The "Real Housewives of Atlanta" episode Sunday night features Kim Zolciak cursing even more than usual. CREDIT: Bravo

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Phaedra Parks tries to stay out of the gossip mill on the show. But an (ironic) apparent butt dial from the woman who prides herself on her booty catches her bad mouthing Cynthia Bailey.

Somehow, this accidental butt dial gets to NeNe Leakes, who passes it on to BFF Cynthia.

On the voicemail, Phaedra is heard talking about Cynthia being out of town for her son Ayden’s second birthday. “I don’t even give a f*** she’s coming,” Phaedra says on the voicemail. (Busted!)

Cynthia is hurt. She thought Phaedra and she were cool after the Apollo-Peter dust up last season.

“I need to let her know that I know,” Cynthia says. (That’s the “Real Housewives of Atlanta” spirit! Stir the pot!)

“It’s a …

Continue reading ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’ (’Unmoved’) recap: season 5, episode 4; Kim is $#!& mad! »

Michonne leads Oscar, Daryl and Rick to Woodbury for the inevitable confrontation between the two camps. CREDIT: AMC

Glenn shows his muscle in more ways than one this episode.

He wouldn’t give up his group’s position to Merle, who instead gives the man a vicious facial beating.

Then Merle releases a walker with teeth into the room while Glenn is tied to a chair with duct tape (useful – even in a zombie apocalyspe!). Of course, Merle could have made it even tougher and tie Glenn’s feet to the chair, too. But Glenn is able  to stand up and fend off the walker in a great set piece. He slams the chair into a wall repeatedly and is able to grab a sharp piece off the back of the chair that enables him to stab the walker in the head to death. Impressive. No way the show is going to kill Glenn, eh?

The Governor decides to take on the reponsibility of interrogating a steely Maggie. He asks her to take her shirt off and appears to be ready to rape her. She appears resigned. But perhaps …

Continue reading ‘The Walking Dead’ (’When the Dead Come Knocking’) recap, season 3, episode 7: face off! »

Larry Hagman passed away from complications from cancer Friday. CREDIT: AP

Atlanta-based TNT revived the classic 1980s night-time soap “Dallas” earlier this year, bringing back iconic evil oil man J.R. Ewing, played with uncommon zeal by Larry Hagman.

But partway through production of season two shot in Dallas, 81-year-old Hagman passed Friday from complications of cancer.

He absolutely loved playing J.R. again, joining Linda Gray and Patrick Duffy as part of the older generation working with the new generation. More than three decades after the classic “Who Shot J.R.?” episode in 1980, he came back on TNT with his signature cowboy hat and evil-looking eyebrows intact.

“It’s just like coming home,” he told me in an interview earlier this year before the revival debuted on TNT to big numbers.

He managed to get through last year’s first ten episodes despite being treated for an unspecified cancer.

“I’m doing good,” he said to me in June. “I seem to be doing good – in total …

Continue reading Larry Hagman (1931-2012), forever known as the iconic J.R. Ewing »

I’m a karaoke addict. So any time I see a show with that word in it, I’m willing to give it a look.

I quickly fell in love with TruTV’s “Killer Karaoke,” which debuts tonight. It’s no music show in the traditional sense. Ryan Seacrest or Carson Daly are not the hosts. Britney Spears is not judging them. The judge is the studio audience. And the host? Steve-O of “Jackass” fame.

The show, which is getting an eight-episode test run, is more in the spirit of “Fear Factor” on laughing gas. The basic premise: contestants are “tortured” in various ways while singing. Two people perform and the audience decides which one they liked better. The winners over three rounds then compete for up to $10,000 in the final challenge.

In an episode I sampled, a woman is hoisted, then dipped into a cold pool packed with snakes while crooning A-Ha’s “Take On Me.” A game dude has to serve Steve-O a meal as a waiter while being randomly shocked. Another man has to keep singing while getting hot waxed …

Continue reading ‘Jackass’ meets ‘American Idol’: TruTV and Steve-O introduce ‘Killer Karaoke’ »

When my wife last week saw that Maroon 5 was a candidate to win the American Music Awards entertainer of the year, she was surprised. She doesn’t follow pop music very closely and thought they were far past due.

But nope. That’s not the case. Adam Levine lifted the group’s profile by joining “The Voice” and releasing a hot single in “Moves Like Jagger.” Then the group garnered two more big hits: “Payphone” and “One More Night,” which has been the most popular song on Atlanta radio for more than three weeks.

According to Mediabase 24/7, the song was spun 334 times last week locally: 33 on B98.5, 65 on Star 94, 140 on Power 96.1, 22 on Wild 105.7/96.7 and 74 on Q100.

Rihanna, who has had several No. 1’s on Atlanta radio the past couple of years, is rising quickly and will probably take over soon with her single “Diamonds.”

She’s at 325 spins with 55 on Hot 107.9, 19 on V-103, 89 on Power, 123 on Wild and 39 on Q100, up 112 spins on one single week.  Nobody else is even close or …

Continue reading Four weeks on top of Atlanta radio for Maroon 5’s ‘One More Night’ »

Carol Sbarge has been with Channel 2 Action News for more than 20 years. CREDIT: WSB-TV

Veteran anchor and reporter Carol Sbarge will move from early mornings to “Channel 2 Action News at Noon,” joining Fred Blankenship.

Sbarge will also report for the early evening newscasts, starting at 4 p.m.

She currently co-anchors “Channel 2 Action News This Morning,” beginning at 4:30 a.m. with Blankenship.

Linda Stouffer, weekend morning anchor, will join Blankenship in the early morning weekday newscasts when Sbarge moves to noon. The change will take effect Jan. 7.

“We’re so glad to have a veteran like Carol,” said Tim McVay, general manager for Channel 2 Action News, in a press release. Sbarge anchored weekends for 11 years and has been anchoring mornings for five years, while filling in other time slots. “Moving Carol to the noon news takes advantage of her great relationship with Fred and adds her reporting power to the three hours of local news, 4-7 p.m.”

“This new assignment …

Continue reading Carol Sbarge joins Fred Blankenship at noon on Channel 2 Action News in January »

Arin Ray was inevitably going home at some point and tonight was the night. CREDIT: Fox

Amazingly, CeCe Frey is still here.

Less surprisingly, Arin Ray had the fewest votes and was cut immediately. He was a cut-rate version of Usher and simply lacked enough distinctive zing to last any longer than he did.

The second and third lowest vote getters were Beatrice Miller and CeCe. Beatrice seemed a bit surly at times and not quite ready for prime time vocally. She somehow picked an appropriate song, too, in her showdown: Dido’s “White Flag.”

CeCe sang “Because of You” and survived to live another week, thanks to Simon Cowell and L.A. Reid, who both picked her over Beatrice.

The ranking of the top 8 didn’t show any major changes. The top 3 remain the same, with Carly Ray finally hitting the top after Tate had the most votes the past two weeks. It helped that Carly Ray had the pimp spot. Vino and Emblem 3 held the same spots. I’m glad to see Diamond White moved back up to No. 5. …

Continue reading Who is out on ‘X Factor’ this week? »

Tate Stevens has been a fan favorite. CREDIT: Fox

I was out last night to see Phillip Phillips at Mall of Georgia, then catch “Lincoln.” So I apologize for being late. I’ll post photos and video from the Mall of Georgia tomorrow.

Here’s my quick take on the top 10 from “The X Factor” Wednesday night, where they dedicated songs to people they are thankful for. This means treacly songs galore. And since this is 10 performances stretched out over two hours, the dedication videos go on for a long time.

Two will be eliminated again Thursday night. I think it will be Arin and CeCe. Arin has been scraping bottom and has done nothing to prove otherwise. CeCe–I’m just done with her. I’d rather see her gone than even Paige, who will likely be in the bottom three as well.

I truly liked three performances: Diamond White, Carly Rose and Vino Alan. Others were either adequately unmemorable or just bad.

Tate Stevens (”I’m Already There” Lonestar/ L.A.’s team) – Dedicated to his late father. …

Continue reading ‘X Factor’ top 10 performance recap: thankful? »

The world needs another singing show like we need another joke about Twinkies.

But that isn’t stopping NBC and the makers of “The Voice” from trying.

The show is called “The Winner Is ” and a winner will take home $1 million. The twist, as explained in the press release, has a bit of  “Deal or No Deal” in it, which isn’t surprising since the producers of this show also created that show:

The contestants will be judged by a special in-studio panel led by one celebrity judge (to be announced) as they compete for an ultimate cash prize of $1 million. In a unique twist, they will have the chance to negotiate a deal with their opponent. Before hearing their fate the contestants can choose to step out of the competition in exchange for a predetermined cash prize or continue on in the game.
Singing contestants need to be confident of their own talent but shouldn’t underestimate their opponents. There’s a lot at stake: the amount of money each duel is worth increases with …

Continue reading Want to join yet another singing show? NBC’s ‘The Winner Is’ in Atlanta Nov. 24 for casting call »

Phillip Phillips performed at Centennial Olympic Park in August for an SEC event sponsored by 680/The Fan. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

Expect big crowds at the Village stage at the Mall of Georgia in Buford tonight (Nov. 21) at 6:30 p.m. when “American Idol” winner Phillip Phillips performs a free 30-minute promotional concert, followed by a CD signing.

It’s the day before Thanksgiving so they’ll be shoppers galore. Phillips will certainly sing “Home,” a few covers and cuts from his new album “The World From the Side of the Moon.”

He’ll then sign CDs (remember those?) for two hours. He’s not a gabby sort, but I’m sure he’ll be warm and friendly to everyone there. And if you’re familiar with Mall of Georgia, the stage is by P.F. Chang’s.

I spoke with Phillips last week by phone as he was preparing for a big push for his new album. His first single “Home,” his coronation song, has been an unqualified success, selling more than 2 million copies via download and climbing several …

Continue reading Talking with Phillip Phillips, performing at Mall of Georgia Nov. 21 at 6:30 p.m. »