Aretha Franklin Should Trademark the Word Queen

Aretha Franklin is a whole lotta woman, and I wouldn't want to have her pissed at me. Ever.

So Aretha comes out of one corner swinging those turkey wattles around and hopping mad about the Grammys because Beyonce introduced her duet partner as the queen. Well everyone in the world knows Aretha is the Queen of Soul, and darn it if Beyonce shouldn't have dissed her ass like that by referring to someone else in the known universe as a queen.

So out of the other corner comes Beyonce's daddy, Matthew, and he's got his fightin' shorts on and everything.

While Beyonce couldn't be reached for comment, her father could, and here's what Matthew Knowles had to say: "Beyonce referred to Tina Turner as a queen. Not queen of gospel, queen of soul, queen of blues, Queen of England. I consider my wife a queen and sometimes call her that. Does Aretha have a problem with that?"

I totally get the difference. Soul. Capitalization versus not. 500 pounds.

Oh God! I think Aretha's coming! Hide me quick!!!

Jay-Z Keeps on Dissin' Rihanna

Want more scoop on Jay-Z and Rihanna's shenanigan's after the Grammys? Read on!

Rihanna got into a fender-bender outside Universal's party, where another driver rammed her vehicle. The scrape didn't stop the Grammy winner from heading to Entertainment Weekly's party for Island/Def Jam chief L.A. Reid. As soon as she walked in, Rihanna made a beeline for Chris Brown, the boyfriend she's been trying to keep under wraps. "They were touching and whispering in each other's ears," says our spy. "Then Jay-Z and Beyoncé walked in. Jay was saying hello to everybody except them. Rihanna seemed upset. She walked over to his table and looked like she was reading him the riot act. A few minutes later, she and Chris left together in her car." Jay and Rihanna have both denied rumors of a past fling, and he and Beyoncé did invite Rihanna to an intimate dinner they threw Thursday.

For more on the Jay-Z/Beyonce/Rihanna drama, click here.

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Beyonce and Aretha: Same Stylist?

I'm just sayin'.

Beyonce Wears Granny Panties On-Stage

Those pesky wind machines reveal the darndest things when singers are on stage. First we found out J-Lo was pregnant, and now we see that Beyonce wears granny panties under those bootylicious spangly outfits! What's next?

Ne-Yo Catching Flack for Writing "Irreplaceable"

R & B'er Ne-Yo is the brains behind Beyonce's number one hit "Irreplaceable", and is getting a little bit of flack from his guy friends about it.

Knowles reveals Ne-Yo has been singled out for writing the catchy tune, which spent the first two months of 2007 at number one in America. She claims some men are upset because Irreplaceable is one of those songs that empower women and give them the strength to kick bad boyfriends out of their lives. She says, "I know he's getting a lot of talk from the guys, like, 'How could you write that? You're a man, you know?' All the men are in trouble now."

Ne-yo has lots of songwriting credits, including tunes for Rihanna, Paula DeAnda, Whitney Houston, Britney Spears, Julio Iglesias, and Celine Dion. He also has future plans for working with Michael Jackson, Jennifer Hudson, and Usher.

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Partygoer's Get More Than Good Food

Apparently a catering employee of world famous chef, Wolfgang Puck, forgot the first rule of restaurant workers: Employees must wash their hands before returning to work.

The employee has been diagnosed with acute Hepatitis A, and the health department has issued an "urgent warning" to all partygoers who have sampled Puck's wares at recent events. According to TMZ, that star studded list includes names like Beyonce, Leo di Caprio's girlfriend Bar Rafaeli, and dozens of Sports Illustrated swimsuit models.

The health department's warning has strongly urged anyone who attended the SI party, or any of the 13 other events catered by Puck between Feb. 1- 20, to get an immune globulin shot by tomorrow to prevent illness.

When contacted, a rep from Puck's catering company would not tell TMZ which other events Puck catered, nor would they reveal how many other people may have been exposed to the illness. They did say, however, that no one who attended Sunday's Governor's Ball at the Academy Awards is at risk.

Beyonce Strips Down for Sports Illustrated

It's not quite Vogue, but for most models it's just as prestigious. Beyonce Knowles is the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover model, as the mag combines it's famed swimsuit, and now, music issue. The models posed with famous musicians like Aerosmith's Steven Tyler, Kenny Chesney, Kanye West, Gnarls Barkley, Panic! At the Disco, and Jimmy Buffett.

Beyonce was the only non-professional model who participated, and then took home the cover spot. Hopefully this will take away any hurt feelings she may or may not have had over Jennifer Hudson snagging a Vogue cover.

Read the rest of the story here.

See the entire SI Swimsuit photo collection here.

Jennifer Hudson Does Vogue

Oh boy! If there wasn't a rivalry between 'Dreamgirls' Jennifer Hudson and Beyonce before, there is sure to be one now. Jennifer is set to appear on the cover of the March issue of Vogue magazine, as the first ever black singer. Hudson follows in the Vogue covergirl footsteps of Oprah, Iman, and Halle Berry.

Beyonce has denied rumors of friction between the two stars since Hudson was nominated for numerous awards for her 'Dreamgirls' role and Beyonce wasn't. Most recently an Oscar, which many think Jennifer will win. The Vogue cover will be just another of many feathers in the Idol loser's hat.

Jennifer was voted off 'American Idol' in the third season, though she was favored to win. Fantasia Barrino went on to eventually beat out the other contestants to win on that season.

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Ne-Yo on Britney's Songwriting Team

Source: Contact Music
Britney Spears' record label is banking alot on the poptart's comeback album, and they have now pulled out the big guns in the form of Ne-Yo to write songs.

The Grammy nominated Ne-Yo has written songs for Rihanna, is writing songs for Whitney Houston's comeback, and is responsible for penning Beyoncé's 'Irreplaceable', which has spent 9 weeks at number one in the US.

Ne-Yo has yet to meet Brit, but has been working closely with her A+R people, and has finished about 6 songs so far. He says the one rule the record label gave him was: No songs about Britney's ex, Kevin Federline.

He also said that he was hopeful for her comeback to be successful. "If I had to make a prediction, judging not just the stuff I've done, but the stuff I've heard she's done with other people, I think she's got a shot to come back. I really do."

Beyonce's Dancers Getting Pay Cut

Source: Page Six
Beyonce's people traveled the country auditioning dancers for her upcoming tour and videos. Thousands turned out to try out, and only a few got the gig. Little did they know they were working for the world's newest tightwad.

In the past Beyonce's dancers were paid anywhere from $1500 to $3000 per week, but not anymore. The new back-up dancers were informed that they would have to pay for their own flights between NY and LA for rehearsals, and they were only going to be paid a measly $400 per video. The insider also said that Beyoncé's dancers wouldn't put up a fight about it for fear they would lose their gigs. "They were told that they couldn't call their agents and that if they didn't agree, they would not be hired," according to our source.

Ouch!

Beyonce's Dad Screams Racism

From I Don't Like You In That Way

After his daughter, Beyonce, walked away from the Golden Globes without an award, Matthew Knowles expressed his disgust with a somewhat familiar sounding rant.

Knowles told reporters back stage at the Beverly Hills Hilton right after the Golden Globes show ended that his daughter was outcasted and overlooked by a bureaucratic good old boy system that is still alive in 2007 as it was in 1967. "Today is MLK's birthday and it saddens me to say that things have not changed for blacks. Working class blacks and blacks in Hollywood are still being discriminated against. We still have a long way to go," he said."

It would suck spending half your life shoving your favorite daughter down everyone's throat only to find out they don't like her as much as you do. Blaming white America for it is pretty much the only way to go in this situation. Well, it's either that or punching your daughter in the nose for not being good enough. Clearly, that's Papa Joe Simpson's modus operandi and look how well it's worked for him.

Note: Forest Whitaker, Eddie Murphy, Jennifer Hudson, Prince and the Dreamgirls movie won Golden Globes this year.