Universal Music Group West Coast Office Alleged to Be Drug Hotspot – According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Los Angeles Superior Court, Universal Music Publishing Group’s presence in Santa Monica has been “infiltrated with pervasive drug use where you could smell marijuana seeping from various offices and openly used in common areas, and lounges.” “UMPG notified Plaintiff they had candles and incense to put in the studio lounge to keep down the marijuana smell,” says the complaint. “On another occasion, UMPG notified Plaintiff to expect Jimmy Iovine of Interscope/Geffen Records and to ‘make sure to keep the front gate open.’ When Iovine arrived, Plaintiff escorted Iovine to the lounge area, where as they walked down the hallway corridor, it was occupied with candles and incense burning.” She adds that when she arrived with Iovine in the lounge, she witnessed “blazers,” along with American Idol participants.(Also, Adam Levine was spotted indulging, apparently) – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
‘American Idol’ Producers Try to Speed Up Mariah Carey’s Comments, Get Control of Stage Smoke: What You Didn’t See on TV – 7. One of the challenges of a live show is making it finish exactly on time. That’s what producers do, and with the clock ticking, as Mariah Carey was offering her comments on Janelle Arthur’s rendition of “I’ll Never Fall in Love Again,” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe signaled to Ryan Seacrest to enter into frame and move the show along, even though Carey still had more to say. – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
‘American Idol’ Burning Questions: Does Mariah Carry Glitter at All Times? Is Amber Dating Burnell? What’s on Janelle’s Finger? – How is Kree Harrison handling the ever-shrinking contestant pool? “It’s bittersweet — Thursdays are really hard,” she told The Hollywood Reporter following Wednesday night’s show. “Also, we live in a bubble of excitement and chaos and there’s not really a moment to take it all in. That’s why on Thursday, you see all the emotion come out. I did the ugly cry last week when Burnell [Taylor] left.” – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
Why Sanjaya Malakar Was Better Than Lazaro Arbos – After careful review, I’ve decided that even on his worst day, Malakar was not as bad as Arbos. Not even close. Until Malakar was eliminated after his swan song of Bonnie Raitt’s “Something to Talk About,” the now-23-year old Queens bartender and subway busker was the watercooler topic of 2007. Whether it be his wacky hair, or attracting crying girls in the audience, the Washington State native was anything but boring. – Read more at The Hollywood Reporter
ATP! Presents: Cassadee’s Corner (April 2013) – Our very own in-house guidance counselor Cassadee Pope is back, with her latest monthly installment of “Cassadee’s Corner”. Each month, Cassadee will be answering questions and offering advice about school, relationships, breaking into music..you name it! If you have anything on your mind that you would like to ask Cassadee, drop her an e-mail at cassadee@alterthepress.com with the subject title “Cassadee’s Corner” and your question might be featured in next month’s column! – Read more at AltarThePress
Class Act: Jordin Sparks to Help Build 4 Schools in Developing Countries – The pop star has teamed up with online school supply retailer Poppin and non-profit, Pencils of Promise, for a social media campaign that will help build four schools in developing countries in 2013. “I am excited to partner with Pencils of Promise and Poppin to bring access to education to kids who wouldn’t have it otherwise,” says the season six winner of American Idol. “One simple like on Facebook can bring us closer to building a school!” For each “like” that Poppin’s Facebook page receives, one dollar will be donated toward building the schools. It takes 25,000 likes to build one school. Read more at In Touch Weekly
Aly Raisman discusses Week 4 on ‘Dancing With the Stars’ – The Times has gymnast Aly Raisman, a two-time Olympic gold medalist at the London Games, guest-blogging while she competes on “Dancing With the Stars.” Each week while she competes on the show, Raisman will answer a few questions from Sports Now editor Houston Mitchell and give some insight into the competition. Here are Raisman’s thoughts about Week 4, which she offered via email. – Read more at The LA Times
Kellie Pickler, Best Friend Summer Plan Cancer-Free Trip – Kellie Pickler has raised a lot of money and awareness for the fight against breast cancer over the years. On top of her involvement with several fundraisers and events, like the special “Opry Goes Pink” show, the singer-songwriter went so far as to shave her head last year, in support of her best friend, Summer Holt Miller, who is battling the devastating disease. – Read more at The Boot
OFFSTAGE: Kellie Pickler Preps for Fox Trot and “Crazy Grandpas” – Kellie Pickler admits that Dancing With the Stars isn’t easy. “This show really takes a toll on your mind and your body and your spirit and everything,” Pickler told CMT Radio during a Thursday (April 11) interview. But that doesn’t mean she’s not determined to stick with it, especially now that she has come this far in the competition. So next week will be her first ever attempt at a fox trot, which she said she’s just heading into the dance studio to learn now. And then right after that, she said both of her “crazy grandpas” are going to be coming to California to cheer her on. So it sounds to me like Pickler is really committed to dancing her way to a win. On Monday’s (April 8) show, she danced a rumba to her husband’s song “Say I Do.” – Read more at CMT
