BET AWARDS Performances

Girl Power

Keyshia Cole and Lil’ Kim perform “Let It Go.”

Usher

Usher opens up the show with “Love in This Club.”

Musical Mix

Jennifer Hudson and Terrence Howard show off their talent while presenting an award.

Ciara and Chris Brown

Ciara popped up during Chris Brown’s performance to burn up the stage with a hot dance.

Jill Scott

Jill Scott performed during the salute to Al Green.

Rihanna

Rihanna, a nominee for Best Female R&B, awed the crowd with her emotionally-charged song.

T-Pain

T-Pains circus-act performance was the most elaborate of the night.

Mayer Is All About the Music. Mostly

John Mayer wants to remind everyone that he is, first and foremost, an artist.

After all, it seems that all people want to talk about lately are the musician’s jogging habits, his love for The Goonies and, oh yeah, his blossoming relationship with a certain someone.

So what does he have to say on matters of the heart?

“I don’t have a problem with my privacy as much as I have a problem with people messing with my message,” John tells USA Today. “If you’re going to take pictures of me doing mundane stuff, will you at least take pictures of me playing guitar?”

Right, right, OK…but what about Jen?

“All I can tell you is that I have made every decision in my life with complete authenticity,” says the singer-songwriter when asked about his relationship with the actress. “My feet are firmly on the ground. If you do things from the heart, it feels awesome.”

Well, we were hoping for a little more dish there, John. But we admire the sincerity, so we’ll take it.

Miley Wants Her Ex “to Be Upset”

While Miley Cyrus has remained mum on the specifics of her love life, she does admit that her new song, “7 Things,” is indeed about an ex of hers.

And while she hopes the former b-f is affected by the tune—”I want them to be upset [when they hear the song]. That was my point,” she tells Ryan Seacrest—she leaves the identity of the culprit to our imagination.

Of course, that doesn’t stop Ryan from trying to pry the answer from her…

“Have you heard from anybody that might have been the impetus to writing these lyrics, maybe a Nick Jonas?” asks the KIIS-FM morning man.

“Stop!” giggles Miley, before adding that her mystery man might come forward after the video is released, “because it’s pretty honest. The video’s even more honest than my song.”

There is at least one person we can count off the list. Multitalented Miley finally states on the record that, despite rumors, she is not dating her 22-year-old backup dancer. “He’s one of my really, really good friends.”

Well, whoever her secret former lover is, maybe he’ll be stoked to know he influenced the song lyrics written by one of the most famous people in America!

Stone Wants Share in Son’s Custody

Sharon Stone is following in the footsteps of an unlikely forebear—namely, Britney Spears—and seeking a little more court-approved mother-son time.

E! News has obtained court papers filed by the China-angering actress in which she seeks a modified custody order for 7-year-old son Roan, whom she adopted with ex-hubby Philip Bronstein back in 2000.

Bronstein, the Komodo dragon-angering former editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, split from Stone in 2004 and currently retains primary custody of the boy.

Stone’s legal filing, entered in San Francisco County Superior Court on April 4, ask for a change in her son’s primary residence, though it remains unclear whether the request is simply for joint living arrangements or if it’s part of a run-up to request full custody of the boy.

Reps for Stone and Bronstein have yet to comment on the filing.

The Basic Instinct star has two other adopted children, son Laird, whom she adopted in May 2005, and son Quinn, whom she adopted in June 2006

Vanessa Hudgens Reveals Secret to a Great Relationship

She’s only 19, but High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens has some sage advice on love and relationships.

“If you really love someone, you shouldn’t have to work at it,” the actress tells Cosmo Girl! for its July/August issue, reports Entertainment Tonight. “You finish each others’ sentences and have the same sense of humor.”

As for her own love life – she’s dating HSM costar Zac Efron, 20 – it appears she’s taken her own advice.

According to the magazine, the two share an easy and affectionate relationship. Upon seeing the couple together, the magazine interviewer observes, “When [Vanessa] sees Zac, she runs over and they kiss, oblivious to the dozen of us in the room. She rubs his stomach, he puts his arm around her – these gestures say more than any statement she could make.”

Hudgens and Efron, who are currently filming HSM 3 in Utah, have certainly shown they’re not opposed to a little PDA. Prime example: This year’s MTV Movie Awards, where she planted a kiss on him as his name was announced.

But Hudgens – who endured a nude photo scandal last year – cautions teen girls who may be thinking of becoming more intimate with their boyfriends.

“You have to think it through, not just do something spur of the moment,” she says. “So that after it happens you won’t regret it. I think girls can be infatuated with their boyfriends and they have to remember [to put themselves] first.”