Oprah Winfrey, the HBIC of the world, taped an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show live in Rumsey Playfield in Central Park here in NYC today and none other than Mariah Carey was among her special guests. Here are a couple photos of Mimi and the Big O taping The Oprah Winfrey Show earlier today here in NYC:

I understand that NYC mayor Bloomberg, Regis Philbin, Kelly Ripa, Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman are also scheduled to appear on today’s show but Mimi brought along a special guest of her own. After the jump, see who tagged along to appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show with Mariah Carey earlier today …

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Yesterday we learned from Oprah Winfrey herself that her upcoming interview with Whitney Houston, which will kick off the 24th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show on Monday September 14, is her “best interview ever” and today we get to see a new just released promo photo of Oprah with Whitney from their interview:

In this Aug. 31, 2009 photo provided Monday, Sept. 7, 2009 by Harpo Productions, television talk-show host Oprah Winfrey, right, and Whitney Houston are seen during an interview at the Town Hall in New York. Houston, who’s new album “I Look To You” was released on Aug. 31, was interviewed by Winfrey for a two-part season premiere of The Oprah Winfrey Show, airing Sept. 14 and 15.

Oprah has also made available a preview video clip from her 2-part interview which features Whitney’s revelation that her mother, Cissy Houston, showed up at home with the police to extricate her from her dangerous living situation with ex-husband Bobby Brown. After the jump, check out the minute-long preview clip in full …

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In just 5 days Oprah Winfrey kicks off the 24th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show with a 2-part interview with Whitney Houston, who you may or may not know is in the midst of making her musical comeback. According to Oprah herself, this interview with Whitney is “the best interview [she's] ever done”. I understand that no topic was off-limits and Whitney opened up like never before. Here is a new promo pic released of Oprah and Whitney together and a preview of what we can expect of Oprah’s “best interview ever”:

Oprah Winfrey’s upcoming interview with Whitney Houston is said to be a, “jaw-dropping, open, honest and candid” conversation that the daytime talk show queen is calling, “the best interview I’ve ever done.” Winfrey sits down with Houston for a two-day interview starting on Monday, Sept. 14, where Houston discusses her marriage with Bobby Brown, drugs, rehab and how her family saved her. “I think it’s the best interview I’ve ever done. But I guess you’re supposed to let other people say that about yourself. I can’t think of a moment, ever, when I had a stronger connection to the person I was interviewing,” Winfrey said in a statement to Access Hollywood. “My approach to this interview was to not be judgmental in any way, and not to go in trying to get her to say things to make a ‘moment.’ I just wanted to be able to have an honest conversation with her. One woman to another woman. And the day of the interview I literally prayed about that all day long. I just wanted a connection between the two of us. And that is what happened.” With friends and family looking on, including Clive Davis and her daughter Bobbi Kristina, Houston brings down the house with an emotional performance of “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength” from her new album “I Look To You,” which is expected to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. “I think whether you liked or loved Whitney Houston before you will certainly have a deeper appreciation for what she has been through as a human being,” Winfrey continued. “And I mean, the fans are just going to love her even more.” “The Oprah Winfrey Show: Season Premiere: Oprah And Whitney Houston – The First Interview” airs Monday, Sept. 14. “The Oprah Winfrey Show: Season Premiere Part II: Whitney Houston’s Show-Stopping Surprise” airs Tuesday, Sept. 15.

On the one hand, I am having a hard time believing that this interview with Whitney Houston is really Winfrey’s “best interview ever” and on the other hand, having seen many of Oprah’s softball interviews, I can see how it really wouldn’t be difficult for any particular interview to be the best ever. While I expect that Whitney will open up and bare her soul, I don’t expect that we’ll learn any stunning revelations. I think Diane Sawyer’s “Crack is whack” interview will remain THE interview that enlightened Whitney Houston the most to audiences. Best or not, I am very anxious to see this interview in full … the fact that it will air over 2-days is an excellent way to ensure that Oprah’s 24th season of her talk show kicks off with a bang. Will you be tuning in?

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Oprah Winfrey, a goddess among men, will be kicking off the 24th season of The Oprah Winfrey Show next month by bringing us an exclusive interview with Diva Supreme Whitney Houston. Just weeks after Whitney drops her much-anticipated new “comeback” album I Look To You (in stores on August 31), Oprah will be grillin’ Ms. Thang on her infamous couch. Here is the full text of the press release announcement:

Oprah launches her 24th season of “The Oprah Winfrey Show” with what she calls “the most anticipated music interview of the decade,” a must-see television event with singing icon Whitney Houston. This marks Houston’s first interview in nearly seven years and follows the release of her highly touted new album, “I Look To You” on August 31, 2009. For more information about the album check www.oprah.com/whitney or www.whitneyhouston.com. “The Oprah Winfrey Show: Exclusive: Whitney Houston’s First Interview” airs Monday, September 14, 2009 (check local listings). Since her 1985 self-titled debut, Whitney Houston has built an illustrious career that has generated over 170 million combined worldwide sales of albums, singles and videos. Cited by the Guinness Book of World Records as music’s “most awarded female artist of all time,” with an unsurpassed tally of 411 awards, inclusive of 6 Grammy Awards, 2 Emmy Awards, 23 American Music Awards and 16 Billboard Music Awards. Houston remains a singular force in music today. “The Oprah Winfrey Show” has remained the number one talk show for 22 consecutive seasons, winning every sweep since its debut in 1986.** It is produced in Chicago by Harpo Productions, Inc. and syndicated to 214 domestic stations by CBS Television Distribution Group and to 143 countries by CBS Paramount International Television.

Damn! Has it really been almost 7 years since Whitney Houston sat down for a televised interview? I’m not sure if her infamous “Crack is Whack” interview with Diane Sawyer is her most recent interview but a lot has gone down since those days back when she was happily married to Bobby Brown. As much as I am really looking forward to the release of her new album, I can’t help but be EXTREMELY interested in hearing her answer all the questions that we’ve been dying to know from the past few years. Oprah is by no means a tough interviewer but she does have the ability to draw her interviewees out. I hope this will be a good one … I can’t wait to see it!

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Pink reader Tammy informs me that Seal just announced to the world on The Oprah Winfrey Show that he and wife Heidi Klum, who is pregs with the couple’s 3rd child (her 4th), are expecting the birth of a baby girl!

Heidi was most recently seen all glammed up for the Metropolitan Museum of Art Costume Institute Gala earlier this week but she had nothing to say about the sex of her incubating baby. This is great news … the couple already have a girl and two boys. This will round out their family perfectly. Perhaps she was yet unaware or perhaps the couple decided to save the news for Oprah but now we know. Oprah doesn’t air here in LA until later this afternoon … but I may just have to tune in to hear the announcement for myself. Congrats to the happy couple!!!

UPDATE: Here is a screencap of Oprah sharing Heidi and Seal’s happy news on her show today:

[Photo credit: Splash News; thanks Tammy]

Vice President-elect Joe Biden is about a half hour away from taking his oath of office and is, I’m sure, feeling fine … but he was lookin’ much chagrined yesterday when he and his wife appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show which taped live from Washington DC. During the interview with the Bidens, Jill inadvertently spilled the beans that then presidential candidate Barack Obama offered Joe Biden his choice to be either Vice President or Secretary of State last Summer. Once she let this bit of info slip out, Joe Biden gave her the look of death as he shushed her … and then everyone laughed to try and smooth things over. You can imagine the hell she caught after the show was over:

Joseph Biden’s wife Jill on Monday appeared to let slip a piece of choice political gossip, suggesting her husband was given a choice by Barack Obama to be vice president or secretary of state. Biden will be sworn into office on Tuesday as Obama’s second-in-command, and appeared to try to hush his wife as she made the comment on Oprah Winfrey’s talk show. His office later put out a statement denying he had a choice of job. “Joe had a choice to be secretary of state or vice president,” Jill Biden said, prompting her husband to whisper “shhh” before her words were drowned out by cheers and applause. She went on to explain that she had worried about the impact of her husband being secretary of state on their family life. “I said, Joe, if you’re secretary of state, you’ll be away. (I’ll) see you at a state dinner once in a while. I said if you’re vice president, the entire family, because they worked so hard for the election, can be involved. They can come to our home. They can go to events. They can be with us all the time. And that’s what’s important to us.” Joseph Biden, trying to smooth over the awkward moment, then said he told Obama he would serve as vice president only if he was being selected for his judgement. “I know it’s going to sound corny. I could best serve there. The bottom line, Barack’s my friend. This is a partnership,” he said … Biden spokeswoman Elizabeth Alexander put out a statement trying to play down Jill Biden’s comments. “To be clear, president-elect Obama offered vice President-elect Biden one job only — to be his running mate and the vice president-elect was thrilled to accept the offer,” she said. “Like anyone who followed the presidential campaign this summer, Dr Jill Biden knew there was a chance that president-elect Obama might ask her husband to serve in some capacity and that, given his background, the positions of vice president and secretary of state were possibilities,” Alexander said. “Dr Biden’s point to Oprah today was that being vice president would be a better fit for their family because they would get to see him more and get to participate in serving more.”

LOL! I love Jill Biden! And I love that in the excitement of being in the presence of the great Oprah Winfrey the poor dear got flustered enough to let this bit of previously unsubstantiated information get out. No matter what the press release says about the incident, you know what Jill spilled was the way it went down ;)

In any event, Joe Biden is just about to take his oath of office … and then, soon after, it’s Barack Obama’s turn!

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Black Eyed Peas frontman will.i.am debuted his new Obama Victory Song music video It’s A New Day on The Oprah Winfrey Show yesterday afternoon (which is a follow-up of sorts to his earlier Obama Campaign Songs Yes, We Can and We Are The Ones). Here is the music video in full and some information about the song and it’s debut on Oprah’s show:

Now that Barack Obama has won the election, his longtime supporter Will.I.Am is premiering the video for his new song “It’s a New Day.” The Black Eyed Pea spent some time in a New York City studio recording his third ode to the president-elect. Will stopped by “Oprah” on Friday to debut the new celeb-filled video for the track, and is also posting the clip to the site Dipdive. The video flashes pictures of Obama on election night and crowds celebrating the Illinois senator’s victory, alongside images of historical figures like Abraham Lincoln and Harriet Tubman. And it wouldn’t be a Will.I.Am video without some celebrity appearances. This time around, he’s rounded up his bandmate Fergie, as well as actors Olivia Wilde, Jonathan Schaech and Kerry Washington. “It was a beautiful thing,” he told Oprah of spending election night in Chicago. He also couldn’t find the words to describe how excited he is for Obama’s win. “I can’t really explain it,” he said. “I think of my grandma. I think of all the people who paved the way for that moment … like the invisibles who pushed the movement forward.” When he released his first song about the then presidential hopeful, “Yes We Can,” Will gathered celebrity friends including John Legend, Scarlett Johansson and Common for the video. The next song, “We Are the Ones,” also had a star-filled video, this one featuring George Lopez and Jessica Alba.

will.i.am has been such a great proponent of the Obama for President movement that this third victory song is a very fitting way to wrap up his campaign for now President-elect Barack Obama. It really does feel like we are in a “new day” here in the US — this music video really captures that feeling, I think. I know that I am very much looking forward to the next four, hopefully eight years under Barack Obama’s leadership. It’s a new day, indeed.

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