Headlines: Clay Aiken Owed Money, Carrie Underwood Opry Special

Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood among star-studded line-up for the Grand Ole Opry’s 95th anniversary show – Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown and Dolly Parton are just a few of the stars performing in honor of the 95th anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry stage. Entitled Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music, the special event will feature a slew of performances, all of which were taped on the Grand Ole Opry House’s famous stage. Also among the list of featured artists are Little Big Town, Old Crow Medicine Show, Darius Rucker and Trisha Yearwood. Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton have already been announced as the hosts for the two-hour 95th anniversary special. They will also give performances during the event. Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music airs February 14 between 9-11 p.m. ET on NBC. – Read more at ABCNewsRadioOnline

Actors’ Equity seeks wages owed to Clay Aiken from Broadway Christmas show – Actors’ Equity filed a complaint Wednesday against the producer of “Ruben & Clay’s Christmas Show” seeking wages owed to headliner Clay Aiken. In the complaint, Equity says that Aiken is still owed $60,000 for two weeks of performances of the Broadway show, which ran at Broadway’s Imperial Theatre in December 2018. Equity took producer Jeffrey Chrzczon to arbitration in 2019 over the matter and the arbitrator later ruled that the lost wages were owed to Aiken, as well as other payments on behalf of several performers involved in the show, according to court documents. – Read more at Broadway News

Kellie Pickler Appointed USO Global Ambassador – Kellie Pickler has been named a USO Global Ambassador in support of the organization’s 80th anniversary. Pickler, alongside USO Global Ambassador actor Wilmer Valderrama, will support the organization’s Give More Than Thanks initiative, a campaign encouraging Americans to find actionable ways to express their gratitude for the service and sacrifice of our troops and their families. Throughout the year, Pickler and Valderrama will participate in events and engagements for service members, raise awareness of our military’s needs, and share ways Americans can help the USO give more than thanks. – Read more at MusicRow

Blake Shelton on the response to his Super Bowl commercial: ‘My phone was smoking last night’ – “Of all the things that I’ve been fortunate enough to have happen in my life, I don’t know that my phone has ever erupted — I mean my phone was smoking last night,” Shelton tells EW a day after the big game (above), when he joined his fellow Voice coaches Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, and Nick Jonas, host Carson Daly, and showrunner Audrey Morrissey to promote the show’s upcoming 20th season. “You realize, ‘Oh my God, nobody has ever really watched me win an award.’ I know that now. But everybody watches the Super Bowl. Now it’s confirmed: I know every contact in my phone was watching that game.” – Read more at Entertainment Weekly

Who Is On Jordin Sparks’ ‘American Idol’ Group Chat – Jordin Sparks is bringing her “American Idol” experience full circle! The Season 6 winner tells Access Hollywood about her time on “The Masked Dancer” and how much fun it was to reunite with judge Paula Abdul 13 years since “Idol.” Jordin also shares which “Idol” pals she keeps in touch with on a group chat and if anyone in her close circle was able to guess her identity as Exotic Bird. And, the 31-year-old gushes over family life with husband Dana Isaiah and their 2-year-old son, DJ. Plus, Jordin shares the inspiration behind her latest single “You Still Think of Me” and teases more new music on the way! “The Masked Dancer” airs Wednesday nights at 8/7c on Fox.

NBC lays off E!’s entire ‘In the Room’ staff – NBC has laid off the entire staff of E!’s “In The Room” this week amid a massive restructuring, Page Six can reveal. Earlier this week, it was announced that 50 people were cut within NBCUniversal’s entertainment division after the media company finalized its reorganization under Susan Rovner’s leadership. On Thursday, Ryan Seacrest announced he was departing “E!’s Live From the Red Carpet,” which he’s co-hosted for 14 years. The media company has been struggling since the start of the pandemic. As Page Six exclusively reported in August 2020, NBCUniversal planned to cut just under 3 percent of NBC News employees, which includes the “NBC Nightly News” and “Today” show teams. – Read more at PageSix

About mj santilli 34860 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!