Amy Grant is one of the legends of Christian music, who also had her fair number of pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s. CREDIT: AP

For the fifth year in a row, 104.7/The Fish brings Atlanta the largest free outdoor concert of the year on Sept. 1 featuring a variety of A-list Christian acts such as Switchfoot, Jars of Clay, Jeremy Camp and Amy Grant.

Teaming with the Atlanta-based Winshape Foundation as a primary sponsor, this massive undertaking is held each year at Jim R. Miller Park in Marietta. Doors open at 7 a.m. and music begins at 8 a.m. The concert ends with fireworks just before 11 p.m.

“It’s a good location as far as where our listener base is,” said Fish program director Mike Blakemore. “There’s a covered roof over the stage if it rains, yet it’s open air all around so you get that outdoor feel. It’s a nice combination.”

Grant – one of the most successful cross-over Christian artists with top 40 pop hits such as “Baby Baby” and “Every Heartbeat” – “has …

Continue reading 104.7/The Fish brings Amy Grant, Switchfoot, Jeremy Camp, Jars of Clay for free Sept. 1 concert »

Bye, bye Glitzy, we hardly knew ya.

I sadly forgot to place “Here Comes Honey Boo Boo” on a series recording on my DVR so I tragically missed the fifth episode of this possibly Emmy-winning reality show. But that will never happen again, readers!

As a result, I’ve had to glean from other recaps (especially the fine recap by Hollywood Life, thank you very much) to find out what I didn’t learn. This is thus officially a meta-recap of a recap:

1) Christmas is a state of mind, not a date on the calendar. Honey Boo Boo’s family decorates the house for Christmas in July. Why not? Every day is like Christmas in their house, right? And they do something charitable, too, by collecting food and toys for people worse off than them. They do exist.

2) Squealing is sort of like barking. Apparently, Glitzy is like a baby when he isn’t being fed enough: he cries. Or squeals. And it’s annoying. This reminds me of a puppy my cousin once got who barked and wailed so much, that my aunt had to …

Continue reading Five things we learn (or didn’t learn) from ‘Here Comes Honey Boo Boo,’ ep 5 »

Senoia’s Rutledge Wood loves cars and loves goofing around. Lo and behold, he gets to indulge both of his passions on History’s “Top Gear,” which returned last week for its third season.

He, Tanner Foust and Adam Ferrara are the trio who get to drive all sorts of vehicles for fun all over the country. So far in this month’s episodes, they’ve raced the coolest new cop cars (say goodbye to the Crown Victoria!) and the smallest cars (Rutledge squeezes into a teeny weeny Scion iQ.) In an upcoming episode, they ride rental vehicles off road to Mohave, Utah.

“That was insane,” Wood said in an interview Monday. “We took these rental cars where nobody should drive.” (Can’t imagine the rental car companies were too pleased about this.)

One lesson he learned: “Never buy a car that used to be a rental. It made me very thankful I was alive at the end. I’m not saying the producers want us dead. I’m just saying it’s not out of the realm of the storyboards. I know they like me but sometimes …

Continue reading Catching up with Rutledge Wood and season 3 of History’s ‘Top Gear’ »

If you see a bunch of ladies acting poorly in front of cameras, perhaps screaming or throwing down, it may not be “Real Housewives of Atlanta.”

Instead, it may very well be Oxygen’s “Bad Girls Club,” which is being shot in Buckhead through October 5, according to the Georgia Film, Music & Digital Entertainment Office. The office heard Atlanta possesses a huge viewing audience for this show. (Oxygen itself hasn’t made any official announcement yet but a spokeswoman acknowledged that this is indeed true.)

“Bad Girls Club,” which I readily admit I have never watched, takes seven rebellious women and attempt to “tame” them into more civilized folk. Atlanta is the tenth season.

The show has been taped in past years in Los Angeles, New Orleans, Las Vegas and in the current season airing now, Cabo San Lucas in Mexico. Ratings this past Monday were solid for Oxygen: 1.5 million viewers (though that isn’t nearly as many as E!’s “Keeping Up With the Kardashians” or VH1’s “Love & Hip …

Continue reading Oxygen is shooting 10th season of ‘Bad Girls Club’ in Buckhead »

Stacey Dash’s departure didn’t kill VH1’s “Single Ladies.” In fact, VH1 has renewed the drama for a third season.

This show, VH1’s first scripted success, is doing better than it was season one with Denise Vasi taking over for Dash. The show is set and shot in Atlanta and features plenty of Atlanta-based celebrities.

But what about “Love and Hip Hop Atlanta”? That hit reality show just finished season one with 3.7 million viewers Monday, plus another 2.9 million viewing the two repeats at 10 p.m. and midnight? I would say it’s guaranteed a second season, but I bet the cast members are negotiating BIG pay raises after surprisingly robust numbers the reality show garnered. A spokeswoman for VH1 said a decision has not been made yet on the show’s renewal.

“Love & Hip Hop Atlanta” averaged 3.1 million viewers in its first viewing over 10 episodes, better than any season of “Real Housewives of Atlanta,” which peaked season three with 2.9 million viewers.

“Single Ladies,” which …

Continue reading VH1 renews Atlanta-based ‘Single Ladies’ for third season »

After five years hosting the successful “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?” television program, Jeff Foxworthy was a hot commodity in game show circles.

The Alpharetta comedian was pitched many, many ideas. Most, he says, were horrible or simply not up his alley.

“American Bible Challenge” (debuting tonight at 8 on GSN for a ten-episode run) didn’t entice him at first, either: “I didn’t want to do a game show about the Bible. I didn’t want to stand in line in Hell because of a game show!”

But when Foxworthy learned the show’s contestants would compete to win cash for selected charities, his stance softened.

The trick, he says, was to “make it fun and interesting, but not be disrespectful to the Bible.”

The pilot episode, which Foxworthy shot this spring in Los Angeles, failed to strike that balance. “It was flat and dry. We went back and retooled it.”

The show’s writers came up with fresher concepts. In one upcoming episode, contestants must decide if a quote came …

Continue reading Jeff Foxworthy returns to game-show hosting with GSN’s ‘American Bible Challenge’ starting August 23 »

Adam Lambert is a possible candidate for the judges' panel. CREDIT: AP

You have to wonder how much contentious back and forth must be happening among Fox and “Idol” producers right now over the judges. Money, strategy, panel mix, ego, “The Voice.” All the factors are in play.

I don’t recall a frenzy quite like this one before, even before Jennfier Lopez and Steven Tyler two years ago.  The pressure is on after “Idol” lost a quarter of its audience last year. I can’t see the ratings ever climbing back up again to season 10 levels, but there might be a minor bump this year if they get interesting judges and comparable talent to season 11, which was actually a relatively strong year on that front. The problem remains for “Idol”: too many copycats have diluted the base of potential viewers.

So far, “Idol” has signed just one judge so far: Mariah Carey.

Let me rank the likelihood of others, based on all the smoke and mirrors:

- Nicki Minaj. US magazine insists this is a done deal. …

Continue reading The endless ‘Idol’ judge speculation: the candidates »

Jimmy Kimmel starting in January, 2013, will go head to head with Jay Leno and David Letterman at 11:35 p.m. weeknights. CREDIT: AP

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In a move that will generate plenty of debate, ABC has decided to bump its popular three-decade old “Nightline” to 12:35 a.m., giving “Jimmy Kimmel Live” the coveted 11:35 p.m. slot starting January 8, 2013.

“Kimmel,” which debuted in 2003 (and wasn’t even on in Atlanta at first), used to start at 12:05 a.m., before being moved to midnight last year, cutting “Nightline” by five minutes.

This places all three major networks head to head for the first time in the talk-show category at 11:35 p.m. Jimmy Kimmel, 44, is significantly younger than his competitors on NBC (Jay Leno, 62) and CBS (David Letterman, 65). He will now alsoi compete with Stephen Colbert over on Comedy Central …

Continue reading ABC bumps ‘Nightline’ to 12:35 a.m., moves ‘Kimmel’ to 11:35 p.m. »

Ahmed Ahmed, Steve Byrne, Owen Benjamin and Roy Wood Jr. will make a special appearance at the Punchline Tuesday night, August 21.

Steve Byrne and three of his stand-up comedy buddies on his TBS sitcom “Sullivan & Son” are doing a 22-city promotional stand-up tour over ten weeks, stopping at the Punchline August 21.

Surprisingly, given Pittsburgh native Byrne’s 14-year-run as a stand-up, this is only his second trip to Atlanta, home of TBS. His first trip was just a few months before “Sullivan & Son’ was picked up as a headliner at the Punchline.

“Something always came up,” preventing him from coming here, he said in an interview last week.

What makes this visit special is that he’s being joined on this trip by three of his comedic cohorts, who are also on “Sullivan & Son”: Ahmed Ahmed, Owen Benjamin and Roy Wood Jr.

“We stick around afterwards and take pictures,” he said. “It’s a complete blast. Ninety percent of the audience waits in line. We’re trying to make sure we make …

Continue reading Steve Byrne & buddies coming to Punchline to promote ‘Sullivan & Son’ August 21 »

If you see the word “cocky” in that old dictionary, there’s a picture of Stevie J.

The arrogant producer on “Love & Hip Hop Atlanta,” who is hoping to keep both his baby’s mama Mimi and his “client,” Joseline in his back pocket, decides to have a second therapist session with the trio. (The last time, Joseline punched him in the face so he’s a glutton for punishment.) He strolls in wearing a shirt with the words “I am God” emblazoned on his T-shirt.

The editors strategically places the three of them in separate chairs this time around as opposed to one couch. There are probably about 50 security guards right outside of camera view to boot.

“He feels he can have you both,” the therapist at the Bliss Center tells them.

“The reality is he’s not going to change,”he adds. “You have to take control of your lives.”

Joseline acts as if it’s no big deal that Stevie J is a smarmy player, when in fact, she does care. Mimi is at the end of her rope.

Stevie J spends the entire season …

Continue reading ‘Love & Hip Hop Atlanta’ recap: I am… God? »