Randy Jackson says “it’s all love” between rival talent shows American Idol and The Voice.

The record producer is a judge on the American Idol panel alongside Jennifer Lopez and Steve Tyler. NBC competitor show The Voice premiered last April and follows the same premise of finding the best singing talent in the country.

Naturally, comparisons have been drawn between the two shows, but Randy has rubbished feud rumours.

“First of all, it’s all love,” he told Ellen DeGeneres in an interview on her show to air on Wednesday. “No disrespect, I think The Voice is a great show. I think what they do is great… [American Idol is] about finding the next undiscovered talent. The greatest undiscovered talent in America. So I love that.”

The Voice features Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton as judges and mentors.

Randy says there is a mutual respect for all of the stars.

“Adam is my boy. Christina is my girl, Cee Lo is my dog and Blake is almost like my brother, we just have different moms,” he joked.

Meanwhile, mogul Simon Cowell is reportedly lining up R&B singer Estelle to replace Kelly Rowland as a judge on the new series of the UK version of The X Factor.

“Estelle’s name is very high on his list now and serious enquiries have been made as to her availability for auditions in May,” a source told British newspaper The Sun.

Gary Barlow, Tulisa Contostavlos and Louis Walsh will all reportedly return to the judging panel.

Kelly is said to want to focus on her music career in the US.

Source: Film News

Lakeshore Records will be releasing the official soundtrack album for the comedy Casa de mi Padre. The album includes Christina Aguilera’s title song, as well as selections from the film’s score written by Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau and a number of other songs from the movie. The soundtrack will be released digitally on March 13, 2012 (with a March 6 pre-sale). A CD version is scheduled to come out on March 27 and is available for pre-order on Amazon. Check back on this page for audio clips. Casa de mi Padre is directed by Matt Piedmont and stars Will Ferrell, Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, Genesis Rodriguez, Nick Offerman & Pedro Armendariz, Jr. The Spanish-language film is produced by Ferrell’s Gary Sanchez Productions company. The comedy will be released in theaters on March 16 by Pantelion Films/Lionsgate.

Here’s the album track list:

1. Casa De Mi Padre (Christina Aguilera)
2. Raul Drugs (Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau)
3. Whiter Shade (El Puma)
4. Fuzzorama (Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau)
5. Wedding Massacre (Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau)
6. Ask For Marry Permission (Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau)
7. Hermano (Tom Farrell)
8. Lala (Kara Nau & John Nau)
9. Fight for Love (Will Ferrell & Genesis Rodriguez)
10. Yo No Se (Will Ferrell, Efren Ramirez and Adrian Martinez feat. Mitch Manker)
11. Car Burn (Mayan Ghost Choir)
12. Trip Out (!Hebrochachos!)
13. Sonia Pool (Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau)
14. Luv Butts (Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau feat. Mitch Manker)
15. Staredown (Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau)
16. Dad Dies (Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau)
17. Shellshock (The Bromigos)
18. Chubby Duckling (Andrew Feltenstein & John Nau feat. The Professor)
19. Del Cielo (Cecilia Noel)
20. Raul Dies (Mayan Ghost Choir)

Source: Film Music Reporter

The Voice has found its voice.

NBC’s singing competition is a whisper away from achieving the unthinkable: unseating 11-season Fox juggernaut American Idol from its ratings throne, particularly among the key younger viewers that networks and their advertisers covet.

Monday’s episode drew 16.3 million viewers, just 13% shy of last week’s Idol average, and matched those Idol episodes among ages 18-49 while beating it among the younger half of that group. A big help: NBC’s season opener Feb. 5 enjoyed a record-setting Super Bowl lead-in, which delivered nearly 38 million viewers to the show.

“There’s nothing like that huge volume of eyeballs to get a chance to sample something,” says executive producer Mark Burnett. “I think we were really, really lucky.”

So is slumping NBC, which with precious few exceptions has been bereft of hits. Aside from Sunday Night Football, The Voice is now the most successful and important show on the network and has surpassed CBS’ once-dominant Monday comedy block in the ratings. Though NBC resisted the temptation last fall, The Voice will sing again come September, airing two annual cycles just as many top reality shows do.
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“It’s a game changer for them,” says Sam Armando, senior VP at Chicago ad firm SMGx. And it doesn’t hurt that its roster of mentor/judges —Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Blake Shelton— are all active performers from different genres. “It’s newer and fresher” than Idol, he says, “and there’s a little bit more relevance with that cast.”

The Voice also has an early-round gimmick: It recruits contestants, rather than hosting open auditions, but has them perform for judges whose spinning seats are turned away to avoid the influence of singers’ appearances.

“What resonates with the audience is (the) disparity between how someone looks and how they sound,” says Paul Telegdy, who oversees NBC’s reality and late-night programming.

“The blind auditions tell the people, ‘You will be judged on the merit of what you do in this field, not what you look like,’ ” Burnett says. “There’s no background story. There’s no comedy behind it.” Instead, coaches are asking, “Can you sing? Do I believe you have a real voice and would I like you on my team?” he says. Then, “the power shifts to those unknown singers, who get to question our coaches: ‘Why should I join your team? What can you do for me?’ People in authority are being questioned by the rookies. I think that’s a beautiful thing.”

And Telegdy believes viewers respond to the “dysfunctional family sitcom” that describes the coaches’ competitive banter, which other shows have had varying success in mastering. “Winning this thing is quite important. They’re rivals, and it bubbles over.”

Richard Rushfield, a former Los Angeles Times editor who wrote a book about Idol, says The Voice has a leg up: “They have a team of judges that could not feel more contemporary and in the moment and curious.

“I think the whole tone of it is more playful and low-key, kind of an antidote to the giant spectacle (of) Idol,” he says. “The first rounds are a very clever way to create drama,” and in contrast to Fox’s packed-stadium auditioners, “a more modest human scale for people suffering from singing-contest overload.”

(more…)

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“Latina” 2012 Scans

Sadly Miss Whitney Houston has passed away at the age of 48 on February 11. Christina had left some words for her on her Facebook:

We have lost another legend. Love and prayers to Whitney’s family. She will be missed.

Is “American Idol’s” reign over after 11 seasons?

The Wed., Feb. 8 show earned a 6.0 rating in the advertiser’s coveted 18-49 demographic, which was not enough to beat NBC’s “The Voice” this week.

On Mon., Feb. 6, “The Voice” pulled in a 6.7 rating in the demographic and 17.7 million viewers total. But the Feb. 8 “Idol” episode — the first edition of Hollywood Week — did beat out “The Voice” in total viewers with 18.9 million.

But “The Voice” is closing the gap. Last week, “Idol” had a 6.0 rating in the demo and 18.5 million viewers.

In terms of total viewers in the key 18-49 demographic, 7.7 million viewers tuned into “Idol,” while “The Voice” had 8.5 million viewers.

The battle between the two reality series has been brewing since “The Voice” entered the scene in 2011. Earlier this week, “Idol” executive producer Nigel Lythgoe told The Hollywood Reporter that though the competitive NBC series has a “fun format,” “they need stronger talent — we’ll see.

It was that same argument that “Idol” stars and crew used at the Television Critics Association press tour in January to bash “The Voice.” According to TVGuide.com, Longtime “Idol” judge Randy Jackson said:

“‘Idol’ is still the best TV show that’s come on anywhere … We’re the original. We kind of invented this whole game that everybody’s now copying — and I say that they’re copying it, right? … The winner of ‘The Voice,’ I will remind you, [Javier Colon] was an artist who had a deal at Capitol Records for several years, a failed contract … That show was almost ‘second chance people.’”

Adam Levine, “The Voice’s” judge-coach who helped lead Colon to victory fired back on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” early in February via EW.com:

“Shame on Randy Jackson for saying that. Because he of anybody should know that if you’re in this business, you need second, third, fourth and fifth chances. And so we love and embrace having that being part of the show … It was an irresponsible thing to say that.”

Spats aside, though “Idol” ratings have been slipping, Nigel Lythgoe told THR, “After 11 years, I’m thrilled with these ratings,” adding: “Isn’t it fantastic that we’re still America’s No. 1 show?”

The only question is: For how long?

“American Idol” airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on Fox. “The Voice” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on NBC.

Source: Huffington Post

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“The Voice” Season 2 Promo (2011)

“The Voice” has signed Christina Aguilera for a third season as NBC considers launching that season in the fall instead of waiting until 2013, TheWrap has learned.

That scheduling decision would have the show, now a midseason hit, airing at the same time of year as Fox’s “X Factor.”

Aguilera is the first of the four “Voice” judges to re-up her contract, which TheWrap last week reported amounted to a pricey $10 million, far more than “X Factor” judges earn on Fox.

But one insider close to the show said Aguilera’s contract was for under $10 million.

Aguilera has been signed to tape the shows from September through December, according to a person close to the negotiations.

An NBC spokesman said no decision has been made about whether the show would air in the fall. But NBC insiders said the network was “considering” airing “The Voice” then.

One insider said NBC hopes to bring back the entire judges’ panel — Aguilera, Adam Levine, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton.

“We’re really pleased with the entire cast,” the person said. “You look at [the] ratings and it’s no accident.”

The show was a breakout hit for NBC in April when it hurried it to air and got the jump on the debut of Fox’s fall singing show, “X Factor.” NBC considered airing the current, second season of “The Voice” at the start of the 2011-12 season, but decided the turnaround time would be too fast.

“The Voice” has become NBC’s highest-rated show besides NFL broadcasts.

In its season two premiere Sunday, following the Super Bowl, it earned NBC’s strongest ratings for an entertainment show in six years. Monday’s episode earned the network’s best ratings in its timeslot in nearly eight years, excluding the Olympics.

In its first season,”X Factor” scored a 4.3 rating/12 share in the advertiser-sought 18-49 demographic and averaged 12.6 million total viewers, compared to an 8.5/23 and 25.2 million for “Idol” last year.

After just two episodes, “The Voice” actually has higher average ratings than “Idol” this season — but its ratings are severely skewed by its post-Super Bowl premiere. Monday’s episode of “The Voice” scored a 6.6 rating in the demo and 17.7 million viewers; Sunday’s scored a 16.3 rating and 36.7 million.

Source: The Wrap

I will just start with the bad news first and get it out of the way. I know there has been so much debate on the album and single and when they will be released and it has got a lot of people frustrated. Well what I’ve learned thus far is the album is coming “later this year.” Yes, I know it’s not specific but I’m thinking you can push February and March out of the way. There isn’t any confirmation on a single release date either. My advice would be just wait until there is something somewhat official. I’ll keep you posted the best I can.