Britney Spears will kick off the 2008 MTV Video Music awards (VMAs), the channel has confirmed.

The Toxic star put in an unforgettable performance at last year’s ceremony, stumbling her way through dance routines and miming poorly as fears grew for her mental state.

However, since her hospitalisation earlier this year – as well as her family being granted control of her estate – the 26-year-old is on the road to recovery and is “excited” to open the 2008 awards.

“MTV has long played an important role in my career. How can I not be there to kick off their 25th VMAs?” she told People magazine.

“I’m excited to open the entire show, to say hi to my fans and to be nominated.”

The singer has been nominated 16 times for an astronaut-shaped VMA but has never been successful.

However, she has another shot at glory this year with nominations in the best female video, best pop video and video of the year categories, all for her hit Piece of Me.

MTV Networks’ music president Van Toffler commented: “Britney has done everything from perform with a snake, lock lips with Madonna and prove that what happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas.

“I can’t wait to see what she does to kick off this year’s show.”

British comedian and actor Russell Brand is hosting this year’s event, which takes place on Sunday in Los Angeles.

AMY WINEHOUSE has turned to Buddhism to try and beat her drug and alcohol addictions, according to U.K. tabloid reports.
The Back To Black singer has faced a string of health issues over the last year (07/08) and was rushed to hospital after collapsing at her house in London in July (08).
The star was also diagnosed with traces of deadly lung disease emphysema.
But Winehouse is now said to be battling her addictions by using calming Buddhist chants to help her relax and battle stress, according to Britain’s The Sun newspaper.
A source tell the publication, “One of her musicians introduced Amy to Buddhist chanting. She chants for ten minutes in the morning and just before she sleeps.
“Amy has also been watching the interview clip of Tina Turner on YouTube and she reckons it’s already affecting her in a positive way.”
Singer Tina Turner turned to Buddhism after she split from her rocker husband Ike Turner in 1975.

Country star LeANN RIMES and her dancer husband DEAN SHEREMET are planning on starting a family – after new dad KEITH URBAN urged them to try for a baby.
The Blue singer and Sheremet recently renewed their wedding vows after six years of marriage.
And they believe it’s time they extended their family.
Rimes tells People.com, “We’re ready, definitely.”
And the star’s country peer Urban, who welcomed daughter Sunday Rose into the world with wife Nicole Kidman earlier this year (08), has been regalling the pair with the wonders of parenthood.
Rimes adds, “He’s encouraging us to start getting’ on it!”

Miley Cyrus thrilled hundreds of “Today” show fans while performing songs from her new CD on Friday, but disappointed others when an old YouTube video of her mocking fellow Disney stars Demi Lovato and Selena Gomez resurfaced in the media.

Miley later apologized in Popstar! magazine, saying she was “super sorry.”

Amy Winehouse could be sued by the organisers of a Paris music festival after she withdrew hours before she was due to perform because of “illness”.

The 24-year-old did not travel to the Rock En Seine festival due to an illness which resulted in her needing to rest, according to her spokesman.

Commenting on her withdrawal from the Rock En Seine lineup, her spokesman said: “Amy Winehouse was regrettably unable to perform at the Rock En Seine show in Paris due to illness.

“She was taken ill at her house and wasn’t able to travel to France for the concert.”

A statement from the Rock En Seine organisers said there was “no explanation of the exact reasons for her absence”.

“Amy Winehouse should have arrived on the site early Friday evening. We were told by her agent at 8:00 pm that she wasn’t coming,” it added.

She has performed at the Glastonbury and V festivals this summer and is due to take to the stage at Bestival next weekend.

The Rehab star was hospitalised in June and diagnosed with early stage emphysema before another hospital visit last month after suffering a reaction to medication while at her north London home.

Her father Mitch had reportedly claimed that his daughter’s drink had been spiked with ecstasy, but according to Winehouse’s mother Janis, the hospital visit was simply a matter of human error.

“The truth is that Amy ended up in hospital this week because she mixed up the medication she’s taking to help her come off drugs,” she told the Daily Mirror newspaper.

R+B star R. KELLY has denied involvement in an alleged $130,000 (GBP70,000) tour ticket scam.
The singer has been accused of profiting from a fraud in South Africa after a local woman, Busiswe Zakwe, was arrested on suspicion of swindling investors.
It is claimed she promised them they would benefit from ticket sales if they brought an R. Kelly tour to the country in 2005.
The concerts never happened – but Zakwe allegedly kept the money and deposited some of it into the star’s bank account.
But the singer denies any knowledge of the incident – and insists he doesn’t even know who Zakwe is.
A spokesman for the star says, “There is absolutely no truth to the reports that R. Kelly received money from a South African woman accused of swindling investors by convincing them to invest in a non-existent R. Kelly tour in 2005.
“Mr. Kelly has no knowledge of this woman, has never received any money from her, and has not been contacted by any law enforcement authorities regarding the matter. He will, of course, cooperate fully with any legitimate investigation of this matter, since he has nothing to hide.”

New AMERICAN IDOL judge KARA DIOGUARDI was so surprised to be offered the job that she nearly fell off her chair.
The music producer was stunned to be given the post, but insists she will add to the chemistry of the TV talent show.
And she is determined to get on with her fellow judges – including Paula Abdul, with whom she collaborated on Kylie Minogue’s hit Spinning Around.
Speaking about the moment she was offered the role, DioGuardi says, “I almost fell off the chair” and adds that she hopes to create “a new chemistry as well as keeping the old”.
And asked how she felt about judging wannabe pop stars, she says, “I’m a little nervous. I’m going to be a straight shooter and say it like I see it and maintain that philosophy.
“I’m somebody who’s really honest and gives an opinion. If I feel I need to be hard, I will be. And if I feel I need to be more nurturing, I will be.”

Got $250 to spare, then you could attend Miley Cyrus’s sweet 16 brithday bash at Disneyland in California.

For Miley, the birthday bash is a once-in-a-lifetime event and she plans to make new Disney theme park memories during the evening.

There will a lot of fun activities including a Party Zone dedicated to Hannah Montana events.

Let the party begin.

CELINE DION has added the title of doctor to her resume, after receiving an honorary degree from a Canadian university.
The singer was bestowed the doctorate from the Universite Laval on Thursday (21Aug08) in acknowledgement of her personal and professional achievements.
Speaking at the award ceremony at the Palais Montcalm, she told the 800 people present the diploma is “a very great honour for a little girl from Charlemagne”.
The singer, who never finished high school, urged students to pursue further education, but noted that “the school of life is also very important”.
She added: “If there is something that has guided my life, it’s my wish to excel and go farther, to the maximum of my abilities, to the top of my goals, my hopes and my dreams.”

It’s D-Day — as in Delivery Day — for Gwen Stefani! The singer checked into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles and is scheduled to give birth via C-section at 10 a.m. PT. This will be the second child for Gwen, 38, and her husbandGavin Rossdale—and it’s in the same hospital where she gave birth to son Kingston, 2. “Gwen’s so excited to have this baby because she gained a lot of weight during this pregnancy,” her pal reveals to In Touch. “She is ready to meet her new baby and get her body back.”