BLAKE SHELTON AND JONAS BROTHERS WITH SPECIAL GUEST MARSHMELLO JOIN LIST OF NBC Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular – enée Elise Goldsberry, a Tony and Grammy Award winner and star of Peacock’s “Girls5eva,” and Ryan Eggold, star of NBC’s “New Amsterdam,” will host the “Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks® Spectacular.” Blake Shelton is set to perform during the Independence Day broadcast. The Grammy-nominated entertainer begins his “Friends and Heroes 2021 Tour” on Aug. 18. Jonas Brothers will also join the performer lineup. The Grammy-nominated band will be perform a medley of hits and be joined by special guest Marshmello for a performance of their new song, “Leave Before You Love Me.” – Read more at NBCumv
CMT Music Awards Move To CBS In 2022 – The CMT Music Awards, which have been running in various forms since the 1960s, are to premiere live on CBS in 2022. In the latest example of corporate synergy, the broadcast network will become the home of the event, which has awarded artists such as Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift in recent years. In 2021, ViacomCBS premiered the event, which is country music’s only entirely fan-voted award show, on CMT as well as sister networks MTV, MTV2, Logo, Paramount Network and TV Land but the move to CBS will significantly expand its reach. – Read more at Deadline
KTLA’s Project Angel Food Telethon features American Idol’s Phillip Phillips and more – Project Angel Food’s upcoming telethon, “Lead With Love 2021,” will include appearances by “Batwoman” star Javicia Leslie, Jamie Lee Curtis, Maria Shriver and Matt Bomer. The television event will also include performances by LeAnn Rimes, Andy Grammer, Gloria Estefan, Jewel, Phillip Phillips, Vanessa Williams and “Cruel Summer” star Olivia Holt. “Lead With Love” will broadcast live on KTLA 5 on July 17 from 7-9 p.m. It will also stream live on KTLA 5 and Project Angel Food’s websites and Facebook pages. – Read more at Variety
“American Idol’s” Grace Kinstler talks with MassLive about Boston, what’s next and more
Grace is moving to Los Angeles in a couple of weeks. A student at Berklee College of Music, she’s taking a break for now. Her boyfriend lives in Boston. She has exciting stuff coming up that she can’t announce just yet.
Madonna Kicks Off Pride Weekend in New York With Surprise Club Performance – Inside, guests like Anderson Cooper, Andy Cohen, Billy Eichner, Zachary Quinto, Lance Bass, Adam Lambert, Jon Batiste and Lady F** could be spotted around the room, dancing high above New York’s skyline. A court of drag performers including Detox, Aquaria, Kandy Muse, Vanessa Vangie Matteo and Gottmik also assembled for the Queen of Pop. – Read more at Variety
Jennifer Hudson on ‘Pressure’ of Aretha Franklin Handpicking Her for Biopic (Exclusive) – “That’s a lot, a lot, a lot of pressure!” Hudson told ET’s Kevin Frazier on the red carpet at the 2021 BET Awards on Sunday. “Everyone is counting down and I’m like, ‘Please don’t tell me! I don’t want to know, that’s enough pressure.’ Enough with her being like, ‘Jennifer do this.’ But that’s that women power, that’s that empowerment, like if she passed the torch and she said, ‘Jennifer you can do it,’ that gives me the strength and the encouragement to try,” she said. – See the Video at Entertainment Tonight
Jim Ranger: Life after ‘The Voice’ – “By that last week, man, we got to hang out all the time. We were in the studio together recording the ‘Streets Of Bakersfield’ song, you get to spend real time and hang out, which was obviously just a blast,” said Ranger. It hasn’t all been glitz, glamour and self-reflection for Ranger since the show ended, though. He and his wife have been working through health issues and their kids have been finishing the school year. As life returns to some normalcy, both personally for the Rangers and around the country, he is booking more shows for the fall and winter, some that will allow him to meet up once again with fellow “Voice” alums Ian Flannigan, Ryan Berg and Tori Miller. “The end game is hopefully to cut a record here later on this year and do some touring supporting it,” said Ranger. – Read more at Bakersfield.com
American Idol season 11 alum Heejun Han talks K-Pop
Remember Heejun Han from American Idol season 11? He was the comic relief that season, and besties with winner Phillip Phillips. These days he works in South Korea as a host of a K-Pop request show, After School Special, and has a book and movie coming out in Korea later this year.
In this podcast, he speaks of American Idol like it was a vacation and a cakewalk compared to the ardorous training he did in S. Korea to become a pop singer. I learned that all potential K-Pop stars join “training” schools that put performers through the paces, including diets, facial surgery, coaching and more. He also came in 3rd on K-Pop Star and shared how every aspect of his performance was stage managed by the producers.
Judges revealed for Strictly 2021! – Due to the ongoing uncertainty regarding international travel restrictions caused by COVID-19, Bruno Tonioli, who has been a fixture on Strictly since 2004 and is also a judge on Dancing with the Stars in the USA, will be unable to take part in the series this year. – Read more at the BBC
