The 2017 #HBOB Put The L In LIT The 15th Annual Honda Battle of the Bands Invitational Showcase was a dazzling good time bursting with Black girl magic, HBCU band excellence and phenomenal showmanship that rocked a sold out Georgia Dome crowd like never before. Alabama A&M’s Marching Maroon & White, Alabama St’s Mighty Marching Hornets, Jackson St’s Sonic Boom of the South, NC A&T’s Blue & Gold Marching Machine, Texas Southern’s Ocean of Soul and Winston-Salem St’s Red Sea of Sound came thru and KILLED IT. Benedict College’s Marching Band of Distinction made its very FIRST appearance while Bethune-Cookman’s Marching Wildcats returned as the longest standing Final 8 contender and turned all the way up for a sea of screaming fans. Ne-Yo brought the groove and slick moves with a splash of cool. Ruben Studdard popped up and reminded us why he was America’s idol. Overall, the 15th Annual #HBOB was a soaring success and fitting send-off for the Georgia Dome.
White folks have child support drama too! Clay Aiken Gets $90K In Child Support From Jaymes Foster Via RadarOnline reports: Clay Aiken is really hoping to win the Congressional seat in North Carolina this fall, and not just because he wants to serve his country. RadarOnline.com has learned that he could use the paycheck because the only other steady source of income the former American Idol contestant collects each month is the child support payment from his baby mama, Jaymes Foster, sister of mega record producer, David. Even though Jaymes has primary custody of her five-year-old-son with Aiken, Parker, “Clay is given a substantial amount of child support from her,” an insider revealed. “The basis for the child support payment — which is more than $7,500 a month — is that Jaymes is raising Parker in a very luxurious lifestyle, therefore, Clay needs to be able to maintain and provide that for his son also. So, mommy pays for that.” Now, “Jaymes is hoping that Clay wins his bid to become a Congressman so she could petition the Court to reduce his child support payments,” the source said. “Clay doesn’t have any other source of steady income besides his monthly child support from Jaymes.” Members of Congress are paid $174,000 annually and are given annual allowances to offset travel costs between their district, and Washington D.C. Though Aiken is homosexual, he and best friend James decided to have a son together back in 2008. Since then the two have been in and out of court in Los Angeles over custody issues involving their son. Aiken was runner-up to Ruben Studdard on American Idol in 2003, and recently won the Democratic primary for a North Carolina congressional seat. Foster had served as executive producer of Aiken’s last three albums for RCA, which didn’t create a lot of buzz. The source added, “Clay is very jealous of the success that Jaymes has accomplished in her career, and he wants to live the life of luxury, and not pay for it. There is absolutely no demand for Clay as a musician. He is always trying to get more money out of Jaymes. It’s just a sad situation.” Wow! Clay wouldn’t be the first politician with money issues and baby mama drama though…
A cheating scandal has rocked The Biggest Loser. On last night’s episode of the weight loss competition, Alison Sweeney announced that Jillian Michaels had been caught breaking the rules and, consequently, last week’s results have now been invalidated. In other words: welcome back to the show, former American Idol winner Ruben Studdard! The Biggest Loser Preview: Ruben Studdard Returns! Studdard was eliminated last Tuesday, but will return to the program next week with an unexpected fresh start. Said Sweeney to kick off last night’s installment: “Before you all step on the scale, there is something important that needs to be addressed.Last week, Jillian broke the rules and gave caffeine supplements to each member of her team without doctor’s permission. “Because of this rules violation, Jillian has been penalized and the white team will receive a four pound disadvantage on the scale tonight.” Moreover, Bob Harper’s Blue Team will once again have the immunity they earned and the outcome of the previous episode will be null and void. When asked to explain her move, Michaels said she only has one regret… and it’s not that she handed out the supplement. “I stand by my opinion. A caffeine supplement is significantly healthier than unlimited amounts of coffee,” she said. “My only regret is that my team, they’re the ones suffering the consequences of my professional opinion.” Studdard shed 39 pounds during his time on the series and will now have a chance to drop even more. So Michaels’ mistakes may end up being Ruben’s healthy gain. Or loss, as the case may be.
To echo Armie Hammer in this new The Lone Ranger featurette, Hell on Wheels, what does someone do in life to end up with a scorpion in their mouths? Not only that, but how did it take so long for Helena Bonham Carter to play a peg leg? Seems like it’s only natural for her to have a leg with built in pistol. The Lone Ranger opens this Friday. You can find the The Lone Ranger trailer here and check out the Hell on Wheels featurette below! The Lone Ranger ‘Hell on Wheels’ Featurette
Ruben Studdard rose to fame on American Idol . He will now attempt to shrink back down to size on The Biggest Loser . People Magazine confirms that the Season 2 winner of that Fox competition will be a contestant on the next edition of The Biggest Loser . It will air this fall on NBC. “I’ve never had an issue with my weight,” Ruben has said in the past to that publication. “[But] my family has a history of high blood pressure, diabetes, heart-related issues – things I didn’t have to deal with yet because I’m young. But I don’t want to be worried at 40, and if I don’t fix things now, I will be.” Trainers Bob Harper, Jillian Michaels, and Dolvett Quince will be responsible for helping Studdard shed multiple pounds. He’s the second celebrity in show history to appear on The Biggest Loser, as Olympian Rulon Gardner competed on Season 11.
Will you be watching next month?? Randy’s throwin’ a lot of shade at all of the other music competitions out there, and in the latest promo released, he runs us through a list of successful artists who got their start on Idol . According to The Hollywood Reporter , he may have a point… The latest American Idol season 12 promo featuring Randy Jackson continues to hammer the theme that the Fox competition is the “gold standard … of singing shows” having produced more artists who have sold “millions sellers of records.” To solidify its point, a checklist of successful Idol alums — Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Daughtry, Clay Aiken, Fantasia, Ruben Studdard, David Cook, Jennifer Hudson, Jordin Sparks and Scotty McCreery (curiously, no Adam Lambert??) — is flashed across the screen. “We have a country superstar in Carrie Underwood. We’ve had an Oscar winner in Jennifer Hudson, I mean, you’ve got Daughtry,” Jackson said. “Look what Phillip Phillips has done this year with the song ‘Home.’” Jackson drives the point home with his final thoughts as Phillips’ sales records of 2 million are illustrated across his image. “The show has truly permeated the whole world of entertainment,” he said. “We are the original. We are the Picasso. You can try and copy, but you can never duplicate.” Idol returns Jan. 16. Okay now tell the truth. Will you keep watching season 12 once the train-wreck auditions are over?? How long do ya think it’ll take before MiMi or Nicki get on your damn nerve? LLS Images via youtube/tumblr
Nabbing top-10 spot on Billboard chart, winner’s first single lands second-largest digital-sales week ever for an ‘Idol’ contestant. By John Mitchell Phillip Phillips on “American Idol” Photo: Michael Becker/ FOX Despite ongoing health concerns , things just keep getting better on the professional front for “American Idol” season 11 winner Phillip Phillips . The singer’s debut single, “Home,” is making a splash on the Billboard charts, ringing up a series of history-making debuts for the FOX singing competition. With 278,000 digital downloads, “Home” is the highest-debuting song on this week’s Digital Songs chart, bowing at an impressive #2 behind Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe.” That number is also large enough to give Phillips the second-best digital-sales week ever for an “Idol” contestant. Only the original “American Idol,” Kelly Clarkson, can boast a bigger digital sales week: Her smash “My Life Would Suck Without You” debuted with 280,000 downloads in January 2009. Propelled by such strong sales, Phillips enters the Billboard Hot 100 at #10, making him the first “Idol” in four years to see his victory single reach the top 10. The last was David Cook, whose 2008 “Idol” single “The Time of My Life” entered the chart at #3. The rock-solid debut of “Home” also gives Phillips the biggest sales week of any coronation song since 2003, the year SoundScan began tracking digital-download sales. Billboard notes that two other “Idols” — season two victor Ruben Studdard and runner-up Clay Aiken — have actually enjoyed larger opening frames than Phillips, though their numbers came outside the digital format. Aiken’s 2003 season-finale single “This is the Night” moved 393,000 units as a CD single in its debut frame, while Studdard’s “Flying Without Wings” shifted 286,000 discs. Related Videos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Finale Highlights Related Photos ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Finale Show ‘American Idol’ Season 11 Finale Red Carpet
FUSE caught up with A$AP Rocky down at the SXSW in Austion, TX and and asked the Harlem rapper to clear up some rumors . After emphatically stating that there will be an A$AP Mob album in May, followed by his debut in early July, if all goes to plan, the Polo Grounds/RCA rapper spoke on the XXL Freshman list. A$AP is infamously absent from the magazine’s annual cover, and has previously stated that scheduling is the reason why he turned it down… Continue
