Lucas Grabeel Rounds Up the Fun on Sheriff Callie's Wild West

(Photo by Disney Junior/Rick Rockwell)

In Disney Junior's new animated creation, Sheriff Callie's Wild West, the 3D titular character, voiced by Mandy Moore, keeps the town safe and doles out pearls of wisdom to young viewers. Helping the law-enforcing kitten Sheriff Callie maintain peace and order the best he can is her faithful sidekick Peck. Lucas Grabeel plays the lovable, albeit sometimes inept, woodpecker. In a recent one-on-one interview, the 29-year-old told us a bit about what he calls the “super dear, country western show.”

Brian Choper: Much More Than a Musician

 Courtesy of Brian Choper

Being an accomplished drummer and percussionist who can jump across genres from rock and roll to jazz to Klezmer to swing, might be enough for a lot of people — but not Brian Choper. In addition to being a successful performer in his own right, he’s dedicated his life to helping up-and-coming artists realize their potential and fulfill their dreams.

Perhaps that’s not surprising considering that Brian has been playing music since he was just three years old. That’s when, as a kid growing up Washington, D.C., he picked up a violin. Although he didn’t know then that he’d make it his life’s work, everything changed when he went to his brother’s junior high school dance.

As he recounted in a recent exclusive interview, “I saw the band playing on the stage. I saw the drummer and I said, ‘That’s what I want to do.’ I was captivated by it.” Since his parents were classical and opera buffs, nine-year-old Brian had to find a way to break the news about his career choice. Even though they tried to dissuade him, he “won the battle.”
 

ToddleWood Takes a Pint-Sized Look at Hollywood Glamour

Anyway who reads our blog knows we’re far more likely to write about adorable monkeys or pug dogs than we are about kids. But we were struck recently by a rug rat-centric project that really struck a chord with our love of pop culture.

ToddleWood is the brainchild of photographer and former advertising executive Tricia Messeroux. She goes to great lengths to recreate tot-sized versions of some of Hollywood’s most glamorous red carpet moments. 

The whole idea started back in 2008, after Tricia had been told that her three-year-old daughter looked like Diana Ross. She soon turned to friends who knew about styling, make-up and hair to help her make the perfect mini-homages to some of the world’s biggest stars.

Omar Akram on His Influences and Winning a Grammy

When we spoke to composer Omar Akram his ten-month-old daughter, Aria, was at his side chiming in with appropriately timed coos and giggles. It was only fitting since his Grammy-winning album "Echoes of Love" was partly inspired by her. But the Afghan-American artist is also influenced by his travels as a child and his love of art and culture.

Omar was born in New York but spent much of his childhood away from the U.S. because his dad worked for the U.N. His parents, both from Afghanistan, brought their young child back to live in their homeland for a time as a boy. Then they moved to Prague, then off the France and finally to Cuba before returning home to New York.

Omar was a self-proclaimed hyper kid and his parents found that the only thing that could calm him down was classical music. And so the piano lessons started at age six. He admitted they bored him at first but in a recent exclusive interview he said, "When my teacher would leave after the piano lesson that's when I would have a good time tickling the ivories."

His love of piano grew and he was composing by age 13. He was already being influenced by a wide variety of music from the classical in Prague, to the electronica in France, to the Latin beats in Havana and even the King of pop Michael Jackson.

He describes his music saying it is, "a combination of different culture coming together with my classical background. It's instrumental music and at the same time being influenced by world culture."

Philip Martin on Reaching Nirvana in Phil Spector

 Courtesy of Philip Martin

Don’t let the title fool you. David Mamet’s new HBO movie Phil Spector is not based on a true story of the legendary music producer. As viewers are quickly told, “This is a work of fiction.” And, besides, it’s not so much the tale of the man behind the wall of sound but more the unraveling of the events through the eyes of Linda Kenney Baden, the attorney who represented him in his murder trial in the death of Lana Clarkson.

For our part, we were far more interested in a new actor who has hit the scene in the HBO project — Philip Martin. Although this breakout star is experienced on the stage, his role as a member of the Spector defense team is his first high-profile TV gig.

Director Louise Palanker Talks about The Cowsills

Written in conjunction with ScreenPicks.com

Lots of family singing acts have come and gone through the years — some more successful and with greater longevity than others, like the Jacksons, the Osmonds or even the Carpenters. But there's one group of singing brothers and sisters that really didn't get the recognition they deserved — The Cowsills. You may not even know their name but you probably know their hits "The Rain, The Park & Other Things," "Hair" and "Indian Lake."

The bad had a few incarnations beginning with the four brothers Bill, Bob, Barry and John. Soon mom Barbara and sis Susan brother Paul joined the act. Does this sound at all familiar? That's because their other claim to fame was that they were the inspiration for the TV hit, The Partridge Family. Although they were considered for the show themselves, the producers decided they needed to hire real actors.

Despite a few big years in the spotlight, The Cowsills quickly faded into oblivion. Until now. Louise Palanker, a longtime fan of the band, has spent the last eight years trying to uncover exactly what happened to The Cowsills. Her documentary Family Band: The Cowsills Story is airing this month on Showtime. We spoke with Louise about why she wanted to make the film and some of the shocking discoveries she made.

One night Louise went to a small pub to see Bob Cowsill perform and it coincidentally was the night John Cowsill was marrying Vicki Peterson from the Bangles, so the whole family was in the house. Louise's memories of her favorite childhood band came flooding back and she began wondering why they didn't remain famous and successful throughout their adult life. She recalled, "When the Cowsills came out, they were ahead of the Osmonds, they were ahead of The Jacksons and to me, they were the best. They were playing their own instruments, all those harmonies, writing their own songs. To me by far and away this is the most talented family and then they just disappeared."

So she needed to find out why. She approached Bob about a documentary. Louise said, "He was very reluctant, but he never actually said no." So she went back to see him play again and pushed a little harder. Bob told her the story, "was too big, too complicated and it can't be done." She finally convinced him it can be done. And she did it.

The first shoot was in 2005 at Fenway Park in Boston, where The Cowsills were invited to sing The National Anthem before a game. The family agreed to let Louise tag along and film the performance. What she witnessed was a family with a lot of tension and a lot of demons and over the next few years she would burst open the floodgates.

They began shooting but just a few months later tragedy struck in the form of Hurricane Katrina. Both Susan and Barry were living in New Orleans at the time. Susan and her family made it out of town, but Barry lost his life in the tragedy.

And as is that weren't enough, the night the family was gathered for his memorial service, and Louise was filming, the word came to them that brother Billy has also passed from complications of emphysema. Louise described the moment the family learned the news, "It was so shocking and devastating. When you look at it, you saw they were all together as a family, they can be together. And you're thinking, do I film? Do I not film?" Ultimately she said, "We stopped filming for two years. Nobody wanted to do it any more."

She gave the family their space and eventually Bob called and said, "Let's have lunch." He told her that day that his siblings wanted the movie finished. Louise finally got her chance to tell the world why The Cowsills didn't translate into adult stars.

What she uncovered was that behind those cheery songs about swimming in lakes and loving flower girls was a sad group of abused kids. And because of that rough childhood, they didn't have the capacity to translate their success into adulthood. She stated, "Why weren't people this talented given as children all the ingredients and the fuel that you need to be powerful, successful adults with life skills? They weren't given any of that. It was robbed from them."

It was stolen from them by their abusive, controlling alcoholic father who also acted as the band's manager. She added, "When the teen idol fame ended, they didn't have the tools they need to regroup. They just scattered…. They had to figure out how to raise a family and how to be a good human being. They had to figure that out on their own."

From everything she uncovered during her time with the family she was most surprised to learn what good parents they all turned out to be. "When you found out what their dad had done to them and you saw what good parents they all were… that's not supposed to be the pattern is it. They're all heroic in that way… There's so much love there. I didn't think I was going to see that when I was beginning to find out about what had happened."

And as for The Partridge Family, Louise remembers as a kid reading that The Cowsills were getting their own TV show, so when David Cassidy and Shirley Jones showed up, she was a little disappointed. After all these were just actors. And Tracy couldn't even play the tambourine on the beat. She did love the show and the songs, but she couldn't help but wish The Cowsills had gotten that break. She stated, "You felt gipped if you were a Cowsills fan."

You won't feel gipped watching Louise's movie. Although word of warning, it's not as upbeat and happy a their music once was. But it's a great trip down memory lane and a powerfully dramatic, gut wrenching tale. Family Band: The Cowsills Story is airing this month on Showtime. Check local listing for dates and times.

For related stories check out:
Barry Williams & Danny Bonaduce on Bigfoot, Bradys and Partridges
La Toya Jackson Talks About Celebrity Apprentice

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Amy Weber Offers Redemption in Crossroad & Joy Through Her Music

  Courtesy of Amy Weber

Amy Weber’s fans might not know it by looking at her. But even though she was once named one of FHM’s sexiest women in the world, she had very unglamorous beginnings.

As she revealed in a recent exclusive interview, “I was born in Mapleton, Illinois, which is on the outskirts of Peoria, Illinois. And I was raised on a really small corn farm. The nearest house was literally like five miles away. So most of the time I spent outdoors being a tomboy and climbing trees. My dad really wanted a boy and he got me instead. So that didn’t stop him from raising me as a tomboy and I ended up racing motorcycles and doing a lot of boy activities.”

Yet she also discovered a love for acting at an early age, entering fine arts contests where she would deliver monologues when she was just five years old. She went on to the drama club in high school and while in college realized that she wanted to be a performer. So she packed her bags and moved to Hollywood.

Daniel Rosa Gets a Second Chance on The Voice

Photo by Tyler Golden/NBC

Second chances are few and far between in life and in reality TV. But Daniel Rosa, a lucky contestant from last season of The Voice got his lucky break upon his return.  This time the judge’s took notice of the 20-year-olds smoky rendition of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know” — a much more successful choice than his first blind audition’s “Animal” by Neon Trees.

Clearly he listened to what the judge’s had told him before — build your confidence. It’s no wonder he was nervous. As Daniel recounted in a recent conference call interview, “The first time I ever held a microphone, in my entire life singing, was the blind auditions. I’ve never held a microphone. And it is hard for me to break out of the choir-like stance and walking around is very different for me.”

So he listened to the words of wisdom doled out by The Voice's brain trust — Blake Shelton, Cee Lo Green, Christina Aguilera and Adam Levine. He started performing and hosting shows in his native Riverside, California.

Both Blake and Cee Lo took notice when he came back to the reality show. They pushed their buttons and turned their chairs around. When it came time to make his choice, Daniel decided to join Team Cee Lo.

A Few Things You Don’t Know About Queen Latifah

 Courtesy of Lifetime

This weekend Queen Latifah takes on a daunting task — tackling the beloved role of M’Lynn created by Sally Field in the 1989 film Steel Magnolias. Field was nominated for a Golden Globe for the role of the over protective mother of Shelby, played then by Julia Roberts. Phylicia Rashad’s daughter, Condola, co-stars as Shelby and her real-life mother walks in Olympia Dukakis shoes as Clairee Belcher.

The all African-American cast certainly has big shoes to fill. But it’s not the first time Queen Latifah took a big chance on her career. Originally known strictly as a rapper, Latifah surprised fans when she started singing soul songs in 2003. Those who knew her music career didn’t expect her to sign-up for a sitcom role. But she did just that, playing Khadijah James on Living Single from 1993 to 1998. And anyone who underestimated her acting sops never would have predicted her Oscar-nominated turn in Chicago in 2002.

In a recent conference call, Queen Latifah talked about Steel Magnolias and her career. Here are a few things you might not know about her:

Cassie Steele on The L.A. Complex, Music and Edie Sedgwick

Photo courtesy of Cassie Steele

Cassie Steele, known best for playing Manny Santos on nine seasons of Degrassi: The Next Generation has grown up and moved on to the more adult role of Abby Vargas on the CW’s The L.A. Complex. On the show, Abby is a struggling actress who moves from Canada to Hollywood to pursue her dream. And although Cassie still lives in Toronto, the story mirrors her own life to a degree.

In a recent exclusive interview Cassie told us she differs from her character in some ways, but their struggles are the same. “Abby takes things really lightly. She jokes about her bad luck and she doesn’t let it affect her. I take things really hard personally… I really admire those kind of people that can do that and can take things lightly and don’t let it affect them in a negative way.”

But since she has been a singer and actress since first grade the 22-year-old can relate to Abby’s journey. She said they deal with a lot of the same issues such as “trying to afford everything without always working because it’s so on and off. Trying to stay on top of it and trying to also make friends. Because you come down here and you don’t really know anyone. And everyone out there is also trying to make it. So it gets really tough trying to balance your personal life, your work and keeping your sanity.”

Based on her own path and on what she learns from playing Abby, Cassie has advice for upcoming actors. “Although Abby has patches of bad luck, not everything is like that and keeping your chin up and keeping everything lightly would be the best advice that I wish I had heard when I was younger. Keeping light and staying driven and don’t let anything get you down because if you wear everything on your sleeves you’re not going to get a part. You have to keep that confidence and you have to keep that lightness and everything else that radiates in an audition.”

The Latest Glee Project Castoffs Ponder What Might Have Been

  Photo by Tyler Golden/NBC

 

Last week on The Glee Project the judges surprised fans with a double elimination. While Michael Weisman seemed destined to be next on the chopping block, many were shocked when Lily Mae Harrington saw her name under his on the call back list. After being sent packing, the two castoffs talked about the show in a conference call interview.

Lily Mae, who landed in hot water more than once for talking back to the judges described what it was like to do Last Chance performances for Glee’s creator. “Ryan Murphy really pushed me in every single way possible — as a performer, mentally, emotionally — and I started out at call backs for him and the mentors on a really high level.”

She reflected on some of her sassier moments, saying, “At the beginning of the competition I didn’t exactly deliver what they wanted. And so I think they were still expecting that level of performance. And I freaked out a little bit at the beginning of the competition. It’s a really hard transition. So yeah, it was difficult every week. But I just took whatever he threw at me and I tried to tackle it as best as I could.”

Pop Culture Passionistas Trivia — Week of July 30, 2012

Photo by Karen Blaha

Our picks from this week's Pop Culture Passionistas' interviews and celebrity headlines.

Pop Culture Passionistas Trivia — July 30, 2012 » Make A Quiz

Costume Designer Ruth Carter on Whitney, Sparkle and Twiggy

Photo by JaxOnPhotoGroup.com

Next month Whitney Houston’s last film Sparkle comes out. The movie stars American Idol’s Jordin Sparks as a singer in the 1960s who starts a Supremes-esque girl group with her two sisters and they become huge Motown stars. Whitney plays their conservative, religious mother. We recently spoke with Sparkle costume designer Ruth Carter about working with the actresses and some of her other career highlights.

Ruth told us she decided she wanted to be a costume designer when she was a sophomore in college. She recalled, “I wasn't cast in a play and the director in return offered me a position as the costume designer. From that moment on, I knew that it was meant for me, because I was even more excited about being able to dress someone based on the character and research.”

And so she has spent 25 years working in the wardrobe department on films like Amistad and Malcolm X (both of which she garnered Oscar nods) as well as Jungle Fever and Frankie and Alice. She has dressed such Hollywood stars as Halle Berry, Eddie Murphy, Vanessa Williams, Morgan Freeman and Angela Bassett. And with her next film, The Butler, due out in 2013, she will add Oprah Winfrey, Nicole Kidman, Liam Neeson, John Cusack and Minka Kelly to that list.

She talked about designing the costumes for this film. “The pieces in the upcoming film The Butler range from the 1920s during the sharecroppers days and continues through eight presidents and ends with Barack Obama. It has the opulence of the 1930s and the passion of the Civil Rights Movement and the amazing story of an African American man who started off as a sharecropper to later become a butler for eight consecutive Presidents in the White House. This piece recalls significant times in history and in fashion.”

Sparkle is also a period piece, set in the 1960s.  She said that star Jordin Sparks was particularly enamored with the styles of the era. She stated, “Jordin recently lost an astonishing amount of weight and was excited about wearing the vintage clothes. With racks upon racks of 1960's clothing, Jordin saw herself fitting into the pencil skirts amongst many other fascinating pieces.”

Ruth also talked about her time working with Whitney, “Designing for Whitney Houston was an amazing experience. Whitney is a consummate professional. She allowed me to take the lead on what she wore, but she shared her experience growing up in a religious household. Whitney's mother was strict religious parent in her early years — just like her role in Sparkle.”

Kimberly Cole Let’s Keith Apicary Fly His Freak Flag in Her New Video

Step aside Chris Crocker and lonelygirl15, there’s a new Internet sensation in town. His name is Keith Apicary and he has some pretty sweet moves. Okay, his name is actually Nathan Barnatt and he’s an actor-comedian but his dancing is what’s making him a star. If you’ve never seen him in action, just watch Kimberly Cole’s new video “U Make Me Wanna” (above). In a recent exclusive interview the pop singer talked about Keith’s audition, changing the concept for the project and the friendship that’s blossomed between the like-minded artists.

Kimberly explained that it all started like all of her other videos had, “I have a large Twitter following so we were looking for a couple of dancers for the video and decided to do auditions. And I posted on my Twitter and my Facebook because I respond to everybody. So I do get people who ask me things about auditions or whatnot. So I put it on there.”

Kimberly Cole from Competitive Roller Skater to Pop Star

Kimberly Cole has been on the fast track to stardom over the last few years. First came her 2010 album Bad Girls Club. Then the track “Smack You” was used to promote The Bad Girls Club and hit #4 on the Billboard Dance Chart. She’s been on the road with acts like Katy Perry, LMFAO, Cobra Starship and Shiny Toy Guns. And she’s dedicated her time to entertaining the troops – headlining a U.S. tour with a group of high profile comedians to give back to the Marines.

On top of all that, Cole’s latest video for “U Make Me Wanna” has become a viral sensation thanks in part to an appearance by comedian-actor-dancer Keith Apicary (aka Nathan Barnatt). But that’s another story, for another blog (check back next week for that one).

Getting to the top in the cutthroat music industry takes dedication. And Kimberly’s willingness to keep her eyes on the prize can be traced back to her childhood. In a recent exclusive interview she told us about a very unique talent that has helped her keep on track.

Brandy Norwood on Her New Album, Finding a Purpose and Whitney

Photo by Annette Brown/Lifetime

To some Brandy Norwood is better known by a single moniker and a singing career. Others think of her as a TV star from shows like Thea and Moeshe. And after a turn at reality TV with her brother Ray J, Brandy returned to series television and singing. Last season she was on three episodes of Drop Dead Diva and now she’s back again this year for two more playing Parker’s ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child. She is also just weeks away from releasing a new video, to be followed by a new album. The CD will be called 211 — in honor of her own birthdate and coincidentally the day that marks the death of her idol, Whitney Houston.

Brandy has had a lot of ups and owns in her life, but she has remained resilient and has learned and grown a lot through the process. She is grateful for the fans, who she calls stars, that have stuck by her during her journey. She steps into her fears, sometimes literally as with her appearance on Dancing with the Stars, and tries to ignore the pressures of being famous. In a recent conference call interview she addressed all of this and more.

On Naming Her New Album 211
“That’s the day that I was born and every year I grow and I evolve and I become a different person, everyday actually. But you celebrate the day you were born and you try to get better and better. And it's also the day that I lost my idol, [Whitney Houston], but gained her as an angel but lost her in the physical. So that day has really become so special to me and I just dedicate my life to just living my purpose and doing what I'm supposed to do.”

On Missing Whitney Houston
“I really miss her. I miss her so much and I love her so much. And this is the person that I looked up to and she was the possibility for me. She was everything in terms of singing. [Because of her, I believed] everything could happen for me at one point in my life, she was the reason. And her spirit was infectious… I can't even put into words what her voice meant to me and what she meant to me as a person. And she will forever be loved and missed.”

On Her Upcoming Video ‘Put It Down’
“You can expect a video in July. I'm really excited about it. It's my first single since four years ago. So it's great to be back on the music scene. It's great to have a song with Chris Brown and it's going to be an amazing run… I can't tell you who's directing it. It's so sad, because I want to tell you so badly. But it's going to be a great video. The treatment is great. And just the extra addition with Chris Brown it's going to be an epic video. I hope so because I haven't had one of those in a long time, so to be on this path it just feels really great.”

This Week's Inspiring Pop Culture Moment: Darrell Wayne

Each week we take a look around our pop culture world and try to find one moment that stood out as the most inspiring. It might be a celebrity who is doing charitable things, a TV shows that inspires us to be better or a philosophy that we should all strive to live by. Here is this week's most inspiring pop culture moment.

Darrell Wayne decided in junior high school back in the ‘60s that he wanted to pursue a career in radio. He followed that passion to a high school job at a local radio station all the way to becoming Insane Darrell Wayne on the Los Angeles station KROQ in the 1970s. These days he owns a classic rock radio station in Lake Tahoe, California. We recently had the honor of speaking with Darrell about following his passion, giving classic rock artists a contemporary voice at KTHO and trying to save the traditional radio station.

Darrell fondly remembered his days at KROQ which he called “every bit as crazy as it sounded or it seemed on the air." And while he was at the forefront of creating a legendary station, his fondest memories were the times he was able to meet childhood heroes and pop superstars.

He recalled, “I spent three hours with George Carlin on the air one Saturday. I got to interview Frank Zappa at his home. I got to spend the afternoon with Cheech and Chong. I spent time with members of Monty Python doing interviews on the air. So really to spend time having the one on one conversation with some of the people that I idolized as I was growing up was quite the experience.”

But Darrell fears with the onset of iTunes and Pandora that the art of the radio DJ is a lost one that should be preserved. He stated, “The radio disk jockey is really what ties the story together. If you just play music, you’re a jukebox. You’re a random selection. You’re an iPod on shuffle. We’re more than that. We put together radio programs. We play records that make sense together. Every song is hand selected."

A Flash Mob for the History Books

This past Saturday a flash mob took place in Portland, Oregon. But it didn't involve synchronized dance moves or an elaborate wedding proposal as so many do these days. Instead it went back to the basics, the roots, if you will, of country music.

A few musicians began playing the Carter Family's "Will the Circle Be Unbroken" to a curious crowd of onlookers at Portland’s Skidmore Fountain. Slowly other musicians with varying instruments from flute to banjo to mandolin emerged from the sidelines and joined in. By the end of the rousing chorus, dozens of people from all walks of life were singing the classic country tune.

The flash mob was orchestrated by the producers of a documentary called The Winding Stream: The Carters, the Cashes and the Course of Country Music. In the spirit of full disclosure, the film is being made by our big sister Beth Harrington, and we even have helped her out with the project from time to time. But this latest stroke of marketing genius was an idea thought up by Beth and a team who is helping her get the film finished.

She is done with principal photography and is now trying to raise funds for post-production with a Kickstarter campaign. They are over 40% of the way to reaching the goal of $50,000 by June 28. The film tells the story of country music's founding fathers and the family that has carried the torch through several generations. It includes Johnny Cash's last interview just weeks before his death.

If you'd like to contribute to preserving this piece of music history consider donating even $5. Larger contributions will earn cool gifts like a spot at a reception with Roseanne Cash, tickets to premieres, copies of the companion book, private screenings and a trip to the Carter Family Fold. To see a trailer and learn more about the film visit The Winding Stream website.

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Kickstarter — The de Medici Family of the 2000s

Maxime Brulein Brings Royal Watchers to Arch Knockardy

Maxime Brulein Brings Royal Watchers to Arch Knockardy

Maxime Brulein Brings Royal Watchers to Arch Knockardy

Maxime Brulein Brings Royal Watchers to Arch Knockardy

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John Jacobson on Double Dream Hands, Whack Attack and Ellen

Photo courtesy of John Jacobson

About 18 months ago we had the pleasure of speaking with John Jacobson, an author, composer, dance teacher and choreographer, whose YouTube video "Double Dream Hands" had just become an Internet sensation. At the time the video views had just topped one million, now they are closing in on six.

"Double Dream Hands' (actually titled "Planet Rock") is not John's only video. He uses fun song and dance videos as teaching tools to encourage and excite kids worldwide. His latest, "Whack Attack," is gaining traction on the web. In a recent exclusive interview he told us, “I’ve done hundreds of these songs. My students always love to do the 'Whack Attack' and so I thought it would be fun to do a song about it. It’s probably a little harder than 'Double Dream Hands,' but I see a lot of people doing it and laughing along and that makes me happy, too.”

Shortly after we spoke with John in December 2010, his fame skyrocketed. First Ellen DeGeneres invited him on her show. He also did a few Sprint commercials and made an appearance on America's Got Talent. Since then he has released an iPhone app, written a new book Double Dreams: Living a Life of Glee, Harmony, and Oh Yes… JAZZ HANDS! and made a companion DVD.

John appeared on Ellen as part of her 53rd birthday celebration and she called him “the most creative choreographer in the world." We asked him how it felt to hear that. He replied, “Ellen DeGeneres can call me anything she wants. I love her. I think she is being a little more than 'generous' with that comment. I’m just a guy who likes to dance and get others dancing, too. She and I share that love and spend our lives hopefully making people feel good about being who they are.”

And while his brush with fame has helped him in accomplishing his goals of educating kids about music and dance and helping curb the childhood obesity epidemic, it has not affected him much. As far as his day-to-day life, he joked, “I have to answer a lot of questions about what I think of Ellen." But seriously, he continued, "Truthfully, essentially not that much has changed. I’ve been singing and dancing for decades and teaching others to do so too. Guess what? I’m still doing that. Perhaps a few more people know about it now. Okay, like 6 million more! What’s not to smile about?”

Jordis Unga on Her Rocky Battle Round Showing on The Voice

  Photo by Lewis Jacobs/NBC 

Jordis Unga is no stranger to reality TV singing competition shows, having finished fifth on Rock Star: INXS. So when she took the stage for her Battle Round performance on The Voice, it seemed like she’d sail smoothly through to victory. In a recent conference call interview Jordis talked about what really happened on show night.

Jordis was the first to admit that she’s happy to have the Battle Rounds behind her. “I'm like a sigh of relief that it's over. I'm so happy. It's nerve-racking. The battles, they're really scary.”

She acknowledged the initial bond that competitors feel over making one of the four teams that are hand picked by Blake Shelton, Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine. She remarked, “The entire Voice crew of contestants had been living and existing in this pressure cooker, but the battle’s looming over our heads. And knowing that, we'd all worked so hard to make a team and the next step of this thing, half of everybody that is so elated to be there is going home already.”