On the Red Carpet with Ian Somerhalder

Photo by Pop Culture Passionistas

We became fans of Ian Somerhalder's during his days on Lost and were so sad when his character Boone died on the island. But our TV prayers were answered and he was resurrected as our favorite Salvatore brother on The Vampire Diaries.

We were thrilled to catch up with Ian when we covered the Emmy red carpet for the Archive of American Television. We needed to find out in person if those blue eyes are as piercing as they look on TV. We did and they are. He talked to us about his favorite TV shows growing up. Any guesses what they are?

To see more Emmy clips visit the EmmyTvLegends.Org YouTube playlist.

For related stories check out:
The Pop Culture Passionistas Hit the Emmys
On the Red Carpet with Glee's Dot Marie Jones


Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

This Week's Inspirational Pop Culture Moments

Photo by Pop Culture Passionistas

Some comedy stars stand up to cancer, an actress grows with every role and a Royal follows in his mum's footsteps. Here are this week's most inspirational moments in pop culture.

Comedy Stars Stand Up to Cancer

Some of comedy's biggest stars came together to raise awareness for Stand Up 2 Cancer. And what better way to call attention to a cause than to use the Force? Yes, that's right. The "Star Wars" Force.

Aziz Ansari, Zach Galifianakis, Bill Hader, Ed Helms, Ken Jeong, Jaime King, Seth Rogen, Andy Samberg, Emma Stone and special guest, "Star Wars" alumni Samuel L. Jackson are asking fans to "Use the Force for good." In a three-minute video, they re-enact their favorite franchise moments as only they can.

Our personal favorites include, "Community's" Ken Jeong getting  a hand cramp when portraying Darth Vader, "Saturday Night Live's" Andy Samberg's spot-on Yoda and "Bored to Death's" Zach Galifianakis playing Princess Leia. But the organization is hoping you'll do more than be entertained. Viewers are encouraged to donate to the charity, which funds cancer research.

In a press release SU2C co-founder Sue Schwartz stated, "With one in two men and one in three women diagnosed in their lifetimes, cancer affects us all. SU2C's mission is to persuade each and every person to support the scientists working to end cancer, and this initiative gives legions of 'Star Wars' fans fun and easy ways to do that."

Fans can also help out by purchasing one of the "Star Wars" SU2C t-shirts featuring the phrases"Use the Force for Good," "Yoda Stands Up to Cancer" and "Blast Cancer." Proceeds will go directly to cancer research.

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UM0-A12MmVs
T-Shirt link: http://store.standup2cancer.org/index.cfm/pid/568186

Predict the Entertainment Future and Earn Real Cash

Photo provided by Brent Stinski

Do you think you understand what makes a hit and what constitues a flop? If you are constantly saying "I told you so" when some dark horse wins an award or an assumed hit goes belly up, you might want to visit MediaPredict.com.

Media Predict wants to put their money where your mouth is. They want to pay people to bet on the success of the latest media craze. They ask questions like: Will Playboy Club make it to 10 episodes? How much will The Three Musketeers gross in its opening weekend? How many streaming subscribers will Netflix have at the end of the year?

The CEO and founder of Media Predict, Brent Stinski, explained that they created the site for two reasons — first so visitors can have fun playing the game and second to do market research. He commented, "For years media companies have relied on things like focus groups and surveys. They used these to get insight about their shows and movies, basically to learn what was working and what wasn't."

He continued, "Media Predict provides a better way to do that. First the odds in the betting are usually indicative. So if everyone is betting that something will be a hit, it usually is. Also asking people to place bets really makes them think hard and tell the truth, which from the media company's view is a lot better than a bunch of people randomly clicking their way through a survey."

Jessie Has a Cast of Poised Young Stars

Photo by Disney Channel/Craig Sjodin

 

This week we went to the set of the Disney Channel’s brand new series Jessie. Once again we were amazed at just how poised the young actors who star in the show are.

Suite Life on Deck actress Debby Ryan is the seasoned pro of the group at 18 years old. She plays the title character in the show, a newbie in the Big Apple who becomes nanny to a family full of adoptive kids — and a giant pet lizard. Broadway star Kevin Chamberlin plays the butler, who has a disdain for children and a killer Bea Arthur-esque glare.

We could go on and on about the cast but in the meantime go check out our exclusive YouTube videos of Debby, Kevin and the other kids in the cast — Peyton List, Cameron Boyce, Karan Brar and Skai Jackson.

And catch Jessie when it premieres on Friday at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. Central on Disney Channel.

Jamie-Lynn Sigler on Acting and Drop Dead Diva

Photo Credit: Bob Mahoney © 2011Lifetime Entertainment Services, LLC, All Rights Reserved

Jamie-Lynn has been a TV star since 1999 when, at the age of 18, she became Tony’s daughter Meadow on The Sopranos. Since then she’s done Broadway and had recurring roles on shows like Entourage. This past weekend she made a guest starring turn on Drop Dead Diva.

In a recent conference call interview Jamie-Lynn talked about what drives her at this point in her career. She revealed, “What motivates me to stay in this business is what got me started in the beginning is just to work with different people. And with every project that I do and every role you take, you kind of try and enter thinking, ‘What can I learn from this?’”

She also looked at each part as a chance to get to know new people, a philosophy that led to her turn on Drop Dead Diva, “With what I do you can always get better and you can always learn and grow as person and as an actor from every project. And people you meet can lead to other projects, like working with [Drop Dead Diva creator] Josh [Berman] last year and our pilot led to this. And I was a fan of the show before I knew him.”

On the Red Carpet with Glee's Dot Marie Jones

Photo by Pop Culture Passionistas

Today's Emmy highlight comes from Glee's Dot Marie Jones. She was a nominee at the Creative Arts Emmys the previous week for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy. Sadly, she lost the statue to Gwyneth Paltrow, who won for her spot on the same series.

Dot plays one of our favorite characters on the Fox hit, Coach Shannon Beiste. We love how she portrays a tough girl with a big, mushy, marshmallow heart deep down. But it appears from meeting her in person that this soft side is the real Dot. She gushed about being included in the event and about learning from her co-star Jane Lynch on a daily basis. Plus she called us "sweetie." Makes a girl melt inside a little.

To see more Emmy clips visit the Archive of American Television's YouTube playlist.

For related stories check out:
The Pop Culture Passionistas at the 2011 Creative Arts Emmys
An Interview with Matheus Fernandes from The Glee Project


Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Seven Thoughts from John Goodman from Community

Photo by Colleen Hayes/NBC

Season 3 of Community kicked off last week and John Goodman made a fine addition to the cast playing Dean Pelton's archrival and Air Conditioner School Vice Dean Robert Laybourne. After several seasons of drama on Damages and Treme, Goodman is dusting off his Roseanne comedy chops for another turn at funny business. In a recent conference call interview John Goodman told us seven things we thought you’d find interesting.

1. On Why He Wanted To Be on Community
"It’s the cast. I think they’re a wonderful ensemble. The writing is out there. It’s not a typical situation comedy sitcom. It’s risky and it’s a combination of great things and I’m just dying to get back into comedy again. That’s what I like to do. I enjoy it. And I’ve been doing pretty heavy guys lately, so it’s nice to lighten up. Not that that’s any easier, I had pages of dialogue yesterday that was really precise but it’s good to stretch like that."

2. On Why He Wanted to Come Back to Comedy
"I haven’t done comedy in a long time, intentional comedy. There’s a great sense of achievement because it’s so damn hard. There’s a lot of ingredients to doing it and it keeps your skills going. You have to learn how to juggle again and it’s just a great thing. Plus there’s a great payoff when it works. And I like to laugh almost more than anything in the world and if you can make somebody else laugh that’s a great thing."

3. On the Current TV Landscape
"It reminds me of the early days of television when they’d throw anything up against a wall to see if it would stick. With all the hour shows going to cable now, you’d think there would be more comedies out there. There are a few, but I thought there would be more, but it doesn’t seem to be going that way. I don’t know why, maybe there’s a smaller concentration of comedy writers than there are real people out there. I’m just an old crabby bastard. I’m not a big fan of reality television. There’s some stuff I like. There’s a lot of stuff that I don’t, but that’s just popular culture in general. I’m just an old crab."

Hank Azaria and Kathryn Hahn Are Free Agents

Photo by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC 

Former-Huff star Hank Azaria has returned to television in the new workplace, romantic comedy Free Agents. In a recent conference call interview, Hank and his co-star Kathryn Hahn talked about what sets the series apart from the rest of the pack.

Hank noted, “Alex, his greatest strength is also his biggest problem. He's very in touch with his emotions and honest about how he feels which is good and healthy. However it can slip very easily into whiny annoying. There’s a fine line between healthy expression of emotion and wallowing which he hasn’t quite figured out yet.”

As for her character, Kathyrn remarked, “There’s something to me that is appealing about how she’s neurotic. Her shell is so well-defined. She's just polished. I like her little micro chord shift and her shoes and her hair is fantastic. And I love how much energy she spends on the outside, where her inside is just like a total disaster. She's actually really paranoid, very concerned with how people see her, which it just doesn't sound really appealing.”

The Pop Culture Passionistas Hit the Emmys

Photo by Pop Culture Passionistas

Last Sunday the Passionistas went to the 2011 Primetime Emmys. It's no surprise to any of our readers that it's our favorite day of the year and to be on the Red Carpet where all the action is, is a thrill of a lifetime.

We are eternally grateful to the Archive of American Television and the Television Academy of Arts and Sciences for letting us be there on their behalf. This week we will be posting some of our favorite clips from our time hanging with the stars.

One of our biggest surprise moments of the day occurred when The X Factor's Paula Abdul came over to chat with us. We asked her who influenced her career and were thrilled to hear her mentor was one of our favorite performers of all time — Gene Kelly. She also gave a nod to James L. Brooks and The Tracey Ullman Show.

Watch Paula Abdul on the Emmy Red Carpet:

To see more Emmy clips visit the EmmyTVLegends.Org YouTube playlist.

For related stories check out:
The Pop Culture Passionistas at the 2011 Creative Arts Emmys
America's Got Talent Judges Compare the Show to X Factor


Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Ten Thoughts from The Biggest Loser Contestant Debbie Lounds

Photo by Jordin Althaus/NBC 

The Biggest Loser season 12 kicked off this week with new trainers Anna Kournikova and Dovlett Quince joining 11-year vet Bob Harper. Each coach was assigned a team of that was five split up by age. After a race through the dessert to choose trainers, Anna ended up with the "old" team — made up of players ages 50-65. But it seemed her soft-spoken, nice girl approach to training did not have the same affect as Bob and Quince's tough guy styles, and Anna's team ended up at the bottom during the weigh-in. When the five older players sat down to deliberate, 60-year-old Debbie Lounds assured her team she had a support system at home and she was voted off. In a recent conference call interview, Debbie shared ten thoughts about The Biggest Loser.

On Anna as a Trainer
"She looks so sweet doesn’t she? She does. And she’s a very pretty girl but she’s a real taskmaster. She works you hard and she doesn’t let up and I thought she was really good. I think that she cares a lot about us and emotionally involved and also wanting to see us succeed. I thought she was a great trainer. She gave us some difficult tasks to do, where our workouts were strenuous and because we’d never really exercised before. I thought she was good. I thought she was very good."

On Her Reaction to Seeing Anna
"I was excited to be in the desert seeing Bob, Dolvett and Anna, seeing all three of them. I had and have complete faith in the producers of the show… I have faith in what they were doing in their selection of trainers. I knew that they weren’t going to select anybody who they thought would not be able to help us."

On Having a Disadvantage Game-Wise with a New Trainer
"I don’t think it was a disadvantage. We weren’t there to play games. That wasn’t our goal. Anna pushed us. And most of us having never had a trainer before, we were doing what she was telling us. And all we know was that. All I know is that I was sweating. I was working out hard and as far as I was concerned she was doing a great job… On a certain level it wasn’t even about the money. What it was about was getting healthy. Although if we won the money that would be the icing on the cake, but that wasn’t the main goal."

This Week’s Inspirational Pop Culture Moments

  

Photo by S. Jaud (de:Benutzer:Falkenauge) 

Celebrities revisit their youth for the Boys and Girls Club, stars say I Am for Climate Control and an "America's Next Top Model" contestant transforms herself inside and outside. Here are this week's most inspirational moments in pop culture.

Famous Boys & Girls Club Alum Come Together for a PSA

We don't often think about celebrities when they were young kids. Occasionally we see a high school photo, but we rarely ponder what they did long before they were stars. Well it turns out Denzel Washington, Jennifer Lopez, Ron Howard, Ashanti, Magic Johnson, Sugar Ray Leonard and Mario Lopez all did the same thing. They went to the Boys & Girls Club of America.

And now these stars and many more are giving back to the the place that impacted their childhoods. The Great Futures Start Here PSA features 21 B&GC alumni including the above plus Martin Sheen, Ne-Yo, Smokey Robinson and more.

The organization's president Roxanne Spillett said, "These alumni all participated because they know firsthand the lifelong impact a Boys & Girls Club has on young people. These individuals are living proof that Boys & Girls Clubs help create the pathway to a great future. As a result, they are passionate advocates for kids.”

Denzel Washington and Jennifer Lopez are national spokespersons for the Boys & Girls Club. In a behind the scenes video Washington said, "I love the Club. It's the reason I'm here. It taught me so many lessons and I could talk about it in a positive way and an honest way for the rest of my life."

Cuba Gooding Jr. recalled, "I remember the whole organization being so open... everybody was so helping." And Martin Sheen, who was a member of the Club from 1947 to 1959, admitted that his time at the Club was "one of the great experiences of my life." 

Oscar-winner Ron Howard directed the PSA and chose the Beyonce song "I Was Here" for the soundtrack. He remarked, "We wanted the most powerful piece of music possible, to underscore the dramatic message that what we do today to shape the future of our children is vitally important.”

The video ends with the 21 celebrity alumni standing in front of the doors to a Boys & Girls Club as Washington says, "While many doors open, these doors transform. They did for us." 

For more inspiring pop culture moments visit Beliefnet.com.

 

Emeril Lagasse on His Place in Food TV History

  Photo by Anders Krusberg/Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia

As the long list of celebrity chefs gets unwieldy, there are still a few iconic names that pop out — Julia Child, Graham Kerr and, of course, Emeril Lagasse. Who knows if The Food Network would have been such a resounding hit, without it’s breakout star back in the day. Now Lagasse’s back with the new show Emeril’s Table on the Hallmark Channel. In a recent conference call interview, he talked about the series and his place in culinary entertainment history.

Emeril addressed his undeniable place in the food chain. “I didn’t really jump into the genre because I think I started it and I’m not saying that sarcastically. I mean I started and had 12 seasons of Essence of Emeril back in the ‘80s and helped launch the Food Network from zero to now 100 million homes.”

He discussed his progression in the arena, saying “Then [I], after having that run, took a little break and then I went and did something very fun more in the field called Emeril Green. And [I] tried to nail down to the average person of what this whole green movement was and whether it was growing something organically or making something organically.”

Kelly Monaco and Steve Burton on Their General Hospital Wedding

Photo by Patrick Wymore 

This week General Hospital is celebrating a big wedding. Beloved characters Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) and Samantha McCall (Kelly Monaco) are finally tying the knot. The magnitude of the nuptials is somewhat reminiscent of GH's iconic '80s wedding of Luke and Laura. And even though given the current state of the soap world, Jason and Sam's wedding may not become as big of a pop culture event as the preceding affair, it's still a party worth checking out.

We spoke with Steve and Kelly about the wedding and the future of soaps in a recent exclusive interview. The actors described the big day and revealed that they made preparations for a typical celebration. Steve said that once Jason proposed and realized Sam wasn't going to runaway, "We start planning a pretty traditional wedding, every woman's dream wedding — family, dress, church, the whole nine yards."

But the unconventional couple could not go through with the traditional pomp and circumstance and ended up tying the knot in a Chinese restaurant. Kelly remarked, "Little did we know there was a minister there that owned the restaurant."

Watch the clip below to hear the details.

And even though people are comparing Sam and Jason's wedding to that of Luke and Laura, the actors are humbled by the association. Steve responded, "Luke and Laura — they’re idols. They’re legends. I'm not even going to put myself in that category." And Kelly added, "It's like 'Here's the new Elvis.' There's only one Elvis.

Watch the clip of the couple discussing the iconic wedding.

Kelly and Steve also gave props to Luke and Laura for making GH what it is today and for perhaps giving it the longevity it has. In fact when All My Children goes off the air this fall and One Life to Live ends in January, General Hospital will be the last soap standing on ABC. Steve noted, "Luke and Laura pretty much set the pace for the show… to have that notoriety back in the '80s and to have generations of families and fans continue to watch the show, I think that's given us a leg up… All the actors are having a good time on the show and hopefully that translates to the TV and we stay on another 50 years."

Watch the clip of the couple discussing the state of soap operas.

Tune in to Sam and Jason wedding all this week on General Hospital through Friday, September 23, at 3 p.m. EST and 2 p.m. PT on ABC.

For related stories check out:
Days of Our Lives Turns 45
From Soap Stars to Superstars


Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Lisa D’Amato Returns to America’s Next Top Model

Photo by Canino/ Pottle Productions

Tyra Banks has assembled an all star cast for this season of America’s Next Top Model. She’s chosen fan favorites from past cycles to compete for an even bigger prize than usual including a spread in Italian Vogue and a $100,000 contract with Cover Girl. Among the hopefuls is cycle five’s Lisa D’Amato. In a recent conference call she talked about doing ANTM — then and now.

“Ultimately, I went back on the show for a few reasons. One is definitely for the fan base and to really let them see something that they didn’t see the first time around on season five… I basically have been the person who can do all of it. I’m an all around, I’m talented in all types of areas.”

She explained that the all star version of ANTM has afforded her the opportunity to show her various skills since it’s about more than just walking the catwalk and posing for photos. “I’ve always been a seamstress. I have been acting since I was really young. I’ve been doing gymnastics. I can dance. I can sing. I can rap. I can do all of those things. And I was able to do all of those things as well as modeling from a very early age. And on season five, you only got to see me do modeling so it was a really great way to basically show all my talents as I should have been able to show them on season five.”

She acknowledged that that the chance to reveal her many talents is what lured her back to ANTM. “Personally, the reason I went on the show was, one, it’s not a modeling competition anymore. It’s really finding that star and having that star quality. And I think that I definitely have that, not to mention it’s all star so there’s people from every single cycle.”

Since she’s no longer an aspiring model, Lisa had loftier ambitions this time around. She admitted, “I’m not there to be a model and try to break into the industry… I’m going on America’s Next Top Model All-Stars to basically change history. I want to make history. You’re only as old as you look and I think that I look great, I look better than I ever have before in my whole life.”

She continued, “In terms of my career, I’ve been pounding the pavement in Hollywood since I was 11,12 years old. And I think that being that I am 30, if you look at me as being 30 in the modeling world, that looks probably old. But all the celebrities that everyone is obsessed with nowadays like Kim Kardashian and Paris Hilton they’re older than me. But I think it’s a double standard and I’m ready to change that.”

She’s also most likely trying to shine a spotlight on her singing career. D’Amato has two albums under her belt — 2009’s "La Puchinetta" and “"Flippin' The Bird" in 2011. But she insists that her return to reality TV is all about the fashion industry. She remarked, “Even though I have been performing music the last three, four years consistently I have still also been doing modeling with Harlow Magazine also with Swindle Magazine. When you’ve been in the industry that long, photographers, makeup artist or job stylist they all come to you because they still want to work with you. And at the end of the day people could call me crazy, they can call me this, they can call me that, but I am a 100 percent professional and I will be there ten minutes early to a set and I will rock everyone socks off, period, point, blank.”

Lisa’s also famous for her stint on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. She addressed that experience, saying, “To be perfectly honest going on Celebrity Rehab was something that I never wanted to do, absolutely not. From the season five of Top Model and being in the entertainment industry and my heart being a driving force since I was a little girl, I really couldn’t shake the image… a bit of being the party girl, wild child, the one who drinks and it was really hindering my career.”

She added, “I did it to basically show the world that if I do have an addiction or could get an addiction I’m going to do it in front of everyone like I’m not scared.” And she wanted to open peoples eyes about a very important topic. “I definitely want to pave a road of understanding with the public in terms of childhood trauma.”

She divulged, “Ultimately I want to be the best, I want to be the healthiest I can be and that’s what I’ve learned there. I got therapy for childhood trauma, I learned about drugs and alcohol, through brain scans and watching people detox. I personally didn’t detox or do any of those things but I did learn more than I could have ever have been blessed to learn about drugs and alcohol and building beautiful relationship within Celebrity Rehab and doctor Drew [Pinksy].”

She summed up that adventure by concluding, “It was a life changing experience and I feel blessed to have had that. But in terms of an addiction… if I could have gotten one that’s something that [people] will never be able to see because luckily I got help before anything went any further.”

Looking to the future, Lisa described the reason she thinks fans should tune in to America’s Next Top Model All Stars. “One thing’s for sure, everyone should definitely watch this season… I’m usually really, really confident in the competition regardless of who’s in there, but after meeting all these girls it’s a very tough competition because these girls have a lot to offer.”

Watch Lisa go head-to-head with her competitors when America’s Next Top Model All Stars airs on Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. EST/8 p.m. Central on the CW.

Anna Kournikova and Dolvett Quince on The Biggest Loser

Photo by Justin Lubin/NBC 

Season 12 of The Biggest Loser premieres on Tuesday, September 20. And this time around they are shaking things up a bit. Of course, as we all know by now, Jillian Michaels has moved on. So Bob Harper will be joined by tennis champ Anna Kournikova and personal trainer Dolvett Quince. The three coaches will each be given a team of five contestants who will be split up youngest to oldest in the "Battle of the Ages." In a recent conference call interview, we spoke with Anna and Dolvett, along with series executive producer Todd Lubin, about the theme for this season's show.

At first glance the division of teams may seem unfair. After all isn’t it harder to lose weight as you age? Well, that may be, but historically, older competitors have done very well on the ranch. Todd explained, "We've had a winner who's a 48-year-old. Helen was a winner. Last season alone our at-home winner, Denny, was in her 50's…59. And then we had an at-home winner who was 63. And so we've always felt like age was a number. And what a great catchy thing to say that it's never too late in your life to try to make a difference. It's never too late to grab your life by the horns."

Dolvett added that there is only one difference working with older contestants versus young ones, "It's just paying attention. It's paying attention to their fatigue level. It’s paying attention to their mobility while you're working them out. And I'm just not conned easily you know. I definitely know people will tend to give up a lot quicker than their body will allow them to."

Anna disagreed somewhat with her fellow trainer saying there are many differences working with people of varying ages. "All age groups have their pluses and minuses. The young kids are obviously more energetic but they're probably not as educated and smart in ways. They don't know how to manipulate and use their energy yet well enough. Now the middle age group is already where they have wisdom but they still have enough energy."

Kathy Bates Talks About Her Complex Harry’s Law Character

  Photo by Jordin Althaus/NBC 

Emmy-nominated actress Kathy Bates doesn’t always go after the touchy-feely part. Let’s remember she took home the Oscar paying the ankle-crushing stalker Annie Wilkes in Misery. But as the title character on the legal drama Harry’s Law, Bates must walk a fine line between likability and abrasiveness as the oh-so-blunt attorney. In a recent conference call interview, Kathy talked about her complex character.

Kathy revealed her favorite part of portraying Harry. “All of us have been in situations where we’ve maybe had a confrontation with someone and we walk away from it and then maybe a few minutes later or even a day later we think, ‘Oh, I wish I had said that. I wish I had been clever enough to say exactly this to that person.’ And I think that’s one of the things that Harry has is that ability that we all wish we had to say in the moment eloquently and forcefully exactly what’s on our mind and what even makes the best argument at a given moment. And it’s fun to be able to to play someone that has that almost superhuman ability to express themselves in that way.”

This Week's Inspirational Pop Culture Moments

Photo by Trae Patton/NBC 

A group of reality competitors inspire the nation, some women celebrities do good and a tennis champ gives back to kids. Here's this week's most inspirational moments in pop culture.

Silhouettes Stunned on America’s Got Talent

They didn’t take home the top prize on America’s Got Talent but the unique dance troupe The Silhouettes should certainly feel like winners. Comprised of a group of youth from Colorado between the ages of three and 19, the act incorporates ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical and hip hop dance and melds it with tumbling. Their shadows are projected on a giant scrim and the results are stunning. They’re also quiet emotional — paying tribute to everything from the United States of America to the power of belief.

As the official AGT website explains, “The Silhouettes' goal is to inspire audiences of all ages and create an endless adventure that moves audiences and promotes awareness for homeless children across America.” And that’s why they came in second to car washer-turned-million-dollar-singer, Landau Eugene Murphy Jr.

In a recent conference call interview the group’s director Lynn Patton talked about what the experience has been like for the members of Silhouettes. “Well it's actually still a dream. None of us, the children or the parents — can believe that we're in the top four. And it's a gift and we hope to continue this dream. We don't want to wake up.”

Patton described the ethereal element of their work, which makes the act inspiring to everyone who sees it. She remarked, “It's not reality. It allows the audience member to envision what they want. It's like reading a book. You're given a description of what the characters are. But the reader of the book gets to decide exactly what that character looks like. And that's what's wonderful… is that we can give an illusion that the audience can participate in what the reality in their mind is which involves them.”

And being on America’s Got Talent has afforded the opportunity go grow. Patton revealed, “It's just a great experience for us to find out how hard can we push ourselves. And for these children to be under this incredible pressure but still be laughing and loving every moment and loving not only the acts that are in the final four but all of the other acts that have been with us in the talent tent and we've got to know along this journey.”

So regardless of how nervous we are this is a gift and we are so grateful for this gift. And we're going to enjoy every moment.

To learn more about Silhouettes visit their website.

For more inspiring pop culture moments visit Beliefnet.com.

Ben Folds Says The Sing-Off is Providing Harmony

Photo by Mitchell Haaseth/NBC

We're excited that The Sing-Off is returning next week. And we're looking forward to the changes they have in store. Sara Bareilles is joining Ben Folds and Shawn Stockman at the judge's table after Nicole Scherzinger was courted away by Simon Cowell for X Factor. And this season we have 16 glorious groups to enjoy in the search for the next great a cappella act. We spoke with Ben Folds on a recent conference call about the differences this season and why he thinks the show is so popular.

On What's New This Season
"This is the season of innovation... As it evolves I think everyone will see the innovation be second nature. In other words, you begin to take it for granted and everyone will look for heart. But that's what marks this season and my theory is because these groups watched this television show and they thought, 'What can I do to stand out?' And so we have a lot of standout groups... The first season was much more sort of conventional a cappella and they were very good. Second season more of that. And now all of a sudden it's more about how they can stand out and be different and that's a nice thing to see."

On Repeat Contestants
"They slip by putting mustaches on. We only figured it out after they got in. They were strangely attractive with the mustaches. We do encourage it. We do encourage it because it's about groups working together and it encourage the whole development and this show has become a hub of talent. Now you see these people getting together and making bands, rising together, doing things. It's an incredible amount of talent.... One fellow you'll see on this season in the Dartmouth Aires, he said he never thought about being a musician. Now we've completely corrupted the poor young man. He's going to be a musician. Now he's going to starve."

On the Biggest Challenge for the Competitors
"It's different for every group. That's what's interesting about it ,is the story behind every group. If you have an obvious one, which is being surmounted like really effectively, is an all female group. You don't have a bass. So if you're an all female group, you've got to find ways of making it work, and there are plenty of ways, but you have to find them. They're off the beaten path. And if you're a group of 18 guys then you might have intimacy issues. It might be difficult to find a star, a one-person that can act in the middle of essentially a football team. Some people might be technically challenged but have total star power. So for each group it's how they surmount their challenge and their difficulties. It's their Achilles heel. It's interesting for us to watch. Sometimes you keep a group in because you can see that they're on the verge of a revelation. And they may not have done their best show but we make the judgment that if they stay on another show we're going to see something that's going to develop and it's going to surprise us and that is what I think is most exciting about the show."