Judge Jackie Glass turns to one of her TV heroes to help her decide a case on tomorrow’s episode of “Swift Justice” (11 a.m./Ch. 9).
Glass, who’s a huge fan of Bravo’s “Real Housewives” franchise, invited “Real Housewives of Atlanta” star Kandi Burruss into the “Swift Justice” courtroom to impart her wisdom, as a musician, in a case involving a breach-of-contract suit between a mix master and a musician.
Burruss, a former member of the Atlanta-based group Xscape, has won several Grammys for songwriting and mixing (and co-wrote TLC’s number-one hit, “No Scrubs” and wrote Destiny’s Child’s “The Writing’s on the Wall”).
I asked Glass what it is about the “Housewives” that so intrigues her — and what it was like having Burruss on “Swift Justice.”
“The ‘Real Housewives’ series has women with strong personalities, great conflict and fabulous hair and makeup,” she said via e-mail. “Once you start, you can’t stop watching — they are real-life soap operas, easy to watch and very entertaining.
“It was great having Kandi Burruss on ‘Swift Jutice,’” she said. “She brought her experience and expertise in the recording industry and provided me with information necessary to make the decision in the case.”
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With the 11th season of “American Idol” in full swing, one of its former champs is in the midst of an extremely busy tour.
Ruben Studdard, who won Season 2 of “Idol” back in 2003, is out promoting his new CD, “Letters From Birmingham” (which is out March 13) and will open tonight at Feinstein’s at Loews Regency (he’s appearing there through Saturday). “Letters From Birmingham,” by the way, includes a track with Heavy D — the rap legend’s final recording (he died last November at the age of 44 from a pulmonary embolism).
Studdard, who was dubbed “The Velvet Teddy Bear” by Gladys Knight way back when, has since shed about 75 pounds and is now a strict vegan. He’s scheduled to appear on CNN’s “Showbiz Tonight” tomorrow, followed by “Good Day New York” on Friday and “The Wendy Williams Show” on March 13 (the day of his CD release).
His new single, “June 28th (I’m Single)” — in which he reveals his recent divorce — has been climbing up the Billboard UAC charts.
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Last, but not least:
* How much NBC’s “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” benefit from its post-Super Bowl timeslot? Sunday’s show snared 6.2 million viewers from midnight to 1 a.m. — up a whopping 256 percent in viewers from the show’s season average . . . “Person to Person” premieres tomorrow on CBS (8 p.m.) with visits to George Clooney, Warren Buffett and Jon Bon Jovi. Lara Logan, Charlie Rose host; it’s based on the old Edward R. Murrow-hosted series . . . Miguel Marquez has joined CNN as an LA-based correspondent . . . Disney Junior has ordered an additional 10 episodes of “Minnie’s Bow-Toons” . . . The second season of classic ’60s sitcom “Car 54, Where Are You?” is out on DVD April 10.