AceShowbiz - Veteran entertainer Bette Midler dedicated a full year to preparing for her Las Vegas revue, and endured months of gruelling exercise to ensure she could hit every note. The Grammy Award winner has been performing her colourful live show The Showgirl Must Go On at Sin City's Caesars Palace since February, 2008.

And Midler, who turned 65 on December 1, admits it was a huge feat to prepare for the stage revue, in which she belts her biggest hits alongside 20 back-up dancers, back-up singers The Harlettes and a 13-piece band. She tells Reuters, "A year before we even started rehearsals, I started doing my warm-ups, getting on the treadmill again and lifting weights. It's fascinating to get onstage and run for an hour and a half, wringing wet at the end."

But the Divine Miss M has no regrets. She insists, "I loved every minute of it."