Showing Out

Last we saw Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, he was cozying up next to Monica in her new video for “Everything to Me” (watch that here). Now, he’s taking it to VH1 to look for a real love. According to Variety, the baller, formerly known as Chad Johnson, will headline the reality show The Tournament for VH1, which will see him traveling the country to meet with 85 ladies, each of whom will be entered into a March Madness-style bracket where they will be eliminated until he ends up on a final “championship” date. Additionally, Ochocinco can next be seen on Dancing with the Stars before he begins shooting his 10-episode show, with each hourlong ep to begin airing in July. This is going to be both happy for him and sad for us.

You know that song that plays at the end of the CBS broadcast of the NCAA men’s basketball championship game? The one that’s been played every year since 1987? Well Jennifer Hudson’s going to give it a shot. According to the AP, the Oscar-winning soulstress will perform the David Barrett tune “One Shining Moment” this year, making her the first woman to sing the tune (previous singers include Teddy Pendergrass and Luther Vandross). ”The song inspires you,” Hudson said in a release. ”It moves you. It motivates you and helps you reach that goal and that dream.” The song has already been laid down in L.A. on February 13th with Harvey Mason Jr., her producer who played for the Arizona team that reached the Final Hour in 1988. Guess Hudson really is a dream girl.

There’s nothing better than celebrities using their star power for good, and this recently released PSA for the “Greater Than AIDS” campaign is almost as good as it gets. The Black AIDS Institute just released a new PSA for its campaign, putting out a clip directed by gay power couple Quincy LeNear and Deondray Gossett. The PSA features Nia Long, Jurnee Smollett, Vanessa Williams, Eva Marcille, Lance Gross, Samuel L. Jackson, Tia Mowry and more, conveying a powerful message about fighting the AIDS epidemic. “I’m the Black AIDS Institute,” said Phil Wilson, director of The Black AIDS Institute. “So, my first priority and obligation is to develop messages that resonate with black folks. I’m trying to get their attention. My audience does not believe AIDS is about them. I never say, never imply and never suggest AIDS is only a black disease. I never suggest and never imply it is any less tragic when anyone [else] gets infected with or gets sick or dies from HIV/AIDS. But when 50 percent of all new HIV cases in this country are in black communities, when 50 percent of the 1.1 million people estimated to be living with HIV in America are black and when 50 percent of all AIDS-related deaths in the United States are black, I don’t think there’s any room to debate that AIDS in America is a black disease.” Real talk.

Bravo is on their reality game grind right now, and they ain’t gonna stop. Of a new block of programs in development, one in particular caught our eye, and it goes by the name of Hitmakers. Though songwriters and producers have come to the foreground in recent years, many of the hottest hitmakers have kept a relatively low profile, getting the credit and the royalty checks without receiving any of the shine. But all that’s about to change with the show, which is shaping up to be an elimination competition series where contestants are put through a series of songwriting challenges. At the end of each episode, the winner with the best song will have their track performed by a special guest singer. The show is being developed by producers Steven Weinstock, Glenda Hersh, Tim Bogart and Evan Bogart (member of the Writing Camp, a collective that wrote Beyonce’s “Halo” and Pussycat Dolls’ “Jai Ho”). Look out for this one when it hits the small screen some time this year.

This is pretty interesting. When Cleveland Brown left Family Guy for his own show, creator Seth MacFarlane had a tentative replacement in mind that would have rocked the toon’s foundation. According to THR’s Live Feed, MacFarlane wanted to replace him with Mr. T, though the A-Team star wouldn’t participate because he’s a born-again Christian whose morals don’t line up with the show’s edgy humor. “It would be like Mr. T was in the show as Mr. T, and he’s just the fourth guy in the group,” said MacFarlane. “Animation is one of the few remaining television genres where you can really touch on politics. [...] A live-action sitcom can’t really go there.” We’re actually kind of sad this didn’t happen - but clearly, the only fool to pity here is Mr. T.

Admit it, you’ve been missing Ed Gordon’s face on BET. So it’ll please you to know that he’s about to invade your TV screen once again. After hosting BET Tonight with Ed Gordon for years (before it was unceremoniously canceled eight years ago), Gordon is returning to the network, according to a report from Variety. Gordon will rejoin the news division where he will contribute specials and programs to the channel. “As BET celebrates its 30th anniversary, it brings me great joy to welcome back one of America’s most prominent news personalities,” said network chairman and CEO Debra Lee. No word on when he’ll actually return to the small screen, but it’s a good enough reason to pop that champagne.

Even though she lost Best Actress for her role in Precious, we’ve still got love for Gabourey Sidibe. And apparently, so does Showtime. According to a press release, Sidibe has been tapped to join the cast of the upcoming dark comedy The Big C, starring Laura Linney as repressed housewife Cathy who makes drastic changes in her life when she finds out she has terminal cancer. On the show, Sidibe will play a fast-talking student in Cathy’s class, with Oliver Platt signed on to co-star as Cathy’s hubbie. The show, which is directed by Bill Condon (Dreamgirls), is slated to begin shooting its 13 episode order in May in time for a late summer premiere. This ain’t the last you’ve heard of Sidibe.

Come now, you’ve heard of Coby Bell. Think for a minute. Yes, now you remember. He starred on The Game and Third Watch! Well it looks like he’s headed back for the small screen, with the recent announcement that Bell has joined the cast of Burn Notice as a series regular for the fourth season of the show. Bell is set to play Jesse Garcia, a “cocky, smooth, and sexy counter intelligence expert who has a chameleon-like ability to assume different aliases. He’s also able to read people instantaneously and come up with a character perfectly suited for preying on their vulnerabilities.” The show, which airs on USA, also stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell and Sharon Gless. If you haven’t yet been burned, here’s a good reason to tune in.

It seems like every award ceremony this year has broken the record for most-watched award show in recent history, and The Oscars is no exception. Last night, the 82nd Annual Academy Awards was the most-watched television broadcast in five years, pulling in an audience of 41.3 million viewers and becoming the show’s second straight year of audience gains. Meanwhile, the pre-show specials drew in record numbers as well, with ABC’s red carpet pre-show alluring 25.1 million viewers (the show’s largest audience in three years) and the final Barbara Walters special nabbing 15 million viewers (its largest audience since 2002). Of course, the numbers were hurt because Cablevision blocked out more than 3 million viewers from watching the beginning of the broadcast, but can’t hate… These numbers are tough!

In case you didn’t know, Sandra Bullock received the highest and lowest honors in film awards this past weekend. While she took home the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in The Blind Side, she also made an appearance at the Razzie Awards this weekend where she was chosen as the worst actress of the year for her performance in All About Steve. In the above clip, you can see Bullock gracefully accept the Razzie by challenging everyone in the room to actually watch the film, and stated that if they didn’t in fact like it, she would come back next year and give it back. It takes a lot of guts and class to show up to accept your Worst Actress award - let’s hope this one sits next to good ol’ Oscar on her mantelpiece. Hit the jump to see the rest of the evening’s losers.

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