LOS ANGELES (AP) – The brother who refused to speak in “Little Miss Sunshine” will play Brian Wilson in a movie about Wilson’s life. The Hollywood Reporter reports Paul Dano has been cast as Wilson in the film “Love and Mercy.” The script will focus on Wilson’s mental illness and relationship with his wife Melinda. Dano will portray Wilson as a young man. The older Wilson has not yet been cast. Wilson’s music will be used in the film, which will start shooting in early summer.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Billy Joel, Maroon 5, Willie Nelson, Fleetwood Mac and Hall & Oates are among the acts headlining this year’s New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival. The outdoor spring music event features hundreds of jazz, gospel, R&B, Cajun and zydeco musicians. Festival favorites Irma Thomas, jazz singer and pianist Allen Toussaint and Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews are among the many local artists performing. A number of national acts are also scheduled including Earth Wind & Fire, Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Jill Scott, Widespread Panic and B.B. King. The festival kicks off on April 26 and runs through May 5.
CHICAGO (AP) – How to get a golden ticket to Hollywood? Win over the “American Idol” judges before you start singing. One Idol hopeful just had to tell the judges her name, Mariah. Mariah Carey told her they were part of an exclusive club. She makes it. So does a 15-year-old named Isabelle, who cut school for her audition. She got Keith Urban to sing a duet with her. One guy who auditioned could barely talk. But he could sing. Lazaro Arbos has a severe stutter and was the last person to audition in Chicago. He gets a golden ticket to Hollywood, along with 45 others. Another usual story concerned Clifton Duffin. His parents had never heard him sing before. The judges invited his folks in during the audition. He makes and Nicki Minaj says Clifton will inspire others to come out of their shells. Forty-six singers move on from the Chicago auditions. Next week, Idol moves to Charlotte, North Carolina.
JASON: How cool was that to see Clifton’s parents hear their son sing for the first time? Loved that moment. And Isabelle (duet partner for Keith Urban) was very cute and charming…but she seemed to be copying the Zooey Deschanel vocal style on “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” I wonder how she’ll do in Hollywood when there are lots of different musical genres to conquer…
Who were your favorites last night? Are Mariah and Nicki going to make it to Hollywood week without killing each other? Post your thoughts in the comments section!
JASON: Hey Idol fans! This season we’ll be recapping “American Idol” on The Wakeup Show AND here on panhandlepost.com–updates will be under the KCOW tab. Here’s a recap of the season premiere:
NEW YORK (AP) – The Big Apple sends 41 hopefuls to Hollywood. “American Idol” began its 12th season last night with two hours of auditions in New York City. Frankie Ford from Brooklyn makes it. He’s a professional singer — of sorts. He sings in the New York subways and passes the hat. But James Bae (BAY) from Long Island doesn’t make the cut. He’s not William Hung bad — but he’s close. The 15-year-old James told new judge Nicki Minaj he’s single. While James didn’t get a golden ticket to Hollywood, he did a get a peck on the cheek from Minaj. Tonight, the Idol auditions move to Chicago.
JASON: One thing that really bothered me last night…the contestant who received her audition entry via a surprise pop-in by Randy at a club where she was performing. If you’re gonna go to all the trouble of hand-picking her to audition, you’d think they could have let her try a song without the guitar! She obviously was nervous but I think if she had had time to settle down, she could have done a better vocal and snagged the golden ticket. Leave your thoughts on this (and anything else from last night) in the comments!
I’ll have all my thoughts on the NYC auditions on KCOW at 8:45 this morning. And my “Idol Chatter” cohost Jennifer Schmid will be sharing her thoughts on the air and online in the next few weeks.
Here’s this week’s message from Eagle Radio Alliance/Chadron General Manager Terri Friesen.
Listen:
Today we go Back…To The 80’s! Here’s Cyndi Lauper, her real mother (the one cracking eggs), and pro wrestling legend Captain Lou Albano as her Dad…
With the news that NOBODY is being inducted into the Baseball Hall Of Fame this year, I thought of this old favorite–and although Abbott and Costello are not in the Hall Of Fame, a gold record of their classic baseball routine is.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – The singer-songwriter who made “Chevy Van” a hit in 1975 has died. The Charlotte Observer reports Sammy Johns died Friday at the age of 66. A cause of death was not given. Johns recorded “Chevy Van” in 1973 but it was nearly 18 months later before it was released. It peaked at number five and sold more than 3 million copies. Johns had said the song wasn’t about a specific woman. Johns never had another hit of his own, but he wrote “America” for Waylon Jennings and “Common Man” for John Conlee.
Here’s this week’s message from Eagle Radio Alliance/Chadron General Manager Terri Friesen.
Listen:
Today, one of our favorite “retromercials” from the 70s, as Donny Most (TV’s Ralph Malph) gets his chocolate in some other dude’s peanut butter.
