The Daily Roundup for Feb 16

CLICK HERE TO FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER!

Lil’ Kim’s Weekend Look + ‘Watch What Happens’ Appearance

I’m fairly certain that after Nicki Minaj’s less than stellar performance at Sunday’s Grammy awards, Lil’ Kim is somewhere chuckling hard as sh*t. Ms. Jones was spotted at The Box Expo in West Palm Beach and is reportedly prepping her single for release on iTunes. I think that a lot of people get really caught up in the Kim versus Nicki hype but I’m hoping that Kim shows up and shows out for the release of this new single. So ready for some new, good music that I KNOW she’s capable of delivering!

On tonight, she’ll be making an appearance with Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens. You can check that out on Bravo at 11pm eastern time! Here’s to hoping for some noteable quotables from Queen Bee!

What do you guys think of her look in these shots?

Beyonce Preps TWO New Projects (Including New Album) For 2012

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.

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 the 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. Ryan Tedder. HMMMMMM I guess since Adele’s the ish now. Bey wants to tap into that market. Sorry Bey keep breast feeding because Adele’s WORLD DOMINATION IS HERE!

At any rate Here we go...

Zaire Wade's BIG FABULOUS SPORTY 10th BIRTHDAY--Hosted By Daddy Dwyane!

Like father like son! Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade threw a big fabulous 10th birthday party for his oldest son Zaire. And how else would an NBA champ and 8-time All-Star celebrate his sport-loving offspring's big day? With a sporty football & basketball bash that'll make all his classmates jealous.

It pays to have an NBA star for a dad. When Zaire's outdoor 10th birthday bash got rained out this week, they moved it inside to his dad's job--the family room and practice court at the American Airlines Arena.

Zaire’s All-Star themed birthday gathering included his closest friends and family--including Dwyane Sr. (Dwyane’s Dad), Jolinda Wade (Dwyane’s Mom), Dada (Dwyane’s nephew), Tragil Wade (Dwyane’s Sister), and Zaire's 4-and-a-half-old brother Zion.

The 50 boys and girls rocked a game of flag football--officiated by D-Wade's former NFL friends Patrick Surtain, Sam Madison, Oronde Gadsden, and Daryl Porter.

The kiddies copped personalized football jerseys, towels and basketball jerseys with "Zaire's 10th Birthday" stitched on the front after their b-ball game. The games even kicked off with someone singing the national anthem and 40 cheerleaders cheered from the sidelines and did half time shows for both events.

Later, the birthday boy was presented with an amazing basketball and football themed birthday cake.

And if that wasn't enough, the doting dad surprised Zaire with tickets to the Miami HEAT game on Tuesday night with his favorite group, Mindless Behavior. Oh to be a 10-year-old boy...

Happy Birthday Zaire!..VIA

Jennifer Hudson ; 'I haven't stopped crying since Whitney died': she opens up about grief after stunning Grammy’s tribute performance

She broke down in tears following her emotional rendition of I Will Always Love You at last night's Grammy’s.
And now songstress Jennifer Hudson has opened up about her grief following the passing of iconic singer Whitney Houston on Saturday.
Speaking about her performance at the Los Angeles ceremony, American Idol alum Hudson told Us Weekly: 'It was the greatest honor of my life to be able to be the one to pay tribute to Whitney's memory.'

The 30-year-old went on to describe how she has been an emotional wreck since learning of Whitney's death
'It was from my heart,' Jennifer said of her version of the Dolly Parton song, adding: 'I haven't stopped crying since she passed. Her family is in my prayers.'
Houston was found dead in a bathtub in her fourth floor suite in the Beverly Hilton hotel on Saturday afternoon.

Details from the autopsy are being kept under wraps until toxicology reports have been completed - which could take several weeks.
Hudson stood under a lone spotlight during her rousing performance as artists and music industry executives who have passed away in the last year were paid their respects in a video montage.
After musical luminaries like Amy Winehouse, rapper Heavy D and Etta James were showcased, Houston was shown wearing a red dress.

Thunderous applause rang through the audience before the room went dark and Hudson's first clear, strong notes rang out.
Hudson stood there looking lovely and svelte in a stunning in a black dress with a black and white striped top.
She sang what could be considered the songbird's most famous hit, written by Parton for The Bodyguard soundtrack.
Her rendition of the tune was above and beyond perfect, as if Hudson was channelling the recently deceased singer herself.
Indeed, her version was an exact replica of Houston's own performance at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards twenty years ago.
Throughout the song she appeared to be blinking back tears, and when she finished, she finally caved in to her overwhelming emotion.
The audience, of course, went wild.

Houston's passing left the music industry in complete shock, especially as a party she was meant to attend carried on downstairs.
At Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy fete, musicians like Alicia Keys, Tony Bennett and Diddy all gave tribute to the superstar.
The stars have all been vocal about the tragedy that is Houston's passing.
X-Factor UK judge Kelly Rowland said: 'We lost our hero. I would not be standing here today if it was not for her.'
She told E Entertainment: 'My prayers go to her mother and her daughter. If we feel this loss I can only imagine how heavy their loss is.'
Kelly Osbourne also remembered Houston, telling her E Entertainment co-hosts that the I Will Always Love You star was always kind to her.
She told the American Idol presenter Ryan Seacrest: 'I knew her personally and she really was a lovely woman.'

The evening's host, LL Cool J, said: 'I hope that Whitney Houston's family and friends appreciate what we do.'
Kelly Price, the R&B artist who was the last person to perform with the singer, broke down as she gave a red carpet interview about seeing star for the last time on Thursday night.
Price said: 'I was having a pre-Grammy party for the nominations [sic].
'I invited Whitney to come... The lone spotlight: Hudson sang a cappella alone on the Grammy stage
I will always love you: Houston died yesterday at the age of 48 'We had a great time Thursday night. She came out. We hung out. We danced...
'I wasn’t expecting her to sing….She just walked up on the stage. We embraced each other and she said: "Give me the mike..."'

Price added: 'Singing with Whitney has always been to me just an honor.'
The artist also talked about the moment she found out her friend was dead.
She said: 'In my heart I was praying it was an internet hoax…and to realize it wasn’t I just don’t know how to explain it.'

Diddy was Rushed To The Hospital!

The hip hop mogul Diddy was rushed to UCLA’s hospital with symptoms of an extreme migraine. TMZ reports that the rapper suffered an “extreme migraine” after returning home from a post-Grammy party.
Diddy, real name Sean Combs, had hosted a bash at the Playboy Mansion but became ill soon after he left.
The 42-year-old was rushed to the emergency room at UCLA hospital when his entourage got concerned about his health.
A source told the site that Diddy’s migraine didn’t have anything to do with what “went down” at Hugh Hefner’s lavish estate.
Diddy was apparently treated at the medical centre and released. He is said to be feeling a lot better now.

Adele Covers Vogue March 2012

And the DOMINATION continues. She swept the 2012 GRAMMY Awards just last night (February 12), and now Adele has added the March 2012 cover girl of Vogue magazine to her credits.

The "Rolling In the Deep" singer posed for an elegantly put together Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott shot spread while talking about everything from ridding of the booze to her highly publicized vocal cord surgery.

Highlights from Adele's interview are as follows. For more, be sure to pay a visit to Vogue!

On her 'loud' personality:
“I am quite loud and bolshie,” she says (British slang for unruly and clamorous). “I’m a big personality. I walk into a room, big and tall and loud.” Indeed. There is no doubt when Adele is in the building. The rule of thumb for protecting one’s vocal cords, she tells me, is: If people are more than an arm’s length away, you shouldn’t talk to them. “But I am like, Wah! Wah! Wah!,” she says, laughing. “It’s really bad.”

On giving up drinking last May:
“Don’t like drinking anymore. I think I got it out of my system. D’yaknowhaImean?”

On her vocal troubles:
“I’ve been singing properly every day since I was about fifteen or sixteen and I have never had any problems with my voice, ever. I’ve had a sore throat here and there, had a cold and sung through it, but that day it just went while I was onstage in Paris during a radio show. It was literally like someone had pulled a curtain over it.” She flew to London the next morning to see her doctor and was diagnosed with acute laryngitis. After a couple weeks’ rest, she continued her European tour, came to America, and then her voice went again in May. “That was a hemorrhage... a burst blood vessel on my vocal cord. That healed, I did a tour, and then it happened again at my best friend’s wedding on October 1.”

On getting support through her surgery from other artists:
“John Mayer had it done at the same time as I did and he really helped me be chilled out about it. Roger Daltrey’s had loads of stuff done; Steven Tyler reached out; Elton John. Lots of artists have had problems with their voices, but you don’t know about it. And they are still singing incredibly well in their 50s and 60s.”

On her six Grammy nominations:
“I burst into tears when I found out. And I would love, absolutely love, to win. This record is coming to an end, and that would be the final brick on it.”

TLC’s T-Boz Dismissed From Bankruptcy Court

Former TLC singer Tionne “T-Boz” Watkins is no longer enjoying the protection of bankruptcy court. According to TMZ.com, a judge has ended T-Boz’s bankruptcy case, giving her creditors the green light to go after her assets. The judge decided to dismiss the R&B star’s case because she allegedly failed to make any attempt to pay off her debts, and didn’t appear at a creditors’ meeting. T-Boz filed for bankruptcy back in October claiming she owed more than 768-thousand dollars. She won’t be able to file for bankruptcy again until the end of July.

2012 ESSENCE BLACK WOMEN IN MUSIC EVENT

Kelly Rowland and music industry veteran Sylvia Rhone were honored at Essence’s 3rd annual “Black Women in Music” event, at the Belasco Theatre in Hollywood. It was a star-studded evening as the best and brightest in music came out to celebrate Rowland and Rhone’s accomplishments.

Among the many celebrity guests cheering on the honorees: L.A. Reid, Ne-Yo, Regina King, Holly Robinson Peete, Eva Pigford, Michelle Williams, Wayne Brady, and others. Songwriter and producer Rico Love surprised Kelly by presenting her with the official plaque marking platinum sales of her single “Motivation.”

Ameriie’s New Hair do is a ??????

We haven’t heard any new music from Ameriie but she surely has no issues debuting new hair. In 2010, she rocked a brand new blonde ‘do that completely washed out her complexion and within a few weeks, she was back to black.

During Ne-Yo’s pre-Grammy event, she stepped onto the red carpet with a cropped style that I’m hoping is a wig. She definitely has the face/facial features to pull off a shorter look, but I’m not sure that this is the one.

People have varying opinions when it comes to Ameriie and her music. If you’ve been visiting the blog long enough, you’d know that I absolutely use to stan for her during her All I Have and Touch era. AIH is a classic album that I STILL knock the hell out of (from start to finish, thank you) because I truly feel that she was in her element. After her split with super producer, Rich Harrison, sh*t just fell apart. And I guess she found a new hobby in playing with hairstyles.

What do you guys think of Ameriie’s new look?

Christina Milian Signs With Young Money

Lil Wayne’s Young Money label has added yet another artist to its already star-studded roster. According to Rap-Up.com, R&B singer Christina Milian has reached a deal with Young Money. Christina is now part of a label that already includes acts like Drake, Nicki Minaj, Tyga and Mack Maine. Christina Milian’s last album was 2006′s “So Amazin’,” which peaked at number three on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. Fans can currently catch Christina as the social media correspondent on NBC’s hit show “The Voice.”

Nicki Minaj Covers NEW YORK Magazine, Explains Controversial GRAMMY Performance

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.

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 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 she may have had too many drinks at the bar. But if that's what works...

Dawn Richard: Diddy Has Released Me From Bad Boy

Remember our recent interview with Dawn Richard? You know, the one where she played it coy when quizzed about her current label situation?

Well, after a lengthy silence, the former Danity Kane member, has revealed that she has severed ties with Diddy’s Bad Boy.

Speaking to the folks over at Bossip, Richard said:
“Diddy has been very supportive of my journey. He (actually recently) let me go from Bad Boy. And he didn’t have to do that. He could have just been how everyone accuses him of being (and kept me bound by contract). There’s no drama. It was a business decision and one made amicably. And I thank him for that.

Now I want to make him and them (Bad Boy) proud for believing in me”.
An unborn baby knows Diddy and Bad Boy have been the wackness for the last 10 years. As such, this comes as little surprise.
Worse than a label that has no talent, Diddy and Bad Boy have developed the uncanny ability of assembling a host of great talent, only to take a double dump over them; leaving them worse for wear and virtually un-signable once he finally lets them go (see: 112, Cheri Dennis, Danity Kane, to name but a few).

Here’s hoping Dawn, who is immensely talented, doesn’t suffer a similar fate.

AND FINALLY FROM “THE CRAZY PEOPLE SHOPPING AT WALMART” FILES
“Fueled By Love”

Obviously there is still room to jump on the Jesus bandwagon. Unfortunately there are no window views left, but apparently if you sign up now you get a t-shirt, so it’s a little tough to pass up that Billy Mays type of deal.

HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!!!

EFREM