Posted on Saturday, January 13, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Carrie Underwood's original "The Champion" song will air during the Super Bowl on February 4 on NBC. And bonus! Atlanta legend Ludacris adds a rap interlude.
"I think it's going to become a sports anthem," "Super Bowl" executive producer Fred Guadelli told Variety . "It's going to be one of those songs that you see cut to highlights for the next 25 years."
Over the past five years, she has also sung the Sunday Night Football intro.
***
Credit: Getty Images
Credit: Getty Images
NBC isn't stupid. They carted out "American Idol" winner Kelly Clarkson before the television critics to say, yes, she is on "The Voice," not "American Idol" now.
The sweet charmer will be a coach on the show starting February 26. She was joined on stage by season 12 winner Chris Blue, who is now managed by fellow coach Alicia Keys. (This is clearly a way for "The Voice" to say that it really doesn't ignore the winners, as some critics have said.)
Variety picked out some of her best quotes. She never had interest in "judging" contestants. She likes the way "The Voice" coaches are far more supportive. And she likes the part where the coach beg contestants to pick them to join their team: "It's hilarious how much we grovel."
She noted that her two babies prevented her from making it to "The Voice" sooner, though she has guest coached before.
And it's good to know that she is fine with fans coming up to her in public.
“It’s that cool moment when someone in Target comes up to me and says ‘Oh my god I’ve been singing all my life.’ It’s a really cool thing to be a part of.”
Clarkson also waded into tricky territory on a New York radio station by saying she isn't against spanking.
"I don't mean hitting her hard," Clarkson said in an interview with New York's 98.9 The Buzzr adio station. "I just mean a little spanking." She said her parents spanked her and she came out okay.
***
Credit: Getty Images
Credit: Getty Images
At TCA, ABC hosted a party for TV critics with the "Idol" judges, who did an impromptu version of "I'll Be There." You can watch Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie here.
To prove how insignificant the show had become by the end, a reporter asked the judges if they could name any of the three final winners. Nobody tried. I could name Trent Harmon and Nick Fradiani but right now, I have to admit I had to look up season 13 winner Caleb Johnson's name.
Naturally, they all want to find the next Adam Lambert or Carrie Underwood. Who wouldn't? "We are wasting our time if we don't find another star," Perry said.
Not surprisingly, bad singers won't get much airtime, similar to the way "Idol" approached the show in its latter years, said Trish Kinane, the show's executive producer. (Of course, William Hung is a huge fan of bad singers.)
The show, by the way, looks to be prepping for Hollywood Week starting January 15, according to MJ's Big Blog.
The show will air 11 weeks, first on Sunday and Monday nights starting March 11, then at some point will cut back to just Sunday. The two-night finale is set to air May 20 and 21. During its peak years on Fox, the show would run close to 20 weeks. Season 3 aired a whopping 44 episodes, eating up more than 60 hours of airtime.
***
Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
And here's sad news: Crystal Bowersox's childhood home in Ohio went up in flames.
Bowersox created a gofundme account for her mother, Kelly Lynn Bowlander, who lost all her belongings to the fire. They reached the $10,000 goal today.
"What was once a rustic, well-lived in farmhouse given to my mother by her father, is now nothing but a pile of unsalvageable debris,” Bowersox wrote. "My heart aches for her, and for the loss of the irreplaceable family heirlooms and photos."
***
Clay Aiken Tweet of the week.
About the Author
