Monday, December 1, 2008

Brit and the Brits

The Thanksgiving holiday was no time for Britney Spears to take it easy: She spent the weekend in England performing her new single, "Womanizer," on Simon Cowell's British TV show, "The X Factor."

Then, after emerging unscathed from her encounter with "American Idol's" surliest judge, Spears partied at a London nightspot and partook of a birthday cake fashioned after the cover of her new CD, "Circus." The new album will be released tomorrow -- the pop singer's 27th birthday.

After her NBC Thanksgiving Eve variety show, "Rosie Live," proved a ratings flop, Rosie O'Donnell has announced that the show will not return.

Writing on her Web site in response to a fan's query, the actress expressed frustration with "no ratings" and "bad reviews." Though the show drew just 5 million viewers, O'Donnell described the experience -- which included a duet with Liza Minnelli and a chat with Alec Baldwin -- as "a thrill."

Plácido Domingo unveiled a new album of songs based on the poems of Pope John Paul II on Friday.

"I am sure he will be a saint soon," the legendary tenor said in praise of the late pontiff during a news conference at the Vatican. Domingo met John Paul II several times.

On "Infinite Love," the Spanish-born Domingo -- general director of the Washington National Opera -- sings duets in English, Spanish and Italian with Josh Groban, Andrea Bocelli, Vanessa Williams and Katherine Jenkins, as well as with Plácido Domingo Jr.

Blake Fielder-Civil, husband of five-time Grammy winner Amy Winehouse, has admitted that he introduced Winehouse to the hard drugs that landed her in rehab shortly after the success of her single "Rehab."

"I did introduce her to [crack and heroin]," Fielder-Civil told the U.K. tabloid News of the World. "If it wasn't for drugs, me and Amy would be so happy . . . and I know it's a cliche, but I feel half a man without her." Fielder-Civil, 26, is serving part of a 27-month jail sentence in a rehabilitation unit. Winehouse, 25, was admitted to a London hospital last week for an adverse reaction to an unnamed drug.

· Roselyn Sanchez, the 35-year-old star of CBS's "Without a Trace," married "CSI"/"Days of Our Lives" vet Alex Winter, 32, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on Saturday. Eva Longoria Parker was counted among the 250 guests.

· Despite reports in the Australian media, "Pirates of the Caribbean's" Orlando Bloom, 31, and model Miranda Kerr, 25, are not engaged to be married. "The story . . . is completely false and misleading," one of Kerr's representatives told People magazine. "There is nothing else to be said." The couple, however, remain an item.

· French first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy will take up a role in the global campaign against AIDS, marking a new departure for the model turned pop star.

-- Justin Moyer, from wire reports