Tag Archives: Syco Entertainment

Nikki Bella to Serve as a Judge on NBC’s “AGT: Extreme”

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Nikki Bella is taking things to the Extreme…

The 37-year-old half-Mexican American reality television personality, entrepreneur and retired professional wrestler, one half of The Bella Twins with her sister Brie Bella, will serve as a judge for NBC’s extreme version of America’s Got Talent.

Nikki Bella

In addition to Nikki Bella, the other judges for AGT: Extreme include Travis Pastrana and Simon Cowell.

Terry Crews, who is host of the main AGT series, will host.

Nikki Bella is a former WWE Hall of Famer, who is the star of E!’s reality series Total Bellas.

The series is set to launch midseason on NBC and is produced by Syco Entertainment and Fremantle.

It will showcase the most outrageous and jaw-dropping daredevil acts. Each week extreme contestants will go head-to-head in the most wild, wacky and craziest stunts to vie for the ultimate title.

Brandon Arreaga & His PRETTYMUCH Group Mates Sign with Sire Records

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Brandon Arreaga is ready to in-sire…

The 20-year-old Latino singer and his fellow PRETTYMUCH pop group mates, which Simon Cowell launched under his label Syco Entertainment in 2017, have signed to Warner Records imprint Sire Records, marking the start of a “new era,” according to the group’s members.

PRETTYMUCH

The five members — Arreaga, Edwin Honoret, Zion Kuwonu, Nick Mara and Austin Porter — were originally pursuing solo careers until Syco founder Cowell approached them about creating a group in 2016.

PRETTYMUCH debuted in 2017 with the single “Would You Mind,” and have since released three EPs with Syco, sold out two headlining tours (also opening for Khalid) and worked with the likes of Ed Sheeran and French Montana.

The new signing follows an announcement in July that Cowell and Sony Music Entertainment would be ending the 11-year joint venture, which created Syco, with Sony Music to retain the JV’s back catalog and roster of artists.

The group has quickly been scooped up by Sire. Label president Rani Hancock tells Billboard that she has always been drawn to PRETTYMUCH because the members are “quadruple threats”: Singers, songwriters, producers and performers. A meeting with the band and their management team at KYN Entertainment, former Syco president Sonny Takhar and Mitch Eisner, sealed the deal.

“I have always admired PRETTYMUCH, so when Sonny reached out I was excited to meet them, and meeting them impressed me even more,” Hancock says. “I knew they were great singers and performers but quickly found out they are also impressive songwriters, producers, photographers, choreographers, and more. They are truly the architects of their own sound and vision and an unstoppable force.”

Arreaga says that the feeling was mutual, since he had “always wanted to be respected as a producer/songwriter.” “At Sire, they’ve shown so much interest in my work and even helped shape small ideas into full songs that I hadn’t seen the potential in,” he adds. “For us, it’s important that we remember to always keep evolving and always keep pushing the boundaries of what we’re capable of.”

With a fresh record deal under their belt, PRETTYMUCH is set to release their first new music since 2019’s INTL:EP in the coming year.

Espinoza Hosting Simon Cowell & Univision’s Latin Boy Band Reality Show “La Banda”

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It’s all about the boys for Alejandra Espinoza…

The 27-year-old Mexican beauty-queen-turned-television-presenter is hosting Simon Cowell and Univision’s La Banda, which “aims to create the world’s ultimate Latino boy band through the largest Latino talent search in U.S. TV history,” according to an announcement from the Spanish-language network.

Alejandra Espinoza

The search for contestants for La Banda, which was developed by Cowell’s Syco Entertainment with Univision Communications and Saban Brands, is officially underway.

Boys (to men) ages 14 and older living in the United States and Puerto Rico are invited to audition online for La Banda. The search for potential Latin stars to compete on the upcoming Univision reality show has begun at LaBandaOficial.com.

“I’m very excited about this show,” says Simon Cowell, a producer on the show. “There is a huge amount of talent out there and La Banda is going to give five guys the opportunity of a lifetime.”

Co-produced with FremantleMedia Latin America, the show is set to premiere in fall 2015 on the Spanish-language network.

Winners of the competition — who will inevitably be compared to the Puerto Rican pop group Menudo, which started in the ’70s with a rotating cast of young singers and disbanded in 2009 — will receive a recording contract with Sony Music Latin and Syco Music, home of One Direction.

To be considered, potential participants should go to LaBandaoficial.com and upload pictures, videos or music files. After creating their online audition profiles, selected contestants will receive a “golden ticket,” which will allow them to participate in a private audition with the production team. The online casting will be followed by casting events across the United States and Puerto Rico in the spring of 2015.

“We are proud to start the search for the next great Latino boy band,” said Alberto Ciurana, president of programming and content for Univision Communications Inc. “There is vast talent in our community, and with La Banda, we will find and launch the next generation of musical superstars.”