Justin Bieber returning to Tampa; tickets on sale Dec. 14

Less than 24 hours after Justin Bieber headlined 93.3-FLZ's annual Jingle Ball Sunday at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, the teen-pop star with 3.1 billion YouTube views announced he's returning to the same venue Aug. 8.

Read more here: http://www.bradenton.com/2012/12/06/4305170_justin-bieber-keha-headline-flzs.html#storylink=cpy

The “Believe” tour, produced by AEG Live, starts up again on June 22 in San Diego.
Tickets for the Tampa show start at $36.75 and go on sale 10 a.m. Friday (Dec. 14).

A number of VIP packages will also be offered on the upcoming tour through www.aeglive.com.

Information: Tickets for the event go on sale 10 a.m. Dec. 14 at the McDonald’s Ticket Office at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, Ticketmaster outlets and at Ticketmaster.com. To order tickets by phone call 800-745-3000. Ticket prices are $36.75, $56.75, $66.75, and $92.25. Prices do not include facility fee or service charges. For dinner reservations at the newly renovated Firestick Grill on the day of the event please visit tampabaytimesforum.com or call 813.301.6926 for more information. Advanced parking passes are available at Ticketmaster.com or the ticket office.

—Bieber photo by Evan Agostini — AP.

Justin Bieber is Tampa bound with Ke$ha for Jingle Ball; tickets on sale today

Boy wonder Justin Bieber and bad girl Ke$ha have a date at the Tampa Bay Times Forum on Dec. 9 as part of the impressive pop lineup for 93.3 FLZ's annual Jingle Ball bash.

That "Gangnam Style" goofball PSY, OneRepublic, Ed Sheeran, Sean Kingston, The Ready Set, Bridgit Mendler, Austin Mahone, Walk the Moon and Zedd with Matthew Koma are also scheduled to perform.

Tickets are $42-$175 and are on sale today via 800-745-3000 or via ticketmaster.com.

Jingle Ball will kick-off with Pre-Show on the Plaza, the official 93.3 FLZ’s Jingle Ball pre-event celebration. The event, which is free to the public, will include performances by  Bridgit Mendler, Mahone and Ready Set.  93.3 FLZ’s Jingle Ball Pre-Show on the West Plaza of the Tampa Bay Times Forum will also feature interactive contests and ticket upgrades from participating sponsors.  The event will welcome fans of all ages at 3 p.m.

“93.3 FLZ’s Jingle Ball has become Tampa Bay’s premiere holiday concert,” said Tommy Chuck, 93.3 FLZ's Program Director, in a statement issued by the radio station. “We are excited to bring pop music’s hottest artists to our fans this season and ring in the holiday in true 93.3 FLZ style."

—This Sept. 30, 2012 file photo shows Justin Bieber performing at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. INVISION — Photo by Isaac Brekke.

UPDATED 2/23: Cody Simpson dishes on Justin Bieber recording session and their Ping-Pong match

UPDATED 2/23: 'Cody Simpson says he's more than a teen idol'

For millions of teenage girls around the world, nothing would be better than hearing a duet by Cody Simpson and Justin Bieber.

And it will most likely happen.

As soon as the two pals stop playing table tennis.

"We haven’t finished the track, yet," Simpson said during a phone interview today. "Last time (in the recording studio) we got caught up on the Ping-Pong table."

The Australian with nearly two million Twitter followers laughed.

"We’re still teenagers like that," Simpson continued. "We’re very dedicated to our music but we’re also very dedicated to Ping-Pong."

He then admitted Bieber beat him, but said a rematch is in the works.

I interviewed Simpson by phone today for an upcoming story to advance his Feb. 24 show at The Ritz Ybor in Tampa.

—Publicity photo of Cody Simpson courtesy of Atlantic Records.

Justin Bieber to Betty White: Entertainment 2010

(Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

Cheerleaders give a rousing shout at the conclusion of their dancing scene on set of "Glee."

My Sunday column pokes fun at another wonderfully silly year in entertainment:

Ousted by NBC, Conan O’Brien brings same show (but new beard) to basic cable.

The singing cast of TV series “Glee” dominates music charts with boring covers of pop songs best left forgotten.

Kanye West battles Twitter addiction.

Enjoy.