Although word first leaked out in April, at the time of the nuptials, that longtime couple Jay-Z and Beyoncé had tied the knot, neither bride nor groom has ever confirmed that simple fact - finally prompting one journalist to confront the hip-hop superstar with the question.

For the September issue of Vibe magazine, interviewer Elliot Wilson presented 15 questions to Jay-Z - with No. 15 being, after Jay-Z had referred to Beyoncé as a “friend”: “You said your ‘friend,’ but this is your wife. Are you still not willing to confirm?”

“That’s ridiculous for me to confirm,” replies Jay-Z. “I don’t have … I’m gonna say, I think that was a ridiculous question. I just think it’s really a part of your life that you gotta keep to yourself.”

“I shared so much of my life, my childhood, and my family, the death of my nephew with the world. I should have something to hold on to. You need something for your sanity … to say, Okay, I could chill out, and this is it.

What Jay-Z does own up to is being part of a stable, committed relationship - which he considers “part of maturing, right? You have the right people around you, and if that person around you is your friend, then you just wanna carry it like that. You get to a point when you could let people into your circle, and that’s it.”

After years of speculation, singer Beyoncé Knowles wed her longtime boyfriend, rapper Jay-Z, on Friday, a friend of the couple’s tells PEOPLE.

Though there is no official confirmation, the friend says, “It happened earlier this evening. Jay wanted it to be a really private affair - close friends and family.”

The ceremony was followed by a lavish party at the rapper’s Tribeca apartment that drew Beyoncé’s mother Tina Knowles, her father/manager Mathew, her sister Solange, her Destiny’s Child mates Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams, and the couple’s friend Gwyneth Paltrow.

The wedding buzz began when the couple went to get a marriage license at a village hall in Scarsdale, N.Y., on Tuesday.

DJ Cassidy, a favorite of Jay-Z, was hired to spin. “Cassidy mentioned a week ago that he was really excited for Jay Z and Beyoncé’s wedding party to happen,” says another source.

Early Friday morning, workers erected a white tent atop the building in Tribeca, where Jay-Z owns a penthouse apartment. Not long after, an SUV carrying what seemed to be AV equipment arrived, followed by deliveries of party rentals and flowers.

A source tells PEOPLE that Amy’s Orchids was hired to provide 50,000 to 60,000 white orchid blooms from Thailand for a “big party.” At the apartment, waiters were seen practicing their service.

A couple since 2002, Jay-Z, 38, and Knowles, 26, always kept quiet about their relationship, even as they were photographed together on romantic holidays around the world.

Still, marriage seemed to be in the cards - eventually. “I never pictured myself as a bride,” she told Cosmopolitan in January 2006, “but after my sister’s wedding, I did start thinking about what kind of wedding I’d want. I don’t think I want a big one.”

• Reporting by RYAN PIENCIAK, TIFFANY McGEE, MELODY WELLS and LESLEY MESSER

See Photos: Power Couple in Love

She may get buzz as “the next Miley,” but Selena Gomez doesn’t want to be a one-girl show.

“I’m going to be in a band - no Selena Gomez stuff,” the Wizards of Waverly Place star, 16, told MTV News. “I’m not going to be a solo artist.”

“I think that I don’t want my name attached to it,” she explained.

“I’ll be singing, and I’m learning drums and playing electric guitar,” she said.

Gomez also promises a different sound than her Disney peers - and not just for artistic reasons.

“You know, the %26#91;Jonas%26#93; boys and people like Demi %26#91;Lovato%26#93; are my friends, so I definitely would not copy or do anything that they did,” she said.

As for Gomez’s relationship with Nick Jonas, the pair recently went for some platonic PDA: They gave each other a big hug at the Teen Choice Awards on Tuesday night.

Hollywood power player Bernie Brillstein, whose producing clout was instrumental in bringing Saturday Night Live and The Sopranos to TV, died of heart disease in a Los Angeles hospital Thursday night, his company has announced. He was 77.

Founding the influential management and production company Brillstein-Grey Entertainment with partner Brad Grey in 1991, Brillstein helped guide the careers of Muppet master Jim Henson, as well as original SNL stars John Belushi and Gilda Radner.

As with many industry legends, Brillstein, a New York native, got his start in the mailroom of the William Morris talent agency. As executive producer, his movie credits included Ghostbusters, The Blues Brothers and The Cable Guy.
- Stephen M. Silverman

Eight is definitely enough for Clay Aiken and his best friend Jaymes Foster. The two welcomed their son Parker Foster Aiken at 8:08 a.m. on 8/08/08.

So what do all those eights add up to?

Numerology expert Daniel Hardt says the proud parents may have business on the brain for their newborn.

“Eight is a very powerful number. It’s a number of mastery,” says Hardt of Life Path Numerology in Indianapolis, Ind.

Eight is also a lucky number in Chinese culture, which is why the Opening Ceremonies for the Summer Olympics are scheduled for 8/08/08.

Hardt cautions that though eights signify business acumen for the child, they come with a caveat.

“Some people try for an eight because they think it will mean money,” says Hardt, “but sometimes you will end up causing some challenges in the life that will not necessarily be desirable for that child.”

Ultimately, he believes eights will bring the tiny Aiken luck. Says Hardt: “I think in this case, it’s going to be a good situation.”

Clay Aiken is a daddy!

The former American Idol contestant and music producer Jaymes Foster welcomed a baby boy Friday morning, the singer said in a statement on his Web site.

“HE’S HERE!” Aiken, 29, writes. “My dear friend, Jaymes, and I are so excited to announce the birth of Parker Foster Aiken (No hyphens. One first name. One middle name. One last name.)”

Parker, whose name is his grandmother Faye’s middle name, weighed 6 lbs., 2 oz. and was 19 inches long. He was born at 8:08 a.m.

“Wow … 8:08 … 08/08/08,” added Aiken. “The little man is healthy, happy, and as loud as his daddy. Mama Jaymes is doing quite well also.”

Clay’s mom also said that baby Parker has “dark hair” and that Clay is “smiling from ear-to-ear” about the news.

In May, it was confirmed that Foster, 50, became pregnant via in vitro fertilization.

Though they are not romantically linked, Clay and Jaymes plan to raise the child together. The two met when Aiken competed on Idol, and Foster - who is the sister of legendary music producer David Foster - has produced several of his albums.

• Reporting by DAVID CAPLAN

Miley Cyrus admits in a new interview that she and Nick Jonas used to date. Now, Jonas is dating Selena Gomez, says a source. Tell us who makes a better couple!

Miley Cyrus apologized recently for ridiculing Disney rivals Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato in a YouTube video.

After years of playing coy, Miley Cyrus finally speaks out about her ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas.

“We became boyfriend and girlfriend the day we met,” Cyrus says in the September issue of Seventeen Magazine. “He was on a quest to meet me, and he was like, ‘I think you’re beautiful and I really like you.’ And I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, I like you so much.’”

The teen stars, now both 15, never went public with their relationship - Cyrus said they were “just really good buds” - though fans and reporters alike were onto them.

“Nick and I loved each other,” Cyrus says now. “We still do, but we were in love with each other. For two years he was basically my 24/7. But it was really hard to keep it from people. We were arguing a lot, and it really wasn’t fun.”

Cyrus doesn’t rule out getting back together with the Jonas brother one day - though a source told PEOPLE he’s now dating fellow Disney Channel star Selena Gomez, 16.

“Maybe he’ll be my best friend for the rest of my life or maybe I’ll end up marrying Nick Jonas!” Cyrus says.

But for now, she’s happily single. “Since %26#91;the breakup%26#93;, I’ve realized that I’ve met so many great guys, but I like being the girl nobody can have,” she says. “No one can touch me, no one’s mine. I’m myself. I think it’s sexy to do your own thing.”

The father of Hairspray actress Nikki Blonsky must stay behind bars in Turks and Caicos until a trial starts on Aug. 19, a judge ruled in a heated hearing Friday.

Carl Blonsky, 53, faces assault charges in connection with a July 29 airport brawl that police say involved him, daughter Nikki, America’s Next Top Model contestant Bianca Golden, and Golden’s mother, Elaine.

Prosecutor Samantha Glinton said Blonsky - who is charged with assault with grievous bodily harm, a felony punishable by up to five years in jail - injured Elaine Golden so badly she had to be airlifted to a hospital in Aventura, Fla. She stayed for five days before being released to a neurologist, according to medical documents Glinton presented.

Nikki Blonsky, 19, was not at the hearing. She and Bianca Golden were both arrested on July 29, but were each freed on $6,000 bail the same day. Elaine Golden was not charged in the incident.

Police told PEOPLE that the fight began over the saving of seats in the small departure lounge of the airport.

“It was a very big fight,” says airport concession worker Esther Roy, who witnessed the altercation. “People were yelling and cursing, and it was all confusion.”

Nikki Blonsky was charged with actual bodily harm, which carries a maximum sentence of two years, and common assault, with a 90-day maximum term. Golden was also charged with actual bodily harm.

Nikki is due in court on the Caribbean island in December. She has selected a bench trial, meaning that a judge will decide her fate. Bianca Golden has selected a jury trial, which is scheduled for Sept. 17.

Matthew McConaughey and Camila Alves’s son Levi is already the talk of the party.

The month-old tot - who has also been to a rock concert - was rushed by dad down the red carpet and into the launch party for Muxo, a luxury handbag collection designed by Alves and her mother, Thursday night.

“He’s a very well-behaved baby,” Kitson owner Fraser Ross told PEOPLE. “Camila’s adorable %26#91;with him%26#93;.”

“Camila and her mom have been working on putting %26#91;Muxo%26#93; together for years, and then all of a sudden it’s like ka-boom,” McConaughey, 38, told PEOPLE. “It’s great. Tonight’s just about celebrating.”

The support for Alves, 25, was shared, as was congratulations. “We are here for Camila, and for the baby,” said friend and designer Christian Audigier. “We have not given her the present yet. We will give it to her tonight. It’s a surprise, I cannot tell you.”