Last night in San Francisco, lucky moviegoers were treated to the first screening of “Dreamgirls” - the movie adaptation of the Broadway smash of the same name.  The Oscar buzz for Jennifer Hudson as ‘Effie’ was deafening even before anyone had seen the movie.  Check out what they’re saying now!

“Dreamgirls will make Jennifer Hudson a superstar. Her vocal performances are epic. No less than four times did the audience erupt into spontaneous ovations as she finished her numbers.” - posted by Andy at towleroad.com

“Jennifer Hudson drew the majority of this applause; her performance is — surprisingly, soulfully, impressively — deserving of early Oscar speculation that she might make for a solid Supporting Actress candidate.”

“(Tom) O’Neill(LA Times” Gold Derby) is also pegging J.Hud for an Oscar nomination — not as Best Supporting Actress, as the blogosphere has been ruminating, but as Best Actress. He’s right; she Read the rest of this entry »

Press Release From J Records:

The season’s most eagerly anticipated new album will arrive in stores on December 12th, as award-winning 22-year old J/19 recording artist Fantasia completes her second album FANTASIA. The long-awaited new album follows-up her RIAA platinum debut of November 2004,
Free Yourself, containing “I Believe” — the first time in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 that an artist debuted at #1 with her first solo record — which forever solidified the former American Idol champion’s career.

FANTASIA is already shaping up as a major best-seller for 2007, with
its first single pick, “Hood Boy” featuring Big Boi from OutKast, logging
nearly 100,000 plays at Fantasia’s MySpace site
(http://www.myspace.com/fantasiabarrino). “Hood Boy” written by Read the rest of this entry »

Diana DeGarmo will perform “The Pharaoh Strut” on The King Tutenstein float during the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.  Contributions to the project include: Juilliard composer Lance Horne, lyrics by Bill Schermerhorn, choreography by Movin’ Out’s Tiger Martina, orchestrated by the legendary Milton DeLugg, and featuring Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Boys Choir.

Taylor Hicks‘ debut album will be released on December 12, not December 5th as originally planned.

Kimberly Caldwell participates in VH1’s Celebrity Paranormal Project.  Get her thoughts here and catch repeats all this week on VH1.

Clay Aiken will be lighting the UNICEF Snowflake in New York City on November 18. The UNICEF snowflake is the largest outdoor chandelier and has 16,000 prisms.

Wow!  A great article as only Entertainment Weekly can do it!  As if the country weren’t stoked enough about ‘Dreamgirls’, EW fans the flames in this interview with the director and cast.  Read the article here

What:  The 2nd Annual A Fine Romance benefit for the Motion Picture & Television Fund 

When:  November 18th

Where:  Sunset Gower Studios - located at 1438 North Gower Street in Hollywood, CA.

The evening will feature celebrity performances honoring musicals from both the stage and screen. Among those scheduled to be part of the fundraising event are Christina Applegate, Kristen Bell, Harry Connick Jr., Michael Douglas, Jennifer Hudson, Andrea McArdle, Audra McDonald, Shirley MacLaine, Bernadette Peters, Patrick Wilson, Rita Wilson, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

The Motion Picture & Television Fund is a major service organization dedicated to promoting the well-being of California’s entertainment community through healthcare, childcare, retirement care and charitable social services.

 For more information about The Motion Picture & Television Fund, visit www.mptvfund.org.

 

 

Ryan Seacrest, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee and Clay Aiken are all expected to appear on the American Music Awards broadcast on November 21st. 

Carrie Underwood is nominated for Best Female Artist (Country) and Best Newcomer and is scheduled to perform.  Kelly Clarkson is nominated for two awards, Favorite Female Artist (Rock/Pop) and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist, but no word on whether or not she will be attending.  The awards will be broadcast on ABC.  For more information, visit www.abc.com

 

The official soundtrack album for the avidly awaited DreamWorks/Paramount film, “Dreamgirls,” will be released on Tuesday, December 5, 2006. The film, “Dreamgirls,” opens nationwide on Monday, December 25, 2006.

In addition to numbers first heard in the original Broadway musical, ‘Dreamgirls - Music From the Motion Picture’ will premiere four new original songs including the first single “Listen” by Beyoncé (scheduled for release on November 14, 2006) and “Love You I Do” by Jennifer Hudson.

Thanks to Juicy-News for the links to Steve Harvey’s morning interview with Fantasia.  Tasia sings an a capella ‘Free Yourself’ - it’s worth a listen!

Jennifer Hudson has a new recording contract and a beautiful new website.  From her blog:

October 28, 2006

This is a very special day for me. october 28th. today, i finally signed the record deal that i have dedicated my whole life to. not only that, but tonight i get to sing for the president of my label, clive davis, and the worlds greatest singer, whitney houston, at the carousel of hop benefit in la. i have to be dreaming. look what God has done!

- Jhud.

Isn’t it weird how things work out?  It’s been so long since Idol, yet this remarkable singer is just now signing a contract.  Then again, if she had signed on with a major label, Santa may not have been able to talk Clive Davis into letting us have Jennifer and “Dreamgirls” for Christmas.  Geez, like Christmas doesn’t come slowly enough…