After a last-minute approach to NBC, the reality mogul heads back to Britain as insiders debate his “grumpy uncle” appeal in a changed TV landscape.
A version of this story first appeared in the Feb. 21 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine.
Weeks before Fox officially lowered the curtain on The X Factor, sources say its creator and star Simon Cowell quietly reached out to NBC to find a new home for his TV baby. “Simon himself was involved in this process,” says an executive familiar with the approach on behalf of Cowell’s Syco production company and partner FremantleMedia. (A Cowell source vehemently denies a pitch was made, adding, “Fox and Syco/Fremantle looked at plausible other options in the U.S. without him but decided these weren’t viable.”) But NBC already has The Voice and the Cowell-produced America’s Got Talent — and, more importantly, X Factor was damaged goods.
In fact, now that the show was canceled Feb. 7, observers are divided on Cowell’s future on U.S. television as well as the steps Fox will take to replace its failed franchise. CONTINUE READING
Buzz Track: The Big Breakthrough
Female singer-songwriter Jim Button has become a Kings favorite. She is performing in local spots around Germany and just released a new single on iTunes. She cites Sia Furler, Zero o7, Massive Attack and Feist as influences. Her tracks were recorded in her bedroom and were produced by Bränd and co-produced by Steffen Rausch. “Top 20 on 20” on Sirius has just added the track “The Big Breakthough”.
Contact: jimbuttonmusic@gmail.com
Buzz Track: Believer
Kris Orlowski, a Kings favorite just released the new single Believer. Having just performed at Sundance Film Festival, he is set to perform SXSW, and has tour dates in March with Noah Gundersen as well as Sam Roberts. His songs have been featured in TV shows such as ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and ‘Private Practice’. His upcoming album due out in April which features the track Believer was produced by Martin Feveyear who has worked with acts such as Queens Of The Stone Age, Presidents Of The USA, Brandi Carlile. Kris is booked by the Agency Group.
Contact: peter@kmgmt.com
Buzz Track: Gonna Find You
The Coffis Brothers are a young retro rock act from Santa Cruz, CA. They capture an old school sound that is surely missed in today’s contemporaries. The band released its self-titled debut album in 2011 and a two song EP in June 2012. The new album “Wrong Side of the Road” is set to release February 22nd 2014. They have played festivals around the country such as Salmonstock (Alaska,) Oyster Grass (Wyoming,) The West End Celebration (Monterey, CA,) and The Redwood Mountain Faire (Felton, CA) sharing the stage with bands and artists such as Leftover Salmon, Todd Snider, Great American Taxi, The Brothers Comatose, and The White Buffalo. The band typically plays venues such as Don Quixotes International Music Hall in Felton, The Boom Boom Room in San Francisco, The Crepe Place in Santa Cruz and the Torch Club in Sacramento and can pack over 150 people at a local show. Upcoming shows dates can be viewed here.
Contact: coffisbrothers@gmail.com
From MTV:
Want some music suggestions from your friends but don’t really want to talk to your friends? Well, Facebook has you covered: The social network has added an “ask” feature that makes it simple to garner entertainment recommendations from your friends.
When you click onto a friend’s profile, scroll down the left side of the page to his/her music, books, movies or TV shows section. Underneath his/her picks, you’ll see a button reading “ask” next to the line “Ask [friend] for a music recommendation.”
When you press “Ask,” you’ll be able to fill in a text box specifying what kinds of tunes you’re looking for, as well as add more friends to the query. When your friend receives the request, they can either answer with recs from their own Likes, or search for a specific band.
After clicking on the recommendation, you can add it to what appears to be a new section of your profile titled “Listen Later” for music, “Want To Watch” for movies and TV and “Want To Read” for books.
There are still some kinks to be worked out with these features — each section also boasts suggestions, and all my music suggestions are bands I’ve recently listened to on Spotify — but the “ask” button could be a cool way to crowdsource new tunes.
Try it out and tell us in the comments below: Did you get any worthwhile musical suggestions from your friends?
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