CelebSpice

Music notes and news - Kanye West has defended his choice to wear fur coats and PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) are unhappy with his choice.  The hip hop singer rants about the decision on his blog and according to Digital Spy of the UK, West also claimed that wearing fur is part of his cultural identity.

More music notes...Sexy singer Mariah Carey (pictured) gets in a sticky situation with chewing gum while dressed as a naughty nurse in her saucy new video.

The curvy star vamps it up in her skimpy nurse’s uniform as she teasingly stretches her gum out of her mouth in the promo for Up Out My Face.
And she sets pulses racing again by pulling a wad of notes out of her low-cut top and fanning herself with them.
Mariah teams up with rapper Nicki Minaj in the video, which also sees them as real-life Barbie dolls who eventually break out of their boxes. The pair get pampered in a beauty salon and drink champagne in a supermarket in other scenes. Mariah’s husband Nick Cannon directed the promo and makes a cameo appearance at the end.

Gabourey Sidibe felt "inspired" working alongside Mariah Carey.

The American star - who made her acting debut in 'Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire', in which she plays troubled teenager Claireece 'Precious' Jones - admits it was a dream come true working with Mariah, who played her dowdy social worker.

Gabourey said: "I've bought Mariah's albums and I saw her live recently. I've been inspired by various people such as Mo'Nique, Mariah and Mary J. Blige."

The 26-year-old actress was equally impressed by British star Dame Helen Mirren when she met her at the recent Golden Globe Awards.

She told The Sun newspaper: "It pretty much rocked my face off. She is really awesome. She is the nicest lady.

"Oh man, the Golden Globes was a lot of fun. It was so fun because it was packed, but packed with celebrities. It was like leaving a baseball game and finding the person you happen to be crunched up against is Leonardo DiCaprio."

Mariah Carey will sing on Simon Cowell's Haiti charity single.

The 'Obsessed' hitmaker has signed up to join a selection of the world's biggest stars and add her vocals to the music mogul's star-studded cover version of the REM ballad 'Everybody Hurts'.

Simon has revealed the 40-year-old singer-and-actress was so keen to help raise relief funds for the Caribbean island following the two devastating earthquakes, she altered her schedule to fit in the recording.

He said: "We're getting there. We have had an incredible amount of support. It's amazing these great singers are clearing their schedules to make this happen.

"I just found out Mariah has changed her schedule to be able to do this too.

"It says such a lot that everyone is working so hard to help Haiti. This is something that really matters to us all and I'm so grateful for the support we are getting."

Simon - who hopes the song will be released next Sunday (31.01.10) - is thrilled about the extra publicity which will be generated now Mariah has joined the bill.

A source added to The Sun newspaper: "Mariah was brilliant, she wanted to help in any way she could. Her name gives the single another great boost."

'Hannah Montana' star Miley Cyrus has also joined the track's all-star cast.

Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Cole and British boy band JLS were the first to record their vocals in London over the weekend.

The song is particularly poignant to JLS member Oritse Williams, who has lost family members in Haiti.

He said: "This tragedy is very close to my heart. We hope to raise as much money as possible."

Mariah Carey thinks playing a dowdy social worker has boosted her self-confidence.

The singer - who is married to Nick Cannon and was previously wed to record company chief Tommy Mottola until 1997 - shed her glamorous image for her role in 'Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire' and says having to spend hours in front of a camera with heavy lighting and no make-up makes her feel more comfortable with staying natural at home.

She explained: "I think it was crucial to dress down. It was tough because making music videos is so different with the costumes, the angles, the lighting, stuff like that.

"In 'Precious', we sat in a fluorescent dentist's office and it was the worst-lit scene of the movie. The over-lighting emphasises the dark stuff under your eyes.

"I guess now I'll feel better about myself when I'm dressed normally at my house and walk past a mirror and see myself. I'll be like, well I've looked worse."

Mariah, 40, says she identified with the story of the movie - which follows a sexually abused, overweight teenager - because of her own previous experiences.

Pixie Lott broke down when she met her idol Mariah Carey.

The 'Boys and Girls' hitmaker surprised herself with her tearful response when she encountered the singer because she is usually so calm around other celebrities.

She said: "When I was little I listened to my mum's music. I sang all the big ballads by Mariah Carey. I met Mariah - she had a party in London and I got to meet her.

"I thought I'd be fine as I've met so many people but I shook her hand and started welling up. "

The 19-year-old British star is still embarrassed about the incident and wishes they had had a more notable encounter.

She told the Metro newspaper: "It was so embarrassing but I was overwhelmed, she'd been my idol since I was so young. Then she went to the toilet. She didn't give me any advice on how to be a popstar."

Pixie also admitted to having celebrities on the brain, as she recently had a nightmare about 'Bad Boys' singer Alexandra Burke.

She said: "I had a weird dream last night. I was robbed at gunpoint. They ran off with my bag, which had all my stuff in it, and I was thinking, 'Oh no, my mum's going to kill me.'

Mariah Carey felt ugly growing up because she was mixed race.

The 'Hero' singer - whose mother is Irish-American and her father was an African-American of Venezuelan descent - claims she never fitted in at school because of her heritage, leaving her very insecure about the way she looks.

She said: "I am very insecure about my looks, and I always have been because of being mixed race. It's not so weird now, and everyone's accepting it in a big way, but as a child I felt very, um, out of place and didn't feel pretty.

"When you grow up with that type of insecurity you don't always feel pretty."

Mariah began to realise she was different from other children when she took her white best friend on one of her weekly visits to see her father.

She told Observer Woman Magazine: "She got out of the car and went up the stairs to his house and he was over 6ft tall and very handsome, but to her he must have really been scary because I don't know that she'd ever seen a black man before. And she looked at him, her mouth went open and she started screaming and crying.

Nick Cannon believes wife Mariah Carey is "probably the funniest person in the world". The performer said Dreamlover star Mariah constantly makes him laugh. And he said their idea of a good time is to quote lines from Eddie Murphy films to one another.

He said: "She's probably the funniest person in the world, and I don't say that about a lot of people 'cause, as a comedian, it's kind of tough to make me laugh, but she just keeps me rolling, like all day long. "Her sense of humor and her wit is just - her comedic timing, all of it is just impeccable. She is a jokester."

Nick, who hosts America's Got Talent, told website AskMen.com: "Like, we sit around quoting Eddie Murphy movies from the 80s. She is one of those type of people, you'd never expect her to be so funny and so comedically brilliant."
He added: "Like on America's Got Talent, when just out of nowhere, she pinched me on my ass as we're walking off the stage. Stuff like that where it's just - it's a comedian's mind, really."
Nick, 29, married Mariah, 39, in April 2008.

Singer Katy Perry has a revealing picture published on Twitter as the singer goes topless in a Santa hat, see below for details.  More music notes...Lady Gaga (pictured) has claimed her third UK number one single this year after topping the charts with new single Bad Romance. The 23-year-old singer recently performed the song at The Royal Variety Show in the UK in front of the Queen.

Her track hit the top of the singles charts while Britain's Got Talent singer Susan Boyle stayed at the top of the album charts for the third week.
Festive tracks including Fairytale of New York by The Pogues and Mariah Carey's All I Want For Christmas also entered the top 20 singles. Her reign at the top of the singles chart could come to an end next week as X Factor winner Joe McElderry's debut single could knock her off.

She's wearing what?  Singer Katy Perry has posted a photo of her topless in a Santa hat on her Twitter page. The 25-year-old star, who is dating the British comic Russell Brand, is seen covering herself up with her arms in the image as she stares seductively at the camera.
Perry is currently recording her next album and has been working with Christopher 'Tricky' Stewart. Perry's beau Brand was recently spotted looking for rings at a jeweler's in London.

Mariah Carey, who hasn't toured in more than three years, will embark on a national "Angels Advocate" trek beginning December 31 at Madison Square Garden in New York, and wrapping February 27 at the Pearl Concert Theater in Las Vegas.

The eight-week, 19-city tour will feature opening act RydazNrtist, a new R&B group signed to NCredible Entertainment, the label of Carey's husband, Nick Cannon.

The "Angels Advocate" tour is in support of Carey's latest album, "Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel," which has sold 344,000 copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Presale tickets will be available for members of Honey B. Fly, the official Mariah Carey fan club, for all show dates. Tickets for most of the tour will go on sale December 19.

Mariah Carey thinks husband Nick Cannon will be a fantastic father.

The singer can't wait to start a family with the TV host as she knows how great he would be with any children they had.

She said: "He'd be the best dad in the whole world!"

Mariah and Nick - who wed last year following a whirlwind romance - were at the UNICEF Snowflake Ball and the 'Hero' star says the wellbeing of all children is one of her main priorities in life.

She said: "We have to take care of children. Any time I can be a part of helping out, I'm here."

Mariah, 40, recently revealed she feels "complete" since marrying Nick.

The singer - who was previously married to record company boss Tommy Mottola - said: "People were surprised when we got married but it felt like the right thing to do and it wasn't anything out of the ordinary for us.