Britney Spears' 'Hold It Against Me' music video debuts [Video] [Poll]

 

The Britney Spears music video "Hold It Against Me" debuted Thursday night on MTV, finally providing visual accompaniment to the tune that dropped in January.

At that time, "Hold It Against Me," the first single from Spears' upcoming "Femme Fatale," seemed to do just fine without much critical love, debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's Hot Singles chart. The video is (of course?) directed by Jonas Akerlund, the guy behind Lady Gaga's "Telephone."

Yes, there's product placement galore. Yes, there's Auto-Tune. But there's also Britney and some boys dancing in outfits that look like a fashionista's take on men's tighty whiteys, or maybe on their childhood Spider-Man underpants, and what's not to love there? Not to mention the crouching-tiger-hidden-Britney kickboxing sequence pitting the pop tart against herself -- in platform stilettos.

The song is catchy enough that we're going to have to immediately counter-program RuPaul's "Jealous of My Boogie," below, to reboot the iPod part of our brain -- so maybe the video has done its job effectively.

Wait, first we liked the Justin Bieber movie, and now we're finding Britney's comeback video catchy? Are we losing our edge? Given that we're already imagining an Adam Lambert remake of "Hold It Against Me," all signs point to "yes."

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-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Britney Spears on the "Glee" set in 2010. Credit: Adam Rose / Fox

Mark Sanchez and a 17-year-old: Legal, but ... tacky? [poll]

Did you hear the one about Mark Sanchez and the 17-year-old girl? Yeah, that Mark Sanchez, of USC Trojans and New York Jets football fame — who reportedly had a one-night stand with just such a girl, who of course bragged to her friends about the whole sitch on Facebook, then told a website, then decided through her dad's lawyer that she shouldn't talk about it.

The two met on New Year's Eve at the Manhattan nightclub Lavo, where she gave the 24-year-old quarterback her number, the website Deadspin reported. They didn't hook up, she said, until later in January, after he gave her and a friend tickets to the last regular-season Jets game, and they went out for dinner a few days later.

Deadspin detailed the flirting at Lavo, as told by the girl, whom the site referred to by her initials:

"You know I'm 17, right?" she remembers saying. Sanchez kept his cool. "Well, we can still talk, but I can't see you until you're 18," he said. "Actually," E.K. replied, "17 is legal in New York." Poise all around.

The website fielded a stern note from an attorney representing E.K. after she'd spoken, but any interactions between Sanchez and E.K. appear to have been legal — well, except for the underage-in-a-club-on-New-Year's-Eve part. But the young lady in question, identified as Eliza Kruger, apparently has been clubbing with her mom, Marie McCormick Kruger, since she was 15, a source told the New York Post.

"We went back to his place in Jersey after dinner," the blond told Deadspin, right before mentioning that she'd checked the age of consent in New Jersey in advance (It's 16). "He lives on a golf course. There was a big storm." 

Deadspin also broke the story about Brett Favre's alleged improprieties (that's code for sending naked pictures) regarding Jenn Sterger when both were employed by the Jets and brought to light foot-fetish videos linked to Jets coach Rex Ryan.

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— Christie D'Zurilla

Photo:  Mark Sanchez of the New York Jets at a party in Dallas kicking off Super Bowl weekend on Feb. 4. Credit: Christopher Polk /Getty Images.

Super Bowl 2011: Lea Michele versus Christina Aguilera [poll]

This post has been corrected. Please see the note at the bottom.

We won't know who won the 2011 Super Bowl for a few hours — so until then, can we decide whether Lea Michele or Christina Aguilera won the pregame singing contest?

Wearing a cream-colored car-length coat and tan slacks, Michele knocked out "America the Beautiful," right before Aguilera took the field in a little black Dolce & Gabbana suit to rock (some of the words to) "The Star Spangled Banner."

Which diva did the better job, or was it a tie? No fair giving Aguilera an advantage just because she got the flyover as a finale.

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For the record, 4:24 p.m.: This post originally said Lea Michele sang "God Bless America"; the "Glee" star actually sang "America the Beautiful," and we sang it right along with her and still typed the other song title. Thanks to commenters @lynebg, @Sheilah and @Mini for flagging the gaffe. Those who'd like to hear "God Bless America" will have to settle for Tony Bennett's World Series version.

— Christie D'Zurilla

Top photo: Christina Aguilera sings the national anthem before the Super Bowl XLV game between the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers on Feb. 6 in Arlington, Texas. Credit: Charlie Krupa / Associated Press.

Bottom photo: Lea Michele sings "America the Beautiful" before Super Bowl XLV. Credit: Nelson Chenault / US Presswire.

Britney Spears' 'Femme Fatale' cover: Hot or not? [polls]

This post has been corrected. See the note at the bottom for details.

Britney Spears tweeted a picture of her "Femme Fatale" cover on Tuesday, revealing the album's name and continuing the buildup to its release March 15.

So, hot or not? Take the polls below.

"Femme Fatale" will be Spears' first studio effort since "Circus" in December 2008 -- the year that started with a 5150 psych hold for the singer and saw her placed under a conservatorship that still exists today, albeit with modifications. 

"Hold It Against Me," the first single from the album, was released in January and spent only a week at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles chart.

The "Circus" tour was a bit of a rough one for Brit, 29, with slams coming in about her weight and her lip-synching.

"Spears can safely call this performance a success," The Times' Ann Powers wrote in a largely positive review on March 3, 2009. "She apparently has no interest in proving herself as a vocalist; Pink is a better acrobat and her friend Justin Timberlake is a far better dancer."

"But anyone who thinks her lackluster would do well to remember what she really is: a burlesque performer, a carny's dream born a century or so too late to be fated to ply her art upon the midway, but able to fulfill the spectacle of blond ambition now."

How do you think Britney has evolved, leading up to "Femme Fatale"? High expectations, low, or none at all?

For the record, 3:20 p.m.: This post originally referred to Spears as an actress; she is, of course, a singer. Don't, um, "hold it against me"? Thanks to commenters @toxic and @BRITTERlight for the heads-up.//cdz

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-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo credit: Britney Spears / Twitpic

 

'Octomom' Nadya Suleman makes a fetish video; grown man cries [poll]

'"Octomom" Nadya Suleman has apparently made a fetish video -- and from the clips we just saw, heaven help us, we have to say we just wish she'd done a porno. It would have been less annoying. And might not have had a Rick Dees connection.

Suleman busting out of a tight black corset, unsvelte L.A. radio personality Tattoo in a droopy adult diaper and nonstop adult crying as she whips his big ol' hairy backside. This video actually could have been made as leverage to get her mortgage-holder to just give her the dang house for free, just so she'd make it stop.

Our kingdom for a groovy synth soundtrack, please, and no baby costume.

Tattoo, a.k.a. David Gonzalez, is the guy who emceed Octomom's yard sale back in September.

"It's rare to find a unique talent like Tattoo who is willing to be attacked by a pack of pit bulls in an effort to increase ratings," Rick Dees said Sept. 14 when Gonzalez signed with Dees Entertainment.  "There are several projects we're incubating with Tattoo, and he has some amazing ideas."

Incubating -- ha, ha, we get it. So how long has this crime against humanity been in the creative queue? And why didn't we have the option to vote for the pit-bull attack instead?

Also available at Rick.com, in addition to repostings of the pics and videos from TMZ: a lovely recipe for "Chef Dees Date Sauce," to be ladled over cake while it's hot. Let's hope we're the only ones who looked at that combination of Web pages.

Tattoo had no comment Wednesday when contacted by the O.C. Register. And really, can you blame him? See the video at TMZ, if you'd like. But don't say we didn't warn you. And for the love of Western civilization, don't watch it at work.

P.S. Nadya -- spaghetti arms, dear. Now everyone knows you must throw like a girl.

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-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Octomom Nadya Suleman wears a T-shirt promoting pet birth control outside her La Habra home on May 19, 2010. Credit: Nick Ut / Associated Press

Robert Pattinson replacing Colin Farrell in 'Cosmopolis'

Robert Pattinson has a shiny new project to follow "Breaking Dawn": The young actor will replace Colin Farrell in David Cronenberg's "Cosmopolis," a futuristic action flick set in the banking world.

The leading role will see Pattinson -- recently tapped to be a presenter at the Golden Globe Awards -- playing a risk-taking trader who loses a major gamble on foreign currency. The flub makes him an assassination target and leads to an inevitable chase across New York, the Wrap reports.

Marion Cotillard will play Pattinson's wife, with actor Paul Giamatti nabbing a supporting role. 

Pattinson is currently shooting the final chapters in "The Twilight Saga," which he'll break from next week to present at the Golden Globes. 

Tell us -- are you pumped to see Pattinson get his action on?

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-- Matt Donnelly
Twitter.com/MattDonnelly 

Photo: Robert Pattinson attends the 2009 MTV Movie Awards. Credit: Kevin Winter / Getty Images

'Money Drop' contestant Gabe Okoye 'distraught,' 'haunted' over not-wrong answer [poll]

 

Gabe Okoye, one of the "Million Dollar Money Drop" contestants who lost $800,000 on the show's premiere after giving what would turn out to be a correct answer, has been "haunted" by and "distraught" over the moment.

Speaking with the Hollywood Reporter, Okoye, 25, and girlfriend Brittany Mayti, 23, described how the agony of losing the cash at the September taping was even worse than it looked when the show aired Dec. 20.

"I was haunted for a long time between the taping and the actual airing. I was distraught," Okoye told THR. "I'd like to know someone who has lost money like that and just smiled about it." Mayti, he said, supported him the whole time after the loss, even after he'd talked her into betting on his answer.

Julianne Hough 'Is That So Wrong' official video 'kinda banned' by CMT [poll]

Julianne Hough told a concert crowd Friday in Maryland that her "Is That So Wrong" official video had been "kinda banned" by CMT, the Washington Post reports.

"Apparently I was taking off too many clothes as I was dancing across my bedroom," the "Burlesque" actress said, pausing. "But I don't know — I kind of liked it."

Of course we had to look, and fortunately the video falls well within the Ministry's never-super-high standards, so you can check it out too, above. But, for example:

Nobody gets beaten, and nothing gets burned down.

The official video in no way features Miley Cyrus grinding, smoking or dancing like a loon.

It's not shot in a women's prison, with performers in scanty underthings — and there's no mass murder.

So — are you scandalized by a beautiful woman dancing in short shorts and a bra that covers up just about everything? Even if she is Ryan Seacrest's 22-year-old girlfriend?

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— Christie D'Zurilla

 

Larry King's last show: Who do you want to see as a guest? [poll]

The last Larry King show is Thursday night, with Ryan Seacrest and Bill Maher named as guests, along with an "all-star" lineup to be revealed "later."

But names are leaking out, among them Donald Trump, Brian Williams, Katie Couric, Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters.

Piers Morgan, of "Britain's Got Talent" and News of the World tabloid fame, will take over CNN's 9 p.m. slot in January. (Morgan has had a chat show in Britain for a while now, and also won Trump's " celebrity version of "The Apprentice.")

Through the years King has had some gaffes -- see them here -- with the likes of Jerry Seinfeld, Marlon Brando, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. He's also had folks walk off the show, or simply decide he's "not appropriate" (think Usher, Carrie Prejean, Kanye West's mom's surgeon).

Who would you like to see Thursday night as the final "Larry King Live" guests? Tell us who you want to see -- and for the love of all things holy, why you want to see them!! -- in comments.

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-- Christie D'Zurilla

Photo: Larry King at the Grove in L.A. on Nov. 9. Credit: Toby Canham / Getty Images

Trainer Jillian Michaels leaving 'The Biggest Loser' [poll]

Jillian Michaels is leaving "The Biggest Loser," Show Tracker reports, but fans have one more season to get their fix before the high-profile, hardcore trainer attempts to get in touch with her inner mommy.

Michaels said on Twitter that she'd make Season 11, which starts in January and is the last on her contract, her final tour with the show. She left once before, in 2006, but returned in 2007. This time she'll take a year off from TV, she said Tuesday, to "focus on becoming a mommy and doing more charity work."

The woman who in the May 2010 Women's Health declared a desire to adopt also told a Twitter follower, "Shooting Losing It also had big impact on me. Living with kids I saw first hand what I was missing." In the summer series "Losing It With Jillian," Michaels moved in with families for a week each and helped them change their habits and lives.