Last night I was SO excited to watch American Idol kick off with the top 12 men. I was mostly expecting to be wowed by the many guys we had never even heard of. Too bad the show was a snoozefest — cruise ship singing for sure. Thankfully, there were a few excellent performances including my favorites the oldest and youngest — David Archuleta and Michael Johns. Did anyone else think Ryan might have been flirting with the way too innocent and adorable David? Sadly the early favorites usually don't make it to the finals. The only other performance worth noting was dreadlock wearing Jason Castro who loves the whole stoned daydreaming thing. It was great to finally see him on stage and looks like he'll bring something different to the table. To see a complete rundown of the show check out Buzz's review and of course don't forget to vote on who you think will be booted this week.

Photos courtesy of Fox

Nicole may be five months pregnant, but there was hardly any hint of a bump under her crazy-looking dress at a press conference for The Golden Compass in Tokyo today. Once the baby arrives there will be lots of big changes for Nicole of course, including the kinds of projects she will be tackling. The mom-to-be said that having children helps her look forward to taking on more kid-friendly films like this one. She said,

"My Bella and Connor are 13 and 15. So they have seen the film and they loved it . . . my child inside won't see the film for a long time. But I think once you have children you want to balance the work you do because they give up so much of you to your work. So occasionally you want to make films that they can take their friends to, they can go to the premiere of, that they celebrate."

Nicole will have plenty to celebrate later on in the year, but right now she's still focusing on her latest film, including this weekend where she'll be cheering on her Golden Compass live from the audience at the Oscars.

Source

Britney Spears made yet another trip to the hair salon last night for maintenance on those brown extensions of hers. She spends an awful lot of time on her faux locks considering how bad they've been in the past, but I must admit that recently they've been looking a lot better. Well, anything to keep busy probably keeps her mind off another day (and another court decision) without seeing her boys. She apparently hasn't even spoken to them since Jan. 3, because her parents and Kevin don't want her to talk to them until she's much better. Everyone seems to agree, however, that Jamie Spears has had a positive impact on Britney — helping to stabilize her life and get things back on track towards seeing her boys. Things do seem to be on the up and up for Brit, lets just hope this new, healthier lifestyle sticks around.

Fame, Source, and Source

• JLo's custom redesigned hospital room may finally be getting some use. Rumors are swirling that the singer checked into the Long Island hospital on Monday. Good luck to her on her double delivery, and we can't wait to hear about the babies rather than the rumors! — Page Six
• Shakira has signed on to collaborate with a Barcelona-based beauty company to design a signature line of cosmetics. The singer wants to help women feel beautiful whenever, wherever. — BellaSugar
• Nicolas Cage is facing heat from the IRS for using his production company to write off $3.3 million in personal expenses. Sounds pretty shady, and we're sure we'll get the whole story soon, but does that mean personal jets and fancy trailers aren't business expenses? — Page Six
• Harry Potter stars Emma Watson and Daniel Radcliffe were spotted snuggled together at a London pub for a Valentine's Day date. Maybe a little magic on set will translate into a real-life romance. — The Mirror
• Anna Faris's divorce from actor Benjamin Indra has been finalized. While we didn't even remember she was married, the couple agreed on a settlement, so here's hoping they can keep the split clean as they both move on. — ET Online

Source

The Oscars are almost here, but Hollywood is still busy with other awards shows, like the 10th Annual Costume Designers Guild Awards. The trophies merited looks from Blades of Glory, Ugly Betty, and Sweeney Todd. Katie Holmes was on hand to honor Tom's longtime producing partner, Paula Wagner with the Swarovski President's Award last night in Beverly Hills. Considering the show was recognizing the industry's fabulous designers, we were a bit disappointed with what the stars picked out for the event, like Ginnifer's loud little number and Katie's not-so-flattering ice princess look. At least Christian Bale looked dapper as the male representative for the night.

For a video of Katie on stage and lots of other pictures including Kristin Chenoweth, Geena Davis, and Anjelica Huston, just read more