If there is a critical consensus so far on Britney Spears' Femme Fatale so far, it goes something like this: Spears doesn't show much of her personality on the album, nor does she seem to have contributed much to it artistically, and more than anything, she may just be a kind of void at its creative center. Oh, and it's great!

Yes, the critics like it, they really like it—for the most part—even if it's in spite of (or even because of) Britney being perceived as a producers' pet. It might even be her best-reviewed album, even though some say it doesn't quite match up to her supposed pinnacle, Blackout (which seems to have grown greatly in stature since 2007, not having received universal acclaim at the time).

"Despite her weak voice and empty lyrics," writes the Telegraph's Tom Gockelen-Kozlowski, not beginning promisingly, "the troubled Disney graduate has placed herself at the avant-garde of pop with this masterful mixture of uber-cool dubstep and sugary pop." 

The Los Angeles Times'

LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- Tina Majorino is a versatile actress who many fans feel captures great range in her performances; a task accomplished again recently through the former child actor's powerful performance in the music video for pop singer Pink's current hit song, "F--kin' Perfect."

In the emotional video, Tina plays a grown woman who is reflecting back upon a lifetime of experiences being told that she's not good enough. Access Hollywood caught up recently with the talented actress at a table reading for the "Napoleon Dynamite" animated series (to premiere on FOX sometime in 2012; Tina starred in the breakthrough 2004 independent cult film), where she explained how she became involved in the project.

See the video below (warning: strong imagery) .

"I'm a huge huge fan of Pink, and it came out of the blue, actually, it came out of nowhere," Tina explained.

VIEW THE PHOTOS: Red Hot Shots Of Pink!

"Her people just called up my manager and said, 'She has 30 minutes to give us

Not a bad gig, if you can get it! Multiplatinum-selling singer-songwriter James Blunt confirmed on Monday that he'll be performing at one of the most anticipated events this year: The royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton next month.

However, Blunt won't be singing "You're Beautiful" to the radiant new couple--in fact, he won't be singing at all. He'll be showing off a different set of chops.

"I'm actually playing," the British hitmaker explained to an Italian news channel during his tour stop in Milan. "I'm playing the church organ there." 

Although this announcement may come as a surprise to those who never suspected he might be recruited for such a position, Blunt has considerable competency with keyboards. He studied piano in his youth, uses the piano for songwriting, and is credited on all his albums with keyboard duties--including, specifically, a church organ on his debut release, Back To Bedlam.

Blunt is currently in the middle of a European tour for his third

Have yourself a melancholy little Monday, knowing that the man who wrote "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" has died. Hugh Martin, a Hollywood golden-age songwriter, passed away in his Encintas, California home at age 96, family members reported.

I talked with Martin at some length a few years ago when I was writing a feature story on his most famous composition for Entertainment Weekly magazine. The history of the tune is stranger and more delightfully tortured and/or charmed than most people know, with different versions of the lyrics that took it from fatalistically pessimistic to guardedly upbeat to downright religious.

(Although the song is credited to Martin and Ralph Blaine, the two partners had a Lennon/McCartney-style collaboration, where they would write separately but take joint credit—and Martin said this Christmas perennial was his sole work.)

Here are some previously unpublished excerpts from our 2006 conversation:

Q: ASCAP is reporting that "Have Yourself a Merry