Given the colorful, upbeat look (complete with little flash points) of the just-released cover art for her new album, All I Ever Wanted, due out March 17, Kelly Clarkson is obviously trying to break away from all the drama that surrounded her ill-fated 2007 disc, My December, and have a little fun.

In fact, American Idol's first viewer-created champ already hinted back on New Year's Day of a return to her more playful pop side when she unveiled the lollipop-loving cover for her first single, "My Life Would Suck Without You."

The song doesn't hit airwaves until Jan. 19, but you can get a small taste of it right now over at Amazon.

So what say you? Have Kelly's fans been waiting for a moment like this, or will they simply walk away?

Credits : Eonline.com

Warner Bros / DC Comics

We're still not sure if we'll ever be able to watch Watchmen, but at least the sideshow is entertaining.

With the release of the anticipated comic book flick in jeopardy amid a blistering battle between rival studios, lawyers for Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox gave fanboys a glimmer of hope Friday, announcing that settlement talks were progressing nicely.

Claiming it still held the movie rights to the famed Alan Moore graphic novel, 20th Fox filed a lawsuit last year seeking to block Warners from releasing the film. This, after director Zack Snyder had wrapped the $150 million project and Warners had set a March 6 release date.

Last month, U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess gave Fox a key victory, preliminarily ruling that the studio had a claim to an ownership stake and hinting that Watchmen could be shelved if the two sides didn't work things out before the Jan. 20 trial.

And that led to today's hopeful news...

Per court papers, Fox attorney Louis Karasik says the studios have accepted several of each other's key demands and talks were surprisingly "productive."

But while the two studios try to make peace, Watchmen producer Lloyd Levin broke out the gasoline and matches.

In an open letter posted on the website HitFix, Levin says Fox is trying to cash in after deeming the project "unfilmable."

"One reason the movie was made was because Warner Brothers spent the time, effort and money to engage with and develop the project," he wrote.

"If the project had been sequestered at Fox, if Fox had any say in the matter, Watchmen simply wouldn't exist today, and there would be no film for Fox to lay claim on. It seems beyond cynical for the studio to claim ownership at this point."

Fox quickly pooh-poohed Levin's letter.

"We appreciate Mr. Levin's passion for this project, but he has neglected basic facts and legal rulings," Fox said in a statement. "There is no question of who is right and who is wrong. That has been decided through the litigation that we had hoped to avoid, and we refer interested parties to the court's ruling to confirm these statements."

In other words, give us a piece of the action and Watchmen will be suiting up as scheduled this spring.

Taking the judge's recommendations in stride, legal eagles for Fox and Warner Bros. asked Feess to postpone today's status conference until Monday afternoon so they could continue hashing out a compromise over the weekend.

Credits : Eonline.com

You mess with the grizzly, you get the claws.

In new interview footage of Sarah Palin released on YouTube this week, the Alaska governor gets not only folksy but downright forceful in unleashing her opinions on the two women most responsible for molding her less-than-flattering public persona, calling out both Katie "What newspapers do you read?" Couric and doppelgänger extraordinaire Tina Fey.

Palin was interviewed in her Wasilla home for conservative filmmaker John Ziegler's new documentary How Obama Got Elected, and claimed that Couric and Fey spent election season not only "exploiting" her but "capitalizing" on her sudden fame.

Not that Palin herself was without fault.

The politico admitted that while she knew after her first session with Couric that the interview "didn't go well," she was forced by those "in that upper echelon of power brokering in the media…to go back for more." She said she was quite aware that the move "was not a wise decision."

Palin went on to say that she never watched the interview as it was broadcast—or, as she puts it, as CBS "spliced it together"—but she did seem to finally have an answer, sort of, for why she chose not to disclose her reading list.

"Because, Katie, you're not the center of everybody's universe."

As for Fey, Palin was shown a clip of the in-character comic saying on Saturday Night Live that marriage was meant to be "a sacred institution between two unwilling teenagers."

Palin responded by saying that "the mama grizzly rises up in me" when such comments are made about her daughter Bristol.

"I did see that Tina Fey was named entertainer of the year and Katie Couric's ratings have risen…That's a little bit perplexing, but it also says a great deal about our society."

Credits : Eonline.com

Making her rounds in Hollywood last night, Jessica Alba showed off her own unique sense of style at the “My Bloody Valentine 3D” premiere.

The “Dark Angel” babe sauntered down the red carpet in a black-with-white-polka-dotted ‘50s-style Dolce & Gabbana pajama ensemble, complete with black shoes with blinging buckles.

Like the seasoned pro that she is, Jessica meandered around the Mann’s Chinese Six Theater, smoozing with the likes of Jaime King and Jensen Ackles, accompanied by her doting husband/babydaddy Cash Warren.

Earlier in the day, Alba was spotted living it up over at the Kari Feinstein Golden Globes Style Lounge held at Zune LA.

Credits : Gossipgirls.com

Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for VH1

Angelina Jolie may want to keep practicing her sore-loser death stare for Sunday's Golden Globes.

The official Golden Globes website may have accidentally revealed yesterday that Anne Hathaway will take home the statuette for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama. There was a star published next to the Rachel Getting Married nominee's name, which indicates the winner.

The snafu disappeared shortly after popping up, Just Jared reported.

"In the process of preparing for Sunday's Golden Globe Awards, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association web team inadvertently marked a nominee as a winner," read a statement posted yesterday on the Globes site. "The mistake was immediately corrected."

When Hathaway was named Best Actress in a tie with Meryl Streep at last night's Critics' Choice Awards, VH1 cameras caught Jolie giving an icy stare during Hathaway's acceptance speech.

Jolie, along with Kate Winslet and Kristin Scott Thomas, was also a nominee.

Sunday, Jolie and Hathaway are up against each other once more for the Golden Globes trophy.

We have to say we feel badly for Annie H. Not because of Jolie, but what's worse—not knowing if you’re going to win or thinking you've won but then, come showtime, you don't?

Hathaway's rep did not comment about the HFPA's website snafu.

Credits : Eonline.com

CBS

Britney Spears and the rest of those stunt castings paid off—literally—for the cast of How I Met Your Mother.

Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel, Josh Radnor and Cobie Smulders have inked raises that will significantly bump up their salaries—in some cases, two or three times over—placing each actor's per-episode take in the $90,000-$120,000 range.

Per the Hollywood Reporter, the new deals will also increase the fivesome's small-screen longevity, adding an additional year to their original seven-year contracts. The lucrative new deals follow months of negotiations with producer 20th Century Fox and coincide with a ratings uptick for the comedy.

Meantime, NPH has a big weekend ahead, hosting Saturday Night Live and then returning to L.A., where he's up for a Golden Globe for HIMYM.

Credits : Eonline.com

Though neither one of them walked away with a trophy at last night’s Critic’s Choice Awards, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie still looked to be having quite a night together.

According to eyewitnesses, the “Fight Club” stud and his “Changeling” chick were all over each other throughout the duration of the night’s festivities.

A source reported that they were “kissing and looking lovingly at each other” all night, with Jolie mouthing “I miss you” to Pitt even though they were sitting right next to each other. And according to a partygoer, “At one point, Brad had his hand all the way up Angelina’s dress!”

As for Jolie’s opinion of Brad’s latest film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” she told press, "Most of all I was charmed by him when he was younger. I was charmed by it. When I first saw the film, there were a lot of blue masks that they had to put on his face, so the first half I didn't see his acting inside the little guy. Then, when I saw him when he was young ... he is just so charming. I was really moved. I thought he was wonderful."

Credits : Gossipgirls.com

Angelina Jolie lost hard-core at last night's Critics' Choice Awards. They even gave out two Best Actress awards and they couldn't fit the Changeling star in there. Instead, the critics chose to honor Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep.

And Angie did not look too happy about it. While Anne stuttered through a rambling acceptance speech highlighting her fellow "celluloid sisters" (which is a considerable improvement from her “process metaphysics” lecture earlier this week), Angelina made no attempt to hide her disdain, and we love her for it. Usually actors use their acting skills to feign joy for the award show victors, which is no fun for us.

We weren't able to make out the exact meaning of the staredown, but we guess it went something like this: "Did I mention you ruined a perfectly good dress with that giant napkin?" Or "You know I'm the most beautiful woman in the world, right? Just checking." Or "How 'bout you and your receding gums go sit on a tiara?" Or "You're the one with the boyfriend in prison, is that correct? Have you met my boyfriend? His name's Brad Pitt." Really, the possibilities are endless—give it a try

Credits : Eonline.com

Back to a strikingly fabulous red coif, Ashlee Simpson was spotted out to eat last night on Hollywood Boulevard with a few friends.

The “Little Miss Obsessive” songstress looked sleek and sexy as she passed the paparazzi sporting a black top with black trousers and a pair of thin-strapped black heels.

In a recent interview, Mrs. Pete Wentz told press that 2008 was a banner year for her, marked by her wedding to her Fall Out Boy as well as the birth of her son Bronx Mowgli.

“It was the greatest year of my life. I don't know if I can have high expectations for 2009 because 2008 was so good.” Speaking of her son, she said, “He's the best thing that ever happened to me.”

Credits : Gossipgirls.com

Eric Charbonneau/Le Studio/Getty Images

• Joan Holloway, meet Rachel Green. Jennifer Aniston supposedly wants to be on Mad Men. Betty Draper, do you still have that rifle?

• Anne Hathaway ought to put a good polish on that acceptance speech for Sunday's Golden Globes if this is any indication.

• Robert Pattinson is a dirty boy.

• So is Ashley Olsen. Whatever you do, don't shake her hand.

• Vanessa Hudgens: The Remix.

• Things have gotten so bad for Brittany Murphy, she's resorted to making Ramen.

• Dear Daniel Craig and Liev Schreiber: Thanks for the advice. Our office is freezing. Love, Rise 'n' Shine

Credits : Eonline.com

Though she’s already making great money as an uber-successful actress, Anne Hathaway has another career field in mind- babysitting for the Obamas.

The “Princess Diaries” actress, who won Best Actress at last night's Critics Choice Awards, joked with Jimmy Kimmel during an interview that she used to babysit frequently, and when the conversation turned to the First Family, she jumped at the opportunity.

She quipped, "Oh my God. If I could be Barack Obama's babysitter -- that would be like the coolest thing in life." She then turned to the camera and mouthed, “Call me!”

And Miss Hathaway wasn’t shy about her overwhelming approval of America’s next President. She told Kimmel, "It's so exciting to say we have a great man in office. We get this guy -- the smart, wonderful man full of integrity to be our president."

Credits : Gossipgirls.com