Idol Headlines for 6/2/15

America’s Got Talent auditions continue tonight on NBC 8/7c pm. Join Adam as he live blogs!

Will Taylor Hicks turn up the heat on ‘Hell’s Kitchen’? Former ‘Idol’ winner featured on tonight’s episode – “When Gordon Ramsay yells, I don’t think you could not hear it,” Hicks said during a phone interview. But when Ramsay’s not lording over the kitchen or taking contestants to task, he’s “friendly” and “super nice,” Hicks added. The two became acquainted in Las Vegas a couple of years ago, when Hicks was performing a residency at the Bally’s and Paris hotels and casinos. Both of these properties are owned by Caesars Entertainment. Ramsay’s restaurants include a steakhouse at the Paris — a favorite with Hicks during his tenure there — and a pub and grill at Caesars Palace. – Read more at AL.com

What’s up with Joshua Ledet?

The American Idol season 11 alum has got something going on…

Guilford’s Fradiani, business group raise $1,102 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital – GUILFORD >> Nick Fradiani, Season 14 American Idol winner, has also helped to sell thousands of doughnuts to support his favorite charity, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, according to a press release. Nick Fradiani’s ties to the New Haven area helped sell 2,249 “Nick Fradiani” doughnuts at 13 area Dunkin’ Donuts, according to the release. Forty-nine cents of every “Nick Fradiani” doughnut sold were donated by Guilford-based franchisees, D’Andrea Group, to the charity, the release said. – Read more at The Register

Magic Mike’ Star Adam Rodriguez Joins ‘Empire’ – The Magic Mike star has joined the Fox music drama in a recurring role, Fox announced Tuesday. Rodriguez will play “Laz Delgado,” a smooth-talking concert promoter with expert hustler skills. A native New Yorker and former EMT, Laz takes an interest in Cookie (Taraji P. Henson). Henson told THR at an Academy Event Friday for the breakout smash that Cookie will have multiple love interests this season. Rodriguez joins previously announced guest stars Chris Rock, Alicia Keys, Lenny Kravitz and Ne-Yo, the latter of whom is also contributing original music for the show’s expanded second season. – Read more at the Hollywood Reporter

Nastia Liukin Engaged: See the Olympian’s Gorgeous Ring and Get the Scoop on the Proposal! – Wedding bells are ringing for Nastia Liukin and Matt Lombardi! The 25-year-old Olympic gold medalist and the Venture Up founder are engaged, the gymnast announced on Twitter today. “Matt proposed in Boston last night with a beautiful ring he designed himself,” Liukin tells E! News. “He told me we were going to celebrate together and to my surprise my parents, best friend and his family and best friend were waiting there to celebrate with us. We are both so excited for our future together.” – Read more at EOnline

Rumer Willis Joins Dancing with the Stars’ ‘Perfect Ten Tour’ – PEOPLE can exclusively announce that Dancing with the Stars’ season 20 Mirrorball Trophy winner Rumer Willis will join the show’s Dancing with the Stars: Live! Perfect Ten tour for 25 dates this summer, beginning June 13. While cha cha-ing her way to victory with partner Val Chmerkovskiy, Willis “fell in love with dancing and … didn’t want to stop,” she said in a press release for the tour. “Val and I were lucky enough to have incredible fans that supported us throughout the entire show, and they are the reason we won. I can’t wait to meet the fans and perform for them live.” – Read more at People

‘So You Think You Can Dance’s’ Jason Derulo: ‘I was a little afraid to do this’ – Jason Derulo doesn’t just think he can dance. He knows he can. The singer has proven it in elaborately staged videos and in live performances, and instead of spending the summer touring on the strength of his recent string of hits — including “Trumpets,” “Wiggle” and “Talk Dirty” — he’ll be joining veteran choreographer and “American Idol” alum Paula Abdul as newcomers to the judges’ table beside returnee Nigel Lythgoe on “So You Think You Can Dance.” Cat Deeley also will be back as host as the FOX competition starts its 12th season Monday (June 1). – Read more at Zap2it

Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba Talks ‘Beautiful’ Song for ‘American Idol’ – “I happened to feel like I had some understanding of this kid, because I’d lived in Connecticut for a while; a lot of my family’s there,” he said. (Chris was born in West Hartford; Nick is from Guilford.) “He’s another Italian kid trying to make it out of an area that’s not really supportive of [live] music… The school system is probably one of the best in the country for music programs, but it’s not L.A. It’s not Nashville. It’s a small state, and it’s a small scene. Anyway, I felt that there were things about him that I knew. I think we had the same haircut. There’s lot of things that I like about this kid.” – Read more at YahooMusic.com

RuPaul’s Drag Race season 7 winner talks about being the ‘shadiest queen’ – We all knew this was happening—or at least if you read my recap of the top four episode, you knew this was happening. Violet Chachki, the most cinched queen of the season, has snatched the crown from season 6 winner Bianca Del Rio as the winner of season 7 of RuPaul’s Drag Race. Violet is way more than a tight corset, as we learned in this past season and in this interview, where she talks about her reputation as “shadiest queen” on drag race, as well as her thoughts on Caitlyn Jenner. (This interview took place before Jenner’s big announcement). Say hello to your new reigning queen, Violet Chachki! – Read more at EW.com

‘Empire’ Team Teases Chris Rock’s Role, “Warring Kingdoms” in Season Two – “If season one was who will inherit the throne, season two is warring kingdoms,” said showrunner Ilene Chaiken. One of those people fighting the hardest will be Cookie (Taraji P. Henson), who will return to her more ruthless beginnings when the show returns. “She’s getting back to what she did when she built the empire,” said Henson. “She’s been tucked away for 17 years. Now she’s been out for some time so you get to see the Cookie that actually built Empire back in the day, starting from nothing.” “I was concerned about doing 18 episodes, about keeping the show at the same level of quality as first season. I wasn’t confident about it, but I’ve been told that that’s what it is so now we’re jumping in and we’re just trying to do the best we can,” said Strong. “It’s a really challenging show to put together. It doesn’t have a cookie cutter model.” – Read more at Billboard.com

Nick Fradiani, Cassadee Pope and RaeLynn American Idol winner, Nick Fradiani, The Voice season 3 winner, Cassadee Pope, and The Voice alum RaeLynn, were together at the Outnumber Hunger benefit.

About mj santilli 34842 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!