She refused to toe the line on how her music should sound, refused to go the size zero way by announcing she loved her curvy figure and went on to become one of the most successful artists in recent times.

But just when we thought we have a winner on our hands who lived with her head on her shoulders, she has gone and gotten her head into the clouds.  How else can one explain the fat that she has gone and blown up an astounding $54,000 on sound and lights for her soon-to-be-born baby’s nursery? The child is expected in September but the crooner and her boy-friend,Simon Konecki have been arguing about baby names and debating about the wisdom of finding out its gender, before it arrives in their lives.

Meanwhile, the duo are making preparations anyways, spending upwards of $7,500 on uni-sex Bon Point baby clothes, Bugaboo pushchairs and even a $900 Moses basket. And yes, before we forget, the nursery will boast bespoke wallpaper, climate control and cameras so she can keep an eye on her baby at all times.

The baby can also expect other luxuries in life at an early age, such as photo frames from Tiffany’s to catch every toothless grin and tantrum, included. And we thought Victoria Beckham, Katie Holmes and Beyonce spoilt their babies.... Fame does make the unlikeliest people do the strangest things...

A tale of two drinks

WHEN IT comes to marketing a product, anything sells, be it scandal or controversy. Venezuela’s President Victor Chavez who is making every attempt to hang on to power even as the country goes to the elections a couple  of months from now, is urging his countrymen to ditch sugary-sodas made by the western world, in favour of juice made in the country.

Chavez who was at a campaign in Maracaibo recently urged people to actually stop drinking Coke and other fizzy beverages, telling them to boost consumption of domestic produce and decrease their dependence on imports, in order to increase economic activity. Chaves was promoting Uvita, a grape juice based drink produced by the state-run Corpozulia. It remains to be seen if his people will give up on their western treats in favour of the humble grape juice. And it remains to be seen if they will even vote to keep him on as President, when elections come around in October.

Meanwhile, in France, an enterprising and rather bold businessman has decided to add the sizzle factor to a new drink that he is launching, targeted at the country’s population of club-goers, by using the initials of tainted former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Stéphane Briault and Patrice Guillard , the people who developed the saffron-based , alcohol  free drink explained their decision to use the DSK abbreviation by pointing out that the initials describe the drink’s ingredients: Drink Saffron Kiwi. The Kiwi in the drink came after the duo realised the drink did not have enough oomph.

“People will either like it or not, but they certainly won’t forget what itscalled!” Stephane Briault said .

“It looks a bit like champagne, with its tiny bubbles. It’s sweet, with a slight taste of honey, but the taste of Saffron,” says Guillard. “It’s a 100 per cent natural drink, with an organic kiwi base and no colour additives or preservatives.”

The duo are hoping to sell thousands of bottles of the drink in the days to come, each six-pack bottle to sell for around 16 euros. We are not sure if the original DSK can hope to make a few bucks on this drink, considering that his face-off with his estranged wife, who has walked out on him, has left him a bit wanting in financial muscle….

And no, we don’t think the IMF will particularly want to bail out its former chief ….

The way the cookie crumbles

ANGUS KENNEDY of UK had possibly the world’s most coveted job. Which of us would refuse a job that gave us the opportunity to eat endless quantities of the best chocolates and treats and get paid some £30,000 an year to do it?

Kennedy’s job was a party till recently. He was courted and wooed by chocolate giants such as Mars and Nestle who depended on his sophisticated taste buds, to taste, review and give him feedback for their new sweet treats for the market. He got to eat chocolates, toffees and confectionary as much as and whenever he wanted and he wrote about them for Kennedy’s Confection t   rade magazine, an 120-year old publication that he edited for 20 years, till he put on so many pounds that his doctor warned him of an impending heart attack, if he failed to stop his sugary treats.

The 47-year old is morose but has decided to take action, giving up his job and hiring other editors who will now taste the sweets and write about them.

Kennedy was dubbed ‘Willy Wonka’ in October 2010 after he was hired the chocolate taster to heavy weights such as and Nestle hired him as a chocolate taster.

“Eating chocolate for a living really was the dream job. I was given a Golden Ticket to sample the world’s craziest, tastiest new goodies and review them in the magazine. ‘It was with regret that I stepped down from the magazine to concentrate on a less harmful — but certainly less sweet career. “I’ll really miss being Willy Wonka.” he said recently.

But that’s the way the cookie crumbles, isn’t it?

Why is Katie smiling?

WE TOLD you, didn’t we, that when it comes to marketing a product, some controversy and scandal goes a long way in pushing the stuff off the shelves. Or on the ramp, in this case.

Ever since she walked out and opted out of being part of the TOMKAT couple, Katie Holmes has lots of reasons to cheer including the fact that her former spouse agreed to a divorce real fast and did not contest full custody rights for her.

She got multiple millions to keep in return for her silence, sources have been insisting but what has Katie Holmes smiling these past few days is the fact that her break-up seems to have caused a spurt in interest in her high-fashion label, Holmes & Yang.

The label is to debut on the ramp at the the prestigious New York Fashion Week in September this year. Holmes, who is largely seen in jeans and simple but elegant blouses has recently upped her glam quotient and has been wearing clothes from the line that she started along with stylist Jeanne Yang, who was till recently responsible for Holme’s now estranged spouse.

We can guarantee you this: with Holmes expected to be at the fashion week, the paparazzi is bound to be there and the media in droves. We can almost here the cash registers ringing for the Holmes-Yang partnership.

• —sudhamenon2006@gmail.com