CMT Gets Ratings Boost From ‘I Love Kellie Pickler’ – CMT broke two of its longstanding ratings records as more than 2.5 million total viewers tuned in to the premiere night of I Love Kellie Pickler on Thursday (Nov. 5). The premiere episode notched an impressive .81 rating with women (18-49) and .53 rating with adults (18-49) according to Nielsen Media Research, propelling the network to its highest premiere with adults since 2012 and women since 2008. Including encores over the weekend, nearly 4 million viewers have tuned-in. – Read more at Music Row
ARIANA GRANDE TO MAKE GLOBAL TELEVISION DEBUT OF NEW SINGLE “FOCUS” AT THE “2015 AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS®” – dick clark productions and ABC announced today that Ariana Grande will perform at the “2015 American Music Awards,” the world’s biggest fan-voted award show. This will be the global television debut of Grande’s new single ‘Focus.” She joins previously announced host and performer Jennifer Lopez, as well as 5 Seconds of Summer, Coldplay, Selena Gomez, Nick Jonas, Demi Lovato, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, One Direction, Gwen Stefani, Carrie Underwood, WALK THE MOON, duets from Meghan Trainor and Charlie Puth, Luke Bryan featuring Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town and the legendary Star Wars score to be performed by Pentatonix and a full symphony orchestra. The “2015 American Music Awards” will broadcast live on Sunday, November 22 at 8:00pm ET on ABC. – via dc productions press release
Jennifer Hudson: I had butterflies taking on Broadway role – Jennifer Hudson stars on Broadway and in the upcoming movie “Chi-Raq,” and now the Chicago native is on the December cover of O, The Oprah Magazine. Hudson, 34, epitomizes old Hollywood glam as she dons a purple see-through gown for the magazine. The color is fitting since Hudson stars as blues singer Shug Avery in the Broadway adaptation of “The Color Purple,” which opened for previews this week. “I have butterflies taking on this role, but I like that,” Hudson told the magazine. “I never second guessed it — I just hopped right in. She is such a different funky character for me and I was very attached to (the) book and the film.” – Read more at the Chicago Tribune
Adam Lambert’s Five ’90s Songs He Wants to Cover: Madonna, Michael Jackson & More – Although he fronts one of the biggest arena rock bands of the ’70s (Queen) and made his biggest Idol mark singing ’80s single “Mad World” by Tears for Fears, when it comes down to it, Adam Lambert is a kid of the ’90s. That’s when he really started paying attention to music, and in the video above, Lambert shares the “five ’90s songs I could work it out on stage with.” He’d open with some dance music. “Crystal Waters’ ‘100% Pure Love’ for a little ’90s dance groove momentum,” he says. “And ‘Black Hole Sun’ by Soundgarden. I love that crazy, strange melody.” – Read more at BIllboard
Kellie Pickler on Success of Reality Show: ‘We’re a Crazy Little Roller Coaster Ride’ –
“This has been crazy,” she said of her show’s debut ratings over the phone. “We’re a crazy little roller coaster ride.”
Via Ryan Seacrest
Clare Bowen cut her hair for a reason – Bowen is a childhood cancer survivor, and was diagnosed with nephroblastoma at age 4. She recalled staying in a hospital “surrounded by children just like me.” “We were mostly bald, all tubed, taped, bandaged up and stitched back together…no one’s appearance came into question. No one got laughed at or teased. We were all we knew.” Recently, Bowen said she was inspired when she heard “about a little girl who said she couldn’t be a princess because she didn’t have long hair.” “I wanted her, and others like her to know that’s not what makes a princess, or a warrior, or a superhero. It’s not what makes you beautiful either. It’s your insides that count… even if you happen to be missing half of them.” – The Tennessean
‘Empire’ and ‘Nashville’ have incredible songs on TV. Why is it hard to make them into real-life hits? – It’s a complicated issue for both programs as they promote original music in these real-life competitive genres, a different ballgame than something like “Glee” that specialized in cover songs. “Nashville” and “Empire” each boast an impressive roster of producers, songwriters and artists to create their music, all backed by powerful record labels. This is essential, as networks bank on these shows to make money through music sales. Yet as it turns out, it’s still not always easy to break out of the TV bubble. – Read more at Washington Post
Dancing’s Derek Hough: I Didn’t Want to Let Bindi Down – I don’t know what the plan is now that Tamar’s out. We do have another challenge for us because of her withdrawal. We have to do something else to fill up the extra time where Tamar would’ve been dancing. They’ve told us, but I don’t know if I can go into the details yet. I can tell you we are dancing a salsa. We have a fun song that totally embodies Bindi. The second one is a jazz trio that’s much more artistic. I’m trying things I personally haven’t tried before. We’re doing it with Mark, but I don’t know if that’s gonna happen anymore because he hurt his foot. He got glass or something in it. Between him and me, it hasn’t been a good two seasons for feet! So we’ll see if he can still do it with us. That routine in my mind looks really good. The story is about how we isolate ourselves and we get imprisoned by our own issues and how we’re all connected and we’re bonded together. So we’re gonna use a rope and at the end of the rope is a light bulb. We’re gonna use this rope to move us around. Now I have to see if it’s possible to do it, so we’ll see! – Read more at TV Guide
