2015 People's Choice Awards: Winners List

Jan 8, 2015, 9:41 AM ET

By MICHAEL ROTHMAN

MICHAEL ROTHMANMore From Michael »

Entertainment Reporter

 via GOOD MORNING AMERICA

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It was a "Big" night for "The Big Bang Theory" at the 2015 People's Choice Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday night.

The show picked up multiple honors, including Favorite TV show and Favorite Comedic TV Actress for its star Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting.

Ben Affleck also won Favorite Humanitarian for creating the Eastern Congo Initiative to help the people of that impoverished region.

Read: 2015 People's Choice Awards: 'The Big Bang Theory' Wins Big

Here's the rest of the winners list:

Favorite Humanitarian Ben Affleck

MOVIES

Favorite Movie "Maleficent"

Favorite Movie Actor Robert Downey Jr.

Favorite Movie Actress Jennifer Lawrence

Favorite Movie Duo Shailene Woodley & Theo James - "Divergent"

Favorite Action Movie "Divergent"

Favorite Action Movie Actor Chris Evans

Favorite Action Movie Actress Jennifer Lawrence

Favorite Comedic Movie "22 Jump Street"

Favorite Comedic Movie Actor Adam Sandler

Favorite Comedic Movie Actress Melissa McCarthy

Favorite Dramatic Movie "The Fault in Our Stars"

Favorite Dramatic Movie Actor Robert Downey Jr.

Favorite Dramatic Movie Actress Chloë Grace Moretz

Favorite Family Movie "Maleficent"

Favorite Thriller Movie "Gone Girl"

TV

Favorite TV Icon Betty White

Favorite TV Show "The Big Bang Theory"

Favorite Network TV Comedy "The Big Bang Theory"

Favorite Comedic TV Actor Chris Colfer

Favorite Comedic TV Actress Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting

Favorite Network TV Drama "Grey’s Anatomy"

Favorite Dramatic TV Actor Patrick Dempsey

Favorite Dramatic TV Actress Ellen Pompeo

Favorite Cable TV Comedy "Melissa & Joey"

Favorite Cable TV Drama "Pretty Little Liars"

Favorite Cable TV Actor Matt Bomer

Favorite Cable TV Actress Angie Harmon

Favorite TV Crime Drama "Castle"

Favorite Crime Drama TV Actor Nathan Fillion

Favorite Crime Drama TV Actress Stana Katic

Favorite Network Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show "Beauty and the Beast"

Favorite Cable Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Show "Outlander"

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actor Misha Collins

Favorite Sci-Fi/Fantasy TV Actress Kristin Kreuk

Favorite Competition TV Show "The Voice"

Favorite Daytime TV Host Ellen DeGeneres

Favorite Late Night Talk Show Host Jimmy Fallon

Favorite Dramedy "Orange Is the New Black"

Favorite TV Duo Nina Dobrev & Ian Somerhalder

Favorite TV Character We Miss Most Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang - "Grey’s Anatomy"

Favorite Actor In A New TV Series David Tennant

Favorite Actress In A New TV Series Viola Davis

Favorite Sketch Comedy TV Show "Saturday Night Live"

Favorite Animated TV Show "The Simpsons"

Favorite New TV Comedy "Jane the Virgin"

Favorite New TV Drama "The Flash"

MUSIC

Favorite Male Artist Ed Sheeran

Favorite Female Artist Taylor Swift

Favorite Group Maroon 5

Favorite Breakout Artist 5 Seconds of Summer

Favorite Male Country Artist Hunter Hayes

Favorite Female Country Artist Carrie Underwood

Favorite Country Group Lady Antebellum

Favorite Pop Artist Taylor Swift

Favorite Hip-Hop Artist Iggy Azalea

Favorite R&B Artist Pharrell Williams

Favorite Album "x" - Ed Sheeran

Favorite Song “Shake It Off” - Taylor Swift

Cosby not finding support in black community

By JESSE J. HOLLAND
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) - Bill Cosby hasn't been "America's dad" for years. For some blacks, he is the cranky uncle complaining about young African Americans who, in his view, dress and behave in a way that drags down their race.

The shift in perceptions of Cosby, from revered comedian to more of a public scold, may be costing him support in the black community as he battles decades-old accusations of drugging and sexually assaulting women.

Few people outside Cosby's circle of family and friends are rallying around him. Besides the gravity of the accusations, Cosby's own words may help explain why.

"He's asking people to pull up their pants and act right," said Fredrick Harris, director of the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University. "People are questioning, 'Why were you unzipping yours and pulling yours down?'"

More than 15 women have come forward since November claiming to have been drugged, sexually assaulted or both by Cosby, who has never been charged in connection with any of the allegations.

A 2005 lawsuit by a Pennsylvania woman was settled before it went to trial. Earlier this month, prosecutors in California declined to pursue charges against him in the case of Judy Huth, who claimed Cosby molested her 40 years ago. She is one of two women currently suing the entertainer.

Since his iconic sitcom "The Cosby Show" ended in the early 1990s, Cosby has moved away from the benign "Heathcliff Huxtable" father figure to a chastising curmudgeon, scolding African Americans for what he deemed irresponsible behavior.

The most famous of his critiques came in Washington, D.C. a decade ago during a commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Supreme Court's 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision, which declared segregated schools unconstitutional

.

Cosby cited a range of behaviors, from speech and attire to single-parent households and dropout rates as high as 50 percent in some cities. "Parenting is not going on," he said. Lower-income families are not "holding their end in this deal."

"I'm talking about these people who cry when their son is standing there in an orange suit," he elaborated. "Where were you when he was 2? Where were you when he was 12? Where were you when he was 18, and how come you don't know he had a pistol? And where is his father, and why don't you know where he is?"

Cosby's comments prompted spirited debate. Some commentators backed his call for greater personal responsibility, while others decried the harsh tone he invoked when talking about poorer blacks.

Now, Cosby's criticism may be causing younger blacks not to defend him, said Tamara Winfrey Harris, author of an upcoming book on black women and marriage. They don't have the connection and affection with Cosby that older blacks have.

"There are generations of young black kids," she said, "who didn't grow up with the Huxtables as the picture of the perfect black family."

"They don't see him as being on their side, so they're not on his," she said.

That was the attitude of 31-year-old comedian Hannibal Buress, who mentioned the accusations against Cosby during an October show in Philadelphia. That prompted the latest round of accusations from women.

"He gets on TV, 'Pull your pants up black people, I was on TV in the 80s! I can talk down to you because I had a successful sitcom!'" Buress said. "Yeah, but you rape women, Bill Cosby, so turn the crazy down a couple notches."

Hundreds of thousands of people later viewed the segment from Buress' performance in online videos.

Since the allegations emerged, NBC halted work on a Cosby sitcom that was under development. Netflix indefinitely postponed a special that was set to premiere last month. And at least 10 performances in Cosby's standup comedy tour were canceled.

Cosby's wife, Camille, stepped forward earlier this month to defend him. She called him kind, generous and a wonderful husband and father. "He is the man you thought you knew," she said.

Their daughter, Evin Cosby, similarly defended him on social media as "the FATHER you thought you knew."

Cosby himself tried to rally the black community to his side, saying he expected "our black media to uphold the standards of excellence in journalism, and when you do that you have to go in with a neutral mind."

That prompted Bob Butler, president of the National Association of Black Journalists, to immediately fire back, telling TMZ that, as journalists, "You don't go easier on a person with color."

Last week, Cosby's spokesman David Brokaw issued a statement denying Cosby expected special treatment from black media, expressing dismay with criticism by Georgetown University sociology professor Michael Eric Dyson, author of a book questioning Cosby's call for black social responsibility.

Some entertainers have defended Cosby. Actress/singer Jill Scott, a fellow Philadelphia native, said on Twitter she needed "substantiated proof when media/society is attempting to destroy a magnificent Legacy."

Comedian Whoopi Goldberg, co-host of ABC's "The View," said, "I hope somebody gets to the bottom of this, but I'm going to reserve my judgments because I have a lot of questions."

Some people may just not want to see Cosby as a sexual predator.

"A lot of people are loath to believe any of the allegations," Winfrey Harris said. "He's not, 'quote unquote,' that kind of person."

____

Follow Jesse J. Holland on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/jessejholland

Read more: http://www.cbs3springfield.com/story/27695516/cosby-not-finding-support-in-black-community#ixzz3Nzp36m2K

Sarah Palin on Pet Stepping Controversy: Well... Obama EATS Dogs!

Late last week, former Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin found herself in hot water after sharing what she believed to be a cute photo of son Trig and her family's dog.

But many animal advocates disagreed with this adorable assessment, blasting the ex-politician for allowing her child to harm her canine.

Now, in response, Palin has issued an apology and admitted she made a mistake...


... JUST KIDDING!!!

She's actually used the opportunity to blast PETA as an organization full of hypocrites, while also bringing President Barack Obama into the controversy.

Addressing PETA on Facebook yesterday, Palin wrote:

"Did you go as crazy when your heroic Man-of-Your-Lifetime, Barack Obama, revealed he actually enjoyed eating dead dog meat?"

Also also noted by a Mitt Romney staffer in 2012, Obama did mention that he dined on dog meat as a boy in Indonesia, labeling the delicacy as "touch" in his memoir, "Dreams From My Father."

Palin went on to accuse PETA of only calling out celebrities who don’t openly support their cause, adding that her family treats its dog better than many folks treat human beings.

Per TMZ, a rep for PETA fires back: “Palin's Facebook response shows us that she knows PETA about as well as she knows geography."

Ohhhh! It is on now, folks.

How NBC's The Voice Sold 20 Million Songs Without a Single Star

By Claire Suddath   December 03, 2014

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Courtesy NBC

Over the past three and a half years, people have downloaded songs from NBC’s The Voice more than 20 million times. That’s a lot of downloads. So many downloads, in fact, that when Lady Gaga hit the 20 million mark back in 2011 the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that she was the highest-certified digital artist ever.

It’s surprising that millions of people are downloading Voice songs, and not just because it means they’re paying amateur singers to cover existing songs that have already been recorded much more deftly by other artists. The Voice’s Matthew Schuler has a nice voice and all, but both Leonard Cohen and Jeff Buckley have all the “Hallelujahs” you’ll ever need. And what’s most surprising about the 20 million milestone is how successful The Voice has been at marketing its music without producing a star.

If you’re not a regular Voice viewer, have you heard of Javier Colon, Jermaine Paul, or Tessanne Chin? No, you haven’t. That’s because The Voice isn’t actually designed to discover a new pop star. The show, which pulls in close to 14 million viewers each week and is currently the most watched reality-TV program, works best as a vehicle for the judges’ careers. Blake Shelton was barely known outside of country music circles when the show made its debut in 2011; this year he brought in $10.3 million from album sales and touring, according to Billboard, putting him on par with the likes of Kanye West and John Mayer. Fellow judge Adam Levine’s band Maroon 5 made more than twice that.

STORY: Taylor Swift Is the Music Industry

“We have never made the promise of stardom,” Paul Telegdy, president of alternative and late night programming at NBC, recently told Billboard. Commercials for the show advertise the judges, not the contest. And while American Idol’s promotions still peddle the promise that the show can make aspiring singers’ dreams come true, The Voice prefers to cast Betty White as its golden-voiced discovery.

American Idol doesn’t release its track sales the way The Voice does, so it’s hard to compare the two shows’ sales. And The Voice’s numbers don’t include sales of songs released by contestants after they have won the show, so these numbers aren’t pitting its still relatively unknown stars against, say, Kelly Clarkson. Still, Idol has been in an undeniable slump in recent seasons; in August, Caleb Johnson had the lowest album sales of any Idol winner, at just 11,000 copies of Testify sold in the first week. Yet that’s not as low as The Voice’s season five winner, Tessanne Chin, who sold 7,000 copies of her debut, Count on My Love, in July.

Even so, The Voice’s popularity keeps growing. And it’s surging during a time when record labels find it increasingly difficult to expose audiences to new music.According to the Atlantic, Top 40 stations play popular songs about twice as often as they did a decade ago, leaving very little room for new artists looking to break out. What’s more, when people listen to music they almost always seek out songs they’ve heard before.

BLOG: Why Manufacturing Will Resemble the Music Industry

Maybe that’s why shows like Idol and The Voice do so well: People feel like they’re discovering new artists even though they’re listening to the same old tunes.

STORY: Beyoncé's Business Genius by the Numbers

China's Second Hand Rose Tours the USA - America's musicians not that impressive

Posted by chris@gfm.fm

Chris B asked Liang Long, frontman for Second Hand Rose, some questions after their recent tour of the US.  Second Hand Rose are a Chinese rock band who exploded onto the Beijing band scene in 2000.  Their unique combination of Chinese and Western sounds and their hyperbolic visual spectacles have earned them a reputation as one of the best live bands in mainland China.

You guys have just been on your first tour of the States, can you share with us any highlights of this tour?

The success of the tour is within our expectation. But it also exceeded our expectations. We never doubt our music. We had a vision at the very beginning that our music style is aimed at international stages. It was really motivating to see audiences in the States enjoying our gigs so much. What came beyond our expectation is that ethnic Chinese show much more interest about local contemporary culture than ever before. Of course it is mostly due to the mass media coverage.

What did you learn about your bandmates that you didn't know before?

There’s still long way to go to keep the band professional. Some members didn’t prepare well enough for oversea touring.  We need to have better problem solving skills to act quickly for unexpected situations. But of course we mean what goes on backstage. I think we did quite well on the stage, even more relaxed than many of our gigs in mainland China.

Are there any musicians or bands that you guys would like to collaborate with?
Yes, we prefer musician that’s more challenging. We are preparing for that.

What did you learn about the US?
We found the possibility of interaction through cultural differences.

I think it’s the same reaction during gigs. They all enjoyed our music. The slightly differences with  Americans probably being attracted by the uniqueness of sound and visual effect on stage; whereas Chinese audiences feel  proud of the familiar sounds and reminded them of their hometown.

You guys have been a band for over 14 years.  When it comes to songwriting, how do you guys work?   Does someone bring in a melody?  Or do you Liang, write the lyrics first?  How do you guys work together to create your songs?

I wrote all the lyrics and melodies before 2008, and we did the arrangements together. Our creation process shifted  to group creation gradually. Although lyrics are  still written by me, we stepped out of the traditional structure and experimented on new melodies. Our band members have been more creative on the song arrangements. Now we work as a team to create our songs, so we are all part of the creation team.

Sony’s Amy Pascal and Scott Rudin Apologize for Racially Insensitive Remarks About President Obama

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The leaked emails “are not an accurate reflection of who I am,” Pascal says in a statement

Sony Pictures co-chariman Amy Pascal and producer Scott Rudinapologized Thursday for racially insensitive remarks they wrote about President Obama in emails that were leaked and published online.

“The content of my emails were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am,” Pascal said in a statement, adding that “although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended.”

Also read: Golden Globes 2015: The Nominees (Photos)

Rudin issued an apology via Deadline:

“Private emails between friends and colleagues written in haste and without much thought or sensitivity, even when the content of them is meant to be in jest, can result in offense where none was intended,” he told Deadline. “I made a series of remarks that were meant only to be funny, but in the cold light of day, they are in fact thoughtless and insensitive — and not funny at all. To anybody I’ve offended, I’m profoundly and deeply sorry, and I regret and apologize for any injury they might have caused.”

Charlo Greene, Alaska television reporter and pot activist, investigated

MEMPHIS TN (IFS) --  A long long time ago about 1967-1973, Alaska was the only state to let it's population grow marijuana, but was bullied by President Nixon, if they did not stop it, he would not give them their equal share of Highway tax dollars.  The state caved in, and now you have Ms. Greene carrying the water for the whole state.  Alaska, you know you want it!  Get real!


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A campaign-finance investigation is moving forward against an Alaska television reporter who quit her job on-air and vowed to work toward legalizing marijuana.

 The Alaska Public Offices Commission wants to know whether Charlo Greene used crowdsourcing funds to advocate for a ballot initiative to legalize recreational pot use. Greene challenged the commission's request for documents.

 The commission on Wednesday rejected her objection to a subpoena, the Alaska Dispatch News (http://ow.ly/EZQhr) reported. That gives the agency the authority to continue the investigation to determine whether money that was spent would trigger reporting requirements. Greene, whose legal name is Charlene Egbe, said the order should be worrisome to those who take a stand on any issue.

 "If you publish your personal stance on any issue, then this government agency believes they have the authority to ask for emails, bank-account information, all of your records," she said. "That's scary." The commission is unfairly targeting her, she added. During a live newscast in September, she revealed herself to be the owner of a medical marijuana business and quit her job with a four-letter tirade. Soon after quitting, she launched an IndieGoGo online fundraising campaign to continue her fight for marijuana legalization.

The effort raised more than $8,400. The commission notes that she hasn't been found in violation of the law. "But without a reasonable investigation, no determination can be reached," the commission wrote in a three-page order. Greene said the campaign should not be subject to reporting requirements because it was fundraising for her organization, the Alaska Cannabis Club, not for passing Ballot Measure 2.

The agency cited examples where they believed her campaign was advocating for the initiative. Alaska and Oregon this month joined Washington and Colorado as states approving legal pot. ___ Information from: Alaska Dispatch News, http://www.adn.com