Katharine McPhee and Leslie Odom, Jr. to Reveal the 2018 Tony Nominations – Live on May 1 – This year all will be revealed via a livestream on the Tony Awards Facebook page, which you can also watch here at TonyAwards.com. The honor of unveiling the list of 2018 nominees will go to Katharine McPhee, a recording artist and TV star now making her Broadway debut in the musical Waitress; and Broadway star/Carnegie Mellon University alum Leslie Odom, Jr., who appeared with McPhee on Smash and won a Tony Award as the original “Aaron Burr” in Hamilton. The Nominations Announcement webcast will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET on Tuesday, May 1. CBS This Morning will cover the event, and you can watch the event in its entirety on our Facebook page, as well as on TonyAwards.com and other platforms (see below). – Read more at TonyAwards.com
Lauren Alaina, Kane Brown Tapped As ‘ACM Awards’ Social Media Correspondents – MERCURY NASHVILLE artist and ACM New Female Vocalist Of The Year winner LAUREN ALAINA and RCA NASHVILLE’s KANE BROWN have been tapped as the official social media correspondents for the “53RD ANNUAL ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC (ACM) AWARDS,” set for this SUNDAY, APRIL 15th at MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA in LAS VEGAS. CBS-TV will broadcast the AWARDS beginning at 8p (ET). Beginning today (4/12), fans can watch for content posted across the ACM and CBS-TV social platforms, as well as ALAINA’s and BROWN’s personal handles. – Read more at AllAccess.com
Carrie Underwood, Old Dominion Set to Play Inaugural Live In The Vineyard Goes Country: Exclusive – Live In The Vineyard, the private music and wine festival that takes place in Napa, Calif., is launching a country edition next month in partnership with the Academy of Country Music. Carrie Underwood headlines Live In The Vineyard Goes Country, May 15-17, with acoustic performances by Old Dominion, Hunter Hayes, Ashley McBryde, Maddie & Tae, Eric Paslay, Parmalee, Jerrod Niemann, Lindsay Ell, Maggie Rose, Mitchell Tenpenny, Cale Dodds and Cash Campbell. – Read more at Billboard.com
Pentatonix to Sing National Anthem at Kentucky Derby: Kevin Olusola Talks ‘Swagger’ Rendition & New Music – Just six months after Pentatonix added new bassist Matt Salllee in October, the a cappella group is in full-on go mode. They’ll be releasing their first LP as a new fivesome, PTX Presents: Top Pop, Vol 1, on Friday and heading out on a 39-date North American tour in July. But first, Pentatonix will be making a stop in Louisville, where they’ll be singing the national anthem at the 144th Kentucky Derby on May 5. – Read more at Billboard.com
RaeLynn Says Flight Attendant Harassed Her Over Diabetes Service Dog – “Queens Don’t” singer RaeLynn had a bumpy flight to Maryland on Sunday (April 9), but it wasn’t turbulence that left her unsettled. The Texan tells Taste of Country that she was repeatedly harassed by an American Airlines flight attendant about her service dog, Jazz — an encounter she also posted about on social media. “I have never filed a complaint about anything,” RaeLynn insists with a chuckle, speaking to us just after a fitting for her ACM Awards dress. “I mean, I don’t even complain about food in restaurants. I’ve just never been like that. But I just couldn’t stay silent about this.” – Read more at TastofCountry
Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina Talk American Idol
Watch @ScottyMcCreery and @Lauren_Alaina talk about being on @AmericanIdol! Tune in to the RDC Close Up with @GabeLenners? today at 3p PT! pic.twitter.com/oHu0rl419n
— Radio Disney Country (@RDCountry) April 12, 2018
Scotty McCreery Says ‘Countdown Is On’ to His Wedding Day – As he watched his lovely fiancée Gabi Dugal get her dress hemmed (for their upcoming walk down the ACM Awards red carpet), Scotty McCreery admitted to Taste of Country that he’s getting a tad nervous. Not for the awards show, but rather his upcoming wedding. “It’s coming up before we know it,” says the country singer, who is still on a high over the chart-topping success of “Five More Minutes” — the highest ranking single of his career. “The countdown is on. I think the stress level is rising just a bit because the wedding is pretty soon,” McCreery admits, adding with a chuckle when pressed for details: “Let’s just say it’s coming up quickly.” – Read more at TasteofCountry
Spotlight with Lauren Daley: Ruben Studdard – Since beating out Clay Aiken to win Season 2 of the show, the Alabaman has gone on to become a full-fledged gospel/jazz/ R&B artist in his own right, complete with Grammy nod. His seventh studio album, fittingly, a Luther Vandross tribute called “Ruben Sings Luther,” dropped this week. And now the Velvet Teddy Bear is bringing that Vandross smoothness to New Bedford.
“Luther Vandross is definitely an inspiration for me, for most male vocalists, I’d say,” Studdard, 39, told me recently. “Throughout the years, I’ve had people compare me to Luther and I thought it was time to pay tribute.” – Read more at SouthCoastToday
Burleson’s Reagan James still has the voice, but she has let it take her in new directions – Although “The Voice” isn’t her favorite subject, she acknowledges that it was an important time in her life. “I was thrown into that environment and absorbed so much information,” she continues. “They couldn’t decide if I was pop, R&B, or indie. At that age I didn’t know. But I was constantly fighting with them. They wanted me to be this little girl. They tried to make me wear tennis shoes onstage.” She did not want to be thought of as a child. But after almost a year of singing all kinds of different songs on television, James figured out that she wanted to improve enough to sing R&B and jazz. – Read more at Star-Telegram
The Voice 2018 – Kelly on Blast (Digital Exclusive)
