Mary J. Blige will sit on the American Idol judges’ panel for auditions in Atlanta, Georgia, reports Perez Hilton.
Friday, regular judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Kara DioGuardi were joined by former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham, who helped judge auditions in Boston.
“The judges and production team have been having a lot of fun with Victoria,” said a source for the show. “She’s had a great response so far, and has been really warm with the contestants.”
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Mary J. Blige may have sung “No More Drama” in her 2002 hit single, but she’s putting her acting skills to the test again in a new Tyler Perry film.
Billboard reports that the R&B singer has landed a starring role in “I Can Do Bad All By Myself,” based on Perry’s play of the same title.
Blige will play a nightclub manager opposite the already-cast Taraji P. Henson, who will play her good friend. As in the stage version, Perry will appear as his comedic alter ego, the bad-tempered grandmother Madea.
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Singers Beyoncé and Mary J. Blige are set to sing at the “We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial,” along with U2, Bruce Springsteen, Will.I.Am, Sheryl Crow, Garth Brooks, and the list goes on.
The event will be the first of many events sponsored by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. It will start at 2 p.m. on Sunday, and will be aired for free on HBO for cable and satellite subscribers that same night at 7 p.m. according to The Washington Post.
According to MTV News, the theme of the show will be President-elect Barack Obama’s place in history, as well as other presidents that have led the U.S. in difficult times, and many of the artists will perform songs that connect with this theme.
Jamie Foxx, Queen Latifah, Denzel Washington and Martin Luther King III will read historical passages. Vice President-elect Joe Biden will attend the concert while Obama will make an appearance onstage.
The Lincoln Memorial is also the site where Martin Luther King Jr. made his famous “I have a dream” speech.
Mary J. Blige, reigning queen of R&B, dominated the Billboard Music Awards on Monday, taking home nine awards.
“I’ve never received this many awards at any time in my career, ever,” said the 35-year-old singer backstage, according to Billboard.
Blige took honours in multiple R&B/hip-hop categories, including the year’s best album (”The Breakthrough”) and song (”Be Without You”). She also won for the Hot 100 airplay song of the year.
Trailing behind Blige were Carrie Underwood of “American Idol” fame and Atlanta’s T.I., who each won five awards.
Surprisingly, though they seemed to have disappeared, Canada’s Nickelback won three awards, including artist duo/group of the year, Hot 100 artist duo/group of the year, and rock album of the year for “All the Right Reasons.”
