There’s some very sad news out of Hollywood; troubled pop diva Whitney Houston has died!

The 48 year old singer was found partially submerged in a bathtub at a Beverly Hills hotel on Saturday afternoon, only hours before she was to attend a party. When emergency services arrived, her body was already “very cold”. CPR was performed, but she was declared dead at the scene.

Foul play is not suspected in her death. Although authorities cannot rule out that Whitney was dead before she went under the water, they believe she could have fallen asleep or became unconscious while in the bathtub and drowned.

Prescription drugs were found in the hotel room, but we’ll have to wait 6-8 weeks for toxicology results in order to determine an exact cause of death. Whitney had a prescription for Xanax, commonly used to treat anxiety and depression. Xanax mixed with alcohol can cause extreme sedation, which may have lead to her death.

A tribute was planned for tonight’s Grammy Awards.

A great voice has been silenced. What is your favourite memory of Whitney Houston?

My good friend DJ E.V. mixes all our favorite songs into a single track he simply entitled [Top 50 Songs of 2011 in 50min]. The track also gives you the opportunity to listen to original music from E.V. and his production team A-SLAM Music Productions.

E.V.’s been nominated for a Juno Award as a studio producer and is fast becoming a recognized name in the Canadian DJ scene with his pioneering Fusion style of mixing Hip-Hop, Top 40 and House with South Asian, Latin and Electronic influences.

He’s performed all over Canada and has shared the stage with artists such as Fat Joe to Jay Sean.

Check out their site and show ‘em some love.

The nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced this morning and there were a few surprises, including the highest number of first-time nominees ever!

I’m excited!

Leading the nomination count are Hugo with 11 nominations and The Artist with 10. Here’s how it looks in terms of number of nominations:

11 nominations:
Hugo (including Picture and Director Martin Scorsese)

10 nominations:
The Artist (including Picture, Director Michel Hazanavicius, Supporting Actress Bérénice Bejo)

6 nominations:
Moneyball (including Picture, Actor Brad Pitt, Supporting Actor Jonah Hill)
War Horse (Picture)

5 nominations:
The Descendants (Picture, Director Alexander Payne, Actor George Clooney)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Actress Rooney Mara)

4 nominations:
The Help (Picture, Actress Viola Davis, Supporting Actresses Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer)
Midnight in Paris (Picture, Director Woody Allen)

3 nominations:
Albert Nobbs (Actress Glenn Close, Supporting Actress Janet McTeer)
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (Actor Gary Oldman)
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Tree of Life (Picture, Director Terrence Malick)

2 nominations:
A Separation
Bridesmaids (Supporting Actress Melissa McCarthy)
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Picture, Actor Max von Sydow)
The Iron Lady (Actress Meryl Streep)
My Week with Marilyn (Actress Michelle Williams, Supporting Actor Kenneth Branagh)

Competing in separate categories (drama, comedy) at the Golden Globes, Streep and Williams are now pitted directly against each other!

It was interesting to see Gary Oldman and Max von Sydow in the Best Actor list, as they had been overlooked for other awards and nominations so far this year.

Other races to watch will be Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, especially with the multiple acting nods for The Help. I would like to have seen Shailene Woodley being nominated for her performance in The Descendants.

Good friends George Clooney and Brad Pitt are competing against each other in the Best Actor category and while their films (The Descendants, Moneyball) are vying in the Adapted Screenplay category. This could be a very good year for Clooney; he’s also up for an Adapted Screenplay writing award for The Ides of March!

Of course, I have to mention a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film for Canada’s Monsieur Lazhar!

The Oscars will be presented at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood on Sunday February 26th. Billy Crystal will serve as host for the ninth time! I know I’ll be tuned in!

Who do you think will win?

With the pre-Oscar awards season underway, the black and white silent film, The Artist, has taken an early lead.

At the Critics Choice Awards, presented on January 12th, The Artist led with 4 wins (Picture, Director, Costume Design, Score), followed by The Help with 3 wins (Actress, Supporting Actress, Ensemble), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2 with 2 wins (Makeup, Sound). One trophy also went to The Descendants (Actor George Clooney) and Beginners (Supporting Actor Christopher Plummer).

At the Golden Globe Awards, presented on January 15th, once again it was The Artist in the lead with 3 wins (Picture – Comedy or Musical, Actor – Comedy or Musical, Score), followed by The Descendants with 2 wins (Picture – Drama, Actor – Drama). Playing real-life celebrities netted lead acting awards for Meryl Street (The Iron Lady) and Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn) for their portrayals of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Hollywood screen siren Marilyn Monroe respectively.

If you are keeping score after these two award shows, here are the leaders along with the number of wins:

1. The Artist (7)
2. The Help (4)
3. The Descendants (3)
4. Beginners (2)
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallow — Part 2 (2)
6. Hugo (2)
7. Midnight in Paris (2)
8. Bridesmaids (1)
9. Moneyball (1)
10. War Horse (1)

Will The Artist continue its domination of Best Picture category?

Stay tuned for the Academy Award nominations on January 24th and the SAG Awards on January 29th.

Who else is excited?

It started with a snide red carpet comment at the Golden Globes, and it now appears that the feud is on between Sir Elton John and Madonna.

Prior to the ceremony, Sir Elton told Carson Daly that the Material Girl had “no f*cking chance of winning” in the Best Song category. When her song [Masterpiece] (from the film W.E.) actually beat out his song [Hello Hello] from Gnomeo & Juliet, the disappointment was clear to all. Following the ceremony, Elton’s husband David Furnish proclaimed his strong disapproval on Facebook, calling her win “undeserved”.

Four days later, Furnish took to Facebook to take back his comments, saying that his passion for Gnomeo & Juliet got the better of him.

Is the feud on or is this just a case of sour grapes?

At least her makeup was pretty!

The usually stylish Diana Agron was having an off night at the Golden Globes by wearing a dress that looked as though she sewed together red doilies from her grandma’s house! U-G-L-Y! The top looks as though the flames of hell are engulfing her .

It’s sad when bad fashion happens to good people!

Literally, it’s like she wrapped herself in a peacock! That’s not a bad thing!

Evan Rachel Wood wore a beautiful peacock gown on the Golden Globes red carpet on Sunday night. Scales, feathers and  such beautiful colors!

This is definitely one of my favorite gowns of the night!

Seriously, hell will freeze over before this woman has a misfire on the red carpet!

Sofia Vergara was stunning once again on the Golden Globes red carpet in a Vera Wang gown that showed up her bodacious Latin curves! She resembles a mermaid in my opinion, and looks absolutely gorgeous!