Britney Spears has been on the job just two days and she’s already proving to be a popular judge on “The X Factor.”

The pop queen is also growing into her role as critic on the Fox singing contest show.

“The X Factor” staged its first auditions for the upcoming season Thursday and Friday in Austin, Texas, and judging by the boisterous cheers and the “I love you Britney!” calls from the crowd, the Grammy-winning singer is already a hit in her new role.

She’s also showing she’s not afraid to vote against contestants or disagree occasionally with show creator Simon Cowell and fellow judges Demi Lovato and L.A. Reid.

“I feel like your song was just in the wrong key,” Spears told a contestant Friday, adding that choosing a different song would have been “more interesting.”

She told another contestant, “Your voice is really sweet, but I feel like you need a little more training.”

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Spears has yet to develop the chattiness that Lovato, also a new judge, had with the often nervous contestants. While Spears was direct but brief with her opinions, Lovato demonstrated a more casual rapport with the singers, even when it was clear they weren’t going to be cut.

Spears, 30, was brought in to help boost ratings for “The X Factor” after its debut season fell short of Cowell’s predictions. The former child performer became an international star with her 1999 debut album, “… Baby One More Time.” Other hits have come (“Oops!… I Did It Again,” “Toxic”) but her personal life has been difficult, with rehab spells and time in a psychiatric ward.

For her judging debut, Spears wore a bright neon pink dress and she and Cowell chatted during the breaks between singers.

Ex-adult film star arrested after accident

Former adult film star Jenna Jameson has been arrested in Southern California for investigation of driving under the influence after she struck a light pole with her vehicle.

Police said Jameson had driven her vehicle into a light pole early Friday in Westminster. She suffered minor injuries but refused medical treatment.

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A police statement said a field sobriety test was conducted and there were signs of intoxication. Jameson was booked and later cited and released.

A statement issued by her website said Jameson is home and well but has no immediate comment.

Jameson crossed into the mainstream after publishing a popular autobiography in 2004.

She has twin sons with mixed martial arts star Tito Ortiz, who two years ago claimed Jameson was addicted to the painkiller OxyContin.

Fan again ordered to stay away from Goldblum

A judge Friday granted Jeff Goldblum a temporary restraining order against a woman who has been repeatedly ordered to stay away from the actor in recent years.

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Goldblum’s attorneys obtained the order against Linda Ransom, 49, after she repeatedly went to the actor’s home three times this month.

A previous stay-away order against Ransom from 2007 has expired and police claim she has told them that she will not stop trying to meet Goldblum unless a restraining order is in place.

A judge will consider whether to grant Goldblum, who has starred in such movies as “The Fly,” “Jurassic Park” and “Independence Day,” a three-year restraining order during a hearing on June 12.

 


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