Hollywood gathered on a somber note last night (Sat Feb 11) at Clive Davis’ 2012 Pre-Grammy Gala, held at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, the same hotel where R&B legend Whitney Houston was found dead earlier in the day.

When the sad news broke, there were reports that the annual Clive Davis event would be canceled, but Davis — Houston’s longtime friend and mentor — said that the R&B/Pop icon “would have wanted the music to go on.”

“She loved music and she loved this night that celebrates music,” said Davis, adding that Houston’s family requested that the party continue.

Some of the many celebrities in attendance at the Pre-Grammy Gala and Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Richard Branson and Diana Ross included Diddy, Britney Spears, Mary J. Blige, Quincy Jones, Kelly Rowland, Dr. Dre, Alicia Keys, Swizz Beatz, Wiz Khalifa, Amber Rose, Jamie Foxx, Kim Kardashian, Gabrielle Union and more.

The star-studded event also featured performances from Alicia Keys, Ne-Yo, Pitbull, Marsha Ambrosius, Wiz Khalifa, Jessie J and others. Monica and Brandy were slated to perform their new single “It All Belongs to Me”, but we’re told they were unable to because they were too devastated about Whitney Houston’s passing.

Diana Ross, who was being honored at the event, told a red carpet reporter, “I won’t be able to enjoy it,” when she was asked how she felt about being the night’s guest of honor.

“By now you have all learned of the unspeakably tragic news of our beloved Whitney’s passing,” Clive Davis said at the start of the evening. “I don’t have to mask my emotion in front of a room full of so many dear friends. I am personally devastated by the loss of someone who has meant so much to me for so many years. Whitney was so full of life. She was so looking forward to tonight even though she wasn’t scheduled to perform.”

He continued, “Whitney was a beautiful person and a talent beyond compare. She graced this stage with her regal presence and gave so many memorable performances here over the years. Simply put, Whitney would have wanted the music to go on and her family asked that we carry on.”

Check out 40+ photos from the Clive Davis 2012 Pre-Grammy Gala below:

Multi-award winner Barbra Streisand was honored over the weekend (Fri. Feb 11) as the MusiCares Person of the Year in Los Angeles. Celebs who hit the stage at the L.A. Convention Center to pay tribute to the star included Stevie Wonder, Leona Lewis, Seal, Lea Michele, Faith Hill and more.

Other folks who attended the event were Prince, Will.i.am, Jordin Sparks, Fran Drescher, Quincy Jones, Randy Jackson and more.

Look below for 20+ pics!!

Grammy nominated singer Melanie Fiona took the stage and performed the famous Muppet song “The Rainbow Connection” Thursday night (Jan 28) at the Grammy Foundation’s 12th Annual Music Preservation Project “Cue The Music: A Celebration of Music and Television,” held at the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles. Melanie is nominated for “Best R&B Female Vocal Performance” for her single “It Kills Me.” Tune in to tonight’s Grammy Awards to see if she wins!

Other guests at the “Cue the Music” event were TV personality Shaun Robinson, musicians Colby Caillat & Jason Mraz, and music producer Jimmy Jam. More pics below…

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

Michael Jackson‘s brothers (L – R): Jermaine, Tito, Jackie and Marlon arrived together on the red carpet of the King of Pop‘s new film, “This Is It,” which premiered worldwide Wednesday (Oct 28) and made $2.2 million on its opening night in North America Tuesday (Oct 27). Here the remaining members of the iconic “Jackson 5” music group are pictured with the director and producer of the film (and the former tour) Kenny Ortega.

The big event drew in a lot of other famous faces, like Paula Abdul, Martin Lawrence, Vivica A. Fox, Will Smith, Tyrese and more. Continue reading for the rest of the pictures from the premiere!

The 51st annual Grammy Awards went down last night in Hollywood, despite all of the hoopla surrounding the whole Chris Brown and Rihanna situation, and dozens and dozens of the biggest names in celebrity entertainment showed up on the red carpet to pose for photos: Jay-Z, T.I., Keyshia Cole, Jennifer Hudson, T-Pain, Diddy, Robin Thicke and more! Continue reading for the rest of the photos.

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R&B singers Ne-Yo and Keri Hilson, along with Gospel singing group Mary Mary and musical producing legend Jimmy Jam all attended Grammy Career Day 2009 in Los Angeles, CA. In preparation for this weekend’s Grammy Awards, the event was held at the University of Southern California campus and also featured appearances from Jesse McCartney and and music producing duo Stargate. All of the celebrities made up one big panel who spoke to students at USC.

A cheering audience of music career aspirants greeted panelists for the day’s first event: a Super Panel comprised of current Grammy nominee Ne-Yo, McCartney, Hilson, EMI Music Publishing president/West Coast Creative Big Jon Platt and The Recording Academy chairman/producer Jimmy Jam. Moderated by Recording Academy West regional director Lizzy Moore, the hour-long session touched on various subjects from songwriting and production to publishing. On the subject of songwriting, McCartney advised fledgling songwriters that “when you try to fit a certain genre or mold, you fail. Write what you know. That’s your template.” Cautioning that “your spot in this business is not etched in stone,” Ne-Yo recommended that students finish school and follow the “3 P’s” in their career endeavors: passion, persistence and patience. “It doesn’t matter how much money you make if you can’t count it,” he emphasized. “It’s also difficult to write a song if you can’t read or write. Being prepared and following the 3 P’s will get you where you’re trying to go.”

Continue reading for the rest of the photos!

That session was followed by 11 concurrent workshops focusing on various fields: vocals, music direction, jazz, production, songwriting, artist management, engineering, publishing, music & visual media, rock and women in music. The industry professionals participating in these mini-seminars included Concord Records executive VP John Burk, Universal Music Publishing executive VP of creative affairs Tom Sturges, managers Tina Davis (Chris Brown) and Brian Avnet (Eric Benét), “American Idol” music director Rickey Minor, producer Harvey Mason Jr., Fox Music senior VP Mike Knobloch and Cuervo Entertainment president Javier Willis.

Treating an standing-room-only audience to an inside peek at the creative process, songwriter panelists Lamont Dozier (Motown’s Holland-Dozier-Holland), Sean Garrett and Hilson partially composed a song on the spot using student suggestions for subject matter and tempo. Rounding out the day was a student concert featuring the 2009 Grammy Jazz Ensembles (choir, combo and band). Lending its support of the event while promoting hearing health and conservation was the Starkey Hearing Foundation in partnership with the Grammy Foundation.

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PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE