Maldonado & Pentatonix Groupmates Remain Atop the Billboard 200 for Second Week

Posted on January 2, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado is still basking in the holiday spirit…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican, part Spanish-American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members spend a second week atop the Billboard 200 with their holiday album A Pentatonix Christmas.

The set earned 101,000 equivalent album units in the week ending December 29, 2016 — the final tracking week of the calendar year.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

The closing tracking frame of 2016 includes the two days leading up to Christmas Day and the holiday itself, so it’s fitting that a Christmas album leads the tally.

While A Pentatonix Christmas’ total units earned for the week were down by 51 percent, its traditional album sales were greater than any other album: it sold 82,000 copies (down 55 percent), far ahead of the No. 2 selling set of the week, Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, with 55,000 copies (down 39 percent).

A Pentatonix Christmas‘ handsome sales, along with small declines in SEA and TEA (down 12 and 10 percent, respectively), helps keep the album ahead of the No. 2 set on the Billboard 200, The Weeknd’s former No. 1 Starboy. The latter climbs one rung with 94,000 units (down only 7 percent).

Mars’ 24K Magic dips one slot to No. 3 with 81,000 units (down 29 percent), while J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only is steady at No. 4 with 75,000 units (down 16 percent).

The original Broadway cast recording of Hamilton: An American Musical climbs two positions to No. 5 with 54,000 units (down 7 percent). This is the highest rank for the title in five months, since it also placed at No. 5 on the August 6, 2016-dated list. The album has so far peaked at No. 3 (July 2, 2016), following its 11 Tony Award wins on June 12.

The soundtrack to the animated film Moana jumps 10-6 on the new chart with 53,000 units (up 4 percent), while Twenty One Pilots’ Blurryface vaults 15-7 with 52,000 units (up 37 percent). The latter album benefits from a $5.99 sale price in the Apple iTunes store, as well as promotion generated by the release of Twenty One Pilots’ new EP with MuteMath, The MuteMath Sessions, on Dec. 20. Overall sales of Blurryface were up by 23 percent to 33,000, while its download sales increased by a whopping 268 percent to 20,000.

Maldonado & Her Pentatonix Bandmates’ Christmas Album Reaches No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart

Posted on December 28, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado is a woman on top… of the charts…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican, part Spanish-American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members have scored their second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart.

The vocal group’s Pentatonix Christmas rises 2-1 on the latest list, earning 206,000 equivalent album units in the week ending December 22 (up 32 percent), according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 185,000 were in traditional album sales (up 33 percent).

It’s the first holiday album at No. 1 in five years, since Michael Buble’s Christmas ruled the tally for five consecutive weeks on the charts dated December 10, 2011, through January 7, 2012.

Pentatonix previously led the list with its self-titled album, which debuted atop the list in 2015.

The album benefits from not only holiday-fueled purchases, as well as a sale price in the iTunes Store (for just $7.99), but also a number of television appearances from the group during the tracking week. The act’s December 7 performance on ABC‘s Jimmy Kimmel Live! repeated on Dec. 16; NBC‘s A Pentatonix Christmas Special (which premiered on December 14) received an encore airing on December 17; they sang on NBC’s America’s Got Talent Holiday Spectacular on December 19; and they performed on Fox News’ Fox & Friends on December 21 and the syndicated Rachael Ray Show on December 22.

A Pentatonix Christmas is the group’s sixth top 10 album overall, and third holiday effort to reach the region, following 2014’s No. 2-peaking That’s Christmas to Me, and the 2013 PTXmas EP, which climbed to No. 7.

Pentatonix’s latest No. 1 also earns the largest sales week for a holiday album in two years, since Pentatonix’s previous holiday set, That’s Christmas to Me, sold 203,000 copies in the week ending December 21, 2014. In fact, the last acts that weren’t Pentatonix to sell more in a single week with a holiday album were Michael Buble and Justin Bieber during the week ending December 25, 2011. That week, Buble sold 467,000 copies of Christmas, while Bieber moved 225,000 copies of his Under the Mistletoe.

Further, A Pentatonix Christmas is the first album to earn its first week at No. 1 by climbing there — as opposed to debuting or re-entering at No. 1–since Rihanna’s Anti vaulted from No. 27 to No. 1 in its second chart week, on the February 20-dated list.

Also notable, since A Pentatonix Christmas reaches No. 1 in its ninth week on the list, it logs the slowest continuous climb to No. 1 (thus excepting re-entries at No. 1 from Prince’s The Very Best of Prince and Chris Stapleton’s Traveller) since the March 16, 2013-dated list, when Bruno Mars’ Unorthodox Jukebox reached No. 1 in its 12^th week.

NBC Developing Comedy Starring Marin, Paul Rodriguez & Paul Rodriguez Jr.

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Cheech Marin may be returning to television in the near future…

NBC is developing a single-camera comedy starring and executive produced by the 70-year-old comedian, actor, voice actor and writer; stand-up comedian and actor Paul Rodriguez; and his son, professional skateboarder/actor Paul Rodriguez Jr.

From Universal Television, the untitled project is written/executive produced by Steve & Jim Armogida, creators/executive producers of Nickelodeon’s School of Rock television series.

It’s described as an irreverent single-camera comedy about being Latino in today’s America as seen through the different perspectives of three generations of Latino males – a grandfather, father, and son – Cheech (Marin), Paul (Rodriguez), and Paulie (Rodriguez Jr.)

This has been a passion project for Paul Rodriguez, who has long ties with Marin, going back to the 1980s when Rodriguez starred opposite Marin in Marin’s 1987 movie Born In East LA. They again played family members, cousins.

The trio last year shot a sizzle reel for the comedy series project, which came close to landing at ABC.

Pentatonix’s New Holiday Album On Track to Reach No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart

Posted on December 22, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Kirstie Maldonado is ready to rule the roost…

The 24-year-old half-Mexican, part Spanish-American singer and her fellow Pentatonix members are on track for the vocal group’s second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart, as industry forecasters believe the a cappella act’s latest release, the holiday effort A Pentatonix Christmas, could rise to the top of next week’s list.

Prognosticators say the album could earn over 175,000 equivalent album units in the week ending December 22. That should be enough to easily take over the top spot, as the next closest competitors will likely be The Weeknd’s Starboy album and Bruno Mars’ 24K Magic, with both albums predicted to sell around 100,000 copies for the week.

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). The top 10 of the new January 7, 2017-dated Billboard 200 chart — where A Pentatonix Christmas could rise to No. 1 — is scheduled to be revealed on Billboard’s websites on Monday, December 26.

A Pentatonix Christmas was released through RCA Records on October 21. It debuted at No. 3 on the November 12-dated chart, and has never ranked lower than No. 6 on the list in its eight weeks on the chart. On the latest tally, reflecting the tracking week ending December 15, it climbed from No. 3 to No. 2 with 156,000 units (up from 128,000 the week previous).

The album is basking in the glow of holiday-fueled purchases, as well as a sale price in the iTunes Store (for just $7.99), as well as due to a number of television appearances from the group during the tracking week. The act’s December 7 performance on ABC‘s Jimmy Kimmel Live! repeated on December 16, NBC‘s A Pentatonix Christmas Special (which premiered on Dec. 14) received an encore airing on December 17, and they sang on NBC’s America’s Got Talent Holiday Spectacular on December 19.

If the album reaches No. 1, it will give Pentatonix its second leader, following their self-titled album, which debuted atop the Nov. 7, 2015-dated list. A Pentatonix Christmas is the group’s sixth top 10 album overall, and third holiday effort to reach the region, following 2014’s No. 2-peaking That’s Christmas To Me, and the 2013 PTXmas EP, which climbed to No. 7.

Hernandez: First Latina to Win ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars”

Posted on November 23, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

She may be a teenager, but Laurie Hernandez is already dancing royalty…

The 16-year-old Puerto Rican gymnast, an Olympic gold and silver medalist at the 2016 Rio Games, has been crowned the champion of the 23rd season of ABC‘s Dancing with the Stars.

Hernandez was crowned the belle of the ballroom alongside her dance partner Val Chmerkovskiy in Tuesday night’s finale, which also featured former Detroit Lions wide receiver Calvin Johnson and IndyCar driver James Hinchcliffe.

Hinchcliffe was the runner-up as Johnson finished third.

At just 16 years old, Hernandez is the youngest champion in the show’s history. She’s also the first Latina to take home the coveted mirrorball trophy, and only third Hispanic competitor to claim the title in the show’s 23-season run. Brazilian IndyCar racer Helio Castroneves won DTWS in Season 5, while El Salvadoran-American actor J.R. Martinez, a former U.S. Army soldier, won the title in Season 13.

Hernandez joins Shawn Johnson as Olympic gold medalist gymnasts that have also won a season of Dancing with the Stars. Fellow gymnasts and Olympic champions Nastia Liukin and Aly Raisman have fourth place finishes on their DTWS resumes.

Other previous Olympians to win Dancing with the Stars include Apolo Ohno, Kristi Yamaguchi and Meryl Davis.

Longoria to Executive Produce Comedy Project “940 Saturdays” for ABC

Posted on October 20, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

It’s all about Saturdays for Eva Longoria…

The 41-year-old Mexican American actress/producer is reuniting with Chrissy Pietrosh and Jessica Goldstein, the creators of her NBC comedy series Telenovela, to executive produce a new single-camera comedy project for ABC.

The comedy, tentatively titled 940 Saturdays, hails from Universal Television and Longoria & Ben Spector’s studio-based UnbeliEVAable Entertainment.

Written by Pietrosh and Goldstein, 940 Saturdays refers to the number of Saturdays between the day your child is born and the day they turn eighteen. In this single-camera series, three families band together to enjoy… and survive them all.

This is the second sale at ABC for UnbeliEVAble this season, along with the Magnum P.I. sequel. The company also has NBC comedy project Big of Me, written by Awkward creator Lauren Iungerich.

Pietrosh and Goldstein’s Telenovela was one of two high-profile single-camera comedy projects vying for Longoria to star during the 2014-15 development season. She went with Pietrosh and Goldstein’s Telenovela, and the comedy, set behind the scenes of a telenovela, was picked up to series by NBC. It launched last midseason, with Longoria starring and Pietrosh, Goldstein, Longoria and Spector executive producing. It did not draw a wide enough audience for a second-season renewal but garnered solid reviews.

Milans Lands Recurring Role on The CW’s “No Tomorrow”

Posted on October 18, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

There’s a new Tomorrow for Marta Milans…

The 34-year-old Spanish actress has landed a recurring role in The CW’s No Tomorrow, from the Jane The Virgin duo of writer/co-executive producer Corinne Brinkerhoff and executive producer Ben Silverman.

No Tomorrow centers on a risk-averse, straight arrow, female procurement manager (Tori Anderson) at an Amazon-like distribution center who falls in love with a freewheeling man who lives life to the fullest because he believes the apocalypse is imminent, to comedic and poignant results as they embark on a quest together to fulfill their individual bucket lists.

Milans will play Sofia. Described as a dynamic, passionate world traveler and photographer, Sofia is newly engaged to Kareema’s brother, Rohan, but quickly develops a surprising connection with Kareema herself.

Milans was most recently cast in the ABC pilot The Death of Eva Sofia Valdez. Her previous television credits include Mysteries of Laura, HBO’s High Maintenance and feature film Wizard of Lies.

Chavira to Appear on The CW’s “Jane The Virgin”

Posted on October 3, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Ricardo Chavira is heading to Virgin territory…

The 45-year-old Mexican American actor and former Desperate Housewives star has landed a recurring role on the upcoming third season of The CW’s Jane The Virgin, playing Xo’s (Andrea Navedo) ex-boyfriend who dated her when he was married.

In one of several cliffhangers in the Season 2 finale, Xo, who had just slept with ex-husband Rogelio’s nemesis Esteban, was seen holding a positive pregnancy test for a baby that could be any of the two men’s.

Chavira starred as Carlos Solis opposite Eva Longoria on all eight seasons of ABC’s Desperate Housewives and has been recurring as presidential candidate Francisco Vargas on ABC’s Scandal.

He’ll next be seen opposite Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant on Netflix’s new comedy series Santa Clarita Diet.

Nolasco Starring in HBO’s Family Drama “Mogadishu, Minnesota”

Posted on September 30, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Elvis Nolasco is heading to Minnesota…

The Dominican actor has been cast in HBO’s drama pilot Mogadishu, Minnesota, written, directed and executive produced by rapper K’naan Warsame.

Executive produced by Zero Dark Thirty and The Hurt Locker‘s Kathryn Bigelow, the family drama grapples with what it means to be American – among the Somalis of Minneapolis.

Along with Nolasco, who starred on two seasons of ABC’s American Crime, the pilot will also star K.C. Collins, Rif Hutton, Ezana Alem, Hanad Abdirahman Abdi, Selam Tadese, Prince Abdi, Yusra Warsama and Liya Kebede. All will be regulars if the pilot is picked up to series.

Nolasco will portray Liban, the uncle of one of the characters and the proud owner of Liban’s Classy Hookah. He’s an upright citizen who prizes the family’s reputation above all else. He is not pleased when his brother, Bisbaas, returns to town.

Shooting begins this October in Minneapolis.

Season 2 of Di Pace’s “Fuller House” to Premiere on Netflix in December

Posted on September 22, 2016 by Tom Castaneda

Expect Juan Pablo Di Pace’s House-warming party this September …

Netflix has announced that Season 2 of its original series Fuller House, starring the 37-year-old Argentine actor, will launch globally on December 9.

The date comes after the streaming service renewed the spinoff of the ABC sitcom after it launched in March.

Di Pace was upped to series regular for Season 2 after appearing as a guest star in the first season.

The series continues the adventures that began in 1987 on Full House continue, with veterinarian D.J. Tanner-Fuller (Candace Cameron-Bure) recently widowed and living in San Francisco. D.J.’s younger sister/aspiring musician Stephanie Tanner (Jodie Sweetin) and D.J.’s lifelong best friend/fellow single mother Kimmy Gibbler (Andrea Barber), along with Kimmy’s feisty teenage daughter Ramona, all move in to help take care of D.J.’s three boys.

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