By now we’re all familiar with the story: Nebbishy looking guy or gal doesn’t appear to have much going on, but then — boom — that voice slays the audience and the judges. This is what shows like The X Factor were created for and every once in a while, the scenario repeats itself. Such was the case with Curtis Golden, an 18-year-old self-styled “nerd” who worked his magic over the weekend. Will Golden be the next Susan Boyle? Too soon to tell but, like Boyle, you don’t expect that voice to come out of that body. What do you think? Were you as impressed by Golden’s performance as everyone else was? Let us know in the comments. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/08/20/nerd-wows-x-factor-judges-video/
The final 13 contestants on American Idol’s season 13 celebrate becoming finalists.Image: Jordan Strauss/Associated Press Fox’s singing competition American Idol is joining forces with search behemoth Google to give viewers a new way to vote for their favorite contestants, starting on Wednesday. Looking up “American Idol” or “Idol” via Google Search on desktop or mobile during voting time periods now allows users to vote for multiple finalists as frequently as 50 times. Image: Fox Broadcasting/Mashable Composite Viewers already could vote by phone call, text message or American Idol app as well as on Idol‘s website using a Facebook account — a method Fox added in 2011 for season 10. Rival shows The Voice and X Factor have also toyed with fresh social media-driven voting methods. In 2011, for example, The Voice became the first televised singing competition in the U.S. to allow iTunes sales to count as votes. Meanwhile, X Factor began allowing votes to come in from direct messages on Twitter in 2011. Also new to Idol‘s season 13 is Harry Connick Jr., who is Idol‘s eleventh judge since the show debuted in 2002. This year, Fox also brought back former judge Jennifer Lopez, who was on the panel for seasons 10 and 11. The network replaced Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj to join the only returning judge from season 12’s panel, Keith Urban. Randy Jackson, who had been on the judges’ panel for seasons 1 through 12, returned as a behind-the-scenes mentor. BONUS: 20 Songs Turning 20 in 2014 20 Songs Turning 20 in 2014 1. “Buddy Holly” by Weezer Video: YouTube, WeezerVEVO 2. “I Swear” by All 4 One Video: YouTube, VIETNAMESEPORKROLLS 3. “Gin & Juice” by Snoop Doggy Dogg Video: YouTube, hemoglobian 4. “Crazy” by Aerosmith Video: YouTube, AerosmithVEVO 5. “Come Out and Play” by The Offspring Video: YouTube, EpitaphRecords 6. “I Wanna Be Down” by Brandy Video: YouTube, Atlantic Records 7. “All I Wanna Do” by Sheryl Crow Video: YouTube, Matias 8. “I’ll Make Love to You” by Boyz II Men Video: YouTube, BoyzIIMenVEVO 9. “Sabotage” by Beastie Boys Video: YouTube, turboEF 10. “Back & Forth” by Aaliyah Video: YouTube, Aaliyah Shakur 11. “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” by Elton John Video: YouTube, WaItDisneyWorId 12. “Zombie” by The Cranberries Video: YouTube, TheCranberriesVEVO 13. “Black Hole Sun” by Soundgarden Video: YouTube, SoundgardenVEVO 14. “Basket Case” by Green Day Video: YouTube, greenday 15. “Turn the Beat Around” by Gloria Estefan Video: YouTube, GloriaEstefanVEVO 16. “Stay (I Missed You)” by Lisa Loeb Video: YouTube, LLOnline 17. “I’ll Stand By You” by The Pretenders Video: YouTube, Javipy3 18. “Come to My Window” by Melissa Etheridge Video: YouTube, melissaetheridge1988 19. “Hold My Hand” by Hootie and the Blowfish Video: YouTube, Atlantic Records 20. “Cotton Eye Joe” by Rednex Video: YouTube, RednexVEVO Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/02/26/american-idol-google-search-voting/
Prince Harry look-a-like Matthew Hicks will trick women into thinking he’s part of a royal family on Fox’s upcoming I Wanna Marry Harry.Image: Daniel Smith/Fox We’ll never be royals, as Lorde reminded us in her breakout single. And neither will any of the 12 American women participating in I Wanna Marry Harry, Fox‘s new dating show that tricked the singles into thinking they’re fighting over Prince Harry. Yes, that Harry — the royal brother of Prince William, son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. The Harry lookalike is Matthew Hicks, described by Fox as “an average English bloke,” who will pull out all of the romantic stops worthy of a fairytale ending — not that his dates are likely to get one. How long did fake Prince Harry keep his true identity secret? We’ll find out when the dating show debuts May 27 at 8 p.m. ET. We’re guessing there’ll be no faked equivalent of the Prince Harry nude photo scandal. BONUS: 12 Comedian Quotes to Help You Laugh Through Relationship Hiccups Comedians on Love 1. Will Ferrell Image: Mark Mainz/Getty Images 2. Amy Poehler Image: Larry Busacca/Getty Images 3. Louis C.K. Image: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images 4. Chelsea Peretti Image: Michael Kovac/Getty Images for AmeriCares 5. Rob Delaney Image: Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images 6. Mindy Kaling Image: Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images for Hilarity for Charity 7. Lucille Ball Image: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images 8. Jerry Seinfeld Image: Evan Agostini/Getty Images For Mohegan Sun 9. Chris Rock Image: Jemal Countess/Getty Images 10. Tina Fey Image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images 11. George Burns Image: Harold Clements/Express/Getty Images 12. Rob Delaney Image: Randy Holmes/ABC via Getty Images Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/03/28/i-wanna-marry-harry-fox-show/
The new iPad mini was released Friday, and Jimmy Kimmel doesn’t seem very enthusiastic about it. In a parody iPad mini commercial that aired on Jimmy Kimmel Live Thursday, first came the iPod. Then a thinner iPod. Then an iPod you can touch. Then lots of other iPods — ones that allow you to shuffle your songs, ones you can talk on, a gigantic one you can’t talk on. And today, Apple released a slightly bigger iPod that you can’t talk on. Which, according to the video, pretty much means we’re all suckers. iPad Mini at the Apple 5th Ave Store The flagship Buyers started lining up to buy Apple’s long-anticipated iPad Mini at the flagship store the day before it went on sale. All-weather Apple fans Undaunted by the long lines and the cold, hundreds waited all night for the Apple store to open at 10am. One of the first A proud owner shows off his new purchase. The out-of-towners Hundreds of foreigners stood in line for the latest iPad. Only the wifi version is on sale for now. Camping out Unlike the iPhone 5, which gathered week-long lines, no one waited for days to buy the iPad Mini. But lines still snaked around the blocks surrounding the Apple store. Survival of the fittest Possibly the first person in line for the iPad Mini — Luis Lorenzo, who was first in line yesterday, was nowhere to be found. ipad7 Reporters from various countries visited the flagship store to ask buyers about their thoughts about the iPad Mini. The queue At the 5th Avenue Apple store, lines stretched for at least three blocks to buy the new iPad Mini or fourth-generation iPad. Out with the old Apple employees enthusiastically high-fived buyers as they filtered into the store to buy their new iPads. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/02/parody-ipad-mini-ad/
Kathryn Prescott stars in MTV’s new drama "Finding Carter." MTV just dropped the trailer for it new family drama, Finding Carter, a show revolves around a girl (Kathryn Prescott) who was abducted as a toddler, raised by her kidnapper, and is returned to her biological family as a teen after learning the truth. (Should this be called Finding Carter or Finding a Therapist?) The show also features Cynthia Watros (Libby from Lost) and Alexis Denisof (Wesley from Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel), who play Carter’s bio parents — and were probably cast to make some genre TV-loving casting director’s dreams come true. We approve. Finding Carter premieres July 8 at 10 p.m. ET and an extended 15-minute preview of the show will be made available on the network’s app starting June 30. Get More:MTV Shows Read more: http://mashable.com/2014/06/11/mtvs-finding-carter-trailer-features-drama-tears-and-wesley-from-buffy/
Is the CW’s The Carrie Diaries a lazy turd of a Sex in the City prequel? Is ABC’s Nashville just a country version of NBC’s Smash? Sherlock Holmes sure thinks so in this video ridiculing the fall TV lineup. In “Sherlock Can’t Solve Elementary,” the detective pins down which new shows remind him of past series. “All of these putrid new shows are thinly veiled clones of previously successful ones,” he bemoans. | 6 Fox Shows to Watch | 6 NBC Shows to Watch But one eludes him: CBS’s drama Elementary, which premieres Thursday. Watch him struggle to crack the mystery in the above video from comedy site Jest. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/26/sherlock-fall-tv-elementary/
Hard-core fans of HBO’s popular series Game of Thrones want to create a web-based prequel, and need your help to make it a reality. A new Kickstarter project unaffiliated with HBO or George R.R. Martin — the author of the books on which the series is based — aims to create a pilot episode for a new web series that takes place 100 years prior to the events currently shown on Game of Thrones. Called “Dunk and Egg,” the series would occur in Martin’s fantasy world, but would include story lines from his prequel, The Hedge Knight. “Our labor of love will explore the legend and lore of Martin’s ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ and will give fans a glimpse into the harsh medieval world of Westeros,” the Kickstarter page says. “This is a series for fans, made by fans.” The team says it has been working to finish the pilot episode, but needs help funding the battle scene. “We have been working extremely hard for several months to complete a pilot for ‘Dunk and Egg,’ and are ready for our biggest undertaking yet … a battle,” the page says. “We want the battle to feel authentic. As fans, we’re all working for free on this project, and getting realistic armor, costumes, swords, animals, etc. is incredibly expensive. We’ve done as much as we can, now we need your help.” The project has already brought in more than $3,000 with the help of 65 backers. It has three weeks left to reach its goal of $10,000. Smaller pledges will get supporters a soundtrack and Blu-Ray copy of the pilot, while bigger donors will receive walk-on roles, props and a co-executive producer credit in the show. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/09/15/game-of-thrones-prequel/
Films Featured at Comic Con 1. The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Pt. 2 The Twilight Saga is a Comic-Con mainstay, drawing twi-hards from near and far to line up days before the event for a glimpse of the full cast’s appearance. Attendees caught a preview of the first seven minutes of the final installment, which chronicles Bella Swan’s transformation from waify teen to blood-sucking lady vamp. 2. Oz The Great and Powerful Sam Raimi debuted the first teaser trailer for his Oz origin story at Comic-Con on Thursday. His first flick following the Spider Man trilogy, Oz stars James Franco, Rachel Weisz, Mila Kunis and Michelle Williams in this whimsical and dark tale of how the West came to be so wicked. We can’t help but wonder, is there a green Kunis in store? 3. Wreck-It Ralph John C. Reilly and Sarah Silverman promoted their new animated Disney movie, along with director Rich Moore in Hall H on Thursday. The flick tells the story of 8-bit arcade menace Wreck-It Ralph, who opts to quit his villainous day job in search of lighter pastures. Attendees caught a 10-minute preview of the movie, which in part revealed where villain group therapy takes place: at the center of a Pac-Man board. 4. Frankenweenie Tim Burton’s presentation of Frankenweenie drew a decked out crowd of superfans, dressed as some of the director’s most iconic characters. Burton said it felt like a visit from his family—that is, a family of 6,000. He says that this homage to horror and humor stems from personal experience. 5. The Expendables 2 Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger were among the all-stars that took the stage for a Q&A about this action-packed sequel. Fans were thrilled to see the Governator going back to his apolitical roots. 6. The Batmobile Warner Bros. showed off a lengthy preview of this new documentary about the vehicle of legends. The doc takes viewers through the history of Batman’s most awe-inspiring weapon from its inception in the 1930s up to the present model in The Dark Knight Rises. The special will air on Monday, July 16 at 8:00 on the CW. 7. ParaNorman With ParaNorman, writer-director Chris Butler aimed to make a zombie movie for kids. In this freshly released interview, we learned that the flick is also something of an autobiography. Granted, we’re pretty sure a young Butler didn’t communicate with the dead. 8. Resident Evil: Retribution Michelle Rodrguez and Milla Jovovich made an appearance in Hall H to preview the fifth installment in the franchise. Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/13/half-time-comic-con/
Apparently Dane Cook missed the lesson in the recent Daniel Tosh rape joke controversy: There are some things you might not want to use for laughs. The controversial comedian used last week’s shooting in Aurora, Colorado as a source of jokes during an appearance at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles Thursday night. In footage obtained by the Daily Caller, Cook can be heard saying, “So I heard that the guy came into the theater about 25 minutes into the movie. And I don’t know if you’ve seen the movie; the movie is pretty much a piece of crap. And, uh, yeah, spoiler alert. And I know that if none of that would have happened, I’m pretty sure that somebody in that theater, about 25 minutes in, realizing it was a piece of crap, was probably like ‘ugh f-cking shoot me.’” The July 20 shooting during a midnight premiere of The Dark Knight Rises left 12 people dead and 58 injured. Twitter Reacts to Dane Cook’s Aurora Shooting Joke @netw3rk @proteautype @americanhumor @marawritesstuff @MrSugarPants1 @sedanoshow @thetsel Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/07/27/dane-cook-sparks-outrage-with-aurora-shooting-jokes-video/
Is “Gangnam Style” too legit to quit? With more than 766 million views, MC Hammer seems to think so. The rapper joined Korean music sensation Psy on stage at the 2012 American Music Awards on Sunday night. Both performers, donned in Hammer pants, collaborated on a mashup of “Gangnam Style” and “2 Legit 2 Quit.” Cameras caught stars like Justin Bieber, who won “Artist of the Year,” dancing along to the epic performance. You can also purchase the mashup on iTunes. What is the best mashup of Gangnam Style you’ve seen so far? Are you ready for another single from the artist? Let us know in the comments below. Gangnam Style Video Roundup Klingon Style Gangnam Style with Eric Schmidt Gangnam Style at York University Bill Nye the Psyence Guy Kim Jong Style Quad City DJ’s vs PSY Hey, Sexy Sailors! Psy Performs Gangnam Style at the TODAY Show Gangnam Style Sans Music CPDRC Inmates RaOn acoustic cover Read more: http://mashable.com/2012/11/19/mc-hammer-and-psy/
