Headlines: Lionel Richie Hollywood Handprints, Nigel Lythgoe Supports Ryan Seacrest

Kris Allen’s first Man of The Year Fundraiser Weekly Winner

Weekly, Kris Allen will write a song for a random participant in his Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Man & Woman of the Year campaign. More information about that HERE. Corrected to reflect that the winner is random, not one who raises the most funds.

Here’s Maureen McCormack’s song for winning the first week of the LLS Campaign. Took a long time to come up with the title. If yoWu would like a chance for me to to write a song like this one for you then get your donations in this week. Thanks to everyone that’s donated so far! pic.twitter.com/1nEbkustYN

— Kris Allen (@KrisAllen) March 7, 2018

‘American Idol’: 5 reasons its ABC return might work; 5 reasons it might not – REALISTIC EXPECTATIONS If ABC has set lower expectations, then those can almost certainly be met — not necessarily aspiring to become the music competition version of “America’s Funniest Home Videos,” but a franchise that can match or marginally improve upon those waning days on Fox. Mills insists that’s doable: “Idol,” he says, “looked like it had been neglected for a while on Fox, and as we’ve seen with any show — from ‘The Bachelor’ to ‘Survivor’ — there will always be ebbs and flows, but if you really take care of them, they can be strong assets. It felt like ‘Idol’ wasn’t getting the attention it needed to thrive, and that’s what we’ll do here.” – Read more at Newsday

‘American Idol’: Four Major Questions Facing the ABC Revival – The new season kicks off against “The Walking Dead,” still television’s highest-rated entertainment program despite its own ratings woes. The AMC zombie drama’s Feb. 24 midseason premiere drew a 3.6 Nielsen 18-49 rating. In an era of dramatic live-viewership declines across all TV, the “Idol” premiere will be considered a success if it does better than half that. Fox, meanwhile, has scheduled opposite “Idol” a never-seen interview with O.J. Simpson in which the disgraced football star discusses the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. – Read more at Variety

For Scotty McCreery, going from “American Idol” to the top of the charts is longer than you’d think – Scotty McCreery is not one to throw anything away. So, the Ford pickup truck he won during “American Idol” in 2011? “Still got it,” he said on a recent walk through downtown Raleigh, nodding toward a Ford F-150 parked on Fayetteville Street. “I’ll drive it ’til the wheels fall off.” “It was a big mountain to climb,” McCreery said. “But this gives more validity to what I’ve been doing. Credibility as an artist has been the goal the last few years – to move away from the TV guy who was on ‘American Idol’ to be a country artist with songs and stories.” – Read more at News & Observer

Nigel Lythgoe on Ryan Seacrest So You Think You Can Fire Him, ‘AI’? … Not Without Due Process – Nigel Lythgoe says Ryan Seacrest should absolutely be allowed to continue hosting “American Idol” … despite a sexual harassment allegation hanging over his head. We got the “So You Think You Can Dance” judge Tuesday in Bev Hills, and he thinks the real reason A-list actresses avoided Seacrest at the Oscars is because of their publicists. As for whether Ryan should be allowed to continue hosting the rebooted ‘Idol’ on ABC, Lythgoe says Seacrest can’t be assumed to be guilty based on merely one allegation. He notes no other women have come forward. Lythgoe is angry that people are getting fired before accusations are proven to be true. Bottom line … based on his experience, he thinks Seacrest is innocent. – Read more at TMZ.com