Thursday, February 11, 2016

Gwen Stefani to Broadcast TV's First Live Music Video

Solo Gwen Stefani is back, and she's making history with a one-of-a-kind approach to her new music video.

Shortly after announcing that Stefani's third solo album, This Is What the Truth Feels Like, was coming March 18, Target revealed that her next music video will air during the 2016 Grammys.

Actually, it's more complicated than that -- Gwen's "Make Me Like You" video will be acted out, filmed and broadcast live during a four-minute Grammys commercial break on CBS.

Yes, Stefani's "Make Me Like You" will be the first music video ever created on live TV. There are a few precedents for this kind of thing, though. Back in November, Erykah Badu filmed a live music video for "Phone Down" on Periscope. In 2011, Death Cab for Cutie live-streamed their "You Are a Tourist" video online, which they described as the first scripted live music video.


In addition to the live music video, Target is teaming with Gwen for a deluxe edition of her new album. Check out the track list to the Target edition of This Is What the Truth Feels Like below.

1. Misery

2. You’re My Favorite

3. Where Would I Be

4. Make Me Like You

5. Truth

6. Used To Love You

7. Send Me A Picture

8. Red Flag

9. Asking For It

10. Naughty

11. Me Without You

12. Rare

13. Rocket Ship (Target exclusive)

14. Getting Warmer (Target exclusive)

15. Obsessed (Target exclusive)

16. Splash (Target exclusive)

A Beyonce mention sends Red Lobster sales higher

Beyonce's newest song "Formation" is doing more than racking up viral views on YouTube. It's also increasing traffic and sales at Red Lobster.

The music video, suddenly posted on Saturday, already has more than 13.3 million views on the video platform and features a series of off-color lyrics about enjoying the popular seafood restaurant.

Weekend sales at Red Lobster saw a significant boost from "Queen Bey," spiking 33 percent on Sunday over last year, company brass said.

"We are absolutely delighted with what we saw over the weekend, particularly the consumer sentiment that we saw expressed," Kim Lopdrup, CEO of Red Lobster, told CNBC. "It's clear that Beyonce has helped create some Red Lobster fans, and we are very grateful to her for that."


The restaurant traditionally experiences a spike in sales during this time of year due to their annual "Lobster Fest" promotion, but Lopdrup credits this weekend's boost to the R&B star. The company refers to it as the "Beyonce Bounce" and some of its employees have already begun renaming popular menu items after the pop star.

Cheddar Bay Biscuits are now Cheddar "Bey" Biscuits and their Bay Breeze drinks are "Bey" Breezes.


http://www.cnbc.com/2016/02/08/a-beyonce-mention-sends-red-lobster-sales-higher.html?__source=facebook|business|link|020915|11AM|beyonce-red-lobster

Kelly Clarkson, More Alumni to Return to 'American Idol'

Original American Idol Kelly Clarkson will return later this month and the top 24 will getting a special treat on this week's show, as past Idol alumni will return as mentors.

On this Wednesday's show (Feb. 10) MacKenzie Bourg, Emily Brooke, Gianna Isabella,James VIII, Jeneve Rose Mitchell, Stephany Negrete, Jenna Renae, La’Porsha Renae, Jordan Sasser, Thomas Stringfellow, Sonika Vaid and Avalon Young will each get a chance to perform solo. The next night (Feb. 11), the semi-finalists will have the opportunity to duet with Fantasia Barrino, Ruben Studdard, Scotty McCreery, Caleb Johnson, Lauren Alaina, and Nick Fradiani on the Feb. 11 show. Each Idol will duet with 12 semi-finalists, seven of which will move forward to the next round, according to a Fox release.

The Feb. 17 show will feature Jenn Blosil, Amelia Eisenhauer, Trent Harmon, Lee Jean, CJ Johnson, Adam Lasher, Tristan McIntosh, Dalton Rapattoni, Olivia Rox, Manny Torres, Kory Wheeler and Shelbie Z. The next night they will get their chance to duet with alums Constantine Maroulis, Haley Reinhart, Chris Daughtry, Kellie Pickler, Jordin Sparks and David Cook. The judges will then announce which contestants are moving forward and who is going home.

The following week (Feb. 24) , the judges will reveal which eight singers are definitely moving forward to the top 10, leaving six remaining vocalists to compete for America's vote. The show will go live the next night (Feb. 25), when host Ryan Seacrest announces the results and which two singers will complete the top 10. As a bonus that evening, Clarkson will return to the show to perform and serve as a guest judge.

Beginning Feb. 24, public voting will be live at AmericanIdol.com, on the FOX NOW app, via Google Search, via text messaging and by toll-free calling when the Idol vote window opens.