Christina Aguilera
Why does Christina Aguilera look so different?
You might say that Aguilera is becoming less of a diva. During the live episodes airing now, the Voice coach has been showing off a svelter figure and a streamlined wardrobe, hair and makeup to match. NYC-based exercise physiologist Johanna Pryluck, who does not work with the star, says it appears that Aguilera has dropped around 25 pounds since the audition and battle rounds that were taped last winter. "There's a big difference in her overall tone, but especially in her arms and face," says Pryluck, who attributes the change to a likely program of "vigorous cardio four to fives times a week plus strength training and a diet of lean protein, whole grains and as little processed food as possible." Sing it!
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Javier Colon, Dia Frampton, Carson Daly
Oh, what a fast and furious ride this first season of The Voice has been, huh? The soaring songs, the judges' jabs... the cotton-candy rat's nest on Christina Aguilera's head. Good times. And now that Javier Colon has rightfully been crowned the inaugural winner, we'd like to look back at some of the vital life lessons we have picked up from the show over the last 10 weeks.
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The Voice
So much bromance in the air at The Voice. And so, while the Final 8 performed — some for the last time — our burning questions linger. Which coach made the bigger play for Adam's affections this week? Who does executive producer Mark Burnett like best? What are audiences forbidden to do during the show? And exactly how hot does it get during the performance rounds? Here are the 10 things you didn't see on TV this week:
1. The bathroom really does provide the best acoustics. Two weeks ago, we overheard Xenia singing and humming to herself in the...
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The Voice
America's got talent, but not everyone is lining up to audition for TV's growing number of singing competition shows. That's where Michelle McNulty, the casting director for NBC's new hit series The Voice, comes in. McNulty and her team spent months tracking down performers in clubs, at rehearsal studios, on YouTube and via personal contacts in order to find the right contestants.
TV critics have been impressed with the caliber of talent on The Voice, particularly in the premiere episode — and credit much of the show's early success to those performances. "We were looking for singers that might not audition for American Idol or any of those other competition shows," McNulty says. "We were looking for real artists"...
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The Voice
Hear this loud and clear. We are LOVING The Voice.
Last night, NBC's singing competition kicked off in a two-hour treat that was both wildly fun and chockfull of chills, thanks to some serious (as Cee Lo Green would say) sangers. It also had some tired bits, but hey, after 10 seasons of Idol, we'll take a few sob stories over endless weeks of clowny, time-wasting auditions...
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Chris Sligh courtesy Fox
This Wednesday's American Idol is a "Best of the Rest" recap of the Season 7 auditions we didn't see throughout each city. That got us thinking about some of the best auditions we've seen, regardless of whether the candidate went on to Idol greatness. Instead of a top-10 list, we thought we'd have a battle of the sexes: the best women's auditions versus the best from the men. — Erin FoxTop Five Women's Auditions5) Frenchie Davis, "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" | Watch on YouTubeHoly crap, we think our ear drums just burst listening to her amazing vocal power. Randy and Paula gave her a standing ovation (Simon, of course, stayed seated but clapped as enthusiastically as he could), and if she hadn't been kicked off the show for those naughty pictures, there's no telling how far Frenchie could have gone. 4) Carrie Underwood, "I Can't Make You Love Me" | Watch on YouTubeWho knew this farm girl who sported the '80s wardrobe and glamour-shots makeup at her audition would become ...
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Reuben Studdard by Maury Phillips/WireImage/com; Frenchie Davis by Dimitrios Kambouris/WireImage.com
Controversy may have gotten Frenchie Davis booted off American Idol, but it landed her in a successful Broadway career. Soon, Season 2 champ Ruben "Velvet Teddy Bear" Studdard will be joining her onstage. "I'm so excited," Davis tells TV Guide. "I can't say too much, but we're doing a revival of a Broadway show." Studdard, who has been touring with Robin Givens in the play Heaven, I Need a Hug, may have tipped his hand during an interview with the Atlanta Constitution when he said he's been prepping to play Fats Walker in a tour of Ain't Misbehavin'.Davis, who just finished a four-year run in Rent, wasn't surprised to learn that her former cast mate is tackling theater. "He's so talented," she says. "This role is going to be good for him." Will the part pit the two as love interests? "It depends on how they direct it," she says coyly. — Reporting by Bekah Wright
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The upcoming Broadway musicalization of The First Wives Club may not yet be finished, but that doesn't mean casting can't begin. The New York Daily News hears that Queen Latifah called producers to express an interest in playing the Goldie Hawn role. Long live nontraditional casting.... Per Playbill.com, Idol alum Frenchie Davis will showcase her powerhouse pipes in Mahalia — A Gospel Musical, at Hartford Stage in August.... Mel Brooks confirms Young Frankenstein's casting rumors and adds that the show will most likely bow at the Hilton Theater, whose current tenant, The Pirate Queen, is about to walk the plank. — Reporting by Raven Snook.
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This just came in from American Idol executive producer Nigel Lythgoe, regarding statements Rosie O'Donnell made on Tuesday's The View about Idol's seeming double standard vis-à-vis Frenchie vs Antonella:"Without wishing to add to the obvious self-promotion of Ms. O'Donnell, I feel as though I must refute her absurd and ridiculous claims that American Idol is racist and/or weightist. Ms. O'Donnell has, once again, spoken without thought or knowledge. Viewers need only look at the show tonight to realize that American Idol constantly confirms to America that talent has nothing to do with weight or color."UPDATE: TMZ.com is now reporting that Idol is further retaliating against Rosie and The View by forbidding the ABC talker from showing clips from television's highest-rated series.UPDATE: On Wednesday's Idol, Simon Cowell gave Antonella Barba props for her fortitude in the midst of the media circus, if not for her singing. "I feel for you because you've taken a lot of stick in ...
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Claiming that a double standard has allowed Antonella Barba to remain in the current competition, despite having posed for racy photos that have surfaced online, disgraced American Idol alum Frenchie Davis is calling on the überpopular reality series to "come to the table and see what we can do to make up" for her own 2003 booting. Davis tells the Associated Press that while a public apology from Idol would be "a great start," she feels she is owed more "for the manner in which I was humiliated" and ousted from the contest when topless photos of herself came to the fore. Though Davis doesn't necessarily think that racism is at play here, others do. Civil-rights activist Najee Ali (of Project Islamic H.O.P.E.), for one, objects "to having one rule for black contestants, and a different rule for whites who exhibit the same behavior." "Same behavior," in this particular reference, not meaning Barba's thin, pitchy singing.UPDATE: Girls Gone Wild autuer Joe Francis has offered Anton...
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