Bret's rocks with the RV life

mike — Thu, 23 May 2013 04:20:10 -0700

As "American Idol" scrambles to find new judges, it would do well to grab Bret Michaels; he's quick, smart and talkative. Until then, you can find him spiffing up RV's on the Travel Channel.

That debuts Sunday, as part of an interesting weekend. Here's the story I sent to papers; also please read my previous two blogs on Audra McDonald and Katherine Jenkins, who perform Friday and Sunday.

By MIKE HUGHES

Hard-rock stars, it seems, come in two
extremes.

Jenkins soars beyond her comfort zone

mike — Tue, 21 May 2013 22:20:26 -0700

This is a week for great voices on PBS. Friday has Audra McDonald; see previous blog. And Sunday has Katherine Jenkins and more, on the Capitol lawn. Here's the story I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES

Katherine Jenkins has strayed so far
from her comfort zone that she's probably fogotten where it is.

For Audra McDonald, the New York dreams came true

mike — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:13:58 -0700

Amazing things happen when Audra McDonald steps to the microphone. She flawlessly ranges from Broadway to classical, from whimsical or deeply emotional. Now she has a PBS concert special Friday; here's the story I sent to papers:

By MIKE HUGHES

Growing up a continent away, Audra
McDonald was sure she wanted to be in New York. She wanted to be on
Broadway and on the Lincoln Center stages.

How to politely lose on "American Idol"

mike — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:11:22 -0700

This may have taken Southern manners to
an extreme:

Twice lately, an “American Idol”
finalist handed a big advantage to a competitor. In 2011, Scotty
McCreery survived the gesture; this year, Kree Harrison didn't.

GMC -- yes, that's a cable channel -- is looking UP

mike — Fri, 17 May 2013 06:03:28 -0700

You're forgiven if you've never hard of the GMC cable channel, or if you assume it has something to do with trucks. Don't worry about that; its name will soon change anyway. Still, the channel fills an important niche. Here's the story I sent to papers about the evolving channel and one of its stars, Candace Cameron Bure:

By MIKE HUGHES

Things are looking up – or UP – for
one cable channel.