Fox Reality Channel was an all reality television channel available on cable and satellite television in the United States. It was launched on May 24, 2005 and was owned by the Fox Entertainment Group. It featured many shows that were previously on the Fox network (or produced by Fox). Fox Reality Channel also featured reality shows syndicated from other networks (like ABC, CBS, NBC, The CW and MyNetworkTV), as well as many international shows from the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Shutdown and replacement[link]

In October 2009, it was announced that Fox Reality Channel would be discontinued on most providers on March 29, 2010 and re-branded into an American version of National Geographic Wild.^[1][2][3][4] Also on that date, the channel's old website was taken down and redirected to its archived programming on Hulu.com, as well as National Geographic Wild's new site. National Geographic Wild was launched on Dish Network on April 19, 2010.^[5] DirecTV removed Fox Reality and added National Geographic Wild on June 30, 2010.

Programming[link]

Original programming[link]

• The Academy, provides a behind-the-scenes look at police recruits of the Los Angeles Sheriff's Academy as recruits go through a 18-week training course to become deputies of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. The program premiered in May 2007, and is shared with sister broadcast network MyNetworkTV.
• American Idol Extra, The official "post-game" show of the immensely popular American Idol. This show includes behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with eliminated contestants.
• Battle of the Bods, is a steamy reality show in which five girls rank themselves in order of attractiveness and try to match the rankings of a panel of male judges. The program premiered January 19, 2008.
• Busted and Disgusted is an original series bringing viewers clips of the most disgusting and outrageous behavior caught on camera. The show premiered on April 1, 2009.
• Camp Reality, Burton Roberts (Survivor: Pearl Islands) organizes a trip into the California woods for a number of his former reality-show friends for a series of fun contests, including water-orb races and a milk chugging contest. The friends of Burton's who participated in this event included Toni Ferrari (Paradise Hotel), Rebecca Cardon (The Amazing Race 6 and Work Out), Brennan Swain (co-winner of The Amazing Race 1), Coral Smith (The Real World and several MTV Challenges), Nikki McKibbin (American Idol), Michelle Deighton (America's Next Top Model, Cycle 4), and Jon "Jonny Fairplay" Dalton.
• Corkscrewed, follows American Idol producers Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe as they purchase a vineyard in Paso Robles, California, and experience the ups and downs of the wine business. The program premiered on November 30, 2006.
• Gimme My Reality Show!, has a group of seven former celebrities compete to win their own reality show.
• Househusbands of Hollywood, follows the lives of five men and their successful, breadwinning wives. The 10-episode series premiered on Saturday, August 15, 2009.
• Long Way Down, profiles actor Ewan McGregor as he bikes through 18 countries from John o' Groats in Scotland to Cape Town in South Africa.
• Rob and Amber: Against the Odds, follows the lives of reality couple Rob Mariano and Amber Mariano as Rob tries to become a professional poker player.
• My Bare Lady, gives adult film stars the opportunity to try out different careers. The program premiered on December 7, 2006.
• Paradise Hotel 2, follows a group of single men and women who are given the opportunity to live together in an exclusive resort. The program premiered February 4, 2008 and was shared by MyNetworkTV.
• Seducing Cindy, follows Cindy Margolis, once the most downloaded woman on the Internet, as she searches for a new love. The program premiered on January 30, 2010 at 9:00PM Eastern/8:00PM Central.
• Solitary, turns the concept of solitary confinement into a game show. The program, which features an unseen host presiding over "treatments," or challenges, premiered on June 5, 2006.
• The Search for the Next Elvira, 13 contestants vie for the chance to become Elvira's newest handmaiden of the dark in a Fox Reality Channel original series. The program premiered on October 13, 2007.
• Sex Decoy: Love Stings, set inside the private life and professional world of Sandra Hope and "Mate Check Private Investigations". Each episode chronicles specific cases in which a spouse or significant other hires Sandra and her team of decoys to "tempt" their potentially wayward lover and expose infidelity. The show also follows the ups and downs of Sandra's dysfunctional family, including her daughters, who work for her as decoys. The program premiered on May 23, 2009.
• Smile...You're Under Arrest!, uses elaborate sting set-ups to lure wanted-criminals out of hiding. Improvisational actors assist with the scenarios before police officers step in to arrest the criminal. The program premiered on December 27, 2008.

Acquired programming sample[link]

See also[link]

• Fox Reality Channel Reality Awards
• MyNetworkTV - sister network with a once mostly-reality format.

References[link]

Sabrina Bryan
Sabrina Bryan at The Magnificent Mile 2008 Lights Festival.
Background information
Birth name	Reba Sabrina Hinojos
Born	(1984-09-16) September 16, 1984 (age 27) Yorba Linda, California, U.S.
Genres	R&B, hip-hop, pop, dance pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, author, choreographer, television personality
Years active	1996– present
Labels	Walt Disney (2005-2006) Sony (2005-2006) Hollywood (2006-2009)
Associated acts	The Cheetah Girls (2005-2009)
Website	http://www.sabrinabryan.com/

Reba Sabrina Hinojos (born September 16, 1984), better known by her stage name Sabrina Bryan, is an American singer, actress, author, songwriter, fashion designer, choreographer, dancer, and television personality best known as a member of the girl group, The Cheetah Girls, and for starring in the Disney Channel Original Movie of the same name and its sequels, The Cheetah Girls 2 and The Cheetah Girls: One World. Before appearing on television, Sabrina was a dancer, and trained at Hart Academy of Dance, located in La Habra, California.

The Cheetah Girls[link]

While she was a student, she filmed the Disney Channel Original Movie The Cheetah Girls, which was released in the summer of 2003. The movie's soundtrack went double-platinum. Bryan, along with Adrienne Bailon and Kiely Williams, achieved success as members of the official The Cheetah Girls group. In November 2005, the group released their Christmas album, Cheetah-licious Christmas, and also toured the US on their Cheetah-licious Christmas Tour to promote the album.

The Cheetah Girls 2 premiered on the Disney Channel on August 25, 2006. It garnered more viewers than High School Musical, becoming the most watched Disney Channel Original Movie before being beaten out by both Jump In! and High School Musical 2. The soundtrack to Cheetah Girls 2 went Platinum. After the release of Cheetah Girls 2, Bryan, along with her fellow Cheetah Girls, toured the US on their The Party's Just Begun Tour.

The Cheetah Girls released their official debut studio album, TCG, on September 25, 2007. The first single from the album, "So Bring it On", was released to Radio Disney on August 25, 2007. The second single, "Fuego", was released to Radio Disney on September 15, 2007.

The Cheetah Girls: One World premiered on August 22, 2008. They kicked off their One World Tour on October 8, 2008 and concluded December 21, 2008. In early 2009, The Cheetah Girls officially announced that they had disbanded, in favor of pursuing solo projects. However, Bryan and former Cheetah Girl band-mate and close friend Kiely Williams are collaborating on a talk show which Williams described as "a young version of The View".^[1] Preliminary clips of the series, called Dinner with Friends, can be seen on YouTube.^[2]

Television/film appearances[link]

Bryan has acted in several TV shows, with notable guest appearances in several episodes of the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful. She also appeared in two series pilots, King's Pawn and Driving Me Crazy, neither of which made it to air. She then had guest appearances in shows like The Geena Davis Show and The Jersey. She also appeared in the TV series, Grounded For Life, before her rise to stardom in The Cheetah Girls.^[3] She had a small supporting role as Mrs. Murray in the 2008 straight-to-DVD film Mostly Ghostly, and stars in the comedy film Help Me, Help You ( formerly titled If It Ain't Broke, Break It).^[4] Sabrina is the voice of Pamela Hamster in the animated Disney channel series Fish Hooks appearing in two episodes Hooray for Hamsterwood and Pamela Hamster Returns.

[edit] Dancing with the Stars

Sabrina competed in the 5th season of Dancing with the Stars. Sabrina and her professional dancing partner, Mark Ballas, received a score of 26 out of 30, at the time the highest score earned in the first week by any contestant. On Week 4 of the show, they set another record by receiving a 30/30 from the judges for their paso doble, making her the first contestant to have received a perfect score that early in the show's history. Bryan led all contenders in judges' scoring in Weeks 1, 3, and 4. Bryan received her lowest score, a 25 for a foxtrot, during Week 6, in which she also performed a Rock n' Roll routine with the other contestants. That week, she was voted off. The announcement was met by shock and tears from the show's judges, contestants and live audience, since she and Ballas were favored by many to win the competition. An AOL poll voted their elimination "2007's most shocking TV moment." The next week, the remaining dancers and celebrities showed their continued support and affection for Bryan by donning her signature cheetah paw-print tattoo. For the penultimate week, Bryan and Ballas were invited back to the show to perform, another first for any couple. For the 100th show, their Paso Doble was chosen as number 9 on the top 10 dances of the first five seasons. Bryan and Ballas were the only couple in the top 10 that did not make it to the finals.

Dancing with the Stars performances[link]

She was featured in the Soft Scrub Dancing With The Stars Live Tour. She danced with Derek Hough (while Mark was injured), then with Mark, until her last show on January 13, 2008, when she departed for India to film The Cheetah Girls: One World.

Sabrina will be one of the featured celebrity dancers in the Live Dancing with the Stars Las Vegas show, running 4/14/12 through 7/7/12. ^[5]

She has been a celebrity correspondent for the behind-the-scenes look at the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars for E! News, and TV Guide show Reality Chat. For season 9 of Dancing with the Stars, she has co-hosted TV Guide show Reality Chat as well as hosted backstage at Dancing with the Stars series on abc.com. Sabrina, was asked back to co-host Backstage at Dancing with the Stars for the 10th through 12th seasons. She has interviewed celebs like season 10 winner of the series DWTS Nicole Scherzinger, country singer Reba Mcentire, Evan Lysacek, Erin Andrews, Kate Gosselin, and many more.

Philanthropy[link]

Healthy Kids Challenge[link]

In 2008 it was announced that Bryan would be partnering with Mission Foods as the spokesperson for the Healthy Kids Challenge. One of Bryan's many roles is to provide information to help educate kids on easy ways to stay healthy through nutrition and keeping active.

Solo projects[link]

Byou[link]

Bryan released a DVD workout entitled Byou in December 2005. The workout is especially geared towards young girls with a tagline that reads "Be Happy, Be Healthy — BYOU!". More than a quarter million DVDs have been sold. A soundtrack to the DVD was also released which included the song Byou, performed by Bryan, as well as other songs by her and other artists. The song Byou was also featured on the Radio Disney: Move It! CD which was released in 2006. Bryan released Byou 2, on January 13, 2009.^[6] Byou 2 features one exclusive track by Bryan called C'mon.

Princess of Gossip[link]

Bryan teamed up with popular author Julia DeVillers to write the book "Princess of Gossip", the story of an ordinary girl with an extraordinary secret. "Princess of Gossip" was released on October 8, 2008.^[7] It's currently being considered for a possible movie.

Filmography[link]

Discography[link]

Albums with the Cheetah Girls[link]

The Cheetah Girls Soundtrack

• Released: August 12, 2003 (U.S.)
• Record Company: Walt Disney Records

Cheetah-licious Christmas

• Released: October 11, 2005 (U.S.)
• Peak Position: #74 (U.S.), #5 Pop Catalog^[10]
• Record Company: Walt Disney Records

The Cheetah Girls 2 Soundtrack

• Released: August 25, 2006 (U.S.)
• Peak Position: #5
• Record Company: Walt Disney Records

In Concert: The Party's Just Begun Tour

• Released: September 10, 2007 (U.S.)
• Record Company: Walt Disney Records

TCG

• Released: September 25, 2007 (U.S.)
• Peak Position: #44 (U.S.)
• Record Company: Hollywood Records

The Cheetah Girls: One World Soundtrack

• Released: August 19, 2008 (U.S.)
• Peak Position: #13
• Record Company: Walt Disney Records

Solo album[link]

Byou

• Released: January 17, 2006 (U.S.)
• Record Company: Sony/BMG Special Marketing

Byou 2

• Released: 2009 (U.S.)
• Record Company: Sony/BMG Special Marketing

Other songs[link]

• Just Watch Me^[11]
• C'mon (Alternate version featured in Byou 2)

Music Video[link]

• 2006: "Byou."
• 2010: "Byou 2."

Tours[link]

• The Cheetah Girls - One World Tour (2008)
• Dancing with the Stars — The Tour (2007–2008)
• The Party's Just Begun Tour (2006-2007)
• Cheetah-licious Christmas Tour (2005)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sabrina Bryan

• Sabrina Bryan on Myspace.com
• Sabrina Bryan on Facebook.com
• Sabrina Bryan at the Internet Movie Database
• Sabrina Bryan on Twitter.com

Mark Alexander Ballas Jr. (born May 24, 1986)^[1] is an American dancer.

Ballas is a professional ballroom dancer on the ABC program Dancing with the Stars. He began competing on the show in the fall of 2007. He was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Choreography in 2011. He is also a singer/songwriter/musician and released his first solo CD HurtLoveBox in March 2011.

Early life[link]

Ballas was born in Houston, Texas, the son of dancers Corky Ballas^[2] and Shirley Ballas (née Rich).^[3] His paternal grandparents were of Mexican, Spanish, and Greek background, and his mother is British.^{[4][citation needed]} His paternal grandfather, George Ballas, was the inventor of the Weed Eater lawn-trimming device.^[5]

Ballas attended Rosemead Preparatory school in South London, and was in the same year as acclaimed British ballet dancer Max Westwell of the English National Ballet.

At the age of 11, he earned a full time slot at the Academy, as well as earning a full scholarship to the college. In 2005, he was awarded "Performer of the Year". He then moved on to win championships at The British Open to the World, The US Open to the World and The International Open to the World. With his former partner Julianne Hough, he won the Junior Latin American Dance Championship and the gold medal at the Junior Olympics.^{[disambiguation needed ][citation needed]}

As a youth, Ballas was a member of a pop singing trio called "2B1G"(2 Boys 1 Girl"), along with Julianne Hough and Derek Hough.^{[citation needed]} His mother is award-winning Latin American Dancer Shirly Ballas recently featured on Dancing with the Stars.

Career[link]

Acting[link]

As an actor, Ballas played the lead role of Tony in the musical Copacabana and was the lead dancer in the UK national tour of the Spanish musical Maria de Buenos Aires. He was also the understudy for the role of Ritchie Valens in the UK national tour of Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story. Ballas played an extra in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone as part of the Hufflepuff House. In October 2008, Ballas made a guest appearance on the season premiere of Samantha Who.^[6] In September 2010, Ballas had a guest appearance on his former Dancing with the Stars partner Melissa Joan Hart's new series, Melissa & Joey.

[edit] Dancing with the Stars

On the fifth season of Dancing with the Stars, Ballas was partnered with Cheetah Girls star Sabrina Bryan. On October 30, 2007, the pair was voted off the show. They have been the only couple invited back for an exhibition dance. Ballas' partner for Season 6 of Dancing With The Stars was Olympic Gold Medal-winning figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi. They won the series. On August 25, 2008, ABC announced the cast of the seventh season of Dancing with the Stars, with Ballas paired with reality television star Kim Kardashian. They were the third couple eliminated, finishing in eleventh place, on September 30, 2008. For the eighth season of Dancing with the Stars, Ballas was paired with Olympic gold-medal winning gymnast Shawn Johnson, winning that season's competition on May 19, 2009. He was partnered with actress Melissa Joan Hart for the show's ninth season. They were voted off in week six and came in 9th place. For season 10, Ballas was partnered with actress Shannen Doherty.^[7] They were the first couple eliminated, on March 30, 2010. For season 11, Ballas was partnered with Bristol Palin, daughter of former Alaska governor and U.S. Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin. They made it to the finale and finished in third place. For Season 12, Ballas was partnered with Disney Channel star, Chelsea Kane. They made it to the finals where they finished in third place. For Season 13, Ballas was partnered with reality star Kristin Cavallari where they were the 3rd couple eliminated finishing in 10th place. For Season 14 he was partnered with Classical Singer Katherine Jenkins. They made it to the finale where they finished as the runners-up, losing to Donald Driver & Peta Murgatroyd.

[edit] Records

In his time on Dancing with the Stars (DWTS) Ballas has set, and broken, numerous records in the course of his (so far) 10 seasons. Some of these records include, but are not limited to:

• Earliest perfect 30 in a season, during Week 4, with Sabrina Bryan for their Paso Doble.
  • This record is later tied by Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke in Season 8.
• First (and only) professional partner to earn a perfect score (90) in the DWTS Finale, with his celebrity partner Kristi Yamaguchi in Season 6.
  • Ballas tied this record in Season 14 with his partner Katherine Jenkins.
• First male professional to win multiple seasons, once with Kristi Yamaguchi and once with Shawn Johnson.
• Only male professional to get the same place in the finals (Third Place; with Bristol Palin and Chelsea Kane) twice in a row, without winning the season.
• Most perfect 30s on the Freestyle dance, with 4. Earning perfect scores with Kristi Yamaguchi, Shawn Johnson, Chelsea Kane, and Katherine Jenkins.

Dancing with the Stars performances[link]

[edit] With celebrity partner Sabrina Bryan (average: 27.0):

[edit] With celebrity partner Kristi Yamaguchi (average: 28.3):

[edit] With celebrity partner Kim Kardashian (average: 18.0):

[edit] With celebrity partner Shawn Johnson (average: 26.94):

[edit] With celebrity partner Melissa Joan Hart (average: 21.2):

• Due to Len Goodman's absence in week 2 the 6 was awarded by stand-in guest judge Baz Luhrmann.

[edit] With celebrity partner Shannen Doherty (average: 19.0):

[edit] With celebrity partner Bristol Palin (average: 22.6):

[edit] With celebrity partner: Chelsea Kane (average: 26.13)

*In week 7 Donnie Burns score is right before Inaba's

[edit] With celebrity partner: Kristin Cavallari (average: 21.6)

[edit] With celebrity partner: Katherine Jenkins (average: 27.9)

Music[link]

This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)

He began playing the guitar at age of 4, and at 12 began to write and perform his own music, playing guitar, drums, and bass. The Hough siblings and Ballas formed a pop music trio called 2B1G (2 Boys 1 Girl). With his friend Derek Hough, he formed the band Almost Amy, the name of which was later changed to the Ballas Hough Band. The other members of the band are singer Emily Grace, who plays flute, saxophone, and piano; Sam Marder, who plays bass; and Harry Sullivan, who plays drums.

References[link]

External links[link]

• http://almost-amy-band.blogspot.com/

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2008)

William Hung
Hung in St. Cloud, Minnesota in July 2008
Chinese name	孔慶翔 (Traditional)
Chinese name	孔庆翔 (Simplified)
Born	(1983-01-13) January 13, 1983 (age 29) Hong Kong
Occupation	Civil engineering university student, singer, actor, technical crime analyst
Genre(s)	Pop
Label(s)	Koch
Years active	2004–present

William James Hung Hing Cheong (Traditional Chinese: 孔慶翔, Simplified Chinese: 孔庆翔, Cantonese Yale: Hung2 Hing3 Cheung4, Pinyin: Kǒng Qìngxiáng; born January 13, 1983), commonly known as William Hung, is an American singer who gained fame in early 2004 as a result of his off-key audition performance of Ricky Martin's hit song "She Bangs" on the third season of the television series American Idol.

Originally from Sha Tin, Hong Kong, Hung moved to Camden, New Jersey in 1993 and graduated from the John H. Francis Polytechnic High School in Los Angeles. He was a student at University of California, Berkeley, and later dropped out to pursue his music career. As of January 2012 Hung has largely retired from music and serves as a technical crime analyst for the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.^[1][2]

Initial fame[link]

While studying civil engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, Hung auditioned for the third season of American Idol in San Francisco in September 2003. He was the final auditioner on the January 15, 2004, installment, the coup de grâce of an hour-long episode that showcased other would-be pop stars, mostly lacking in talent.

"I want to make music my living," said Hung, before he started singing and dancing to Ricky Martin's "She Bangs". As judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul tried to restrain their laughter, judge Simon Cowell dismissed Hung's performance, remarking "You can't sing, you can't dance, so what do you want me to say?", to which Hung replied, "Um, I already gave my best, and I have no regrets at all." Jackson and Abdul applauded his positive attitude, with Abdul remarking, "That's the best attitude yet." Hung's response to Cowell's criticism starkly contrasts with the often confrontational rejoinders of other contestants. Hung added, "...you know, I have no professional training of singing and dancing," eliciting mock surprise from Cowell, who replied, "No? Well this is the surprise of the century." Hung was not admitted through to the next round.

Cult following[link]

Hung rapidly gained a cult following. A William Hung fan site, set up by realtor Don Chin and his wife Laura, recorded over four million hits within its first week. Hung subsequently appeared on several television programs including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, On Air with Ryan Seacrest, Entertainment Tonight, The George Lopez Show, The Late Show With David Letterman, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, The Howard Stern Radio Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dateline NBC, Arrested Development and CBS's The Early Show. Hung was featured in several national magazines and newspapers; he was parodied on Saturday Night Live and appeared on Celebrity Deathmatch. He was reportedly invited to perform at MTV's Asia Awards held in mid-February.

Remixes of Hung's audition performance topped song request lists at a number of radio stations. An online petition to get Hung back to American Idol included more than 100,000 signatures by late February. Hung was brought back to American Idol as part of a mid-season special titled Uncut, Uncensored and Untalented, airing March 1, 2004. The special documented what it was like to experience the audition process and, in Hung's case, emerge as an inadvertent celebrity. Hung was crowned the Artichoke King of 2006 in Castroville, California's Artichoke Festival; an honor previously bestowed on Marilyn Monroe^[3]

Record deal[link]

William Hung was offered a $25,000 advance on a record deal from Koch Entertainment in 2004, and released three albums on that label in 2004 and 2005. The albums mainly consisted of covers of pop and rock songs, including "She Bangs".

Television, commercials and movies[link]

Hung has appeared in commercials for the search engine Ask.com, the Game Show Network (spoofing Freddy Mercury and singing an off-key "We Are the Champions"), as well as the mobile phone service provider Cingular Wireless.^{[citation needed]} He also appeared to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" in May 2004 at the Rogers Centre for the Toronto Blue Jays.^[4]

His first movie, a low-budget Hong Kong period comedy called Where is Mama's Boy (2004), was released in January 2005. Hung played a good-natured village kid who sells Chinese pancakes to pay his mother's medical bills. His character gets discovered as a singer, and helps a woman protect her business from her jealous, conniving elder sister. In the film, Hung played opposite veteran Hong Kong actress Nancy Sit and parodied his own American Idol performance with the song "Siu Beng" (Cantonese) ("Chinese Pancake"), an allusion to his American Idol audition song, "She Bangs." Despite solid financial backing and the involvement of Nancy Sit, the film was a box office flop.

Hung was the subject of a documentary called William Hung: Hangin' with Hung, a ninety minute film recounting his sudden rise to fame. Hung appeared as himself in a February 2006 episode of the television series Arrested Development titled "Fakin' It", acting as the front-man of a band, "William Hung and his Hung Jury", the house band for a fictional courtroom-themed show Mock Trial with J. Reinhold.

Hung has appeared in an episode of the MTV Show, Celebrity Deathmatch, where he battles Ricky Martin (who performed the original "She Bangs").

In the episode Sexual Harassment of the American version of The Office, the letters "WL HUNG" appear on Todd Packer's vanity plate and is mistaken to be a reference to Hung. The letters actually stood for "Well hung".

He has also appeared in Airline in which he missed his flight, then sang his infamous song once again for the cameras.^[5]