Mel B

The place to be to ring in 2011? For many of Hollywood's elite, it was The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, the city's newest and most glamorous resort, which kicked off a grand opening celebration with concert performances from JAY-Z and Coldplay, plus guest surprises by Kanye West, Beyonce and John Mayer.

Coldplay kicked off the evening with a 12 song set, which included Yellow, In My Place and Clocks. To ring in the New Year, JAY-Z joined Coldplay on stage for a rendition of Lost, followed by a countdown to midnight. JAY-Z took the stage for the first hours of 2011 and was joined by Kanye West for an impromptu freestyle performance of Run This Town, Can't Tell Me Nothing and Runaway. As Kanye left the stage, John Mayer joined pal JAY-Z with his guitar for several songs, including Public Service Announcement and 99 Problems. The ultimate collaboration of the evening came when Beyonce joined her husband on stage for Young Forever. She continued to wow the crowd, bringing Coldplay frontman Chris Martin back out for an acoustic duet of her hit, Halo.

The Kardashians seem to be everywhere lately. Just the past few months have given us one Kardashian (Khloe) at the White House with her basketball player husband and another Kardashian (Kim) at the Super Bowl with her football player boyfriend. And then there are the reality television shows and the commercials. And it's not over yet. Kim Kardashian has produced mini-documentary titled The Spindustry about the promotion for Sugar Factory's luxury lollipops with Kardashian friend Jonathan Cheban of Command PR.

Kim Kardashian has her own line of lollipops with the company. The pops each have crystal-covered sticks and interchangeable color-coordinated heads. Former Spice Girl Mel B also has a line of the pops. The Pussycat Dolls and Britney Spears had lines of the lollipops to support their most recent tours. The Couture Pops cost $25 each and additional heads are $12 for three.

The real estate world has been buzzing about whether or not the Beckhams are selling their Beverly Hills home to the Cruises. Meanwhile, Victoria Beckham's band mate in the Spice Girls, Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice, aka Mel B, has dropped her home on the market. As the Real Estalker reports, Mel B picked up the home for $3 million in 2007 which makes the $2,999,999 listing price a bit of a shocker especially since the listing description says that the home has undergone a million dollar makeover. The home has beautiful city views and is tucked into the hills. Considering that Mel B and her husband have four children between them, the five-bedroom home, which seems not at all kid-friendly, might have not been a fit. This home with its curving glass staircase and sharp edges everywhere seems like an accident waiting to happen.

For those without young children there is much to love including an open floor plan and walls of windows that slide open to let in the air.The master bath is a bit crypt-like with its marble on marble on marble decor. The marble has snuck its way into a small fireplace in the master bedroom which seems a bit small by Hollywood standards but boasts a lovely view. The swimming pool is next to an outdoor kitchen and waterfalls with a Buddha statue. The large wooden deck includes an outdoor pool table and the home seems to have almost as much outdoor space as indoor space. The overall effect is more young Hollywood than family style but I'm guessing some freshly-minted sitcom star will snap this one up quickly.

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Has someone finally picked up Villa Versailles? The over-the-top Malibu mansion which we featured as an estate of the day back in May, is now listed as having gone to contract.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--Two Trees Farm, the site of the Bridgehampton Polo Club has gone on the market for a whopping $95 million. The land is 115 acres, which has preliminary approval for 18 "estate parcels," as well as two houses, an eight-unit apartment building, three barns, two indoor riding arenas, two polo fields, a pool and a tennis court.
--Natalie Portman has put her apartment, shown above, in Richard Meier's transparent West Village tower at 165 Charles St. for $6.55 million. The listing for the three-bedroom pad is here.
--Mel B. (aka Melanie Brown or Scary Spice) is in negotiations to buy a two-bedroom apartment with a $2 million price tag at Platinum, the nearly completed Midtown condominium complex on Eighth Avenue and 46th Street.
--Heather Mills has just closed on a full-floor condo at the Richard Meier-designed 173 Perry St.
--Sports broadcaster Bob Costas has sold his Time Warner Center apartment in the south tower for $8.5 million.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
-- Mark Peel, executive chef and owner of Campanile, has bought a classic Mediterranean in Hancock Park that was listed for $3.1 million. Peel's wife, comedian Daphne Brogdon, is host of TV Guide Channel's weekly series "The Fashion Team." She is creator of CoolMom.com.
--Fashion designer Christian Audigier has bought a just-restored Spanish-style hacienda that had been listed for $2.15 million.
--Actress Luciana Paluzzi and Michael Solomon,former president of Warner Bros. International and co-founder of Telepictures Corp. have llisted their Beverly Hills home for $19.995 million. The 13,638-square-foot Spanish-style house was built in 1988. The property website is here.

From the Real Estalker:
--Perez Hilton recently showed off his apartment on MTV Cribs.
--Jessica Lange and Sam Shepard have put their home in Stillwater, Minnesota on the market for $1.95 million. It's our estate of the day later today.
--Film and television composer Graeme Revell has listed his Malibu estate for $27.5 million. He and his wife Brenda purchased the five acre estate in May of 2004 for $12 million. The listing is here.
--Rumor has it that Ed McMahon may have finally unloaded his home.
--via TMZ, real estate agent Josh Flagg who stars on Bravo's Million-Dollar Listing TV show has been arrested for stealing valuable paintings from listed houses.
--Pete Wentz has put his Hollywood Hills home on the market for $1.799 million. The property website is here

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Grateful Dead bassist PhilLesh and his wife, Jillspeth, paid $1,775,000 earlier this month for a condo on Prince Street near Broadway.
--Three new expensive rentals have hit the marketing charging $75,000 per month (nearly $1 million per year). At the Plaza, the founder of European operations for the clothing company Esprit, Jürgen Friedrich, put the building's largest original apartment, the Astor Suite, up for rent (he also recently put a Southampton home on the market for $67.5 million). The apartment listing is here. A duplex penthouse at 25 West Houston also went on the market for $75,000 a month, the listing is here. And there is also a $75,000 per month listing at the Waldorf Towers on East 50th Street (the listing agent Margaret H. Bay also has $95,000, $130,000 and $140,000 per month listings). The listing for the $75,000 apartment is here. The king of expensive rentals, is still the penthouse duplex at Trump Park Avenue that is being offered for $200,000 per month.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Actor Johnny Knoxville has listed his three-bedroom home in the Hollywood Hills for $1.695 million. The listing is here.
-Music producer DJ Lethal has listed his two-bedroom contemporary-style house in the Hollywood Hills for $1.35 million. He purchased the home from actor Ivan Sergei's Lankershim Blvd Trust back in 2005 for the exact same amount. The listing is here.
--Once again rumors are swirling that Dr. Phil McGraw has placed his Beverly Hills mansion on the market for $18 million in a pocket listing, which means it is private and we can't show you a listing.
--Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen's official sale price for their house in Malibu was $15.5 million.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Cher's Malibu mansion has hit the market for $45 million. As Big Time Listings points out, the 14,000 square foot home was on the market in early 2007 for $25 million. The listing is here.
--Artist Jennifer Bartlett has sold her Manhattan townhouse, which includes a pool and her studio, for $17 million. It was previously our estate of the day back in July of last year.
--Shaquille O'Neal has dropped the price on his Miami home from $32 million to $29 million. I'll be taking a closer look at this one on Monday as our estate of the day.