(Photo: Felipe Ramales, PacificCoastNews.com)

She may be ready for motherhood, but Queen Latifah is going to enjoy the single life while she can.

The raptress-model-mogul celebrated her diaper-free life in New York City this week by hittin’ the club. After stopping by Letterman to promote her flick Ice Age 4: Continental Drift, Latifah met up with some of her fellow celebs, including Law & Order star Jeremy Sisto, at hotspot Indochine for a round — or several — of karaoke.

Latifah and her pals belted out a random assortment of songs, including karaoke classics “Don’t Stop Believin’” (Journey) and “Total Eclipse of the Heart” (Bonnie Tyler), according to the New York Post.

Those looking for more secret messages in Latifah’s karaoke choices, did you really think she was going to get up there and do “I Kissed a Girl”? Don’t hold your breath, folks. Homegirl has made it clear that her love life is nobody’s business.

Latifah’s publicity tour for Ice Age continued on Thursday with stops at the Today show and 106 & Park, and since Ice Age 4: Continental Drift opens in theaters today, hopefully the hard-working celeb can take the weekend off.

(Photo: Kelly Kline/Getty Images)

The new year is already prompting new beginnings with stars who are kicking things off full speed ahead on the romance front.

When the ball dropped December 31, LeBron James popped the question to the mother of his two sons Savannah Brinson at a private dinner in Miami.  The couple are high school sweethearts, and have been together for over eight years along with their sons 7-year-old LeBron Jr. and 4-year-old Bryce — making it official has been a long time coming!  The engagement party was hosted by Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union and 50 guests, including Nas, Queen Latifah, Chris & Adrienne Bosh, LeBron’s mother Gloria James, supermodel Jessica White, and more, came to celebrate the happy couple and also toasted to LeBron’s 27th birthday (December 30, 1984).

Aretha Franklin is getting her groove back and was recently engaged to her longtime friend William “Willie” Wilkerson, a former Detroit firefighter. The 69-year-old singer has been married twice before, but is looking to make third time a charm in a ceremony that may come this summer. “We’re looking at June or July for our date, and no, I’m not pregnant, LOL!” she said. Franklin and Wilkerson are considering a ceremony in Miami Beach, followed by a reception on a private yacht.

And although last year’s rumors had Jennifer Hudson calling off her wedding to her WWE beau David Otunga the singer and actress says the nuptials are still on. “Oh, we’ve set the date. We’re just not telling. … no, not telling. Some things you keep to yourself,” Hudson said during an exclusive NBC Dateline interview that airs this Sunday. Maybe this year  will find J-Hid with a ring on it? The couple’s 2 year old son, David Jr. would make a cute ring bearer and Jennifer’s already got her dress figured out. “It’s a show,” she said. “It has three pieces to it. I designed it myself. It has a coat for the entrance and then when I get ready to walk, you take that part off. And then it’s another dress. And then by the time I get to the alter, it’s a whole new dress.

There’s about to be a whole lot of broom jumping this year! Congrats to all the couples!

(Photo: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images)

Queen Latifah believes women don’t need to show their goods in order to get a man. The Single Ladies creator opened about this during an interview with Jamie Foster Brown. The two talked largely about Queen La’s success, but Queen took a detour in order to address the thirst found in a woman near you.

She explained:

“I just like ladies who have class. Period. And if it’s “T and A” you’re sellin’, that’s fine, as long as that’s what you’re selling. But you don’t have to show everything, you know? You can hold some back and just be yourself and let your personality shine and let your individuality show. To me, that’s sexier. A confident woman is a sexy woman, in my opinion. And I think guys find that to be the same way.”

Do you hear that? It’s the sound of a thousand of butt-baring Twitter years sucking their teeth in response.

Latifah continued hammering at the point, though:

“You don’t have to show everything; you don’t have to put it all out there to attract a guy. Because what kind of guy are you gonna attract? What is he really looking for? If you wanna be a booty call, I guess you can throw it all out there. (laughs) But if you’re looking for a relationship with someone who respects you and respects things other than your body—your mind, your spirit, your personality, your smile—then you have to kind of exude that more so than just yo’ booty and yo’ titties.”

So folks: Should ladies pull their skirts and bras up or do they need to simply be more careful about where they aim? I am gonna shoot for the former, but if you’re still planning to do the latter, I won’t judge you. I’ll just wish you love (of self), peace (of mind), and plenty of protection sold to you (you’ll need it).

 Who you calling a B!?

That’s what How I Met Your Mother actor Neil Patrick Harris called Queen Latifah during the People’s Choice Awards in perhaps the most awkward moment of the night.

Queen Latifah asked the former Emmy and Tony host how she was doing and he had the nerve to say, “You’re doing OK, I give you a solid B+.” The audience wasn’t feeling his grade and booed Harris, who tried to qualify his remarks by bringing up the fact that The Queen’s mic was acting up earlier in the show. The Queen wasn’t feeling it either: “Wait a minute, are you down with Mo’Nique [2007 BET Awards host] or Jamie Foxx [2009 BET Awards host] or something?” she asked while Harris looked nervous. “Why are you hating on my stuff! B+? What?”

Right! Don’t hate on our Latifah! She knows how to rock the house and she’s family. Do you all remember how great of a job she did hosting the 2010 BET Awards?

After some pressure Harris changed his tune: “Wow, Queen Latifah gets an A+! Best host ever! And she’s totally not pinning me to the wall backstage, choking me… as I… write this..!” he Tweeted.

Better had.

In an interview with Parade magazine, Queen Latifah revealed that she hopes to have a family in 10 years’ time.

She said that in a decade she hopes to be “on cruise control, with a couple of kids under my belt.” On how that will come about she said, “It’s in the Lord’s hands.”

In the meantime, Queen says: “[My goal] is just to enjoy life more. I work a lot. I want to make sure I’m living life to the fullest and checking in with me.”

She also was asked to share some advice to Kate Middleton (yeah, I didn’t know either but it’s Prince William’s fiancée) about her new growing celebrity stature.

Queen said: “Make sure you have a sanctuary, because everybody in the world is going to be in your business. He happened to be born a prince; you happened to go to college and meet him. You’re two kids who fell in love. I just hope you have a happy life. And don’t take anything personally.”

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Queen Latifah thought Chris Brown’s performance at the last Sunday’s BET Awards, which she hosted, “was amazing, just amazing.”  ”Not only was it a knockout performance, but his heartfelt emotion, you can’t plan that, you can’t write that, it’s the truth,” she told The Dish Rag.

While other stars, including Diddy and Trey Songz, have also applauded Chris’ emotional, tear-filled performance,  some people are still debating whether his set was genuine at all. US Weekly magazine claims to have a witness that saw Chris’ bodyguard giving him tear-inducing eye drops before he hit the stage.

Regardless, The Queen thinks it’s time to forgive and move on.

“The guy is a young guy and he made a big mistake and he needs to bounce back from that. And he needs an opportunity for a second chance,” she says. “We can’t condemn that kid. He’s a kid and he needs to correct the mistake for the future, not live in the past.”

“He needs to be forgiven. Enough already. We can’t keep beating him up. [Rihanna's] going to grow and he’s going to grow and we have to allow them both to do that.”

Do you agree?

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“Cover Girl” Queen Latifah graces the front of the May/June cover of Upscale magazine and in the issue the singer/actress opened up about a range of topics including her personal life. The interviewer came right out and asked the ever burning question about her sexuality . While the Queen didn’t confirm or deny anything (sorry you’ll have to remain curious), I love what she had to say:

You’ve been asked so much about your sexuality. Wouldn’t it be easier at this point to just speak on it-once-and be done with it?

I don’t have to explain anything. I don’t have to confirm anything. Look, I need my time. I need my life.

But isn’t that a part of being a celebrity, letting people into your personal life?

You know, I was looking at something the other day. A magazine with Jennifer Aniston on the cover. That’s a strong woman right there. All of these people in her business-who is she dating? Angie this. Brad that. They come up with so much stuff. That’s a tough situation to be in. My situation is small compared to that. But still, I don’t feel like I need to explain. I’m the one living it. You write about it. You go ahead and speculate. I’ll just live it.

Do you feel like you’re understood by the people closest to you?

Absolutely. I don’t feel like I need to explain things to a perfect stranger. The people who matter know. And they love me for Dana. I don’t have to tell Joe Blow. Joe, you worry about who YOU sleeping with.

Church! The short version: it ain’t none of our business.

Does it really matter who she gets her kicks with between the sheets? I was down with The Queen way before I even had any concept of sexual orientation. Any ’80’s babies remember her appearance on Sesame Street or bumping the the ”All Hail the Queen” tape (ha! Remember those)? She’s only gotten bigger and better in classics  like  Living Single and Set it Off and is still making enjoyable work today (if you haven’t seen her latest movie Just Wright with Common, do that. It’s cute!). As far as I’m concerned, she can have her personal life, the fact that she’s been doing her thing for decades is enough to talk about.

Catch Queen Latifah hosting the BET Awards on June 27th!

In the frenzy of awards season ESSENCE pulled together some of the hottest stars for their 3rd Annual Black Women in Hollywood luncheon at the Beverly Hills Hotel yesterday. The event got emotional when Jada Pinkett Smith took the stage to present the “Power Award” to Queen Latifah, but ended up getting choked up over her father’s recent death from a heart attack.

“My father died last week, and I’m flying tomorrow to bury him,” Jada said though tears. “But I wanted to come because when those types of losses happen a lot of things get illuminated and your priorities fall in line.” Latifah came to console Jada and shed a few tears herself later telling reporters, “I was just so overwhelmed.”

In addition to Queen Latifah, several Hollywood legends (and legends to be) were honored at the luncheon including: Cicely Tyson (Legend Award); Gabourey Sidibe (Best Breakthrough Performance); Zoe Saldana (Star to Watch Award); and Mary J. Blige (Songstress of the Year).  A long list of other entertainers including Nia Long, Serena Williams, Taraji P Henson, Keri Hilson, Vivica a Fox and Anika Noni-Rose (just to name a few!) were also in the house.

“This is the first time I’ve been to this event, and I’ve never laughed so hard and cried so much at once,” actress Joy Bryant told WWD. It’s a beautiful thing when Black women convene! Check out the video below of BET’s coverage!

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The Game is not playing! For years the Compton rapper has been taking shots at Jay-Z, but he upped the ante recently (guess he really, really needs some publicity?) taking the drama overseas.  In a  concert in Madrid The Game repeatedly chanted “Fu–k Jay-Z….old ass ni–a” (and even got the crowd to join in!) before spitting a diss rap over Hov’s “D.O.A. (Death of Autotune)” beat. He let the low blows roll and even took shots at Beyonce rapping:

“This isn’t about Beef/This isn’t about Destiny/I’m in Madrid banging the c-p-t/You got a bad b–ch word?/Ain’t no pu–y like hers?/Just ask the Mavericks, Rockets, and the Spurs/ I mean… I mean my b–ch don’t slang p–sy like that.”

Wilin’!  Now Jay has previously said that he won’t be responding to The Game’s taunts, but I wonder what he’ll have to say now that Bey’s name has been dragged into the picture?

In other crazy performance news: Lil’ Kim is scheduled to take the stage with Cyndi Lauper at a concert to honor South African President Nelson Mandela’s 91st birthday. All I want to know is who approved that!? While I’ve been know to get down to a Queen Bee song or two, somehow I can’t imagine the elderly Mandela rocking to “Big Momma Thang” overseas. Other performers include Stevie Wonder, Queen Latifah, Wyclef, Aretha Franklin, will.i.am and err T-Pain (doesn’t he seem a little out of place on this bill too? He better not wear that “Big A– Chain” he’s been rocking as of late!). Should be an interesting production to say the least.

Meanwhile, Lil Wayne’s being sued yet again for blowing off a concert. TMZ reports that Red City Entertainment is coming after Weezy for $432,000 for failing to appear at his own concert in the Bahamas (police went to check on the rapper when he didn’t show and found him unconscious). Wayne just canceled a European tour citing “health problems” earlier this month and has been sued for flaking on concerts in the past. I don’t know what’s wrong with this man, but I know one thing: with all these baby mamas and new tots on the way, he needs to stop playing and make that money. Those child support bills are about to start piling up real soon!

Contributor: Carrie Blackshaw

The Queen may have to go to court.

Oscar-nominated actress Queen Latifah apparently hasn’t been shelling out cash to those in her employ.

The NY Daily News is reporting that cosmetologist Roxanna Floyd and stylist Susan Moses say they’ve been stiffed out of $1 million for their work on Queen Latifah’s CoverGirl ad campaign, as well as the star’s “Curvations” line of intimate apparel.

The plaintiffs each filed two separate suits — they’re alledging a breach of contracts — in Federal court against Latifah.

Now how many times have we seen this playout? I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t get it. You have the money, why aren’t you paying the cash? Can’t wait to see how this one plays out!