Scotty McCreery will serve as grand marshal of the 2011 WRAL-TV Raleigh Christmas Parade presented by the Greater Raleigh Merchants Association. More than 60, 000 people will line the streets to watch the parade on Nov. 19, which is the largest parade between Atlanta and Washington D.C. (WRAL)
Series opens with salute to military, Cards’ past
First lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden, wife of the vice president, reprised their 2010 Game 1 roles by walking Lance Cpl. James Sperry to the mound as part of the pregame ceremony. Sperry is a combat-tested and wounded Marine who, despite his disabilities, was a first responder to the Joplin, Mo., tornado earlier this year.
McCreery walked out with them, and despite being “nervous as all get-out” delivered a stirring national anthem while a giant flag held by military troops waved in the outfield on a windy night at Busch Stadium.
“I’m looking forward to the game just as much as me singing, ” McCreery, 18, said before his performance. “This is huge. This is the biggest stage in baseball. As a little kid, I dreamed of playing here, but as I got older and wiser, and realized I’m not that good. But it’s cool to be here. To be able to sing here and be able to see all the players, it’s going to be intense.”
Read more at MLB
Operation Christmas Child – Scotty McCreery – Garner, NC Packing Party
First Baptist of Garner, NC host an Operation Christmas Child packing party. American Idol Scotty McCreery joins the fun at his home church.
Pia Toscano in the Studio with Producer Harvey Mason, Jr.
Pia tweets, “Another incredible session this week!! I am a happy girl.”
Kellie Pickler Hopes ‘Opry Goes Pink’ Inspires Women of All Ages
Kellie Pickler will be part of an all-star lineup at the Grand Ole Opry this Saturday (Oct. 22), for the third annual Opry Goes Pink event, in conjunction with National Breast Cancer Awareness month. Naturally, the singer is thrilled to participate in such a worthwhile cause.
“It’s just really exciting, because I’ve not been able to be a part of it before, in the past, ” Kellie tells The Boot. “It’s a great way to bring awareness to breast cancer. The technology and the knowledge that we have today is so advanced. We have such a greater advantage, and a lot of technology … to catch things in the early stages before it gets out of control, versus past generations — even the ’90s, that wasn’t long ago, but even the technology in the ’90s is so different than today. It’s so much better.”
Read more at The Boot
Scotty McCreery interview with 93.7 before last night’s baseball game
Lauren Alaina tweets, “Cheek out this amazing celebration cake! Celebrating album release(: I love it.”
Chris Rene says James Durbin sparked his desire to be on ‘The X Factor’
SANTA CRUZ – The story of how Chris Rene ended up as one of the 17 finalists on Fox’s new talent show “The X Factor” began sometime last spring.
Rene, a talented singer who had been working as a Santa Cruz trash collector, was walking down the street one day when he spied a front-page story in a newspaper on the success of another singer, Santa Cruzan James Durbin, on Fox’s “American Idol.”
“I saw that and I was, like, ‘Oh my God!'” said Rene in a telephone interview Wednesday. “I just said to myself, ‘Look at what this guy is doing? What are you doing with your life, Chris?'”
Read more at Mercury News
‘X’ still the spot for host Jones
Steve Jones isn’t leaving “The X Factor, ” Simon Cowell has confirmed. Following reports that the Welsh host may be replaced, Cowell says handsome Jones is staying put. He told us, “There is a lot of speculation about Steve Jones leaving the show. To avoid any confusion, Steve will be hosting all of the live shows and he’s doing a great job.” Reports of a possible host shuffle had its sponsor Pepsi “feeling skittish, ” a source tells us, after they put down $60 million for the Fox show. When Pepsi got wind of reports that Jones could leave (said to be false by Cowell’s camp) or may be paired with a female co-host (we hear they have asked agents for a J.Lo-esque host), there were concerns. “Pepsi has been in negotiations to make Steve spokesperson. They’re now rethinking their position … and are impatient, ” a source said, adding, “They were in the dark about Cheryl [Cole] being dumped. It’s been difficult with no communication.” But a Pepsi rep said, “We love the show, and we’re thrilled we picked up the sponsorship.”
Read more at the New York Post
