It’s the LAST week of American Idol auditions! Tonight (and tomorrow night), Idol heads to San Francisco 8/7c pm on FOX. Also on FOX, the delicious Empire airs at 9/8c pm.
Tony Bennett And Lady Gaga To Perform On The GRAMMYs – The 57th GRAMMY Awards will continue its tradition of producing standout musical collaborations, universally known as “GRAMMY Moments,” with this year’s series of unique pairings including current nominees Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga; nominees Hozier and Annie Lennox; nominee Jessie J and GRAMMY winner Tom Jones; and GRAMMY winners Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani. They join previously announced performers AC/DC, Eric Church, Common with John Legend, Ariana Grande, Miranda Lambert, Madonna, Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith, Usher, and Pharrell Williams. Two-time GRAMMY winner LL Cool J returns as host. – Read more at Grammy.com
David Oliver Willis returns to “American Idol” – Willis auditioned for the show’s 14th season in San Francisco, and that city’s audition airs Wednesday and Thursday night at 8 p.m. on Fox. He expects his audition to be on Thursday night. “It’s about showcasing who I am as an artist and who I am as a person,” Willis said. He said there is added pressure in coming back to the show, as he has to demonstrate improvement. “I take everything I do very seriously and I hope that all that’s going to really show through on the season this year,” he said. Willis said after last season, he was set on not returning, noting the toll it takes financially as well as the ups and downs with traveling, while having to put everything in his life on hold. However, Willis got a call from one of the show’s producers asking him to return, which encouraged him to do so. He added last year he did not release any new music, and he thought the better thing would be to go back with the momentum and publicity of the show, and to release music during this time. Willis did just that earlier this month, releasing an EP called “Mirage” that has four original songs. A full-length album is also in the works. – Read more at Daily Commercial
East Brunswick musician brings ‘shonfidence’ to ‘American Idol’ – Jax grew up watching “American Idol” with her family. Every week, she would cuddle up with her brother and parents, and they would watch the show together. “We would always watch and just picture me on it,” Jax said. “My dad would be like, ‘Oh my God, could you imagine you’re on that stage? Just picture it right now.’ ” Millions watched her dream come true on Jan. 15, when the 18-year-old East Brunswick native, who goes by her nickname, auditioned in front of judges Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and guest judge Adam Lambert during the show’s visit to New York. “I was just hoping that they would find a special quality in me,” Jax said, reminiscing on her audition. “I know that there were so many people auditioning that day, so it was really intimidating.” – Read more at GM News
Jennifer Hudson headlines American Family Insurance Super Bowl commercial – American Family insurance, the nation’s third largest mutual property casualty and auto insurance company based in Madison, Wisconsin, is going big for its 2015 Super Bowl spot. Chicago native and Academy Award- and Grammy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson stars in the new 60-second AFI effort. The commercial is set in a 1940s diner, where Hudson is seen with five people who are actually pursuing big dreams in real life. Hudson and her co-stars join in singing “o-o-h Child,” a single originally released in 1970 by the Chicago soul group the Five Stairsteps. The tagline for AFI’s new Super Bowl spot is “Insure carefully, dream fearlessly.”
Read more at Chicago Business Journal
Taylor John Williams: The Voice as a springboard to stardom – From OMN the Magazine – I immersed myself in the learning process that is The Voice. Growing is a hard thing in front of an audience, but I enjoyed discovering things about my own artistry. I got to explore that. There’s a lot of room to grow. It made me test myself… I wanted this to be a learning experience. – Read more at Oregon Music News
Luke Friend comes in from the cold with new music – I randomly bumped into the dreadlocks-loving singer while ordering my usual chicken pitta in the queue at Nando’s. He told me: “The first single is ready. I’ve already filmed the video in Manchester and fans can hear it very soon. “I’m still writing and recording the album but it’s 90% done. It’s pretty funky but with an acoustic vibe. “I’ve also been having singing lessons and now can sing in falsetto which I couldn’t before.” – Read more at Daily Star
Keith Urban on the ‘Strategic Journey’ of ‘American Idol,’ Remembering David Vs. David – How much Idol did you watch before you joined the show? I watched it over the years. One of the moments I remember was the David Archuleta and David Cook neck-and-neck race [in season seven]. That night we were at the home of our friends Bob Daly and Carole Bayer Sager. We were watching the finale because Bob and Carole are huge Idol fans. We decided to go out to dinner and DVR the rest of the show. We came back at the end of dinner and we were watching the TIVO and Ryan said, “the winner is… David” and then it cut out. The show ran long and we missed the last name, so we didn’t know who won! – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
