Windy City Live Kicks Off Chicago Idol; Chicago Songbirds Get Chance To Compete For An American Idol Audition – WINDY CITY LIVE is kicking off Chicago Idol and calling all phenomenal singers to submit a video for a chance to perform on WCL and win an official Silver Pass to audition for ABC’s American Idol, August 16 through August 30. Then, ten finalists will be chosen from submitted entries to perform during a special Chicago Idol edition of Windy City LIVE on September 8th at 1 PM. A panel of judges including WCL co-hosts Val Warner and Ryan Chiaverini, ABC 7 Eyewitness News Anchor Terrell Brown and American Idol alum and Wheeling, Illinois native, Haley Reinhart will choose a Grand Prize Winner from the performers. The Grand Prize Winner will receive a Silver Pass guaranteeing him or her an official audition with American Idol Executive Producers in a different city later on this year. – Read more at ABC7Chicago
The Voice Season 8 runner-up Meghan Linsey Announces New Music.
Meghan Linsey’s new song features Fred Schneider from the B52s
New Music!!! “Freak 4 The Beat” Feat. @FredSchneider3 of @TheB52s drops October 6! So excited! pic.twitter.com/wEnXwhX194
— Meghan Linsey (@meghanlinsey) August 17, 2017
Chris Daughtry In the Studio
The American Idol season 5 singer finished recording his song “Backbone.”
Q&A: Scotty McCreery – You’ve been playing shows throughout the year but you’re about to start a proper tour, right? Yeah, pretty much. We never really have, unless we’re out with (another act), a straight-up official tour. We pretty much go January through December, mainly weekends. We’re heading out this week for Utah, Colorado and Wyoming. We’ll be out there for a while. – Read more at Las Vegas
Scotty McCreery sets chart record, scores record deal – Scotty McCreery found out he lost his record deal in early 2016 while he was in Los Angeles to appear on ‘American Idol.’ He had an entire album ready to be released, stacked with the best songs he’d ever written. Losing his deal meant it would be more than a year before the world would hear his favorite song on country radio. – Read more at The Tennessean
Sundance heading to Altoona: ‘The Voice’ winner to perform at Mishler Theatre – Sundance Head has spent less than two weeks at his Texas home since winning “The Voice” last December, including a 12-stop tour with his coach, Blake Shelton. Now, he’s bringing his winning ways and band to Altoona next month. “We want to come to town, play the concert and meet everyone after the show … shake hands with everybody,” Head said in a recent telephone interview with the Mirror. “We’re a three-piece band, and we play stripped-down music. There’s no electronic stuff going on, just three guys playing instruments and singing. We take pride in being able to do that.” – Read more at Altoona Mirror
American Idol Champ Nick Fradiani Makes Surprise Visit to Connecticut Children’s Medical Center – HARTFORD — It was a smaller stage than he was used to, but Nick Fradiani was glad to be in the “lion’s den” on the eighth floor of Connecticut Children’s Medical Center. The 2015 American Idol champion and Guilford native visited the hospital Thursday afternoon and put on an intimate performance for kids, parents and hospital staff in the hospital’s “lion’s den” playroom before going room to room with his guitar. – Read more at Courant.com
RaeLynn: Hair Tips & Tricks | Spotlight Beauty | Opry
A Q&A Session with ‘American Idol’ Alum and Country Artist Josh Gracin – We recently caught up with country music artist and former ‘American Idol’ contestant Josh Gracin— find out what he’s been up to lately! Talent, perseverance, and the willingness to work hard to make a dream come true are the cornerstones of any successful music career and Josh Gracin has all those qualities in spades. With his latest album, Nothin’ Like Us, Gracin reestablishes himself as one of country music’s most compelling voices, a soulful troubadour with an ear for a great song and a passion for connecting with his audience. – Read more at Country Fancast
Sal “The Voice” Valentinetti On His “AGT” Judges, Why You Should Want Him At Your Wedding, His First Original Song, And More – How has your life changed since Americas Got Talent? SV: First off, I have no time. I spent the entire weekend traveling. I had a show in Detroit and we had such a good response that they said, “Let’s book you another night on Saturday.” And I said, “I can’t.” And they said, “Why?” And I said, “Because I have a sold-out show in Buffalo.” So they said, “No problem. Can you come back on Sunday?” So I spent the entire weekend in the sky. I went from Detroit to Buffalo back to Detroit. The people in both cities were fantastic. I had such a great time. We actually broke a few records. During the summer I do a lot of the Italian feasts – that kind of helps sell tickets to what I call my “regular” season gigs, which is fall, winter and spring – in the theaters. – Read more at Hamptons.com
Grace VanderWaal was ‘so nervous’ to return to the ‘America’s Got Talent’ stage – Grace VanderWaal made a triumphant return to the America’s Got Talent stage Wednesday night, a year after being crowned the Season 11 champion. This time, performing her new single Moonlight, she didn’t look like an underdog contestant, but a certifiable “star,” as Howie Mandel, the judge who hit the Golden Buzzer for Grace, put it backstage. But that’s not how Grace, now 13, felt when she hit the stage. “Frankie, I’m so nervous!” she said to her puppy (a pug whose full name is Frankenstein), while getting mic’d up and holding his head close to hers. strong>Grace VanderWaal was ‘so nervous’ to return to the ‘America’s Got Talent’ stage. – Read more at USA Today
Competitive singing shows are coming back but it’s time to face the music – The world needs another televised singing competition like it needs a hole in the head. Life is finite and, in the entire history of the universe, nobody’s dying regret has ever been: “You know, I wish I got to see more bratty stage school kids perform Jeremiah Was a Bullfrog in the style of a drowning theremin.” For a while there, it looked like television understood this. American Idol, the genre’s Night King, stumbled to a listless shrug of a conclusion last April as some anonymous idiot was crowned before an audience barely a quarter the size of the show at its peak. – Read more at The Guardian
