Russell Brand, Tony Bennett, Bruno Mars Pay Tribute To Amy Winehouse At VMAs

The VMA's included a special tribute to the late Amy Winehouse, with the singer's friends, Russell Brand, Tony Bennett and Bruno Mars all paying tribute to the talented and troubled star.

Mars was chosen to pay musical homage to Winehouse, and put his own spin on her hit single Valerie, while encouraging the crowd to clap along and join him in showing appreciation for the late singer.

Russell knew Winehouse before she was famous, and recalled the first time he heard her sing, expressing:

“She was kind of like a daft, dopey person, just kinda wandering around. Kinda crazy. The first time I heard her sing, I didn’t even know it was her."

Russell later Tony Bennett, who unveiled a never-before-seen video from his March 2011 recording session at the Abbey Road Studios in London with the late singer.

Bennett said of the Rehab singer: “I recorded with Amy Winehouse and she was so unbelievable, because of all the artists I met in the last 20 years, she was a true jazz artist”. The pair recorded the single Body and Soul early this year, which ended up being Winehouse’s last studio recording.

Watch Bruno Mars pay tribute to the late Amy Winehouse below....

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Britney Spears Nicki Minaj Kim Kardashian All At the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards

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It was a packed house full of A-listers, and of course some D-listers at the VMA awards.

Check out all the red carpet arrival pictures above.

Snooki Pauly D Justin Bieber and Demi Lovato at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards

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The Celebs came out in full force for the VMA Awards tonight.

Snooki and her crew, Pauly D, Justin Bieber with a snake in his hand and Demi Lovato all hit up the red carpet.

2011 MTV Video Music Awards Red Carpet

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The stars have come out for the 2011 VMA Awards from Hollywood.

Selena Gomez pictured with Adele. LMFAO also hit up tonight's event.

Beyonce is OFFICIALLY PREGNANT!

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Beyonce just showed up to the MTV VMAs sporting a PREGNANT belly.

Rumors have been swirling about Beyonce having a bun in the over for weeks -- but tonight she confirmed the buzz by showing off her baby bump on the red carpet.

Another rich baby in the making!....

Javaris Crittenton FBI On The Hunt

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The FBI has joined the search for ex-NBA player Javaris Crittenton -- who is wanted for murder in the shooting death of a 22-year-old woman.

The feds have announced they are working with police in Atlanta -- where Jullian Jones was shot and killed on August 19.

Cops believe Crittenton was not aiming at Jones -- but rather someone else in the area who may have robbed the former basketball player back in April. It's unclear if officials have an idea where Javaris may be hiding out -- and the FBI is not releasing any further information.

Crittenton was a former member of the Washington Wizards -- he was part of the Gilbert Arenas locker room gun incident back in 2009.

2011 MTV VMA's Pre-Party Pictures

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The 28th annual MTV Video Music Awards happen tonight in L.A. -- but some stars already got a head start on the celebration.

Lady Gaga, Joe Jonas, Sean Kingston, Nicole Scherzinger, Ron Artest and among others were all spotted at different pre-VMA parties all over town Friday and Saturday.

Weekend Box Office: "The Help" Stays On Top

The Help seemed relatively unfazed by Hurricane Irene over the weekend, while the three new nationwide releases Colombiana, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Our Idiot Brother were blown away. The drama packed an estimated $14.3 million, down about 28 percent from last weekend, lifting its total to $96.6 million in 19 days.

The weekend as a whole, though, was the second-slowest of the year so far, ahead of only Super Bowl weekend (Feb. 4-6), but business was poised to flounder, hurricane or no. Colombiana was the strongest debut with an estimated $10.3 million on approximately 2,900 screens at 2,614 locations.