According to OK!, Rihanna and Usher went home together after meeting up at a party at Coachella. The two left together and were holding hands, so if this is true it’s safe to assume that they were doing more than just flirting. The last we heard about Rihanna she was casually hooking up with Ryan Phillippe but he’s since coupled up with Amanda Seyfried. Usher has a girlfriend that has been trying to take over his career and get him to fire all his people. She was with him at Coachella, I found photos of her with Usher on 4/15, the day before this supposed hookup with Rihanna. Usher is known to cheat, though, and I have the sense that Rihanna would be up for it. Here’s more:

On April 16, the music was pumping, the Ciroc vodka was flowing, and Rihanna and Usher were making beautiful music together – and we’re not talking about singing!

“They were so flirty,” an insider tells OK! Of Rihanna and Usher at Coachella. “They left holding hands.”

Rihanna and Usher had a table near the DJ booth – DJ Jesse Marco was spinning with Djs Caitlin Moe and Mia Moretti – where they whispered in each other’s ears and laughed as stars like Paris Hilton and Kanye West watched.

According to witnesses, Leonardo DiCaprio was also chatting up RiRi, but at the end of the night, she went home with Usher.

“They’re having fun and hooking up,” an insider tells OK!.

“They have a lot of mutual friends; we’re surprised it didn’t happen sooner!” adds a source.

[From OK! Magazine, print edition, May 2, 2011]

Kaiser and I were e-mailing about this, and we get the impression that Usher and Rihanna are not each other’s type. Rihanna just told Rolling Stone she loves to be dominated and tied up and Usher usually dates older domineering women. He then cheats on them in a misguided attempt to lash out at his momma for controlling him. This is just his passive aggressive way of getting back at his girlfriend for trying to take over his life.

Rihanna photos are from 2/18/11. Credit: WENN.com

Kaiser and I were wondering if anyone would care about this story, since Usher usually doesn’t get a lot of headlines. I wanted to report on it, because it points to a very clear and very dumb pattern with a guy who is a platinum recording artist and otherwise a savvy businessman. He made Justin Bieber a household name, and as annoying as that kid is you have to admit that Usher was smart for signing him.

For background – Usher fired his mom as his manager in 2007, supposedly at the direction of his then-fiance, Tameka Foster, and hired Benny Medina. Things were so strained between Usher and his mom that his mom didn’t even come to his wedding with Tameka in the summer of ’07. Those two were over about a year later anyway, so Usher rehired his mom in ’08 and finally officially divorced Tameka in the summer of ’09. He then predictably fired his mom again around that time at the direction of his latest girlfriend, (you can see a photo of her here and here) who stepped in as his co-manager and is now reportedly trying to convince him to fire his entire management team and basically everyone who works for him.

The R&B singer is currently dating his co-manager and stylist Grace Miguel, a 43-year-old former Def Jam executive who was spotted with Usher mere months after he split from his ex-wife Tameka Foster.

But according to NY Post’s Page Six, Miguel is calling all the shots. The seasoned pro, who helped Usher secure a release date for his latest studio release ‘Raymond v. Raymond,’ is trying to convince him to fire his entire staff including tour managers, stylists and choreographers, with plans to replace them with a whole new team.

Sources close to the action claim that “Usher will do whatever she wants him [to] do right now.”

Already on the chopping block is his longtime agent, Mark Cheatham of Creative Artists Agency, who supposedly got the boot from Miguel. “I don’t know anything about it. I’ve been with Usher for a long time,” he explained, though the R&B singer is now missing from the agency’s client roster.

Usher and Miguel have been a hot item as far back as 2009. After filing for divorce from his 40-year-old ex-wife Foster, the 30-year-old [sic: Usher is 32] went public with his relationship with Miguel, who signed on as his co-manager after he gave his mother the boot from the position.

[From Popeater]

So Usher either has his momma or his older girlfriend telling him what to do and running the show for him. His last relationship, with Foster, went down in flames and this one is going to burn out soon too. He wants someone to run his life and make decisions for him until he ends up feeling controlled and rebelling. The guy needs therapy to work out some obvious issues with his mother. I’m sure he’ll rehire her as his manager again once this new relationship inevitably goes south. Then he’ll write another album about it and make millions.

Usher is shown out in his blue hightops in NY on 4/8/11. I’m pretty sure that’s his girlfriend in the background to the right. He’s also shown performing in Paris on 2/15/11. Look at that scraggly excuse for a beard. Credit: Fame Pictures

The thought of a sex tape starring Usher could be a very nice way to start my too-early day. He’s an attractive guy with a very sexy stage presence. He has helmet hair but I can overlook that. The only problem is – this sex tape features his mannish ex wife, Tameka Foster. TMZ has this news and it has the air of legitimacy since they claim to have seen a clip and to have easily identified both parties. Apparently the part the people at TMZ saw features oral sex:

A sex tape featuring Usher and his ex-wife, Tameka Foster, is being hawked around town … TMZ has learned.

TMZ was approached several days ago by someone claiming to have the sex tape. The person sent us a short video and two photos. We’ll keep this PG-13 and just say … the people in the video are both givers.

The video and photos are clear — it’s Usher and Tameka.

Sources close to Usher — without specifically admitting the existence of a sex tape — tell us they believe this video could have been among the things Usher had stolen out of his car back in December 2009. Usher reported more than $1,000,000 worth of jewelry and electronics taken — including two laptop computers.

A rep for Usher had no comment. Attempts to contact a rep for Foster were unsuccessful.

[From TMZ]

Given how acrimonious Usher’s divorce from Tameka was in mid 2009, I wouldn’t put it past her to have released this tape herself despitethe fact that they have two young boys who could be affected by it for years. Still, Tameka seems insecure about her body – she had liposuction in Brazil in early 2009 (during which she went into cardiac arrest and nearly died) and also took pains to ensure that some unflattering photos of her in a bra and underwear were removed from the web. She since posed for a sexy photoshoot, though, so it’s not out of the question that she would put this out herself or try to sell it to get back at Usher.

As TMZ points out, Usher had a bunch of loot stolen from his car around Christmastime, 2009, which could have been due to some opportunistic thieves or could have been orchestrated by Tameka. After all, she keyed his car in September of that year, which makes this whole sex tape story suspect.

So what could be a nice sex tape featuring a top R&B star becomes a reminder of Usher’s nasty divorce and his not-so-hot ex wife.

Photos of Usher and Tameka are from 2007 and 2008. Credit: PRPhotos. Photos of Usher performing are from 3/1/11. Credit: WENN.com

Here’s a funny video of Usher serenading an overzealous fan on stage in concert at Madison Square Garden on Monday night. Usher was singing “Trading Places” to a woman who was all over him, really getting into it and knew all the words to the song. The two were lounging on a recliner on stage when the woman tried to flip around to get face to face with him – and ended up kicking him in the face with her boot! That’s at 5:23 in the video above.

The woman apologized, wiped Usher’s face and seemed embarrassed that she got so carried away. Usher immediately stopped singing and the crowd was roaring. He joked “We play most of the day, you know, we kick each other in the face and all kinds of stuff.” He then stopped the song, gave the fan a hug, and then stepped off stage.

Aw, I like how he handled that! Usher could have been mad but he played it off well.

Rumor has it that Usher is cheating on his current girlfriend, his co-manager and stylist Grave Miguel, with a backup dancer named Saidah. Usher divorced his first wife and the mother of his two young sons, Tameka Foster, in 2009.

[story via Celebuzz]

On Friday we heard that Alicia Keys’ “Buy Life” campaign to raise a million for her Keep a Child Alive AIDS charity, had raised less than a 1/4 of its goal of one million after three days. As part of the campaign, celebrities including Lady Gaga, Ryan Seacrest and Kim Kardashian pledged to die “digital deaths” and stay off Twitter and Facebook until a million was raised. When I checked yesterday, just 1/2 a million had been raised since the campaign begun last Wednesday, December 1. Some outlets pointed out that Usher was the only celebrity to break rank and start to tweet again prior to Buy Life reaching its goal.

Today, the BuyLife.org website suddenly jumped from 1/2 a million raised to a little over a million. Now doesn’t it seem suspicious that it took them over five days to raise the first 1/2 million but that they were able to raise another 1/2 million in under a day? When I checked last night they were just over $500,000 but less than a day later they’ve suddenly reached their goal. Now, I think it was a noble cause, but as we covered earlier it was executed poorly. Instead of just calling time on this campaign it looks like they’ve fudged the numbers a bit. (Or maybe the celebrities got itchy fingers and pitched in the dough themselves.) Someone overestimated the amount of money that people would pay to be privy to the mundane thoughts of a bunch of overpaid narcissists. Usually we just get it for free. The silence was nice while it lasted.

Update: Thanks to Michael for sending me the tip that the campaign was saved by a wealthy benefactor, “Brooklyn-born billionaire pharmaceutical executive Stewart Rahr” who chipped in $500,000 to restore the celebrities’ “digital lives”. According to the NY Post, “Celebrities were so frustrated with the time it took to raise $1 million for Keep a Child Alive’s “Digital Death” campaign, they persuaded a wealthy savior [Rarh] to give them $500,000 so they could get back on Twitter.” I guess we can’t expect them to pay for it themselves, now can we? Keys’ husband can’t even pay his taxes.

Now that we’ve heard that Jennifer Lopez probably won’t be joining the judges on Idol, allegedly due to her ever-increasing and hard to meet demands, there’s speculation on who will take that spot on the panel. Shania Twain’s name is being mentioned, with Steven Tyler and Randy Jackson rumored to be filling the other two seats. I remember Shania on the show last year and she was great with the contestants and was even brought to tears by an emotional performance of one her songs. (Video of that is below.) She would be a great choice for an empathic, caring judge. Here’s more:

“American Idol” sources tell TMZ … the Jennifer Lopez deal isn’t dead yet, but if it does flatline … “Idol’s” next choice is country star Shania Twain.

Shania was a hit on “Idol” this past season when she served as guest judge and mentor.

We’re told Shania is Plan B.

[From TMZ]

I have a suggestion for a new judge on Idol – Usher! I was impressed with how much he knew about music during his guest mentoring gig and he gave some very good advice. They should ditch Randy and get a whole new panel of well known and established musicians.

There’s a lot of other AI gossip and we’ll report some of it here, but first I’d like to cover this photo that Kaiser pointed me to that Jennifer Lopez recently posted on Twitter. She wrote “Hmmm… what should I wear today?” to go along with this picture. Is she making a joke and/or trying to show us that she’s rolling in it and doesn’t need make more demands? I think the answer is “a little of A, a little of B.”

Lopez also posted this photo last week, and wrote “Everyone on set tonight is calling me “Bronx Barbie”!” Yes, she’s full of herself.

Meanwhile Kara DioGuardi’s dad, a Republican candidate for a US Senate seat in NY, is telling outlets that his daughter was never officially fired from Idol. He said “Would you believe, that she did not hear, and still has not heard anything? She read it the way you did and I did… Her disappointment is that’s the way she’s been treated, and she feels that’s not proper… I think what they’re trying to do is create buzz.” He added that his daughter is an executive VP at Warner Brothers and will be fine even if she’s not asked to stay on AI, as she’s hoping.

And Mike Walker reports in the National Enquirer this week that Ellen DeGeneres didn’t resign from Idol as she claimed, but was fired and given permission to issue a statement making it seem like she left on her own accord. Walker even claims that Ellen “agreed to lower her salary,” but quotes a source who says “they hated her on the show and simply wanted her gone. She begged them to let her handle the announcement her way, and they agreed.” There is so much damn drama over this show!

Here’s Shania on Idol last season. Big Mike’s performance of her song brings her to tears.

And Usher on Idol:

Usher’s car was reportedly robbed of $1 million worth of Christmas presents about a month ago, including furs, jewelry and clothing and $20,000 worth of cash. This report sounds suspicious to me due to the added detail that two laptops were stolen that just happened to contain “the only versions of vocal tracks that have never been heard before.” Doesn’t that sound a little too convenient? Like who only keeps one copy of such important files? Usher was in Atlanta parked across from a mall when the goods were lifted.

R&B singer Usher had over $1 million worth of Christmas gifts — as well as laptops containing the only copies of new tracks he was working on — stolen from his car last month, reported Access Hollywood.

According to an Atlanta police report, the singer’s GMC Yukon was broken into on December 14 and over a million dollars worth of jewelry, $50,000 in furs and clothing and about $20,000 in cash were snatched.

But he told police he was most upset about the loss of two laptops, as they contained the only versions of vocal tracks that have never been heard before.

A witness reportedly saw a man pull up to the vehicle and break into the car.

The alleged incident is currently under investigation.

[From Parade]

Usher’s sixth album, Raymond vs. Raymond, is due out in February. Two singles have been released so far, Papers and Hey Daddy, and neither have done particularly well. Hey Daddy, out last month, peaked at 94 on the Billboard 100 while Papers, out in October, fared better at 31 and number 1 on the R&B chart.

It just strikes me as strange that Usher’s songs were stolen and that there are no other copies available. Maybe we’ll hear that his CD release date will be pushed back after the tracks were “stolen.” Also, who keeps $20,000 in cash in their car? It all has the whiff of fraud about it. It could have happened that way, though. Someone might have robbed Usher’s SUV full of loot along with his laptops. The fact that we didn’t hear about it for a month makes it seem more legitimate, like he didn’t plan it that way. The way I envision it, Usher was legitimately robbed but then he figured that he’d claim that the car contained laptops with some new never-before-heard tracks. That way, he could buy some more time on his album. Or maybe he just left a car full of a million bucks of stuff sitting across the street from a mall and was dumb enough to leave his computers and important files in there too.

Tameka and Usher on 2/19/07. Credit: WENN.com

It looked like R&B star Usher was on the fast track to being single again after the dissolution of his marriage to Tameka Foster. But the couple have not only delayed the divorce for undisclosed reasons, but they’ve had some heated exchanges recently regarding custody arrangements for their two young sons, and Usher has actually involved the authorities. TMZ has access to the 911 call Usher made last month after his car was keyed following an argument with his estranged wife. He was careful not to name names, but Tameka’s involvement is implied.

Usher was cool, calm and collected when he called 911 back in September — accusing his “ex wife” Tameka Raymond of vandalizing his truck.

During the call, Usher explains to the operator that he had called cops the night before to file “a complaint because of potential domestic violence between me and my ex wife.”

He then tells the operator that when he woke up the following morning, a person who was fixing a flat tire on his truck noticed that it had been keyed up on the side. During the call, Usher never directly accuses Tameka — but insinuates that the scratch occurred as a result of the incident the night before.

As TMZ first reported, cops investigated the situation, but determined there wasn’t enough evidence to make an arrest.

[From TMZ]

Another account of the disagreement also has Tameka showing up at Usher’s mother’s house. Tameka and Usher’s mother have never gotten along, according to reports. Apparently, it was Usher’s time to have custody with the children, and Tameka was demanding to see them. When Usher informed her that the boys were visiting with their grandmother, Tameka immediately drove to Mrs. Raymond’s home, demanding the children.

Cops were called to Usher’s home three times last month after the singer had an argument with his soon-to-be-ex wife Tameka Foster over the custody of their two sons.

According to police reports, Tameka began fighting with Usher over the phone on Sept. 10. She then drove to Usher’s home, and demanded to take the children who were in his custody at the time. The kids were actually visiting Usher’s mother’s house, so Tameka took a trip over there, and began calling her and knocking on her door. Usher’s mother didn’t answer the door, and called police instead. When the cops arrived, Tameka was already gone. The next morning, Usher reportedly found scratches on his truck, so he called the cops again. The cops were unable to prove that Tameka had anything to do with the scratches.

[From SlashGossip]

Tameka’s rep released a statement denying any involvement, but apparently the police took it seriously enough to file a report. It must be a tough situation for everyone, especially the kids, who are very young and have no idea what’s happening to them.

The divorce proceedings between Usher and soon-to-be ex-wife Tameka seemed to be going fairly smoothly – or at least quietly. There was a bit of smack talking when Usher first filed divorce papers back in June, but nothing that bad. There haven’t been leaks about the negotiations or fighting. In fact Usher had been fairly quiet on the situation, apparently preferring to spill the beans in his latest single, “Papers.” It includes the refrain, “I’m ready to sign those papers” – which apparently he isn’t, according to sources in Tameka’s camp.

On Monday, R & B superstar Usher released his new single Papers about his messy divorce from estranged wife Tameka Raymond, but RadarOnline.com can exclusively reveal that the singer is the one holding up the process by not signing off on the divorce papers.

A source close to the couple claims the singer has delayed inking the final signatures on papers that he filed at Atlanta’s Superior Court. “Tameka thinks that it’s ironic that Papers is his comeback single when she just wants him to sign the paperwork and finalize the divorce,” the source told RadarOnline.com. “The terms and conditions have been agreed on for around a month but he keeps stalling on them and she’s the one that wants to move on with her life.”

The song – which is from his forthcoming album reportedly now entitled Raymond versus Raymond – was written by Sean Garett and centers on Usher’s split from his estranged wife and former stylist. In Papers Usher talks about giving his all and receiving nothing in return, although he separated himself from the world, especially his mother.

He sings: “I gave my heart and turned my back against the world/ Cuz you were my girl! / I done near lost my mama/ I done been through so much drama / I done turned into the man that I never though I’d be / I’m ready to sign those papers! I done took all I can take, but you leave me no options girl … I can’t deny how much I loved you / I done gave up everything I had too / As hard as it is I’m afraid I’ve gotta say, I’m ready to sign them papers.”

[From Radar]

I wonder what the holdup is? I mean according to Usher, he gave up everything for Tameka, and it still wasn’t enough. I’m can’t explain why, but this makes me feel a little empathy for Tameka for the first time. It sounds like Usher’s not giving her credit for anything. She gave him two beautiful sons, Naviyd, 10 months, and Usher Raymond V, 1. I’m sure she contributed in some way, and it’s unattractive that he’s throwing a pity party and trying to martyr himself. But the rumors have always been that Tameka’s a complete user and was obviously the reason for the rift between Usher and his mom. But still, Usher chose to do what she wanted, and instead of taking responsibility for making bad choices (probably due to her), he’s just blaming her entirely. I don’t like her at all so it feels strange to defend her, but I just find the lyrics to be unbecoming at best.

Here’s Usher visiting La Voile Rouge beach in St Tropez on August 22. Images thanks to Fame Pictures .

And the bitter lying begins! It’s been less than a month since Usher announced his divorce from wife Tameka, but we’re already getting a lot of different versions about the end of their epic love story. Usher claims that the pair have been separated since July of 2008 – nearly an entire year before he filed for divorce. However in legal papers filed on Monday, Tameka says that’s not true, and they had sex as recently as June 6th. As a result, she thought their marriage was just fine.

The wife of R&B singer Usher was surprised when the entertainer filed for divorce earlier this month and claims the two were intimate less than a week before he moved to end the marriage, according to court documents.

Tameka Raymond, 38, disputes Usher’s claims the couple have been separated since July 2008. She said in court documents filed Monday in Fulton County Superior Court that she “had every reason to believe her marriage was intact” and that two were “intimately together as husband and wife as recently as June 6.”

Usher, whose real name is Usher Raymond IV, filed for divorce June 12, claiming there is “no reasonable hope of reconciliation” and the marriage is “irretrievably broken.” He is seeking joint custody of the couple’s two sons, 1 1/2-year-old Usher Raymond V and 6-month-old Naviyd Ely Raymond.

Tameka Raymond has three children from a previous marriage. She said through her divorce attorney, Randy Kessler, that she has been a faithful wife and loving mother during the marriage.

In Monday’s filing, Tameka Raymond asked a judge to ensure that Usher continues to support his family while the divorce works its way through the courts, including paying her legal fees.

[From the Huffington Post]

I wonder what kind of pre-nup Usher and Tameka have in place. Most rumors indicate Usher always had doubts about her (he called off the wedding at the last minute but later tied the knot), so you’d think he’d have gotten her to sign something iron-clad. There’s also the issue of whether or not he was cheating on her or she was cheating on him – and if their youngest son Naviyd is actually his. That’s a lot of drama for one divorce, but certainly not more than you’d expect from this pair.

Gut instinct – and nothing more than that – tells me Tameka’s probably lying about having sex with Usher on June 6th. And even if they did, I doubt she was unaware that their marriage was in trouble, or thought having sex made it all okay. I’m sure the next few months will bring nothing more than a bunch of lurid accusations and confused denials.