Grammy Awards Fashion Face-Off: LL Cool J vs. Bruno Mars
Two of the slickest superstars on the planet are pitted against each other in this Fashion Face-Off.
First, we have LL Cool J, the host of the 2012 Grammy Awards, who had the unenviable task last night of MCing an event over which a pall had been cast, due to Whitney Houston's tragic death. But the actor/rapper kicked off the ceremony with a prayer and handled his duties as well as could be expected.
His competition? Bruno Mars, producer/performer extraordinaire, and possibly the most talented man in the music business today.
Compare. Contrast. And vote between these icons below:
LL Cool J Opens Grammys With Prayer For Whitney Houston
Sincere prayer on a Hollywood stage? You don't see that every day, but Sunday was not an average day. At the beginning of the 2012 Grammy Awards, host LL Cool J paid tribute to Whitney Houston, who died the previous day at 48.
"There's no way around this," he said, addressing a silent crowd. "We've had a death in our family, and so at least for me, the only thing that feels right is to begin with a prayer for a woman we loved, for our fallen sister, Whitney Houston."
Watch LL Cool J's prayer for Whitney Houston below:
After the NCIS: Los Angeles star finished, a video of Houston singing her hit "I Will Always Love You" played. "Whitney, we will always love you," he continued.
"And we'll remember you the best way we know how – with a song."
Jennifer Hudson's performance of the song honored Houston later in the telecast.
What did you think of LL's prayerful tribute?
Taylor Swift Tries, Fails to Beat Box in Grammys Ad
Taylor Swift rules the world of pop music and country music.
But she might want to leave the rapping up to the host of the 2012 Grammy Awards.
In a great new commercial for that February 12 ceremony, Swift stands alongside LL Cool J and tries to beat box along with the NCIS: Los Angeles star - but quickly realizes she's in way over her cute blonde head. Still, Taylor should not lose all hope: she does a pretty mean Eminem, after all.
Did LL Cool J Pay a Tranny for Sex?
The Ladies might Love Cool James, but does LL Cool J love them back?
No, according to Toni Newman, a former transsexual prostitute who writes in a new book, excerpted in the latest issue of Hip Hop Weekly, that the rapper/NCIS: Los Angeles star was once his client!
"I had sex with LL Cool J," Newman claims in his memoir. "For a street prostitute doing fifty-dollar blow jobs and hundred dollar hotel dates, he gave me five times more that I had already made... I wasn't aware until we got into the encounter and the glasses came off that he was in fact LL Cool J. We were a versatile group, and when I say versatile, that means the other person gives and receives."
We wonder how LL will respond to this allegation. If he takes the advice of his Mama, Newman will soon be knocked out.
LL Cool J Calls Out Sarah Palin, Fox News
Rapper-actor LL Cool J is far from pleased about what he describes as an old interview of his being lifted to promote Sarah Palin's interview special tonight.
Palin's Fox News special, entitled Real American Stories, features the former Governor chronicling lives of "people who have overcome adversity and more."
Among tonight's success stories: country star Toby Keith, former GE Chairman Jack Welch, a recipient of the Congressional Medal of Honor and LL Cool J.
The problem LL Cool J has with it? He never sat down with the show. Now the star of NCIS: Los Angeles, LL (James Todd Smith) tweeted on Wednesday:
"Fox lifted an old interview I gave in 2008 to someone else and are now misrepresenting to the public in order to promote Sarah Palin's Show. WOW."
Wow is right.
Real American Story or not, LL Cool J takes issue with tonight's show.
When contacted for comment, Fox News explained that LL Cool J had been informed in 2008 that the interview was planned as a segment for Real American Stories, though and the network couldn't have known Palin would be hosting in 2010.
The Fox spokesperson also said in a statement:
"Real American Stories features uplifting tales about overcoming adversity and believe Mr. Smith's interview fit that criteria. However, it appears Mr. Smith doesn't want to be associated with a program that could serve as an inspiration to others, so we're cutting his interview and wish him the best with his fledgling acting career."
Fledgling? Cold, Fox. Cold.
We suggest a true American hero take his place: Levi Johnston.
CSI Creator: LL Cool J is The Man
We probably should trust CSI creator, Anthony Zuiker. He has created the top-rated show on TV ... but he's also now cast Kevin Federline in it.
Hopefully, though, Zuiker is trying to redeem himself by working on a project with LL Cool J, who - as everyone knows - the ladies love. The pair has joined foreces to develop "The Man," a CBS drama in which the veteran rapper-actor will play a cop with a busy domestic life.
Rumor has it they considered 50 Cent for the role, but no one would actually believe that musician could be on the right side of the law.
In the upcoming series, LL would be an undercover LAPD officer who spends the nights running sting operations to break criminal rings, and the days raising his three adopted kids - an abused boy with an aggression problem, a former streetwalker girl he put in community college and a skateboarder boy who is a recovering drug addict.
"He is the only honest man on the wrong side of the law," said Zuiker, the one-time Las Vegas tram operator.
Last year, LL Cool J guest starred on an episode of House. He's one of the few rappers that actually can act. And doesn't get arrested every other week.
