Starting September 24, fans of reality hit “Dancing with the Stars” have even greater access to their favorite show, from the first cha-cha to the final waltz. ABC Radio has launched “Dancing with the Stars” Radio, giving listeners an interactive audio experience and unlimited access to the dance floor, whenever and wherever. Season 15 “Dancing with the Stars: All Stars” premiered on September 24, on the ABC television network.

“We’re adding a new dimension to the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ experience by offering on demand, digital audio content that compliments the viewing experience and increases engagement between the audience and the cast,” said Steve Jones, Vice President and General Manager of ABC News Radio. “When television programming stops, fans can hear highlights, interviews and behind-the-scenes conversation that the camera cannot always capture.”

“Dancing with the Stars” Radio is available in the “ABC” station category everywhere Slacker Radio is available, including all major smartphones, the iPad, in Ford vehicles with SYNC AppLink and on the web at: www.slacker.com/station/dancing-with-the-stars.

“Dancing with the Stars” Radio, distributed by Slacker and AOL Radio, will reach 40 million registered users across the country, offering unparalleled access to one of the most popular programs on television. This digital audio channel captures key moments from each episode for fans, along with unique insights into the cast, judges and creative teams behind this all-star season.

“Dancing with the Stars” Radio offers a variety of digital content that puts the user in control, allowing fans to skip over or select updated content based on preference. In addition to unique content, “Dancing with the Stars” Radio gives fans access to backstage gossip and exciting contests throughout the competition. While casual fans can access show highlights and episode re-caps, “Dancing with the Stars” devotees can enjoy in-depth interviews with judges, costume designers and memorable former contestants.

“Our partnership with ABC Radio has helped to give Slacker the edge in providing the best listening experience for users,” said Jonathan Sasse, Senior Vice President of Product and Programming at Slacker. “Today’s addition of ‘Dancing with the Stars’ Radio gives fans of the program the complete insider’s perspective on the show.”

Season 15 kicks off with an all-star cast of former contestants who will return to the dance floor to battle it out for a chance to win the coveted mirror ball trophy. This season of “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” will feature a wide variety of fan favorites from revered athletes like NFL star Emmitt Smith (Season 3) and Olympic gymnast Shawn Johnson (Season 8) to actors and singers like Kirstie Alley (Season 12), Pamela Anderson (Season 10) and 98 Degrees star Drew Lachey (Season 2).

The two-hour season premiere of “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” aired Monday, September 24 at 8:00 p.m., ET on ABC, followed by a new digital live show, “After Party: Dancing with the Stars,” sponsored by AT&T.

About ABC Radio

ABC Radio features America’s largest commercial radio news organization (ABC News Radio), delivering daily newscasts and breaking news coverage to more than 1,800 affiliates nationwide and reaching approximately 77 million people each week. ABC News Radio also produces ABC Sports Radio and ABC Entertainment Radio, along with news, entertainment and sports audio and text content for an array of digital partners. ABC News Radio’s digital audio partnership with Slacker Radio and AOL Radio provide a combined reach of 60+ million users. ABC News Radio is distributed to radio stations by Cumulus Media, which has 4,4000 affiliate radio stations reaching more than 110 million listeners in the 12+ demographic each week.

Image Courtesy of  Dancing with the Stars

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ABC.com is bringing more all-stars into the celebration for this season’s “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars.” Super model and Season 9 alum Joanna Krupa and actor and recording artist Kyle Massey, who was a Season 11 runner-up, are on board to join ABC.com’s new web series, “After Party: Dancing with the Stars”, presented by AT & T. Krupa will co-host along with Marc Istook (“After Party: The Bachelorette”), and Massey will join on special occasions to take fans behind the scenes with the show as only an all-star insider can.

“After Party: Dancing with the Stars” is a 20-25 minute live show that will take place online at ABC, Facebook and Youtube, immediately following each Monday night performance episode. Presented by AT&T, this original online video series promises expert panelists, surprise celebrity audience members, as well as featured dance performances from fan favorites. And not only are fans invited to watch the party, they’re being asked to join the conversation. At each After Party, hosts will be answering questions tweeted in using #askDWTS.

The premiere episode gets the party started with expert panelists Elena Grinenko, ballroom champion and previous “Dancing with the Stars” pro-dancer; Jessica Radloff from Glamour.com; and Annie Barrett from Entertainment Weekly, as well as a special acoustic performance by professional dancer and former “DWTS” contestant Lacey Schwimmer, featuring the It Boys.

“Fans can’t get enough of the ‘Dancing with the Stars’ and want to keep talking about it after the broadcast ends,” said Karin Gilford, SVP of Digital Media, ABC Television Network. “After Party keeps the conversation going at a time when people are most excited, feeding them tantalizing tidbits, insider access and, most importantly, getting their burning questions answered live by show experts.”

Hosted by Tom Bergeron (“America’s Funniest Home Videos”) and Brooke Burke-Charvet (“Dancing with the Stars” Season 7 Champion), the celebrities perform choreographed dance routines which will be judged by renowned Ballroom judge Len Goodman and dancer/choreographers Bruno Tonioli and Carrie Ann Inaba.

Viewers may cast their votes for their favorite teams via phone on Monday night during and up to 60 minutes after the “Dancing with the Stars: All-Stars” performance shows. AT&T customers may also vote by texting the word “VOTE” and entering the number that corresponds to the team they want to support (data rates may apply). Online voting at www.ABC.com is open from the start of each episode on the East Coast and closes at 8:00 a.m., PT/11:00 a.m., ET on Tuesday mornings. Additionally, fans can now vote on Facebook.

A custom Facebook app presented by AT&T will let fans vote, share who they voted for and why, as well as see who friends voted for. They can also access the “After Party: Dancing with the Stars” live stream, the DWTS Social Scene page, and the AT&T Spotlight Performance and Casting Call from the app.

“Dancing with the Stars” is the U.S. version of the international smash hit series, “Strictly Come Dancing.” This version is produced by BBC Worldwide Productions. Conrad Green serves as executive producer and Ashley Edens-Shaffer and Joe Sungkur are co-executive producers. Alex Rudzinski directs. “Dancing with the Stars” is broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound. This program carries a TV-PG,L parental guideline.

About BBC Worldwide Productions

BBC Worldwide Productions is one of five core businesses under BBC Worldwide America, the U.S. division of the main commercial arm and wholly-owned subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), BBC Worldwide. Led by Jane Tranter, BBC Worldwide Productions is based in Los Angeles and develops and produces scripted and non-scripted projects for U.S. cable and broadcast networks, as well as digital platforms.

The production company is responsible for the smash hit “Dancing with the Stars” (ABC), as well as “Breaking Pointe” (CW), “Top Gear” (HISTORY), “Richard Hammond’s Crash Course” (BBC AMERICA), “What Not to Wear” (TLC), “Torchwood: Miracle Day” (Starz) and the upcoming titles “Da Vinci’s Demons” (Starz), “The Week the Women Went” (Lifetime) and “Lovetown, USA” (OWN), among others.

Image Courtesy of  Dancing with the Stars

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The rock-centric musical ‘Rock of Ages’ hit theaters June 15, 2012, and is unfortunately under-performed due to its competition with the kid-friendly ‘Madagascar 3’ and highly anticipated sci-fi thriller ‘Prometheus.’ However, box office aside, the movie itself is an average romp with great songs, solid performances, and an upbeat cast. ‘Rock of Ages’ is certainly enjoyable, but the lackluster story and scattered plot-lines may have also contributed to its low ticket sales this past week.

Spoiler alert!

‘Ages’ is actually a film adaptation of Chris D’Arienzo’s 2006 Broadway musical of the same name. It tells the story of rock legend Stacee Jaxx (Tom Cruise), lead singer of Arsenal, giving his farewell performance at the Bourbon Room, a bar owned by Dennis Dupree (Alec Baldwin) and his best friend Lonny Barnett (Russell Brand). Stacie has decided to go solo and so Arsenal’s last performance as a band will draw in hundreds of fans, which the Bourbon Room needs, as it has recently fallen on hard times.

Meanwhile, a perky young girl named Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) arrives in Los Angeles from Tulsa, Oklahoma with dreams of becoming a singer. Unfortunately, LA is not kind to her and she gets mugged, losing all of her albums. Drew Boley (Diego Boneta) tries to intervene but the thief gets away, prompting Drew to offer Sherrie a job at the Bourbon Room to help her get back on her feet. Dennis refuses at first, but ultimately hires her so they can prepare for Stacee’s arrival at the club later that week.

Mayor Mike Whitmore (Bryan Cranston) announces his campaign for the city with the help of his wife, Patricia Whitmore (Catherine Zeta Jones), who is the real brains behind the politics. She wants to shut down the Bourbon Room due to the “immoral music” and wants to take Stacee Jaxx down as well, recruiting mothers and religious fanatics to back her up and protest his last performance.

Drew and Sherrie hit it off and start dating soon after she gets hired. Stacee arrives and turns everything upside down due to his monstrous ego and bizarre demands. A writer for the Rolling Stone named Constance Sack (Malin Akerman) stirs up trouble with her questions and manages to get through to Jaxx about his attitude problem and his slimy manager, Paul Gill (Paul Giamatti).

A couple of hours before Stacee performs, the start up band drops out and Sherrie convinces Dennis to let Drew and his band play. He reluctantly agrees and Drew’s band does well, prompting Paul to want to sign him as he is sick of Stacee’s attitude. However, Stacee bumps into Sherrie and Drew thinks they slept together, which makes him break up with her and sign with Paul. From there, everything takes a turn for the worse.

The selling point of ‘Rock of Ages’ is of course the musical performances, which are strong and varied. Special mention goes to the fact that all the actors actually do sing their parts themselves instead of being dubbed over by professional singers. The standout performances are Cruise, Zeta-Jones, and Mary J. Blige while the others fair relatively well. The selections of 80’s rock are all familiar tunes and create an air of familiarity for the audience as well as nostalgia.

Unfortunately, ‘Rock of Ages’ suffers from a dull story with too many characters that stretch the plot thin. The love story between Drew and Sherrie is clichéd and largely uninteresting as neither of them have distinct personalities. Furthermore, their relationship materialized in what seemed to be only a few days, so when they inevitably break up due to miscommunication, it does not stick with the audience.

Furthermore, since the two main leads were relatively boring, other actors did not get enough time to shine, particularly Catherine Zeta-Jones. It is a shame to see that she only received two musical numbers since her performance in ‘Chicago’ (2002) won her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. It would have been smarter to play up her antagonistic relationship with Stacee Jaxx rather than inserting a bland character like Constance to be his love interest.

Another pointless subplot is the romance between Dennis and Lonny, which is played for laughs, but does not go anywhere. It only adds to the number of songs stuffed into the story and is neither funny nor plot relevant. It could have been left out entirely and would not have made a difference.

To that same end, Alec Baldwin is largely out of place in the role of Dennis. He seems asleep at the wheel and does not breathe much life into the character while everyone else around him gives solid performances.

To close out the pointless angle, while Mary J. Blige’s singing is phenomenal, the entire subplot with the strip club is not utilized properly. It sends a mixed message that gets clogged up among the other things going in the story at the same time. It seems to imply that becoming a stripper is hitting rock bottom, but then there is a musical number about implying how it can be empowering. This idea is then contradicted by Sherrie, who does not enjoy the job and considers moving back to Tulsa as a result. It would have been better to give the strip club a clearer role in the storyline rather than shoehorning it in for the sake of fan-service.

Still, ‘Rock of Ages’, while just an average musical, is energetic, colorful, and funny. It is a bit of harmless summer fun that is not necessarily a must see, but it would not hurt to give it a try.

Grade: 3/5

Image Courtesy of   Rock of Ages

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San Diego, U.S.A - And the award goes to…. Sony Tablet. The traditional envelop will be missed. At the 2012 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas, on-stage presenters will announce the winners by reading their names off of the Sony Tablet P.

With almost everything making the move to digital these days, it is only natural that the iconic awards show moment – when the presenter rips opens an envelope and announces the winner – is also making a technological leap forward.

Presenters for all seven on-air awards will use a Sony Tablet P in place of the traditional envelope. Presenters will open the folding, dual-screen tablet to reveal the name of the winner on the screen inside. Sony Tablet S is being used by members of the production team through pre-production and on show night in monitoring the ongoing discussions across all social media sites.

The 2012 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and are to be broadcast live on ABC, Sunday, May 20, 2012.   This year’s presenters include Taio Cruz, Gavin DeGraw, Gladys Knight, Julianne Hough, Natasha Bedingfield and Jeremy Sisto. More presenters will be announced as the show draws closer. ABC Modern Family’s Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell were previously announced as the event’s hosts.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Sony to make the Billboard Music Awards winner announcements more exciting and dynamic than ever before,” said Tommy Page, publisher of Billboard. “This new advancement in the show is a perfect extension of the Billboard brand as we are constantly evolving our digital content offerings on various platforms from Billboard.com to the Billboard chart app.”

The 2012 Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas is a production co-executive produced by Richard D. Beckman, CEO Prometheus Global Media and Don Mischer Productions. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC’s selected HD format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

Image Courtesy of   http://www.billboard.com

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