Tonight Dancing with the Stars 22 premieres! Franky will be live blogging beginning at 8 pm ET. It airs on ABC at 8/7c PM.
Over on NBC the Battle Rounds continue on The Voice, beginning at 8/7c PM. Of course, we’ll be live blogging as always.
Country Music’s Party of the Year® just got bigger with music superstars Dolly Parton and Katy Perry added to the epic line-up of performers taking the stage at the 51ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS! This can’t-miss duet will mark their first-ever live performance together. Additionally, 10-time ACM Award winner Parton will be honored with the Tex Ritter Award for her television movie, Dolly Parton’s Coat of Many Colors. This award is given to a movie released and/or receiving major exposure during the preceding calendar year, featuring or utilizing country music. The ACMs air Sunday, April 3 at 8:00PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. – via dcproductions pr
Are you currently learning your lines as Eddie for Rocky Horror? – AL: You know, he doesn’t really have a lot of dialogue! It’s a really fun part because it’s very much a cameo. They actually asked me early on — this is sometime last year — to look at the role of Frank-N-Furter. I was really flattered, and I thought, yeah, that could be quite fun. But [with my] schedule, [it was] just not looking likely. And on a side note, I kind of felt like in 2016, to be cis and playing the role of a trans character, it felt inappropriate to me. In the ’70s, it was different. But nowadays we have such an amazing conversation that’s started about trans and gender in this world. I think casting Laverne [Cox] was so brilliant. It’s so appropriate, you know what I mean? And to re-imagine [the character], as well, because she’s entirely different. So I said no, but when they started announcing the cast, I said, “Wait a minute — what about Eddie? I wanna play Eddie! I could do that — that’s like one song. Let me just come in and do a bit part!” Because I really, really wanted to be a part of it. I’m a big fan of the original movie, and [director] Kenny Ortega’s a lovely guy. And then I heard that Cisco Adler was producing the music and thought, oh, this is gonna be good. So, I went in and I recorded my songs already. I did my vocals, and they turned out really cool. Now I’m going in for a week in April, in Toronto, to film. – Idolator.com
Sony’s Equity Stake in Spotify Survives Scrutiny in ‘American Idol’ Lawsuit – A federal judge has told American Idol-affiliated 19 Recordings that it won’t be allowed to amend a lawsuit to address Sony Music’s significant stake in Sweden-based streaming giant Spotify. Last June, in the midst of an ongoing lawsuit over royalties to such artists as Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, the plaintiff attempted to add the claim that Sony had engaged in self-dealing by taking equity in Spotify worth potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in lieu of demanding fair-market royalty rates from the streaming company. 19, founded by Idol creator Simon Fuller and controlled by the show’s owner, Core Media Group (which is now part of a joint venture between 21st Century Fox and Apollo Global Management), alleged this was a breach of good faith and fair dealing. – Read more at Hollywood Reporter
Q&A: Rayvon Owen – Rayvon Owen says that a common theme throughout his musical repertoire is overcoming adversity, and that holds true in his new single, “Can’t Fight It.” The “American Idol” finalist recently made headlines by using the music video for his new single as a vehicle to come out, a decision that he acknowledges was not easy, but he hopes that it helps others in similar situations. Owen will be back in town to perform Friday, April 15, at 5 p.m. during the Southern Women’s Show at the Richmond Raceway Complex. Here’s what he had to say about his new music, life after “Idol” and how he hopes to inspire others. – Read more at Richmond.com
PopPolitics: Clay Aiken on What He Learned About ‘Delusional’ Donald Trump (Listen) – “You can’t tell me that you are going to be the person who’s toughest with Vladimir Putin if you don’t even have the balls to tell your people not to hit folks,” Aiken, who appeared on “Celebrity Apprentice” with Trump, told Variety‘s “PopPolitics” on SiriusXM. “And I don’t have any respect for that.” In interviews last fall, Aiken said that Trump was a “good guy,” based on the experience he had with him on “Apprentice” and how he treated those who appeared on the show. But Aiken is now upset over what he sees as Trump’s rhetoric at his campaign rallies, as well as his recent denials that he ever said he would pay legal fees of a supporter who sucker punched a protester at a campaign event in North Carolina. – Read more at Variety.com
Boyz II Men’s Wanya Jokes He’ll Sing “End of the Road” to His “Dancing with the Stars” Competition Each Week – he 22nd season of Dancing with the Stars premieres tonight on ABC, and this year’s obligatory musician in the lineup is Wanya [wahn-YAY] Morris of multi-platinum, chart-topping group Boyz II Men. Wanya is so convinced that he’s going to win that he says he’ll perform a special serenade for his fellow contestants as they get voted off the show, just to rub it in. “[‘End of the Road’], that’s what I’m gonna sing every single time,” Wanya tells ABC Radio, referring to Boyz II Men’s 1992 #1 hit. “You know I am! You better believe it!” – Read more at ABCNewsRadio
Behind The Scenes #DWTS Season 22 Final Rehearsals
First Person: My ‘American Idol’ Experience, by Didi Benami – That said, of I had to compare the competition itself, I would say it was like a vocal version of The Hunger Games meets Survivor meets like Road Rules and probably some other show I don’t watch. The whole ride was a very surreal rollercoaster. The insanity of what it feels like to go from zero to 60, then know you could be scrutinized forever regardless of circumstances that are completely out of your control, is quite uncomfortable. Crazy and honestly: really scary. Everything could go wrong. Everything could go right, too! You are with professionals and you want to feel like you are protected and being made to shine. In reality, the whole process zoomed by faster than the speed of light. I tried to absorb as much as I could, but I was mostly in shock that I had made it the next round. Every time. – Read more at Yahoo.com
