Week’s top-10 for May 9: a busy time for music

1) “American Song Contest” finale, 8-10 p.m. today, NBC. This began with 56 acts — one from each state and territory; now it has its top 10. That includes two Michael Bolton (Connecticut) and two people who were reality-show finalists back in 2015: Jordan Smith (Kentucky) was the “Voice” winner; Riker Lynch (shown here, Colorado) was the “Dancing with the Stars” runner-up. Others are from Alabama, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Samoa.
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1) “American Song Contest” finale, 8-10 p.m. today, NBC. This began with 56 acts — one from each state and territory; now it has its top 10. That includes two Michael Bolton (Connecticut) and two people who were reality-show finalists back in 2015: Jordan Smith (Kentucky) was the “Voice” winner; Riker Lynch (shown here, Colorado) was the “Dancing with the Stars” runner-up.  Others are from Alabama, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Washington and Samoa.

2) “Billboard Music Awards,” 8-11 p.m. Sunday, NBC. Two music events collide. For ABC (8-10 p.m.), it’s “American Idol”; the top five singers push for spots in next week’s finale. And for NBC, Diddy doubles as host and producer of the Billboard awards. It will be Megan Thee Stallion’s first performance at the Billboards … and the first by Red Hot Chili Peppers in 23 years. Others include Nigeria’s Burna Boy and Puerto Rico’s Rauw Allejandro; Mary J. Blige gets the Icon Award.

3) “Nova: Dinosaur Apocalypse,” 9 and 10 p.m. Wednesday, PBS. Some 66 million years ago, a mega-meteor hit a Mexican peninsula, spreading debris worldwide. Snakes and crocodiles survived; dinosaurs didn’t. Now artifacts have been found, 2,000 miles from the site. In South Dakota’s Badlands, paleontologists have fragments that seem to be from the meteor and its early victims. “Nova” and David Attenborough filmed for three years, adding special effects for a compelling report.

4) “Breeders” season-openers, 10 and 10:30 p.m. today, FX; rerunning to 2 a.m. The humor – big bursts of it – used to come when Paul (Martin Freeman) had his expletive-filled bursts of rage. But that had a gradual impact; now his son is riddled with anxiety and Paul has been semi-banished to his in-laws’ house. Ally (Daisy Haggard) and their daughter share the agony. A good comedy has transformed into an excellent drama, with occasional laughs and some neat twists near the end.

5) “Naomi” season-finale, 8 and 9 p.m. Tuesday, CW. We started with Naomi as a cheerful skateboarder and honor student. Then she learned she’s from another planet, as are others (including her adoptive parents) who lack her powers. Back from a brief time on Earth-29, she gets conflicting advice about her future, then takes a road trip with her friend Annabelle, searching for a spot she saw in a vision. But a being, who has stalked her from birth, endangers her loved ones.

6) “Young Sheldon,” 8 p.m. Thursday, CBS. After pausing for a pair of reruns last week, the show returns to its best storyline: Georgie, 17, lied about his age; now his girlfriend, 29, is pregnant. His mom, devoutly religious, was stunned when friends suddenly skipped her Bible meeting. This is tricky turf, because she was pregnant with Georgie before marriage. Now the family must face the congregation; all of this perplexes Sheldon, but his twin sister speaks up for Georgie.

7) “Anything Goes,” 9 p.m. Friday, PBS. A decade after triumphing on Broadway with this show, Sutton Foster and director-choreographer Kathleen Marshall took it to England. With the London theater scene returning from Covid four months sooner than Broadway, it was a summer triumph. Yes, the story is too silly, but Cole Porter’s songs ripple with wit. Foster is splendid; Marshall’s choreography — award-winning on two continents – is a delight. So is the show.

8) “Top Gun” (1986), 8-10:30 p.m. Saturday, CBS, or “Navalny,” 6-8 p.m. PT Saturday, CNN. It’s time to watch heroics, fictional or real. CBS has the film that propelled Tom Cruise to the top. Playing a cocky guy at the Navy’s top pilot school, he’s backed by director Tony Scott’s flashy visuals, a soaring score and a crisp, macho-guy script. CNN has a real-life hero, in a rerun (delayed from last week). After surviving an assassination attempt, dissident Alexei Navalny dares to return to Russia.

9) “The Equalizer” season-finale, 8 p.m. Sunday, CBS. Here’s a classic case of making the most of a bad situation. After multiple sex-abuse accusations, Chris Noth was fired. That left a void; he’d played Bishop, Robyn’s former mentor and her CIA contact. The show concocted a fresh story: Bishop was killed when Mason Quinn downed his plane; now Robyn’s obsession with revenge turns dangerous. Also, her daughter finally meets the people Robyn has been working with.

10) ALSO: There’s much more, on an overcrowded Sunday. At 9 p.m., HBO launches “The Time Traveler’s Wife”; it’s beautifully filmed and acted, but limited by its own time-travel rules. Also at 9, PBS’ “Ridley Road” perks up. The first two episodes were so-so, but set things up; now a young Jewish woman, in disguise, is undercover with a neo-Nazi in 1961 London. And at 10, ABC’s “The Rookie” ends its season with peril: After angering the head of the police union, Nolan’s jailed in a tough town.

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