Entertainer Quickie: Britney Spears on X Factor and Lady Gaga’s Jakarta concert cancelled

Britney Spears on “The X Factor”

Britney Spears and Demi Lovato are the newest additions to “The X Factor” judging panel. After the first season of the US spinoff wasn’t as big of a success as Simon Cowell had predicted, previous judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul left the show, leaving a couple of openings. Simon Cowell is making predictions again, banking a lot of money on Spears, 30, and Lovato, 19, to bring in a younger crowd for the second season of the talent competition.

Spears became a household name at a very young age, churning out one hit record after another. After suffering through an emotional breakdown of sorts in 2007, she has rebounded with new records and is careful to shy away from too much media attention. Her move onto “X Factor” will be the most public she has been in a couple years, making people wonder how she will cope and many may tune in just to see the potential wreckage.

For one season alone, Spears can reportedly look forward to a $15 million dollar check from the Fox producers, which is more than five times the amount Abdul was getting paid before she was fired. The obscenely large paycheck, if true, is a bit much considering Spears may not be able to handle the pressure of possibly crushing the hopes and dreams of the contestants.

Lady Gaga’s concert in Jakarta cancelled

Lady Gaga’s sold-out June 3 concert in Jakarta, Indonesia has been cancelled by Indonesian authorities who were reportedly responding to conservative religious protestors who spoke out against the performer, feeling that her provocative ways are disrespectful to their culture and country. They were extremely worried that Gaga’s sexual persona, including the song content and her dancing, would be a corrupting influence on the young audience. Giving in to the pressure, police revoked the concert organizers’ permit, effectively keeping the show from going on. The decision was largely influenced by some more extreme threats made if the show hadn’t been cancelled, calling Lady Gaga’s safety into question and making the concert a possibly dangerous decision.

Ticket-holder Mariska Renata spoke with The Associated Press, saying, “I’m very disappointed. We are mature enough to be able to separate our own moral values from the arts and culture.”

This show would have been one of the first stops on the Asian circuit of Gaga’s “Born This Way Ball” tour. With 52,000 seats sold, many fans in Jakarta are disappointed that they will no longer be able to see the pop phenomenon, but they aren’t the first to be kept from seeing Gaga. Other shows in this circuit have been faced with restrictions and complications, such as her show in South Korea, which is banning fans under the age of 18 from attending due to protestor insistence.