Minogue blames traffic for late show in Indonesia (AFP)

JAKARTA (AFP) – Australian pop diva Kylie Minogue has blamed Jakarta's notorious traffic jams for her late showing at a concert in the Indonesian capital.

Her promoters said Tuesday the singer took a helicopter to the show Monday on the outskirts of Jakarta but her crew was stuck in traffic and the show had to be delayed by 30 minutes.

"Kylie Minogue's concert started about half an hour late because of the traffic congestion on the toll road," MP Entertainment marketing personal Rosana Wahyuni said.

Not that it mattered too much -- Wahyuni said some of the 5,000 concert-goers also came late to see "The Show Girl Returns -- Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite Tour 2011".

"A few of the concert-goers arrived after the show ended," Wahyuni said.

Jakarta is known for its poor public transport and extreme traffic congestion, the result of decades of rapid growth, corruption and poor planning.

Business and political leaders often take helicopters to meetings, while even relatively low-ranking Indonesian officials get around with traffic police escorts.

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Sarah Ferguson blames self for royal wedding snub (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Disgraced duchess Sarah Ferguson said she spent the day of Prince William's wedding last month berating herself for the past mistakes that left her without an invitation.

Ferguson, the ex-wife of William's uncle, Prince Andrew, told Oprah Winfrey in a U.S. television interview to be broadcast on Wednesday that she did not blame the British royal family for excluding her from the lavish nuptials in London on April 29.

"I think what I felt was that I went through the phase of feeling so totally worthless and that (it) was quite right they didn't invite me. Why would they -- why would they invite me?", Ferguson told Winfrey.

"I felt that I ostracized myself by my behavior, by the past, by living with all the regrets of my mistakes, that I sort of wore a hair shirt and beat myself up most of the day thinking and regretting why did I make such a mistake? Why have I made so many mistakes? So I did spend a good three hours on that," she added, according to advance excerpts.

Ferguson, who still holds the title Duchess of York but lost her status as a princess, was caught in a video-taped sting last year in which she appeared to ask for and accept $40,000 in cash in exchange for access to Prince Andrew.

The 2010 episode followed embarrassing photos in 1992 that showed her topless and having her toes sucked by a Texan businessman.

Ferguson, 51, said she went to Thailand once she knew she would not be invited to Prince William's wedding to Kate Middleton. Her daughters with Prince Andrew -- Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie -- attended the ceremony at London's Westminster Abbey.

The historic church was also the venue for Ferguson's wedding to Prince Andrew in 1986. The couple divorced in 1996.

"It was so difficult. Because I wanted to be there with my girls, and to be getting them dressed and to go as a family. And also it was so hard because the last (royal) bride up that aisle was me," she told Winfrey.

But Ferguson said William's mother, the late Princess Diana, would be proud.

"They did a great job. And I really love the feeling that sort of Diana and I both weren't there. But I'm here to say how proud she would have been and Kate looked utterly beautiful".

Ferguson has made a reality TV series called "Finding Sarah" that will get its debut on June 12 on Winfrey's new cable TV channel OWN.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant)

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Simon Cowell blames lawyers for Abdul delay (Reuters)

By Shirley Halperin and Kimberly Nordyke Shirley Halperin And Kimberly Nordyke – Sun May 8, 11:57 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Simon Cowell blames attorneys for the fact that Paula Abdul's deal to serve as a judge on Cowell's "The X Factor" closed at the eleventh hour Sunday -- just as the judges' rounds of auditions were about to start.

He even said there was talk of using a guest judge, but he ultimately would have called off Sunday's auditions if Abdul's deal hadn't closed.

"I would've canceled today (if deal hadn't gone through)," Cowell told The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday at the University of Southern California's Gaten Center before the judges auditions began.

"The issue was that these conversations had gone on long enough. It's not like I sprung this on somebody. I just thought it's time for everyone to do their job and get the deal done. I couldn't have sat in front of you lot and said (Paula) wanted to do the deal and we couldn't."

Cowell added that it was important for Abdul -- who served as a judge alongside Cowell on Fox's "American Idol" -- to be a part of "X Factor," which debuts on Fox in September.

"I could just sense that the public would've been disappointed without Paula," Cowell said. "You see how we are; we get on really well."

One issue, according to sources, was an option that CBS had on Abdul based on a deal for her to participate in its short-lived competition show "Live to Dance." That deal, according to two sources close to "X Factor," contained language that could have prevented Abdul from joining the new show.

Said Cowell: "She's Paula Abdul. Nothing's ever easy, but I'm used to it."

Abdul serves as a judge alongside Cowell, Antonio "L.A." Reid and Cheryl Cole.

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Simon Cowell blames lawyers for Abdul delay (Reuters)

By Shirley Halperin and Kimberly Nordyke Shirley Halperin And Kimberly Nordyke – Sun May 8, 11:57 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Simon Cowell blames attorneys for the fact that Paula Abdul's deal to serve as a judge on Cowell's "The X Factor" closed at the eleventh hour Sunday -- just as the judges' rounds of auditions were about to start.

He even said there was talk of using a guest judge, but he ultimately would have called off Sunday's auditions if Abdul's deal hadn't closed.

"I would've canceled today (if deal hadn't gone through)," Cowell told The Hollywood Reporter on Sunday at the University of Southern California's Gaten Center before the judges auditions began.

"The issue was that these conversations had gone on long enough. It's not like I sprung this on somebody. I just thought it's time for everyone to do their job and get the deal done. I couldn't have sat in front of you lot and said (Paula) wanted to do the deal and we couldn't."

Cowell added that it was important for Abdul -- who served as a judge alongside Cowell on Fox's "American Idol" -- to be a part of "X Factor," which debuts on Fox in September.

"I could just sense that the public would've been disappointed without Paula," Cowell said. "You see how we are; we get on really well."

One issue, according to sources, was an option that CBS had on Abdul based on a deal for her to participate in its short-lived competition show "Live to Dance." That deal, according to two sources close to "X Factor," contained language that could have prevented Abdul from joining the new show.

Said Cowell: "She's Paula Abdul. Nothing's ever easy, but I'm used to it."

Abdul serves as a judge alongside Cowell, Antonio "L.A." Reid and Cheryl Cole.

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