Tonight, The Voice 8 premieres on NBC at 8 pm! I’ll be liveblogging! Chris Soules takes the remaining 3 ladies on FANTASY SUITE dates! 8/7c pm ABC.
Keith Carradine, Jenni Barber, Justin Guarini & More Set for Lerner and Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon at Encores! – This Lerner and Lowe tuner has found its wand’rin’ stars! Two-time Tony nominee Keith Carradine (Hands on a Hardbody, The Will Rogers Follies) and Alexandra Socha (Fun Home), along with Wicked alums Jenni Barber and Justin Guarini, will headline the previously announced production of Paint Your Wagon. Part of New York City Center’s 2015 Encores! season, the show will be directed by Marc Bruni and choreographed by Denis Jones and run March 18 through March 22. – Read more at Broadway.com
Oscar nominee proves his ‘Idol’ fandom on the Oscars red carpet – I can’t be 100 percent sure, but I’m 99% sure that Terrence Howard was referring to the pre-Top 24 elimination of Rachael Hallack on last Wednesday’s “American Idol” telecast. Rachael, who was initially headed for the Top 24, was forced into a sing-off with the previously eliminated Maddie Walker and the “Idol” judges backtracked and kept Maddie and ditched Rachael. Many fans thought it was a pretty dismal way for the judges to treat poor Rachel. Terrence Howard? Apparently displeased. Ryan Seacrest? Not able to remember that thing that happened. – Read more at HitFix
Jennifer Hudson Talks ‘Empire’ Role: Is She Team Cookie Or Team Lucious? – “I love them both. I can’t choose. I love Cookie. Everyone knows a Cookie, right?” J.Hud told Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush on the red carpet at the Academy Awards on Sunday night. “Okay, I’m Team Cookie,” she finally admitted, rooting for Taraji P. Henson’s character. “Sorry, Terrence.” Jennifer, who will be singing and performing on the show in upcoming episodes, said filming the show was just as fun as it is to watch. “It is the best vibe ever. I think that’s part of the magic in the show, you know. It just has this specialness about it,” she said. “I love it. I love the experience of being there and everything.” – Read more at Access Hollywood
Christina Aguilera Talks Returning to ‘The Voice,’ Guesting on ‘Nashville’ – “I have known Pharrell [for] a long time, but we never directly worked together before this, and I am really enjoying it,” Aguilera said. “Pharrell has an amazing sense of calm; he is so fluid and smooth in his delivery, and he’s one the the most talented guys in the business. I am really happy he has joined The Voice family, and we are even working on a song together now.” “Since I have been with the show [since] day one, I can say that each time I come back I feel like there are more additions that just work,” she said. “By season eight, we are a well-oiled machine. Taking time away, I don’t really watch the show and study it [to see what changes]. But what [the time away] does do is let me step away and come back with a fresh perspective on things. I am excited to see what talent awaits this season.” – Read more at Billboard
‘The Voice’ Season 8 Preview: The Pros & Cons – One of the riskiest and most rewarding of any audition in The Voice’s previous seven seasons occurs Monday night at the end of the two-hour season debut: A 15-year-old farmer sings a song from the public domain and wows the coaches despite his style falling far outside the known ranges of Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Pharrell Williams and Christina Aguilera. – Read more at Billboard
American Idol and The Voice Owe Their Success to This 1940s Radio Show – Long before Simon Cowell was a twinkle in his father’s eye, the Kelly Clarksons and Carrie Underwoods of the day were introduced to America by a man named Arthur Godfrey. Like The Voice, in which coaches can hear but not see competitors as they audition, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts relied on the aural above the visual—it was, after all, a radio show. – Read more at Time
Singer David Cook takes some hacks during visit to Royals spring training – Former “American Idol” winner David Cook was raised in Blue Springs, so he jumped at the chance Sunday to visit the Royals at spring training in Surprise, Ariz. “I wish I could say I was smart enough to plan this out, but it just kind of fell on the calendar the right way,” Cook told reporters in Arizona. “I’m super-excited to be here. It’s awesome. Baseball is coming back, man, I’m excited.” Cook and guitarist Daniel Damico took some swings against Royals pitcher Jeremy Guthrie. Here are some photos and a video from The Star’s John Sleezer (there are more photos above, too): Read more at Kansas City.com
Reality Check: Are We Witnessing American Idol’s Deepest Bench Ever?
Read more at TV Line
Clark Beckham talks Street Performing
Chris Colfer and Jonathan Groff Reflect on Glee’s Last Day of Filming: ‘It Was Really Emotional’ – This past Saturday, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer and the rest of the groundbreaking Glee cast said a sad farewell to William McKinley High School as they finished filming their very last day of the series. “Oh, my God. Well, we just wrapped it last night and tears were flowing like blood in a red wedding,” Colfer confessed to ETonline at an Oscars after-party on Sunday night. “I wasn’t even expecting it to be so emotional, but it was pretty emotional.” Colfer continued, “You know, it was the first time I had ever wrapped a show. So hearing the series wrap on my name was really interesting.” – Read more at Entertainment Tonight
