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8/30: Radio station Labor Day theme weekends
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While Praise, Smooth Jazz and Hot used Labor Day weekend to cut some actual labor costs, a few stations are dabbling in theme weekends on Labor Day weekend. It’s the theory of just throwing out a lot of “oh wow!” songs. Great stuff!
-B98.5 is doing an alphabetical song list, including many songs that have not been on their regular playlist in ages. In the “B’s as I’m writing this, I’ve heard Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run” and “Born in the U.S.A,” Supertramp’s “Breakfast in America,” Mr. Mister’s “Broken Wings” and Rolling Stones’ “Brown Sugar.”
-Star 94, which has been skewing a bit younger since Steve & Vikki left, is doing something odd: playing songs from the 80s and 90s. I’ve heard some songs that were hits at the time but haven’t been played in ages, which I guess is the point. As I was driving home from the Human Regeneration tour with Naked Eyes, Flock of Seagulls, ABC, Belinda Carlisle and Human League, I heard ABC’s “Poison Arrow,” Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n Roll,” OMC’s “How Bizarre,” Lou Gramm’s “Say You Will” and Madonna’s “Causing a Commotion,” and Arrested Development’s “Mr. Wendel.”
-Rock 100.5 is playing the top 500 rock songs of all time. It’s all over the map, which is the point, I fathom. The midnight hour includes Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters,” Better than Ezra’s “Good,” Thin Lizzy’s “Jailbreak,” the Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go,” Def Leppard’s “Rock! Rock! Till You Drop!” 3 Doors Down’s “It’s Not My Time,” Ted Nugent’s “Cat Scratch Fever,” Van Halen’s “Top of the World,” Creed’s “My Own Prison,” Led Zeppelin’s “When the Levee Breaks,” Tom Petty’s “You Wreck Me.”
-I also got the final count for WSB-AM’s Care-a-thon for the Aflac Cancer Center and Blood Disorders Service of Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.: $1.23 million. That’s comparable to the past two years, impressive given the current economic downturn.
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8/29: Rickey Smiley deal not final, cuts at Praise & Smooth Jazz
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today, I got a hold of Kevin Watson, Rickey Smiley’s manager. He said any deal between Smiley and Hot 107.9 is not final and still in negotiations. Still no word from the bosses at Hot in Atlanta. So what I thought was definitive yesterday was not. But it makes total financial sense.
Smiley for the past year has had a syndicated show now heard in 20 markets including Dallas and Miami and is owned by Radio One, which owns Hot and Smiley’s syndication deal. So the company has a major incentive to leverage a major asset (being Smiley) and add him in another top 10 market.
So until the deal is set, Hot will keep the “A Team” in the mornings with Beyonce, Rashan Ali and Emperor Searcy but minus Griff and Akini. Since Hot got rid of Maria More in mid-days and E4Real in afternoons (keeping Mizz Shyneka), this leaves openings that could be filled by Rashan from 10 to 2 and Searcy from 2 to 6 with Mizz Shyneka.
Radio One, which also owns Smooth Jazz and Praise, cut a couple of jocks from those station as well: Rene Miller, long-time jock at Smooth Jazz who had been doing afternoons, and Sonja Hamm, mid-day jock at Praise.
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8/28: Hot 107.9 dropped the A Team, replaced by Rickey Smiley
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I just heard that Hot 107.9 today got rid of the morning show, the A Team, consisting of Rashan Ali, Griff, Beyonce, Akini and Emperor Searcy. (From two sources, I hear Rashan will do mid-days and Searcy will go back to late afternoons, but I’m not sure what happens to Beyonce and Akini. Griff’s publicist confirmed that he is out.)
UPDATE: The Web site was updated in the evening to show Beyonce still having a shift on the weekends. That bodes well for her. And Mizz Shyneka and Durrty Boyz seem fine for now. But no sign of E4Real. Temporarily, it appears Rashan and Searcy will do the mornings without Griff for now.
Here’s Griff’s official statement: “The last 3 years and 6 months at Radio One have been a life changing experience. I thank my spiritual Father for the friends that I’ve met and worked with because I’ve learned so much and have grown as a person here in Atlanta. I’m excited about my future, I have a strong team of people helping to take me to new heights, and I will continue to make people laugh all over Atlanta at events and comedy clubs, while serving the community through my foundation, Positive Vibes. When I got home today, I read a book that said: ‘On this day the will of God is done in my life.’ That was all the closure I needed.”
Hot is expected to replace them with a syndicated show led by Rickey Smiley, the comic who was just in town at the Civic Center on Saturday. Ironically, I interviewed him a few days back and joked with him about entering the Atlanta market. At the time, he said he felt he had enough of a following to take on Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner here. He didn’t betray any sense he knew this was coming but maybe he did.
Smiley is in 20 markets including Dallas and Miami with a big push earlier this year. And if you like prank calls on the Morning Mess, just wait til Smiley comes in. He loves them!
Maria More, the mid-day host for six months, said she was let go but couldn’t comment further. The person who answered the phone at Hot 107.9 said he couldn’t talk about it either. I left a message with the Hot boss Bruce Demps, who was in a meeting. I also haven’t reached Steve Hegwood, the operations manager. I left voicemail messages with Rashan, Griff, Akini and Searcy but no answers back.
The station, ratings wise, seems to be doing fine, finishing regularly top 3 among 18 to 34 year olds. But revenues in radio (as well as other media) have been dropping sharply this year and perhaps Radio One, the station owners, is looking to cut budget. It doesn’t hurt that Radio One’s syndication arm just happens to own the Rickey Smiley show. That fact alone actually has fueled rumors over the past year that the A Team would be replaced but given the A team’s performance and its local bent, nobody quite believed Radio One would pull the trigger.
Hot doesn’t beat V-103 but has been a solid No. 2 or 3 among younger listeners. It managed to survive the loss of Ryan Cameron in late 2004 although the A Team, while solid, has never achieved his best ratings.
Ultimately, syndication is almost always cheaper than a local show. And Steve Harvey and Tom Joyner have proved that the African-American audience is willing to take a national show. (The rock crowd has been tougher. Witness the local demise of Bob & Tom, the Greaseman and the like.)
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8/28: How did Atlanta’s Kazual stack up on “America’s Got Talent”?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta quartet Kazual performed tonight with nine other groups on TV’s biggest summer show ‘America’s Got Talent.” We hadn’t seen much of them so far so they had to kill it. And up to this point, I’ve only heard them a capella and they sound great together.
But I didn’t quite “feel it” tonight when they sang “Can You Feel It.” The foursome looked and danced like pros. The problem: the solo vocals didn’t stand out. Another problem: nobody was ID’ed as the lead singer. Only one of the four (EJay) really carried the charisma and vocals to be the lead. The other solos were weak, one getting swallowed up by the backing tracks. Again, when the four of them sang together, Kazual sounded solid. That may not be good enough for them to survive into the next round. We’ll learn their fate on Tuesday.
Piers Morgan echoed my sentiments exactly, as did Sharon Osborne. “You were nervous,” said David Hasselhoff. “But you pulled it together in the end… I hope America gives you a second chance.” David said to make EJay the lead. True that!
I enjoyed quite a few of the acts including the finale singers both nights. Neal E. Boyd, the insurance salesman, did a solid job on “Somewhere” and *Queen Emily&* did a solid job with “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” But my problem is both songs are so cliched an dtired. I wasn’t nearly as wowed by either of them. And honestly, I think LaKisha Jones was better than Queen Emily but she has a great back story. So does Boyd. The judges are hyping both to high heaven. Both are guaranteed slots in the top 20.
Night one was stronger than night two. My favorites that first night (besides Boys) were the Extreme Dance FX cloggers (big improvement), the James Gang (very unusual!), the gal who fights her dad in the group Elite (daddy issues? She just missed the top 5), Ronnie B. (this year’s Boy Shakira, who didn’t make it to the top 20), and the magician Shimshi with the card trick (more fun than it sounds but he missed the top 5 as well). The drummers didn’t do it for me and the cowboys were middling talent goofballs.
My night two favorites were Paul Salos, the Sinatra impersonator; Zooperstars (good for pot smokers, I fathom), the Wright Kids (more adorable than great singers); trombonist Jonathan Arons (simply fun, even if his trombone playing sucked). I agreed with Piers—the Slippery Kittens were a bore and Jason the Giant was a joke.
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Project Runway: Recycling Saturn
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The high: Could someone really be named Ratbones?
The low: We felt guilty choosing fashion over politics.
OK, I absolutely hated the idea of this automotive challenge, but I thought it really showed the innovation that these designers are capable of. None of the designs, except for one or two, looked like it was even made from Saturn parts. The only thing that was uninteresting was the complete lack of color; maybe somebody could have experimented with brights in some way. Then again, maybe Banana Republic will buy some of those designs as is.
Right: Leanne’s leather: Would you drive this dress? (Photo: Bravotv.com)
In a way, recycling Saturn also reminded me of the grocery store challenge, where everybody used tablecloths and the designs ended up looking kind of similar. Seat belts, in this case, are the new tablecloth.
The winner: Leanne. An overdue win, though I thought she borrowed the silhouette from Kenley’s Episode 3 dress (the turquoise nightmare with the hip pouf, which, by the way, also won).
The loser: Keith. He lost because he tried to manipulate the competition by playing to what he thought the judges wanted. The back of the dress was messy, and what’s the point of a skirt if you can’t move around in it?
Plus, Keith’s little runway rant probably cemented his exit. Still, it was a close call for Stella, who may be on borrowed time, entertaining though she is.
Anybody been to the Michael Kors Lifestyle store in Lenox Square? It opened Aug. 21 with his clean-looking, very American, MILF-y designs.
The last word: Wackadoodle.
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8/27: Atlantan and Emory med school grad on upcoming “Survivor”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Parvati Shallow, a former Atlantan, won “Survivor” this past spring.
Could 28-year-old Marcus Lehman make it two for two? Lehman, a doctor in Jacksonville, hails from Atlanta and graduated Emory med school. “Survivor: Gabon,” the show’s 17th edition, starts Sept. 25 at 8 p.m.
The bio online is fairly amusing.. He looks like quite a catch for any of you single women out there:
Recognized as the state of Georgia’s hottest bachelor by Cosmopolitan Magazine in 2006, Lehman strives to achieve the highest levels in all areas of life.
A rower and graduate of Harvard University, Marcus went on to finish medical school at Emory University while developing his interest in triathlons. The single resident physician of Cuban-American descent will eventually work as an anesthesiologist after he completes specialty training, but also continues to develop his interest in medical reporting and acts as a spokesman for preventative medicine.
Marcus describes himself as a romantic who enjoys exercising, playing music, cooking and fine wine, not to mention doing some flirting on his way to finding the perfect girl. Marcus hopes he will be able to use his charm and physical prowess to make it far in the game.
“Marcus, the doctor from Georgia — one of the most arrogant guys that we’ve had on the show — he at one point had three people after him. And not only women.”
Later, Probst says:
”Marcus is a physician, as he likes to remind people. And he is a true leader, an extremely bright guy. He’s a hero. He is a huge threat to win the game, for sure. He has looks, he’s got smarts, he’s probably the fittest guy out there, so he’s got a lot of things going for him.”
If anybody out there knows him personally, email me at rho@ajc.com. Marcus is not allowed to talk to the media right now but I’d love to get some insight into the man while he was here.
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8/27: Atlanta group Kazual competing tonight in “America’s Got Talent”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Although NBC’s “America’s Got Talent” hosted auditions at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre in March, not a single Atlanta act made it to the final 40 from those sessions.
One Atlanta singing quartet has made the cut, but the group actually applied through a special MySpace audition. Kazual, three brothers and a cousin, moved to Atlanta four years ago from Columbus, GA but had yet to get a big break until now.
The group impressed the show’s producers with an a capella version of the Backstreet Boys’ “Inconsolable,” which can also be seen on YouTube.
So what do you think? Are they worth the $1 million prize?
Unlike many other acts, Kazual will have to compete for votes Wednesday night (8 to 10 p.m.) with almost no airtime up to this point, a major disadvantage to get to the next round.
“It’s going to be pretty important to actually knock it out of the park because people haven’t seen us,” said EJay (real name: Eugene Burt). The other three are DMac, Playboi, and Lil Gabe.
Here are the few seconds they got on the show itself doing “In the Still of the Night.”
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8/26: TBS orders up new series “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
TBS has ordered a new sitcom “Tyler Perry’s Meet the Browns” after the success of 100 episodes of “House of Payne.”
The station is a bit more cautious this time, ordering just 10 episodes for January 2009. Then again, the release implies that this 10-episode run of “Meet the Browns” could mean more episodes forthcoming if it does well.
According to a press release:
“Meet the Browns” stars David Mann as Leroy Brown, a character who earlier this year was featured in Perry’s hit film of the same name. He has also appeared in several episodes of “House of Payne” on TBS. Perry’s new series begins after Brown inherits a dilapidated house from his deceased father.
Angela Bassett, who was in the original film, won’t be joining the new crew.
“House of Payne” has 26 new episodes set starting in December with production beginning in September.
-97.1/The River is testing four veteran DJs to replace Lexie Kaye in mornings: former 96rock/Eagle 106.7 jock Steve Mitchell, traffic gal Paula Phillips, former 96rock/Z93 jock Kaedy Kiely, and former 96rocker Tim Rhodes.
Mitchell does voiceover and production work since he was ousted from Eagle when Citadel blew up the country station in February in favor of oldies.
Phillips used to be a jock in Athens and other cities but has spent several years doing traffic for the River and other Cox stations.
Kaely, who worked for more than 20 years in Atlanta radio until Z93 was killed for Dave FM in 2004, has done other ventures including a soft-drink company and a board game version of her “Rock Riddles.”
Rhodes, who was let go from 96rock when that station died at the end of 2006 after more than a decade there, works at Bulldog 103.7, an Athens rock station also owned by Cox Radio.
Chris Miller, program director, said management will make a decision next week on who will get the job.
Who would you think would work best?
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8/25: Former Atlantan Toni Braxton joins “Dancing With the Stars” with Susan Lucci, Kim Kardashian, Lance Bass
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Former Atlanta R&B singer Toni Braxton is joining the fall season 7 cast of “Dancing With the Stars,” which begins on ABC Sept. 22.
She’s best known for hits in the ’90s such as “Breathe Again.” “You Mean the World To Me” and “Un-Break My Heart.” She had been doing a show at the Flamingo in Las Vegas. She clearly has graceful dancing skills and could do quite well. She’ll be dancing with Alec Mazo, who won the first season with Kelly Monaco.
Here’s a clip from that Flamingo show:
Among the others this season:
-Lance Bass. This ‘N Sync singer has been rumored to be on the show for ages and there was even talk about him having a male partner. But that isn’t going to happen. He’ll be dancing with Lacey Schwimmer from “So You Think You Can Dance.” He has a dancing background from his boy band days so he should do well and voters will give much love.
-Brooke Burke - She’s a big lad’s magazine cover gal who also hosted “Rock Star” for two seasons on CBS. She looks pretty athletic but she is going to have to be truly amazing to stick around awhile given she has relatively modest name recognition. Her partner: Derek Hough.
-Rocco Dispirito Met this guy at the Taste of Atlanta festival at Atlantic Station last year. He definitely thinks highly of himself though I think he’s more humble than his days on the Fox reality show “The Restaurant.” He has next own reality show on A&E starting in October called “Rocco Gets real.” No clue if he has any hoofing skills whatsoever. His partner: Karina Smirnoff
-Maurice Green They need athletes. This time, we have a track star who won two gold medals in Sydney in 2000. We’ll see if he can transfer that speed into the quick step. His partner: Cheryl Burke, who won with Emmitt Smith and Drew Lachey in past seasons.
-Kim Kardashian Hoping to draw that 18-34 demo, the show brought in this somewhat useless reality show star. Is she coordinated? Who knows? Who cares? Her partner: Mark Ballas.
-Cloris Leachman This “Last Picture Show”/”Mary Tyler Moore” star is the token “old person.” I just recently saw this Oscar/Emmy winner on the “Comedy Central Roast for Bob Saget” and she can take it as well as she can give it. At age 82, she is easily the oldest person ever to attempt this show. Wow! She gets a new partner who has never been on the show: Corky Ballas (presumably Mark’s bro.) I bet she’ll get votes if she manages not to fall.
-Cody Linley is yet another Disney actor to join the show. He is the youngest ever to compete at age 18. He is part of some obscure show named “Hannah Montana.” Most Disney actors need to know how to dance. We’ll see. He joins Julianne Hough, who has won the show twice with Apolo Anton Ohno and Helio Castroneves.
-Susan Lucci She must be glad Cloris Leachman is on the show because that means Lucci is not the oldest person on the show by any stretch at age 61. The “All My Children” star went decades before finally winning an Emmy and that streak became a running joke. She seems elegant and coordinated. We’ll see if she can hang in there given the competition. Her partner: Tony Dovolani
-Misty May-Treanor. Straight from a gold medal from Beijing in beach volleyball, she jumps into dancing. Most athletes rock on this show. She probably will look great in a dress! Her partner: Maksim Chmerkovskiy
Ted McGinley He’s that random has-been star kind of like Steve Guttenberg last season. He was known as the killer of many a TV show from “Happy Days” to “Love Boat” but actually did just fine in “Hope & Faith” and “Married.. With Children.” I’ll have to see if he has any steps at all. I can’t imagine he’ll stick around long.
Jeffrey Ross This is the pure comedy addition, along the lines of Adam Carolla last season. He’s get Edyta Sliwinska, the only dancer to be on every season. But he has zero chance to win and probably won’t even last as long as Adam.
Warren Sapp Recently retired defensive tackle and Super Bowl champ continues in a line of NFL players who have tried their hand at dance. Think Emmitt Smith and Jerry Rice. He might surprise, too. He gets the adorable Kym Johnson as his partner.
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8/23: Two Michael Vick dog specials coming up
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Two cable networks are airing Michael Vick dog specials in the next couple of weeks.
The first one is this Sunday on Animal Planet at 10 p.m.
I didn’t receive an advance copy but this is how the network describes it:
The investigative report gives an in-depth report on Michael Vick, the law enforcement officers who broke the case and the dogs who were traumatized in the horrific dog fighting scenario and their miraculous recovery.
Viewers will witness rare underground dog fighting videos and also see interviews with two of Vick’s boyhood mentors.
Then there’s National Geographic’s “Dogtown: Saving the Michael Vick Dogs.” This special airs Sept. 5 at 9 p.m.
This is what this network says: Follow the journey of four of the most challenging Vick dogs as DogTown helps rehabilitate them. DogTown is the Best Friends animal sanctuary in Utah.
I’ve watched a few minutes of the special and it’s sad, very sad, to watch.
Here are the four dogs:
CHERRY
Cherry, who may have been used as bait to train more aggressive fighters, is terrified of people. It will take a lot of love and support to help him gain confidence. When he arrives at Dogtown, Cherry flattens himself to the ground and refuses to walk on a leash. By slowly introducing him to new faces and experiences — including a recording of dogs “laughing” — Cherry’s trainers begin to draw him out of his shell. Can Cherry overcome his extreme fear and possibly become ready for adoption?
MERYL
Meryl is seriously aggressive and was ordered by the court to stay permanently at Dogtown. Trainer Ann Allums loves a challenge and believes that a patient approach can help calm Meryl’s dangerous impulses. After she gains Meryl’s trust, Allums starts the dog on obedience training — always focusing on rewards instead of punishments. Meryl proves a quick study and moves on to agility training, seeming to gain confidence and self-control from her new skills. Although this unpredictable pit bull can never be adopted, she now has a chance for a happy life in Dogtown.
DENZEL
Denzel arrives with a potentially life-threatening illness, and Dogtown’s medical team must determine what’s making him so sick. He is diagnosed with a tick-borne parasite sometimes found in fighting dogs, which may mean the other pit bulls rescued with him are at risk as well. At first he seems to respond to treatment, but he soon relapses. Can a new medication help Denzel recover?
GEORGIA
Georgia’s body tells the story of her hard life. She has the scars of a prize-winning fighter, shows signs of having had many litters and had all her teeth pulled at some point in her past, possibly so she could be forcibly bred. Can this traumatized pooch learn to interact with humans and other dogs? To break Georgia of the bad and potentially dangerous habit of guarding her food, trainer John Garcia tries feeding her by hand — a risky maneuver. Even with no teeth, the dog’s powerful jaw could still do serious damage. Soon Georgia is making great progress and easily mastering basic commands. If she can pass Dogtown’s Canine Good Citizen Test, Georgia has a chance at a better life in a loving home.
And people. Please play nice. The topic of Vick tends to raise people’s hackles.
-And how about this for strange? Steve & Vikki are on right now doing the WSB-AM Care-a-thon for the AFLAC Cancer Center. The pair, well known for doing Star 94 telethons, are now at B98.5.
Latest comments
I hate for anyone to lose their job. Rashawn is good and Searcy was OK. I have to agree with some of the others. I would turn the station as soon as Griff spoke. He has the most annoying voice in radio. Maybe now he can get his business off of dontdatehimgirl.com... read the full comment by Simone | Comment on 8/28: Hot 107.9 dropped the A Team, replaced by Rickey Smiley Read 8/28: Hot 107.9 dropped the A Team, replaced by Rickey Smiley
I hate for anyone to lose their job. Rashawn is good and Searcy was OK. I have to agree with some of the others. I would turn the station as soon as Griff spoke. He has the most annoying voice in radio. Maybe now he can get his business off of dontdatehimgirl.com... read the full comment by Simone | Comment on 8/28: Hot 107.9 dropped the A Team, replaced by Rickey Smiley Read 8/28: Hot 107.9 dropped the A Team, replaced by Rickey Smiley
I hate for anyone to lose their job. Rashawn is good and Searcy was OK. I have to agree with some of the others. I would turn the station as soon as Griff spoke. He has the most annoying voice in radio. Maybe now he can get his business off of dontdatehimgirl.com... read the full comment by Simone | Comment on 8/28: Hot 107.9 dropped the A Team, replaced by Rickey Smiley Read 8/28: Hot 107.9 dropped the A Team, replaced by Rickey Smiley
I’m glad they got rid of them because they were boring radio hosts. I don’t think Rickey Smiley is a big upgrade either though I miss Ryan Cameran on 107.9.... read the full comment by John | Comment on 8/28: Hot 107.9 dropped the A Team, replaced by Rickey Smiley Read 8/28: Hot 107.9 dropped the A Team, replaced by Rickey Smiley