Great mom Britney Spears

Britney Spears loves her "babies to death", according the troubled singer's cousin. Alli Sims has defended the pop star's heavily criticised parenting skills, saying she is a great mom to Sean Preston, 22 months, and Jayden James, 10 months, who she shares custody of with ex-husband Kevin Federline.

She told People magazine: "She's a wonderful mom and she is so hands-on. Britney loves those babies to death. And they adore her."

The 26-year-old - who until recently worked as Britney's assistant - is now following in her famous cousin's footsteps and launching a pop career of her own.

Alli has posted her first song - a cover of 'On My Own' from the stage musical Les Misérables - on her personal website, and plans to release her first material by January.

She said: "I hope everything falls into place, and maybe by January I will have a lot of things under my belt and get to release something. I just want to do what I love. Music is my passion."

Describing her sound, she said: "I don't dance, I'm not pop. I have a more bluesy voice, more like Norah Jones. I don't want to appeal to just my age group and younger."

The fledgling singer insists Britney is fully behind her, despite rumours the 25-year-old star was unhappy with her cousin's decision to follow in her musical footsteps.

She said: "She heard my songs on the laptop and was like, 'I love this song! This is you singing?' She has always been supportive."