The singer is said to preparing to release her first song since 2005 in the next few weeks and has a “surprising” new sound.

A source said: “It’s a very new sound for her. I think people will be surprised.”

Britney has been working with music producer Sean Garrett – who has previously collaborated with Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Lopez and Mary J Blige – but it is yet known if he has produced her comeback single.

It had previously been reported Britney was set to release a single from her new album last Saturday.

The 25-year-old has already reportedly treated some fans to a sneak preview of her latest record.

Dancers were asked to perform to a track from Britney’s new album during tryouts to find two new male backing dancers last month.

One dancer said: “It was dope. It reminded me of that one song you hear at 1.50am, when they call last call at a club, and it’s the hottest, nastiest song you’ve ever heard in your life and you’ve just got to put your drink
down and dance to it. You’ve got no choice. Your body is insisting on it.”

Britney, who had hoped to have her album out by the end of this year, was recently left frustrated to discover the release date has now been pushed back to 2008.

Apparently she was sobbing during dinner – with her new bodyguard/manny by her side – but still managed to puff through a few ciggies. She retreated upstairs to a room and we never spotted her come down again …

Her cousin/assistant Alli has been conspicuously absent over the past week, since we first saw the new bodyguard/manny come on board. A source is telling us Brit and Alli are taking a much-needed break after so much time together over the past few months — that a little spat has temporarily separated the two. Not surprising, since who wouldn’t eventually have trouble with another person after spending so much time together? We’re hoping it’s nothing serious and that the lovely Alli is back in Britney’s life soon. And best of luck to you, Brit!

Why the tears?

Could the most bizarre friendship be developing in Celebsville?

Eccentric singer Bjork has sent Britney Spears her diaries to help the troubled star deal with the pressures of fame and motherhood.

Bjork, 41, has written to the mother-of-two because she went through similar low times when she was living in the UK.

She kept a journal of her troubles and how she overcame them.

And now the Icelandic pop-star hopes her experiences will help Britney, 25, overcome her problems. ‘I feel so sorry for her,’ says Bjork. ‘I have sent some of my thoughts that I wrote down when I was going through similar stuff.’

Generous Bjork has also offered the pop princess the use of her home in Iceland as a retreat.

‘I was able to move away, but she can’t,’ she tells the Daily Star. ‘But she can always stay in Iceland at my place.’

The “Oops I Did It Again” singer plans to stop divorce proceedings against K-Fed and wants to get back together with him, according to the upcoming issue of the National Enquirer. Federline reportedly isn’t so keen on the idea.

“I’m not divorcing you!” Spears told a “stunned” K-Fed during a recent phone conversation, reports the tab. “I want my family back!”

But is Britney shopping for a new agent?

Maybe! Our spy witnesses told us the pop star made a pit stop at mega-agency CAA.

Now courthouse sources are telling “Extra” that Britney’s battle with her mom just took a major turn for the worse!

Even though it looked like they had made up last week, sources say Britney is going to file a restraining order against her mom Lynne to keep her away from the kids.

And it’s getting nasty…paparazzi news agency X17 suggests that Lynne is abusing painkillers.

Brit’s attorneys aren’t commenting.

In a video blog on her Website, O’Donnell waxed enthusiastic about the possibility that the tarnished pop princess might be making a guest appearance alongside Cyndi Lauper later this month.

“Brit, if you’re watching, honey, you and me—we’re gonna share, like, a backstage moment, ’cause I love you, kid!” said O’Donnell, who has been playing the drums for some of Lauper’s performances.

Rumor has it that Spears will join the True Colors tour for the Los Angeles stopover at the Greek Theater on Saturday. Her choreographer told People last week that the singer had been auditioning male backup dancers in anticipation of the performance.

However, as O’Donnell tells it, Lauper would be among those surprised by a surprise Spears appearance.

“Cyndi says it’s not happening and it’s Cyndi’s tour, so she would know,” O’Donnell said.

But the former View cohost isn’t giving up hope just yet.

“If it is happening, I’m thrilled, because I enjoy Britney,” she said.

Tour organizers had no comment on the situation.

Last month, Spears performed several (poorly kept) secret shows at venues in Southern California and Las Vegas marking her first live appearances in almost three years.

The mother-of-two has reportedly been hard at work on a comeback album, though no release date has been revealed.

In the meantime, Spears recently unveiled a new cryptic message on her Website, reading: “Mother to Grandmother, and my my, you’re grand.”

No word on what the pop star meant by the message, or if it was intended for her own mother, Lynne Spears, with whom she has reportedly had strained relations of late.

Whether or not Spears makes an appearance, there will be plenty to take in at Saturday’s True Colors concert.

Aside from Lauper, other acts scheduled to take the stage include Erasure, Debbie Harry, the Dresden Dolls and the MisShapes. Margeret Cho will serve as emcee and O’Donnell is expected to perform a standup act.

The troubled singer, who allegedly visited her attorney to make enquiries about the order last week, is said to have completed the paperwork in an attempt to keep Lynne away from her two sons.

Britney claims Lynne is abusing prescription pain medication and should not be allowed to see 21-month-old Sean Preston and nine-month-old Jayden James.

The papers were allegedly due to be filed late on Monday or on Tuesday, according to website X17Online.

Britney is said to be furious with Lynne for visiting Sean Preston and Jayden James at her estranged husband Kevin Federline’s home.

She believes Lynne and Kevin forced her to enter rehab earlier this year to seek help for her alleged alcohol addiction and post-natal depression.

Britney is also said to be livid that her mother sided with Kevin during the couple’s custody battle.

Lynne recently claimed her relationship with her daughter was improving, but insisted Britney still had a long way to go before overcoming her problems.

She said: “It’s sad that the whole world had to watch her make mistakes that all of us have made at one time or another.

“Britney Jean Spears is the sweetest and the most sensitive and loving of all my children. She is figuring things out.”

On her updates website, the Toxic singer posted the words ‘Mother to grandmother, and my my you’re grand’.

Recently, Spears was seen laughing and chatting with her mother in Bel Air, when they visited her sister Jamie Spears and her boyfriend.

Recently, Lynne told US magazine that it is sad that the whole word had to watch her celeb daughter making mistakes.

“You go into a time in your life with the world watching and you are just trying to figure yourself out. It’s sad that the whole world had to watch her make mistakes that all of us have made at one time or another,” Contactmusic quoted her, as telling the magazine.

Lynne Spears added that the 25-year-old is just ‘trying to figure out things’, and that she is the ‘sweetest, sensitive ad the most loving’ of all her children

“Britney Jean Spears is the sweetest and the most sensitive and loving of all my children. She’s just figuring things out,” she said.

The troubled Toxic singer is planning a special performance on Lauper’s True Colors tour next weekend.

Britney’s choreographer Misha Gabriel has revealed she will join Lauper, Debbie Harry, Erasure, The Dresden Dolls and The MisShapes on stage at Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre on June 30.

The True Colors tour was created by Lauper to raise funds for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender organisations.

Britney was due at Hollywood’s Millennium Dance Complex last Friday to select two male backing dancers but failed to show up.

The star sent two trusted female backing dancers to video the 21 hopefuls, allowing Britney to select them later this week.

The dancers were asked to perform to a track from Britney’s new album.

Hopeful Sam Pete told People magazine: “It was dope. It reminded me of that one song you hear at 1.50 am, when they call last call at a club, and it’s the hottest, nastiest song you’ve ever heard in your life and you’ve just got to put your drink down and dance to it. You’ve got no choice. Your body is insisting on it.”

Britney, who had hoped to have her album out by the end of this year, has been left frustrated to discover the release date has now been pushed back to 2008.

Her representative Leslie Sloane Zelnick revealed: “I put her on hiatus. Brit’s album won’t be out until 2008.”

The 36-year-old Lopez, better known as J.Lo, has started legal proceedings against the Enquirer in Belfast and is planning cases in Dublin and London over a March 12 story linking her to a drug scandal. The suit is the latest to ensnare Lantana, Florida- based American Media Inc., which is owned by Roger Altman’s Evercore Partners Inc. and Thomas H. Lee Partners LP.

Britney Spears, 25, last year won an apology from the Enquirer in a case which critics said highlighted the trend of celebrities turning to the U.K. and Irish courts. Kate Hudson, 28, and Cameron Diaz, 34, have won similar cases in the past year, as the Internet erases judicial borders for media companies, leaving them open to lawsuits around the world.

“These people are global superstars, with international reputations,” Paul Tweed, a lawyer at Johnsons Solicitors who represents both Lopez and Spears, said in an interview at his Belfast office. “They have the same right as any other individual to seek vindication in any jurisdiction where their reputation is established.”

Spears and Hudson brought cases which involved the U.K. editions of the Enquirer. Diaz in February received an apology in London for a story that appeared on the magazine’s Web site, claiming that the actress had been unfaithful to her former boyfriend Justin Timberlake.

Absence of Malice

“There is no doubt that English libel law tends to favor individual reputation over free speech,” said lawyer Floyd Abrams, the author of “Speaking Freely: Trials of the First Amendment.” “Defamation awards tend to be higher in the U.S., but it’s much easier to win a case in the U.K.”

While the 14 U.S. libel trials last year were the fewest since 1980, according to the Media Law Resource Center, stars are being drawn by London and Belfast courts, which don’t demand evidence of malice in defamation cases, unlike their American counterparts.

“U.S. celebrities are taking advantage of our friendlier courts,” said Niri Shan of the London-based law firm Taylor Wessing, who represents the Enquirer.

There were 20 celebrity-versus-newspaper court cases filed in the U.K. in the 12 months through May 2006, up from nine a year earlier, according to data from Sweet & Maxell, a London- based legal publisher that tracks cases.

“This is outrageous,” Shan said. “It’s contrary to free speech. They should sue where the substantive publication is.”

The Enquirer is one of 16 magazines, including the Weekly World News and the Star, controlled by American Media, which was purchased by Evercore in 1999. Boston-based Thomas H. Lee bought its stake in 2003.

Liberace Case

U.K. courts have traditionally been a friendlier venue for aggrieved celebrities. As far back as 1959, Liberace, the U.S. pianist, successfully sued the London-based Daily Mirror for implying he was gay after describing him, in part, as a “fruit- flavored, mincing, ice-covered heap of mother love.”

“Celebrities and others from the U.S. suing in the U.K. is something that’s been with us for a while, it’s significant, and it’s not going away,” said Dan Tench, a media lawyer at London- based law firm Olswang. “We’ll see more cases revolving around allegations made on U.S. Web sites.”

The spread of U.K. editions of gossip magazines and the Internet is fueling the trend. J.Lo’s case follows that of Spears last year, when Tweed won an apology from the National Enquirer for alleging the singer’s marriage to Kevin Federline was in trouble. The couple filed for divorce about four months later.

Dropped Proceedings

Following the breakup, Tweed dropped proceedings against publications that had yet to apologize for making allegations about the state of Spears’s marriage.

“It’s the fault of the way the law works here,” said Shan. “U.K. libel law should be reformed.”

U.S. media companies say foreign courts aren’t the most appropriate place to hear a case, as they seek to limit the spread of such claims.

“If there’s a sufficient amount of liability that is proven and they have to pay out enough of these things enough times it will hurt their profitability,” said Hal Vogel, an independent media analyst in New York. “If there’s a slew of lawsuits that they lose, the damage to the reputation of the publication could be substantial.”

Altman

A former deputy treasury secretary for President Bill Clinton, Altman founded New York-based Evercore in 1996 after leaving the administration. Altman was previously co-head of investment banking at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and a vice chairman at New York-based Blackstone Group LP.

Evercore has advised clients on 19 deals announced this year valued at $67 billion, 27th among Wall Street investment banks, according to Bloomberg data. Kenny Juarez, an outside spokesman for Evercore, declined to comment. Matt Benson, an outside spokesman for Thomas H. Lee, referred questions to American Media.

“We have a full-time legal department that’s dedicated to reviewing copy,” according to Michael Antonello, the acting head of American Media’s legal department, who said the magazine’s U.S. Web site isn’t available to British browsers. “While we get threatened a lot, we don’t get sued a lot.”

Actress Kate Hudson a year ago won an apology and undisclosed damages after the magazine in October 2005 said she was unhealthily thin. In the Spears case, the Enquirer published the apology only in its U.K. edition.

Reversing the Internet

“With the World Wide Web, the jurisdiction of the court is no longer as significant, given that any apology will be published internationally, instantly,” Tweed, 52, said. “It’s about reversing the power of the Internet.”

Since the Spears case, Tweed said he has been contacted by as many as 10 celebrities about possible cases.

Damage awards in Belfast and Dublin tend to be higher than London, Tweed said, citing a 25,000 pound ($49,700) award in February against a Northern Irish newspaper after a jury decided a restaurant review was defamatory.

While U.K. courts tend to award less damages than U.S. juries, for many celebrities, that isn’t an issue.

“A prompt categorical retraction and apology are the primary objective for these individuals,” said Tweed. “Not necessarily damages.”