This was posted Monday, December 5, 2016 by Rodney Ho on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Sundance Head is in a solid position to make it to the finals of "The Voice" nearly a decade after performing on "American Idol." He will be vying for the top four spots among the final eight tonight.
He and fellow country singer Billy Gilman seem to be locks to win season 13.
Head has a warm voice and a likable personality. He even made Alicia Keys' R&B pop hit "No One' his own, as Paula Abdul might say. He's come a long way from "Idol," when he fell short of the finals, making the top 16 season six. (Believe it or not, the now-defunct "Idol" mock site "Vote for the Worst" had Head as their pick for three weeks running. And this was the year Sanjaya Malakar had that on lockdown for weeks.)
This past week, Head opted for a classic 1972 Tom T. Hall song "Me and Jesus," a song that I'm certain has never been sung on a reality competition show, which in this day and age is a good thing. He is Blake Shelton's final team member remaining and could very well take home the crown.
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Kelly Clarkson got emotional on the "Today" show today singing "It's Quiet Uptown" from the "Hamilton" mix tape. The song is about Alexander Hamilton's son dying. She recorded it right as she was about to have her second son.
Even if you have never heard a "Hamilton" song, this is worth a listen. Hey, it's Kelly Clarkson. As we know, she could sing Donald Trump tweets and make it work.
She also performed Thursday for the National Tree Lighting Ceremony at the White House. It airs tonight on the Hallmark Channel. I'll post her performance next time around.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Jennifer Hudson is prepping for "Hairspray Live" this Wednesday night at 8 p.m. on NBC as Motormouth Maybelle.
Here is an excerpt from a Q&A in Parade. (read the entire interview here.)
Hairspray was originally a 1980s movie musical, then a Broadway play and then another movie. Do its themes of inclusion and diversity make it very “today”?
I think so. Obviously, it’s a situation that is very present at the moment. I think it will have a very powerful impact and give the story that much more meaning.
How did they entice you to be a part of Hairspray?
It didn't take too much enticing, to be honest. The art of it alone is a reason to want to be a part of it. Hairspray is a musical classic, and the undertones of what the story is about are the icing on the cake.
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Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood, who toured together nearly a decade ago, reunited in Australia.
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Credit: Rodney Ho
Credit: Rodney Ho
Clay Aiken is trying to raise $100,0o0 for an old friend Jerome Bell, who was recently injured in a forklift accident in Atlanta and lost his left leg. He is about 1/4 there. You can contribute on this site and read his story.
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Decided to see what now 29-year-old Diana DeGarmo (formerly of Snellville, runner up season 3) is up to so I checked her Twitter and Instagram accounts. She's been in South Korea performing "Jekyll & Hyde!" She's there for almost the entire month of December!
She plays Lucy Harris. According to the Jeckyll musical wiki, here's her role:
Lucy is a pivot point in the piece for both Jekyll and Hyde. She is the epitome of the carnal desire within each of them
She is also experiencing what a Korean spa is like:
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