Kylie Minogue spend Christmas with her prospective in laws

It's a dilemma many couples face at Christmas - how to juggle both sets of parents during the festive season.

The task is particularly hard for pop princess Kylie Minogue, whose parents live in her native Australia while her Spanish boyfriend Andres Velencoso's family is based in the Costa Brava.

The jet-setting couple reached a compromise this Christmas - spending a week in Sydney with the 41-year-old singer's family before flying into Spain on Christmas Eve to spend the special day with Velencoso's father and sisters.

Kylie Minogue and Andres Velencoso arrive in Barcelona on Christmas Eve

Minogue, looking effortlessly chic in jeans, tan boots and a grey scarf, was spotted arriving in Barcelona yesterday with her boyfriend of nearly 12 months.

The pint-sized popstar's 31-year-old model boyfriend acted like the true gentleman, taking car of his girlfriend's luggage.

The pair was expected to travel to the small town of Tossa de Mar in the Costa Brava, where Velencoso's family lives.

It won't be the first time Minogue has met the family - she won them over in June when she pulled a shift in the bar they own in Tossa de Mar.

The couple chat to a fellow passenger as they arrive in Velencoso's home country

The latest holiday will do nothing to dispel wedding rumours for the loved-up couple, who have have spent 2009 taking numerous romantic holidays.

They spent the past week in Melbourne, where they enjoyed quality time with Kylie's sister Dannii and her boyfriend Kris Smith.

The keen golfers joined Smith for a day on the fairway at an exclusive Melbourne golf course and also attended the 90th birthday of the sisters' grandmother.

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Kylie Minogue Sexy Photoshoots

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Akshay Welcomes Kylie Minogue

Akshay Welcomes Kylie Minogue

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Akshay Cooks For Kylie Minogue

Akshay Cooks For Kylie Minogue

Australian pop singer Kylie Minogue dropped in at Akshay Kumar & Twinkle`s home for lunch on Thursday.

Kylie is in India to film a song for Akshay`s underwater thriller Blue, which is being directed by Anthony D`Souza and produced by Shree Ashtavinayak Cine Vision Ltd.


`Kylie and some of Akshay and Twinkle Khanna`s close friends from the industry, plus the Blue crew were invited for lunch by the actor on Thursday afternoon. This is supposed to be his way of making her comfortable in Mumbai,` a source close to Akshay revealed.


Akshay had decided to do some of the cooking himself for the special guest.

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Kylie gets friendly with another dark and handsome man at Dita's boozy birthday party

At first glance it might appear Kylie Minogue had fallen back into the arms of ex-lover Olivier Martinez at the Parisian party to celebrate the birthday of burlesque dancer Dita Von Teese.

But the lucky man who caught the diminutive singer's eye is 30-year-old Spanish supermodel Andres Velencoso, who seemed to be delighted by the Aussie's attentions.

Close: Kylie Minogue and Spanish model Andres Velencoso

The pair spent the evening chatting and were happy to embrace for photographs while the champagne flowed at the party, held in the Milliardaire Nightclub.

They also enjoyed a dance, watched by birthday girl Dita and a number of minor celebrities.

Dancing queen: The singer looked relaxed as she danced the night away

One onlooker said: "It was Dita's party but Kylie was definitely the star of the show. She was turning heads and people were asking about the guy she was sitting with.

"They certainly made a stunning-looking pair."

Sparkling: Dita is presented with a cake

Revellers attending the Fendi 'O' Party event to celebrate Dita's 36th birthday included model Daisy Lowe - former squeeze of DJ Mark Ronson, shoe designer Christian Louboutin, model Alice Dellal and Bob Geldof 's daughter Pixie.

Alice and Pixie also tried their hands at DJing at the exclusive party.

Model DJ: Alice and Pixie take to the decks

Knife-edge: Dita celebrates with cake

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Kylie Minogue to be paid £2million for 60-minute set at Dubai hotel opening party

It is the most hotly-anticipated new holiday resort on earth - so what better way to celebrate its opening than with a party to end all parties.

Owners of the sole resort on Dubai's extraordinary Palm Jumeirah manmade island are throwing the most expensive private party ever staged - at a cost of more than £16 million for the one-night bash.

Kylie Minogue is being paid an astonishing £2 million to perform a 60-minute set for 2,000 A-list guests at the party on November 20, making her performance among the best paid in entertainment history.

Kylie Minogue will get £2million for her 60-minute performance to open the Atlantis hotel in Dubai

The gig, to open the Atlantis hotel which shoots skyward from the outer ring of the Palm, will be a highlight of the night which also includes a colossal firework display costing a further £3 million.

The display designers - Grucci's - put on the Beijing Olympic fireworks but promise this display will be 'more expensive, more expansive and more complex' than both of the opening and closing Olympics firework displays put back to back.

The display will light up the entire 43 km of coastline of the Palm, an island whose beachside homes have already been bought up at a terrific rate by celebrities across the world.

Catering and further entertainment for the party itself will stretch to another £1.5 million with dinner designed by four Michelin-starred chefs including Giorgio Locatelli and Nobu Matsuhisa.

The stunning Atlantis hotel in Dubai will be officially opened on November 20

A stellar guestlist including politicians, actors, musicians and royalty will be flown in from around the world and will also be accommodated free at the resort. That is costing some £5,000 per head - a further £10 million.

The last time an Atlantic resort launched in the Bahamas, the gueslist included John Travolta, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson and Stevie Wonder. This time, a wealth of premiership footballers will also be there, with the likes of The Beckhams already owning a home on the Palm.

The hotel itself is 'based on the Lost City of Atlantis', and despite its rather garish appearance inside and out, is a construction masterpiece rising 400ft into the sky where nothing but sea had been just five years ago.

Palm Jumeirah - Dubai's manmade island shaped like a palm tree

The hotel has 17 restaurants, a water park and some of the most extravagant suites on earth.

The Lost Chambers suites look out through huge underwater picture windows into the resort's 11 million litre lagoon, stocked with 65,000 fish, sharks and rays.

If money is no object, the Bridge Suite spans the archway between the hotel's two towers.

A British family are the first bookers, paying £45,000 for three nights: for that, they get three bedrooms, four staff and a gold-leafed dining table seating 18. Though that price is bed and breakfast only.

A spokesman for the resort refused to confirm how much was being spent on the launch party.

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Isn't pint-sized Kylie a little over-dressed for a night down the pub?

Kylie Minogue, wearing a dazzling multicoloured frock, would have been the belle of the ball - had she been at a ball, that is.

But she went to all this effort just to pop down to the local pub last night with her mates.

Kylie, 40, arrived at the Duke On The Green pub in Chelsea at 7.30pm, where she met up with a group of pals including her long-time manager Terry Blamey.

Popping down to the local: Kylie Minogue leaves her Chelsea home in a designer dress for a night at the pub

Unfortunately for the 5ft singer, they were all pretty tall and it seems she spent most of last night talking to their chests. She left just before midnight.

In contrast to her designer gown, her friends all opted for the casual look in jeans and t-shirts.

An onlooker said: 'She was full of smiles and looked like she had a great night, chatting animatedly and sipping wine.

'Drinkers couldn't resist asking for autographs and photos on their mobiles.

Drinking buddies: Kylie greets a male friend

Do the local motion: Colourful Kylie interrupts the conversation with some playful hand gestures

She was charming and happily signed and posed for them.'

The Australian singer is looking better than ever, despite turning 40 in May.

As her career continues to go from strength to strength, it appears her private life is lacking.

Kylie has been single since splitting from French actor Olivier Martinez last year.

Time to go home: After a night of revelry with friends, Kylie returns home in a waiting car

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X-rated Kylie thrills fans in knee-high leather boots, satin gloves and silver hot pants

It has been less than three weeks since she picked up her OBE – but last night Kylie Minogue gave a hot-blooded performance that would hardly go down well at Buckingham Palace.

The diminutive Australian singer adopted an outrageous sado-masochistic theme during her gig in London’s O2 Arena, more suited to Formula 1 boss Max Mosley’s sex games than a mainstream pop concert.

Flipping gorgeous: As a muscled dancer somersaults behind her Kylie performs her dance routine

Her kinky routine was said to be inspired by her latest album, X and Kylie certainly looked X-rated in her dominatrix inspired getup.

She appeared at the former Millennium Dome in knee-high leather boots, flanked by hooded henchmen brandishing fencing foils and clad in PVC.

The dancers, wearing bizarre skintight black and gold outfits, knelt at Kylie’s feet before raising her aloft and saluting her with their swords.

It was never like this when she was in Neighbours.

Pull me: The star belts out a track

Touch me: Kylie and her dancers

The pop starlet was performing the first of seven dates in London as part of her European tour KylieX2008.

Looking almost decade younger than her 40 years the fresh-faced singer showed she still has the stamina to perform, staying on stage for an impressive two-and-a-half hours.

High-kicking Kylie shows off her shapely legs

Stamina: Kylie was onstage for more than two hours

On Kylie's website she explained the thinking behind her reinvention. 'The eclectic mix of sounds on X is affording me an opportunity to explore and develop a new live show that is fresh, exhilarating and innovative,' she said.

Her sexy style was a world away from earlier this month, when a demure Kylie collected her OBE from Prince Charles. Dressed in a high-necked Yves Saint Laurent pink dress she was the picture of propriety at Buckingham Palace.

Kylie collects her gong from Prince Charles earlier this month

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What made Kylie dance on the table? How the singer's proving she can do without her 'gay husband' and mentor

Three hours earlier the applause had been rapturous and her performance immaculate as Kylie Minogue was named Best International Female Artist at the Brit Awards.

Even as her delicate frame was swept aloft by Dr Who star David Tennant, who presented her with the Brit, Kylie had kept her composure.

Now, in the throb of Movida nightclub in London's West End, it was a rather different story. Kylie was doing something most un-Kylie – knocking back champagne with friends and dancing on the tables. She was having a ball.

Table dancing! A rare glimpse of typically self-controlled Kylie Minogue as she partied the night away after scooping Best International Female at the Brit awards last month

For somebody whose persona is usually so rigidly controlled, it was a rare glimpse of Kylie the woman rather than Kylie the brand.

This was a Kylie we didn't usually see. But it may well be that this "private" exuberance was always intended to find its way into the Press – and to deliver a very clear message to one man, Will Baker, a message that said unmistakably: "Look how I'm thriving without you."

Will's absence from that party last month was as notable as it was intriguing. Barely a few months ago it would have been unthinkable.

Kylie looking a little worse for wear towards the end of the post-Brits party

His name may not be familiar to any but the most ardent of Kylie's fans, but Will is her most enduringly significant other. It is no exaggeration to say that he created Kylie – or at least the version of her that millions have come to love, applaud and buy into.

For the best part of 15 years he has overseen every aspect of her styling.

It was Will who put her in the tiny gold hotpants that caused such a sensation when she sang Spinning Around.

It was Will who dressed her up like a show pony with ostrich feathers on her head and persuaded her into the rib-crushing corsetry that gave her a 16in waist.

It was Will who took the pop starlet and turned her into the ultimate Showgirl.

In short, it was Will who made her what we thought she always was.

Good times: Kylie with Will Baker, her 'gay husband' and mentor, last October, before their relationship cooled off

He calls her "Dear" and goes under the grand title of creative director. She says that they are "soulmates" and calls him her "gay husband". He is a giggling consort and acolyte occupying that strange territory between friend and staff – omnipresent, until now.

Will's absence from Kylie's Brit triumph was not the first indication that all is not what it was between them. Just two weeks earlier, Will had been notable by his absence when she launched her Kylie At Home bed linen.

That, says one well-placed source, was how Kylie had wanted it: "She wanted to show she could do it alone."

Kylie's desire for a rethink has been influenced by two looming events: the beginning of a gruelling European tour and her 40th birthday on May 28. It is a landmark birthday for any woman but, given her health scares and heartaches, it is little wonder if the prospect should affect Kylie more than most.

Girls next door: Kylie was joined at the high-spirited party by fellow ex-Neighbours star-turned singer Natalie Imbruglia, who recently split from husband Daniel Johns

Of course she looks fabulous. But while just getting there is cause for celebration, the reality is that Kylie at 40 will be on the same treadmill of performance and travel that she has toiled on for all her adult life – and no closer to finding fulfilment out of the spotlight.

According to one close to both: "Will has been such a support, but when two people spend too much time together there can be tension – and there has been tension. They have been spending a lot less time together recently."

Certainly Will and Kylie seem keen to establish their mutual independence.

For Will, 34, that means reminding people that he has a degree and that it is in theology, not fashion. It means establishing his own company – with the tongue-in-cheek name Never Trust A Stylist – and launching his own range of men's underwear.

And he is making it clear that Kylie is not his only celebrity client.

For Kylie it means launching products and celebrating success with a certain forced confidence. And for both it means letting their intense personal relationship cool to a workable professional pairing.

Whatever the simmering tensions, Will must fulfil his contractual obligation as creative director on Kylie's European tour.

Stage Diva Kylie steals the show with an immaculate performce of her new single Wow at the Brits

He has been liaising with Dolce & Gabbana over designs for the show which will, no doubt, be spectacular. But according to one source: "After being so close for so long, it is now very much just a professional relationship."

It is all a world away from the closeness which, at its peak, saw Kylie become so dependent on Will that he was the first person she called, outside her family, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

It is a relationship that blossomed from unlikely beginnings.

Will was raised in Wilmslow, Cheshire, the eldest of two children born to Graham and Alison Jane Baker.

His parents split when he was ten and he and his sister, Georgie, went to live with their mother who soon remarried. His father, too, remarried and today lives in a stone-built cottage on the outskirts of affluent Alderley Edge, Cheshire, with wife Hazel.

According to Graham: "Will is very bright, creative and I suppose you could say flamboyant. As a boy he was Dr Who mad and did a lot of dressing up."

He won a place at Manchester Grammar where he was quickly singled out as being "cool".

Kylie was rumoured to be back with ex Olivier Martinez on the promise of marriage after they hooked up in Paris earlier this year

His friends called him "Joan" after his icon Joan Collins. But when it came to university it was theology rather than fashion or design that attracted him, though he was drawn to it as much for the art as the religious aspects.

His father explained: "He is very interested in religion, but not in a church-going kind of way. For example, he'll go to Turkey to look at mosques or take a holiday elsewhere to visit temples.2

For Will, religious imagery and pop culture make natural bedfellows. He has said: "I don't mean to be crass, but a huge part of religion is about image-making and so is pop music."

Perhaps it was this unusual approach to styling that caught Kylie's attention when, in 1993, she and Will met.

He came to London to study at King's College and took a Saturday job at Vivienne Westwood's store in Mayfair. Working there, he saw stylists come and go, borrowing clothes for photoshoots and videos. The thought occurred that he could do that – perhaps rather well.

Kylie has always had a strong gay following, and it was as an unashamed fan that 19-year-old Will contacted Kylie's then record label, deConstruction, and asked if she needed a stylist.

It turned out that Kylie was abroad. Will left his name, number and the details of the shop, never really expecting to hear any more.

Three weeks later Kylie walked into the store. Will recalled: "I leaped from behind the counter and bombarded her with ideas and persuaded her to go for a coffee. She probably thought I was mad."

Kylie spotted leaving Martinez’ flat earlier this year as she takes dog Sheba for a stroll

She scribbled her number on a napkin, signing it "Miss K", and told Will to keep in touch.

He did and soon found himself charged with dressing Kylie for a photoshoot. He raided an old boyfriend's punk-era wardrobe for costumes. Kylie loved it, and she became Will's muse and obsession.

In 1998, Will was tasked with styling his first Kylie tour, Intimate And Live. It was a massive, high-camp success, with Will painstakingly sticking sequins and glitter on to all of Kylie's costumes.

In 2000, the real breakthrough came when Will found a 50p pair of second-hand hotpants and convinced Kylie that her pert rear was her best feature.

But even then the closeness that would often see them squealing and giggling at some private joke was not without its dark side. And the tensions that have now bubbled over were, perhaps, merely deferred from years earlier.

In 2005, in the middle of her Showgirl – The Greatest Hits tour, Will abruptly quit after being elevated to creative director and best friend. Both he and Kylie insisted that there was no falling out.

Today Will's father alleges that it was due to Kylie's manager, Terry Blamey, trying to keep a tight reign on her budget.

Mr Baker claims: "Will and Kylie never had a row. Will had done a lot of work on something and didn't want to be out of pocket. Terry had other ideas about how much it should cost."

But for Will, it seems there was an element of professional frustration, too. He said: "We had to do a greatest-hits album and it was so mind-numbingly not creative it finished us off. I just had a holiday and didn't go back."

Perhaps that would have been a natural time to reposition the friendship. But life intervened.

Kylie called Will to tell him she had breast cancer. And, he said, "the world ended".

He travelled to Australia to be with her throughout her treatment, their difficulties set to one side. It was Will's idea to make White Diamond, the documentary film of Kylie's triumphant Showgirl – The Homecoming tour, post-cancer. It was an intense experience for both.

"As executive producer, Will spent six months with Kylie all day, every day," said an insider.

"She didn't want the world to see some of what Will showed and they had disagreements over that."

Even at the film's West End premiere last October there were tensions between the two. Chatting to journalists, Will commented on Kylie's on-off relationship with French actor Olivier Martinez, reportedly leaving Kylie furious at the indiscretion.

Will once described Kylie as "the perfect canvas for my fantasies". She giggled back that "everybody needs a Willie".

But today Will's ambitions extend beyond dressing his "Dear".

And as she approaches 40, who would blame Kylie if she were to reassess just what – and who – she needs in her life and decides that her days of providing a surface for somebody's fantasies are numbered?

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Saint Kylie continues good deeds Down Under with a children's hospital visit

Pop sweetheart Kylie Minogue spent more than two hours visiting sick young patients at the Sydney Children's Hospital during a promotional visit to her home country.

The star, who is no stranger to illness after battling breast cancer in 2005, showed her maternal side as she tenderly nursed infants as she made her way through the ward.

Saint Kylie: the pop star showed off her maternal side during a visit to the Sydney Children's Hospital

"Kids who hadn't smiled in ages had a smile on their face as soon as they saw her," a spokeswoman for the singer said.

Kylie made time for the hospital stop between a string of interviews to promote her new album, X.

During her stay in Australia, the star, who has long expressed her desire to have children of her own, revealed she is dating again following her highly-publicised split from French actor Olivier Martinez early last year.

Soft touch: Kylie spent more than two hours making her way through the hospital wards

"I enjoy dating so I'm not totally alone," she told the Sunrise program.

"Don't worry about it. It's not that long ago that I came out of my last relationship."

Kylie admitted she had not had much time to look for Mr Right, but is certain he's not far off, saying: "I'm sure he's making his way."

Today she flies to LA to film videos for her next two singles Wow and In My Arms.

Baby love: the star worked her charm on the hospital's young patients

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Sex kitten Kylie sizzles in a skin tight lace catsuit - and steals the X Factor style crown from sister Dannii

Sizzling sex kitten Kylie Minogue stole the X Factor style crown last night - and left her sister Dannii firmly in the fashion stakes shade.

Renown for her jaw-dropping outfits, the pop princess excelled herself as she stalked on to stage in a figure-hugging black lace catsuit, black leotard and strappy sky-scraper heels.

She had appeared on the show to duet with finalist - and eventual winner - Leon Jackson, 18.

Sizzling: Kylie stunned the audience - and Leon - with this black lace number

But as the pair launched into her classic hit Better The Devil You Know, Kylie's attention grabbing outfit - rather than the music - was the centre of attention.

Kylie has recently described her delight at the way her fuller figure after battling back from breast cancer.

And every single one of her burgeoning curves was on display as she shimmied across the stage - and perched coquettishly on top of a grand piano.

Duet: The pair performed classic Kylie hit Better the Devil You Know

Fan: Kylie told Leon she loved his voice

X Factor judge Dannii, who has been coaching Leon, has never been known for her reticent style but she looked positively demure beside her stunning sister.

After their duet, Kylie told Leon: "I love your voice, not to mention that you're cute and adorable and everyone loves you – I have fallen under your spell today."

Dannii added, "You walked into the first audition on your own – now you're like the Pied Piper, you have everybody following you, congratulations."

Style stakes shade: Dannii Minogue

A double helping of Minogue magic was clearly just what the fresh-faced boy-next-door needed as he went on to win the £1 million recording contract beating hot favourite Rhydian Roberts.

The peroxide-haired Welshman also got the chance to sing with a major star as Katherine Jenkins joined him on stage for a high-powered duet.

Brother-and-sister duo Same Difference, who came in third place, sang with Jason Donovan.

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