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Atlanta rap star Lil Jon made the final four but couldn’t quite crunk his way to the finals of “Celebrity Apprentice” that aired Sunday night.

He buried himself in front of the three previous “Celebrity Apprentice” – Joan Rivers, Bret Michaels and Piers Morgan - by telling them he thought the final two should be country singer John Rich and actress Marlee Matlin.

Donald Trump had commissioned the trio to grill Rich, Matlin, Meat Loaf and Lil Jon. Lil Jon later backtracked and noted with pride that he showed that not all rap singers are idiot druggies. Instead, he came across as intelligent and likable even with the sunglasses, dreadlocks and gold teeth. He also won two challenges while project …

Continue reading ‘Celebrity Apprentice’ recap: did Lil Jon make it to the finals? »

Adam Taylor/ABC

Extra TV reports that Hines Ward’s dance partner, Kym Johnson, on “Dancing With the Stars” has been injured and sent to the hospital in a stretcher.

UPDATE (Saturday, 10:01 p.m.): She suffered a nasty fall Friday and injured her neck. But this USA Today story said she will be back Monday to performed despite being bruised and sore.

Ward has been dancing with Johnson for three months, including several weeks before the season launch. The Pittsburgh Steeler and University of Georgia graduate is now in the final four and a week away from making the finals.

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By Rodney Ho, rho@ajc.com, AJCRadioTV blog

Continue reading Report: Hines Ward’s dance partner Kym Johnson injured »

Fox 5/WAGA-TV’s Justin Gray was blocked by state troopers from a public immigration bill signing held today by Gov. Nathan Deal at the Gold Dome. Why? Deal’s press office was angry about an unrelated, unflattering story Dale Russell had done the night before about Deal.

VIDEO: Governor Deal’s Office Bans FOX 5 Reporter from Immigration Bill Signing: MyFoxATLANTA.com

Below is the story that upset Deal’s office. The campaign had paid $90,000 to a fund-raising company the I-Team had never heard of called Southern Magnolia Capital. Russell discovered that company was connected to Deal’s daughter in law Denise Deal. Phil Wilheit, identified in the story as Deal’s campaign manager, told Russell the transaction was “transparent” but Russell said the firm has no website or any obvious public information or direct link to Deal’s name.

Fox 5 news director Mike McClain sent a statement today at about 5:30 p.m. to me: “FOX 5 Atlanta stands by our I-Team investigation and Reporter Dale …

Continue reading Fox 5 banned from Nathan Deal immigration bill signing »

CREDIT: AP

Marietta food guru Alton Brown announced yesterday that after 249 episodes, he is shutting down “Good Eats,” a Food Network staple since 1999.

Beau Benton, his spokesman, confirmed that “Good Eats” will no longer be a regular series though Brown does plan three one-hour specials this year. He said Brown was not available for interviews.

Brown’s “Good Eats” has been a standard dish on Food Network’s menu for years, frequently in prime time. A fast-paced, intricately-created concoction, the show provides viewers with food history, cooking tips and oddball trivia on a single topic in Brown’s signature light-hearted and frequently sardonic tone.  Over nearly 250 episodes, he chewed on almost every food subject there is, be it olives, steak or  bouillabaisse. With some common staples like pasta or eggs, he’s done multiple episodes. And he’d hire local actors to play goofy parts.

One of those actors, Vickie Eng, who played the mysterious W character on about 30 …

Continue reading Alton Brown ending Food Network’s ‘Good Eats’ after 249 episodes »

AP photo/2009

Katy Perry, one of the hottest pop stars today, keeps pumping out hit after hit after hit. Her latest, “E.T.,” is the most played song on Atlanta radio for a second second.

It’s now getting spins on Star 94 (31) on top of Q100 (94) and Wild 105.7 (120).

In second again is the Black Eyed Peas’ “Just Can’t Get Enough,” with 209 spins on Q100 (89) and Wild (120) but no love from Star 94.

The top-moving song of the week is the new Lady Antebellum song “Just a Kiss,” from 12 to 54 spins on Kicks and the Bull.

Top 10 songs
1. Katy Perry “E.T.” 249 (+3)
2. Black Eyed Peas “Just Can’t Get Enough” 209 (-1)
3. Rihanna “S&M” 199 (+2)
4. Kanye West “All of the Lights” 187 (+16)
5. Chris Brown “Look At Me Now” 159 (-14)
6. Ke$ha “Blow” 156 (+3)
7. Britney Spears “Til the World Ends” 145 (+29)
8. Cee Lo Green “F-You” 141 (-35)
9. Miguel “Sure Thing” 134 (+28)
10. Marsha Ambrosius “Far Away” 126 (+29)

New songs on each station

Majic 107.5/97.5: no new adds

Hot 107.9: no new …

Continue reading Katy Perry’s ‘E.T.’ biggest hit in Atlanta radio for second week »

Stews publicity photo

The 2 Live Stews are those rambunctious brothers you know and love (or not) on 790/The Zone. But they also know part of their imaging is to give back.

Their two-year-old Stewart Education Foundation raises monies for organizations that help give scholarships to students, primarily black males interested in becoming teachers.

“There’s a serious lack of black males in the school system,” said Doug Stewart today. “We’re basically infusing some of our ideals to help the community.”

On Saturday, the Stews are holding a fundraiser at Bill Lowe Art Gallery at 1555 Peachtree St. in Atlanta from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. “It’s a party for a purpose, as Tom Joyner says,” Stewart noted. DJ Kid Capri will be spinning tunes and there’s an open bar. Better yet, tickets at www.professionalrelaxation.com are just $20 and $10 if you type in “For the kids” into the code box. They will be handing out two $2,500 grants from previous monies raised.

Long-time Stews supporter Crown …

Continue reading The 2 Live Stews hit charity route Saturday at Bill Lowe Art Gallery »

AP

This year, the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame is honoring eight men who made an impact in radio in the state.

One of those names is probably better known as the Godfather of Soul: James Brown (1933-2006).

Brown actually owned three radio stations in his day. His first one, in 1967, was 1430 WGYW-AM in Knoxville. He changed the name to WJBE to reflect his initials. He later bought He bought more stations 1480 WRDW-AM in his hometown of Augusta and 1360 WEBB-AM in Baltimore.  You can glean more details here.

The most famous radio-related Brown story is about how he used the airwaves to stem a riot in Augusta in 1970 after people protested the beating of a black teen-ager at a local jail. You can read that story here.

And of course, radio was very very good to Brown over the years thanks to his cavalcade of hits.

There are also career achievement winners each year who will be announced later. Current candidates include Moby (who now runs a syndicated country music operation), …

Continue reading Georgia Radio Hall of Fame fifth annual legacy inductees include James Brown, Ernie Harwell »

NBC

NeNe Leakes got a wee bit defensive with E! after last Sunday’s episode of “Celebrity Apprentice” where she basically quit, upset because she thought Donald Trump was siding with Star Jones by moving Leakes to the other team.

She also blamed not herself but Trump for creating a “toxic situation” between her and Star and “disrespecting” her,  she told Access Hollywood.

“Do I look like a quitter?” the Real Housewives of Atlanta star asked Mark Malkin Tuesday. “But what else is he going to say? I want you to know this—and this not even tooting my own horn—but I am one of the biggest personalities on the show and I walked off.”

She denies any regret over quitting. And  she does not think she’s a bully, merely “outspoken.”  She’s ready for the May 22 finale to be in the same room as Star Jones. Similar to her battles with Kim Zolciak, the only regret is the language she used, not her actions.

Nope. No ego here.

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By Rodney …

Continue reading NeNe Leakes: ‘Do I look like a quitter?’ »

Romeo with his partner Chelsie Hightower. CREDIT: ABC

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Romeo, the fleet-footed singer/actor, came in at the bottom tonight on “Dancing With the Stars,” finishing fifth.

“I’m happy,” Romeo said after his elimination. “We went out with a bang. That’ s the most fun I ever had in my life. This show changed my life. I didn’t dance at my own prom. I turned down movies because I was terrified of dancing.”

His departure showed how tight the competition is this season. All final five celebrities could pull off a decent dance. Every single one has gotten at least one “10″ from a judge.

Romeo started a bit slow but his skills and confidence rapidly improved. He showed dexterity and intensity, his athleticism serving him well. He came in fourth Monday …

Continue reading Who is out next on ‘Dancing With the Stars’? »

Rebecca Loebe gets picked up by Adam Levine. How far will she go? CREDIT: NBC

Atlanta’s own Rebecca Loebe showed up two weeks ago on the debut of NBC’s surprise big hit “The Voice” with a great back story (living out of her 1992 Toyota Camry) but also a great voice.

She convinced Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine of Maroon 5 to turn around while she sang a beautifully haunting cover of Nirvana’s “Come As You Are.”

“You completely reworked it,” Levin said on the show. “That kind of creativity as far as artistry is concerned is amazing. I just pressed the button because I felt it.”

“I was really taken by surprise as soon as you started singing,” Aguilera said. “The choice of song, you were able to truly make it your own. It was actually inspiring. Why didn’t I come up with that idea first?… You have a special gift.”

“We’ll work something out that’s amazing,” Levine said.

Loebe gave Aguilera props for her skills and beauty (”its like starting at the surface of the sun!”) but …

Continue reading Atlanta singer Rebecca Loebe on NBC’s hit show ‘The Voice’ »