The Georgian-born British singer songwriter was inspired to come back to work after collaborating with an orchestra live on stage.

Katie Melua was just 19 when she released her first album Call off the Search, which reached the top of the UK charts.

Melua said she built on the idea of making a record with an orchestra for her fifth album, Secret Symphony.

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But after her early success she told BBC Breakfast she need to take six months off after reaching "breaking point".

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Captain Jack’s new adventure flings him together with “mermaids, zombies [and] Blackbeard,” that dreaded “pirate that all pirates fear,” played by ‘Deadwood’ star Ian McShane. Jack’s got a new traveling companion, too: the mysterious Angelica (Penelope Cruz), a woman from his past who either loves him or has an ulterior motive (isn’t that always the way?).

Angelica enlists Jack’s help in finding the Fountain of Youth, forces him on board Blackbeard’s ship and away we go. The trailer gives us a glimpse of Angelica in action, Blackbeard being snarly and Jack being, well, Jack. There’s also a lovely mermaid (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) and the young missionary (Sam Claflin) who’s trying to protect her — just like Tom Hanks in ‘Splash’!

‘Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides’ is out in theaters May 20, 2011. Get more on the upcoming flick from Moviefone.

the court said in a written ruling wednesday that marchildon had a hip size around 36 inches at the time of her contract.

the ruling says “elite could therefore not demand she reach a hip size of 90 centimeters” — about 35.4 inches.

a former model who won the television show “holland’s next top model” has won a lawsuit against the elite modeling agency after she was dropped for having hips that were supposedly too large.

it awarded her around $85,000 in damages.

New York City-based designer Elie Tahari, who this fall opened a store-in-a store in the Neiman Marcus at Dallas’ NorthPark Center along with his own freestanding boutique at the upscale mall, called the turnout for the openings “amazing.”

“They really turn themselves out. I have a great, great many fashion designer friends … and they all come here and say this is the greatest market concentration and research for us to see how these women put themselves together,” she said.

“Certainly, Neiman Marcus has had an enormous impact on the style knowledge that Dallas alone has had,” Downing said.

Dallas is one of just three North American cities along with Montreal and San Francisco hosting the exhibit of works by the French designer. And while Dallas is not a fashion industry center like New York, Paris or Milan, designers and retailers know very well that some of their most devoted and fashion-conscious clientele can be found in Texas both in Dallas and farther south in Houston.

He noted that Neiman Marcus’ Fortnights, two-week celebrations of the culture of foreign countries which began in the 1950s, attracted attention partly because they were held in an era when there was less international travel.

“The great thing about Dallas women is they love to experiment. They’re not afraid to try the latest, the greatest, the newest and always look spectacular. How lucky to live in a city with so many gorgeous women wearing beautiful clothes,” Downing said.

With a thriving arts scene and a bevy of charity events to choose from, Texas women are often searching for gowns.

“They’re very chic, ladylike, feminine with an edge,” said Fady Armanious, store director for the Houston location of Tootsies.

Retailers say that women in Texas like to wear colors and also like to have fun with their fashion. For instance, says NorthPark fashion expert Victoria Snee, they might pair a sequined mini-dress with cowboy boots.

“Every vendor will tell you that they sell more color and more bold accessories here than anywhere in the country,” said Robbin Wells, executive vice president of the Dallas Market Center, which holds more than 50 markets each year attended by more than 200,000 buyers.

Designer Raffaella Curiel was among those from Italy who came to show her work in Dallas this fall as part of the Italian Fashion Expo at the Dallas Market Center.

“I think that women in Texas are very beautiful. They still dress in an elegant way and they like quality,” Curiel said.

The Gaultier exhibit opened earlier this year at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. The show opens in Dallas on Sunday and runs through Feb. 12 before going to the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco and then moving on to Europe.

Olivier Meslay, interim director of the Dallas museum, said that the museum is already seeing visitor numbers well beyond the usual the day museum members can get a sneak peak of the exhibit usually attracts around 300 people, but for this one they expect about 1,200.

Among those with plans to attend the exhibit are Dallas designer Prashi Shah, who after studying at New York City’s Fashion Institute of Technology and working for Bill Blass returned to Texas to launch her own lines.

“Every socialite in Dallas right now has their calendar marked for that event,” said Shah, adding that the exhibit has “been pretty much the talk of the town.”

“Our customers travel so much. They see everything and they have access to everything, which is actually a nice challenge,” said Bolke, who added, “Women here are not scared of fashion with a capital `F.’ Here it’s a kind of sport.”

“It’s a big market for us and it’s a growing market. It’s a glamorous city and that’s the clothes I make,” said Tahari, who added that the line’s runway collection its most expensive is selling well in Dallas, which doesn’t happen in all cities.

The event honored Houston’s Becca Cason Thrash as its style icon and included a show of her designer collection, which included pieces by Alexander McQueen and Christian Dior.

As the home of Neiman Marcus, Dallas began its flirtation with fashion early. The luxury retailer founded in 1907 has over the decades has brought famous faces including Coco Chanel and Grace Kelly to Dallas to receive fashion awards.

Cason Thrash, an international philanthropist who has organized fundraising galas for the Louvre at the Paris museum and who shops across the globe, said that women in Dallas and Houston “are really chic and they really care about how they walk out the door.”

Gaultier said he has been impressed with the style of the women he’d seen since his arrival to kick off the Dallas show. “I saw some women that were very elegant, super elegant. And that were even more Parisian than some Parisians,” he said.

Retailers say their customers in Dallas and Houston are sophisticated consumers who follow current fashion, have the money to spend on designer wares and are frequent travelers.

DALLAS As the Dallas Museum of Art prepares to open an exhibit of Jean Paul Gaultier’s sometimes outrageous, always head-turning fashion designs, the city’s well-heeled residents are mobilizing.

It’s customers like Cason Thrash whom Bolke thinks of when he’s searching for items that can’t just be found everywhere.

“People take fashion here very seriously. It’s not exactly the same as it’s going to be in L.A. and New York … but it’s a much more exuberant style. I don’t think anyone ever comes to Dallas and comes to an event and are ever underwhelmed,” said Brian Bolke, owner of upscale Dallas boutique Forty Five Ten, which currently has a prominent display of Gaultier’s designs for customers to choose from.

Hamil serves as creative director for Fashion Houston, which brings together designers to show their collections in Houston. New York City-based designer Bibhu Mohapatra, who was among those showing collections at the event, said that during his first visit to the state he noticed residents have “a natural flair and passion for fashion.”

“I don’t know any designers that don’t like to come to Texas. It’s because they do so well here,” said Neal Hamil, who worked in New York City as executive vice president of Ford Models and director of Elite Model Management North America before returning to his hometown of Houston two years ago.

Versace said in a backstage interview that she thinks it’s this sort of production, coupled with clothes embellished with sequins, studs, leather and lace, will serve as the antidote for the struggling economy. “It was done totally wrong the last time the economy failed,” she said. “Everyone said, `Let’s do safe clothes of a good quality that people will invest in and wear year after year.’ That couldn’t be more wrong. The companies that survived the most were the ones that were recognizable, that stuck to their DNA, and our DNA is glamour.”

She added: “This is a very joyful collection.”

Versace said she thinks head-turning styles are the right introduction to the next-generation shoppers the ones who know how to mix top-tier designer labels with inexpensive trendy pieces.

“She’s a legend. She’s amazing,” Minaj said of Versace on the red carpet.

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Samantha Critchell tweets fashion at http://twitter.com/ap_fashion

Many of the styles were updated (and, with top prices of $299, less expensive) interpretations of signature looks of the house as it was first designed by the late Gianni Versace and for the last 14 years by his sister Donatella. “I really wanted iconic moments of Versace,” she said. There even was a black dress with gold hardware reminiscent of the label’s safety-pin gown made famous by Elizabeth Hurley.

“Young people like to dress up and look cool.” Versace said.

Swedish fashion chain Hennes & Mauritz AB has partnered with big names before, including Karl Lagerfeld, Stella McCartney and Lanvin designer Alber Elbaz, and Target Corp.’s joint line with the Italian knitwear brand Missoni earlier this fall caused a frenzy, causing its website to crash the first day items were offered. None had a launch quite like this, though.

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Associated Press writer Nicole Evatt contributed to this report.

She pays attention to it, too, she said, and she mines it for inspiration. “Creativity comes from quantity and quality of information. I want to know everything: politics, music, movies. Only this way can you come up with each new collection.”

With 20-somethings as children, Versace said she has done her fair share of shopping with them at stores such as H&M. “I know this customer. I know what they want. They follow music, fashion. For the new generation, it’s all pop culture.”

NEW YORK From her ultra-blond hair to her super-high heels, Donatella Versace uses every inch of her being to embrace glamour, and she wasn’t going to put the Versace name on anything and certainly not a collection for global fast-fashion retailer H&M that didn’t do the same.

“I’ve always been such a fan. The dresses that she makes, all the things she makes, they’re always such amazing shapes for women,” said Lively. “And she always has such unexpected things between the colors and the patterns, the detail, the beading, it’s always shocking and I love that.”

The runway at the huge and historic Pier 57 in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District attracted a crowd that included Blake Lively, Uma Thurman and Jessica Alba. Nicki Minaj and Prince took their front-row seats just before the show started, and then emerged on stage at the after-party that recreated a Miami nightclub. Minaj did swap the green feather fascinator she wore to the show for a crystal-covered trucker hat when it came time to perform.

Tropical floral patterns were splashed on tight leggings and tunic tops, and heart-print dresses were covered with beaded fringe. Many models wore hot-pink strappy sandals and carried printed handbags with the South Beach motif and Versace’s Medusa logo.

She added: “I said in an interview recently I remember Biggie Smalls rap about Versace and wanting to know what that was. So I told Donatella today, you don’t understand how many little girls are jumping for joy now that you’re introducing a more affordable line. So I’m just happy to be here.”

In August, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services downgraded the credit ratings of Fannie and Freddie from AAA to AA-plus, reflecting the same downgrade S&P made of long-term U.S. government debt a few days before. It was the first time the agency had lowered the nation’s AAA rating since granting it in 1917.

If Fitch were to downgrade U.S. debt in the next two years, Fannie and Freddie would certainly see its ratings fall too. Fitch said there is slightly greater than a 50 percent chance it would downgrade U.S. debt by 2013.

However, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the government regulator that oversees Fannie and Freddie, has said the entities will meet their financial obligations because the government will continue to fund them.

NEW YORK The Fitch ratings agency will likely lower its outlook for debts linked to the U.S. government to negative, including debt of government-controlled mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Ratings are based on the likelihood of default. The AAA rating is the highest available and signifies an extremely low likelihood of default.

The U.S. government rescued Fannie and Freddie in September 2008 and has funded them since the financial crisis. The two mortgage giants own or guarantee about half of all U.S. home loans and nearly all new mortgages. So if the U.S. government can’t pay its bills, neither can Fannie and Freddie.

The announcement comes a day after the agency downgraded its outlook on U.S. debt to negative. The agency kept its rating for long-term U.S. debt at the top AAA level but said it has less confidence in the federal government’s ability to rein in the deficit.

Fitch, one of the three major ratings agencies, said Tuesday it expects to announce the revised outlooks over the next several days.

An array of bonds and securities and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks also have credit ratings that are directly tied to the credit rating of U.S. debt.

Heigl’s final verdict: “It’s kind of the most romantic thing anyone’s ever done for me and it’s so hot that he’s such an amazing dad!”

The singer-songwriter visited Studio City Tattoo parlor in California Tuesday to honor the two most important women in his life: his wife Katherine Heigl, 32, and their daughter Naleigh, 2.

Joining the spouses of nearly four years? Heigl’s father Paul, who “is visiting for Turkey Day and wanted to tag along to see what it’s all about.”

The body art was an early birthday present for Heigl and Naleigh, who will each celebrate birthdays in the next two days.

Though Heigl tweeted that she “wasn’t so happy” with Kelley’s initial design ideas, she called his final ink “super cool.” The One for the Money star stood beside her hubby as he got tattooed, tweeting photos and messages of support.

“I think he might cry soon!” Heigl joked. “Just keep doing your yoga breaths! We’ll get through this together!”

What if Naleigh wants a tattoo of her very own someday? “Not while I’m still in charge!” Heigl joked.

Josh Kelley waited 31 years to get his first tattoo — and for good reason.

“My wife’s birthday is November 24 and Naleigh’s is on November 23, so her 23 is in Korean and the Sagittarius symbol is in the middle,” Kelley explained via Twitter.

PHOTOS: Hollywood’s craziest tattoos

VIDEO: A sexy young star shows off his raunchy tattoos

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Swank sure is sorry.

A former separatist rebel, Kadyrov has bragged that he killed a Russian soldier at age 15; his many rivals and critics have been violently murdered and harassed throughout Europe over the past several years, though he has denied involvement.

PHOTOS: Hilary’s surprise BFF

“I deeply regret attending this event,” Swank, 37, said in a statement to The Associated Press on Thursday. “If I had a full understanding of what this event was apparently intended to be, I would never have gone.”

Despite Swank’s claims, the Human Rights Foundation told TheWrap.com that it sent a letter to the actress in September — warning her of Kadyrov’s alleged crimes. Swank’s rep allegedly replied back, explaining she didn’t plan to attend the bash.

In her statement, Swank said she had no idea the over-the-top party was to be held in Kadyrov’s honor.

During the elaborate party, Swank said she was inspired by the Chechen government’s “passion to make peace and to make something beautiful.”

Two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank came under fire on Tuesday when it was revealed that she was among the attendees at a birthday concert on Oct. 5 for Ramzan Kadyrov, a Kremlin-backed Chechen leader accused of torture, abductions and murder by human rights groups.

Humphries brushes his wife’s tirade off, but things get even more tense when they head to bed and the basketball star invites his dogs to sleep in their bed.

Domestic bliss? Not quite.

“Can I tell you what another of my pet peeves is? Someone that brushes their teeth so hard that they make the entire mirror all [soapy],” she tells him.

Married for a month-and-a-half, Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries have learned the hard way that cohabitation involves a whole lot of give-and-take.

“They’re not allowed in my bed — that’s silk right there,” she snipes.

Getting ready for bed in their shared bathroom, Kardashian fumes when Humphries, 26, doesn’t brush his teeth to her liking.

As a new clip from part one of the couple’s E! special shows, Kardashian, 30, is having trouble warming up to her husband’s bathroom hygiene habits.

PHOTOS: How Kim and Kris fell in love

VIDEO: Kim and Kris make out in a pool on their honeymoon

The newlyweds’ wedding extravaganza will air in a two-part special — Kim’s Fairytale Wedding: A Kardashian Event — on E! Sunday, Oct. 9 at 8 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 10. at 9 p.m.

“People judge you because divorce is seen as failure. [Kim] took a risk. No one should be attacking her,” Wilde mused. “Our attention should be focused on things that are truly scandalous.”

PHOTOS: Why Olivia and Kim are two of Hollywood’s biggest flirts

PHOTOS: Kim and Kris’ sexy honeymoon

PHOTOS: Kim’s best hairstyles

Indeed, pals told Us Weekly that Kardashian “thinks the world turned against her” in the wake of her quickie split from Humphries, 26. “She feels everyone hates her.”

“I empathize. It’s not easy,” Wilde told the New York Post of the reality star’s romantic drama at a Tuesday bash in Manhattan.

Like Kardashian, the sexy In Time actress, 27, made divorce headlines in 2011. Early in October, Wilde and Italian prince Tao Ruspoli finalized their divorce after eight years of marriage (they separated in February). On Oct. 31, of course, Kardashian, 31, filed for divorce after 72 days of matrimony with Kris Humphries.

Not Wilde! “[Divorce] is the hardest thing in the world,” said the star, who eloped with Ruspoli when she was just 19. (Similarly, Kardashian was also 19 when she married music producer Damon Thomas.)