December 15 - 21, 2008 21 here and there We heard... CHECK out Ciara looking all ‘arty’ in this photo for the next issue of Elle magazine. The Goodies singer is almost unrecognisable with her blue cropped hairdo and odd headgear. Interesting or plain weird? You decide! DO YOU LIKE THIS LOOK? BUY TICKETS FOR CLUB NIGHTS, CONCERTS, COMEDY FASHION SHOWS & MUCH MORE... ANY TICKET , ANY WHERE USHER’S THE DADDY... AGAIN USHER has become a father for the second time. The 30- year-old singer and his wife Tameka Foster, 38, (pictured together, right) welcomed their second son into the world last week. The couple, who already have one-year-old Usher Raymond V, confirmed last month that they were expecting their second child – thereby quashing the rumours that their marriage was on the rocks. With two babies – and Foster’s three sons from her previous relationship – it’s sure to be a hectic Christmas for the couple! STEVIE TO DO DANCING WITH THE STARS? STEVIE Wonder is reportedly being lined up for the US version of Strictly Come Dancing. Unsurprisingly, the news has been met with shock from those who question how Wonder, who is, of course, blind, will get on in the dance competition. But the Superstitious singer recently told a US radio station of his hopes to take part in Dancing With The Stars. “It'd be fun. It's not impossible, but right now it's just a thought,” he said. “If I've got seven children, I've got to be able to dance, right?” JEN’S GOING BACK TO WORK RUSSELL SLAMS INTERRACIAL RELATIONSHIP HATERS RUSSELL Simmons isn’t happy with those who have taken a pop at him for hanging out with his ‘friend’, white model Veronica Verikova. The hip-hop mogul took to his blog to slap down those rumours that he doesn’t date black women. “Choosing someone who I am physically attracted to and who also inspires, uplifts, educates and keeps me interested is my first priority – not their race,” Simmons stated. “And if these bloggers recall, I did marry a woman who was half African American,” he added, referring to his ex-wife Kimora Simmons. It’s a lengthy rant – get online and check it out. THIS credit crunch really isn’t playing. First it was Wyclef, then Fantasia, and now former TLC singer T-Boz is the latest star to reportedly be facing eviction from her home. The $530,000 Georgia property owned by the R’n’B star – real name Tionne Watkins Rolison – is scheduled to go up for auction in January 2009. According to public records, the 38-year-old has defaulted on the original principal of her mortgage, and the five-bedroom house is now being claimed by the state. T BOZ COULD LOSE HER HOME SINGER Toni Braxton has revealed she had a benign tumour removed from her breast shortly after leaving the US version of Strictly Come Dancing. The 41- year-old said she knew about the tumour before appearing on Dancing With The Stars. She scheduled the surgery after exiting the competition in October. “Getting the boot was a blessing in disguise for me,” she told US Weekly magazine. “My grandmother on my dad's side died of breast cancer.” Of her own tumour, she added: “I was worried about what they would find, but it was benign. I was very fortunate. Cancer knows no race, no creed, no colour.” BRAXTON TALKS OF BREAST OP Picture of the week! JENNIFER Hudson is returning to work following the murder of her mother, brother and nephew. The singer and actress, currently starring in the film The Secret Life of Bees, will start shooting the video for her new single If It Isn't Love in Los Angeles this week, according to her record label J Records. The 27-year-old’s mother Darnell Hudson Donerson and brother Jason Hudson were found shot dead in their Chicago home on October 24. The body of Hudson’s seven- year-old nephew, Julian King, was found in a SUV (sports utility vehicle) three days later. But good news emerged last week when it was announced that Hudson has been nominated for four Grammy Awards. In a statement, Hudson said she is “honoured and humbled by the nominations." AKON has addressed claims that he lied about his criminal past to boost his career. Earlier this year, it was alleged that the Locked Up singer exaggerated about the amount of time he spent in prison in order to boost his image. He recently told US website Access Atlanta: “I got caught up in cars and this and that. Kept going in and out of jail. Three months here, six months there, two weeks here. So I guess when I was being interviewed, I would say, ‘Yeah, I did about three years’. I wasn't saying I did a three-year stretch, I was calculating the time from when I started to get in trouble to the time when I said, ‘Enough is enough.’” AKON CLEARS UP HIS PRISON PAST