Survivor continues tonight. Follow Shnugs Live Blog! 8/7c PM CBS. Nashville airs at 10/9c PM on ABC. Read Windmillsmusic recap later.
“CMA COUNTRY CHRISTMAS” AIRS DECEMBER 1 ON THE ABC TELEVISION NETWORK – Two-Hour Special Hosted by Jennifer Nettles Tapes Nov. 7 in Nashville – Some of the biggest names in music will come together to celebrate the holidays on “CMA Country Christmas,” a two-hour special hosted for the fifth year by Jennifer Nettles airing MONDAY, DECEMBER 1 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. The special is a celebration of the season featuring some of the top stars in music performing holiday songs and getting into the Christmas spirit. The special tapes in front of a live audience, Friday, November 7 (7:30 p.m., CT) at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn. Artists already announced include Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Sara Evans, Lucy Hale, Hunter Hayes, Little Big Town, Idina Menzel, Jennifer Nettles, LeAnn Rimes, Michael W. Smith, and Carrie Underwood. – Read more at ABCmedianet.com
‘Idol’ finalist replaces Disney star at grand opening – An “American Idol” alum will help celebrate the grand opening of the Gardner-White Furniture store in the Brighton Mall. Jena Irene, a finalist in last year’s “Idol” competition, will be on hand from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Fans will have the opportunity to meet Irene, take photos and get autographs. The singer is working on her first album, which will include her “Idol” hit “We Are One,” which she performed on the program. – Read more at Livingston Daily
Phillip Phillips Live in Norman OK & Houston TX – at is is like to be on the road with Phillip Phillips? This video series offers an exclusive look behind the scenes and on stage with Phillip as he travels across the country on his Behind the Light Tour. This episode also features “the Dave Eggar Experience”. “Open Your Eyes” recorded live in Houston, TX.
Clay Aiken Wants Your Vote Again – One morning last fall, Clay Aiken was lounging in bed in his mansion in Durham, North Carolina, reading the news off his phone, when he came across something that made him sit up and say, “Are you”– he mouths the f-word – “kidding me?” The government shutdown was in effect, and Aiken’s congresswoman, Republican Renee Ellmers, had not-so-graciously declined to decline her paycheck, explaining that while she had voted for the shutdown that was depriving hundreds of thousands of their livelihood, she, you know, actually needed the money. In a fit of indignation, Aiken, former American Idol runner-up and crooner extraordinaire, decided enough was enough. For more than six months, party leaders had been trying to get him to challenge Ellmers, a tough task in an overwhelmingly red district. “People recognized that it couldn’t just be a normal politician up against her,” he says. “We needed somebody who was going to get people to pay attention.’ ‘Now it was time to give it a go. – Read more at Rolling Stone
The Swon Brothers Explain What It’s Like Being in a Family Band – When listening to the Swon Brothers‘ major label debut album, which dropped this week, one thing is immediately evident: their musical versatility. It perhaps comes as no surprise, then, that the Eagles, a group well known for its all-encompassing sound, is one of their biggest influences.
Read more at Radio.com
Simon Cowell Celebrates Being Named Personality of the Year at MIPCOM – If you think the deepest thing about Simon Cowell are his signature V-necks, a different man accepted MIPCOM’s Personality of the Year award Tuesday night in Cannes. Cowell, who was honored for changing both the music and the TV industries when he reinvented the talent show and format formula a decade ago, became choked up on stage describing how the birth of his son, Eric, changed his life and how he wished that his late father, also named Eric, was there to see him accept the award. “This whole year, starting with Eric, has just been glorious. He changed my whole life for the better,” Cowell told the audience assembled in the ballroom of the Carlton Hotel. He said he was humbled by the award, as well as being able to even make TV, which seemed out of reach when he was growing up. – Read more at Billboard.com
Gavin Rossdale on Advising Team Gwen on The Voice: ‘It Was Amazing Fun’ – “It was amazing fun. I really enjoyed it,” Rossdale, 48, says. “Normally, we’re by ourselves in these crazy, adrenalized situations, like being on TV or performing in front of the camera. So, I’m used to calling her afterward and telling her all about it, saying either ‘That was so fun, or so weird, or I’m paranoid I was bad.’ But with this, I could just walk into her dressing room and talk to her.” So, the two didn’t share a dressing room? “We did not,” he says. “That’s a bit unromantic. But she has a really big team!” He says they also got along great on set, and didn’t really argue at all. “I just did my best not to interrupt her too much,” he says. – Read more at People.com
Pentatonix: 5 members, 1 hour, 37 questions – The five-person group—who make music only with their mouths (what a time to be alive!)—have kept their pulsating momentum going since entering a whirlwind of fandom following their 2011 victory on NBC’s The Sing-Off, an accolade which even today seems like a distant, negligible memory considering the remarkable path the band has taken since. On the heels of their third album—PTX, Vol. III, which dropped on Sept. 23—the a cappella quintet is also plotting a second holiday album (That’s Christmas to Me, due October 21), a buzzy appearance in next year’s Pitch Perfect 2, and other as-yet-undisclosed plans for a packed 2015. Mitch Grassi, Scott Hoying, Avi Kaplan, Kirstie Maldonado, and Kevin Olusola stopped by EW’s New York office and sat down for a roundtable interview wherein we got down to the details of the group’s exceptional year. The gang is fast, funny, and ferociously honest—which is exactly what you’d think. – Read more at Entertainment Weekly
‘Idol’ rich Fuller sells apartments for $38M – Billionaire “American Idol” founder Simon Fuller must be singing his way to the bank. He just sold two apartments at the Plaza Hotel (right) for $38 million. In 2007, Fuller bought units 901 and 903 for $19 million and then combined them into a 4,641-square-foot four-bedroom, 5½-bathroom unit. Last year, he bought the adjacent unit, 902, for $3.25 million. That 1,155-square-foot, one-bedroom, 1½-bathroom unit was only on the market for two days. – Read more at NYPost.com
