Alicia Keys plays host at celeb-filled 6th Black Ball benefit

For Alicia Keys, one star-studded night could change the world.

The singer played host Thursday night at the Hammerstein Ballroom at her sixth annual Black Ball, which benefits the AIDS organization Keep a Child Alive.

Change is a thematic reference in all of Keys’ recent projects. Her next album, due Dec. 1, is titled The Element of Freedom, and she recently set up AK Worldwide, a company to handle her philanthropic affairs.

But the Black Ball is “something I build up to for the entire year,” Keys said backstage before the festivities. “I’m in the middle of finishing my album because you know it comes out on World AIDS Day, which is very intentional for me.”

Russell Brand and Katy Perry romantic holiday in Thailand

Russell Brand and Katy Perry have reportedly spent a week on a romantic break in Thailand after their snog at the MTV Video Music Awards last month.

The comedian was apparently was so enamoured with the I Kissed A Girl popstrel that he wooed her by writing her a poem after the bash and asked her to write back.

And if the rumours are true, the singer responded by sending Russ a picture of her boobs with “poem” written across them.

A friend of the actor revealed: “Russell killed himself laughing when Katy sent a photo of her boobs with the word ‘poem’ scrawled across them.

Rihanna breaks off nightclubbing to cheer on her basketball team – until 5am

Umbrella singer Rihanna partied til the wee hours at Movida nightclub last night – and then hotfooted it to a sports bar where she watched her beloved basketball team until 5am.

The sporty star couldn’t resist checking up on the Los Angeles Lakers, who are heading back to the NBA finals for the second year running.

Rihanna had enjoyed a bite to eat at Mr Chows earlier in the evening before hitting London’s Movida nightclub with her huge entourage.

The 21-year-old sported a white waistcoat over a grey top and a machine gun necklace pendant.

Rihanna has been ordered to appear in court next month to testify over allegations that her ex-boyfriend Chris Brown beat her up.

R’n’B singer Brown is accused of battering her before a pre-Grammy party in February.

The vicious reality TV row that signalled the end for Katie and Peter

Bitter feud: Reality TV cameras caught Katie Price and Peter Andre in a bitter exchange that hinted their relationship was headed for collapse

Katie Price and Peter Andre’s bickering was always dismissed as harmless ‘banter’ by the couple.

But their latest television row – caught by cameras filming their series Katie and Peter: Stateside – was far more than just a petty lovers’ quarrel.

Explosive scenes aired on ITV2 last Thursday showed the couple embroiled in a vicious and bitter fight that signalled the end of their three-year marriage.

In a foul-mouthed exchange, the pair subjected each other to a diatribe of abuse in front of a Los Angeles shop assistant and ever-present TV crew.

In a vitriolic outburst Katie, 30, branded her husband ‘an old f****** singer no one knows about’ before adding: ‘You’re a f****** knob. I can’t stand you.’

Peter fired back: ‘Don’t ever f****** talk to me like that, understand? Think you’re going to get away with it?’

He dismissed his wife as a ‘stupid, miserable, arrogant cow,’ later concluding: ‘You are really, seriously a psycho.’

Britney Spears Top Secret Project

With the release of her sixth studio album Circus only three weeks away, Britney Spears is working on a “top secret project” with her manager and choreographer.

The pop star, 26, released four exclusive photos on her new celebrity MySpace page of auditions for male dancers for the new project “in anticipation of next month’s Circus.”

The new page launched Monday and features pictures from Spears’ wins at this year’s Video Music Awards and a video of the director’s cut her Circus single “Womanizer.”

Ravaged Amy Winehouse looks worse than ever as she stumbles out of Camden pub at 3.30am

Amy Winehouse cut a tragic figure last night as she stumbled through the streets of Camden looking worse than ever.

The singer, who has largely keep out of public view in recent weeks, was a guest DJ at her local pub the Monarch, where she emerged in a dishevelled, bleary-eyed state.

Rapper: Snoop Dogg has Finally Been Granted a Visa To Enter Australia

Snoop Dogg has found himself an unlikely wizard of Oz: Russell Crowe.

The rapper has finally been granted a visa to enter Australia, allowing him to embark on a long-pending tour Down Under, after a full character assessment by the immigration department that included, among other things, a letter supporting Snoop’s application by the Oscar-winning actor.

Corinne Bailey Rae’s Husband Found Dead

The husband of British soul singer Corinne Bailey Rae was found dead in an apartment in Leeds, England, the BBC reports.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said officers were called to the home where they found saxophonist Jason Rae, 31, Saturday afternoon.

In connection with the case, a 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs, and was since released on bail, according to police.

Reports say that Rae was the victim of a suspected overdose, however, results of a post mortem exam were inconclusive. Police are awaiting the results of a toxicology report, according to the BBC.

Rae had been scheduled to play a gig with his band The Haggis Horns at the HiFi Club in Leeds Sunday. The show has been canceled.

Bailey Rae, 29, and her husband met when the singer worked in as a coat room attendant at a jazz club in Leeds. They married in 2001.

Bailey Rae’s record label offered condolences to the singer in a statement released Sunday, saying, “EMI Records would like to offer its sincere condolences to Corinne Bailey Rae and the Rae family at this tragic time. We ask that the media respects Corinne’s privacy and that of her entire family.”

singer Bailey Dead