The 9th Annual Ford Hoodie Awards went down over the weekend (Sat. Aug 13) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

Hosted by Steve Harvey, the 2011 Hoodie Awards featured appearances from R&B singer Letoya Luckett, actor/BET personality Terrence J, actor/comedian Kevin Hart, gospel singers Tye Tribbett, Marvin Sapp, & Kirk Franklin, actresses Tisha Campbell-Martin & Tichina Arnold, and many more. The show also featured performances by soul singers Jill Scott, Anthony Hamilton and Kem.

As hinted by its name, the Hoodie Awards — conceived and developed by Steve Harvey — celebrates the best of the “hood,” ordinary people doing extraordinary things. So instead of celebrities taking home trophies, its every day people that get their time to shine in the spotlight.

Check out 20+ pics from the 2011 Hoodie Awards (as well as the full list of winners) below!

2011 FORD HOODIE AWARDS WINNERS LIST:

Best Fried Chicken – Carey’s Cuisine (Washington, DC)

Best Nail Salon – Salon Couture (Washington, DC)

Best High School Teacher – Glendora Franklin (Washington, DC)

Best Car Wash/Detail Showroom – Shine (St. Louis, MO)

Best Church Choir – Family Worship and Praise Center(Tallahassee, FL)

Best Soul Food Place – Croaker’s Spot, The Soul of Seafood (Richmond, VA)

Best Barbershop – Moon’s Barbershop (Washington, DC)

Best Beauty Salon – Salon Couture (Washington, DC)

Best High School – Cass Technical School (Detroit, MI)

Best Barbecue – This is It BBQ & Seafood (Atlanta, GA)

Best Church – First Baptist Church of Glenarden (Washington, DC)

Best Community Leader – Tony Lewis Jr. (Washington, DC)

Congratulations to all of the winners!

Rapper turned actor Xzibit sees nothing funny about planking, the latest trend that seems to have swept Hollywood in the last few weeks. He wrote on Twitter:

Planking is THE dumbest sh-t ever. #Planking was a way to transport slaves on ships during the slave trade, it’s not funny. Educate. Don’t get it twisted. I care less where your dumb asses lay face down and take pictures of the shit, I’m just telling you where it came from.

Among many others, pictures of Rosario Dawson, Ellen Page, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry and more “Planking” have hit the net in the past few weeks. Check out a ton of pics of celebrities planking below:

Diggy & Justin Bieber

Chris Brown

Dwight Howard

Usher’s sons Naviyd and Cinco

Diddy’s sons Quincy & Christian

Game

Rosario Dawson

Wiz Khalifa

Rocsi & Terrence J

Kristen Bell

Mary J. Blige hosted her 2nd Annual Mary J. Blige Honors Concert to benefit her FFAWN (Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now) last night (Sun. May 1) at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City.

Singers Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson and Jill Scott were among the many celebrities who, in addition to actresses Evan Rachel Wood and Kerry Washington, came out to support Mary J. and her cause.

Check out 10+ pics below:

The stars came out for the Belvedere Vodka Launch Party for the new (RED) Special Edition Bottle Thursday night (Feb 10) in Hollywood. Belvedere Vodka recently partnered with (Product) Red to raise money to help eliminate AIDS in Africa. Belvedere (RED) will give 50% of its profits to the Global Fund charity.

Some of the celebs who walked the red carpet outside the event, held at Hollywood nightclub Avalon, were Usher (who later performed), Jordin Sparks, Mya, Jay Sean, Laz Alonso, Letoya Luckett, Cheryl Burke, Adrienne Bailon, Paris Hilton and many more.

Check out 15+ pics below!!

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R&B singer Pleasure P knows exactly what “She Likes” in his newest music release featuring R&B singer Letoya Luckett.

The track is the first single off Pleasure’s upcoming sophomore album Pleasure Principles, due in stores next spring. Check out “She Likes” above and continue reading for the download link…

D/L: PLEASURE P & LETOYA LUCKETT – SHE LIKES

Here are some more photos from this year’s BET Awards, which were held in Los Angeles this past Sunday (Jun 27) . Check out 20+ pictures below of celebs like Trina, Gucci Mane, Toccara Jones, Swizz Beatz, Alicia Keys, Soulja Boy, Gabourey Sidibe, Ciara, T.I. and many more arriving on the red carpet before making their way into the Shrine Auditorium to check out the show…

MORE PICS @ FREDDYO.COM

International singer Usher was spotted over in Paris, France Tuesday afternoon (Jun 1) at the Hyatt Vendome hotel promoting his new album Raymond v. Raymond, which has so far peaked at 51 on the French Albums Chart. Over here in the U.S., Raymond v. Raymond, the sixth album from the R&B singer, sold over 329,000 copies in its first week and peaked at #1 on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart. His international hit “OMG” (featuring Black Eyed Peas front man Will.i.am) is being well received both here in the States and all over the world. So does this mean Usher’s back? Sure does sound like it!

Singer Ciara attended the closing of Marina Abramovic’s “The Artist is Present” event, hosted by Givenchy at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.

Actress Zoe Saldana posed backstage at the 2010 Crystal + Lucy Awards: A New Era at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza in Century City, California.

Gucci Mane recorded an episode of BET’s 106 & Park in New York. His new music video premiered this week.

Destiny’s Child alum Letoya Luckett was seen on the red carpet of the premiere of her new movie “Killers” in Hollywood. She has a supporting role in the new film. Meanwhile, her other movie, “The Preacher’s Kid,” recently went to DVD.

Actor Ashton Kutcher and his wife, actress Demi Moore, were also spotted on the red carpet of the “Killers” movie premiere in Hollywood.

Over in Beverly Hills, legendary singer Natalie Cole and R&B/Neo-Soul artist Ledisi attended the Society of Singers annual tribute gala.

Actor/rapper Common posed on the red carpet of LA Times Magazine’s “Rock & Style: A Night of Music & Fashion” event in Hollywood.

Rapper The Game hosted a breakfast at The Pink Teacup in NYC.

UK singer Taio Cruz (who achieved success in the US with his hit single “Break Your Heart”) took this picture with Def Jam CEO L.A. Reid and rapper Ludacris at the party celebrating the U.S. release of his new album hosted by Z100 and MySpace Music at the Canal Room in New York.

Two of the Kardashian girls (Kourtney and Kim) attended the 94th Indianapolis 500 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon (May 30) in Indiana.

And Model Jessica White and Russell Simmons were on hand for the 2010 Angel Wings Foundation Dinner at Georgica Sunday evening in Wainscott, New York.

Singer Chris Brown and his golden shoes were spotted leaving the Marina Abramovic event in New York City last night (Tues. Jun 1).

Super model Naomi Campbell was seen as she stepped out of the Ritz Hotel in Paris, France earlier today.

Fashion mogul Kimora Lee and and her three children, Ming Lee (10), Aoki Lee (7) and Kenzo Lee (1) were spotted on their way out of LAX airport in Los Angeles.

Fresh from her Memorial Day Weekend vacation in Miami, Actress Halle Berry carried around her sleeping daughter Nahla on her shoulder as she arrived at a get-together at a friend’s house in West Hollywood Monday (May 31).

R&B singer/songwriter John Legend and his girlfriend Christine Teigen spent their Memorial Day weekend together on vacation in St. Barth in the French West Indies. Here the couple can be seen hitting the beach Sunday afternoon (May 30).

Pop singer Christina Aguilera and her son Max Bratman were seen on their way to meet Grandpa Bratman (Christina’s father-in-law) for lunch in Brentwood, California Saturday (May 29).

Singer Ciara was spotted wearing a bright red heavy sweatshirt and a beenie cap in the dead of the heat. She HAD to be hot under all those clothes!

And R&B singer LeToya Luckett was spotted outside CW studios in New York City last Wednesday (May 26).

R&B singers Kelly Rowland and Letoya Luckett had an impromptu Destiny’s Child reunion as they smiled for the cameras on the red carpet of the E! 20th Anniversary Party at the London West Hollywood Hotel in Los Angeles. It’s good to see that the ladies have put their differences behind them and are moving forward!

Other famous faces who attended the event were Tyrese, all 3 of the Kardashian girls (and their mom Kris Jennifer), Romeo (who brought along his new girlfriend), Master P, Ne-Yo, and Mel B and her husband Stephen Belafonte.

Check out 15+ pictures of everyone mentioned, along with a shot of Kelly Rowland performing at the event celebrating two decades of Pop Culture, below…

R&B singer Letoya Luckett hosted MBK Entertainment’s “We Got The Next Showcase Part II” Tuesday night (Mar 9) at New York City’s Highline Ballroom. Fashion designer AJ Crimon was also spotted at the event and snapped a few pics with Letoya.

In related news, Letoya’s ex boyfriend Slim Thug recently spoke on why he and the former Destiny’s Child member broke up. In a message to his followers on Twitter via a “formspring.me” questionnaire, Slim said he “cheated and had a baby with another chick” and “it all went down from there.”

Well damn…

It looks as though the 3rd Annual Essence Magazine Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon was the place to be! Held Thursday night (Mar 4) at the Beverly Hills Hotel in California, the annual event honored a room full of women, including Cicely Tyson, Gabourey Sidibe, Zoe Saldana, Queen Latifah, Mary J. Blige and more for their achievements in Hollywood and in the entertainment industry.

Other celebs in the building were Common, Jada Pinkett-Smith, Taraji P. Henson, Keke Palmer, Keri Hilson, Serena Williams, Vivica A. Fox and tons more. Check out 30+ pictures from the 3rd Annual Essence Black Women in Hollywood Luncheon below and when you continue reading…

Singer Letoya Luckett and model/actor Keston Carter were spotted hugged up on the set of the music video for Letoya’s latest single “Good to Me.” Keston is Latoya’s leading guy in the video, which according to Letoya Online, will premiere this week. More pics of Letoya and Keston on the set of the video below…

SPOTTED @ NECOLE BITCHIE

Singer turned actress Letoya Luckett walked the red carpet at the premiere of her new movie “Preacher’s Kid” Tuesday night (Jan 26) in Los Angeles. Other folks on the red carpet at the new movie’s premiere were Porscha Coleman, Rebecca Crews, Tasha Smith and R&B singer/actor Tank, who also has a role in the new film.

“Preacher’s Kid” hits select theaters nationwide tomorrow (Fr. Jan 29).

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES

The 2009 Soul Train Awards, hosted by Taraji P. Henson and Terrence Howard, were held earlier this month (Tues. Nov 3) at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta and were aired last night (Sun. Nov 3) on BET. We posted the arrival photos shortly after the show was recorded at the beginning of the month and here are the pictures from inside the show!

Folks like Robin Thicke, Ludacris, Keri Hilson, Fantasia and more performed. Trey Songz and Toni Braxton opened up the show with Braxton’s new single “So Yesterday” and ended their performance with a big ol’ passionate smooch on the lips! Toni says it was all planned and her husband knew about it well in advance so any speculation about that causing the separation between she and her husband is reportedly false.

Anyway, continue reading for the rest of the photos!

Capitol Records recording artist Letoya Luckett dropped her new music video for her “Regret” song, which features rapper Ludacris, yesterday. Her sophomore album Lady Love, released in August of this year, is in stores now.

Continue reading to peep the new Parris directed music video.

Some of the big names in urban entertainment hit up the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta Tuesday evening (Nov 3) to attend the 2009 Soul Train Awards.

Here are some pictures of celebrities like Robin Thicke, Monica, Keri Hilson, Musiq Soulchild, Angie Stone, Estelle, the ladies from the Real Housewives of Atlanta and more walking the red carpet before making their way into the building for the show.

Continue reading for more!

PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE / GETTY IMAGES / FREDDYO

LisaRaye did her best MJ impersonation on the red carpet of Norwood Young’s birthday party/Michael Jackson tribute at Yong’s Hancock Park home Saturday (Aug 29) in Los Angeles. Mario and Sean Garrett performed at the 2009 J&R Music Fest Friday (Aug 28) at City Hall Park in New York City. And Ice-T and his wife Coco hosted a party at Club Dream in Miami Saturday (Aug 29).

We also have recent pictures of Kourtney, Kim and Robert Kardashian, Letoya Luckett, Ashanti and more! Continue reading to check them all out and click each picture for more information.

Singer and former Destiny’s Child member Letoya Luckett hosted a party celebrating the release of her sophomore album, Lady Love, Thursday night (Aug 27) at Cain in New York City. She can be seen above posing for a picture with R&B crooner Tank. Others who attended the small get-together of D-Zlisters include Olivia (of G-Unit fame) and some VH1 reality show stars. Continue reading for all of the pics…

Ex-Destiny’s Child member LeToya Luckett returns with her sophomore album Lady Love after the success of her No. 1 self-titled debut. Lady Love doesn’t submit itself to today’s dance pop craze and LeToya stays true to her R&B roots. Everyone loves good old school R&B but is this good enough to keep the Houston-born singer relevant? Keep reading to find out!

Lady Love: When the song starts, it sounds like it should be a short interlude to the album but then the track progresses. The track is definitely nothing special and I don’t think it should have been the opening of the album. Should be a filler track. (2.5/5)

She Ain’t Got…: Swing batta batta batta… LeToya’s second single and the most pop song on the album. The electric guitars, synth, and drums add to the very catchy song. We’ve all heard the story before: man cheats on a woman and the woman goes off stating that she’s much better than the new woman. The only difference here is that it’s incorporated into a hard club song. (3.5/5)

Not Anymore: I wasn’t too keen on this song when it was first released because I didn’t think the video fit. After listening to it again, I’m actually feeling it. The lyrics and vocals are on point in the mid-tempo track. Nevertheless, there are two cons to the song: the random “this is dedicated to…” that repeats towards the end of the track is distracting and kind of takes you out of the mood of the song. Also, I feel the track would be better if it was simply piano and drums instead of the synth that’s added in the chorus. (3.5/5)

Lazy: Definitely one of the best tracks on the album. LeToya claims that her heart has gotten lazy and that she doesn’t feel like loving anymore. The beat is infectious and you’ll bop your head through the song. I can see this doing well if released as a single. (4/5)

Good To Me: I can’t decide how I feel about this track. It isn’t anything worth calling home about but I can’t deny that the beat is very catchy. Though it isn’t a club song, I can see this playing during the “slow jams” set at a club while teens grind out to it. And very surprisingly, LeToya belts out a line towards the end and it doesn’t sound half bad. (3.2/5)

Over: Ms. Luckett warns her man that it would be “over” if he ever cheated on her in this mid-tempo ballad. The production is nice and she sounds good. Is it single worthy? Don’t really think so. (3.5/5)

Regret: This is the track that lost over “She Ain’t Got…” for Toya’s second single and it features Ludacris. She later confirmed that this would eventually be released as a single. The production sounds extremely familiar and if you’re a fan of Kelly Rowland’s sophomore album, you’ll notice that the track has been recycled from her song “Ghetto” with Snoop Dogg. It’s a decent track but clearly an album filler and definitely not single worthy. (2.8/5)

I Need A U: The track is a very old-school sounding, love making slow jam. LeToya tries out the old trend of doing a song with light breathy vocals. It’s not bad but it doesn’t really fit her. She isn’t the greatest singer and singing that light doesn’t help showcase her voice. Thankfully, she goes back and forth between the breathy vocals and her normal ones. (3.5/5)

Take Away Love: Another album filler that features British singer Estelle. The beat is nice and smooth but the track is nothing special. I actually got sick of the track 75% of the way through and moved on. (2.5/5)

After Party: Not a complete party jam but this track does have an upbeat tempo that you can dance to. There isn’t much substance to the song and it only works as a feel good song. (2.8/5)

Drained: After a slew of decent tracks, I’m really glad this track came along. It’s not GREAT but it’s definitely better than the last few. The track is R&B but could possibly be considered a little Pop. The beat is nice and smooth and her vocals sound nice in it. (3.5/5)

Tears: Another slow jam where LeToya talks about how her man makes her feel. It’s a sweet song and I can see how some will receive it well. It’s one of those songs that you either like or you don’t. (3/5)

Matter: Clearly another album filler. It has almost the same message as “She Ain’t Got…” but it’s much more slow and boring. (2.5/5)

Love Rollercoaster: For some reason, this sounds more like a Mims track instead of LeToya’s, even though Mims is just a feature. He raps on the first and second verse while Toya just has the hook and third verse. Once again, another filler track and not really feeling it. (2.5/5)

Don’t Need You: Just like the whole album, she’s singing about a relationship…again! The piano in this is beautiful and overall, it’s a nice track. Her vocals are solid but if you’ve heard the other tracks, you’ve heard this one. (3.3/5)

Swagger: This is the album’s bonus track and I thank God that it’s just a bonus track and not on the main album. The track is nothing special and I don’t think it suits her. I can’t see her doing a video or even a performance to this type of song. (2.5/5)

Overall, I was really disappointed with this album. I am glad LeToya didn’t choose to go take the route everyone seems to be taking and change up her sound. She stuck to straight R&B and I appreciate that. But, she did not come hard enough with this album. Track by track, she carried on about a cheating man, loving her man, or NOT loving her man. The subject matter stayed the same and the production didn’t vary too much either.

Vocally, she sounds good but as we all know, she does not have the best voice in the game, which is why I thought the album would be much better than it was. Except for one or two tracks, I cannot see any other song being a single or being deemed as “hot.” With that said, the stand out tracks are: “She Ain’t Got…,” “Not Anymore,” “Lazy,” and “Good To Me.” Good effort but mediocre album at best.

Overall, when my tallys are calculated, the album gets a 3/5. Lady Love is in stores now!

By: Kenni Nwajagu
Contributing Editor for Gossip On This

Follow me on Twitter for album updates and more. And keep reading GOT for more album reviews. Feel free to e-mail me at kenni@gossiponthis.com (or contact me via Twitter) if there are any reviews you’d like me to do.

LeToya Luckett‘s big screen debut will come October 30th with the movie “Preacher’s Kid.” The flick, starring Letoya Luckett, Essence Atkins and Tank portrays an unworldy young woman named Angie (played by LeToya) who takes off with a charming actor in a touring gospel play, despite her father warning her not to. Follow the break for the official trailer.

Will you be paying to see the movie? Kind of looks like one of those Lifetime movies to us…

Leading up to the BET Awards, rumors circulated stating that Mathew Knowles and his camp were threatening BET with an ultimatum: if Letoya Luckett performed on the BET stage, his daughter Beyonce would not. Well last Sunday at the awards, Letoya performed but only at the pre-show. Now, according to the New York Daily News, a spokesperson for Beyonce is denying the rumors.

Letoya herself has also spoken up on the topic, stating that there is no drama between the two and they both have apparently let bygones be bygones.

“We did get a chance to see each other backstage and it was really cool. I hadn’t seen her in a while. She went out of her way to get around security to basically say, ‘Hey girl.’ It was cool.”

She also spoke on possibly reuniting with her old friend in the studio.

“I would love to do a song with B. She’s just an amazing person and we already know how talented she is.”

We never thought Beyonce was in on all the drama surrounding Letoya and Matthew. We don’t put it past Mr. Knowles though seeing as he’s been trying to get back at Letoya for suing him years ago. But Beyonce has a tour and a clothing line to worry about. We’re sure this was the last thing on her mind.

Letoya Luckett‘s label recently released the official cover for the R&B singer’s upcoming album, Lady Love.

She looks very pretty on the cover but it’s a bit too simple. If the background was all white instead of  the gray being dominant it might have made her pop a bit more. Not to mention it does look like one of the Sasha Fierce promo pictures.

Anyway, be on the look out for Letoya’s new album, which is set to drop August 25th.

Via: Coverlandia

R&B singer Letoya Luckett recently debuted her new video for her second single “She Ain’t Got” off her sophmore album, Lady Love, which is set to be released via Capitol Music Group on August 25th. Continue reading to peep the new video.

The video is “okay.” It’s very clear that she was on the recession budget but she definitely made the most out of it. She looked very pretty and the dancing was on point. But we’re kind of confused. If she’s supposed to be showing her man that the other girl doesn’t have sh*t on her, why is she leaving her man instead of showing him ways that she’s better? Give us your thoughts on the new video…

Here’s a shot of Kanye West and his girlfriend Amber Rose on the red carpet of the 2009 BET Awards, which went down Sunday (Jun 28) in Los Angeles at the Shrine Auditorium. The show itself pretty much sucked. And that’s us being nice. But for the most part, everyone looked good on the red carpet. Continue reading for 80+ pics of celebrities like Beyonce, Ne-Yo, Tyrese, Soulja Boy, Ciara, Mario and tons more!

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES / WIRE IMAGE / FILM MAGIC

Ne-Yo and his girlfriend Tenille Jiminez stopped for a quick pic in the audience as they watched the 2009 BET Awards go down at the Shrine Auditorium Sunday (Jun 28) in Los Angeles. Continue reading for lots of pics of celebrities like Beyonce, Kanye West, Soulja Boy, Keri Hilson, Monica, Keyshia Cole, Lil Wayne and much more chilling in the audience and backstage at the show.

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES / WIRE IMAGE / FILM MAGIC

Singer Letoya Luckett, rapper Eve and singer Latavia Roberson attended the reception for day 2 of the Minority Mentorship Symposium at a private residence in Austin, Texas Saturday evening. Continue reading for the gallery of pics from the event.

PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE

Singer Letoya Luckett celebrated her 27th birthday last night in Houston, TX with a party at Bambou. Other celebs who rolled through the shindig include Estelle, Mims and Kid CuDi. Continue reading for the rest of the pics.

PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE

Here’s the official music video for “Not Anymore” by R&B singer Letoya Luckett. This comes straight from the former Destiny Child member’s new album, Lady Love, which will be available online and in stores sometime in May 2009. Peep the new music video above!

The Dream and his record label, Def Jam records, hosted an exclusive album release party to promote the release of his sophomore album Love vs. Money at Cameo Friday night in Miami Beach, FL. The album drops Tuesday, March 10, 2009.

Singer Jesse McCartney and actress Keke Palmer both attended the 10th annual T.J. Martell Foundation Family Day at Roseland Ballroom last night in New York. Keke Palmer hosted the annual event, which helps find funding for the research to find cures for Leukemia, Cander and AIDS.

Teyana Taylor and Styles P. posted for a couple of photos backstage at the Jadakiss concert at Apollo Saturday night in New York.

Former Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome Bettis celebrated his 37th birthday at Pure Nightclub in Vegas last night with a party hosted by Jose Cuervo Platino.

Singer Letoya Lucket and rapper Fat Joe spoke at the 92Q Music & Entertainment Seminar in Baltimore, MD.

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES / WIRE IMAGE / WENN

Celebrity entrepreneur Russell Simmons and rapper T.I. posed for photos on the red carpet at Simmons’ “Salute to Grammy Award Nominees” celebration on February 8, 2009. The event was held at a private mansion in Beverly Hills and had a guest list that included Keyshia Cole, Anthony Hamilton, Taraji P. Henson and more. Continue reading for the rest of the photos!

PHOTOS: WIRE IMAGE

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.

CONTINUE READING TO PAGE 2 FOR MORE!