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Many stars dream of having a Las Vegas run. Boyz II Men have achieved it. They have just announced a deal to perform weekend shows at the Terry Fator Theatre at The Mirage starting March 1. Tickets, which are on sale now, start at $40. It’s not a full-residence gig like Celine Dion, but they have signed on for a healthy number of shows. The Grammy-winning 1990s R&B trio will perform 78 weekend shows through the end of the year, reports The Grio.

“Vegas residencies are usually reserved for seasoned or veteran artists; legacy artists. Boyz II Men have been around 20 years now. They are a bit younger than most of the entertainers who do Vegas residencies,” explains David Mitchell, publisher of music industry trade publication Amalgamation. The group’s broad appeal — across demographics, genre, and even families, is their biggest asset. “They would attract thirty-somethings who grew up on their music, and that audience is prime target for Vegas shows and nightlife. The cool thing about Boyz II Men is they have a string of pop crossover hits so their appeal will be across age and racial lines. They can appeal to the entire family. And not every group from the ´90s era can replicate this move.”

Some artists turn to Vegas to revive their careers. Toni Braxton is a case in point. After her half-year Vegas residency at the Flamingo, which was interrupted due to her health problems, the singer was back into the spotlight. She went on to snag a reality show and become a media attraction — financial drama aside.  There aren’t many opportunities for artists without current hits and Vegas gives them an option.

“Opportunities in the music industry aren’t what they once were, especially in the States, so a Vegas residency isn’t necessarily a bad thing,” Mitchell tells us in an email.

Vegas can also give bigger-name acts a chance to do more extravagant stage shows. It’s costly to take shows with special effects on the road, but if done in Vegas at one location, the costs are kept in check. “A Vegas move could place Boyz II Men in a position to create more spectacle since they are in one place night to night. I would think an Usher or Beyonce tour, featuring all of the stage effects, could be a cost benefit from being in one place nightly,” Mitchell points out.

It’s also a big pay day for major acts. Celine Dion’s first five-year residency in Vegas from 2002 to 2007 was a multi-million dollar deal. She performed her “A New Day…” show for more than three million fans and the series of shows grossed  more than $400 million, reports Ace Showbiz. Dion re-upped in 2010 — again for a multi-million-dollar contract — for a three-year run at the Caesars Palace theater, which was originally built for her concerts.

But there can be some downside to playing in Vegas. Braxton says her financial troubles started with her stint in the city. According to TMZ.com, “[W]hen Toni’s heart condition started to act up  – in the middle of the show’s run — she had to pull the plug, but she was still on the hook to the hotel for big bucks.” The singer expected her insurance policy to cover the bill, but reports TMZ, the company claimed “Toni had an undisclosed, preexisting medical condition, rendering the policy void.”

Braxton’s case is unique, but Mitchell says there are other downsides to a long-term Vegas gig. “Some critics think once you’ve done Vegas, you’re old. I think that notion is changing, especially since seeing an artist like Toni Braxton leading the same path.”

And for big name acts, they “miss a large part of your audience by not touring. Not everyone is going to make a pilgrimage to Vegas,” he adds.

Would you go see Boyz II Men in Vegas?

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It used to be that when your career was nearing its end, there wasn’t a whole lot that could help resuscitate it. Then came reality television. Now many a has-been celebrity have found new life (and bigger paychecks) by jumping on the reality bandwagon. Whether they’ve taken a spin around the “Dancing with the Stars” ballroom or honed their business chops on “Celebrity Apprentice,” these celebrities have found fame in unexpected places. Madame Noire lists its 15 celebs that have benefited most from a little reality action.

As an artist, finding a producer who can bring out the best in your voice and arrange hit records is hard. And for those lucky few who do, staying together can be even harder. For the artists on this list, we loved the music they made with their producers, but just like divorces in real life—some we hated to see separate, while others were clearly for the best.

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Brandy and Rodney Jerkins

Although Rodney Jerkins didn’t begin working with Brandy until her second album “Never Say Never,” the musical match helped boost her into super-stardom. Together they made a unique sound and we all loved it. With hits like “The Boy is Mine,” “What About Us?” and “Almost Doesn’t Count,” the duo was on a roll. So, we were all surprised when the two went their separate ways after the success of the “Full Moon” album.

On Brandy’s fourth studio album, “Aphrodisiac,” Jerkins did not produce one song; instead she turned to producer Timberland to create the majority of the CD. The album had little success, and she returned to Jerkins and the Darkchild crew to produce her fifth studio album “Human,” but it was too late, the musical magic was long gone between the two. The reason they parted ways in the first place is still a bit unclear, but tension remains high between the two judging by the brief run of Brandy’s family reality show when they had dinner together.

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Fame is fleeting: sometimes you’re the hottest thing in Hollywood and other times you can barely get your name in tabloids. Twelve of these stars have accomplished the seemingly impossible – or at least the extremely difficult – task of reestablishing their fame after losing it. On the other hand, three of these stars have struggled to revive their careers, proving how temporary the spotlight can be.

Surprisingly, there have been many notable comebacks that deserved mention, so it was difficult to narrow this list. Check out these celebs who managed to climb to the top not once, but twice.

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Toni, Toni, Toni. If the R&B singer thought Oprah was harsh on her back in 1998 when she questioned her about having Gucci flatware, I’m curious how she feels about the outcome of her recent 20/20 interview in which she was basically asked to rehash every money woe she’s ever had in her life. Everybody knows Toni has been on the financial struggle bus since the ’90s, having filed for bankruptcy twice since making it big. Though she already recently revealed the source behind those filings on her VH1 Behind the Music special — shady business deals and sickness– Toni has pretty much neglected to take any personal responsibility for her mishandling of funds. But in her 20/20 chat, she sort of did just that.

When asked how it was possible for someone who sold 50 million albums to go flat broke, she said:

“I love dishes and house things so I kind of lost it a little bit on the house ware. That kind of stuff, the girly things that’s what I indulged in – 1,000-thread-count sheets.”

Mmm.

Unfortunately for her, all of that stopped when out of $170 million in album sales she took home less than $2,000 — $1,972 to be exact. Most people are more concerned with how that happened, as opposed to her having to file for bankruptcy, and Toni explained:

“What happens is they will give you an advance million on the next record and the next record so you kind of stay in debt in a sense.”

It’s not hard for people to wrap their heads around the shadiness of the record industry, but what most do have trouble understanding is how the singer ended up in debt to the tune of $50 million a second time. A lot of fans know that the singer being diagnosed with lupus and a heart condition caused her to cancel her Vegas shows, and that she was subsequently sued by all of the vendors for the cash they missed out on. But when the reporter brought up $15,000 debts to Tiffanys in the last filings, I’m sure some wondered whether Toni actually learned her lesson the first time around. All she had to say was:

“Some of the things you read aren’t true because I heard I owed BMW too and I don’t own a BMW.”

She does own a rather extravagant LA home, though. The type that makes you wonder, is this the fruits of no labor? But the truth is Toni has now gotten into the private global concert sector and claims the “money is yummy” but now she keeps her checks properly balanced.

“I have to monitor myself, she said, “because I am definitely on a budget.”

Let’s hope so.

Check out Toni’s #20/20Confessions special on the next page. Do you think her financial situation is really in order now?

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This past summer, Georgia ranked number one in the country for foreclosures.  In May 2012, Georgia had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation with 300 housing units, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Things may have improved slightly, but a high number of foreclosures still continue in the Peach State, and big-name celebrities were not immune. Access Atlanta reports on all the housing problems of the stars.

On top of her other money troubles, Toni Braxton’s Duluth home was foreclosed on November 12. The home, according to TMZ, had been up for sale for $1.1 million. Nas still owed $507,000 on the $584,000, two-bedroom, three-bathroom Georgia home he bought in 2004. Needless to say, he lost it to foreclosure.

He made millions as the heavyweight boxing champion but even Evander Holyfield couldn’t avoid foreclosure on his $14 million dollar Georgia mansion. And, he will be auctioning off his possessions on November 30.

TLC’s Tionne Watkins-Rolison, aka T-Boz, has brushed close to foreclosure not once but twice. In 2009, she almost last her five-bedroom, 10,000-square foot Georgia home. And again last year she was threatened with foreclosure.

Even if they haven’t faced foreclosure, other stars are having major real estate woes. Usher is trying to get rid of his Roswell mansion, reports TMZ. He wants $3.2 million for the 12,544-square-foot home he purchased in March 2007 for $3 million while married to Tameka Raymond.

In another part of Georgia, Academy Award-winning Precious actress Mo’Nique is trying to get out of her $22,000-a-month lease on her Georgia rental. She is complaining the house smells like dog feces. Yuck. Good luck with that Mo´Nique.

But the million-dollar question is why celebs have so many real estate problems. Is it a case of just having too much property to keep track of? Maybe celebs are real estate novices just like the rest of us and need better advice about how to handle their business? Anyone out there with expertise that can shed a little light on this issue?

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Celebrities make a lot of money, and with that money comes an expensive wardrobe, nice cars, vacations all over the world, and of course, multiple homes. Though the Hollywood elite make more money than many of us will ever have in a lifetime, sometimes some of them aren’t so money-wise. Here are 14 celebs who foreclosed on their homes, but thankfully, most of them have plenty of other places to call home.

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Everybody is trying to get in on the talk show business right now, including the Braxton sisters.  Millions of viewers already tune in to Wetv faithfully each week to watch Traci, Toni, Towanda, Trina, Tamar, and even Miss E argue, hug it out, sing, and plenty more, and now the sisters are thinking they can get just as many people to watch them on a daily talk show.

“Toni, Traci, Towanda and Trina are all in LA right now, pitching a talk show,” a Los Angeles TV executive told The Huffington Post. “Think ‘The View’ but with a lot of sass! There will be the Braxton sisters’ version of ‘Hot Topics,’ called ‘Spill the T,’ plus gossip, relationships, fashion, makeover segments and celebrity guests. They have even gotten their mom to do an ‘Ask Mommy’ advice segment. A fun, fun show.”

This actually doesn’t sound like a bad idea. The Braxtons are definitely entertaining and without Tamar, they should be able to keep things tame, yet entertaining, on the set without overdoing it. It will be interesting to see what network might be interested in picking this up as there aren’t any talk shows on air with a group of all-black hosts.  I like that idea.

It looks like the sisters are close to making this happen too. A family friend told HuffPost:

“Toni is totally into it, as is the rest of the family. They have somehow managed to secure Rob Dauber, a veteran of ‘The Rosie Show,’ ‘Oprah’ and ‘The Wendy Williams Show,’ to be executive producer and make them the next daytime hit. Plus, you know they are going to have one hell of a theme song!”

That is true. Would you watch a Braxton Family Values talk show?

While still stuck in the house working thanks to Sandy, I once again had to endulge in “The Wendy Williams Show” this morning. On the program this time around was Vince Herbert and Tamar Braxton, and it seems the “happy” couple was on their media rounds for the sake of doing damage control. For about a month now rumors have been swirling that the two were heading for a divorce, and the rumors only heated up more when it came out that the two were selling their 15,000 square foot mansion after having lived in it less than a year. Well, they say the move is just a coincidence, and the divorce speculation is false. A healthy looking Vince and his lady also talked about whether or not they have any regrets about doing their show and on possible beef between Oprah and Toni Braxton.

When asked about where the rumor about a possible split came about, which Wendy had even gone out of her way to claim Tamar planted out their in the media for publicity (rude), Tamar denied the rumors and said she would never do such a thing:

I don’t know. I don’t really, lie because it’s hard for me to remember stuff. I would never put a rumor out like that…because this is my baby. I don’t play with that one. But we’re selling our house, that’s a fact.

Perfect segway, because Wendy then asked Tamar why the two were selling their lavish 15,000 square foot home, which was only a space for three people by the way, when they just moved in. Well, Tamar pointed the finger saying it was all Vince’s idea because he found an even bigger and better home, but he says he did it for his lady: “I want you to have everything you need, babe. We need a little bit more space.” I know what you’re thinking, more space for a couple with no children? But why? Vince wants a gym for himself, a little beauty salon for Tamar to get her glam on…out of his way, and adding all these things would have been even more costly, so it was actually cheaper to just move instead of adding on to their now for sale crib.

As for regrets, she doesn’t have any regarding what she put out there about herself, her man and their relationship, but ironically, she doesn’t like people thinking they can comment on it. As she says, “I don’t have any regrets…its just that a lot of people think it’s okay to comment on how you run your relationship.” And while they weren’t getting along perfectly on the show, she says nothing they’ve gone through would be worth trying to divorce over. They prefer counseling. “When we got married, we decided that divorce was not an option.”

I think what Toni was saying was that people were looking at her differently because they thought she spent all her money at Gucci and Prada and stuff like that, which she definitely didn’t, and I can attest to that. But I felt like Oprah really did hurt her feelings and Toni had every right to say that she hurt her feelings. Oprah’s a human being as well, and she hurts people’s feeling sometimes.

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While trapped in the house because of lack of transportation thanks to Hurricane Sandy, I was flicking through the channels this morning and for once, decided to stop at “The Wendy Williams Show.” I’ve never really been a big fan, but the non-stop news and lack of cable is making me a bit depressed and tired. So anywho, I look and she actually had the chance to interview Halle Berry while homegirl was promoting her most recent release in theaters, Cloud Atlas (sadly the promotion didn’t really work–the movie kind of crashed and burned). During their sit-down, which Wendy traveled to LA for, they covered some very interesting topics–and no, they didn’t include anything about moving to France and dealing with Gabriel Aubry so don’t even ask. But she did talk about what she went through to play that crackhead in Jungle Fever (10 days without a bath: “Ask Sam Jackson, he’s the one who got a big whiff of it”); That her daughter doesn’t really know her name like that (she calls her Halle Blueberry); That she’s leaving it up to God to see whether or not she’ll give Nahla a little brother or sister; That she feels like her best self when she rocks her short hair (though she gets bored like everybody else from time to time), she loves her some “The Voice,”  and that she gets confused for two R&B divas whose fame is just as big as her own.

In a game of five questions, Wendy asked Halle who folks tend to mistake her for and surprisingly, she said Toni Braxton and Janet Jackson. “Toni Braxton when I have short hair, Janet Jackson when I have long hair.” You know, honestly, I could somewhat get Toni with the short cut, because they both made their respective cuts must-haves for women everywhere, but during that time when she was wearing those long wavy locks, I don’t really see as Ms. Jackson. But they do have those cheekbones. Hey, you know what they say–we all look alike anyway (kidding!!!!).

Do you think Halle Berry of all people bears a resemblance to Toni or Janet depending on her hairstyle at the time? Do people confuse you for someone you don’t think you look like?

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