American Idol Welcomes Back Ruben Studdard
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, News,
Sometimes it’s nice to get a little help from old friends…
This year, American Idol will be welcoming back a familiar name to their Top 12 shows: Ruben Studdard. Although the Season 2 winner won’t necessarily be seen during the twice-weekly broadcasts, he will have a large (no pun intended) presence.
The R&B singer - who hasn’t had much luck lately with his own career - will now be the voice you hear when a sad soul gets their marching papers. Remember that ubiquitous Daniel Powter song, “Bad Day”? Now we’ll be struggling to get Studdard’s voice out of our heads.
Producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (probably best known for their work on Janet Jackson’s ‘Control’ album) will be helping to craft Ruben’s farewell song. The tune will be a cover of Kenny Loggins’ “Celebrate Me Home.” (Most of you might remember Loggins’ own connection to Idol; he once served as a guest judge during the program’s early audition phase.)
Those interested in purchasing a copy of the new single can do so starting March 12 on iTunes.
Hollywood Reporter
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Did American Idol Spill the Elimination Secrets?
Posted by K.C. Morgan Categories: Music, Prime Time, Reality, FOX, American Idol, Rumors,
This is really interesting. Since the Top 24 Idols were revealed, American Idol has over-promoted its new deal with iTunes to be sure everyone in the world knows how to get these performances for themselves. But on Wednesday, before the Thursday elimination results were revealed, the Idol page on the iTunes Store was mysteriously missing two singers: Robbie Carrico and Jason Yeager.
All contestant performances are supposed to be available through iTunes, but the mistake goes deeper than a simple error. During the Thursday results show, Robbie and Jason just happened to be the two guys who got the boot. The iTunes error was corrected Thursday, but not before the cat was let out of the proverbial bag.
Want to know who’s leaving, but can’t wait for Thursday shows? Apparently, all you’ve got to do is see who gets kicked off the iTunes page.
American Idol blog
‘Gossip Girl’ Fans To Get a Full Season
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: Drama, Prime Time, The CW, Announcements,
Strong word-of-mouth has earned CW newbie, Gossip Girl, a full-season order. The Josh Schwartz (Chuck) series is a perfect replacement for those who loved his last production, The O.C. The show stars Blake Lively (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) as Serena van der Woodsen, a girl who returns to her vicious private school after mysteriously leaving town. Leighton Meester plays Blair Waldorf, Serena’s former best friend and current frenemy.
The catty series has so far proven to be a much darker version of our typical teenage dramas (imagine The O.C. plus Heathers). And with voyeuristic narration supplied by the anonymous ‘gossip girl’, things get to be so much cattier.
For those who have not yet watched the series, it’s not too late. The first two episodes are currently hot iTunes downloads. Once you get yourself caught up, you can find Gossip Girl on Wednesdays @ 9pm on The CW. I promise you—the backstabbing here is much more exciting than that Private Practice/Bionic Woman battle. Plus - you’ll come to learn valuable fashion lessons. Had I not watched last week, how would I have known that blue eyeshadow was back?
Read More 
| TV Guide
Apple May Lower Price for TV Show Downloads
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: NBC, Internet,
Despite a severed relationship with NBC Universal, Apple is supposedly considering lowered prices for iTunes users. (Lack of pricing flexibility had been a point of contention in the NBC failed negotiations). Currently, downloads of television shows cost $1.99/each. If changes are made, consumers may soon pay only $0.99 for song and episode purchases.
It’s expected that many entertainment companies will balk at the proposal fearing slashed prices would hurt their bottom line. Why would fans still purchase boxed-set DVDs if packaging a season online proves more cost-effective? But Apple conversely believes that reducing prices would actually boost revenue for all parties involved.
There’s no indication at this time when or if this strategy may ever take effect.
Read More | Variety
NBC Leaves Apple, Turns to Amazon
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: NBC, Announcements, Internet, News,
After severing ties with Apple, NBC Universal has forged a relationship with Amazon.com. So fans in need of a missed show can now turn to Amazon’s ‘Unbox’ service for their fix. NBC claims this new partnership allows for more pricing flexibility and packaged content.
To whet your appetite, the network will be allowing fans to download for free pilots of their new fall shows (including those for Bionic Woman, Chuck and Life). Interestingly enough, later episodes will then be available for $1.99 (the same price made familiar by iTunes).
Be looking for those new pilots come next Monday (September 10th).
Read More | Hollywood Reporter
NBC Programs No Longer Available Via iTunes
Posted by Veronica Santiago Categories: NBC, Heroes, The Office, Announcements, Video,
Forget to Tivo the latest episode of The Office? Lose this week’s Heroes due to a power outage? If you find yourself in one of these predicaments this fall, don’t be looking to iTunes to save your butt.
A dispute over money has severed ties between the Peacock Network and Apple. It’s reported that NBC Universal wanted a dramatic price increase for their shows in their latest contract (over twice the wholesale cost). According to Apple, this would have raised the consumer price-per-show from $1.99 to $4.99. Although the current agreement expires at the end of 2007, Apple has elected to stop offering any new NBC programs before the 2007-08 season even begins.
It’ll be interesting to see which side, if any, caves in first. Though NBC’s programming accounts for approximately 40% of iTunes’ video downloads, many of its shows have greatly benefited by this popular viewing method. And let’s not forget—NBC is still considered the fourth place network.
Read More | Seattle PI
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