Britney's "cousin" aspires to pop stardom

Where has Britney Spears's former constant companion and rumored "cousin" been of late? Turns out, she's left the popstar's side to work on a singing career of her own. Alli Sims updated her website this week to include her first song, a cover of On My Own from Les Miserables. "She heard my songs on the laptop and was like, 'I love this song! This is you singing?'" Sims says of Spears. "She has always been supportive." Of the popstar's oft-questioned parenting skills, Sims says, "She's a wonderful mom and she's so hands-on... Britney loves those babies to death. And they adore her... I love her, she's beautiful inside and out. We're still great friends." Of her music, the aspiring singer says, "I don't dance, I'm not pop. I have a more bluesy voice, more Norah Jones-ish. I don't want to appeal to just my age group and younger." Sims moved to LA and worked as an assistant to wedding planner Mindy Weiss before hooking up with Spears. "I was just doing that for a little while, and we had a great time together," she says. "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."