This was posted Thursday, April 27, 2017 by Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Ryan Seacrest is co-producing a new YouTube singing competition show called "Best.Cover.Ever."
Musicians will cover popular songs from recording artists including Backstreet Boys, Demi Lovato and Jason Derulo . The winner will sing with the recording artist.
Ludacris will host. Seacrest and Ludacris tried to put a marching band drama together for CBS in 2015 but it didn't make the cut.
YouTube is where artists such as Justin Bieber and Carly Rae Jepsen were discovered. And cover songs are the oxygen for any singing competition show, from "American Idol" to "The Voice."
"Cover songs are a terrific vehicle to help discover fresh talent, and YouTube is the perfect platform to do it," Seacrest said in a press release. "These new young artists will also have the chance to work alongside some of the most renowned musicians in the world, which we hope will generate some great experiences for the artists and contestants alike, and in turn produce some memorable performances."
The competition began Wednesday with calls for submissions from The Backstreet Boys, Lovato and Derulo. Each competitor needs to submit covers of "As Long as You Love Me," "Confident" and "Trumpets" to YouTube through May 19. Other artists will add their songs to the mix at a later date. The artists will pick their two favorites and they will appear on the series.
There are more details are www.thebestcoverever.com
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Kellie Pickler is getting her own syndicated talk show this fall shot out of Nashville.
She will be paired with Ben Aaron in a country/city contrast dynamic. (Aaron is married to Ginger Zee, ABC meteorologist.)
Pickler, who has a reality show on CMT "I Love Kellie Pickler," is a natural on talk shows, as seen on her visits to "Ellen."
According to the press release, " This interactive and shop-able show will cover everything from cooking, gardening, entertaining and home design to beauty and fashion."
Faith Hill is an executive producer. She said: "Kellie is very much southern while Ben is everything New York – complete opposites but together their chemistry is magic and our viewers are going to love them."
Scripps will debut the show in 20 of its 24 television markets, and Disney/ABC Home Entertainment and Television Distribution will distribute the show in national syndication. Scripps is not in Atlanta. I'm not sure where or if the talk show will land here.
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Jennifer Hudson did an ad for American Family Insurance where she "surprises" a street busker and sings along:
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Kelly Clarkson celebrated her 35th birthday this week at Universal Orlando, then her friends rewarded her with a girls' trip.
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I just noticed the "American Idol" Twitter account (@americanidol of course) is still alive and active for its 2.08 million followers. The person responsible for the feed posts about twice a day but it's clear this is still very much an "official" site. Nothing controversial. Quizzes, flashback videos and birthday wishes are common. And yes: Simon Cowell wisdom:
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Mediabase 24/7 chart update:
Lauren Alaina's former No. 1 hit "Road Less Traveled" is down to No. 17 on the country chart.
Trent Harmon's "There's a Girl" peaked at No. 16 and has fallen to No. 22 on the same chart.
La'Porsha Renae's "Good Woman" has peaked at No. 8 on the urban AC chart and is now at No. 9.
Fantasia's "When I Met You" peaked at No. 20 and is down to 29.
Danny Gokey's former No. 1 "Rise" is now down to 5 on the Christian AC chart.
Mandisa's 'Unfinished" is holding at No. 11.
Jasmine Murrary's "Fearless" slips to No. 13 after peaking at No. 11 but is still gaining spins (barely).
Colton Dixon's "All That Matters" is at No. 19 after peaking at No. 18 but like Jasmine, is still gaining spins.
