Celebrity – Page 2 – The News Desk

Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ still dominates the holiday charts

11Dec

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Entertainment

Mariah Carey’s 1994 hit ‘All I Want for Christmas is You’ still dominates the holiday charts

NEW YORK -- If anything about Mariah Carey's “All I Want for Christmas is You” annoys you, best to avoid shopping malls now. Or the radio. Maybe music altogether, for that matter.Her 1994 carol dominates holiday music like nothing else.The Christmas colossus has reached No. 1 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart the past four years in a row — measuring the most popular songs each week by airplay, sales and streaming, not just the holiday-themed — and it's reasonable to assume 2023 will be no different. One expert predicts it will soon exceed $100 million in earnings. Even its ringtone has sold millions.“That song is just embedded in history now,” says David Foster, the 16-time Grammy-winning composer and producer. “It’s embedded in Christmas. When you think of Christmas right now, you think of th...

Ryan O’Neal, star of ‘Love Story,’ ‘Paper Moon,’ ‘Peyton Place’ and ‘Barry Lyndon,’ dies at 82

9Dec

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Ryan O’Neal, star of ‘Love Story,’ ‘Paper Moon,’ ‘Peyton Place’ and ‘Barry Lyndon,’ dies at 82

LOS ANGELES -- Ryan O'Neal, the heartthrob actor who went from a TV soap opera to an Oscar-nominated role in "Love Story" and delivered a wry performance opposite his charismatic 9-year-old daughter Tatum in "Paper Moon," died Friday, his son said.“My dad passed away peacefully today, with his loving team by his side supporting him and loving him as he would us,” Patrick O'Neal, a Los Angeles sportscaster, posted on Instagram.No cause of death was given. Ryan O'Neal was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2012, a decade after he was first diagnosed with chronic leukemia. He was 82. “My father, Ryan O’Neal, has always been my hero,” Patrick O’Neal wrote, adding, “He is a Hollywood legend. Full stop.”“He meant the world to me. I loved him very much and know he loved me too," Tatum O’Neal told...

2023 (Taylor’s Version): The year in pop culture

7Dec

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Entertainment

2023 (Taylor’s Version): The year in pop culture

In weather terminology, they call it “rapid intensification” — the process by which a storm strengthens dramatically in a short period.In pop culture terminology, they call it Taylor Swift.It’s not like Swift didn’t have big – huge! – years before this. But 2023? This was ridiculous. From the blockbuster “Eras” tour that conquered the United States before a planet-vanquishing international leg, to the re-release of more albums on the road to reclaiming her catalog, to the record-smashing concert film, to becoming a billionaire — and yeah, that thing with “the guy on the Chiefs” — it all made for a year you could reasonably call “2023 (Taylor’s Version).” There were, of course, non-Swiftian developments in pop culture. Beyoncé, ever the superstar, had a huge tour herself, and ruled the box...

‘A master of storytelling’ — Reaction to the death of pioneering TV figure Norman Lear

6Dec

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‘A master of storytelling’ — Reaction to the death of pioneering TV figure Norman Lear

A collection of reactions to the death of Norman Lear, the writer, director and producer who revolutionized prime time television, who died Tuesday night at 101.“I loved Norman Lear with all my heart. He was my second father. Sending my love to Lyn and the whole Lear family.” — Rob Reiner, via X, formerly Twitter.“More than anyone before him, Norman used situation comedy to shine a light on prejudice, intolerance, and inequality. He created families that mirrored ours.” — Jimmy Kimmel, in a statement. “A master of storytelling and a healer through his shows! He is what all of showbiz should be aspiring to. He is the consummate creative producer we have long abandoned in the industry.” — John Leguizamo, via X.“It’s hard to reconcile that at 101 years old, Norman Lear is gone too soon. The ...

China’s government can’t take a joke, so comedians living abroad censor themselves

5Dec

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Entertainment

China’s government can’t take a joke, so comedians living abroad censor themselves

WASHINGTON -- Comedian Xi Diao says he knows he should avoid talking politics on stage, but sharing a family name with Chinese President Xi Jinping makes it hard to resist.Even his name is politically sensitive, the Melbourne-based amateur comedian tells audiences, setting up a joke about a group chat on the Chinese messaging service WeChat being shut down as soon as he joined it. The 33-year-old civil engineer gets nervous laughs whenever he breaks a de facto rule of Chinese comedy: Don’t say anything that makes China look bad. To most comedians, that means no jokes about censorship, no mentioning the president's name, and no discussion of China’s extraordinarily strict COVID lockdowns or social topics like domestic violence.“It is a pity, if the environment were open, there would be som...

AP’s top albums of 2023: Music from Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, the Rolling Stones and more

4Dec

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AP’s top albums of 2023: Music from Olivia Rodrigo, Peso Pluma, the Rolling Stones and more

LOS ANGELES -- Ten of the top albums of the year, as chosen by Associated Press Music Writer Maria Sherman.It was a blockbuster year across genres, but only a few could make AP's list. (SZA's “SOS” released in December 2022, Ice Spice's “Like...?” isn't a full-length release, and the 11 Grammy nominations for “Barbie the Album” is recognition enough.) Instead of embracing the antiquated practice of ranking very different albums against one another, we're celebrating the best next to the best. Enjoy.The year belongs to regional Mexican artists, who brought their banda, norteño, mariachi, sierreño and more to geographies well beyond Mexico and the southwest U.S. As Carín León told The Associated Press earlier this year, it is no longer “regional,” but “global” music. Leading the charge is P...

Kennedy Center Honorees include Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and Dionne Warwick

4Dec

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Kennedy Center Honorees include Queen Latifah, Billy Crystal and Dionne Warwick

WASHINGTON -- The newest group of Kennedy Center honorees, including comedian Billy Crystal and actor Queen Latifah, are being feted Sunday night at a star-studded event commemorating their lifetime achievement in arts and entertainment.Opera singer Renée Fleming, music star Barry Gibb and prolific hitmaker Dionne Warwick also are being honored at the black-tie gala. Each are receiving personalized tributes that include appearances and performances that typically have been kept secret from the honorees themselves.President Joe Biden welcomed the honorees to the White House before the event, saying the performing arts “reflect who we are as Americans and as human beings.”The honorees “have helped shape how we see ourselves, how we see each other and how we see our world,” said Biden who th...

Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan dies at age 65

30Nov

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Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan dies at age 65

LONDON -- Shane MacGowan, the singer-songwriter and frontman of “Celtic Punk” band The Pogues, best known for the Christmas ballad “Fairytale of New York,” died Thursday, his family said. He was 65.“It is with the deepest sorrow and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of our most beautiful, darling and dearly beloved Shane MacGowan,” his wife Victoria Clarke, his sister Siobhan and father Maurice said in a statement.The singer died peacefully with his family by his side, the statement added.The musician had been hospitalized in Dublin for several months after being diagnosed with viral encephalitis in late 2022. He was discharged last week, ahead of his upcoming birthday on Christmas Day.The Pogues fused Irish traditional music and rock’n’roll into a unique, intoxicating blend...

R&B singer Kiana Ledé is taking back control of her music and her life

28Nov

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Entertainment

R&B singer Kiana Ledé is taking back control of her music and her life

NEW YORK -- Kiana Ledé is one of R&B’s brightest rising stars but that doesn’t mean she always embraces the compliment.“I kind of have mixed feelings about it because it gets me in my head about me needing to do more or me being more invested in my craft, or I just don’t have the right (industry) politics surrounding me,” said Ledé, who’s launching the international leg of her “Grudges” tour Tuesday starting in Auckland, New Zealand. “(But) it also makes me feel great because they’re clearly appreciating me and understanding that I do this for healing purposes and that the music is just good.”It’s a pivotal moment in the career of the 26-year-old songstress whose upcoming tour stops include London, Paris, Sydney and Berlin. Ledé, who wrapped up her 21-date North American tour in Octob...

‘Past Lives,’ wins at Gotham Awards, while De Niro says speech was edited

28Nov

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Entertainment

‘Past Lives,’ wins at Gotham Awards, while De Niro says speech was edited

NEW YORK -- Celine Song’s wistful romance “Past Lives” earned top honors at the Gotham Awards on Monday evening at an award-season kickoff where the night's biggest drama came in a political speech by Robert De Niro that the actor claimed had been edited without his permission. “Past Lives,” a breakout at the Sundance Film Festival in January and an arthouse hit in June for A24, may be poised to be an Oscar sleeper this year after winning best feature film at the Gothams. Affection is strong for Song’s directorial debut, starring Greta Lee as a woman born in Seoul who, after marrying an American (John Magaro), reconnects with a childhood friend from South Korea (Teo Yoo).“This is the first film I've ever made and a very personal film about an extraordinary feeling I had in an ordinary bar...