1) “Kennedy Center Honors,” 8:30-11 p.m. Sunday, CBS. Each year, this has elegant and eloquent tributes to the arts greats. This time, it honors Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval, Francis Coppola, the Grateful Dead and (in a first) the Apollo Theater. Queen Latifah (shown here) hosts; performers include Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow, Savion Glover, Dave Matthews and an all-star jazz band. Read more…
1) “Saturday Night Live,” 11:29 p.m., NBC. Doing things big in its 50th season, “SNL” has former cast members hosting for the next two weeks. Tonight, it’s Chris Rock (shown here), with only his fourth hosting gig in 28 years; Gracie Adams is the music guest. Next week, Martin Short hosts. Read more…
In the old days, there were familiar routes to power. It helped to be older … and bigger … and male.
Brenda Lee was none of these. She signed her first record deal at 11; years later, she still didn’t fit the image of a teen pop star.
“I was singing all these unrequited-love songs,” Lee, who turned 80 on Dec. 11, says on “American Masters,” at 10 p.m. Monday (Dec. 16) on PBS, “and I’d never had a date …. I was 4-foot-9.”
But in the recording studio, she stood tall. She helped decide what songs to sing and how to sing them. The results were impressive. Read more…
1) “Blue Bloods” series-finale, 10 p.m., CBS. For 14 seasons, Frank Reagan (Tom Selleck) has led the New York City police department and a Reagan family filled with cops (shown here is Donnie Wahlberg, who plays is oldest son) and an assistant district attorney. Now there’s one final crisis, with gangs combining to demand the release of prisoners. Edward James Olmos is a guest star. Read more…
1) “Billboard Music Awards,” 8-10 p.m., Fox. After 17 years elsewhere, the awards return to their original network. Michelle Buteau, a comedian, hosts; performers include Coldplay, Seventeen, Teddy Swims, Tyla (shown here) and more. Up for the Top Artist award are Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen, Zach Bryan, Sabrina Carpenter and Drake. Read more…
1) “A Motown Christmas,” 9-11 p.m., NBC. Spanning generations, this is hosted by Smokey Robinson, 84, and Halle Bailey, 24. His contemporaries – Gladys Knight, the Temptations, Martha Reeves — perform; so do younger stars: Jordin Sparks (shown here),Jamie Foxx, Andra Day, Ashante, Jordin Sparks, Pentatonix and the cast of “MJ: The Musical.” Read more…
Fame can bring some odd moments, it seems.
For Lesley Nicol, that was “being recognized in a field in China.” An “ancient old farmer” stared at her, she said, then told a translator: “That’s the lady from the ‘Downton Abbey’ movie.”
And for Mike Maliakel (shown here with Nicol), it was singing in front of the same mega-choir he used to watch on TV. “You physically feel it vibrating through your core.”
Both are featured in the Tabernacle Choir’s Christmas concert on PBS (8 p.m. Dec. 17; 9:30, Dec. 24) and on BYUtv (often, starting 9 p.m. ET Dec. 19). Read more…
1) “The Voice” finale, 8-11 p.m., NBC. At 8 p.m., we get a quick recap of Monday’s performances. At 9, the hoopla begins. Kelly Clarkson, Michael Buble (shown here in a previous show), Sting, Dan + Shay, Myles Smith, Riley Green and Tears for Fears all perform. So do the show’s two recent winners; then we have a new one. Read more…
1) “The Voice” finals, 8-10 p.m., NBC. The five finalists (shown here, from left) are Sofronio Vasquez, 31; Shye, 17; Danny Joeph, 37; Sydney Sterface, 15; and Jeremy Beloate, 25. Each will sing an uptempo song, a ballad and a duet; then viewers will vote. On Tuesday, the show has its 26th winner. Read more…
For a brief blip, music is welcome again on primetime TV.
There used to be lots of it, you know. Singers had their own shows – from Judy Garland and Dean Martin to Sonny & Cher and Donny & Marie.
But that ended. Mostly, there’s no primetime music unless you’re giving an award … or unless it’s Christmastime.
So now we get a surge … with results that range from awful to excellent.
Let’s look at five from this year. Three (ABC’s “Holiday Spectacular” and “CMA Country Christmas,” NBC’s “Christmas in Rockefeller Center”) have aired and are still around via streaming. Two are coming up — “Little Big Town’s Christmas at the Opry” (shown here, 8-10 p.m. Dec. 16, NBC) and “Joy: Christmas With the Tabernacle Choir” (8-9:30 Dec. 17, PBS). We’ll also list others coming up. Read more…
