March for Our Lives – This weekend, the March for Our Lives will take place in Washington, DC from 12p-3p ET. Participants at the March will gather along Pennsylvania Ave NW, stretching from 3rd Street NW to 12th Street NW. The stage, located at 3rd and Constitution Streets, NW, will serve as the hub for the day’s program which will begin at noon. The program will include 17 speakers to honor the 17 students killed at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. All speakers will be teenagers from around the country who have been affected by gun violence. In addition, there will be musical performances by Common, Miley Cyrus, Andra Day, Ariana Grande, Jennifer Hudson, Demi Lovato and Vic Mensa among other surprise guests. – Read more at PRNewsWire
Cecile Frot-Coutaz Leaving FremantleMedia to Head Up YouTube’s EMEA Operations – Cecile Frot-Coutaz is stepping down as CEO of FremantleMedia to head up YouTube’s operations for Europe, Middle East and Africa. The surprise announcement Wednesday that she would leave production and distribution giant FremantleMedia after more than two decades marks the latest departure of a seasoned TV executive for a FAANG job. “She has built FremantleMedia North America into the largest operation in FremantleMedia’s global network, serving also as executive producer of hit formats such as ‘American Idol’ and ‘America’s Got Talent,’” Habets said. “ – Frot-Coutaz was instrumental in bringing American Idol back to TV. It was essentially her only job for the first half of 2017 – Read more at Variety
NBC boss: You may not have seen the last of Smash – Robert Greenblatt, chairman of NBC Entertainment, made a recent appearance on Variety’s Stagecraft podcast, discussing his career as a New York theater producer as well as NBC’s more theatrical pursuits. One such project is the much-beloved and much-maligned Smash, starring Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee, which Greenblatt says “may have invented the concept of hate-watching.” “Interestingly enough, I hear more about people loving Smash now than I ever did when it was on the air,” he says on the podcast. “We’ve been thinking about different ways to think about a stage musical based on Bombshell or Smash.” (Bombshell being the Marilyn Monroe-centered Broadway musical within the show, which spawned its own album including songs like “Let Me Be Your Star.”) – Read more at EW.com
Craig Wayne Boyd takes ‘The Voice’ out on the road – Under the tutelage of country superstar Blake Shelton, Boyd won the semifinal round with a rousing rendition of gospel standard “The Old Rugged Cross.” Boyd said the song paid homage to his religious upbringing. “Blake and I talked about it and he stood behind me on that,” Boyd said in a recent telephone interview. “It was one of those moments, it was the right thing for me to do. I grew up in a Pentecostal home and I attribute my talents and ability to that. I felt like I wanted to give honor where honor was due.” – Read more at Herald Tribune
James Durbin bids Santa Cruz goodbye with farewell show – There has been a cacophony of voices encouraging Durbin to make the move to Nashville recently, and he said the recommendations had began to resonate on a deeper note. “It got me thinking, I could really expand my experience, being in a new place, meeting people, connecting with the Nashville music world … advance my musical horizons,” Durbin said over tall paper cups of hot coffee on Ocean Street. “It’s the city of songwriters. When I was out there last time, I wrote songs every single day.” And while Durbin is hitting a groove with Quiet Riot, a big part of the move to Nashville is a push to get closer to his own personal solo artistry. “In a sense, I feel like I’ve lost track of where I am as a solo artist,” Durbin said. “I feel like, back then, (after ‘American Idol’), I was really focused on who I could sound like, channeling my influences. – Read more at Santa Cruz Sentinel
Alex Preston: American Idol ‘talent this year is pretty incredible’ – NH Idol judges Alex Preston and Greg Kretschmar react to the first four episodes of the new season of American Idol. – Watch it at WMUR
