Author name: Willie Pena

Rebecca Juliet is a 16-year-old New York City-based singer-songwriter on a mission to change the world through her music–both through the messages in her lyrics and by donating to charities with the proceeds of her sales. Her latest single, “Damsel in Distress” is an empowerment song for girls, making a point that girls do not

Looking for a boy band with something a little different? Phase Five is a new Urban Pop vocal group based out of Los Angeles, CA whose members are a bit more mature and worldly than what you might expect, all being college-age and from very diverse locations (Belgium, UK, Puerto Rico, Florida, and Indiana). From

Jakob Salvati is the 11-year-old lead in superstar producer Mark Burnett’s (The Bible, Shark Tank, The Apprentice, Survivor) latest film, Little Boy, which opens today April 24th. The family film, directed by Smithsonian Institute Award-winning director Alejandro Monteverde, follows the story of Pepper Flynt Busbee (Salvati), whose father goes off to fight in World War

What do you do when life gives you a few hard knocks? You pick yourself up and keep going, while encouraging others to follow their dreams right along with you. At least that is what Meg V. Jones is attempting to do with her #notAStatistic campaign. According to Meg’s bio on her website, she has

We’ve covered plenty of awards shows in the past 3 years, but if we had to choose just one to cover again and again in the future–it would be the Noble Awards! They honor the important celebrities who are actually giving back to the community instead of just paying lip service to it–and in this

You might have seen our past interviews, usually hilarious, with Will Jay Behlendorf when he was a member of the super-popular boy band IM5 on our YouTube channel. And you might already know about his amicable separation from the band to work on his solo music (they are still friends to this day). Well, his

What is it going to take to stop sexual violence, especially against women? We tackle this issue by first talking with teens and community leaders at the San Diego Jewish Film Festival, plus the subject of the documentary Brave Miss World, Linor Abargil. We then visit CBS Studios for the One Billion Rising for Justice

Michael Peña interviews Cameron Palatas, star of the brand-new faith-based film “Pass the Light,” opening today February 6th 2015. We then join Lisa-Marie Woods for the red carpet premiere at the iconic Arclight Cinema in Hollywood. Interviews: Cameron Palatas, Allie Deberry, Brendon Eggertsen, Jacob Houston, Lou Wegner, Rachael Kathryn Bell, Milena Govich, Malcolm J. Goodwin,

TWK’s Lisa-Marie Woods hit the red carpet at the El Portal Theater in North Hollywood to meet the cast of the hit TV Series “The Fosters,” who share their viewpoints on what makes a true family and what they have learned about the foster care system since working on the show. Interviews: Jake T Austin,

We go behind the scenes at Laci Kay’s “Runnin’ Free” video shoot first, and then bring you the highlights of the world-famous 2015 Rose Parade. We wrap up this episode with the uber-cool video for the incredibly catchy “Rhythm is You” by X-Factor alumni AKNU, you are going to want to dance when you see

Kristi Hoopes is a 16-year-old (well, she’ll be 17 in a couple of weeks) with a bright future ahead of her. Not only does she maintain a high GPA, but she has also won nearly 40 awards recognizing her prowess as a singer and songwriter. Now, her dreams of recording in a world-class studio have

Singer Jocelyn Arndt and her brother/co-writer Christian prove that artists can be just as comfortable in the classroom as in the recording studio. In addition to touring and promoting their brand new EP Strangers in Fairlyland, both are also busy pursuing their educations at the world-famous Harvard University. Jocelyn and Chris are collectively known as

Calum Worthy, of Disney’s Austin & Ally fame, co-stars with Lexi Giovagnoli in the brand new movie All She Wishes, which premiered today on digital on demand platforms. We got the chance to ask Lexi a few questions about the movie, her role, and what it was like to work with Calum, and her interview

Breaker Novogratz is a 13-year-old who is no stranger to show business, being featured along with the rest of his family on such shows as Home by Novagratz and 9 by Design. Son of designers Cortney and Robert, he is starting to make his own moves after his family’s recent relocation to Los Angeles, signing

Teens Wanna Know hit the 83rd Annual Hollywood Christmas Parade to talk to several celebrities. It was quite a rainy day, but we made it out alive! Interviews: George Thorogood, Denise Austin, Erik Estrada, Laura McKenzie, R5 (Ross Lynch, Riker Lynch, Rydel Lynch, Rocky Lynch, Ellington Lee Ratliff), G.W. Bailey, Benjamin Flores Jr. (Lil P-Nut),

We were fortunate to cover the first ever Looking Ahead Awards, brought to the world by The Actor’s Fund. Highlights: Hilary Swank presented the Looking Ahead Parenting Award to her mom, Judy, and Tia and Tamera Mowry were presented the Education Award by their former “Sister Sister” co-star Jackee. Interviews: Hilary Swank, Judy Swank, Tia

Teens Wanna Know attended the premiere of Ballet RED, a fusion of ballet and EDM created by Josie Walsh. Interviews: Josie Walsh, Jealous Angel, Elliot Gould, Lexee Smith, David Golshan, Caitlin O’Connor, Phoebe Price, Alexa Ferr, Shane Sparks, Lindsay Kay Hayward, Carly Robyn Green, Katherine McNamara, Patricia Ward Kelly We also spoke with up-and-coming recording

In this episode of TWK, we covered TWO great events: First is the 13th Annual Citadel Outlets Tree Lighting Ceremony where we spoke with After Romeo, Cimorelli, Jana Kramer, and Josh Levi. Following that we show you the action at Miss Behave Girls Runway Show and Talent Search, where we talked fashion with Lexee Smith,

TWK covered the Innovation Run earlier this year, which raised funds for a local Los Angeles middle school. We spoke with several celebrity supporters, including Jack McGee and Laurie Metcalf from “The McCarthys,” Singer Mandy Rain, Connor Price from “Being Human,” “General Hospital’s” Jimmy Deshler, and the voice of Jimmy Neutron Debi Derryberry. We also

Fans of the smash hit series The Walking Dead will remember the Chambler family, befriended by The Governor in Season 4. One of the shocking tragedies of that season was the death of young Meghan Chambler at the hands of a buried zombie. That character was played by Meyrick Murphy, an up-and-coming actress who we

Gunnar Sizemore is a young actor who already has some impressive credits under his belt. You might have heard his work as the voice of Ignacio in The Book of Life movie or seen him portray Micah Brenner on ABC’s Nashville — or if you are a fan of Disney’s Kickin’ It, you probably saw

Pop-rock sensations R5, Fifth Harmony, Pretty Little Liars actress and singer Lucy Hale, and Girl Meets World’s Sabrina Carpenter took the stage at the T.J. Martell Foundation’s 6th Annual Family Day held at CBS Radford Studios in Studio City, CA on November 16th from 12 noon to 4 p.m. Teens Wanna Know attended this sold

13-year-old singer Summerlyn Powers (well, she’ll be 14 in about a week) has just released her debut EP “Dixie Dust.” Produced by Andrew Rollins (ABC’s Nashville Soundtrack), the release features four tracks which this young talent from Fairhope, Alabama co-wrote with award-winning singer/songwriter Pam Tillis. Summerlyn’s first song, “Alabama Kinda Girl” was released when she

Teens Wanna Know covered the 30th anniversary of AIDS Walk Los Angeles on October 12, 2014. The event featured plenty of celebrity horsepower including singer and former American Idol judge Paula Abdul, We got to speak with several of the celebrities who lent their support in order to raise money and awareness to combat the

By all accounts, Jaclyn Stapp is living quite a charmed life. She is an award-winning children’s book author, former beauty queen, spokesperson, model, mother of three children, and the wife of Grammy award-winning lead singer of rock band Creed, Scott Stapp. And recently, she added another accomplishment: founding a new non-profit organization for children aptly

Check out our interviews with Ariana Sloan, who perfoms her new song “We Look Good In Pictures” LIVE, and actor/entrepreneur Spencer Owens. Oh, and we recently celebrated our 2nd Birthday…so some of our friends gave us a couple of birthday shoutouts…including the feisty “Granny B”

The long-awaited film Innocence, based on Jane Mendelsohn’s novel of the same name, is finally hitting theaters tomorrow September 5th, and Teens Wanna Know was able to ask a few questions of its teen star Sophie Curtis. First, for those unfamiliar with the premise of the story, let’s cover the synopsis from the official press release: Haunted

Faith-based themes have been cropping up more and more in Hollywood films lately — from Noah to Son of God to Heaven is For Real — and audiences are responding by rewarding filmmakers with respectable box office grosses. Now another film with biblical themes is set to enter the fray, although this time, it’s a

The Stream is a brand-new coming-of-age film slated to premiere Tuesday August 26, 2014 at the Boys & Girls Club LA Harbor, with a simultaneous release on iTunes and in Walmart. It stars Mario Lopez, Kelly Rutherford, Rainn Wilson and Christopher Gorham. According to the press release, “A long time ago, in the summer of

In this episode we visit The Celebrity Experience where interview Director/Producer George Caceres, “Shake It Up!’s” Caroline Sunshine, “Lab Rats” Spencer Boldman, “The Fosters” Ashley Argota, and “Ravenswood” Luke Benward. We also check out a flash mob honoring Michael Jackson and review the Asus MeMO Pad 7. George Caceres IMDb: http://imdb.com/name/nm3900083/ Website: http://georgecfoundation.com/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/OfficialGeorgeCaceres

Clinton Sparks is a very talented and busy man. When he is not producing hits for Akon, Lady Gaga, T-Pain or dozens of other major artists, he is busy deejaying, appearing on TV, or running one of his businesses enterprises — including apparel stores and a marketing company. In addition to his self-created empire, the

Madeleine Hage is a college student with dreams of becoming a physician. That is not so unusual. What is unusual is that she, on purpose, travels to areas affected by terrible catastrophes — areas most people avoid. Madeleine doesn’t go to these places to sightsee, however. She goes to deliver much needed help to those

General Hospital’s Jimmy Deshler and filmmaker Riley Beres teamed up to produce a documentary on homelessness in L.A. We feature them, plus take you to the premiere of the film — ending off with a touching montage set to Caleb’s “Shelter.”

We explore deejaying in this episode of Teens Wanna Know as Michael Pena interviews DJ Young Slade in our studio, then goes live to his 16th birthday luau where stars like Becky G and InkMonstarr send some birthday shoutouts! Plus, we review Flips Audio Headphones…the worlds first headphones which flip out into loudspeakers to share

We were recently introduced to an outstanding teen singer whose vocal talent belies her young age. Her voice is so polished and airplay-ready that we wouldn’t be surprised if she isn’t all over country/pop radio within the space of a year or two. Yes, its that good. Meet Brittany Ray. First off, tell us a

We hit Hollywood for another red carpet party, this time to celebrate Kaley Stallings CD release. Plus, catch our host Michael M. Peña just as he steps out of the theater after watching a special preview of “Earth to Echo.” Interviews: Kayley Stallings, Eric Zuley, Ashley Argota, Meeghan Henry, Samantha Elizondo, Matthew Jacob Wayne, Elise

Autumn de Forest is a remarkable 12-year-old girl who just happens to be a world-renown artist, selling her first piece for $1,000 at age seven. She has sold considerably more since then, and has been featured on the Discovery Channel’s “Genius Kids,” the “Today Show” on NBC, and the “Wendy Williams Show,” among others. In

Teens Wanna Know hit the beautiful sands of Santa Monica to join Miranda Cosgrove and other celebrities in raising awareness about the need to curb ocean pollution, over-fishing, and other destructive actions. Interviews: Miranda Cosgrove, Ted Danson, Jenna Ushkowitz, Drake Bell, Ashlee Keating, Angela Kinsey, Angela Sun Miranda Cosgrove IMDB: http://imdb.com/name/nm1388927/ Website: http://mirandacosgrove.com/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/MirandaCosgrove

Teens Wanna Know covered the American Idol XIII finale with powerhouses Caleb Johnson and Jena Irene (Asciutto) to reveal just what it is like for these young performers on the most important night of their careers. Interviews: Caleb Johnson, Jena Irene, Harry Connick Jr., Scott MacIntyre, Matt Hicks, Ben Briley, Mikalah Gordon, Terry O’Quinn, Keith

Kaylee Rutland is an inspiring teenager who is making her dreams come true. She recorded her first EP in Nashville in 2012, and her video for “Into The Circle,” featuring Colt Ford and Jamie O’Neal, has been viewed 1.5 million times on YouTube, leading Billboard Magazine to name her one of the top 10 country

The world of Hollywood publicists can be mysterious to the uninitiated. In this episode of Teens Wanna Know, Michael M. Pena talks to Zack Teperman, president of ZTPR, who lifts the veil on exactly how publicists get their clients all that exposure you see in the press. Want to join this face-paced and fun industry?

The star of Gortimer Gibbon’s Life on Normal Street stopped by TWK studios to talk about his burgeoning career and his encounters with a cannibal, 25 lb bullfrog. Sloane Morgan Siegel IMDb:http://imdb.com/name/nm4470846/ Webpage: http://sloanemorgansiegel.com/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/sloanesiegel Twitter: https://twitter.com/sloanesiegel Instagram: http://instagram.com/sloanesiegel