Ben will be a celebrity judge on the NBC-TV four-night holiday event “The Sing-Off”, which premieres December 14, continuing December 15 and 16, culminating in a live finale on December 21. The show, hosted by Nick Lachey, also features Shawn Stockman of the group Boys II Men and Nicole Scherzinger of the Pussycat Dolls. The format is a sing-off of eight a cappella groups, which include Beelzebubs from Boston, Massachusetts; Noteworthy from Provo, Utah; Face from Boulder, Colorado; Maxx Factor from Baltimore, Maryland; Nota from San Juan Puerto Rico; The SoCals from Los Angeles, California; Solo from Omaha, Nebraska and Voices of Lee from Cleveland, Tennessee. Each is vying for a grand prize of US $100,000 and an Epic recording contract. Groups will perform popular songs of various genres in their own unique a cappella style without a backup band, and viewers will vote on the grand prize winner.
Hornby/Folds track out
The Australian website The Age has posted Picture Window, one of the tracks to emerge from the collaboration between Ben and author Nick Hornby. The demo video has the song accompanied by a gallery of stills taken by Ben and Fleur, including the Buddha statuette Ben picked up recently at a drugstore in Australia, where Ben’s playing a few dates in Sydney and Melbourne.
Nick Hornby collaboration update
Ben is still working with Nick Hornby as reported earlier on this website, but the project has taken the form of an e-mail collaboration. Nick periodically e-mails lyrics to Ben, who told the Sunday Times of London, “when I have a moment, I stare at them until I hear a song.” The album is about half finished, according to the story in Australia’s Sky News, and would include a dozen songs penned by Hornby on topics of love and life.
From Your Town to Beantown
The opening act for Ben’s October 2nd sold out Boston Pops show will be selected from entrants by Ben, along with Pops conductor Keith Lockhart. The artist, to be selected from those who apply on Sonicbids, will receive $1000 for travel and lodging expenses and will perform a 25 to 30 minute set prior to Folds going on with the Boston Pops. Performers from all genres will be considered, but because the orchestra will be set up and there will be limited stage space, no full drum kits will be allowed, and the selected act must be able to set up and clear the stage quickly in order to allow the show to continue. Keyboardists must bring their own (Ben’s piano is, unfortunately, off limits), and singer/songwriter style artists will be given preference.
