It's getting chilly outside, so warm up with some heart-wrenching, soul-stirring Etta James.

Etta James, who needs no introduction, would be 74 today. Let her epic voice east you into the weekend and enjoy your open thread!

Happy last-Dirt-Bag-of-the-year!!! Let's talk about death. There's no rhyme or reason—or significance, really—to grouping people together based on the year in which they died. It's pretty arbitrary, if you think about it. Tony Scott's suicide doesn't have anything to do with Michael Clarke Duncan's heart disease. But…

First we dealt with the painful shock that Katy Perry and Russell Brand's marriage had fallen apart, and now comes word that @katyperry has officially unfollowed @rustyrockets. Alas, parting is such tweet sorrow! The worst part of this digital divorce is that her estranged hubby is still following her. Awkward.

Born Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938, the singer who was nicknamed Miss Peaches crossed genres, from blues and rhythm and blues to rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz. James's singnature song, "At Last," was released in 1961, but is still a romantic favorite — President Barack Obama danced to it with his wife Michelle at…

Kobe Bryant's wife, Vanessa, filed for divorce today. According to TMZ, Vanessa left because Kobe couldn't stop cheating on her. He was, of course, charged with sexually assaulting a woman in 2003, and Vanessa famously stood by him then. But a new incident was apparently what drove her to leave, a source says,

Lady Gaga's stylist Nicola Formichetti will be working with Gilt Groupe on a line of Gaga-inspired clothing for women and men alike. The "two-day flash sale" —scheduled for the same week as Gaga's release of "Born This Way" (surely a coincidence)— will feature "looks from cutting edge designers, inspired by Lady…

While there has been much to do about Beyonce's excellent performance of "At Last" at the Inaugural Ball, today we thought we'd post the most recognized version, sung by Etta James, who turns 71 today.

Anne Hathaway, she of the notoriously crap taste in men, alluded to a new boyfriend in a recent interview. "This guy I know in L.A. is kind of doing it for me right now," she tells People. "When I think of sexy, I think of him." Maybe she should get him vetted by the po-po before committing…• Rut roh: Perez Hilton has…

Beyonce said that gaining 20 pounds for her role as Etta James in the upcoming movie Cadillac Records was "so much fun," but that when she had to lose it, she was "so angry with myself. I was like, 'D'oh! Why do you have to go through this?" Sort of endearing that she said D'oh! • Amy Winehouse, making bad decisions?…