ELTON JOHN DEDICATES SONG TO GRIEVING REDGRAVE.

SIR ELTON JOHN showed his support for grieving actress VANESSA REDGRAVE at a concert in New York on Thursday night (13May10) - dedicating a song to the star after she lost her daughter, brother and sister in a matter of months.

The 73 year old has faced a series of personal tragedies in recent months - her daughter Natasha Richardson died last year (09) following a skiing accident, and the grief was compounded by the tragic deaths of her brother Corin, who passed away in April (10), and her sister Lynn, who lost her battle with breast cancer earlier this month (May10).

Redgrave turned out to support Sting's eco-friendly charity the Rainforest Fund at a fundraiser at Carnegie Hall this week (beg10May10), and the Rocket Man showed his appreciation for her appearance at the event by dedicating a track to her during his performance. Before launching into a rendition of I Guess That's Why They Call It th e Blues, Sir Elton told the crowd, "She's had a hell of a year. Vanessa, this is to you with love from me and all the artists on the stage."

OZONE MAGAZINE ANNOUNCES STAR STUDDED LINE UP OF PERFORMERS FOR THE 3RD ANNUAL OZONE AWARDS.

OZONE Magazine (www.ozonemag.com) today announced the presenters and performances for its 3rd annual Ozone Awards. T-Pain and Rick Ross will help headline the show's chart-topping musical talent. Other performers will include The Game, Plies, Bun B, Lil Boosie, DJ Khaled and Trick Daddy.

Presenters for the awards include Flo Rida, Young Buck, Soulja Boy, Pitbull, Bow Wow, Trina, David Banner, Ray J, Lloyd, C-Murder, Mya, Paul Wall and Chamillionaire. They will be handing out awards in over 25 categories including "Best Rap Album"; "Breakthrough Artist"; "Best Rap Group"; Best Video"; "DJ of The Year"; and the newest "Pimp C Award (TRILLEST ARTIST)." A full list of nominees can be found by logging on to www.ozonemag.com/toa_voting.

Topping this year's performances will be a Pimp C tribute set, orchestrated by fellow UGK member Bun B. The set includes Big Boi, Webbie & Boosie, Too Short, 8Ball & MJG, David Banner, and other special surprise guests.

The OZONE Awards is the grand finale of TJ'S DJ'S Tastemakers Only Music Conference (www.tjsdjs.com), a weekend long celebration of the top artists, executives, DJs and tastemakers in the music business and southern hip hop. Heavyweights such as Nelly, Lil Wayne, T.I., and Young Jeezy will all celebrate during the weekend with private events. Conference registrants and DJs will have access to these private functions, which will be filmed for MTV Jams and BET Rap City.

The event begins on Friday August 8th with the UGK Pool tournament, Nelly's Bowling Challenge, and the Rap-A-Lot/Cash Money Kickoff party. Producer, artist, and DJ panels featuring the biggest names in the music industry take place on Saturday and Sunday. T.I. and Grand Hustle host the OZONE Awards pre-party on Sunday night, and Young Jeezy hosts the Island Def Jam BBQ in the Park on Monday leading into the OZONE Awards red carpet. For a full list of events during the weekend please log onto www.ozoneawards.com.

Above is BET's Pimp C award tribute with his wife looking on earlier this year.

LEWIS FIGHTS TEARS AT MANDELA TRIBUTE!

British chart sensation LEONA LEWIS fought back tears as she performed for NELSON MANDELA at the former South African President's 90th birthday tribute concert in London on Friday (27Jun08). The singer joined an all-star line-up, including Amy Winehouse and Razorlight, at the concert in Hyde Park. Lewis belted out singles Bleeding Love and Better in Time, and confessed to WENN, "It was a really emotional moment for me. "There were definitely a few tears. My auntie and grandmother would tell me stories about Nelson Mandela. I never dreamed I would be up there singing at his birthday celebration. It was very emotional performing for him."

The concert I hear was fantastic with Will and Jada hosting plus Amy Winehouse looking superhealthy and Q looking nice and fat, what else could anyone ask for? Dry your tears Leona. My sister blog in the U.K The Hip-Hop Chronicle will be giving us more video feeds of Amy's performance. Stay tuned.