Grammy nominated multi-platinum singer/songwriter & actress @JordinSparks to perform National Anthem prior to #NBAFinals Game 4 (9p/et ABC)! pic.twitter.com/XKAv9vTCpH
— NBA (@NBA) June 9, 2017
Showstopping Performances Announced for “The 71st Annual Tony Awards(R),” Airing Sunday, June 11 on CBS – The high-energy evening will feature performances by the casts of the 2017 Tony-nominated shows “Bandstand,” “Come From Away,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Falsettos,” “Groundhog Day The Musical,” “Hello, Dolly!,” “Miss Saigon,” “Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812” and “War Paint,” with additional performances by Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. and the Radio City Rockettes. – Read more at Futon Critic
A reinvigorated David Archuleta brings new music to the Bing Crosby Theater – Archuleta said he’s grateful for all that came from “Idol,” but he felt empty, and realized that though he was constantly being told how amazing and loved he was, that praise and love was conditional. “It’s like ‘We love you as long as you’re making us money,’ or ‘We love you as long as you’re the hottest thing right now’ or ‘We love you as long as you’re attention-worthy,’ ” he said. “You start basing your worth and your identity and who you are on what everyone else thinks of you.” – Read more at Spokesman.com
Lauren Alaina ‘Super Excited’ for ‘American Idol’ Reboot – “I’m super excited. I was bummed when they canceled the show because I wouldn’t be sitting here talking to you guys without that show. I may have found a way to do it, but it probably would have taken me longer and been a completely different path. So it’s exciting for me for the talented people around the country that may be from a town like Rossville, Georgia, and not know what the right steps to take to make their dreams come true. It’s my favorite TV show, so I’m not mad about it,” Alaina explained to Sounds Like Nashville and other media outlets at her No. 1 party. – Read more at Sounds Like Nashville
Jennifer Hudson on Why ‘Hairspray Live!’ Was the Scariest Thing She’s Ever Done in Her Career (Exclusive Video) – “With a live production on television, it didn’t dawn on me until I literally was getting ready to step out on stage, and I’m like, ‘Oh, my God, this is the most exciting thing I’ve ever done in my career — and the scariest,’” the Oscar winner for “Dreamgirls” told TheWrap. – Via The Wrap
Adam Lambert thinks he feels Freddie Mercury’s spirit on stage – The 35-year-old singer started touring with the rock legends – Brian May and Roger Taylor – in 2012 after the Queen + Paul Rodgers incarnation ended in 2009, and he strongly believes the ‘We Will Rock You’ singer’s aura is present at their shows. He told the Metro newspaper: “Sometimes on stage I wonder, ‘Is his spirit there?’ “The energy of the fans, their love for him, mixed with the love of the family he created with Brian and Roger … there has to be magic, something cosmic.” – Read more at Sunday World
Crystal Bowersox interview – “I personally have found some peace and solace in my soul,” Bowersox said. “I’m just enjoying life.” Like artists of her ilk, she makes most of her money touring and tries her best to achieve work-life balance, especially regarding her son. She’ll tour a week or two, then take a week or two off. “When he’s in school, I have a nanny,” Bowersox said. “When he’s not in school, my mom is with him. Grandma gets her time. When I come home, he has mom all to himself.” Bowersox grappled with giving him a cell phone and ultimately gave in so when she’s on the road, he can call or text any time. If the timing works, he joins her for some concert dates. – Read more at AJC.com
Watch Fifth Harmony Discuss Upcoming Third Album: ‘It Means More’ – During a recent visit to Billboard, Fifth Harmony opened up about their third album as a group, following the release of their new single “Down,” featuring Gucci Mane. “We’re really experimenting with a lot of different sounds,” explains Ally Brooke Hernandez, who also says that Fifth Harmony’s new album includes a mix of “strong pop melodies” as well as “dark urban sounds.” “We [co-]wrote more than half of our album,” adds Normani Kordei. “It means more.” – See the Video at Billboard
Fifth Harmony Discusses Finding a Groove as a Foursome on New Song ‘Down’ – Fifth Harmony is perhaps the biggest girl group in the world right now, thanks to the blockbuster success of mega-hits like last year’s “Work from Home,” a tour that’s taken them around the globe and a deeply devoted fandom. But the squad of young vocalists — convened by musical alchemist Simon Cowell on the X Factor in 2012 and currently composed of Ally Brooke, Dinah Jane, Lauren Jauregui, and Normani Kordei — say they’re just now coming into their own. They’re on the cusp of releasing a third album, this time as a foursome after the departure of Camila Cabello at the end of 2016. And their excitement for the next phase is palpable. – Read more at Time
How a ‘Propaganda War’ Overtook Eurovision, the World’s Most Inclusive Song Competition – But it is no typical year at Eurovision, global music’s most popular kitsch fest. The performer who has dominated headlines across the continent for months is not even in the concert hall on this evening in early May. More than 400 miles away, in the Crimean city of Sevastopol, Russia’s Julia Samoylova — a 28-year-old with lustrous blond hair and a beatific smile — sits onstage in her wheelchair, flanked by members of Russia’s armed forces. In addition to performing her intended Eurovision entry, a saccharine ballad called “Flame Is Burning,” she sings of “air saturated with gunpowder” to commemorate Victory Day, a holiday marking the Soviet defeat of the Nazis. – Read more at Billboard
