SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE’ RETURNS IN MAY WITH THREE BACK-TO-BACK SHOWS – Brie Larson will make her debut as host of Saturday Night Live on May 7. Joining Larson will be returning musical guest Alicia Keys. She’ll also be joining season 11 of The Voice as a coach this fall. Drake returns to Studio 8H on May 14, his second time doubling as host and musical guest. On May 21, former SNL cast member Fred Armisen returns to Studio 8H as host to close out the late-night franchise’s 41st season. Armisen was a cast member on “SNL” for 11 seasons. Courtney Barnett will make her debut as musical guest alongside Armisen. – Read more at NBCUmv.com
Making a Difference – David Cook and his Team for a Cure – The 2016 Race for Hope in Washington D.C. was another great success this year, with more than 10,000 registered participants and 525 different hard-working teams collectively raising a grand total of over $2 million by race day to benefit ABC2 and the National Brain Tumor Society. David Cook and his Team for a Cure helped raise an amazing $92,000+ (not including team event proceeds, which have yet to be added) in donations by Race day and were recognized as the top fundraising team, once again! Over the past seven years, David and his fans have raised over $1 million for brain cancer research through the Race for Hope and other fundraising projects. – Read more at David Cook Official
UMPG Nashville Signs Kane Brown – Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG) Nashville has signed an exclusive, global publishing deal with artist and songwriter Kane Brown. The announcement was made today (May 4) by Kent Earls, Executive Vice President/General Manager, UMPG Nashville. – Read more at Music Row
JUST IN: @CarrieUnderwood has been added to our summer #Opry lineup on May 20, 21 & June 7! https://t.co/LRzP8yZGxX pic.twitter.com/r4gRwo2Orh
— Grand Ole Opry (@opry) May 4, 2016
Lyrics Uncovered: Carrie Underwood, ‘Church Bells’ – Carrie Underwood‘s “Church Bells” lyrics add another body to the list of no-good men she’s put away in song, and according to one of the songwriters, it was fun to have the freedom to write that kind of ending. “Oddly enough, I’m usually the music guy, but I’d had that title for a few weeks, and I’d looked on my calendar and thought that would be a cool Carrie Underwood thing, so I should wait to write that with Brett and Hillary,” Crowell tells Taste of Country. “I didn’t necessarily know how to write it; I just knew I had the title.” More at Taste of Country
‘American Idol,’ ‘The Voice’ bits: Scotty McCreery’s new book & interview – “I thought we could do this as long as we don’t present it as a memoir,” Scotty said. (Stuck in traffic in Peachtree Corners at our appointed time to talk, I pulled over to talk to him coincidentally in the parking lot of his favorite fast-food joint: Bojangles.) “It’s more like a travelogue of experiences and places and things I’ve learned.” This is not a book jam packed with gossip. His life is not filled with abuse, heartbreak or jail time. Instead, there are odes to his hometown Garner, N.C. and his love and devotion to baseball, family, God and his idol Elvis Presley. “There are no skeletons in my closet,” he said. He’s young. Maybe later, right? – Read more at AJC
Scotty McCreery Talks J. Lo, American Idol, and His New Book – Scotty still shows admiration for his fellow Idol judge, Jennifer Lopez. When asked what was his fondest memory of American Idol, he said with a laugh “Five months with Jennifer Lopez, does that count?” He then added as his actual response, “It was cool getting to work with Jennifer and Steven Tyler; they really took an interest in investing in us. Getting to work with legends like that is pretty incredible.” – Read more at Huffington Post. Click for BuildAOL interview
‘Idol’ alums Blake Lewis and Elliott Yamin make tour stop in Eugene – “There will be two separate sets,” Yamin of the tour, “and possibly some duets. New tunes and old ones, with a few covers sprinkled in. I’m going to bring raw, soulful vocals and Blake will come at you with his loop pedal board and create songs in front of your face.” – Read more at Register-Guard
‘American Idol’ Runner-Up La’Porsha Renae Says Beyoncé’s ‘Lemonade’ Is ‘Empowering,’ Admits She Can Relate To Some Of It – “I actually think that a lot of the pieces [on the album] were very empowering,” La’Porsha said during the Wednesday evening chat. “I watched the clip and unfortunately could relate to a lot of [it] … I was like, ‘Wow, this is really relatable.’ And being relatable is very important when it comes to being an artist.” – Read more at IBTimes
Worlds Collide! Former Bachelorette Leading Lady Andi Dorfman to Moderate UnREAL Panel – Former Bachelorette star Andi Dorfman certainly knows a thing or two about dating on television, and now she’s dipping her toes back into the reality romance pool with Lifetime’s UnREAL.
PEOPLE can exclusively reveal that Dorfman will be hosting an evening with the cast and creative team of UnREAL, a scripted drama created by a former Bachelor staffer that gives reality dating shows a dark and clever poke in the eye. The panel will take place on May 23 – the same night the new season of The Bachelorette is set to premiere – at the Paley Center for Media in New York City. Tickets are available for purchase here. – Read more at People.com
