CASTING CALL ALERT: America’s Next Top Model

Open auditions for The CW‘s America’s Next Top Model cycle 11 will be held in various cities nationwide beginning in Boston this Saturday with the casting director attending. 

Other cities include San Francisco –  February 26; Dallas – March 1; Atlanta- March 5; Chicago – March 8; New York – March 15; Miami – March 22; and Los Angeles – March 29.

Casting directors are looking for females, aged 18-27 of diverse backgrounds, shapes and sizes, with a minimum height of 5’7″.

Full casting details can be found at www.cwtv.com.

Tyler Perry’s “Why Did I Get…”#1 DVD in the Country

Tyler Perry’s Successful ‘Marriage’ With Lionsgate Continues as TYLER PERRY’S WHY DID I GET MARRIED? Captures the Number One Spot on North American DVD Charts

Pharell Williams Helps Launch Talent Search

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World Renowned Hip Hop/R&B Producer & Artist Pharrell Williams and Japan’s music producer Nigo from APE SOUNDS are hosting “Star Bape Search” which is an audition to find the next female R & B artist. The audition will consist of several stages and will be broadcast on the NIGOLDENEYE show through MTV. The winner of the auction will get One Million Yen and also their own debut CD with APE SOUNDS. 

For more information, you can head to the Star Bape Search site.  It’s in Japanese – but if you’re entering this contest, you’ll probably need to know Japanese anyway.

Pharell’s Offical MySpace Page

NEW MUSIC VIDEO: Jordin Sparks & Chris Brown

Official Websites

Jordin Sparks

Chris Brown

 

Kimora’s “Life in the Fab Lane” Back for Another Season

Style Network has picked up a second season of Kimora: Life in the Fab Lane, premiering April 20th at 8p, reports THR.  Additionally, Kimora Lee Simmons will participate in Style Network’s sister network E!’s coverage of the Academy Awards, participating on the red carpet as well as in the Fashion Police special set to air the day after the Oscars.

 Below is a clip from the season one…

Kimora’s Websites

Kimora’s Official Website

“Life in the Fab Lane” Website

 

BET Recognizes the Achievements of African-Americans at “THE BET HONORS” – Premiering February 22nd

“Keyshia Cole on the red carpet”

It was an evening full of glamour, hope and inspiration, as BET presented its inaugural celebration of THE BET HONORS at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, January 12. Hosted by the always hilarious and charming Cedric “The Entertainer,” the show, which recognizes African American luminaries across a broad range of achievements, will premiere on BET on Friday, February 22 at 8:00 p.m. ET/ PT. 

Entertainment Industry Vet Launches New Venture

Mona Scott-Young has launched a new multimedia company, Monami Entertainment. The New York-based company will offer a variety services which include brand and product development, talent management, television and film production, and marketing. Scott-Young previously served as President of Violator Management for the past 16 years.

Longtime Scott-Young clients Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes, as well as up and coming Interscope Records artists Brit and Alex and BET host Tocarra will be on the company’s talent roster.

Scott-Young’s partner in the venture is long-time colleague Yandy Smith, whose client, Jim Jones, will also join the company’s roster.

Singer Rihanna helps H&M kick-off “Fashion Against AIDS”

Rihanna lends her support @ H&M, 5th Avenue in NYC

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H&M and Designers Against AIDS (DAA) have joined forces in the battle against AIDS and are launching a collection for guys and girls together with Rihanna, Timbaland and other well-known designers, musicians and artists. The aim is to spread awareness about HIV/AIDS, which affects many young people all over the world.  The collection “Fashion Against AIDS” will be available in H&M’s Divided departments in February.

“Supporting the Fashion Against AIDS campaign was a great way to encourage my fans to join me in the fight against HIV/AIDS. I love that H&M is providing a fashionable and easy way for young people all over the world to get involved in this worthy cause, says Rihanna.”

For more information, visit HM.com.

According to Nielsen, Black Targeted Ad Spending Exceeds $2.3 Billion Annually

In its first 12-month analysis of advertising spending on media outlets that reach African American consumers, The Nielsen Company reported that spending for the period October 1, 2006 through September 30, 2007 totaled $2.3 billion. The Nielsen African American ad spending analysis covers over 22,000 national, regional and local advertisers, across 130+ media vehicles.

African American Spending by Medium
Nielsen Monitor-Plus, the advertising intelligence service of Nielsen, tracked 5 individual media for this analysis: Local Radio, National Magazine, National Cable TV, Network TV and Syndication TV. Local Radio reported the greatest amount of spending on African American targeted media at $805 million dollars, comprising 35% percent of total spending.National Cable TV reported the largest ad growth with 14.5% during this period. This growth is the result of a number of factors including: Year over year growth for BET, the inclusion of TV One in the Nielsen Monitor-Plus service as of January 2007, as well as a number of high profile TV programs such as “House of Payne” on TBS, “Being Bobby Brown” on Bravo, “Flavor of Love” on VH1, and “Making the Band” on MTV.

After 28 Years, Radio One is Headed Back to D.C.

CATHY HUGHES, Founder

Washington, D.C. – Mayor Adrian Fenty has signed off on a real estate deal that provides $22 million in grants and incentives to the project developer and will bring Radio One’s headquarters back to the nation’s capital where it was founded 28 years ago.  While the move from Lanham, Md., where Radio One occupies several floors of a golden glass suburban office building alongside a beltway exit ramp some 12 miles outside of the city, will not save Radio One any money, it will give the urban legend a new coat of luster and perhaps an emotional jolt that the financially troubled operation could use. 

Radio One will not own any part of the development, but will be among the many operations that lease space in the project near Howard University. It will include office space, retail and, possibly, some residential space.  Fenty said bringing Radio One back to the District was “a huge priority for my administration” and referred to the development as a “catalytic project.”   It is unclear when construction on the massive $144 million project will begin. 

Radio One, Inc. (www.radio-one.com) is the nation’s seventh largest radio broadcasting company (based on 2006 net broadcast revenue) and the largest radio broadcasting company that primarily targets African-American and urban listeners. Pro forma for recently announced transactions, Radio One owns and/or operates 60 radio stations located in 19 urban markets in the United States. 

Additionally, Radio One owns Magazine One, Inc. (d/b/a Giant Magazine) (www.giantmag.com), interests in TV One, LLC(www.tvoneonline.com), a cable/satellite network programming primarily to African-Americans and Reach Media, Inc(www.blackamericaweb.com), owner of the Tom Joyner Morning Show and other businesses associated with Tom Joyner. Radio One also operates the only nationwide African-American news/talk network on free radio and programs “XM 169 The POWER,” an African-American news/talk channel, on XM Satellite Radio. 

Source: Radio & Records