CMT Unveils Its Biggest Summer Programming Slate Ever – Two of CMT’s most popular unscripted series, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders: Making the Team and I Love Kellie Pickler, will premiere on Aug. 3 at 10 p.m. ET/PT and 11 p.m. ET/PT respecitively following new episodes of Nashville. The new season of I Love Kellie Pickler will feature Pickler and husband Kyle house hunting in Nashville, presenting at the ACM Awards, recording new music and more. – Read more at CMT.com
Constantine Maroulis Stars in The Most Beautiful Room in New York – Gordon Edelstein’s world premiere production of The Most Beautiful Room in New York begins performances tonight ahead of a May 10 opening at Long Wharf Theatre. Check out star Constantine Maroulis and the cast in these new photos from production. – See the Photos at Theatermania.com
Jennifer Hudson will headline Pride in the Street – The Delta Foundation of Pittsburgh has announced that Grammy- and Oscar-winning singer/actress Jennifer Hudson will headline the annual Pride in the Street on Liberty Avenue, Downtown, on June 10. Tickets start at $45 and will go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday at pittsburghpride.org/tickets or 888-71-TICKETS. Gates for the concert will open at 7 p.m. – Read more at Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Voice Champ Alisan Porter Talks Returning to the Show, ‘Sister’ Christina Aguilera and Balancing Music with Motherhood – You signed to Republic Records after you won but recently left the label. Was that just over creative differences? Yeah, it just wasn’t the right fit for me. I have a really clear vision of who I am, and it might not be the most cookie-cutter commercial radio [vision] … I would much rather be true to myself than to do something that didn’t feel right for me. But I’m grateful for the experience of that because it led me to what I know that I want to put out there. It was all positive! – Read more at People.com
Chris Daughtry preps for summer tour, says acting is “a bonus” – Daughtry’s been working on a new album, and when the band heads out on tour this summer with Nickelback, you may be able to hear some of those new songs. At the same time, Chris Daughtry has been pursuing a career as an actor, but he says anything he gets to do along those line is a “bonus.” Chris, who starred in last year’s Easter special The Passion: Live, and who has also appeared in CSI: New York, tells ABC Radio “I hope so,” when asked if he’s got any acting coming up.
“Been doing some auditions for some shows,” he adds. “We’ll see what happens. We gotta get this record done and everything else is bonus.” – Read more at ABCNewsRadio
Chris Daughtry Also Dabbles in Graphic Art!
American Idol Taylor Hicks, poolside for SWFL concert Friday – Taylor Hicks has thought a lot about where he’d be without “American Idol.” And it involves rolling up his sleeves and working at a barbecue joint. “I’d probably be making barbecue pork sandwiches,” he says and laughs. “And playing acoustic sets when I’m done.” Sure, “Idol” went off the air last year. But it still lives in Hicks’ heart, he says, and he often thinks fondly about his time on the show. “It was bittersweet for me,” he says about the end of “American Idol.” “But at the same time, 15 years of television is unprecedented. “I was very fortunate to be on the show. And it was, ultimately what allowed me to have a decade-plus in show business.” – Read more at News-Press.com
Carrie Underwood Celebrates another Preds Win
Heather Morris’ One ‘DWTS’ Regret & Why Alan Bersten Is a Tougher Partner Than Maksim Chmerkovskiy – While most fans are aware of how intense Chmerkovskiy is as a partner, Morris revealed Bersten was actually the tougher one in rehearsals — maybe even more difficult than training with Beyoncé! “In actuality, Alan was a lot tougher of a choreographer than Maks was,” she revealed. “Maks has been doing it for so long, so he was just like, ‘OK, whatever makes you feel comfortable, if you need to relax, go relax.’ Whereas Alan wanted to make sure it was good and perfect, so he really made sure to rehearse it as much as we could so that it was in my body. So, in the end, I think Alan ended up being a harder teacher.” – Read more at ETOnline
Fifth Harmony’s Normani Kordei Opens Up About ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Injury – According to Just Jared, Normani has an injury that’s more serious than previously thought. While they revealed on the show that Normani has a back injury that could impact her dancing, Normani told Just Jared it’s a “severe strain,” that could result in a cracked hip. “I have a severe strain in both my upper back and also in my hip. It just so happened that it was in two places at the same time. And [the doctor] said it was pretty severe. He looked at it and said, ‘You’re not much of a complainer,’ which I’m not,” Normani said. “He said it could potentially crack my hip.” – Read more at Teen Vogue
‘American Idol’ and ‘SYTYCD’ Producer Simon Lythgoe Inks Deal With T Group Prods. – Simon Lythgoe has entered into a co-production deal with T Group Productions, Variety has learned. Under the pact, the “American Idol” and “So You Think You Can Dance” producer will create, develop and produce unscripted programming through his company, Legacy Productions, co-producing with T Group Prods. The focus will be on formats and live events in the United States, Canada and United Kingdom. Lythgoe and his Legacy Productions team will relocate to T Group’s Los Angeles based office where they will work closely with T Group president, Jenny Daly, and Rob Lobl, the company’s EVP of development and current programming. Going forward, both Lythgoe and Daly will serve as executive producers on all series created out of the new co-production deal. – Read more at Variety
