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Music fans looking for music nominees in the 20 program categories at the 76th Primetime Emmy nominations didn’t have to look far. The Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show Starring Usher is nominated for outstanding variety special (live), where it is squaring off against The Grammys, The Oscars, The Tonys and a surprise contender, The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady.
Raj Kapoor served as executive producer of two of these programs – The Grammys and The Oscars. Here’s our story announcing Kapoor as e.p. and showrunner of this year’s Oscars.
This is the fifth consecutive year that the Super Bowl halftime show has been nominated in this category. This streak started in 2020 with the show starring Jennifer Lopez and Shakira. It continued in 2021 with The Weeknd; in 2022 with the hip-hop salute starring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Mary J. Blige, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and 50 Cent; in 2023 with Rihanna and this year with Usher.
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This is also the fifth consecutive year that The Oscars has been nominated in the category. In that time frame, The Tonys have been nominated four times; The Grammys, three times.
Billy Joel: The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden is nominated for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded). The Greatest Night in Pop, a look at the 1985 recording session that produced “We Are the World” (in which Billy Joel was a participant) is nominated for outstanding documentary or nonfiction special. STAX: Soulsville U.S.A., a look at the legendary, Memphis-based R&B label of the 1960s, is nominated for outstanding documentary or nonfiction series.Carpool Karaoke: The Series is nominated for outstanding short form comedy, drama or variety series.
For the 13th consecutive year, The Voice is nominated for outstanding reality competition program. Former category juggernaut American Idol was again passed over for a nod.
The Bear set a new record for most nominations in a single year among comedies with 23. The distinction was previously held by 30 Rock, with 22 nods in 2009. Shōgun is this year’s leader among dramas with 25 nominations.
Final-round online voting begins Aug. 15. The 76th Emmy Awards will broadcast live on ABC on Sunday, Sept. 15, (8:00-11:00 p.m. ET/5:00-8:00 p.m. PT) from the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live and stream the next day on Hulu. The 76th Creative Arts Emmy Awards take place at the Peacock Theater over two nights on Saturday, Sept. 7, and Sunday, Sept. 8, with an edited presentation to air on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on FXX.
Emmy Award winners Jesse Collins and Dionne Harmon along with Emmy-nominated Jeannae Rouzan-Clay of Jesse Collins Entertainment are set to return as executive producers of the 76th Emmy Awards.
Here’s a complete list of the nominations in the 20 program categories for the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
Outstanding variety special (live)
The Apple Music Super Bowl LVIII Halftime Show Starring Usher • CBS • Jesse Collins Entertainment, DPS and Roc Nation
66th Grammy Awards • CBS • Fulwell 73
The Greatest Roast of All Time: Tom Brady • Netflix • Casey Patterson Entertainment, 199 Productions and Hartbeat Productions for Netflix
The Oscars • ABC • Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
76th Annual Tony Awards • CBS • White Cherry Entertainment in association with Tony Award Productions
Outstanding variety special (pre-recorded)
Billy Joel: The 100th – Live at Madison Square Garden • CBS • A Sony Music Vision and Enliven Entertainment Production / A Grammy Studios Production in association with Maritime Pictures
Dave Chappelle: The Dreamer • Netflix • Netflix | Lathan TV | Pilot Boy
Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic • CBS • Smart Dog Media and White Label Productions in association with CBS
Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die • HBO | Max • HBO in association with Done + Dusted
Trevor Noah: Where Was I • Netflix • Bob Bain Productions, Inc. for Netflix
Outstanding reality competition program
The Amazing Race • CBS • WorldRace Productions, Inc.
RuPaul’s Drag Race • MTV • World Of Wonder
Top Chef • Bravo • Magical Elves
The Traitors • Peacock • Studio Lambert
The Voice • NBC • MGM Television and Warner Bros. Unscripted Television in association with Warner Horizon and ITV Studios The Voice USA, I
Outstanding scripted variety series
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver • HBO | Max • HBO in association with Peyance Productions and Avalon Television
Saturday Night Live • NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video
Outstanding talk series
The Daily Show • Comedy Central • Central Productions, LLC
Jimmy Kimmel Live! • ABC • ABC Signature in association with Kimmelot
Late Night With Seth Meyers • NBC • Universal Television and Broadway Video
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert • CBS • CBS Studios
Outstanding comedy series
Abbott Elementary • ABC • Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions and Fifth Chance in association with Warner Bros. Television and 20th Television
The Bear • FX • FX Productions
Curb Your Enthusiasm • HBO | Max • HBO
Hacks • HBO | Max • Universal Television in association with Paulilu, First Thought Productions, Fremulon Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment
Only Murders in the Building • Hulu • 20th Television
Palm Royale • Apple TV+ • Apple Studios
Reservation Dogs • FX • FX Productions
What We Do in the Shadows • FX • FX Productions
Outstanding drama series
The Crown • Netflix • Left Bank Pictures and Sony Pictures Television for Netflix
Fallout • Prime Video • Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films in association with Bethesda Game Studios and Bethesda Softworks
The Gilded Age • HBO | Max • HBO in association with Universal Television and Neamo Film and Television
The Morning Show • Apple TV+ • Media Res in association with Apple
Mr. & Mrs. Smith • Prime Video • Amazon MGM Studios, Big Indie Pictures
Shō gun • FX • FX Productions
Slow Horses • Apple TV+ • See-Saw Films in association with Apple
3 Body Problem • Netflix • Netflix Studios / Bighead Littlehead / The Three-Body Universe / T-Street / Plan B Entertainment / Primitive Streak
Outstanding limited or anthology series
Baby Reindeer • Netflix • A Netflix Series / A Clerkenwell Films Production
Fargo • FX • FX Presents an MGM/FXP Production
Lessons in Chemistry • Apple TV+ • Apple Studios
Ripley • Netflix • Showtime and Endemol Shine North America in association with Entertainment 360 and Filmrights for Netflix
True Detective: Night Country • HBO | Max • HBO in association with Peligrosa, Neon Black, Anonymous Content, Parliament of Owls and Passenger
Outstanding television movie
Mr. Monk’s Last Case: A Monk Movie • Peacock • UCP
Quiz Lady • Hulu • 20th Century Studios
Red, White & Royal Blue • Prime Video • Amazon MGM Studios, Berlanti/Schechter Films
Scoop • Netflix • Netflix presents a Lighthouse Film and Television production in association with Voltage TV
Unfrosted • Netflix • Netflix presents A Columbus 81 Production / A Skyview Entertainment Production / A Good One Production
Outstanding structured reality program
Antiques Roadshow • PBS • GBH
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives • Food Network • Knuckle Sandwich and Citizen Pictures
Love Is Blind • Netflix • Kinetic Content for Netflix
Queer Eye • Netflix • Scout Productions Inc. and ITV Entertainment LLC for Netflix
Shark Tank • ABC • MGM Television in association with Sony Pictures Television
Outstanding unstructured reality program
Below Deck Down Under • Bravo • 51 Minds
Love on the Spectrum U.S. • Netflix • Northern Pictures for Netflix
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked • MTV • World Of Wonder
Vanderpump Rules • Bravo • Evolution Media
Welcome to Wrexham • FX • Boardwalk Pictures
Outstanding documentary or nonfiction series
Beckham • Netflix • A Netflix Documentary Series / A Studio 99 Production in association with Ventureland
The Jinx – Part Two • HBO | Max • HBO Documentary Films presents a Hit The Ground Running Production
Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV • Investigation Discovery • Maxine Productions and Sony Pictures Television – Nonfiction in association with Business Insider
STAX: Soulsville U.S.A. • HBO | Max • HBO Documentary Films presents in association with Concord Originals, Polygram Entertainment, Warner Music Entertainment, A Laylow Pictures production, A White Horse Pictures production
Telemarketers • HBO | Max • HBO Documentary Films presents a production of Elara Pictures and All Facts in association with Rough House Pictures
Outstanding documentary or nonfiction special
Albert Brooks: Defending My Life • HBO | Max • HBO Documentary Films and Castle Rock Entertainment
Girls State • Apple TV+ • Concordia Studio presentation of a Mile End Films production in association with Apple
The Greatest Night in Pop • Netflix • A Netflix Documentary / An MRC Film / A Dorothy St Pictures Production in association with Makemake Entertainment
Jim Henson Idea Man • Disney+ • Imagine Documentaries Productions, Disney Branded Television
Steve! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces • Apple TV+ • Apple Original Films presents an A24 / Tremolo Production
Outstanding emerging media program
Emperor • Meta Quest • An Atlas V, Reynard Films, France Télévisions production in association with Albyon
Fallout: Vault 33 • Prime Video • Amazon MGM Studios, Kilter Films, Bethesda Game Studios
The Pirate Queen With Lucy Liu • Meta • Singer Studios and Meta
Red Rocks Live in VR • Meta / Facebook • Meta, Dorsey Pictures, Lightsail VR, 7 Cinematics
Wallace & Gromit in The Grand Getaway • Meta • An Atlas V, Aardman, Meta production in association with No Ghost and Albyon
Exceptional merit in documentary filmmaking
Beyond Utopia (Independent Lens) • PBS • Ideal Partners in association with 19340 Productions, XRM Media, the Random Good Foundation and the Human Rights Foundation
Going To Mars: The Nikki Giovanni Project • HBO | Max • Confluential Films and Rada Studio in association with JustFilms | Ford Foundation in association with Bertha Doc Society
Stamped From the Beginning • Netflix • A Netflix Documentary / A One Story Up production
Outstanding game show
Celebrity Family Feud • ABC • Fremantle
Jeopardy! • ABC/Syndicated • Quadra Productions in association with Sony Pictures Television
Password • NBC • Fremantle in association with Universal Television Alternative Studio and Electric Hot Dog
The Price Is Right at Night • CBS • Fremantle
Wheel of Fortune • ABC/Syndicated • Quadra Productions, Inc. / Sony Pictures Studios
Outstanding hosted nonfiction series or special
Conan O’Brien Must Go • HBO | Max • Max in association with Conaco
Finding Your Roots With Henry Louis Gates Jr. • PBS • WETA Washington D.C., McGee Media, Inkwell Media, Kunhardt Films
How to With John Wilson • HBO | Max • HBO in association with Blow Out Productions, Johnsmovies and Atlantic Pictures
My Next Guest With David Letterman and John Mulaney • Netflix • Jax Media and Worldwide Pants, Inc. for Netflix
The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy • Apple TV+ • Twofour in association with Apple
Outstanding short form comedy, drama or variety series
Carpool Karaoke: The Series • Apple TV+ • CBS Studios in association with Fulwell 73 and Apple
The Eric Andre Show • Adult Swim • Abso Lutely Productions and Williams Street
Late Night With Seth Meyers Corrections • NBC • Sethmaker Shoemeyers Productions and Universal Television
Only Murders in the Building: One Killer Question • Hulu • Hulu
Real Time With Bill Maher: Overtime • HBO | Max • HBO in association with Bill Maher Productions
Outstanding short form nonfiction or reality series
After the Cut – The Daily Show • YouTube • Central Productions, LLC
The Crown: Farewell To a Royal Epic • Netflix • Once Upon A Time / Netflix
Hacks: Bit by Bit • HBO | Max • Universal Television in association with Paulilu, First Thought Productions, Fremulon Productions, 3 Arts Entertainment
Saturday Night Live Presents: Behind the Sketch • NBC • SNL Studios in association with Universal Television and Broadway Video
Shōgun – The Making of Shōgun • FX • FX Networks in association with More Media
Outstanding animated program
Blue Eye Samurai • “The Tale of the Ronin and the Bride” • Netflix • A Netflix Series / 3 Arts Entertainment and Blue Spirit Productions
Bob’s Burgers • “The Amazing Rudy” • FOX • 20th Television Animation
Scavengers Reign • “The Signal” • HBO | Max • Max in association with Titmouse Animation and Green Street
The Simpsons • “Night of the Living Wage” • FOX • A Gracie Films production in association with 20th Television Animation
X-Men ‘97 • “Remember It” • Disney+ • Marvel Studios
Richard Simmons, the fitness guru with a flamboyant, relentlessly positive persona, died Saturday (July 13) at his home in the Hollywood Hills. His death, which appears to be from natural causes, came one day after his 76th birthday.
Simmons’ multi-faceted fitness empire included at least 12 books, 10 CDs and 22 DVDs, including five volumes of his signature Sweatin’ to the Oldies.
Simmons had a platinum album in 1982 with Reach, which rode the Billboard 200 for 40 weeks. The album consisted of Simmons singing motivational songs such as “What Are You Waiting For?,” “You Can Do It,” “Wake Up,” “Reach” and “Live It.”
Simmons’ album entered the Billboard 200 in the week ending June 5, 1982, one week after Jane Fonda’s Workout Record debuted. Jane Fonda‘s double-disk album reached No. 15 on the chart and went double-platinum. It consisted mostly of such upbeat jams as The Jacksons’ “Can You Feel It” and Brothers Johnson’s “Stomp!” Both albums were part of the get-fit craze of the era, which was also immortalized in Olivia Newton-John’s “Physical” video, which was released in 1981.
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Simmons’ colorful personality made him a natural for television, where he achieved his greatest fame. From 1980-84, he headlined his own daytime talk show The Richard Simmons Show, focusing on personal health, fitness, exercise, and healthy cooking. He also made frequent appearances as himself on General Hospital and many other programs.
He was also a frequent guest of late-night television and radio talk shows, such as Late Night with David Letterman (NBC) and Late Show with David Letterman (CBS) and The Howard Stern Show, where those hosts knew just how far they could tease Simmons without crossing the line into cruelty. Simmons, dressed in his signature Dolphin shorts and sparkly tank-tops, always seemed to be in on the joke.
He understood his role in show business. In a 2012 interview with Men’s Health, he was quoted as saying: “When the king gets depressed, he doesn’t call for his wife or the cook. He turns to the little man with the pointed hat and says to the court jester ‘make me laugh.’ And I am that court jester.”
Simmons was born Milton Teagle Simmons was born on July 12, 1948, in New Orleans. He grew up in the French Quarter, where, he noted in his biography, “lard was a food group and dessert mandatory.” Simmons struggled with his weight from an early age. He reportedly weighed 268 pounds when he graduated high school.
Upon moving to Los Angeles in the 1970s, Simmons developed an interest in fitness. He opened an exercise studio, the Anatomy Asylum, later renamed Slimmons. His interest in fitness helped him lose more than 100 pounds. In 2010, he proudly announced that he had kept that weight off for 42 years.
Simmons didn’t make any major public appearances after 2014. In February 2017, the podcast Missing Richard Simmons launched, investigating why Simmons left public life so suddenly.
In August 2022, in response to continued rumors and a TMZ documentary, What Really Happened to Richard Simmons, Simmons issued a statement to the New York Post that he “is happy, healthy, and living the life he has chosen to live.”
In March 2024, Simmons revealed that he had been diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, located underneath his right eye. That same month, Simmons issued a statement clarifying that he is not dying, after a cryptic Facebook post he had written drew public concern.
“I am … dying,” Simmons had written on Facebook. “Oh I can see your faces now. The truth is we all are dying. Every day we live we are getting closer to our death. Why am I telling you this? Because I want you to enjoy your life to the fullest every single day. Get up in the morning and look at the sky … count your blessings and enjoy. “
Earlier this year, actor Pauly Shore portrayed Simmons in a short film called The Court Jester, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival. In promoting the movie, Shore teased the production of a larger biopic on the fitness icon
Simmons, however, made it clear that he was not on board with the film.
“You may have heard they may be doing a movie about me with Pauly Shore,” Simmons wrote in a post. “I have never given my permission for this movie. So don’t believe everything you read.”
Simmons, who was active on social media, appeared to be in good spirits Friday, on his birthday. He posted a black-and-white photo of himself next to a cake. “I never got so many messages about my birthday in my life!” Simmons wrote on Facebook. “I am sitting here writing emails. Have a most beautiful rest of your Friday.”
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Fat Joe is taking his talents back to television. Starz Network has tapped him to host a forthcoming interview series.
Deadline is reporting that the Bronx, New York native will put use his charisma and signature humor to the network. Titled Fat Joe Talks, the show will “give viewers unique access into the lives of today’s most influential personalities who drive the cultural zeitgeist.” During the 30-minute episodes the “Lean Back” MC will travel the country and meet with different personalities.
Starz expressed their enthusiasm about the project in a formal statement. “Fat Joe Talks is an exciting foray into talk, and who better than Joe—a legend in and of himself—to drive provocative conversations that tap into the zeitgeist and matter to our audience,” said Kathryn Busby, President of Original Programming. “We are thrilled to be working with Joe and our partners at SpringHill and Embassy Row to launch this incredible show, offering authentic, backstage, rare access to these cultural icons.” Fat Joe gained popularity as a media personality with his Instagram Live show. He has gone on to be a guest host for The Wendy Williams Show and host the BET Hip-Hop Awards two consecutive years.
At this time there no set premiere date for Fat Joe Talks.
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Bill Cobbs, the prolific veteran film and television actor has passed away, with Wesley Snipes and others paying tribute.
On Wednesday (June 26), the renowned character actor Bill Cobbs passed away at his home in Inland Empire, California. He was 90 years old. His passing was announced in a post on Facebook by his brother Thomas G. Cobbs. “We are saddened to share the passing of Bill Cobbs,” he wrote. “Bill recently and happily celebrated his 90th birthday surrounded by cherished loved ones. As a family we are comforted knowing Bill has found peace and eternal rest with his Heavenly Father. We ask for your prayers and encouragement during this time.” It was confirmed by Cobbs’ publicist, Chuck I. Jones who said: “Bill was a phenomenal human being in addition to being a spectacular actor. He was very kind, giving and attentive to others.”
Bill Cobbs appeared in more than 200 films and television shows after beginning as a prominent theater actor working with the African American Performing Arts Center and Karamu House Theatre in his hometown of Cleveland, Ohio before moving to New York City and starring with the Negro Ensemble Company in the 1970s. A small role in The Taking of Pelham One Two Three in 1974 kicked off his career on the screen, with his most prominent roles being the manager for Whitney Houston’s character in The Bodyguard, in addition to Officer Zachary Lamb in the Sylvester Stallion-fronted Demolition Man as well as other memorable roles in New Jack City and Night at The Museum. Cobbs’ television appearances ran the gamut of the medium, including Good Times, Sesame Street, ER, and NYPD Blue among others.
“I enjoy what I do, I really enjoy it,” he said in an interview in 2012. “It’s exciting to have a project and work on it and see it come to fruition, so I can find joy doing this so much.” Tributes to Cobbs poured in online after the news of his passing from other actors. Wesley Snipes, who worked with Cobbs in New Jack City, honored him in a post on X, formerly Twitter after the news broke by sharing the iconic scene where Cobbs’ character shoots Nino Brown after his trial. “Rest in Power, King,” Snipes wrote, adding a crown and praying hands emoji.
Following the unexpected shuttering of the MTV News website earlier this week, Paramount has now largely cleaned house on the sites for several more of its cable channels, in a potential cost-cutting move.
As of Wednesday afternoon, the sites for Comedy Central, CMT, Yellowstone airer Paramount Network and TV Land were instead directing users to the media conglomerate’s streaming platform Paramount+. On Monday, MTVnews.com was taken down, purging some 20 years of stories from the web.
A pop-up window on the Comedy Central site reads, “While episodes of most Comedy Central series are no longer available on this website, you can watch Comedy Central through your TV provider. You can also sign up for Paramount+ to watch many seasons of Comedy Central shows.” Similar language shows up on the CMT, Paramount Network and TV Land sites, as well as that of MTV (which was separate from MTVnews.com).
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aramount said in a statement, “As part of broader website changes across Paramount, we have introduced more streamlined versions of our sites, driving fans to Paramount+ to watch their favorite shows.”
As noted by LateNighter, the cleaning out of the Comedy Central site in particular wipes out a huge trove of archival material from The Daily Show and other late night series, along with clips from South Park, Key & Peele and Workaholics, among many others. Some of that material is available on YouTube, but it’s not as easily searchable or accessible as it was on the network page. (The oldest video on the Daily Show YouTube channel, for instance, is from 2016, while the show’s history stretches back 20 years before then.)
On Paramount+, only the two most recent seasons of The Daily Show are available. The platform has several South Park specials and the 1999 feature film Bigger, Longer and Uncut, but the show’s primary streaming home is on Max. Paramount+ does have the full runs of Key & Peele and Workaholics.
As of publication time, sites for Paramount’s BET, Nickelodeon and VH1 were still active, while MTV.com offered some episodes and clips.
The website changes come on the heels of Paramount’s co-CEOs — George Cheeks, Chris McCarthy and Brian Robbins — telling employees at a town hall meeting Tuesday that they were embarking on a cost-cutting mission as profits have dropped for the company. Paramount is looking for $500 million in reduced costs, which will mean layoffs for some employees. Cheeks also said at the town hall that “We’re looking at selling certain Paramount-owned assets — in fact, we’ve already hired bankers to assist us in this process — and we’ll use the proceeds to help pay down debt and strengthen our balance sheet.”
This article was originally published by The Hollywood Reporter.
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We’re still a few days away from the premier of Season 2 of HBO’s House of the Dragon, but HBO seems confident enough in their upcoming show to renew it for another season before fans have had a chance to see a single episode of its sophomore season.
According to The Verge, HBO has confirmed that they’ve decided to bring back the Game of Thrones prequel for at least one more season as the first season proved to be a massive hit even as fans of Game of Thrones expected the worse given GOT’s struggle final season. With interest in the world of Westeros renewed with a captivating story and interesting characters in House of the Dragon, HBO smells another long-running hit series cooking in the kitchen and is taking steps to ensure they keep their customers satisfied… for now.
Per The Verge:
House of the Dragon premiered in 2022 and is set 200 years before the original Game of Thrones series. It’s focused primarily on House Targaryen and stars the likes of Matt Smith and Emma D’Arcy. The second season kicks off on June 16th on both HBO and Max. It’s also not the only extension of Game of Thrones in the works: HBO has another spinoff called A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: the Hedge Knight in development, though it’s not clear when it will start airing.
That’s all good and cool, but we’re still salty that the Jon Snow spinoff that was supposed to take place after the events of Game of Thrones was canceled. Like WTF, man?! We want answers!
Guess we’ll have to make due with what we’re given. Luckily, for us, what House of the Dragon has given us has been pretty tasty.
What do y’all think of House of the Dragon getting extended for another season? Let us know in the comments section below.
In the mid 1990s, Jason Paige, then a struggling singer trying to break with his rock band, could make a solid living by writing Mountain Dew, Taco Bell and Pepto Bismol earworms for jingle houses that dominated the music-in-advertising industry for decades. But during an interview a few weeks ago, Paige — who ultimately became most famous as the voice of the Pokemon theme song “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” — fires up an artificial-intelligence program. Within minutes, he emails eight studio-quality, terrifyingly catchy punk, hip-hop, EDM and klezmer MP3s centered on the reporter’s name, the word Billboard and the phrase “the jingle industry and how it’s changed so much over the years.”
The point is self-evident. “Yeah,” Paige says, about the industry that once sustained him. “It is dark.”
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Today, the jingle business has evolved an assembly line of composers and performers competing to make the next “plop plop fizz fizz” into a more multifaceted relationship between artists and companies, involving brand relationships (like Taylor Swift’s long-standing Target deal); Super Bowl synchs worth hundreds of thousands of dollars; production-house music allowing brands to pick from hundreds of thousands of pre-recorded tracks; and “sonic branding,” in which the Intel bong or Netflix’s tudum are used in a variety of marketing contexts. Performers and songwriters make plenty of revenue on this kind of commercial music, and they’re far more open to doing so than they were in the corporation-skeptical ‘90s. But AI, which allows machines to make all these sounds far more cheaply and quickly for brands than human musicians could ever do, remains a looming threat.
“It definitely has the potential to be disruptive,” says Zeno Harris, a creative and licensing manager for West One Music Group, an LA company that licenses its 85,000-song catalog of original music to brands. “If we could use it as a tool, instead of replacing [musicians], that’s where I see it heading. But money dictates where the industry goes, so we’ll have to wait and see.”
This vision of an AI-dominated future in a crucial revenue-producing business is as disturbing for singers and songwriters as it is for Hollywood screenwriters, radio DJs and voiceover actors. “I just took a life-insurance-brand deal to pay for making my record,” says Grace Bowers, 17, a Nashville blues guitarist. “I’m definitely not the only one who’s doing that. Artists are turning to anyone they can to [make] money, because touring and putting out music isn’t the biggest money-maker. If Arby’s came to me and said, ‘Can you write me a jingle?,’ I’d say, Hell, yeah!’”
End of an Era
From the late 1920s, when a barbershop quartet sang “Have You Tried Wheaties?” on the air for a Minneapolis radio station, through the late ’90s, jingles dominated the music-in-advertising business. Jingle houses like Jam, JSM and Rave competed ferociously to procure contracts with major brands and advertising agencies. In the process, they created lucrative side gigs for rising talents for decades, like Luther Vandross, Patti Austin and Richard Marx, who, as jingle veteran Michael Bolton wrote in his biography, “all shook the jingle-house tree.”
“If you wrote a jingle that was going to be a national campaign, and you sang on it, you could make $50,000, and you could do three of those a year,” recalls John Loeffler, a singer-songwriter who worked on 2,500 jingle campaigns as the head of the Rave Music jingle house, before serving as a BMG executive for years.
John Stamos and Dave Coulier played jingle writers on ABC’s Full House. In this scene from “Jingle Hell,” Mary Kate or Ashley Olsen gives “Uncle Jesse” a high five.
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The jingle era ended, for the most part, by the late 1990s, as TV splintered from four must-see broadcast networks to dozens of cable channels, followed by video streaming networks such as Netflix. (Steve Karmen, the ad-agency vet who wrote “Nationwide … is on your side,” authored what many consider the post-mortem for the era with his 2005 book, Who Killed the Jingle?) “I wish the young artists these days could have the opportunities I had,” Loeffler says. “It’s very different.”
Today, artists are far more likely to have broad branding relationships with corporations such as Target — Swift has appeared in commercials and the retailer has sold exclusive versions of her albums for years, and Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo and others have made similar deals — than they are to write catchy ditties for TV and radio. “I personally haven’t heard the word ‘jingle’ in the lifespan of Citizen,” says Theo de Gunzburg, managing partner of Citizen, a five-year-old music house that employs studio artists to create original music for advertisers. “The clients we deal with want to be taken more seriously. The audience is more discerning.”
Citizen employs 10 full-time staff members, including five composers, to create original music for ad campaigns, and, like West One and many other music houses, maintains a library of licensable tracks. The company’s commercial work includes Adidas’ “Runner 321,” which juxtaposes Michael Jordan and Babe Ruth with clips of athletes who have Down’s Syndrome, all set to its own sports percussion tracks. Major music publishers also maintain in-house services for this kind of production music. Warner Chappell Music’s extensive online library includes a hip-hop-style track called “Ready to Fight,” described as “driving trap drums, electric guitar, bold brass, cerebral synths and go-getter male vocals.” WCM represents “specialized songwriters who like to write in short form” and “are also great at writing pop hits,” says Dan Gross, the publisher’s creative sync director, who previously was a music supervisor at top ad agency McCann.
Ba Da Ba Ba Ba
The prevailing catchphrase for music in advertising today is “sonic branding” — designing a brief musical calling card, like the Intel bong, which reflects the feel of a product and can be used in ads, promotions, app tones, TikTok and Instagram videos and even virtual-reality games. “The message of flexibility is really the key thing,” says Simon Kringel, sonic director for Unmute, a Copenhagen agency that has worked with brands such as magazine publisher Aller Media to develop catchy musical snippets that serve as what he calls “watermarks.” “The only chance we have is to make sure every time we interact with our audience, there is something that triggers this brand recall.”
Kringel avoids using the term “jingle” — “that whole approach kind of faded out,” he says — but the most memorable old-school jingles have taken on a classic-rock quality in recent years. McDonald’s 20-year-old “ba da ba ba ba,” “Nationwide … is on your side” and many others are repeated endlessly in TV-streaming commercial breaks. State Farm’s “like a good neighbor … “ remains the emperor of earworms, and the company deploys the Barry Manilow-penned jingle in strategic ways. Around 2020, says State Farm head of marketing Alyson Griffin, the insurance giant conducted a study about its own marketing assets. “They found 80% of people recognized the notes, 95% recognized the slogan — and when they put the two together, there was nearly 100% recognition,” she says. “We recently tripled down on the jingle.”
Similarly, Chili’s recently went retro, hiring Boyz II Men to update its ’90s “baby back ribs” jingle with a new advertisement. “Jingles don’t feel as modern as maybe brands want to be,” says George Felix, chief marketing officer for Chili’s Grill and Bar. “But there’s certainly still runway for jingles if you do it right.”
For now, brands are still spending copiously on advertising music of all kinds — and every once in a while, an actual jingle emerges. Temu, a new e-commerce company owned by a Chinese retail giant, will reportedly spend $3 billion on advertising this year, emphasizing its insanely catchy “ooh, ooh, Temu” jingle that aired during the Super Bowl.
Keeping an Eye on AI
Yet some in the commercial-music industry worry about what Paige’s punk-EDM-hip-hop-klezmer AI-jingle exercise portends. “Do I think the [AI] fears are overblown? No. Am I concerned? Yes,” adds Sally House, CEO of The Hit House, a 19-year-old Los Angeles company that hires composers, engineers, sound designers and performers for music in Progressive, Marvel, HBO and Amazon Prime Video spots. “We’re all waiting for copyright to save us and the government to do something about it.”
But Warner Chappell’s Shaw says his team receives requests for “custom compositions” because brands want to work with the publisher’s stable of A-list songwriters. “AI doesn’t really factor in for us in this instance,” he says.
At Mastercard, which underwent a two-year process to unveil a piece of mellow, new-age-y instrumental music as part of its sonic brand in 2019, AI may be useful for future ad campaigns. But not for creating music. Mastercard employed its own creative people, plus composers, musicologists, sound engineers and even neuroscientists, to work on its distinctive tone. “If I tell the AI engine who is the audience, what am I trying to create, what is the context, and ask it to compose something based on the Mastercard melody, it will do a very fine job,” says Raja Rajamannar, a classically trained musician who is the company’s chief marketing and communications officer. “But if I had to create the Mastercard sonic architecture, I cannot delegate it to AI. The original creation, at this stage, clearly has to come from human beings.”
Paige agrees. Even if AI ultimately takes a cut out of the space — and certainly out of the potential profits for writers — it won’t completely gut the need for real musicians making advertorial music. Classic jingles endure, he says, because they contain humanity and spirit — and because people “know there’s a human being behind the Folger’s theme song.”
Saturday Night Live has no fewer than eight songs in contention for outstanding original music & lyrics at this year’s Primetime Emmy Creative Arts Awards. The roster includes Maya Rudolph’s “Mothers Day Monologue,” in which she sings a “Vogue”-inspired song that pays tribute to the women of SNL as she strides through Studio 8H, and “Dune Popcorn Bucket,” in which the show that gave us “Dick in a Box” tries to top itself.
Four of the videos accompanying these songs feature major recording stars. Chris Stapleton shows personality and an unexpected flair for comedy in “Get That Boy Back.” Travis Scott is featured in “We Got Too High,” in which three kids are try in vain to keep up with the rap star’s marijuana use. Billie Eilish has some silly fun in “Tampon Farm.” Dave Grohl has a cameo as a minister at the end of “Lake Beach.”
These catchy and satirical songs are overseen by SNL’s music director Eli Brueggemann (who won in this category in 2018 for co-writing “Come Back Barack”) and music producer Jake Procanik.
Three SNL songs have won in this category over the years – “Dick in a Box,” the 2007 song from a Justin Timberlake-hosted episode that somehow managed to be both audacious and kinda sweet at the same time; “Justin Timberlake Monologue” (2011), in which JT sings a song about how he absolutely won’t sing that night; and “Come Back Barack,” a Boyz II Men-style ballad from a Chance the Rapper-hosted episode about how people in the Donald Trump years missed his more even-keeled predecessor.
SNL is currently tied with the annual Tony Awards telecast for having the most winners in this category. Three songs from the Tonys, all performed by host Neil Patrick Harris, won the award in 2012-14 – “It’s Not Just for Gays Anymore,” a sensational opening number from the 2011 show; “If I Had Time,” a very clever closing number from the 2012 show; and “Bigger!,” from the 2013 show, quite possibly the biggest opening number on any awards show ever. Who said less is more?
The outstanding original music & lyrics category originated in 1970. Notable winners over the years have included EGOT recipients Marvin Hamlisch and Robert Lopez; Broadway powerhouses Kander & Ebb and Lin-Manuel Miranda; Hot 100 chart-toppers Timberlake, Melanie, Walter Murphy, David Paich (Toto) and Ed Sheeran; and TV stars Seth MacFarlane, Sarah Silverman, Seth Meyers and Kenan Thompson.
Nominations for the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will be announced on July 17. The 2024 Creative Arts Emmys will be held on Sept. 7-8 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The primetime Emmy telecast will be held on Sept. 15 at the same venue.
Here you can watch the eight SNL songs that are in contention for this year’s Primetime Emmy for outstanding original music & lyrics.
“Lake Beach”
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Source: Netflix / Netflix
If rapping doesn’t work out for him, Vince Staples has a solid acting and screenwriting career in the work. On Thursday (May 30), Netflix revealed it had renewed The Vince Staples Show for a second season.
The Vince Staples Show received critical acclaim upon its release back in February. But like anything involving creators of color, fans were wary after there was no immediate announcement of a second season despite the praise the show received for it’s combination of wit, consciousness and comedy.
Well, now we need not worry.
“The Vince Staples Show is back! The people have spoken and the most riveting, captivating, and polarizing show on Netflix is returning for season 2. Get ready for hijinks that only a mother can love. Thank you, Netflix!,” said the “Norf Norf” rapper in a statement.
Recently, Staples dropped a new album, his last on Def Jam, called Dark Skies.
Hip-Hop Wired spoke to Vince Staples just before his show debuted. One of his favorite episodes is the 2nd, where a bank robbery goes down and he happens to know the guys pulling the jux—the wildly enteratining dissonance is a mark of the show.
“We definitely wanted to do that,” said Vince Staples. “It was intentional because that’s life, you never know what it’s going to throw your way and within these environments, sometimes it can get extremely crazy. But also, we’ve been taught to keep our composure. And if something is normal you don’t understand when it’s abnormal to the rest of the world.
05/16/2024
Despite being voted off, several of these contestants went on to do just fine, thank you.
05/16/2024