Tributes to music legends – dead or living, homage to Black entertainment icons who have passed away throughout the past year, and comeback performances both from classic and more contemporary artists were witnessed by hundreds of attendees at the BET Awards last night, June 27, held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. Academy Award nominee Queen Latifah hosted the event, lashing out her own brand of stand-up comedy to celebrity show-ups and award winners like Drake, where she sampled a line from one of the rapper’s tracks. But the night would be mostly remembered for Chris Brown’s self-redeeming tribute to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson, who passed away a little over a year from today.

This might come as a surprise to all her fans, but Alicia Keys is pregnant to hip-hop and R&B producer and her fiancée Swiss Beatz, or Kasseem Dean in real life. The news came out after the couple attended the Black Ball Charity event in London on Thursday night where the singer’s baby bump showed through her gown. The said event was a fund raiser for the Keep a Child Alive organization, of which the 29-year old Keys is an active benefactor.

On Tuesday, the musical “Fela!,” produced by Alicia Keys, Jay-Z, Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith, received 11 Tony Awards nominations. “La Cage aux Folles” also received 11 nominations to tie with “Fela!” for the most nominations this year. “Fela!,” in addition to its Best Musical nomination, also received Best Book of Musical nomination for Bill T. Jones and Jim Lewis. Sahr Ngaujah received a Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical nomination.

Do you have the writing chops for composing blog posts for Alicia Keys, Grammy Award winning artist? If so you might be able to get a job via job search website Monster.com, who handles most of their operations in Maynard. Keys and Monster have forged a partnership to organize a hunt nationwide for a blogger to head up IASS.com, Keys’ new website. IASS stands for “I Am A Super Woman.”

On Wednesday night, Alicia Keys and her Freedom Tour made a stop at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the singer’s hometown. The night was one of surprise guests, positive messages and soaring vocals. Joining Keys onstage were Swizz Beatz, Beyonce and Jay-Z. The singer performed a long list of songs, covering the past up to the present. Keys even put her dancing skills on display.

George Clooney announced that many stars, including Alicia Keys, Justin Timberlake and Bono will be performing in the TV fund raising event, Hope For Haiti. The actor said over 40 celebrities are expected to be in attendance on January 22 at Hope For Haiti.

Alicia Keys had added on some additional shows in major markets to her upcoming US area tour backing “The Element of Freedom,” her fourth studio album that was just released. The run of North America starts in Montreal on February 28 and then winds its way over the East Coast and then heads west. Thirteen concerts at last check have been added to Keys’ itinerary. The outing currently extends into April. Tickets for select dates are on sale. Additional show on-sale information will be available soon.

Alicia Keys has started lining up dates for her spring arena tour that will back “The Element of Freedom,” her newly released studio set. The tour is outlined on concert promoters Live Nation and AEG websites. It will kick off in Montreal, Canada on February 28 with nine additional March as well as early April dates to follow. On April 6 Keys will appear in Los Angeles.

Alicia Keys is one of the most recent performers that has been added to the Latin Grammy Awards 10th Annual telecast lineup. Reik, a current nominee, and Daniela Mercury, past Latin Grammy winner, are also among those recently added for the annual awards show. The show will held on November 5 in Las Vegas at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Several collaborative numbers will be featured including an Alejandro Sanz and Alicia Keys special duet.