Trump has said that he hopes to preserve TikTok, which was the subject of a national security law signed by President Joe Biden last April because of concerns raised by Chinese ownership. He’s promised to sign an executive order granting the app more time to find a new owner, which was a requirement under the law. It’s still unclear whether Trump has the legal power to grant an extension, but he recently praised the app for helping him reach young voters during the election.

Trump proposed on Truth Social over the weekend that the US and TikTok’s parent, ByteDance Ltd., form a “joint venture” to keep the app operating. “I would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture,” he wrote. “By doing this, we save TikTok, keep it in good hands and allow it to say up.”

Chew’s appearance at the inauguration ceremony is a sign that TikTok and its Chinese parent company still see a chance for the app to get a reprieve from the ban. Both companies and content creators who use the app for their livelihoods sued the US government over the law, and brought their arguments before the Supreme Court in early January, though the justices ultimately upheld the law.

TikTok CEO Joins Trump’s Inauguration With App’s Future in Doubt

Under the US law, passed last year with bipartisan support, ByteDance had until Jan. 19, the day before the inauguration, to arrange a sale of its US TikTok business or face a ban. ByteDance has said it doesn’t intend to sell the app. TikTok’s US business is valued at an estimated $40 billion to $50 billion.

Chew’s relationship with Trump could be key to the app’s survival. After TikTok temporarily went dark in the US over the weekend, the app returned on Sunday following Trump’s pledge that he would not enforce the law. The law forbids tech giants like Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google and Oracle Corp. from carrying TikTok in their respective app stores or providing the app with necessary cloud and infrastructure support.

“Thanks for your patience and support,” TikTok wrote to users in an in-app notification on Sunday. “As a result of President Trump’s efforts, TikTok is back in the U.S.!”

Chew, who also visited Trump as his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida in December, was not the only significant tech executive at the Washington events. Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and a close Trump adviser, was also in attendance, as was Meta Platforms Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon.com Inc. co-founder Jeff Bezos as well as Sundar Pichai, Alphabet’s CEO.

TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew attended President Donald Trump’s inaugural events in Washington, appearing at a church service before the swearing-in ceremony as his popular video-sharing app faces the threat of a nationwide ban.

Trump's second return to the White House marked a spiritual awakening in the US. Nathaniel, known for his spirit-filled music, was among the few Nigerian ministers, including Pastor WF Kumuyi, who were invited to grace the inauguration events.

The event, held after Trump was sworn in as the 47th president of the United States, is a non-official and non-governmental gathering, focusing on intercessory prayers and spiritual support for the incoming administration of Trump and Vice President JD Vance.

Nathaniel, who was scheduled to sing at the Presidential Inaugural Prayer Breakfast, took centre stage with his trumpet, leading worshippers in songs.

The Nigerian gospel artist's songs were mainly centred on intercessory prayers for the United States as Trump's administration took charge.

Nathaniel also handed the White House and the US to Jesus Christ as he sang the song 'Take The Stage.'

Also, recall that the gospel singer, while testifying at a Christian event in Nigeria, narrated how he received a call from Reverend Turner, who shared how God told her to send for him to release God's glory upon the United States.

His heartfelt prayer also sought satisfaction for American citizens, asking God to make them His vessels.

“Please take the glory/ I’m satisfied/ Just to see you glorified/ Take the nation Lord and have your way/ We’re just your vessel/ And nothing more/ We’re satisfied/ Just to see you glorified/ Jesus, take the White House/ And have your way/ We’re just your vessels and nothing more/ When you’re done moving this nation/ Please take the glory/ We’re satisfied just to see you glorified,” he sings.

Bassey is a pastor, trumpeter, and songwriter popularly known for his songs ‘Imela’, ‘Onise Iyanu’, and ‘Olowogbogboro’.

He has established himself as one of the prominent gospel ministers in Nigeria.

Nathaniel Bassey sings at Trump's inauguration

Iranian pop star Tataloo sentenced to death for blasphemy

Amir Tataloo, a hugely popular artist among Iranian youth and known for tattoos that cover his entire face, was handed multiple "short and long" jail terms by a Tehran court last May, according to his lawyer. This included a three-year sentence for blasphemy and 10 years for 'promoting prostitution'.

He was also charged with spreading propaganda against the Islamic Republic and dissemating obsence material.

Blasphemy carries the potential for the death penalty in Iran, although this charge was later overturned and referred to another court.

Reformist newspaper Etemad had reported that Iran's Supreme Court "accepted the prosecutor's objection" to a previous five-year jail term on offences such as blasphemy and claimed "the case was reopened, and this time the defendant was sentenced to death for insulting the prophet", referring to Islam's Prophet Muhammed.

On Sunday, Iranian authorities denied reports circulating in Iranian media that 'Amir Tataloo' had been sentenced to death.

"He has recently become eligible for leniency under legal provisions. Leniency provisions, or legal reprieves, are measures outlined in criminal law to assist convicts in line with the restorative justice approach," the Iranian judiciary said in a statement according to Iran International.

Amir Tataloo was living in exile in Istanbul from 2018 until December 2023 when he was deported by Turkish authorities back to Iran, where he was detained despite his previous support for the government and penning a song promoting Iran's nuclear programme in 2015.

In that year, he had met ultra-conservative politician Ebrahim Raisi in 2017, who was later to become Iran's president, in an apparent bid to reach out to young Iranians.

Iran has denied issuing the death penalty for famed Iranian rapper Amirhossein Maghsoudloo - better known as 'Amir Tataloo' - following reports in local media.

Reports state that the supreme court accepted the prosecutor’s objection to a previous five-year jail term on offences including blasphemy. The case was reopened, and the defendant was sentenced to death for insulting the Islam’s prophet Muhammad.

Reports also added that the verdict was not final and could still be appealed against.

The heavily tattooed 37-year-old pop star has been in detention in Iran since December 2023 after being extradited from Turkey.

Tataloo had also been sentenced to 10 years for promoting prostitution and in other cases was charged with disseminating propaganda against the Islamic Republic and publishing obscene content.

Tataloo is known for combining rap, pop and R&B, and was previously instrumental to conservative politicians as a way of reaching out to young, liberal-minded Iranians.

In 2015, he released a song supporting Iran’s nuclear program, which fell apart after the Trump government later withdrew from the deal. In 2017 Tataloo held a televised meeting with the ultra-conservative Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi, who later died in a helicopter crash.

His lawyer, Stan Alieke, who announced this on social media this evening, wrote;

“Delighted to announce that our client, Mr Darlington Achakpo Aka Speed Darlington (Akpi) has regained his freedom after two months of illegal incarceration.

For the record, as his team of lawyers, we will be exploring every angle of the law to ensure that he gets justice for his fundamental human right which was deprived of him by the Nigerian Police Force and for the unfair/ unjust treatment he was subjected to.

Mr Achakpo extends his gratitude to everyone who threw in their support and Special thanks to my colleagues, Mr Marshal Abubakar Esq, Barr Deji Adeyanju, Barr Hamza Nuh, Barr David.

Freedom cometh by struggle. ”Speed had been in police detention since November 2024 after allegedly jumping bail. He is currently being investigated by the police after his colleague, Burnaboy, petitioned the police claiming he defamed his person in a video he released last December insinuating the singer won a Grammy award after ‘’bending down” for Diddy.

Singer, Darlington Achakpo aka Speed Darlington, has regained his freedom.

Court Directs Police to Release Speed Darlington Pending Hearing

The Federal High Court has directed the Nigerian Police to immediately release popular singer Speed Darlington, also known as Akpi, pending the hearing of the substantive matter. This ruling comes after reports of police defiance of a prior court order.

The court also instructed Abubakar Marshal, Esq., to stand as surety for the singer. Darlington’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, confirmed the development in an X post.

Adeyanju stated, “The Federal High Court has directed the Nigerian Police to comply with the order to release Speed Darlington immediately pending the hearing of the substantive matter. The court further directs Abubakar Marshal, Esq. to stand as surety to Akpi.”

However, despite a December 23, 2024 ruling declaring Darlington’s detention unlawful, the police had refused to comply, prompting outrage.

Adeyanju expressed frustration, saying, “The Nigerian Police have refused to release Speed Darlington a.k.a Akpi despite the explicit order of the Federal High Court. This is the highest form of disrespect to the judiciary.”

Justice M.S. Liman, who presided over the case, ordered the Inspector General of Police to charge Darlington within 48 hours or release him unconditionally.

Court Grants EX-Malaysian PM’s Plea to Serve Prison Term at Home

The Federal High Court has directed the Nigerian Police to immediately release popular singer Speed Darlington, also known as Akpi, pending the hearing of the substantive matter. This ruling comes after reports of police defiance of a prior court order.

The court also instructed Abubakar Marshal, Esq., to stand as surety for the singer. Darlington’s lawyer, Deji Adeyanju, confirmed the development in an X post.

Adeyanju stated, “The Federal High Court has directed the Nigerian Police to comply with the order to release Speed Darlington immediately pending the hearing of the substantive matter. The court further directs Abubakar Marshal, Esq. to stand as surety to Akpi.”

However, despite a December 23, 2024 ruling declaring Darlington’s detention unlawful, the police had refused to comply, prompting outrage.

Adeyanju expressed frustration, saying, “The Nigerian Police have refused to release Speed Darlington a.k.a Akpi despite the explicit order of the Federal High Court. This is the highest form of disrespect to the judiciary.”

Justice M.S. Liman, who presided over the case, ordered the Inspector General of Police to charge Darlington within 48 hours or release him unconditionally.

The court ruled that his continued detention violated his fundamental rights to dignity, liberty, and freedom of expression under Chapter IV of the Nigerian Constitution.

The court reiterated, “The Applicant is to be charged to court within 48 hours or released unconditionally before the hearing of the substantive application.”

Plot

Three years after her adventure with the demigod Maui and the island goddess Te Fiti,[c] Moana spends her days exploring other islands near her home island of Motunui in the hope of finding people connected to the ocean.

In a vision, her ancestor, Tautai Vasa, reveals why none of those people are connected anymore: the malicious storm god Nalo wanted power over the mortals, so he sunk a legendary island called Motufetu—which connected all islands—down to the depths of the ocean. Tautai further warns that the people of Motunui will go extinct in the future if Moana cannot find a way to raise Motufetu. She assembles a crew of people from Motunui—clever craftswoman Loto, historian and Maui fanboy Moni, and grumpy elderly farmer Keke, alongside her pet pig and rooster, Pua and Heihei—to follow the path of a comet across the ocean towards Motufetu.

Meanwhile, Maui is seeking Motufetu himself since he had a previous quarrel with Nalo, but he is captured by Nalo's enforcer, Matangi. Maui is reluctant to contact Moana, as he fears she may not survive if she comes to help. Moana and her crew are captured by the Kakamora, a tribe of savage coconut-like pirates previously encountered by Moana, who reveal that Nalo's actions against Motufetu had caused them to be disconnected from their home island. One member of the Kakamora, Kotu, helps the crew paralyze a gargantuan monster clam inside of which is Matangi's lair. While the crew finds Maui, Moana meets Matangi and learns that she is not happy serving Nalo. Matangi helps Moana escape and reunite with Maui and her friends, before sending them to where Nalo is.

Maui warns that Nalo's realm is deadlier compared to the mortal realm and that fighting him will spell certain death for mere mortals. Nalo's monsters ambush the group, damaging their raft and washing them ashore on an isolated island. Moana begins to despair, but Maui encourages her to keep on going. With Moana revitalized, the group plans to have Maui raise the island so that Moana can touch it, as that is the only way to restore Motufetu and stop Nalo. Her crew repairs her raft, but when the group ventures forth to confront Nalo, they encounter a gigantic storm.

Moana, realizing that Nalo is trying to stop the humans from breaking the curse, asks Maui to lift the island enough for her to touch it. As Maui begins to pull up the island with his giant hook, Nalo strips Maui of his demigod powers with a lightning bolt. Moana, in a moment of desperation, dives into the ocean to touch the island underwater. Just as Moana succeeds, Nalo's lightning bolt kills her. Maui jumps in after her body, and with a magical chant, summons the spirits of Tautai Vasa and Moana's ancestors (including her grandmother Tala) who help revive her as a demigoddess, with Moana gaining a wayfinder's tattoo. Maui, having also regained his powers as a demigod, finally raises Motufetu and helps Moana reconnect the people with the ocean.

The crew returns home to Motunui, leading a flotilla of the peoples of the ocean, and a celebration is held in Moana's honor. In a mid-credits scene, Nalo plans his revenge and is about to punish Matangi for helping Moana, when the giant crab Tamatoa arrives to join his cause.[10]

Moana 2[b] is a 2024 American animated musical adventure film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. The second film in the Moana franchise, it was directed by David Derrick Jr., Jason Hand, and Dana Ledoux Miller from a screenplay by Jared Bush and Miller.[1][2] Auliʻi Cravalho, Dwayne Johnson, Temuera Morrison, Nicole Scherzinger, Rachel House, and Alan Tudyk reprise their roles from the first film, with Hualālai Chung, Rose Matafeo, David Fane, Awhimai Fraser, Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda, and Gerald Ramsey joining the cast. Set three years after the first film, it follows the titular character reuniting with the demigod Maui and assembling a wayfinding crew to find the lost island of Motufetu, break its curse, and reconnect the people of the ocean.

The follow-up to Moana was originally developed as a miniseries for Disney+, but by February 2024 it had been reworked into a theatrical sequel. Mark Mancina and Opetaia Foaʻi, the composers and co-songwriters of the first film, returned to score and write the songs, while Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear replace Lin-Manuel Miranda as additional songwriters.

Moana 2 premiered at the Lanikuhonua Cultural Institute in Kapolei, Hawaii, on November 21, 2024, and was released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures in the United States on November 27. It received mixed reviews from critics and earned $1.02 billion worldwide, outgrossing its predecessor and becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 2024.[9] It was nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards.

Moana 2

Casting

Shortly after the announcement that the series was being repurposed into a theatrical feature film, Auliʻi Cravalho and Dwayne Johnson were confirmed to reprise their respective roles as Moana and Maui.[11][12][14][15] Johnson later confirmed that he had been involved with the project since its conception, including its development, stating: "I can't wait for fans to see the film, the technology, the effects, cutting edge. We all really went for it. We thought if we're gonna make a sequel to something so beloved, let's really go for it."[14] Several more cast members were unveiled at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, including Temuera Morrison and Nicole Scherzinger reprising their roles as Moana's parents from the first film. New additions include Khaleesi Lambert-Tsuda as Moana's new sister, and Rose Matafeo, David Fane, and Hualālai Chung as members of Moana's wayfinding crew.[10]

According to Cravalho, this film was the first time "that a Disney princess has been allowed to age."[30] When Cravalho returned to the recording studio after the first film to record lines for Disney fireworks shows, Disney on Ice, and Disney Lego Princess, she was repeatedly asked to raise her vocal pitch to sound like herself as a teenager at age 16.[30] She was delighted when the film's directors allowed her to record Moana's lines at age 19 with her natural voice as a woman in her early twenties.[30]

Animation

Animation was handled at Walt Disney Animation Studios' Vancouver studio when it was being developed as a series, while pre-production and storyboarding took place at the Burbank studio.[22] It is the first feature film to be made at the Vancouver studio,[22][31] At the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, it was revealed that veterans Mark Henn and Eric Goldberg would supervise a team of apprentices of hand-drawn animators for Maui's tattoos. Goldberg was a supervising animator for "Mini Maui" for the first film.[10]

Production

In December 2020, during a Disney Investor Day meeting, Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer Jennifer Lee announced that a long-form musical comedy series titled Moana: The Series, based on the 2016 film of the same name, was in development at the studio and set for release on Disney+ in 2023.[19][20] The series was to consist of five episodes.[21] By August 2021, it was reported that Osnat Shurer would once again serve as producer.[22] In January 2022, it was announced that David Derrick Jr., storyboard artist for the first film, would serve as the writer and director.[23][24][25] The series entered development simultaneously with the live-action remake of Moana according to Jared Bush, a writer of the film and screenplay writer of the 2016 animated film.[26]

Dana Ledoux Miller came onto the series in early 2023 as a consulting writer, having finished writing the live-action remake with Bush, and turned in several revisions for the series.[27]

According to Bush, the director and the writers repeatedly received feedback during development to the effect of: "We love this story. Why is it not going on the biggest screen you can possibly imagine?"[21] In January 2024, Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman "informed the team that they needed to shift rapidly from making a five-episode streaming series to a second Moana feature film".[21] This last-minute "story pivot" was possible because nearly all the actual animation work for Disney animated films is not performed until the final year before the release date—everything before that is development.[21]

In February 2024, Disney CEO Bob Iger officially announced that the series had been reworked into a theatrical sequel titled Moana 2, with Derrick and Shurer remaining attached to the project.[28] Iger explained that this occurred after Disney executives saw early footage: "We were impressed with what we saw and knew it deserved a theatrical release".[29] By the release of the first trailer in May, Jason Hand and Dana Ledoux Miller were confirmed as co-directors alongside Derrick, while Christina Chen and Yvett Merino were revealed to replace Shurer as the film's producers.[1]

Plot

In Antwerp, Donnie Wilson joins the Panther Crew, led by Jovahnna, to steal a red diamond and files from an airport hangar. They flee disguised as SWAT. Back in Los Angeles, Sheriff Nick O'Brien, recently divorced and put on leave by the police, interrogates Merrimen's widow Holly about any connections between Merrimen and Donnie.

The Panthers plan their next heist: a diamond vault at the World Diamond Center in Nice. Donnie, posing as an executive, infiltrates the bank, while Nick discovers Donnie's involvement through the local police force led by Detective Hugo. Nick meets Donnie and forces his way into the crew. Jovahnna introduces Nick to Chava, the vault manager's wife and their inside link. Meanwhile, the Italian mafia, angry over the stolen red diamond, plans retaliation.

The Panthers party at a club, where Nick flirts with Jovahnna, causing Marko, her ex-boyfriend, and Vuk to brawl with Nick. After being kicked out of the club, Nick and Donnie are kidnapped by the mafia, demanding the diamond's return to their leader, the infamous Octopus. After being let go, Nick encounters Hugo in a church, before recommitting to the heist. Jovahnna announces that Marko and Vuk have quit the crew following their fight.

Disguised as a security contractor, Nick maps out the vault with Donnie. The crew executes a meticulous infiltration, avoiding surveillance and cracking safes. They secure the diamond and cash but face complications during their escape. Nick, improvising under pressure, saves the crew but attracts attention from guards. They regroup and flee, transferring their loot to Jovahnna's van, before Nick, Donnie and crew member Slavko continue on to the Italian border to escape. The crew are ambushed however by Marko and Vuk who have led a rival gang The Tigers to kill them and steal their loot. Marko and Vuk are killed by the Octopus' henchmen, saving the three Panthers. Donnie returns the diamond, and the mafia spares their lives.

The Panthers celebrate in Italy, but the French authorities arrest the crew. Nick is revealed to have ratted the crew out during his previous encounter with Hugo, but feels guilt at snitching on his newfound friends. Later, Donnie, in prison, is confronted by Nick, who admits his dual nature, but shares that their friendship was real before hinting at a potential escape. During Donnie's transport to another facility, the mafia ambushes the convoy, kidnapping him. The Octopus recruits Donnie to work for him, impressed by his skills.

Nick, having assisted the mafia in rescuing Donnie, receives a thankful text message from him, as he drives along the coastline.

Release

Originally set to be distributed by STX Entertainment, as with the first film, Briarcliff Entertainment purchased the film for distribution in the United States in May 2023 with Sierra/Affinity handling international sales of the film with a wide theatrical release being planned in the United States for late 2024.[12] However, in May 2024, Lionsgate was announced to have distribution rights as part of their acquisition of financiers Entertainment One (later rebranded to Lionsgate Canada) from Hasbro in December 2023, with the film released in the United States on January 10, 2025.[13]

Production

After the release of Den of Thieves in 2018, development of a sequel was in the works with plans for Christian Gudegast to return as director and writer, as well as for Gerard Butler and O'Shea Jackson Jr. to return and reprise their roles.[6] The film was originally slated to begin filming in 2022.[9][10] Principal photography took place from April to July 2023 in the United Kingdom and the Canary Islands.[8][7] The production transformed several aspects of the main streets in Santa Cruz de Tenerife for the shoot, such as building up a police station and jewelry store and setting up a local bar to appear French.[11]

Kevin Matley composed the film score, replacing Cliff Martinez from the previous film. Lionsgate Records released the soundtrack, coinciding with the film's release date.

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is a 2025 American heist film that serves as the sequel to the 2018 film Den of Thieves. Gerard Butler and O'Shea Jackson Jr. reprise their roles from the first film, while Christian Gudegast returns to write and direct. Inspired by the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist, the plot follows an LASD sheriff who follows a suspected thief to Europe in an attempt to team-up with him for a robbery.[4][5] Lionsgate theatrically released the film in the United States on January 10, 2025. The film received mixed reviews from critics and has grossed $40 million worldwide.

Reception

As of January 26, 2025, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera has grossed $31.8 million in the United States and Canada, and $8.6 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $40.4 million.[3][1]

In the United States and Canada, Pantera was released alongside Better Man, and was projected to gross $11–13 million from 3,008 theaters in its opening weekend.[2] The film made $6 million on its first day, including an estimated $1.35 million from Thursday night previews.[14] It went on to slightly overperform and debut to $15 million, topping the box office and nearly matching the first film's $15.2 million opening, which Deadline Hollywood attributed to the choice of release date.[15][16] In its second weekend the film made $6.6 million (a drop of 56.1%), finishing in fifth, and then $3 million in its third weekend.[17][18]

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

Early life

Selena Marie Gomez was born on July 22, 1992, in Grand Prairie, Texas,[3] to Ricardo Joel Gomez and Texas-born[4] former stage actress Mandy Teefey.[5] She was named after Tejano singer Selena Quintanilla, who died in 1995.[6][7] Her father is of Mexican descent, while her mother, who was adopted, has Italian ancestry.[8][9][10] Gomez's paternal grandparents emigrated to Texas from Monterrey in the 1970s.[11] Of her heritage, Gomez has called herself "a proud third-generation American-Mexican"[12] and once said "My family does have quinceañeras, and we go to the communion church. We do everything that's Catholic, but we don't really have anything traditional except go to the park and have barbecues on Sundays after church."[13] Gomez's Spanish fluency waned after age seven, when she began working on television.[11] Her parents divorced when she was five years old, and she remained with her mother.[5][14] Gomez has two younger half-sisters and a younger stepbrother: Gracie Elliot Teefey, through Mandy and her second husband, Brian Teefey,[15][16] and Victoria "Tori" and Marcus Gomez, through Ricardo and his second wife, Sara.[17] She earned her high-school diploma through homeschooling in May 2010.[18]

Gomez was born when her mother was 16 years old.[19] The family had financial troubles throughout Gomez's childhood, her mother struggling to provide for the pair. At one point, Gomez recalls that they had to search for quarters just to get gas for their car. Her mother later recalled that the two would frequently walk to their local dollar store to buy spaghetti for dinner.[20] Gomez has said, "I was frustrated that my parents weren't together, and never saw the light at the end of the tunnel where my mom was working hard to provide a better life for me. I'm terrified of what I would have become if I'd stayed [in Texas]."[21] She later added that her mother "was really strong around me. Having me at 16 had to have been a big responsibility. She gave up everything for me, had three jobs, supported me, sacrificed her life for me." Gomez had a close relationship with her grandparents as a child and appeared in various pageants. Her grandparents often took care of her while her parents finished their schooling, and she has said they "raised her" until she found success in show business.[22]

Music records

Gomez has the most successful Afrobeats song of all time with Calm Down.[397] The song broke the records as the highest- and longest-charting African artist-led song on the Hot 100,[662] the longest-running number-one of all time on the Billboard US Afrobeats Songs chart, with 58 weeks at the summit,[663] the longest-charting song in the top 10 and overall on the Pop Airplay chart, with 45 and 71 weeks respectively,[391] the first African artist-led track to reach 1 billion streams on Spotify,[664] and 1 billion on-demand streams in the US; its music video became the most-viewed Afrobeats song on YouTube.[665][666] Gomez is one of six woman to score at least three number-one singles on the Pop Airplay chart from a single set.[199] With her EP, Revelación and her single "Baila Conmigo", she became the first female act to top the US Latin Albums and Latin Airplay charts simultaneously in over a decade.[349] Gomez is the longest active run of any artist with 16 consecutive top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.[667] She broke the record with the song "Ice Cream" with Blackpink as the third-highest 24-hour debut for a music video on YouTube at the time, with over 79 million views, and the highest for female artist and female collaboration,[668] and the most-viewed music video published in 2016 on Youtube with "We Don't Talk Anymore" with Charlie Puth.[221] Gomez became the second woman to became Spotify's most-streamed artist in November 2018, with 46 million monthly listeners.[669][670]

Gomez has broken many variety of world records. Gomez has topped the Billboard 200 three consecutive times,[310] and the Billboard Hot 100 once,[306] and Billboard Artist 100.[671] As of May 2017, she has sold 24.3 million songs in the United States,[672] and as of August 2023, she has sold 3.6 million albums in the US, and shifted more than 11.5 million album-equivalent units.[c][673] According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she has 63 million certified units in the US.[c][674] She is one of the most-streamed artists on Spotify globally.[675] Seven of Gomez's songs have reached over one billion streams on Spotify,[676] and two of her music videos have reached over two billion views on YouTube ("We Don't Talk Anymore" is the most-viewed music video published in 2016 on it)

Beliefs

Gomez was raised Catholic. In 2005, at age 13, she wanted a purity ring, and her father went to the church and had it blessed. She has said, "He actually used me as an example for other kids: I'm going to keep my promise to myself, to my family and to God." Gomez stopped wearing the ring in 2010.[683] In 2014, Gomez said that she listened to Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) by Hillsong United before performing at the 2014 American Music Awards.[684] In 2016, she appeared at a Hillsong Young & Free concert in Los Angeles, leading worship by singing her song Nobody.[685][686][687] When a fan on Twitter asked her who the lyrics to "Nobody" refer to, Gomez replied that they refer to God.[688] She also covered Hillsong Worship's song "Transfiguration" during her Revival Tour.[689] In 2017, she said she did not like the term "religion" and that sometimes it "freaks me out," adding, "I don't know if it's necessarily that I believe in religion as much as I believe in faith and a relationship with God."[690] In 2017, she began to worship at Hillsong Church in Los Angeles,[691] and has said that she does not consider herself religious, but is more concerned with her faith and connection to God.[692] [693] In December 2020, she left Hillsong, due to a scandal involving a pastor.[694]

In 2021, she claims to maintain her Christian faith and having read three times the book The Purpose Driven Life by Baptist Christian pastor Rick Warren

Selena Marie Gome born July 22, 1992 is an American actress, singer, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the television series Barney & Friends (2002–2004), and emerged as a teen idol for her leading role as Alex Russo on the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2012). She signed with Hollywood Records in 2008 and formed the band Selena Gomez & the Scene, which released three albums: Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010), and When the Sun Goes Down (2011).

Gomez has since released three solo studio albums that debuted atop the US Billboard 200. Her EDM-infused debut record, Stars Dance (2013), yielded the international top-ten single "Come & Get It". She moved to Interscope Records and released the electropop album Revival (2015), supported by the top-ten singles "Good for You", "Same Old Love", and "Hands to Myself". Its follow-up, the dance-pop-influenced Rare (2020), contained her first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Lose You to Love Me". Gomez then released the Spanish-language EP Revelación (2021), which earned her nominations at the Grammys and Latin Grammy Awards. She has released many collaborative singles, including "We Don't Talk Anymore", "It Ain't Me", "Wolves", "Taki Taki", and "Calm Down (Remix)", the last of which is the most successful Afrobeats song.

Gomez has starred in films such as Another Cinderella Story (2008), Monte Carlo (2011), Spring Breakers (2012), The Fundamentals of Caring (2016), and The Dead Don't Die (2019). She voiced Mavis in the Hotel Transylvania film franchise (2012–2022). Gomez has produced series such as 13 Reasons Why (2017–2020), Living Undocumented (2019) and Selena + Chef (2020–2023), and has played a lead role in Only Murders in the Building since 2021. Her accolades include an American Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, a Cannes Film Festival Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, and 16 Guinness World Records. She has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for her acting role in film Emilia Pérez.

Gomez has worked with charitable organizations. She advocates for mental health, and gender, racial, and LGBT equality, and has been a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador since 2009. She founded the cosmetic company Rare Beauty in 2020, valued at $2 billion in 2024,[2] and non-profit Rare Impact Fund. She has appeared in listicles such as the Time 100 (2020) and Forbes 30 Under 30 (2016 and 2020), was named Billboard's Woman of the Year (2017), and was made a member of the Order of Arts and Letters by the Government of France in 2024. She is one of the wealthiest musicians and is the most-followed woman on Instagram.

Selena Gomez

Relationships

Gomez dated singer Nick Jonas in 2008. She appeared in the music video for his band's song "Burnin' Up".[708] From December 2010 to March 2018, Gomez was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Canadian singer Justin Bieber.[709][710] During their breakups, she briefly dated Russian-German disc jockey Zedd and Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd.[711][712]

As of June 2023, Gomez is in a relationship with record producer Benny Blanco.[713][714] She formally announced their engagement on December 11, 2024,[715] following a period of media rumors

Philanthropy and advocacy

UNICEF

In October 2008, Gomez participated in St. Jude's Children's Hospital's "Runway For Life" benefit in strutting her stuff down the runway in Beverly Hills, where over $1 million was raised for the cause.[473][474] That same month, Gomez was named UNICEF's spokesperson for the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign, which encouraged children to raise money on Halloween to help children around the world.[475] In August 2009, Gomez, then 17 years old, became the youngest UNICEF ambassador (Millie Bobby Brown later surpassed this record).[476][477] In her first official field mission, Gomez traveled to Ghana in September 2009 for one week to witness first-hand the stark conditions of vulnerable children that lack vital necessities such as clean water, nourishment, education and healthcare.[478][479] Gomez explained in an interview with Associated Press correspondents that she wanted to use her star power to bring awareness to Ghana: "That's why I feel very honored to have a voice that kids listen to and take into consideration [...] I had people on my tour asking me where IS Ghana, and they Googled it [...] and because I went there, they now know where Ghana is. So it's pretty incredible."[479][480] Gomez said, of her role as ambassador, that "Every day 25,000 children die from preventable causes. I stand with UNICEF in the belief that we can change that number from 25,000 to zero. I know we can achieve this because every moment, UNICEF is on the ground providing children with the lifesaving assistance needed to ensure zero becomes a reality."[478]

Gomez was named spokesperson for UNICEF's 2009 Trick-or-Treat campaign for the second year in a row.[481] She raised over $700,000 for the charity in 2008 and stated that she hopes to be able to raise US$1 million in 2009.[479] Gomez participated in a celebrity auction[482] and hosted a live web cast series on Facebook in support of the Trick-or-Treat campaign.[483] She returned as the UNICEF spokesperson for the 60th anniversary of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign in 2010.[484] In celebration of the organization's 60th anniversary, Gomez and the Scene held a benefit concert, donating all proceeds to the campaign.[485] Gomez also encouraged teenagers to donate via social media. She also auctioned personal items to CharityBuzz.com, designed a Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF t-shirt and participated in a small concert in Los Angeles. With Gomez's help, UNICEF raised $4 million.[486]

In February 2011, Gomez traveled to Chile to meet with the families of the UNICEF-supported "Programa Puente", which helped families better understand and develop skills to deal with early childhood education, development, and other issues related to raising children. Gomez remarked that "UNICEF is helping Chilean families get out of poverty, prevent violence within the home and promote education. To witness first hand these families' struggles, and also their hope and perseverance, was truly inspiring".[487] In March, Gomez participated in the UNICEF Tap Project's "Celebrity Tap Pack" which featured limited-edition, custom-made water bottles with tap water from the homes of each celebrity advocate to raise funds and increase profile for the clean water and sanitation programs.[488] All the funds raised (the campaign raised $900,000) made it possible to provide clean, safe drinking water to children in Vietnam, Togo, Mauritania, and Cameroon- countries where it's desperately needed.[489][490] She was also featured in videos that promoted the campaign.[491][492] In April 2012, she advocated for the global "Sound the Alarm" campaign on Facebook and Twitter, and recorded a public announcement encouraging young people to donate $10 via text message to prevent the death of a million children from malnutrition in the Sahel Region of West and Central Africa.[493]

Gomez has conducted and organized three charity concerts (2010–2013) to help UNICEF provide children around the world with life-saving therapeutic foods, medicines, clean water, education, and immunization. In total, Gomez's three charity concerts for UNICEF have raised nearly $400,000 for UNICEF programs worldwide.[494][495][496][497] In 2014, Gomez visited Nepal to raise awareness for children in need.[498] A UNICEF ambassador since 2009, Gomez has played an active role in advocating for the world's "most vulnerable children" by participating in several campaigns, events, and initiatives on behalf of the organization.[499] In June 2021, Gomez signed a UNICEF open letter urging the G7 "to donate more coronavirus vaccines to the international COVAX initiative.

Personal life

Property

Gomez owned a $6.6 million home in Calabasas, Los Angeles.[678] In 2014, she sold her mansion in Tarzana, Los Angeles for $3.5 million.[679] In 2015, she purchased a mansion in Fort Worth, Texas, for $3.5 million, and in October 2018 the house was sold.[680] In 2020, Gomez moved to a $5 million mansion in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Encino.[681] In the same year, she sold her house in Studio City, Los Angeles for $2.3 million

Gomez at the UNICEF 2012 Snowflake Ball in New York City

Pierre in 2024

Born: 7 June 1994 (age 30)[1]
West Croydon, Greater London, England[2]

Alma mater:LAMDA

Occupation:Actor

Years active:2016–present

Aaron Pierre (actor)

Aaron Stone Pierre (born 7 June 1994) is an English actor. After training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Pierre gained recognition for his role as Dev-Em in the science fiction series Krypton (2018–2019). He has since starred in the period drama miniseries The Underground Railroad (2021), and the thriller films Old (2021) and Rebel Ridge (2024). Also in 2024, he portrayed Malcolm X in the miniseries Genius and voiced Mufasa in Mufasa: The Lion King.

Early life

Pierre was born on 7 June 1994 in London.[2] He is of Jamaican, Curaçao and Sierra Leonean background.[3]

He participated in athletics and sprinting as a child and developed an interest in acting as a teenager.[4] He joined the Croydon Young People's Theatre (CRYPT) once he moved areas.[5][6] He took Performing Arts at Lewisham College[7] before going on to train in Toronto and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art,[8] graduating in 2016.[9]

Career

Pierre appeared in 2 episodes of the BBC One series The A Word and played a Roman soldier Antonius in series 1 of the Sky Atlantic series Britannia.[10] In 2018, he began starring as Dev-Em in the Syfy series Krypton.[11][12][13] That same year, Pierre starred as Cassio in Othello at Shakespeare's Globe.[14][15] For his performance, he received an Ian Charleson Award commendation. He played the King opposite Lenny Henry in the 2019 production of King Hedley II at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.[16]

American director Barry Jenkins saw Pierre in Othello and sent him a message after, inviting him to audition for his new series. Pierre landed the role of Caesar in The Underground Railroad, released on Amazon Prime in May 2021.[17][18] In July 2021, Pierre appeared as Mid-Sized Sedan / Brendan in M. Night Shyamalan's film Old.[19][20]

In August 2021, it was reported that Pierre would reteam with Barry Jenkins as a young Mufasa in a Lion King film.[21]

In October 2021, after John Boyega stepped down for family reasons,[22] Pierre starred in Jeremy Saulnier's film Rebel Ridge, streamed on Netflix in 2024. In 2021, he starred in Foe, an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Iain Reid.[23]

In February 2022, Pierre joined the cast of the upcoming superhero film Blade, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and scheduled to be released on November 7, 2025,[24] but was released from the project by March 2024 as a result of script rewrites.[25]

He won the Best Supporting Performance in a Film at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, for his performance as Francis in the film Brother.[26]

Pierre provided the voice of a young Mufasa in Mufasa: The Lion King.

In October 2024, Pierre was cast as John Stewart / Green Lantern in DC Studios's Lanterns television series

A film, also known as a movie or motion picture,[a] is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, since the 1930s, synchronized with sound and (less commonly) other sensory stimulations.[1] The word "cinema" is borrowed from the French cinéma, an abbreviation of cinématographe (term coined by the Lumière brothers in the 1890s), from Ancient Greek meaning "recording movement". The word is today usually used to refer to either a purpose-built venue for screening films, known as a movie theater in the US; the film industry; the overall art form of specifically just filmmaking.

Film

The moving images of a film are created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of CGI and computer animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects.

Before the introduction of digital production, a series of still images were recorded on a strip of chemically sensitized celluloid (photographic film stock), usually at a rate of 24 frames per second. The images are transmitted through a movie projector at the same rate as they were recorded, with a Geneva drive ensuring that each frame remains still during its short projection time. A rotating shutter causes stroboscopic intervals of darkness, but the viewer does not notice the interruptions due to flicker fusion. The apparent motion on the screen is the result of the fact that the visual sense cannot discern the individual images at high speeds, so the impressions of the images blend with the dark intervals and are thus linked together to produce the illusion of one moving image. An analogous optical soundtrack (a graphic recording of the spoken words, music, and other sounds) runs along a portion of the film exclusively reserved for it, and was not projected.

Etymology and alternative terms

The name "film" originally referred to the thin layer of photochemical emulsion[2] on the celluloid strip that used to be the actual medium for recording and displaying motion pictures.

Many other terms exist for an individual motion-picture, including "picture", "picture show", "moving picture", "photoplay", and "flick". The most common term in the United States is "movie", while in Europe, "film" is preferred. Archaic terms include "animated pictures" and "animated photography".

"Flick" is, in general a slang term, first recorded in 1926. It originates in the verb flicker, owing to the flickering appearance of early films.[3]

Common terms for the field, in general, include "the big screen", "the movies", "the silver screen", and "cinema"; the last of these is commonly used, as an overarching term, in scholarly texts and critical essays. In the early years, the word "sheet" was sometimes used instead of "screen".

Etymology and alternative terms

The name "film" originally referred to the thin layer of photochemical emulsion[2] on the celluloid strip that used to be the actual medium for recording and displaying motion pictures.

Many other terms exist for an individual motion-picture, including "picture", "picture show", "moving picture", "photoplay", and "flick". The most common term in the United States is "movie", while in Europe, "film" is preferred. Archaic terms include "animated pictures" and "animated photography".

"Flick" is, in general a slang term, first recorded in 1926. It originates in the verb flicker, owing to the flickering appearance of early films.[3]

Common terms for the field, in general, include "the big screen", "the movies", "the silver screen", and "cinema"; the last of these is commonly used, as an overarching term, in scholarly texts and critical essays. In the early years, the word "sheet" was sometimes used instead of "screen".

Production

At its core, the means to produce a film depend on the content the filmmaker wishes to show, and the apparatus for displaying it: the zoetrope merely requires a series of images on a strip of paper. Film production can, therefore, take as little as one person with a camera (or even without a camera, as in Stan Brakhage's 1963 film Mothlight), or thousands of actors, extras, and crew members for a live-action, feature-length epic. The necessary steps for almost any film can be boiled down to conception, planning, execution, revision, and distribution. The more involved the production, the more significant each of the steps becomes. In a typical production cycle of a Hollywood-style film, these main stages are defined as development, pre-production, production, post-production and distribution.

This production cycle usually takes three years. The first year is taken up with development. The second year comprises preproduction and production. The third year, post-production and distribution. The bigger the production, the more resources it takes, and the more important financing becomes; most feature films are artistic works from the creators' perspective (e.g., film director, cinematographer, screenwriter) and for-profit business entities for the production companies.

Crew

A film crew is a group of people hired by a film company, employed during the "production" or "photography" phase, for the purpose of producing a film or motion picture. Crew is distinguished from cast, who are the actors who appear in front of the camera or provide voices for characters in the film. The crew interacts with but is also distinct from the production staff, consisting of producers, managers, company representatives, their assistants, and those whose primary responsibility falls in pre-production or post-production phases, such as screenwriters and film editors. Communication between production and crew generally passes through the director and his/her staff of assistants. Medium-to-large crews are generally divided into departments with well-defined hierarchies and standards for interaction and cooperation between the departments. Other than acting, the crew handles everything in the photography phase: props and costumes, shooting, sound, electrics (i.e., lights), sets, and production special effects. Caterers (known in the film industry as "craft services") are usually not considered part of the crew.

Animation

Animation is a technique in which each frame of a film is produced individually, whether generated as a computer graphic, or by photographing a drawn image, or by repeatedly making small changes to a model unit (see claymation and stop motion), and then photographing the result with a special animation camera. When the frames are strung together and the resulting film is viewed at a speed of 16 or more frames per second, there is an illusion of continuous movement (due to the phi phenomenon). Generating such a film is very labor-intensive and tedious, though the development of computer animation has greatly sped up the process. Because animation is very time-consuming and often very expensive to produce, the majority of animation for TV and films comes from professional animation studios. However, the field of independent animation has existed at least since the 1950s, with animation being produced by independent studios (and sometimes by a single person). Several independent animation producers have gone on to enter the professional animation industry.

Limited animation is a way of increasing production and decreasing costs of animation by using "short cuts" in the animation process. This method was pioneered by UPA and popularized by Hanna-Barbera in the United States, and by Osamu Tezuka in Japan, and adapted by other studios as cartoons moved from movie theaters to television.[50] Although most animation studios are now using digital technologies in their productions, there is a specific style of animation that depends on film. Camera-less animation, made famous by film-makers like Norman McLaren, Len Lye, and Stan Brakhage, is painted and drawn directly onto pieces of film, and then run through a projector.

An animated image of a horse, made using eight pictures

It continued, “Additionally, our client demands compensation in the sum of N500,000,000.00 (Five Hundred Million Naira) for personal injury, reputational damage, embarrassment, shame and emotional distress suffered as a result of your malicious, libellous and defamatory publications against her, within the same period stipulated above.

“Take notice that if you do not comply with our client’s demands as stated above, we will have no other option but to bring the full weight of the law to bear upon you without further recourse to you.”

Pero Adeniyi, baby mama to popular Nigerian singer, Innocent ‘2Baba’ Idibia, has demanded a sum of N500m from his wife Annie, over alleged defamation and libelous online publication.

In September, Annie took to Instagram to call out her husband for alleged infidelity involving Adeniyi.

Her posts led to a reply from the singer’s brother which further broke into a war of words between Annie’s family, and her in-laws.

Referring to Annie’s post, Pero, via her lawyers, issued a letter to Annie, demanding for public apology and the sum of N500m for damages.

Pero claimed that she and 2baba has nothing but a “civil parental relationship” because they share three children together.

The claims are included in a letter signed by Pero’s lawyers, Okonjo, Odiawa, and Ebie Associates titled ‘Re: Malicious and Libelous Online Publication against Pero Adeniyi’.

“It is our instruction to demand that you immediately and completely retract all your allegations by the same measure with which they were published and publicly tender your unreserved apology to our client, not later than 72 hours from your receipt of this letter,” the letter partly read.

Pero demands N500m from Annie Idibia for alleged libel, defamation

Synopsis

Fledgling lawyer Owen Hendricks, who has just started working for the CIA, has his life turned upside down when he encounters an Eastern European asset who threatens extortion if she is not freed from prison. As her long-term relationship with the CIA is revealed, he becomes entangled in convoluted international politics. Hendricks negotiates with the asset and finds himself at odds with menacing individuals and groups, risking his life as he tries to fulfill his duties.

The Recruit is an American spy adventure television series created by Alexi Hawley for Netflix. The show follows Owen Hendricks (Noah Centineo), a CIA lawyer who becomes involved in massive international conflicts with dangerous parties after an asset tries to expose her relationship to the agency. The series was released on Netflix on December 16, 2022. In January 2023, the series was renewed for a second season, which was released on January 30, 2025.

Production

Development

It was announced that Netflix acquired an unnamed espionage drama on April 28, 2021, with Entertainment One backing the production.[6][7][8] Dubbed Graymail, the project was created by Alexi Hawley, executive producer of several popular procedural drama series, such as Castle, The Rookie, and its spin-off.[6][7][9][10] Hawley again served as executive producer as well as showrunner. Alongside Hawley, Noah Centineo; Doug Liman, Gene Klein, and Dave Bartis of Hypnotic; and Adam Ciralsky and Charlie Ebersol of P3 Media also joined the project as executive producers.[11][12][13] The project was set as an eight-part one-hour television series.[8][12][14] It was unveiled on September 28, 2022, that Hawley, George Ghanem, Amelia Roper, Hadi Deeb, Niceole Levy, and Maya Goldsmith served as the series writers. Meanwhile, Doug Liman, Alex Kalymnios, Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr., and Julian Holmes directed the episodes.[15] On January 26, 2023, Netflix renewed the series for a second season

Casting

When the production was announced on April 28, 2021, Centineo was unveiled as the lead character of the series.[6][8] More castings were revealed on November 12, 2021, with Aarti Mann, Daniel Quincy Annoh, Vondie Curtis Hall, Kristian Bruun, Laura Haddock, Colton Dunn, and Fivel Stewart joining the main cast.[11][12][14][17] In addition, Byron Mann, Angel Parker, and Kaylah Zander were also announced in recurring capacities.[11][12]

On December 19, 2023, Teo Yoo was cast as a new series regular for the second season.[1] On January 25, 2024, James Purefoy, Brooke Smith, Devika Bhise, Felix Solis, Young-Ah Kim, Do Hyun Shin, Sanghee Lee, Omar Maskati, and Alana Hawley Purvis joined the cast in recurring capacities for the second season.

Filming

Principal photography for the first season took place in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec and Los Angeles, California, on October 25, 2021,[9][10] and wrapped on March 28, 2022.[18][better source needed] Filming for the second season began on January 4, 2024, and is taking place in Vancouver, Canada, and Seoul, South Korea

Release

The Recruit premiered globally on Netflix on December 16, 2022.[13] The second season was released on January 30, 2025.

Marketing

The series was promoted during Netflix's TUDUM Global event on September 24, 2022, on YouTube.[17][13][21] Additional info, including its release date and official title, were unveiled at the official website of the event.[13][14][22][21][23][24] The first official trailer for the series was released on YouTube on November 16, 2022

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 68% approval rating, with an average rating of 7/10, based on 31 critic reviews. The website's critics consensus reads, "The Recruit may not be the freshest chip off the old block, but it employs Noah Centineo's considerable charms to highly watchable effect."[26]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the show a score of 59 out of 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews"

The Recruit (American TV series)

Take us through your journey into the Nollywood industry?
I started acting professionally in 2015. Growing up in Abuja, and being someone, who is passionate about acting, I went through a lot to be in the movie environment in Abuja. I became a crew member, which became part of my career line, but the passion for acting became stronger, I had to leave Abuja to Kaduna, where I worked with Toka Mcbaror on his movie project in 2011. After the project, I didn’t go back to Abuja. Rather, I took the next available bus to Lagos, not knowing any one, but yes, I googled a school call Pefti Film Institute and I said to myself this will be a landing point, at least, I will have accommodation for some while I studied and pursued my acting career. I was studying Cinematography in PEFTI, while I was going for acting auditions, and of course, I got opportunity to feature in Papa Ajasco and Super Story as an actor but my major push was after I made it through the Mnet audition in Lagos that got me featured in foremost Hotel Majestic telenovela in 2015.

Moc Madu: Playing Chike in Afamefuna opened doors for me

Moc Madu is a Nollywood actor and model. Born in Sokoto, the Anambra State native has a degree in theatre arts from the Imo State University, Owerri. The budding actor has featured in movies including, Brotherhood, Orah, Blood and Rage, Mothers Love, Simple People, Bosslady, and most recently, Afamefuna. In this interview with IJEOMA THOMAS-ODIA, he shares his passion for acting, navigating the industry as well as his role in Afamefuna.

You featured in the Netflix movie, Afamefuna, how would you describe your experience on set?
Playing adult Chike was, indeed, a great experience, and the fact that I spoke Igbo all through my scenes. It was really amazing and what made it more memorable was the friendship. Working with Alex Ekubo, Stan Nze, Kanayo O. Kanayo and lots of amazing actors and the Director, Kayode Kassum, made it really easy for the actors. So, in general we had an amazing environment that made the job enjoyable. While filming in the market, I saw how the Nwa boys were really hustling for customers and that actually gave more light to the characters we played. So, basically my relationship with the actors and crew was such a beautiful experience.

Tell us about your role?
Chike happened to be Afam’s guy, always ready to fight for him, which you could see from the opening scenes. Chike’s shows that in the circle of Ndi Oga you always find your own pals that can stand up for you in your challenging time. I really enjoyed playing Chike because it has truly opened other opportunities for me.

Who do you consider your biggest influences in the industry?
I wouldn’t say who, but there are few people who are still influencers in my life. The likes of Femi Jacobs; he will chat me up and leave some words of encouragement for me. Kanayo O Kanayo is a father to me always praying and wishing me well and Ijeoma Grace Agu; that woman pushed and stretched me I truly appreciate her. She is one of the major influences in my life.

When you are not on set, what is Moc doing?
I love sports. I love to play lawn Tennis. If I’m not doing any sporting activities, then I am off to go support family business

⁠Describe Moc is three words?
Moc is passionate, resilient and focused

What is your philosophy of life?
When life gets tough, I get tougher.

Share with us some of the challenges you have faced navigating through?
Without missing words, I got a lot of rejections and many ‘No’s and some of the things that come with rejections is depression. I was depressed a couple of times. I will cry to my satisfaction and then I will pray.

But that didn’t deter me. I was resilient, I refused to give up. I did some jobs that I wasn’t paid. I remembered vividly how I traveled to another state to film for a producer on the promise that he would pay me after the shoot, I was done with the shoot but couldn’t get even my transportation fare to go back home. And then the industry somewhat has caucus where you have to play some games to belong or to get a movie role. It hasn’t been rosy but I’m no longer where I used to be.

What stands out for you in the Nollywood industry and keeps you going?
What’s stands out for me is the fact that Nollywood is evolving and we are beginning to tell better stories and the cinema culture has grown and still growing and off course the streaming platforms has created more work for actors and filmmakers and more investors are beginning to believe in the film business. So, basically the industry is a major employer of labour as many are gainfully employed.

What projects are you currently working on?
So, currently I’m featured in two movies produced by Kanayo O. Kanayo and another produced by Chichi Nwora and few others not to be disclosed, but trust me they are intriguing movies that you have to look forward to.

How did you meet your wife?

Her dad has a house in a particular location, and I rented a house there, too. I met her brother first, who wanted to be an actor. He came to me and shared his intention, and I promised to visit his home.

I went to his house and saw her and we thank God today. There is this saying that you’ll know when you meet your future partner. So, when I met her, it was love at first sight even if we had to communicate for a while before we finally got married.

My marriage…With Kunle Afod

What is the most challenging thing for you about being a dad?

The most challenging thing about being a dad is that you have to be a mini-god to your children; you have to be there to provide and care for them. You have to be there for them in all areas of life. It is not easy to be a dad at all, especially in this country. Even if you are on your own, struggling to make ends meet and living your life, the moment you start having kids, you would have no other choice but to double your hustle to be able to meet up with all the responsibilities that come with this new status.

When did you decide to become a father and what was the motivation?

I decided to become a dad when I lost my grandfather and there was no GSM then. I remember my dad came to Lagos then and told me that we had to go for my grandfather’s burial. The day my dad visited me with the news of my grandfather’s demise, my friend, Kunle Ramon Adewuyi, popularly known as Poster, had his first child’s christening. My dad knew about this.

After the funeral, my dad came to Lagos to appreciate those who came with me. He called my friends and asked them why they were not talking to me and also asked them to ‘do something about his life’ (laughs). He left. Then, tragedy struck. Three days later, I was greeted with the news that my dad had passed on. All I thought of was his last words to me, “Afod, do something with your life.” I told myself, “Afod, this man wanted you to be a father, to be more responsible in life.” So, I immediately started planning about how to become a dad.

When did you meet your wife and how long after did you have your first child?

My first child is over 19 years old now. There was nothing to waste time on then. I started planning of having kids immediately. You know when you consciously make a plan, it starts working immediately. When you don’t have a concrete plan, unserious girls will come around to tell you they want to be with you and date you. Once you tell them, ‘What I want is a wife, not a girlfriend,’ some would start giving excuses. But 18 years ago, God decided the time was ripe enough to have my first child.

How do you balance work with family life being a very busy actor?

There used to be a time when most of my work was around my environment. Sometimes, the sets are along my streets or very close to my house, but these days, I go out often. But I make sure we talk on live videos. When I go out for two weeks, I come back and spend like two weeks with them. I have been home for like four days now, but I will be leaving soon for a set. I schedule myself and I don’t compromise my time for anything. Even if the work is going to be bringing in millions, I try to make sure my family does not suffer.

Justin Drew Bieber (/ˈbiːbər/ BEE-bər; born March 1, 1994)[3][4] is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances.[5][6][7] He was discovered by American record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to American singer Usher, both of whom formed the record label RBMG Records to sign Bieber in October of that year. He gained recognition following the release of his debut extended play (EP), My World (2009), which was quickly met with international commercial success and led to his establishment as a teen idol.

Bieber was ushered into mainstream stardom with his teen pop–driven debut studio album, My World 2.0 (2010), which debuted atop the US Billboard 200 and made him the youngest solo male act to do so in 47 years.[8] The album was supported by the single "Baby" (featuring Ludacris), which became one of the best selling singles of all time.[9] His second studio album, Under the Mistletoe (2011), became the first Christmas album by a male artist to debut atop chart and saw continued success.[10] Bieber experimented with dance-pop on his third studio album, Believe (2012); its acoustic re-release made him the first artist in Billboard history to have five US number-one albums by the age of 18.[11] Over the next two years, Bieber was involved in multiple controversies and legal issues, which led to a tarnishing of his public image.[12]

In 2015, Bieber explored EDM on "Where Are Ü Now" (with Jack Ü), which won the Grammy Award for Best Dance/Electronic Recording.[13][14] The genre influenced his fourth album, Purpose (2015), which produced three Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "Love Yourself", "Sorry", and "What Do You Mean?". He made UK chart history as the first artist to simultaneously hold the top three spots on the country's chart. In 2017, Bieber's guest performances on the singles "I'm the One" by DJ Khaled and "Despacito" by Luis Fonsi both peaked the Billboard Hot 100, making him the first artist to replace himself atop the chart with new songs in back-to-back weeks.[15] The latter also earned him a Latin Grammy Award. In 2019, his single "10,000 Hours" (with Dan + Shay) won the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.[16] His R&B-inspired fifth album, Changes (2020), debuted at number one in both the UK and US, while his standalone duet single "Stuck with U" (with Ariana Grande) debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100. His sixth album, Justice (2021), was supported by the worldwide hit single "Peaches" and topped the Billboard 200, breaking Elvis Presley's 1965 record for the youngest solo act to have eight US number-one albums.[17] His eighth US number-one single, "Stay" (with the Kid Laroi), was released the same year.

Bieber is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 150 million records worldwide. He is credited with five diamond certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[18] Bieber's various awards include 2 Grammy Awards, 1 Latin Grammy Award, 8 Juno Awards, 2 Brit Awards, 26 Billboard Music Awards, 18 American Music Awards, 22 MTV Europe Music Awards (the most wins for any artist), 23 Teen Choice Awards (the most wins for a male individual), and 33 Guinness World Records. Time named Bieber one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2011, and he was included on Forbes' list of the top ten most powerful celebrities in 2011, 2012, and 2013.[19] In 2024, he was named the eighth-greatest pop star of the 21st century by Billboard

Early life

Justin Drew Bieber was born on March 1, 1994, at St. Joseph's Hospital in London, Ontario,[20] and was raised in Stratford, Ontario.[21] His parents Jeremy Jack Bieber and Pattie Mallette were both 18 when Bieber was born and split up not long after his birth.[22] Pattie worked a series of low-paying office jobs, raising Bieber as a single mother in low-income housing. Mallette's mother Diane and stepfather Bruce helped her raise Bieber.[23] Bieber has maintained contact with his father.[24] Bieber's ancestry includes French-Canadian, Irish, English, Scottish, and German.[25][26][27] In 2012, Bieber claimed "I'm actually part Indian. I think Inuit or something? I'm enough percent that in Canada I can get free gas", sparking criticism from the Canadian Congress of Aboriginal Peoples for perpetuating a common misconception that Indigenous people receive complimentary gasoline from the Canadian government.[28][29][30]

Bieber has three younger half-siblings; the four have the same father, Jeremy Bieber. Jeremy Bieber and his ex-girlfriend, Erin Wagner,[31] who broke up in 2014 after seven years together, have two children, daughter Jazmyn and son Jaxon.[32] Jeremy married his girlfriend Chelsey in February 2018, and they have a daughter named Bay.[33][34] Bieber also has a stepsister named Allie, the daughter of his stepmother.[35] Bieber attended two French-language immersion elementary schools in Stratford, Jeanne Sauvé Catholic School[23] and Bedford Public School. In grades 7 and 8, he attended Stratford Northwestern. Former teacher, Kim Booker often recalled fond memories of Bieber as her student, and is featured in several interviews. He attended Stratford's St. Michael Catholic Secondary School, and graduated in 2012[36] with a 4.0 GPA.[37]

Growing up, he learned to play the piano, drums, guitar, and trumpet.[21][38] In early 2007, aged 12, Bieber performed Ne-Yo's "So Sick" for a local singing competition in Stratford, in which he placed second.[38][39] Mallette posted a video of the performance on YouTube for their family and friends to see. She continued to upload videos of Bieber singing covers of various R&B songs, and Bieber's popularity on the site grew.[40] In the same year, Bieber busked shows in front of the Avon Theatre steps with a rented guitar during tourism season.

Justin Bieber

Influences

Bieber cites Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, and Justin Timberlake as some of his main musical inspirations.

Bieber has cited Chris Brown, Craig David, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Boyz II Men, Justin Timberlake, Stevie Wonder, Tupac, Usher and Kanye West as his musical inspirations.[247][248][249][250][251][252] In 2012, Bieber said, "music is music, and I'm definitely influenced by Michael Jackson and Boyz II Men and people who were black artists—that's what I like."[253] Believe was influenced by Timberlake, for which Bieber was trying to "create a new sound that people aren't really used to hearing ... like when Timberlake did FutureSex/LoveSounds: It was a new sound... acoustic guitar over hard drums."[254] In 2019, Bieber called Chris Brown the "best entertainer of all time"

Musical style

Bieber incorporates a variety of genres in his music, focusing mainly on pop,[257][258] R&B,[258][259] and occasionally dance-pop or EDM.[257] In 2010, Jody Rosen of Rolling Stone asserted that the content of his music was "offering a gentle introduction to the mysteries and heartaches of adolescence: songs flushed with romance but notably free of sex itself".[260] During the initial years of his career, his musical style was noted for being aimed to a more teen pop and "bubblegum-ish" direction.[261]

In January 2012, Bieber told V magazine: "I want to do it at my own pace. I don't want to start singing about things like sex, drugs and swearing. I'm into love, and maybe I'll get more into making love when I'm older. But I want to be someone who is respected by everybody."[262] But since then, Bieber gradually altered his artistry, with Peter Gicas of E! Online describing "PYD" as "sexed-up", while In Touch Weekly magazine said that his song with Maejor Ali and Juicy J "Lolly" might make his fans a bit uncomfortable because of its lyrics that refer to oral sex.[263][126] In 2015 Bieber released the EDM-fuelled album Purpose, where he collaborated with Skrillex,[264] and explored serious themes such as "life experiences", through "feel-good music

Bieber cites Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, and Justin Timberlake as some of his main musical inspirations.

The 67th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from September 16, 2023, to August 30, 2024, as chosen by the members of the Recording Academy, on February 2, 2025.[1] In its 22nd year at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, the ceremony was broadcast on CBS and available to stream on Paramount+. Nominations were announced through a YouTube livestream on November 8, 2024.[2] South African comedian Trevor Noah hosted the ceremony for the fifth consecutive time.[3]

Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us" swept all five of its nominations, which included Record of the Year and Song of the Year, making it the most-decorated rap song in Grammy history. He became the second rap artist to win both awards, after Childish Gambino in 2019.[4] Beyoncé received the most nominations with eleven and won three awards, which included Album of the Year and Best Country Album for Cowboy Carter. She became the first Black artist to win Best Country Album, and the first Black woman to win Album of the Year since Lauryn Hill in 1999.[5] In addition, Chappell Roan took home Best New Artist. Other artists that led nominations included Charli XCX and Post Malone with eight each, and Billie Eilish with seven

67th Annual Grammy Awards

Background

For the 2025 ceremony, the Recording Academy announced several changes for different categories and updates on eligibility rules.[7] No new categories were introduced for the first time in four years.[8] In an urgent letter to the 12,000 voting members of the Recording Academy, chief executive officer (CEO) Harvey Mason Jr. urged them to cast their votes with "purpose, intention, and integrity" and without "bias, grudge-holding, or careless voting".[9][10]

Discussions were held to either postpone the ceremony and all of its ancillary events or pivot the broadcast to a fundraiser due to the series of wildfires affecting Southern California.[11][12] In a joint statement, Mason Jr. and Tammy Hurt, the chair of the Recording Academy's board of trustees, confirmed that the ceremony would proceed as planned "in close coordination with local authorities to ensure public safety and responsible use of area resources."[13] This edition, however, carried a "renewed sense of purpose: raising additional funds to support wildfire relief efforts and honoring the bravery and dedication of first responders who risk their lives to protect ours.

Category changes

• Best Remixed Recording, Non-Classical was moved from the Production, Engineering, Composition & Arrangement Field to the Pop & Dance/Electronic Field.

• Best Pop Dance Recording was renamed to Best Dance Pop Recording.

• Best Dance/Electronic Music Album was renamed to Best Dance/Electronic Album. Its category criteria was amended to establish that albums must consist of at least 50% Dance/Electronic recordings to qualify.

• Conjunto music will now be recognized under Best Regional Roots Music Album, instead of Best Música Mexicana Album (Including Tejano).

• Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media was amended to establish a qualification that more than 50% of the music on an otherwise eligible recording must be derived from new episodes or new programming released during the Grammy eligibility year for which it entered.

• Best Song for Social Change, a Special Merit Award, was renamed to the Harry Belafonte Best Song for Social Change Award. It will now be recognized as a CEO's Merit Award, with the finalists and recipients selected annually by a committee composed of a community of peers dedicated to "artistic expression, the craft of songwriting, and the power of songs to affect social change."[15]

Criteria amendments

• All eligibly-certified featured artists with less than 50% of playing time will be awarded a Winners' Certificate for all genre album categories. This rule does not apply to Best Musical Theater Album or the General Field and Craft categories.

• The annual fee media companies must pay to enter a recording in the online entry process was increased to $180.

• Criteria for Best Traditional R&B Performance was amended to "more accurately represent recordings that embody the classical elements of R&B/soul music, distinguishing them from contemporary interpretations of the genre."

• Criteria for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album was amended to expand the category by "broadening its scope and welcoming more entries from the musical theater community." Its album eligibility criteria was also updated, requiring that albums must contain more than 75% of newly recorded (previously unreleased) performances.

• Criteria for Best Children's Music Album was amended with a requirement for lyrics and English-language translations to be included in entry submissions. An intended audience range was also defined as "infant to 12 years old".

• Submission guidelines for Songwriter of the Year, Non-Classical were amended with the hopes of allowing a "wider representation of the songwriter community", with the minimum submission threshold in which a songwriter is credited as a songwriter or co-writer (not a primary or featured artist or producer) being reduced from five to four songs. The additional number of songs a songwriter may enter in which they are also credited as a primary or featured artist, or any other supporting role was also increased from four to five.

Tems

Temilade Openiyi (born 11 June 1995), known professionally as Tems, is a Nigerian singer, songwriter, and record producer.[3][4] She rose to prominence after being featured on Wizkid's 2020 single "Essence", which peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the release of the remix version with Justin Bieber. The song earned her a Grammy Award nomination.[5][4] That same year, she was featured on the song "Fountains" by Canadian rapper Drake.[6]

In 2020, Tems released her debut extended play, For Broken Ears. Her second extended play, If Orange Was a Place (2021), was released after she signed a record deal with RCA Records.[7] In 2022, Tems' vocals from her song "Higher" were sampled by Future on his single, "Wait for U", which led to her being credited as a featured artist alongside Drake on the song. It debuted atop the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first African artist to debut at number one and the second Nigerian artist to top the chart.[5][8] The song earned her the Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance.[9] Tems covered Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack album in July 2022[10] and in the same month, her song "Free Mind" from her debut EP debuted on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 46 and breaking the female record for longest charting number one song on R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.[11][12] She also co-wrote and rendered background vocals on the song "Lift Me Up" by Rihanna, which earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song,[13] the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song[14] and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.[15][16]

In 2024, Tems released her debut studio album Born in the Wild to critical acclaim. The album reached the top thirty in the Netherlands, Switzerland and in the United Kingdom where it peaked at number 24. She further embarked on her ongoing Born in the Wild Tour, a supporting world tour.[17][18] Tems received three nominations at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards for Best Global Music Album, "Burning" for Best R&B song and won "Love Me JeJe" for Best African Music Performance .[19][20] Tems became the first Nigerian artist with multiple Grammy Awards.[21][22]

Throughout her career, Tems has received many accolades, including two Grammy Awards, a Billboard Women in Music Award, four NAACP Image Awards, four BET Awards[23] and three Soul Train Music Awards

Early life

Tems was born on 11 June 1995 in Lagos, Nigeria. Her first name Temilade means "the crown is mine" in Yoruba, She is of Yoruba ethnicity.[29][30][31][32] Her family relocated to the UK when she was an infant, then returned to Nigeria following her parents' separation, when she was five years old.[33][34] Tems resided in Ilupeju before moving to Lekki and later Ajah.[35]

Tems attended Dowen College for her secondary education and Monash South Africa for her tertiary education, where she obtained a degree in Economics.[34][36]

At high school, she was frequently bullied because of her voice. At 11 years old, she joined her school choir and soon began singing in falsetto but was noticed by her music teacher who coached her and taught her how to play the piano.[37][38] Tems often practiced singing with her brother, who often accompanied her on guitar.

Artistry

Tems' mother only allowed her to listen to Christian music when she was a child. Later in her teenage years, she became interested in R&B and hip hop music. She listened to Destiny's Child, Beyoncé, Lil Wayne, and Aaliyah, and covered Alicia Keys' 2004 single, "If I Ain't Got You", in a live performance. Growing up, she was also interested in artists such as Burna Boy, Lauryn Hill, Adele, Rihanna, Coldplay, Paramore, and Asa.[35] At the age of 15, she stopped listening to other artists in search of her own identity, because she "wanted to learn how to attack a song from what I was feeling, not what Beyoncé would do or anyone else".[95] Her voice has been described as deep, velvety, and androgynous.[95][35]

Legal issues

On 14 December 2020, Tems was arrested alongside fellow Nigerian singer Omah Lay after they performed in a show in Uganda. The Ugandan police authority identified a violation of COVID-19 lockdown protocols as the reason for their arrests, but the two artists felt they were set up.[96][97] Two days later, the Ugandan government released them, apologised for the arrests and dropped the charges against Tems and Omah Lay.

Career

In 2018, Tems quit her job in digital marketing to pursue a career in music. She began to learn self production skills on YouTube[36] and on July 18th, 2018, she released her debut single, "Mr Rebel", a song which she produced by herself.[39] On 7 August 2019, she released the single "Try Me".[33] In 2020, DJ Edu chose her as one of "ten artists to watch" that year.[41] On 23 April 2020, Tems was featured alongside fellow Nigerian singer Davido on a reworked version of American singer-songwriter Khalid and English electronic music duo Disclosure's single, "Know Your Worth".[42][43]

On 25 September 2020, Tems released her debut extended play, For Broken Ears. It was produced primarily by her and the single "Damages" from the EP became another follow up hit to "Try Me", peaking at number one on the Nigerian Apple Music chart and number six on the then-newly launched TurnTable Top 50 chart and garnering five million views on YouTube. On 30 October 2020, Tems was featured on fellow Nigerian singer Wizkid's single, "Essence", from the latter's fourth studio album, Made in Lagos. The song earned her a number one spot on BBC 1Xtra Airplay Chart.[44][45] and also earned her first career entry on Billboard Hot 100 at number 9.[46] Tems won a Soul Train Music Awards,[47] two NAACP Image Awards,[48] and received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Global Music Performance.[49] On 8 November 2020, Tems was included in The Future Awards Africa: Class of 2020.[50]

On 13 August 2021, a reworked version of "Essence", which contains an additional feature from Canadian singer Justin Bieber, was released, which propelled the song to reach number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. On 3 September 2021, Tems was featured on Canadian rapper and singer Drake's song, "Fountains", from the latter's sixth studio album, Certified Lover Boy, which debuted at number 26 on the Hot 100.[51][52] On 15 September 2021, Tems released her second extended play, If Orange Was a Place, after being signed to RCA records.[53] It was primarily produced by GuiltyBeatz, and the single "Crazy Tings" was released five days before and peaked at number three on the UK Afrobeats Singles Chart.[54][55] Later, Tems reached number one on the Billboard Next Big Sound chart[56] and the Billboard Emerging Artists chart.

2022–2023: Breakthrough

On 31 March 2022, Apple Music 1 Launched Leading Vibe Radio Show With Tems.[58] On 2 April, its first episode features an appearance from Muyiwa Awoniyi, and Tunji Balogun.[59] On 29 April 2022, Tems was featured alongside Drake on American rapper Future's single, "Wait for U", from the latter's ninth studio album, I Never Liked You. The song debuted atop the Hot 100, making Tems the first African female artist to top the chart and more so debut atop the chart.[60] The song samples the song "Higher" from For Broken Ears.[61]

In July 2022, Tems covered Bob Marley's No Woman, No Cry for the Marvel movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack which she was credited alongside Rihanna.[10] On 26 July, Tems gained her fourth Hot 100 with her song "Free Mind" from For Broken Ears which debuted on the chart peaking at number 44 and number 1 on the U.S. Afrobeats song chart. It earned her her first platinum and silver solo certification in the United States and United Kingdom.[62][63][64] In July 2022, Tems was announced as a guest artist on Beyoncé's album Renaissance,[65] collaborating on the song "Move" with Grace Jones, becoming her fifth entry on the Hot 100.[66] In October 2022, she co-wrote Rihanna's song "Lift Me Up" for the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever soundtrack.[67]

In November 2022, Tems won the Best New Artist at the 2022 Soul Train Music Awards.[68] In the same year, Tems was announced as the top Afrobeats artist on Billboard Year-End U.S. Afrobeats Songs of 2022.[69][70]

Ludwig Göransson, Rihanna, Ryan Coogler, and Tems were nominated at the 2023 Golden Globe Awards for "Best Original Song — Motion Picture" for "Lift Me Up" from the film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.[71][72] It also earned her nominations for the Academy Award for Best Original Song,[73] and the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media,[74] making Tems the first Nigerian singer to be nominated in the categories.

In February 2023, Tems headlined the Afrobeats themed halftime show at the 2023 NBA All-Star Game.[75][76] In the same month, Future, Drake, and Tems won the Grammy Award for Best Melodic Rap Performance for "Wait for U". Thus, it marks the first female Nigerian artiste to win a Grammy Award.[77][78]

Tems won the Female MVP award at the Soundcity MVP Awards, which were held at the Eko Convention Centre in Lagos in February 2023.[79] In May 2023, Tems was invited to fashion's biggest night out, the Met Gala. She became the first female Afrobeats artist to attend the event.

Furthermore, Tems was listed on the 2023 Time 100 Next list[80][81]

On 5 October 2023, Tems released the single "Me & U".[82] The song marks Tems's first solo output since If Orange Was a Place, excluding her cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry" which was released in 2022.[83] Me & U peaked at number 1 on the UK Afrobeats Singles Chart and number 34 on the UK Singles Chart while in the United States, it reached number 10 on Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.[84] "Me & U" received an award for Outstanding International Song at the 55th NAACP Image Awards[85] and a BET Award for Dr. Bobby Jones Best Gospel/Inspirational Award.

On 5 December 2023, Tems announced that her second single of the year "Not an Angel" would be released on 8 December.

2024–present: Born in the Wild

In March 2024, Tems became the first African singer to be awarded a Billboard Women in Music Award in which she received under the Breakthrough category.[27][87] Tems's debut studio album Born in the Wild was released on 7 June and will be supported by a world tour.[88] The second single "Love Me JeJe" off the album was announced and previewed on Tems's debut Coachella set and was released on 25 April.[89][90] Tems further appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and on NPR Tiny Desk Concert to promote the album performing the then unreleased songs from the album.[91]

The album was a commercial success reaching the top thirty in the UK, Netherlands and Switzerland. In the US, it peaked at fifty six becoming the highest peak for an album by a Nigerian female artist. Tems began her ongoing Born in the Wild Tour in June.[18]

Tems received the highest nomination for an African act at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards, earning three nominations: Born in the Wild for Best Global Music Album, "Burning" for Best R&B song and won "Love Me JeJe" for Best African Music Performance .[92][93][94] Tems became the first Nigerian artist to win multiple Grammy Awards

Bianca Censori (born 5 January 1995) is an Australian model. She is known for her marriage to American rapper Kanye West, whom she married in a private ceremony in December 2022.

Bianca Censori

Early life and education

Bianca Censori was born in Melbourne, one of three daughters born to Alexandra and Elia "Leo" Censori. Her paternal grandparents, native of Giulianova, Italy, immigrated to Australia with their five children Edmondo, Eliseo, Elia, Elena, and Eris in 1960.[4]

Censori attended Melbourne's Carey Baptist Grammar School[5] and has a bachelor's and master's degree in architecture from the University of Melbourne.[6] She was a student of architecture at DP Toscano Architects based in Collingwood, Victoria. Censori created the Nylons Jewelry brand after graduating from high school.

Work and relationship with Kanye West and Yeezy

Censori is currently Head of Architecture at Yeezy, Kanye West's clothing and apparel company.[8][9]

On 7 December 2022, West released a song inspired by her titled "Censori Overload" on Instagram Stories.[10] Censori legally married West in December 2022 under a confidential marriage license.[11][3][12][13][14]

In September 2023, police in Venice were reported to be investigating West and Censori over "acts contrary to public decency" after the couple posted photos of themselves on a water taxi with West's pants pulled down and buttocks exposed, and Censori's head in his lap.[15][16]

On Censori's 29th birthday on 5 January 2024, Kanye West posted several unreleased pictures of Censori on Instagram along with the caption: "Happy birthday to the most beautiful super bad iconic muse inspirational talented artist masters degree in architecture 140 IQ loving by my side everyday when half the world turned their backs on me and the most amazing step mom to our children I love you so much thank you for sharing your life with me."[17] The same day, West posted a picture of Censori, wearing a Vultures sweatshirt and furry white boots, with the caption: "I miss you when I wake up before you."[17] West subsequently trademarked the caption on 17 January and it has been rumoured by fans to be the title of his upcoming solo album.[18]

In January 2024, West said on his Instagram account that she would be with "no pants" in 2024. Further, in February 2024, there were concerns expressed when she was photographed out in public in the nude except for a see-through raincoat.[16] In early April 2024, she made a similar appearance to an excursion at a Los Angeles restaurant with her husband.[19] During the development of the YZY APP by Yeezy, Censori allegedly sent an employee a file-sharing link containing explicit sexual content. These materials were accessible to minors working on the app, exposing them to inappropriate content during their development on the project.[20] Milo Yiannopoulos stated in a TMZ Interview that "he's been authorized by Bianca to stress the allegations against her are offensive, disgusting, abhorrent, and wholly false."[21]

Censori appears on the album cover of Vultures 1 (2024), the debut album of ¥$, a duo consisting of Kanye West and singer Ty Dolla Sign.[22]

At the 2025 Grammy Awards, Censori and Kanye West caused controversy on the red carpet when Censori appeared in a sheer, see-through slip that left her effectively nude. West, dressed entirely in black, did not address the spectacle before the two left the event shortly after. Reports surfaced that they had been removed from the ceremony, though sources close to the Grammys denied this, stating that West had simply left after walking the red carpet

Early life

Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon was born on August 14, 1998, in Tampa, Florida, where she was raised.[2][3] Her father and uncle were both rappers, though only her father recorded professionally.[4] She also has younger twin sisters.[5] She has described her upbringing as Christian.[6] In 2016, Doechii attended Howard W. Blake High School in Tampa and grew up performing ballet, tap dancing, acting, cheerleading, and gymnastics. She had plans to become a professional choral singer until a friend encouraged her to produce and release her music online as an independent artist.

Personal life

Doechii currently resides in Los Angeles. She lived in New York City before the COVID-19 pandemic, and published YouTubevlogs about her daily life during that period.[35] Doechii is bisexual.[36] In a 2024 interview with Joe Budden, she disclosed that she recently became sober following years of heavy drinking.

Jaylah Ji'mya Hickmon (born August 14, 1998), known professionally as Doechii (/ˈdoʊtʃi/), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. She rose to prominence on TikTok with the viral success of her 2021 song "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake". She signed with Top Dawg Entertainment, in a joint venture with Capitol Records, to release her debut extended play, She / Her / Black Bitch (2022). Her 2023 single, "What It Is (Block Boy)" (featuring Kodak Black) marked her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Doechii's third mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal (2024), was met with critical acclaim and won Best Rap Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards; this made her the third female artist to win in the category.[1] The mixtape also spawned her second Billboard Hot 100 entry, "Denial Is a River".

Doechii has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, two MTV Video Music Awards, a BET Award, and two Soul Train Music Awards. Doechii won the Rising Star Award from Billboard Women in Music in 2023.

Career

She started writing poetry and rap in high school, and was making music prior to 2014. Doechii released her debut song "Girls" on SoundCloud in 2016 as Iamdoechii.[8] She once sold hoodies with the phrase "Stay woke. Stay black." in protest of police brutality but received backlash.[9]

One of Doechii’s first projects, Coven Music Session, Vol. 1, was released in 2019, and her debut EP, Oh the Places You'll Go, was self-funded and released the following year in 2020.[10][3] It was described by Rolling Stone as a mix of pop, dance, and hip hop.[11] "Yucky Blucky Fruitcake", a single from the EP released in September 2020, was inspired by her reading The Artist's Way and went viral on TikTok in 2021, earning her attention from record labels. Also in 2021, she released her second EP, Bra-Less; she was featured on Isaiah Rashad's song "Wat U Sed" from his album, The House Is Burning, which she performed with Rashad at the 2021 BET Hip Hop Awards; and was an opening act during SZA's 2021 tour.[12][13][10] In March 2022, she was signed to Capitol Records by Chris Turner (A&R) and Top Dawg Entertainment, making her the first female rapper on the latter label.[14][15] That same month, she released "Persuasive", her first single published through Top Dawg,[16] and appeared as a featured artist on David Guetta and Afrojack's song "Trampoline", alongside Missy Elliott and Bia.[17]

In April 2022, she released the song "Crazy" with a music video.[18][19] Her second EP and her first major label release, She / Her / Black Bitch, was released on August 5, 2022.[20] Her July 2022 performance of her song "Persuasive" was nominated for Push Performance of the Year at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards.[21]

Doechii performed at the 22nd Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2023.[22] Also in 2023, Doechii made her acting debut in Earth Mama, a drama film directed by Savanah Leaf.[8]

In August 2024, Doechii released her third mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal to immense positive critical reception, Pitchfork opined it as "her most ambitious and musically diverse release" filled with "playful and melodic sides without skimping on hard-hitting hip-hop".[23] The mixtape won the Grammy Award for Best Rap Album at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.[24][23][25][26]

In October 2024, Doechii featured on the song "Balloon" by Tyler, the Creator from his album Chromakopia.[27] Doechii is also featured in Katy Perry's song I'm His, He's Mine.

Doechii appeared as a guest judge on a January 2025 episode of RuPaul's Drag Race season 17, with her song "Alter Ego" featured in a lip-sync competition. The song's exposure in the episode resulted in significant chart increases across music streaming platforms

Achievements

Doechii was nominated for Best New Artist and Best Rap Performance, and won Best Rap Album for the 2025 Grammy Awards.[29] She also received several nominations for the 2025 NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding New Artist, Outstanding Female Artist, Outstanding Music Video/Visual Album, and Outstanding Album.[30] Variety named her the 2024 Hitmakers Hip-Hop Disruptor of the Year

Musical style

Rolling Stone's Mankaprr Conteh described Doechii's rap delivery as "animated" and her song narratives as "quirky". Her music has been compared by critics to that of Nicki Minaj, Doja Cat, Missy Elliott, and Azealia Banks.[15][32] She has described her music as alternative hip hop,[3] and has cited Minaj, Lauryn Hill, Kanye West, Tyler, The Creator, Kendrick Lamar, and SZA as her major musical influences.[10][33][34] She has also expressed admiration for artists including Trick Daddy, Grace Jones, Paramore, KRS-One, and MF Doo

Doechii

Artistry

Voice and musical style

Critics have described Beyoncé's voice as being mezzo-soprano.[262][263] Jody Rosen highlights her tone and timbre as particularly distinctive, describing her voice as "one of the most compelling instruments in popular music".[264] Her vocal abilities mean she is identified as the centerpiece of Destiny's Child.[265] Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that her voice is "velvety yet tart, with an insistent flutter and reserves of soul belting".[266] Rosen notes that the hip hop era highly influenced Beyoncé's unique rhythmic vocal style, but also finds her quite traditionalist in her use of balladry, gospel and falsetto.[264]

Other critics praise her range and power, with Chris Richards of The Washington Post saying she was "capable of punctuating any beat with goose-bump-inducing whispers or full-bore diva-roars."[267] On the 2023 Rolling Stone's list of the 200 Greatest Singers of all time, Beyoncé ranked at number 8, with the publication noting that "in [her] voice lies the entire history of Black music".[268]

Beyoncé's music is generally R&B,[269][270] pop[269][271] and hip hop[272] but she also incorporates soul and funk into her songs. 4 demonstrated Beyoncé's exploration of 1990s-style R&B, as well as further use of soul and hip hop than compared to previous releases.[261] While she almost exclusively releases English songs, Beyoncé recorded several Spanish songs for Irreemplazable (re-recordings of songs from B'Day for a Spanish-language audience), and the re-release of B'Day. To record these, Beyoncé was coached phonetically by American record producer Rudy Perez

Early life

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981, at the Park Plaza Hospital[12] in Houston, Texas, to Tina Knowles (née Beyoncé), a hairdresser and salon owner, and Mathew Knowles, a Xerox sales manager.[13] Tina is Louisiana Creole and Mathew is African American.[14][15][16][17] Beyoncé's younger sister, Solange Knowles, is also a singer and a former backup dancer for Destiny's Child. Solange and Beyoncé are the first sisters both to have had number one solo albums.[18]

Beyoncé's maternal grandparents, Lumis Albert Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon (daughter of Odilia Broussard and Eugène DeRouen),[19] were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles, with roots in New Iberia;[20][19][21] She is a descendant of Acadian militia officer Joseph Broussard, who was exiled to French Louisiana after the expulsion of the Acadians, and of the French military officer and Abenaki chief Jean-Vincent d'Abbadie, Baron de Saint-Castin.[15][22] She has additional Breton heritage. Beyoncé's fourth great-grandmother, Marie-Françoise Trahan, was born in 1774 in Bangor, located on Belle Île, France. Trahan was a daughter of Acadians who had taken refuge on Belle Île after the Acadian expulsion. The Estates of Brittany had divided the lands of Belle Île to distribute them among 78 other Acadian families and the already settled inhabitants. The Trahan family lived on Belle Île for over ten years before migrating to Louisiana, where she married a Broussard descendant.[23] Beyoncé researched her ancestry and discovered that she is descended from a slave owner who married his slave.[24] Her mother is also of distant Irish and Jewish ancestry.[25][26][27][20] Beyoncé also has Belgian ancestry from Hainaut Province, Wallonia and is related to a former mayor of Froidchapelle, Belgium.[28][29]

Beyoncé was raised with multiple religious traditions, attending St. John's United Methodist Church in Houston as well as St. Mary of the Purification Catholic Church.[30][31][32] She went to St. Mary's Catholic Montessori School in Houston and enrolled in dance classes there.[33] Her singing ability was discovered when dance instructor Darlette Johnson began humming a song and Beyoncé finished it, able to hit the high-pitched notes.[34] Beyoncé's interest in music and performing continued after winning a school talent show at age seven, singing John Lennon's "Imagine" to beat 15/16-year-olds.[35][36] In the fall of 1990, Beyoncé enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnet school in Houston, where she performed with the school's choir.[37] She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts[38] and later Alief Elsik High School.[14][39] Beyoncé was also a member of the choir at St. John's United Methodist Church where she sang her first solo and was a soloist for two years.

Beyoncé

Endorsements and partnerships

Beyoncé has worked with Pepsi since 2002,[531] and in 2004 appeared in a Gladiator-themed commercial with Britney Spears, Pink, and Enrique Iglesias.[532] In 2012, Beyoncé signed a $50 million deal to endorse Pepsi.[533] The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPINET) wrote Beyoncé an open letter asking her to reconsider the deal because of the unhealthiness of the product and to donate the proceeds to a medical organisation.[534] Nevertheless, NetBase found that Beyoncé's campaign was the most talked about endorsement in April 2013, with a 70 percent positive audience response to the commercial and print ads.[535]

Beyoncé has worked with Tommy Hilfiger for the fragrances True Star (singing a cover version of "Wishing on a Star")[536] and True Star Gold;[537] she also promoted Emporio Armani's Diamonds fragrance in 2007.[538] Beyoncé launched her first official fragrance, Heat, in 2010.[539] In February 2011, Beyoncé launched her second fragrance, Heat Rush.[540] Beyoncé's third fragrance, Pulse, was launched in September 2011.[541] In 2013, The Mrs. Carter Show Limited Edition version of Heat was released.[542] The six editions of Heat are the world's best-selling celebrity fragrance line,[542] with sales of over $400 million.[543]

The release of a video-game Starpower: Beyoncé was cancelled after Beyoncé pulled out of a $100 million deal with GateFive who alleged the cancellation meant the sacking of 70 staff and millions of pounds lost in development.[544] It was settled out of court by her lawyers in June 2013 who said that they had cancelled because GateFive had lost its financial backers.[545] Beyoncé also has had deals with American Express,[425] Nintendo DS[546] and L'Oréal since the age of 18.[547]

In March 2015, Beyoncé became a co-owner, with other artists, of the music streaming service Tidal. The service specializes in lossless audio and high definition music videos. Beyoncé's husband Jay-Z acquired the parent company of Tidal, Aspiro, in the first quarter of 2015.[548] Including Beyoncé and Jay-Z, sixteen artist stakeholders (such as Kanye West, Rihanna, Madonna, Chris Martin, Nicki Minaj and more) co-own Tidal, with the majority owning a 3% equity stake.[549] The idea of having an all artist owned streaming service was created by those involved to adapt to the increased demand for streaming within the current music industry.[550]

In November 2020, Beyoncé formed a multi-year partnership with exercise equipment and media company Peloton. The partnership was formed to celebrate homecoming season in historically black colleges and universities, providing themed workout experiences inspired by Beyoncé's 2019 Homecoming film and live album after 2020's homecoming celebrations were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the partnership, Beyoncé and Peloton are donating free memberships to all students at 10 HBCUs, and Peloton are pursuing long-term recruiting partnerships at the HCBUs. Gwen Bethel Riley, head of music at Peloton, said: "When we had conversations with Beyoncé around how critical a social impact component was to all of us, it crystallized how important it was to embrace Homecoming as an opportunity to celebrate and create dialogue around Black culture and music, in partnership with HBCUs."[551] Upon news of the partnership, a decline in Peloton's shares reversed, and its shares rose by 8.6%.[552]

In 2021, Beyoncé and Jay-Z partnered with Tiffany & Co. for the company's "About Love" campaign. Beyoncé became the fourth woman, and first Black woman, to wear the 128.54-carat Tiffany Yellow Diamond.[553] The campaign featured a robin egg blue painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat titled Equals Pi (1982).[554] Both Beyonce and the brand faced significant backlash for the campaign, as the Tiffany Yellow Diamond, which was discovered in the Kimberley diamond mines in South Africa in 1877, is classified as a blood diamond and viewed as a symbol of British colonialism over Africa

Legacy

Beyoncé has been recognized as one of the most influential figures in music history by numerous publications, including Rolling Stone and the Associated Press.[443] She was named Billboard's Greatest Pop Star of the 21st Century,[444] and topped NPR list of the "21st Century's Most Influential Women Musicians".[445] She was repeatedly named the defining artist of both the 2000s decade[446][447][448][449] and the 2010s decade.[450][451][452][453] In The New Yorker, music critic Jody Rosen described Beyoncé as "the most important and compelling popular musician of the twenty-first century ... the result, the logical end point, of a century-plus of pop."[454] James Clear, in his book Atomic Habits (2018), draws a parallel between Beyoncé's success and the dramatic transformations in modern society: "In the last one hundred years, we have seen the rise of the car, the airplane, the television, the personal computer, the internet, the smartphone, and Beyoncé."[455] In 2018, Rolling Stone included her on its Millennial 100 list.[456]

Beyoncé has revolutionized the music industry, transforming the production, distribution, promotion, and consumption of music.[457][458] Beyoncé has been credited with reviving the album format in an era dominated by singles and streaming, with albums becoming increasingly cohesive and narrative-led.[459][460] She revolutionized how music is released and marketed with the invention of the surprise album, which became a common practice in the 2010s and 2020s.[461] This move was "arguably the single most pivotal moment in all of 21st-century pop music" according to Billboard, with Beyoncé reorienting the music market to cohesive albums and unconventional promotional rollouts.[457] She is also credited with reviving the music video as an art form and popularizing the visual album.[462] Her impact on the music industry led to the Global Release Day being moved to Friday.[463]

Beyoncé's artistic innovations, such as staccato rap-singing and chopped and re-pitched vocals, have changed the sound of popular music and became defining features of the 21st-century music landscape.[464][465][466][467] With her work frequently transcending traditional genre boundaries, Beyoncé has created new artistic standards that have shaped contemporary music and set the precedent for music artists to move between and beyond genre confines.[468][469][470] Beyoncé has helped to revive and popularize several genres of music, including hip-hop in the 2000s, R&B in the 2010s, Afrobeats in the late 2010s / early 2020s, and country music in the 2020s.[457][471][472][473][474]

Beyoncé has been recognized as setting the playbook for music artists in the modern era,[475] with musicians from across genres, generations and countries citing her as a major influence on their career. Taylor Swift described Beyoncé's as a major influence and a "guiding light throughout my career", who has "paved the road" and shown how to "break rules and defy industry norms".[476][477] Lady Gaga explained how Beyoncé gave her the determination to become a musician, recalling seeing her in Destiny's Child music video and saying: "Oh, she's a star. I want that."[478] Rihanna was inspired to start her singing career after watching Beyoncé, telling etalk that after Beyoncé released Dangerously In Love (2003), "I was like 'wow, I want to be just like that.' She's huge and just an inspiration."[479] Ariana Grande learned to sing by mimicking Beyoncé.[480] Adele cited Beyoncé as her inspiration and favorite artist, telling Vogue: "She's been a huge and constant part of my life as an artist since I was about ten or eleven ... I think she's inspiring. She's beautiful. She's ridiculously talented, and she is one of the kindest people I've ever met ... She makes me want to do things with my life."[481] Both Paul McCartney and Garth Brooks said they watch Beyoncé's performances to get inspiration for their shows, with Brooks saying that when watching one of her performances, "take out your notebook and take notes. No matter how long you've been on the stage – take notes on that one."[482][483]

She is known for coining popular phrases such as "put a ring on it", a term for marriage proposal, "I woke up like this", which started a trend of posting morning selfies with the hashtag #iwokeuplikethis, and "boy, bye", which was used as part of the Democratic National Committee's campaign for the 2020 election.[484][485] In January 2012, research scientist Bryan Lessard named Scaptia beyonceae, a species of horse-fly found in Northern Queensland, Australia after Beyoncé due to the fly's unique golden hairs on its abdomen

Achievements

Beyoncé has received numerous awards and is the most-awarded female artist of all time.[487] Having sold over 200 million records worldwide (a further 60 million additionally with Destiny's Child), Beyoncé is one of the best-selling music artists of all time.[488] The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) listed Beyoncé as the top certified artist of the 2000s decade, with a total of 64 certifications.[489][490] In 2009, Billboard named her the Top Female Artist and Top Radio Songs Artist of the Decade.[491][492][493]

In 2010, Billboard named her in their Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years list at number 15.[494] In 2012, VH1 ranked her third on their list of the "100 Greatest Women in Music", behind Mariah Carey and Madonna.[495] In 2002, she received Songwriter of the Year from American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers becoming the First African American woman to win the award. In 2004 and 2019, she received NAACP Image Award for Entertainer of the Year and the Soul Train Music Award for Sammy Davis Jr. – Entertainer of the Year.

In 2005, she also received APEX Award at the Trumpet Award honoring the achievements of Black African Americans. In 2007, Beyoncé received the International Artist of Excellence award by the American Music Awards. She also received Honorary Otto at the Bravo Otto. The following year, she received the Legend Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Arts at the World Music Awards[496] and Career Achievement Award at the LOS40 Music Awards. In 2010, she received the Award of Honor for Artist of the Decade at the NRJ Music Award.[497] At the 2011 Billboard Music Awards, Beyoncé received the inaugural Billboard Millennium Award.[498]

Beyoncé received the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award at the 2014 MTV Video Music Awards and was honored as Honorary Mother of the Year at the Australian Mother of the Year Award in Barnardo's Australia for her Humanitarian Effort in the region and the Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Icon Award in 2016. In 2019, alongside Jay-Z, she received GLAAD Vanguard Award which is presented to a member of the entertainment community who does not identify as LGBT but who has made a significant difference in promoting equal rights for LGBT people.[499] In 2020, she was awarded the BET Humanitarian Award. Consequence named her the 30th best singer of all time.[500]

Beyoncé has won 35 Grammy Awards, both as a solo artist and member of Destiny's Child and The Carters, making her the most honored individual by the Grammys.[501][502] She is also the most nominated artist in Grammy Award history with a total of 88 nominations.[503] "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" won Song of the Year in 2010 while "Say My Name",[41] "Crazy in Love" and "Drunk in Love" have each won Best R&B Song. Dangerously in Love, B'Day and I Am... Sasha Fierce have won Best Contemporary R&B Album, while Lemonade has won Best Urban Contemporary Album. Beyoncé set the record for the most Grammy awards won by a female artist in one night in 2010 when she won six awards, breaking the tie she previously held with Alicia Keys, Norah Jones, Alison Krauss, and Amy Winehouse, with Adele equaling this in 2012.[504]

Beyoncé has won 30 MTV Video Music Awards, making her the joint most-decorated artist in Video Music Award history.[505] She won 26 awards as a solo artist, two awards each with The Carters and Destiny's Child, making her lifetime total of 30 VMAs.[506] "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" and "Formation" won Video of the Year in 2009 and 2016 respectively. Beyoncé tied the record set by Lady Gaga in 2010 for the most VMAs won in one night for a female artist with eight in 2016.[182] She is also the most-awarded and nominated artist in BET Award history,[507] winning 36 awards (including two with Destiny's Child) from over 80 nominations,[508] the most-awarded artist of the Soul Train Music Awards with 25 wins (21 as a soloist and four with Destiny's child),[509] and the most-decorated artist at the NAACP Image Awards with 25 wins as a solo artist and five with Destiny's Child.[510][511]

Following her role in Dreamgirls, Beyoncé was nominated for Best Original Song for "Listen" and Best Actress at the Golden Globe Awards,[512] and Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards.[513] Beyoncé won two awards at the Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2006; Best Song for "Listen" and Best Original Soundtrack for Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture.[514] According to Fuse in 2014, Beyoncé is the second-most award-winning artist of all time, after Michael Jackson.[515][516] Lemonade won a Peabody Award in 2017.[517] In 2022, "Be Alive" was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song,[518] the Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Song,[519] and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.[520]

She was named on the 2016 BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour Power List as one of seven women judged to have had the biggest impact on women's lives over the past 70 years, alongside Margaret Thatcher, Barbara Castle, Helen Brook, Germaine Greer, Jayaben Desai and Bridget Jones,[521] She was named the Most Powerful Woman in Music on the same list in 2020.[522] In the same year, Billboard named her with Destiny's Child the third Greatest Music Video artists of all time, behind Madonna and Michael Jackson.[523]

In June 2021, Beyoncé won the award of "top touring artist" of the decade (2010s) at the Pollstar Awards.[524] In that same month, Beyoncé was inducted into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame as a member of the inaugural class.

Business and ventures

In 2010, Beyoncé founded her own entertainment company Parkwood Entertainment which formed as an imprint based from Columbia Records, the company began as a production unit for videos and films in 2008. Parkwood Entertainment is named after a street in Houston, Texas where Beyoncé once lived.[526] With headquarters in New York City, the company serves as an umbrella for the entertainer's various brands in music, movies, videos, and fashion. The staff of Parkwood Entertainment have experiences in arts and entertainment, from filmmaking and video production to web and fashion design. In addition to departments in marketing, digital, creative, publicity, fashion design and merchandising, the company houses a state-of-the-art editing suite, where Beyoncé works on content for her worldwide tours, music videos, and television specials. Parkwood Entertainment's first production was the musical biopic Cadillac Records (2008), in which Beyoncé starred and co-produced.[527] The company has distributed Beyoncé's albums such as her self-titled fifth studio album (2013), Lemonade (2016) and The Carters, Everything is Love (2018). Beyoncé has signed other artists to Parkwood such as Chloe x Halle, who performed at Super Bowl LIII in February 2019.[528]

In February 2024, Beyoncé launched Cécred, a hair care product line developed to fit different hair textures.[245] Following its launch, she established an annual grant in collaboration with BeyGood. This is an effort to provide financial support to cosmetology students and professional hair stylists within the beauty industry.[529] A yearly $500,000 is funding cosmetology school scholarships and salon business grants across five cities chosen for their large, diverse community of hair stylists: Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and Clementon.

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar Duckworth (born June 17, 1987) is an American rapper. Regarded as one of the most influential hip-hop artists of his generation, and one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is known for his technical artistry and complex songwriting. He was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first musician outside of the classical and jazz genres to receive the honor

Legacy

Lamar performing at the Festival Internacional de Benicàssim in 2016

As one of the most influential musicians of the 2010s decade, Lamar has been deemed a paradigm shift in contemporary hip hop and popular culture.[363][364] His discography became a catalyst in the upsurge of social conscience across multiple generations; challenging the status quo by encouraging listeners to reexamine social institutions.[365] Throughout the Black Lives Matter movement and events following the 2016 U.S. presidential election, his work has been used as protest anthems.[366] According to American studies and media scholar William Hoynes, Lamar's progressive elements places him amongst other African American artists and activists who "worked both inside and outside of the mainstream to advance a counterculture that opposes the racist stereotypes being propagated in white-owned media and culture."[367] He has been credited with reviving jazz rap and the music video as a form of social commentary.[368][369]

Lamar's music has consistently garnered critical acclaim and commercial success—a rare combination in the music industry—as well as support from artists who have paved the way for his advancement, earning him the nickname "King Kendrick".[370][371] His Pulitzer Prize win was considered a sign of the American cultural elite formally recognizing hip hop as a "legitimate artistic medium".[372] Senior artists such as Nas,[373] Bruce Springsteen,[374] Eminem,[375] Dr. Dre,[376] Prince,[377] and Madonna have praised his musicianship.[378] David Bowie's final album, Blackstar (2016), was inspired by To Pimp a Butterfly, and its producer Tony Visconti praised Lamar as a "rulebreaker" in the music industry.[379][380] Pharrell Williams called him "one of the greatest writers of our times" and likened him to Bob Dylan.[381] Lamar has also been cited as a strong influence on the works of various modern artists,[382] including BTS,[383] Dua Lipa,[384] Tyler, the Creator,[385] Roddy Ricch,[386] and Rosalía.[387] Lorde regards him as "the most popular and influential artist in modern music.

Achievements

Throughout his career, Lamar has won 22 Grammy Awards (the third-most by a rapper in history),[445][446] a Primetime Emmy Award,[447] four American Music Awards,[448] 37 BET Hip Hop Awards (the most won by any artist),[449] 11 MTV Video Music Awards (including two Video of the Year wins),[450] 6 Billboard Music Awards,[451] and a Brit Award.[452] As a songwriter, he has received nominations for an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award.[453][454] At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, Lamar received the most Grammy nominations by a rapper in one night, with 11.[455][145] During the 65th ceremony, he became the first artist from any genre to be nominated for Album of the Year with four consecutive lead studio albums since Billy Joel (1979–1983).[456]

Lamar has appeared in various power listings. In 2015, he was featured on Ebony's Power 100 list that honors leaders within the African American community.[457] Time included him on its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016.[458] He has appeared on Forbes' Celebrity 100 ranking (2019),[459] and its 30 Under 30 list twice in the music category (2014 and 2018).[460][461] Lamar was included twice in Billboard's lists of the greatest rappers of all time (2015 and 2023).[462][463] Complex named him the best rapper alive twice (2013 and 2017),[464][465] and included him in their list of the 20 best rappers in their 20s thrice (2013, 2015, and 2016).[466] In May 2015, Lamar was declared a generational icon by the California State Senate for his contributions to music and philanthropy.[467] He was a grand marshal for the Compton Christmas Parade,[468] and was presented with the key to the city of his hometown for representing its evolution.[365] He served as Compton College's surprise commencement speaker on June 7, 2024.[469] Lamar is the fifth man to appear solo on the cover of Harper's Bazaar.[470]

Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, To Pimp a Butterfly, and Damn were featured in Rolling Stone's industry-voted ranking of the 500 greatest albums of all time and the 200 greatest hip hop albums of all time.[471][472] Good Kid, M.A.A.D City was additionally featured in the magazine's list of the 100 best debut albums of all time, and was named the greatest concept album ever.[473][474] It was named the seventh greatest album of all time by Apple Music in 2024.[475] To Pimp a Butterfly was ranked by several publications as one of the greatest albums of the 2010s decade,[476] while "Alright" was deemed the greatest hip hop song of the streaming era by Spotify.[477] As of February 2023, it is the top ranked album on the online encyclopedia Rate Your Music.[478] Damn is the recipient of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, the first time a musical work outside of the classical and jazz genres was honored.[479][480] Its tour companion, along with Big Steppers Tour (2022–2024), are two of the highest-grossing hip hop tours of all time.

Public image

Despite becoming a prominent figure in popular culture, publications have noted Lamar's unconventional approach to celebrity culture.[389] He is notoriously reserved, reluctant to publicly discuss his personal life and generally avoids using social media.[390][391] He is also decisive when engaging with mainstream media outlets, although journalists have complimented his "Zen-like" calmness and down to earth personality.[392][393] According to Lamar, he has become "so invested in who I am outside of being famous, sometimes that's all I know. I've always been a person that really didn't dive too headfirst into wanting and needing attention. I mean, we all love attention, but for me, I don't necessarily adore it."[394] His lyrics have been a topic of media scrutiny, leading to both praise and controversy.[15][395][396]

Lamar's public perception has also been influenced by the various rap feuds he has been involved with.[397][398] Although journalists unanimously declared him the winner of his highly publicized conflict with Drake,[399] some felt that his victory was pyrrhic due to the severity of accusations introduced and the spread of online misinformation.[400][401] Following the release of Good Kid, M.A.A.D City, media outlets have described Lamar as the "modern hip hop messiah".[402] Some critics dislike his "grating" political infusions,[403] causing him to be viewed as having a savior complex.[404][405] However, Lamar has declared himself to be the "greatest rapper alive" due to his personal connection to hip hop.[406] "I'm not doing it to have a good song, or one good rap, or a good hook, or a good bridge," he explained to Zane Lowe. "I want to keep doing it every time, period. And to do it every time, you have to challenge yourself and you have to confirm to yourself—not anybody else, confirm to yourself that you're the best, period. [...] That's my drive and that's my hunger, I will always have

Early life

Kayleigh Rose Amstutz was born in Willard, Missouri, on February 19, 1998,[2][3][4] the oldest of four children.[5][6][7] Her mother, Kara (née Chappell),[8][9] is a veterinarian, and her father, Dwight Amstutz, manages a family practice in Springfield, Missouri, and is a registered nurse in neurological and burn intensive care units.[10] Her uncle is Missouri State Representative Darin Chappell.[11] She has described her hometown and her upbringing as conservative and Christian.[12][13][14] During her childhood, she attended church three times a week and spent some summers at Christian camps.[13][15] In a 2023 Variety interview, she said that she struggled with her upbringing and snuck out often: "I just wanted to feel like a good person, but I had this part of me that wanted to escape so bad."[15]

Roan began playing the piano when she was 10 or 11 years old[16] and began taking lessons at the age of 12.[5] She performed publicly for the first time at age 13, singing "The Christmas Song" at her school's talent show, which she won.[17][18][5] When she was about 14 years old, she auditioned for America's Got Talent without success.[5] At 14 or 15 years old, she began uploading covers to YouTube, drawing attention from various record labels.[19][5] She began songwriting as she entered her teen years.[16] She graduated a year early from Willard High School.[20][21] Roan described missing many childhood experiences in the "messy" beginning of her music career, including her prom and high school graduation.

Chappell Roan

Personal life

Roan lives in Los Angeles.[40] She has dated men in the past, but no longer does so[142][143] and is a lesbian.[74][144][145] As of September 2024, Roan was in a relationship with an undisclosed woman who is not involved in the music industry.[146]

After being raised Christian, she no longer identifies with the church and has said that her current relationship with religion is "evolving".[39] Roan was diagnosed with bipolar II disorder at 22, which contributed to her difficult childhood.[13][39] She has described therapy and medication as being helpful for her.[13][147] Roan has said that the idea of her trademark "tacky pop star" appearance came to her while discussing her inner child with her therapist.[39] While "Chappell Roan" began solely as a stage name, she has since called it her drag persona[148][14][39] and likened it to Hannah Montana,[147][149] describing the character as "more open and confident [...] especially regarding sex" than her real self.[7][14][143]

Following her rapid commercial breakthrough, Roan spoke frequently of the pressures of her newfound fame and condemned behavior from some fans that she considered "creepy" and "invasive".[150] In multiple social media posts, she expressed feeling unsafe as a result of public harassment and stalking from fans, which included attempts to contact members of her family

Artistry

Roan writes most of her songs with co-writers, most prominently her producer, Nigro,[97][98] with her song "Kaleidoscope" being the only song from her debut album written solely by Roan herself.[99] After the release of her debut single, "Good Hurt", her style was described in Interview as "pop sound [...] infused with a dark and unsettling tone that underscores her intense, somber lyrics."[28] In 2018, she described her musical style as a mix of organic and electronic sounds, with a pop tone,[19] and as "dark pop with ballad undertones".[16] In her songs written while she was a teenager, according to Atwood Magazine, she "brought the hardship and turbulence of our teenaged years to life with a candidness and vividness seldom seen from her peers."[100] Roan describes her music as "kind of the fairytale version of what happened in real life" as her persona is a larger-than-life version of her real self.[39] In 2024, Billboard described her as an "innovative art-pop auteur.

Inspiration

Roan has cited Kate Bush as a prominent influence.[110][111] She has also cited inspirations including the artist Abbey Watkins, the film The Beguiled, and musical artists alt-J,[28] Stevie Nicks, Ellie Goulding,[112] Lorde, and Lana Del Rey.[29] In 2023, on an exclusive interview for Pop Crave, Roan stated that she listened to Lorde, Del Rey and Goulding throughout her entire high school years.[112][113] She has stated that the song "Stay" by Rihanna inspired her to begin writing music.[16] In 2023, a Variety article described Roan as "glammy and pop and embracing her femininity and shared Gen-Z generational experiences, and also very queer-positive."[32] Roan has also cited Lady Gaga and Nicki Minaj as inspiration for her attitude towards making people feel confident with her music.[114] Roan spoke in admiration of Ariana Grande, calling herself "an Arianator".[115] Discovering artists like Katy Perry, Kesha, Britney Spears, and Pink during her adolescence also influenced her to start writing music and construct her onstage persona.[33][116] Roan stated she was raised on Christian rock during her childhood but never identified with it, instead having a curiosity about pop music.[33]

Roan's makeup and hair is primarily inspired by drag makeup, including queens like Violet Chachki.[117] Roan's makeup also takes inspiration from Boy George, 1980s punk, and Vivienne Westwood.[117] Roan described her makeup looks for the Coachella festival as "Paris Hilton and James St. James or Walt Cassidy became one and put on a drag show."[118] Roan is also heavily inspired by the Club Kids scene.[119] While on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Roan stated her stage looks reference horror movies, burlesque, and theater.[120] Roan also described her outlook for her on-stage costumes, "I love looking pretty and scary. Or, like, pretty and tacky. Or just not pretty. I love that too. I just think it's just not serious, I love that fans find such deep meanings to things and I'm just like, 'I don't know, I thought I looked hot.' Like, I don't know if it's anything more than that."[121] Roan considers herself a drag queen with her own persona, stating, "I've never fully understood why women shouldn't be allowed to do drag because – yes, I do drag! [...] It feels like they don't like women doing certain things. Another man trying to tell a woman what to do. Just try telling me what to do! I'm a drag queen – whether you like it when women do it or not.

Cultural impact

Roan's success has led her to be called a "queer pop icon", "a superstar in the making", and a "visionary performer".[123][124][125] Roan has been credited with leading a "lesbian pop renaissance" on the music charts and within the cultural zeitgeist.[126][127] Roan's music brought the concept of compulsory heterosexuality into the forefront of mainstream pop music.[128] She has been praised for her "unapologetic authenticity" and "expression of her queerness and femininity" in her music and live performances, inspiring young women to embrace their own sexuality.[129][130] She has also been applauded for her image "rejecting the male gaze" within the pop landscape.[131] Roan has been praised for her "punkish" attitude towards the status quo for queer performers and applauded for "rewriting the rules of lovelorn pop".[132] Rolling Stone described watching Roan's performances as "like watching Michelangelo craft the statue of David in real time".[125]

In 2024, Roan gave a guest lecture at the Harvard Medical School.[133] When searching for Roan's name on Google, users are prompted with "Did you mean: your favorite artist's favorite artist", which references a viral clip of Roan introducing herself on stage at the Coachella Music Festival.[134] This was inspired by Roan's favorite drag performer Sasha Colby.[134] Roan joked the search term was caused by a "random twink who works at Google" and stated that she modified Colby's phrase as she hoped Colby would one day watch and recognize her.[135]

In August 2024, the Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign released a baseball cap with the words "Harris Walz" in a similar style to Roan's "Midwest Princess" merchandise baseball cap.[136] In response, Roan tweeted "is this real".[137][138] Roan refused to endorse the Harris campaign, but confirmed she would vote, arguing "endorsing and voting are completely different". Justifying the decision, she said, "Fuck Trump for fucking real, but fuck some of the shit that has gone down in the Democratic Party that has failed people like me and you — and, more so, Palestine, and more so, every marginalized community in the world

Kanye’s wife Bianca Censori causes stir at Grammys with naked dress stunt

Bianca Censori caused a stir at the Grammy Awards as she appeared on the red carpet in a transparent dress.

The Australian model made her red carpet debut with husband rapper Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, at the 2025 awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night.

Appearing on the red carpet, she removed her dark fur coat to reveal her naked body to the flash of cameras.

Censori is known for walking around barely clothed with her rapper husband, sparking speculation about his influence on the model.

Following the shock appearance, reports emerged that the rapper, who was married to Kim Kardashian, and Censori had turned up uninvited, and were escorted out by police after their “crazy stunt”.

However, Ye was an invited guest because of his nomination in the best rap song category for Carnival.

The rapper and Censori walked and exited without being escorted out, a source said.

Censori’s sheer mini dress caused some people on social media to question if the appearance violated California’s indecent exposure laws.

It came as Beyonce secured the prestigious album of the year Grammy Award for her chart-topping country album Cowboy Carter.

The US superstar had been nominated on four previous occasions but failed to secure the prize with 2008's I Am... Sasha Fierce, 2013's Beyonce, 2016's Lemonade and 2022's Renaissance.

The recognition alongside earlier wins on Sunday of best country album and the country duo/group performance award for her song featuring Miley Cyrus, titled II Most Wanted, has extended her lead as the most-awarded artist in Grammys history to 35 awards.

Collecting the album of the year award at the Crypto.com Arena, the 43-year-old said: "I just feel very full and very honoured.

"It's been many, many years and I want to thank the Grammys, every songwriter, every collaborator, every producer, all of the hard work.

"I want to dedicate this to Ms (Linda) Martell, and I hope we just keep pushing forward, opening doors. God bless y'all. Thank you so much."

The singer, who was joined on stage by her daughter Blue Ivy, also praised the firefighters for “keeping us safe” during the Los Angeles wildfires.

Earlier in the night, fellow album of the year nominee Taylor Swift presented a stunned Beyonce with the best country album award.

The singer admitted she was “not expecting” to win the award and praised the “incredible country artists” who accepted her album, adding: “I think sometimes genre is a cold word to keep us in our place as artists and I just want to encourage people to do what they're passionate about and to stay persistent.

WWE RAW (2/3/2025)

Jey Uso tries to say something, but the fans want more… so they put the music on and they carry on with Yeet! When it dies down, they chant “You Deserve It!” – After remaining speechless for a few minutes, an emotional Jey Uso thanks them for that. He doesn’t know what to say.

He came into the game about 15 years ago and tried to make a good living with his brother as a tag team. Jey did that, but then fast forward to the pandemic era. Fast forward to The Bloodline, and they were cool chapters in his career. He wasn’t confident being a singles guy, and he didn’t have it. But coming out here tonight, he has it now. He worked really hard to get to this spot, and he got it because… he cries a little as he thanks his family and the fans. And now, all by himself, he is going to the WrestleMania main event. Gunther makes his entrance.

He tells Jey Uso that a match with him at WrestleMania does not appeal, because he can’t even lace his boots. The World Champion is box office and is always in control. This time, he refuses to do this with Jey Uso again. Does he even know what holding this means? It means he is building a legacy for himself, and beating Jey at WrestleMania does not add to this. Wrestling a guy like CM Punk would have added something. If Jey Uso chooses him, Gunther wants something to gain from this. Every week will be hell. And at WrestleMania, there will be violence than this business has ever seen. He will put Jey down like a diseased dog. Good thing is, he has options, so he advises Jey to consider them.

Jey Uso says he has always been told what he can’t be. He was only supposed to be a tag team guy. He couldn’t main event or win the Royal Rumble. Whoever he chooses, he walks in to WrestleMania as the Rumble winner, and he will be walking out as a champion.

#1. Ludwig Kaiser vs. Penta – Winner: Penta

Penta is about to have a post-match interview, but is interrupted by Pete Dunne. Ludwig Kaiser blindsides Penta while he is distracted and takes him out with his finisher.

– Finn Balor is irate with Dominik Mysterio because he took his tag title rematch and partner while he was out injured for two weeks. He also got his partner injured, so what is going to do now? Does he need a babysitter? Liv Morgan defuses the situation by telling Finn that he had to take the match or Adam Pearce would give the match to another team.

The War Raiders injured JD McDonagh, so that is on them. She got an Elimination Chamber qualifier, a tag title match with Raquel Rodriguez, and Dominik got him an Elimination Chamber qualifier. Finn Balor is happy with that and quickly calms down. Dominik did that for him as they are family.

– Next up, Charlotte Flair addresses her Royal Rumble victory. A year-and-a-half ago, fans’ booing might have bothered her. But honestly, she has missed everyone. Last year broke her mentally and physically. There was a point she didn’t know if she would make it back for WrestleMania this year.

She is going to embrace these boos, because he loves all the fans. Whether they are Wooing, or booing, it does not change the fact she is the greatest WWE Superstar in the history of this industry, so boo her now. She fought every single day to get back here to her passion. When she punched her ticket to WrestleMania, she knew… and she’s interrupted by Rhea Ripley.

She was trying to have a moment with Cleveland, but Rhea Ripley tells Charlotte this is her show. Ripley respects her after the wars they had. She wants Charlotte to choose her, because the last time they faced each other at WrestleMania she won. Charlotte reminds her that the first time they faced at WrestleMania, she won. Ripley reminds her she was just a kid back then.

Flair thinks Ripley has jumped the gun here, because she is going to NXT tomorrow to see if Guilia inspires her, and then to SmackDown, to see if Tiffany Stratton inspires her. This proves Ripley is still just a kid. See you next week. Ripley doesn’t like that comment. She pleads with Flair to pick her, so the respect can be beaten in to her.

– Backstage, Sami Zayn congratulates Jey Uso for getting the job done. After Jey leaves, Karrion Kross tries getting in his head, but Zayn tells him if he keeps getting in his face like this, there will be a problem. Kross doesn’t mind being a problem.

– During the break, The New Day enters the ring and grab some microphones. They were screwed out of a chance of being in the Royal Rumble. The fans are only booing them because they are liars. They are finally given their match against Rey Mysterio and Dragon Lee, which they sarcastically say was postponed because Lee wanted to see the birth of his child.

– After IYO SKY tells Rhea Ripley she may see her at WrestleMania, Liv Morgan launches a blind attack against her. Ripley gets involved, but then Rodriguez launches her over a production box.

Midway through the next match, Logan Paul’s entrance provides a significant distraction for Rey Mysterio, who he will wrestle next week in an Elimination Chamber qualifier. The fans chant “F*** You Logan!”.

WWE Raw results, live blog (Feb. 3, 2025): Royal Rumble fallout

#2. The New Day (Kofi Kingston & Xavier Woods) vs. Rey Mysterio & Dragon Lee – Winners: The New Day with an assist from Logan Paul

We are given a small update on Roman Reigns. He will be out for the foreseeable future. No other details are given.

– During the break, A-Town Down Under questions Maxxine Dupri for hanging around with two losers like Timon & Pumbaa (Otis & Tozawa). An angry Otis gets in their face, and Waller tells him they are lucky they don’t do business in Cleveland.

#3. [Elimination Chamber Qualifier] Liv Morgan vs. IYO SKY – Winner: Liv Morgan via DQ after Rhea Ripley’s interference

– Chad Gable is disgusted with the War Raiders for injuring JD McDonagh and then running away with the titles. They tell him if his boys want a shot, they will be waiting. After the champions leave, Gable motivates his team to do better in a positive manner.

– Adam Pearce has an announcement. The newest member of the RAW roster is AJ Styles! Bron Breakker interrupts to ask what is next for the Intercontinental Champion. Let’s talk business.

– Seth Rollins addresses the fans. He has things to get off his chest. First, Jey Uso won the Royal Rumble and punched his ticket to WrestleMania. Rollins is proud of Jey Uso. He loves to see good things happen to good people, and this brings him to CM Punk. He lost the Royal Rumble, his WrestleMania future is still up in the air. And he got embarrassed by being dumped over the top by that idiot Logan Paul.

As for Roman Reigns, he lost the Royal Rumble and may not make it to WrestleMania at all. Rollins tells us Reigns is hurt. That is the truth, because he is the one who hurt him. The past four years, Reigns has done nothing but hurt those close to him, and he would have done the same thing to him if given the chance.

We save the best for last. He lost the Royal Rumble and that hurts. But luckily for him, that is in the past, and the future has many other paths to WrestleMania. His path goes through the Elimination Chamber, and he will take care of business in two weeks when he takes on Finn Balor. Meanwhile, Sami Zayn needs to take care of his business, and he would like to tell him something’s before that match. Sami Zayn makes his entrance, and then he listens.

Seth Rollins does his best to motivate him after CM Punk told him to his face that he isn’t on his level. He is a WrestleMania main eventer, and he is a good person. Sami Zayn is levels above CM Punk. So tonight is his night, and he needs his absolute best to keep CM Punk out of that chamber, because good people deserve that opportunity more. Put his WrestleMania dream in the dirt for good and then come fight him in that chamber.

#4. [Elimination Chamber Qualifier] CM Punk vs. Sami Zayn – Winner: CM Punk

After the match, Kevin Owens attacks Sami Zayn and drills him with a Package Piledriver!

Portable (musician)

Controversy

Portable was arrested by the Ogun State Police Command after he failed to comply with a 72-hour ultimatum to surrender himself in connection with an alleged assault, as per a police invitation. In the early hours of Monday, 3 April 2023, Portable was charged in the Ifo high court in Ogun state.

Family

Portable has 5 children from different women, including a son with Nollywood actress Akinyanju Omobolarinde

Portable was born on 12 March 1994 in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria.[3] He gained mainstream attention after the single "ZaZoo Zehh", where he featured Olamide and Poco Lee.[4][5][6] He publicly accused Kogbagidi[7] a business partner on social media of allegedly scamming him in a deal involving artist management

Habeeb Okikiola Badmus[1] (born 12 March 1994) popularly known as Portable is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper

Feud with Seyi Shay and leaked video

On 8 June 2021, Savage was reported to have been involved in a verbal exchange with Seyi Shay at a saloon in Lekki, Lagos.[114] In a viral video, Savage was seen taking exception to Seyi Shay's greeting, followed by an exchange of words and curses from both artists.[114] According to Premium Times newspaper, Seyi Shay recorded a diss track in 2017, calling Savage several derogatory names.[115]

In October 2021, Savage told Power 105.1's Angie Martinez that she was blackmailed over a leaked video of herself and her partner having sex.[116] Savage's partner accidentally uploaded the video to Snapchat and took it down almost immediately. However, someone captured the video before it was deleted and threatened to release it if they weren't monetarily compensated. Savage refused to give the person money and instead decided to publicly speak about the leaked video in order to own the narrative.[117] Savage revisited the incident on Asake's 2022 single "Loaded", which she was featured on.[

Tiwa Savage

Tiwatope Omolara Savage (born 5 February 1980), known professionally as Tiwa Savage (listenⓘ), is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and actress.[4][5][6] Savage sings in English, Nigerian Pidgin and Yoruba; her music is a blend of afrobeats, R&B, afropop, pop and hip-hop.[7] Savage's contributions to the Nigerian music industry have earned her several achievements.

Born in Isale Eko, she relocated to London at the age of 11 for her secondary education. Five years later, she began her music career doing backup vocals for artists such as George Michael and Mary J. Blige. After participating in the UK edition of The X Factor and graduating from Berklee College of Music, Savage signed a publishing deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing in 2009.[9] Inspired by the growth of the Nigerian music industry, Savage moved back to Nigeria and signed with Mavin Records in 2012. She made an appearance on the label's 2012 compilation album Solar Plexus.[10]

Her debut studio album Once Upon a Time was released on 3 July 2013. It was supported by seven singles: "Kele Kele Love", "Love Me (3x)", "Without My Heart", "Ife Wa Gbona", "Folarin", "Olorun Mi" and "Eminado". The album was nominated for Best Album of the Year at the 2014 Nigeria Entertainment Awards and for Best R&B/Pop Album at The Headies 2014. On 19 December 2015, Savage released her second studio album R.E.D, which yielded the singles "My Darlin" and "Standing Ovation". The tracks "All Over" and "Ma Lo" served as singles from Savage's six-track debut extended play (EP), Sugarcane, which was released in September 2017. R.E.D and Sugarcane have both been nominated for Best Album at the Nigeria Entertainment Awards.

In November 2018, Savage won Best African Act at the 2018 MTV Europe Music Awards, becoming the first woman to win the category. In May 2019, she announced her record deal with Universal Music Group and exit from Mavin Records.[11] Savage's third studio album Celia, which was released in August 2020, yielded the singles "Attention", "Dangerous Love", "Koroba", and "Temptation". Her second extended play Water & Garri, which blends Afrobeat with soulful R&B, was released on 20 August 2021. In March 2022, Savage announced the Water & Garri North American Tour in support of the EP

Personal life

Savage was married to Tunji "Tee Billz" Balogun. On 23 November 2013, the couple held their traditional marriage at the Ark in Lekki.[104][105] The couple's white wedding was held on 26 April 2014, at the Armani Hotel in Dubai.[106][107] On 1 January 2015, Savage and Balogun announced that they were expecting their first child together.[108] Six months later, Savage gave birth to their son.[109][110] On 28 April 2016, Balogun accused his wife of infidelity and his mother-in-law of witchcraft.[111] In a 45-minute interview conducted by This Day newspaper and Pulse Nigeria, Savage extensively addressed her husband's lengthy social media posts regarding their marriage. She debunked her husband's infidelity claims and accused him of financial recklessness, drug addiction and abandonment.[112] She said her marriage to him was over.[112]

On 19 July 2021, Savage lost her father to an undisclosed illness.

Recognition and influence on other artists

Savage appeared on BBC's list of the 100 inspirational and innovative women for 2017.[119] She also made the Women4Africa 2022 Goldlist.[120] Artists such as Ayra Starr and Brettina have cited Savage as one of their key musical influences

Stars in the Nigeria’s film industry have mourned Nollywood actress, Pat Ugwu, who passed away at the age of 35.

Emeka Okoye on his Instagram post on Wednesday, announced her death with a poster detailing her funeral arrangements.

“Rest in peace sis. Pat Ugwu. @patpat_ugwu so we no get to work again? Death whyooo? God please. Rest in peace PAT. May your soul rest in the bosom of the Lord,” Emeka wrote, expressing his grief.

He also voiced his fears over the recent spate of losses in the industry, saying, “God please protect all my colleagues especially those am close to. This unusual Death is frightening. I proclaim life to everyone close to me this 2025 in the precious blood of Jesus. Amen.”

The cause of her death was not immediately clear.

Several Nollywood stars, including Rita Edochie, Destiny Etiko, Nkechi Blessing, and Kevin Mike, also reacted to the tragic news.
Destiny Etiko wrote in the comment section, “Jesus noooooo.”

Mike wrote on Instagram, “Chai, just woke up this morning to hear the death of one of our crew and casts @patpat_ugwu. Rest in peace, dear.”

Nollywood stars mourn actress, Pat Ugwu

Pat, who lost her father in 2021, will be buried on February 7, 2025.

Early life

Irv Gotti was born Irving Lorenzo in the Hollis neighborhood of the borough of Queens in New York City.[3][4] Lorenzo was of Filipino and African-American descen.

Irving Domingo Lorenzo Jr. (June 26, 1970 – February 5, 2025)[1][2] professionally known as Irv Gotti (or DJ Irv), was an American record producer and record executive. He co-founded the record label Murder Inc. Records in 1998, which was an imprint of Def Jam Recordings. He received production credits for most of the recordings by artists signed to the label—including Ja Rule (Between Me and You, Mesmerize, Thug Lovin', 6 Feet Underground, Livin' It Up, Down Ass Bitch, Always on Time), Lloyd, The Inc. (Down 4 U), and Ashanti (Foolish)—as well as other artists such as Jennifer Lopez, DMX, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Fat Joe (What's Luv), Memphis Bleek, and Eve, among others. Gotti was also the creator of the BET series Tales.

Irv Gotti

Legal issues

On January 3, 2003, federal agents and New York Police Department investigators raided the headquarters of Murder Inc. Records, located at One Worldwide Plaza in Midtown Manhattan. The raid was a part of a year-long investigation into the connection between the Lorenzos and American drug lord Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff. Investigators believed that the Lorenzos used drug money supplied by McGriff to launch Murder Inc. as a way to launder the illegal funds. Investigators also believed the brothers helped McGriff launder drug money through the making of the 2003 film Crime Partners.[12] Although computers and documents were seized, no charges were immediately filed, and no arrests were immediately made. The raid was dramatized in the music video for Ja Rule's Murder Reigns.

Chris and Irv Gotti's history with McGriff dated back to 1994, when McGriff, newly paroled from prison, met Chris and Irv on the set of a music video in Queens, New York. McGriff wanted to go into cinematography and sought help from Chris and Irv Gotti to produce and direct a film based on Donald Goines' novel Crime Partners. The Lorenzos fro then on maintained a friendship with McGriff, having him appear in the music video for Ja Rule's 1999 single Murda 4 Life and helped finance McGriff's dream project, Crime Partners.[citation needed]

On January 25, 2005, Chris and Irv Gotti surrendered to authorities in New York City and were officially charged with money laundering and conspiracy to launder money. During the trial, Irv Gotti was represented by Gerald B. Lefcourt, and Chris Gotti was represented by Gerald Shargel. In December 2005, Chris and Irv Gotti were acquitted of all charges

Career

Irv Gotti, under the moniker DJ Irv, produced the song "Can I Live" on Jay-Z's June 1996 debut album, Reasonable Doubt.

In 1997,[6] through Irv, Def Jam signed Ruff Ryders artist DMX. Gotti, as executive producer, oversaw DMX's first studio album, It's Dark and Hell is Hot, released on May 12, 1998. The album debuted and peaked the Billboard 200 and sold over 250,000 copies in its first week.[7] The album went on to sell four million copies in the United States, being certified quadruple platinum by the RIAA, and sold five million copies worldwide.[8]

After helping Def Jam with the success of DMX and Jay-Z, Lyor Cohen gave Irv his own label under Def Jam. While watching Biography on A&E during gangster week, a Murder, Inc. logo appeared on the screen and Irv decided to use the name for his label because Murder, Inc. put out hits for murder and Irv wanted to put out hit records.

The first album released under Murder Inc. was Ja Rule's debut album, Venni Vetti Vecci, released in June 1999. All of the album was co-produced by Irv, who oversaw the development of the album as executive producer. Org also produced Ja's second studio album, Rule 3:36. Irv co-produced Rule 3:36's singles ''Between Me And You.

In 2002, Irv Gotti released Irv Gotti Presents The Inc, featuring the Murder Inc. roster. Irv co-produced all of the album's tracks, including the album's hit single Down 4 U.

Irv, Ja Rule, and the label Murder Inc. were all involved in a well-publicized feud with G-Unit Records, Aftermath Records, and Shady Records over history between 50 Cent and Ja Rule. After this, Murder Inc. would change their name to The Inc.

Under The Inc. banner, Irv would move the label to Universal Motown and sign Vanessa Carlton.[9] Gotti co-produced Vanessa Carlton's third album, Heroes and Thieves, which was released October 9, 2007, with Channel 7, Rick Rubin, and Stephan Jenkins.[10]

In an interview with Angie Martinez in early May 2009, Gotti stated that his label, Murder Inc., was leaving Universal Records.

In September 2013, Murder Inc. was relaunched as an umbrella label under Irv Gotti's new label, Visionary

Death

Lorenzo died on February 5, 2025 from complications from multiple strokes. He was 54 years old

Veteran Nollywood actor, Columbus Irosanga, popularly known for his role as a native doctor is dead.

His death was announced on Instagram on Thursday by fellow movie star, Hilda Dokubo.

Sharing the news, Dokubo wrote, “There can’t be a shortage of angels in heaven that the few here are called home like this na! This one is heavy on Uniport Rivers State Nollywood.”

She captioned her post, “Our uncle Coli #colu_mbusirisoanga has gone to be with the lord. Ikoli eh dein na mu.”

Irosanga, a native of Okrika, Rivers State, was a veteran actor and television personality.

Beyond acting, he was a senior lecturer at the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Port Harcourt.

His most notable film roles include Issakaba (2003) and 7 Kilometre (2015).

Veteran Nollywood actor, Columbus Irosanga, popularly known for his role as a native doctor is dead.

His death was announced on Instagram on Thursday by fellow movie star, Hilda Dokubo.

Sharing the news, Dokubo wrote, “There can’t be a shortage of angels in heaven that the few here are called home like this na! This one is heavy on Uniport Rivers State Nollywood.”

Columbus Irosanga

She captioned her post, “Our uncle Coli #colu_mbusirisoanga has gone to be with the lord. Ikoli eh dein na mu.

Irosanga, a native of Okrika, Rivers State, was a veteran actor and television personality.

Columbus Irosanga

Beyond acting, he was a senior lecturer at the Department of Theatre Arts, University of Port Harcourt.

His most notable film roles include Issakaba (2003) and 7 Kilometre (2015).

Throughout his career, he received numerous awards, including Best Actor in a Supporting Role (AMAA), Best Actor in a Drama (City People Entertainment Awards), Most Promising Actor in Nigeria (AMVCA), and Best Actor in a Leading Role (Best of Nollywood Awards).

Veteran actor Columbus Irosanga is dead

Irosanga, who hails from Okrika, Rivers State, was a veteran actor and television personality, was popularly known for his role as a native doctor.

Chloe Elizabeth Bailey (/ˈkloʊi/ KLO-ee; born July 1, 1998), also known mononymously as Chlöe, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She rose to prominence alongside her sister Halle Bailey as Chloe x Halle. The duo released two studio albums, with their second, Ungodly Hour (2020), being met with widespread acclaim upon release. In 2021, Bailey released her debut solo single "Have Mercy", which was certified platinum in the U.S. Her debut album, In Pieces, was released in 2023. Her second studio album, Trouble in Paradise, was released in 2024.

Bailey also starred in several television series and films, including Grown-ish (2018–2022) and Swarm (2023). She won an NAACP Image Award for her lead role in Praise This.

Early life

Chloe Elizabeth Bailey was born on July 1, 1998 in Atlanta, Georgia.[2] She was raised in Mableton, Georgia, with her sister Halle Bailey and younger brother Branson Bailey (born 2005) and later moved to Los Angeles in mid-2012.[3][4][5][6] While in Georgia, she played minor acting roles in films, including The Fighting Temptations (2003), starring Beyoncé, and the Disney television film Let It Shine (2012).[7] Their father began teaching them how to write songs at the ages of ten and eight.

Artistry

Bailey's biggest musical influence is her mentor American singer Beyoncé, and has also stated Kelis is a major influence.[59] She is also inspired by artists such as Donna Summer,[60] Kanye West,[61] Grimes, Missy Elliott, Imogen Heap, Tune-Yards, TLC and R&B music.[62][63][64]

Personal life

Bailey shared via TikTok Live on June 11, 2024, that she had stopped being a vegan after 11 years, stating that she has noticed benefits and has not experienced any negative effects since changing her diet.

Career beginnings, Chloe X Halle

The sisters launched a YouTube channel at the ages of 13 and 11 respectively, with a cover of Beyoncé's "Best Thing I Never Had".[8] They first performed as Chloe x Halle when uploading covers of pop songs onto this channel.[9][10] The duo made their talk show debut when they appeared on The Ellen Show in April 2012.[11][6] In September 2013, she made a cameo appearance in the Disney series Austin & Ally performing the song "Unstoppable".[12][13] In 2015, she and her sister signed to Parkwood Entertainment.

Chloe x Halle made their professional debut with the EP, Sugar Symphony, which was released under Parkwood on April 29, 2016.[14] The duo were also featured as the opening act for the European part of Beyoncé's Formation World Tour, held between late June and early August 2016.[15]

Nearly a year after, Chloe x Halle released a mixtape, The Two of Us, on March 16, 2017, on YouTube. It was featured on Rolling Stone magazine's Best R&B Albums of 2017 list.[16] On December 29, 2017, the duo released the theme song for the TV series Grown-ish, entitled "Grown". Bailey was cast as Jazlyn "Jazz" Forster in a recurring capacity in the first season before being upgraded to series regular starting with the second.[17] She later departed the series at the end of the fourth season, when her character graduated from college.[18] Both "Grown" and "The Kids Are Alright" served as the lead and second singles, respectively, of Chloe x Halle's debut studio album, The Kids Are Alright, which they announced in late February 2018. The album was paired with a visual.[19] Chloe x Halle released their debut studio album, The Kids Are Alright, on March 23, 2018, to critical acclaim.[20][21] Their single, "Warrior", appeared on both the soundtrack for the film A Wrinkle in Time (2018), as well as their debut album.[22]

On May 31, 2018, it was announced that they would be the opening act for the U.S. leg of Beyoncé and Jay-Z's On the Run II Tour, alongside DJ Khaled.[23] The duo were nominated for two Grammy Awards in December 2018, namely Best New Artist and Best Urban Contemporary Album (for The Kids Are Alright).[24]

On February 3, 2019, Chloe x Halle's performance of "America the Beautiful" at the Super Bowl LIII was praised by their mentor Beyoncé in addition to several news publications.[25][26] A week later, on February 10, 2019, the duo honored American musician Donny Hathaway by performing his 1972 single "Where Is the Love" at the 61st Annual Grammy Awards. In November 2019, it was announced that Bailey joined the cast of the horror film, The Exorcism, directed by M. A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller.[27][28] She also starred alongside Madelaine Petsch in the 2022 psychological drama film Jane.[29]

On June 12, 2020, the duo released their sophomore album, Ungodly Hour, to critical acclaim.[30][31] The album debuted at number 16 on the Billboard 200 chart with 24,000 units sold. "Do It" also became their first entry on the Billboard Hot 100, debuting at number 83 on the chart dated June 27, 2020.[32] Chloe x Halle performed the American national anthem at the kickoff game for the 2020 NFL season in September 2020.[33] The duo hosted the Glamour Women of the Year Awards in October 2020.[34] In November 2020, they received nominations for Album of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year, Best Dance Performance and The Ashford And Simpson Songwriter's Award at the 2020 Soul Train Music Awards.[35] They also received nominations for Best Progressive R&B Album, Best R&B Song and Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards.[36] They performed "Baby Girl" at the 2020 Billboard Women in Music ceremony, where Beyoncé presented them with the Rising Star Award

Chloe Bailey

Naira Marley

Career

2014 – 2018: Career beginnings

While growing up, Fashola had plans of becoming an MC and a voice-over artist. He began rapping in 2013 after discovering his passion for music and was encouraged by close-knit friends from the Queens Roads area in Peckham to pursue his music career. He released the Max Twigz-assisted track "Marry Juana" before releasing his debut EP Gotta Dance in 2014.[7][8]

In December 2017, he released the Olamide and Lil Kesh-assisted single "Issa Goal", which became the theme song for the Super Eagles at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[9][10] The official remix of "Issa Goal" was released on 16 June 2018; it featured vocals by Olamide, Lil Kesh, Falz, Simi and Slimcase.[11]

Marley sings in English, Pidgin and Yoruba; his musical style spans Afrobeats, Street pop and hip-hop. He derived his stage name from Jamaican singer Bob Marley, whom he admires; his dreadlocks are also a tribute to the singer.[1][12][13]

2019 – present: musical releases, Marlian Records and debut album

Naira Marley released the Zlatan-assisted track "Am I A Yahoo Boy"[14] on 3 May 2019, and was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that same day.[why?][15][16] He released "Soapy" on 27 June 2019, a few days after he was released from prison.[17] On 11 January 2020, he won Viewers' Choice for "Soapy" at the 2020 Soundcity MVP Awards.[18]

On 18 December 2019, Marley released his second EP Lord of Lamba which was a mixture of Afrobeats and hip-hop.[19][20] The EP comprised six tracks and featured guest artists such as CBlvck, Young John and Mayorkun.[21] Its production was handled by Killertunes, Rexxie, and Studio Magic.[22][23]

During the "Marlian Fest", which was held at the Eko Hotels and Suites on 30 December 2019, Marley announced the launch of his record label Marlian Records and unveiled CBlvck, Zinoleesky, and Fabian Blu as signed acts.[24] On 10 July 2020, Marley unveiled another act under his label, Emo Grae, with a new single and visual titled 0903 featuring Buju.[25]

On 21 June 2021, Marley announced a new album God's Timing Is The Best, to be released after the official video for his song "COMING".

Azeez Adeshina Fashola (born 10 May 1991), known professionally as Naira Marley, is a British-Nigerian singer, songwriter and rapper.[3][4]

Education

At the age of 11, Fashola moved to Peckham, South London, England.[5] He graduated with a distinction in business from Peckham Academy in 2010. He also studied business law at Crossways College (now Christ the King Sixth Form College).

Assault allegation

On 5 October 2022, Marley was accused of assault by his signee MohBad in a series of statements on MohBad's social media. The posts featured pictures and videos of him with noticeable injuries that necessitated hospitalization.[44][45] Marley responded to the accusation by calling the incident a "family affair", claiming Mohbad was likely "high" when making the complaint.

Valentine's concert in Cameroon

On Saturday 13 February 2021, a report surfaced online that the Marley Valentine's Concert in Cameroon had been canceled by Cameroon government authorities. The concert had already been postponed twice by the organizer and moved to different venues but was later cancelled entirely. According to Nigerian music journalist Joey Akan, the cancellation was due to jealousy on the part of Cameroonian entertainers who are displeased with the traction Nigerian music and musicians have in Cameroon.

Controversies

EFCC arrest

On 10 May 2021, the EFCC arrested Marley and his friends Zlatan, Tiamiu Kayode, Adewunmi Adeyanju Moses, Micheal "Taqueesh" Adenuga, and Abubakar Musa.[27] The arrest was made a day after Marley released the video for the controversial single "Am I A Yahoo Boy".[28] Five days later, the EFCC released Zlatan and three others but kept Marley in custody due to the evidence against him.[29] On 16 May 2019, the EFCC charged him with 11 counts of fraud before a federal high court in Ikoyi, Lagos.[30] On 19 May 2019, Zlatan released the single "4 Nights In Ekohtiebo" while Marley was still in prison. In it, he talks about his industry friends, foes, and other people who he admired and how they came through for him.[31] In May 2019, Marley was arraigned and pleaded not guilty; a bail hearing was set for 30 May 2019.[32] On the day of the bail hearing, Marley released "Why", a song that was accompanied by an image of him in handcuffs. On 14 June 2019, he was released from jail 14 days after being granted ₦2,000,000 bail.[33] A few days later, he released "Soapy", a track about the sexual habits of inmates in detention. In October 2019, Marley returned to court to face the charges.[36] His case was later adjourned to 27 February 2020 after an EFCC witness testified against him.

Flouting lockdown order

Naira Marley was detained by the Nigerian Police Force for contravening the lockdown order imposed by President Muhammadu Buhari to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.[38] On 13 June 2020, he performed at a concert in Abuja despite the interstate travel ban and social distancing rules aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.[39] He was arraigned by the FCT Administration before a mobile court in Abuja over the concert.

YouTube

YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim, three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in San Bruno, California, it is the second-most-visited website in the world, after Google Search. In January 2024, YouTube had more than 2.7 billion monthly active users, who collectively watched more than one billion hours of videos every day.[7] As of May 2019, videos were being uploaded to the platform at a rate of more than 500 hours of content per minute,[8][9] and as of 2023, there were approximately 14 billion videos in total.

On November 13, 2006, YouTube was purchased by Google for $1.65 billion (equivalent to $2.31 billion in 2023).[11] Google expanded YouTube's business model of generating revenue from advertisements alone, to offering paid content such as movies and exclusive content produced by and for YouTube. It also offers YouTube Premium, a paid subscription option for watching content without ads. YouTube incorporated Google's AdSense program, generating more revenue for both YouTube and approved content creators. In 2023, YouTube's advertising revenue totaled $31.7 billion, a 2% increase from the $31.1 billion reported in 2022.[12] From Q4 2023 to Q3 2024, YouTube's combined revenue from advertising and subscriptions exceeded $50 billion.[13]

Since its purchase by Google, YouTube has expanded beyond the core website into mobile apps, network television, and the ability to link with other platforms. Video categories on YouTube include music videos, video clips, news, short and feature films, songs, documentaries, movie trailers, teasers, TV spots, live streams, vlogs, and more. Most content is generated by individuals, including collaborations between "YouTubers" and corporate sponsors. Established media, news, and entertainment corporations have also created and expanded their visibility to YouTube channels to reach greater audiences.

YouTube has had unprecedented social impact, influencing popular culture, internet trends, and creating multimillionaire celebrities. Despite its growth and success, the platform has been criticized for its facilitation of the spread of misinformation and copyrighted content, routinely violating its users' privacy, excessive censorship, endangering the safety of children and their well-being, and for its inconsistent implementation of platform guidelines.

Features

YouTube offers different features based on user verification, such as standard or basic features like uploading videos, creating playlists, and using YouTube Music, with limits based on daily activity (verification via phone number or channel history increases feature availability and daily usage limits); intermediate or additional features like longer videos (over 15 minutes), live streaming, custom thumbnails, and creating podcasts; advanced features like content ID appeals, embedding live streams, applying for monetization, clickable links, adding chapters, and pinning comments on videos or posts.

YouTube Movies & TV

YouTube Movies & TV is a video on demand service that offers movies and television shows for purchase or rental, depending on availability, along with a selection of movies (encompassing between 100 and 500 titles overall) that are free to stream, with interspersed ad breaks. YouTube began offering free-to-view movie titles to its users in November 2018; selections of new movies are added and others removed, unannounced each month.[182]

YouTube Premium

In March 2021, Google announced plans to gradually deprecate the Google Play Movies & TV app, and eventually migrate all users to the YouTube app's Movies & TV store to view, rent and purchase movies and TV shows (first affecting Roku, Samsung, LG, and Vizio smart TV users on July 15).[183][184] Google Play Movies & TV formally shut down on January 17, 2024, with the web version of that platform migrated to YouTube as an expansion of the Movies & TV store to desktop users. (Other functions of Google Play Movies & TV were integrated into the Google TV service.)

YouTube Premium (formerly YouTube Red) is YouTube's premium subscription service. It offers advertising-free streaming, access to original programming, and background and offline video playback on mobile devices.[169] YouTube Premium was originally announced on November 12, 2014, as "Music Key", a subscription music streaming service, and was intended to integrate with and replace the existing Google Play Music "All Access" service.[170][171][172] On October 28, 2015, the service was relaunched as YouTube Red, offering ad-free streaming of all videos and access to exclusive original content.[173][174][175] As of November 2016, the service has 1.5 million subscribers, with a further million on a free-trial basis.[176] As of June 2017, the first season of YouTube Originals had received 250 million views in total

History

Founding and initial growth (2005–2006)

YouTube was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. The trio were early employees of PayPal, which left them enriched after the company was bought by eBay.[14] Hurley had studied design at the Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and Chen and Karim studied computer science together at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.[15]

According to a story that has often been repeated in the media, Hurley and Chen developed the idea for YouTube during the early months of 2005, after they had experienced difficulty sharing videos that had been shot at a dinner party at Chen's apartment in San Francisco. Karim did not attend the party and denied that it had occurred, but Chen remarked that the idea that YouTube was founded after a dinner party "was probably very strengthened by marketing ideas around creating a story that was very digestible".[16]

Karim said the inspiration for YouTube came from the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy when Janet Jackson's breast was briefly exposed by Justin Timberlake during the halftime show. Karim could not easily find video clips of the incident and the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami online, which led to the idea of a video-sharing site.[17][18] Hurley and Chen said that the original idea for YouTube was a video version of an online dating service and had been influenced by the website Hot or Not.[16][19] They created posts on Craigslist asking attractive women to upload videos of themselves to YouTube in exchange for a $100 reward.[20] Difficulty in finding enough dating videos led to a change of plans, with the site's founders deciding to accept uploads of any video.[21]

The YouTube logo used from its launch until 2007;[citation needed] it returned in 2008 before being removed again in 2010[citation needed] Another version of this logo without the "Broadcast Yourself" slogan was used until 2011.

YouTube began as a venture capital–funded technology startup. Between November 2005 and April 2006, the company raised money from various investors, with Sequoia Capital and Artis Capital Management being the largest two.[14][22] YouTube's early headquarters were situated above a pizzeria and a Japanese restaurant in San Mateo, California.[23] In February 2005, the company activated www.youtube.com.[24] The first video was uploaded on April 23, 2005. Titled "Me at the zoo", it shows co-founder Jawed Karim at the San Diego Zoo and can still be viewed on the site.[25][26] The same day, the company launched a public beta and by November, a Nike ad featuring Ronaldinho became the first video to reach one million total views.[27][28] The site launched officially on December 15, 2005, by which time the site was receiving 8 million views a day.[29][30] Clips at the time were limited to 100 megabytes, as little as 30 seconds of footage.[31]

YouTube was not the first video-sharing site on the Internet; Vimeo was launched in November 2004, though that site remained a side project of its developers from CollegeHumor.[32] The week of YouTube's launch, NBCUniversal Saturday Night Live ran a skit "Lazy Sunday" by The Lonely Island. Besides helping to bolster ratings and long-term viewership for Saturday Night Live, "Lazy Sunday"'s status as an early viral video helped establish YouTube as an important website.[33] Unofficial uploads of the skit to YouTube drew in more than five million collective views by February 2006 before they were removed when NBCUniversal requested it two months later based on copyright concerns.[34] Despite eventually being taken down, these duplicate uploads of the skit helped popularize YouTube's reach and led to the upload of more third-party content.[35][36] The site grew rapidly; in July 2006, the company announced that more than 65,000 new videos were being uploaded every day and that the site was receiving 100 million video views per day.[37]

The choice of the name youtube.com led to problems for a similarly named website, utube.com. That site's owner, Universal Tube & Rollform Equipment, filed a lawsuit against YouTube in November 2006, after being regularly overloaded by people looking for YouTube. Universal Tube subsequently changed its website to www.utubeonline.com

Popular gospel singer Paul Nwokocha confirmed the end of his second marriage to Goodness on Sunday, citing the reasons behind his decision to leave the union, which was highly celebrated on social media.

The singer, who began his career 40 years ago and has 66 albums to his credit, broke the news on his Facebook and YouTube page, shocking fans and critics alike.

In September 2023, the singer, who is outspoken about his private life, especially marriage, shared why his first marriage, which lasted two decades, crashed.

He said, “I decided to marry my new wife, Goodness, one month after my ex-wife packed out of our matrimonial home because the Holy Bible said “Paul Nwokocha” should not be alone.

Why my second marriage of one year ended -Gospel singer Paul Nwokocha

Marriage is not for better or worse but for better or better; I didn’t marry to endure but to enjoy. My ex-wife, Alice, stopped giving me food, not minding that I give her money for the running of the house every month; I was living as an outcast in my home.”

Second divorce

In a viral video, the singer, who became a household name in Eastern Nigeria after releasing ‘Nkwa Praise’ in 2000, addressed his second failed marriage, citing some allegations.

He said, “Greetings to you all, all my friends and well-wishers. Thank you so much. My name still remains Paul Nwokocha, a minister of the gospel. I have heard so many people talk about my marital problem on social media, and I want to tell you something: If I marry today. I find out that the wife I married is doing abominable things before God and man, I will send you out of my house.

Hear me again: If I marry today and I find out that the wife I married is doing abominable things before God and man, I will send you out of my house without any apology. You that is talking and showing pity on her, how will you feel if the woman you call your wife is taking nude photos and videos and sending them to men? How would you feel if you found such a thing? How will you feel? I need your comments.

“I married a wife, not a whore. So, I owe nobody an apology for this; stop calling me names. Not even minding how long I married you, if I find you are doing evil before God, you are going out of my house,” he said.

Kim Sae-ron (Korean: 김새론; July 31, 2000 – February 16, 2025) was a South Korean actress. Kim started her career in 2001, initially debuting as a child model. At the age of nine, she transitioned into acting and became popular through the films A Brand New Life (2009) and The Man From Nowhere (2010).

As Kim reached her teenage years, she was cast in more leading roles, notably in the film A Girl at My Door (2014). She also starred in television drama series, including Listen to My Heart (2011), The Queen's Classroom (2013) and Hi! School: Love On (2014). Her first adult lead role was in the television drama Secret Healer.

Kim Sae-ron

Early life and education

Kim Sae-ron was born in Seoul on July 31, 2000.[2] Kim had two younger sisters, Kim A-ron [ko] and Kim Ye-ron [ko], who are also actresses.[3][4] She attended Miyang Elementary School in Seoul,[3] and graduated from Yang-il Middle School in Ilsan in February 2016. She then began attending School of Performing Arts Seoul.[5] In 2018, Kim was admitted to Chung-Ang University's Department of Performing Arts and Film Studies

Personal life

In May 2022, Kim was driving under the influence in Gangnam District, Seoul around 8:00 am; she crashed into several structures including transformers, guard rails and street trees. In the crash, the transformer broke down, and the electricity supply was cut off for about 3 hours at 57 places including nearby shops, causing damage to merchants.[43][44] The following day, her agency, Gold Medalist released a statement saying that, "Kim Sae-ron is deeply reflecting on her apparent mistake. The damage caused by the crash is being compensated as much as possible. I will do my best to take responsibility until the end."[45]

Following a series of similar accusations, Kim posted a hand-written apology to her Instagram account on May 19, 2022.[46] She stated:

"First, I am sorry to inform you of the position after arranging the accident and damage situation. Yesterday May 18, 2022 around 8 am in Gangnam, I had an accident that damaged public property. I made a big mistake while drinking.

I caused damage to so many people, including merchants, citizens, and those who restored it. I should have acted more carefully and responsibly, but I couldn't. I sincerely apologize.

We are working out the damage caused by the accident together with the company. I will do my best to communicate and actively resolve the matter until the end. I am very sorry to my fellow actors and staff as well as the production team for disrupting the production of the work that was being filmed and prepared.

Once again, we deeply apologize and apologize for causing concern. There is no excuse for this unfortunate incident. I am disappointed and very ashamed of the mistakes I have made."

It was later reported that she had left the television series Trolley.[41] She continued to receive criticism after it was reported online that she had allegedly hosted her 22nd birthday party, two months after the incident, at a bar and asked invitees to bring alcohol. On November 4, 2022, it was reported all the money that Kim had accumulated during her career had been used to cover the costs incurred due to the accident and settlement expenses, and that she had taken a part-time job.[47] Later, Gold Medalist confirmed that Kim had a part-time job because her financial situation was difficult but later quit.[48]

On March 8, 2023, the prosecutor of Seoul Central District Court asked for a fine of ₩20 million. Later, Kim appealed for leniency due to financial difficulties and requested a fine of ₩4 million from Mr. A, who was riding with her.[49]

On April 17, 2024, it was announced that Kim would act in the upcoming play "Dongchimi." This would be her first return to acting since the incident.[50] On April 18, the organizers of the play announced that Kim was stepping down due to health issues.[51]

Death

On February 16, 2025, Kim's body was found by a friend in her home in Seongdong District, Seoul. The police were called and confirmed her death. An investigation is ongoing, but there were no signs of a break-in.

Career

2001: Debut as child model

2009–2014: Beginnings as a child actress

Kim's first acting role was in the 2009 film A Brand New Life, directed by the French-Korean filmmaker Ounie Lecomte and loosely based on her life. Kim played the main character, a nine-year-old girl named Jin-hee, who is abandoned by her father at an orphanage after he remarries, and is later adopted by a French couple. Kim attended the Cannes Film Festival when the film was shown there in a special screening, becoming the youngest actress to be invited to the festival.[8][9][10] She then co-starred with Won Bin in The Man From Nowhere, which was the highest-grossing film in South Korea in 2010.[11] She played Jung So-mi, the daughter of a heroin addict who is kidnapped by an organized crime ring.[12] During filming, she was only allowed to watch her own scenes on the monitor.[3] Kim won several awards for her first two roles, including Best New Actress at the Korean Film Awards and Buil Film Awards.[13] In 2011, Kim was in another crime film, I Am a Dad, playing the daughter of Kim Seung-woo.[14] She had her first television role in the drama series Listen to My Heart, playing the younger version of Hwang Jung-eum's character. She appeared in the first four episodes, and her performance was praised by TV critics.[4] Her next role was in the drama film Barbie [ko], alongside her sister Ah-ron. The film is about international adoption, and was the first Korean film to win Best Film at the Giffoni International Film Festival in 2012.[4][15] Kim then had a dual role in the thriller film The Neighbor, playing a murder victim and the serial killer's next target.[4]

Kim in December 2012

In 2013, she played a student in the television drama The Queen's Classroom, which won her a Best Young Actress Award at the 2013 MBC Drama Awards (shared with three fellow cast members).[citation needed]

Kim in February 2014

In a 2014 interview, Kim's manager said Kim had "a great eye for good scripts which made it possible for her to choose her own projects at a very young age". Kim also stated that she never had difficulty accepting difficult roles and was able to slowly immerse herself in the characters.[14] Her first role of the year was in the documentary-drama film Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits, reenacting the teenage version of shamanist Kim Geum-hwa.[16] She then played a victim of bullying and domestic violence in the film A Girl at My Door.[17] She accepted the role because she liked the script and was attracted to the character. Kim attended the Cannes Film Festival for the second time when the film premiered there as an Un Certain Regard official selection.[10][18] Her performance was praised by critics—Variety called it "mesmerizing" and Twitch Film noted she had shown more layers and depth compared to her previous roles.[19][20] She was nominated for many awards, winning Best New Actress at the 35th Blue Dragon Film Awards and Golden Cinematography Awards [ko].[21] Also in 2014, she starred in the teen fantasy-romance television series Hi! School: Love On as an angel who becomes human, and the thriller film Manhole, playing a hearing impaired girl who is kidnapped by a serial killer.[22][23]

2015–2022: Acclaim and transition to lead roles

In 2015, Kim had a lead role in the Drama City television special, Snowy Road. The two-part drama series is about the "comfort women" in Korea under Japanese rule during World War II, and was later released as a film in theaters.[24][25] Kim's performance as a 15-year-old comfort woman was praised by both critics and viewers, and she was awarded Best Actress in a Foreign Film at the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival.[21][25][26] She then played the main character in the television series To Be Continued and the younger version of Choi Kang-hee's character in Glamorous Temptation.[27][28] She was cast in her first adult role in the 2016 television drama series, Secret Healer, playing a cursed Joseon-era princess.[29] Her character has a fictional romance with Heo Jun, played by Yoon Shi-yoon, who is 14 years Kim's senior.[29][30]

In November 2016, Kim signed with YG Entertainment.[31]

Kim in November 2017

In 2018, Kim starred in the thriller film The Villagers.[32] In 2019, Kim starred in the fourth season of the campus web drama Love Playlist.[33] The same year she starred in the thriller drama Leverage, based on the American drama of the same name.[34]

In November 2019, it was reported that Kim's contract with YG Entertainment had expired, and that she would be leaving the company.[35] In January 2020, Kim signed with Gold Medalist along with actors Kim Soo-hyun and Seo Yea-ji.[36][37][38]

In May 2021, Kim was confirmed to take the female lead role in the 12-episode web series The Great Shaman Ga Doo-shim, with Nam Da-reum portraying the male main lead.[39]

In April 2022, she was cast in the SBS drama Trolley.[40] However, later in May 2022, she left the project after crashing her vehicle and subsequently having drunk driving charges filed against her.[41]

In December 2022, Kim decided not to renew her contract with Gold Medalist

Career

Daniels started movie making at the age of seven. She got support from her mother and her siblings.[13] Her first movie was Marriage of Sorrow which earned her 10,000 Nigerian Naira.[9] Daniels featured in a Nollywood movie titled "Miracle Child" in 2010. Daniels has been featured in a comedy skit by Ofego on two occasions on his YouTube channel using archive footage.[14][15][16]

In January 2019, Daniels was appointed Atiku Abubakar’s Youth Campaign Coordinator.[17][18][19] In February 2020, Daniels launched a magazine named after her at a hotel in Abuja

Regina Daniels

Personal life and education

Regina Nneamaka Daniels is a Nollywoodfilm actress and a model. She was born in Lagos State, southwest Nigeria, on October 10, 2000. Her mother is Rita Daniels, who is also an actress, film producer, model, entrepreneur and social media personality. She is the former chairperson of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, Delta State chapter.[6][7] Her father is Jude Ojegwu. Jude and Rita parted ways years ago. Daniels grew up in Asaba, Delta State of Nigeria. She has five siblings - three brothers and two sisters. She is the second youngest child in her family. One of her role models growing up was Academy award-winning actress Angelina Jolie.[8] She attended Hollywood International School[9] and in 2018, Daniels proceeded to study Mass Communication[10] at Igbinedion University

Controversies

Cyber-crime/fraud allegation

A plot to implicate Daniels in a scam involving alleged intimate photos of an aspiring actress started on 20 November 2017. A person claimed that she had sent photos to Daniels and was then asked to meet with a movie producer who would train her on being a better actress. After the meeting Daniels was said to have been angry with the victim inciting that the aspiring actress should have offered herself to the producer.[22][23] Two days later Daniels denied all allegations, and said a fan was using her name to dupe the actress. On 23 November 2017, the impersonator was arrested by the police and Daniels was exonerated.[24][25][26]

Marriage to Ned Nwoko

On April 1, 2019, e-Nigeria! a news website made a publication stating that Ned Nwoko (a Nigerian businessman) was the financial sponsor of Daniels.[27] The publication went viral and was cited by many news websites in Nigeria and Kemi Filani News.[28][29][30] Etinosa Idemudia in response to media critics responded on her social media handle that it is an honor that Daniels was made the 6th wife of the senator elect instead of a "side chic".[31][32][33] On 27 April 2019, Ned Nwoko received an honorary doctorate degree from Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun. Harrysong anchored the event where both Daniels and Ned Nwoko were spotted dancing together.[34][35][36]

She has been widely criticized by fans and Nigerians on her alleged marriage to the 59-year-old.[37]

On 29 June 2020, she gave birth to a baby boy for Nwoko.[38] Two years later, on 29 June 2022, she gave birth to a second child

Prince Chinedu Munir Nwoko (born 21 December 1960) popularly known as Ned Nwoko is a muslim, Nigerian lawyer, philanthropist and politician who serves as the senator representing Delta North senatorial district in the Nigerian Senate.[1][2][3] He was a member of the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003 representing Aniocha/Oshimili Federal Constituency, Delta State. In January 2020, he undertook a symbolic expedition to Antarctica to flag off a Malaria Eradication Project.[4]

He was re-elected to represent the people of Delta North senatorial district in 2023 in the Senate of Nigeria representing Oshimili North Federal Constituency, Delta State, Nigeria.

Career

Nwoko began his legal career with a brief start at the Crown Prosecution Service and qualified as a solicitor in England and Wales.[citation needed] He worked at Kumars Solicitors and Pascaldiers & Co Solicitors before establishing Ned Nwoko & Co Solicitors in London.

Nwoko was secretary general, Nigerian legal practitioners UK, Member of the Law Society, England and Wales and was visiting adviser, citizens' advice bureau, based in London. At the peak of his legal sojourn in UK, he had the biggest black law firm in England and was recognized as the best black lawyer of African descent in England 1995.[6][clarification needed]

Politics

Nwoko returned to Nigeria in December 1998 and made an entry into Nigeria's political scene when he was elected member of the House of Representatives between 1999 and 2003.[7] He represented Aniocha / Oshimili federal constituency, making an impressive showing in the legislative house.

Nwoko was instrumental to the initiation of the London and Paris Club Loans refund into Nigeria. He authored the reports that led to Nigeria government's discontinuation of monthly deductions from states’ allocations and commencement of refunds to States.[8] Through his Law firm, Ned Nwoko Solicitors and his Company Linas International he investigated the multinational creditors and discovered discrepancies in loan repayments, and this resulted in the refund of the first tranches of loan beginning from the Obasanjo administration.[9] He also charged the Federal government to court on behalf of 774 Local governments for the refund of illegal deductions and obtained judgment of $3.2billion for the local governments. The Federal government of Nigeria has refunded all the monies in line with the court judgment of 2013.[10][unreliable source?]]. Nigeria under the Buhari Administration was able to overcome her economic recession culminating in the payment of backlog of salaries of public service workers and development of infrastructure. A total of $20 billion has been refunded to States and Local Government because of his work. Nwoko also served on the Vision 2010 Committee and is a member of the capital market. He served as Chairman of the External Committee of Vision 2010. Nwoko is also the Chairman of Project Tourism Africa.[11]

In 2023, Nwoko was elected as the senator representing Delta North senatorial district in the Nigerian Senate. His election was upheld by the Court of Appeal in Asaba.[12]

On January 30, 2025, Nwoko announced his resignation from the PDP with plans to join Nigeria’s ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).[13]

Malaria eradication advocacy

Nwoko is a strong advocate of Malaria eradication in Africa.[14] He is the initiator of the Ned Nwoko Malaria Eradication Project.[15][16] He flagged off the Ned Nwoko Malaria Eradication campaign via a symbolic expedition to the Antarctica in January 2020.[17] The Foundation is supporting the existing efforts of vaccine development by funding a research for the anti-malaria vaccine through a partnership with leading universities in Africa and other research establishments.[18][19]

Visit to South Pole

In January 2020, Nwoko flagged off the malaria eradication campaign via a symbolic expedition to Antarctica. Nwoko made history as the first black African to ever visit the South Pole, Antarctica.[20] Nwoko leveraged on the global attention this expedition attracted to create awareness on the scourge of Malaria and how to permanently eradicate it in Africa.[21] Nwoko and other adventurers arrived the Geographical South Pole, one of the two points where the Earth’s axis of rotation intersects its surface. There he made history for Nigeria and Africa by mounting the Nigerian Flag making Nigeria the 13th country to hoist a flag there, announcing to the world that Africa is ready to solve the African problem, malaria. However, the Nigerian Government must take the necessary steps to ratify the Antarctic Treaty for the flag to remain there.[22]

Mount Ned Nwoko

Nwoko is the founder of the tourism destination Mount Ned Nwoko, one of 21 tourism sites approved by Delta state government.[23] The tourist site consists of museum, farm, zoo, fishponds, poultry and a 9-hole golf course.[24]

Sports University

Nwoko is the founder of Sports University,[25] located at Idumuje ugboko, the first sports University in sub Saharan Africa.[26][27] The university which was granted operational license in 2022 by the federal government of Nigeria, through the National Universities Commission NUC, is offering courses in sports and other disciplines and would resume full academic activities soon.[28]

Ned Nwoko

Early life and education

Prince Chinedu (Ned) Munir Nwoko was born on 21 December 1960 into the Nwoko Royal Family, Idumuje Ugboko Kingdom in Aniocha North Local Government Area. He received primary and secondary education in Nigeria. He moved on to the United Kingdom, got his first degree in Law and History at the University of Keele, Staffordshire UK. He also attended King's College London, where he obtained an LLM in maritime and commercial law. Nwoko was subsequently called to the English bar, at Lincoln's Inn.[5] He was awarded Honorary Doctorate degree in Letters (D.Litt) by Commonwealth University College, Belize, North America.

Philanthropy

Through his foundation, Prince Ned Nwoko Foundation, he has contributed to the empowerment and education of youths of his constituency, senatorial district and state.[29] In 2019, he donated $273,000 (N100M) for the rehabilitation of failed portions of the road linking the South Eastern Nigeria to the nation's capital, Abuja.[30]

Personal life

Nwoko has several wives and many children, Nollywood actress Regina Daniels is his latest wife. According to www.kenyanhub.co.ke he has married again and the wife is pregnant.

Business ventures

In October 2011, Mayers signed a record deal with Sony Music Entertainment worth $3 million ($1.7 million of which was earmarked for his solo work; $1.3 million earmarked to fund his company).[120] Mayers said that he sought a "bigger platform" for him and his collective with the deal.[6] His first studio album planned to be under the deal, but it allowed him to continue releasing mixtapes through Sony/RED.[6] Fellow rapper and A$AP Mob member A$AP Ferg also signed a joint venture deal with the RCA-distributed Polo Grounds Music; Ferg released his single "Work", for digital retail via various platforms. He later announced an official remix featuring Mayers, French Montana, ScHoolboy Q and Trinidad James.[121]

In 2013, he and ASAP Mob co-founder ASAP Bari[122] released his A$AP merchandise brand, and went to collaborate with high-profile fashion designer and close friend Raf Simons.[123][124] On October 2, 2014, Mayers announced he had officially signed a contract for worldwide representation with William Morris Endeavor.[125]

In February 2016, Guess released a collaboration with Mayers called GUE$$, which was inspired by Mayers’ admiration for the brand's vintage '90s clothing that he wore while growing up.[126]

In 2022, Mayers launched his own brand of whisky called Mercer + Prince. It was officially launched on the Revolt TV show, Drink Champs, during a segment in a two-hour long interview.

In 2023, he collaborated with Gucci (Guilty perfume advertisements), Puma (sneakers in collaboration with F1) and with Bottega Veneta on a campaign based on paparazzi candids.

Personal life

From 2011 to 2012, Mayers dated Australian rapper Iggy Azalea.[127][128] He began dating model Chanel Iman in early 2013, and in April 2014, they were reported to be engaged,[129] but broke up in June 2014.[130]

On May 19, 2021, Mayers revealed during an interview with GQ that he is in a relationship with Barbadian singer Rihanna, describing her as "the love of my life".[131] The two were first linked in 2013, after Mayers opened up for Rihanna's Diamonds World Tour.[132] On January 31, 2022, People reported that the couple was expecting their first child.[133] On May 19, 2022, it was confirmed that Rihanna had given birth to a boy.[134][135][136] On May 10, 2023, Mayers revealed their child's name as RZA Athelaston Mayers, named after the Wu-Tang Clan founder and leader RZA.[137][138] During the Super Bowl LVII halftime show, Rihanna revealed that she was pregnant with their second child. Their second son, Riot Rose, was born in August of that year.[139][140][141]

Mayers was a pescetarian.[142] In 2012, he transitioned to a vegetarian diet with the help of his vegan manager after learning of the horrors of the poultry industry.[143] On his 2019 single "Babushka Boi", Mayers stated he is vegan.[143][144][145]

Mayers has said that while he was raised in a Christian household, he does not like going to an organized church, and instead has "[his] own relationship with God... I pray every day before I go to sleep."[146] He addresses these views in the song "Holy Ghost" on his 2015 album At. Long. Last. ASAP. During Mayers’ 2019 incarceration in Sweden, he prayed to keep himself occupied.[147]

Mayers is 5'11" (180 cm) tall, which he revealed in a Nikki & Sara Live interview to contextualize why he felt out-of-place standing next to the much taller Jason Collins

ASAP Rocky

Rakim Athelaston Mayers[2] (born October 3, 1988), known professionally as ASAP Rocky (/ˈeɪsæp/ AY-sap; stylized as A$AP Rocky), is an American rapper.[3] Born and raised in Harlem, he embarked on his musical career as a member of the hip hop collective ASAP Mob, from which he adopted his moniker. In August 2011, Mayers' single "Peso" was leaked online, and within weeks, began receiving radio airplay.[4] He signed with Polo Grounds Music, an imprint of RCA Records in October of that year, and shortly after, released his debut mixtape, Live. Love. A$AP (2011) to widespread critical acclaim.[5][6]

Mayers' 2012 single, "Fuckin' Problems" (featuring Drake, 2 Chainz and Kendrick Lamar), marked his first entry—at number eight—on the Billboard Hot 100, received a nomination for Best Rap Song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards, and preceded his debut studio album, Long. Live. A$AP (2013). Met with critical and commercial success, it debuted atop Billboard 200 and received double platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). His second album, At. Long. Last. A$AP (2015), also debuted atop the chart and saw continued critical praise; its single, "L$D", earned a nomination for Best Music Video at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards. His third album, Testing (2018), peaked within the top five of the Billboard 200, while his fourth album, Don't Be Dumb, is scheduled for release in 2025.

Mayers has won a BET Award, two BET Hip Hop Awards, an MTV Video Music Award Japan and an MTVU Woodie Award. His nominations include two Grammy Awards, six World Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and two MTV Europe Music Awards. Furthermore, Mayers has worked in music video direction, as well as production or co-writing for other artists, often under the pseudonym Lord Flacko.

Early life

Rakim Athelaston Mayers was born on October 3, 1988, in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, a borough of New York City.[9] His father is from Barbados.[10] He has an older brother (deceased) and an older sister, Erika.[11][12] Both Rakim and Erika's names are taken from the Eric B. & Rakim duo.[13] His cousin is fellow ASAP Mob member ASAP Nast.[14]

Mayers started rapping at age nine, when he moved to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.[15] He learned how to rap from his older brother, who also wore the Cornrows hairdo that A$AP Mayers later adopted. When Mayers was 13, his brother was killed in Harlem.[16] The death inspired Mayers to take rapping more seriously.[17] Mayers grew up admiring Harlem-based rap group the Diplomats. He was also influenced by Mobb Deep,[18] Three 6 Mafia, UGK, Run DMC, Wu-Tang Clan, and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.[19]

When Mayers was 12 years old, his father went to jail and he spent his teenage years moving around homeless shelters with his mother and sister.[20] After living for a period in a shelter with his mother in New York City, he moved to Midtown Manhattan.[11] His father died in 2012

Life and career

Tia Emma Billinger[a] was born in May 1999[5] and lived in Stapleford in Nottinghamshire before moving to Australia in 2021. Prior to entering the sex industry, she had married and worked in recruitment.[6] In 2023,[7] she started as a webcam model before moving to OnlyFans after making more money than expected.[6] She then began earning money by filming herself having sex with 18- and 19-year-old students,[6] as they were her target audience.[7] She later supplemented her money-for-sex income with married men after a student's father became jealous, and then began making money via sex with lecturers.[6]

In 2024, she visited Cancún in March and then schoolies week in Australia and freshers' week in the UK.[6] For the latter, she posted her address online and allowed men to queue to have sex with her at no cost,[8] so long as they consented to it being filmed and used in her online content.[9] She toured Nottingham and Derby in September and Birmingham in October, each for a week.[8] Also in 2024, she made a number of appearances on podcasts, including Dream On with Lottie Moss and Saving Grace with GK Barry.[10] Clips of her appearances, in which she claimed to have slept with "hundreds" of "barely legal" students, went viral online and generated significant backlash on Twitter over several weeks,[11] with some questioning what repercussions her co-stars could suffer and others accusing her of manipulation.[6] Some also argued that filming and distributing amateur pornography featuring 18- and 19-year-olds was a moral grey area.[12]

Blue later stated that those complaining about the young age of her co-stars should instead encourage the government of the United Kingdom to increase the country's age of consent and attributed the reaction to Saving Grace on the podcast's female audience, prompting others to accuse her of misogyny. She later reiterated her stance on married men on The Kyle and Jackie O Show.[6] Barry later deleted the episode.[13] In November 2024, Blue appeared on the ITV daytime show This Morning, in which she debated against Ashley James over the promotion of her content.[14] Blue's appearance on the show drew 188 complaints to Ofcom.[15][16] James later wrote a piece for Grazia stating that she had debated Blue, as she had found previous interviews lacking on the grounds that women had not challenged her, and men had only done so on grounds she considered patriarchal such as her body count or the opinion of her father.[10] Claire Hubble of the i wrote that Blue's virality was "a reflection of the outrage economy" and compared her success to that of Katie Hopkins,[11] while journalist Sophie Wilkinson described her as "a cog in a far bigger machine" and "want[ed] to know who hurt her".[6]

In January 2025, she claimed to have had sex with 1,057 men in one day,[17] prompting Gareth Roberts of The Spectator to compare her to Andrew Tate and assert that both encouraged "bad male behaviours",[18] Eli Cugini of Dazed to criticise tabloids for their coverage of both Blue's stunt and Lily Phillips's I Slept With 100 Men In One Day stunt,[19] and Katherine Ryan to state on an episode of her podcast that the men queuing for them were "losers".[20] OnlyFans later pulled the plug on showing a video of the event, stating that they "verify the age, identity, and consent of all parties featured in explicit content." [21] Wilkinson, this time writing for Elle, wrote that both Blue and the 4B movement were "highly-publicised and extreme responses to our sexual culture" and that Blue had "given hypersexualisation a figurehead",[22] while Victoria Smith of UnHerd wrote that what Blue was selling "misogyny" and "dehumanisation".[23] Olivia Attwood,[24] Olivia Petter of The Independent,[25] and Felicity Martin of Glamour subsequently wondered why Blue and Phillips were being shamed but not the men who queued to have sex with them,[20] while Eva Wiseman of The Guardian wrote that "the intentions and morals of these men were not of interest, because… it’s normal".[26] Martin also drew comparisons with G-Eazy's "Lady Killers II" and wrote that comparisons with Tate contributed towards "minimis[ing] the very real and serious abuse of women", while Petter worried "about the landscape their behaviour creates for other women, particularly teenagers" and both drew comparisons with the men who queued to rape Gisèle Pelicot.[20][25] By the time of Martin's report, Blue and Phillips had filmed a video opening their front door to a large group of hooded men.[20]

Later that month, The Daily Telegraph reported that Will Prochaska, of the Campaign to End Gambling Ads, had written to Lisa Nandy, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, demanding that she instruct the Gambling Commission to act on a Twitter advert involving Blue, though did not suggest that she was at fault.[27] The advert comprised a September 2024 clip of Blue outside Nottingham Trent University stating that she was there "as promised" to have sex with more than 100 18-year-olds overdubbed with the Stake logo[1] and was part of a marketing strategy in which their logo had been added to several viral videos. The firm left the UK market that February following a Gambling Commission investigation.

Bonnie Blue (actress)

Tia Emma Billinger (born May 1999), known professionally as Bonnie Blue, is an English pornographic actress and OnlyFans creator. After diversifying into producing content with students and married men, she made several appearances on podcasts in 2024 which generated several weeks of backlash on Twitter; a subsequent appearance on This Morning prompted 188 complaints to Ofcom. She was later banned from Australia and Fiji for working without an appropriate visa. In January 2025, an advert involving the online casino Stake and featuring Blue prompted an investigation by the Gambling Commission, which caused the firm to close in the UK.

Tochukwu Gbubemi Ojogwu (born 19 October 1993),[1] popularly known as Odumodublvck, is a Nigerian rapper, singer and songwriter.[2] He is known for his stage performances, genre-blend and often wearing the Okpu Agu.[3] Odumodublvck is a member of the hip-hop collective Anti World Gangstars. He currently resides in Abuja, Nigeria.[4]

Early life

Born in Lagos, he relocated with his family to Abuja at the age of 7. He had his junior high education at Christ the King College at Gwagwalada Abuja,[5] where he got the stage name "Odumodu" in his second year of junior high.[6][5] He attended Bowen University for his first year of tertiary education, then left and finished up at the University of Lagos, Akoka.

Career

On 26 March 2022, Odumodublvck performed at the Jameson Connects concert alongside DRB LasGidi, and Victony at Abuja.[8]

In 2022, Odumodublvck released a joint studio album with B.O.C Madaki, titled The Drop,[9] and a few months later he released a follow-up single, his first under NATIVE Records, "Picanto", featuring Ecko Miles and Zlatan. On 21 November 2022, the single debuted on TurnTable Bubbling Under Top 100 at number 8, and number 15 on Nigeria Hip-Hop/Rap Songs chart.[10] On 28 November 2022, "Picanto" debuted at number 79 on the Top 100[11] and reached number 65.,[12] and reached number 44 on Nigeria Radio.[13] The song also reached Number 6 on the Nigeria Hip-Hop/Rap Songs chart.[10]

In December 2022, he signed a record deal with NATIVE Records, in partnership with Def Jam.[14] On 8 December 2022, he won the Next Rated Artist category at Galaxy Music Awards.[15] The rapper gets a new Lexus IS 350, as part of the prize that comes with the Next Rated award.[16] On 9 December 2022, he was announced on the line up of Vertical Rave concert opening acts alongside Teezee, Cruel Santino, PsychoYP, Odunsi the Engine, among others, to be held on 17 December 2022.

On 23 January 2023, he ranked number 4 on TurnTable's NXT Emerging Top Artistes.[17] In March 2023, he released his first single on Friday 24, titled "Declan Rice",[18] shortly after surviving a surgery that almost took his life. On 27 March 2023, Odumodublvck earned his first top 10 entry on the TurnTable official Nigeria Top 100 Songs chart at number 8.[19] On 1 April 2023, "Declan Rice" led TheCable Lifestyle airplay chart at number 1.[20] In 2023, Def Jam Recordings signed an exclusive deal with Odumodublvck upon the release of EZIOKWU mixtape.[21]

West Ham united captain, Declan Rice expressed his excitement as Nigerians sang his name, courtesy of Odumodublvck. On 15 July 2023, Arsenal announced the signing of Declan Rice using his song in the background.[22][23]

On the TurnTable Charts, Blood On The Dance Floor and Cast claimed the top spot in the TurnTable Top 100 songs. Simultaneously, Eziokwu (Uncut) secured the number one position for the album category on the TurnTable Official Top 50 Albums Chart in Nigeria.[24] 100 Million, featuring Tiwa Savage, was another hit and was well received song by his fans and lovers.[25]

On December 18 2024, and January 25 2025, Odumodublvck revealed in interviews with Beat FM[26] and Joey Akan[27] that after recording his single Asampete[28] a track from the Antiworld Gangstars album NOTHING CHANGED[29] he felt something was missing. According to him, the song had a sound reminiscent of Mavin Records founder, Don Jazzy, and he believed adding Don Jazzy's vocals would complete it. Don Jazzy agreed to collaborate, recording his part and gifting Odumodublvck $10,000 upon completion.[30][31][32] Additionally, he allowed Odumodublvck and the Antiworld Gangstars collective to retain full royalties while providing his vocals for free. He also gave them the option to credit him as a featured artist if they wished.

Political awareness

On 25 May 2023, Odumodu tweeted about the presidential inauguration of the 16th President of Nigeria Bola Tinubu Renewed Hope concert. In the quote, he wrote "They Tried To Get Me To Perform At The Inauguration. They Did Not Do Their Research."[33] However, on 2 March 2023, following the release of NATIVE Sound System single "Vex", Odumodu declared his support to Peter Obi in the second verse "I dey hope on Peter Obi to save me",[34] and earlier described himself as Peter Obi's running mate on social media.[33]

Artistry

Odumodublvck is known for fusing Afrobeat, with Drill and Grime music. According to Dazed, "His unrelenting style of drill employs high-life inspired melodies which he calls OKPOROKO RHYTHMS , In slangs "Afro terrorism" and Nigerian Pidgin English to tell vivid stories about his community and everyday experiences – his narrative style is so specific to Nigerians, it’s hard to pick up on the nuances as an outsider."

Odumodublvck

Critical reputation

In 1971, The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau reported that "Flack is generally regarded as the most significant new black woman singer since Aretha Franklin, and at moments she sounds kind, intelligent, and very likable. But she often exhibits the gratuitous gentility you'd expect of someone who says 'between you and I'." Reviewing her body of work from the 1970s, he later argued that the singer "has nothing whatsoever to do with rock and roll or rhythm and blues and almost nothing to do with soul", comparing her middle-of-the-road aesthetic to Barry Manilow but with better taste, which he believed does not necessarily guarantee more enduring music: "In the long run, pop lies are improved by vulgarity."[12]

Writer and music critic Ann Powers argued in a 2020 piece for NPR that "Flack's presence looms over both R&B and indie "bedroom" pop as if she were one of the astral beings in Ava DuVernay's version of A Wrinkle In Time."[38] Jason King argued that she occupies a complex place in popular music, as "the nature of her power as a performer—to generate rapturous, spellbinding mood music and to plumb the depths of soulful heaviness by way of classically-informed technique—is not too easy to claim or make sense with the limited tools that we have in music criticism."[38]

Flack's minimalist, classically trained approach to her songs was seen by a number of critics as lacking in grit and uncharacteristic of soul music. According to music scholar Jason King, her work was regularly described with the adjectives "boring", "depressing", "lifeless", "studied", and "calculated";[12] in contrast, AllMusic's Steve Huey said it has been called "classy, urbane, reserved, smooth, and sophisticated".[43]

Personal life

Flack was a member of the Artist Empowerment Coalition, which advocates for artists to have the right to control their creative properties. She was also a spokeswoman for the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals; her appearance in commercials for the ASPCA featured "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face". The Hyde Leadership Charter School in the Bronx, NYC, ran an after-school music program called "The Roberta Flack School of Music" to provide free music education to underprivileged students in partnership with Flack, who founded the school.[44] Flack was also an advocate for gay rights, stating that "Love is love. Between a man and a woman, between two men, between two women. Love is universal, like music."[45]

From 1966 to 1972, she was married to Steve Novosel. Flack was the aunt of professional ice skater Rory Flack.[46][47] She was also the godmother of musician Bernard Wright, who died in an accident on May 19, 2022. For 40 years, Flack had an apartment in The Dakota building in New York City that was right next door to the apartment of Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon. Lennon referred to her as "Aunt" Roberta.[48]

According to DNA analysis, she was of Cameroonian descent.[49]

Illness and death

In 2018, Flack was appearing onstage at the Apollo Theater at a benefit for the Jazz Foundation of America. She became ill, left the stage, and was rushed to the Harlem Hospital Center.[50] In a statement, her manager announced that Flack had a stroke a few years prior and still was not feeling well, but was "doing fine" and being kept overnight for medical observation.[51]

In late 2022, it was announced by a spokesperson that Flack had been diagnosed with ALS and had retired from performing,[52] due to the disease making it "impossible to sing".[53]

Flack died on February 24, 2025, at the age of 88.[54][55] Initial reports stated that she died at home among her family. However, her manager, Suzanne Koga, stated she died from cardiac arrest on her way to the hospital in Manhattan.[5]

Accolades

The American Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony created by Dick Clark in 1973. Flack received the award for Best Soul/R&B Female Artist at the inaugural show in 1974.[56][57]

On May 11, 2017, Roberta Flack received an honorary Doctorate degree in the Arts from Long Island University.[58] She was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame in 2009.[59] In 2021, Flack was one of the first inductees into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame.[60]

On March 12, 2022, Flack was honored with the DAR Women in American History Award and a restored fire callbox in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington D.C. commemorating her early-career connection to nearby Mr. Henry's neighborhood bar.[61]

On January 24, 2023, the PBS series American Masters opened its 37th season with an hour-long look at her career.[62] On May 13, 2023, Flack received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music

Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of quiet storm. Her commercial success included the Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping singles "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face", "Killing Me Softly with His Song" and "Feel Like Makin' Love". She became the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Record of the Year in consecutive years.

Flack frequently collaborated with Donny Hathaway, with whom she recorded several hit duets, including "Where Is the Love" and "The Closer I Get to You". As one of the defining voices of 1970s popular music, she remained active in the industry, later finding success with duets such as "Tonight, I Celebrate My Love" with Peabo Bryson (1983) and "Set the Night to Music" with Maxi Priest (1991). Across her decades-long career, she interpreted works by songwriters such as Leonard Cohen and members of the Beatles.[2] In 2020, Flack received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.[3]

Early life and education

Flack was born on February 10, 1937,[4][5] in Black Mountain, North Carolina, to parents Laron Flack, a U.S. Veterans Administration draftsman,[6] and Irene (née Council) Flack[5][7] a church organist[8][4] (some sources have cited 1939 but the 1940 Census lists Roberta as being 3 years old).[9][10] She grew up in Arlington, Virginia.[11]

Growing up in a large, musical family, she often accompanied the choir of Lomax African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church by playing hymns and spirituals on piano, but she also enjoyed going to the "Baptist church down the street" to listen to contemporary gospel music including songs performed by Mahalia Jackson and Sam Cooke.[12]

When Flack was nine, she took an interest in playing the piano[7] During her early teens, Flack excelled at classical piano and Howard University awarded her a full music scholarship.[13]

By age 15, Flack entered Howard University in Washington, D.C., making her one of the youngest students ever to enroll there. She eventually changed her major from piano to voice and became an assistant conductor of the university choir. Her direction of a production of Aida received a standing ovation from the Howard University faculty.[14]

Flack became a student teacher at a school near Chevy Chase, Maryland. She graduated from Howard University at 19 and began graduate studies in music there, but the sudden death of her father forced her to take a job teaching music and English in Farmville, North Carolina

Roberta Flack

Olufemi Peter Otedola CON (born 4 November 1962) is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He is the former chairman of Forte Oil PLC, and is the current executive chairman of Geregu Power PLC.

Femi Otedola made his first fortune in commodities before selling his shares in Forte Oil to invest in the energy business. Otedola is chairman of Geregu Power, a power generation business, and owns more than 70% of the shares. During 2022 and 2023 Otedola sold down a Geregu stake that was once more than 95% to bring on institutional investors, Investors in Geregu include the Nigerian government, the Afrexim Fund for Export Development in Africa and the State Grid Corporation of China. He also owns properties in Lagos, Dubai, London and Monaco, and holds shares in Zenith Bank and FBN Holdings Otedola is also the founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, and the owner of a number of other businesses across shipping, real estate and finance.

Early life

Otedola was born in Ibadan, the capital of Oyo State, southwest Nigeria, into the family of the late Sir Michael Otedola, Governor of Lagos State from 1992 to 1993.[3] He is ethnic Yoruba.[4]

Personal life

Femi Otedola's first daughter, Tolani, is a singer. She was born to Otedola and his former wife, Olayinka Odukoya.[5] Later, Femi married Nana Otedola and had two more daughters—Florence Ifeoluwa and Elizabeth Temi—and a son, Fewa.[6] Florence Otedola, aka DJ Cuppy, is a DJ and music producer, as well as a tourism ambassador for Nigeria.[7] Her younger sister, Temi, is an actress, a style blogger and aspiring designer.[8] Otedola has homes in Lagos, Abuja, Dubai, London and New York City.[6][9] As of 2025, Forbes estimates his net worth at US$ 1.7 Billion.

Controversy

Bribery and corruption

In 2012,[44] Femi Otedola was reported by reliable media houses[45] to have given bribe to Boniface Emenalo and Farouk Lawan who was at then, the Chairman of the House Committee on Fuel Subsidy Regime, "integrity group" a sum of $620,000.[46] The reason reported by witnesses as pertains the actions of Femi Otedola was that he wanted the name of his company removed from the list of firms indicted by Farouq Lawan's committee for abusing the fuel subsidy regime in 2012 .[47] Farouk Lawan and Boniface Emenalo were at risk of going to prison if found guilty of receiving money from Femi Otedola as receiving of bribe by a government official is an offense punishable by Imprisonment. On 2 February 2013, Both individuals Farouk Lawan and Boniface Emenalo were charged to court by Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Commission (ICPC) their trial was at the Capital Territory High Court in Abuja to face a seven-count charge of bribery, an offense that violates Section 10 (a) (ii) of ICPC Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 10 of that same Act.

Farouk Lawan plead not guilty, and initially so did Boniface Emenalo; however, events at the court of law took an unforeseen turn as Boniface Emenalo eventually admitted he was guilty[48] and, in fact, had received several bribes on behalf of Farouk Lawan. Be that as it may, new evidence provided by the prosecution was very concrete as Femi Otedola was caught in a video of him giving a bribe and Farouk Lawan accepting it.[49][50][51]

Canadian Escorts

In December 2016, Otedola was embroiled in a controversy where two Toronto-based sisters—Jyoti and Kiran Matharoo—reportedly tried to extort him by cyberbullying and blackmail, claiming they had evidence of Otedola cheating on his wife that they would post on a notorious sex-scandal website.[52] The sisters dispute Otedola's account.[53] According to their account Jyoti met Otedola, straight out of University, in 2008. He whisked her and Kiran to Nigeria, and began an affair with him. They acknowledge that his gifts enriched them, as did gifts from other wealthy boyfriends, but dispute they ever engaged in blackmail, or even demanding gifts.

Philanthropy

Otedola has made several donations to the Michael Otedola University Scholarship Scheme, which was established in 1985 to give underprivileged students in Lagos State access to higher education.[54] In 2005 Zenon donated N200 million to the scheme's fund.[55] Since its inception the scheme has benefited more than 1,000 students.[54]

In 2005, Otedola made a N300 million personal donation to the completion of the National Ecumenical Centre—Nigeria's primary place of Christian worship—in Abuja.[56] In 2007 he was among a group of donors who gave N200 million to the State Security Trust Fund in a drive to reduce crime in Lagos State.[57] Later that year he donated N100 million to the Otedola College of Primary Education in Noforija, Epe.[58] In 2008 he donated N80 million to the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Port Harcourt.[59] Femi Otedola fulfilled his pledge of 25,000 dollars to the Super Eagles in the match against Algeria in the 2019 AFCON

Femi Otedola

Plot

In 17th-century Pescia, Italy, young Benedetta Carlini is enrolled by her parents in a Theatine convent run by Abbess Felicita, to become a nun. Eighteen years later, while playing the Virgin Mary in a play, Benedetta has a vision of Jesus calling to her. One day, a young peasant woman named Bartolomea seeks shelter in the convent from her abusive father. Benedetta is assigned to oversee Bartolomea's integration into convent life. That night, Bartolomea kisses Benedetta.

Benedetta begins to have recurring visions of Jesus. After a particularly fraught vision, where a man whom she mistakes for Jesus saves her from being gang raped, Benedetta falls into a deep illness. Abbess Felicita assigns Bartolomea to look after her. Benedetta has another vision of Christ, asking her to undress and touch his hands. The next morning, she wakes up with stigmata on her palms and feet.

An investigation ensues. Abbess Felicita is sceptical because Benedetta's stigmata manifested while she was asleep, not during prayer, and her forehead lacks the marks of a crown of thorns. Outside Felicita's chambers, Benedetta collapses. She then begins speaking in an angry male voice, castigating those who doubt her, as bleeding wounds appear on her forehead. Sister Christina, Felicita's daughter, suspects that Benedetta's wounds are self-inflicted, after spotting a nearby shard of pottery.

Following a dispute between Felicita and local church leaders about the way popular interest in Benedetta's visions should be handled, Benedetta is elevated to the position of abbess in place of Felicita. Benedetta and Bartolomea move into Felicita's old quarters and begin a sexual relationship, later using a dildo carved by Bartolomea out of Benedetta's wooden Virgin Mary statuette.

In confession, Christina lies to the priest that she witnessed Benedetta inflicting her forehead wounds. The next day, the priest compels Christina to say her accusations publicly. When questioned by the priest, Felicita refutes Christina's claims because Christina has previously admitted to her that she did not actually see the wounds being self-inflicted. Benedetta, apparently possessed by the spirit of Jesus, orders Christina to flagellate herself. Felicita later observes Benedetta and Bartolomea having sex through a peephole in their chambers.

Humiliated, Christina jumps to her death from the roof of the convent. As a plague begins to ravage the countryside, Benedetta has a vision that Pescia will be spared and orders the abbey closed to prevent infection. Felicita secretly travels to Florence to report Benedetta's sexual indiscretions to the local papal nuncio. Meanwhile, Benedetta suddenly dies of unknown causes.

Shortly after Felicita returns to the abbey with the nuncio, Benedetta revives, saying that she was in heaven and has seen the fates of all those present. The nuncio, as representative of the pope, opens a court of inquiry into Benedetta's conduct. Bartolomea initially denies any sexual involvement with Benedetta, but after being tortured by the nuncio's men, she ultimately confesses the truth, leading the nuncio to the wooden dildo hidden in a cutout section of a large book. He has Benedetta arrested; speaking in a male voice again, she lashes out at those who persecute her, announcing that the nuncio will soon fall ill. The nuncio discovers that Felicita has the plague and orders her condition to be hidden. Bartolomea is expelled from the abbey.

In the town square, before she is to be executed, Benedetta reveals new stigmata and, speaking in a male voice, announces that the Angel of Death approaches. Felicita, revealing her disease, blames the nuncio for bringing the plague to Pescia. Chaos ensues as the townspeople prevent the nuncio's men from burning Benedetta at the stake. Bartolomea unties Benedetta, discovering a bloody potsherd at her feet. The nuncio is killed by an angry mob, Benedetta and Bartolomea flee the town, and Felicita self-immolates on the fire lit for Benedetta's execution.

In an abandoned stable outside of town, after spending the night with Bartolomea, Benedetta insists that she must return to the convent. Bartolomea begs her to stay and tries to get her to admit that she faked her stigmata, but Benedetta refuses and instead heads back towards Pescia.

A title card reveals that Benedetta lived in the abbey until her death at the age of 70, and that the plague spared Pescia.

Filming

Principal photography on the retitled production began on 19 July 2018 in Montepulciano, Italy.[17][18] Other locations included Val d'Orcia and Bevagna, also in Italy, as well as the Silvacane Abbey and Le Thoronet Abbey, in France.[19] Production was followed by a strong campaign of secrecy and no one, unless working on the film, was allowed on the set.[20] Producer Saïd Ben Saïd admitted that the story was "subject to controversy" and feared reactions from fundamentalist Catholic associations.[20]

Historical accuracy

While mostly following the account from Brown's book, Verhoeven explained in an interview that much of the ending was fictional: he added the revolt of the citizens, and the attempt to burn Benedetta at the stake was borrowed from the story of Joan of Arc. In interviews he has also stated that the dildo was required to be "historically accurate", because to be burned at the stake required that an "instrument" was used.

Benedetta is a 2021 biographical psychological drama film co-written and directed by Paul Verhoeven, starring Virginie Efira as Benedetta Carlini, a nun in the 17th century who joins an Italian convent while a young child and later has a lesbian love affair with another nun, while seeing religious visions.[4][5]

The film is loosely based on the 1985 non-fiction book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy by Judith C. Brown.[6] Its production included most of the key crew members from Verhoeven's previous film Elle (which also co-starred Efira), such as producer Saïd Ben Saïd, writer David Birke, composer Anne Dudley and editor Job ter Burg.

The film premiered in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on 9 July 2021.

On 16 February 2018, The Hollywood Reporter announced Pathé would be producing and distributing the film in France and would also be handling international sales.[22] On 29 August 2018, Pathé and SBS Productions released a first-look image of the film.[23]

Although it was initially reported that the film would premiere at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, Pathé announced on 14 January 2019 that the release had been postponed until 2020, stating that post-production had been delayed as Verhoeven was recovering from hip surgery.[24] However, the release was delayed again to 2021, following the cancellation of the 2020 edition of the Cannes Film Festival where the film was set to premiere, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[25]

Release

On 10 May 2020, Cannes director Thierry Fremaux confirmed the film's selection and stated that "Paul Verhoeven delivers an erotic and mischievous, also political, vision of the Middle Ages in a grandiose production."[26]

Benedetta had its world premiere in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 74th Cannes Film Festival on 9 July 2021,[27][28] with a theatrical release in France on the same day.[29][30] By the end of its run, it was screened at film festivals in Brussels,[31] Busan,[32] Haifa,[33] Hong Kong,[34] Karlovy Vary,[35] London,[36] New York,[37] and San Sebastian.[38][39]

In May 2021, Mubi and IFC Films acquired the distribution rights to the film in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and the United States, respectively.[40][41] It was released theatrically in Belgium on 8 September 2021 by Belga Films and in Netherlands on 14 October 2021 by Independent Films.[42] In the United States, the film was released in select theatres and on-demand on 3 December 2021.

Development

Following the critical and commercial success of his previous film Elle (2016), director Paul Verhoeven developed several projects including one about Jesus based on his own book Jesus of Nazareth, another about the French Resistance during World War II, and a medieval story set in a monastery scripted by Jean-Claude Carrière.[7] On 25 April 2017, producer Saïd Ben Saïd revealed that the third had been the one chosen as Verhoeven's next project.[8] The film, then titled Blessed Virgin, marked the producer and the director's second collaboration after Elle. Gerard Soeteman, who has worked with Verhoeven on eight previous films including Turkish Delight (1973), The Fourth Man (1983) and Black Book (2006), replaced Carrière to adapt the 1985 non-fiction book Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy by historian Judith C. Brown. Soeteman ultimately distanced himself from the project and had his name removed from the credits as he felt too much of the story was focused on sexuality.[9]

Belgian actress Virginie Efira, who played a supporting part as a devout Catholic in Elle, was cast in the leading role of Benedetta Carlini, a 17th-century nun who suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions.[4] On 25 March 2018, Saïd Ben Saïd announced that Verhoeven had co-written the final draft with David Birke, who previously wrote Elle.[10] Brown stated that "Paul Verhoeven and David Birke have written an imaginative and spellbinding script that explores the intersection of religion, sexuality, and human ambition in an age of plague and faith."[11] Verhoeven then clarified his intentions:

Blessed Virgin must be deeply infused with a sense of the sacred. I have been interested in the sacred ever since I was a child, both generally and more specifically in music, painting.[12]

On 3 April 2018, Lambert Wilson told French newspaper Le Journal du Dimanche that he has a role in the film.[13] On 1 May 2018, Deadline Hollywood revealed that Charlotte Rampling entered negotiations to play a key supporting role.[14] On 4 May 2018, it was announced that the film was retitled to Benedetta. Although Verhoeven had hoped to convince Isabelle Huppert to play a supporting role in the film,[15] producer Saïd Ben Saïd stated on 31 May 2018 that the actress was not joining the project.[16] Ben Saïd also confirmed that Louise Chevillotte, Olivier Rabourdin, Clotilde Courau and Hervé Pierre had been cast in the film.

Benedetta (film)

Writing

Together with undersea archaeologist Daniel Lenihan, Hackman wrote three historical fiction novels: Wake of the Perdido Star (1999),[58] a sea adventure of the 19th century; Justice for None (2004),[59] a Depression-era tale of murder; and Escape from Andersonville (2008) about a prison escape during the American Civil War.[60] His first solo effort, a story of love and revenge set in the Old West titled Payback at Morning Peak, was released in 2011.[61] His final novel Pursuit, a police thriller, followed in 2013.[62]

Personal life

Marriages and family

In 1956, Hackman married Faye Maltese (1928–2017),[63][64][65] with whom he had one son and two daughters: Christopher Allen, Elizabeth Jean, and Leslie Anne Hackman.[66] He was often out on location making films while the children were growing up.[67] The couple divorced in 1986, after three decades of marriage.[68]

In 1991, Hackman married classical pianist Betsy Arakawa (1961–2025).[69] They shared a Santa Fe, New Mexico home,[70] which Architectural Digest featured in 1990. At the time, the home blended Southwestern styles and crested a twelve-acre hilltop, with a 360-degree view that stretched to the Jemez, Sangre de Cristo and Sandia mountains. As of 2022, Hackman continued to attend Santa Fe cultural events.[71]

Political views

Hackman was a supporter of the Democratic Party, and he was "proud" to be included on Nixon's Enemies List. However, he spoke fondly about Republican president Ronald Reagan.[72]

Interests

Hackman in 2008

In the late 1970s, Hackman competed in Sports Car Club of America races, driving an open-wheeled Formula Ford.[73][74] In 1983, he drove a Dan Gurney Team Toyota in the 24 Hours of Daytona Endurance Race.[75] He also won the Long Beach Grand Prix Celebrity Race.[76]

Hackman was a fan of the Jacksonville Jaguars and regularly attended Jaguars games as a guest of former head coach Jack Del Rio.[77] Their friendship went back to Del Rio's playing days at the University of Southern California.[78]

Architecture and design were another of Hackman's interests. As of 1990, he had created ten homes, two of which were featured in Architectural Digest. After a period of time, he moved on to another house restoration. "I don't know what's wrong with me," he remarked, "I guess I like the process, and when it's over, it's over."[70][79]

Health

In 1990, Hackman underwent an angioplasty.[81] In 2012, the then 82-year-old Hackman was struck by a pickup truck while he was cycling in the Florida Keys. It was initially reported that he had suffered serious head trauma; however, his publicist stated that his injury was nothing more than "bumps and bruises".[82]

Death

On February 26, 2025, Hackman, his wife, and their dog were found dead at their home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He was 95.[83][84] The Santa Fe County Sheriff's Department said there were no significant signs of foul play but did not provide either time or cause of death.[85] The Santa Fe sheriff later told news media that the couple appeared to have been dead for about a day before their bodies were discovered

Eugene Allen Hackman[1][2][3] (January 30, 1930 – c. February 26, 2025) was an American actor. In a career that spanned six decades, he received two Academy Awards, two British Academy Films Awards[4] and four Golden Globes.[5]

Hackman's two Academy Award wins were for Best Actor for his role as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle in William Friedkin's action thriller The French Connection (1971) and for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a villainous Sheriff in Clint Eastwood's Western film Unforgiven (1992). He was Oscar-nominated for his roles as Buck Barrow in the crime drama Bonnie and Clyde (1967), a college professor in the drama I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and an FBI agent in the historical drama Mississippi Burning (1988).

Hackman gained further fame for his portrayal of Lex Luthor in Superman (1978) and its sequel Superman II (1980). He also acted in: The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Scarecrow (1973), The Conversation (1974), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Under Fire (1983), Power (1986), Loose Cannons (1990), The Firm (1993), The Quick and the Dead (1995), The Birdcage (1996), Enemy of the State (1998), Behind Enemy Lines (2001) and Runaway Jury (2003). He retired from acting after starring in Welcome to Mooseport (2004)

Early life and military service

Eugene Allen Hackman was born in San Bernardino, California, United States, the son of Eugene Ezra Hackman and Anna Lyda Elizabeth (née Gray).[6] He had a brother named Richard. Hackman had Pennsylvania Dutch, English, and Scottish ancestry. His mother was born in Sarnia, Ontario, Canada.[7] Hackman's family moved frequently, finally settling in Danville, Illinois, where they lived in the house of his English-born maternal grandmother, Beatrice.[8] His father operated the printing press for the Commercial-News, a local newspaper. Hackman decided that he wanted to become an actor at age 10.[9] His parents divorced when he was 13 and his father subsequently left the family.[10][11]

Hackman lived briefly in Storm Lake, Iowa, and spent his sophomore year at Storm Lake High School.[12] He left home at age 16 and lied about his age to enlist in the United States Marine Corps. He served four and a half years as a field-radio operator. Hackman was stationed in China (Qingdao and later in Shanghai). When the Communist Revolution conquered the mainland in 1949, he was assigned to Hawaii and Japan. Following his discharge in 1951,[13] Hackman moved to New York City and had several jobs.[14] His mother died in 1962 as a result of a fire she accidentally started while smoking.[15] He began a study of journalism and television production at the University of Illinois under the G.I. Bill, but left and moved back to California.

Gene Hackman

Michelle Trachtenberg

Michelle Christine Trachtenberg (October 11, 1985 – February 26, 2025) was an American actress. After beginning her career in TV commercials at age three, she made her television debut in her first credited role on the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1994–1996). As a child actress, Trachtenberg starred in multiple Nickelodeon productions. In 1997, she won a Young Artist Award for her performance as Maggie in CBS's Meego. In her late teens and early 20s, Trachtenberg rose to prominence in the film EuroTrip (2004) and as Georgina Sparks on the CW show Gossip Girl (2007–2012).

Trachtenberg found further success on the supernatural drama series Buffy the Vampire Slayer (2000–2003) as Dawn Summers, the younger sister of the show's eponymous protagonist, a role which won her another Young Artist Award and earned her three Saturn Award nominations. She was also nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for her role as the host of the Discovery Kids series Truth or Scare (2001–2003). During the mid-2000s, she had a starring role in the film Ice Princess (2005) and supporting roles in the films Mysterious Skin (2004) and Black Christmas (2006). She also starred on the NBC series Mercy (2009–2010) as Chloe Payne.

In the 2010s, Trachtenberg starred in several television films, including Killing Kennedy (2013) and Sister Cities (2015), and in the science fiction film The Scribbler (2014). She provided the lead voice of Judy in Facebook Watch's adult animated web series Human Kind Of (2018) and executive produced the teen drama web series Guidance (2015–2017) and Tubi's true crime series Meet, Marry, Murder (2021).

Early life

Michelle Christine Trachtenberg was born on October 11, 1985,[1] in New York City, to Lana, a bank manager, and Michael Trachtenberg, a fiber-optics technician.[2][3] Her parents were Jewish immigrants, her father from Germany and her mother from Odesa, Ukraine.[4][5][6] Her mother helped her learn some Russian for a role in 2013.[7] Her grandparents reside in Israel.[8][9]

She was raised with an older sister, Irene, in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, where she attended junior high school at The Bay Academy for the Arts and Sciences.[10] She later attended Notre Dame High School in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles.[11][6] She said in a later interview and on social media that she was bullied in school.

Career

Trachtenberg made her first TV appearance at age three in a commercial for Wisk detergent.[14] She would eventually play featured roles in more than 100 commercials.[14] Her first television role was in the second season of Law & Order, but her first credited role was as Nona F. Mecklenberg on the Nickelodeon series The Adventures of Pete & Pete from 1994 until 1996. During the same period, she played Lily Montgomery on the soap opera, All My Children.[2][15]

Trachtenberg's film career began in 1996 with the title role in Harriet the Spy, for which she had to leave The Adventures of Pete & Pete while its third season was running.[16] She then starred in the short-lived television series Meego, which garnered her a Young Artist Award.[17] She returned to film in 1999 for Inspector Gadget. She also starred in the film Can't Be Heaven. In 2000, she took on the role of Dawn Summers in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, remaining in the role until the show ended in 2003.[18] She also hosted the Discovery Kids series Truth or Scare from 2001 to 2003.

Trachtenberg (right) with the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 2003

In 2004, after Buffy and Truth or Scare, Trachtenberg appeared as Jenny in the teen comedy film EuroTrip.[19] That same year, Trachtenberg played Wendy in Gregg Araki's film adaptation of Scott Heim's novel, Mysterious Skin. Wendy is the best friend of Neil (Joseph Gordon Levitt), a teenage hustler in small-town Kansas. The film debuted at the 2004 Venice Film Festival.[20] She also had a recurring role in the HBO series Six Feet Under, as Celeste, a spoiled pop star.[21]

In March 2005, Trachtenberg starred in Walt Disney Pictures' comedy sports drama film Ice Princess as Casey Carlyle, a science whiz, who is torn between a future in academia and her newfound dream of being a competitive figure skater.[22]

Death

In early 2024, Trachtenberg had responded to comments on social media about potential health problems suggested by her apparent weight loss and jaundice by saying she was "happy and healthy".[41]

Trachtenberg was found unresponsive by her mother in her New York City apartment at 8 a.m. on February 26, 2025. Emergency medical services arrived and pronounced her dead at the age of 39.[41] Trachtenberg had undergone a liver transplant in the months leading up to her death.[42][43][44] Authorities have said her death is not being treated as "suspicious"

Anora is a 2024 American romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced, and edited by Sean Baker. It stars Mikey Madison as Anora Mikheeva, a young stripper who impulsively marries the son of a Russian oligarch, played by Mark Eydelshteyn. The supporting cast includes Yura Borisov, Karren Karagulian, Vache Tovmasyan, and Aleksei Serebryakov.

The film premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2024, where it received critical acclaim and won the Palme d'Or. It was released theatrically on October 18, 2024, by Neon. Anora grossed $41 million worldwide against a $6 million budget, making it Baker's highest-grossing film.

Anora received numerous accolades. At the 97th Academy Awards, Anora won a leading five awards: Best Picture, Best Actress for Madison, Best Original Screenplay, Best Film Editing, and Best Director.[5] It was also named one of the top ten films of 2024 by the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute.

Production

The director, Sean Baker, said Anora was inspired by a story from a friend about a Russian-American newlywed who was kidnapped for collateral. He was also inspired by his work in 2000 and 2001, when he edited wedding videos, including ones of Russian-Americans in New York.[8] Baker said his intentions were towards "telling human stories, by telling stories that are hopefully universal [...] It's helping remove the stigma that's been applied to [sex work], that's always been applied to this livelihood."[9] Baker hired Andrea Werhun, a Canadian writer and actress known for her 2018 memoir Modern Whore about her prior time as a sex worker, as a creative consultant.[10]

Baker cast Mikey Madison after seeing her in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and Scream (2022).[8][11] He hired Madison without an audition.[12] Madison learned Russian, visited strip clubs, and studied the Brooklyn accent to prepare.[12] Although some media outlets incorrectly reported that Anora Mikheeva was Uzbek-American, Baker said that Anora "is of Russian ethnicity" and "from one of the post-Soviet countries".

Principal photography took place starting in February 2023 in Brooklyn, including the neighborhoods of Brighton Beach, Coney Island, and Sheepshead Bay.[15][16] Anora was filmed over 37 days, with the 25-minute home invasion scene taking 10 days. It was shot on Kodak 35 mm film framed in 4-perf widescreen anamorphic using an Arricam LT, with color correction completed via DaVinci Resolve at FotoKem.[16][17] Vintage LOMO prime and zoom lenses were mainly used for filming, while Atlas Orion lenses were used for low-light scenes.[16] Scenes were also shot at the Palms Casino Resort and on Fremont Street in Las Vegas.[16] The film's cinematography was inspired by 1970s crime dramas set in New York, including The French Connection and The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.[16] Alex Coco, one of the producers, worked as a disc jockey for the music in the scenes in the club.[18] Baker is credited with the casting, with the cast including more than 30 different speaking parts.[19]

For the Zakharov mansion, Baker filmed at 2458 National Drive, a Mill Basin mansion once owned by Vasily Anisimov, an oligarch with ties to Russia. Baker had searched on Google for "the biggest and best mansion in Brighton Beach".[20] To learn more about the area, Baker and Mikey Madison temporarily moved to southern Brooklyn during pre-production. Toros and Ani's search for Vanya was filmed in a number of restaurants and clubs that the producers had frequented.[21]

At a press conference at the Cannes Film Festival, Madison said that Baker and the producer Samantha Quan, Baker's wife, would act out different sex positions to demonstrate what they wanted the actors to do. Madison was offered an intimacy coordinator, but said: "As I'd already created a really comfortable relationship with both of them for about a year, I felt that that would be where I was most comfortable with and it ended up working so perfectly."[9]

The soundtrack includes Robin Schulz rework of "Greatest Day" by Take That and "All the Things She Said" by t.A.T.u. Madison also shared that her friend curated a "stripper playlist" for her to get into character, including tracks from Cardi B, Megan Thee Stallion and Slayyyter.

Release

Worldwide distribution rights were acquired by FilmNation Entertainment in October 2023. The film was then sold by FilmNation to Le Pacte for France, Lev for Israel, Kismet for Australia and New Zealand, and Focus Features/Universal Pictures International for the rest of the world excluding North America in deals similar to those made on Baker's previous film, Red Rocket.[15] In November 2023, Neon acquired North American distribution rights to the film,[23] and opened it in limited release on October 18, 2024.[24][25]

Anora premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 21, 2024,[26][27] and won the festival's Palme d'Or on May 25.[28] It earned a 10-minute standing ovation at the end of its screening.[29] It became the fifth consecutive Palme d'Or winner distributed by Neon in the United States,[30] and the first American-produced film to win the Palme d'Or since Terrence Malick's 2011 epic The Tree of Life.[31]

Anora also played at the Toronto International Film Festival,[32] the New York Film Festival,[33] the San Sebastián International Film Festival,[34] the Busan International Film Festival,[35] the BFI London Film Festival,[36] the 19th Rome Film Festival[37] and several others. It was also the closing film at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024.[38] The film was released on digital platforms on December 17, 2024,[39] with a streaming release on Hulu on March 17, 2025. It will be released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray by The Criterion Collection on April 29.

Anora

Reaction

Anora received praise from some sex workers for its depiction of the profession, which they described as a step forward from films of the past that tended to portray sex work as a social transgression worthy of condemnation.[61][62][63] In a piece for Slate, Risdon Roberts compared the character of Ani to Vivian Ward in Pretty Woman, writing the former "is not a desperate or trafficked waif, nor is she a hooker with a heart of gold. Baker doesn't even set out to make [Ani] worthy of sympathy—instead, we're in awe of her prowess as she works the floor of a high-end strip club while the opening credits play...Right away, it's clear that we're rooting for Ani not because she's down and out like Vivian—we're rooting for her because she's shrewd and in control".[61]

Tiff Smith said, "We're seeing a fully developed character doing sex work without their profession defining them — that's what representation really is."[63] Some said Baker's hiring of sex workers for the production, both as consultants and as cast members, was reflected in the film's attention to detail like the mundane realities of strip club life and labor issues.[64][62]

Others felt that the film reverted to regressive stereotypes about sex workers as downtrodden and "in need of saving".[61][65][66] A UK-based sex worker commented that the film "rehashes the 'traumatised, vulnerable sex worker' trope, which we've seen a thousand times before".[66] Marla Cruz opined that little is revealed about Ani's life outside of sex work, and that an exploration of the "boundary between Ani the person and Ani the worker" is absent.[65] Ayanna Dozier wrote "the film narratively builds upon and follows the social imaginaries of sex workers as subhuman projections for other people's fantasies".[67] Cruz wrote that it is debatable "whether Ani becomes more clear-eyed about her relationship to power, men, and money throughout the film".[65] Though Roberts appreciated the film generally, she critiqued the ending, writing that for real-life sex workers, the true goal is not to be saved by a man, but "is about survival (or, ideally, transcending the need to survive)".[61] She added that rather than representing the knights in shining armor archetype, "Clients are a means to an end. Money can't break your heart."

Accolades

Anora won the Palme d'Or at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.[68] It was subsequently nominated for five awards at the 82nd Golden Globe Awards, seven awards at the 78th British Academy Film Awards, winning Best Actress and Best Casting, and six awards at the 97th Academy Awards with Baker, Madison, and Borisov receiving nominations at each of the ceremonies.[69][70][71] The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named Anora as one of the top 10 films of 2024.[72][73] At the 30th Critics' Choice Awards, it became the first film to only win Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Picture and none of its other six nominations.[74] The film also won the Producers Guild of America Award for Best Theatrical Motion Picture and the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Feature Film.

Halle Maria Berry (/ˈhæli/ HAL-ee; born Maria Halle Berry; August 14, 1966) is an American actress. She began her career as a model and entered several beauty contests, finishing as the first runner-up in the Miss USA pageant and coming in sixth in the Miss World 1986. Her breakthrough film role was in the romantic comedy Boomerang (1992), alongside Eddie Murphy, which led to roles in The Flintstones (1994) and Bulworth (1998) as well as the television film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Berry established herself as one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood during the 2000s. For her performance of a struggling widow in the romantic drama Monster's Ball (2001), Berry became the only African-American woman to win the Academy Award for Best Actress, and the first woman of color. Berry took on high-profile roles such as Storm in four installments of the X-Men film series (2000–2014), the henchwoman of a robber in the thriller Swordfish (2001), Bond girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002), and the title role in the much-derided Catwoman (2004).

A varying critical and commercial reception followed in subsequent years, with Perfect Stranger (2007), Cloud Atlas (2012) and The Call (2013) being among her notable film releases in that period. Berry launched a production company, 606 Films, in 2014 and has been involved in the production of a number of projects in which she performed, such as the CBS science fiction series Extant (2014–2015). She appeared in the action films Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) and John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) and made her directorial debut with the Netflix drama Bruised (2020).

Berry has been a Revlon spokesmodel since 1996. She was formerly married to baseball player David Justice, singer-songwriter Eric Benét, and actor Olivier Martinez. She has two children, one with Martinez and another with model Gabriel Aubry.

Early life

Berry was born Maria Halle Berry in Cleveland, Ohio,[1] on August 14, 1966,[2] to Judith Ann (née Hawkins), a first generation American whose mother, Nelle Hawkins, (née Dicken), came from Liverpool,[3] and Jerome Jesse Berry, an African-American man.[1] Her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry at the age of five.[4] Her parents selected her middle name from Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in Cleveland.[1] Berry's mother worked as a psychiatric nurse, and her father worked in the same hospital as an attendant in the psychiatric ward; he later became a bus driver.[1] They divorced when Berry was four years old, and she and her older sister Heidi Berry-Henderson[5] were raised exclusively by their mother.[1] She has been estranged from her father since childhood,[1][6] noting in 1992 that she did not even know if he was still alive.[5] Her father was abusive to her mother, and Berry has recalled witnessing her mother being beaten daily, kicked down stairs, and hit in the head with a wine bottle.[7] Berry said she was bullied as a kid, so she learned how to fight and protect herself.[8]

Berry grew up in Oakwood, Ohio,[9] and graduated from Bedford High School, where she was a cheerleader, honor student, editor of the school newspaper, and prom queen.[10] She worked in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. She then studied at Cuyahoga Community College. In the 1980s, she entered several beauty contests, winning Miss Teen All American 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986.[11] She was the 1986 Miss USA first runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas.[11] In the Miss USA 1986 pageant interview competition, she said she hoped to become an entertainer or to have something to do with the media. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges.[12] She was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she finished sixth and Trinidad and Tobago's Giselle Laronde was crowned Miss World.

Career

In 1989, Berry moved to New York City to pursue her acting ambitions.[14] During her early time there, she ran out of money and briefly lived in a homeless shelter and a YMCA.[15][16][17] Her situation improved by the end of that year, and she was cast in the role of model Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series Living Dolls, which was shot in New York and was a spin-off of the hit series Who's the Boss?.[15] During the taping of Living Dolls, she lapsed into a coma and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes.[18][19][20] After the cancellation of Living Dolls, she moved to Los Angeles.[15]

Berry's film debut was in a small role for Spike Lee's Jungle Fever (1991), in which she played Vivian, a drug addict.[1] That same year, Berry had her first co-starring role in Strictly Business. In 1992, Berry portrayed a career woman who falls for the lead character played by Eddie Murphy in the romantic comedy Boomerang. The following year, she caught the public's attention as a headstrong biracial slave in the TV adaptation of Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley. Berry was also in the live-action Flintstones film as Sharon Stone, a sultry secretary who attempts to seduce Fred Flintstone.[21]

Berry tackled a more serious role, playing a former drug addict struggling to regain custody of her son in Losing Isaiah (1995), starring opposite Jessica Lange. She portrayed Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun (1996), which was based on a true story, shot in Australia, and co-starred alongside Kurt Russell in Executive Decision. Beginning in 1996, she was a Revlon spokeswoman for seven years and renewed her contract in 2004.[22][23]

She starred alongside Natalie Deselle Reid in the 1997 comedy film B*A*P*S. In 1998, Berry received praise for her role in Bulworth as an intelligent woman raised by activists who gives a politician (Warren Beatty) a new lease on life. The same year, she played the singer Zola Taylor, one of the three wives of pop singer Frankie Lymon, in the biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love.

In the 1999 HBO biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge,[24] she portrayed Dorothy Dandridge, the first African American woman to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress. It was to Berry a heartfelt project that she introduced, co-produced and fought intensely for it to come through.[1] Berry won awards including a Primetime Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award.

Media image

Berry was ranked No. 1 on People's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" list in 2003 after making the top ten seven times and appeared No. 1 on FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" the same year.[91][92] She was named Esquire magazine's "Sexiest Woman Alive" in October 2008, about which she stated: "I don't know exactly what it means, but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it."[93][94] Men's Health ranked her at No. 35 on their "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" list.[95] In 2009, she was voted #23 on Empire's 100 Sexiest Film Stars.[96] The same year, rapper Hurricane Chris released a song titled "Halle Berry (She's Fine)" extolling Berry's beauty and sex appeal.[97] At the age of 42 (in 2008), she was named the "Sexiest Black Woman" by Access Hollywood's "TV One Access" survey.[98][99][100][101] Born to an African-American father and a white mother, Berry has stated that her biracial background was "painful and confusing" when she was a young woman, and she made the decision early on to identify as a black woman because she knew that was how she would be perceived.

Halle Berry

Colman Jason Domingo (born November 28, 1969) is an American actor, playwright, and director. Prominent on both screen and stage since the 2010s, Domingo has received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2024.[1]

Domingo's early Broadway roles include the 2005 play Well and the 2008 musical Passing Strange. He gained acclaim for his role as Mr. Bones in the Broadway musical The Scottsboro Boys (2011), for which he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He reprised the role in the 2014 West End production, receiving a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role in a Musical. In 2018, he wrote the book for the Broadway musical Summer: The Donna Summer Musical.

After early roles in various incarnations of the Law & Order series and as part of the main cast for The Big Gay Sketch Show, Domingo had his breakthrough playing Victor Strand in the AMC series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2023).[2] He gained wider acclaim for his recurring role as the recovering drug addict Ali on the HBO series Euphoria (2019–present), winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series in 2022.

Domingo received consecutive nominations in 2024 and 2025 for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayals of civil rights activist Bayard Rustin in the biopic Rustin and a prison inmate in the drama Sing Sing. His other notable film appearances include roles in Lincoln (2012), The Butler (2013), Selma (2014), If Beale Street Could Talk (2018), Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020), Zola (2021), and The Color Purple (2023)

Colman Domingo

Upcoming projects

In January 2024, it was announced that Domingo was cast to play Joe Jackson in the musical biopic Michael (2025) about the life of singer Michael Jackson.[68] It was also announced Domingo is set to direct and star in the leading role of an untitled Nat King Cole biopic from a script he co-wrote.[69] In September 2024, it was reported that Domingo is slated to appear in Steven Spielberg's next film project, along side Emily Blunt, Josh O'Connor, Eve Hewson, Wyatt Russell, and Colin Firth. [70]

Personal life

From 2009 to 2017, Domingo lived in the federally subsidized artists' building Manhattan Plaza.[71][72]

Domingo is gay.[73] He met his husband, Raúl Domingo, in 2005.[74] They married in 2014

Family

Parton is the fourth of 12 children. Her siblings are Willadeene, David Wilburn (1942–2024), Coy Denver, Robert Lee (Bobby), Stella Mae, Cassie Nan, Randle Huston (Randy; 1953–2021), Larry Gerald (1955), twins Floyd Estel (1957–2018) and Frieda Estelle, and Rachel Ann.[145][146]

On May 30, 1966, Parton and Carl Thomas Dean (1942–2025) were married in Ringgold, Georgia.[147][148] Although Parton does not use Dean's surname professionally, she has stated that her passport reads "Dolly Parton Dean", and she sometimes uses Dean when signing contracts.[149] Dean, who was retired from running an asphalt road-paving business in Nashville, shunned publicity, rarely accompanying his wife to any events. Parton jokingly said that he only saw her perform once, as well as stating in interviews that even though it appeared they spent little time together, it was because nobody saw him publicly. She commented on Dean's romantic side, saying that he did spontaneous things to surprise her, and sometimes even wrote poems for her.[150] In 2011, Parton said, "We're really very proud of our marriage. It's the first for both of us. And the last."[151] On May 6, 2016, Parton announced that she and Dean would renew their vows in honor of their 50th wedding anniversary later in the month.[152] On March 3, 2025, Parton announced on her social media that Dean had died at the age of 82.[153]

While Parton has never had children, she and Dean helped raise several of her younger siblings in Nashville, leading her nieces and nephews to refer to them as "Uncle Peepaw" and "Aunt Granny"; the latter a moniker that later lent its name to one of Parton's Dollywood restaurants. Parton is also the godmother of singer-songwriter and actress Miley Cyrus.

Influences

Parton, though influenced by big name stars, often credits much of her inspiration to her family and community. On her own mother Parton, in her 2020 book Songteller: My Life in Lyrics, wrote "So it was just natural for my mom to always be singing. My mother had that old-timey voice, and she used to sing all these songs that were brought over from the Old World. They were English, Irish, Welsh, folk songs where people tell stories." Parton calls her mother's voice "haunting". "Lord you would feel it", she wrote.[95] Her biggest influence however was her Aunt Dorothy Jo: "People often ask me who my influences were, they think I'm going to say some big names, and there were a few 'stars' I was impressed with. But my hero was my aunt Dorothy Jo. Mama's baby sister. She was not only an evangelist, she played banjo, she played guitar, and she wrote some great songs."[95] Fellow singers also had an impact on Parton, describing George Jones as her "all time favorite singer",[96] and recognizing her love for other artists such as Kitty Wells, Roy Acuff, and Rose Maddox.

Dolly Parton

Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and philanthropist, known primarily as a country musician. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton released her debut album in 1967 with Hello, I'm Dolly, commencing a career spanning 60 years and 49 studio albums, including 2023's Rockstar, which became her highest-charting Billboard 200 album, peaking at number-three.

Described as a "country legend", Parton has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists of all time.[2][3] Her music includes Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA)-certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards. She has had 25 singles reach No. 1 on the Billboard country music charts, a record for a female artist (tied with Reba McEntire). She has 44 career Top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career-charted singles over the past 40 years. Parton has composed over 3,000 songs, including "I Will Always Love You" (a two-time U.S. country chart-topper, and an international hit for Whitney Houston), "Jolene", "Coat of Many Colors", and "9 to 5". As an actress, she has starred in the films 9 to 5 (1980) and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), for each of which she earned Best Actress Golden Globe nominations, as well as Rhinestone (1984), Steel Magnolias (1989), Straight Talk (1992), and Joyful Noise (2012).

Parton has received various accolades, including 11 Grammy Awards from 50 nominations. She has won ten Country Music Association Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, being one of seven female artists to achieve it. Parton has five Academy of Country Music Awards (including Entertainer of the Year), four People's Choice Awards, and three American Music Awards. She is also in a select group to have received at least one nomination from the Academy Awards, Grammy Awards, Tony Awards, and Emmy Awards. In 2005, Parton received the National Medal of Arts. She was the second woman to be inducted into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Outside of her work in the music and film industries, she also co-owns The Dollywood Company, which manages a number of entertainment venues including the Dollywood theme park, the Splash Country water park, and a number of dinner theatre venues such as The Dolly Parton Stampede and Pirates Voyage. She has founded a number of charitable and philanthropic organizations, chief among them being the Dollywood Foundation, who manage a number of projects to bring education and poverty relief to East Tennessee, where she was raised.

Production work

Parton was a co-owner of Sandollar Productions, with Sandy Gallin, her former manager. A film and television production company, it produced the documentary Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt (1989), which won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature; the television series Babes (1990–91) and Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997–2003); and the feature films Father of the Bride (1991), Father of the Bride: Part II (1995) Straight Talk (1992) (in which Parton starred), and Sabrina (1995), among other shows. In a 2009 interview, singer Connie Francis revealed that Parton had been contacting her for years in an attempt to film the singer's life story. Francis turned down Parton's offers, as she was already in negotiations with singer Gloria Estefan to produce the film, a collaboration now ended.[123] After the retirement of her partner, Sandy Gallin, Parton briefly operated Dolly Parton's Southern Light Productions and in 2015 she announced her new production company would be called Dixie Pixie Productions and produce the movies-of-week in development with NBC Television and Magnolia Hill Productions.

Daredevil: Born Again is an American television series created by Charlie Cox reprises his role as Matt Murdock / Daredevil from Marvel's Netflix television series and prior Marvel Studios productions, starring alongside Vincent D'Onofrio, Deborah Ann Woll, and Michael Gandolfini. Margarita Levieva, Elden Henson, Wilson Bethel, Zabryna Guevara, Nikki M. James, Genneya Walton, Arty Froushan, Clark Johnson, Ayelet Zurer, Kamar de los Reyes, and Jon Bernthal also star in the first season.

Following the cancellation of Daredevil in 2018, Cox and D'Onofrio reprised their roles for Marvel Studios projects starting in 2021. A new Daredevil series entered development in early 2022, with Corman and Ord attached as head writers by that May. They gave the series an episodic structure and lighter tone than the Netflix series. Born Again was announced in July 2022 with a planned 18-episode first season. The series' name references the "Born Again" comic book storyline by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli, but the series does not directly adapt that storyline. Marvel Studios decided to overhaul the series by late September 2023 and released Corman, Ord, and the initial directors, though Michael Cuesta, Jeffrey Nachmanoff, and David Boyd are still credited for episodes they directed. Scardapane, Benson, and Moorhead were hired the following month, and the approach changed to be more serialized and directly connected to the Netflix series. The planned 18-episode season was also split into two seasons. Filming occurs in New York.

Daredevil: Born Again premiered on Disney+ on March 4, 2025, with its first two episodes. The first season consists of nine episodes, and is a part of Phase Five of the MCU. The second season is set to premiere in early-to-mid 2026 and will consist of eight episodes. It will be part of Phase Six of the MCU. An untitled Punisher television special, starring Bernthal and conceived during the filming of the first season, is in development for the Marvel Studios Special Presentations banner. The first season has received critical acclaim from critics with praise given to Cox and D'Onofrio's performances and the darker tone.

Production

The television series Daredevil, based on the Marvel Comics character Daredevil and produced by Marvel Television and ABC Studios, premiered on Netflix in April 2015,[37] and lasted for three seasons until its cancellation in November 2018. Netflix said the three seasons would remain on the service, while the title character would "live on in future projects for Marvel". Deadline Hollywood noted that, unlike some of the other Marvel series on Netflix that were also canceled, "the door seems to be wide open" for the series to continue elsewhere, potentially on Disney's streaming service Disney+.[38] However, The Hollywood Reporter said this was unlikely,[39] especially since, as reported by Variety, the original deal between Marvel and Netflix stipulated that the characters could not appear in any non-Netflix series or films for at least two years following the cancellation of Daredevil.[40] Kevin A. Mayer, chairman of Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer and International, said there was a possibility that Disney+ could revive the series but this had not yet been discussed.[41] Hulu's senior vice president of originals, Craig Erwich, said his streaming service was also open to reviving the series.[42]

Star Charlie Cox was saddened by the cancellation, explaining that he was excited by the plans for a fourth season which he and the rest of the cast and crew had expected to be made. He was hopeful there would be an opportunity to portray Matt Murdock / Daredevil again in some form.[43] Amy Rutberg, who portrayed Marci Stahl in the series, said the cast and crew had expected it to last for five seasons, with a new antagonist being introduced in the fourth season before a final showdown between Daredevil and Vincent D'Onofrio's Wilson Fisk / Kingpin in the fifth.[44] When Marvel Studios began discussions about continuing the Daredevil franchise within their shared universe, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), studio president Kevin Feige insisted they bring back Cox and D'Onofrio, feeling the pair were as "inextricably linked" to their characters as MCU actors Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Evans were to Tony Stark / Iron Man and Steve Rogers / Captain America, respectively.[2] Feige contacted Cox in June 2020 about reprising his role as Murdock in the MCU,[45] and he announced that Cox was returning for future Marvel Studios projects in December 2021.[5][46] Cox first reprised his role in the film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), while D'Onofrio first reprised his role as Fisk in the Disney+ series Hawkeye (2021).[47] Daredevil was moved from Netflix to Disney+ in March 2022 after Netflix's license for the series ended and Disney regained the rights.

Casting

Starring in the first season are Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock / Daredevil, Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk / Kingpin,[4] Margarita Levieva as Heather Glenn,[13] Deborah Ann Woll as Karen Page, Elden Henson as Foggy Nelson,[15] Wilson Bethel as Benjamin "Dex" Poindexter,[16][17] Zabryna Guevara as Sheila Rivera,[14]: 12  Nikki M. James as Kirsten McDuffie,[14]: 5  Genneya Walton as BB Urich, Arty Froushan as Buck Cashman,[14]: 12  Clark Johnson as Cherry,[14]: 5  Michael Gandolfini as Daniel Blake,[19] Ayelet Zurer as Vanessa Marianna-Fisk,[22] and Jon Bernthal as Frank Castle / Punisher.[23][24] Before the creative overhaul, cast members from the Netflix series beyond Cox, D'Onofrio, and Bernthal were not expected to reprise their roles,[90] and Sandrine Holt was cast to replace Zurer as Vanessa. Zurer was brought back after the overhaul,[21][22] along with Woll, Henson, and Bethel.[15][16]

Returning for the second season are Cox,[91] D'Onofrio,[35] Woll,[92] and Gandolfini.[93]

Design

Emily Gunshor was the costume designer for the series, and Michael Shaw was the production designer.[14]: 2  Marvel Studios' head of visual development Ryan Meinerding once again designed the Daredevil suit for Born Again, after doing so for the Netflix series.[94] The suit in Born Again has a darker tone of red to reflect Murdock's evolution, along with black detailing and added texture which was described as less "shiny" than the suit in the Netflix series.[94][14]: 8 

Filming

Filming for the first season occurred at Silvercup Studios East in Queens,[95] with location work throughout New York.[96] Pedro Gómez Millán and Hillary Fyfe Spera served as cinematographers.[14]: 2  Production on the first season was halted by the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike.[97]

Music

In July 2024, the Newton Brothers were revealed to be composing music for the series. They previously composed the score for X-Men '97.[98] The pair expressed their love for the Daredevil comics and for John Paesano's main theme from the original Netflix series;[99] Paesano's theme was briefly used for Daredevil's appearances in She-Hulk and the Disney+ animated series Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (2025–present).[99][100]

Release

Daredevil: Born Again premiered on Disney+ on March 4, 2025, with its first two episodes.[101][102] The first season will consist of nine episodes.[33] The season is part of Phase Five of the MCU,[60] and is being released under Marvel Studios' "Marvel Television" label.[79]

The second season is set to premiere in early-to-mid 2026,[36] and will consist of eight episodes.[34] It will be part of Phase Six of the MCU.[103] Winderbaum hoped that future seasons could be released annually.[36]

Reception

The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an 83% approval rating with an average rating of 8/10, based on 55 critic reviews.[104] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned a score of 68 out of 100 based on 23 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[105]

Television special

In February 2025, Bernthal was revealed to be reprising his role as Frank Castle / Punisher in an untitled television special, part of the Marvel Studios Special Presentations banner. Reinaldo Marcus Green was set to direct the special and co-write it with Bernthal. The special was conceived during filming for the first season of Born Again,[106] and will be released on Disney+ in 2026 alongside the second season of the series

Daredevil: Born Again

World Book Day by region

World Book Capital

The World Book Capital (WBC) is an initiative of UNESCO which recognises cities for promoting books and fostering reading for a year starting on April 23, World Book and Copyright Day.[2] Cities designated as UNESCO World Book Capital carry out activities with the aim of encouraging a culture of reading in all ages and sharing UNESCO's values.[6]

UNESCO adopted the 31c/Resolution 29, in 2001, establishing the World Book Capital programme and naming Madrid as the first WBC city in 2001. The advisory committee is composed of UNESCO, the International Publishers Association, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions, the International Authors Forum and the International Booksellers Federation.[6]

Spain

In Spain, Book Day began to be celebrated since 1926 every October 7,[7] the date that Miguel de Cervantes was believed to have been born. But, it was considered more appropriate to celebrate this day in a more pleasant season for walking and browsing the books in the open-air. Spring was much better than fall. So in 1930 King Alfonso XIII approved the change of celebration of the Book Day on April 23, the supposed date of the death of Cervantes.[7]

Forum on reading aloud held outside the campus library at the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico City for the occasion

Sweden

In Sweden, the day is known as Världsbokdagen ("World Book Day") and the copyright aspect is seldom mentioned. Normally celebrated on 23 April, it was moved to 13 April in the year 2000[8] and 2011 to avoid a clash with Easter.[9]

United Kingdom and Ireland

Main article: World Book Day (UK and Ireland)

In the United Kingdom and Ireland, World Book Day is a charity event in March, held annually on the first Thursday and coinciding with the release of special editions.[10] The annual celebration on 23 April is World Book Night, an event organized by independent charity The Reading Agency.[11]

United States

In Kensington, Maryland, the International Day of the Book is celebrated with a street festival on the Sunday closest to 26 April.[12] In 2020, the 15th Annual Kensington Day of the Book Festival was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[12]

India

World Book Day is also celebrated in India on 23 April every year.[13] It is commemorated in many parts of India to encourage & aware of people for reading & publishing books

World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organized by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright. The first World Book Day was celebrated on 23 April in 1995, and continues to be recognized on that day. A related event in the United Kingdom and Ireland is observed in March.[1] On the occasion of World Book and Copyright Day, UNESCO along with the advisory committee from the major sectors of the book industry, select the World Book Capital for one year. Each designated World Book Capital City carries out a program of activities to celebrate and promote books and reading.[2] In 2024, Strasbourg was designated as the World Book Capital.

Date selection

The original idea was conceived in 1922 by Vicente Clavel, director of Cervantes publishing house in Barcelona, as a way to honour the author Miguel de Cervantes and boost the sales of books. It was first celebrated on 7 October 1926, Cervantes' birthday, before being moved to his death date, 23 April, in 1930.[4] The celebration continues with great popularity in Catalonia, where it is referred to as Sant Jordi's Day or The Day of Books and Roses.

In 1995, UNESCO decided that the World Book and Copyright Day would be celebrated on 23 April, as the date is also the anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare and Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, as well as that of the birth or death of several other prominent authors.[5] (In a historical coincidence, Shakespeare and Cervantes died on the same date—23 April 1616—but not on the same day, as at the time, Spain used the Gregorian calendar and England used the Julian calendar; Shakespeare actually died 10 days after Cervantes died, on 3 May of the Gregorian calendar.)

World Book Day

Legal issue

Omoni Oboli starred in the movie Okafor's Law, which premiered on 24 March 2017. However, the movie could not be screened at the premiere due to an injunction by the court. Oboli was accused of copyright infringement by Jude Idada,[17][18][19] who claimed to have written part of the script for Okafor's Law.[20] The movie was released on 31 March 2017.

Charity

Omoni Oboli set up a charity organization, "The Omoni Oboli Foundation" to use her celebrity status to bring relief to the plight of the less privileged women and children of Nigerian society. The foundation has been able to embark on several projects which included the feeding of street children in Lagos.

Awards and nominations

In 2010, she won the award for Best Actress Narrative Feature at the Los Angeles Movie Awards, and the award for Best Actress at the Harlem International Film Festival.[12] Omoni was nominated for the Best Actress in a leading role award at the 2011 Africa Movie Academy Awards.

In 2014, she won the Big Screen Actress of the Year award, at the 2014 ELOY Awards, for her movie Being Mrs Elliott.[14] In 2015, Omoni was awarded the Sun Nollywood "Personality of the Year",[15] She has directed several movies such as Being Mrs Elliott, The First Lady, Wives on Strike, and Okafor's Law.

On 14 August 2017, Omoni Oboli took to her Instagram page to share a post announcing her new deal as the Brand ambassador of Olawale Ayilara's LandWey Investment Limited.

Omoni Oboli (born 22 April 1978) is a Nigerian actress, scriptwriter, film director, producer and digital filmmaker.[4] She studied at the New York Film Academy and has written several screenplays, including The Figurine (2009), Anchor Baby (2010), Fatal Imagination, Being Mrs Elliott, The First Lady and Wives on Strike (2016). In 2018, she starred and directed the comedy film, Moms at War.

Early life and education

Oboli was born in Benin City, Edo State in the South-southern region of Nigeria. She is a descendant of Mosogar, a small village in Delta State,[1] South-south Nigeria. Omoni Oboli completed both her primary and secondary school education in Benin City, Edo State. After completing her secondary school education, Omoni Oboli proceeded to University of Benin, Edo State, Nigeria and graduated with a bachelor's degree in French (2nd Class Upper division).[6] Following the completion of her first degree, Omoni Oboli went abroad for further studies at the New York Film Academy where she studied digital editing in a 4-week workshop.

Career

Omoni began her movie career with her first movie role in Bitter Encounter (1996), where she played a secretary. Her next was Shame. She then went on to play the lead female character in three major movies; Not My Will, Destined To Die and Another Campus Tale. After enjoying a brief career in 1996, Omoni left the movie industry to complete her university education. She married immediately after school and did not return to the industry until a decade later. An act she said almost made her quit movie. She got back to the screen in 2009 then she realised the industry has no space for her anymore. Then she decided to start the production of her movies.

Omoni has several screenplays to her credit, including her film Wives On Strike as well as The Rivals, a movie she co-produced with her friend and won the prize for Best International Drama at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival.[6] It was the first Nigerian film to be premiered since the festival’s inception in 2003.[9] The movie was given a 3-star rating out of 4 by the festival's judges.[9][10] Omoni Oboli has played lead roles in mainstream films, including: The Figurine (2009), Anchor Baby (2010), Being Mrs Elliot, and Fifty (2015). She is also the first actress from Nollywood to win Best Actress in two international festivals,[11] (that are not organized by Nigerians or Africans), in the same year (2010). This she did at the Harlem International Film Festival and the Los Angeles Movie Awards for her lead role in the movie Anchor Baby.

Omoni Oboli

Adebowale "Debo" Adedayo (born 3 May 1993), popularly known by his stage name Mr Macaroni, is a Nigerian actor, comedian, and activist.[2][3][4][5] He is known for his online comedy skits and roles in films such as Ponzi (2021), Ayinla (2021), Aníkúlápó (2022), Freedom Way (2024), and Lisabi: The Uprising (2024).

Adedayo first gained popularity in 2019 from his satirical skits on social media, playing characters such as the philandering political figure "Daddy Wa" and a strict lecturer, "Professor Hard Life".[8] He popularized catchphrases like "Ooin", "Freaky freaky" and "You are doing well".

He is an advocate for civic empowerment, and most notably was involved in the 2020 #EndSARS movement in Nigeria, when he himself was a victim of police brutality.

Since then, Adedayo has increasingly used his platform to champion social causes and frequently combines humor with civic education in his skits.[12][13][14] In 2022 and 2023 he won the Trendupp Awards' Force of Influence award given to the "influencer or content creator who commanded the highest influence in the Nigerian social media space".

Early life

An indigene of Ogun State, Adebowale Babatunde Adedayo was born in Ogudu, Lagos into an Upper middle class, Islamic and Christian family on May 3, 1993. He grew up in Magodo area of Lagos where he attended Tendercare International Nursery. He went to Primary school in Ojota, Ogudu[16] and then attended Babcock University High School. In 2009, he gained admission to Lead City University, where he studied law but was forced to leave by his second year due to the university's accreditation issue.

By 2011, Adedayo was a law student at Houdegbe North American University Cotonou in the Republic of Benin but was forced to leave before earning his degrees.

Upon leaving Cotonou, Adedayo decided to discontinue his education and pursue a career in acting. After being featured in a few film and television roles his parents convinced him to resume his education. He went on to study Theatre Arts at Afe Babalola University before switching to Redeemer's University Nigeria in 2013 where he earned a degree in Theatre Arts and Film Studies in 2018.

Career

Adedayo started as an actor[21] in Nollywood before creating comedy videos. In an interview with Punch Nigeria, he said that he had been an actor for a long time by doing movies and soap operas.[23] He said movie roles were no longer coming at some point and it took a while before he decided to start online comedy.

Debo's comedy addresses events and real issues in Africa. He always plays the role of a sugar daddy. In an interview with the Nigerian Tribune, he said he chose the role of a sugar daddy because it represents a good percentage of naughty men who cannot control themselves.

His satirical skits highlight social and political issues like bad governance, civic responsibility, and human rights. He typically plays the role of a Sugar daddy politician known as "Daddy Wa" or a strict lecturer known as "Professor Hardlife".

Debo, in an interview with Punch Nigeria, said he knew he had a flair for comedy when he would mimic Pastor Chris Oyakhilome and everyone would laugh.

His skits typically feature veterans of Nollywood and the Nigerian entertainment industry, like Jim Iyke, Bimbo Ademoye, Lateef Adedimeji, Sola Sobowale, Falz and Mr. P. He has also featured fellow skit makers like Oga Sabinus (Mr. Funny), KieKie, Remote, and Broda Shaggi. He has also featured Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, the Ooni of Ife.

Mr Macaroni

Kim Soo-hyun (Korean: 김수현; born February 16, 1988) is a South Korean actor. One of the highest-paid actors in South Korea in 2020,[3] his accolades include five Baeksang Arts Awards, two Grand Bell Awards and one Blue Dragon Film Award. He has been featured by Forbes in their Power Celebrity 40 and 30 Under 30 Asia lists.[4] He was also selected as Gallup Korea's Television Actor of the Year.[5]

Kim took several acting classes during his school years on his mother's recommendation to overcome his introvert personality. Following a few theatrical performances, he made his television debut in 2007 with the family sitcom Kimchi Cheese Smile. He went on to establish himself with starring roles in the television dramas Dream High (2011), Moon Embracing the Sun (2012), as well as in the top-grossing films The Thieves (2012) and Secretly, Greatly (2013). His performance as King Lee Hwon in Moon Embracing the Sun won him the Baeksang Arts Award for Best Actor – Television.

Kim became a top Hallyu star as he gained further success with the fantasy series My Love from the Star (2013–14), and the variety drama The Producers (2015), which earned him three Daesang (Grand Prize).[6] He enlisted to complete his mandatory military service in October 2017, and marked his return to acting with the romantic comedy It's Okay to Not Be Okay (2020). Following that, he starred in One Ordinary Day (2021) and Queen of Tears (2024).

Early life and education

Kim was born on February 16, 1988. His birth father is Kim Chung-hoon [ko] who was the lead singer of the 80's band "Seven Dolphins".[7] His parents separated when he was very young and as such considered himself an only son raised by a single mother.[8]

Kim's mother encouraged him to take acting classes during his school years to help him overcome his shy and introverted personality.[9] His aspirations to be an actor really took off between his middle school and high school.[10] His first major acting was in a stage play of Shakespeare's comedy A Midsummer Night's Dream delivering the role of Puck.[11] His later work in the theatre includes the role of Kenickie and Hamlet in the musical Grease and tragedy Hamlet.[12]

By 2006, Kim completed elementary, middle and high school in Gangnam, Seoul and debuted as a TV actor in 2007 after auditions. He enrolled at Chung-Ang University's Film and Theater Department in 2009.

Event appearances

In 2014, Kim attended two international sports events. Held on August 16, 2014, Kim sang the official theme song "Light up the Future" with several artists at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Summer Youth Olympic Games held in Nanjing, China.[88] He also participated in the opening ceremony of the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea. Along with actor Jang Dong-gun, Korean opera singer Ahn Sook-sun and people from 45 nations, they delivered the message of "One Asia" at the second part of the highlight stage.[89]

Ambassadorship

In 2011, Kim along with Bae Suzy were the Ambassadors of the 16th Korea Goyang International Flower Festival.[90] On April 18, 2012, Korea Tourism Organization appointed Kim as the Honorary Ambassador for Korean tourism.[91] On December 3, 2012, Kim was appointed as the Public Relation Ambassador for Lotte Hotel Busan.[92] On May 20, 2014, Kim was appointed as one of the Public Relations Ambassador for his alma mater, Chung-Ang University.[93] On October 25, 2015, Kim was appointed as the Goodwill Ambassador of Seoul. For the city's promotion, he participated in various cultural events in the next two years.[94] In 2015, Kim was the Honorary Ambassador for the Incheon International Airport.[95] In 2016, Kim is the Promotional Ambassador for Paradise City.

Philanthropy

Since 2012, Kim and his fans have donated a total of 20 tons of rice every year to help those in need.[97]

In April 2014, during his tour of Asia, Kim donated about ₩200 million to the China Children & Teenager's Fund from a Gucci charity event.[98] He also joined Yellow Ribbon Campaign,[99] and donated ₩300 million to help the teenage victims of Sewol ferry tragedy.[100]

In January 2017, Kim along with 32 top stars of South Korea joined an online fund raising event, Give Love, to help NGOs dedicated to protecting children's rights.[101]

In February 2020, Kim delivered ₩100 million in donations to support low income families affected by COVID-19 pandemic

Kim Soo-hyun

Endorsements

Kim has been regarded as the "King of product endorsements" by media outlets;[103] and has been the face of variety of products ranging from food, clothing, electronics, telecoms to automobiles and more.[104] He started emerging as a blue chip in the advertising industry soon after he grabbed viewer's attention through his acting in Giant.[105] But when he starred in Moon Embracing the Sun, he set the record of being the face of 17 products simultaneously overtaking figure skater Yuna Kim, who had set the record back in 2009 by amassing 15 endorsements.[36] Kim became most in-demand advertising model after his drama My Love from the Star[49] with appearing in more than 30 advertisements, including 10 airing in China and other Asian counties.[106] He has also been the face of Jeju airlines and main character of a Chinese video game.[107][108]

In 2014, Kim Soo-hyun appeared in an ad alongside Gianna Jun for Chinese bottled water company Hengda bingquan. The move drew negative reactions from South Korean fans due to Hengda listing the source of its water as "Jang bai shan" (Changbai Mountain) rather than the Korean name, "Mount Baekdusan." Both actors sought to revoke their ad contracts after the backlash[109] but Kim eventually decided to continue with the ad, which disappointed many of his fans.[110]

In 2015, Kim along with Yuna Kim won grand prizes at the National Brand Awards for improving Korea's brand image.[111]

Kim joined the Philippine retail brand Bench as a product endorser in July 2021.[112]

On September 13, 2021, Kim was selected as a global ambassador for Tommy Hilfiger.[113]

In 2022, Dunkin' Donuts revealed that Kim is their newest product endorser.[114]

On August 17, 2023, Kim selected as the new brand ambassador of outdoor fashion brand, Eider.[115]

Personal life

In March 2015, Kim was awarded for being a model taxpayer by the local tax office for faithfully paying taxes every Tax Day.[116]

In July 2015, it was revealed that Kim has a paternal half-sister named Kim Ju-na, a singer.[117]

Bowling

A bowling enthusiast, Kim applied to become a professional bowler in October 2016.[118] He ranked 10th out of the 114 participants on his first try-out tournament[119] but failed to make the cut on the second, falling short of the 200 points needed to qualify with only 192.3.[120] Kim showcased his bowling skills on his guest appearance on MBC's Infinite Challenge.[121]

Military enlistment

Kim began his mandatory military service on October 23, 2017.[122] He was supposed to work in public service duty instead of active duty as he previously underwent a surgery related to his heart.[123] However, he voluntarily went for re-examinations and was eventually cleared for the combat.[124] He entered a military camp in Paju, Gyeonggi Province to complete his basic training.[125]

In late November 2017, Kim's agency announced that he had completed his five weeks of basic training, placing fourth as an outstanding trainee.[126] He was rewarded with a vacation by the division commander and received a self deployment to the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion to continue his duty.[127]

In February 2019, Kim received an early promotion as a Sergeant for his exceptional conduct in the military.[128] Kim was discharged from his military service on July 1, 2019.

Iman Asante Shumpert (/iˈmɑːn/ ee-MAHN;[1] born June 26, 1990) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Shumpert was selected by the New York Knicks with the 17th overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft. He was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015 and won an NBA championship with them in 2016. Shumpert also had stints with the Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and Brooklyn Nets.

Shumpert won Season 30 of Dancing with the Stars with professional dancer Daniella Karagach in 2021, making him the first NBA player to win the finale.

Personal life

Shumpert's father, Odis, is an insurance broker while his mother, L'Tanya, is an adjunct professor of art and design at Columbia College in Chicago, Illinois.[4] During the 2012–13 NBA season, Shumpert's high-top fade haircut attracted publicity.[49] He shaved the fade in October 2013.[50]

In 2016, Shumpert married Teyana Taylor. The pair divorced in 2024,[51] and share two daughters: Iman Tayla "Junie" Shumpert Jr. (born 2015) and Rue Rose Shumpert (born 2020).[52][53] Junie was delivered by Shumpert at their home when Taylor unexpectedly went into labor.[54]

Outside of basketball, Shumpert has dabbled in rap music. In 2012, he released the song "Knicks Anthem"[55] and the mixtape Th3 #Post90s. In 2013, he released the song "Dear Kendrick" in response to Kendrick Lamar's verse in the song "Control" by Big Sean. The music video for his single "Chiraq" garnered media attention over the eccentric visuals.[56]

Shumpert won the 30th season of Dancing with the Stars with professional partner Daniella Karagach. In week 6 of the 10 week elimination competition, the couple tied for the highest score with 4 10's in the contemporary dance.[57] The dance, choreographed by Karagach, went viral online and was regarded by fans as one of the best dances in the show's history.[58] Shumpert is the only NBA player in Dancing with the Stars history to qualify for the finals and to win the competition.

Early life

Shumpert was born in Berwyn, Illinois.[2] In eighth grade, he and fellow NBA player Evan Turner were teammates on the same basketball team at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in Oak Park, Illinois.[3] He went on to attend Oak Park and River Forest High School where he was a first team all-state player and was one of the nation's top 30 seniors. He helped Oak Park and River Forest to three conference titles and was named conference MVP as a junior and senior. He was rated No. 15 among the nation's senior players by Scout.com and No. 26 by Rivals.com. He was also selected to play in the 2008 McDonald's All-American Game, and was named a third-team Parade All-American.

College career

As a freshman for Georgia Tech in 2008–09, Shumpert was the team's fourth-leading scorer for the season, averaging 10.5 points per game and hitting 34.5 percent of his three-point attempts. During the 2009–10 season, Shumpert underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a damaged meniscus in his right knee on December 3, and missed six games. He went on to finish the season as the team's third-leading scorer with 10.0 points per game.[4]

In the 2010–11 season, Shumpert led his team in scoring (17.3 ppg), rebounding and assists, becoming only the seventh player in ACC history to do so. He ranked fourth in the ACC in scoring, 15th in rebounds, 10th in field goal and free throw percentage, and first in steals (seventh in the nation). He was named to the All-ACC second team and was a member of the conference's all-defensive team.[4] He also holds the Georgia Tech record for steals per game.

On March 28, 2011, Shumpert declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final year of college eligibility.

Iman Shumpert