Taylor Swift to host, perform on “Saturday Night Live” tonight
Taylor Swift (Associated Press photo)
Country music starlet Taylor Swift will host and perform tonight on ”Saturday Night Live.”
“I’ve been thinking about skit ideas for a long time,” Swift, 19, told the Associated Press last month. “There are definitely some hilarious things that have happened to me over the past couple of months that I think will be pretty substantial skits.”
The only question is who will play Kanye West, since it’s hard to imagine that the “Not Ready for Primetime Players” won’t want to spoof West’s buffoonery at this fall’s MTV Video Music Awards, when he memorably hijacked Swift’s acceptance speech.
“SNL” airs at 10:30 p.m. on NBC (KFOR-4 in Oklahoma City).
For more TV news, visit Penny Soldan’s always informative blog at http://blog.newsok.com/television.
-BAM
BAM’s college football favorites for Nov. 7, 2009
OSU quarterback Zac Robinson (Photo by Bryan Terry/The Oklahoman)
After a disappointing loss to Texas last week, my Oklahoma State Cowboys will take on Iowa State Cyclones at 2:30 p.m. today in Ames, Iowa. The game will air on ABC.
It’s been a tough week for the No. 19 Cowboys and their fans. After getting blown out last week by the Longhorns, the Cowboy Nation learned this week that All-American wide receive Dez Bryant’s final appeal for reinstatement this season has been denied. That means he most likely will enter the NFL draft. Who can blame him? He could come back and play for OSU next year, but why would he put himself under the fickle authority of the NCAA ever again?
The No. 24 University of Oklahoma Sooners will travel to Nebraska to play longtime rivals the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The game will kick off at 7 tonight and air on ABC.
The No. 1 University of Florida Gators, the McDonnell family’s traditional favorite team, will try to stay undefeated today as they take on Vanderbilt at home in the Swamp. The game will kick off at 6:15 p.m. and air on ESPN2.
Good luck to all my favorite teams.
“Twilight Saga: New Moon” actress Rachelle Lefevre campaigning for animal adoption
Rachelle Lefevre (Associated Press photo)
“The Twilight Saga: New Moon” actress Rachelle Lefevre and her friend, Johnny, a rescue dog, will be urging people to “Adopt Don’t’ Shop” in a series of public service announcements for Best Friends Animal Society debuting Dec. 1 in New York’s Times Square on the jumbo video billboard, Geoffrey Tron.
Lefevre, who plays vampire villainess in the movie “Twilight,” as well as its soon-to-be-released sequel, “New Moon,” is the star of 30-second and 60-second spots that will be distributed to television and radio stations across the country. She will also serve as national spokesperson for Best Friends’ “Puppies Aren’t Products” campaign, which draws attention to the fact that pet shops around the country are selling puppies that come from large commercial breeding operations known as “puppy mills” with deplorable conditions.
“I’m delighted to help speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves,” Lefevre said in a news release. ”Ever since I rescued my own dog I have wanted to encourage people to do the same. Working with Best Friends is the perfect way to do this and I’m excited and proud to be working with an organization so dedicated to animal kindness.”
The PSAs will be distributed to about 1,400 television and cable stations, plus another 1,250 radio stations. Best Friends Animal Society is known for its leading initiatives and community programs in animal welfare, as well as operating the largest companion animal sanctuary in the United States.
“Puppy mills are directly linked to pet overpopulation in the United States, which contributes to the fact that approximately 4,000 dogs are put down in shelters every day,” Lefevre said in the release. “We hope that our message of ‘adopt don’t shop’ resonates with the general public so we can bring that number down substantially.”
The goal of the “Puppies Aren’t Products” campaign is to reduce the number of homeless animals by fighting against puppy mills and irresponsible breeding.
“We are so fortunate to have Rachelle giving a voice to the animals as our national spokesperson,” said Vicki Kilmer-Rinker, director of marketing for Best Friends Animal Society, in the release. “Our goal is to increase awareness of where pet store puppies come from, especially as we approach the holiday season when so many families think about adding a family pet.”
Lefevre, who has a wide range of credits in movies and television, moved to Los Angeles when she landed the female lead in the Fox comedy series “Life on a Stick.” She went on to appear in multiple episodes of acclaimed series “Boston Legal” and “Swingtown.” On the big screen, she appeared in a diverse range of roles including opposite Stephen Dillane in the Holocaust era drama “Fugitive Pieces” based on the international best-selling novel by Anne Michaels and comedy “The Pool Boys” opposite Tom Arnold and Matthew Lillard.
Lefevre will be seen next in “Casino Jack,” opposite Kevin Spacey and “Barney’s Version” opposite Paul Giamatti. But she will not reprise her role as Victoria in the third “Twilight” film “Eclipse”; Summit Entertainment created a bit of a furor earlier this fall when it replaced Lefevre with Bryce Dallas Howard due to scheduling conflicts
In addition to working with Best Friends Animal Society, Lefevre is involved with the literacy organization “School on Wheels” and is an “Ambassador for the Cure” with The Susan G. Komen Foundation.
I’m just returning from Los Angeles, where I participated in interviews with many of the cast and crew of “New Moon,” though Lefevre wasn’t among them for obvious reasons. Look for several posts from those interviews as Nov. 20, the opening date for “New Moon,” draws nearer.
-BAM
Rascal Flatts closes 2009 tour, sells 550,000 tickets
Rascal Flatts (Associated Press photo)
Top-selling country band Rascal Flatts, which includes Joe Don Rooney of Picher, wrapped the first leg of the “Rascal Flatts American Living Unstoppable Tour” last weekend. The tour sold 550,000 tickets in 39 shows since it began in June, according to a news release.
This total includes the two sold-out stadium concerts at Chicago’s Wrigley Field and Columbus, Ohio’s Crew Stadium. From January of this year, the band has sold more than a million concert tickets, bringing the trio’s four-year total to more than 4 million tickets sold.
Critics claimed their live shows were a huge success. The Minneapolis Pioneer Press said, “the biggest band in country employed showers of sparks, a well-lit runway that ran the length of the arena’s main floor, and big screens bedecked with images of misty moors and words like “passion,” “faith” and “courage.” And it all fit well with their songs, which assign weighty import to the events of everyday life through carpe diem lyrics, every chorus screamed out with vein-popping urgency.” “Rascal Flatts is a dominant country band for a reason. The songs are catchy and the musicianship is some of the best in ANY genre,” claimed the Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Dallas Morning News said, “The show is high-energy, flat-out from the get-go.”
Next up for Rascal Flatts are nominations for Group of the Year at next Wednesday’s CMA Awards (watch the Country Music Association’s awards show on ABC and follow the live-blog here) and Country Group of the Year and Country Album of the Year at the American Music Awards (Nov. 22 on ABC).
Rascal Flatts newest CD, “Unstoppable,” has been certified platinum for sales in excess of 1 million. The CD launched as the group’s fourth consecutive studio album to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, more than any other country artist in the history of Soundscan. This brings the band’s career album sales to a staggering 20 million units in just this decade, and the group has amassed 22.5 million digital downloads.
Rascal Flatts is the biggest-selling and grossing group in country music history and has been named a Billboard Top Ten Touring Act in all genres with more venue attendance records than any other country act.
-BAM
Jamey Johnson-Kid Rock duet, Martina McBride added to CMA Awards performers’ list
Jamey Johnson
Kid Rock
Martina McBride
The performer lineup for the Country Music Association’s 43rd Annual CMA Awards gets even more star-studded with the announcement that Kid Rock will join four-time nominee Jamey Johnson in their first televised duet.
Kid Rock will also present an award during the evening.
In addition, four-time Female Vocalist of the Year winner Martina McBride will perform.
Nine-time CMA Award winners The Judds, Country Music Hall of Fame member Kris Kristofferson, and six-time CMA Award winner Lee Ann Womack have been added as presenters.
The 43rd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Brad Paisley and Oklahoma native Carrie Underwood, will air live from the Sommet Center in Nashville from 7 to 10 p.m. Wednesday on the ABC Television Network. You can follow along with my live-blog of the show here at BAM’s Blog.
Performers already announced include Oklahomans Brooks & Dunn, which includes former Tulsan Ronnie Dunn, Vince Gill, who will perform with rock band Daughtry, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, and Carrie Underwood.
Other performers include Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney and Dave Mathews, Billy Currington, , Lady Antebellum, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, George Strait, Sugarland, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, and Zac Brown Band.
Previously announced presenters include Dale Earnhardt Jr.; stars of ABC’s “The Middle” Neil Flynn and Patricia Heaton; Julianne Hough; nominee Randy Houser (for both New Artist and Music Video of the Year for “Boots On”); nominee Jake Owen (New Artist of the Year); Kellie Pickler; LeAnn Rimes; and ABC News’s Robin Roberts, co-anchor of “Good Morning America” and host of the upcoming “Robin Roberts: Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville” ABC television special (airing Nov. 10). Love And Theft will host the Pre-Telecast Awards.
Johnson is nominated in four categories: New Artist, Album (for his Gold-certified That Lonesome Song), and Single and Song (both for “In Color” which he co-wrote with Lee Thomas Miller and James Otto). He won Song of the Year in 2007 for co-writing the Strait hit “Give It Away” with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon.
Kid Rock was nominated along with Sheryl Crow in 2003 for Vocal Event of the Year for their song “Picture.” The artist, who has sold more than 25 million albums, performed on the CMA Awards last year and at 2009 CMA Music Festival in June. His most recent album is the three-times-Platinum-certified Rock N Roll Jesus.
McBride is nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, an Award she has received four times (1999, 2002-2004), tying her with Reba McEntire for the most wins in that category. The singer/songwriter/producer also won Music Video of the Year in 1994 for “Independence Day.” McBride, whose current album is Shine, has sold more than 18 million albums.
-BAM
Carrie Underwood writes more on new album “Play On”
A version of this story appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Carrie Underwood’s got the write stuff for new album
Underwood co-wrote seven of 13 titles on her New album, ‘Play On’
Between the No. 1 hits and the TV appearances, the magazine covers and the red carpet fashions, music fans can be forgiven for forgetting that country superstar Carrie Underwood was once an aspiring journalist.
But the credits for her new album “Play On” serve as a pointed reminder that the Oklahoma native was sharpening her pen long before she won “American Idol” in 2005.
“I got a lot of practice writing in general, especially in college. You know, in high school I wrote for the school paper, in college I wrote for the school paper, and was always busy writing stories,” she said in a September press conference at her Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame induction in Muskogee.
Underwood, 26, co-wrote seven of the 13 songs on “Play On,” her third album. She helped pen four tracks on her second record, 2007’s “Carnival Ride,” and one on her 2005 debut “Some Hearts.”
“This one, I had a lot more time to do a lot more writing, and I feel like I’m a lot more comfortable in myself as a writer. That just happens — the more you do it, the better, the easier it gets, I suppose,” said Underwood, who received her mass communications degree from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah almost a year after she won the reality TV singing contest.
“Play On,” released Tuesday, has been one of the fall’s most anticipated country albums — for good reason. Since winning the fourth season of “Idol,” Underwood has sold more than 10 million records, notched 10 No. 1 hits from her first two albums and won four Grammy Awards, as well as myriad other industry accolades. On Nov. 11, she will co-host and compete for two honors at the Country Music Association’s 43rd Annual CMA Awards.
While she is best known for belting out feisty breakup songs, uplifting anthems and soaring ballads, Underwood is demonstrating a knack for helping craft her hits. Three songs she co-wrote for “Carnival Ride” — “So Small,” “All-American Girl” and “Last Name” — topped the country charts.
For “Play On,” she set out to stretch her songwriting skills.
“I kind of branched out and wrote with a lot of people that I’ve never even met before — people that weren’t even necessarily involved in country music,” she said. “We’d take like me and a good friend of mine who I’d written with before who is a staple in country music and then kind of bring another element to it, which was a lot of fun.”
For instance, she penned “Cowboy Casanova” with respected Nashville songsmith Brett James, who also co-wrote her Grammy-winning hit “Jesus, Take the Wheel,” and hip-hop writer/producer Mike Elizondo, known for his work with Dr. Dre, Eminem and 50 Cent. The saucy lead-off single zipped into the top five in just seven weeks on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
“This is probably the fifth song I’ve written with Carrie and she’s just delightful. She’s a fantastic person, she’s a fantastic singer, obviously an amazing singer, and she’s a really, really great songwriter,” said James, who grew up in Oklahoma City and Cordell.
The songstress also wrote with rockers Raine Maida of My Lady Peace on the lovely ballad “Unapologize” and Zac Maloy, former frontman of Oklahoma City band The Nixons, on the spiritual tearjerker “Temporary Home.”
“I had to be a fan,” she said of Maloy. “I was like, ‘I saw you when I was in high school.’ So, it was a lot of fun for me to work with him.”
Underwood, who counts fellow Oklahoman Garth Brooks as one of her idols, remains unapologetic for making rock- and pop-flavored country music.
“Right now in country music is a great time for a lot of different kinds of country music,” she said. “If you turn on the radio you can find something you like, whether you like things that are more kind of contemporary country, or you find more things that are traditional country or more kind of rock-influenced.”
But she acknowledged her mix-and-match approach to choosing songwriting partners didn’t always work.
“Sometimes we’d get things that were like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is new and fresh and awesome,’ and sometimes it was like, ‘Whoa — what have we done?’ she said. “Most of those you’ll probably never hear — that’s why they were ‘whoa, what have we done moments.’ But it was a great learning experience.”
Among the collaborations that didn’t make it onto the album were songs she co-wrote with fellow Oklahoma native and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill.
“It was still an investment in somebody you like, and a neat kid who’s got her head on straight. And you just root for her,” said Gill, who sings on her new track “Look at Me.”
“She’s all things good.”
Contributing: Assistant Entertainment Editor George Lang.
-BAM
Vince Gill talks Will Rogers, musical diversity and more before receiving Sunday award
From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.
Oklahoma musician Vince Gill to receive Will Rogers Spirit Award in Tulsa
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Vince Gill considers humorist/cowboy/social commentator Will Rogers “the coolest Okie in history.”
So, it’s fitting that the Oklahoma-born country music star is traveling from Nashville back to his home state this weekend to receive the 2009 Will Rogers Spirit Award from the Rotary Club of Will Rogers. The club, along with members of Rogers’ family, will present the award to Gill during a gala Sunday night at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa.
“We look for somebody who exemplifies the spirit of Will Rogers,” said gala committee member Lucy Cravens. “He’s raised a lot of money for a lot of different organizations.”
The “roast and toast,” themed “Oklahoma Swing” after the Gill hit, will feature friends and colleagues of the star performing and speaking in his honor.
For Gill, 52, getting an award named for Rogers, who famously declared “I never met a man I didn’t like,” is a great compliment.
“I don’t know that they’re actually comparing you to (Will Rogers), but you do hopefully some decent things for people and live life for other people instead of just yourself. And that’s all I’ve ever really tried to do is if somebody needs a hand up, you give it to ‘em. And if somebody needs you to help out, you help ‘em out. That just seems like a commonsense way of life,” Gill said in a phone interview from his Nashville home. “That to me comes from where I’m from.”
The Country Music Hall of Famer and his wife, fellow singer Amy Grant, are known for lending their talents to an array of philanthropic projects. The couple this year hosted a concert in Washington, D.C., to benefit Challenge America, a charity working with injured veterans. Since 1993, Gill has hosted his own pro-celebrity golf tournament, “The Vinny,” to support junior golf programs.
He has been busy this year working with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. He not only serves as president of the museum’s board of officers and trustees, he also is the creator and driving force behind its “All for the Hall” fundraising initiative.
“I asked everybody to just when they’re playing out there and they’re doing 125 shows a year, just say, hey, while we’re in Omaha, we’re going to play for free and just take the proceeds from that show and give it to the hall of fame,” he said. “Because it was always my belief that the reason I ever played music was because of how much I loved it. It was never how much I could get out of it.”
On Oct. 1, Gill joined Emmylou Harris, Dwight Yoakam, Melissa Etheridge and others in Los Angeles for the third annual “All for the Hall” guitar pull, in which the musicians traded off playing new and favorite songs.
A few days later, Gill and fellow star Keith Urban co-hosted the sold-out “We’re All for the Hall” benefit concert at Nashville’s Sommet Center. The event, which also featured Taylor Swift, Faith Hill and Brad Paisley, raised more than $500,000.
“It created a tremendous amount of attention and I think it’ll be like dominoes. I think that it’ll inspire a lot of other people to do the same thing,” Gill said.
The 20-time Grammy winner finds inspiration in working with musicians and singers from across genres. He will perform with rock band Daughtry on the Country Music Association’s 43rd Annual CMA Awards, which will air Nov. 11 on ABC. They will play their country-rock collaboration “Tennessee Line,” featured on the band’s new album “Leave This Town.”
He said frontman Chris Daughtry asked him to lend his voice to the song after a mutual friend, singer-songwriter Richard Marx, suggested it.
“Not everything I do is country, you know. I’ve worked with Barbra Streisand, I’ve worked with Ralph Stanley, I’ve worked with Daughtry, I’ve worked with Mark Knopfler,” Gill said.
“That creates its own versatility, being willing to go play bluegrass with Del McCoury and then sit down at a jazz piano with Diana Krall and rock as hard as you want with Mark. … It’s just an open mind is all that’s created all those kind of relationships. And I’m prouder of that anything I’ve accomplished my own. The reason I learned to play music was to play it with other people.”
Former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker praised the Oklahoma native for his musical generosity, noting that Gill sang on his debut country album last year.
“Vince is the coolest guy on the planet,” Rucker said. “There’s not a lot of people who are the real deal … and Vince is the real deal.”
Going on
The Rotary Club of Will Rogers’ 2009 Gala “Oklahoma Swing”
What: Honoring Will Rogers Spirit Award winner Vince Gill.
Benefiting: Proceeds will go in part to Blue Star Mothers of America Inc., Oklahoma Chapter 1.
When: 5:30 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Cain’s Ballroom, 423 N Main, Tulsa.
Cost: $125 for individual tickets.
Information: (918) 749-6661 or www.willrogersrotary.org.
-BAM
Steve Martin, Alec Baldwin to host Oscars
The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences has announced that funnymen Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will co-host the 82nd Oscars on March 7, 2010.
As EW.com reports, Oscar telecast producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman said in a statement: “We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars. Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.”
Martin, who lately has been exploring his music career as a serious banjo player, previously hosted the 73rd and 75th Oscar shows. “30 Rock” star Baldwin will be a first-time Oscars host, though he was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for “The Cooler.”
According to EW.com, this is what they had to say about their new job:
Martin: “I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin.”
Baldwin: “I don’t play the banjo but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it’s the opportunity of a lifetime.”
-BAM
Video: Carrie Underwood kicks off series of TV appearances
Oklahoma native and country star Carrie Underwood kicked off a series of several TV appearances Monday night on “The Late Show with David Letterman.”
In the next month or so, Underwood will perform songs from her new album “Play On,” releasing today, on several shows. She also will be profiled in an episode of “Biography,” play two different awards shows and co-host the CMA Awards and host her first Christmas special.
Here is a list of her TV appearances:
Yesterday The Late Show with David Letterman
Today Good Morning America- live in New York
Nov 5 Live! with Regis & Kelly
Nov 10 Good Morning America- live in Nashville
Nov 10 “In The Spotlight with Robin Roberts: Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville”- ABC Special
Nov 11 43rd Annual CMA Awards
Nov 12 A&E “Biography- Carrie Underwood”
Nov 16 The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien
Nov 18 The Ellen DeGeneres Show
Nov 19 Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Nov 22 American Music Awards
Dec 7 “Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special” on Fox
If you want more TV news, check out Penny Soldan’s TV blog at http://blog.newsok.com/television.
-BAM
Martina McBride to appear on “Oprah” today
Superstar Martina McBride makes her second appearance on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in barely a week today.
The country singer appeared last Monday, Oct. 26 on Oprah’s State Fair of Texas episode. The show as actually taped two weeks prior to the airdate. But McBride got the call on a Friday and by Monday morning was on the Texas stage singing, according to a news release.
She follows that performance with an Oprah segment that takes the country star back to her home state of Kansas with only a couple days notice.
The theme of today’s show is celebrities’ first jobs. In her teens, McBride served up ice cream and burgers at her hometown DQ. Oprah’s crew took the singer back to revisit the Hutchinson, Kan., Dairy Queen, which is still owned by the same couple who employed Martina after high school.
“Getting the call to be on Oprah’s show twice in such a short time period was exciting,” says McBride in the release. “I’ve done Texas and Kansas … maybe Oklahoma is next.”
She may not star in an Oprah episode here in the Sooner State, but McBride is indeed Oklahoma bound. McBride’s “Shine All Night Tour” presented by SunnyD and co-starring Trace Adkins kicks off Nov. 20 and covers 40 cities across the U.S. through the spring of 2010. The tour will come to Oklahoma City’s Ford Center on Dec. 5. Both McBride and Adkins will perform full-length shows. Go to www.shineallnight.com for tour dates, exclusive content and more.
McBride also recently taped a segment in Nashville for “In The Spotlight With Robin Roberts: Bright Lights. Big Stars. All Access Nashville.” The ABC TV special will give viewers an unprecedented, all-access pass into the homes and private lives of country music’s biggest stars, and will introduce America to the up-and-coming singer-songwriters working to become Nashville’s next hit sensations. The special will air at 9 p.m. Nov. 10 on ABC.
McBride is currently nominated for CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, an award she has won 4 times, tying her with Reba McEntire for the most wins. The 2009 CMA Awards will air at 7 p.m. Nov. 11 on ABC.
Want to know about other celebrities appearing on TV talk shows? Go to Penny Soldan’s TV blog at http://blog.newsok.com/television.
-BAM
