The Return of ‘The Sing-Off’

Posted on September 22, 2011 at 3:59 pm

“The Sing-Off” is back and it is bigger! One of my favorite reality shows is Nick Lachey’s a capella competition. This year, Sara Bareilles joins Shawn Stockman and Ben Folds as judges. The contestants this year are:

AFRO-BLUE – Washington, D.C. – This fun-loving ensemble from Howard University started as a class in the music department. They have plenty of soul, and all nine members meld together with beautiful harmonies, soaring solos, and a fresh look.

THE CAT’S PAJAMAS – Branson, Mo. – The Cat’s Pajamas, the all-male vocal band that formed in 2005, pride themselves on their ability to engage each audience member during their dynamic, energetic and interactive performances, bringing a blend of classic songs with a modern a cappella twist.

THE COLLECTIVE – Nashville, Tenn. — Formed by Street Corner Symphony’s Jeremy Lister (“The Sing-Off,” season two), this Nashville based first-time a cappella group is made up of individual singer-songwriters who came together to demonstrate that there is strength in numbers.

DARTMOUTH AIRES – Hanover, N.H. — Dartmouth College’s oldest a cappella group, is currently made up of 15 fun loving, high-energy guys with eclectic tastes and no shortage of quirky antics.

DELILAH – Los Angeles, Ca. – This all-female a cappella group, which includes members from the first two seasons of the series, has been singing across the country, but still carry an unfulfilled desire to conquer “The Sing-Off” stage.

THE DELTONES – Newark, D.E. – Founded in 1991, The University of Delaware Deltones, pride themselves on their smooth tunes and their motto – friends first, singers second. They focus their energy towards singing on campus and in the Delaware community, as it is important for them to give back to those who support them.

FANNIN FAMILY – Hortonville, Wis. – The Fannin Family’s mother was almost a nun and their father was a rock musician. The outcome was 11 extremely well-behaved musicians and eight of them will be taking the stage to show the nation their Midwestern swag.

KINFOLK 9 – Los Angeles, Ca. — A nine-piece professional vocal group from Los Angeles in which everyone can sing lead, with all members coming from very strong musical backgrounds.

MESSIAH’S MEN – Minneapolis, Minn. – Originally from Africa, these unofficial brothers survived the war in Liberia through the power of song and are on a mission to sing their hearts out while serving the Lord.

NORTH SHORE – Boston, Mass. — For the last 30 years, this refined street corner group has entertained thousands of listeners throughout the Boston area with an experienced blend of harmony, rhythm, and tempo in songs from the 1940s to today.

PENTATONIX – Arlington, Texas – The five-member group has a modern style and draws influences from several eclectic electro genres, including dub step and garage house.

SONOS – Los Angeles, Ca. — Formed in 2006 as a recording project that grew into a vocal band, the group blends their voices together in perfect harmony through years of experience. The live electronic effects they are also known for will not be part of the competition.

SOUL’D OUT – Wilsonville, Ore. – This award-winning mixed a cappella group from Wilsonville High School is comprised of students from all grade levels, musical backgrounds and vocal types.

URBAN METHOD – Denver, Colo. — The group, which includes a rapper, was formed by eight musicians whose individual sounds gravitate toward urban music. Each has extensive studio session work but has never previously performed together.

VOCAL POINT – Provo, Utah – The all-male group is Brigham Young University’s premiere contemporary a cappella ensemble. Their nine-man vocal firepower continually invigorates audiences and entertains fans with inventive arrangements, humor and remarkable vocal percussion.

THE YELLOWJACKETS – Rochester, N.Y. – Formed in 1956, the University of Rochester YellowJackets are anything but old-fashioned and half the members are enrolled in The Eastman School of Music at the university. This fun loving group’s mark of distinction is their bright yellow blazers and distinctive sound.

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Music Television

Interview: Paige Hemmis of ‘Extreme Makeover: Home Edition’

Posted on September 22, 2011 at 8:00 am

Paige Hemmis of “Extreme Home Makeover” has enough warmth and enthusiasm to power the show’s bus across the country. It was a lot of fun to talk to her about the show’s 9th season, which starts this Sunday with a two-hour special featuring First Lady Michelle Obama and moves to Fridays in late October.

What’s going to be different this year?

We’re going into Season Nine, which I can’t believe! We’re trying to go bigger and better and really help families that turn around and help everyone else. We just got back from Delaware, where for the first time in our history we had to shut down production because of the hurricane and then go back. That family runs a soup kitchen out of their tiny house and they give out 1000 meals a week. We gave them an industrial kitchen and tons and tons of space so that they can continue to help the community. That’s what we’re really trying to focus on, those people who look beyond themselves so that if we help one family that will help thousands of families in the future.

Did you get to go to the White House?

We film two shows at once and Ty flies back and forth. So while they were working with Michelle Obama, we were in Utah on another project. It was a fabulous experience. The other team got to meet Michelle Obama and Rhianna in the same week!

Any other special guests coming this season?

It’s fun for us to have them, and we become fans and get all giddy and turn into little schoolgirls when the guests come on. This week we have Chris Powell from “Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition.” He’s helping me create a boot came for this mom who’s into fitness. She works with mothers of kids with autism and she runs this boot camp for free. I am so sore, even talking to you now, I am hurting in places where I didn’t know I had muscles! He’s helping the mom but he’s also kicking my booty and getting me in shape and that’s fun!

Tell me about the special chair you had created for the wounded veteran.

Last year we brought in a company from Los Angeles. They call themselves dorks but they are the nicest, sweetest guys. They’re brilliant of course. They have created all this technology and last year they created a sip and puff system that allowed a father to pitch a baseball to his son. This year, they created a chair that looks like an egg if you saw if from the back but it’s a sensory chair. If you press “beach” a beach scene comes up in front of you and you hear beach sounds and even smell beach smells like salty air. He was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder so this helps him relax. I snuck away and sat in it a couple of times and it’s really fun!

I understand that you are entirely self-trained in home repairs.

I feel like I am still learning. About 15 years ago I had a rent-to-own program to help people get into their first home and save them money. I would buy the homes and fix them up. I was a wedding planner at the time and could not afford to bring in people to do the repairs. I went to home improvement stores and got the books and try and try and I made a lot of mistakes but learned a lot. At first I could repair a hole in the wall but by the end I was redoing electrical and doing roofing and bathrooms. If you mess up, it’s wood or drywall — you can replace it. Then on the show, I said, “I know how to fix stuff but to demolish and start over, that’s something else!” But now we get to do the fun stuff. Before I would fix an old toilet. Now, I get to start from scratch, which keeps me learning all the time.

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Interview Television

On The Hub: Majors & Minors

Posted on September 21, 2011 at 8:35 pm

Grammy® Award-winning superstar Will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas) and Grammy® and Academy Award®-winning Jennifer Hudson have joined an all-star lineup of industry artists and professionals serving as mentors for The Hub TV Network’s new original reality music series “Majors & Minors,” premiering Friday, September 23 (8 p.m. ET).

Over the course of the TV season, “Majors & Minors” follows the journey of 12 talented young performers, ages 10-16, as they are mentored by some of the biggest and most successful artists and coaches in the music industry. The Hub TV Network, a destination for kids and their families, is a joint venture of Discovery Communications and Hasbro, Inc.

Music star (and “Black Eyed Peas” founder) Will.i.am and singing/acting sensation Jennifer Hudson join a star-studded team of previously announced top musical artists as mentors (“Majors”) in the ground-breaking series. Also bringing invaluable music experience and star power are Adam Lambert, Brandy, Leona Lewis, Colbie Caillat, Avril Lavigne, Sean Kingston, Jordin Sparks, Claude Kelly, OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder and Mike Posner. Each mentor will provide guidance to the gifted young cast as they begin their roads towards individual stardom. While no one is ever voted off, one lucky “star-in-the-making” will claim the ultimate prize of a recording deal with Boardwalk Records/RCA Records and an opportunity to be featured in a cross-country concert tour.

In the premiere episode, viewers are introduced to the 12 cast members as they participate in the nationwide casting call process along with more than 40,000 young hopefuls. Selections of the final 12 were made by some of the music industry’s top professionals. R&B singing sensation songwriter Brandy guest stars as the premiere episode reveals the back stories that led each of the kids to this point on their journey to their dreams. Brandy also serves as a series mentor and producer on “Majors & Minors.”

The first original track from “Majors & Minors,” titled “One World” will be available on iTunes and all digital retailers beginning Tuesday, September 20. “One World”, which is performed by the “Majors & Minors” cast is featured in the premiere episode and was written by Evan “Kidd” Bogart, Justin Gray, David “DQ” Quinones, Nikola Bedingfield and the “Majors & Minors” cast.

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Music Television

Happy Birthday June Foray (Voice of Rocky)

Posted on September 18, 2011 at 11:58 am

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=65t-OzhlmvE

Here’s a tribute to one of the all-time greatest voice actresses, June Foray, who celebrates her 94th birthday today. Best known as Rocky the flying squirrel, she also provided voices for Lucifer the cat in “Cinderella,” Grandmother Fa in “Mulan,” and Cindy Lou Who in “How the Grinch Stole Christmas.” On “Rocky and Bullwinkle,” she not only played Rocky but also Nell Fenwick and Natasha Fatale.

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Animation Television

50th Anniversary of the ‘Dick Van Dyke Show’ with Carl Reiner and Dick van Dyke

Posted on September 17, 2011 at 3:59 pm

My all-time favorite television show is “The Dick Van Dyke Show.” The wit, sophistication, and charm of the show and the marvelous performances by its talented cast have made it an enduring classic, with many of its best episodes available to a new generation of fans on Hulu. The Walnut Times is a delightful fan publication.

Carl Reiner created the show based on his own experiences as a writer on the legendary staff of Sid Caesar’s “Your Show of Shows,” along with Mel Brooks, Neil Simon and his brother Danny (who inspired “The Odd Couple”), and many more who would shape the comedy writing of the next decade. (Woody Allen joined the staff later and worked on Caesar’s comedy specials.) Later, Mel Brooks produced the movie “My Favorite Year” and Neil Simon wrote “Laughter on the 23rd Floor,” also inspired by the wild adventures of the young comedy writers in the early days of television.

The show focused on the life of the head writer, Rob Petrie (Van Dyke) at home with his wife Laura (Mary Tyler Moore, who was just 24 when the show first aired) and son Richie and at the office with his co-writers Sally (Rose Marie) and Buddy (Morey Amsterdam). They worked on a “Your Show of Shows”-style variety hour headed by a temperamental star (Reiner himself, appearing occasionally as Alan Brady) and produced by the star’s brother-in-law, Mel (Richard Deacon). Rob and Laura were a rare married couple on television who were obviously crazy about each other. Van Dyke and Moore had enormous chemistry that some have compared to the glamorous young President and First Lady in the White House and a natural rhythm with each other that made their relationship very relatable. Some of the episodes were directed by “Your Show of Shows” veteran Howard Morris.

On October 1, Reiner and Van Dyke will appear at the Egyptian Theatre for a tribute to the show.

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Television