Despite the whirlwind of controversy surrounding Omarion's mentor and friend, the young singer, along with Bow Wow, his partner in sub par rap/R&B duets, released the new video for their song, "Going Back to Cali," I mean, "Hey Baby." They manage to keep the blatant homoeroticism to a minimum, here. Congrats, guys.

Raz B, who scandalized the small percentage of the population that knows who he and Chris Stokes are with his child molestation allegations (which Chris Stokes, Marques Houston, and Omarion have vigorously denied), has decided to take it all back in a 30 second YouTube video. He claims the original video (see it after the jump) that started the scandal was leaked without his knowledge and that the claims against his former manager Stokes and Marques Houston were untrue. From the looks of his body language and the sound of his voice, he doesn't seem like he's too enthusiastic about retracting his words. I definitely predict several more YouTube videos, one of which will probably be a retraction of this retraction, in Raz B's future.

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• It's really sad when one can find a more lasting love on I Love New York than on The Bachelor. [People]

• Omarion defends Chris Stokes against child molestation allegations. He said Stokes was always like a father figure to him. [SOHH]

• Kobe Bryant is the youngest player in NBA history to score 20,000 points. Sports. Yay. [EUR]

• Check the difference in enthusiasm — IDRIS ELBA! YAY! [BV]

• Marion Jones's sad steroids evidence. [TSG]

Chris Stokes, the mastermind behind B2K and Immature, found himself defending child molestation this Christmas, after former B2K member Raz B put out a very inflammatory, pretty convincing YouTube video in which he accuses Stokes of molesting him when he was a child and speculating that he molested others, like Omarion, as well. Stokes has vehemently denied having inappropriate relationships with any of his young proteges.

It's rumored that the LAPD is now investigating the allegations against Stokes, with whom Marques Houston and Omarion still have a very close relationship.

Last year, Bow Wow's solo album opened at No. 6 with 262,000 sold, and Omarion's solo venture opened at No. 1 with 119,000 sold. This year, the friends collaborated to make Face Off, which sold only 107,000 in it's first week and didn't even make it into the top 10 of the Billboard 200. This kind of reminds me of Ne-Yo's song "Make Me Better," but in reverse.

Check out who else had a less-than-stellar debut on the charts after the jump.

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Predictably, it's Omarion, the one that didn't make a fool out of himself, who is defending Bow Wow for taking a spoof interview on BET way, way too seriously. To make a long explanation short, Omarion basically cops to the duo having major chips on their shoulders and wanting to be treated like 50 Cent or Game. Oh, really?

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It will be a while before the episode of MTV's My Super Sweet Sixteen starring Quincy Brown, the unofficial stepson of Diddy and the actual son of Kim Porter and Al B. Sure, airs. But rest assured that Diddy allowed no stop to go unpulled for the party, which happened this weekend and featured guests like Lauren London, Bow Wow, Omarion, Chris Brown, Hurricane Chris, Crime Mob, and Jermaine Dupri. No Cassie, though. Rev Run brought little Diggy, who posed on the red carpet with Justin and Christian Combs. I hope they don't corrupt him. More pics after the jump.

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Bow Wow is crediting his best friend Omarion with saving him from a failed career and a shitty personality.

The hip hop star claims he was an arrogant 18-year-old heading for career downfall when R&B star Omarion took him aside when they toured together two years ago.

Bow Wow, 20, says,"Omarion was man enough to approach me and say he didn't like the way I was acting. I was the youngest person on the tour and, man, was I immature and arrogant."

It's wonderful that Omarion helped Bow Wow to be a better person, but he should hold off on all that career talk until the Face Off numbers come in. [SP]

• Mike Huckabee for the Republican presidential nomination! I might just donate money to his primary campaign. [CNN]

• Whatever happened to stripping to pay your way through college? At least it's legal. [CI]

• Bow Wow's away for a few days with an appendix infection and all hell breaks loose for Omarion. [Bossip]

• I hereby decree that Paris Hilton's name will only grace the pages of Stereohyped when she does something like rescue an Oompa Loompa. [MG]

Omarion and Bow Wow, who looks to have recovered nicely from the harrowing moments he spent on Tyra's lap, performed in LA last night at a launch party for Chris Stokes' t-shirt line. It must have been a slow night in LA, because quite a few semi-celebs, including Solange Knowles, Shar Jackson, and the Simmons sisters, showed up. Pics after the jump.

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• That's twice in one day, Tyra. [BV]

• Lupe Fiasco continues to "Dumb It Down." [Bossip]

• So the marketing people just want this album to fail? [C&D]

• Melyssa Ford celebrates her birthday, another chance to wear something skin-tight. [CL]

• Condoleezza Rice says, "Ask not what your country can do for you…" [CNN]

Omarion and Bow Wow are obviously trying to recreate some sort of Best of Both Worlds vibe with their new joint album, but they're Bow Wow and Omarion. So we can predict how this is going to go, before we even see their so so clip for their lead single "Girlfriend." Interestingly, Bow Wow had this to say about this track:

"['Girlfriend' is] probably gonna be one of the biggest records that I've ever done in my career," he added.

But his career hasn't even been that short!

Marques Houston, that girl from My Wife and Kids and a bunch of other D-F listers attended the premiere of Somebody Help Me, an "urban thriller" starring Houston and Omarion and directed by (surprise) Chris Stokes. Here's the synopsis from IMDB:

The screenplay centers on characters Brendan Young (Houston) and Darryl Jennings (Omarion) who take a trip to the Lake Arrowhead with a group of college friends to celebrate Young's girlfriend's birthday. One-by-one the coeds begin disappearing until a mysterious young visitor arrives and helps them begin to unravel their tangled web of terror.

Based on this plot summary, the fact that Omarion didn't even show up to the premiere, and my own common sense, no one in their right mind is going to see this film. Pics of the random premiere-goers after the jump.

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• Jay-Z wishes he looked like (a human version of) that. Beyonce should be glad she doesn't. [C&D]

• Prodigy gets hit with a three and a half year sentence after pleading guilty to illegal weapons charges. Maybe his legal team needed more people. [AHH]

• Oddly sexy for a tire ad, but I'll take it. [Bossip]

• Samuel L. Jackson reps Star Wars until the day he dies. [SP]

• Why do all close male friends have to attract gay rumors? Omarion, though? I'm not sure… [QT]

See the look on Nick Cannon's face as he hosted last night's Teen Choice Awards? I think we are witnessing the moment, captured for posterity by an ingenious photographer, when Nick Cannon officially realized he was too old for this shit.

And yet, the show had to go on. If you have even the slightest interest in who won what, you can find the list of winners here. If not, check out the stars in their teen-friendly award show gear after the jump.

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