October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Olivia Newton-John is supporting the cause in more ways than one since she overcame her own personal battle with the disease in 1993.

First, her new CD A Celebration In Song featuring duets with Keith Urban, Richard Marx and more is in stores now, and proceeds go to The Olivia Newton-John Cancer and Wellness Centre, which is due to open in Melbourne, Australia, in 2009. She points to Right Here With You, the duet she recorded with Delta Goodrem, as the most personal song.

“It’s about our cancer journey because Delta also had cancer as a young woman,” Olivia tells me of the Aussie singer, 23, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease at 18. “It says ‘don’t give up, here I am, if you need a helping hand, I’m going to be right here with you.’ It’s all about helping somebody who’s going through the cancer journey.”

Secondly, she’s teamed up with Curves to give away one million of her breast cancer self-examination kits called LivAid.  

“I hope that one day every woman will be given one of these because it’s important,” she tells me.

For Olivia, 60, who married entrepreneur John Easterling in June, giving back is her way of helping others. But she’s also seen her share of heartache. Aside from breast cancer, the Grease icon’s trials and tribulations have included her longtime boyfriend Patrick McDermott’s mysterious disappearance in 2005, and divorce from Matt Lattanzi, who is the father of her 22-year-old daughter Chloe, in 1995. What is the most difficult thing she’s overcome, and how did she get through it?

“I’ve had a lot of challenges, so I won’t put a name on one of them,” she tells me. “Just believing that I would get through it and knowing that there are no shortcuts. With any challenge or pain or difficulty, the only way through it is to go through it -- go through the fire. And you come out the other end of it. There’s a balance in life. I think life has an equilibrium. It balances out. Hopefully you learn from your experiences and grow. I think I’ve always had a pretty positive attitude that I would get through whatever it is. I live life that way.”

She recently celebrated her 60th birthday. How does she feel?

“Fortunate,” Olivia laughs. “I feel very blessed that I’m here and I’m healthy. I couldn’t be in a better place in my life.”

Any tips for looking so great after six decades? Aside from applying her hubby’s Amazon Herb product Illuvia to her skin twice a day, Olivia credits her youthful looks to using the treadmill, taking walks and playing tennis two to three times a week. Their dogs Jack and Sherlock often accompany the couple when they hike or take strolls on the beach. And she's in fantastic shape. Earlier this year, Olivia spent three weeks walking 250 miles along the Great Wall of China.

For every day, she attributes her sleek physique to the digestive aid Digestazon from John’s Amazon Herb line.

“I take it with every meal and it helps digest food,” she says. “I eat everything now because I can digest it well. I used to eat more carefully. I like grilled food, I tend to like grilled simple foods like salads and vegetables, I eat meat occasionally like chicken and fish. I eat well. I eat fruits and vegetables. I don’t see it as a diet, I see it as a lifestyle for me. I try to eat organically as much as I can.”

Check out the LivAid breast cancer self-examination kit and A Celebration In Song CD in stores now.

Stars roll down the purple carpet outside NYC’s Hammerstein Ballroom just in time for VH1’s Hip Hop Honors, which airs tonight.

Here’s Eve, who is here to honor to Slick Rick.

“I’m very nervous that I’m going to get the lyrics right,” she admits. “If I don’t get nervous, I get worried. I feel like it’s going to be bad. When I get nervous, I’m good.”

Up next is the always-affable Wyclef Jean, who happens to be in town at the same time as his good friends Brangelina and family.

“They’re doing great,” he tells me. “They’re great people, and actually I was just at a Clinton event, CGI. They didn’t come, but they definitely sent their support to our foundation Yele Haiti due to the flood that just happened a few weeks ago. They’re great people, great friends of mine, they’re just great human beings.”

Has he gotten to baby-sit twins Knox and Vivienne? “No comment, baby.” And what theme song would best describe the family? Wyclef sings a familiar melody. “Monday, Tuesday, Happy Days; Wednesday, Thursday, Happy Days…I like that one.”

Kid Rock slides through with a cigar in hand. When asked what he’s working on, he thinks for a moment. “I’m working on myself,” he says. Good answer!

Also looking for self-improvement is Estelle, who is riding the charts with Kanye West thanks to American Boy. According to the Brit crooner, the Golddigger rapper is misunderstood. “People were like ‘he’s an idiot, he’s awful,’ and he’s never been that way,” she tells me. “I look at him from the perspective that he actually believes in himself. I think that’s amazing! I think that’s what every human being should be about. Why not? Why not say I’m the ****? Especially because everyone is. If everyone felt that way and had that confidence in themselves, the world would be a much better place. There would be a lot less crazy going on.”

How does she feel about the melee he got into with the paparazzi?
     
“Sometimes they get in your face, and I don’t think he reacted particularly wrong,” Estelle says. “They probably deserved it. I would have the same reaction myself, like ‘get it out of my face.’ I’m just glad to do what I do. I don’t hate them.”

Here is clock-wearing Flava Flav to provide comic relief. “I heard somebody asked Barack Obama ‘are you black?’ and he said ‘yes, I’m black but not as black as Flava Flav.’ Wowwwwwww. Let me find out that Flava Flav is renting a spot in Obama’s mind. I love Obama.”

Host Tracy Morgan couldn’t be more excited about working with Oprah Winfrey on 30 Rock. “Oprah don’t do nobody else’s sitcom,” he tells me. What’s he going to say when he meets her? “How you doin’? What’s up? Let me hold some money. I need it. Bail me out.” And what about boss Tina Fey’s impression of Sarah Palin? “Her impression in itself might decide who is going to be president of the United States. I think Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin was on the money.”

MC Lyte recently saw her good pal Janet Jackson perform in concert before she fell ill. Why does Miss Jackson make a good friend? “She’s honest,” MC tells me. “It’s hard to find that sometimes. Also I make it my business to have friends around me who I want to be like or I want to embody something from them that’s very positive. That’s who she is to me.” What does Janet have that she hopes to emulate? “The work ethic is crazy. To prepare for this tour, it was rehearsals for four months. I’d never do that! Rehearse for four months, are you kidding? But she does it, and I think that work ethic comes from being a Jackson no doubt. That’s how I aspire to be.”

Busta Rhymes can’t resist talking politics. “The most appropriate people for the slots, their names begin with Bs, just like mine.” Hahaha.

Hey, there’s Ugly Betty's Freddy Rodriguez. Will Gio get back with Betty? "Oh I don’t know, you’ve gotta wait and see. You’ve gotta watch."

Catch VH1’s Hip Hop Honors tonight.

Freddy Rodriguez, 33, is starting to feel old now that his kids are growing up.

“I have a 13-year-old, so my son has a mustache and is starting to go through puberty, which is weird because I still look young,” Freddy tells me. “It’s starting to look weird when I walk down the street with him. I’m starting to look like his big brother rather than his father. But he’s great. The kids are just doing stuff that regular kids do nowadays and I’m enjoying seeing them grow up.”

What’s the best thing about being a dad for the guy who plays America Ferrera's love interest on Ugly Betty?

“Having two people 100% depend on you, and you being responsible for molding their lives. I love that responsibility.”

When Freddy was growing up, his favorite toy was Transformers.

“I even went on eBay before the movie came out and re-bought a toy I have.”

Luckily, with a movie-star dad like Freddy, his tots can get more.

His Bottle Shock costar Rachael Taylor appeared in Transformers.

“I’ve got some sitting in my closet you could have,” she says.

Deborah Gibson is doing it for the kids.

Fresh off the stellar success of this summer’s L.A.-based Camp Electric Youth, the ‘80s pop icon is gearing up to bring a five-day winter intensive version to NYC December 26-30. Performers, ages 10-20, will have six classes a day covering songwriting, acting, vocal technique, dance, music theory, pop performance and more. Wow!

But that’s not all. Deborah, 38, plays a teacher in the production of The King And I held at California's Kavli Theatre in the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza from October 17-26.

What’s Deborah's proudest moment so far? After all, she was crowned the youngest performer to write, produce and perform a #1 single and has appeared on Broadway in Les Miserables, Grease, Cabaret and Beauty And The Beast.

“Probably winning the ASCAP Songwriter of the Year award,” the Lost In Your Eyes singer tells me. “I tied with Bruce Springsteen. That was a huge accomplishment because I really fought with the record company to be able to record my own material.”

What’s her most common fan reaction?

“A lot of times people want to tell me an anecdote about where they were when they heard a song or if a song was a part of them getting together with their current boyfriend or husband,” she says. “People love sharing memories with me, which I love, because I feel like my music has been part of the soundtrack to their lives. That’s very special. That thrill never wears thin.”

 

These kids are learning from the best!

 

Yes, my pen-pal ad appeared in the Debbie Gibson International Fan Club magazine when I was 13. ;) I think the No More Rhyme video shoot was on the cover.

 

Catch Deborah in The King And I from October 17-26, or sign up for her Camp Electric Youth to be held this December in NYC.