Detroit Youth Choir to receive $1 million anyway after stellar ‘AGT’ performance – The Detroit Youth Choir will get $1 million after all. Several Detroit-based foundations and local business leaders announced a $1 million endowment for the choir Friday at the group’s Detroit homecoming, following DYC’s second-place finish on “America’s Got Talent.” Hundreds of people cheered and looked on from a packed Campus Martius, with many people wearing purple, the choir’s signature color. The homecoming was a partnership between WDIV-TV, the NBC affiliate that broadcast “AGT,” the city of Detroit and the Downtown Detroit Partnership. – Read more at freep
Chicago draws American Idol hopefuls for last open auditions ahead of 2020 season – Open auditions for American Idol started last month in New York and 21 cities later, it’s ending in Chicago. Performers hoping to make it before the judges this season flocked to the Wintrust Arena Saturday. The show’s bus tour rolled into Chicago on Saturday as hundreds of hopefuls auditioned at the Wintrust Arena for a golden ticket. “I actually auditioned for ‘The Voice’ and I couldn’t go because we didn’t have enough money for parking, so I saved up money from my job so I could actually come and do it,” said competitor Debora Hatchett-Stager. Open auditions started last month in New York and 21 cities later, it’s ending here in Chicago, drawing out the final crowds hoping to make it before the judges this season. The singers performed before a panel of show producers, who then determine whether or not they will move on to the next round later this fall. – Read more at Chicago.com
Ryan Seacrest Says He ‘Would Be Interested’ in Working with Original American Idol Crew Again – Although Seacrest, 44, was not physically present as all three judges stopped by Kelly Clarkson’s new talk show recently, he did Skype in to share in the fun. “After seeing us in one place again and realizing the craziness that was and the chemistry that still is still there? I think it would be pretty fun,” he told PEOPLE backstage at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas on Friday. “I would be interested if we all were into it to do it together. I think it’d be fun.” – Read more at People
Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson Reveal Why Taylor Swift Is Such a Great Mentor on ‘The Voice’ (Exclusive) – “A lot of people don’t realize I raised Taylor Swift in the country music world and she knows it,” Shelton teasingly says. “She did great, though, as a mentor and she did it the first time and then coming back in this second time, it’s like she’s made for that. She’s super smart and she’s really good at looking at somebody’s performance and listening to them and being able to go, ‘I know a couple things here that instantly, I think, we can tweak on and it will take it to the next level.’ She’s really good at that.” – Read more at ETOnline
Katharine McPhee Foster Honors Kate Somerville at Daytime Beauty Awards – McPhee Foster, a self-described “longtime Kate Somerville goer,” was on hand at the event to present Somerville with the Outstanding Achievement in Skincare award, calling her an “incredible woman” and “a genius in the world of skin care.” – Read more at Hollywood Reporter
Chris Blue’s career continues on a steady beat – On Friday, Blue, who won NBC’s “The Voice Season 12” competition in May 2017, released his extended-play recording “Fresh Start,” what he calls seven tracks of “building with our new sound.” “There’s a new creative direction. We’re kind of having to start over, so I wanted to call it ‘Fresh Start’,” he said. – Read more at The Ledger
Haley Reinhart talks Anderson .Paak, “Lo-Fi Soul” and October show – TS: Do you feel like you were able to properly represent this change with “Lo-Fi Soul?” What do you hope this record says about your musical development in the last couple years? Reinhart: Releasing my fourth album, “Lo-Fi Soul,” may just be the most comfortable, natural and me that I’ve felt with a release. I had a crystal-clear vision for this record and I pieced it together with many amazing co-writers and co-producers. There was little to no compromising. – Read more at UBSpectrum.com
The Bold Type’s Katie Stevens Reveals She Had a Breast Cancer Scare: ‘I Was in a Panic’ – Katie Stevens is opening up about her breast cancer scare this week. In a candid post on Instagram on Friday, The Bold Type actress, 26, revealed that she recently discovered a lump on her breast, which she later learned was a benign tumor called a fibroadenoma. Though the tumor is common in women, Stevens, who is in the middle of planning her wedding and filming season 4 of the hit Freeform show, said she was grateful that the health scare wasn’t anything worse and urged her followers to listen to their bodies if they notice something may be wrong. – Read more at People
