Reality television blossomed after “Survivor” debuted in 2000 and has expanded into dozens of sub genres. Music shows. Paranormal activities. Auctions and pawn shops. Weddings.a

Three new shows debut Tuesday aping particular archetypes – all with metro Atlanta ties and all targeting women.

Let’s break them down:

“The Sisterhood”9 p.m. Tuesday TLC

Descriptive style: Bring ladies with strong personalities together and let the fur fly!

A gentler cousin to: “The Real Housewives of Atlanta.” “Mob Wives.” “Basketball Wives.”

What makes this one special: The focus is on five diverse metro Atlanta women who are preacher’s wives. As a result, the women say they are held to higher standards. This means no cursing and physical violence, as seen on other shows, but they do get into verbal fisticuffs. Early standout is Tara Y. Lewis, whom another cast member dubs “bananas.”

Quotes: “People expect me to have it all together. I should never struggle. I should never go through …

Continue reading Three Atlanta-based reality shows debut on Jan. 1: ‘Double Divas,’ ‘Totally T-Boz,’ ‘The Sisterhood’ »

Frank Ski's final day at V-103 was Dec. 20 after 14 years on the station. What's his next move? We shall see in 2013. CREDIT: Frank Ski

2011 was a quiet year in Atlanta radio. No major format changes. A handful of personality changes. Not too much action.

But 2012 was all about crazy upheaval, easily the most changes on the dial in a calendar year since I began covering radio in 2001.

At least five AM/FM radio station formats disappeared and several new ones appeared. Pop, sports talk and news fans benefited. Rock and 1980s/90s nostalgia fans? Get thee to Pandora or Sirius/XM! And the biggest morning show in town ended on Dec. 20.

In no particular order, here were the biggest stories of the year:

A big goodbye: Frank Ski and Wanda Smith ended their 14-year reign at No. 1 at V-103 after the two sides couldn’t agree on a new contract. They brought the station a steady mix of humor, pop culture, spiritual vitamins and serious discussions. Hometown favorite Ryan Cameron takes over …

Continue reading 2012 Atlanta radio year in review: hello the Game, Power 96.1, All News 106.7; goodbye WGST, Project, Dave, Frank Ski »

LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 01: Radio personality/producer Ryan Seacrest attends KIIS FM's 2012 Jingle Ball at Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on December 1, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen/Getty Images)

While I was on vacation, “Idol” sent me this note six days ago. There is an advanced screening on January 9 at Discover Mills (apparently now Sugarloaf Mills) in Atlanta, a week before the actual debut.  I wouldn’t be surprised if this is already full but you can certainly try to RSVP. A live Q&A with the judges will be available on www.livestream.com or www.americanidol.com.  I will attend the local event for sure.

This is clearly an attempt to generate some advance buzz for a show that in years past hardly needed any.

FOX TO WORLD PREMIERE SEASON 12 OF “AMERICAN IDOL” FOR FANS

WITH ADVANCED SCREENING AND LIVE Q&A EVENTS NATIONWIDE

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 9

Live Interactive Q&A Featuring

Ryan Seacrest, Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson, Nicki Minaj and Keith …

Continue reading For first time, ‘Idol’ holds screening parties for season debut, including Discover Mills (now Sugarloaf Mills) »

AMERICAN IDOL: SEASON 12: L-R: Randy Jackson, Mariah Carey, Ryan Seacrest, Nicki Minaj and Keith Urban. CR: Michael Becker / FOX.

This was not a banner year for “American Idol,” though it had little to do with the actual talent presented to the world.

Besides the inevitable, inexorable aging of the show’s audience, which is now about 50 years old (vs. 32 when it debuted in 2002), the show was buffeted by competitive forces in the form of  “The Voice” and “The X Factor.” Ratings fell about 25 percent year over year to its lowest level since season one, when the show aired over the summer.

Here are my top 10 “Idol”-related stories of the year, which includes career updates of many of the biggest stars of “Idol” over the years.

10) Marry me! During the “Idol” finale, season 5 singer Ace Young proposed live to season 3 runner up Diana DeGarmo. She was genuinely surprised in one sense but the two have bonded closely since they met on Broadway during a production of “Hair.” The …

Continue reading Top 10 ‘American Idol’ stories of 2012: new judges, successful alums, Seacrest »

Merry Christmas all! Here is my annual compilation of the most played songs and artists from Atlanta radio stations in 2012, courtesy of Mediabase 24/7, which tracks this info.

But once a station format is dead, all that info disappears so we have nothing on Dave FM, Project 9-6-1 or Atlanta’s Greatest Hits. Smaller stations such as Streetz 94.5 and 98.9/The Bone are not tracked, nor are those outliers such as South 107.1 or Joy 93.3.

Still, if you are fans of any of these stations, these song titles and acts will be very very familiar.

Trey Songz with Kelly Rowland in the video for "Heart Attack," the most played song at V-103 in 2012.

V-103
Most played songs
1. Trey Songz “Heart Attack”
2. Miguel “Adorn”
3. Usher “Climax”
4. Drake “The Motto”
5. Beyonce “Love on Top”

Most played artists
1. Trey Songz
2. Beyonce
3. Drake
4. Usher
5. Future

Chris Brown in video for "Strip," the most played song in 2012 at Hot 107.9

Hot 107.9
1. Chris Brown “Strip”
2. Ca$h Out “Cashin’ …

Continue reading Top 2012 songs and artists on Atlanta radio: Katy Perry, Trey Songz, Flo Rida, Kenny Chesney »

This is more a week for college football and at least on Monday and Tuesday, Christmas classics such as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “A Christmas Story” and “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas.”

Plus, TNT is curiously airing the final episode ever of “Leverage” on Christmas Day.

Otherwise, enjoy the holidays and whatever new devices you may get from Santa that will enable you to watch more… TV.

MONDAY

“Are We There Yet?” 9:30 a.m. TBS — Nick attends his high-school reunion but must face an embarrassing incident from his past.

“Disney Prep & Landing” 8 p.m. ABC — A veteran elf is passed over for a promotion and gets paired with a rookie.

“It’s a Wonderful Life” 8 p.m. NBC — George will lasso the moon and pull it down once again.

“A Christmas Story” 8 p .m. TBS — Where you learn that sticking your tongue on a flagpole in the winter time isn’t necessarily a wise move. Then you can watch it another 10 times or so over another 24 hours.

“Home Alone” 9 p.m. ABC Family — Where child services …

Continue reading TV best bets with ‘Leverage’ series finale, many a Christmas classic »

I am writing this many many days after the actual airing because I was on vacation so I’m going to keep it very brief.

The ladies are still in Anguilla. All the women have seemingly solid relationships so Kenya Moore felt pressure to keep up with the Jones with her alleged boyfriend Walter Jackson.

Jackson teased Kenya needlessly three days earlier about a possible elopement, raising her “hopes” that she’d get a ring on it.

At a dinner, the others talked about how their proposals went, making Kenya feel left out. Peter, Cynthia’s hubby, teased Walter about the possible engagement/elopement. Walter ultimately said it wasn’t going to happen to the group, then to Kenya herself. Kenya, all tears, goes off in a corner and Phaedra and Apollo coax her back. It’s hard to say how much of this is Kenya “acting” and how much is her really feeling, well, anything.

Earlier, she attempted an apology for calling Porsha a b—- in last week’s “Gone With the Wind” episode but Porsha Stewart …

Continue reading “Real Housewives of Atlanta” recap: season 5, episode 8 »

J.R. Martinez earlier this year taping a Yahoo show at Andretti's in Roswell. CREDIT: Rodney Ho/rho@ajc.com

As a kid, J.R. Martinez was scared of Freddy Krueger, the disfigured menace in the “Nightmare on Elm Street” film series.

After a bomb in Iraq ripped through his Humvee and burned one-third of his body including part of his face, Martinez felt like he had become the living embodiment of Krueger. He was horrified and for a brief time, suicidal.

Nine years later, the former Dalton resident is very much alive. While in the hospital, he began sharing his story with other burn victims and became a regular fixture on the speaking circuit as an inspirational war survivor. His gift for gab and zest for life led to a regular role on the soap “All My Children” and a crowning victory last year on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars.’

He’s now written a memoir about his life so far called “Full of Heart.” (Hyperion).

“Writing a book has been floating around in my head for …

Continue reading Former Dalton resident J.R. Martinez writes a book about his war injuries, TV experience »

Carly Rose with host Mario Lopez on the finale. Credit: Ray Mickshaw/Fox

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Country singer Tate Stevens took home the second “X Factor” $5 million prize tonight, just edging out Carly Rose Sonenclar by 1/3 of 1 percentage point in the vote.

You have to wonder if that rather awful duet with b really hurt Carly. Then again, Tate has been No. 1 more weeks than Carly Rose so this is not a surprise victory.

Tate, a family man, has a strong, indelibly country voice and look. He brought his all consistently week in and week out. “Best day of my life,” he said, ever understated.

“You represent the X Factor really well,” said his mentor L.A. Reid, who i s leaving the show after two seasons.

Will he be able to parlay this into a genuine country career?  Hard to say.  He is older than most who break in and lacks the looks of many of the pretty boys rising in the …

Continue reading Who won ‘The X Factor,’ season two? »

In the wake of the Newtown, CT. shootings, three Atlanta stations have pulled Foster the People’s “Pumped Up Kicks” from rotation.

The song is written from the perspective of a troubled, isolated teen with homicidal thoughts. The lyrics warn people to “outrun my gun” and “you better run, better run, faster than my bullet.”

Star 94 and Q100 both dropped the song immediately after the shooting. B98.5 last spun it once in the wee hours early Tuesday morning but has also taken the song off its playlist and it has not been heard in the daytime for a week.

The deceptively cheerful song was a huge hit in 2011, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Nationally, airplay of the song dropped by more than half after very steady airplay the previous few weeks.

Ke$ha’s No. 1 top 40 hit with the untimely title “Die Young” also saw sizable airplay drops after the shooting and has fallen to No. 3. As expected, drop offs were especially sharp in New York and New England. Locally, both …

Continue reading Newtown shootings inspire radio stations to pull Foster the People’s ‘Pumped Up Kicks,’ Ke$ha’s ‘Die Young’ »