Miranda Earns His First-Ever Daytime Emmy Award Nomination for His Bilingual “Sesame Street” Song

Lin-Manuel Miranda 
can tell you how to get, how to get to Sesame Street… And, he may soon have the hardware to prove it.

The 34-year-old Puerto Rican composer, rapper, lyricist and actor, a Grammy and Tony Award winner for the hit Broadway musical In the Heights, has earned the first Daytime Emmy Award nomination.

Lin-Manuel Miranda

Miranda received the nod in the Outstanding Original Song category for composing “Rhymes with Mando” for PBS’ long-running Sesame Street program. He’s nominated alongside Luis Santeiro, the bilingual song’s lyricist.

Miranda, who appeared in the show’s season 40 premiere of Sesame Street as real estate agent Freddy Flapman and voiced a lamb in a season 42 episode, starting composing songs for the show in season 42.

“Rhymes with Mando,” performed by Ismael Cruz Córdova, the show’s new Latino character, will face off against 
“30,000 Reasons to Love Me”
from Let’s Make A Deal, the “ABC’s of Moving”
from Sesame Street, “I Belong”
from Sofia the First, and “Spring Has Sprung”
from Peter Rabbit.

Meanwhile, Joseph Rosendo could soon be expanding his Daytime Emmy collection. The 67-year-old Cuban American travel journalist and broadcaster, a three-time Daytime Emmy Award-winner, has earned two nominations this year.

Rosendo is nominated in the Outstanding Host in a Lifestyle/Travel Program and Outstanding Directing in a Lifestyle/Culinary/Travel Program categories.

Other Latino nominees include El Gordo y la Flaca’s 
Carlos Calderon, Alejandra Espinoza, Lili Estefan and Rodner Fugueroa and Nuestro Mundo’s Patricia Janiot, all nominated in the Outstanding Daytime Talent in Spanish category.

The nominations were announced by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in cooperation with the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

There is still no TV network for the ceremony, which will be held at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday, June 22

Lopez Partnering with nuvoTV to Develop Latino-Themed Content

It’s a nuvo day for Jennifer Lopez…

The 43-year-old Puerto Rican multi-hyphenate is partnering with nuvoTV to develop new programming behind the scenes and on camera with the English-language cable channel targeting Latinos.

Jennifer Lopez

The former American Idol judge will also be involved in marketing strategies at nuvoTV, where she’s a part owner.

The channel was launched in 2004, and last year changed its name from Si TV to nuvoTV.

“I teamed up with them because I felt that there’s a real, great opportunity to do something that has not yet been done,” Lopez told The Hollywood Reporter. “Thinking about myself growing up as a Puerto Rican girl in the Bronx, speaking English as my first language, and knowing that there was really nothing on TV for me! I remember very clearly, like on Sesame Street, Luis and Maria, the Spanish couple, or going to movies and loving West Side Story and that being a huge influence on my life to become an artist because there were Puerto Ricans in it.”

As part of the deal, Lopez—one of the world’s most powerful women—aims to introduce high-level, HBO-style films to the channel as well as scripted and unscripted series. In the works: a backstage docu-series on her upcoming European concert tour with co-headliner Enrique Iglesias, slated to air in early 2013. A reality show about Lopez’s backup dancers (including her beau, Casper Smart) is being considered.

Lopez’s goal: to create content similar to that found on BET, where the quality of the programming goes well-beyond the core audience.

“It’s not an easy sell to go sell a Latino story to a network about a whole Latino family … even in the movies,” she said. “And at the end of the day, that’s content that we’re going to be looking for. There is a place now to go for that. … We’re dedicated to improving the content that’s there, making it even better and, at the same time, creating new content that’s gonna be entertaining.”

Lopez’s work with nuvoTV isn’t expected to affect her deals with other channels; earlier this year, she sold an English-language version of her Univision competition series Q’Viva!, The Chosen to Fox, where it aired earlier this year.

Last month ABC Family ordered a pilot for a potential new series Lopez is executive producing currently called The Fosters, a one-hour drama revolving around a multi-ethnic family mix of foster and biological kids being raised by two moms.

“I still have a lot of other shows that I’m developing with other networks, ABC, Fox … that’s not gonna stop,” she noted. “I’m gonna continue to be producing. I just might put them all on nuvo now.”

Aguilera Mocks Her Fellow Coaches in Latest “The Voice” Promo

The upcoming season of The Voice may still be more than a week away… But, Christina Aguilera and her fellow coaches are pulling out all the stops to make sure NBC’s hit reality singing competition stays top of mind…

Following the release of the Olympic-themed promo for The Voice, NBC has released an entertaining promo clip to promote the show’s third season and highlights the celebrity coaches’ great chemistry.

The Voice Judges

The video features the 31-year-old half-Ecuadorian American singer, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton—who were recently puppetized for Sesame Street getting their imitations on, as they do their best impressions of one another.

For her part, Aguilera mimics Shelton’s Southern accent, saying “I’m married to Miranda.”

When asked to give their best impression of the only female coach on the show, Shelton twitches his right upper lip while Levine tilts his head right and left.

Meanwhile, Shelton’s impression of Green has him moving his head back in a mock snooze. The country music crooner later gives a blank expression when mimicking Levine. The Maroon 5 frontman, on the other hand, imitates Shelton’s trademark line, “Damn it, Christina!”

The Voice will kick off its third season on Monday, September 10 at 8:00 pm on NBC with some new twists, one of which will allow coaches to “steal” the other coach’s protégés during the battle rounds.

Sesame Street’s “The Voice” Spoof Features an Aguilera Puppet

Christina Aguilera is getting puppified

The 31-year-old half-Ecuadorian songstress and The Voice coach will appear on Sesame Street next season… in puppet form.

The Voice Coaches

The long-running PBS children’s television series will present a spoof on NBC’s singing competition when it returns to this fall.

A new clip shows Aguilera, her fellow coaches Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton sitting in The Voice’s signature red rotating chairs.

Christina Aguilera Puppet

“Finally, a singing competition that’s entirely about your voice, no distractions and no cheap gimmicks,” says puppet-Carson Daly, before being hit by the rotating chair.

The puppets for Aguilera, Green, Shelton and Daly are pretty spot-on, with Aguilera glammed up in a sparkly dress and Green holding his pet cat.

No word on why a puppet of fourth Voice coach, Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine, isn’t featured in the spoof.

NBC’s The Voice, which recently received its first Emmy nomination, will return for its third season on Monday, September 10 at 8 pm ET. Meanwhile,  Sesame Street returns for its 43rd season on September 24 on PBS Kids.

Sotomayor Holds Court on Sesame Street…

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor is holding court on Sesame Street…

The 57-year-old Puerto Rican Associate Judge, the first Hispanic justice on the Supreme Court, heard the case of Goldilocks v. Baby Bear in a new video on the Sesame Street Youtube page.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor

Over a cup of coffee with her friend Maria, Justice  Sotomayor—who has served on the Supreme Court since her appointment by President Obama in August 2009—doled out some justice in the case.

“Does the Justice think it was right for Goldilocks to come into my house — uninvited, mind you — sit in my chair and break it?” Baby Bear asked Sotomayor, who replied, “I’m not sure” and said she needed to hear from Goldilocks.

Goldilocks led with an apology—hardly a strong defense strategy—before saying she “didn’t mean to break it” and adding that she “was tired and it was the only chair that fit just right.”

But the argument stuck with Sotomayor, who told Baby Bear that “it was an accident” that Goldilocks broke the chair. “And accidents do happen,” she noted. When Baby Bear noted that his chair was still broken, Sotomayor told Goldilocks to help him glue it back together.

The 42nd season of Sesame Street will focus on science, math and engineering education.

Mars’ Sesame Street Appearance…

Bruno Mars can tell you “how to get, how to get to Sesame Street” now that he’s spent some time with Elmo and the gang.

The 26-year-old part-Puerto Rican singer made a special guest appearance on PBS’ long-running children’s series Sesame Street.

BrunoMarsSesameStreet

Mars performs “Don’t Give Up,” an oh-so-catchy song about persevering that he wrote exclusively for the show.

“Try and try and you’ll come out on top, Don’t give up… Keep on tryin’, You’re gonna make it, I aint lyin’,” sings the recent American Music Award winner for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.

Mars is the latest Latino celebrities to appear on the iconic show. Other Hispanic stars that have appeared on Sesame Street include Juanes and Sofia Vergara.