Reminder: The American Idol Showcase Round is taping today. I expect we’ll have song spoilers shortly thereafter.
Zhavia, a teen from Orange County, will sing to win it all on the finale of ‘The Four’ on Fox on Thursday – OC Hit Factory owner Thomas Barsoe nudged her to try out for the producers who were at his talent development and production facility in the Union Market at the District shopping center in Tustin, said both Zhavia and Barsoe, who is also her manager. “So I went ‘Sure,’ and I gathered a few songs on the spot that I was like, ‘OK, I can just sing these for them real quick, whatever,’” she said. “I went in not really having any intentions or thoughts about the show because I didn’t even know about it. They ended up loving me.” – Read more at Daily Breeze.com
Jordin Sparks Remembers Sister Who Died of Sickle Cell Complications: ‘She Was So Strong’ – “She fought her entire life — all 16 years, in and out of hospitals. And she was so strong,” Sparks, 28, told PEOPLE Now exclusively on Wednesday. “She just dealt with it, you know, and there was never a complaint. I’m sure she had moments where she was like, ‘Okay, this hurts,’ but she was one of the strongest people that I’ve ever encountered.” – Read more at People.com
American Idol 5 alum Mandisa Shooting Something with American Idol
Wonder what it is?
#AmericanIdol pic.twitter.com/6KvOAy1dv7
— Mandisa (@mandisaofficial) February 7, 2018
Gospel singer Mandisa back home and in a happier place – “So far, I’ve lost 100 pounds – again,” she added. “I take it one day at a time. I try to concentrate on just healthy eating, eat more veggies, not as many processed foods. Fiber is important. I try to focus on lean meats and protein. It’s actually harder to eat healthy at home. On the road, we have a catering company that makes healthy meals every day. When I’m sitting at home, I don’t have a personal cook. And on the road, we do a 30-minute Zumba workout every day. So, I like the road.” – Read more at SacBee
Lauren Alaina Shines at Country Radio Seminar’s ‘New Faces Show’ – This year’s remaining New Faces participant has actually been releasing music for close to seven years now. Lauren Alaina released her first single for Mercury in the spring of 2011, not long after finishing runner-up to Scotty McCreery on American Idol. Her label stuck by the Georgia performer in spite of her not delivering a major hit single, and it appears they are the wiser for doing so. Alaina was the breakout performer of the New Faces class, with power performances of hits “Road Less Traveled” and “Doin’ Fine,” and she sparkled brightly with a solo performance of “What Ifs,” a song that represented her second trip to the top — which she recorded with former middle school classmate Kane Brown. – Read more at Billboard
Adam Pearce of “The Voice” records CD in Mandeville, shares high hopes for resurgence of rock – On an afternoon in January, Top 20 contestant from Season 13 of “The Voice” — New Orleans’ Adam Pearce — worked on drum tracking for his first solo project. He was at Mandeville’s state-of-the-art JT Studios, putting together a project he hopes new acquaintances Adam Levine and Sammy Hagar just might enjoy. You see, Maroon 5 frontman and “The Voice” judge Levine was impressed enough with Pearce’s run on the singing competition that he invited the 31-year-old to perform at the legendary Maroon 5 Halloween party. Sammy Hagar liked it so much that, well, he just jumped onstage and joined right in with Pearce. – Read more at NOLA.com
‘Idol’ winner Lee DeWyze brings emotional new album to Bradley – Lee DeWyze, who is most known for having won the ninth season of “American Idol,” has some conflicted feelings about the erstwhile hit reality show. On the one hand, it helped launch his career and he’s grateful for the self-education he received while on the show. And he doesn’t regret even a moment spent on the show. But the idea of crafting music in order to be judged by three people doesn’t jibe with how DeWyze feels about music — it’s an art form, not a competition to be won. “It’s like entering your abstract art into a competition,” DeWyze said. “There will be people talking about technique and whatever. But maybe I just painted it this way because that’s how I was feeling. “For me, I had to reverse engineer my career a little.” – Read more at PJStar.com
Catching Up with American Idol’s Casey Abrams – Casey Abrams hasn’t slowed down a bit since finishing in sixth place on season 10 of American Idol in 2011. Nearly seven years after his American Idol run came to an end, Abrams is about to drop his third album. Chesky Records is scheduled to release Put A Spell On You on March 16. The album of originals and covers has a distinct jazz sound. “It has more jazz tunes than I’ve ever had on a record,” he told us. Abrams has been writing, recording, collaborating and touring since leaving the show that helped launch his career. He’s already looking ahead, and Put A Spell On You won’t be the last release from Abrams. “I have so many more projects I’m ready to do,” he said. “There’s more to come for sure.” – Read more at Sound Exchange.com
Taylor Hicks brings ‘State Plate’ TV show to Wishek – North Dakota leads the nation in honey production — making the visit Hicks and a production crew of about 10 people paid to Wishek in August a perfect fit. The Peace Garden State episode premieres at 7 p.m. Central time on Friday, Feb. 9. “We got a call in July that they were interested in coming out here,” says Erik Dohn of Danzig Honey Co. “I guess they were looking for a honey operation in North Dakota and a Google search landed them on our website, danzighoney.com, which is designed by David Salwei. The whole process from that first phone call to the filming took no more than 30 days.” – Read more at Jamestownsun.com
Alicia Keys Eyes New Recording Contract (EXCLUSIVE) – Since breaking out in 2001 with her debut single “Fallin’,” Alicia Keys has spent her career at Sony Music labels J (now defunct) and RCA, releasing six studio albums as well as live collections and remix compilations. Now, with her recording contract up imminently, Keys and her management are actively shopping for a prospective new deal that could be outside of Sony Music, sources tell Variety. Keys’ manager Johnny Wright, who also represents Justin Timberlake and Incubus, is leading the charge and fielding offers which include a bid from Warner Bros. Records. At RCA, chairman Peter Edge is Keys’ keyman, as it were, and is also keen on keeping her in the family. – Read more at Variety.com
Inside NBC’s Super Fun, Music-Packed Ad Strategy for ‘The Voice’ & Olympics – The four coaches — joined by host Carson Daly — were filmed at Disney’s Golden Oaks Ranch in Santa Clarita last fall. “It was about 100 degrees, but they were all really good sports,” Sage says. None more so than The Voice host Carson Daly, who experienced a bovine malfunction. “He had to hold a baby calf, and it peed on him. But he was like ‘let’s do another take!’ and just worked through it.” – Read more at Billboard.com
Core Media Group Taps Marisa Fermin As Head Of Business Affairs & General Counsel – Veteran television executive Marisa Fermin has been hired by Core Media Group to head its Business Affairs department and serve as its General Counsel. Fermin will oversee all business and legal matters related to Core Media and its content business across the company’s divisions, partnerships and ventures. She will report to Dennis Miller, Executive Chairman. – Read more at Deadline.com
