LOS ANGELES (AFP) - - Pop star Britney Spears on Monday temporarily lost custody of her two sons after a court battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline, judicial sources said.
Federline "is to retain physical custody of the minor children on Wednesday October 3, 2007 at 12:00 pm until further order of the court," the court documents said.
The divorce between Spears, 25, and Federline, 29, became final at the end of July, but their temporary shared custody arrangement for their sons began to unravel amid allegations from Federline's camp that Spears was an unfit mother.
A judge on September 18 ordered Spears to undergo random drug testing in the latest twist in the bitter custody battle over Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1.
Los Angeles Superior Court judge Scott Gordon said at the time that according to evidence presented in closed door hearings, Spears was a "habitual, frequent, and continuous" user of "controlled substances and alcohol," court documents showed.
Her drug and alcohol testing was to be "conducted twice per week on random dates and times."
However, Tuesday's documents said the transcript of proceedings was "sealed" and gave no details about what led the court to change of custody order.
Earlier this month, a former Spears bodyguard had lodged a statement with the court making allegations of nudity and drug use, and expressing concern about the welfare of the Spears' sons.
Reports have said Federline had been seeking a 70/30 arrangement in his favor instead of the 50/50 agreement the couple agreed to after separating.
Spears and Federline were to be "restrained from making derogatory remarks about the other party and the other party's family or significant other," an earlier court order said.
Gordon, who also ordered Spears to see a therapist at least once a week, is requiring her to hire a parenting "coach," ordered the former couple to sign up for a Parenting Without Conflict program.
Spears filed for divorce last year from Federline, a former back-up dancer and aspiring rap singer, and has rarely been out of the tabloid headlines since -- especially following her downward spiral that landed her in a rehabilitation center in February.
Her stint in rehab followed a series of lurid tabloid headlines chronicling her erratic lifestyle.
She was repeatedly photographed in nightspots wearing no underwear, and was also captured bizarrely shaving her head in a hair salon and attacking a photographer's car with an umbrella.
She reportedly has had fallings out with both of her parents; media reports also speculated that she might suffer from post-partum depression or another psychiatric condition.
The loss of custody was the latest blow to Spears' image as she attempts to rebuild her sagging career ahead of the release in November of her first album in four years.
Just weeks ago, Spears' management company terminated a barely month-old contract with her, following heavily criticized public performance by the singer at the MTV Video Music Awards in Las Vegas.
The talented dancer and performer stunned many at the show by appearing not to know all the moves to her own number, or all the words to her own song.
Spears shot to superstardom in late 1998, with her smash-hit debut album "Baby One More Time" which she followed with another chart-topping success the following year, "Oops! ... I Did It Again".
According to Time magazine, Spears has sold over 76 million records worldwide and her 31 million albums sold in the US make her the eighth best-selling female artist in US music history.
Britney Spears is back with a hot new sound. Gimme more was produced by Timbaland.
This is Britney's new single, Gimme More. It leaked yesterday.
Its gonna be a hit, I know it. This is definitely a club banger.
Here you got the lyrics:
I see you And I just wanna dance with you
Everytime they turn the lights down Just wanna go that extra mile for you Public display of affection Feels like no one else in the room
We can get down like there's no one around We'll keep on rockin', we'll keep on rockin' Cameras are flashin' while we're dirty dancin' They keep watchin', keep watchin'
Feels like the crowd is saying:
Gimme gimme more, gimme more, gimme gimme more [*4]
The center of attention Even when they're up against the wall You got me in a crazy position If you're on a mission You got my permission
We can get down like there's no one around We'll keep on rockin', we'll keep on rockin' Cameras are flashin' while we're dirty dancin' They keep watchin', keep watchin'
Feels like the crowd is saying:
Gimme gimme more, gimme more, gimme gimme more [*4]
I just can't control myself More, they want more Well, I'll give them more
Gimme gimme more, gimme more, gimme gimme more [*4]
Gimme more,gimme more Gimme more,gimme more babe I just want more
Gimme gimme, gimme, gimme gimme [*4]
[Danja:] Bet you didn't see this one coming The incredible lygo The legendary Miss Britney Sears The unstoppable Danja You gonna have to remove me 'Cause I ain't goin' no where
Here's the review of Blender magazine of this song:
WHO: Britney Spears WHAT: "Gimme More" WHY: At the end of Britney Spears' new single, producer Danjahandz (Justin Timberlake, Katharine McPhee) says, "Bet you didn't see this coming." He's right.
Even if it's an obvious "SexyBack" retread (all the way down to the distorted vocals), the unsettling disco dazzler "Gimme More" is about as good a track as we could expect from a woman whose life has turned into a lurid, express line farce.
Britney's breathy lyrics take on her tabloid stalkers in a way that's somewhere between completely self-aware, invincible and, dare we say, kinda artful. "They want more, well, I'll give them more," she says, standing up to a billion flash bulbs with a genuine potential smash hit behind her.
She's not just bitching about the paparazzi — she's begging them for more with a smirk and some cocaine funk. Reverse psychology par excellence or a star admitting to her own dark, attention-craving desires? Either way, it's more intriguing than it should be. "It's Britney, bitch," she says at the top of the track. Welcome back, bitch.
This photograph, released by sculptor Daniel Edwards on Tuesday, March 28, 2006, shows his sculpture of singer Britney Spears giving birth. The life-sized 'Monument to Pro-Life: The Birth of Sean Preston,' seen at the artists studio in in Moosup, Conn.
Britney Jean Spears (b. December 2, 1981, McComb, Mississippi) is an American pop music singer, songwriter, and dancer. She currently resides in Beverly Hills, California.
She is best known for her studio albums, music videos, and songs such as "...Baby One More Time", "Oops!...I Did It Again", "I'm a Slave 4 U" and "Toxic", for which she won a Grammy Award. In the early 2000s, Spears' success as a singer led her way to high-profile advertising deals and endorsements, as well as forays into other forms of media, including film and reality television. Her third and fourth albums, Britney and In the Zone, were released during this era. In 2004, she married back-up dancer and aspiring rap artist Kevin Federline, and the following year she gave birth to their first son, Sean Preston. Their second son, Jayden James, was born in 2006. Spears filed for divorce from Federline on November 7, 2006 citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized on July 30, 2007.
Spears has sold over seventy-six million records worldwide according to Time magazine. The RIAA ranks her as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history, having sold thirty-one million albums in the U.S.
