Adam Lambert, Leona Lewis, Cassadee Pope, Danielle Bradbery, Kellie Pickler and more are featured on the CMT Artist of the Year special on CMT airing at 8 pm.
The Empire winter finale airs tonight at 9 pm ET/PT on FOX. You know we’ll be left hanging with a major cliffhanger until the show return in March…
Survivor Second Chance continues on CBS at 8 ET/PT, and Nashville returns to ABC at 10 ET/PT after taking a break for the holiday.
NBC’S ANNUAL ‘CHRISTMAS IN ROCKEFELLER CENTER’ CELEBRATES THE MUSIC OF THE HOLIDAYS LIVE ON WEDNESDAY, DEC. 2 – NBC will celebrate the lighting of the world’s most famous Christmas tree with “Christmas in Rockefeller Center®” on Wednesday, Dec. 2 (8-9 p.m. ET). NBC’s “Today” anchors Matt Lauer, Savannah Guthrie, Al Roker and Natalie Morales will host the live broadcast from New York City’s Rockefeller Center, which will showcase spectacular holiday performances from Sting, Mary J. Blige, Andrea Bocelli, The Band Perry, Andy Grammer, Carly Rae Jepsen, Pentatonix, Band of Merrymakers, and music legend James Taylor, featuring world-renowned trumpeter Chris Botti. The evening will also include a special performance by the Rockettes. – Read more at NBCumv
Jennifer Hudson, Without a Safety Net, Prepares for ‘The Color Purple’ – A year ago, the producers of “The Color Purple,” the Broadway musical adapted from the Alice Walker novel, called the singer and actress Jennifer Hudson and asked if she would consider joining the cast of the show’s revival. Ms. Hudson did not hesitate. “I said: ‘Sure. Yes. Great. Got it. Yup,’” she recalled. Only then did she wonder which role they wanted her to play. – Read more at The New York Times
Don Was takes leadership role at DIME – The announcement caps a busy year for DIME, which opened in 2014 in downtown Detroit’s Capitol Park district. The school has partnered with Metropolitan State University of Denver, launched the record label Original 1265 Recordings and hosted visits with musicians such as George Clinton and Nate Watts. Nixon, Clayman and Jena Irene — whose Original 1265 debut is due next year — joined several DIME students to meet Stevie Wonder ahead of the star’s homecoming performance at Joe Louis Arena on Nov. 21. See a photo of Jena with Stevie at the link – Read more at Detroit Free Press
‘American Idol’ Alum Pia Toscano Competes in Doritos Super Bowl Commercial Contest: Watch the Ad – Pia Toscano is competing for votes once more. The American Idol season 10 alum is featured as a hot zombie in a new Doritos advertisement entered in the chip maker’s “Crash the Super Bowl” competition. Winners of the competition collect $1 million and the ultimate prize: seeing their spot played live at the Super Bowl. Finalists will be chosen in January. You can vote online here.
Todrick Hall Launches GoFundMe Campaign for Charity Series – Todrick Hall is getting into the spirit of the holiday season with a new idea for a series that will help people in need. The series, called You Wish, will help people “going through a rough time,” the MTV star and American Idol alum wrote on his GoFundMe page. To achieve this, Hall has created the page for Todrick Hall Wishes, a project that will raise funds the entertainer will use to make dreams come true — be it helping a family buy presents for children at Christmas, remodeling their house or repairing their car. – Read more at Billboard.com
Simon Cowell Signs With WME Agency – Top reality star and producer Simon Cowell and his music, TV and film company Syco Entertainment have signed with WME. The agency will work on continuing to expand Syco’s film, scripted and unscripted television departments as well as its music brands. – Read more at Deadline
