• Reba McEntire, hanging out backstage at Cirque du Soleil’s

LOVE show with former tourmate Kelly Clarkson. The two

watched the show with Kix Brooks (of Brooks and Dunn), and sipped

cocktails in their seats. Earlier in the weekend, Sugarland also

checked out the Beatles-inspired extravaganza.

• File this under unlikely friends: Carrie Underwood, sharing a private room with Rascal Flatts and

Justin Timberlake at the Mix Lounge on top of the Hotel

at Mandalay Bay on Friday. The group spent several hours together drinking

water, vodka and Jack Daniels.

• Jewel, celebrating her 34th birthday a few days early

- actual birthday May 23 - with a shopping trip to Caesars Palace Forum Shops. The night

before, the singer dined on filet mignon and drank martinis at Social House.

• Before he wracked upall his ACM awards (including his fourth straight Entertainer of the Year

trophy), Kenny Chesney dined on yellowtail tuna at the Hard Rock Hotel’s Nobu with a date on Thursday.

• George Strait, indulging an impromptu autograph signing

session inside the MGM Grand Casino. Later, the legendary country crooner greeted

Julianne Hough at Rouge Bar, who in turn got chatty with Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles during Universal’s official afterparty at the bar,

• By EILEEN FINAN and MARK GRAY

MORE ON THE AWARDS
Exclusive! Backstage at the ACM Awards
Vegas Goes Country! Photo Special
Kenny Chesney Wins Big

Plus: Celebrity Hot Spots.

The only thing tougher than singing for Simon Cowell? Keeping it together for the Pope. American Idol winner and pop star Kelly Clarkson proved she can handle both Saturday, performing “Ave Maria” for Pope Benedict XVI at Saint Joseph Seminary in New York in front of about 25,000.

“I was so excited to be asked to sing for the Pope,” Clarkson said. “It’s always been a dream of mine to perform ‘Ave Maria.’ To have that dream come true on such a special occasion is truly a blessing.”

Kelly Clarkson is speaking her mind again, this time about Internet leaks of four new pop songs she’s been working on.

“The fact that people have heard music that’s not ready yet sucks,” the first American Idol winner, 25, tells Billboard of her Nashville-inspired tracks, “but I hope they like it.”

Last week, the demos - “Close Your Eyes,” “Ready,” “One Day” and “With a Little Bit of Luck” - were posted on the music blog Pretty Much Amazing!, and their iffy sound quality reflected the fact that they’re works in progress. As of Monday morning, all four were removed from the site.

Fans Protested Leaks

Fans flocked to the Pretty Much Amazing! site when Clarkson’s songs surfaced, some of them defending Clarkson’s right to keep her work private. Others, such as one named, simply, “Rick,” said, “They sound pretty damn good! Excited for this ‘pop’ album of hers.”

One music critic from New York magazine’s Culture Vulture was also impressed - sort of - with Clarkson’s “With a Little Bit of Luck”: “This track will need more than a little bit of luck to put Clarkson back on top of the charts (more like a million dollars’ worth of production and engineering), but the melody’s not bad. We like it.”

Next up for Clarkson? Singing for Pope Benedict XVI during his visit to New York City on April 19.

She’s a little bit country, she’s a little bit rock ‘n’ roll - and Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson have hit the road to give fans a little bit of both. “You’re feisty, you’re fun, you let me sing harmonies… I’m a happy camper,” the country legend gushes to the former Idol champ in this new video from behind the scenes of their “2 Worlds 2 Voices” tour, which just kicked off. (See the rest of it here.)

The pair first hooked up for the CMT show Crossroads, and it worked so well, they decided to take their act on tour. Meanwhile, McEntire’s former Reba costar, Melissa Peterman, is blogging from the road: “Reba and Kelly are having a ball and I think we are bonding more and more. I like to call us the Three Musketeers. So far I am the only one calling us that but I am sure it is going to catch on.”