Greetings from planet celeb! What the stars' postcards home should be saying

While the rest of us shiver in subzero temperatures, celebrities are living it up in some of the hottest and most luxurious resorts on the planet. To help offset the deep envy we all feel towards them, DAVID THOMAS imagines the postcards they might send home...

Britney Spears performs in just a bra and hotpants on Japanese TV... but she's still doing the same old routine

Just two weeks after nearly falling out of a plunging black dress at her 27th birthday, Britney Spears is stepping out in another revealing outfit.

The pop star performed her hit Womanizer in a black and gold bra, white top hat and black satin hotpants on a Japanese TV show.

Her choice of outfit was clearly a bid to spice up her repeatedly recycled Womanizer routine, which she has performed identically in four countries.

After performing her usual Womanizer set on Japanese TV show Hey! Hey! Hey! in the same outfit of jacket, hotpants, fishnets and knee-high boots the previous day, Britney realised she wouldn't be able to perform in the same ensemble in the same country.

On rival TV show Best Music Artist on Tuesday, Britney appeared to be miming the lyrics as she strutted up and down the stage in her bra and hotpants.

Joining Britney on stage were her troupe of dancers, dressed in a circus costumes to reflect the title of her new album Circus, which hit No.1 in the U.S. charts last week.

After her set, Britney chatted to the Japanese hosts of the show, with a translator standing close by talking to her in English.

She wished her Japanese fans 'have a happy Christmas', despite a majority of the country being Buddhists or Shintoists.

In recent weeks, Britney has performed an identical routine to Womanizer in France, Germany, the U.S. and on Britain's X Factor.

She was criticised by viewers of The X Factor for her obvious miming after it was revealed her microphone was merely a prop when host Dermot O'Leary had to share his mic with her.

Take That singer Mark Owen, who also performed on The X Factor, said this week he didn't believe Britney should have been allowed to perform, when all the contestants sing live.
He said: 'I think she was ill-advised to appear on The X Factor. They don't have the show in the US, do they? I thought it seemed like she wasn't sure where she was.'

During her whirlwind trip to Japan, Britney has embracing the local culture and enjoyed an evening eating sushi at a traditional Japanese restaurant with her father Jamie Spears, assistant Brett and manager Larry Rudolph.

In regular updates on her blog, Britney enthused about her love for the Asian nation.

She said: 'I love Japan! I think all the tiny cars are so cute.
'I enjoyed a walk in a botanical garden and got to see a Japanese wedding. Then Brett and I went shopping.

'We just visited the oldest Buddhist temple. It was so beautiful.'

Britney has been jet-setting around the globe over the past few weeks to mark her comeback after a rocky two years.

Earlier this year, Britney's father Jamie was granted conservatorship of her multi-million dollar estate after she was hospitalised twice for psychiatric evaluation.

Despite winning an MTV Award in September and getting no.1 hits with her single Womanizer, her recent television performances have prompted speculation she is not quite ready for her comeback.

Katy Perry apologises for Lily Allen 'fat' jibe as she parades around in a plunging gold catsuit

Katy Perry has called a truce in her simmering feud with fellow pop star Lily Allen.

The I Kissed A Girl singer yesterday apologised to Lily after referring to herself as a 'skinnier version' of the British pop star.

'Yeah, I made a joke about that earlier this year,' Katy, 24, said at the taping of Fuse's The Good, the Bad & the Britney yesterday, which saw her take to the stage in a daring gold sequined catsuit.

'I was just kind of joking and trying to be funny. I didn't mean anything by it. Comedians are not necessarily to be taken super seriously.'

In an interview on Capital FM on Monday, fiery Lily described her meeting with Katy as 'frosty' and also took a swipe at her musical ability.

The 23-year-old said: 'I happen to know for a fact that she was an American version of me.

'She was signed by my label in America as, 'We need to find something controversial and kooky like Lily Allen.'

'And then they found her. I think the lyrics and stuff are a bit crass.

'When I met her I was bit frosty with her because someone asked her to describe herself. She's like, "Aha, I'm like a fatter version of Amy Winehouse and a skinnier version of Lily Allen!". It's like, you're not English and you don't write your own songs, shut up!'

While Lily is clearly not a fan, many others are - last week Katy received her first Grammy award nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for I Kissed A Girl.

Dreamgirls Aloud: Cheryl & Co transform themselves into Beyonce-a-likes for their Christmas TV show

They have transformed themselves from reality show winners into pop icons.

Now Girls Aloud have been given there own one-off show on ITV1 this month and seem to have got in to the seasonal spirit.

Dressed in skin tight, silver fishtail dresses, the group share more than a passing resemblance to a box of Christmas crackers.

The five-piece aped the glamorous style of the cast of 2007 movie musical Dreamgirls, which starred Beyonce Knowles as a Sixties singer in the style of Diana Ross.

A show insider said: 'It seemed fitting to have the girls record this special in the very same studio where all their careers began six years ago on Popstars: The Rivals.'

Entitled, The Girls Aloud Party the production will broadcast on ITV1 on December 13.

Last year, the group featured on a series on ITV2 but executives now feel that they are suitable for the main channel.

This has in part been aided by aided by Cheryl Cole’s success as a judge on The X Factor.

The group, made up of Cole, Nadine Coyle, Nicola Roberts, Sarah Harding, and Kimberley Walsh, will perform all of the biggest hits and news songs from their album.


The programme also features collaborations with the Kaiser Chiefs and James Morrison.

Cilla Black, Paul O’Grady and Julie Goodyear also appear on the programme.
Harding said: '2008 has been a great year for us all and what better way to round it off than with a festive special.


'The show is a true Girls Aloud Christmas party and loads of fun.'

Since finding fame in late 2002 the band have had 19 consecutive top ten hit singles.

Cole’s popularity as a judge on The X Factor has raised questions over the group’s long term future but a national tour is scheduled for next year.

Britney storms the X Factor... but was she miming?

After four years absence from British television screens Britney Spears made a storming comeback on the X factor last night.

But those fans able to look past the skimpy PVC hotpants and fishnet stockings were left wondering whether the long-awaited performance was all that it seemed.

Indeed some fans were quickly debating on internet forums whether Britney had been miming the words to her new single Womanizer.

The pop princess' energetic dance routine did not seem to interrupt her vocals - which seemed near perfect.

This was despite apparent problems with her microphone, which she touched several times during the three-minute performance.

A spokeswoman for the X Factor production company insisted Britney had been singing, telling MailOnline: 'There were some live vocals, but that's a question for the record company.

ut for those who have watched Britney go through a much-publicised breakdown, then make an astonishing return to form, perhaps it didn't matter.

Louis Walsh certainly wasn't worrying about Britney's vocals.

He was wide eyed as the 27-year-old bounded across the stage to a position next to the judge's table.

As she bounced up and down Louis broke into a large smile, perhaps appreciating the novelty of his front-row view of Britney's scantily clad derrieré.

After her performance a grinning Britney told presenter Dermot that appearing on the X Factor was 'awesome' and 'amazing'.

'I love being here in London,' she gushed.

Unlike guest stars Take That and Mariah Carey, Britney did not mentor the contestants ahead of last night's show.

And when pushed as to whether she had any advice for them she told Dermot: 'Good luck and just keep doing it!'

Emma Watson loses her fashion magic as she steps out in a dowdy cardigan and leather pants

She's a Vogue covergirl and Chanel muse, but last night fledgling fashionista Emma Watson made a rare style misstep.

The 18-year-old failed to weave her usual magic as she attended the debut of In a Dark Dark House at The Almeida Theatre wearing a dowdy, thrown-together ensemble.

The Harry Potter star, who signed a deal with Kate Moss's modelling agency Storm last summer, looked washed out as she arrived wearing leather pants, an ill-fitting camisole and a slouchy cardigan.

It was a far cry from her usually pitch-perfect fashion choices, which are often both youthful and sophisticated.

Emma was a fixture at both London and Paris Fashion Week this year, and admits she adores that world.

'I've always been really interested in art and fashion.'

Despite her hugely successful acting career and interest from the fashion industry, Emma has pledged to continue her academic career following her current gap year.

After gaining straight As at A-level, she plans to study English literature in the UK or a liberal arts degree in the U.S.

Back on top: Vamped-up Britney wows the crowds at German awards show as she prepares for X Factor performance

Britney Spears delivered a show-stopping performance at a German awards ceremony tonight as she prepared for her highly-anticipated performance on X Factor.

The pop star showed off her slimmed-down body in hot pants, fishnet tights and a transparent black top at the 2008 Bambi Awards in Offenburg.

Spears – who releases her sixth album Circus next week – showed that she was back to her best as she strutted around seductively on stage and writhed around a large metallic circular cage.

Earlier today the singer’s mother Lynne Spears said that the 26-year-old had finally turned her life around after her much publicised breakdown and was now ready to return to the pop game.

'We’re going to get this done and it’s all going to be good. You just wait and see.' she told Lorraine Kelly on GMTV

She said even now she found it hard to understand the level of her daughter's fame.


'My friends and I, we talk about it and they go, "What is the deal? I mean, what’s so interesting about Britney?" And people that have known us all our lives are mystified – they go, "What is the deal?"'

Her upcoming appearance on X Factor will mark a reunion for Spears and her former choreographer Brian Friedman as well as her first performance on British TV screens in five years.

He said: 'She is such a sweet, endearing person. It will be nice to reconnect.

'Last year, I asked her to come and do X Factor but she was too hectic. This year it's happening. I'm so glad to see her back on track. Her performance is going to be incredible.'


X Factor judge Simon Cowell is looking forward to Spears' performance, having often commented on the singer over the years.

In January this year, when Spears was hospitalised for psychiatric evaluation, he said: 'She's welcome to call me any time.

'I genuinely think that if I sat down with Britney and, No. 1, remind her of all the good things in her life - which are her kids, her money, her success, everything - I'd try to give her a sense of perspective. And then I'd take her out of where she's living at the moment and ask her to go and live with her family - and live normally - for six months.'

Cowell is glad to see Spears - who has two children, Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden
James, 2, with ex-husband Kevin Federline - making a comeback after previously revealing his fears that her career was over following her disastrous performance at the MTV Video Music Awards last year.


He said at the time: 'If I had been looking after Britney I’d have taken one look at her in rehearsals and I wouldn’t have allowed her on stage.

'It would have been worth pulling her off the bill - no matter what the cost - to save any chance she had of resurrecting her career. She wasn’t ready for that show in every possible way.

'The problem she has now is that she could have killed her career. It’s difficult to come back from that performance, for a while at least.'

After a difficult few years, during which she went through a divorce and was hospitalised twice for psychiatric evaluation, Spears is now looking better than she has in years.

Since dealing with her problems with the help of her father Jamie and mother Lynne, Spears has been focusing her energies of getting her career back on track.

She picked up three awards at the MTV Video Music Awards in September for her single Piece Of Me, and continued her success at the MTV Europe Music Awards last week with two trophies - even though she was unable to attend the Liverpool ceremony.

Earlier this month, Spears wowed fans when she joined Madonna on stage during the Material Girl's Los Angeles gig.

Her sixth studio album Circus is set for release on December 2 - her 27th birthday.

You Must Love Me: Madonna serenades boyfriend A-Rod as he adoringly watches her perform in concert

Madonna's rumoured new boyfriend Alex Rodriguez was seated in the front row of the superstar's concert last night as rumours about the pair's relationship continued to grow.

The Material Girl, who divorced husband Guy Ritchie last week, serenaded the New York Yankee baseball star at the Miami, Florida leg of her Sticky & Sweet World Tour.

The 50-year-old singer looked directly at Rodriguez as she sang the ballad You Must Love Me, the Oscar-winning song written especially for her 1996 film version of Evita.

Rodriguez, known as A-Rod by fans, smiled adoringly at the singer as she strutted her stuff on stage at the Dolphin Stadium.

He was seated beside Madonna's manager Guy Oseary and Rod Stewart.

At one point, a hot Madonna leaned forward and accepted a bottle of water from A-Rod.

A fellow concertgoer told U.S. TV channel E! News: 'It was easy for him to hand it off because he was sitting in the front row.

'He was all excited watching her perform.'

Before a performance of her song I'm So Far Away, she told the audience: ''I'm sure you can relate about a long-distance love affair.'

Madonna's gig last night started two hours late and the singer irked some fans when she declined to apologise or even wish them 'Happy Thanksgiving'.

His attendance at the concert came on Thanksgiving Eve, an important night for U.S. citizens, fuelling speculation about the seriousness of Madonna and Rodriguez's relationship.

The sportsman, 33, will spend Thanksgiving in Miami today with his ex-wife Cynthia and their two young daughters Natasha, four, and Ella, 19 months, while Madonna is expected to return to New York City to spend the day with her daughter Lourdes.

Madonna's two sons Rocco and David are currently in London with their father Ritchie.

Rodriguez was pictured spending Tuesday with Cynthia, who he divorced in September after six years of marriage.

The family dined at Houston's Restaurant and the manager said the ex-couple appeared to get on well, despite their acrimonious divorce.

The restaurant manager said: 'He was kissing his daughters and seemed in a great mood. You would never know there was any issue at all between him and Cynthia.'

Cynthia filed for divorce from A-Rod in July, accusing her husband of 'emotionally abandonment'.

The couple's split was made public just days after Rodriguez was romantically linked in the press to the singer.

At the time, Madonna released a statement saying: 'My husband and I are not planning on getting a divorce.
'I know Alex Rodriguez through Guy Oseary, who manages both of us. I brought my kids to a Yankee game. I am not romantically involved in any way with Alex Rodriguez. I have nothing to do with the state of his marriage or what spiritual path he may choose to study.'

The first stage of Madonna and Ritchie's divorce was finalised last Friday morning at the London High Court before District Judge Reid, with the decree nisi granted a month after the couple confirmed tabloid reports by announcing their split after eight years of marriage.

The singer's recent divorce from Ritchie has fuelled speculation Madonna and Rodriguez will go public as a couple.

Although details of Madonna and Ritchie's settlement will remain private, the Mail recently revealed that Ritchie would be getting a lump sum of just £2million of Madonna's £300million fortune.

It has also emerged he will keep the £3million Punchbowl pub in London's Mayfair and the couple's £7 million Wiltshire estate and will receive a further payment to buy a large London home.

The Mail has also learned that Ritchie has been given a gift of some £4million of artwork in the divorce.

Madonna has now relocated to New York, where she will live with 12-year-old daughter Lourdes, from an earlier relationship with Carlos Leon.

The couple's sons - Rocco, eight, and David, three - will split their time between New York and their father's homes in England.

Speaking for the first time about the break-up this week, Madonna said she was 'grateful' to be immersed in her tour, which keeps her mind off her high-profile marriage collapse.

Jade Jagger's ripped tights, Pixie's furry coat and plenty of cleavage... The best and worst of British fashion's biggest night

It is known for being a night of glitz and glamour to showcase the best in British haute couture.

But it seemed that some stars struggled with the concept at last night's prestigious British Fashion Awards show.

Considering it was a night to showcase the best of British style genius, there were a few serious fashion faux pas from the celebrities in attendance.

Jade Jagger's black satin outfit accessorised with Chanel style loops of pearls wasn't the best choice, as its flimsy material looked decidedly cheap.

But later the whole look collapsed when she was seen leaving with a huge hole in her fishnet tights.

The daughter of rocker Mick Jagger put on a brave smile as she left the event in her car, with her minidress failing to cover the offending hole.
Model Pixie Geldof clearly took the severe weather warnings to heart, as she stepped out in a huge oversized furry great coat, which had the unfortunate effect of making her look like a cuddly monster.

Teamed with a cropped chainmail top, a pair of glass stripper-style sandals, and high-waisted leggings, the 18-year old's outfit was certainly an outre choice for the glamorous affair.

Girls Aloud stars Kimberley Walsh and Nicola Roberts stepped out looking glamorous at the affair - if a little underdressed considering the plunging temperatures.

Both wearing minidresses, and baring plenty of flesh, cleavage was the order of the day, and even actress Sadie Frost joined in, as she was seen bulging out of her strapless party frock.

Model Erin O'Connor and singer Sophie Ellis Bextor opted for a touch of Topshop and said the flailing economy part-explained their choices.
O'Connor, 30, wore a Stephen Jones hat and Vivienne Westwood gown teamed with a sparkling silver Topshop jacket.

She said: 'I was wearing a black dress and I wanted something that was going to up the ante.

'I always think about finding an item I like rather than something that's by a top designer.
'And I hate to bring up those awful words "credit crunch" but you can't really get away from it. Everyone is looking for items that don't cost as much money but still look great.'

Pregnant Ellis-Bextor, 29, also opted for the high street look in a black Topshop dress which draped over her baby bump.

'I never think too much about what I want to wear. I just throw on something I like,' she said.
'Not everybody can afford designer outfits. Some of the people I say are most stylish are my friends. I like to look at what they're wearing rather than in magazines.'

But there was still plenty of room for the pricier catwalk designs as a host of celebrities posed for photographers at London's Lawrence Hall.

Claudia Schiffer looked stunning in a floor-length green gown with bright red lips, while Yasmin le Bon shone in a burnt orange backless satin dress.

All eyes were on swimmer Sharon Davies who left little to the imagination in a black Herve Leger gown.

The 46-year-old former athlete left her lycra swimsuits at home and showed off her ample cleavage in the figure-hugging dress.

Jade Jagger wore a black satin dress and pearls from her own Jade Jagger collection, while Sadie Frost chose a Ruth Tarvydas dress.

'I'm here to support British fashion. I've got a lot of friends here,' Sadie said.

'I'm here to support everyone really. I'm looking forward to seeing who's won.

'It's a great occasion. It shows off British fashion to the world and celebrates the industry.

Asked how she keeps in shape, the 43-year-old actress said she practises yoga and pilates - as well as the trapeze.

'I've been doing the trapeze for three years now,' she said.

'I go to circus school. I do both static and flying trapeze. It's great fun and it gives you a lot of upper body strength.

'I've always been into performance arts. I've just started letting go of the trainer and flying through the air solo and being caught.

'It's a great way of overcoming your fears.'

Designer Stephen Jones showed he really is a fashion King by sporting a black crown on the red carpet.

Speaking before being honoured with an outstanding achievement award, he laughed: 'What other chance am I going to have to put one on?'

Other stars in attendance included Christian Slater, Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, Mariella Frostrup, Twiggy and Elton John's partner David Furnish.