Bruno Mars News

After last week's '80s theme, the Top 7 returned to the present Wednesday night with songs from 2010 to today, with help from guest mentor Akon and a lot of support from their hometowns.

This week on Ammmerican Idol, it's...well, usually Idol will officially announce the themes a few days before the show airs, but this week they didn't. So is it a super special, wonderful theme that will blow us right off our feet? Nope, but it is 'Songs from this Decade,' which limits the remaining seven to songs from the last two years and is usually one of my favorite episodes of the season.

USA moves into Upfront Week for the first time with the biggest and most spectacular event yet with performances by Oscar and Grammy Award-winner Jennifer Hudson and world-renowned DJ and Grammy Award- winner Mark Ronson. The talent only presentation will feature the stars of USA at Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall in New York City on Thursday, May 17 at 3:30pm.

Since NBC's musical drama series SMASH is kicking into high gear as the Marilyn Monroe musical that forms the core of the show's story approaches its first workshop presentation on Monday night's episode - with the highly awaited appearance of Broadway legend Bernadette Peters coming next week, as well; playing the mother of the Marilyn musical star, Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) - now is the ideal opportunity to, well, "Fade in on a girl / With a hunger for fame / And a face and a name to remember," to quote Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's crown jewel in a diadem of a songstack for the show-within-the-show, BOMBSHELL. The show-within-the-show is better that most scores on Broadway these days and that is a credit to the Tony-winning tunesmiths and their ability to make musical theatre that is polished and professional, yet totally fun, bawdy and accessible, as well. Look no further than this week's "History Is Made At Night" or last week's "Let's Be Bad" - to say nothing of the pilot's twofer of titanic theatrical prowess in the form of "The National Pastime" and the afore-quoted "Let Me Be Your Star". Plus, we have to remember, SMASH has not one Marilyn, but two, so the future possibilities of who will be singing these songs and how they will be presented is totally unknown. As we shall see in the clips below, "Let Me Be Your Star" will now have its third iteration on the show, acting as the opening number in the workshop presentation as Ivy Lynn belts it to the rafters, ballad-style - not unlike the Karen/Ivy stage sequence presented in Episode 2 as a dream. Using just the example of "Star", we can see how rich and rewarding it is to further explore the depths of drama and heights of wit amply apparent in the sometimes caustic, sometimes campy and always enjoyably, embraceable unique work of Shaiman & Wittman on their songs for SMASH. The story setting them up, drama surrounding and contained within them - with the meta-narrative of the behind-the-scenes going on we are privy to acting as another layer - makes the production numbers the most brightly glittering stars of the SMASH universe. Katharine McPhee's "Somewhere Over The Rainbow", "Call Me" and "Rumor Has It", as well as Hilty's "Crazy Dreams", were all viable and entertaining covers in their own right, yet the original songs are what make SMASH really sing - and zing, sting and ring-a-ding-ding.

As we near the halfway point for Season One, it is evident now more than ever that SMASH has established a pretty clear-cut style, structure and overall dramatic direction - each week we can depend upon most if not all of the following in one form or another: a fabulous Marilyn Monroe-themed musical production number; a soul-baring rehearsal scene or three; a pop cover or two (both a classic and a current one, if possible); some Derek (Jack Davenport) and Ivy (Megan Hilty) diva drama and hand-wringing; cattiness, backstabbing and shade thrown in the direction of, and almost always directly affecting, sweet-as-pie Karen (Katharine McPhee), an all-too sympathetic character who just can't seem to catch a break (bar mitzvah tween audiences excluded); a peek into the lives of the Marilyn musical songwriters, Julia (Debra Messing) and Tom (Christian Borle), currently developing the show-within-the-show before our very eyes and ears; Julia and Tom's subsequent respective romantic relationships and entanglements (showmances and otherwise; though it seems there are many more of the former than the latter with these two); and, of course, Anjelica Huston being both poignant in one way or another in her delicate portrayal of Eileen and also just plain divine as only she can be, kicking ass and taking names as the lead producer of the show-within-the-show. All in all, the show-within-the-show based on Marilyn Monroe acts as the real machine running SMASH and keeping it all connected. And, that about sums it up. Shake, stir and serve - there you have SMASH in a sentence or two. Better still, this formula really works - and also really works wonders, from time to time, too. Each week dishes up its fair share of surprises, as well. I mean, who could foresee that scintillating scene with Julia and Joe DiMaggio (Will Chase) post-rehearsal paralleling the Marilyn/DiMaggio duet just rehearsed? Or, furthermore, Karen positively killing Florence & The Machine at a bar mitzvah like she most certainly did? Best of all, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman provided another tantalizing and terrific new Marilyn song with a fiercely fresh style and sound in the spectacular form of the romantically rapturous, late-50s doo-wop-hued duet "History Is Made At Night", given a particularly playfully seductive performance by Chase and Hilty as the undeniably perfect Monroe and Joe DiMaggio (though Chase's character does not seem like he will be sticking around much longer). Plus, how badass was Eileen (Anjelica Huston) at the very end of the episode and how all around awesome was her delivery of the final line? Shoot to score, indeed - and, on 'Chemistry', there was more focus on the scoring, both in the musical and sexual senses, than on anything else. Above all, last night's SMASH showed that one aspect of show business shall always remain a viable, hot-cross-bun-level-hot commodity: sex.

Beginning on Thursday, February 23rd at midnight, Mark Hoppus will be back on Fuse to take on the role of host for a new season of HOPPUS ON MUSIC. The first two episodes will be jam-packed with everything from a performance to interviews and fun panel discussions.

Beginning on Thursday, February 23rd at midnight, Mark Hoppus will be back on Fuse to take on the role of host for a new season of HOPPUS ON MUSIC. The first two episodes will be jam-packed with everything from a performance to interviews and fun panel discussions.

"Baby, I would catch a grenade for you," as Bruno Mars wrote in his international smash hit song "Grenade", recently nominated for a Grammy, and, so, too, would Joe DiMaggio catch a grenade for Marilyn Monroe, and, maybe - just maybe - married Broadway star Michael Swift (Will Chase) will cross the line into the danger zone and rekindle his romance with former flame (similarly, married with children) Julia (Debra Messing), half of the songwriting team responsible for the spectacular musical-within-the-show on NBC's SMASH. Yes, the third episode of the new musical drama series was a much different experience from the first two shows, with Karen (Katharine McPhee)'s journey back home to Iowa - complete with down-home karaoke baby shower and Gretchen Wilson's "Redneck Woman" - and the introduction of Broadway star Will Chase's character and the subsequent exploration of his prior trysts with Julia, as well as detailing more of Ivy (Megan Hilty) and Derek (Jack Davenport)'s hot and heavy romance. So, too, did the dissolving marriage between the Marilyn musical's lead producer, Eileen (Anjelica Huston) and her ex (Michael Cristofer) see further shading, as did the trusting and caring coupling of Karen and Dev (Raza Jaffrey). Along with recurring guest stars Dylan Baker and Becky Ann Baker as Karen's supportive but speculative parents, "Enter Mr. DiMaggio" was a relationship-themed episode that reached its thematic, dramatic and musical apotheosis in the stunning new Marc Shaiman/Scott Wittman Marilyn musical composition, "Mr. & Mrs. Smith", ending the episode on a stylish and all-too-apropos note. A hard rock rendering of the aforementioned Bruno Mars pop hit "Grenade", as well as Karen's spirited country karaoke "Redneck Woman" were the other musical entertainments in an episode that showed that SMASH does, indeed, have legs - a Rockette-worthy line of them, actually - and this story can sustain more than a handful of episodes or, even, a season or two. Sure, this episode had a different feel than the first two, more Broadway-based shows, yet the series seems to be finding a rhythm that is particularly appreciable at this very, very early stage of the game. After all, the first two episodes of an hour-long adult drama such as SMASH usually set the scene for the series as a whole, if they even succeed at accomplishing that. So far, SMASH has already gone far beyond that, and, I promise, next week will be more along the lines of the first two entries, showcasing the simple fact that this tree has many, many branches and exceptionally deep roots supporting the strong core of central and supporting performers that make up its trunk. Episode Three was a gamble that largely paid off dramatically and thematically, and, wow, that final number was a home run hit truly worthy of a show billing itself as SMASH.

NBC has announced that select songs from tonight's third episode of NBC's new critically acclaimed musical drama series SMASH (Mondays, 10-11 p.m. ET), will be available today from NBCUniversal Television Consumer Products and Columbia Records on the iTunes store.

Nickelodeon announced today the nominees for the milestone 25th ANNUAL KIDS' CHOICE AWARDS, helmed by international superstar Will Smith and airing live from USC's Galen Center in Los Angeles on Saturday, March 31, at 8 p.m. (ET/tape delayed for West Coast).

Last night, SMASH cast Marilyn Monroe in the big Broadway musical based on her life at the show's center. Or, did they? While Ivy Lynn (Megan Hilty) may have done whatever it took to make an impression on the show's lothario director, Derek (Jack Davenport), it was Ivy's long-standing friendship with the songwriting team of Julia & Tom (Debra Messing & Christian Borle) and the belief in her readily apparent talent by the lead producer, Eileen (Anjelica Huston), that really sealed the deal. So, where does that leave Karen (Katharine McPhee)? In the chorus, it seems - at least for now. The drama escalated and reached an early peak along with the crescendos of Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman's smashing "Twentieth Century Fox Mambo" showstopper - the musical highlight of the impossibly strong second episode - as the heated fully-staged and fully-choreographed audition gave way to a dream reality which finally showed us all out there in the audience what a Karen/Marilyn could potentially be: a true blonde bombshell to beat the band. Of course, nothing is quite so cut and dry as it may appear and Karen may get her chance in the spotlight on the actual Marilyn musical's stage after all. Yet, for the next few episodes at least, Ivy is the star of the show - and she is going to wring every last wiggle, coo and peck out of the role. Plus, who can put over a number in true Broadway fashion - as Marilyn Monroe, perfectly played, no less - than Megan Hilty? Did you hear her line in the newly envisioned 'Let Me Be Your Star'? In much the same way as Hilty with the Broadway pizazz, McPhee effortlessly puts over treacherously tricky pop songs with smoothness, sweetness and near-tangible sincerety and conviction. Which way will the score ultimately go - and, furthermore, what shall be of the show that contains it? Will the musical be more Norma Jean or more Marilyn, thus more befitting of Karen or Ivy, respectively? Who knows, perhaps there ultimately will be two Marilyns required - as was proposed in this very column last week at this time and seems the logical ultimate conclusion of the casting dilemma at the show's core. We will certainly have to wait and find out what happens next on SMASH and what the show ends up requiring of its incredibly talented cast of hoofers and stars-to-be. Plus, Nick Jonas, Uma Thurman and Bernadette Peters make guest star debuts in the next several weeks!

At last night's 54th ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS, Adele walked off with 6 Grammy awards including Record of the Year for 'Rolling in the Deep' and Pop Vocal Album, '21'. The singer made her comback performance after recent vocal chord surgery on the live presentation on CBS. Other big winners included the Foo Fighter's Best Rock Song, 'Walk' and Taylor Swift for Best Country Song, 'Mean'. Check out photos of the music industry's hottest stars on the red carpet below!

Coming quick on the heels of the untimely death of iconic pop singer and film star Whitney Houston was last night's subdued and largely somber 2012 Grammy Awards telecast which had a definite focus on three soulful leading ladies in particular: Whitney, Jennifer Hudson and Adele, the latter being the night's across-the-board big winner. Begun on the completely wrong foot with an awkward and inappropriate religious tribute to Houston by charismatic but ineffectual host LL Cool J, the rest of the Grammy show managed to have sporadic moments of entertainment - the best and brightest being Bruno Mars, Foo Fighters, Tony Bennett & Carrie Underwood, as well as the button-pushing performance by rap/pop notable Nicki Minaj and some polished country stars. Pushing boundaries with an exorcism-themed theatrical spectacular, complete with a Leonard Bernstein/Stephen Sondheim sample from WEST SIDE STORY in the form of "I Feel Pretty", surely Nicki Minaj made many fans - and more than a few enemies, no doubt - with her expressive and eccentric production number, "Roman Holiday" - complete with priests, fire pits, confessional booths and levitations! The Grammys definitely had many lows and a few memorable highs beyond Minaj's exorcism, though, for the night was a veritable wake for Houston and a celebration of her musical legacy. Oscar-winning DREAMGIRLS star Jennifer Hudson gave Ms. Houston a truly tasteful and respectful tribute to mark the occasion.

The 2012 Grammy Awards will be broadcast this Sunday night, February 12 at 8pm on CBS, and nominees for 'Best Musical Theater Album' this year are THE BOOK OF MORMON, ANYTHING GOES, and HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING. Though the category will not be included in the actual Grammy telecast, theatre lovers can tune in at 1pm for the live-stream on www.grammy.com/live and www.cbs.com, to find out which album takes home the prize!

Twenty-time GRAMMY® winner Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band have been added to the stellar lineup for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards®

Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and five-time GRAMMY winner Glen Campbell - currently on the road for his 'Goodbye Tour' - will join current GRAMMY nominees The Band Perry and Blake Shelton for a special performance, on THE 54th ANNUAL GRAMMY AWARDS. Music's Biggest Night, hosted by two-time GRAMMY Award winner and NCIS: LOS ANGELES star LL COOL J, takes place live from the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012 (8:00-11:30 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Current GRAMMY® nominee Adele will make her much anticipated return to the live stage on the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards (www.grammy.com). This will be her first time performing live in nearly five months since being forced to cancel a sold-out U.S. tour to undergo surgery on her vocal cords.

Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award recipient and five-time GRAMMY winner Glen Campbell - currently out on the road for his 'Goodbye Tour' - will join current GRAMMY nominees The Band Perry and Blake Shelton for a special performance on the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards.

Current GRAMMY(R) Award nominees Chris Brown, deadmau5, Foo Fighters, David Guetta and Lil Wayne will join for a special performance highlighting dance/electronica music for the first time ever on THE 54th ANNUAL GRAMMY(R) AWARDS.

Current GRAMMY nominees Coldplay and Rihanna will perform live together for the first time, and nominee and 2012 MusiCares® Person of the Year Paul McCartney is set to perform as part of the stellar lineup for the 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards (www.grammy.com).