July through September 2022

ldyjocelyn · August 22, 2022

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Wheel Of Fortune Live! Announces Mark L. Walberg and Clay Aiken as Hosts of 2022 North American Tour Dates

DOWNLOAD HEADSHOTS: MARK L. WALBERG + CLAY AIKEN

“Wheel of Fortune LIVE!,” an all-new theatrical experience, announces Mark L. Walberg – longtime host of PBS’ Antique Roadshow – and American Idol standout Clay Aiken have joined the production as rotating show hosts on the upcoming 60+ date tour. Alongside Walberg and Aiken, actress Kalpana Pot joins the show as the touring co-host, and LA Dodgers stadium host and long-time radio personality Dave Styles joins the cast as the show announcer.

Kicking off in Owensboro, KY on Thurs., Sept. 8, this all-new live stage show is the one-and-only way fans can experience America’s Game® in person outside of Sony Pictures Studios, and it’s right in their hometown theater.

“Like most of America, I’ve been a Wheel fan for decades! Being able to bring America’s Game to your hometown is truly a dream come true,” says Mark L. Walberg. “I can’t wait to celebrate Wheel of Fortune with fans from all over the country and, as a bonus, help to make you all winners!"

Clay Aiken added, “I've been a part of some of America's biggest competitions, so now it's especially exciting to get to be a part of "America's Game!" And, it's even more exciting to get to be a part of handing out the amazing prizes this time! Being able to host ‘Wheel of Fortune’ on tour is such an honor and I can't wait to watch so many people win!"

Suzanne Prete, Executive Vice President of Game Shows, Sony Pictures Television, said, “We had to be very careful about who we trusted to bring the spirit of our beloved game show out of the studio and into theaters across the country. We hope the fans enjoy the energy Mark, Clay, Kalpana, and Dave will bring to this new theatrical experience.”

At “Wheel of Fortune LIVE!” guests can try out to go on stage and feel like they stepped onto the stage of one of the greatest game shows of all time. Players will have the chance to spin a replica of the iconic Wheel and solve the puzzles on the tour’s puzzleboard to win fantastic prizes including up to $10,000 in cash, a trip to Paris, Hawaii and more at every show! Additionally, hundreds of audience members will get in on the action by winning cash and prizes.

The full tour schedule is listed below. Tickets and VIP Packages are available now. Visit WheelofFortuneLive.com for how to earn early access, premiere seats, pre-show lounge access and photo opportunities to Spin the Wheel.

Wheel of Fortune Live! is produced by Right Angle Entertainment in partnership with Sony Pictures Television and UTA.

WHEEL OF FORTUNE LIVE! TOUR DATES:

Thu, Sep 8 | River Center | Owensboro, KY*

Fri, Sep 9 | Fox Theatre | St. Louis, MO*

Sat, Sep 10 | Clowes Memorial Hall | Indianapolis, IN*

Tue, Sep 13 | Orpheum Theatre | Memphis, TN*

Wed, Sep 14 | Concert Hall At The BJCC | Birmingham, AL*

Thu, Sep 15 | Wilson Center | Wilmington, NC*

Fri, Sep 16 | Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel and Casino | Cherokee, NC*

Sat, Sep 17 | Harrah’s Cherokee Hotel and Casino | Cherokee, NC*

Mon, Sep 19 | Ovens Auditorium | Charlotte, NC*

Tue, Sep 20 | Fox Theatre | Atlanta, GA*

Wed, Sep 21 | Berglund Performing Arts Theatre | Roanoke, VA*

Thu, Sep 22 | Carpenter Theater | Richmond, VA*

Fri, Sep 23 | Capital One Hall | Tysons, VA*

Sat, Sep 24 | The HALL at Live! | Hanover MD*

Sun, Sep 25 | The HALL at Live! | Hanover, MD*

Wed, Sept 28 | Knoxville Civic Auditorium | Knoxville, TN*

Thu, Sep 29 | Paramount Arts Center | Ashland, KY*

Fri, Sep 30 | Palace Theatre | Columbus, OH*

Sun, Oct 02 | Wind Creek Event Center | Bethlehem, PA*

Wed, Oct 05 | Count Basie Center for the Arts | Red Bank, NJ*

Thu, Oct 06 | The Academy of Music at the Kimmel Center - The Academy | Philadelphia, PA*

Fri, Oct 07 | Tilles Center for the Performing Arts | Brookville, NY*

Sat, Oct 08 | The Palace Theatre | Stamford, CT*

Sun, Oct 09 | The Bushnell – Mortensen Hall | Hartford, CT*

Tue, Oct 11 | Providence Performing Arts Center | Providence, RI*

Wed, Oct 12 | Lynn Auditorium | Lynn, MA*

Thu, Oct 13 | Merrill Auditorium | Portland, ME+

Fri, Oct 14 | Landmark Theatre | Syracuse, NY+

Sat, Oct 15 | Palace Theatre | Albany, NY+

Sun, Oct 16 | Ulster Performing Arts Center | Kingston, NY+

Tue, Oct 18 | Kodak Center Theatre | Rochester, NY+

Wed, Oct 19 | Warner Theatre | Erie, PA+

Thu, Oct 20 | Taft Theatre | Cincinnati, OH+

Fri, Oct 21 | EJ Thomas Performing Arts Hall | Akron, OH+

Sat, Oct 22 | Fox Theatre | Detroit, MI+

Sun, Oct 23 | Rosemont Theatre | Rosemont, IL+

Wed, Oct 26 | Hancher Auditorium | Iowa City, IA+

Fri, Oct 28 | Cheyenne Civic Center | Cheyenne, WY+

Thu, Nov 03 | Tucson Music Hall | Tucson, AZ+

Fri, Nov 04 | Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino | Maricopa, AZ+

Sat, Nov 05 | Harrah’s Ak-Chin Casino | Maricopa, AZ+

Sun, Nov 06 | Harrah’s Resort Southern California | Funner, CA+

Wed, Nov 09 | Bank of America PAC – Kavli Theatre | Thousand Oaks, CA+

Thu, Nov 10 | Saroyan Theatre | Fresno, CA+

Sat, Nov 12 | Cache Creek Casino Resort | Brooks, CA (2 shows)+

Sun, Nov 13 | Cache Creek Casino Resort | Brooks, CA+

Tue, Nov 15 | Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall | Portland, OR+

Wed, Nov 16 | Paramount Theatre | Seattle, WA+

Fri, Nov 18 | Redding Civic Auditorium | Redding, CA+

Sat, Nov 19 | The Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resort | Reno, NV (2 Shows)+

Tue, Nov 22 | Alberta Bair Theater | Billings, MT+

Fri, Nov 25 | Muriel Kauffman Theatre | Kansas City, MO+

Sat, Nov 26 | Bellco Theatre | Denver, CO+

Sun, Nov 27 | Orpheum Theater | Omaha, NE+

Wed, Nov 30 | Washington Pavilion of Arts and Science, Mary W. Sommervold Hall | Sioux Falls, SD*

Sat, Dec 03 | Deadwood Mountain Grand | Deadwood, SD*

Tue, Dec 06 | Overture Center for the Arts | Madison, WI*

Wed, Dec 07 | Miller High Life Theatre | Milwaukee, WI*

Thu, Dec 08 | Des Moines Civic Center | Des Moines, IA*

Fri, Dec 09 | Mystic Lake Casino - Showroom | Prior Lake, MN*

Sat, Dec 10 | Mystic Lake Casino - Showroom | Prior Lake, MN*

* denotes show with Mark L. Walberg as host

+ denotes show with Clay Aiken as host

FOLLOW WHEEL OF FORTUNE LIVE!:

Tickets: wheeloffortunelive.com/home/#dates-tickets

Website: wheeloffortunelive.com

Facebook: facebook.com/wheeloffortunelive

Instagram: instagram.com/wheeloffortunelive/

Hashtag: #WheelofFortuneLive

ABOUT MARK L. WALBERG:

Mark L. Walberg has been an American television personality for decades. Mark is best known as the long-time host of Antiques Roadshow – PBS’s highest-rated, prime-time original program. He has hosted and been featured in an array of popular talk, reality competition, and game shows, including the FOX hit The Moment of Truth. He also has hosted home improvement competitions The Mansion and House Rules, knowledge quiz shows Test the Nation and Russian Roulette, the California state lottery program Make Me A Millionaire. Mark can be seen currently as host of the USA Network’s Temptation Island.

ABOUT CLAY AIKEN:

Clay Aiken most recently starred on Broadway, alongside Ruben Studdard, in Ruben & Clay’s First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show at the Imperial Theater. The New York Times called the production ‘A Christmas Miracle’. This came ten years after Clay’s critically lauded Broadway debut in Monty Python's Spamalot. On the heels of Idol, he became the first artist in history to have his first single debut at #1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. His subsequent album, Measure Of A Man, also debuted at #1 with the highest first week sales by a debut artist. His 2004 holiday release, Merry Christmas With Love, set a record for the fastest selling holiday album of the SoundScan era and remains tied for the highest charting debut of a holiday album in Billboard history. He served 9 years as a UNICEF Ambassador and in 2003, he co-founded, with Diane Bubel, what is now the National Inclusion Project to advocate and increase opportunities for children with disabilities to be included in extracurricular activities (such as summer camps and after-school programs) with their non-disabled peers. Additional TV appearances include: 30 Rock, The Office, Scrubs, Days Of Our Lives, and Law & Order: SVU. Additional 2nd place finishes include: The Celebrity Apprentice in 2012 and the NC 2nd District US House race in 2014. Beyond all of his successes (and near successes) his proudest accomplishment remains his son, Parker.

ABOUT RIGHT ANGLE ENTERTAINMENT:

Right Angle Entertainment specializes in the production, marketing, management and distribution of live theatrical, digital and concert events. RAE’s proud roster includes: America's Got Talent Live!, The Price is Right LIVE!, The Masked Singer National Tour, The Simon & Garfunkel Story, The Office! A Musical Parody (New York City and National Tour), Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer: The Musical, Together Live with Abby Wambach and Glennon Doyle, Sasha Velour’s Smoke & Mirrors Tour, among many others.

ABOUT WHEEL OF FORTUNE:

Trademarked as America’s Game™, Wheel of Fortune has earned seven Emmy Awards including a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Game/Audience Participation Show. Wheel of Fortune is produced by Sony Pictures Television, a Sony Pictures Entertainment Company. It is distributed domestically by CBS Media Ventures and internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution, both divisions of Paramount.

ABOUT UTA:

UTA Music is at the forefront of culture with a client roster that ranges from timeless icons to rising hitmakers. Its full-service representation maximizes opportunities not only in music, but across television, film, video games, digital, publishing, fashion, and other business verticals. Over the past several years the music group has significantly expanded into numerous areas including music brand partnerships, music crossover, tour marketing, music innovation, and electronic music with the acquisitions of Echo Location Talent Agency and Circle Talent Agency. UTA works with a wide range of established and emerging artists across all genres of the industry, including Post Malone, Lizzo, Lil Nas X, deadmau5, Bad Bunny, YG, The Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato, Marshmello, Bebe Rexha, The Pussycat Dolls, Common, Tyga, Offset, Lil Wayne, Burna Boy, Halsey, Guns N’ Roses, Muse, Paramore, Machine Gun Kelly, James Blake, Florence and the Machine, Tierra Whack, Toby Keith, Jamey Johnson, Midland, Romeo Santos, Alesso, Dirty Honey, Jimmie Allen, Train, My Morning Jacket, Tori Kelly, Young The Giant, Jamiroquai, and 21 Savage, among many others.

PRESS CONTACTS:

Jaclyn D. Carter | Shore Fire Media | jcarter@shorefire.com

Andrea Evenson | Shore Fire Media | aevenson@shorefire.com

Maria Eilert | Shore Fire Media | meilert@shorefire.com

BOOKING CONTACTS:

Joe Wohlfeld | UTA | Wohlfeld_J@unitedtalent.com

Darius Sabet | UTA | Sabet_D@unitedtalent.com

ldyjocelyn · September 4, 2022

heavy.com

Is ‘American Idol’ Rigged? New TV Show Unearths Voting Fraud Claims

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Is ‘American Idol’ Rigged? New TV Show Unearths Voting Fraud Claims

By Liv Lane

Updated Sep 1, 2022 at 10:51am

AXS TVMusic's Greatest Mysteries on AXS TV

Anew TV show digs into conspiracy theories from the early years of “American Idol,” aiming to answer the question of whether the show is — or ever was — rigged.

On August 31, 2022, AXS TV aired the season 2 premiere of “Music’s Greatest Mysteries,” featuring a panel of music journalists who weighed in on conspiracy theories and claims of fraud that have long plagued one of television’s longest-running talent competitions.

‘American Idol’ Tiptoed Around Game Show Rules

GettyClay Aiken and Ruben Studdard during “American Idol” finale in 2003

Whenever a new “American Idol” winner is crowned, there are typically fans of other contestants who loudly claim the votes were rigged, but the accusations usually die down within weeks. However, “Music’s Greatest Mysteries” looked into two controversies that are still debated more than a decade later.

“Some of the outcomes have been questionable,” music journalist Steven Ivory told producers.

Despite the Communications Act of the 1960s that banned cheating on TV game shows, thanks to the scandal involving contestants on “Twenty-One,” the government declined to create any new rules for “American Idol,” which experts on the AXS TV series said was just different enough from TV game shows to not have any specific boundaries drawn when it came to setting up voting.

In 2002, no one was truly shocked that Kelly Clarkson won the inaugural title over Justin Guarini. But in the second season, Yahoo Entertainment music columnist Lyndsey Parker said “conspiracy theories went into overdrive.”

Clay Aiken was considered the favorite to win the competition in 2003, so many fans were stunned when Ruben Studdard won instead. Making matters worse, the “Music Mysteries” show revealed, was that host Ryan Seacrest gave viewers the wrong numbers when trying to reveal the margin by which Studdard had won.

At one point, the young host said it was by a margin of just 1,300 votes, then he said it was 13,000 votes. And days later, Fox claimed the correct number was actually 130,000 votes that separated Studdard and Aiken.

Though nothing concrete about voting fraud was ever uncovered that year, there are still fans who think it was rigged. In the end, Aiken wound up being more successful than Studdard right after the show. According to the Greensboro News & Record, Aiken’s first single sold more copies, his debut album hit stores first and it sold more copies than Ruben’s.

Show Reveals How Phone Company May Have Swayed the Vote

GettySingers Kris Allen and Adam Lambert appear outside NBC’s “Today” Show in 2009

In “Music’s Greatest Mysteries,” music journalist Ivory called “the Adam Lambert versus Kris Allen situation” during season 8 the worst case of possible fraud in the show’s history.

“Every week Adam Lambert was knocking ’em dead but Kris Allen ends up winning,” he said.

After the grand finale in 2009, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette revealed that “American Idol” sponsor AT&T may have swayed the vote toward Allen, who was from Conway, Arkansas. Most viewers had to cast their votes by calling a number on their TV screen, but AT&T customers were allowed to text their votes.

In “Music’s Greatest Mysteries,” the expert panel talked about how AT&T customers could “power vote” by voting for the same contestant up to 10 times per text. In addition, viewing parties were held in Arkansas — but not in Adam Lambert’s home state of California — where AT&T reps handed out sample phones and showed people how to text in their votes for free.

Fox and AT&T denied any wrongdoing and insisted all voting tabulations were fair. But New York Z100 radio host Maxwell still can’t believe what went down that year.

“AT&T salesmen literally went to Kris Allen viewing parties and taught fans how to power vote,” he said. “There was, in fact, one person who had said that he had voted nearly 11,000 times.”

Parker added, “I don’t know if it makes ‘American Idol’ criminal, but it definitely makes it shady.”

The potential fraud was a huge controversy at the time, and Lambert’s fans were incredibly upset. But Lambert and Allen had become close friends on the show, and both have enjoyed success.

Allen’s first single, “Live Like We’re Dying” sold more than a million copies in 2009, and despite some setbacks along the way, he continues to release new music, often tours with fellow “Idol” winner David Cook, and is also a dad. Lambert, meanwhile, became the frontman for the iconic band Queen two years after “Idol,” just wrapped up their latest tour, and has had a very successful career as a solo artist, too.

No other “Idol” controversies were explored in the new episode of “Music’s Greatest Mysteries.” The season premiere also explores whether legendary performer Sam Cooke was murdered, and delves into the love life of 1980s rocker Pat Benatar.