AMERICAN IDOL: St. Louis contestant Johnny Keyser performs in front of the judges on AMERICAN IDOL airing Thursday, Feb. 2 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. CR: Michael Becker / FOX.

Tonight was a very leisurely hour for “Idol” but far more entertaining than Portland. Everyone, including the editors and the judges, seemed peppier this round.

Forty-six folks make it to Hollywood. We hear a mere five of them and two not so good ones, plus a “silent” one. And we get three sob stories though nothing on the level of last night.

So we only actually see eight auditions (if you count the guy who we didn’t hear because they were giving him the “silent” treatment.) Plus, we get a long intro about Carrie Underwood, Steven Tyler goofing around,  a bit of a Madonna video and a long promo for next week’s Hollywood round.

And again, the judges didn’t disagree on anything at all. There was a press conference earlier today with Randy Jackson and I clumsily asked him about how much there was any …

Continue reading ‘American Idol’ recap St. Louis: season 11, audition city #7 »

Nancy Grace will play a fictional version of herself on the season finale of Fox's "Raising Hope." CREDIT: AP

Over the years, plenty of TV shows have created Nancy Grace-like characters, from “Law & Order: Criminal Intent” to “Boston Legal.”

The Atlanta mom of twins had a good laugh over those caricatures.

But now the former Fulton County prosecutor will get to mock herself for the first time in an upcoming episode of Fox’s “Raising Hope.”

According to TV Guide, Grac will play the host of a magazine-style talk show in the season’s finale airing this spring.

Since she will be “playing a version of myself,” should we worry that baby Hope on the show may soon be in harm’s way? “I don’t think anything serious is going to happen to her,” assures Nancy. “Baby Hope will survive. We’re not going to be doing a 1-800-Where Is Baby Hope?”

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Continue reading Atlanta’s Nancy Grace dabbles in acting on ‘Raising Hope’ »

'Top Chef' judges Gail Simmons, Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio

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Although Bravo’s “Top Chef: Texas” has been less than scintillating TV so far, ratings have been strong enough for the show to receive a tenth season pick up.

That also means a nationwide casting call for new chefs. Atlanta has had its fair share of representatives on the show (Richard Blais! Kevin Gillespie!). So Bravo is coming to Atlanta Feb. 25 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Empire State South, which is owned by none other than Hugh Acheson, one of the rotating judges on “Top Chef.”

Casting details are at http://www.bravotv.com/casting.

Ratings for season 9 are down about 20 percent from last year’s “All Stars” edition, averaging about 1.8 million viewers vs. 2.3 million last year.

Coincidentally, I’m off to talk to Richard Blais (who won “All Stars” last year) in a …

Continue reading ‘Top Chef’ season 10 casting call in Atlanta Feb. 25 »

Former V-103 “Quiet Storm” host Joyce Littel this year considered dropping her popular annual Valentine’s Day weekend “Passion & Poetry” concert for the first time in 14 years.

“I had other projects I wanted to work on,” she said.

But Littel said she was flooded with calls and emails asking her about the two-hour concert, which features R&B and jazz singers and spoken-word poets addressing the theme of love. So she revived it for a 14th year at Center Stage Feb. 11 for two shows: 8 p.m and midnight.

“People see this as more than just dinner and a regular concert,” she said. “It’s an opportunity for people to enjoy time with their significant other in a sensual, special way.”

She said she started planning much later than in the past so the line-up is primarily local artists including Tony Award-winning spoken word artist Tamika Harper (AKA Georgia Me) and classic soul singer Heston.

Littel’s theme this year celebrates the 15th anniversary of the film “Love …

Continue reading Former V-103 host Joyce Littel brings back ‘Passion & Poetry’ at Center Stage Feb. 11 »

AMERICAN IDOL: Portland contestant Sam Gershman performs in front of the judges on AMERICAN IDOL airing Wednesday, Feb. 1 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. CR: Michael Becker / FOX.

Portland, Ore. brought a couple of quirky contestants, one serious sad story, plus a few decent singers.

Otherwise, the energy level seemed off. Ryan Seacrest had to resort to running around with a potted plant. For someone like me, who has seen more than 80 audition episodes and 600-plus auditions since 2002, this one felt a bit strained. The editors didn’t even seem to try very hard to make this memorable. Is there anything we haven’t already seen?

In the end, 45 people got golden tickets. We saw just six of them, plus five bad/mediocre singers. Interesting that “Idol” has gone back to more typical ratios the past two episodes after the first four were 80 to 90 percent Hollywood-bound contestants.

But again, there was not a single dispute today among the three (yawn) judges. The closest was Jennifer …

Continue reading ‘American Idol’ recap: season 11, audition city #6 Portland »

After a long, glorious three days, Rock 100.5’s experiment of adding music to the Regular Guys show has ended, host Larry Wachs announced today via Twitter.

The Regular Guys may have been on music stations (save for a brief moment on WGST-AM), but the show itself is purely an entertainment talk show. When Wachs and Eric Von Haessler arrived from Los Angeles to 96rock in 1998, it was forced to play three songs an hour but as soon as the show began moving the needle in ratings, Wachs was able to rid the show of music. (I’m not counting little clips here and there and the occasional music guest.)

But with ratings sagging, Rock 100.5 management decided to add two songs an hour to the mix on Monday.

That’s when things got strange. On Monday, the eight cuts over four hours were all recent tunes by the likes of My Darkest Days and Stone Sour. On Tuesday and Wednesday, they were mostly older classic rock songs by acts such as AC/DC and Guns n’ Roses. Members of the show said nothing …

Continue reading Quick reversal: Rock 100.5 drops music from the Regular Guys show »

Cee Lo Green is set to appear at the Super Bowl Sunday and on "The Voice" afterwards. CREDIT: AP

In the wake of his surprise hit “Forget You,” Atlanta’s Cee Lo Green over the past year has been nabbing plenty of big gigs. Wearing a peacock outfit on the Grammys. Being a judge on NBC’s surprise hit “The Voice.” Changing the lyrics of “Imagine” on Times Square New Year’s Eve.

And now he is set to be on the biggest platform of them all: the Super Bowl half-time show.

Though the news is not “official,” multiple outlets say he will join Madonna on stage in Indianapolis. What will he do? We don’t know yet. But he’ll surely wear something outrageous. And we can only hope he doesn’t pull a Janet Jackson. (Others scheduled to be  joining Madonna are LMFAO, Nicki Minaj and MIA.)

Not coincidentally, NBC is airing the second season debut of “The Voice” after the Super Bowl ends so Cee Lo will show up again with his judge cohorts Blake Shelton, Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera.

In an …

Continue reading Atlanta’s Cee Lo Green rumored to join Madonna during Super Bowl half-time show »

There are “Real Housewives,” “Mob Wives,” “Basketball Wives” and even “Sister Wives.”

Next up: TLC has picked up “Preacher Wives.”

True Entertainment, which produces “The Real Housewives of Atlanta,” will handle this Atlanta-based series. The press release notes that they are “outspoken ladies who work to ensure that their churches run as smooth as Southern-churned butter.”

Information is sketchy beyond that. TLC said production has not begun and a launch date has not been made though it will likely be in the fourth quarter. I’m not clear if the cast has even been set yet. Spokeswoman Laurie Goldberg declined to comment.

EW got the exclusive on this news.

TLC has ordered a new program that follows strong-willed Atlanta women with leadership roles in the city’s religious community. The women on the show manage day-to-day politics at churches, help troubled or needy congregants, and hire and fire staff. Some even step up to the pulpit to sermonize.

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Continue reading TLC picks up Atlanta-based reality show called ‘Preacher Wives’ »

Ryan Seacrest at the CES show last month. He is now a partner with Clear Channel Media. CREDIT: AP

If you didn’t already know that Dunwoody High School graduate Ryan Seacrest is far more than just an “American Idol” host, here’s the proof:

Clear Channel Media today announced it was becoming a minority partner in Ryan Seacrest Media, infusing up to $300 million into his business through its two major investors, Thomas H. Lee Partners and Bain Capital. That money will buy and develop companies, content and other properties.

Ryan Seacrest Media, in TV production, has had one big home run: the successful Kardashian shows on E! He also helps put together the New Year’s show with Dick Clark. Other less successful ventures include ABC’s “Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution” and E!’s “Denise Richards: It’s Complicated.” Two new shows are forthcoming: “Melissa and Tye: A New Reality” for CMT and Bravo’s “Shahs of Sunset.”

Seacrest already has deep ties with Clear Channel, which is …

Continue reading Ryan Seacrest gets $300 million for his business from Clear Channel »

TABATHA'S TAKEOVER — Pictured: Tabatha — Bravo Photo: Mitch Haaseth

Tabatha Coffey last year made her first foray into metro Atlanta, fixing up three businesses for her fourth season of the Bravo show “Tabatha Takes Over.”

The first one to air is tonight at 10 p.m. on Bravo: Pat’s Hair Shop in Douglasville, which has been run by the same person for 27 years.

Pat Duke, 55, founded the hair salon in 1985 without a big plan. It just worked. “I had fun,” she said in an interview last week. “I became part of this community. I watched kids grow up to have their own kids and their kids have kids. I loved the camaraderie of a group of women and doing good, honest work.”

But half her staff – mostly the veterans – walked out on her in 2010. She’s had to downsize and is in major financial trouble. She said she’s still confused about what had happened and has not recovered from it.

So did Tabatha save her salon when she came in last summer? It sure sounds like it. …

Continue reading Bravo’s Tabatha Coffey tries to fix up a Douglasville hair salon in tonight’s episode »