Darren Criss' star continues to rise. The recent University of Michigan graduate, currently co-starring on "Glee," recently sat down for an interview in the Rolling Stone offices. The RS item notes Criss' show-biz roots with the Team Starkid group at U-M, which created the viral online "Very Potter Musical" video spoofs of Harry Potter.

The RS interview was a bit unconventional — Criss strummed a guitar throughout and sort of improvised singing his answers. And he included a partial rendition of Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream," which he sang on "Glee." Here's the video:

Jenn McKee recently reported on AnnArbor.com that there's a chance Criss will return to Ann Arbor for another "Potter" musical. And don't forget that his big duet is on tonight's episode of "Glee."

Other entertainment news of note online today:

TELEVISION

• Possibly poking fun at the controversy over her "Sesame Street" appearance, Katy Perry appeared as part of a live-action/puppet segment on Sunday's episode of "The Simpsons."

• Fergie will host the Los Angeles portion of "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest" this year. Ne-Yo, Jennifer Hudson and Train are among the performers.

• The Detroit Free Press rounds up the latest celebrity sniping in Hollywood.

MOVIES

• TMZ reports that "The Hangover" costar Mike Epps hit a photographer who was harassing him during a private party in Detroit.

MUSIC

• Here's an unlikely hit: The Maccabeats of Yeshiva University have gone viral with their video for their Hanukkah song "Candlelight."

• MTV.com reports on the release of "Derezzed," the first single from Daft Punk's "Tron Legacy" soundtrack.

• Good grief. Who thought that another country-music awards show was a good idea, on top of the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Country Music Association Awards, the CMT Flameworthy Awards ... anyway, the first-ever American Country Awards were televised last night, with Carrie Underwood adding to her trophy case.

GAMES

• Neil Patrick Harris has been named the host of Spike TV's Video Game Awards.

Renee Tellez contributed to this roundup. Bob Needham is director of entertainment content for AnnArbor.com. Reach him at bobneedham@annarbor.com or 734-623-2541, and follow him on Twitter @bobneedham.