Washington, Dec 18: Even after the suicide of former American idol contestant Paula Goodspeed, judge Simon Cowell has refused to tone down his level of criticism on the show.

Although Cowell insists that Goodspeed's death has hit them "like an express train", he is adamant he would not have judged her differently when she auditioned- because it is necessary for viewers to hear his honest opinion.

Washington - The Queen of Soul will be among the star- studded musical talent to perform for the next US president as Barack Obama is sworn into office next month, the committee in charge of the ceremony announced Wednesday.

The inaugural ceremony on the steps of the US Capitol will feature soul diva Aretha Franklin and a diverse A-list of classical musicians, including world-renowned Israeli-born violinist Itzhak Perlman, Chinese-American cellist Yo-Yo Ma and Venezuelan-born pianist Gabriela Montero.

Sydney - Australia's acclaimed film director, Baz Luhrmann, and Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman may never team up again following the completion of the epic outback movie Australia, media reports said Wednesday.

"We both said we can't make another movie together because there are only so many life-transforming events we can go through," Luhrmann told Britain's Daily Telegraph newspaper.

When filming Moulin Rouge, Kidman, 41, was breaking up with then-husband Tom Cruise and Luhrmann's father died on the first day of filming,

New Delhi, Dec 17 : Britney Spears has reportedly decided to give her relationship with Kevin Federline another chance, and asked him to move back in with her.

The 27-year-old singer has two children, Sean Preston, three, and two-year-old Jayden James with ex-husband K-Fed.

The rapper currently has full custody of the pair''s sons, reports the China Daily.

London, Dec 17 : The song that British soul/pop singer Alexandra Burke sang, and which also broke a chart record, is said to have been inspired by `sex'.

Burke, who is the winner of the fifth series of the X Factor show, sang her own version of the song `Hallelujah', a song which is originally Leonard Cohen's and whose lyrics were inspired by bedroom antics.

London, December 17 : Former glamour model Jordan has revealed that she would love to drop her clothes for Playboy.

Peter Andre's better half, who had taken a step backward from photo shoots to experience motherhood, said that though she would be thrilled to pose for the men's magazine.

"I''d love to do Playboy," the Sun quoted her as telling OK! magazine.

The writer-singer, originally born as Katie Price, added that she had been disappointed with the magazine's cover featuring Burlesque Queen Dita Von Teese.