MUSIC & MOVIES Aretha serenades Swift - Kuwait Timesnews.kuwaittimes.net/pdf/2014/dec/15/p38.pdf ·...
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MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2014 lifestyle MUSIC & MOVIES I t’ll be hard for Taylor Swift top this as a birthday gift: A birthday serenade from none other than the Queen of Soul. Aretha Franklin arguably had the best performance of the afternoon as the legend gave an impromptu performance of “Happy Birthday” to Taylor Swift, Billboard’s new “Woman of the Year,” at their annual Women in Music event on Friday. Swift swooned as Franklin sang and the pair embraced afterward and she was given a birthday cake. Technically Swift doesn’t turn 25 until Saturday but she was able to celebrate early with the honor; she was one of several women celebrated at the event, which featured some of the biggest names in music, including a sur- prise appearance by Beyonce. Billboard’s Women in Music awards honors the top women in the industry, from executives to artists like Franklin, who received the appro- priately named “Icon” award. Swift was named the top woman in music after her record- breaking year, in which her “1989” album debuted at No. 1 and sold more than 1 million copies - her third straight album to accomplish such a feat, setting a record. She also had chart-toppers with “Shake It Off” and “Blank Space” and recently saw the former song get nominated for record of the year at the Grammys. Swift used her acceptance speech to under- score her decision this fall to remove all her music from the streaming site Spotify on the grounds that it doesn’t equitably reimburse artists for the use of its material.” I really believe we in the music industry can work together to find a way to bond technology with integrity and just really hope we can teach the younger generation the value of investment in music rather than the ephemer- al consumption of it,” Swift said. Most of the other honorees spoke about the honor in a more personal nature. Idina Menzel, whose voice powered the “Frozen” soundtrack into the top-selling album of the year, spoke about reaching the apex of her career after some lean years, despite early suc- cess on Broadway.”I’m 43 and I’m a break- through artist,” she said of getting the “Breakthrough Artist of the Year” award. Ariana Grande’s brother, “Big Brother” con- testant Frankie, gave his sister the “Rising Star” award in an emotional tribute.”This is com- pletely crazy and I’m going to try not to cry,” she said as she accepted it. Iggy Azalea did choke up when she received the “Chart Topper” award; the “Fancy” rapper thanked the women executives who pushed her career for- ward when she thought it was dead.Charli XCX received the “Hitmaker” award; Jessie J was named “Powerhouse”; and Hayley Williams of Paramore was crowned “Trailblazer.” The event was star-studded; Beyonce sat in the audience to honor her general manager, one of 50 industry executives also honored; Sharon Osbourne gave a typically profane speech to honor Universal exec Michele Anthony; and Civil Wars singer Joy Williams, Colbie Caillat and Ingrid Michaelson were Taylor Swift attends the 2014 Billboard Women in Music luncheon at Cipriani Wall Street on Friday. — AP photos Aretha serenades Swift as Billboard honors both Idina Menzel, from left, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Meghan Trainor attend the 2014 Billboard Women in Music luncheon. Aretha Franklin attends the 2014 Billboard Women in Music luncheon. Beyonce attends the 2014 Billboard Women in Music luncheon. among those who performed. Matt Lauer presided over a panel discussion at the end featuring all eight honorees, but by then, the event had approached three hours and more than half the audience had bolted. But those who stayed got a treat with the Franklin performance - perhaps the high- light of the event. — AP “Exodus: Gods and Kings” is ruler of the box office despite its less-than-inspirational ticket sales. Ridley Scott’s biblical epic launched to $8.6 million on Friday at the US box office as it marches toward an estimated $25 million weekend debut. The Fox action-drama, starring Christian Bale as Moses, has taken over the No. 1 spot from reigning champ “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1.” The movie is far behind the film that topped the box office this time last year; “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug” opened to $73.6 million in 2013. The final film of the trilogy, “The Battle of the Five Armies,” hits US theaters next Friday. It also trails fellow biblical epic “Noah,” which kicked off with $43.7 million earlier this year. Like “Noah,” “Exodus” has been shrouded in controversy. The pic has been attacked by critics and fans for its all-white cast. 21st Century Fox CEO and media mogul Rupert Murdoch recent- ly defended the Anglo-led cast, tweeting: “Since when are Egyptians not white? All I know are.” “Exodus,” which also stars Joel Edgerton as Ramses, car- ries a hefty $140 million production budget. The film picked up $23.1 million when it debuted last weekend in 10 for- eign markets, including South Korea and Mexico. It had sur- passed $32 million by Wednesday, when it moved into another 38 territories. Early reviews have been mixed, earn- ing it 28% on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, another new release, “Top Five,” has received rave reviews (89% on Rotten Tomatoes). Paramount’s comedy debuted to $2.5 million and will laugh its way to $7 million this weekend. “Top Five” came in third on Friday, but will land in fourth place-behind “Penguins of Madagascar”-by today. The pic stars Chris Rock as a comedian trying to reinvent himself (in both his personal and professional life). Rock also wrote and directed the pic, which has been dubbed a career come- back. “Mockingjay” came in a distant second behind “Exodus” with $3.8 million on Friday after wearing the box office crown for three consecutive weekends. The penulti- mate installment of the Lionsgate franchise should take in $12.5 million in its fourth weekend, raising its cume to $276 million-about $55 million shy of the year’s highest-grossing film, “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Fox’s “Madagascar” spinoff “Penguins of Madagascar” was fourth on Friday, taking in $1.6 million. It’ll move to third place come Sunday as it brings in just over $7 million in its third frame. The space epic “Interstellar” rounded out the Friday top five, but the animated hit “Big Hero” will swoop in for that slot later this weekend. The Disney toon reeled in $1.4 million on Friday on its way north of $6 million as it crosses $185 million at the US box office. — Reuters Box Office ‘Exodus’ toppling ‘Mockingjay’ with $25 Million This image released by 20th Century Fox shows Goldshifteh Farahani, left, as Nefertari, and Joel Edgerton as Rhamses, in a scene from the film, “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”— AP I f you wanted to make a time capsule of what happened in pop music this year, Friday night’s Jingle Ball - the annual extravaganza held in Madison Square Garden put on by pop station Z100 - would most likely provide the most accu- rate account. There was Pharrell - with the hat- crooning his hit “Happy”; Iggy Azalea rapping and posturing as she breezed through “Fancy”; Jessie J and Ariana Grande playfully one-upping each other in the power-vocal showcase smash “Bang Bang”; and Meghan Trainor serving sass on what was arguably the song of the year, “All About That Bass.” But the king and queen of the night (and perhaps the year) were Sam Smith and Taylor Swift. Their separate per- formances couldn’t have been less alike: Smith was all about stately R&B while Swift brought her perky pop. But they were the emotional highlights, capturing the hearts of fans who expressed their approval with ear-piercing shrieks and screams. “I am the only person who asks you to scream loudly tonight who is about to turn 25 in 10 minutes,” Swift told the crowd shortly before she celebrated her birthday after the stroke of midnight. Smith, the newcomer who last week was nominated for six Grammys including record, song and album of the year, was the most unlikely pop star of the bunch; he sings tradi- tional, downtempo soul songs and doesn’t dance; his signa- ture look is a drab suit and his wide, doleful eyes. But his searing, soulful voice has made him among the most acclaimed artists of the year, and fans at Jingle Ball, who range all ages but skew heavily toward the tween and teen set, were captivated by it as he powered through songs like “I’m Not the Only One,” “Latch” and his signature hit, the Grammy-nominated “Stay With Me.” Swift - the evening’s final performer - was the clear fan favorite. The former country princess opened her newly exclusive pop set with her love letter to her new hometown, “Welcome to New York,” then segued to her self-mocking “Blank Space.” She shined, engaging the audience with an energetic set that showed her charm as a performer - danc- ing and grooving with her band through songs like “Shake it Off” as she playfully yet forcefully warbled the grooves. Other acts got love too. Grande - wearing a saucy white outfit that looked like a leftover from her recent Victoria’s Secret gig - was reminiscent of a young Christina Aguilera as she ran through the hits that made her one of the year’s top acts, including “Problem;” while that song features Iggy Izalea, the Australian rapper didn’t join in for that one, preferring to stick to her own set, which featured collaborations with Charli XCX and Rita Ora. One Republic won the crowd early with songs like “Apologize.” Dreamy teen boy acts like 5 Seconds of Summer and newcomers Shawn Mendes and Rixton whipped the crowd into a frenzy, and even Nick Jonas - whom with his brothers nearly ruptured eardrums just a few years ago - had the crowd on its feet as he performed his comeback single “Jealous.”Other performers included Gwen Stefani (who per- formed with Pharrell), Maroon 5 and Calvin Harris. — AP Sam Smith, Taylor Swift own the night at Jingle Ball Taylor Swift performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden, Friday in New York. — AP photos Ariana Grande performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden. Rita Ora performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden. Iggy Azalea performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden. Jessie J performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden.
Transcript of MUSIC & MOVIES Aretha serenades Swift - Kuwait Timesnews.kuwaittimes.net/pdf/2014/dec/15/p38.pdf ·...
MONDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2014
l if e st yleM U S I C & M O V I E S
It’ll be hard for Taylor Swift top this as abirthday gift: A birthday serenade fromnone other than the Queen of Soul. Aretha
Franklin arguably had the best performance ofthe afternoon as the legend gave an
impromptu performance of “Happy Birthday”to Taylor Swift, Billboard’s new “Woman of theYear,” at their annual Women in Music event onFriday. Swift swooned as Franklin sang and thepair embraced afterward and she was given abirthday cake.
Technically Swift doesn’t turn 25 untilSaturday but she was able to celebrate earlywith the honor; she was one of several womencelebrated at the event, which featured some
of the biggest names in music, including a sur-prise appearance by Beyonce. Billboard’sWomen in Music awards honors the topwomen in the industry, from executives toartists like Franklin, who received the appro-priately named “Icon” award. Swift was namedthe top woman in music after her record-breaking year, in which her “1989” albumdebuted at No. 1 and sold more than 1 millioncopies - her third straight album to accomplishsuch a feat, setting a record. She also hadchart-toppers with “Shake It Off” and “BlankSpace” and recently saw the former song getnominated for record of the year at theGrammys.
Swift used her acceptance speech to under-score her decision this fall to remove all hermusic from the streaming site Spotify on thegrounds that it doesn’t equitably reimburseartists for the use of its material.” I reallybelieve we in the music industry can worktogether to find a way to bond technologywith integrity and just really hope we canteach the younger generation the value ofinvestment in music rather than the ephemer-al consumption of it,” Swift said.
Most of the other honorees spoke about
the honor in a more personal nature. IdinaMenzel, whose voice powered the “Frozen”soundtrack into the top-selling album of theyear, spoke about reaching the apex of hercareer after some lean years, despite early suc-cess on Broadway.”I’m 43 and I’m a break-through artist,” she said of getting the“Breakthrough Artist of the Year” award.
Ariana Grande’s brother, “Big Brother” con-testant Frankie, gave his sister the “Rising Star”award in an emotional tribute.”This is com-pletely crazy and I’m going to try not to cry,”she said as she accepted it. Iggy Azalea didchoke up when she received the “ChartTopper” award; the “Fancy” rapper thanked thewomen executives who pushed her career for-ward when she thought it was dead.Charli XCXreceived the “Hitmaker” award; Jessie J wasnamed “Powerhouse”; and Hayley Williams ofParamore was crowned “Trailblazer.”
The event was star-studded; Beyonce sat inthe audience to honor her general manager,one of 50 industry executives also honored;Sharon Osbourne gave a typically profanespeech to honor Universal exec MicheleAnthony; and Civil Wars singer Joy Williams,Colbie Caillat and Ingrid Michaelson were
Taylor Swift attends the 2014 BillboardWomen in Music luncheon at CiprianiWall Street on Friday. — AP photos
Aretha serenades Swift as Billboard honors both
Idina Menzel, from left, Savannah Guthrie, Hoda Kotb and Meghan Trainor attend the 2014Billboard Women in Music luncheon.
Aretha Franklin attends the 2014 BillboardWomen in Music luncheon.
Beyonce attends the 2014 Billboard Womenin Music luncheon.
among those who performed. Matt Lauerpresided over a panel discussion at the endfeaturing all eight honorees, but by then,the event had approached three hours andmore than half the audience had bolted.But those who stayed got a treat with theFranklin performance - perhaps the high-light of the event. — AP
“Exodus: Gods and Kings” is ruler of the box office despiteits less-than-inspirational ticket sales. Ridley Scott’s biblicalepic launched to $8.6 million on Friday at the US box officeas it marches toward an estimated $25 million weekenddebut. The Fox action-drama, starring Christian Bale asMoses, has taken over the No. 1 spot from reigning champ“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay-Part 1.”
The movie is far behind the film that topped the boxoffice this time last year; “The Hobbit: The Desolation ofSmaug” opened to $73.6 million in 2013. The final film ofthe trilogy, “The Battle of the Five Armies,” hits US theatersnext Friday. It also trails fellow biblical epic “Noah,” whichkicked off with $43.7 million earlier this year. Like “Noah,”“Exodus” has been shrouded in controversy. The pic hasbeen attacked by critics and fans for its all-white cast. 21stCentury Fox CEO and media mogul Rupert Murdoch recent-ly defended the Anglo-led cast, tweeting: “Since when areEgyptians not white? All I know are.”
“Exodus,” which also stars Joel Edgerton as Ramses, car-ries a hefty $140 million production budget. The film pickedup $23.1 million when it debuted last weekend in 10 for-eign markets, including South Korea and Mexico. It had sur-passed $32 million by Wednesday, when it moved intoanother 38 territories. Early reviews have been mixed, earn-ing it 28% on Rotten Tomatoes. Meanwhile, another newrelease, “Top Five,” has received rave reviews (89% on RottenTomatoes). Paramount’s comedy debuted to $2.5 millionand will laugh its way to $7 million this weekend.
“Top Five” came in third on Friday, but will land in fourthplace-behind “Penguins of Madagascar”-by today. The picstars Chris Rock as a comedian trying to reinvent himself (inboth his personal and professional life). Rock also wrote anddirected the pic, which has been dubbed a career come-back. “Mockingjay” came in a distant second behind“Exodus” with $3.8 million on Friday after wearing the boxoffice crown for three consecutive weekends. The penulti-mate installment of the Lionsgate franchise should take in$12.5 million in its fourth weekend, raising its cume to $276million-about $55 million shy of the year’s highest-grossingfilm, “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Fox’s “Madagascar” spinoff “Penguins of Madagascar” wasfourth on Friday, taking in $1.6 million. It’ll move to thirdplace come Sunday as it brings in just over $7 million in itsthird frame. The space epic “Interstellar” rounded out theFriday top five, but the animated hit “Big Hero” will swoop infor that slot later this weekend. The Disney toon reeled in$1.4 million on Friday on its way north of $6 million as itcrosses $185 million at the US box office. — Reuters
Box
Offi
ce
‘Exodus’ toppling ‘Mockingjay’with $25 Million
This image released by 20th Century Fox shows GoldshiftehFarahani, left, as Nefertari, and Joel Edgerton as Rhamses, in ascene from the film, “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”— AP
If you wanted to make a time capsule of what happened inpop music this year, Friday night’s Jingle Ball - the annualextravaganza held in Madison Square Garden put on by
pop station Z100 - would most likely provide the most accu-rate account. There was Pharrell - with the hat- crooning hishit “Happy”; Iggy Azalea rapping and posturing as shebreezed through “Fancy”; Jessie J and Ariana Grande playfullyone-upping each other in the power-vocal showcase smash“Bang Bang”; and Meghan Trainor serving sass on what wasarguably the song of the year, “All About That Bass.”
But the king and queen of the night (and perhaps theyear) were Sam Smith and Taylor Swift. Their separate per-formances couldn’t have been less alike: Smith was all aboutstately R&B while Swift brought her perky pop. But they werethe emotional highlights, capturing the hearts of fans whoexpressed their approval with ear-piercing shrieks andscreams. “I am the only person who asks you to scream loudlytonight who is about to turn 25 in 10 minutes,” Swift told thecrowd shortly before she celebrated her birthday after thestroke of midnight.
Smith, the newcomer who last week was nominated forsix Grammys including record, song and album of the year,was the most unlikely pop star of the bunch; he sings tradi-tional, downtempo soul songs and doesn’t dance; his signa-ture look is a drab suit and his wide, doleful eyes.
But his searing, soulful voice has made him among themost acclaimed artists of the year, and fans at Jingle Ball, whorange all ages but skew heavily toward the tween and teenset, were captivated by it as he powered through songs like“I’m Not the Only One,” “Latch” and his signature hit, theGrammy-nominated “Stay With Me.”
Swift - the evening’s final performer - was the clear fanfavorite. The former country princess opened her newlyexclusive pop set with her love letter to her new hometown,“Welcome to New York,” then segued to her self-mocking“Blank Space.” She shined, engaging the audience with anenergetic set that showed her charm as a performer - danc-ing and grooving with her band through songs like “Shake itOff” as she playfully yet forcefully warbled the grooves.
Other acts got love too. Grande - wearing a saucy whiteoutfit that looked like a leftover from her recent Victoria’sSecret gig - was reminiscent of a young Christina Aguilera asshe ran through the hits that made her one of the year’s topacts, including “Problem;” while that song features Iggy Izalea,the Australian rapper didn’t join in for that one, preferring to
stick to her own set, which featured collaborations with CharliXCX and Rita Ora.
One Republic won the crowd early with songs like
“Apologize.” Dreamy teen boy acts like 5 Seconds of Summerand newcomers Shawn Mendes and Rixton whipped thecrowd into a frenzy, and even Nick Jonas - whom with hisbrothers nearly ruptured eardrums just a few years ago - hadthe crowd on its feet as he performed his comeback single“Jealous.”Other performers included Gwen Stefani (who per-formed with Pharrell), Maroon 5 and Calvin Harris. — AP
Sam Smith, Taylor Swift own the night at Jingle Ball
Taylor Swift performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden, Friday in New York. — AP photos
Ariana Grande performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden.
Rita Ora performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at MadisonSquare Garden.
Iggy Azalea performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at MadisonSquare Garden.
Jessie J performs at Z100 Jingle Ball at MadisonSquare Garden.
