Selena Gomez and The Band Perry Perform

Dancing with the Stars Watch: Selena Gomez and The Band Perry Perform

Welcome back to Dancing with the Stars, where sass, Spandex, and sparkle are all encouraged. Last night, in a sadistic match-up concocted by the evil dance mastermind Judge Len Goodman, the nine remaining couples danced side-by-side and head-to-head with professionals who upstaged the stars with far better dance skills than they could ever hope to achieve. Was it meant to inspire? Or humiliate? Only Len knows for sure. Regardless, some stars, like Super Bowl champ Jacoby Jones, Disney teen star Zendaya Coleman and American Idol alum Kellie Pickler all rose to the occasion, while comedian DL Hughley and actor Ingo Rademacher buckled under pressure. Zendaya is probably safe as she scored the season’s first tens. Joining her on the winners’ dais is undoubtedly Andy Dick who earned the honor by soaring in on a zipline dressed like Zorro. Everyone else is potentially on the chopping block.

Here’s what happened on Dancing with the Stars:

Best Opening Number: Fear not, Daft Punk fans, while the new album is still playing hard to get – and the band failed to make a “surprise” appearance at Coachella – we’ll always have Dancing with the Stars doing their best Daft Punk impersonation complete with helmets, electro-dance music, and wild light shows.

Tit For Tat: Country singer Kellie Pickler was announced safe (and still good at faking surprise) while General Hospital star Ingo Rademacher was told he was in jeopardy (and showed skill at pretending to be stunned).

Repeat Performance: Jacoby Jones and Karina Smirnoff were asked for an instant replay of their swinging jive, which co-starred Maks Chermkovskiy and Ana Trebunskaya. Once again, Jacoby managed to remember all his steps, but forgot to wear a shirt. He also proved, once again, that he is superhuman by leaping over Karina in a single bound. Who does that?

Worst Segue: After forcing us all to sit through what may have been an ad for the Run Pee app, starring boxer Victor Ortiz, host Tom Bergeron announced that even after that public humiliation, Victor was in jeopardy.

Must See TV: After a behind-the-scenes clip showed doting older brother Maks Chmerkovskiy helping his little brother Val stretch while dressed “like a gondola driver” and whining, host Tom opined that the Chermkovskiy brothers would make great fodder for a reality show. It’s probably already in development.

(MORE: Dancing with the Stars Watch: Zorro on a Zipline)

Best Country Performance On The Show Tonight: The Band Perry –comprised of siblings Kimberly, Reid and Neil Perry – performed their song “Better Dig Two.”

Smells Like Team Spirit: Next week, the contestants divide up into two teams led by this season’s two highest scorers: Kellie and Zendaya. While we teams haven’t been picked yet, all we know is that Team Paso will dance to Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground,” Team Samba will dance to “Superstition” and Derek Hough knows to “plead the fifth” when he doesn’t know what else to say.

Best Team To Root For: While host Brooke Burke-Charvat was chit-chatting about next week’s team challenge, Andy Dick told her that he hoped he and Kellie would be on the same team so they could call it “Team Pickler Dick.” While Brooke chided him, “You can’t say that…” it was easy to tell that, halfway through the sentence, Brooke remembered that “Dick” is actually Andy’s last name.

Best Disney Star Turned Spring Breaker: Selena Gomez offered up an Indian-themed number that would make Bollywood enthusiast Derek Hough proud (minus the sloppy dance moves). What her song “Come and Get It” had to do with wearing a bindi and sari and henna tattoos is unclear. Perhaps it was a diversionary tactic to distract people from noticing her lip-syncing?

Best News All Night: Andy is safe, so the dream of Team Pickler Dick continues to live on. However, when it comes to DWTS and comedians, much like in The Highlander, there can be only one, so with Andy safe, that meant DL Hughley was at the bottom.

Bottom Three: Ingo, Victor, and DL made up this week’s trinity of sadness.

Who Went Home: DL Hughley. After his initial low scores, verbal sparring with the judges, occasionally caustic attitude, and accusations of unfair treatment, his departure was as inevitable as a Chmerkovskiy brothers reality show.

Best Reason to Come Back: Stevie Wonder, the music and the man, will be the stars of the show next week.

The Band Perry collaborate with cupcake company

Country music group THE BAND PERRY has joined forces with a cupcake company to create a delicious treat inspired by one of the band's tracks.
The trio, siblings Kimberly, Reid and Neil Perry, teamed up with bakers at Gigi's Cupcakes for the Very Perry Chocolate Cherry cupcake, which was named after lyrics from their song I'm A Keeper.
Lead singer Kimberly says, "When we heard that we might have a Gigi's cupcake named after us, we knew right away what the flavor would be. There is a song on our new album that has a line in it that says, 'I'm gonna change my name to Cherry...' so we decided that the cupcake had to be some kind of a cherry cupcake."
The musicians had great fun picking out the final flavor for their baked treat as Neil explains, "When Gigi brought the cupcakes by for us to taste them, she provided two cherry versions for us to sample and then offer our opinions on. I really couldn't tell after trying the first one, so I had to eat several just to make sure. You know, quality control and all."
Company founder Gina 'Gigi' Butler adds, "I'm so excited to be working with The Band Perry. They are very talented and we had a blast creating the Very Perry Chocolate Cherry cupcake. Our fans are going to love it - just as much as Kimberly, Reid and Neil do!"
The band's cupcake creation will be sold in Gigi's Cupcakes stores each Friday and Saturday throughout April (13).

Justin Timberlake holds No. 1 over The Band Perry

Justin Timberlake holds No. 1 over The Band Perry on Billboard 200

 
Justin Timberlake’s “The 20/20 Experience” spends a third week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album sales chart. It sold 139,000 copies, down 56% over the week previous.

The Band Perry, therefore, is at No. 2 with 129,000 copies sold of its new “Pioneer.” That makes it the best sales and charting week for the country band; their previous self-titled set from 2010 made it to No. 4 with 53,000.

At No. 3 is Tyler, The Creator’s new solo set “Wolf,” debuting with 89,000 – a best for him as well. The Odd Future rapper’s 2011 album “Goblin” peaked at No. 5 with 45,000.

Blake Shelton’s “Based on a True Story” falls No. 3 to No. 4 (82,000, -59%) while Lil Wayne’s “I Am Not a Human Being II” slips No. 2 to No. 5 (68,000, -69%).

New Kids on the Block’s new “10” bows at No. 6 with 51,000. Their last set “NKOTBSB”– with Backstreet Boys – made it to No. 7 in 2011, and before that 2008’s “The Block” earned No. 2.

Killswitch Engage’s “Disarm the Descent” matches its previous charting best at No. 7. Their 2009 self-titled set made it there with 58,000; this fresh one from the rockers moved 48,000.

Imagine Dragons’ “Night Visions” sits at No. 8 (37,000, -20%), Pink’s “The Truth About Love” descends No. 7 to No. 9 (37,000, -24%) and Bruno Mars’ “Unorthodox Jukebox” moves No. 9 to No. 10 (36,000, -24%).

Album sales are down 13% compared to last week and down 12% compared to the same week last year. Sales are down 5% for the year so far.

The Band Perry brings country energy

The Band Perry brings country energy to 25,000 at New York State Fair's Chevy Court

"Country music," Kimberly Perry declared Sunday night at the New York State Fairgrounds' overstuffed Chevy Court, "is the people's music."

Many thousands of fans agreed with the lead singer for oh-so-popular The Band Perry. At one point, she estimated that she and brothers Neil and Reid were sharing their music with 15,000 fans. Fair officials estimated it at 25,000 as people stood dozens deep on the sides of the grassy court, packed the picnic area behind the bleacher seats and climbed on higher concrete anywhere they could find it on the surrounding buildings. Three screens at TV booths showed the action in addition to the screen to side of the stage.

What they saw is Kimberly Perry owning the night. While introducing her brothers, youngest Neil on mandolin and middle kid of the East Tennessee clan Reid on bass, Kimberly called herself the bossy oldest sister and the spitfire of the group.

Great choice of words.

With big and pretty voice always and work on an acoustic guitar for some songs, Kimberly Perry shined like a bright star. From the opener, "Sugar Sugar" to the band's first single "Hip to My Heart" to love songs "Miss You Being Gone" and "Walk Me Down the Middle," she had the crowd hanging on every word.

The Band Perry sprinkled the 75-minute set with well-chosen and superbly placed cover songs, too, including snippets from Tom Petty's "Free Fallin' '' a medley of classic "American Pie," "Jack and Diane" and "Me and Bobby McGee" and a rollicking turn on Queen's "Fat Bottomed Girls."

They tested a new song, "It Burns for You," and the cheering crowd gave the love song a thumb's up. Latest single "Postcards from Paris" was a favorite, too.

Of course, they also had the big hit that brought them into America's lives, the song heard everywhere in 2010, "If I Die Young." The crowd easily passed the sing-it-alone test on that one, thundering verses into the night as the video for the bittersweet instant classic flashed on three cool video screens the band brought for behind them.

They started the encore with a snippet from the Fun. song "We Are Young." So true, and the perfect lead in to "Night Gone Wasted" laced with the Beatles' classic "With a Little Help from My Friends" and the rousing closer, "You Lie."

The Band Perry to perform at State Fair

The Band Perry to perform at State Fair

The New York State Fair has filled the last spot in its Chevy Court lineup with the Band Perry, which will perform at 8 p.m. Sept. 2.
The group's 2010 single, "If I Die Young,"was certified quadruple platinum. The band also won new artist of the year awards in 2011 at the American Country Music Awards and the Country Music Association Awards. This year it was nominated for a Grammy for best new artist and for American country music vocal group of the year. Along with "If I Die Young," its singles include "You Lie,""All Your Life" and "Postcard From Paris." Its second studio album is to be released this fall.

The fair runs Aug. 23 to Sept. 3. All shows on Chevy Court are free with fair admission, which is $10. Children 12 and under are admitted free every day of the fair. Students 16 and under are admitted free on Aug. 31. Senior Citizens Days are Aug. 27 and 28, when all people 60 years and older are admitted free.
The Fair offers several concert venues during its run. National acts perform ticketed shows at the Grandstand, and free shows at Chevy Court. National, regional and local artists perform during the Midway Music Series, and regional acts get their own showcase at the Regional Artists Variety Stage.
Chevy Court, Midway and Regional Artist series shows are free with Fair admission.
“Being able to offer a wide variety of free entertainment in this economy gives Fairgoers more opportunity to enhance their experience,” Dan O’Hara, director of the State Fair, said in a news release.
Chevy Court began a new format last summer that finds two national acts performing each day -- one at 2 p.m., another at 8 p.m. The afternoon concerts are typically aimed at seniors and families; the evening performances often feature adult-oriented acts.
The Midway Music Series showcases up-and-coming performers, and also is an opportunity to have national artists and local bands perform on the same stage, O’Hara said.
The series debuted last year as the Talent Showcase Stage with six concerts, which included Andy Grammar and former lead Guns N’ Roses guitarist Buckethead.
This year, the number of shows in the revamped and renamed Midway series has been expanded to nine. Among the acts scheduled to perform are singer-songwriter Tyler Hilton, who gained attention through performances on CW’s “One Tree Hill,” Central New York’s Grateful Dead tribute band Dark Hollow, and alternative-pop group Wallpaper, with opener AM & Shawn Lee.

Rascal Flatts, the Band Perry

Rascal Flatts, the Band Perry + More to Appear on ‘A Very Special Christmas 25th Anniversary’ Album

Rascal Flatts and the Band Perry will join a host of music stars to bring the joy of Christmas to those less fortunate this year. The country music representatives will appear on the upcoming ‘A Very Special Christmas 25th Anniversary’ album to raise money for the Special Olympics.
Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Christina Aguilera, Dave Matthews, Michael Buble, Jason Mraz, One Republic and Train will also appear on the collection, which marks the 25th anniversary of a series of releases dating back to 1987. To date, the series has raised more than $100 million for the Special Olympics.
The new collection is slated to drop on Oct. 16 from Big Machine Records. The label announced the release date at a press conference Monday (Aug. 6) at Nashville’s Blackbird Studio, which is owned by super-producer John McBride and his wife, country star Martina McBride.
“This 25th anniversary will be the biggest year in the history of this series,” Special Olympics CEO Tim Shriver tells Billboard. “This is music that continues to sell. People buy it. They enjoy it. They think it’s just great Christmas music, but it’s more than that. It’s changing the world.”

The Band Perry Bobbleheads

The Band Perry Bobbleheads Commemorate Siblings' Success

 

The Band Perry returned home last week to enjoy America's favorite pastime and raise some dough for the United Way. Thursday (June 28), the sibling trio took in a baseball game in their hometown of Greeneville, Tenn., and played a private, acoustic concert for 200 guests prior to the first pitch.

"We love small towns and we especially love our small town," Kimberly Perry says. "Performing for our friends and neighbors and raising money for United Way at the same time meant a lot to us."

To celebrate the return of the hometown heroes, the team -- which is a Rookie-level affiliate of the Houston Astros -- created custom bobbleheads (pictured above) of the threesome. Each attendees received their own, and one dollar of each ticket sold benefited the United Way.

The trio even had the chance to take the field, throwing out the game's first pitch. After that, they chatted it up with the team's General Manager David Lane, and owner Scott Niswonger.

"It was an honor to spend time with Mr. Niswonger and Mr. Lane and be a part of such a special evening in the community," Reid Perry recalls.

"We were excited about throwing out the first pitch at the game!" adds Neil Perry. "We love sports and even though we are baseball rookies we had a blast on the field with the professionals."

The Band Perry didn't get to spend a lot time at home. After the game, they were back on the bus and headed out on tour with Brad Paisley. They're headed to Canada next, stopping in Calgary on July 14. See their full concert schedule here.