Clive Davis discovered Whitney Houston at a NYC nightclub when the singer was 20 years old. It was therefore eerie and appropriate that the artist passed away, possibly from an overdose on prescription drugs , just a few hours prior to the music producer’s annual pre-Grammy Awards party at the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel. The somber event did proceed as scheduled – with attendees including Britney Spears, Miranda Lambert, Brandy, Tom Hanks, P Diddy, Kim Kardashian and Mary J. Blige – and Davis opened the shindig with remarks abut Houston. “So, by now sadly, we have all learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney’s passing. I don’t have to mask my emotions. Not in front of this room full of so many dear friends,” Davis said. “I do have a very heavy heart and I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years. Whitney was so full of life. “She was so looking forward to tonight… She loved music and she loved this night that celebrates music.” A moment of silence followed, with Diana Krall, Tony Bennett and Alicia Keys later performing. On tonight’s Grammys telecast, meanwhile, Jennifer Hudson will perform a tribute to Whitney.
‘I asked her what she want to watch, she said, ‘Surely not the Throne,’ ‘ Weezy rhymes, adding to the MCs’ back-and-forth. By Rob Markman Lil Wayne Photo: Kevin Winter/ Getty Images Here we go again. Hours before Lil Wayne and the Throne face off in the Grammy battle for Best Rap Album at Sunday night’s (February 12) awards show, Weezy threw shots during YMCMB’s pre-Grammy party in Los Angeles on Saturday night. After receiving some new sales plaques for his wall, announcing that he had signed R&B singer Christina Milian and paying homage to the late Whitney Houston , Wayne dropped an a cappella freestyle directed at Jay-Z and Kanye West. “I met a bad red bone, I took the bi— home/ I asked her what she want to watch, she said, ‘Surely not the Throne,’ ” Weezy spit before he dropped the mic and moseyed offstage, according to Rap Radar . Things began to sour after a 2009 interview in which Cash Money CEO Bryan “Birdman” Williams objected to Jay-Z taking the crown for MTV News’ “Hottest MCs in the Game” list for that year. “I don’t think he the #1 MC, in no kinda way,” Baby said, casting the first stone. “Wayne is the best, he do the most and he make the most money. I don’t think no n—a in the business make more money than us.” Jay returned fire at the top of 2011. On the Throne’s “H.A.M.,” Jigga made it clear that not only was Birdman, a.k.a. Baby, and Wayne not holding any Hov-caliber bucks, but that financially they couldn’t even compare to his wife, Beyonc
According to reports, Houston may have drowned in her Beverly Hills hotel bathtub. By Jocelyn Vena Whitney Houston Photo: FilmMagic The day after pop super diva Whitney Houston was found dead in a Beverly Hills hotel room, details are beginning to emerge about what may have contributed to her sudden death. While the cause of death remains a mystery, police tell People that “at this time, there’s no obvious evidence of foul play.” Beverly Hills Police Lieutenant Mark Rosen said Saturday “someone in her entourage found her unresponsive in her room. … Our detectives are still in the room, and her body is still here as well. I can confirm that Whitney Houston was pronounced dead at 3:55 p.m. this afternoon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. We received a call at 3:43 p.m. from hotel security and Beverly Hills Fire, and police responded minutes later.” Police note that an investigation is ongoing. TMZ reports that while no illegal drugs were in her hotel room, prescription drugs were found. Sources add that she may have drowned in the bathtub, where her body was reportedly discovered. Houston’s body had been removed from the tub when authorities arrived, so an autopsy will have to be performed to determine the cause of her death. TMZ added that she had reportedly been taking Xanax at the time. Houston had been spotted drinking the night before at a pre-Grammy party, and in combination with the prescription drug, it could have led to her falling asleep in the tub and drowning. Bobbi Kristina, Houston’s daughter with ex-husband Bobby Brown, was reportedly on the hotel premises when Houston died. According to TMZ , Bobbi got into an argument with police when she was denied access to see her mother’s body. Houston’s cousin, Dionne Warwick, also showed up, according to reports, and was also not allowed to see the superstar’s body. Houston died at the age of 48 in Los Angeles. Her body was found at the Beverly Hilton, hours before her mentor Clive Davis’ annual pre-Grammy bash . She was expected to attend the annual fete. The party went on as planned Saturday night, where Davis, Diddy, Alicia Keys and Tony Bennett all paid tribute to the fallen star. On Sunday night (February 12), fellow Davis prot
‘Now that so many eyes are on me, I feel I have to deliver,’ rapper says in interview with Paper magazine. By Tomika L. Anderson Nicki Minaj Photo: Getty Images Fame is beginning to go to Nicki Minaj ‘s head, but not in the way you might think. The Grammy-nominated rapper revealed to Paper magazine that the more successful she becomes, the more pressure she feels to deliver — and that all that stress is taking a psychological toll. “Ugh! I have been working so much,” the 29-year-old tells interviewer Simon Doonan, Barneys New York’s creative ambassador at large. “Success came, and now that so many eyes are on me, I feel I have to deliver. And it’s a business. No joke. I guess I’m stressing more than I should be, and I think I am becoming more guarded.” To relax, Ms. Minaj admits to indulging in reality TV — and apparently, a lot of it. “I love [‘Mob Wives’ star] Big Ang … And I love the way those girls talk to each other: ‘Don’t YOU be coming at ME!!!’ I love every freakin’ moment. And I watch ‘The Real Housewives of Atlanta’ and ‘[The Real Housewives of] Beverly Hills.’ ” Music, of course, is also an emotional outlet for the rap star. She says the process of recording her upcoming album, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, made her feel “very free.” “The album is like a collage of all my emotions. I’m not sticking to any particular style. I am doing what I feel without restrictions. So it’s very free and very me.” The issue hits stands on February 20. Meanwhile, look for Minaj this Sunday at the Grammys , where she is expected to perform her new single “Roman Holiday.” She is also up for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance for “Moment 4 Life” with Drake. Are you excited to hear “Roman Holiday” at the Grammys? Leave your comment below! Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don’t miss Sway and James Montgomery live from the Grammys red carpet this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn’t end Sunday: MTV News has you covered until the Grammy hangover wears off! Related Videos A Guide To The Grammys 2012 Related Photos 2012 Grammy Nominees Related Artists Nicki Minaj
How will Lady Gaga arrive this year? Join Sway and James Montgomery on the red carpet, starting 5 p.m. Sunday on MTV.com. By Gil Kaufman Jennifer Lopez at the 2000 Grammys Photo: Getty Images What’s the point of getting all dolled up for the Grammy Awards if no one notices your outfit? Since not everyone can earn a nomination or score a performance slot, sometimes you have to make your own news by crashing the red carpet with an eye-popping outfit that is sure to get tongues wagging. It’s anyone’s guess what this year’s attendees will be wearing on Sunday night at the 54th annual awards show, but MTV News will be camped out on the carpet for a full three hours before the festivities kick off and we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for all the outrageous looks and fashions. Click for photos of our most-shocking Grammy red carpet moments! In the meantime, we thought it was worth a look back at some of the legendary entrances from Grammys past: Lady Gaga egg : Sure, Justin Bieber toted his pet snake to last year’s show, but it was, of course, Lady Gaga who turned the most heads by getting carried down the carpet in a giant, see-through egg that she incubated in before emerging later in the night for her performance of “Born This Way.” Britney gets bodied : Britney Spears has long prided herself on wearing what she wants, when she wants. But someone should have pulled her aside in 2010 before she exited the car in an oddball Dolce & Gabbana bodysuit overlaid with a lace dress that turned heads for all the wrong reasons. M.I.A.’s pregnancy chic : With her middle finger firmly tucked into place, the rapper/singer made her way into the 2009 show while nine-months pregnant in a cartoony, ruffled blue maternity dress and matching sneakers. Coldplay play dress up : It was kind of cool when Coldplay stuck with their bold Sgt. Pepper’s-style suits for the whole Viva La Vida tour. But when they wore them to the 2009 show , it just felt … silly. OK Go … back to the drawing board : Viral icons OK Go are experts at drawing attention to their music with trippy, how-did-they-do-that videos. They drew mostly sniggers, though, when they donned matching brocade curtain-looking red-and-gold suits to the 2007 show. Their smartest move may have been to cover their faces with red cloth. R. Kelly, man of mystery : Kels has made a career out of being inscrutable , but his bold sartorial choice at the 2004 Grammys was, well, weird. From the neck down he wore an elegant three-button black suit and tie, but the matching Robin mask? Who knows? Alicia Keys gets funky : Nobody really knows what Keys was thinking in 2002 when she walked the carpet wearing embroidered jeans, sandals, a white tank and a sheer green sari-like shift with a built in, bedazzled headdress. Toni Braxton lets it all hang out : Sometimes it’s what you don’t wear that gets attention. In 2001, singer Braxton sported a barely-there white “dress” that hardly covered her assets with strips of material that dangled in the front and back. Jennifer Lopez’s plunging neckline : Way before she was an “American Idol” judge, Lopez sent hearts racing in 2000 with her instantly infamous plunging neckline Versace gown. Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don’t miss our Grammy red-carpet live stream this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn’t end Sunday: MTV News has you covered for all the Grammy red-carpet fashion , Grammy winners and Grammy news until the hangover wears off! Related Videos A Guide To The Grammys 2012 Related Photos 2012 Grammy Rehearsals 2012 Grammy Performers 2012 Grammy Nominees 2012 Grammy Awards Pre-Parties Related Artists Lady Gaga Jennifer Lopez M.I.A.
Well aren’t they just precious? Alicia Keys and Swizzy got all spiffy for date night! The couple was spotted leaving Nobu after dinner. They look great… except from this angle it looks like her package might be bigger than his SMH. Who looked more packin’? LOL More photos on the flip SplashNews More On Bossip! Bossip Exclusive: “Love & Hip-Hop” Is About To Get Dirty… Vh1 Bringing Series To Atlanta Bangers Grown Up: A Gallery Of Celebrity Seeds That Could Get Every Single Ounce Of The Bizness! Sugarbabies: A List Of The Most Spoiled And Scandalous Sugar Daddy Having Slores Of All Time!!! (Part 2) This Can Get Weird: Ex-Spouses And Ex-Boos That Are Still Somehow BFFs
Join Sway and James Montgomery with your favorite celebs for a full three hours of mayhem, starting 5 p.m. Sunday on MTV.com. By Gil Kaufman 2012 Grammy Awards Photo: grammy.com From the first arrival to the last star running down the red carpet before the show begins, we’ll bring you all the glittering action from the Grammys live this Sunday night during the MTV News Pre-Show. With a crew anchored by MTV News’ Sway and James Montgomery, we’ll be everywhere you want to be in the run-up to the 54th annual ceremony. You never know what you’re going to see or hear on the red carpet, so we are posting up for a full three hours from 5 p.m. ET until the show kicks off at 8. Nicki Minaj vs. Skrillex: Who will win Best New Artist at the Grammys? And with the expansive roster of artists expected to perform, present or just hang out, we’ll catch up with as many as possible, from Katy Perry, Drake, Fergie, Bruce Springsteen and Adele to Rihanna, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Foo Fighters , Bruno Mars, Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Nicki Minaj , Chris Brown and host LL Cool J . The biggest shocks and snubs from this year’s Grammy nominations. Once we have them in our sights, we’ll ask the nominees how they’re feeling about their chances, what performances they’re most looking forward to and see if we can’t get a peek at what they’re planning for the future. Kanye West is the night’s most-nominated artist , with seven nods for his joint album with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, and his own My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, both of which are up for Rap Album of the Year. West is followed by this year’s critical darling, Adele, who is tied with the Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars with six nods each. Lil Wayne and dance-music breakout Skrillex each garnered five nods. Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don’t miss Sway and James Montgomery live from the Grammys red carpet this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn’t end Sunday: MTV News has you covered until the Grammy hangover wears off! Related Videos A Guide To The Grammys 2012 Related Photos 2012 Grammy Performers 2012 Grammy Nominees
Chris Brown, David Guetta and the Foo Fighters also tapped for tent performance Sunday. By Jocelyn Vena Lil Wayne, David Guetta and Chris Brown Photo: Getty Images Get your glow sticks ready for the Grammys : Another fist-pumping performance has been announced for Sunday’s show. Previously announced performers Chris Brown and the Foo Fighters will join fellow nominees Lil Wayne and EDM superstars deadmau5 and David Guetta for a genre-busting performance that will highlight dance/electronica music. This marks the first time the Grammys have shed light on the increasingly popular genre, which has recently seeped into every form of music. The performance will take place in a tent outside Staples Center. The announcement comes on the same day it was confirmed that Alicia Keys and Bonnie Raitt will head up a tribute to late soul singer Etta James and Nicki Minaj revealed she will perform a spankin’-new track, “Roman Holiday,” when she takes the Grammy stage. MTV News will be on hand at the Grammys for the MTV News Pre-Show, hosted by Sway Calloway and James Montgomery. With so many artists set to appear at the show, including Katy Perry, Drake, Fergie, Bruce Springsteen, Adele, Rihanna, Coldplay, Taylor Swift, Bruno Mars, Kelly Clarkson and host LL Cool J, stay tuned to our live stream on MTV.com, starting at 5 p.m. ET Sunday, to get all the scoop from all the biggest stars in the music industry. Kanye West is the night’s most-nominated artist , with seven nods for his joint album with Jay-Z, Watch the Throne, and his own My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy , both of which are up for Rap Album of the Year. West is followed by this year’s critical darling, Adele, who is tied with the Foo Fighters and Bruno Mars with six nods each. Lil Wayne and dance-music breakout Skrillex each garnered five nods. Chaos! Profanity! Wardrobe malfunctions! Don’t miss Sway and James Montgomery live from the Grammys red carpet this Sunday, February 12, for a full three hours of mayhem, starting at 5 p.m. ET on MTV.com. And the fun doesn’t end Sunday: MTV News has you covered until the Grammy hangover wears off! Related Videos A Guide To The Grammys 2012 Related Photos 2012 Grammy Nominees 2012 Grammy Performers Related Artists Lil Wayne deadmau5
Jay performs his song to daughter Blue Ivy Carter and a host of other hits at the famed venue, with help from Alicia Keys and Nas. By Rob Markman Jay-Z performs at Carnegie Hall Photo: Kevin Mazur/ WireImage NEW YORK — From Marcy to Madison Square and now from Crooklyn to Carnegie. Jay-Z has come a long way since releasing his 1996 debut, Reasonable Doubt, and the magnitude of his travels wasn’t lost on the God MC when he performed at Carnegie Hall on Monday evening (February 6). The swanky crowd filled the Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall for the first of two benefit concerts, which joined Jay’s Shawn Carter Scholarship Foundation with the United Way of NYC to raise money for gifted high school students who aren’t financially positioned to attend college. The premium-priced charity tickets brought out the likes of Liza Minnelli and New York Yankees pitcher CC Sabathia. With a full orchestra that included ?uestlove and Young Guru playing DJ, Hov took the stage at 8:45 p.m. ET after a dramatic string build. Emerging from the stage’s side door in a white tux jacket toting a gold bottle of Ace of Spades champagne, Jigga began his evening shouting, “Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Hov,” the iconic opening line from 2003’s “Public Service Announcement.” Those who thought Jigga would conform to the stuffy artistic standard typically associated with the famed concert hall were mistaken. Jay strutted across the stage drinking from his gold bottle promising the crowd, “It’s just tea.” On this night, Hov pledged to eradicate the divide that separates musical genres, only differentiating between good and bad music. “All those lines that divide us, we gonna step on ’em,” he announced to the electric crowd. As he’s done most of his career, Jay continued to stomp out the misconceptions that rap can’t be considered highbrow art as he tore through radio hits and street favorites like “U Don’t Know” and “Where I’m From.” Jay did balance things out when he invited Alicia Keys onstage for “Empire State of Mind” but got extra-gritty on the very next song, making way for Nas to perform his own “N.Y. State of Mind” from the Queensbridge MC’s 1994 classic Illmatic. There was a perfect juxtaposition throughout. The biggest musical clash came when Jay performed the “Annie”-sampling “Hard Knock Life.” Jigga rapped the song’s verses, while the wealthy crowd song the downtrodden chorus. By the time Hova rolled into the set’s next song “Izzo,” a marijuana smell filled the air. That must be a first for Carnegie. Ever the master of ceremonies, the Brooklyn rap juggernaut slowed things down properly easing into “Girls, Girls, Girls,” then “Song Cry” and then “Glory,” the song he released days after the birth of his and Beyonc
