It's Official: Adele to Perform at the 2012 Grammys

It’s official: Adele will perform at the 2012 Grammy Awards on February 12, her first live performance since undergoing throat surgery in November. The singer said in a statement on Tuesday, “It’s an absolute honor to be included in such a night and for it to be my first performance in months is very exciting and of course nerve-racking, but what a way to get back into it all.”

I heart her as an artist. Her voice is like butter, but even more than that, I'm jealous of anybody who can pull off wearing huge, glam eyelashes as a daily look. 

WATCH: Game Change (Movie Trailer)

I like political dramas, the most recent one I saw was "The Ides of March" with George Clooney and Ryan Gosling. I thought it was good, it showed the more cut throat side of politics even though it was fictional, which is why I'm excited for "Game Change" There will be cut throat politics, but it's going to be based on true events. If you remember the 2008 campaign season here in the U.S., it was an exciting time, it was high octane from the time Barack Obama emerged as a frontrunner for the Democratic party in Iowa. So even though this story will be told from the GOP side of things, I'm sure political junkie/nerds like me can't wait to check this movie out (Julianne Moore looks chillingly close playing Sarah Palin). Watch the trailer below:
 

Designer Rachel Roy to Launch Shoes (August 2012)...

Rachel Roy, a favorite designer of Michelle Obama, is venturing into the footwear business with a brand new line of shoes. The new collection, hitting store in August, will include pumps, booties and flats, although it's some of the sexier styles Roy is excited about. The designer told Women's Wear Daily, "I don't want shoes unless they are strong and sexy. [...] My collection is just that -- strong and sexy. It represents the woman I want to be." Continue reading about this HERE.

LINK: 2012 Screen Actors Guild Awards Red Carpet

Zoe Saldana wore a white Givenchy Couture Spring 2012 drop-waist gown with crystal embellishments on the sleeves and neckline to the 2012 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. CLICK HERE to see more pics from the 2012 Screen Actors Guild Red Carpet. CLICK HERE to see the winners from the 2012 SAG Awards.

SPOTTED OUT: Celebs Getting Political...

Julianne Moore, America Ferrera (who is looking great btw!), and Gabrielle Union were at NYC's W Times Square Friday for the event Playing Politics With Women's Health: The 2012 Election And Why It Matters.

WATCH: Levi's Spring 2012 Collection...

 
  Levi's

WATCH: Kelly Rowland's "Keep it Between Us"

The cinematography in this video (in Paris!) is pretty...
 

Adele's "21" Holding Steady at No. 1 for 17 Weeks.

I have this album too (iTunes) and it's quite good...

Adele's album "21" just hit its 17th week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (95,000; down 9%). 21 has been No. 1 longer than any other album since since "The Bodyguard" soundtrack wrapped a 20-week run at No. 1 on the May 29, 1993, chart. Continue reading this article HERE.

No More Sales at J.C. Penney?

via HuffPo: J.C. Penney is permanently marking down all of its merchandise by at least 40 percent so shoppers no longer have to wait for sales to get bargains.

Penney said Wednesday that it is getting rid of the hundreds of sales it offers each year in favor of a simpler approach to pricing. Starting on Feb. 1, the retailer is rolling out an "Every Day" pricing strategy with much fewer sales throughout the year.

The plan, the first major move by Apple executive Ron Johnson since he became Penney's CEO in November, is different from Wal-Mart's iconic everyday low pricing. Unlike Wal-Mart, Penney's goal isn't to undercut competitors, but rather to offer customers more predictable pricing. Continue reading this article HERE.

WATCH: 29 Ways To Stay Creative...

Pretty Clothes - Weird Posing...

Wait. People don't normally pose like that when they're dropping off mail?? O_o

Click over to The Berry to see more of this.

Have a Look See at Tracy Reese's Pre-Fall 2012

Gingham Plaid! Red Leather! Click HERE to see more from Tracy's Pre-Fall 2012 collection.

2012 Oscar Nominations Are In!

Congratulations to Octavia Spencer and Viola Davis on their Oscar Nominations for "The Help" a movie I wasn't that excited about but I'm still EXCITED FOR THEM! Yay!

See the full list of nominations HERE.

WATCH: Jason Wu's New Target Line Commercial

WATCH: The Hottie Men From "Red Tails" Get Ready For Their Close Up.

 Check out behind-the-scenes footage of ESSENCE's January feature with the sexy brothers of "Red Tails." Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., Ne-Yo, Michael B. Jordan, Nate Parker, Elijah Kelley, and David Oyelowo all showed up and showed out on the set. The film takes a look at the historic Tuskegee airmen during World War II. It's set for release in January 20, 2012.
 

Are Heidi Klum and Seal Divorcing? WHYYYY???

4th *UPDATE*

Seal Speaks Out, is Sad About the Separation... which makes me sad.

3rd *UPDATE*

Heidi and Seal Announce Separation... due to Seal's Anger Issues... Sad.

2nd *UPDATE*

Heidi and Seal Have Not Yet Split... and I hope they DON'T.

 *UPDATE*

Heidi Klum and Seal are still together right now... my fingers are crossed.

I am a HUGE Heidi Klum fangirl and this is the last thing I expected to read first thing this morning. I'm still hoping it's not true. For the last 7 years, Heidi and Seal have been one of the most in each other's face in love with each other couples out there. They renewed their vows every year, they combined their families (Seal adopted Heidi's daughter Leni from a previous relationship then they had 3 children together) they threw parties together (their Halloween parties were epic), they vacationed together (the most recent was just December last year), they sang together... so what is this even about? They always seemed to have so much fun together and be so in love. I'm telling you, I'm not liking this,  not one bit :(

Heidi and Seals 4 children

RIP Etta James (January 25, 1938 - January 20, 2012)

Etta James (born Jamesetta Hawkins; January 25, 1938 – January 20, 2012) was an American singer whose style spanned a variety of music genres including blues, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz. Starting her career in the mid 1950s, she gained fame with hits such as "Dance With Me, Henry", "At Last", "Tell Mama", and "I'd Rather Go Blind" for which she claimed she wrote the lyrics. She faced a number of personal problems including drug addiction before making a musical resurgence in the late 1980s with the album, The Seven Year Itch. 

She is regarded as having bridged the gap between rhythm and blues and rock and roll, and is the winner of six Grammys and seventeen Blues Music Awards. She was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1993, the Blues Hall of Fame in 2001, and the Grammy Hall of Fame in both 1999 and 2008. Rolling Stone ranked James number twenty-two on their list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time and number sixty-two on the list of the 100 Greatest Artists 

President Obama Sings "Let's Stay Together" Nails It.

If I were running against this president, I'd be looking at suspending my campaign. Because let's face it. It's hard to compete against this kind of flavor... especially when you have none.

Random People Cover Adele's "Rolling in the Deep"

I loved this! And the only thing I have to say about it, and not to sound like Randy from American Idol, but was it just me, or were a lot of the guys a little pitchy? Or they could have sounded great.. maybe it was just the way the video was edited. I enjoyed it anyways :)
 
via Jezebel

Hip Look of the Day: Jessica Alba

Jessica Alba brightens up her ensemble with a dash of pink Wednesday for a visit to the Fox & Friends morning show in New York. I'm loving these colors (Hip Candy!) and I'm loving her look. 

WATCH: ATL Housewives Nene Leakes on Glee....

Go Linnethia! Even though I don't watch Glee, I thought she did a real stand up job. I also thought her comedic timing was good... 

via Essence: "Real Housewives of Atlanta" star NeNe Leakes is officially a Gleek after making her primetime acting debut on "Glee," playing Coach Roz Washington, a sassy swimming coach at McKinley High. Its not the last we'll see of Coach Roz. Leakes tweeted that she would be featured again on February 7.

Vote NO on SOPA.

If this passes, we might as well say GOODBYE to a FREE and OPEN Internet. It's important that we're not oblivious to what's going on with this.

CLICK HERE to learn more.

You're FIRED! Jay-Z & Rocawear Hand Out Pink Slips

via The Cut: 

On January 6, the day before Jay-Z and Beyoncé checked into an extravagant private hospital ward to give birth to their daughter Blue Ivy, over half of Rocawear's New York City staff were laid off. According to the New York State Department of Labor website, the 28 employees were let go for "economic" reasons (which is particularly ironic considering all the hullabaloo over Rocawear's $22 "Occupy Wall Street" T-shirts)

HEALTH: Got Motivation?

I have to motivate myself daily to get off my duff to keep weight off, I always feel better knowing I've burned calories than when I don't even put in effort. Click over to The Berry for more awesome "I'm ready to get it tight and right" motivation!

WATCH: Black and Latino in America...

Continuing the theme of ethnic conversations (see the post just below this one), watch Christina Milian, Soledad O'Brien, Tatyana Ali and others talk about what it means to be Black and Latino in America below:   via Black Fashion

WATCH: Preview of the Documentary "Dark Girls"

Click HERE to read about what Bill Duke and Channsin Berry had to say about making this documentary film and watch the preview below:
 

WATCH: Beyoncé's L'Oréal True Match Commercial

 Click READ MORE HERE below to WATCH behind the scenes footage on Beyoncé's L'Oréal shoot...

Happy Birthday First Lady Michelle O!

Click HERE for a look back on Michelle Obama's 2011, 2010 and 2009.

Celebrating the Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Birthday Dr. King...
(January 15, 1929)

Remembering Dr. King's Legacy

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Happy Birthday Sade!

Sade Adu was born on this day (January 16) 53 years ago. Happy Birthday to her! We just saw her in concert last year in New Orleans and she still looks AMAZING. If 40 is the new 20, then 50 must be the new 30. So yeah. I'm trying to do that too when I'm that age. Watch her video below "Babyfather" where her hair (hers? bought? psh.. doesn't matter!) looks equally amazing. Love.
   

RED CARPET: 69th Annual Golden Globes Red Carpet

Click HERE or HERE to see red carpet pics from the 69th Annual Golden Globe Awards.

WATCH: Preview of Red Tails, A George Lucas Film...

I'll be seeing this as soon as it hits theaters...
"Red Tails," which stars Cuba Gooding, Jr., and Terrence Howard, is based on the Tuskegee Airmen, the group of pioneering black pilots who fought in the United States' segregated armed forces during World War II. The movie is directed by Anthony Hemingway, the rare black director getting a chance to direct a big-budget feature. 
 Click HERE to read how hard it was for George Lucas to get this film made.

Nia Long Debuts Her New Baby Kez Sunday...

via US Weekly:
Nia Long and her son Kez Sunday Udoka shopped for baby clothes in L.A. together on Thursday. The Soul Food actress, 41, was all smiles as she held her little boy close. Kez Sunday, born in November, was the first child for Long and Ime Udoka. The actress has a 10-year-old son, Massai, from a previous relationship.

In June, Long revealed that her second pregnancy was completely unplanned. "I was supposed to go to Ghana to do a film and that's when I found out I was pregnant," she told reporters at the BET Awards. "I had a doctor's appointment to get the yellow fever shot and they were like, 'Miss Long, we can't give you a shot.'"

Once doctors informed Long that she was expecting, "I almost fainted. It was the best moment and the sweetest surprise ever."

Who's Not Following Me on Chictopia?

I have a few new outfit pics up if you haven't checked me out in a while. I'm nbr5 (number 5... get it?) let's be friends on Chictopia so check me otu and follow me! I'll follow back ;)

Jennifer Hudson is Looking Skinnier.

Jennifer Hudson attended the Good Housekeeping cocktail party celebrating her new book 'I Got This: How I Changed My Ways and Lost What Weighed Me Down' at the Hearst Tower on January 10, 2012 in New York City. Is it just me, or is her waist looking even more tiny?

[photos via Getty Images]

Happy Birthday Mary J. Blige!

Mary turns a HOT looking 41 years old today. Happy Birthday to a R&B, Hip Hop DIVA.

3rd Times a Charm? Halle Berry is Engaged!

*UPDATE* The couple say that the ring is NOT an engagement ring, it was only a gift. Ok...

The 45-year-old actress and Olivier Martinez are engaged, a source confirms to the new Us Weekly, on stands Friday.


Over the holidays, Martinez, 46, proposed with an emerald-and-diamond ring from Gurhan. (A rep from the jeweler confirmed to Us that the bauble is a "one-of-a-kind" piece, and that the Oscar winner has purchased Gurhan jewelry in the past.)


Berry, who has a 3-year-old daughter, Nahla, with ex-boyfriend Gabriel Aubry, has been married twice before. (She dated model Aubry, 36, for nearly five years before splitting in April 2010.) She wed former baseball player David Justice in 1993 and divorced four years later. She then married R&B singer Eric Benet in 2001, only to separate in 2003 and finalize their divorce in 2005.


She first met French actor Martinez while working on the film Dark Tide; they stepped out as a couple in fall 2010. He previously dated Australian pop star Kylie Minogue for several years before splitting in 2007. A source tells Us she "had given up on being married, but she trusts Olivier. He makes her feel safe. He's a keeper!"

Solange Inks a Contract with NEXT Models.

via British VOGUE: MUSICIAN, muse, actress and little sister to Beyoncé, Solange Knowles has been snapped up by Next Models. "Artistic expression is invaluable to me in all walks of my career and I am so excited to continue to develop this path along with such an amazing team at Next Model Management," Knowles told us. "I feel right at home working with people who have worked beside such creative forces in the world."


With three solo albums under her belt already, Knowles has also fronted campaigns for Rimmel, Armani Jeans and modelled for her family's fashion label House of Deréon. Next month she will become VOGUE.COM's new Today I'm Wearing star - following in the footsteps of Alexa Chung, Lily Aldridge and Alessandra Ambrosio.


"We are delighted to be working with Solange," said Next global publicist Katy Moseley. "She is hugely popular and beautiful, with so many brilliant ideas and creative energy."

Behind the Scenes at Gabby & Dwayne's Essence Shoot

Christina Aguilera Covers Marie Claire's Feb. 2012 Issue

In the February issue of Marie Claire, "The Voice" coach talks about her recent personal struggles, many of which stem back to her 2010 divorce, "Burlesque" box office flop, and her Super Bowl fumble in early 2011 -- which was followed by a March arrest for public intoxication. 

 "That was a rough year," Aguilera told the magazine. "Between my divorce and the other things I went through, a lot happened. It's hard for anyone to go through that in public. But when you're a celebrity and under a microscope, it's 58 million times harder. I grew an even thicker skin after that hard year." Continue reading this article HERE.

It's a Girl! Congrats to Jay Z and Beyonce.

So what would the superstar couple name their already famous baby girl? Like most things Jay and Beyonce, the newborn's name is a mystery. Earlier, sources told E! News her name is Blue Ivy Carter, while others told TMZ its Ivy Blue. Beyonce's BFF Gwyneth Paltrow cleared up the confusion by tweeting that the baby's name was Blue Ivy after all. 

Celebrities react to Jay Z and Beyonce's Baby News

 The Grammy winner, 30, and hubby Jay-Z are said to have checked into Lenox Hill Hospital in New York's Upper East Side on Friday night under the alias Ingrid Jackson, where Beyonce underwent a scheduled C-section, reports the New York Daily News. The couple reportedly rented out the entire 4th floor of the hospital for $1.3 million. Beyonce made her last public appearance on Thursday, when she was photographed running errands with mom Tina Knowles.

George Clooney & Viola Davis Cover Entertainment Weekly

Beautiful.

I Bet Brad Wouldn't Know the Difference.

Her name is Lina Sanz, she's a Spanish actress who would like to get work as a Jolie look-a-like (that's what I call her). Somehow I don't think this girl will have a problem with that.  

[source]

I Don't Like Wasting a Good Outfit Either...

via Fashion Illustration on Tumblr

Mila Kunis is Looking Lovely For Dior...

Mila Kunis has been signed to the French brand for a new campaign, reports Women's Wear Daily, that will debut later in January. Shot by photographer Mikael Jansson, the softly-lit photos will debut first in European magazines like international Elle and Vogue editions and by January 29 in U.S. publications like the New York Times and Vanity Fair.

Now she will join major actresses like Marion Cotillard as a Dior face. Cotillard has been shilling for Miss Dior handbags for years, most recently in a sassy short film called "L.A.dy Dior."

Another fellow Dior gal? Natalie Portman, Kunis' "Black Swan" co-star. Portman was signed by Parfums Christian Dior in 2010 and posed for Miss Dior Cherie perfume and Diorskin makeup ads, among others.

Gabby Union & Dwayne Wade Cover Essence Mag's Love Issue

“We’re not rushing it. Both of us have been married before, and we understand that if we choose to marry again, we want it to be right. We both took failing at marriage hard. The next time it’s gotta be forever…” -- Dwyane Wade

Read More HERE.

Jason Wu is Going to Target!!!

 Jason Wu for Target poplin dress, $40, and satchel, $50.

I cannot wait to own a Jason Wu for Target dress!

Jason Wu's capsule collection, his first in collaboration with a mass retailer, possesses a lot of the label’s familiar, feminine spirit but takes more direct inspiration from French New Wave films and the actress Jean Seberg. Pleated frocks with sailor-striped hemlines, dainty silk blouses with neck ties and collars, and sportier knits and tennis skirts stand out as some of the line’s most wearable pieces. “My goal was not to duplicate anything from my main collection,” Wu says. “Instead I designed completely new clothes and accessories that reflect my taste and have a voice of their own.” Friendly reminders of Wu’s work (like the touch of lace on a trench coat or T-shirt) are matched with a delightful dose of animal humor. (Meet Milu, a mischievous kitty and the collection’s mascot, who makes appearances as a print on a scarf and tee.) Here, a Riviera cotton striped A-line dress and canvas satchel explain why Wu calls the whole gamut “gamine chic.” It seems, as they say, les jeux sont faits. 

ENGAGED! Justin Timberlake & Jessica Biel...

After a series of breakups and makeups, Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel have finally decided to get married! Several insiders tell the new issue of Us Weekly (on stands Friday) that the couple of four and a half years became engaged in late December.

*UPDATE* Justin's Grandma confirms he's engaged.

New Hair for the New Year!!

Watch the Part 1 of the Hair Trailer HERE.

Trends to Look For in 2012...

LITTLE RED DRESSES 

Jennifer Aniston set off this sizzling trend, swapping basic black for stop-sign red. A slew of stars also gave the eye-catching color the greenlight, and if the runways are any indication, red is definitely the new black. Click HERE for more 2012 style trends...