Television
‘The Voice’ Crowns Season 18 Winner
(Warning, spoilers follow) And the winner is… After an uncharacteristic season which saw NBC’s The Voice send all its contestants home to perform in isolation, one person has been crowned the champion: Team Blake’s Todd Tilghman. The 41-year-old emerged winner on Tuesday night (May 19) after a fiercely fought final which, for the first time, featured five hopefuls, Toneisha Harris and Tilghman (Team Blake), Micah Iverson (Team Kelly), CammWess (Team Legend) and Thunderstorm Artis (Team Nick), with each performing for America’s vote. In another first, The Voice finale had a crossover with another NBC brand, Songland, with competitors getting to collaborate with the latter series’ songwriters. Tilghman, the lead pastor of Cornerstone Church in Meridian, Mississippi, wins $100,000 and a recor...
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Star Jackie Cox Shares a Diverse Playlist of Her All-Time Favorite Songs
On last week’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, the final five queens took their talents to the Strip to perform in a massive lip-sync medley of some of the original songs from RuPaul’s Drag Race Live in Las Vegas. Performing their very own verses, complete with choreography and set decorations, the remaining queens aimed to impress the judges one last time. It was a good night for Gigi Goode, who snatched her fourth and final challenge win, along with a spot in the finale. But Crystal Methyd & Jackie Cox found themselves on the chopping block — lip syncing to Jennifer Lopez’s “On the Floor,” the two vied for the last spot in the finale in the final main stage lip sync of the season. In the end, Crystal managed to earn her place, w...
5 Seconds of Summer, Sam Smith and More Set for NBC’s Red Nose Day Special, Mandy Moore to Host
Mandy Moore and Justin Hartley will co-host NBC’s Red Nose Day special to raise money and awareness for children in need. The network’s sixth annual event, airing 9-11 p.m. EDT Thursday, will include musical performances, sketches and short films that illustrate how donations are used for children living in poverty in America and other countries. Among the actors and musical artists taking part: Julia Roberts, John Legend, Bryan Cranston, Kelly Clarkson, Paul Rudd, OneRepublic, Steve Martin, 5 Seconds of Summer, Sarah Silverman, Ray Romano, Sam Smith and James Taylor. Funds raised by this year’s Red Nose campaign will be directed to help combat the effect of COVID-19 on youngsters and the organizations that aid them. In the pandemic, “some of the most vulnerable parts of our population are...
Watch CammWess Perform Prince’s ‘Purple Rain’ Ahead of ‘The Voice’ Finale
The Voice finale is this week, and the remaining contestants aren’t messing around. CammWess kicked off the show with a stirring rendition of Prince‘s iconic “Purple Rain.” It’s hard to believe the delivery was done remotely, as CammWess performed on a patio that looked like a full-blown arena stage with purple lights and haze. The hopeful star topped it off with a Prince-inspired satin purple jacket. “I want to party at your house with the fog machine and purple haze, that felt nice,” his former coach Kelly Clarkson said of the scenery, as she swayed to the performance with a glass of red wine in hand.”CammWess, you know I love you, man. I’m like, it was so hard to not pick you in that one moment because you’re so, so gifted.R...
Lip Sync Herstory: 5 Things You Didn’t Know About Jennifer Lopez & Pitbull’s ‘On the Floor’
After a long and eventful season filled with dazzling highs and crushing lows, we’re finally in the home stretch of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 12. On the May 15 episode, the final five queens duked it out to secure their spot in the top 4 by putting on a show-stopping Las Vegas singing and dancing spectacle in honor of RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! In one of the stiffest competitions to date, Gigi Goode, Jaida Essence Hall, and Sherry Pie advanced to the grand finale, while Crystal Methyd and Jackie Cox found themselves in the bottom and having to fight for the last remaining spot. After a close lip-sync battle to Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull’s 2011 hit “On the Floor,” fan favorite Crystal Methyd claimed her spot in the finals, while Jackie Cox sashayed away. With less than two weeks to go u...
Ryan Seacrest Didn’t ‘Have Any Kind of Stroke’ During the ‘American Idol’ Finale, He’s Just Super Tired
Nothing was as it usually is on Sunday night’s (May 17) American Idol season finale. The contestants were all singing in their homes due to the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown, Katy Perry had to perform on a green screen set instead of a big stage in Hollywood and host Ryan Seacrest had to pull his old Idol logo out of mothballs and set up shop in his garage to host the two-hour coronation. Also, Seacrest didn’t seem to be quite himself. As the show progressed, viewers noticed that something seemed a bit off with the typically unflappable, consummate professional host. His speech sounded slurred at points and his left eye seemed strangely larger and more wide-open than his half-shut right eye. A spokesperson for Seacrest, 45, responded to the questions on Monday morning (May 18), te...
Lionel Richie Leads All-Star ‘Idol’ Rendition of ‘We Are The World’: Watch
If you lived through the ‘80s, you’ll remember “We Are The World” was just about the biggest number of them all. Featuring a “Dream Team” of pop stars, the song dropped in 1985 to shine a light on famine in Africa. Written by Lionel Richie and the late Michael Jackson, the charity single ruled the Billboard Hot 100 for four successive weeks after its release, and an all-star Artists for Haiti remake in 2010 was also a hit. Sunday night (May 17) during the American Idol finale, Richie assembled an all-star Idol lineup for a lockdown-era rendition of the blockbuster. Joined by his fellow judges, Richie led a cast that included 2020 winner Just Sam, Alejandro Aranda aka Scarypoolparty, Fantasia, Gabby Barrett, Jordin Sparks, Katharine McPhee, Kellie Pickler, Laine Hardy, Lauren Alaina, Philli...
Katy Perry Debuts ‘Daisies’ on ‘American Idol’ Finale: Watch
The American Idol finale had some massive moments, not all of them involved the contestants. Idol judge Katy Perry delivered her debut live performance of “Daises,” inside of a spectacular digitally-enhanced environment. Wearing a pink dress, no shoes and showing her baby bump, Perry looked like Alice in her animated wonderland, as walls and cartoon furniture appear around her and steep falls appear under her feet. “Daises” dropped last week, a triumph against the haters. Watch the performance below. [embedded content]
What’s Behind the Ratings Slumps for Remotely Shot Shows
Declining TV usage and maybe the end of the novelty for at-home production have driven shows like ‘American Idol’ and ‘The Voice’ to season lows recently. American Idol and The Voice made a big deal about continuing with their final rounds in recent weeks, with the remaining contestants on each singing competition performing from their homes and hosts and judges all weighing in remotely. Yet the ratings for the remotely produced “live” episodes have fallen flat: Both ABC’s Idol and NBC’s The Voice have recorded same-day season lows in the past two weeks. A similar fate befell ABC’s second Disney Family Singalong special on Sunday, which drew little more than half the audience of the first edition of the special on April 16. Similarly, t...
‘American Idol’ Season 18 Winner Crowned in First At-Home Finale
[Spoiler alert: This article contains the name of the winner of Sunday night’s American Idol finale.] No matter who ended up in the winner’s circle after Sunday night’s (May 17) two-hour American Idol finale, they were destined to make history as the first champ to celebrate from the comfort of their own home. Not by choice of course, by due to the way the 18th season of the beloved singing competition had to completely change things up mid-way due to the COVID-19 lockdown. And, like all aspects of the show since everyone was sent home, the coronation was… different, with host Ryan Seacrest calling the action from his garage instead of the big stage in Hollywood, judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie dialing in from their homes and the contestants making t...
Journalist suspended for requesting salary on social media
A journalist with the Imo State government has been suspended indefinitely from her job for taking to Facebook to request her three months unpaid salary and the wages of her co-workers. Officials said the Facebook post was an “embarrassment” to the Imo State government. The suspended journalist, Vivian Ottih, is a lawyer and a senior editor with the government-owned IBC Orient FM radio station. She is the chairperson of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), in Imo State. Mrs Ottih, on May 4, posted a message on Facebook, appealing to Governor Hope Uzodinma’s media aide, Modestus Nwamkpa, to make a case to the governor on behalf of the workers in the government-owned radio and television stations who were yet to get their February, March, and April salaries. Ottih described ...
Rock and Metal Album Covers Get Reimagined With Simpsons Characters
The Bart Simpson parody poster of Nirvana’s Nevermind has adorned its fair share of desktop wallpapers, but Instagram account “Springfield Albums” has taken the concept even further. Artists Edgar Portelo and Lila Rouge “Simpsonize” rock and metal album covers, inserting characters from the long-running animated show The Simpsons into classic sleeves by Metallica, Alice in Chains, and many more. No band or character is off limits, with Portelo and Rouge parodying everything from Exodus’ thrash masterpiece Bonded by Blood — with Bart taking the place of original’s siamese demon — to Korn’s Follow the Leader, which sees Homer about to hopscotch off the cliff. Another thrash parody, Slayer’s 1983 debut, Show No Mercy, is adorned with “Evil Homer” from the season four episode “Whacking Da...
