Marc Malkin

Patrick Demarchelier

While Whitney Houston's voice may appear to have been hurt by years of drug use, one of her megaproducers says we shouldn't underestimate the diva.

"You know, with age things change," says Akon, who collaborated with Houston on "Like I Never Left" on her new chart-topping album, I Look To You. "She has to adjust like everyone else…Honestly, when I was working with her in the studio, it was like she was still 19."

We're happy to report that Akon had no problems with Houston when they recorded together...

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Whitney Houston's comeback album drops in just six weeks.

And it was the superstar diva herself who best summed up the excitement for her return when she took center stage at last night's VIP-only album listening party in Beverly Hills.

"I'm back home," she said. "I'm back home where I belong."

Among the VIP guests packed into a ballroom at the Beverly Hilton hotel to hear nine songs from I Look to You were Halle Berry, Stevie Wonder, Magic Johnson, Barry Manilow, Penny Marshall, model Beverly Johnson and a slew of music industry heavyweights.

Who was the Hollywood legend Houston met for the first time at the soiree? And how was Houston looking and sounding? Read on to find out.

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There will no more engine revving for Grant Show—at least not on any new Melrose Place sets.

Show played hunky biker bad boy Jake Hanson in the original prime-time drama. He says reviving his character on the CW's upcoming revamp isn't in the cards for him, but watching the new series certainly is.

"I have no intention of returning, but everyone I've talked to who has seen the new show says it's surprisingly very good," Show told us recently. "And hey, more power to them...Sure, yeah, I'll watch!"

Despite not having seen any episodes of the series yet, Show doesn't doubt it will be a success…

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Lauren Conrad may not realize it, but there's a knife in her back.

L.C.'s supposed pal Holly Montag has already jumped ship to Team Kristin. "I think Kristin's openness is going to be far more entertaining than anything Lauren had to offer," Holly told us after enjoying some afternoon cocktails at yesterday's Oakley Intro to Summer event at Skybar in West Hollywood.

What else did Montag have to say? Read on to find out… 

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Kristin Cavallari has finally confirmed she will be replacing Lauren Conrad on MTV’s pseudo-reality show The Hills.

No stranger to drama, Kristin is already being targeted by Team Lauren. Let’s start with Erin Lucas, Whitney Port's BFF on sister show The City.

“Kristin’s got really big shoes to fill and an even bigger ego, so I can see disaster coming from a mile away,” Erin tells us. “Lauren is such a genuine girl. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and she was real with the whole thing. I don’t think Kristin is on that level."

That's not all Erin has to say. Keep reading for more, plus find out which Hills star says she's "terrified" about Kristin's arrival...

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Whitney Houston is back! The legendary singer returned to the Hollywood stage last night to perform at Clive Davis' annual pre-Grammy bash at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

She was the last to go on in a lineup that included Rod Stewart, Sean "Diddy" Combs, Kings of Leon, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis, Barry Manilow and the incomparable Jennifer Hudson, among others.

Ms. Whitney started off with a snippet of "I Will Always Love You" followed by "I Believe In You and Me" and "It's Not Right, but It’s Okay." She finished off the set with “I’m Every Woman.”

So how did she sound? Incredible! Was she back to the days when she was in top high-note-hitting form? No, but close.

Whitney sounded a bit restrained, as if she wanted to hit her signature jaw-dropping notes but something was holding her back. Maybe it was nerves. No doubt the pressure was on big-time. Plus, she didn't go on until after midnight! (Check out a fan's phone video of Whit's set from the party on the jump. It's a little hinky in spots, but it gives you the flavor.)

Whitney not only looked fabulous in a tight animal-print dress but appeared healthier than I have ever seen her since she began on her road to recovery.

Of course, Whitney wasn't the only thing happening at the party, which for the first time was cohosted by the Recording Academy.

I twittered from start to finish—keep reading for all my tweets right after the video.

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A script for the Sex and the City sequel isn't even written yet, but one thing that we probably won't be witnessing again is something as dramatic as Carrie being left at the altar.

“In the last movie, I thought [the fans] wanted to see an epic and violently tragic love story, and drama, but I don’t think you go to that candy store twice,” the film's writer and director, Michael Patrick King, said last night during a Writers Guild Foundation panel discussion in L.A. “You can’t try to do what you did already, so you come up with a different tone that you like.”

While all four leading ladies—Sarah Jessica Parker, Kim Cattrall, Kristin Davis and Cynthia Nixon—have agreed to return, it's still unclear whether Jennifer Hudson will do the same.

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Gotta love Lisa Rinna for having no shame.

She's publicly begging producers of the upcoming revamped Melrose Place for a job. Ms. Rinna really wants to return to the series as her late-'90s character Taylor McBride.

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Will Whitney Houston come through and actually perform at Clive Davis’ legendary Grammys preparty?

Fingers crossed!

As I first told you in my daily Gossip Guru videoblog on Tuesday, the long-embattled songbird is scheduled to be on the bill when Davis cohosts the annual bash for the first time with NARAS on Feb. 7 at the Beverly Hills Hilton hotel.

Ms. Houston was supposed to perform last year along with fellow superstars like Alicia Keys, Leona Lewis, Wyclef Jean, Josh Groban and Andrea Bocelli, but she canceled because of a death in her family. She did, however, attend the soiree as Davis’ date.

And Houston won’t be the only welcome-back songstress on the Davis stage...

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Grant Show would be up for making a return to the CW's new 90210 or its upcoming Melrose Place as hunky biker babe Jake Hanson.

However, Show tells us he’s got a couple of stipulations.

First up, Jake must be able to rekindle his love affair with Kelly Taylor (Jennie Garth).

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Welcome back, Jennifer Hudson!

I can exclusively tell you that Ms. Hudson will return to the stage for the first time since her horrific family tragedy at next month's Super Bowl.

The Grammy-nominated songbird will sing the national anthem before the big gridiron game on Feb. 1 in Tampa, Fla.

"She certainly can nail it,'" a source just told me. "She proved it at the Democratic National Convention."

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No one knows for sure what Tori Spelling's storyline will be when she returns as Donna Martin to the new 90210, but at least one actor would apparently like some hanky-panky to take place.

"Ryan Eggold [who plays Ryan Matthews] thinks he's gonna sleep with her," AnnaLynne McCord, who plays Naomi Clark on the revived teen drama, told us Saturday at the GBK Golden Globes gift lounge in Beverly Hills. "That's what he wants."

She added with a chuckle, "He wants his character to sleep with everyone in the old cast—including Jason Priestley. Our man-whore, Ryan, wants that to happen."

But would that actually happen? McCord doesn't think 90210 has actually lived up to its racy expectations.

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