I’ll readily admit to being an Anglophile; I fell in love with all things British after my first visit to London in 1995. I especially love their music, and I’ll often get my fix by going online to listen to the BBC’s streaming radio broadcasts. That’s how I first heard about Ed Sheeran — when a BBC Radio 1 DJ chose his song, “The A Team,” as her “song of the week.” Sweetly melodic, but with a heart-wrenchingly haunting lyric, it was one of those songs that won me over the first time I heard it.
Ed Sheeran on stage at the Hotel Cafe.
So I was thrilled to find out that Ed’s been picked up by a record label here in the States, and even more excited to find out we’d get a chance to bring him into the Fox All Access studios and see his first headlining gig at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood..
He didn’t disappoint at either venue.
In the studio, he played three songs for us, just his guitar and voice. He showed off his softer side with “The A Team” and “Lego House” (you’ll find his acoustic version of “The A Team” below), and showed off his hip-hop side on “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You,” which shows off his ability to spit rhymes at nearly hypersonic speed.
Needless to say, we were impressed. And when Chris Leary sat down to talk with him, we discovered a young man whose soul is much older than his 20 years. He’s thoughtful and grounded, yet still possesses that wickedly dry British sense of humor.
Before I got to the Hotel Cafe for his show, I was expecting the typical showcase crowd — curious-but-jaded industry types, wondering if they’re indeed witnessing the much-hyped “next big thing.” But when I arrived, I was shocked to see that Ed’s already picked up a fervently devoted fan base. (Surprisingly enough, I learned that a lot of the young fans found out about Ed because of “Harry Potter” actor Rupert Grint’s appearance in the official “Lego House” video.)
Then the show started, and over the course of the next 90 minutes or so, he had the audience mesmerized with his mix of acoustic numbers and uptempo songs augmented by intricately built beat-boxing loops. And though he’s built up his stage act over the course of hundreds of shows (in one year alone, he played more than 300 gigs), he wasn’t afraid to change things up. When he heard some young women singing harmony during “Lego House,” he spontaneously invited them up on stage to help him finish the song. (Afterward, one of the women, who’d flown in from Chicago earlier in the day for the show, simply said, “I can die now.”)
Soon, we’ll be posting Chris Leary’s interview with Ed Sheeran, along with more of his music. For now, though, enjoy his acoustic version of his first single, “The A Team.”
Through the first three seasons of “Fringe,” Jasika Nicole’s character, Agent Astrid Farnsworth, has spent much of her time on the periphery, assisting in the lab and having her name mispronounced a myriad of ways by Dr. Walter Bishop (John Noble).
On tomorrow night’s episode of “Fringe,” however, she takes center-stage, as the Astrids from the two universes come face to face for the first time.
We spoke with Nicole this morning, and she told us about the circumstances that bring the two Astrids together. (Click on the media player to hear Jasika Nicole)
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Since this is the first time the two Astrids are meeting, it’s also the first time Nicole has had to play a scene with herself. So we had to ask: Was this the best actress she’d ever worked with? (Click on the media player to hear Jasika Nicole)
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Want to find out more? Check out this special “Astrid-centric” “Fringe” feature, then watch the all-new “Making Angels” episode of “Fringe,” Friday night at 9/8c on Fox.
A few months ago, Donald Trump made it clear that he was not going to launch a 2012 Presidential campaign. However, having become increasingly frustrated with the negative campaigning in the Republican primaries, he may be reconsidering; his advisers have told the media he’s keeping his options open for a potential third-party run for the White House. While some claim that any Oval Office aspirations by Trump are just a publicity stunt, there’s no denying the fact that he certainly has the money — if not the political equity — to launch a campaign.
Comedian/radio talk host Adam Carolla will be competing on the new season of Trump’s show, “Celebrity Apprentice.” He admits he doesn’t know much about Trump’s politics, but Carolla has no doubt that Trump’s tireless work ethic would be a great asset if he were to be elected President.
Carolla isn’t the only celebrity who thinks Trump could handle the gig — you may recall that last year, actor (and “Celebrity Apprentice” contestant) Gary Busey told us he thought Trump would make a great president.
Denzel Washington’s had quite the storied career, with Oscars for “Glory” and “Training Day,” dozens of starring roles, and millions of fans who can’t get enough of his work. Interestingly, though, Denzel can get enough of his work. In fact, he told us he won’t even watch his older movies. (Click on the audio bar to hear Denzel Washington)
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Living in the moment, that’s Denzel Washington. His next movie is “Safe House,” which opens in theaters on February 10th
Victoria Asher of Cobra Starship knew exactly how she wanted to celebrate her birthday, January 20th, and that included partying in Vegas. Although before taking off to Sin City, she along with Gabe Saporta and Ryland Blackinton stopped by Fox All Access to talk about their new single featuring Mac Miller, ”Middle Finger.” What we love about the band is that they don’t take themselves too seriously which makes for a hell of a good time in the studio. You’ll learn how lead singer Gabe was inspired by a cobra from the future and how Sigourney Weaver aroused him. Ryland tells us about his first memory of music and what he first called Bruce Springsteen as a kid. Victoria gives us the scoop on how she literally flipped out at a Michael Jackson concert and how she deals with living on a tour bus with four guys. What’s with boys and farts? We give her props because she’s a total sport. This band is a hoot!
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Check out their new music video for their single, “Middle Finger.” We’re diggin’ it….are you? (Warning: The video contains potentially offensive language.) .
Beverly Hills, CA – Two-time Academy Award®-winning actor Tom Hanks will present at the 84th Academy Awards ceremony, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today.
Hanks, who is a governor of the Academy, won consecutive Oscars® in 1993 and 1994 for his lead performances in “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump.” He was also nominated for his leading roles in “Big,” “Saving Private Ryan” and “Cast Away.” Hanks can currently be seen in the Best Picture-nominated “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.” His other film credits include “Larry Crowne,” “Toy Story 3,” “Charlie Wilson’s War,” “The Da Vinci Code,” “The Terminal,” “Catch Me If You Can,” “Road to Perdition,” “Apollo 13″ and “A League of Their Own.”
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar® presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
We’re going off the pop music grid to share a song and video that you need to know. The artist? Gotye. The song? “Somebody I Used To Know - featuring Kimbra”. I encountered the song by chance just once and caught the earworm infection immediately. The symptoms included uncontrollable urges to hear the song again and again followed by an obsessive desire to replay the video on YouTube. That of course led to incessant humming and a desire to paint. Obviously a few other people are having the same symptoms, which account for the 55 million plus views Gotye’s official music video has gotten on YouTube (It’s jumped almost 10 million views in the last two weeks). In fact, the song has hit such an emotional cord, its inspired YouTube covers and re-mixes here in the U.S. that have generated their own fame. So what’s the big deal? Gotye has a sound that is reminiscent of Peter Gabriel (with a dash of Phil Collins and Sting). Mix in a variety of unique instruments, and some vintage effects and you’ve got a special song that is both amazingly refreshing and ear-fectious. Then there are the lyrics. With lines like ”Told myself that you were right for me, But felt so lonely in your company”, the song is quickly becoming one of the coolest, rawest break-up songs to date. “Somebody I Used To Know” takes on another layer of emotion thanks to the addition of female counterpoint vocals, Kimbra, a successful New Zealand artist who is now making her way to the U.S. Add all the elements together, and you have a perfect storm of a song that is just plain different and something worth checking out. Take a listen and a view, and let us know what you think.
Gotye’s album “Making Mirrors” is out this week. “Somebody I Used To Know” will get its U.S. debut, when Gotye and Kimbra take the stage Wednesday night, Feb. 1, on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Gotye and Kimbra will then hit the road here in the states with a U.S. spring tour starting end of March.
We’re all excited for tomorrow night’s special episode of Glee. The gang is celebrating the music of Michael Jackson. Also, the rivalry between the New Directions and the Warblers intensifies en route to Regionals, Kurt and Rachel receive news regarding their admissions process at NYADA, and things continue to heat up between Sam and Mercedes. Oh la la!
Fox All Access producer Monica Guerra had a chance to chat with Harry Shum Jr., who plays Mike Chang, on the red carpet and he filled us in on what we can look forward to on tomorrow night’s episode.
Which Michael Jackson songs are you hoping to hear on Glee? Tell us. Don’t forget to catch an all-new GLEE airing Tuesday, Jan. 31 at 8/7 central on FOX.
Beverly Hills, CA – Six actresses – Rose Byrne, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Maya Rudolph and Kristen Wiig – from the hit comedy “Bridesmaids” will be presenters at the 84th Academy Awards, telecast producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer announced today. McCarthy received her first Oscar® nomination this year for her supporting role in the film, and Wiig also became a first-time nominee for the film’s original screenplay. All six will be making their first Oscar show appearances.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
Tonight, American Idol hits Galveston, Texas, where aspiring singers are hoping to make it to Hollywood to have a chance at being the next American Idol. Before the auditions started in Galveston, Idol judge Randy Jackson stopped by and spoke about how in the eleventh season, the bar has risen and the standards that he and the other judges are looking for are higher.
In the past few seasons, the majority of those who won have been country singers, and the majority of the winners were male. Jackson says that he and the rest of the judges are looking for singers who are not just country singers, but are from all different genres of music. Jackson went on to say that he would like to see the girls get far in the competition this year.
