Just about everyone is talking about how crazy it is that so many notable personalities have passed away in the past couple weeks. The propagators of online rumors are well aware of this, and have already begun to take full advantage.

So far we have lost Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcet, Michael Jackson, and now famed “pitchman” Billie Mays. However, according to numerous tweets and random “celebrity bloggers”, pop icons Britney Spears and Miley Cyrus are the latest ones to bite the dust.

What motivates the instigators of internet rumors to spread these lies? Well, it could be a number of things, ranging from web profits to just plain old entertainment value. However, if you’re the subject of one of these rumors, is it really such a bad thing?

Since Michael Jackson passed away, his record sales have exploded. He is already dominating the UK music charts, and radio play of the King of Pop’s music here in the United States has increased by a whopping 1,735% since the news of his death.

Of course, baseless internet rumors can’t be expected to make the sort of impact as the death of Michael Jackson, but I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that such false rumors do benefit the artists involved to some extent, even if it is just a microcosm of the aforementioned effect.

There was a time when Britney Spears was an iconic, clean-cut pop star that men of all ages fantasized about but knew in their hearts that it could never be. Then of course she slipped into a downward spiral that saw her weight fluctuate Oprah style and get knocked up by a guy that looked like the guy your older brother used to by weed from.

Today, however, Britney is climbing her way back to the top. Recent photographic evidence has shown that she has worked very hard to snap back into shape. Perfectly coinciding with her reattained figure, a new set of concert dates have been announced, and Britney fans are enthused as ever. Although her fan base is a bit more mature nowadays, don’t expect the show to be anything less than vibrant. Britney and company have promised us an elaborate show that will include the likes of jugglers, acrobats, the usual flamboyant dancers, the not-so-usual martial arts dancers, and more.

At Britney shows of yore, the audience was usually composed largely young women. If you plan to attend this Circus, you can expect the median age of the concert attendee to be a bit older, along with the median jeans size a bit larger. You can also expect an increase in male attendance. After all, now that every man in the country realizes he had a chance with the former Mickey Mouse Club dancer, he will surely be there to spit his A-game.

Britney will be barging in to 27 US cities before embarking on European tour in June. Get her while she’s hot.

British pop sensation Lily Allen recently made waves again when her own rendition of the new Britney Spears single, “Womanizer”, spread like wildfire across the internet.

Allen, who initially attained worldwide recognition via the viral growth of her MySpace music page, stated in a recent blog entry that she had never intended for the song to leak out to begin with.

Apparently Mark Ronson (host of the radio show “Authentic Shit”) asked Lily if she had any new material, and her cover of “Womanizer” was the only song she had on her blackberry to send to him in time.

“I had asked him to talk all over it so it wouldn’t get ripped, but he didn’t”, Lily announced on her MySpace blog in her defense. “Thanks mark for getting me in serious trouble with my record company. ”

The song was uploaded to YouTube (with a still frame of Lily in place of video) on December 15th. Reactions from Lily Allen fans have been mixed, but the majority of her fans seem to appreciate her cover of the Spears song. If you take a look at the comment board, you’ll find a lot of folks actually prefer Lily’s version.

Britney Spears has yet to comment publicly about Lily Allen’s re-interpretation of her work. However, Lily has always been very vocal about being an unashamed Britney fan. Hopefully Britney subscribes to the old belief that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery”. Otherwise, watch out Lily. You may want to umbrella-proof the windows of your vehicle.