Brandy took the stage in Los Angeles last night, and while some in the house were expecting her to perform a few Whitney Houston songs, decided against it  ... saying it would have made her "an emotional wreck."

Performing at The Factory in Los Angeles, Brandy made her first appearance since Houston's passing and dedicated the song "Right Here (Departed)" in her honor.

Brandy and Whitney starred together back in a 1997 TV remake of "Cinderella," and her brother Ray J dated Whitney on and off for several years.

With his famous older sister Brandy by his side, a somber Ray J walked through LAX moments ago to board a plane bound for Whitney Houston's "Home Going" ceremony in New Jersey.

The siblings strolled quietly through the airport along with their mother. At one point, Brandy put her arm around Ray J as photogs fired off question after question about his relationship with Houston.

Earlier today, Ray J released a statement about Whitney ... saying her smile will "live in my heart forever."

Brandy's elephant tattoo was officially emasculated this week -- after the artist decided the trunk was a little too "phallic" for his liking ... TMZ has learned.



The tattoo artist tells TMZ ... Brandy's work hadn't been completed when she posted the photos online last month ... but after certain people hinted the trunk resembled some male genitalia, the artist decided to snip the tip.

The artist, Peter Koskela, tells us, "I wanted to fix the offending tip ... remove the whole phallic aspect. I told her I'd just swing it upwards."

We're told the trunk-trimming went down earlier this week -- hopefully, a mohel was present at the time.

We're not saying Brandy's new forearm tattoo kinda, sorta looks like a phallus ... but don't be surprised if she wakes up with a stiff wrist every now and then.


Thanks to MediaTakeOut for the heads up.

Our "Dancing With the Stars" spies are better than ever this week, because we know which special guests are singing, which dances the dancers are dancing, and what songs they've chosen. So, warning -- ***SPOILER ALERT BELOW***


You've got to love yet another ironic song choice by Bristol Palin ... "You Can't Hurry Love" -- she clearly didn't "just have to wait." Definitely not ironic ... Audrina dancing to "Love Machine." A hugging, kissing fiend indeed!

Here's the rundown:

-- Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke -- "Tush" (jive)
-- Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas -- "Suddenly I See" (quickstep)
-- Brandy and Maks Chmerkovskiy -- "Magic" (jive)
-- Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower -- "Hound Dog" (quickstep)
-- Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani -- "Love Machine" (quickstep)
-- Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough -- "Shake It" (jive)
-- Margaret Cho and Louis Van Amstel -- "Dreaming" (jive)
-- Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer-- "I Want You To" (quickstep)
-- Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya -- "Danger Zone" (jive)
-- Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas -- "You Can't Hurry Love" (quickstep)
-- The Situation and Karina Smirnoff -- "We No Speak Americano" (quickstep)

As for the celeb singers, Seal will sing his new song, "Weight of My Mistake," Tuesday night, and Janelle Monae will sing "Tightrope."

TMZ is blowing the lid off of the "Dancing with the Stars" premiere -- 'cause we know EVERY SINGLE THING that's set to go down on the show ... from songs to props and even EXPLOSIONS!


BTW -- SPOILER ALERT follows:

The most shocking performance -- Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas -- they Cha-Cha to "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" ... are you listening Levi?  But the best part -- Bristol will rip off some "tear-away clothes" while Sarah Palin sits in the audience! 

David Hasselhoff will also be dropping a "Sex Bomb" of his own -- Tom Jones style -- complete with sunglasses and a pyrotechnics.

Here's how it will break down ...

-- Audrina Patridge and Tony Dovolani -- Cha-Cha -- "California Gurls"

-- Bristol Palin and Mark Ballas -- Cha-Cha --  "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)"

-- Margaret Cho and Louis Van Amstel -- Viennese Waltz --  "We are the Champions"

-- Jennifer Grey and Derek Hough -- Viennese Waltz -- "These Arms of Mine"

-- Florence Henderson and Corky Ballas -- Cha-Cha -- "Kiss Me Honey Honey Kiss Me"

-- Brandy and Maks Chmerkovskiy -- Viennese Waltz -- "Cry Me Out"

-- Kurt Warner and Anna Trebunskaya -- Viennese Waltz -- "This Ain't a Love Song"

--Kyle Massey and Lacey Schwimmer -- Cha-Cha -- "My First Kiss"

-- Rick Fox and Cheryl Burke -- Viennese Waltz -- "Crazy"

-- David Hasselhoff and Kym Johnson -- Cha-Cha -- "Sex Bomb"

-- Michael Bolton and Chelsie Hightower -- Viennese Waltz -- "Life After You"

-- The Situation and Karina Smirnoff -- Cha-Cha -- "Break Your Heart"

David Hasselhoff has the biggest fan base (thanks, Germany) ... Audrina Patridge has the best body ... and now TMZ has learned who has the best moves this year on "Dancing with the Stars" ... Brandy.



Our "DWTS" spies tell us that Brandy is leading the pack when it comes to raw, natural talent -- and the talk amongst the dancers is that she's gonna "blow the competition out of the water" when the new season finally debuts.

In fact, we're told there are certain moves that took past "DWTS" contestants months to learn ... but Brandy mastered those in just a couple of days. 

But when it comes to gambling -- Brandy isn't the top dog ... the odds-on favorite is still Jennifer Grey.

An international DJ -- who claims he's huge in Scandinavia -- is suing Brandy (the singer) for allegedly backing out of a deal to write and sing 32 bars worth of music ... after she accepted a check for $10,000.



The DJ behind the suit is Marc Mysterio -- who did a pretty cool remix of that "One More Time" song last year ... if you're into that sorta thing.

In a lawsuit, filed today in L.A. County Superior Court, Mysterio -- who reinforces the fact that he's popular in "worldwide markets" including France, the UK, Scandinavia, Italy and Benelux -- claims Brandy took the payment back in July ... but never came through with the music.

Now, Mysterio claims he's lost more than $25,000 as a result of Brandy's non-actions.

Attempts to reach Brandy for comment were unsuccessful.

"Trapped: Haitian Nights" star Vivica A. Fox, 45, and former child star Brandy, 31, wigged out at the same event in L.A. on Monday.



Question is ...

Almost every "Lost" fan would be super excited to meet Michael Emerson ... even a Grammy winner like Brandy.


Emerson was having a friendly chat with our photog at LAX on Saturday, when Brandy politely interrupted just to say she's a huge fan. The whole encounter lasted less than 10 seconds ... and it's unclear if Michael (or our photog) even knew she was famous!

Brandy tweeted after, "OMG! I just met Michael Emerson from the series Lost. I lost my mind! Straight up FAN. I wanted to take a flick but I was too shy to ask."

You're welcome, Brandy.

Brandy will not be going to a civil trial over her December 2006 car crash -- she just settled with the last remaining plaintiffs.

The last plaintiffs standing were the parents of the woman who died in the accident. Brandy already settled with the couple's two kids ($300,000 each). She also settled with the other injured driver, Mallory Ham, back in July.

Terms of the latest settlement are secret.