Four musical icons, Gloria Estefan, Joe Jonas, John Rich and Nelly, have 72 hours to turn average folks into superstars on The Next, The CW network’s newest music reality show. It's premiering this Thursday with Queen Latifah on-board as a producer — and sponsorship by pre-paid mobile carrier Cricket's Muve Music, marking its first branded entertainment TV partnership.

As a ‘challenger brand,’ Cricket is the seventh largest wireless telecommunications network in the U.S., serving seven million plus customers and differentiating its brand by relying on music and entertainment to stand out in the pre-paid space. This new partnership with The Next is the brand’s pre-emptive move as the turf battle for wireless customers heats up.Continue reading...

Walmart is partnering with Nelly (yes, that Nelly) and DoSomething.org as part of the 2011 Tackle Hunger campaign this holiday season. The public is invited to participate at dosomething.org/tackle-hunger or by texting "HUNGER" to 38383 to get started.

Ford's Explorer spot featuring rapper Nelly received kudos on social networks tonight.