Tonight, The Voice Knockout Round concludes and your Top 20 is revealed! On NBC. Join our Live Blog at 8 ET PM. Dancing with the Stars celebrities celebrate their Most Memorable Year. Bring on the tears! On ABC. We’re Live Blogging at 8 ET PM.
Elton John to Appear on Nashville – Nashville better turn on those sad songs, because Sir Elton John is about to sit in. The über-popular British singer/songwriter will appear in the May 18 episode, per The Hollywood Reporter. John, who will play himself, will perform in a scene with Sam Palladio’s Gunnar. – Read more at TVLine
‘American Idol’ Creator Simon Fuller: The Show “Will Be Coming Back for Sure” – How do you feel going into the final week of Idol on Fox? The overriding emotion is pride. It’s been an amazing 15 years and it’s the first time ever that I’ve been able to look back and think, wow, that was pretty good. We made our mark; we made history. It’s exceeded all expectations. In the entertainment industry, you very rarely get to look back. For the first time, I’ve managed to do that in these past two or three weeks and that will carry me through the finale. Saying goodbye to a lot of people I may not work with again, that’s the only sadness for me. [Along with] my partners at Fremantle, I think the group [working on the] show has been pretty much the same since day one. I’m pleased that the final show will still have the warmth and the excitement as the first show 15 seasons ago. In many ways it still feels youthful. – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
Chris Daughtry on American Idol Finale: ‘They’re Going Out on a High Note’ – American Idol is ending its 15-season run and alum Chris Daughtry has a lot of feelings about it. “It’s coming to an end, man,” Daughtry told PEOPLE at the 2016 iHeartRadio Music Awards on Sunday. “Lights out! Or actually lights up, everybody go home!” He added, “It’s bittersweet. I got a lot of good memories about it from the show, my season in particular. I feel like this season, from what I’ve seen in the last few, has been extremely entertaining. I think they’re going out on a high note.” – Read more at People.com
For 15 years, ‘Idol’ gave everyone a chance – A decade from today, then-teenager Oliver Allen will be sitting in front of a TV and an upcoming documentary show will be promoted. Young Oliver will lean over and ask his father, Kris: “Dad, what was ‘American Idol’?” “I know exactly what I will tell him,” Kris Allen said in a recent telephone interview from his Nashville home. “I’ll say, ‘It’s the reason your dad sings.’” Allen, the “Idol” Season 8 winner, and a few hundred others saw their careers — from huge successes to small-bar gigs — launched over the 15-year run of the show. It will come to a conclusion on April 7 with the finale of Season 15. That will be five weeks before Allen’s performance at The Music Box in downtown San Diego. – Read more at the San Diego Union Tribune
‘American Idol’ Class Photo: 15 Key Players Who Built the Juggernaut – Picture this: Two TV execs are huddled in a booth at an IHOP in Encino one Saturday in 2002. They’re drafting a budget for a midsummer replacement show on Fox called American Idol. “I projected [it running] for three years, and my boss told me I was overly optimistic,” recalls exec producer and FremantleMedia Group CEO Cecile Frot-Coutaz. But the numbers she and executive in charge of production Wylleen May came up with were “completely undercooked — we had no idea.” – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
CUTE
I gave all of the #idoltop10 stuffed animals… ? #fun #friends #americanidol #idol #IdolFinale pic.twitter.com/LYQb6BBveb
— Olivia Rox (@OliviaRox) April 3, 2016
‘American Idol’ alumni thank show for career – As “American Idol” wraps up its final season this week, idol veterans like Chris Daughtry and Nick Fradiani can’t thank the show enough for the success it has given them. Daughtry, who just participated in Fox’s musical special “The Passion,” thanks “Idol” jump starting to his career. “It’s huge; it has been the biggest catapult for me as far as my career. I wouldn’t be talking to you right now if I hadn’t gone on the show, I’m pretty sure.” And Daughtry, who will also be at the finale, thinks the show is going out on a high note as he throws his support behind contestant Dalton Rapattoni. Fradiani, who won season 14, told FOX411 he owes a lot to the series. “It has meant everything to me and in the last year it has totally changed my life, not even a full year, it has been 11 months or so,” he said. “I will be in debt to that show forever in my opinion. Everyone over there is family to me now.” – See the Video at FOX 411
Lauren Alaina & Scott McCreery Represent ‘Idol’ at ACM Awards 2016! – Lauren Alaina looks gorgeous in her blue gown while walking the red carpet at the 2016 Academy of Country Music Awards held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday (April 3) in Las Vegas. The 21-year-old singer was joined at the event by Scotty McCreery, the winner of her season of American Idol. – See the Photos at Just Jared
‘The Voice’: Alisan Porter Tells How She Covered Joni Mitchell’s ‘River’ – The Voice frontrunner Alisan Porter covered a musical icon this week when she sung Joni Mitchell’s “River,” possibly one of the artist’s best known songs. After her knockout round performance punched her ticket to the live playoffs, Alisan spoke to Starpulse to comment on how she thought it went. “I always have a hard time watching myself,” she continued, “because there’s so much I would change, but that’s just because I’m hard on myself. I loved singing ‘River’ though, because it’s one of the most beautifully written songs of all time.” – Read more at Starpulse.com
Gwen Stefani’s – GMA Interview (Chats Pain & Returning To The Studio)
Derek Hough Explains Why He’s Taking a Break from DWTS – and What He’s Getting Julianne for Her Wedding! – PEOPLE caught up with the star at the iHeartRadio Music Awards Sunday in Los Angeles, and he explained the reason behind his decision to sit out on this season of the hit show. “I think I just always had the feeling of being inspired – I want to give all to whatever I’m doing. I think I just needed a little bit of time to grow,” said Derek, who helped guide Bindi Irwin to victory last year, marking a record sixth win for himself. “I think if you’re not growing, essentially – it sounds dramatic but it’s true – so for me this is giving me some time to work on other skills that I want to work on for myself,” he said. – Read more at People
Wanya & Lindsay Behind The Scenes #DWTS
Simon Cowell Says Liam Payne and Cheryl Fernandez-Versini Are ‘Like Two Little Chipmunks Madly in Love’ – Cowell, who helped launch the One Direction member’s career on The X Factor, told U.K. newspaper The Sun that the couple are “so cute.” “I saw them together and we had a really nice dinner. They were on good form. They’re like two little chipmunks madly in love,” Cowell said of Payne, 22, and Fernandez-Versini, 32. “But importantly they both seemed very happy over here and very relaxed. I’m happy for them.” – Read more at People
Simon Cowell on Why ‘America’s Got Talent’ Beats ‘Idol,’ the Downside of “Way Too Many Reality Shows” – Cowell, 56, knows this building well: In 2002, during the first season of American Idol — the show he helped create and, let’s face it, dominated in its prime — the first round of auditions was held here. But NBC’s America’s Got Talent, he says, “is more fun than Idol. After you’ve heard 10,000 singers, you think, ‘Bring on a dancing dog.’ ” “There’s obviously way too many reality shows on TV, and a lot of them won’t last,” he says. “As with anything, if you don’t listen to the viewers, you’re dead. As soon as our shows go on the air, we’re hit with a barrage of information from social media. You think I’m honest? Christ almighty, are they honest on social media. And I like that. I like to do things that make a lot of noise. – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
