This 15-year-old Mexican-American singer, songwriter, and rapper from Los Angeles is definitely on the rise this year. MTV named her as 1 of 13 artists to watch in 2013. (Btw, Austin Mahone made that list too.) She wrote the song "Wish U Were Here" for Cody Simpson, and then he invited her to be in the video, and perform with him on tour! Plus, she has a super-catchy song called "Monster" on the Hotel Transylvania soundtrack. Read on to find out more about this amazing teen.
TV, Movies, and Music you won't want to miss this March!
X Factor judge Demi Lovato will give fans a sneak earful of her upcoming album's first single, "Heart Attack," on On Air with Ryan Seacrest on 102.7 KIIS FM on March 4.
Do you love The Wizard of Oz? Do you ever wonder how the Wizard got to Emerald City? The new 3-D prequel movie Oz the Great and Powerful (rated PG) explains that. Plus it’s got witches, flying monkeys, and some great new characters too! One of them is China Girl, a porcelain doll voiced by 13-year-old Joey King of Ramona and Beezus fame. "I love her because she's so delicate and fragile but she's feisty and sassy, too, and a little bit manipulative," says Joey, who recorded her part in a booth next to the set where she could see the other actors. "And they could hear me. That was really cool." The movie opens March 8.
Coco Jones from Let it Shine will release a four-song EP called Made Of on March 12. The EP includes her single "Holla at the DJ." Coco will perform on BET’s 106 & Park on March 13, and plans to announce her tour later this spring.
Bindi Irwin, the daughter of the late Australian wildlife expert Steve Irwin, and a young animal expert herself, will star in Return to Nim’s Island, the sequel to the movie Nim’s Island. In the story, she and her dad (Matthew Lillard) try to save her island from resort developers and animal poachers. It premieres on the Hallmark Channel March 15 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
If you miss watching The Wizards of Waverly Place on Disney Channel, good news! On March 15 the
Russo family's Italian adventure, The Wizards Return: Alex vs. Alex, will premiere at 8 p.m. ET/PT. In the story, Alex (Selena Gomez) will have you seeing double because she accidentally conjures up two versions of herself, one good and the other evil. A sneak preview of the special will be available March 8 on Disney On Demand.
Speaking of Selena, she and TV brother Jake T. Austin plus Justin Bieber, Miranda Cosgrove, Kristen Stewart, Big Time Rush, Victoria Justice, One Direction, Katy Perry, Will Smith, Taylor Swift, Bridgit Mendler, and Maroon 5 are just a few of the stars nominated for Kids' Choice Awards this year. Tune in to see who wins on March 23 at 8 p.m. on Nickelodeon.
—Gerri, STACKS Writer
One Direction Would You Rather?
Got the One Direction infection? Well look no further than today's Would You Rather for a temporary cure! If you are obsessed with all things Louis, Harry, Niall, Liam, and Zayn, then answer the questions below.
Would you rather . . .
Leave your answers in the Comments below. And let us know YOUR most outrageous 1D Would You Rather questions! Until next time.
—Ratha, Stacks Writer
Big Time Rush Drummer Jordan Plosky
Jordan Plosky is a professional drummer who tours with Big Time Rush and plays drums in their concerts. If you have ever been to a Big Time Rush concert, you may have seen him playing drums. He also hosts his own podcast, and was nice enough to answer a few questions for us about life with BTR, and his advice for future pro musicians.
Little Mix Interview
Originally auditioning as solo performers, Perrie Edwards, Jesy Nelson, Leigh-Anne Pinnock and Jade Thirlwall became Little Mix during the 2011 series of The X Factor UK, and went on to be crowned the show’s first ever victorious group. Their single "Cannonball" shot straight to No.1 in the UK & Ireland, and they released their debut album DNA in December 2012. Their story sounds similar to One Direction's, and in fact, Perrie Edwards and Zayn Malik are dating! Find out more about this lucky group of women.
TV, Movies, and Music you won't want to miss this February!
Great news, Victoria Justice fans: The Victorious star is going on tour this
summer! She’s taking her "Here's 2 Us Tour" to over 30 cities across the U.S., beginning June 19th in Los Angeles. Tickets go on sale February 2. "I'm so excited to be going out on tour again this summer. I can't wait to sing your favorites and share some new ones from the latest Victorious soundtrack," says Victoria. "Here's 2 Us Tour" is dedicated to all of you. 2013 is our year!" Victoria will also making several autograph signing appearances before the tour, in Birmingham, Alabama on February 9, Louisville, Kentucky on February 23, and Houston, Texas on April 7.
This year's Grammy Awards show is going to be truly star-studded! Among the performers on the February 10 live telecast are Rihanna, Taylor Swift, The Black Keys, Fun, and Mumford & Sons, all of them nominated for multiple awards. LL Cool J is the host of the program, which begins at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
In other awards news, Cartoon Network will present its Hall of Game Awards honoring stellar athletes on February 11 at 7 p.m. ET/PT. Celebrity presenters will include Jessica Alba, Rico and Raini Rodriguez, Mario Lopez, Bridget Mendler and Olympic Gold Medal swimmer Ryan Lochte.
iCarly star Jerry Trainor, who’s also the voice of Dudley Puppy on Nickelodeon’s T.U.F.F. Puppy, has a new comedy series on Nick at Nite called Wendell & Vinnie, about a single and carefree bachelor and memorabilia store owner who suddenly becomes the legal guardian of his nephew (Buddy Handleson). The premiere is February 17 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
R5, featuring Ross Lynch from Austin & Ally and his brothers Riker, Rydel and Rocky, and best friend Ratliff, will release their debut EP Loud on February 19. Besides the title tune, songs include “Fallin’ For You,” “I Want You Bad,” and “Here Comes Forever.” The guys plan to announce tour dates soon.
Lab Rats is back for its second season on Disney XD on February 25. Among the guest stars coming up: Madison Pettis of Jake and the Neverland Pirates.
The animated Peanuts specials Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Valentine will air back-to-back on February 9 from 8-9 p.m. ET/PT.
Hope you have a happy Valentine's Day!
—Gerri, STACKS Writer
China Anne McClain "influANTces"
On Friday, February 1, 2013, A.N.T. Farm will celebrate African American History Month in the new episode titled "influANTces."
Chyna and the ANTs are tasked with creating a special project. As Chyna struggles to write a song for her presentation, she decides to lock herself in a recording booth until she comes up with a great song. After accidentally falling asleep, Chyna takes a dream journey back in time where she becomes famous African American music icons from the past: Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, and Janet Jackson. Using her dream as inspiration, Chyna writes a new version of the A.N.T. Farm theme song with lyrics that pay tribute to the great women who came before her.
We talked to China Anne McClain, the actress who plays Chyna, about her life and what African American History Month means to her.
Taylor Swift "Read Every Day" Live Webcast
October 2012
Q: Moving from Philadelphia to Nashville, how did that influence you as a writer?
Taylor: I became obsessed with poetry really early on because my favorite books were the Dr. Seuss books and Shel Silverstein and the books where you have the stories come together through rhyming. That was always my favorite kind of book to read because it sounded like a song. Like when you have a line of poetry where the rhymes hit at the right ends of the sentences, it sounds kind of like lyrics. English class was always my favorite class because of the reading, the writing, and mostly because of the poetry.
Q: Did you have teachers who recognized your creativity early?
Zoey Deutch Interview
You may remember Zoey from when she played Maya on Suite Life on Deck. Since then, this teen has been busy acting on other TV shows, and she will play Emily in the new Beautiful Creatures movie (rated PG-13) coming out this year. Her mother, Lea Thompson, is also a famous actress who currently plays Mrs. Kennish on Switched at Birth. But I remember her from the 80's. Have you seen Back to the Future (rated PG)? That's Zoey's mom playing Lorraine! Find out more about this gorgeous young actress in our interview. . .
TV, Movies, and Music you won't want to miss this January!
Justin Bieber, Jennifer Lawrence (a.k.a. Katniss in The Hunger Games movie), and Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and The Voice were among the multiple nominees competing for People's Choice Awards, which were given out January 9. Other stars up for awards included Kristen Stewart, Zac Efron, Will Smith, Chris Colfer, Beyoncé, Lea Michele, Usher, Katy Perry, Carrie Underwood, The X Factor's Demi Lovato and Britney Spears.
What girl hasn’t fantasized about being a princess? In the new animated Disney series Sofia the First, fantasies come true for the title character when her mom marries a king. The voice of Sofia will sound very familiar to fans of Modern Family. It’s none other than Ariel Winter, who plays Alex on that show! Catch Sofia January 11 and every Friday.
You'll want to set your DVRs if you won’t be home on January 11 and 13. Disney Channel has all-new episodes of its series A.N.T. Farm, Jessie, Phineas & Ferb, and Fish Hooks coming your way on Friday and Dog with a Blog, Austin & Ally, and Shake it Up on Sunday. Look for more new episodes to air every weekend throughout the month.
—Gerri, STACKS Writer
A new year brings new resolutions, new boy bands, new American Idol winners, and of course. . . new movies! There are a ton of cool movies coming out in 2013 from sequels, to remakes, to concert movies. So grab your popcorn and take a look. . .
2012 PERSON OF THE YEAR!
Time Magazine has their Person of the Year, and we now present the first ever . . . STACKS Person of the Year!
Last week we asked you to nominate the person or group of people that have had the biggest impact in YOUR world in 2012. There were lots of amazing nominations, but the person (or in this case group of people) is . . . Niall Horan, Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne, a.k.a. One Direction.
Happy New Year, One Direction! You are the STACKS Person of the Year!
