By Drew Grant 9/18/12 8:50am

Big Apple Idolatry

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Big Apple Idolatry: Bushnell Settles Sex Score, Paul Rudd’s Lucky Strike, and Baldwin’s Beef Fetish

- Fresh off his Broadway run in Chicago, Usher will be kicking his feet up in one of those swivel pods on the third season of The Voice. He and Shakira will be taking over for Christina Aguilera and Cee-Lo Green, who are vacating their judges’ chairs on NBC’s hit music contest. Of coorse, Usher has an ace card up his sleeve to win over any waffling young talent. It’s two words, and rhymes with Bustin Tweezer. Read More

By Daniel D'Addario 5/14/12 1:38pm

television

Robert Greenblatt and Jennifer Salke (Getty Images)

30 Rock is Ending, and Other News From the Upfronts

After brief remarks from NBC broadcasting chairman Ted Harbert, NBC’s upfront presentation to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall kicked off with the two stars of Smash, Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee, singing (or lip-synching–the exact notes sounded terrifically familiar) the series’s signature song, “Let Me Be Your Star,” while the red chairs from The Voice loomed behind them. All four chairs eventually turned around (The Voice‘s symbol for a song successfully executed) and Voice stars Christina Aguilera, Cee-Lo Green, and Adam Levine were seated, along with NBC entertainment chairman Robert Greenblatt. Read More

By Drew Grant 2/06/12 3:42pm

TV Ratings

'The Voice' wins over Super Bowl viewers

Cause and Effect: Super Bowl’s Record-Breaking Viewership Prop Up The Voice

Last night’s Super Bowl was super exciting, what with Madonna and the very close game between the New England Patriots and the the New York Giants. And New Yorkers were not the only ones who thought so: last night’s game was the most-watched television event in TV history, beating out last year’s 111 million average by an extra 300,000 viewers. (We speculate that those extra viewers were people who hate football but love Madonna, and who turned off NBC the moment Downton Abbey started.)

A giant event like the Super Bowl breaking its own record is not that unusual. A little bit stranger is the fact that the night had a second huge win for NBC when the second season premiere of The Voice became the highest rated entertainment program since 2006. Read More