Christina's painful past

via AOL Kids

Life wasn’t always so beautiful for Christina Aguilera. In an upcoming TV documentary, the superstar singer opens up about her family’s history of domestic abuse, describing how her dad was verbally and physically abusive to her, her mother, and her sister.

Though they eventually left her father, Christina says that the violence she witnessed at home actually helped to inspire her creatively. Says Christina: “I turned to singing as an outlet. The pain at home is where my love for music came from.” Christina is now speaking out about her history of abuse in hopes of helping other women and children who are in similar situations. Read up on child abuse, then sign up to volunteer at a homeless shelter, where many residents may be fleeing violent homes.

Kelly O's drug struggles

via iVillage

Kelly Osbourne sat down on Ellen DeGeneres’ show to promote her stint on Dancing With the Stars and discussed her struggle with an addiction to prescription drugs. In the episode, which airs Monday, Kelly says the shame she felt was made worse because her dad, the legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne, had drug problems of his own. Kelly was afraid to go to her parents for help, knowing her mom already had her hands full with Ozzy’s addiction.

Thankfully, she eventually did go to her mom for help, and Kelly’s now sober and healthy. Read up on teens and drug abuse and start an awareness campaign at your school to educate others on the dangers of prescription drugs.

Jessica climbs for a cause

via Wire Image

Talk about taking service seriously – Jessica Biel is prepping to climb a mountain for her cause. And this isn’t just any hill: alongside Isabel Lucas, of Transformers 2 fame, and hip-hop star Lupe Fiasco, Jessica will take on the highest freestanding mountain in the world, Tanzania’s Mount Kilimanjaro.

Organized by a group called Summit on the Summit, the climb will raise awareness and funds for the global crisis of access to clean water, which is especially bad in Africa. Jessica’s often spotted working out with her super fit boyfriend Justin Timberlake, but she’ll still be in for a challenge – the climb will take the stars 19,340 feet above sea level. But you don’t have to climb a mountain to make a difference: brush up on your water facts and check out Summit on the Summit to find out how you can help.

Jenny from the Hill (Capitol Hill that is...)

Via zap2it

Singer and actor Marc Anthony was honored last week in Washington D.C. at the 32nd Annual Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Awards Gala, taking home a lifetime achievement award for his work as an ambassador for Latin culture and music. Also in attendance: his wife, J.Lo herself and over 2,000 guests, including President Obama, who spoke at the event, and First Lady Michelle Obama. Marc and Jennifer later met with Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, to talk about education issues and the new Marc Anthony Scholarship Fund.

Latino History Month kicked off September 15th--you can celebrate by starting an awareness campaign on the many contributions that Latinos have made to U.S. culture, or write a letter asking President Obama to make immigration policy a priority.

Divas Live 09: Kathy Lee and Hoda

Kathy Lee and Hoda, the quirky duo from the Today Show stopped to divulge their inner band geeks (you'll never guess what instrument Kathy Lee

Divas Live 09: 'Fame' guys on their cast diva!

Stars of the upcoming Fame flick, Walter Perez and Asher Book chatted with us about growing up at the real Fame school, most embarrassing moments, and their diva moments on set (yup...they dished...).

Divas Live 09: Adele

British songstress (and Diva), Adele fessed up to being a bit nervous about her performance tonight (she rocked it, btw) and chatted about growing up around music.

Divas Live 09: Kelly Clarkson got schooled

Can you guess what kept America's favorite Idol in school?? Watch and find out.

Divas Live 09: Miley Cyrus goes Diva, and lefty??

CGG teamed up with VH1’s Save the Music and hit the carpet at VH1 Divas Live to catch up with our favorite lady divas and chat about the hot topic of the evening: music of course! No question these ladies all have some serious pipes in common, but they had different stories about what kinds of music programs got them to superstardom. First up? The Disney Diva herself, Miley Cyrus…and you’ll never guess who gave her one of her first guitar lessons (hint: He’s had more number #1 hits than anyone…ever…) Watch and find out!

Carrie Underwood goes home and gets CATty

The students of Checotah High School in Checotah, Oklahoma received some back-to-school excitement when country-singing superstar Carrie Underwood made a surprise visit to her old school.

Armed with a donation of 31 new music instruments – worth more than $100,000 – the American Idol winner and multi-platinum selling artist clearly hasn’t forgotten her down-home roots.

The donation came thanks to the Academy of Country Music’s Lifting Lives charity and Carrie’s C.A.T.S. Foundation (Checotah Animal, Town, and Schools), which gives back to causes in her hometown. After being introduced by her elementary school music teacher, Carrie was joined by a fifth-grade student to perform her hit “So Small.”

You join Carrie, whose nearest and dearest cause is animal welfare, by organizing an instrument collection drive in your school or town.

Does your music program need saving? We’ll give you money to revive a failing program or start one at your school.