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The Dazzle Meter crashes during the Grammy Awards weekend with Clive Davis’ Saturday night pre-Grammy party, and this week the crash was spot-on.   Clive, of late, is Sony’s musicmeister, having guided in the past the careers of Alicia Keys, Whitney Houston, Harry Connick Jr., among others, and early on signing Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, Bruce Springsteen, Carlos Santana, Billy Joel, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Pink Floyd.   A genius in nurturing undiscovered talent, Clive’s is a golden ear.

We were not there, but this weekend, Clive honored Barbra Streisand at his long day’s night party in the International Ballroom at the Beverly Hilton.   So reports his cousin, Jo Schuman-Silver, who attends every event flying south from San Francisco.    Dynamo Jo, as we anointed her during our tenure at Town & Country and the Hollywood Reporter, masterminded husband Adolph Schuman’s Lilli Ann fashion empire after his loss, and now produces San Francisco’s (and America’s) longest-running musical, Beach Blanket Babylon.  Created in 1974 by her late husband, the theatrical wizard Steve Silver, who we lost in 1995, BBB celebrates its 36th anniversary this spring.

Jo informs that honoree Barbra arrived with husband James Brolin amid an ecstatic crowd that included Barbra’s manager Marty Erlichman, who pumped her into the showbusiness stratosphere, after her 1962 Broadway performance in I Can Get It For You Wholesale.  After chef Suki’s dinner of artichoke salad, baked chicken breast, and pastry chef Frania’s pina colada rum-soaked almond cake, Jennifer Hudson sang two of Barbra’s signature songs, People and The Way We Were. 

Easier to say who wasn’t there, according to Dynamo Jo.   Before the entertainment, Clive was introduced by Ryan Seacrest.   Welcomed were Mayor Antonio V, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, the Jonas Brothers, David Foster, Kate Perry with fiancé Russell Brand, Rihanna, Maxwell, whose music – some believe – is reminiscent of the late Marvin Gaye, Ke$ha, Mary J. Blige, Jay Z, Brian McKnight, Natalie Cole, Alicia Keys, Usher, Fergie, Slash, Will.i.am and the Black Eyed Peas (opening the post-dinner show).

Also: Sheryl Crow, Jean and Rob Thomas, Carlos Santana, Harry Connick, Jr., Engelbert Humperdinck, Richie Sambora, Herbie Hancock, Ne-Yo, Kings of Leon, India Arie, Randy Jackson, Kris Allen, Kara DioGuardi, Adam Lambert, Ciara, Chace Crawford, Matthew Morrison, Kiss’ Paul Stanley, Alice Cooper, Roberta Flack, Chick Corea, Jamie Foxx, receiving standing ovations for his after-midnight finale of Blame It that topped off the party.

Dynamo Jo glimpsed Leo DiCaprio, Camille and Kelsey Grammar, Quincy Jones, Stephen Colbert, CBS chief Les Moonves with Julie Chen, Universal’s Jim Urie and Jimmy Iovine, Lyor Cohen, Carole Bayer Sager with Bob Daly, Berry Gordy Jr., Doug Morris, Mo Ostin, Joan Collins with Percy Gibson, Jackie Collins, Barbara Davis, David Spade, Smokey Robinson, Jane Fonda with Richard Perry, whose togetherness we scooped during Corinna Fields’ dance party last summer, Frank DiLeo, Diane Warren, Penny Marshall, Gayle King, Keri Hilson, George Lopez, American Idol finalist Allison Iraheta, the Ting-Tings, T-Pain, Jon Bon Jovi, and Recording Academy president Neil Portnow.

The 52nd Annual Grammy Awards ratings were up (25.8 million viewers, a surge of 35%), whipping the Golden Globes ratings (17 million, also up 14%) and the Emmys (13.5 million, up 8%).  As in the past, the evening turned out an unusual bunch at the Staples Center, the usual suspects flamboyantly dressed.   Lady Gaga didn’t disappoint with her Giorgio Armani Prive gown that looked like cotton candy that she’d been spun into, and taking home Grammys for her hit single Poker Face as best dance recording and The Fame as best dance album.   When Elton John dueted with her on Speechless and Poker Face, Stephen Colbert cracked, “I didn’t know they were dating.”

Born Stefani Joanne Germanotta 23 years ago to Italian-American parents in New York City, Lady Gaga’s a phenomenon and a prodigy, playing piano since age four, studying music and songwriting at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.   Her stage name accidentally occurred in a text message about Queen’s song, Radio Ga Ga (cq).  Irreverent and sexually ambiguous, she’s bowed to as the new Madonna.  The Guardian’s Alexis Petridis finds her lyrics without depth -- “but she manages to get you moving and grooving at an effortless pace.”

Hitting New York’s downtown club scene and focusing on electronic dance music, she began performing art pieces such as The Ultimate Pop Burlesque Rockshow, and Lady Gaga and the Starlight Revue.   David Bowie, Grace Jones, Freddie Mercury, Andy Warhol are influences, and she admires Ellen DeGeneres and what Ellen’s done for the gay community.

A favorite philosopher-poet is Rainer Maria Rilke.  She bows to his “philosophy of solitude” and has Rilke’s phrases tattooed on her left arm.   Fashion is “everything” to her, and her production team is known as the Haus of Gaga, creating costumes and hairdos.  A brunette, she bleaches her tresses blonde -- “this way, I won’t be confused with Amy Winehouse.”

Our Beverly Hills Courier readers should know that every week we publish more than 40,000 issues circulated not only to Beverly Hills, but West Hollywood, Holmby Hills and Bel-Air.  They are passed along within families, creating a powerful readership within our entertainment industry.   Consequently, we enjoy the largest contingent of Oscar voters in our Los Angeles community – an extraordinary reach-out strength.  Now that the Oscar nominations have been announced, movie ads extolling the selections will reach any number of voters on these pages.   Since time immemorial, the message remains: it pays to advertise.  Seriously.