Betty White (AP photo)

“Saturday Night Live” makes strange bed fellows.

Legendary actress Betty White and hip hop mogul Jay-Z will be the featured guests on the May 8 episode of “SNL” on NBC.

White, 88, will host the show, and Jay-Z will be the musical guest. 

During a press conference, White told reporters “I’m thrilled to meet him. I’m thrilled to hear he’s going to be on the show because he’s the hottest thing since sliced bread.”

White’s appearance on the sketch comedy show stems from a Facebook campaign where fans petitioned to have the “Golden Girls” actress appear on “Saturday Night Live” for the first time.

During the show, several celebrities made appearances on “American Idol” to raise money for the humanitarian efforts around the world.

The celebrities included Carrie Underwood, Black Eyed Peas, Mary J. Blige, Alicia, Elton John, Jennifer Garner, Victoria Beckham, President Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Russell Brand and Queen Latifah, among others.

A photo gallery from the show is posted below. Click the Associated Press images to enlarge them.

Lady Gaga (AP photo)

Lady Gaga will appear on the May 5 episode of “American Idol.”

The pop singer made the announcement on her Twitter page.  She said “See you on American Idol. May 5th, Little Monsters.”

This will be Gaga’s second appearance on the talent show.  Last year, she performed her hit song “Poker Face” on the show.

Mo'Nique (AP photo)

Oscar-winning actress Mo’Nique publicity stated she was molested by her brother when she was a child. 

Her brother, Gerald Imes, stepped forward to admit he molested Mo’Nique.  Imes appeared on the April 19 episode of the “The Oprah Winfrey” Show.  Mo’Nique’s parents also were on the show. 

Excerpts from the interview are posted below. Click here to read the full interview.

“I’m here today to first acknowledge what I’ve been in denial for for 37 years, and that is I did assault and inappropriately touch my sister in manners that were uncomfortable for her.  And for that, I apologize and I’m humbly sorry that those actions had taken place.”

“Most of the time, the abuse that I did with my sister took place while she was asleep or the appearance that she was asleep.”

“I can only hope by coming forth today, since I couldn’t reach out to her, that … somewhere along the line with the apology and the truth of it finally coming out after 37 years, that hopefully somewhere, somehow … we can come back together as brother and sister and say: ‘You know what? This happened. I’m sorry that it happened. I’m sorry that it happened to you, and that I was the perpetrator, the one that did it to you. However, I understand your pain. I, too, was there. Now lets share this together and move on. Let’s help someone else.”

Click here to read the full interview.

Thankfully, Mo’Nique was able to overcome the sexual abuse, and she went on to become a successful television sitcom actress, stand-up comedian, talk show host and film actress.

The performance is posted in the video clip below.

Buble won three awards in the categories for album of the year, single of the year and the fan choice award.  Drake took home two trophies. He won new artist and rap recording of the year.

A photo gallery of Buble and Drake from the Juno Awards is posted below.  Click the Associated Press images to enlarge them. 

Carrie Underwood accepts the Enternainer of the Year award at the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM). (AP photo by Matt Sayles)

The Academy of Country Music Awards aired Sunday night from the MGM Grand hotel in Las Vegas.  Highlights from the show are posted below in the Associated Press story.  For a full recap of the show, go to BAM’s Blog at http://blog.newsok.com/bamsblog.

ASSOCIATED PRESS via NewsOK.

Carrie Underwood made history at the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night, becoming the first woman to win entertainer of the year twice.

Underwood won the show’s top honor last year. This year, she beat out Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, the Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, George Strait and Keith Urban.

Top-selling trio Lady Antebellum were the dominant winners, grabbing five trophies, including song and single record of the year for crossover hit “Need You Now,” while also snapping Rascal Flatts’ seven-year run as best vocal group.

“We are having a blast tonight,” singer Charles Kelly told the crowd after win No. 4. “We love you all. We will never forget this night.”

Lady A came into the awards ceremony at the MGM Grand with a leading seven nominations and had won five of seven possible (they got two trophies for their single record of the year win because they also produced the record, and also got two trophies for their song of the year win because they composed “Need You Now”).

Best bud Miranda Lambert had three trophies on the night. She beat Lady A’s self-titled debut for album of the year with “Revolution.” It was the second time she won the honor; her “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” won album of the year in 2007. She also beat Lady A in the video category with “White Liar” in awards given out Saturday night.

Lambert didn’t get to say much when she won album of the year. She started to address the crowd, then stopped short to make sure producer Frank Liddell got a moment in the spotlight. But as soon as he started to issue thank yous, he was cut off and the camera panned away, eliciting boos from the crowd.

After a commercial break, she came back on stage to perform her latest single, “The House That Built Me,” and got another chance to speak when she won top female vocalist, beating out the likes of Swift and Underwood. The tearful Lambert was in disbelief at her win.

Lady A also had a connection to one of the night’s other winners, Luke Bryan, who nabbed top new artist. Lady A’s Kelley and Dave Haywood helped their good buddy write his hit, “Do I.”

Paisley, after a performance of his single “Water” where he fell backwards into a pool of water on stage, won top male vocalist of the year for the fourth consecutive time.

And Brooks & Dunn, who are retiring after a summer tour, won best vocal duo for the 10th time in their two-decade long career.

“We are currently in therapy with Brett Favre trying to figure out how to waffle on this,” Kix Brooks joked after the win.

The show, held at the MGM Grand, was heavy on performances. It kicked off with Carrie Underwood and Lambert, joined on stage later by Brad Paisley, Charlie Daniels and John Fogerty, who ripped through a rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Travelin’ Band.”

“That’s how you start a television show, son!” shouted Daniels, who recently recovered from a stroke.

Swift began her performance of “Change” while soaring over the crowd on a platform. She ripped off her white dress and reveal a black outfit underneath, made her way through the crowd and joined the Tritones, a college co-ed a capella group on stage for a spirited chorus. She then fell backward into a crowd of fans.

The Zac Brown Band wasn’t able to make a show because of a USO tour in the Middle East. But the band sent video of a performance of “Chicken Fried” from overseas that included altered lyrics aimed at the military.

Keith hit an emotional note with a performance of “Cryin’ For Me (Wayman’s Song),” dedicated to his late friend, jazz artist and former basketball star Wayman Tisdale, who died last May.

The show also had it’s share of non-country celebrities, including LL Cool J, Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn and Las Vegas staple Cher, who goofed when she announced that Blake Shelton had already won a CMA Award – instead of an ACM – the previous evening.

Crystal Bowersox (AP photo)

Crystal Bowersox is considered the front runner on this season’s “American Idol.”  But two weeks ago, Bowersox tried to leave the show because she missed her son back home, and it was an emotional drain.

Idol host Ryan Seacrest confirmed reports that Bowersox tried to leave the show, but Seacrest convinced her to stay.

Seacresttold the E! Network  he found Bowersox in the parking lot, and he told her “The greatest thing I ever did was make enough money so I could buy my mom a house. You can buy your mom a house.”

Meanwhile, Bowersox confirmed the reports on the “American Idol” Facebook page.  She said “We all have moments of doubt. As much as I miss my kid, the big picture is this: I’m doing this for him and my fans. I’m having the time of my life!”

Ryan Seacrest (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)

Brian Dunkleman (AP photo Ray Mickshaw)

Remember way back in the day when there was were two hosts on “American Idol” during the first season in 2002? They were Ryan Seacrest and Brian Dunkleman. 

Dunkleman left the show after the first season and Seacrest was the only host standing. 

If you watched the April 13 episode of “American Idol,” you heard Seacrest make a joke about Dunkleman.  But the joke wasn’t funny whatsoever. It was lame.  Seacrest jokingly told the audience Dunkleman will host a portion of “Idol Gives Back.”

Instead of laughing, the audience members clapped.  During an interview with TV.com, Dunkleman responded to Seacrest’s so called “joke.”

Excerpts from the interview are posted below. 

TV.com:You’ve mentioned that you don’t watch American Idol, but when Ryan Seacrest mentioned your name, you got a pretty warm response from the audience.

Brian Dunkleman: Yeah, that was very cool. People really came to my defense, which is a satisfying thing.

TV.com:Do you think Seacrest intended it as a slight?

Brian Dunkleman:Yeah, I think so, sure—but it was a joke. Well, it was an attempt at a joke. But unfortunately for Ryan, instead of a laugh, he got applause. That’s never really been his strong suit. But it was a joke, and whether it was mean-spirited or not is irrelevant. A joke’s a joke; you can either take it or you can’t. And quite honestly, once you’ve had Jimmy Kimmel say in a monologue that you should be punched in the face, and at this point you’d probably be receptive to a knife in the gut, I think what Seacrest said was pretty tame.

TV.com:Ever since Simon Cowell announced that he’s not coming back this year, Seacrest has seemed a little rambunctious.

Brian Dunkleman:That’s why the timing doesn’t surprise me. Dancing with the Stars has replacedIdol as the number one show for, what, the last two weeks? I’m sure that’s sending Seacrest into a panic. It’s not surprising that he would act crazy to get attention, or throw my name out there—he’s done things like this before.

Click the TV.com link to read the entire interview.

ASSOCIATED PRESS via NewsOK.

(AP photo)

NEW YORK (AP) — Late-night mainstay Conan O’Brien is headed to TBS to resume his comedic duties with a talk show expected to debut in November, the network said Monday.

The program will air Mondays through Thursdays at 11 p.m. Eastern, shifting TBS’ “Lopez Tonight,” starring George Lopez, to midnight.

O’Brien quickly fired out a celebratory tweet.

“The good news: I will be doing a show on TBS starting in November! The bad news: I’ll be playing Rudy on the all new Cosby Show,” he posted Monday on Twitter.

The surprise announcement hit the same day O’Brien starts a two-month, nationwide comedy tour in Eugene, Ore., amid persistent reports that he was likely to claim Fox as his new late-night home.

Barring Fox, syndication was widely considered O’Brien’s most likely option. Few if anyone mentioned TBS as a plausible destination.

O’Brien began serious talks with TBS just last week, the network said.

“In three months, I’ve gone from network television to Twitter to performing live in theaters, and now I’m headed to basic cable,” O’Brien said in a tongue-in-cheek-toned statement. “My plan is working perfectly.”

O’Brien left NBC in January after hosting “The Tonight Show” for just eight months, as his ratings plunged from those of his longtime “Tonight” predecessor, Jay Leno, who reclaimed the hour. Until last June, O’Brien had followed Leno as host of “Late Night” since 1993.

After giving O’Brien “Tonight,” NBC sought to keep Leno on board with a prime-time show that quickly flopped. An attempt to move O’Brien to a post-midnight slot drew O’Brien’s ire, and he walked away with a $32 million settlement package.

Although that put him in play for other networks, the deal barred him from appearing on TV until September.

Tina Fey returned to the show and performed another Sarah Palin skit.  She perfected that role as usual.

Meanwhile, teen singer Justin Bieber was the musical guest, and he also performed a comedic skit with Fey.

Fey’s portrays a teacher who has a crush on Bieber’s character.  A clip of the two skits is posted below.

Anna Trebunskaya and Anna Trebunskaya on "Dancing with the Stars." (AP photo by Adam Larkey)

The ABC network has something to dance about.  The show “Dancing with the Stars” beat Fox’s “American Idol” in the ratings for the first time. 

During the week of March 29, the Monday episode of “Dancing with the Stars” had nearly 23 million viewers compared to “American Idol’s” viewership of 21.8 million Tuesday and $20.5 million Wednesday last week, according to TV Guide. 

I’m not surprised by the shift in ratings.  This year’s “American Idol” season has been lackluster.  It’s not as exciting as it used to be in previous years because of the contestants aren’t “wowing” people this year. 

I have watched most “American Idol” episodes, but I’ve never seen “Dancing with the Stars.”  I think I’m going to watch my first episode next week to see what all the hoopla is about.