There’s no Amazing Race tonight. The episode is preempted by the Hollywood Film Awards, on CBS beginning a 8/7c pm.
One Direction, Charli XCX, Meghan Trainor to play ‘New Year’s Rockin’ Eve’ – Taylor Swift is about to have some company from the West Coast when New Year’s Rockin’ Eve comes around. One Direction, Charli XCX, and Meghan Trainor have been added to the lineup for Dick Clark’s New York’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest, broadcast from the Billboard Hollywood Party. Swift will perform live from Times Square with Ryan Seacrest as host in the bi-coastal event. – Read more at Entertainment Weekly
Caleb Johnson added to Warren Haynes Christmas Jam – Asheville native and American Idol champion Caleb Johnson will play the Warren Haynes Christmas Jam, the organization announced Friday. Americana artist Jason Isbell and country legend Vince Gill will headline this year’s Warren Haynes Presents: The Christmas Jam, returning to the Asheville U.S. Cellular Center Dec. 13. The annual concert benefiting Habitat for Humanity will also feature Gov’t Mule, a jam band formed by Haynes, a Woodfin native and Grammy winning blues rock guitarist. – Read more at Citizen Times
‘American Idol’ winner from South Carolina to make movie debut on Hallmark Channel Saturday – If you’re flipping through TV shows Saturday night, you’ll likely see a familiar face on the Hallmark Channel. St. Helena Island native and “American Idol” season 12 winner Candice Glover will make her movie debut in Hallmark’s Christmas movie “Northpole,” airing at 8 p.m. Glover plays Josephine, a gospel singer and one of Chelsea’s sources. Her appearance, while short on dialogue, showcases her vocals during performances of “Silent Night” and “O Christmas Tree.” – Myrtle Beach Online
Microsoft to host store opening at Los Cerritos Center – Technology won’t be the only thing on hand at The Microsoft store’s opening event on Saturday in Cerritos. The first 1,000 people in line will also receive a pair of tickets to see Kelly Clarkson perform just outside the mall. They will also get the chance meet Clarkson. Microsoft will host giveaways for its customers such as deals on PCs, tablets, Windows Phones and Xbox releases, as well. In addition, the company is presenting more than $1 million in technology grants to the Mexican American Opportunity Foundation, YMCA of Greater Long Beach, the Southeast Los Angeles County Workforce Investment Board in Cerritos and the Youth Science Center of Hacienda Heights. – Read more at OC Register
See Carrie Underwood’s Baby Bump in a Behind-the-Scenes Clip from Her New Video – “It was the perfect time to have a couple new songs and a few extra things on a greatest hits album,” says Underwood of “Something in the Water,” which appears on her upcoming album, Greatest Hits: Decade #1, due Dec. 9. “I think it’s really special and I think it’s the perfect way to mark 10 years being as lucky as I have been and as blessed as I have been, doing what I do.” – Watch the Video at People
Phillip Phillips: “I Wasn’t the Coolest Kid Around” – “You wanted to be a rock star as a teenager. I wasn’t the coolest kid around, so you want people to notice you. You want girls to notice you. But by American Idol I had a great girlfriend, which I still have today.” Phillips went through great pains to stress how he prefers now to be low key with his favorite downtime activities being “hanging out on the river, going 4x4ing, going to the movies and eating popcorn.” But his success post Idol prevented him from living an anonymous existence. His first album The World from the Side of the Moon went platinum and his follow up, this year’s Behind the Light debuted at number 7 on the Billboard charts. “It was inspired by life experiences and imagination.” He said about the newest record. “I wanted it to have a live feel. Then even if people don’t know the songs, they can appreciate the energy. – Read more at Broward Palm Beach
Interview: Lee DeWyze working on follow-up to ‘Frames’ – “It’s more Americana,” DeWyze said Saturday at Macy’s on State Street, where he performed as part of the department store’s 107th annual Christmas tree lighting. “Idol” host Ryan Seacrest was also on hand for the festivities. “The last thing I want to do is make ‘Frames 2.’ You never want to go and get comfortable. This album has different vibes and different messages. I want to show people the growth in the music. When I hear it, I’m like ‘Wow, this is a much different feeling from last time.’ That’s what I want. I don’t want it to be ‘All right, here we go again.’ It makes me feel like I’m doing the right things, whatever that even means anymore.” DeWyze has been working on the album in his own studio, but he doesn’t have a title or release date. “We’re hoping to roll out a single sooner rather than later,” DeWyze said. – Read more at Chicago Tribune
Photo Flash: NYC’s Serendipity 3 Honors PIPPIN & Josh Kaufman with ‘High Flying Sundae’ – Legendary restaurant and dessert emporium, Serendipity 3, honors PIPPIN, the winner of the 2013 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival, with an ice cream concoction so sensational, it will have you swinging from a trapeze! PIPPIN is full of extraordinary acrobatics, wondrous magical feats and incredible songs from the composer of WICKED.
Read more at Broadway World
Here’s looking at you, kid! Simon Cowell has awkward stare-off with protégé Harry Styles… as Prince William greets Ellie Goulding with a kiss at Royal Variety show – Variety most certainly appeared to be the operative word when celebrities were seen greeting each other at Thursday night’s Royal Variety Performance. Simon Cowell was spotted having a playful staring contest with his X Factor protégé Harry Styles when they met up at the London Palladium. – Read more at the Daily Mail
Glee Bosses Drop Scoop on Kurt and Blaine’s Ending – “You have to have obstacles to have a happy ending,” Murphy explains. “I’ve spent a year learning what they want. We have a list in the writers’ room that says, ‘What do the fans want to end that show?’ And our endings are all very uplifting, and I think by the end of it, people will be ecstatic and really thrilled by how things turn out. I am.” – Read more at EOnline
5 questions with country starlet Cassadee Pope – Q: You started out in the rock band Hey Monday, but found great success in the country genre. Have you gotten any kickback for crossing over? CP: It’s happening a lot in country. I feel like I’ve been embraced. I sang country as a kid. I love where country’s going and all the party songs. There’s always a song that comes along and changes country music. The most recent one is “If I Die Young.” – Read more at East Valley Tribune
Ryan Seacrest Studio Opens At Boston Children’s Hospital
Ryan Seacrest invited Usher and The Swon Brothers to help open the studio. It’s a The Voice Party! Remember the days when he invited American Idols…
BOSTON (CBS) – He’s the hardest working man in Hollywood, bringing his talents and heart to the red carpet at Boston Children’s Hospital Friday. Ryan Seacrest made the trip here to launch his eighth Seacrest Studio. The new, state-of-the-art facility at Boston Children’s is intended to be a creative outlet for patients. “I wanted to do something that would inspire and encourage and enlighten and something I knew how to do and I have spent a lot of years in these studios,” Seacrest told reporters. – Read more at CBS Local
