Nicki Minaj

LOS ANGELES - Adele won six Grammys, including song of the year, record of the year and album of the year, and Foo Fighters captured five at a Grammy ceremony that had the difficult task of celebrating music's best while mourning the loss of one of their greatest. Whitney Houston's death on the eve of the awards forced a delicate balance between the exuberance of the show's winners and performances with the loss. Adele, who owned the year's best-selling album with "21," was triumphant in her first performance since vocal-cord surgery forced the cancellation of a tour and months of vocal rest.

WE MAY never know if Whitney Houston died by accident or intent - drowning in a bathtub Saturday afternoon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. While there's much speculation that she was under the influence of anti-depressants and alcohol, the coroner's official report won't be out for weeks. What we do know is that Whitney Houston couldn't possibly have picked a more opportune moment to make goodbyes and deliver a brutal statement about the dark side of the music biz - how the stresses of the game can drive a person to bad habits and spiraling self-destruction.

EIGHT YEARS after Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction, some unexpected controversy returned to the Super Bowl halftime show. M.I.A., appearing with Madonna and Nicki Minaj to perform "Give Me All Your Luvin'," flipped the middle finger to a camera before a cutaway. The song contains an inappropriate word, which she did not appear to say, although it was difficult to hear her clearly. NBC went to a blurred wide view of the stage in an effort to cut out the shot, but it was too late as M.I.A.'s middle-finger gesture could be seen.

Eight years after Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction, some unexpected controversy returned to the Super Bowl halftime show. M.I.A., appearing on stage with Madonna and Nicki Minaj to perform "Give Me All Your Luvin'," flipped the middle finger to a camera before a cutaway. The song contains an inappropriate word, which she did not say, using the middle finger in place of the word. NBC went to a wide view of the stage, but it was too late as M.I.A.'s middle finger gesture could be seen.

Putting together a Top Ten list of the best albums of 2011 isn't the toughest job in the world, but when there are virtually no barriers to making music and distributing it on the Internet, it can be a challenging one. Sometimes the difficulty is wading through the muck - with a laptop, anyone can make a record, and sometimes it seems as though everyone did. But once you focus on the good stuff, you remember that there was a lot of it, dating...

BROOKE MUELLER , who was a popular Tattle personality during her divorce from Charlie Sheen during his meltdown, has been arrested in Aspen on suspicion of third-degree assault and cocaine possession with intent to distribute. Brooke was arrested early Saturday at a nightclub after a woman reported being assaulted by her. She posted $11,000 bond, was released and is scheduled in court Dec. 19.   Islamabad, bad girl Pakistani actress Veena Malik is in hot water again back home after posing nude for an Indian magazine with the initials of Pakistan's feared and powerful intelligence agency on her arm. Veena's photo on the website of FHM India is expected to cause a backlash in Pakistan, as nationalists and Islamists are consistently against anything they deem an insult to Islam or national honor.

NORTH PHILLY-raised comedian/actor Kevin Hart on Saturday hosts Power 99 DJ Diamond Kuts' birthday party at Shampoo (8th & Willow). Kuts, raised in West Oak Lane and regularly seen on BET's "106 & Park," is also involved in MTV's Dove Fresh Spin video series. She recently came off a tour with Nicki Minaj, and has released a mix tape, "Herstory in the Making. " The party starts at 10 and costs $30 at the door. Kuts, a/k/a Tina Dunham , is the daughter of the late Philly rap artist Grand Tone . She gets a break from spinning her own party.

Pop Betty Wright: The Movie (Ms. B / S-Curve ***) In 2008, Roots drummer Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson got into the old-soul music reclamation business with a reverential production of Memphis master Al Green on Lay It Down . On Betty Wright: The Movie , ?uestlove again gets together with a deserving star of a previous generation who specialized in making baby-making music. In this case, it's 57-year-old Wright, best known for her '70s singles "Clean Up Woman" and "Tonight's the Night" (which gets a sequel in "Tonight Again.

Beyonce Knowles stole the show before it even started. The soon-to-be-30 superstar arrived at Sunday night's MTV Video Music Awards holding her bulging belly while dressed in a loose-fitting, flowing red gown. MTV tweeted the news, and photos confirming her motherly status soon circulated. Suddenly Lady Gaga's much-hyped opening number, during which she performed as a greasy, leather-jacketed male alter ego, became less important. Britney Spears was the night's first award winner; others included Nicki Minaj and Katy Perry , who won a trophy with Kanye West for her video "E.T.