Entertainment – International

Kendrick Lamar heads into film with ‘Black Panther’ soundtrack

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — High-flying rapper Kendrick Lamar is making his first soundtrack as he released a song Thursday with singer SZA for the upcoming superhero film “Black Panther.” Lamar, whose socially conscious and often experimental hip-hop has won him wide critical praise, will produce the soundtrack for the movie which comes out on February 16. He and hip-hop executive Anthony “Top Dawg” Tiffith will record and select tracks for “Black Panther,” a […]

Cate Blanchett to head Cannes festival jury

PARIS, France (AFP) — Cate Blanchett, the double Oscar-winning actress leading a Hollywood campaign to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace, will head the jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, organizers said on Thursday. Australian Blanchett, 48, who helped launch the “Time’s Up” initiative this week following a string of sexual assault accusations against prominent men in the film industry, will become the 12th woman to lead the prestigious panel at Cannes, which kicks off […]

Music sales soar in US, as streaming takes over market

by Shaun Tandon Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Music sales grew at a robust pace for a third straight year in the United States in 2017 as listeners kept flocking to streaming outlets, an industry monitor said Wednesday. Analytical firm BuzzAngle Music said that consumption in the world’s largest music market jumped 12.8 percent in 2017, well outpacing the 4.2 percent growth seen a year earlier. On-demand streaming services led by Spotify […]

Whither rock? Beyonce, Eminem to headline Coachella

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Beyonce, Eminem and The Weeknd will headline Coachella, promoters announced Tuesday, marking the first time that no rock act will be among the main attractions at the leading festival. Coachella, which has turned into one of the world’s most lucrative and influential festivals since its debut in 1999, takes place in the desert of southern California over two successive weekends in April with identical lineups for each. The festival […]

Justin Timberlake gets ‘personal’ in first album in five years

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Pop superstar Justin Timberlake on Tuesday announced his first album in nearly five years, promising more “personal” songwriting inspired by his home and family. The 36-year-old singer and actor said that “Man of the Woods,” his fifth solo studio album, will come out on February 2 — two days before he headlines entertainment during the Super Bowl, generally the most watched television event of the year in the United […]

‘Star Wars’ rides high as Disney celebrates another $6 billion year

LOS ANGELES. United States (AFP) — The latest episode in the iconic “Star Wars” space saga finished the year on top of the domestic box office, data confirmed Tuesday, contributing to a second best-ever year for Disney. “The Last Jedi” earned $66.8 million over the four-day holiday weekend in North America, for a $531.5 million domestic total since its opening three weeks ago, said industry watcher Exhibitor Relations. Disney announced on Sunday that the movie […]

Top Hollywood women launch anti-harassment initiative

by Brian Knowlton Agence France-Presse WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — More than 300 top women in Hollywood — from Meryl Streep and Jennifer Lawrence to Emma Thompson and Cate Blanchett — unveiled an initiative Monday to tackle pervasive sexual harassment in workplaces, calling special attention to their “sisters” in less than glamorous blue-collar jobs. The initiative, dubbed Time’s Up, caps a year in which the Harvey Weinstein sexual misconduct scandal touched off a deluge of […]

Jay-Z, Beyonce imagine daughter as US leader in new video

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — President Blue Ivy Carter? Music power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce have imagined their daughter as a transformative US leader in a new video. Blue Ivy, who turns six on January 7, is depicted as leading an all-female constitutional convention in 2050 in a video released Friday for her father’s song “Family Feud.” The video — shot by “Selma” director Ava DuVernay, one of the most prominent African-American women in […]

Beyonce’s sister Solange reveals autonomic disorder, cancels show

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — The experimental R&B singer Solange has revealed a struggle with an autonomic disorder as she cancelled a New Year’s Eve performance in South Africa. Solange, the younger sister of pop superstar Beyonce, said doctors had advised her not to make the long journey from the United States. “The past five months I have been quietly treating, and working through, an autonomic disorder. It has been a journey that hasn’t […]

Shakira cancels tour; hopes for June return

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Colombian pop star Shakira on Wednesday cancelled the remainder of her world tour because of a problem with her vocal chords and said she hoped to be back on stage in June of next year. “Though I very much hoped to be able to recover my vocal chords in time to pick the tour back up in January, and after exploring many options to that effect, I have accepted […]

‘The Last Jedi’ tops holiday box office in North America

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The force was with Disney as the latest Star Wars movie “The Last Jedi” beat out the competition to top the holiday weekend box office, according to updated industry estimates released Tuesday. The eighth installment of the blockbuster space saga topped the charts in North America for a second week, according to box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations, pulling in $99 million from Friday through Monday to rack up total earnings of […]

‘Sound of Music’ star Menzies-Urich dead: industry

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — Heather Menzies-Urich, a star of “The Sound of Music,” which continues to win hearts worldwide after more than half a century, died at age 68, an industry source said Monday. “We… mourn the passing of Heather Menzies-Urich,” the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, which holds the rights to the musical, said on its website. “We are all lucky to have known her, and she will happily live on in that […]