Britney Spears is back in shape

London, Jan 17 (IANS) After giving birth to two boys, Britney Spears was out of shape for several years but now she is back with her sculpted body thanks to a strenuous workout.

“I have had to work hard at getting my body back to where it used to be. I used to be obsessed with working out but right now I am not giving my best because I am more focused on making music,” dailymail.co.uk quoted Britney Spears as saying.

Spears started going to the gym and dance training classes last summer where she lost 20 pounds weight.

After making her comeback last year and scoring a number one hit with Womanizer, Spears is preparing to reclaim her pop crown with a world tour “The Circus” which kicks off from her home state of Louisiana in March.

London, Jan 17 (IANS) Pop singer Mariah Carey will sing “Hero” for Barack Obama when he is sworn in as the 44th American president Tuesday.

The pop star will follow Beyonce Knowles at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball in Washington and admits her hit is the perfect song for Obama, reports contactmusic.com.

She says: “It’s fitting for him. It’s appropriate.”

As Carey prepares for her big night by relaxing with husband Nick Cannon at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, she admits she’s “nervous” about her performance, adding: “I’m glad to be American.”

Leonardo DiCaprio is also expected to jet in from the London premiere of “Revolutionary Road” for the ball and soul legends Stevie Wonder and Aretha Franklin are also expected to be a part of the big night.

Madonna’s nude picture may sell for $10,000

New York, Jan 17 (DPA) A nude picture of Madonna, taken when the queen of pop was a struggling dancer in New York in 1979, is expected to sell for at least $10,000, auction house Christie’s said Friday.

Madonna received $25 in payment for the modelling session, after answering a newspaper ad by photographer Lee Friedlander. The results of the session were published in Playboy magazine in 1985.

The full-frontal nude print, which is said to be the most revealing of the series, will be sold Feb 12 in New York, with many expecting Madonna herself to be among the high bidders.

Also up for sale is a later photo of a lingerie-clad Madonna by Helmut Newton, which is expected to fetch up to $15,000.