American Idol Judges Give Update on Luke Bryan After COVID Diagnosis: ‘Giving Critiques at Home’ – The 44-year-old country singer’s fellow American Idol judges, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie (along with guest judge Paula Abdul, who filled in for Bryan), gave an update on his health after Monday’s live show. “He’s totally good,” Perry, 36, told Entertainment Tonight of her colleague’s symptoms. “I think he’s gonna be all right. I think we’ll be seeing him next week.” In fact, “He was texting us. He was blowing up our phones during the whole episode. Some of it we can’t even say,” she joked. “We can’t say half of it!” agreed Richie, 71. – Read more at People
Nick Jonas, John Legend, Blake Shelton and Snoop Dogg Talk Laughs, Inspiration and Going With Your Gut on ‘The Voice’ – The coaches also dove into the strategy behind the Knockout Rounds. Though the audience gets a behind-the-scenes look at preparation, when it comes to showtime, all that matters is the actual performance. Legend explained it’s important to go in open-minded and be impressed by what the contestants do on the stage. And while Shelton said he said he goes into the Knockout Rounds likely knowing which contestant will win, he acknowledged there is always a chance the other contestant will step up to the plate. “The Knockout Rounds at this point, it means so much to each of these artists where we become really invested in each step of their journey,” Jonas added. “It’s a tough spot to be in, but it’s a decision that has to be made and you just got to go with your gut and whatever feels right.” – Read more at Variety
How Luke Bryan Made His Presence Known on ‘American Idol’ After Testing Positive for COVID-19
Blake Shelton Is ‘Excited’ for Ariana Grande to Join The Voice Because It’s ‘Somebody New for Me to Beat’ – “I’m excited about Ariana joining the show because it’s somebody new for me to beat,” the country star told reporters during a virtual Q&A with his fellow season 20 coaches John Legend and Nick Jonas, as well as mega mentor Snoop Dogg, on Tuesday (coach Kelly Clarkson was unable to attend because of a scheduling conflict with her daytime talk show). “I’m tired of beating John every season — and Nick.” Shelton, 44, went on to say that Jonas, 28, “is the easiest coach I have ever beat in 20 seasons of doing this show.” (Shelton has won the show a record seven times total.) “The easiest defeat of my career was Nick Jonas,” he said. “So I’m looking for a challenge. I think Ariana could be a challenge. I’m looking forward to beating her though.” – Read more at People
Carrie Underwood Is Ready to Record More Music: “We Will Start Seeing What’s in the Tank!” – “I was kind of waiting to get that spark, you know? Like, when am I gonna feel like, ’Ah! Let’s do this!’” Underwood said. “I feel like last year was so unsure. Nobody knew where the world was headed. I was so blessed to have Christmas music to work on and then [My Savior] to work on. Like, we started working on My Savior before My Gift was even released,” the singer-songwriter said. Now “feeling [that spark],” the “Cry Pretty” vocalist says she’ll be back in the studio “once the dust settles from [My Savior, which is a] very exciting project for me.” – Read more at CMT.com
The Voice season 15 winner Chevel Shepherd Partners with No More
No more serves New Mexico young adults, educating on harms of tobacco products and e-cigarettes to help prevent a generation from nicotine addiction.
Exciting news we’ve been keeping under wraps – #NoMoreNM has partnered with country music recording artist, @officialchevel! Chevel was born and raised in #NewMexico and is Season 15 winner of @NBCTheVoice. We are so excited for this partnership. ??? pic.twitter.com/zl7OY5rJiu
— No More (@nomore_nm) April 12, 2021
Jennifer Hudson on Skincare and Self-Care: ‘I Listen to My Body’ – The actress, singer and mom to 11-year-old son David Daniel Otunga, Jr., has made it a point to find time to regenerate over the last 13 months, and now she’s partnering with Olay to get the word out about the importance of making time for yourself. “I’ve done it all … homeschooling, work. The days I call ‘double duty’ are the hardest days to care for yourself, because there’s just not enough time in a day,” she tells PEOPLE exclusively. The star, who initially partnered with Olay last fall as part of its Maximize, Don’t Minimize Me campaign (in which notable women shared inspirational stories of their unique journey to help empower others), says it felt right to team together again to spread a message of wellness. – Read more at People
Katharine McPhee on Motherhood & How Waitress Prepared Her for Netflix’s Country Comfort – After taping four episodes, production for the show was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “We shut down for about six months. I came back five months pregnant,” she said. McPhee and husband David Foster welcomed their son in February. “Oh gosh, he’s the sweetest. I knew I would love being a mom,” she said of motherhood. “You’re tired, but it’s the best kind of tired. It’s just so rewarding, and you’re trying to soak up every moment.” – Watch the interview at Broadway.com
Scotty & Gabi’s Top 5 Quarantine Dates
How Kelly Clarkson’s Wildly Popular ‘Kellyoke’ Covers Get Made – To date, Clarkson has aired more than 300 Kellyokes, which range from country and pop tunes solidly in her powerful vocal wheelhouse (Patty Griffin, Lady Gaga, Chris Stapleton, Demi Lovato and Ed Sheeran) to more surprising picks (Lizzo, Post Malone, Bee Gees and Bon Jovi). With music licensing on tour, we could send her a list of 200 requests from fans and learn the song that night because there’s no licensing needed to perform them live. But on the show, the licensing turnaround is longer, so producers gather a list from audience members or upcoming audience members and start the process of getting a batch of songs cleared. For season one we got about 60% of artists cleared, but by season two it was closer to 90%. I get a list of songs requested by audience members, I plug them in based on episodes and themes — usually a mix of Motown, ’70s and ’80s songs, current pop to rock and one country song a week. Once the song is cleared, we contact the audience member and make sure they’re there for the show — which now that they’re on Zoom [because of COVID-19 distancing protocols] is much easier. – Read more at Billboard
