HBO and Starbucks to Salute Veterans with Concert Starring Eminem, Rihanna, Carrie Underwood & More – The “Concert for Valor,” which will be held on the National Mall in Washington D.C., will feature Eminem, Jamie Foxx, Dave Grohl, Metallica, John Oliver, Rihanna, Bruce Springsteen, Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band, as well as special appearances by Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg, among others. HBO will offer its affiliates the opportunity to open the signal, allowing nonsubscribers to view the special to broaden the audience, as it did with its “Comic Relief” specials. The live event will be executive-produced by Gary Goetzman, Tom Hanks and Joel Gallen, who will also direct. – Read more at Variety
CMA announces talent for Country Christmas TV special – The organization announced plans for its annual “CMA Country Christmas” ABC television special Wednesday morning and revealed some chart-topping names had already signed up to perform. Jennifer Nettles will be back for the fifth year as host of the event, and performers include Dan + Shay, Brett Eldredge, Sara Evans, Lucy Hale, Hunter Hayes, Little Big Town, Idina Menzel, LeAnn Rimes, Michael W. Smith and Carrie Underwood. “CMA Country Christmas” will tape in front of a live audience at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 at Bridgestone Arena. – Read more at The Tennessean
Concert preview: ‘Idol’ winner McCreery remains grounded while career takes flight – Best Bets recently caught up with McCreery to find out how he stays grounded while his career is flying high. Though he’s eager to write the next chapter of his journey, McCreery isn’t one to duck his past. “It’s huge. It’s why I’m here right now,” he said of his “American Idol” stint. “Some folks on the show don’t want to talk about it, but I’m proud of it,” he said. “You just need to try to move on and make sure that people remember you as a music star, not a TV star.” – Read more at RCJ.com
Diddy Reacts To Jennifer Lopez’s ‘Booty,’ Says She Will ‘Go Down In History’ – “Oh my God. Oh my God,” Diddy said. “I am so lucky to have that great woman in my history. She is one of the greatest I’ve ever seen [clapping]. Go girl. Go girl … We’re great as friends. I’m great as a fan right now.” “I mean it’s great. It’s a work of art,” he said. “It’s something that will go down in history, for real, it will. Also, her talent, her drive, her determination. She will never give up. She’s a great friend of mine, always will be my friend, and I mean that thing is just incredible.” “It’s awesome!” she told E! News. “Here’s the thing about me and Puff, and I’m sorry I’ll always call him Puff, we always root for each other, we always support each other. It’s great after all these years to know and watch him do all that he’s done … We shared a moment in our lives and that never goes away. There’s nothing but love and respect and always somebody over here cheering for you.” – Read more at Huffington Post
‘Survivor’s’ Val Collins admits her Immunity Idol lie ‘was a little insane’ – Let’s talk about the Immunity Idol lie — what was that about? Did you feel like it was your only option?
Oh, yeah. When Nadiya got voted out, my name was right up there with her. Nadiya thought it was going to be me. The guys were saying, “Somebody hasn’t been here, somebody hasn’t been here.” So I thought I was going the first night. There was no kind of welcoming — the girls did, Jaclyn and Nadiya definitely welcomed me in, but the guys were all bro’d up and they didn’t really feel like they needed to do anything because they had the numbers. We knew the girls were a target and coming back into the tribe after being in Exile, they had really bonded. … I knew I was going to be targeted and it was the only thing I thought could possibly buy me some more time, if they thought I had it — if somebody wanted to work with me because I had it or they were nervous about me playing it. – Read more at Zap2it
