Every Wednesday at a sports bar on Cahuenga called The Man Cave there's an invite only viewing party for Fox's smash hit "Empire." Part cast and crew gathering, part meet up for fans, the "Empire Wednesdays" party started with the show's pilot.
Man Cave owner Eddie Earl even came up with signature "Empire"-themed cocktails, which are named in honor of the show's characters. There's the Boo Boo Kitty, Jamal Juice and the Luscious Lucius.
"...The people come out and enjoy it... They could stay home and watch 'Empire' but they choose to come here and they get really interactive," Earl says.
But themed cocktails aside, "Empire" fans have another way of interacting with their favorite show: the soundtrack.
Last week's show featured the song "Conqueror," performed by Estelle and Jussie Smollett, who plays Jamal Lyon on "Empire." The song made top five in the iTunes store the day after it was featured in the show. This week, Columbia records is releasing an album of songs from Season One.
Emile Ennis Jr. co-hosts the "Empire After Show" a post-show chat on the
online broadcast network. His show -- about the show -- gets around 300 thousand downloads a week.
Ennis says music is a huge part of "Empire's" success.
"Fox is genius because Fox did this with 'Glee' and we even had shows like 'Smash' that did it but not that well," Ennis says. "But the thing about this show is that people are connecting with the music in a way that is just the smartest business decision ever."
What's more, Smollett was recently signed to Columbia records, which will "raise the profile even more on the show," Ennis says.
Sofia Stanley co-hosts the "Empire After Show." She says, sure, "Empire" the series is getting viewers' attention on Wednesdays -- last week's episode had the best ratings yet -- but it's the music that keeps people immersed in the show the other six days of the week.
"...I think the music element is what's making it real. It allows the show to live on even when the episode is over, because you're still singing the song. So it's almost taking a one hour show and making it immortal," Stanley says.