Aretha Franklin to Get All-Star Grammy Salute

There is only one Queen of Soul, but it takes a chorus of artists to celebrate her.

"As a "valentine" to Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and Grammy Legend Award recipient Aretha Franklin, four-time Grammy winner Yolanda Adams, four-time Grammy winner and Latin Grammy winner Christina Aguilera, Grammy winner Jennifer Hudson, country superstar Martina McBride, and current nominee Florence Welch will join together on the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards in celebration of the 18-time Grammy winner and current nominee's music and ongoing legacy," the Recording Academy said in an announcement Wednesday.

The salute, to take place at the start of the program, will feature individual and collective renditions of some of Franklin's classics – though Franklin, 68, is not expected to attend Sunday night's event, presumably due to her recent, undisclosed health problems. According to her rep, she'll be at home in Detroit watching with her friends and family.

The tribute will be among several performances set to take place at the Grammys, by such artists as Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Jaden Smith, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and, in his live Grammy performance debut, Mick Jagger.

On Tuesday, the Academy also announced that best traditional pop vocal album nominee (for her Love Is the Answer) Barbra Streisand would also perform, introduced by her long-ago A Star Is Born costar, Kris Kristofferson.

The 53rd Annual Grammy Awards will take place Sunday, Februart 13th at Los Angeles's Staples Center and air live on CBS starting at 8:00 pm (ET).

Barbra Streisand Returning to Musical Movies With Gypsy Remake

Barbra Streisand is in negotiations to star in a remake of 1962 burlesque movie musical Gypsy.

The singer/actress has stayed away from starring roles since her turn in 1996's The Mirror Has Two Faces, only appearing on the big screen in a supporting role in 2004's Meet The Fockers and current release Little Fockers.

But she is eyeing a return to leading roles and is in talks with Warner Bros. bosses to play Rose Hovick, the pushy mother of real-life burlesque dancer Gypsy Rose Lee.

According to reports, Streisand has also met with the original stage show's lyricist Stephen Sondheim to discuss the role.

Rosalind Russell played the character in the movie, while Ethel Merman took on the original role on Broadway.

Barbra Streisand Tells Oprah Winfrey: 'I Wanted to Make The Way We Were Sequel'

Barbra Streisand will always regret not convincing Robert Redford to make a The Way We Were sequel - because she had a great story in mind for the follow-up film.

The two stars of the 37-year-old classic were interviewed together for the first time on Tuesday's Oprah Winfrey Show and Streisand revealed she always wanted to return as activist Katie in the tearjerker - but Redford refused to make a second story.

The actor explained, "I just felt certain things should be left alone."

But Streisand disagreed, stating, "There was a great story, a triangle... with our daughter, who would have become a political activist."

Redford then confessed he has never seen The Way We Were.

Jennifer Aniston's Amazing Transformation into Barbra Streisand

Jennifer Aniston is one funny lady – but in a new photo shoot she's channeling Funny Girl star Barbra Streisand.

Aniston, who is a Streisand superfan, didn't need much convincing to dress up like one of her idols for the September issue of Harper's Bazaar.

In fact, San Fernando Valley-born Aniston, 41, who stars in the Aug. 20 movie release The Switch, was already intimately acquainted with the Brooklyn-born Oscar-, Grammy-, Emmy- and Tony-winning superstar, 68.

"[Barbra] was wonderful, and you could talk to her about anything," Aniston tells the magazine about meeting Streisand at a Hollywood party on New Year's Eve a few years ago. "So, I happened to be talking to her and Jim [Streisand's husband, actor James Brolin] when it struck midnight. They said, 'Excuse us,' kissed each other, and then, very politely, kissed me.' "

During her photo shoot at a Los Angeles theater, Aniston listened to Streisand's 1964 signature song, "People," and donned outfits inspired by the singer-actress's wardrobe in two of her bigger movie hits, Funny Girl and What’s Up, Doc?

She also warmly recalled another bonding moment with the diva: "I had a long conversation with Barbra about directing because I directed a short a couple years ago, and if I don't do it again soon, I'm going to burst out of my skin," says Aniston.

Naturally, Aniston's transformation could not be complete without Babs's signature talons. "The nails were like, 'There she is!' " says the Friends fashion plate. The resulting photos? Let’s just say they’re like buttah.

Barbra Streisand’s “One Night Only” Performance at Village Vanguard is Now Available

There were very few people who were invited to watch Barbra Streisand perform an intimate concert at the Village Vanguard last September.

But, thankfully, the concert was being filmed and is now available on DVD and Blu-ray. There’s also a more deluxe version of One Night Only that includes a CD of the performance, however the audio disc is not available separately.

It’s the first and only club date of Miss Streisand’s to ever be recorded and it is noteworthy for its spare and subtle accompaniments.

Songs include: Happy Days Are Here Again; Here’s To Life; Cry Me A River\ Here’s To Life; In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning; Gentle Rain; Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most; If You Go Away (Ne Me Quitte Pas); Where Do You Start?; Nobody’s Heart (Belongs To Me); Make Someone Happy My Funny Valentine;Bewitched, Bothered And Bewildered; Evergreen (Love Theme From “A Star Is Born”); Evergreen (Love Theme From “A Star Is Born”)\ Happy Days Are Here Again; Some Other Time.

Barbra Streisand’s Jazz Concert to be on DVD

A full-length DVD of Barbra Streisand’s September concert at the Village Vanguard in Greenwich Village will be released May 4th, according to her official website.

The Sept. 26 Vanguard concert was performed for an intimate audience of invited guests and fans who gathered to hear her sing selections from her new album Love Is the Answer.

Backed by a small group of jazz musicians, Streisand performed such songs as Here’s To Life, In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning, Gentle Rain, Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most, If You Go Away, Where Do You Start, Make Someone Happy, My Funny Valentine, and Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered, among others.

The evening marked a return to Streisand’s roots. Befire she became a star on Broadway and film with Funny Girl, she performed in such Greenwich Village clubs as the Bon Soir, the Blue Angel and the Lion

Barbra Streisand Turns Down Vegas Deal

Clearly Barbra Streisand’s world isn’t driven by money. The superstar was offered a 3-year $100 million deal to headline in Las Vegas but she isn’t interested.

The deal would have been one of the biggest Vegas contracts in history. Celine Dion took Vegas by storm in 2003 and sold out her shows night after night until wrapping “A New Day” in December 2007. Since her departure from Vegas, nobody has been able to fill her shoes — not even Bette Midler, Elton John or Cher.

Streisand is planning to go on tour this summer. The hefty sum of $100 million is an insane amount of money but Barbra isn’t interested. That decision is definitely a huge loss for Sin City.

New "We Are The World" Has Been Recorded!

We are still the world if Quincy Jones and an all-star squad of contemporary music stars have anything to sing about it.

On Monday, Jones, Lionel Richie and Wyclef assembled what appears to be the entire VIP section from Sunday night's Grammy Awards to re-record the monster selling single, which made $63 Million in sales! Can "We Are The World – 25 For Haiti" bring home that kind of bacon in the Internet Age? In only due time, we will find out.

On Monday night, The Jonas Brothers, T-Pain, Miley Cyrus, Celine Dion, Kanye West, Brian Wilson and dozens of others showed up at Henson Recording Studios, the same studio where the original was recorded 25 years ago.

Last time, the cause was starvation in Africa, in particular the devastating Ethiopian famine of 1984-85. This time it's Haiti, where last month's earthquake killed nearly 200,000 and left as many as 1 million Haitians homeless.

The new line-up of stars performing this incredible hit included Justin Bieber, Lil Wayne, Harry Connick, Jr., Snoop Dogg, Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand (rumor has it she gets a solo), Josh Groban, Usher, and Jeff Bridges.

Along with Bridges, plenty of other A-listers "lend a helping hand" and their voices which will grace the music single and video, directed by Paul Haggis ('Crash,' 'In the Valley of Elah'). The video is set to air on NBC during the Friday, February 12th Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Nicole Richie tweeted her excitement. "I was 4 years old in a studio watching my dad record We Are The World, & today I get to do it again," she wrote Monday afternoon.

The elder Richie spent two weeks in 1985 at Michael Jackson's Encino estate penning the track with the King of Pop. Quincy Jones, who also has a famous daughter involved in the remake – Rashida Jones, produced the song along with Grammy-winning producer Michael Omartian.

As of 2009, 20 million copies of "We Are the World" have been sold, making it the best-selling single of all-time.

No Michael Jackson this time. No Kenny Loggins, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan or Paul Simon either. At least that's the word as of now.

Several stand-ins were present at Monday's shoot whose silhouettes will reportedly be replaced by famous counterparts in post-production.

Could it be that original supergroup members Bette Middler, Dan Akroyd and Cyndi Lauper got a 21st century encore? We think not.

We'll have to wait until February 12th to find out who else performed. Stay tuned!

For your enjoyment, here is the original "We Are The World" video:

Sorry, Mariah & Madonna: Babs Rules Supreme!

Despite a new record from Mariah Carey (and a greatest hits disc from Madonna), Barbra Streisand pulled ahead of the pack to score the No. 1 record this week, selling 180,415 copies of "Love Is the Answer."

It's her eighth No. 1 record — and makes Babs the only artist ever to have a No. 1 record for five consecutive decades.

Mariah, meanwhile, came in at No. 3; the band Paramore beat her for the No. 2 slot. And Madonna? Well, she squeaked on by at No. 7, with 72,159 copies.

Barbra Streisand Playing Club Show in New York

Barbra Streisand, who rarely performs concerts, will return to the tiny New York jazz club where she opened for Miles Davis 48 years ago.

She will play a free, one-off show at the 123-capacity Village Vanguard on September 26th, three days before the release of her new album "Love Is the Answer," a collection of jazz standards.

Tickets will be given away to fans who either purchase the CD in advance or fill out an entry form. Details about the concert and tickets are available at http://www.barbrastreisand.com/.

Streisand's last U.S. tour, in 2006, tour grossed more than $92 million, according to Billboard Boxscore, setting house gross records in 14 of the 16 arenas it played.

Barbra Streisand Hits Jazz on First CD in 4 yYars

Barbra Streisand has joined forces with Canadian jazz singer-pianist Diana Krall on her first studio album in four years, which is set for release on September 29, her record label said on Monday.

Columbia Records said the album "Love Is The Answer" is Streisand's first full-length collection of new studio recordings since 2005's "Guilty Pleasures" and her first album since "Live In Concert 2006."

Last year, Streisand was preoccupied with the U.S. election campaign but the singer-actress said this year she had managed to get back to the business of entertaining with a new president in the White House as she was able to relax again.

"'Love Is The Answer' presents the artist as a cabaret and jazz singer of emotional clarity, depth and maturity," Columbia Records, a unit of Sony Corp, said in a statement.

On the new album, Streisand works for the first time with Grammy-winning Krall and her quartet of guitar, bass, and drums as well as songwriter Johnny Mandel, whom she worked with on her 1993 "Back to Broadway" album.

Song titles for the album have yet to be announced.

Streisand, 67, has blazed an extraordinary trail through music, theater, film and television in the four decades since she became the toast of Broadway.

She is the winner of 10 Grammys, two Academy Awards -- Best Actress, "Funny Girl" and Best song, "Evergreen" -- and numerous Emmys. Last year she was inducted as a Kennedy Center honoree.

Celeb Celebrating Birthday Today!

Happy 67th Birthday to Barbra Streisand!

In honor of her special day, I share with you two of my favorite Barbra tunes.

"Somewhere"

and from Yentl "Papa Can You Hear Me"

CBS to Air Streisand: Live In Concert

Barbra Streisand will make a rare television appearance on April 25 when CBS airs Streisand: Live In Concert. You gotta know it’s gonna be terrific. The concert footage is from a show in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida during Streisand’s 2006 North American tour. Il Divo is the special guest.

The multiple Oscar, Grammy and Emmy-winning star will use the TV special to help promote the release of her new three-disc DVD set: Streisand: The Concerts hitting stores April 28.