Lin-Manuel Miranda is bracing for a sketch-filled October…
The 36-year-old Puerto Rican actor and Hamilton star/creator will make his debut as host of NBC’s long-running sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live on October 8.
Miranda, who recently graced the cover of GQ, will be joined by musical guest Twenty One Pilots, also making their SNLhosting debut. The duo (Tyler Joseph and Josh Dun) recently made history becoming the first alternative group ever with two simultaneous singles in the top five on the Billboard Hot 100 — “Ride,” from their multi-platinum studio album Blurryface, and “Heathens,” from Suicide Squad: The Album.
SNL has added three new featured players for the upcoming season: improv performer Alex Moffat and America’s Got Talent finalist Melissa Villaseñor, as well as Mikey Day, who has been a writer on the show since 2013.
The 28-year-old stand-up comedian and former America’s Got Talent has joined the cast of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, making her the first Latina cast member in the sketch comedy show’s 41 years on the air.
Villaseñor, best known as a Top 16 finalist in season six of America’s Got Talent, has been working as a standup comedian across the country for more than 10 years.
After auditioning for the show in 2009 without success, Villaseñor was determined to work on her craft, knowing that – given another opportunity – she would return.
“SNL is one of the main reasons why I started comedy at 15 and I pray to be there someday when I am ready and have even more to offer,” she said seven years ago. “I am very thankful for that experience and will always keep working at new impressions as well as my standup comedy.”
SNL boss Lorne Michaels, for his part, gave her and other Hispanic comedians a chance to prove their worth when SNL’s Broadway Video – along with NBC Universal Telemundo – launched Más Mejor, a studio and comedy network aimed at discovering and cultivating Latino talent earlier this year.
Villaseñor was a major player and used the opportunity to strengthen her skills, including her impersonations of celebrities like Jennifer Lopez.
She also previously lent her voice to Cartoon Network’s Adventure Timeand also has worked onFamily Guy and Comedy Central’sTrip Tank.
Villaseñor will make her debut in theSNL season premiere on October 1.
The goth-garbed Latino singer, an America’s Got Talentsemifinalist who wowed audiences with his operatic vocals during his 2012 audition, has signed a label deal for his second album, Dark Tales.
A three-song teaser EP will be available on August 21 on iTunes from Standby Records, home to such bands as Black Veil Brides and As Blood Runs Black.
De Leon independently released his first album, Black Lights— a mix of classical, rock, pop and goth opera — as a solo artist in 2013. He plans to release Dark Tales in 2016. It’s his first recording with his band, which includes lead guitarist/composer Hunter Fisher and guitarist John Paul Grasso.
“I was OK being just a solo artist for a while, but I quickly realized that I had too much of a vision to limit myself. The sound I was going for was way too big to take on all alone,” says De Leon. “The idea of grouping a band happened quickly after, and I’m very happy with that decision. There’s more orchestration with the music now, and the band completely gets the musical direction.”
De Leon signed with Standby Records when the label approached him a year after releasing Black Lights. He was convinced to sign with the company after having a phone conversation with CEO/owner Neil Sheehan. “I was really impressed with the direction of the label. He made it very clear that the goal of Standby Records was to allow the artist to be as creative as possible, and I was immediately sold on the idea,” says the singer. “I think artistic freedom is very important, so it only made sense to join Standby.”
De Leon says he was seeking a more pop/dance-driven sound with his first record, listening to EDM for inspiration. But his second effort is more rock-oriented.
Black Lights “ended up being somewhat of a variety record, which makes sense since my shows are kind of the same way,” he says. “After that release the fans were really pleased, and I noticed their favorite tracks were the rock tracks. I quickly remembered that at a much younger age rock music was my passion and that led me to wanting to take that path with my vocals. With Dark Tales I was able to do just that. I got together with my guitarist and came up with the concept of a heavy rock album. When writing the songs for Dark Tales we didn’t hold back any punches lyrically and musically. With Black Lights I took on a much nicer and appropriate approach, but with Dark Tales I just let it all out. There’s no more pop here. It’s all heavy rock.”
Even though De Leon belted out an incredible rendition of the soprano aria “O Mio Babbino Caro” on America’s Got Talent that brought the audience to its feet, he had never sung in public before that night. The YouTube clip of his audition has racked up more than 42 million views. Because he felt like an outcast, De Leon kept his love of singing to himself and practiced in his bedroom. His parents didn’t even know about his talent until they heard him perform at the show. Now De Leon is focusing on getting past the mindset of being a victim.
“The songs are very honest and dark, which is why I called them dark tales,” he says. “My previous music was mostly about feeling victimized and how to get through those kinds of struggles, but with Dark Tales I wanted to explore the side of me that wasn’t a victim. I wanted to get to know the monster inside and embrace it. So the songs on the EP talk about love, hate, betrayal, sexuality and other things I’ve experienced that I was too scared to write about before. Dark Tales is somewhat of an introduction to a scary story that seems to have no end.”
Jennifer Lopez is about to be Meredith Vieira’s first….
An exclusive interview with the45-year-old Puerto Rican singer, actress and American Idol judge will be featured on the first edition of The Meredith Vieira Show when it premieres on Monday, September 8 in national syndication.
Lopez will talk “openly and candidly,” according to an announcement Wednesday, about her family, life and relationships.
Later, Vieira will speak with actor Seth Rogen and his actress wife Lauren Miller. They will talk about why Alzheimer’s awareness is a cause that is important to them.
On that Tuesday, British singer and former Spice Girls member Mel B, a judge on America’s Got Talent, will also be on the show “to dish on the other AGT judges,” according to the announcement. Vieira will also ask her how fearless Scary Spice is in a game called “What Scares Scary Spice?”
Later in the week, Vieira will be joined by actress Jessica Alba, who will talk about how her daughters were the driving force in building her business empire.
In the second half of her first week, Vieira also helps three brides-to-be who complain their father “is the worst dad on the dance floor.” Vieira enlists an expert to teach him how to dance in time for the weddings.
The new one-hour weekday show hosted by Vieira is being produced and syndicated by NBC Universal. Anchored on the NBC stations in the biggest U.S. cities, it is the highest profile new syndicated talk show of the fall season.
The search will be on for Colombia’s next Shakira or Juanes…
FremantleMedia International has sold the international version of Fox’s hit reality singing competition American Idol to Colombian network RCN.
Set to premiere in spring 2014, Idols Colombia will be the 47th local version of the show to be produced worldwide.
FremantleMedia also has sold America’s Got Talent season 9 to Sony Pictures Television in Latin America, and the format has been renewed for a localized version (dubbed Talento Chileno) on Chilean network Chilevision for a fifth season.
Other recent Fremantle sales in Latin America include Tattoo Nightmares to TruTV and Storage Wars Canada to A&E Networks.
Joe Castillois prepared to sand and deliveras he moves one step closer to the America’s Got Talent title and one-million dollar prize.
Following the first round of season 7 semifinals, the Mexican-native sand story artist has moved forward to the finals of NBC’s reality talent competition. Castillo was one of three acts from the first semifinal round, which featured 12 acts, to advance.
Earth harpist William Close and stand-up comedian Tom Cotter advanced to the finals based on viewers’ vote, leaving the judges to choose between Castillo and dog ventriloquist/comedian Todd Oliver.
Howard Stern cast his vote for Oliver, while Sharon Osbourne and Howie Mandel picked Castillo, sending the sand story artist to the final round.
Castillo has made an impression on the judges and America with his unique way of storytelling that features sand, a light table and music as a medium.
One of a handful of sand story artists in the world, Joe has performed hundreds of sand stories for eight years in more than 18 countries around the globe.
Next week, 12 other acts will perform in a bid to get viewers’ support to nab the last three positions in the finals. The winner receives $1 million and a headline show in Las Vegas.
