Headlines: American Idol’s Grace Leer Awaits Fan Vote, Networks’ Program Scramble

‘American Idol’: Danville’s Grace Leer anxiously awaits fan vote – “Lauren and I were holding hands the whole time,” Leer said, recalling the tense “Final Judgment” session with judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie in Hawaii. “And when Luke started talking about how they couldn’t decide, we squeezed each other’s hands harder because we thought that meant we were both going through. “And then they told us and our jaws dropped. That was the last thing we expected.” Leer, who grew up in Danville and played soccer at UC Berkeley, had a flashback to those competitive-sports days. “I kept thinking it was like playing really well through the whole game, only to end up in a tie,” she said Monday. “And now we’ve got to go to PKs (penalty kicks). Oh, man.”- Read more at Mercury News.com

Chartbreaker: Gabby Barrett Prepared Herself For Stardom — and Rejection — Long Before ‘American Idol’ – As one of eight children, Barrett says money was also a limitation. She remembers once having the power pulled on her house, and often having to pack lunches for road trips to shows because they couldn’t afford to stop and eat. But nothing held Barrett back from continuing the grind: she averaged 150 shows a year, with the simple goal of making her name known. At 14, Barrett expanded to songwriting, penning a teen-spirit tune called “Young Blood” that she performed live on air on local station FROGGY 104.3’s The Danger Show a few times. But her focus remained on performance. “I was a terrible writer at first,” she says. “I really respected women that could sing their tails off and entertain really well, so I wanted to get that across before I brought any of my own music into it.” – Read more at Billboard.com

Jordin Sparks Swaps Pies for Cakes in Waitress-Themed Episode of Food Network’s Buddy vs. Duff – Last fall, Waitress alum Jordin Sparks enlisted Buddy vs. Duff to create a special thank you to the cast and crew before her final performance as Jenna. The culminating episode aired on the Food Network April 5. See what the two teams came up with in the video above. Duff Goldman went for a diner-themed spread filled with pies, hamburgers, a pancake breakfast, and a life-size Sparks behind the counter. On the other side, Buddy Valastro created a massive stack of cakes disguised as pies piled on top of each other next to a collection of baking ingredients, with Sparks sitting on a bag of flour. – Playbill

A Puzzle Without All the Pieces: Broadcast Networks Scramble to Program an Uncertain Future – Another option that multiple networks are currently considering is to take a page from late night and repackage repeats with new content that appeals to diehard fans. ABC recently announced a “Flashback Friday” of sorts for long-running soap General Hospital, with new introductions to classic episodes. ABC, sources say, is also considering airing themed repeats — like a “best-of” Dancing With the Stars or some of its other franchises. Of course, if the shutdown carries on for several more months, one exec suggests much of this will be moot. “If that happens,” he says, “it’ll be all news, all the time.” – Read more at Hollywood Reporter

About mj santilli 34842 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!