Headlines: The Voice Nashville Draws 5K Hopefuls, Jennifer Hudson to Announce Oscar Noms

American Idol’s Jennifer Hudson to Help Announce Oscar Nominees – Several Oscar®-winning and nominated Academy members including Jennifer Hudson, Brie Larson, Emmanuel Lubezki, Jason Reitman and Ken Watanabe will join Academy President Cheryl Boone Isaacs to reveal the 89th Oscars® Nominations, on Tuesday, January 24, beginning at 5:18 a.m. PST/8:18 a.m. EST/1:18 p.m. GMT/9:18 p.m. CST. In a departure from our tradition of a live audience at the Academy, this year’s nominations will be announced via a global live stream on Oscar.com, Oscars.org, the Academy’s digital platforms, a satellite feed, and local broadcasters, including “Good Morning America.” – Read more at Oscar.org

The Voice Open Casting in Nashville

The Voice held open auditions in Nashville on Saturday. No photos like last time. It doesn’t appear any alums attended for photo ops either. Personnel with The Voice estimated roughly 5,000 attended tryouts with preregistration required according to the Tennessean

‘The Voice’ draws thousands for auditions in Nashville – Nashville is the first of four cities that will have open auditions, which bring in singers in groups of 10 for casting directors listening to “hear something magical and it does happen in these rooms,” said Michelle McNulty, the supervising casting director. All trying out were asked to perform one song a capella with a second song prepared in case the show’s casting directors judging the tryouts “want to hear more,” McNulty said. A very small number of singers will get a callback for a second audition with some type accompaniment that will be scheduled in the coming days at an undisclosed location. – Read more at the Tennessean

Lauren Alaina finds road to healthy lifestyle – As a teenager, poor body image led to a years-long eating disorder, which she kicked in 2012. When she did, the weight came back and the country singer was terrified to diet again, afraid of lapsing into unhealthy habits. With the help of celebrity trainer Erin Oprea, a chef who delivers meals to her house every three days and Title Boxing Club, Alaina, now 22, is setting a steady pace towards becoming the healthiest version of herself. “This body is new to me, so I’m still trying to get used to it,” Alaina said, tears in her eyes. “I’m still learning to love myself. I want to be the girl who has a positive influence on people’s lifestyle. I don’t want to be the girl who has an eating disorder and that’s why she looks the way she looks.” – Read more at the Tennessean

American Idol Alum Danny Gokey Shares How the Show Was ‘Healing’ After the Death of His First Wife – “When I went on American Idol it opened up a whole new world to me, because before then I [only] sang in church and in praise and worship meetings,” Gokey tells PEOPLE. “I was so stuck in church, but there was this whole world out there. I didn’t want to erect walls or barriers that separate. Even though I’m a Christian singer, I wanted to have messages that people could relate to universally. I felt like American Idol broke those walls down. It didn’t matter what religion you were, it didn’t matter what ethnicity you were, what gender, what sexual orientation — everyone just tuned in and was entertained by the show.” – Read more at People.com

Fantasia’s 20-Lb. Weight Loss Was Inspired by Losing Her Grandmother to a Heart Attack – In recent months, Fantasia has begun documenting her intense fitness regimen (and sleek new physique!) on social media. But her transformation is much more than a cosmetic shift — it was inspired by personal loss. “I lost my grandmother untimely from a massive heart attack, after which I began to take notice of my habits, such as what I was eating and allowing to enter my body, and monitoring stress — as well as the fact that I want to look and feel my best each and every day,” Fantasia, 32, tells PEOPLE exclusively. – Read more at People.com

Chris Daughtry and the Smiling Goat

CUTE

About mj santilli 34830 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!