Entertainment - Courant.com

'Fifty Shades of Grey' Announces Director

By Nicole Sperling — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:16:00 EDT

Sam Taylor-Johnson will direct the adaptation of the steamy romance novel for Universal Pictures and Focus Features.

Young 'Billy Elliot' Carries The Show At Bushnell

By FRANK RIZZO, frizzo@courant.com — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Musical Finally Makes It To Hartford

The show: National tour of "Billy Elliot" at Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts in Hartford.

Connecticut's Miss USA Says Her Win 'Vindicated' New England Women

By MARYELLEN FILLO, fillo@courant.com — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Erin Brady Looking Forward To Her 'Cinderella' Story

Her 'Cinderella' story has come true, and Erin Brady is looking forward to living in New York City, another dream come true for her.

Teen Country Singer Wins 'The Voice' Crown

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:43:01 EDT

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pitch-perfect teen country singer Danielle Bradbery won TV singing contest "The Voice" on Tuesday, scoring a contract with Universal Music Group and a $100,000 cash prize. Bradbery, who was coached by fellow country singer Blake Shelton, covered her mouth and began to cry when named the winner, hugging runner-up Michelle Chamuel. "I'm so thankful," the 16-year-old Texan said. "I'm sorry, I'm speechless." Bradbery, who said she had never had a singing lesson before the show, rode Sara Evans' country hit "Born to Fly" and Carrie Underwood's "All-American Girl" to victory, becoming the youngest winner of the NBC singing competition in its fourth season. She topped pop-rock singer Chamuel, who was coached by R&B singer Usher, and third-place finishers the Swon Brothers, country-rock singers Colton and Zach Swon, who were also coached by Shelton. It was the third consecutive win for Shelton, a mainstay atop the U.S. country charts with song like "Who Are You When I'm Not Looking" and "Drink on It." Colombian pop singer Shakira and Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine were shut out of the final three - their final protÃ©gÃ©es were voted out during last week's elimination round. "The Voice" uses a combination of audience voting over the Internet and text message and downloads of the singer's songs from the Apple's iTunes music store. The two-hour finale included the first live TV performance by Cher in more than a decade. Former judge Christina Aguilera, rocker Bob Seger and pop singer Bruno Mars also performed. Cher, 67, performed "Woman's World," a new single from her album of the same name which is to be released in September, the Grammy-winning singer's first in 12 years. Aguilera, who will be returning to the show for the fall season, opened the show joining rapper Pitbull in their hit song, "Feel This Moment." Contestants eliminated earlier in the season also performed on Tuesday's finale and Monday's penultimate show. "The Voice," which competes against rival broadcaster Fox's singing contests "American Idol" and "The X Factor," averages between 12 million and 14 million viewers over its two weekly shows. Its fifth season will begin in the fall with former coaches Aguilera and CeeLo Green returning to replace first-time coaches Shakira and Usher, who will return for season six. NBC is owned by Comcast Corp and Fox by News Corp. Universal Music Group is a subsidiary of France's Vivendi SA. (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Kim And Kayne's Rumored Baby Name

By Laurel Brown — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:39:36 EDT

Did Kim Kardashian and Kanye West decide to name their baby girl Kaidence Donda West? Reports say that this may indeed be the chosen name for Kim and Kanye's baby. But is it true?

Lil Wayne Denies Intentionally Disrespecting American Flag

By Terri Schwartz — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:35:42 EDT

Video of Lil Wayne stepping all over an American flag while shooting the music video for "God Bless Amerika" has spread around the Internet in the days after it was posted, and the rapper finally responded to the seeming insult to the United States. So did he walk on the flag on purpose? Weezy claims it's all a big misunderstanding. "I didn't step on the flag on purpose!" Lil Wayne tweets . "It's a scene in a video where the flag drops behind me and after it drop it's just there as I perform." Even though he claims it wasn't an intentional slight, it's hard to believe that Lil Wayne didn't see the flag as he rapped on it. In the video released, he doesn't even attempt to avoid the flag that served as his backdrop after it falls to the ground as he performs "God Bless Amerika." It doesn't help Lil Wayne's case that "God Bless Amerika" has some controversial lyrics anyway. "My country 'tis of thee / Sweet land of kill 'em all and let 'em die / God bless Amerika / This ole' godless Amerika," Weezy raps in the song. At press time, the video gained over 282,000 views. It remains to be seen if this take makes it into the final cut of the music video -- or if Lil Wayne issues an apology over it.

Music Festival To Benefit Family Of Columbia Fields Singer Grayson Minney

By NICK CAITO, Special to The Courant — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:16:00 EDT

Disney Channel Picks Up 'Girl Meets World'

By Rick Porter — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:21:21 EDT

The Disney Channel has given a series pickup to "Girl Meets World," brightening the hearts of former ABC TGIF fans everywhere.

Jay-Z Announces New Album: 'Magna Carta Holy Grail'

By August Brown — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 13:16:00 EDT

Leave it to Jay-Z to sell a million copies of a new album even before he announces its existence to the world.

Seth Meyers Of 'SNL' Brings Standup Tour To CT

By ROGER CATLIN, Special To The Courant — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 00:00:00 EDT

Before he becomes the newest face to take a late-night talk show desk next year, Meyers will hone his skills in a string of standup dates in the area.