The music world's feverishly preparing for this weekend's Grammy Awards. Some artists, however, need a little more preparation than others. JJ's Dirt passes along word that Cher - who will be performing a duet with Nelly Furtado - absolutely "bombed" during rehearsal. And, as if that's not enough, the legendary entertainer has been butting heads with the considerably younger Furtado:

Cher is acting like a HUGE diva and my source says, "Cher was being bitchy because the production kept being stopped and she was asked to work on certain things in her performance. Just things as simple as to where she needed to stand. Nelly's part was amazing and Cher literally bombed."

Finally Nelly said, "I need a drink!"

My source continues, "Cher's face is so 'red' right now. She is furious speaking to staffers her saying that Nelly had the performance all worked out her way and she didn't need to listen to a 'fucking kid!'"

She's kind of got a point there…

Cher and plus-sized daughter Chastity Bono are reportedly pitching a reality show called Coming Out With Cher and Chas. Despite their differences in the past - including Cher's utter denial and rejection of Chastity's lesbianism - the gals are coming together to help struggling queers come out. If anyone can get a gay boy out, it Cher.

Richard from Proceed at Your Own Risk doesn't have much hope for the show, writing:

I predict this new show will last for about as long as any one of us can stare at a horrific train wreck–or until Chastity mistakes her mother for a midnight snack. In either case, you stare until the blood, guts and body parts make you shiver, shudder and turn away in disgust.

That's ridiculous! This show will in no way, shape or form be a train wreck. Cher has an Oscar - okay? Obviously she wouldn't sign up for some schlocky reality show. She knows better than that - or she should, at least.

C'mon, it wouldn't be a gay pride without Cher, that ageless proverbial gay favorite. Look at her in this video for "Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves". She hasn't aged one bit.

Regardless of the centuries since Cher first entered the celebrity stratosphere, she'll always have our undying love and respect. We're planning on sitting a shiva when she passes - and we're not talking some dinky three-day shiva. It's going to be a year affair for the woman who brought us "Half Breed" and "Dark Lady", both of which we've included after the jump. Hopefully that horrible day won't come any time soon…

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Now that she's not touring anymore, Cher has some extra time to get involved in causes, and her favorite seems to be Operation Helmet, a project started by Texas doctor and Vietnam veteran Bob Meaders to provide upgrades to U.S. soldiers' helmets that consist of shock-absorbing pads and a better strapping system.

Cher has so far given $131,000 to the project, appeared on C-SPAN talking about it, and will accompany Meaders to address Congress about the importance of helmet safety.

I know that I am an entertainer and from Hollywood and should have no conscience, but I am an American and I just cannot bear these people for another moment.

We think she means the Bush administration who won't pay for such safety upgrades.

Cher Storms Capitol Hill to Battle for Better Army Helmets [ABC News via PCJ]
Operation Helmet [Official Site]

We knew that a Canadian could only reign in Las Vegas for so long. When Celine Dion's time at Caesar's Palace is up in 2008, her expensive, diamond-laden shoes will be filled by none other than our favorite (if somewhat bloated) pop diva Cher. Like Celine, Cher will have a special "palace" built just for her to entertain the masses, where she will sing hit after hit until her hot flashes force her to leave the stage.

Cher Says She'll Replace Celine in '08 [Fox News via Jack Mauro]

• Get the poop on the newest infomercial. Can you imagine if this was your dad? [FourFour]

• A review of the new film Phat Girlz (after review of Kinky Boots, which is apparently terrible.) Apparently Mo'Nique needs to shave her legs. [LadyBunnyBlog]

• Celine Dion may finally leave Las Vegas. And Cher is slated to take her spot. [DListed]

• The boys at Made in Brazil are absolutely beside themselves with grief over not being included in Madonna's tour schedule. Go sign their petition if you…um, want to…go see Madonna in Brazil? [MadeInBrazil]

• After her much-hyped (and rather lackluster, but since when is talent necessary?) appearance on Will & Grace, Britney Spears is teaming with the show's producers to hunt for a sitcom project of her own. [StarPulse]

In an upcoming Newsweek interview Liza Minnelli says she isn't sure how she obtained gay icon status, but perhaps it has something to do with her, shall we say, unconventional looks:

“I think probably Barbra (Streisand) and maybe even Cher and myself in school felt like outcasts because we didn’t have standard looks…Maybe what a gay icon is, is a person who is rooted for — in other words, cheered on — by people who feel different.”

Well gosh, perhaps it also has something to do with her domination of 1970's musical theater in gay-themed shows Cabaret and Chicago (if you haven't rented Cabaret yet, you must), her short-but-amicable marriage to super-gay Peter Allen, her raging drug habit fueled by regular appearances at Studio 54, and her disasterous marriage to gross Botox posterboy David Gest. And wasn't she the daughter of Judy Garland, or someone like that?…

She also says in a contest between herself, Cher and Streisand to determine who’s the No. 1 gay icon, Cher would win. We say it's all a wash.

Liza Minnelli Loves Her Gay Fans [MSNBC]

• James Bond to go nekkid. 007 movies have been boring the past several years, but Daniel Craig is already spicing things up. [Socialite's Life]

• Gays infiltrate reality-TV again, but even that won't save Unan1mous, which premieres tonight. Screw it, watch Top Model instead. [Boston.com]

• P. Diddy carries a man-bag. Call it a purse, and he'll pop a cap in yo' ass, bitch. [StarPulse]

• Chastity Bono takes a break from working out on Celebrity Fit Club to chat about her addiction to pills, challenges of losing weight, and having her uterus removed. What a life! [AfterEllen]

Two ladies with big voices and even bigger senses of personal style collided at the Agent Provocateur show during L.A. Fashion Week. While Cher was looking maybe a bit too relaxed, Christina Aguilera was thrilled to see a predecessor whose wackiness made it that much easier for Christina to act like a huge skank in the name of personal expression.

Agent Provocateur intimatewear is designed by Joseph Corre, who is the son of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood and former manager of the Sex Pistols Malcolm McLaren, which means those panties have enough edge for both the queen of costumes and the princess of trashiness. Long live the the royal family!

Courtney In Seventh Heaven At Provacateur Show [Hello! via A Socialite's Life]

We were recently turned on to Dan-O-Rama’s way fun and way gay website. Dan is a video repurposing specialist. What that means is that he takes preexisting images and edits them to create something new entirely.

Dan has worked with Belinda Carlisle, Madonna, and Cher so of course we’re insanely jealous. Clicking around his website could take all day, but trust us honey, it’s worth it.

Madonna videos? Check. Grey Gardens remixes? Check. Bob Mackie tribute? Check. And then there is the Joan Crawford remix. We mean, really. It’s gayer than Transamerica, Capote, and Brokeback rolled in to one.

Dan-O-Rama Productions [Official Site]
Joan Crawford Mega Mix [Dan-O-Rama]

• The B Squad's new target: The Army.

• Bob Mackie is selling a considerable part of his fashion archive. Yes, now is your chance to wear the same ridiculous get-ups as Cher and Elton John.

• Speaking of ridiculous get-ups, Michael Jackson used a woman’s restroom in Dubai and it caused a scandal. He looks like a woman, so what’s the big deal?

• Move over Indigo Girls because we have a new favorite lesbian band. Meet Lez Zeppelin, a bunch of dykes doing Led Zeppelin covers. Rock on!

• We want these faggy yarmulkes and we’re not even Jewish. They are that cute.

From the man who brought you the Madonna/Valerie Cherish connection comes yet another hilarious observation. Last weekend’s "Sunday Styles" section of the New York Times apparently contained information on a lesbian couple’s vows. A celebrity lesbian couple!

”Case in point, the union of Vanessa Haydon, daughter of Bonnie Kay Haydon of New York and the late Charles Haydon, and Chastity Bono, daughter of the legendary pop duo Sonny & Cher, who celebrated their partnership on Saturday in Palm Beach, Fla.”

Who knew Chastity and Donald Trump Jr. resembled one another so much? Thanks Kenneth, they don’t get funnier.