Nov. 20, 2006

Totally Toni

It was a rough night for Toni Braxton. The singer broke down crying during her cabaret show at the Flamingo Las Vegas as she spoke about her youngest son, Diesel, who was diagnosed as being autistic. "My mother told me to talk about it until I can deal with it," said a tearful Braxton to the crowd, 'Toni Braxton: Revealed,' where her mother looked on from a stage-front booth.

I spoke to Braxton a few days after attending her show at the Flamingo, and the pint-sized singer told me that coping with Diesel's condition has been much more difficult than she anticipated. "It's taken longer than I thought because every night when I talk about it, I say, 'Oh okay, I'm going to be okay tonight. It'll be fine.' Then I think about him and I get so emotionally drawn into it and I can't even perform. It's really challenging trying to perform when you're emotional. And once I get emotional like that, I'm pretty much toast for the rest of the performances. But it's great because it will help me and I'm dealing with it," shared Braxton, who is married to former Mint Condition member Keri Lewis and has another son named Denim.

The stability of being in Las Vegas has been an asset to Braxton, who now resides in Sin City permanently while headlining at the Flamingo. "I'm better. We're going on two months now, but its okay. It's an adjustment. I am just glad that I can afford to get him all of the help he needs and have the time to get him all the help he needs. Everyone is doing much, much better. He's progressing very well at the school. He's talking much more. Most of the things we can't completely understand, but there is talking and before, there was none of that. So teachers predict that within the next six months we'll be able to understand most of the things he says," added Braxton.

The singer, a six-time Grammy winner who has sold more than 10 million records worldwide, confessed that she resisted the offer to headline in Las Vegas when she was originally approached. "Actually, when they first asked me to do it, I was a little reserved about saying, 'yes,' immediately. Only because I said I don't know if I want to schlep the whole family all the way over there. Then I thought about it and thought it would be a great thing, because I've always wanted to do Vegas because I love Vegas. Then they said we want you here much longer and then it made sense to me," she explained.

And now that she's planted on the busiest corner on the Las Vegas Strip with her image plastered down the entire side of the Flamingo Las Vegas, Braxton said whether she's performing or not, she'll probably never leave the city. "I love it here. We will probably permanently locate here. It's a lot more suburban than people could imagine. The strip is the strip but outside of it, its very family oriented and that part I love," she offered. 'Toni Braxton: Revealed' kicked off in August of this year and was scheduled to run until March 2007, but Harrah's Entertainment has already extended the production. "We've already extended it another six months. We're taking it in baby steps," she added.

In the show, during a musical tribute to Natalie Cole, Braxton showcases her piano playing skills. Yes, apparently she was Alicia Keys before Alicia Keys was Alicia Keys. It was her piano playing ability and her rendition of an Anita Baker classic that landed her record deal with LaFace Records. Why did Braxton wait this long to show off her piano playing? "Gosh, you know it wasn't intended that way. L.A. Reid always said to me, 'Toni, my one regret in your career, and I have none except for one, I wish we had let everyone know your talent as a musician much earlier in your career.' The thing was, they said they were waiting until the second album to do it. They didn't want to show it all at once. The first album had all of these great Babyface songs and it was wonderful. They said for the next album, you'll play and sing because we want people to know that. Then the second album came and we never did that. By the time the third album happened, we just said, 'We'll do it later.' Then you always think, 'I'll do it later.' But I probably should have done it earlier, but its okay, its something my fans are learning about me," she said.

When Braxton toured with Kenny G, she played the piano during her stage show; however critics didn't believe she actually played. "I read in the press somewhere that 'Miss Braxton faux-played the piano,'" she said laughing.

In addition to covering the hits-"Unbreak My Heart," "Seven Whole Days," "Just Be A Man About It," and "Love Shoulda Brought You Home"-the show also features her sisters, former The Braxtons members Tamar and Trina. Braxton added that her sisters are releasing albums of their own next year. "I'm very excited for them. I believe one of my sisters is about to go to J Records and the other is on Universal," shared Braxton.

Braxton's other sister, Towanda, starred on the reality series 'Starting Over' where she divulged some Braxton family secrets. Despite rumors of a family riff over Towanda's revelations, Braxton said the family was okay with what transpired. "We were fine with it because we all knew she was doing it. People always ask me that and I always say, 'Guys, just because it's a reality show does mean its like, real. It's a reality show.' Some of it was real and probably what the show is about is real, but it has to have entertainment purposes," said Braxton, before adding: "As a matter of fact she's moving here to Vegas. She's going to come out and sing with me some nights. My family and I, we're very close!"

Laughing Out Loud

Be sure to check out comedian George Wallace's 'I Be Thinkin' show at the Flamingo Las Vegas. "It's the best 10 pm show on the strip," Wallace confidently told me. The popular standout show sells out regularly and celebrities from Jerry Seinfeld to Marla Gibbs drop in to see it. The show features rotating opening acts that range from music artists to fellow comics and in recent months, everyone from Yolanda Adams to Chris Tucker to Jennifer Holiday and Marsha Warfield have opened for Wallace.

During the show, Wallace tackles topics ranging from politics to religion and everything in between. "I attend the West Angeles Church of God in Christ. If you're in Los Angeles and want to visit you may see Magic Johnson, who gave $5 million for the construction of our new building. Ladies, Denzel Washington is a member and he also gave $5 million. I don't make as much as either one of them, but I pledged $1 million myself. Now that's what I pledged. That don't mean that's what they're going to get though," Wallace laughed. Not quite done, Wallace added: "Stevie Wonder is a member there too. Every Sunday he gets there 15 minutes late and they walk him down front. I told the usher that she needs to stop bringing him down front. I told her to sit his ass in the back and face him against the wall, he won't know the difference."

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