Last week we learned the happy news that Elton John and hubby David Furnish welcomed the birth of their baby son on Xmas Day and today we learn that the newborn baby is already living in the lap of luxury. As the child of extremely wealthy celebrity parents, it’s only natural that celeb babies would be pampered in luxury … but Zachary Jackson Levon is an especially lucky celebrity child. His parents have already given him a $1+ million dollar apartment of his very own. Now that’s posh, y’all.

On Tuesday we learned the happy news that music legend Elton John and his husband David Furnish welcomed the birth of a baby boy on Xmas Day which was born via surrogate mother. Today we get to hear from Elton himself in a new interview about the birth of his newborn son which, he reveals, fulfills a longtime dream of the couple.

Congratulations are in order for Sir Elton John and his civil partner hubby David Furnish because they are the proud parents of a newborn baby boy born via surrogate on Xmas Day. As you may recall, we learned yesterday that Alanis Morissette and her hubby Mario Souleye Treadway welcomed the birth of their son, Ever Imre, on Xmas Day … so Elton and David are in very good new parent company.

If the Vanity Fair Oscar Party is the biggest party for celebs to be seen at on Oscar night then the annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Oscar Party is a close second. Unlike the VF party, tho, Sir Elton‘s party is a fundraiser meant to raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation which, in turn, funds other needy AIDS research programs. Here are a few photos from the Elton John Oscar Party red carpet and a press release announcement of just how much money was raised by this year’s event:

Sir Elton John and David Furnish hosted the 18th Elton John AIDS Foundation (EJAF) Academy Awards® Viewing Party and raised $3.7 Million for the fight against AIDS. Presented by Chopard, Jo and Raffy Manoukian and Neuro Drinks, the EJAF Viewing Party continues to be the leading fundraiser on Oscar night in Hollywood. The evening began with a cocktail reception, dinner and viewing of the 82nd Annual Academy Awards, followed by a very exciting live auction and high voltage performance by the iconic Grace Jones. Throughout its 18 years, the event has hosted some of the biggest stars in film, television and music. This year was no exception with celebrities such as Adam Levine, Alan Cumming, Allison Iraheta (American Idol), Apolo Ohno, Betty White, Chace Crawford, Christina Hendricks, Cory Monteith (Glee), Debi Mazar, Eric & Janet McCormack, Gina Gershon, Hayden Panettiere, Heidi Klum, J.C. Chasez, Jason Mraz, Jeremy Piven, Joaquin Phoenix, John Waters, Josh Groban, K.D. Lang, Kimora Lee, Lea Michele (Glee), Liam Hemsworth, Matthew Morrison (Glee), Michelle Rodriguez, Milla Jovovich & Paul W. S. Anderson, Miley Cyrus, Nicole Richie & Joel Madden, Ricki Lake, Rob Lowe, Ryan Kwanten, S. Epatha Merkerson (Law & Order), Sam Trammell (True Blood), Selena Gomez, Serena Williams, Sharon & Kelly Osbourne, Simon Cowell, Slash, Tim Allen, Victoria Beckham, attendance. Guests arrived for the 18th annual Elton John AIDS Foundation Academy Award Viewing party to a custom-built tent adorned in hues of red and tangerine, a decor inspired by designer Antony Todd’s travels. Chef Wayne Elias of Crumble Catering prepared an exquisite five-course meal including dishes such as Risotto Carnaroli with saffron liquorice and king prawns and “Wahoo” with black olives, pine nuts, fresh herbs and stewed lentils. As is tradition, immediately following dinner, auctioneer Jamie Niven of Sotheby’s led the evening’s live auction. Items auctioned included a Lisa Jack contact sheet of a portrait sitting of now President Barack Obama which was taken at Occidental College in 1980. This rare piece sold for an astounding $60K. Guests also had the opportunity to bid on a private tennis lesson given by legendary tennis pros Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, which sold for $70K and the costume that Sir Elton John wore during his performance with Lady Gaga at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards. The costume sold for $30K. A fantastic 48″X48″ William Claxton piece, “Chet Baker (Piano), Hollywood, 1954,” was sold for $90K. The lucky winner of this photograph also got to take home Claxton’s Nikon F 35mm Camera as well as the “Jazz Life” trade edition book. Guests also had the chance to bid on a watch from the Elton John Watch Collection designed by Caroline Gruosi-Scheufele. The dazzling limited timepiece was sold for $90K. Other auction items included an incredible photograph by Robert Mapplethrope called “Grace Jones, 1984″ which was sold for $85K and surprised his guests with the opportunity to bid on a 7-day stay for 10 people in Elton’s home in Windsor or Nice and the winners of this bid will also be able to experience the wonderful dishes cooked by Elton’s personal chef. The 7-day stay was sold for $140K.

Fantastic!! Sir Elton‘s Oscar Party is the place where celebs who do not (or can not) attend the Oscars show up to feel as if they are part of the night’s festivities … and, in the process, manage to raise millions for AIDS research. Truly, it is an amazing event. This party annual hosts the beautiful people … and not just the outwardly beautiful but the inwardly beautiful who are happy to donate to such a worthy cause. You know any party that attracts the likes of Betty White has to be a great event. Congrats to Elton for all his hard work this year! There is now over $13 million more dollars made available for AIDS research. Amazing!!

[Photo credit: Wireimage; Source]

Eminem, who has been battling drug addiction for the past year or so, has an ally in his quest to get clean … in the form of BFF Elton John. Elton has admitted that he has been helping Em with his addiction in the past 18 months and claims that he is doing “brilliantly”:

Elton John is there for Eminem, who is battling a drug problem. “I’ve been helping Eminem over the last 18 months and he’s doing brilliantly,” John says, reports the British Press Association. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 in the U.K. on Saturday, Sir Elton, 62, who has freely spoken about his own past issues with substance abuse, said: “I’m there if people want my help. If people ask for help you tell them where to go but there’s no point advising people if they don’t want to do it.” In May, Eminem admitted he’d suffered from a devastating drug addiction that led to him downing as many as 20 Vicodin, Ambien and Valium in a day. “The numbers got so high,” he told Vibe magazine, “I don’t even know what I was taking. Following his first stint in rehab in 2005, the rapper, 37, said he nearly overdosed after an acquaintance gave him unidentified blue pills, which a doctor later told him were actually methadone.

We’ve been hearing about Eminem‘s on-going battle with drug addiction for some time now but I don’t know that many of us knew that he was getting so much help from Elton John. No matter where he is getting help from, it’s important for him to stay resolute in his effort to get clean and stay clean. I wonder if all this help from Elton, help that may very well save his life, will change the way Em raps about gays and lesbians in his songs. In any event, I hope he is able to save his own life because no matter how much help others are willing to offer him, it’s going to be up to him to ultimately decide his own fate.

[Source]