Saldanha to Receive CinemaCon’s International Filmmaker of the Year Award

Posted on January 31, 2014 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Saldanha will be getting plenty of love at this year’s CinemaCon…

The 49-year-old Brazilian director of animated films will receive the international filmmaker of the year award at this year’s edition of CinemaCon, the annual gathering of theater owners in Las Vegas.

This year’s convention will take place March 24-27 at Caesars Palace.

Saldanha, an Academy Award nominated filmmaker who works with Blue Sky Studios, is currently wrapping production on Rio 2, his follow up to 20th Century Fox‘s animated hit Rio.

The sequel opens in theaters April 11 and features the return of voice leads Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg, Jermaine Clement, Leslie Mann, George Lopez, will.i.am and Jamie Foxx.

New voice additions include Andy Garcia, Bruno Mars, Kristin Chenoweth and Rita Moreno.

The Rio franchise is from Fox Animation Studios and Blue Sky Studios.

Saldanha’s other credits include Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs and Robots.

Lopez ThisClose to Finalizing Deal to Return to “American Idol”

Posted on August 4, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Jennifer Lopez is reportedly thisclose to returning to American Idol…

The 44-year-old Puerto Rican singer/actress has reached an agreement on the major deal points to return to the judges’ panel on Fox’s hit reality singing competition, according to Deadline.com.

An official announcement on the “Live It Up” singer’s return to the show for the upcoming thirteenth season is expected in the next week or two.

J.Lo will join returning judge Keith Urban and host Ryan Seacrest. The third Idol judging seat is still open, with will.i.am reportedly high on the Idol producers’ wish list.

The details of Lopez’s new deal haven’t been released, but Deadline.com reports that her paycheck could be around $15 million, what she most recently earned on the show in Season 11.

Lopez, who left Idol in May 2012, is on stronger footing now than she was when she first joined the show in 2010. As an executive producer, she has a hit series in ABC Family‘s The Fosters, which just received a back order, and she is also a partner in NUVOtv, a channel for Latinos.

Lovato Receives MuchMusic Video Award Nomination

Posted on May 26, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Demi Lovato is getting much love in Canada…

The 20-year-old part-Mexican American singer/actress and The X Factor star has received a MuchMusic Video award nomination.

Lovato is nominated in the International Video of the Year – Artist category for the clip for her latest single “Heart Attack.”

Lovato’s video, which was directed by Chris Applebaum, is up against Ed Sheeran, Justin Timberlake, Nicki Minaj, Phillip Phillips, Pink, PSY, Rihanna, Taylor Swift and will.iam featuring Britney Spears.

Pop-rock band Marianas Trench leads the 2013 MuchMusic Video Awards with six nominations, followed by Drake with five and rapper Classified with four.

The awards show will take place on June 16 in Toronto, on a giant main stage in the MuchMusic headquarters’ parking lot and on the adjacent street’s smaller stage, surrounded by an estimated 10,000 fans. The presentation will air live at 9:00 pm on Fuse in the U.S. and MuchMusic in Canada.

Here’s a look at the nominees in the International Video of the Year – Artist category:

Demi Lovato “Heart Attack” — Director: Chris Applebaum
Ed Sheeran “Give Me Love” — Director: Emil Nava
Justin Timberlake “Mirrors” — Director: Floria Sigismondi
Nicki Minaj “Va Va Voom” — Director: Hype Williams
Phillip Phillips “Home” — Director: Joseph Toman
P!NK “Try” — Director: Floria Sigismondi
PSY “Gangnam Style” — Director: Bo Young Lee
Rihanna “Diamonds” — Director: Anthony Mandler
Taylor Swift “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” — Director: Declan Whitebloom
will.i.am f. Britney Spears “Scream & Shout” — Director: Ben Mor

Fergie Performs on “The Great Gatsby” Soundtrack

Posted on April 21, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Fergie may be expecting her first child with husband Josh Duhamel… But that isn’t stopping her from getting her party on for one of Hollywood’s most anticipated films…

The 38-year-old part-Mexican American singer is lending her voice to the soundtrack for The Great Gatsby, which Jay-Z is executive producing.

Fergie, who will be honored at Logo’s NewNowNext Awards this year, performs the song “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)” on the soundtrack, along with Q Tip and GoonRock.

The Black Eyed Peas member joins a star-studded line-up of artists that includes Beyonce Knowles covering Amy Winehouse‘s “Back to Black” with Andre 3000, will.i.am, Lana Del Rey and Emeli Sande.

The Great Gatsby soundtrack will be released officially on May 7, and will feature a remarkable collection of indie, hip-hop and neo-jazz tunes.

It will debut three days ahead of the movie’s theater run beginning on May 10.

Here’s a look at The Great Gatsby soundtrack:

1. “100$ Bill” – Jay-Z

2. “Back to Black” – Beyonce Knowles and Andre 3000

3. “Bang Bang” – will.i.am

4. “A Little Party Never Killed Nobody (All We Got)” – Fergie, Q Tip and GoonRock

5. “Young and Beautiful” – Lana Del Rey

6. “Love Is the Drug” – Bryan Ferry with The Bryan Ferry Orchestra

7. “Over the Love” – Florence and the Machine

8. “Where the Wind Blows” – Coco O. of Quadron

9. “Crazy in Love” – Emeli Sande and The Bryan Ferry Orchestra

10. “Together” – The xx

11. “Hearts a Mess” – Goatee

12. “Love Is Blindness” – Jack White

13. “Into the Past” – Nero

14. “Kill and Run” – Sia

Lovato to Join Bruno Mars & Miguel at This Year’s Wango Tango

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Tom Castaneda

Demi Lovato is preparing to (wango) tango this coming May…

The 20-year-old part-Mexican American actress/singer, who recently signed on to return to the judges table on Fox’s The X Factor next season, has been added to the list of performers for KIIS-FM’s upcoming Wango Tango concert.

In addition, Lovato will serve as a guest host alongside Ryan Seacrest and the rest of the KIIS-FM on-air team at the star-studded music party taking place at The Home Depot Center in Carson on Saturday, May 11.

But Lovato isn’t the only Hispanic musician performing at the annual event.

Bruno Mars and Miguel will also take the stage at Wango Tango. Mars, who will kick off the festivities, has performed at the event before, while Miguel will be making his debut.

Other performers include Britney Spears, Maroon 5, Flo Rida, will.i.am, Icona Pop and Ariana Grande.

Tickets for Wango Tango go on sale to the VIP members of KIIS fans club on Friday, April 5 at 10:00 A.M. PST. If tickets are still available after the pre-sale, the remaining tickets will go on sale to the public on Saturday, April 6 at 10:00 A.M. at the radio’s official site with keyword “WANGO.”

Gomez Reportedly Making Music with Boyfriend Justin Bieber

Posted on July 28, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber may be out to prove that “the couple that records together, stays together”…

The 20-year-old half-Mexican American singer/actress is reportedly working on new music with her boyfriend of more than a year.

Bieber is writing and producing tracks for Gomez’s next album, according to MTV, including one that he played for the Black Eyed Peas’ frontman, will.i.am. Speaking with Canada’s New Music Live, will.i.am recalled hearing the song.

“He was like, ‘Yeah, I wrote it for Selena. It’s great,” said will.i.am. “And it was really awesome. It was really, really dope.”

No word on what kind of song Bieber wrote, but earlier this year, Gomez told E! News that she wanted her next album to be “really fun.”

“It’s not going to be necessarily, ‘Here’s my tell-all,’” she said, referencing her famous boyfriend. “It’s going to be more of something that people could say, ‘It could be that or it could be this or it could be that.’ At the end of the day, I only make my music because I want it [to] be really fun, and if I could have people dance to it, relate to it, have a good time, that’s all I want.”

Gomez’s last album, When the Sun Goes Down, peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart following its release in June 2011. The singer hasn’t officially announced a release date for her next effort, but it’s expected to come out sometime in 2013.

Gomez has also reportedly collaborated with Toby Gad and Rock Mafia on her new album.

Vergara to Play Tia Sofia on “The Cleveland Show”

Posted on July 23, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Sofia Vergara is heading to Cleveland this fall…

The 40-year-old Colombian actress—who just earned her third consecutive Primetime Emmy nomination for her role on ABC’s Modern Family—will be lending her voice to Fox’s animated series The Cleveland Show.

Vergara, currently the highest paid actress on television, will play Tia Sofia, who attempts to convince Cleveland to throw a quinceñera for Cleveland Jr.’s 15th birthday.

In addition, she’ll make a cameo as Peter Griffin’s fantasy love interest in an upcoming episode of Family Guy, according to Entertainment Weekly. In a cutaway gag featuring Peter as a telenovela lothario, Vergara will voice his oh-so-sexy and sassy lover. And that’s not her only role in the episode; she’ll also play a woman selling roses in a restaurant where Quagmire is “wooing” Peter so that Peter will do him a big favor.

Meanwhile, as previously reported, Bruno Mars will appear in the season premiere of The Cleveland Show, along with Kanye West, Nicki Minaj, The Roots’ ?uestlove and will.i.am. They’ll star as characters in a secret hip-hop society that Cleveland discovers in the season premiere.

A subsequent episode will feature Boston Red Sox slugger David Ortiz, who recently became the 49th player in major league history to reach 400 home runs.

On The Simpsons, the 24th season of the Fox comedy will feature Portlandia‘s Fred Armisen, while Family Guy will see The Voice’s Christina Milian voice an upcoming role.

Mars to Guest Star on “The Cleveland Show” Next Season

Posted on July 11, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

He’s known for his high-octane performances… But Bruno Mars is about to get animated in a different way.

The 26-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer-songwriter will be appearing as a character on Fox’s The Cleveland Show.

In the episode titled “Menace II Society,” Mars will be joined by Kanye West, The Roots drummer ?uestlove, Nicki Minaj and Black Eyed Peas frontman Will.i.am.

“We have a couple of original songs with Kanye and Will and Bruno [Mars], I mean, all of them, it was great,” says the show’s executive producer Rich Appel.

The episode depicts the guest stars as members of the “rap illuminati,” who control pop culture.

“Cleveland inadvertently breaks into it and then it’s how he will either bring them down or they’ll bring him down,” adds Appel.

No word yet on when the episode is slated to premiere.

Shakira to Duet with Britney Spears

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

She collaborated with Beyoncé on “Beautiful Liar,” which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and won won the Most Earth-Shattering Collaboration award at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. And, now Shakira’s preparing to work her musical magic with another pop diva.

The 34-year-old Colombian singer will reportedly join voices with Britney Spears for a club-thumping anthem, according to Shadow Rumor.

The collaboration between the two singing sensations will be produced by Black Eyed Peas‘ member will.i.am.

Singer/producer Pharrell Williams reportedly played a big part in bringing Shakira and Spears together.

“I have proposed to Jive Records (Spears’ label) to bring the studio to Shakira and Lady Gaga and I thought it was a fabulous idea,” says Williams. “I want to make it happen.”

Shakira—who will be releasing a charity single with Miley Cyrus next month—released her last album “Sale El Sol” in 2010.

Meanwhile, Spears released her last album “Femme Fatale” last spring, and completed a tour to promote the effort two weeks before Christmas 2011.

Lopez Sharing the Mic with Wisin y Yandel…

Posted on January 25, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

She scored YouTube’s most-watched video of the year in the music category with Pitbull… And, rocked the galaxy in Will.i.am’s “T.H.E (The Hardest Ever)” video. And now Jennifer Lopez is getting her collab on all over again, this time with Wisin y Yandel!

Despite her hectic schedule—as an American Idol judge, talent seeker on her new show Q’Viva: The Chosen and executive producer on MTV Tr3s’ Amigas, Inc.—the 42-year-old Puerto Rican singer/actress is hitting the studio with the Puerto Rican reggaeton duo.

Lopez and Wisin y Yandel recently began work on two new singles in her Los Angeles studio.

One of the tracks will be featured on Wisin y Yandel‘s upcoming album, “Los Líderes,” while the other will appear on Lopez’s upcoming greatest hits album, according to Primera Hora.

The first of the two new singles could be released to radio as soon as February.

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