Kelly Clarkson
The new issue of Us Weekly, which looks at how Kelly Clarkson lost 30 pounds! After enduring constant weight scrutiny ever since she nabbed the inaugural American Idol crown in 2002, the 30-year-old has revealed her healthiest figure yet. Thanks to a five-days-a-week training schedule and a portion-control diet, the 5-foot-4 singer has shed a remarkable 30 pounds in the last six months. “She feels better about herself than she ever has,” a source says of Clarkson, now just 10 pounds away from her ultimate goal weight. And the Burleson, Texas, native has someone to celebrate with when her scale hits that dream number: her Nashville-based beau, Brandon Blackstock, 35. Clarkson credits the talent manager (son of her own longtime manager, Narvel, and stepson of Reba McEntire) with inspiring her slimdown. “No one likes to be not toned when you are dating someone,” she says. And when that someone is as encouraging as Blackstock, who manages Blake Shelton, staying motivated is a snap. Says the insider, “Brandon is the first guy ever who tells her how beautiful and sexy she is. She wants to look good for him.”
Kim Kardashian
Also there is a feature about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West continuing to defy naysayers as they flaunt their love. They “are the real deal,” says a confidant. “I’ve never seen her like this.” And now that West has won over the woman he’s told friends is his “dream girl,” he’s playing for keeps. “He waited for Kim,” says a West pal. “He knows they’re meant to be.” “They’re seriously talking marriage,” says the West pal, “and yes, she would.” He’s also hot to start a spinoff family of their own. “Kanye says he can’t wait to see her carrying his child,” says the source. “He says she will look beautiful pregnant.”
Also included below are this week’s Hot Stuff items which include the scoop on Simon Cowell being worried about Britney Spears’s behavior on The X Factor, Bachelorette Emily Maynard’s family feud, Mark Zuckerberg’s quirky honeymoon, and Tom Cruise’s less than stellar bowling skills.
HOT STUFF
Simon Cowell
SIMON COWELL: Worried About Brit
The erratic, “zoning out” pop star has Cowell concerned
Oops, she did it again: Britney Spears is back to behaving badly! An insider says The X Factor creator Simon Cowell is already anxious about Spears’ unpredictable behavior. “He wonders if hiring her was a mistake,” says the source. The trouble began May 24 at auditions in Austin. “When a contestant botched her hit ‘Hold It Against Me,’ she just left,” says a witness. “She missed the next four auditions. People weren’t sure if she was coming back.” (Spears, 30, later tweeted: “LOL was just taking a little break people.”) Another issue? Her judging style. A witness says that while Cowell, 52, L.A. Reid, 56, and Demi Lovato, 19, critiqued contestants, Spears “always said nice things, even telling one mediocre singer he could be ‘bigger than Justin Bieber.’ Simon was shocked!” While an X Factor insider counters, “Simon doesn’t regret hiring Britney, and as a judge, she had strong opinions,” the first source cautions, “I don’t know how she’s going to handle the live shows!”
Her Family Feud
As Emily Maynard’s love life heats up on The Bachelorette, her family ties are cooling off. The parents of her late fiancé, Ricky Hendrick, are “livid” the mother, 26, of their granddaughter Ricki, 6, has returned to reality TV. “When Emily first went on The Bachelor, they weren’t pleased, but they supported her,” a source tells Hot Stuff. “Now that she went back, they’re not speaking.” And though another insider insists, “The family has a great relationship with her,” the source maintains, “This is really not the way they saw Emily’s future.”
MARK ZUCKERBERG: His Quirky Honeymoon!
What’s not to “like”? Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, worth $19 billion when his company went public May 18, put his money to work during his Italian honeymoon with Priscilla Chan. The couple, who wed on May 19, stayed at Rome’s $1,000-a-night Portrait Suites hotel before flying, via private jet, to Tuscany and the Amalfi Coast. But Zuckerberg, 28, and the med school grad, 27, also made some budget-friendly buys. The newlyweds spent just $40 at kosher eatery Nonna Betta on May 26. “They shared a plate of ravioli,” owner Umberto Pavoncello tells Us, adding that instead of celebrating with cocktails, the couple sipped water and tea!
Tom’s Problem With the Pins
How does Tom Cruise roll? Apparently, right into the gutter! When the Rock of Ages cast hit Miami’s Lucky Strike for a wrap party last summer, the star, 49, totally tanked. “He was horrible,” says a witness, adding that the actor threw zeroes on many frames. Still, the source adds that when he joked with Cruise about his score, “he just looked at me and smiled!”
