Brown, 22, and Rihanna, 24, were openly tweeting each other and promoting their collaboration on each others’ singles over the weekend as the Barbadian “We Found Love” singer celebrated her 24th birthday.

“@chrisbrown Turn up the music remix #RihannaNavy #Teambreezy enjoy!!!” the birthday girl tweeted on Sunday with a link to her collaboration on Brown’s single, “Turn Up the Music,” before posting another tweet with a link to her duet with Brown on a remix of her single “Birthday Cake.”

Rihanna provided vocals on a remix of Brown’s new uptempo dance song “Turn Up The Music” while Brown lent his voice to Rihanna’s sexually-charged song “Birthday Cake.”

Their reconciliation, which has been the topic of much speculation in the media after the two were spotted together numerous times, comes after Brown made his official return to the Grammys on February 12 and won one award, prompting him to lash out at critics saying, “HATE ALL U WANT BECUZ I GOT A GRAMMY Now!” on his Twitter.

The singer almost derailed his career three years ago on the night before the Grammys, after he was arrested for beating up his then-girlfriend, Rihanna, and since then, Brown has been working to rehabilitate himself in the eyes of fans.

His musical reunion with Rihanna had social networks abuzz through the weekend and into Tuesday, as critics and fans were split on the newly released duets, with some making cynical puns, others calling it a publicity stunt and the rest embracing the new songs.

“#Rihanna and Chris Brown are recording a song together, I guess she was concerned about being a one hit wonder,” said user @GreenRoomShow on Twitter, while another user, @ElsaBreezy, posted “I Respect Rihanna And Chris Brown For Collaborating Despite Knowing There Will Be A Lot Of Negativity From The Losers Who Are Stuck In 2009.”

Brown’s “Turn Up The Music” is currently at No. 8 on the iTunes singles chart, while Rihanna and Brown’s duet on “Birthday Cake” is circulating the Internet after being offered as a free download by the singer over the weekend.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chris-brown-earns-musical-redemption-rihanna-184721323.html

Netflix sells an $8 monthly service that beams video to TVs and other devices with high-speed Internet connections. HBO also offers an Internet-streaming version of its service, but it’s only available to consumers who pay for the cable-TV channel.

Getting the streaming rights to fare such as “The Artist,’’ which is nominated for 10 Academy Awards, also may help Netflix keep its subscribers happy as other popular selections disappear from the service’s video library. Netflix will lose the rights to stream many movies from Walt Disney Co. and other studios when a three-year licensing deal with the Starz Entertainment channel expires next week.

Netflix, which is based in Los Gatos, Calif., says it currently has more than 23 million Internet streaming subscribers in the U.S. and more than 40 other countries. The company also offers a DVD-by-mail rental service that has been losing millions of customers in recent months as Netflix has intensified its focus on the streaming service.

The Weinstein agreement will give Netflix some films within a year of their release in movie theaters. Besides “The Artist,’’ the deal covers foreign-language movies, documentaries and other films in the Weinstein vault. Financial terms weren’t disclosed.

Netflix shares fell $2.35, or 1.9 percent, to $119.50 in Tuesday’s afternoon trading.

Source: http://articles.boston.com/2012-02-21/business/31083776_1_netflix-ceo-reed-hastings-dvd-by-mail-rental-service

LOS GATOS, Calif., Feb. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ –
Netflix, Inc.

/quotes/zigman/87598/quotes/nls/nflx NFLX
-3.65%



today announced immediate availability of Netflix on PlayStation® Vita (PS Vita), the first Sony handheld entertainment system to feature Netflix.

PS Vita can stream TV shows and movies from Netflix in high quality on its brilliant 5-inch multi-touch display via Wi-Fi. Netflix members can also start playing a title on one device, for example on their TV through PlayStation 3, and resume watching on PS Vita right where they left off. PS Vita owners who aren’t yet Netflix members can sign up on the device for a month free trial.

“We are very excited that Netflix is available on PS Vita at launch,” said Greg Peters, vice president of product development at Netflix. “Many Netflix members love their PlayStation entertainment consoles and handhelds. We’re glad to offer PS Vita users the ability to enjoy Netflix wherever and whenever they want.”

“PS Vita is the ultimate portable entertainment device,” said Phil Rosenberg, senior vice president of business development at Sony Computer Entertainment America. “Netflix perfectly complements the most extensive launch line up of games in PlayStation’s history. Now in addition to a steady stream of amazing games titles, PS Vita gamers will also have a great catalogue of TV shows and movies at their fingertips.”

With the addition of PS Vita, Netflix members have a new device on which they can instantly watch unlimited TV shows and movies. PS Vita owners can download and install the Netflix application at no cost from the PlayStation Store. Netflix is available starting today on PS Vita in Canada, the United States and across Latin America.

Netflix offers convenience and value with a broad range of Hollywood, international and local movies and TV series to choose from. Netflix has revolutionized entertainment by giving people a choice to enjoy what they want to watch, when they want to watch it for a low monthly price over a wide-range of Internet-connected devices.

More details on the devices that support Netflix is available on:

http://www.netflix.com/NetflixReadyDevices

About Netflix

With more than 23 million streaming members in the United States, Canada, Latin America, the United Kingdom and Ireland, Netflix, Inc. [Nasdaq: NFLX] is the world’s leading internet subscription service for enjoying films and TV programmes. For about US$7.99 a month, Netflix members can instantly watch unlimited films and TV episodes streamed over the internet to PCs, Macs and TVs. Among the large and expanding base of devices streaming from Netflix are the Microsoft Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3 consoles; an array of Blu-ray disc players, internet-connected TVs, home theatre systems, digital video recorders and internet video players; Apple iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, as well as Apple TV and Google TV. In all, more than 700 devices that stream from Netflix are available. For additional information, visit
www.netflix.com . Follow Netflix on Facebook and Twitter.

SOURCE Netflix, Inc.

Copyright (C) 2012 PR Newswire. All rights reserved

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Add NFLX to portfolio

NFLX

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/netflix-brings-tv-shows-and-movies-to-playstation-vita-2012-02-22

“It was bad,” Victoria told me on the set of “New York Live.” “I’m telling you, I would have rather taken eight Star Jones than one Lisa Lampanelli. I think everyone on that show would agree with me. She wanted this at all costs and let everyone know it.”

Ex-co-host of “The View,” Star Jones competed on last season’s “Celebrity Apprentice” and famously went at it with “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Nene Leakes as well as other members of the cast. And not much has changed for this season’s cast — according to Victoria, tensions are higher than ever.

“I think Lisa was at the center of a lot of conflicts with everybody,” Victoria explained. “One girl had the nerve to speak up and said, ‘I’m just confused. Let us know who is the taskmaster who is running things,’ then Lisa breaks down and starts screaming at everybody.”

But Lisa isn’t accepting Victoria’s biting statements without a fair fight. She tells me that Victoria’s work ethic is less than stellar.

“Victoria Gotti is lazier than Paris Hilton’s left eye. Watch ‘Celebrity Apprentice‘ to see the proof. It’s caught on tape,” Lisa said.

Star Jones did not return requests for comment.

FOLLOW NAUGHTY BUT NICE ROB ON TWITTER

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/21/celebrity-apprentice-lisa-lampanelli-victoria-gotti_n_1291143.html

Washington Post reporters or editors recommend this comment or reader post.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/netflix-reaches-multi-year-movie-deal-with-weinstein-co-includes-the-artist/2012/02/21/gIQASiG9QR_story.html

By Jeff Yang

NBC
George Takei on “The Celebrity Apprentice.”

Hello there! For all of you feeling a little bit Linundated by all the hoops coverage here recently, let’s take a little break from Jeremania to recap the premiere of the fifth season of “Celebrity Apprentice”!

You may remember Donald Trump from such other reality shows as “The Apprentice” (seasons one through six) and “The Race for the Republican Nomination.” Well, he’s back in full effect here, pursed lips, furrowed brows, forward-swept ‘do and all, ready to put another slate of stars-with-an-asterisk through a gold-plated and fine-grain-leather-upholstered version of hell.

Once again, he’s flanked by his spawn, Ivanka and Donald Jr.; the family resemblance is remarkable, except Ivanka still has all of her own hair and actually makes the Trump features kind of attractive, while Don Jr. just looks like his louder and more charismatic father’s midday shadow — a darker, fainter, more flickery silhouette of the original. You keep expecting him to cringe and wring his hands nervously whenever Daddy Don looks in his direction.

I’m joined in this recap by my friend and supplemental snarkist Kai Ma, managing editor for the Asian American Writers Workshop and longtime reality teevee buff. Because when watching a show like “Celebrity Apprentice,” too much bitchiness is never enough. Also, Kai actually met Ivanka when she was writing for New York mag: “She’s very poised. Very well trained.” We have some Trumpological expertise on board!

The show opens with a little montage of contestants talking about the charities they’re supporting with this exercise in self-humiliation. Yes. This is for charity. Not a desperate attempt to revive flagging careers at all.

“Look, they’re all fakewalking to their big meeting at Lincoln Center!” says Kai. The contestants put on their best “I’m very serious about winning” faces as they ascend various steps and walk down random halls toward their appointment with destiny. And Donald Trump.

Standing on stage at Avery Fisher Hall, the assembled cast is not immediately impressive. “It’s a bunch of D-list has-beens,” says Kai. Then adds: “And George Takei!”

Basically, you have nods to nostalgia (former talker Arsenio Hall, supermodel Cheryl Tiegs, ’80s poptart Debbie Gibson, Twisted Sister frontman Dee Snider, ex-”Hulk” Lou Ferrigno), reality retreads (“American Idol” runner-up Clay Aiken, “American Chopper” patriarch Paul Teutul, Sr., “Real Housewife of New Jersey” Teresa Giudice, “Growing Up Gotti” gorgon Victoria Gotti), comic relief (comedians Adam Carolla and Lisa Lampanelli, Penn Teller’s Penn Jilette) and people who are simply not anyone’s idea of household names (Danity Kane’s Aubrey O’Day, Miss Universe Dayana Mendoza, racing scion Michael Andretti, former model Patricia Velasquez, “Wayne’s World” actress Tia Carrere). And…George Takei. Who announces in his first camera-facing exhortation, “I’m going to win, by George. I’m George Takei, dammit!” Oh, my!

So we have some hopes for George. But from the outset, it’s obvious that the funnest people to watch are going to be Debbie Gibson (Kai: “Surprisingly, she looks kind of tough. I mean, I’m getting here that you would not want to eff with Debbie Gibson”), Aubrey O’Day (Kai: “Who is this dimwit again? And what happened to her face? She looks like someone’s cartoon version of Lindsay Lohan”) and, of course, Victoria Gotti, whose skull-painted-with-latex demeanor and Gambino family credentials instantly marks her as the season’s most-feared contestant.

Comedian Lisa Lampanelli calls it out first: “Victoria Gotti, I’m totally scared of you.” Really, who wouldn’t be? There are mythological depictions of the afterlife built around creatures that resemble Victoria Gotti.

The Donald, meanwhile, points out that Lisa isn’t exactly a shrinking violet herself. “Lisa, when I was roasted by Comedy Central, ya really killed me,” he says, pursing his lips. No grudges? We’ll see.

Lampanelli adds that she has another target in her sights. “I think George Takei’s got it coming,” she says. “Takei, I’m gunning for you, bitch.”

Takei’s quick to put up his deflector shields. “I’ve got my eye on you too, Lampanelli,” he retorts. “My loins are girded.” His loins are girded on kill!

“I don’t even know what the heck that means,” mutters Arsenio. Neither do we. But it sounds impressive. Let’s put a pin in that one as a potential beef to watch.

As the New York Philharmonic plays the Celeb Apprentice theme song, the action moves off to the planning rooms of the two teams — divvied up, per Trumpian tradition, into men versus women.

The men all seem to be wearing various shades of lavender. Is that this season’s big color? Seriously, lavender ties, shirts, accent pocket squares. Ferrigno. Jilette. The exception of course being Paul Teufel Sr., who sports a classic-blue stoner’s jean jacket. He’s basically a moustache with arms anyway.

They have to choose a name. The name suggestions all pretty much suck wind: Carolla comes up with Team Back Hair, the Trumpeteers and the Honey Badgers. Clay Aiken does not like Honey Badgers. (“Are you kidding me? Mr. Trump does not suffer childishness,” he says. “We have a lot of frat boys here.” Clay, try not to get stuffed into a trash bin by series end, okay?)

“What about ‘Galactic Force’? ‘Galactic Power’?” says Takei. The other contestants shift uncomfortably. (“Do we have to pretend we like ‘Star Trek’?” says Carolla, off camera. “I had neighbors who were Trekkies. They were alcoholics.”)

Just when it seems like no name is going to get a unanimous consensus, someone suggests…Unanimous. So, in a deft feat of meta-nomenclature, they decide to call themselves Unanimous. (Anything to get out of the room, says Dee Snider. “That name was definitely the last chick in the bar at the end of the night.”)

Over to the girls.

The ladies are impressively tight already, with a bubbly repartee going that the men might envy. Although Cheryl Tiegs gets a callout here, with an off-camera in which she describes herself as “very much a loner.” Is this foreshadowing? Maybe!

Naming is a hard nut for the women’s team too. “Ballbusters,” “Prowess” and “Bad News Babes” all die in committee. Teresa suggests an Italian term that no one except her and Victoria Gotti can pronounce. In the scrum, someone — Aubrey O’Day? — suggests “We all have such fabulous hair — can we do something with that?”

This draws a snort from Kai: “Half of them are wearing extensions.”

They end up converging on Debbie Gibson’s musical suggestion, Forte. “It means strong,” she explains. It’s also Italian! So, Teresa Giudice doesn’t have to flip any tables.

The women then decide on a project manager, which ends up being model turned philanthropist Patricia Velasquez, mostly because she volunteers. Everyone’s okay with that, because it sort of sucks to be the number-one manager out of the gate — everyone’s going to be rooting for you to fail and have the unceremonious honor of being the first contestant dumped from the show.

On the men’s side, everyone is quite aware of how crappy it is to own the first project. No one’s volunteering to step into the line of fire. Carolla decides to play mediator, and starts suggesting criteria for the guys’ choice of first project manager: “Maybe there are some people universally qualified to do whatever this task is going to be,” he suggests. “Paul might be better at a specific one…” — suggesting, essentially, that Teutel Sr. is probably not the right pick for the gig. Teutel, on the other hand, takes this as a nomination.

“I ran a business for 28 years,” he says. “I’ll do it. I really don’t care. At some point I have to do it anyhow.”

Teutel has arms like tree trunks. He looks like he could tie a knot in Clay Aiken. And with that, Unanimous has its first leader.

They all head to the boardroom to confront The Donald and hear their first mission. Donald interrogates them on their choice of names and project managers, and then announces that one of Team Unanimous’s members — racing king Marco Andretti — has had to pull out of the show, due to the death of a close friend and teammate, and is being replaced by his dad, retired racer Michael Andretti. This doesn’t look to change the balance of power, unless the first task involves parking-lot doughnuts.

But no: Their mission is to make and sell sandwiches. The team that scores the most money in receipts and tips will win all of the cash scored by both teams for their project manager’s charity. “It’s a lawt of money,” intones Trump. It’s yuuuuge.

“Trump looks really unnaturally orange,” says Kai. “Is it the TV? No, that’s actually him. It’s like someone spray painted him pumpkin.” Trump does, indeed look like quite the Boehner.

Assessing each team’s chances of victory, Kai puts her money on the girls. “They just seem so much more organized and together, which makes me upset, because I have an issue with Tia,” she says. “Tia dated Costas Mandylor, and Costas and David Lee Roth were basically how I knew I was heterosexual. I’m going to flat out say now that I refuse to like her.”

So Kai is rooting for the guys. And the guys do have a plan. “You wanna create excitement,” says project manager Paul. “If there’s guys with sleeveless t-shirt standing around, that’s excitement. And I could get a hold of my shop, get half a dozen bikes to roll down in front of the store.” So Lou and Paul are going to stand outside flexing, and Penn Jillette’s going back to his roots and play midway barker. “I come from carny trash,” he boasts. Sounds like a show! But will it move sandwiches?

Then Teutel drops a bomb. “We’re gonna win this. I can call in some guys to donate money — guys who never let me down before….I’m gonna get us half a million dollars.”

Everyone is shocked. Half a mill? No, really? Teutel just nods, stone-faced.

On the girls side, things are more structured and team-centric. Velasquez has the ladies more or less in line, offering up a similar carnivalesque concept — but then Deborah Gibson suggests they go with more of a VIP velvet-rope affair. They’ll turn their café into an exclusive “club” — hot ladies out front, hot sandwiches inside. Velasquez likes it. Victoria Gotti thinks this idea should sleep with the fishes: “If everybody’s outside, who’s gonna be inside makin’ sandwiches?”

“That woman just seems like a miserable person,” says Kai. “She’s a total sociopath. Are you going to write that I said that? I don’t want to end up in an unmarked grave.”

Onscreen, Lampanelli concurs: “I won’t screw with Gotti. You know why. No horses head in my bed. I don’t care if she doesn’t show up for work, she’s gonna get an A+ from me.”

Meanwhile, in all the discussion about who the most “recognizable” members of the team are — the “outside” girls — Aubrey O’Day is feeling left out. “You know, I’ve been part of double-platinum girl group Danity Kane and the reality is I can run circles around most people here here. Them underestimating me is probably not the best idea, because out of all the people here, I have the most Twitter followers.”

“This chick is delusional,” says Kai. Insanity Kane!

Team Unanimous has headed to Café Metro, New York’s favorite upscale bodega chain, to prep their Circus of the Stars sandwich strategy. Beef two emerges! Paul is not a George Takei fan. “I think George is a nice guy, a quiet guy, but I like to be around aggressive people,” he says. “I think it pushes you into a higher energy mode. And George is not that kind of guy.” Whoa, Paul, you’re beaming down into stereotypical territory there. But it gets worse: He starts calling Takei “Star Trek.” As in, “Where’s my man Star Trek? Did he wander off into space somewhere?”

“So Teutel called George smart, quiet, but not aggressive — basically the Asian model minority,” says Kai. “That’s pretty messed up.”

Fortunately, Takei, who might be having William Shatner flashbacks at this point, is not about to take any of Teutel’s B.S. “Paul is a Hell’s Angel guy, he has tattoos all up his arms, and I don’t know where else on his body,” he says. “He’s not the kind of guy who inspires you to do your best.” Hey, George, come on, bring it harder. WWSD? (What Would Sulu Do?)

But the test of Paul’s success isn’t going to be about how he motivates his men. It’s going to be whether he can deliver on his crazy promise of five hundred large in charitable donations. “I might have bit off a little more than I can chew here,” he acknowledges. Well, let’s see!

Over at Team Forte, Patricia Velasquez has been doing a mega call-a-thon trying to get people to commit to bringing bread over to Forte’s Celebrity Café. “I was calling every person in my phone book,” she says. “Ex-lovers…everybody!”

Victoria Gotti is also on the phone non-stop — with her contractors, her agent, and other Gotti entourage members, talking about things not at all related to the mission at hand, or even the show. “What’s up with that?” says Lampanelli. More foreshadowing!

Then the women head over to their own Café Metro outlet, where they start the work necessary to get their celebwiches made — slicing tomatoes and meat, simmering Teresa Giudices’s special secret-recipe red roasted peppers, and separating slices of cheese off of a giant industrial stack of fromage. The latter job has been assigned to Cheryl Tiegs, who apparently has found it a challenge akin to doing Rubik’s Cube blindfolded, with your feet.

“Cherly is a sweetheart, but she definitely has a lower…energy about her,” says Debbie Gibson. “That doesn’t fly in a kitchen where you have to separate 800 pieces of cheese.”

Cut to Tiegs, turning slowly to the camera with a goofy grin on her face. Don’t you know Debbie Gibson basically called you an airhead, Cheryl? Oops, not until this episode airs.

Meanwhile, Victoria Gotti, to no one’s surprise, doesn’t show up for work. “Maybe she woke up in the trunk of a Lincoln Continental,” says Tia Carrere, getting in her best — and very nearly only — line of the night. Gotti eventually shows up, claiming some kind of optical accident: “I tore my cornea, or maybe my retina,” she says. “It’s better now.” The undead have impressive regenerative abilities!

The actual Deli Duel between Unanimous and Forte almost comes off as an anticlimax. Both sides score victories — Unanimous gets a team of, uh, “professional dancers” to come and actually pay for the privilege of hanging out in front of their store (Sample line from an impressively endowed and poorly supported member of the dance troupe: “If you guys buy sandwiches, I’ll keep jumping up and down like this!”). Velasquez’s mass dialing attack seems to be paying off: Wyclef Jean shows up at Forte’s store and drops $15K, and Russell Simmons comes in with a check for $10,000 and a request for a vegan hero.

Both teams are invited to send a rep to “The Rachael Ray Show” with their best sandwich, for a yum-off judged by Ray herself. The winning ‘wich gets their team an unspecified bonus sum of money, donated by Café Metro itself.

And then it’s time for the final reckoning: Who cut the mustard, and who cut the cheese?

Asked which teammembers did the least to help out the cause, project manager Patricia cites Cheryl Tiegs and Victoria Gotti. (Venezuelans have no fear!). Project manager Paul offers up George Takei and Arsenio Hall.

“Of course, the two people of color,” snorts Kai.

Surprisingly culturally sensitive Adam Carolla concurs: “Donald, you put Paul on the spot to choose the weak links, and he picks three minorities.” Wait, three? He’s saying that because Takei is gay, right? Apparently!

But Paul is still bringing it to our man George. “There are a lot of strong personalities here, and he’s a meeker person by nature,” he says. “And I think it might be a little overwhelming for him.”

Everyone’s a little WTF?. “This guy, he was a leader for the gay movement!” says Trump. And then Takei steps to the challenge.

“I was taken aback when you used that word meek,” he says. “I had to fight for a lot of things in my life — I grew up behind barbed war in an internment camp.”

Teutel knows he’s crossed the line. He turns and apologizes. Takei graciously accepts, but I don’t think this beef is over.

There’s a cliffhanger break as Trump is about to announce the winner of the Rachael Ray taste test, and then we’re back. Trump announces that Unanimous’s sandwich has won, and will get an additional $35,000 added to their total. The ladies are obviously crushed, but Velasquez is still confident they’ve beaten the men. And why not? She ran the register. She’s seen her team’s numbers.

“The women’s team set an all-time record for the first task of the series,” says Don Jr. “They raised $126,962.”

As the women cheer, Trump calls that a “fantastic amount of money” — and then turns to Ivanka for the men’s total.

“The men’s team raised $332,120,” she says. “Add $35K to that, and you get $367,120.”

The men have more than doubled the record-setting total of the women! What gives! It turns out that Paul’s “guys” came through. “I raised $305,000 of that from one guy,” he says.

“Holy crap, who wrote that check?” shouts Kai. We may never know!

In any case, Teutel’s promise of half a million to charity pretty much comes through — he’s earned the Make-a-Wish Foudnation over $494,000 in one go. And now Forte has to offer up a sacrificial lamb. We all know where it’s going.

“It’s too bad,” says Kai. “The girls really busted their balls. I think it’s gonna be Cheryl — she’s such a dip. So slow laying out the cheese.”

Good prediction. Patricia brings Victoria Gotti and Cheryl Tiegs to the boardroom, and even though Gotti’s lack of enthusiasm, lateness and general uselessness during the mission gets called out, well, you know, Gambino! She could fail to show up on camera for the rest of the series and still win this.

And so, Trump does his thing. “Cheryl, you’re an amazing woman,” he says. “But for the purposes of what we have to do here…you’re fired. You’re fantastic. Now get out of here.” Cheryl out!

And we’re out too! Until next week, that’s the recap.

***

The Tao Jones Index Must-click quick-hits from across Asia and Asian America

Looking for a few good pens: My recap partner Kai Ma’s organization, the Asian American Writers Workshop, is seeking freelance writers and writing fellows who can help tell the story of the Asian diaspora and the Asian American New York experience.

Jeremy Lin scores an assist in MSG/Time Warner deal: It looks like Linsanity pushed the warring kingdoms of MSG and Time Warner to mend their fences and finally get the Knicks back on TV in New York. Finally!

“The Daily Show” on Linsanity: Speaking of Jeremy Lin (what else is there to talk about?), gotta love Larry Whitmore’s take on the phenomenon and how it’s taken over Black History Month.

“Tao Jones” is Jeff Yang’s weekly column for Speakeasy on Asian culture. Tune in Friday for the next installment. Follow him on Twitter at @originalspin.

Source: http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2012/02/20/the-celebrity-apprentice-season-5-season-premiere-tv-recap/

Gospel and soul music greats, celebrities and family members swayed to gospel hits and delivered tributes both sung and spoken to the crowded New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, where Houston honed her wide vocal range as a young choral singer with her mother Cissy Houston, a backup singer for Aretha Franklin.

“Whitney returns home today to the place where it all began,” said actor Kevin Costner, who starred opposite Houston in the 1992 hit film, “The Bodyguard.”

He urged those around the world to “dry our tears, suspend our sorrow – and perhaps our anger – just long enough, just long enough to remember the sweet miracle of Whitney.”

Houston, who died in a Beverly Hills hotel room last week, recorded stirring love songs and vibrant dance tunes during a 30-year career that peaked with her 1992 signature hit “I Will Always Love You” and paved the way for a generation of singers that followed.

She was among the greatest singers of the 1980s and 1990s, but later admitted to heavy use of cocaine, marijuana, alcohol and prescription pills. Officials have said prescription drugs were found in the hotel room where she died.

Her death at age 48 shocked her family, fans and the music industry. Houston was found underwater in a hotel bathtub on the eve of the music industry’s Grammy Awards. Her cause of death has yet to be determined.

She suffered a turbulent personal life and marriage to singer Bobby Brown, who said in a statement he left the service early after being repeatedly asked to move by security, who prevented him from seeing the daughter he shared with Houston, Bobby Kristina Brown, 18.

“This was a day to honor Whitney,” Brown said. “I doubt whether Whitney would have wanted this to occur.”

During the service, her cousin and famed soul singer Dionne Warwick read out a funeral poem and introduced music greats from the past and present, including Alicia Keys who said “it was so obvious the way she just crept into everybody’s heart” before singing an emotional rendition of “Prelude to a Kiss.”

GOSPEL AND SOUL

Singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder spoke of once having “a little crush” on Houston before singing a version of his 1982 RB hit “Ribbon In The Sky,” inserting the lyrics “No more, Whitney, No more, Do you have to cry – You’ll always be a ribbon in the sky.”

Others spoke eloquently of Houston’s passion, strong-willed spirit and once hopeful future, including Clive Davis, the founder of her label Arista Records, who discovered and molded Houston into a global pop phenomenon. He said shortly before she died, Houston had promised she was getting back into shape.

“You wait for a voice like that for a lifetime. You wait for a face like that, a smile like that, a presence like that, for a lifetime. And when one person embodies it all it takes your breath away,” he said. “Music was her passion. Whitney lived music. Whitney loved music.”

R. Kelly performed the 2009 song he wrote for Houston, “I Look To You,” and director Tyler Perry talked about Houston’s “grace that led her all the way to the top of the charts.” The service was dominated by gospel music, by singers Kim Burrell, Donnie McClurkin and others.

Houston’s family decided against a public memorial, as was done for pop star Michael Jackson after his 2009 death, but they agreed to allow the four-hour service to be broadcast live by television networks and on the Internet.

Many of Houston’s fans left cards and balloons around the church dedicated to the singer, who became a global star with her 1985 debut album, which included the hits “Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know” and “Greatest Love Of All.”

Police urged fans to stay home and watch the funeral on the Internet or television, but some flew and drove from around the country to get as close as they could to the late singer.

“This is history,” said fan Hedwig Berthold, 40, who flew from Miami and watched the broadcast with dozens of others in a nearby cafe. “I bought her records, I saw her concerts, I saw her in the good times. So I wanted to be here for her final farewell.”

‘THEY LOVED YOU’

Others gathered on the streets, including Wendy Saunders, who drove from Detroit to pay her respects to Houston and said “She meant so much to me,” while Renee Taylor, from Baltimore, held a sign, “You gave us more love than we will ever need.”

Houston grew up surrounded by gospel and soul music legends like Franklin – who fell ill and was unable to attend the service – as well as Warwick. She later forged new territory for a black female artist who brought RB and gospel touches into pop music’s mainstream.

After her debut, her popularity grew exponentially with her second album, “Whitney” (1987), with all four singles – “Didn’t We Almost Have It All,” “So Emotional,” “Where Do Broken Hearts Go” and “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” – hitting No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Her music videos featuring her 1980s style and innocent, fun-loving image made her wildly popular around the world. In “The Bodyguard,” with Costner, Houston played a character not far removed from her real self: an international singing sensation coping with fame.

Costner recalled during his speech that Hollywood executives were hesitant to cast Houston in her first starring role, preferring “somebody white,” but she soon won everyone over. He also spoke of Houston’s immense talent – and insecurities.

“The Whitney that I knew, despite her worldwide success and fame, still wondered, ‘Am I good enough, Am I pretty enough, Will they like me?’ It was the burden that made her great, and the part that caused her to stumble in the end,” he said. “People didn’t just like you, Whitney. They loved you.”

She made other films, including “The Preacher’s Wife,” but the 15-year period when she was married to singer Brown coincided with a decline in the quality and frequency of her albums. The couple, who have an 18-year-old daughter, Bobbi Kristina Brown, divorced in 2007.

Houston’s powerful voice suffered in recent years. On her last world tour in 2010, she struggled to hit the high notes.

But the service ended by focusing on the old, soaring voice she had promised to reclaim. Her inimitable “I Will Always Love You,” rang out as the casket was carried out of the church.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Reaney and Gianna Palmer; editing by Anthony Boadle and Todd Eastham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stars-mourn-whitney-houston-rousing-jersey-funeral-172204279.html

Source: http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/20/3440088/borgias-inspire-two-current-tv.html

Published: February 20, 2012 11:23 AM

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Photo credit: AP | Whitney Houston performs at the pre-Grammy gala salute to industry icons with Clive Davis honoring David Geffen in Beverly Hills, Calif. (Feb. 13, 2011)

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LOS ANGELES – There had to be an auction, but so soon?

A black velvet dress that belonged to Whitney Houston and a pair of earrings she wore in “The Bodyguard” will be sold to the highest bidder next month.

Celebrity auctioneer Darren Julien said Sunday the pieces and other Houston items became available after the singer’s unexpected death on Feb. 11 and will be included among a long-planned sale of Hollywood memorabilia such as Charlie Chaplin’s cane, Clark Gable’s jacket from “Gone With the Wind” and Charlton Heston’s staff from “The Ten Commandments.”

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Julien said celebrity collectibles often become available after their namesakes die.

“It proves a point that these items, they’re an investment,” Julien said. “You buy items just like a stock. Buy at the right time and sell at the right time, and they just increase in value.”

But could it be too soon to profit from Houston’s passing? She was just buried on Saturday.

“It’s a celebration of her life,” Julien said. “If you hide these things in fear that you’re going to offend someone — her life is to be celebrated. These items are historic now that she passed. They become a part of history. They should be in museums. She’s lived a life and had a career that nobody else has ever had.”

Houston is “someone who’s going to maintain a collectability,” he said. “For people who are fans of Whitney Houston and never would have had a chance to meet her and never got to talk to her, these are items that literally touched a part of her life. They are a way to relate to her or be a part of her life without having known her.”

The singer’s floor-length black dress is valued at $1,000 but likely to collect much more. Same goes for the vest she wore in “The Bodyguard,” listed at $400, and the faux-pearl earrings that start at $600.

Houston fans and other collectors can bid online, by phone or in person during the “Hollywood Legends” auction on March 31 and April 1. Lots will be shown during a free public exhibition beginning March 19 at Julien’s Auctions in Beverly Hills, Calif., just blocks from the Beverly Hilton Hotel, where Houston died at age 48.

Source: http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities/whitney-houston-s-dress-earrings-up-for-auction-1.3543544