Bad Bunny Teams Up with Rosalia for Steamy “SNL” Performance of “La Noche De Anoche”

Posted on February 21, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny brought the heat to Saturday Night Live…

During his debut on NBC’s late-night sketch comedy show, the 26-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer joined voices with Rosalia for a steamy performance of their recent collaboration “La Noche De Anoche.”

Set against a neon-lit background, the artists romantically serenaded each other before embracing tightly for the finale.

And, the crowd soaked up every moment of the performance.

“La Noche De Anoche” is the latest single from Bad Bunny’s El Último Tour del Mundo, his third LP of 2020, which was released in December. It was the first-ever entirely Spanish-language album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Bad Bunny Releases Fiery Video for His Rosalia Collaboration, “La Noche de Anoche”

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny’s latest video, featuring Rosalia, is pure fire…

The 26-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton superstar, who will be the musical guest on next weekend’s episode of Saturday Night Live, has released the official music video for his collaboration with the 27-year-old Spanish singer-songwriter, “La Noche de Anoche.”

In the romantic Stillz-directed visual, Bad Bunny and Rosalía play lovers who ultimately burst into flames.

“La Noche de Anoche” appears on Bad Bunny’s latest studio album El Último Tour del Mundo, which made history on the Billboard 200 in its debut week.

The video was fittingly released on Valentine’s Day.

Bad Bunny to Serve as Musical Guest on Next Week’s Episode of NBC’s “Saturday Night Live”

Posted on February 14, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Bad Bunny is preparing for a late night first…

The 26-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singer will make his debut appearance as an in-person musical guest at Studio 8H during next weekend’s episode of NBC’s Saturday Night Live.

Bad Bunny will be the musical guest opposite opposite host Regé-Jean Page, one of the breakout stars of Netflix’s Bridgerton, on February 20.

Bad Bunny had previously appeared in a remote-production of the NBC show last April alongside Keenan Thompson.

Bad Bunny (born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio) had a busy 2020, including making history on the Billboard 200. The rapper earned his first No. 1 on the chart with El Ultimo Tour Del Mundo, which became the first all-Spanish-language album to reach the peak position in the chart’s 64-year-history.

The album was also Bad Bunny’s third studio album of 2020, which also included YHLQMDLG — released in February and peaked at No. 2 — and Las Que No Iban a Salir from May.

Bad Bunny has collaborated with the likes of Cardi B and Drake, and he performed at last year’s Super Bowl halftime show alongside Jennifer Lopez and Shakira.

Cardi B Earns Top 10 Spot on EDO’s List of Celebrity Appearances in Branded Commercials During Super Bowl LV

Posted on February 13, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Cardi B is makin’ super (bowl) impact…

Analytics corporation EDO has ranked the celebrity appearances in branded commercials during Super Bowl LV, with the 28-year-old half-Dominican American rap superstar earning a spot in the Top 10.

EDO’s list ranks the top-searched celebrities based on the number of times they were searched in a five-minute period after their ad dropped versus the average searched celeb who was in a Super Bowl ad (weighted at 100).

Cardi B, the only Latinx artist to make the Top 10, comes in at No. 10 for her UberEats Wayne’s World ad with an 8.5x search.

The spot shows Saturday Night Live’s famed characters Wayne and Garth (Mike Myers and Dana Carvey) in Wayne’s basement doing their cable access show from Aurora, Illinois.

“As a local access show, we want everyone to support local restaurants,” Wayne says.

“But, we’d never manipulate you the way all these commercials do,” Garth says as subliminal words “eat” and “local” flash on the screen.

Then there are repeated attempts to get the message out, including having baby versions of Wayne and Garth dressed in shirts that say “eat local.”

When Wayne says they would “never shamelessly rely on a celebrity cameo,” here comes Cardi B. The commercial then shows shots of Wayne and Garth dressed like Cardi, and vice-versa.

The Voice judges and fiancés Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton respectively ranked in the No. 1 and 2 spots.

In their commercial, fellow Voice judge Adam Levine sets them up on a blind date with the tagline for the 5G network being “Don’t Trust Your Love Life to Just Any Network.”

Melissa Villaseñor to Host This Year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards Ceremony

Posted on February 8, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Melissa Villaseñor has the spirit…

The 33-year-old Mexican actress, stand-up comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member is set to host this year’s Film Independent Spirit Awards ceremony.

The show will not be live from the Santa Monica Beach this year due to COVID-19.

Villaseñor, the first Latina cast member of NBC’s long-running SNL, cut her teeth on the stand-up circuit in Los Angeles, and was further propelled to stardom by being a semifinalist on the 2011 edition of America’s Got Talent before landing on the SNL cast.

She is famous for her impersonations of celebrities like Owen Wilson, Jennifer Lopez, Gwen Stefani, Lady Gaga, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and more.

This year’s show will be airing on Thursday, April 22, on IFC and AMC+ at 10:00 pm ET, breaking tradition as the Spirits typically take place on the Saturday afternoon before Sunday’s Oscars.

Said Blake Callaway, Executive Director, IFC and SundanceTV, “Melissa and the unique circumstances of now will make this year’s ceremony like no other. It will certainly be a departure from the past, but with Melissa, the chances of Dolly, Ariana Grande, Bjork, Gwen Stefani, Julie Andrews and Lady Gaga showing up have skyrocketed.”

“As someone who considers herself a pretty dependent person, I’m truly honored to host the Film Independent Spirit Awards,” said Villaseñor.

Outside of SNL, Villaseñor has provided voiceovers in films like Toy Story 4 and Ralph Breaks the Internet. She also was a guest on Jerry Seinfeld’s Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee; and in projects like Hubie Halloween, Barry and Crashing, among others.

She’s currently working on her first book, a creative self-help journal forthcoming from Chronicle Books.

She joins a roster of past Spirit Awards hosts that includes Aubrey Plaza, Nick Kroll, Kristen Bell, Joel McHale, Patton Oswalt, Queen Latifah, John Waters, Samuel L. Jackson and Kumail Nanjiani.

Bad Bunny to Release “El Último Tour del Mundo,” His Third Album of 2020

Posted on November 26, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

And the music just keeps coming from Bad Bunny…

The 26-year-old Puerto Rican Latin trap and reggaeton singerhas announced his third album of 2020: the 16-track El Último Tour del Mundo.

The new album follows March’s YHLQMDLG and May’s Las Que No Iban a Salir. The record will debut on Friday, November 27, and features songs with Rosalía, Jhay Cortez, and ABRA.

2020 has been a banner year for Bad Bunny. Back in January, before dropping YHLQMDLG, he shared the Kobe Bryant tribute song “6 Rings.”The following month, he played in the 2020 NBA All-Star Celebrity Game. Soon after, YHLQMDLG debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200and became the highest-charting Spanish-language albumever.

In April, once the coronavirus sent the world into lockdown, Bad Bunny participated in a Saturday Night Live sketch called “Big Papi Cooking Show.” He played “Big Bunny” and tried to sell viewers “big ass pots” and sweatpants.

pic.twitter.com/Q82Jj7J681

— BENITO (@sanbenito) November 25, 2020

Later in the year, in September, Bad Bunny performed an excellent livestream concert on Univision’s Uforia platform. Soon after, he brought Ivy Queen and Nesi with him to the Billboard Music Awards to perform “Yo Perreo Sola.” He then performed “Bichiyal” and “Si veo a tu mamá” at the 2020 Latin Grammy Awards, where he won Best Reggaeton Performance. Bad Bunny was set to sing “Dákiti” at the American Music Awards, but was forced to cancel his performance after testing positive for COVID-19.

Earlier this week, Bad Bunny was nominated for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album (YHLQMDLG) and Best Pop Duo/Group Performance (“Un Día (One Day)”) at the 2021 Grammy Awards.

Oz Rodriguez Signs Two-Year Producing Deal with Universal Television

Posted on November 15, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

There are more Universal projects in Oz Rodriguez’s future…

The Latino Emmy-winning Saturday Night Live director has signed an exclusive two-year producing deal with Universal Television.

Rodriguez has been with SNL since 2013, first directing Digital Shorts. He went on to become head of the film unit, and won an Emmy for his behind-the-scenes series Creating SNL.

He’s next set to direct all six episodes of SNL star Michael Che’s new HBO Max sketch series from Universal Television.

“We feel so lucky to be solidifying our relationship with Oz, who has been in the family for many years and has played a key role in our success,” said Jim Donnelly, Universal Television EVP of Comedy Development. “He brings a creative vision and distinct visual style to every project he is involved in, and we couldn’t be more excited for all that’s to come.”

Rodriguez just wrapped the pilot of AMC’s Kevin Can F***k Himself. He directed the pilot and multiple episodes of AP Bio, in addition to the Kal Penn/Mike Schur pilot Sunnyside, both for NBC, as well as episodes of Last Man on Earth for Fox, Detroiters for Comedy Central, Shrill for Hulu, and Mixed-ish for ABC.

He most recently directed NBC & Peacock’s 30 Rock reunion, which aired on July 16.

On the film side, Rodriguez wrote and directed Vampires vs. the Bronx for Universal and Broadway Video, which premiered on Netflix earlier this month.

“I am very excited to continue my partnership with Universal Television,” said Rodriguez. “The studio has been my home for the last eight years, starting with my first season of Saturday Night Live. There are so many opportunities at the studio right now and we have a chance to tell stories that reflect characters that have been missing from television for far too long. It feels great to keep this creative partnership going with the studio that gave me my first big break.”

Fred Armisen to Play Cadillac Car Salesman on “Late Night With Seth Meyers”

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Fred Armisen is switching careers for the night…

In a throwback to the sponsor segments of television’s earliest days, the 53-year-old half-Venezuelan American actor/comedian and Late Night With Seth Meyers bandleader will star in a Cadillac-branded segment during Thursday night’s show.

Meyers will toss to the segment featuring Armisen in the role of an agent in Cadillac’s “digital showroom,” touting the features of the 2021 Escalade. A blended “bumper” between the ad segment and the show will combine NBC and Cadillac branding.

Like all businesses, automakers have had to make dramatic adjustments to their retail presence during the coronavirus pandemic. Cadillac’s “live” showroom setup enables customers in all 50 states to have one-on-one video conversations with company reps via desktop or mobile devices.

TV networks have similarly grappled with major shifts in the advertising marketplace in 2020, with live sports and programming being wiped out by COVID-19. The upfront, typically wrapped up in late spring or early summer, has transformed into an open-ended process.

As a company, NBCUniversal is also trying to add options for advertisers, in particular with recently launched streaming service Peacock. Subscribers to its premium tier can get earlier access to Late Night as well as the Tonight Show.

Late Night has had an outsized presence during the run-up to the election, with a prime-time special airing recently on NBC. Meyers and Armisen were castmates on the network’s Saturday Night Live.

Apple Renews “Ted Lasso,” Featuring Cristo Fernández, for Third Season

Posted on October 28, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Cristo Fernández will still be bending it like Beckham…

Apple’s hit comedy Ted Lasso, featuring the scene-stealing Mexican actor as part of the ensemble cast, is returning for a third go-round.

The streamer has given an early season 3 renewal to the comedy starring Saturday Night Live alum Jason Sudeikis in the title role, following the series’ breakout first season, early second season renewal, and before production even starts on Season 2 in London in early January.

Ted Lasso, which hails from Sudeikis and Bill Lawrence, is Apple’s No. 1 comedy across all top 50 countries, including the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Canada, Russia, Japan and more. It has broken audience records for Apple TV+, ranking as the No. 1 comedy each week, drawing 25% new viewers to the service since its August 14 launch, according to the streamer. The pop culture phenom has grown its viewership more than 600%, fueled by binge watchers, setting new records for completion and engagement worldwide.

Co-written by Sudeikis and Lawrence, Ted Lasso is based on the popular Coach Ted Lasso character Sudeikis played in NBC Sports videos several years ago. It was developed for television by Sudeikis, Lawrence, Joe Kelly and Brendan Hunt. It stars Sudeikis as Ted Lasso, a small-time college football coach from Kansas hired to coach a professional soccer team in England, despite having no experience coaching soccer. Hannah Waddingham, Brendan Hunt, Jeremy Swift, Juno Temple, Brett Goldstein, Phil Dunster and Nick Mohammed also star.

Sudeikis also serves as executive producer, alongside Lawrence (Scrubs) via his Doozer Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television and Universal Television, a division of Universal Studio Group.

All episodes of Ted Lasso‘s first season are available for streaming on Apple TV+

Fernández’s previous credits include the short films Jaguar and Mis Mejores Días.

Soledad O’Brien to Talk About The Media on This Week’s Episode of Peacock’s Late-Night Comedy “Wilmore”

Posted on October 20, 2020 by Tom Castaneda

Soledad O’Brien is ready to talk ship with Larry Wilmore.

The 54-year-old half-Afro-Cuban American broadcast journalist and executive producer will appear on this week’s episode of Wilmore, the Peacock late-night comedy fronted by Wilmore.

The episode, which will focus on the media, will also feature The West Wing star Bradley Whitford and Saturday Night Live’s Chris Redd.

O’Brien is the host of Matter of Fact, a nationally syndicated talk show produced by Hearst Television. She is chairwoman of Starfish Media Group, a multi-platform media production company and distributor that she founded in 2013. She’s also a member of the Peabody Awards board of directors, which is presented by the University of Georgia‘s Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.

She previously worked as an anchor for CNN, and has worked as a correspondent for Al Jazeera America and HBO‘s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel.

Wilmore is going into his sixth show since launching on the streamer. Other topics he has tackled include protests, voter suppression, police, class, and comparing where we are to the 2016 presidential election.

Guests have included U.S. women’s soccer co-captain Megan Rapinoe, Charlamagne Tha God, Andrew Yang, Roy Wood Jr. and Chloé Hilliard as well as his Peacock peer Amber Ruffin.

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