Nicki Minaj "rapped" while suspended in mid-air (never seen that before) on the Grammys Sunday night for an over-produced performance of "Roman Holiday." Watch it inside....

Nicki Minaj (who arrived with "The Pope" & Sarafee) gave a churchy performance of "Roman Holiday" at the Grammys tonight.  And it seemed like she was attempting to do the 2012 even more controversial version of Madonna's "Like A Prayer."

There's a fine line between creativity and hoopla because you can. The performance was ahrd to follow, especally witht he minute and a half "mini movie" she showed and then switched into levitation and holy water for the on stage performance.

Grab your Bibles and watch the performance here:

Thoughts?
 

Oh Ashanti.  Have we gone down the ever beaten path of I-Need-To-Get-Obnoxiously-Naked-To-Get-Attention?  Decide if we love  "The Woman You Love" singer's NYC Fashion Week getup inside...

She may have a bangin' body and all...but is this the right way to show it?  Ashanti, who will perform on "Good Morning America" today, rolled to the Falguni and Shane Peacock Fall 2012 show on Sunday in the designer's sheer paneled multi-colored uber revealing dress. 

And we're not sure if she's channeling Pocahontas or just her own concoction of strategic covering.  But:

You decide.

DO WE LOVE IT?!

BONUS: Ashanti also sang the National Anthem at the Lakers VS. Knicks game at MSG this past Friday.  And here's a pic of her and her ruffles and blue pumps:

Pics via SPLASH

Lil' Kim plans to kick it with Andy Cohen in the clubhouse this week on Bravo.  Find out what she has in store and deets about her next music moves.....

This Wednesday night, Lil' Kim will be a guest on Bravo's hit show 'Watch What Happens Live' with Andy Cohen at 11pm.

While she's there, she will be playing a preview of one of her new songs (which is NOT a diss song for a change). The FULL song will be available on Itunes later this week.

In other Kim news, for all you fans, she's hosting Juelz Santana's birthday party this Friday and she's also hosting a big ski trip along with Rick Ross and Meek Mills on the 27th of this month.

And if she doesn't already have enough on her plate, folks are saying she is finally ready to announce her new label home.  Interesting......wonder if its Maybach Music?

Check out some of her latest pics from a recent party below:

Well isn't she sparkly...

When she debuted this new look at Ne-Yo's Midnight Pre-Grammy brunch this weekend, we thought maybe she was rocking a ponytail in the back.  But we've learned Ameriie has gone from long gorgeous locks to a fresh bang-heavy pixie cut. 

Decide if we love it inside...

Amerie chilled with her girls--including Power 105's Angela Yee--out and about.  And while we can't confirm if it's simply a wig she's having fun with, or if she actually took the plunge and cut it.

Wouldn't be surprised if she did go for a dramatic real change-up.  So...

DO WE LOVE IT?!

Amid reports that his daughter had been rushed to the hospital with panic attacks (and "maybe" her own suicide attempt), Bobby Brown and his fiance Alicia Etheridge arrived to a hectic scene at LAX yesterday. See the pics inside and get deets on what's happening with the case and with Bobbi Kris. Also watch Whitney's performance with Kelly Price shortly before she passed.

Bobby Brown was met with chaos at LAX yesterday as he arrived after cancelling his show with New Edition in Nashville.  He flew back to Los Angeles to be with his daughter Bobbi Kristina (who has been distraught since her mom's passing).  

Bobby and Alicia (their son was also with them) were picked up by singer Macy Gray in a stretch Maybach.  Hopefully being with her father with provide Bobbi Kris with the support she needs. 

Meanwhile, other details have emerged in the Whitney Houston investigation as well.

• Sources report that Bobbi Kristina almost drowned in the same bathtub her mom was found in the day before.
• Bobbi Kris has been hospitalized twice since her mom's passing and family fears she could be suicidal.  They are considering seeking help.
• Though water was found in Whitney's lungs, it was not enough (drowning) to be the sole cause of death.
• L.A. County Coroner officials told the family the singer appears to have died from a combination of Xanax and other prescription drugs mixed with alcohol. Autopsy is complete but official COD will not be released until toxicology reports are complete.

Robyn Crawford, one of Whitney's lifelong best friends, penned an open letter about their friendship.  Read a snippet here:

I met her when she was 16. It was at a summer job. I was working at a community center in East Orange, New Jersey, and she was working just like the rest of us. She was there to work. She introduced herself as "Whitney Elizabeth Houston," and I knew right away she was special. Not a lot of people introduced themselves with their middle names back then. She had peachy colored skin and she didn't look like anyone I'd ever met in East Orange, New Jersey.

She was nothing like the Whitney Houston she became but at the same time she was already there. She knew, and so did everyone around her. She was doing shows in Manhattan with her mother, and she'd change her clothes in the car and get on stage and do her thing. She hadn't signed her contract yet. But she was modeling for Wilhelmina because she was discovered on the street. She was walking in front of Carnegie Hall and someone walked up to her and said, "There's a modeling agency upstairs that's looking for someone just like you." She walked upstairs and they signed her. That's what it was like, that's what she gave off. She looked like an angel. When my mother first met her, she laughed and said, "You look like an angel, but I know you're not." And she wasn't. But she looked like one.

She chose the life she lived, and she chose it from the beginning. She knew the life better than anyone. Her mother was Cissy Houston, and she had been on the road with Dionne Warwick. She got her chops singing in church, and her mother said to her, "You know, you can always sing for free. You can always sing in church. You don't have to choose the professional life." But she chose because she'd been chosen. Some people sing just because. She was never like that. She had to put on her gear. She knew it was going to be a job and that's how she treated it. Once she committed to something, she finished it. Not long after I met her, she said, "Stick with me, and I'll take you around the world." She always knew where she was headed.

Read more at Esquire.

Also, Whitney gave one of her last live performances alongside Kelly Price at Tru Hollywood last Thursday night. 

The evening was called Kelly Price & Friends Unplugged: For the Love of R&B and the duo sang "Yes Jesus Loves Me."  Kelly said she hadn't asked Whitney to sing, but she decided to come on stage and kelly says she was absolutely honored.

Watch the video here and get Kelly's reaction to Whitney's passing:

 Photos via Sharpshooter Images/ Splash News

This cute kid was spotted at Cross Creek Shopping Center in Malibu over the weekend.  Can you guess who his famous dad & shopping partner is?

The reveal under the cut....

His dad is....

Bill Bellamy!  The actor/comedian took son 5-year-old Baron (who he has with wife Kristen) out and about over the weekend.  Fab daddy-and-me times.  Bill's set to star in a movie called Sleeping Around which he's currently filming.

Pics via SPLASH

Ashanti stopped by "Good Morning America" today to promote her upcoming album and also to perform a tribute to Whitney Houston. Watch it inside.....

This morning, Ashanti appeared on GMA where she performed a tribute to the late Whitney Houston. 

She and her mom were snapped leaving Times Square Studios where GMA is taped.

Watch her version of "I Have Nothing" below:

She also performed her track "The Woman You Love."

During perhaps the most emotional moment in her show's history, Wendy Williams broke down in tears while discussing Whitney Houston and one of the connections they share....substance abuse. Watch it inside.....

Earlier today, Wendy Williams gave an emotional call to arms for substance abusers and the people who love them.  She talked about her own struggles and how her years of cocaine abuse (she felt) connected her to Whitney Houston (who also had her struggles.  During the moment, she broke down sobbing while saying,

“I’m not proud of the girl I was,” Williams continued. “But without being that girl, I wouldn’t be the woman that i am today. So if it makes any sense to you, I have no regrets. There’s one thing throughout it all. My connection with Whitney…that I wished for us both to be really sober and really aware and I knew I would meet her one day…I always pictured that time to be in our late 50s, 60s with her being the number-one spokesperson for “Say no.” I just for some reason thought that that’s what she would do. It’s what I want to do. I just thought we would meet, and we would hug and we would be sober and older and…"

Here's the full segment below:

Despite that now infamous interview between Wendy & Whitney, Wendy said the two would see each other in passing a couple of times in different locations and Whitney still would say Hello.

Wendy also said she will not be following the story of Whitney's death from this point on via her show, and this day is the last time she will address it.  Definitely an emotional time.

Laura Govan is still keeping her name in the mix these days.  The "LA Basketball Wife" is covering the new issue of BE Magazine.  And she's talking about her 23 carat rock and why she's not trying to be bothered with Jackie Christie's drama next season...

She's looking great and back with her man, Gilbert Arenas.  Mom of 4 Laura Govan chatted up BE Magazine and the full issue hits their site tomorrow on Valentine's Day.  Here's the highlights:

BE Magazine: There was a lot of drama surrounding you, Gloria, and Jackie Christie on last season’s show…what can we expect this season, and have you and Jackie BEen able to find common ground?
Laura Govan: I’m over it. Just because I don’t hang with you in real life or don’t care to be friends with a person doesn’t mean I hate them…

BE Magazine: How does it feel to BE in love? And does BEing in love feel BEtter with a 23 Carat Ring?
Laura Govan: Being in love feels better when you’re with the person you were meant to be with! Me & Gil have been together for over 10 years now. I was with him when he was broke & I had to pay for our meal.

BE Magazine: What’s BEen new with Laura since we’ve last seen you on the BBW LA Reunion a few months ago?
Laura Govan: Growth. Sometimes I’ll catch repeats of past episodes when I’m at home and I look at myself and say “who is this girl!?” (laughing)

Photo Credit: Jonavennci Divad

The Randomness:

1. Kim K. and Reggie Bush indeed had a dinner date this weekend in L.A.  Mmhmmm. STORY

Nicki Minaj is talking about fashion--and why she's over that world.  The "Stupid H*e" rapper tells New York Magazine that she's not about fitting into the IN crowd.  And she tells Ryan Seacreast why she went the route she did last night....

In a series of candid shots with gritty special effects, Nicki poses for the Spring FASHION issue of New York magazine.  Here's highlights from her interesting perspective about the fashion world--and why she's skipping NY Fashion Week for the most part:

Are you coming back to Fashion Week this time?
I’m not impressed to be in that world. I’m in my own world. I think sometimes the fashion world isn’t even about clothes anymore; it’s about this “in” crowd, and I’m not into that. But I’m doing a Barbie fashion show. They did a Barbie for me, and that is super friggin’ amazing.

So is it safe to assume that you were always interested in fashion?
I’ve always been intrigued by color and by interesting hair. I was one of those weird little girls doing my own hair at the age of 9. I was, like, getting weird gels and new brushes and cornrow holders. I would tweak and perm at the age of 13. When I first went to get my hair colored, I was about 14 and I wanted blonde highlights. The beautician said, “No, you have to get your mother on the phone,” and I was just crying and begging. I’ve always been experimenting. Cyndi Lauper’s videos—that’s what intrigued me.

And you definitely use your looks to get noticed.
I like the idea of doing something that everyone else is not. I get high off that. Just the idea that other people don’t have the balls to do something—that’s my thing.
 

Here's the rest of her pics:

And if you're still scratching your head about her performance last night at the GRAMMY Awards--you're not the only one. 

She talked to Ryan Seacrest today on his radio show and revealed a few things:

On attending the Grammys with a Pope look-alike: “The religious figure is there because he was called on by Roman’s mom to rehabilitate him.”

On her debut performance of “Roman Holiday”: “I had this vision for him to be sort of exorcised—or actually he never gets exorcised—but people around him tell him he’s not good enough because he’s not normal, he’s not blending in with the average Joe. And so his mother is scared and the people around him are afraid because they’ve never seen anything like him. He wanted to show that not only is he amazing and he’s sure of himself and confident, but he’s never gonna change, he’s never gonna be exorcised. Even when they throw the holy water on him, he still rises above.”

On why she chose “Roman Holiday” for the Grammys: “The Grammys chose ‘Roman Holiday.’ The producers of the Grammys came to the studio and I played them ‘Roman Holiday,’ and I could not play them another record after they heard that. They went crazy. I could have chosen to do a no-brainer pop song, but I can’t do it anymore. I have to stay true to what I’m doing.”

Feel like we're listening to a 12-year-old during a tea party with her imaginary friends.  But if that's what works...

Here's the audio in full:

Peep Nicki's performance from last night HERE in case you missed it.

And Nicki's Nickelodeon Kid's Choice Awards promo with Will Smith. The show airs live Saturday, March 31 at 8 p.m.

Drake clearly enjoyed the Grey Goose sponsorship.

One of Beyonce's producers just spilled the beans that the new mom is--unsurprisingly--gearing up for her fifth solo studio album.  Plus, she's got a second project up her sleeve for 2012.  Deets inside...

Told y'all this chick was planning album content while she was breastfeeding and changing diapers.  Baby Blue's mom is said to be already setting up to work on a new album.  And yes, B.I.C. will likely be her muse.  Producer/Songwriter Ryan Tedder, who just copped an award at last night's GRAMMYS for contributing to Adele's Album of the Year, 21, revealed some generalities.

He said it goes “without saying” that Bey’s work will have some reflection on her newborn child Blue Ivy, but that “the conversations about her next album literally just happened.”

“You feed her the best that you have. She’s just a phenomenal filter… she can identify what the next thing is,” Tedder said of the “Party” girl, noting that she has “two projects happening” this year. “You just let her go.”

Bey is also conducting a global remix competition for her fans.  The best remix of her track "End of Time" will appear on a future release. 

Here we go...

Fresh off her exorcism during Sunday night's 2012 GRAMMY Awards, Nicki Minaj just dropped her brand new track "Starships."  Check it inside...

The next single off Nicki's Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded (4/3/2012) is this poppy dance beat single "Starships." It's produced by RedOne and will likely be all her techno Barbz's fave club song.  Check it:

We wonder how she and SB are spending Romantine's Day....

Meanwhile, Nicki told Ryan Seacrest yesterday she was "disappointed" in M.I.A.'s flip off gesture during their Superbowl halftime show with Madonna earlier this month:

"I'm a cuckoo lady, too, but I would never be able to do it off the strength of Madonna," said the rapper. "There are fines that go into these things, and I just thought, 'Oh my God, I hope they don't penalize Madonna.' Madonna knows the artist MIA is and it was her decision to take the risk with all of us. We're all kind of firecrackers and she took that risk. She's done some crazy things becoming the icon that she is, so I think that's why she was able to forgive MIA."

Minaj went on to add: I love MIA and I don't want to say anything that is the wrong thing, but me personally, I couldn't see myself doing it, just for the respect for Madonna. I wouldn't want any backlash to come back on Madonna."

 

Cassie finally released her "King of Hearts" video.  The double shaven (head) singer dons a barely there leather dominatrix style get-up in many of the scenes.  Check it, plus Mashonda's brand new video teaser for her upcoming mixtape, inside...

Her lead single off her upcoming album, Electro Love, has finally got a visual.  "King of Hearts" is all about Cassie waiting for her kingh in hooded armour in a dark mansion while dancing it up in sexy lingerie and more.  Check it.

In other video releases, Mashonda just revealed her first teaser video, "Touch," for her upcoming mixtape Love, Mashonda, which is out now.  You feelin' it?

Music icon Chaka Khan stopped by Piers Morgan's CNN show last night where she disagreed with Clive Davis saying there's no way Whitney would have attended a party if one of her friends had just died. She would not have wanted the music to keep playing. Get the deets inside.....

Chaka chatted with Piers Morgan last night and opened up about the death of friend Whitney Houston.

She said that Clive Davis' pre-Grammy party was "insanity" with one half of the room partying and the other half in tears. She added that she can't imagine Whitney would have said that "the show must go on."

Chaka revealed Whitney was the kind of woman who who has said, "I won't be there," if one of her friends died. She interestingly added that she blames whomever flew Whitney out to LA for a full week before the Grammys for what happened.

Talking about her own addiction, Chaka said entertainers are vulnerable and there are too many temptations in LA for someone like Whitney to be there for a FULL week with pretty much nothing to do except party.

Meanwhile, Whitney's body has been flown to New Jersey, via Tyler Perry's private jet, where the funeral will be taking place at the Prudential Center her childhood church and will be invite only.

Watch the clips below:

EXTRAS:

1.  Sony and Apple blamed for price increase of Whitney's Greatest Hits albums shortly after her death.  Story.

It was a day of shopping...and having a fab dinner...all to celebrate Kelly Rowland's 31st birthday.  Pics of LaL Anthony & Tika Sumpter having some fun with their girl inside...

Kelly Rowland and LaLa hit up Intermix in L.A. just days after their GRAMMY festivities this past weekend.  Kelly turned 31 on Saturday--the same day as the Whitney Houston tragedy.  So her girls LaLa and Tika hit the town with her to offer up some cheer.

And after shopping, the girls changed clothes and headed to Beso for dinner with actress Tika Sumpter:
 

Kelly also spoke out to Access Hollywood yesterday asking the media to leave Bobbi Kristina alone and let her mourn in peace:

“The media should calm down. Allow this to be a moment for Bobbi Kristina to have for herself. Leave her alone!," Rowland told Access Hollywood during an interview Monday. "Let her have her moment. This is not about anybody else. She’s lost her mother, and [Whitney Houston’s] mother has lost her child. Respect that.”
 

She looked fab and casual after dinner carrying some b-day gifts:

Fab times.

Check out Kelly Rowland's "Fantasy" tribute (with Raekwon) to Mariah Carey from the 2012 BET Honors which aired last night:

Pics via SPLASH

It's no secret to "Braxton Family Values" obsessors (like us) that Gabe Solis has spent most of his 7-year marriage to Trina Braxton engaging in some form of cheating.  In last week's episode, we found out that some of this cheating has been on a social networking site.

But now there's proof he had internet sex with a transgendered woman! Get the deets AND pics inside....

Remember the trangendered woman who allegedly had some online interractions with JoJo Simmons?  Well apparently, according to Baller Alert, she gets around (via her wi-fi of course). 

The internet streets are saying that one of the MANY women that Gabe Solis "allegedly" had contact with was a trangendered woman named Julisa Abadshian.  Sigh.....

Trina.......walk away boo.  The proof is in the pics:

Now I'm not and never have been married.  But until someone explains WHY Trina is still married to this man after umpteen PUBLIC situations such as these...I will be forever baffled.

Watch Trina in tears as she talks to Gabe and throws in the towel on their relationship--kinda--at the (8:30) mark:

Please remember that Trina and Gabe appeared back in each other's good graces just last month, AFTER this was filmed.

The Randomness:

1.  Too Short uses XXL column to offer advice on how to "turn middle school girls" out.  Story.

2.  Lebron James  threatens to kick some heckler's butt after he's taunted about his mother and DeLonte West.  Story.

Nicki Minaj is pushing her Reloaded album everywhere these days.  The now orange haired rapper is covering the February/March 2012 issue of VIBE magazine.  Check out the cover, and what she says about getting frustrated with the fashion world and why it's her way or the highway, inside...

With her second studio album Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded dropping April 3rd, Queens native Onika is everybody's pink lipped covergirl.  In the upcoming issue of VIBE magazine, the "Roman Holiday" rapper is revealing her frustrations with the industry.  Here's her excerpts of her interview with Editor Clover Hope:

VIBE: You’ve said before that you didn’t really have fun recording Pink Friday.

Nicki Minaj: I felt like I had something to prove to everyone who said a female rapper could not make an album unless she was talking about her pussy. And so I went above and beyond to prove that I could not talk about sex and not talk about my genitalia and still have a successful album. And I proved that. And now my time for proving things to my critics is over. I don’t really need to prove anything to anyone else anymore.

Is it still hard to get your way as a woman in this industry?

It’s not hard to get your way when it’s your way or the highway. People either follow suit or they’re not around. I don’t really like the sound of that, ‘cause that sounds like a temper tantrum. I’m just very black and white when it comes to my business. There’s really no gray area. I really don’t have a lot of small talk with people I work with. It’s pretty much let’s get the job done. In the beginning, if people didn’t know me they’d probably assume I wasn’t smart or wasn’t business savvy. But once you sit and talk to me, it’s a different story.

You were heavy on the fashion scene last year around Fashion Week with Anna Wintour. Do you feel like you’ve been accepted by the fashion world?

Yeah, I realized more recently that even if it’s for a fashion magazine, I’m not gonna change who I am. When I was doing photo shoots last year, I kept on being told, “This is what we want your hair to look like and this is what we want you to look like,” and it really, really stifled my creativity. So the other day I was talking to a photographer, and he said, “You know what, I like your everyday looks so much better than when you do photo shoots for magazines.” And I was like, “So do I, you’re absolutely right.” I’d been getting more and more frustrated for a while.

But I’ve made up my mind that when you see a Nicki Minaj magazine cover from now on, it’s really going to reflect me and it’s going to be something that I creatively had a hand in, because I don’t have to do it anymore. I don’t have to do things just to please people. It’s okay to do what I love because what I love, my fans love. And they’re really the only ones that should matter. The fashion world will have to come to Nicki Minaj, as opposed to Nicki Minaj trying to go to the fashion world.

 

The issue hits stands next week.  You feelin' the cover?

Janet Jackson sat down with Anderson Cooper recently and she revealed her thoughts about the life and legacy of Whitney Houston and also discussed the very special bond that they had.  Watch the segments inside.....

On an interview airing Monday, February 20, 2012, Janet Jackson talked to Anderson Cooper about Whitney and the special bond that they shared (remember her Control album and Whitney's debut weren't too far apart). 

She revealed that if they were at award shows, they would always make it a point to stop by one another's dressing room to show love and offer support (who knew!). 

She also added that Whitney was a "sweet soul."  And though losing a brother is nothing like losing a mother, she had a few words for Bobbi Kris too..... 

Watch the clips here:

Janet on praying for Whtney's family:

Anderson: My thoughts obviously and I think everybody is with her daughter Bobby Kristina, who has just got to be reeling.
Janet: It's very, very devastating and I pray for her and her family, even Bobby. I mean he's going through so much.  They are all going through so much. The mother, it's very sad.
Anderson: Her mother spoke with her a short time before she passed and again for a parent to outlive a child is just the worst thing there is.

Janet talks about Whitney as a performer:

Anderson: We've all been kind of re-listening to her and her performance singing the Star Spangeld Banner. To you, what was she like as a performer?
Janet: Incredible. She was known as the voice. When she would open her mouth and this instrument would come out you would obviously understand why. She was such a sweet sweet soul. Especially back in early 80s and early 90s is when I connected with Whitney the most. It doesn't matter if we were doing an awards show. We would always take the time out to find one another. Either she'd come to my dressing room to say hey and I'd be in makeup or I'd find her in her dressing room to say hey, we always found time to talk to one another. She was such a sweet soul.

Janet offers advice to Bobbi Kristina:

Anderson: What advice do you have for her family for her kid. For her child?
Janet: It's a very very tough time. Even though it’s still a loss. I lost my brother, she lost her mother. There's still a difference, even though there's a still a loss to a family, I don't know what that's like being so young. It was hard for me. It was very very difficult for me. I didn't want to accept it, it's very difficult. You have to come to terms at some point, you have to actually give it up to God and it sounds so mean but you have to move on you can't hold onto that because it can be very devastating. Sometimes therapy is the best thing.
Anderson:  TV People always use that word closure when they are talking about loss, as someone who has lost family members as well, I don't think there is such a thing as closure. I think that's a made up TV word.
Janet: No, I don't think there is either, but you have to go on with life. You figure out a way to move on. It's always right here. There's never a day, not one day has gone by where I don't think about my brother and my other brothers and sisters say the same thing.