Now that he’s gone, it seems everyone wants a piece of Michael Jackson.

Cirque du Soleil, the popular circus troupe that does shows in practically every hotel in Vegas, announced earlier today that it is creating a show around Michael Jackson’s music, reports E!Online.com.

The show will, undoubtedly, follow the same style as the widely popular The Beatles: Love and Viva Elvis.

They said the show will start off with an arena tour in late 2011 and will be followed by a permanent residency in Las Vegas in 2010 at an MGM Mirage Inc. property. A nightclub with the same theme is due to open around the same time.

“Having attended Cirque du Soleil performances with Michael, I know he was a huge fan,” said Jon Branca, co-executor of the King of Pop’s estate, in a statement.

Jackson’s mother, Katherine, added, “Our family is thrilled that Cirque du Soleil will pay tribute to my son in such an important way.”

The estate and the circus troupe will each own 50 per cent of the project, and share the production and development costs evenly.

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Wait, so you’re saying she doesn’t really sing at her shows? Well, that is shocking.

After a frenzy of negative reviews for her Circus tour, Britney Spears is speaking out over the lip-synch scandal that started in Australia following her first two shows there, according to rollingstone.com.

“I hear there is a lot of controversy in the media about my show,” a statement by Spears said yesterday. “Some reporters said they love it and some don’t. I came to Australia for my fans.”

The Australian press reported that concertgoers for Spears’ first two concerts in Perth began leaving the venue after only a few songs of Spears’ set, when it became evident that she was lip-synching. Spears has also been criticized for what the media has reported as a lack of engagement with the crowd. She only talked to the audience once, telling them how beautiful Australia was.

The scandal was heightened when New South Wales’ fair trade minister proposed marking all Circus tour tickets with a disclaimer that said the show was pre-recorded and mimed.

Spears’ lip-synching has been widely reported in the media since the Circus tour kicked off in New Orleans on March 3. And some may argue that the pop singer has been lip-synching since her …Baby One More Time days.

Still, those behind the circus are supportive.

“It’s been all over the Internet for nine months,” said Paul Dainty, Spears’ tour promoter. “This show is about an incredible spectacle, which it is.”

Yet somehow, the voice of reason has come from unlikely vocal chords: those of John Mayer. The Battle Studies singer tweeted on the weekend, “If you’re shocked that Britney was lip-synching at her concert and want your money back, may life continue to be hard for you.”

After a four-day break, the Circus tour will resume tonight for the first if three shows in Melbourne, Australia.

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Miranda Tozier-Robbins, the woman arrested on Thursday after allegedly peeping in the windows of singer Britney Spears‘ California home has an excuse that states that she was merely attempting to make a paparazzi documentary. 
According to celebuzz.com, Tozier-Robbins, a former American Idol hopeful who sang Spears’ “Everytime” during her audition, was wearing camouflage fatigues and carrying a backpack and a camera at the time of her alleged trespassing incident.

The Fitchburg, Massachusetts native, 26, says that she wanted to document the efforts that paparazzi go through to obtain their photos, and picked Spears as her target because it “might as well be someone I’m interested in.” She went on on claim that she didn’t expect the “Womanizer” songstress to be home at the time—and it’s believed that she wasn’t—but if she had snapped photos of Spears she would have sold them. 

Tozier-Robbins is due in court on June 16 to face trespassing and disorderly conduct charges.

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Britney Spears is bringing the excitement of the circus everywhere she goes.  The 27-year-old popstar, who is currently on her Circus world tour, is donating $100,000 to the Miami Children’s Hospital’s Big Apple Circus Clown Care program.

Spears also visited with her fans at the hospital.  She made a surprise, 30-minute visit with 40 sick children at the hospital on Saturday before her show at the American Airlines Arena.  According to E! News, Spears posed for photos with the kids and signed autographs.

“She took pictures with the kids and gave them autographed pictures,” says a rep for the hospital. “The kids were so excited to meet Britney, and having her here was a great distraction for them.”  

The Clown Care program provides young patients with treatment (and chuckles) from clowns with medical training.  They visit the young patients on a regular basis, as well as attend special events at the hospital. 

Britney will perform at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa tonight, and is set to appear at the Nasseau Coliseum in Uniondale on Wednesday.  

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Opening up for the legendary Britney Spears is a big task for anyone or any group to handle, especially taking on the responsibility for the circus tour, which is set to be pure magic for both Britney’s career and audiences around the world. Yet, the Pussycat Dolls are an extraordinary group of women who have stepped up to the plate and are going on tour with Britney, promising to make this show a pure spectacle.

The pussycat Dolls are working non stop, joining Britney’s circus right after wrapping up their own Doll Domination tour.

“We just came back from Serbia,” Niclole Scherzinger told mtvnews.com. “We finished our leg of our tour — which is completely the opposite of this — and just landed last night. So we’re still working … just working everything out. It’s pretty unbelievable.”
Although PCD have been doing non-stop touring, they are still incredibly excited and charged with energy for the Circus. “This whole show is amazing … it’s a perfect match, really,” Doll Ashley Roberts said. “Britney Spears is truly a Pussycat Doll, and she’s an icon and she’s someone I have watched and always looked up to, as a triple-threat entertainer. So it’s a perfect match — PCD and Britney Spears, in the circus.”

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Magician and actor Ed Alonzo will be joining Britney Spears’ “Circus” tour according to E! Online. It has been reported the illusionist will be performing a magic number with the singer on her tour.

“Right away she got into the boxes and into the magic contraptions to learn the stuff, and she’s so excited about this tour and all the elements that are in it,” said Alonzo to E! News.

“We’re going to be doing the classics of magic but a little high-tech,” he continued. “We’ll be doing a little dissection, transposition, a vanish, an appearance—and if I do a trick she doesn’t just hold the props, she’s actually getting inside the big boxes or I am slicing her up.”

Alonzo said the tricks are relatively easy but there are “some complicated things that she is doing that you would think a contortionist would have to do, or a trained magicians assistant.”

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Adrien Gough and Henry Walter, members of a Canadian band who live in Halifax, wrote the music for the song “Mmm Papi” alongside Montreal’s Peter-John Kerr.

The song is on Britney Spears’ new album “Circus” released yesterday (December 2), coinciding with the pop singer’s 27th birthday.

The trio composed the music under their band name, Let’s Go to War, while one of the singer’s producers, Nicole Morier, wrote the lyrics. She selected the song out of the many tunes the trio sent her through Kobalt Music in Los Angeles.

Spears recently performed songs from “Circus” in New York and plans to complete a 26-city tour. Her first single off the new album (“Womanizer”) reached the N. 1 spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 singles chart in October.

The next single off her new album is none other than “Circus.” The up-tempo track was produced by Dr. Luke and Benny Blanco.

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