed when he's linked with new loves, like Cameron Diaz. When she first saw him with other women, it was a different story. "I'd been with him forever and seeing him everywhere felt really weird," she admitted. As for the *NSYNC star's solo video 'Cry Me A River', Spears remarked, "He was throwing it out there in a huge way. I was like 'What the hell's going on?'" She calmed down, she says, after she realized "men have egos, and they have ways of dealing with them. So I think it's inevitable that he would do something like that because he was really hurt." Read more.

November 17, 2003 - Popdirt.com's previous poll asking if you thought Britney Spears' new ballad 'Everytime' was directed at ex-lover Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC saw 57.6% say it was, while 32% said no. 10.3% believed they are actually still dating secretly. Check out the entire poll results here.

November 17, 2003 - Britney Spears lit up the stage in Times Square to kick off MTV's Spanking New Music Week. WB11 was on hand to check out the event and get fans' opinions on the singer. Check out their report here.

November 17, 2003 - Britney Spears broke down in tears and spoke about pre-marital sex during her TV interview with ABC's Diane Sawyer, asking the cameras to stop rolling. Watch a pair of highlight clips over at KTLA.

November 17, 2003 - GoBritney.com has video clips of Britney Spears in commercials for ABC, including for the American Music Awards, Jimmy Kimmel Live, and her 'In The Zone' Special. Download and watch here.

November 17, 2003 - According to a London poster at WoBforums.com, Christina Aguilera isn't impressed with Britney Spears' new video 'Me Against the Music' featuring Madonna. Aguilera told CD:UK over the weekend, "Well, I thought it was same old same old... like nothing we haven't seen before. The bowling pin formation with the dancers behind you. I think I was expecting something better." Read more.

November 17, 2003 - Scans of Christina Aguilera's article in Blender magazine have been posted. In the piece, Aguilera is critical of pop peers Destiny's Child star Beyonce Knowles and Britney Spears. "Look at people like Beyonce or Britney," Aguilera said. "They’re desperate to come across as sweet, good little girls, but then you see them in photo shoots that are extremely sexual—tight little booty shorts, and not much else. So why do they try to be virginal in interviews?" Aguilera then held her finger to her mouth, Lolita-like, and affects a note-perfect Spears impersonation. "'Oh, gosh, I haven’t kissed a boy in I don’t know how long!'" Check out a typed out version of the article here and scans here.

November 17, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Britney Spears was spotted shopping in Santa Monica, California earlier today. She was sporting red streaks in her hair, and her brother Bryan by her side. Volumized.net added some pictures of her shopping, you can find them at the following links (page1 / page2 / page3)."

November 16, 2003 - b0rntoplay writes "When I heard about Diane Sawyer interviewing Britney Spears, I kinda of blew it off. I figured it would be like the Justin Timberlake interview with Barbara Walters, where it was about promoting his upcoming the album than to about getting into the nitty gritty. And although the intention of this interview was to promote 'In the Zone,' it was obvious that there was much more to it as well. This interview was about tough questions and tough answers, and by the end, Britney managed to remind me of why I loved her, and if possible, made me love her even more." Read more.

November 16, 2003 - MadTV has a video clip featuring a parody of Britney Spears' new single 'Me Against The Music' featuring Madonna. In the clip, a look alike of Britney complains about being stalked by a perverted and overweight Madonna looking for a career boost. Watch the 'Me Against Madonna' video here.

November 16, 2003 - Conan O'Brien joked during his Late Night monologue on Thursday night, "In a recent interview, Britney Spears said that one of the songs on her new album is about masturbation, because she thinks it's something that should be encouraged. [Cheers and applause] That's what she said. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, then the reporter told Britney, 'Don't worry, no one has encouraged masturbation more than you, Britney'."

November 16, 2003 - Britney Spears appeared to have stuck her foot in her mouth, or had one of her so-called "brain farts" when describing masturbation as "sacred" in an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's 'Primetime' last night, though there is some evidence to back her suggestion. Spears was talking about her new single 'Touch of My Hand'. AllAboutSex.org claims masturbation "was connected with religious worship" in some ancient western cultures. Public masturbation during religious worship "to expel evil and honor the gods of generation" became a part of ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Babylonian, and Assyrian sacred ceremonies according to the website. But Spears' latest religious foray into Kabbalah, with new pal Madonna's prodding, suggests masturbation is a sin. AskMoses.com says, "Kabbalah is very explicit about the negative spiritual side-effects of masturbation. The idea is as follows: Your seed is the material by which you procreate; it is the genetic material within you that allows you the opportunity to partner with God."

November 16, 2003 - The Sun is blasting Britney Spears for taking her 12-year-old sister Jamie Lynn to a club for transvestites in New York City. Britney took her family to Lucky Cheng’s — an outrageous club staffed by male cross-dressers. The "waitresses" even climb on tables and strip if customers stump up enough cash. Read more and check out photos from the evening here.

November 16, 2003 - David Bianculli of The New York Daily News reviewed Britney Spears' MTV special 'Britney: In the Zone & Out All Night' which debuts Saturday at noon, giving it only 1 1/2 stars. He writes, "Singing to the recorded tracks, with taped vocals clearly a large part of the mix, Spears dances up a storm. One club is so hot she nearly faints; after one performance, she emerges with a bad case of leg cramps. And questioning the integrity of her vocals seems almost beside the point. When she performs, it's almost like her lips are choreographed. It's an unnatural exaggeration with a venerable showbiz precedent: On stage, Britney Spears sings the way silent movie stars talk." Read more.

November 16, 2003 - In an interview with Access Hollywood, Britney Spears denied she is or was dating backup dancer Columbus Short. "That's not true," Spears said at Glamour Magazine's Women of the Year Awards. Asked if she's still looking for the a boyfriend, Spears responded, "I think we always want to find the man of our dreams. I definitely would love to have somebody in the future to have beautiful kids with of course." Watch a video clip here.

November 16, 2003 - Stan writes "During Madonna's appearance on MTV's Total Request Live on Thursday, Damien, the DJ, asked her about the VMA performance and he just mentioned Britney Spears but Madonna said "Christina AND Britney...yes". He asked her if the kiss between her and Britney was a "passing on the baton" and she said "Well, performing with Christina and Britney and kissing them was kinda like... breathing the air of longevity into them cause they are in the same position I was in.""

November 16, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Simon Cowell was on Carson Daly's syndicated radio show on Wednesday night, and said of Britney Spears' new image: "Its ludicrous." Later on, Carson added his view: "Simon Cowell says Britney Spears' new image is ludicrous... I don't think we need Simon Cowell to tell us that.""

November 16, 2003 - Britney Spears' label Jive Records has put out a curious message denying the singer has overdosed, calling it a "hoax."

November 16, 2003 - elgato writes "According to MediaLifeMagazine.com, Saturday Night Live ratings were extreme disappointments when *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, and Halle Berry served as hosts/performers this year. The highest ratings came when Jack Black hosted; his episode had a 4.2 rating among people ages 18-24. Justin's episode fell to 3.9. Then Britney's episode slipped to 3.4. Overall, the ratings this year for SNL suffer in comparison to last season's ratings. Read more."

November 16, 2003 - In an interview with People magazine, Britney Spears talks at length about masturbation. "I think if you say you don't do it, you're lying," Spears said. "It's a positive thing to indulge in. I don't do it all the time. It's life. Guys can talk about it. Why can't girls? I think it's positive for girls not to depend on guys. Being alone, and I'm one to say, you really start to figure out what makes you happy. And then you're able to give more to other people. When you turn yourself on, that really is what turns the guy on." Read more.

November 16, 2003 - MTV News reports Britney Spears says that for her performance at this weekend's American Music Awards, she's planning to sing live. "I think the reason why people say that [I lip-synch] is because I am dancing a lot," the singer said in a phone press conference on Wednesday. "Janet [Jackson], when she does her shows, she dances a lot. And you know, there's parts where the background vocals and the chorus has definitely come up, but that doesn't mean I'm not singing." The American Music Awards air live from Los Angeles on ABC Sunday at 8 p.m. ET.

November 16, 2003 - Cameron Adams of the Herald Sun profiled his interview with Britney Spears, which included him having to sign a contract detailing what she can and can't be asked, with record-company staffers shadowing her just in case. Asked if the public pain she dealt with motivated her musically on 'In the Zone', Spears responded, "I had three or four weeks when I got off tour a year ago when I was really down and depressed. It motivated me with this album; that's why this album means so much to me because I was really inside myself doing what I wanted to do. I think everything happens for a reason. You have those periods of being low and down so you can appreciate the highs." Read more.

November 16, 2003 - Triumph the Insult Comic Dog goes after nearly everyone on his new rap single 'I Keed' from his debut album 'Come Poop With Me'. The pooch with the voice of Robert Smigel jokes about or gives mention to *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit, the Strokes, Eminem, Mariah Carey, Shakira, 'American Idol' stars Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken, Christina Aguilera, Coldplay, R. Kelly, Mandy Moore, 50 Cent, the White Stripes, Pink, Nelly, Snoop Dogg, Sean 'P. Diddy' Combs, Elton John, and Jennifer Lopez. Watch the video for the song at MTV.com.

November 16, 2003 - If you missed the performances on MTV's Total Request Live 'Spankin' New Music Week', you can check them out on MTV.com, including Enrique Iglesias' performance of 'Addicted', Pink's performance of 'Trouble', and Britney Spears' performances of 'Me Against the Music' and 'Boom Boom' featuring the Ying Yang Twins. Check them out here.

November 16, 2003 - Volumized.net added eight pictures of Britney Spears and 'American Idol' champ Clay Aiken appearing on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live' on Thursday (November 13). Check them out here.

November 16, 2003 - Britney Spears' interview with Diane Sawyer on Thursday's 'Primetime' has been posted at GoBritney.com. Download and watch here.

November 16, 2003 - ballersfantasy writes "On this week's Monday night football game with the Pittsburgh Steelers vs.San Francisco 49ers, on ABC at 9:00 pm ET. Britney Spears will join Hank Williams Jr. for this week's version of 'Are You Ready for Some Football.'"

November 16, 2003 - According to the Drudge Report, Britney Spears' interview on ABC's 'Primetime' with Diane Sawyer failed to ignite ratings, getting only an 8.1 rating/12 share and falling well behind NBC's 'ER' with a 24 share and CBS' 'CSI" with a 29 share.

November 16, 2003 - Lilly Frost of The Media Fix reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', giving it a rating of 4.7 out of 5. Frost said, "Britney has been able to put together an album that seems, for once, like it truly reflects who she actually is. The buzz surrounding this album is just as big, if not bigger than her previous albums. I think she truly has a long road ahead of her and am excited to see what she comes up with next." Read more.

November 16, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "Volumized.net has a series of pictures of Britney Spears at the American Music Awards rehearsals on Thursday (November 13). Check them out here."

November 13, 2003 - Britney Spears, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Patti LaBelle joined former P.O.W.'s Jessica Lynch and Shoshana Johnson at The 14th Annual Glamour Women of The Year Awards on Monday (November 10) at the American Museum Of Natural History in New York City. Check out pictures here.

November 13, 2003 - The New York Daily News has more details on Britney Spears' battle with NBC that saw her jump to rival network ABC to promote her new album 'In The Zone'. After NBC's 'Dateline' ran a unflattering segment on the singer, Spears was allegedly furious and yesterday pulled out of her November 21st performance on NBC's 'Today' show. "Her management made a deal tied to the [Nov. 18] release of her CD, 'In the Zone,'" a source explained. "NBC was going to put her on 'Today,' 'Dateline,' 'The Tonight Show With Jay Leno,' MSNBC, you name it. It was all confirmed …Then ABC came up with the network special. She then told NBC that she first had to do the ABC shows — 'Prime Time,' 'Good Morning America,' 'Jimmy Kimmel,' etc. [So] NBC went ahead with the 'Dateline' piece early. She screwed them first." Read more.

November 13, 2003 - Britney Spears reveals that the ABC producers of her segment on tonight's 'Primetime' interview with Diane Sawyer tried to exploit her for promo spots. "It was really obnoxious," she told Entertainment Weekly. "They wanted me to take my clothes off. They wanted me to have this towel wrapped around me and then drop it. It was all about my body, you know?"

November 13, 2003 - Britney Spears was spotted walking through New York City with her sister Jamie Lynn. Check out the photo here.

November 13, 2003 - A transcript of the 'Dateline' profile on NBC that led Britney Spears to cancel her 'Today' show performance on the network has been posted. The network spoke with former Mouseketeers Nikki de Loach and T.J. Fantini to get more info on the singer, as well as her pastor at the First Baptist Church. He said, "A lot of older girls and younger girls look to her and how she dresses her dance steps and whatever and a lot of that is suggestive and as a result I think it sets a very bad example." The pastor added, "I love her and care about her. Am I disappointed of some of the things I read and hear about her? Yes, I certainly am but that doesn’t mean I love her any less." Read more.

November 13, 2003 - MTV's Suchin Pak sat down for an extensive and intimate conversation with Britney Spears. She joined The Early Show to talk about who Britney really is, flaws and all. Watch the interview here.

November 13, 2003 - Jim Derogatis of The Chicago Sun-Times reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', giving it only 1 star while giving rival Pink 3 1/2 stars with 'Try This'. He says of Spears: "Despite her attempt to go 'street' on 'In the Zone', Spears remains a stiff, cardboard caricature of a sexy dance diva on her first new album in two years." As for Pink, he says: "As sharp as the songwriting and production are, though, the album succeeds because of Pink's exuberant personality." Read more.

November 13, 2003 - The Korea Times reports Britney Spears will visit Seoul, South Korea for the first time on December 7th for the promotion of her new album. During her four-day stay in Seoul, Spears will be featured on a special television program with local pop stars. On December 9th, she and Korean pop idol BoA will be on the same stage to sing several of their own hit numbers and new songs. The special concert will be aired, with interviews, on December 9th by Seoul Broadcasting System. Read more.

November 13, 2003 - Fred Durst is again insisting a romance with Britney Spears did occur in the new issue of GQ magazine. "I fu**ing fell for this girl," the Limp Bizkit frontman admitted. "I really thought, 'Wow, I am going to be with someone who's in the same business, someone who's going to understand my life.' I really felt that this was going to be something major. I was open to it because it was so bizarre. I was like, 'What the fu** am I doing at Britney Spears' house?' The first time we kissed, I was going, 'This is too weird.' We started hanging out every day. We went out a couple of times to really crowded places - paparazzi places - and I was just going, 'Wow, everyone is going to know.'"

November 13, 2003 - Dan Aquilante of the New York Post reviewed Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', and proclaims that Spears "accomplishes everything she wants to here." Aquilante added, "She finally separates herself from her candy-coated past and she does it with an eclectic and sophisticated pop sound. Whether she or her producers deserve the credit, who knows - and who cares? She is a force in contemporary entertainment and 'In the Zone' reflects that." Read more.

November 13, 2003 - Britney Spears performed on MTV's Total Request Live's 'Spankin New Music Week' on Monday (November 10) in Times Square, New York City. Check out pictures here.

November 13, 2003 - USA Toda's Elysa Gardner spoke with readers in an online chat on Tuesday and was asked how important will Britney Spears' new album be for her future in entertainment. "On a scale of one to ten? Fourteen," she responded. "Well, that's an exaggeration, but only a slight one. People have been writing career obituaries for Britney, and the whole bubble-gum pop wave she helped lead, since the release of her last album. If she's going to stay relevant, she has to do well. It's a shame, because she's only 21, but I suppose that's what happens when you get into show business at such a young age... But that's a subject for another tirade." Read more.

November 13, 2003 - The New York Post reports Britney Spears was spotted blushing when a drag queen performed a lap dance at a pal's birthday party at Lucky Cheng's, where she brought her mother Lynne, little sister Jaime Lynne, and brother Bryan.

November 13, 2003 - The New York Daily News reports Britney Spears was spotted without her bodyguards, just chilling with her brother Bryan and pals over raspberry kamikazes in the back lounge at Gaslight Lounge.

November 13, 2003 - J. Max Robins of TV Guide Online reports that after last Sunday's cheesy profile 'Britney Unzipped' on Dateline NBC, Britney Spears has signaled she will be a no-show at her long-scheduled November 21st Today concert appearance to push her new CD, 'In the Zone'. "It's a shame Britney had to cancel her concert," says a Today Show spokeswoman. "Britney is always welcome on Today." Read more.

November 13, 2003 - On Friday (November 14) the first of two new Britney Spears LidRock enhanced CD-ROMs will become available during the busy holiday shopping season exclusively at participating Sbarro the Italian Eatery's 900 restaurants in malls across the country. "If the success of our initial LidRock program can serve as a barometer, we expect Britney Spears LidRocks to fly off the shelf, especially considering they will be offered during the busiest time of the year," explains Anthony Missano, President of Sbarro. "LidRock provides our customers a chance to get amazing and unique entertainment content they simply can't get anywhere else. The response from our customers has been extremely positive and we look forward to partnering with LidRock on additional programs in 2004." Read more.

November 13, 2003 - Britney Spears appeared on stage at Times Square in New York City wearing trousers so low-cut at the front that they revealed almost a full inch of her purple underwear. It was as she rehearsed for a performance at last night's MTV event in New York that the 21-year-old showed off perhaps more than she intended. One MTV insider tells the Evening Standard, "Rather than looking cool, the sight of her underwear at the front had most of the crews on set sniggering." Read more.

November 13, 2003 - R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe was on Last Call with Carson Daly on Tuesday night and was asked about the kiss between Madonna and Britney Spears at the MTV Video Music Awards back in August. Stipe said, "It seemed -- it seemed inappropriate to me, on several levels. And I admire both of those women for the music that they write and for the -- you know, in one case, anyway, Madonna, certainly, someone I respect for being a strong woman, at a time in American history when it's not easy to be a strong woman. And she really stood up for something that she believed in, which was herself. And I think 'Ray of Light' is a brilliant, brilliant pop song. But I don't think I need to see the two of them kissing on TV."

November 13, 2003 - Britney Spears tells Diane Sawyer on ABC 'Primetime' the outfits she wears during performances simply reveal how comfortable she is with herself. "I feel comfortable in my skin," Spears said. "I think it's an OK thing to express yourself, and be the way you want to be," Spears said. "I mean, I wouldn't walk into a club or a party like that. But I think, you know, I think it's fine. You know what, when I was younger, I used to run around my house, naked, when I was 13, and people, my dad would be like, I was just very like, free." The Britney 'Primetime' special airs at 10 PM ET/PT on Thursday. Read more.

November 11, 2003 - Britney Spears is getting candid with Diane Sawyer on the ABC special 'Britney Spears: In the Zone.' She even breaks down at one point during the interview. Spears said it's her tight knit family that gets her through everything. "To have such a good support system around me helps. I have my security, Mo and Tony, and they're great and they make me feel really safe," said Britney. Read more.

November 11, 2003 - Britney Spears was on MTV's Total Request Live for Spankin' New Music Week where she performed 'Me Against the Music' and 'Boom Boom' before a packed crowd outside in Times Square, New York City. Britney also played a game of fact or fiction and answered some questions written on fans' signs. Read on for a rough transcript.

November 11, 2003 - ericpop27 writes "I just got my hand on the US version of Britney's new album 'In The Zone'. I though I might give you a track-by-track review of it." Read more.

November 11, 2003 - Ahead of its November 18th release, you can listen to Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone' on MTV.com's 'The Leak'. Listen to the entire album here.

November 11, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Volumized.net posted some pictures of Britney Spears leaving her New York City apartment on Monday (November 10). Check them out here."

November 11, 2003 - ballersfantasy writes "Britney Spears will sign copies of 'In The Zone' next Tuesday, November 18, at 6:30pm ET. at the Virgin Megastore in Times Square. To attend this exclusive autograph signing, be one of the first 500 people to purchase a copy of 'In The Zone' beginning at 9AM ET, at the Virgin Megastore and receive your VIP pass. Space and passes are limited to 2 per person. Britney will only be signing copies of 'In The Zone'."

November 11, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "GoBritney.com has a clip of Britney Spears on E! News Live (November 7). They talk about and show footage from the Britney Special 'Britney Unzipped' that will air on ABC. They also show footage from 'Behind the Music' which airs Sunday. Check it out here."

November 11, 2003 - News of the World reports that the real reason Britney Spears pulled out of the MTV Awards and her European promotional tour for her new album 'In The Zone' was that she was humiliatingly ditched by dancer Columbus Short, who went back to his pregnant wife Brandi in California. "She's having a tough time," a source close to Spears revealed. "She's been drinking heavily, which hasn't helped things." Meanwhile, back home in Louisiana, waitress Monica Hales accused Spears of being "really rude" to young autograph seekers when she loaded up on fast food with sister Jamie Lynn. "She wasn't doing anything special but she told them she didn't have time and walked away," Hales said. "I thought that was real mean considering they were kids who probably bought her music. Something was really eating her." Read more.

November 11, 2003 - Britney Spears was in the Radio 2 studios to chat with Steve Wright where she was nibbling on a sandwich and talked about her diet -- or lack of. Britney admits she can't cook, and she leaves that to her mom. Britney says she doesn't like travelling with a big entourage. Spears talked about her career being a complete whirlwind since the Mickey Mouse Club days. Wright asked if she ever felt like being a product rather than a human with every move she makes being headlined around the world -- and she admitted to living a bit of a "surreal" lifestyle, but she asked what is "normal" for a life. She then listed a bunch of her favorite things and took some questions from listeners via e-mail. Listen to the 9-minute interview here.

November 11, 2003 - The Salt Lake Tribune reports Zoller Laboratories LLC, DG Enterprises and Basic Research LLC have filed a lawsuit against Britney Spears in Utah's Federal Court on Friday. The three companies are seeking relief from accusations made by Spears that they have improperly used the singer's image in the promotion of Zantrex-3. Attorney Jeff Gross, who is representing the companies, said his clients have never used Spears' image in advertising. "We suspect that they think we are doing something that we are not," said Gross. "We filed the lawsuit to basically prove we haven't done anything wrong." Read more.

November 11, 2003 - Britney Spears discloses to correspondent SuChin Pak how her first time making love changed her as a writer and a woman on this weekend's 'All Eyes On: Britney' MTV special. "I think that when you experience something that special, and something so sacred, it's like so much more emotion goes into it," Britney says. "I thought I was going to marry the person. I thought I was going to be with the person for the rest of my life, so that's why I did it. But when you do, you creatively go through such a different state when you're in the studio." Read more.

November 11, 2003 - Anonymous writes "You can now view the full lyrics to all of Britney Spears' new songs from her upcoming album 'In The Zone'. Check out the lyrics at LyricsFan.com."

November 11, 2003 - hellahooked writes "Britney Spears song '(I Got That) Boom Boom', has made its way in to the airwaves, 102.7 KIIS FM in LA has started playing it today. It has played 2 times today and made the top 9 at 9. It was #7 while her single 'Me Against The Music' was #1."

November 11, 2003 - Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone' has been leaked ahead of its November 18th release. The tracks are currently being downloaded at such websites as KaZaA, Justmp3s.com, and Simplemp3s.com. Though some reports blame MTV, the far more likely blame is in the distribution channels for retailers who likely have received first shipments of the album in the past few days.

November 11, 2003 - Us Weekly spoke with a source close to Britney Spears after reports linked her new song 'Everytime', which is rumored to be an apologetic response to her ex-lover Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC who penned 'Never Again', who lyrically criticized "someone" for not saying sorry. "At the time [of the breakup] she felt blame," the source explained, "but she also felt like a jilted girlfriend."

November 11, 2003 - The People reports Britney Spears is furious after Colin Farrell sent her a T-shirt saying: "I slept with Colin Farrell and all I got was this lousy T-shirt" and a bumper sticker that read: "Honk if you've slept with Colin Farrell." A close pal of the actor said, "He thought it would be a great gag to send her the gifts. I think Britney thought Colin was being a gentleman and had sent her some perfume. She got quite a shock when she opened his package." Spears was so upset she rang up Farrell "and screamed at him on the phone," added the pal. "He was laughing so much she hung up - they haven't spoken since."

November 11, 2003 - amusicfanofsoul writes "Christina Aguilera has gone "balls out" for her newest Blender Magazine issue. Christina even goes to the length of criticizing artists such as Destiny's Child star Beyonce Knowles and Britney Spears for not being "true and honest artists" and "fake!" Last year Christina sold a whopping 143 million copies of her Blender issue, the biggest sell in the history of Blender. Check out the photos here."

November 11, 2003 - Anonymous writes "PopGal.net has added one video and some video captures of Britney Spears' 'Me Against the Music' performance on 'CD:live'. Download it here."

November 11, 2003 - ballersfantasy writes "On November 18, at 9:00 pm ET/PT, VH1 All Access will air a show called 'Britney vs. Christina'. The show plunges deep into the lives of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. It will also compare the two and see who really overpowers who."

November 8, 2003 - Liz Smith of the New York Post is defending Britney Spears after the singer has been subject of scrutiny following her kiss with Madonna at the MTV Video Music Awards. One music insider agreed saying, "This has been brought on by a hypocritical media who refuse to lash out at Beyoncé and others and prefer to pick on Britney because they think she's vulnerable."

November 8, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "GoBritney.com has scans of Britney Spears on Popteen a Japanese Magazine. Check them out here."

November 8, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "GoBritney.com has a set of pictures featuring Britney Spears hanging out with younger sister Jamie Lynn in Kentwood on Thursday (November 6). Check them out here."

November 8, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Unsung Confessions has nine pictures from the shooting of Britney Spears' ABC Special show which going to be aired on November 17th. Check them out here."

November 8, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Britney Spears boob job? Enough with that, let's move to the nose job! Britney Spears' button nose has definitely changed over the past 4 years into something much more contoured. Did she have a Nose Job? According to Awfulplasticsurgery.com she did. Check out the side by side pictures here."

November 8, 2003 - According to Amazon.com sales rankings, Britney Spears' hopes to enter the Billboard album charts on top look doomed as she's facing the release of The Beatles 'Let It Be... Naked', the highly anticipated version of their classic album featuring the unadorned performances that the band originally meant to release. With both albums due November 18th, 'Let It Be... Naked' has an sales rank of #2, while Britney's 'In The Zone' is only at #43. In even more apparent trouble on the album charts is Pink, with 'Try This' only getting a #115 sales rank ahead of her November 11th release. Pink's release date pits her against Josh Groban, who has a sales rank of #5 with 'Closer'. Read more.

November 8, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Israeli website NMC has released clips of ALL songs on Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone'. Hear the approximately 30 second clips here."

November 8, 2003 - GoBritney.com has a scan of Britney Spears on the cover of the December issue of of Glamour Magazine. Check it out here.

November 8, 2003 - hellahooked writes "The website 'Oops She Did It Again' has the official songwriters for Britney Spears' new album 'In The Zone', along with another scan from 'In The Zone' booklet. It turns out Britney co-wrote 8 of the 12 tracks, not 7. To check them out, click here."

November 8, 2003 - hellahooked writes "JustBritney.net has scans of Britney Spears in Cosmopolitan, December 2003 issue. The cover is an outtake from her May 2001 Glamour Magazine photoshoot, with the inside photos some of the latest promo shots for 'In The Zone'. To check them out, click here." 

November 6, 2003 - Us Weekly's cover story for the week is young stars getting plastic surgery, and Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Randal D. Haworth weighed in on reports Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera have had breast augmentation. On Britney, he says, "It's very probable that she had augmentation." And Aguilera? "She could have implants," Haworth said. Spears has denied the claims insisting it was just "a major growth spurt" while Aguilera's pal told Us, "She's never had a boob job. That's just a rumor."

November 6, 2003 - Jo Whiley of Radio 1 managed to catch up with Britney Spears before she left the UK due to illness to ask her about Madonna and her new music, and about swearing. On the latter subject, Spears said, "I do sometimes say the F word sometimes. But right now, I'm not going to say it. But sometimes when I get in interviews with some journalist that I don't particularly like, I kinda go there. I'm sorry but I do!" Listen to the interview here.

November 6, 2003 - xtremekaos writes "Boymostlikely.com has an audio of Nick Carter on Atlanta's Q100 radio station this past week. Included in the interview are the Backstreet Boys star's thoughts on Britney Spears (revealing she used to want him, and called him several times after Britney and Justin Timberlake of *NSYNC broke up), Timberlake himself, his alleged "kids", new movies, and more. To download the interview, click here."

November 6, 2003 - Esquire Magazine's Chuck Klosterman asked Britney Spears about her sexual icon status. "It's not like she denied it. She acted like this had never crossed her mind," Klosterman told Access Hollywood. "She is either the most savvy entertainer I have ever dealt with or the least self-aware person I've ever met." Read more.

November 6, 2003 - According to popbitch.com, while Britney Spears pulled out of her European tour claiming "exhaustion", the actually reason was that she felt the British media wasn't taking her seriously. They add, "In Britney's addled mind, the fact that she has staged a cheap lesbo stunt with Madonna means that she is now a 'serious artist'."

November 4, 2003 - Anonymous writes "PopGal.net has added some links to see online preview clips of the new VH1 'Behind The Music: Britney Spears'. Check them out here."

November 4, 2003 - Volumized.net has three photos of Britney Spears in the Dutch magazine TV Weekeinde. Check them out here.

November 4, 2003 - Joseph Pope of The East Carolinian profiled the fan base of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera, and those that more identify with the "anti-Britney", such as Avril Lavigne and Michelle Branch. The glamorous girls certainly have their fan base, some because of fashion sense. "I like the fashionable pop stars because I'm into fashion and style," said senior communication major Heather Jervis. "I'm just not into the grungy look." Unicity Dittmer, senior communication major said, "I don't like Britney, but I like her music. I just don't think she's a good role model." As for the girl rockers, they have their fans too. "I prefer the more rocker type because the others are mostly based on looks," said senior information technology major Sara Poole. "I mean, Christina can sing, but the other girls are more talented." Read more.

November 4, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "WorldOfBritney.com has an unreleased picture of Britney Spears posing for her jungle photoshoot. Check it out here."

November 4, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "BritneyFans.tk has a scan of Britney Spears featured in InTouch Weekly with the famous drag queen Lady Bunny at the New York gay bar Splash. Check it out here."

November 4, 2003 - The Sunday Mirror reports that Britney Spears is interested in buying Guy Ritchie's old bachelor pad in London. The four-bedroom town house has a $5 million price tag and is just around the corner from Kensington Palace. "I've been looking for somewhere cosy to hang out and Guy's old place sounds just perfect," Spears revealed. "I'm not really bothered about price." The singer says she also wants to adopt a Brit accept to go along with the property. "Your accents are so cool and sophisticated," Spears said. "You speak so much nicer than the bit of America I'm from. I'm getting better at the accent already. Madonna's accent is really cool."

November 4, 2003 - Britney Spears’ latest endeavor is moving forward at Disney’s ABC Family channel. FilmJerk.com has learned through several sources that the adaptation of 'A Mother’s Gift' has locked in a filming start date of January 7 in Toronto, with the production is now looking to cast the lead roles for the two-hour movie-of-the-week. Based on the 2001 semi-autographical book Spears co-wrote with her mother Lynne, shooting will take place there for 4 weeks. Read more.

November 4, 2003 - ContactMusic.com reports that Britney Spears' mother Lynne is desperate for her daughter to fly back home to recuperate from her bout of flu and throat infection, but brave Britney is refusing in the hope of resuming 'In the Zone' promotional duties as soon as possible. "Lynne's been on the telephone telling her to come home," a source explained, "but Britney's hoping three or four days in bed will do the trick and she doesn't want to let her fans down."

November 4, 2003 - Anonymous writes "The new issue of Jane magazine has a little tidbit on Britney Spears. This links back to the Popbitch gossip a few weeks ago, which said that Britney is on the verge of going mad with the evidence being that she's repeatedly having laughing fits (as well as the numerous ludicrous comments she's made in all her recent interviews, such as not knowing the names of the producers on her album). Here is the new Jane tidbit that echos that: "Giggles and Kips - Britney Spears caught a severe case of the giggles at a recent roundtable interview about her new album. For no apparent reason, she erupted in bellows of laughter and fled the room, chased by a posse of handlers. After a good two minutes of high pitched retches from the next room, she returned and resumed the interview. "It was a brain fart." She explained calmly.""

November 4, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "GoBritney.com has a clip of Britney Spears on a UK T4 Vernon Kay Interview where they show Britney her wax figure and it's moving breasts. Check it out here."

November 4, 2003 - While Britney Spears' record label Jive is officially saying the singer has flu and a throat infection forcing her to cancel her European promotional tour, an industry source tells The Sun the exhaustion has more likely been brought on by hard partying. "This is a disaster in commercial terms," the source said. "Britney's record sales have nose-dived recently. She really needed to work hard to plug this album. She is absolutely exhausted and felt in her condition there was no option but to fly home. But there's a feeling that her wild partying hasn't helped things. You can only stumble home at 4 am so many times before it catches up with you. It’s a bitter pill for everyone to swallow." Read more.

November 4, 2003 - The Glasgow Daily Record reports Britney Spears has pulled out of the MTV Europe Music Awards and flown home to be with her mother. "She's absolutely gutted. She was so looking forward to coming to Scotland and meeting her Scots fans," a spokesman told the paper. "She's got a severe throat infection and decided to fly home to be with her mum Lynne in Louisiana. She wanted to get some TLC and be looked after and not mope about in a hotel bedroom." Read more.

November 4, 2003 -  Britney Spears dishes to Cojo of Entertainment Tonight on the pressures of being in the spotlight and working with Madonna. Asked if ever she ever pinches herself because her life is so mega-huge, Spears responded, "It's kind of surreal, right? But this is a cool setting. I think this one is more like an intimate setting, which I've never really done before. I'm getting used to this whole club thing, so I like the fact that the fans are going to be sitting on couches and lounging around. And the beautiful chandelier, it's awesome!" Read a transcript and watch a video clip here.

November 4, 2003 - According to Ratethemusic.com, Britney Spears says she refuses to take advice from anyone -- except Madonna. "I don't listen to anybody. Nobody can tell me anything," Spears said. "I'm stubborn. If somebody tells me not to do something, I do it. But I do listen to Madonna. For some reason I listen to her. I know that sounds really silly. It's nice to have somebody just to ask questions to. She's a visual artist and a deep artist as well. I like the way she thinks. I wish I could be inside her head. I like Madonna's career, and what she's done with her family."

November 4, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Bsinspire.tk has the two pictures of Britney Spears from the Newsweek magazine issue of November 3rd 2003. You can check out the full scans here."

November 4, 2003 - Jay Leno joked during his Tonight Show monologue on Friday night, "ABC announced that Britney Spears is going to be interviewed by Diane Sawyer on 'Prime Time Live' in November. November, of course, is the big sweeps rating period, so ... that Britney & Diane kiss should be pretty hot. Yeah!"

November 4, 2003 - Anonymous writes "GoBritney.com has 20 high quality photos of Britney Spears performing unreleased songs from her 4th album in the Gotham Hall a few days ago. To view the photos, click here."

November 4, 2003 - Recently, Launch.com featured the exclusive online debut of Britney Spears' latest video 'Me Against the Music,' featuring Madonna, the new single off of 'In the Zone'. Britney's video was viewed more than two million times in the first five days after its web premiere. Read more.

November 4, 2003 - mathewguiver writes "Volmized.net has two pictures (photo1 / photo2) of Britney Spears leaving Paris after canceling her promotions on Sunday (November 2). Apparently her sore throat was more serious then she let on, and she had to down right cancel her upcoming appearances."

November 4, 2003 - Anonymous writes "GoBritney.com has released brand new high quality pictures from an upcoming Britney Spears ABC Primetime Interview. To view the photos, click here."

November 4, 2003 - Singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan tells The New York Daily News while she and her Lilith Fair colleagues can't compete with stars like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera for radio play, she has no hard feelings towards the pop crowd. "I believe music is cyclical," she says. "I also believe there's a place for everybody, in my naïve, hippie fantasy world that I live in. Music is so subjective and there's a lot of people that love all different kinds. Hell, I'm guilty of loving some *NSYNC songs, embarrassingly enough. And that Justin [Timberlake] is hot!" Read more.

November 2, 2003 - MeAgainstTheMusic writes "In Touch magazine reports that *NSYNC star Justin Timberlake might sell some of the love letters Britney Spears wrote to her ex-lover 'at the peak of their puppy love' to raise money for charity. Check out the scan here."

November 2, 2003 - XtinaFan writes "Today on CD:UK, they showed a short interview with Britney Spears which was recorded last week at Riverside Studio's when she performed on the show. Britney revealed that she was at a club and Christina Aguilera came up to her and kissed her. "I was in a club, and she just came up to me and stuck her tongue down my throat. I was like hello! I haven't seen you in a while, but hi!"" Read more.

November 2, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "GoBritney.com has an exclusive of Britney Spears performing a brand new song off of her fourth album entitled 'Breath On Me,' performed in Italy on 'CD:Live' several weeks ago. Check it out here."

November 2, 2003 - perfectly-imperfect writes "High quality scans of Britney Spears' sizzling new photoshoot for Q magazine have been posted. Check them out here."

November 2, 2003 - Anonymous writes "PopGal.net has posted all the scans featuring Britney Spears from 'Pop Corn' and 'TV Spielfilm' German magazines. Check them out here."

November 2, 2003 - MeAgainstTheMusic writes "Worldofbritney.com writes "MTV.com will make Britney's 'In The Zone' album available to listen to on their website on November 10th. What they will probably do is make you buy the CD through them, and that will give you access to listen to all of the songs through their secure streaming system since you've already paid for them. I don't think the album will be available to hear for free...but hey I could always be wrong." Read more."

November 2, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Recent events have brought comparisons between Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears to the surface once more. The two pop phenomenoms who rode the teen pop wave through 1999, were unable to escape comparisons through the early phases of their careers." Read more.

November 2, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Britney Spears not only performed 'Me Against The Music' when she was in Europe promoting her album on CD: UK. She also gave the fans a performance of 'Breathe On Me'. You can find the MP3 to the performance here."

November 2, 2003 - Volumized.net has photos of Britney Spears on the Richard and Judy Show on Thursday (October 30). Check out the pictures here.

November 2, 2003 - The Sun reports that Christina Aguilera has claimed pop rival Britney Spears went overboard when she kissed Madonna at the MTV Awards. Christina also kissed the Material Girl — but says hers was just a peck on the lips. "Britney’s was a publicity stunt," Aguilera sneered. "Mine definitely wasn’t rehearsed that way."

November 2, 2003 - The New York Daily News reports Britney Spears will be one of those receiving Glamour's Women of the Year awards "for rewriting our definition of pop starlet." Other winners include ex-POW Jessica Lynch and her fellow captive in Iraq, Spec. Shoshona Johnson, along with Pfc. Lori Piestewa, who was killed when they were taken. The awards will be presented November 10th. Read more.

November 2, 2003 - The Mirror reports that despite rumors that Britney Spears is stepping out with actor John Cusack, 37, the singer insisted she's single. "I'm weary with guys. I want some time out from them," she said in an interview with Richard and Judy. Read more.

November 2, 2003 - gymnastdude182 writes "GoBritney.com has several pictures of Britney Spears with Capital FM DJ Schooly. Check them out here."

November 2, 2003 - Has Britney Spears gone too far with her new sexy image? "There's quite a few people who think what Britney's doing is OK. I think it's OK," Nelly told Access Hollywood. "I don't think there's any right or wrong of it. It's just what people are, what their talent is and what people want to buy," added Jewel. Read more.

November 2, 2003 - Britney Spears she says she feels like a middle-aged mother in an interview with Channel 4's Richard and Judy. "I feel older than my mum, who's 48," she said. Spears believes her hectic lifestyle is responsible for her premature ageing. "I get off on pushing and challenging myself, that's the only thing that drives me. Like, what can I do next?" she added. Read more.

November 2, 2003 - Britney Spears' mother Lynne posted a message on her daughters official website on Wednesday. She writes, "Jamie Lynn and I had the best surprise last week. Britney and Bryan showed up at the school for Jamie Lynn's last pep rally. Jamie Lynn ran off the court into the stands and was in Bryan and Brit's laps with major hugs and kisses for the both of them. Jamie Lynn was so unnerved, she became nervous and was scared to do her back hand spring that she's been doing effortlessly for a year or more now. When she teared up out there on the court, we all got really nervous! She finally let go, did her thing and was all smiles once again." Read more.

November 2, 2003 - According to popbitch.com, when Graham Norton interviewed Britney Spears on Channel 4 last Monday, the studio audience lined up for hours to see the singer, but were eventually turned away and told that Britney had "brought her own audience."

November 2, 2003 - Anonymous writes "Simon Cowell says he appreciates Britney Spears' honesty, after she condemned him for his put-downs on 'Pop Idol'. Spears had advised contestants in the show to "take his advice and whatever he said and tell him to shove it." In response, Cowell has told Extra that Spears has displayed a new maturity by making the comments. He added: "I've got to be honest with you, the fact that she said that, I sort of like her more. It makes her more interesting. Britney is now a woman, not a girl. I like that.""

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