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If it was even possible, Mariah Carey's sprinkling even more festive magic on the holidays -- surprising fans with an upgraded version of her classic, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" ... naming it the "Festive Lambs Edition!"

In case you've been under a rock ... The "Queen of Christmas" refers to her fans as "Lambs" or "The Lambily," and they were out in full force in the 4-minute-long clip Mariah shared Friday ... featuring unseen footage from her ongoing "Merry Christmas One and All" tour.

The video also features her 12-year-old twins, Monroe and Moroccan, up onstage with her -- and her celeb pal Miley Cyrus, who was snapped at one of her shows over the last few weeks.

Mariah posted the vid on X, and gushed ... "The best thing about being on tour is getting to celebrate the holidays with my lambily!!"

Mariah's tour started back on Nov 15 in Highland, CA ... and her final gig will be at NYC's Madison Square Garden on Dec 17.

Mariah Carey might be the queen of Christmas, but she's still a good sport ... sending Brenda Lee flowers after the singer topped the chats with her holiday hit, 65 years after it was recorded.

Brenda, known for her classic Christmas track, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," shared Mariah's gesture on Instagram Thursday, showing off a bouquet with a handwritten note from Mariah -- one that wishes her a Merry Christmas and a big congrats for her "historic #1."

As we reported, Brenda's holiday tune became a star on the top of Billboard's Hot 100 list Monday -- the first time it's had the honor since its release back in 1958. Shockingly, Brenda was only 13 when she recorded the hit.

The song has been creeping its way up to the top in recent years ... and the 78-year-old singer finally put out a long-overdue music video for the song last month.

She also sang her track while taking to the skies -- much to the delight of her fellow airplane passengers!

Def Jam co-founder Russell Simmons is speaking out about multiple rape allegations made against him years ago ... and he's continuing to deny sexually assaulting anyone.

The music mogul opened up about the claims against him on Wednesday's episode of "In Depth with Graham Bensinger" ... saying, "I've never been violent to anybody" -- adding all his relationships "have been consensual."

He owns up to being insensitive and using "crude" language during sexual encounters over the years, but shoots down the notion he's been "forceful" with any past partners.

Further, he complains he's suffered greatly due to the allegations ... saying, "All my five charities have gone down." However, he applauds the #MeToo movement -- which fueled the heat on Simmons in 2017 -- by saying, "It's done a lot of great work for women. It sensitized men in ways they were not sensitized, and for that I'm grateful."

Simmons stops short of flat-out calling his accusers liars, and instead, suggests this is more about changing times and attitudes toward sex. He says he's had thousands of sexual partners over the years, but thinks it's not fair to compare the climate of today to how it was 40 years ago.

As we reported, multiple women came forward claiming Russell sexually assaulted them over the years. He was also sued by Jennifer Jarosik in 2018 over similar allegations -- but the case was dismissed months after she filed. Simmons maintained her allegations were "absolutely untrue."

By the way, Graham flew to Simmons' home in Bali -- where he's lived since 2017 -- to do the interview, but Simmons denies fleeing, saying ... "Because I left and I spend so much time here, people assumed that I really left and ran even though I'm back in America all the time."

Britney and Jamie Spears possibly reconciling is something Sam Asghari certainly has an opinion about, but getting him to share it ... well, that's another story, especially when the guy's got Christmas on the mind.

We got Britney's ex-husband out Wednesday in L.A., on the heels of our report about Brit warming to the idea of burying the hatchet with her old man after his recent leg amputation.

Keep in mind, Sam's the guy who once called Jamie a "d***" ... so, of course, we wanted to get his opinion on the potential father and child reunion.

Check out the interaction, for yourself -- Sam was happy to send season's greetings to the Spears fam, but beyond that ... well, you'll have to read his face.

He refused to answer questions about his ex-wife and ex-father-in-law ... and trust us, we tried every angle, including bringing up Britney and Lynne reuniting last week.

His shutdown might be a sign he's done talking about BS and her family drama, but more likely ... he and his ex have agreed not to speak about each other in public.

Remember, Brit and Sam filed for divorce earlier this year -- and late last month, we learned they were close to a settlement. So, it makes sense he's not looking to sink any ships with loose lips.

Britney Spears appears to be on the precipice of a mass reconciliation with her whole family -- but from the way Jamie Lynn Spears sounded Wednesday ... maybe not???

Brit's younger sibling was asked a bunch of questions about the family dynamic at LAX, and unfortunately ... she wasn't in a very chatty mood, opting to stay mum on pretty much all talk about her sister -- including the possibility of her burying the hatchet once and for all.

We'll give the cameraperson credit here ... trying to get her to open up every which way, but JLS clammed up and simply wouldn't budge. She gives a Merry Xmas though, FWIW.

Of course, regardless of Jamie Lynn's silence ... we know for a fact Britney wanted her at her birthday party this past weekend, which their mom Lynne actually ended up attending -- the first real signs of warming we've seen from Britney toward her family.

Like we told you ... not only is Brit apparently open to making amends with Jamie Lynn, but there's evidence she's keeping the window open to repairing her relationship with her father, Jamie, as well.

TMZ broke the story ... we'd recently learned Jamie had his leg amputated due to ongoing health issues, and it would appear Britney caught wind of that update too -- 'cause she posted a throwback photo of the two of them shortly thereafter.

Again, hard to gauge what Jamie Lynn's non-talking here really means -- it could suggest the sisters aren't any closer to mending fences than they were a year ago ... or, by contrast, it could also mean she's protecting Britney's privacy and they're on the road to reconciliation.

Taylor Swift is TIME Magazine's Person of the Year -- and if we're being frank ... nobody's really surprised, 'cause she stands out as the far and away winner of 2023.

The mega pop star was tapped by TIME's editorial staff to grace their big end-of-year cover -- and the publication's editor-in-chief, Sam Jacobs, apparently felt it was important for him to come on 'Today' to explain the pick ... considering everyone/everything else as possibilities.

Obviously, there were a lot of choices this year ... in fact, TIME's finalists included all the big names from Trump to Putin and King Charles to Barbie -- not to mention a ton of other notable people/groups that made a splash -- but Jacobs said the staff chose joy this year.

He says, "Taylor Swift found a way to transcend borders and be a source of light. No one else on the planet today can move so many people so well."

Jacobs adds, "Achieving this feat is something we often chalk up to the alignments of planets and fates, but giving too much credit to the stars ignores her skill and her power. Swift is the rare person who is both the writer and hero of her own story."

Check out his full explanation here ... he says he acknowledges the world's on fire right now and that they could've gone in a number of contentious directions with the POTY -- but considering how much light and happiness TS spreads, TIME went with a lighter pick.

Of course, her influence and success was unmatched this year ... so on that front, there's no justification needed. She rolled out a worldwide tour that sold just about everywhere it stopped, released a concert film of that same concert ... and dominated music services.

Plus, Taylor ended one high-profile relationship ... and started another one with NFL star Travis Kelce -- so even in the sports world, she transcended and drew eyeballs. BTW, Taylor revealed in her TIME interview that she and TK were a couple way before anyone knew.

TayTay's quoted as saying ... "This is the proudest and happiest I’ve ever felt and the most creatively fulfilled and free I’ve ever been," before epically adding, "Are you not entertained?"

While TIME might normally be considered for somewhat heftier/more serious editorial coverage ... they clearly opted to crown the people's champion this year, and it doesn't sound like anyone's grumbling about it. Like the EIC says ... she's just larger than life itself.

The piece they did on her was glowing and positive ... however, there are old issues Taylor brought up that she clearly has sour feelings about -- namely, her beef with Kanye West/Kim Kardashian.

Specifically, she brought up that whole phone call debacle from years ago ... when Kim and Ye had TS on the phone and discussed his "Famous" song that invoked Taylor's name.

Taylor claims Kim, at first, released an edited version of their conversation that made Taylor look like she hadn't been truthful -- and she reflects on that in this TIME interview, saying ... "You have a fully manufactured frame job, in an illegally recorded phone call, which Kim Kardashian edited and then put out to say to everyone that I was a liar."

Taylor adds, "That took me down psychologically to a place I’ve never been before. I moved to a foreign country. I didn’t leave a rental house for a year. I was afraid to get on phone calls. I pushed away most people in my life because I didn’t trust anyone anymore. I went down really, really hard."

Like we said ... it's an old feud that she felt she wanted to address, but generally speaking ... she seems to be in a much better place now -- and is clearly on top.

Congrats to her ... grudges be damned!

Britney Spears is feeling nostalgic about family, including her dad Jamie Spears, and it's the latest sign she's warming to the idea of a father/daughter reconciliation.

The singer posted a slew of throwback family snaps Tuesday -- most showing her carrying her now-teenage sons when they were much younger, but one also shows Jamie next to Brit ... holding his grandson's lunchbox and a juice box.

Britney didn't caption the photos, but as we told you, she's opening the door to the possibility of reaching out to her father -- so, the pic could be seen as her extending an olive branch to Jamie.

TMZ broke the story ... doctors had to amputate one of Jamie's legs after 5 unsuccessful surgeries to combat a massive infection. In addition to his ailing health, Jamie's had to cope with the barrage of criticism over his handling of Britney's conservatorship -- with the singer publicly blasting him on social media herself.

However, we were told the star softened towards him recently ... even missing him sometimes and considered sending him money to help him out.

We're told Jamie's totally open to reconnecting with his daughter, and would love nothing more than to be on good terms again with Brit.

As you know, she's also been getting along with mom Lynne, who flew out for Britney's 42nd birthday bash over the weekend and she's also communicating with sister Jamie Lynn.

Britney Spears' dad, Jamie Spears, had his leg amputated a month ago, TMZ has learned, and we're told there is hope for a father/daughter reconciliation.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ, Jamie had a massive infection in one of his legs that landed him in a hospital for weeks. He had 5 unsuccessful surgeries to contain the infection, and doctors decided the only way to proceed was amputation.

Jamie is not doing well. He's had other ailments and has been downcast amid the torrent of criticism over his handling of the conservatorship ... something he thinks is terribly unfair. Remember, Jamie is the one who moved from Louisiana to care for his daughter back in 2007. Lots of people who were involved back then say Jamie may have saved Britney's life.

Now here's the interesting twist. Our sources say Britney has softened toward her dad recently. There have been times when she's said she misses her dad, and once even talked about sending him money to help him out.

As for Jamie, our sources say there's nothing he'd rather have than a reconciliation with his daughter, and harbors no ill will.

As we reported, Britney's been trying to mend family fences as of late. She invited her mom Lynne to L.A. over the weekend for her 42nd birthday party, and we're told they got along great. They have been talking on the phone for weeks and are forging a new relationship.

Britney also invited Jamie Lynn to the party, although she was out of town and couldn't attend. BTW, we know Britney is communicating with her sister. Her brother Bryan did join in the fun over the weekend.

Our sources say Britney misses her family and now that she's told her truth in her memoir, she wants to reconnect. Jamie would be the last piece of that puzzle.

What's interesting ... whether reestablishing a relationship with her dad would have an impact on the legal action in play over allegations over the conservatorship.

Brenda Lee finally has another #1 hit on her hands -- and it's the holiday classic she cranked out more than 6 decades ago ... which finally topped a major chart all these years later.

The songstress' famous 'Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree' topped Billboard's Hot 100 list Monday, just in time for the holidays. If you can believe it, this song has never reached No. 1 before this -- and it first got released waaaay back in 1958.

Now, 'RATCT' is the most popular song this week ... which is a huge milestone obviously. We should also note, the benchmark reached today has been a long time coming -- especially recently.

As with many things, BL's famed song grew in popularity as it got older ... and it's been hitting especially hard these past few years. Starting in 2019, 'Rockin' Around' began peaking on the Hot 100 at #2, and it stayed that way (around this time of year) for 3 years straight.

At long last ... the song has broken through and become #1, beating out Mariah Carey's beast of a Christmas song -- plus all the other hit singles out right now. BTW, this is Brenda's 3rd #1 single ... she hit no. 1 twice in 1960 with a couple ditties from back then.

Funny enough, Brenda is still singing this beloved classic even today ... including on airplanes.

Britney Spears wants to repair and reestablish relations with her family, and she's been reaching out to them for weeks ... TMZ has learned.

Sources with direct knowledge tell TMZ ... Britney's been talking to her mom, Lynne Spears, regularly for weeks. Brit's the one who invited Lynne out to L.A. over the weekend to celebrate her 42nd birthday. She wants a relationship with Lynne, and the feeling is mutual.

And get this ... our sources say Britney wanted her little sister, Jamie Lynn, to attend as well but she was shooting a show out of the country and couldn't attend. On its face, it would appear a burying of the hatchet between the siblings will happen in the near future.

As we reported, her brother Bryan was also at the party ... so her flesh and blood is front and center on Britney's mind right now.

As one source put it, "Britney wants to make things right with her family. She thinks it's time to start healing."

On the surface, the timing seems odd. Britney's memoir was released in late October and she went scorched earth on her fam, hurling all sorts of allegations against them. Our sources say most of the book was done 7 months before it was released, and Britney simply wanted to "tell her truth and move on."

As we reported, Lynne was over the moon as she left L.A. Monday, making it clear how happy she is restoring her relationship with her daughter. Our sources say Lynne will be a more frequent visitor in the future.

The one person who is still the odd man out -- Britney's dad, Jamie.

Britney Spears turned 42 over the weekend ... but you wouldn't have known it by watching her frolic around in bed wearing her sexy Victoria's Secret undergarments.

In a video posted on Instagram Sunday, the pop star didn't look a minute over 20 in her pink bra and panties, while posing on her bed in various positions.

She praised VS for a job well done, saying in her caption ... "I finally found a bra from Victoria’s Secret that doesn’t hurt !!! I love a push up bra but I don’t like padded push up bra !!! This bra is genius … it pushes you up and there’s no padding !!!"

Brit said she loved the pink color of the bra and the fact that it was silk because she couldn't even tell she was wearing it.

She also made a crude joke about turning fortyish, explaining she feels more like she's 6.

Over her birthday weekend, Brit experienced a lot of drama. First, she had to race to the vet early Saturday morning after her pooch hurt its leg, but everything turned out dandy. The dog is just fine.

In other good news, Brit also reconciled with her mom, Lynne, and her brother, Bryan, after being estranged from her family for years and blasting them in her recent memoir.

Lynne and Bryan visited Brit in L.A. to celebrate her bday -- and they all appeared to get along like one big happy family.

Usher wrapped up his Vegas residency with a ton of appreciation -- which you could see as the dude fell to his knees and took in all the love in a truly emotional moment.

The singer went out with a bang Saturday in Sin City, where his 'My Way' shows finally came to an end after an epic 100-concert run -- most of which have been very eventful ... for a variety of reasons. This weekend though ... all the focus was on Mr. Raymond.

While he was singing "Without You" ... he buckled and started to break down onstage -- this while his backup dancers and other stage crew members rallied around him as the crowd cheered. Indeed, it was quite something ... and you could tell he was overcome by it all.

Of course, an Usher show wouldn't ring true if he wasn't out there serenading the crowd -- and he did just that ... crooning to Jennifer Hudson (who was with Common) the night prior.

Other stars in attendance on Sat. included Mary J. Blige, H.E.R., Floyd Mayweather and others ... and it looks like they all enjoyed the man himself for one last hurrah before he hangs it up.

Of course, while this might be the end of Usher in Vegas ... he'll undoubtedly continue performing -- as this lengthy stint proved there's a real appetite for all his hits ... not to mention his sweet dance moves and stellar showmanship.

KISS might be done performing in person, but they're going to keep on rocking out as digital pixels for years to come ... something they just announced at their last show this weekend.

The legendary band played their last gig Saturday night at Madison Square Garden -- this as part of their 'End of the Road' farewell tour ... which marked their final live performance ever. Or so everybody thought, anyway -- 'cause they say they're keeping the party going.

Rather than continue to sing and dance themselves, Gene Simmons and co. are gonna let their AI counterparts do it for them ... in the form of computerized avatars that can keep on playing shows quite literally forever. It's called KISS Online ... and it marks their new era.

The whole thing might sound goofy, but it's actually a trend that legacy bands are starting to embrace more and more -- including ABBA, which has recently trotted out their own digital avatars in full concert ... and playing to packed crowds, no less.

The guys simply put on motion capture suits and recorded a full-blown concert of theirs ... which can then be repurposed and re-aired for years to come ... with cool effects and stunts they wouldn't normally be able to do on their own (especially at their age).

The KISS avatars actually came out onstage Saturday during an encore ... and performed "God Gave Rock and Roll to You" ... but they only did so onscreen, as opposed to appearing as full-blown life-size holograms. Time will tell if those holograms will debut at some point.

Anyway, it's certainly the end of an era and the beginning of a new one. As you can imagine -- there are mixed reactions to the news ... some hate it, others are fine with digital KISS.

It also serves as yet another reminder that we are very much living in the future right now ... with the way tech/AI is going -- more and more stuff like this is going to be introduced.

2:40 PM PT -- Here's photo evidence that Britney and her mother's relationship is repairing itself right before our eyes ... 'cause Mama Bear was indeed at her daughter's birthday shindig, and apparently spent the night as well.

These pics were taken Saturday, which show Brit leaving her manager's house in the L.A. area ... and wouldn't you know it, Lynne Spears is back there seeing her kid off as she hit the town in a waiting SUV.

You can see Britney saying bye to Cade as he escorts her to the vehicle ... and very clearly in the background -- you can see her mom, looking on. We'd already been told Lynne was in attendance the night prior ... so to see her there the next day is quite telling.

As you know, they've been feuding a lot over the past couple years -- including recently, especially after Britney released her memoir. All is well now again, though ... or so it seems.

10:25 AM PT -- Sources tell TMZ that Britney's dog is fine -- it simply hurt its foot and had to be taken in to be looked at ... but we're told all is well now with the pooch.

Also, we're told Britney's mom, Lynne, was there celebrating her daughter's birthday -- and sources tell us they were getting along great.

Britney Spears got super upset Friday night, after her dog had an apparent medical emergency ... TMZ has learned.

Britney was out in L.A. for a pre-birthday celebration -- she turned 42 today -- at her manager/best friend Cade Hudson's home, along with her brother Bryan and several others.

At 2 AM, Britney, Cade and Bryan left Cade's home and got in a car. An agency photog at the scene says she had her dog in the car and they rushed to a 24-hour veterinary clinic. We never see the dog, but the photog claims they brought it in.

Britney and crew then went to a gas station convenience store on the Sunset Strip, and from the photos you can tell this was some sort of emergency. Cade is in his PJs with no shoes.

They then went back to the vet, and it's unclear whether they had the dog when they left.

Bryan seems to be the only family member with whom Britney has a face-to-face relationship. He's been with her fairly regularly over the last few months.

Taylor Swift's recognizing a new Queen in England ... Beyoncé!!!

Taylor just posted a huge thank you to Beyoncé for inviting her to the London premiere of the 'Renaissance' movie ... paying homage to the Queen B.

In a series of photos shared on her social media, Taylor is posing with Beyoncé at the premiere, and hanging out with her close friend, Blake Lively, seemingly at an after-party event.

Taylor's also calling on fans to go support Beyoncé at the box office ... telling them to see her concert film, "Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé," which is hitting theaters worldwide.

As we reported ... Taylor flew out to this week's movie premiere in London, returning the favor after hosting Beyoncé back in October at the Los Angeles release of her 'Eras' tour movie.

Of course, both superstars had wildly successful world tours this year -- performing new albums and classic hits to sold-out venues -- and they both turned the concerts into movies.

Bey's flick is expected to rake in as much as $40 million globally. Taylor's "Eras" movie has grossed $250 mil since its release in October.

Beyoncé fans turned her 'Renaissance' movie premiere into a concert ... singing and dancing in the theater aisles, making for one crazy fun scene.

Ya gotta see the videos from inside the London theater where fans got the first look at "Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé" ... it looks like one of her tour stops.

The 'Mute Challenge' was also a staple of Beyoncé's recent "Renaissance" world tour ... so naturally, her fans brought it back while watching a movie about the tour.

Beyonce was in the house too ... though she wasn't wearing silver, as has been a theme and the source of some controversy ... pairing a black dress with her platinum blonde hair.

As we reported ... Taylor Swift flew across the pond to give Beyoncé her full support ... seemingly returning the favor after Beyoncé went to Taylor's "Eras" movie premiere.

Beyoncé also dropped a new song, "My House," coinciding with the movie release ... with fans noticing the track playing during the credits.