Aretha Franklin sings Joy To The World on the live NBC television special Christmas In Rockefeller Center. The annual televised tree lighting ceremony took place on December 2, 2009. Continue reading
Category Archives: Television
12/18/15 Song Of The Day: Patti Labelle- O Holy Night
Patti Labelle would eventually release a studio version of O Holy Night on her 1990 holiday album This Christmas. Continue reading
12/18/15 O&A Shall We Dance: Mikhail Baryshnikov and Gelsey Kirkland- Nutcracker Grand Pas de Deux
During the 1977 Christmas season, CBS brought Mikhail Baryshnikov’s highly acclaimed American Ballet Theatre production of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet The Nutcracker to television. The production has remains the most popular and most often shown television production of the work in the U.S. Mikhail Baryshnikov performed the title role, with Gelsey Kirkland as Clara.
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12/16/15 O&A NYC Song Of The Day: Diana Ross Christmas Medley Plus Bonus Tracks
Christmas in Washington is an annual Christmas television special that currently airs on the U.S. TNT network. The 2102 show was hosted by Conan O’Brien and starred Diana Ross, Demi Lovato, Megan Hilty, Scotty McCreery, and Chris Mann. Continue reading
12/16/15 O&A NYC Wildin Out Wednesday: Jingle Ballerz Special Hip- Hop Nativity – Saturday Night Live
MTV presents Hip-Hop Nativity, starring Rihanna (Sasheer Zamata), Eminem (Taran Killam), Riff Raff (James Franco), Rick Ross (Kenan Thompson), Justin Bieber (Kate McKinnon), Beyonce (Nicki Minaj) and Kanye West (Jay Pharoah). Continue reading
12/9/15 O&A NYC Wildin Out Wednesday: The Niggar Family- Chappelle Show
The Niggar Family, one of comedian Dave Chappelle’s most controversial skits, explores the question of what effect “the n-word” would have if it were just another name. The skit is filmed in black and white, with sets and costumes right out of Father Knows Best or Leave It to Beaver or, for a more recent reference, Pleasantville. We see a squeaky-clean family of aw-shucks pleasantness and golly-jeepers naïveté, a “typical American” (i.e., white) family named Niggar. Continue reading
12/8/15 O&A NYC: Jennifer Hudson and The Color Purple Cast Performs Push Da Button
Jennifer Hudson and The Color Purple Cast Performs Push Da Button on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Continue reading
12/7/15 O&A NYC Hollywood Monday: Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer is a Christmas television special produced in stop motion animation by Rankin/Bass Productions and distributed by DreamWorks Classics. It first aired Sunday, December 6, 1964, on the NBC television network in the United States. The special was based on the Johnny Marks song Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer which was itself based on the 1939 poem Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer written by Marks’ brother-in-law, Robert L. May. Since 1972, the special has aired on CBS. Continue reading
12/4/15 O&A NYC Song Of The Day: Jill Scott- Strange Fruit
Jill Scott gave a chilling performance of Strange Fruit, the iconic protest song made popular by Bille Holiday, on A&E’s Shining a Light concert special. Scott joined the likes of John Legend, Alicia Keys, Pharrell Williams, Aloe Blacc and more for a concert special meant to address racial inequality and violence in America. Continue reading
12/3/15 O&A NYC With WaleStylez: The Wiz Live! Premiere Tonight
By Adewale Adekanbi Jr
The long await live broadcast of the 1975 Tony Award winning musical The Wiz airs tonight. The special will star performers Queen Latifah in the role of the Wiz, Mary J. Blige as Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, Uzo Aduba as Glinda the Good Witch, David Alan Grier as the Cowardly Lion, Ne-Yo as the Tin Man, Elijah Kelley as the Scarecrow, Common as the Bouncer/Gatekeeper of the Emerald City and Stephanie Mills (who originated the role of Dorothy in The Wiz) as Aunt Em, among a number of other performers. It will also be the professional debut for actress Shanice Williams in the role of Dorothy Gale. Continue reading