FOURTH CONTENDER ELIMINATED ON OXYGEN’S “THE GLEE PROJECTâ€
MCKYNLEIGH ABRAHAM OF PADUCAH, KY DOES NOT MAKE “CALL BACK†LIST
Darren Criss (“Glee’s†Blaine) to Return as Guest Mentor in Fifth Episode of “The Glee Project†on Sunday, July 17th at 9:00PM ET/PT
Episode also features a watch-and-win sweepstakes offering fans the opportunity of a one-on-one chat with their favorite contender
Click here to see a sneak peek of next week’s episode:
http://www.oxygen.com/video/fullpage.aspx?clip=1340128
NEW YORK – July 11, 2011 – During last night’s episode of Oxygen’s “The Glee Project,†the final nine contenders performed a rhythmic performance of MC Hammer’s 1990 signature song, “Can’t Touch This.†Under the guidance of “Glee†guest mentor Harry Shum Jr. (“Glee’s†Mike Chang) the group was coached on their moves, forcing many of them to face their toughest challenge yet – “Dance Ability.†Darren Criss (“Glee’s†Blaine) returns as a guest mentor in next Sunday’s all-new episode. During the episode fans will also be prompted to find a secret word and enter a watch-and-win sweepstakes at Oxygen.com (http://www.thegleeproject.oxygen.com). One lucky winner will win a phone call from their favorite contender. ‘The Glee Project’ Contender Call sweepstakes will only be available from 9PM to 1AM ET Sunday evening.
In the final moments of last night’s episode, “Glee†hopeful McKynleigh Abraham (19) of Paducah, KY was eliminated. Prior to appearing on “The Glee Project,†McKynleigh (19) had been performing in amateur shows for the past 13 years. As a biracial musician, she believes she surprises people when they discover her strength is singing country music. Growing up home-schooled, her ambition was to be in show choir but she never had the opportunity. McKynleigh originally auditioned for “The Glee Project†at the Chicago open casting call.
The remaining eight contenders will face their next “Gleeâ€-inspired challenge on Sunday, July 17th at 9PM ET/PT when Darren Criss returns to mentor during “Pairability†week. The contenders struggle with singing duets, while one of them must confront a deep personal boundary. This is Criss’ second stint as a guest mentor on the series – he also appeared in the premiere episode on June 12th.
From Ryan Murphy, the creator and Emmy® award-winning executive producer of “Glee,†and executive producer of “Glee†Dante Di Loreto, “The Glee Project†is a 10-episode competition series seeking to find the next star of “Glee†and will award one winner with the ultimate prize of a seven-episode role in season three of the hit FOX show. The series began with 12 extraordinarily talented individuals that were picked from thousands of entries, and an exhaustive nationwide and online talent search. The series uncovers a unique group of artists from both professional and amateur backgrounds, proving every underdog has a fighting chance at stardom. Each week one contender is sent home through intensive rounds of singing, dancing and acting based on assignments. During the final ‘Last Chance Round,’ the bottom three must perform for Ryan Murphy, casting director Robert Ulrich, and choreographer Zach Woodlee as they carefully assess which of them has what it takes to be one of the next new faces of the award-winning show.
For fans who want more of the “The Glee Project,†Microsoft’s search engine Bing is partnering with Oxygen to host the Bing Fan Favorite Contest, allowing fans to vote for their own favorite contenders. Shazam is also partnering with Oxygen to allow viewers to use the Shazam app to unlock exclusive content from each episode of the show. This week, Shazam users will be treated to extended footage from Darren Criss’ one-on-one session with the homework assignment winner.
“The Glee Project” is produced by Ryan Murphy Television and Embassy Row with Ryan Murphy, Dante Di Loreto, Michael Davies and Shauna Minoprio serving as executive producers.
A print/blogger conference call with McKynleigh will take place today at 1pm PT/4pm ET. For call information, please contact [email protected].
Fans of “The Glee Project†can follow the show on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/thegleeproject, Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thegleeproject and Tumblr at http://thegleeproject.tumblr.com for access to all of the latest news and information. Additionally, fans can vote for their favorite contender in the Bing Fan Favorite contest beginning at 9pm ET on Sunday, June 12 and continuing throughout the run of the show. Log-on to www.OxygenLive.com for special live chats with cast as well as a special chat with the eliminated contender directly following the episode. Viewers can log on to http://thegleeproject.oxygen.com for a more in depth look at each contender and to meet the judges, complete with photo galleries and video.
For the first time ever, Shazam’s 125 million users will be able to engage with an Oxygen show and chat simultaneously with cast members and fellow fans. Viewers will be able to tag The Glee Project using the Shazam feature within the OxygenLive app to unlock an exclusive extended scene each week. Excusive content will also be available directly from the Shazam app itself.
About Ryan Murphy Television
Ryan Murphy Television is the creative force behind some of today’s most groundbreaking television. Responsible for the Primetime Emmy® and Golden Globe® winning series “Nip/Tuck†and “Glee,†which has become a cultural phenomenon, RMTV strives to bring fresh perspectives to television audiences the world over.
About Embassy Row
Embassy Row is a New York City-based global format and digital production company dedicated to developing original concepts and adapting international formats for television networks, online and wireless distribution in the U.S. and around the world. We specialize in the genres of games, comedy, reality, factual, sports and food and are pioneers in the fields of brand-supported and digital content. Embassy Row is a creative company, led by hands-on producers always on the lookout for the next breakthrough idea. Since 2008, Embassy Row has been a part of the Sony Pictures Television company.
About Oxygen Media
Oxygen Media is a multiplatform lifestyle brand that delivers relevant and engaging content to young women who like to “live out loud.” Oxygen is rewriting the rulebook for women’s media by changing how the world sees entertainment from a young woman’s point of view. Through a vast array of unconventional and original content including “The Glee Project,” “Hair Battle Spectacular” and “Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood,” the growing cable network is the premiere destination to find unique and groundbreaking unscripted programming. A social media trendsetter, Oxygen is a leading force in engaging modern young women, wherever they are, with popular, award winning features online including www.OxygenLive.com, the real time social viewing party that is also available as an app for the iPhone and iPad, as well as innovative tools shopOholic, makeOvermatic and tweetOverse. Oxygen is available in 77 million homes and online at www.oxygen.com, or on mobile devices at wap.oxygen.com. Follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/OxygenPR. Oxygen Media is a service of NBC Universal.