American Idol alums Kris Allen and Haley Reinhart to team up for a cover of “Thunderclouds.” – The American Idol season 8 winner and season 10 alum, respectively, are joining forces for the 2018 single “Thunderclouds” by Sia, Diplo and Labyrinth. The song will drop on August 25. “So excited to be putting this new cover out with my friend Haley Reinhart,” Kris wrote in an announcement. “She has one of the best voices out there and I feel incredibly lucky to be on this recording with her.”
TikTok is launching a livestream music competition – TikTok will host a music contest similar to popular talent shows like The Voice, the company announced today. The competition, called Gimme the Mic, will be held on TikTok livestreams and will incorporate live voting from fans as part of the contest. The competition is split into three portions: audition, semifinal, and the grand finale. Beginning today, budding artists can submit a 30-second audition video using the #GIMMETHEMIC hashtag. The top 30 submissions will then advance to the semifinal, where they will pair up and perform in a livestreamed event. Live viewers will be able to vote for their favorites to advance. The September 10th US finale will include the top 10 performers — one of whom will get to compete in a global competition with winners from around the world. – Read more at The Verge
American Idol auditions come to Washington, Iam Tongi to join hopefuls with audition tips – In Washington, American Idol alum Iam Tongi will join hopefuls in the waiting room for Q&A and audition tips. Tongi is a Washington local who graduated from Decatur High School in Federal Way. He is also the first Washington state resident and first Hawaiian to win American Idol. For those who don’t watch the show, you may remember seeing Tongi sing the National Anthem for the MLB All-Star Game at T-Mobile Park in July. This will be the fourth year in a row that “Idols Across America” will scour the nation, looking for new contestants for their seventh season on ABC. Auditions will be held Monday, August 14. – Read more at FOX 13
Jennifer Hudson Opens Up About Raising a Black Teen Son and the ‘Many Layers He Has to Learn’ – The EGOT winner, 41, appears on the September cover of Real Simple, where she talks about bringing son David Daniel Otunga Jr., 13, along with a group of his cousins and friends, to the White House as she performed at the first Juneteenth ceremony there earlier this summer. “I want my son to be a part of those things—and his cousins and friends. Little David has a really big heart, and he always wants to include them. So I said, ‘I’ll sing, but I have to bring my boys,’ ” she shares. – Read more at People
Katy Perry opens up about what’s next as her Las Vegas residency comes to a close – The superstar sat down with ABC’s Chris Connelly to talk about the next phases in her career and the final dates of her show, which wraps Nov. 4.
