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After winning an Oscar earlier this year, Jon Batiste now leads the nominations for the 2022 Grammy Awards – with Justin Bieber, Billie Eilish, Olivia Rodrigo, H.E.R and Doja Cat also in the running for several prizes.

Batiste’s nominations span several genres, including R&B, jazz, American roots music, classical and music video-film, and he is up for 11 in total – including the big prizes of album of the year for We Are and record of the year for Freedom.

Bieber, Doja Cat and H.E.R follow with eight nods, while Eilish and Rodrigo have seven each.

Other big stars to be nominated included Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, Kanye West and Lil Nas X – as well as The Weeknd, who previously called the Grammys “corrupt” after missing out on the shortlist for the 2021 ceremony, despite huge success the previous year.

Mercury Prize and Brit Awards winner Arlo Parks continues her stellar year, flying the flag for the UK with nominations for best new artist and best alternative album for her debut, Collapsed In Sunbeams.

After making their return earlier in 2021 with their first new music in almost 40 years, Swedish icons ABBA also received a nod, for record of the year with comeback single I Still Have Faith In You.

For the top prize of album of the year, Batiste – who won the Oscar for best original score for the Disney and Pixar film Soul – faces competition from Bieber, Eilish, Doja Cat, H.E.R, West, Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, Rodrigo and Swift.

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The star, who was among the presenters announcing the nominees, tweeted a simple “11 !!!!!!!!!!!!” after the full list had been revealed.

“Oh my goodness! I’m still in a state of astonishment and shock,” he said moments after learning of the nominations.

“I’m just really happy that we were able to make something in complete artistic integrity and have it be recognised.”

Arlo Parks is nominated for an Ivor Novello award for her song Black Dog. Pic: Ivors Academy
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Rising British star Arlo Parks has been nominated for best new artist and best alternative album. Pic: Ivors Academy
H.E.R pictured at the Grammy Awards in 2020
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H.E.R, pictured at the Grammy Awards in 2020, is up for eight awards

In the record of the year category, this year’s nominees range from ages 18 to 95, with nonagenarian – and 18-time winner – Tony Bennett nominated alongside Lady Gaga for their version of I Get A Kick Out Of You, and Olivia Rodrigo, 18, in the running for her hit Drivers License.

Nominees for all the awards were chosen from nearly 22,000 eligible entries for music released between September 2020 and 2021.

Harvey Mason Jr, chief executive of the Recording Academy, which runs the awards, said: “This is an exciting day for music.

Olivia Rodrigo performing at the American Music Awards in LA, November 2021. Pic: AP Photo/Chris Pizzello
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Olivia Rodrigo, pictured performing at the American Music Awards earlier in November, is in the running for seven Grammys. Pic: AP Photo/Chris Pizzell

Lady Gaga on stage at a global streaming event brought to fans exclusively by Westfield at Line 204 in Los Angeles to celebrate the launch of her new jazz album with Tony Bennett. Pic: Christopher Polk/Invision for Westfield/AP Images
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Lady Gaga is nominated for her work with 95-year-old Tony Bennett. Pic: Christopher Polk/Invision for Westfield/AP Images


“These nominations beautifully reflect today’s broad and diverse musical landscape. I congratulate all of the nominees and everyone who submitted work. I’m also so proud of our voters. They voted in record numbers and brought their very best to evaluating the work of their peers, and I thank them on behalf of the entire music community.”

This year’s nominations come following the introduction of a new voting system, which allows the academy’s more than 11,000 members to vote for up to 10 categories in three genres; all voters can vote for the top four awards.

It replaces the anonymous nominations review committee – a group that determined the contenders for key awards.

Some had claimed committee members favoured projects based on personal relationships and promoted projects they favoured and worked on.

The Grammys, the biggest ceremony in the music industry calendar, will be awarded at a ceremony in Los Angeles on 31 January.

With 86 categories in total, there are a lot of awards to dish out. Here are the nominations in the some of the main categories.

Record Of The Year

I Still Have Faith In You – ABBA
Freedom – Jon Batiste
I Get A Kick Out Of You – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
Peaches – Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon
Right On Time – Brandi Carlile
Kiss Me More – Doja Cat featuring SZA
Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish
Montero (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X
Drivers License – Olivia Rodrigo
Leave The Door Open – Silk Sonic

ABBA are back! Pic: Baillie Walsh
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ABBA made their comeback earlier in 2021. Pic: Baillie Walsh

Song Of The Year

Bad Habits – Ed Sheeran
A Beautiful Noise – Alicia Keys and Brandi Carlile
Drivers License – Olivia Rodrigo
Fight For You – H.E.R.
Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish
Kiss Me More – Doja Cat featuring SZA
Leave The Door Open – Silk Sonic
Montero (Call Me By Your Name) – Lil Nas X
Peaches – Justin Bieber featuring Daniel Caesar and Giveon
Right On Time – Brandi Carlile

Album Of The Year

We Are – Jon Batiste
Love For Sale – Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga
Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) – Justin Bieber
Planet Her (Deluxe) – Doja Cat
Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish
Back Of My Mind – H.E.R.
Montero – Lil Nas X
Sour – Olivia Rodrigo
Evermore – Taylor Swift
Donda – Kanye West

Best New Artist

Arooj Aftab
Jimmie Allen
Baby Keem
FINNEAS
Glass Animals
Japanese Breakfast
The Kid Laroi
Arlo Parks
Olivia Rodrigo
Saweetie

Best Alternative Music Album
Shore – Fleet Foxes
If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power – Halsey
Jubilee – Japanese Breakfast
Collapsed In Sunbeams – Arlo Parks
Daddy’s Home – St Vincent

Best Pop Vocal Album

Justice (Triple Chucks Deluxe) – Justin Bieber
Planet Her (Deluxe) – Doja Cat
Happier Than Ever – Billie Eilish
Positions – Ariana Grande
Sour – Olivia Rodrigo

Ariana Grande at the 62nd annual Grammy Award in Los Angeles in 2020. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
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Ariana Grande pictured at the 62nd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles in 2020. Pic: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Best Progressive R&B Album
New Light – Eric Bellinger
Something To Say – Cory Henry
Mood Valiant – Hiatus Kaiyote
Table For Two – Lucky Daye
Dinner Party: Dessert – Terrace Martin, Robert Glasper, 9th Wonder & Kamasi Washington
Studying Abroad: Extended Stay – Masego

Best Jazz Vocal Album

Generations – The Baylor Project
SuperBlue – Kurt Elling & Charlie Hunter
Time Traveler – Nnenna Freelon
Flor – Gretchen Parlato
Songwrights Apothecary Lab – Esperanza Spalding

Best Rap Album

The Off-Season – J Cole
Certified Lover Boy – Drake
King’s Disease II – Nas
Call Me If You Get Lost – Tyler, The Creator
Donda – Kanye West

Best Gospel Album

Changing Your Story – Jekalyn Carr
Royalty: Live At The Ryman – Tasha Cobbs Leonard
Jubilee: Juneteenth Edition – Maverick City Music
Jonny x Mali: Live In LA – Jonathan McReynolds & Mali Music
Believe For It – CeCe Winans

Best Latin Pop Album
Vértigo – Pablo Alborán
Mis Amores – Paula Arenas
Hecho A La Antigua – Ricardo Arjona
Mis Manos – Camilo
Mendó – Alex Cuba
Revelación – Selena Gomez

Best Música Urbana Album
Afrodisíaco – Rauw Alejandro
El Último Tour Del Mundo – Bad Bunny
Jose – J Balvin
KG0516 – KAROL G
Sin Miedo (Del Amor Y Otros Demonios) 8 – Kali Uchis

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Reservoir Dogs actor Michael Madsen died from heart failure, says cardiologist

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Reservoir Dogs actor Michael Madsen died from heart failure, says cardiologist

Actor Michael Madsen, who starred in Reservoir Dogs and Thelma & Louise, died from heart failure, his cardiologist has said.

The 67-year-old was found unresponsive in his home in Malibu, California, last Thursday and pronounced dead.

His doctor said heart disease and alcoholism will be listed as factors which contributed to the star’s death, reported NBC Los Angeles.

With no suspicious circumstances and the death listed as being from natural causes, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department considers the case closed.

In a career spanning more than 40 years, Madsen’s film credits include Free Willy, Donnie Brasco and Sin City.

He was also known for his collaborations with director Quentin Tarantino, including in Kill Bill: Vol. 2, The Hateful Eight and Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

The Chicago-born actor also linked up with Tarantino when he played Mr Blonde in 1992’s Reservoir Dogs.

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Michael Madsen played Mr Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. Pic: THA/Shutterstock
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Madsen played numerous roles, including Mr Blonde in Reservoir Dogs. Pic: THA/Shutterstock

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His sister, Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, paid tribute to her brother in a statement to Variety.

She wrote: “My brother Michael has left the stage.

“He was thunder and velvet. Mischief wrapped in tenderness. A poet disguised as an outlaw. A father, a son, a brother – etched in contradiction, tempered by love that left its mark.”

Madsen was preparing to release a new book called Tears For My Father: Outlaw Thoughts And Poems.

A statement by managers Susan Ferris and Smith, and publicist Liz Rodriguez, said the book by “one of Hollywood’s most iconic actors” was currently being edited.

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Fantasy v reality: Lena Dunham’s Too Much is a new spin on the London romcom

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Fantasy v reality: Lena Dunham's Too Much is a new spin on the London romcom

Horse-drawn carriages, picturesque gardens and endless cups of tea are just some of the stereotypical tropes that have shaped America’s romanticised image of England before even stepping foot on the island.

Thanks to classical literature and a steady stream of period dramas, Lena Dunham was no exception.

“I had so many fantasies,” she tells Sky News about growing up slightly obsessed with British culture.

“I loved Jane Austen, I loved Charlotte Bronte, I love British film, I was one of those little Anglophile kids.”

The writer and director believed it would be that area of classically depicted England that would fill her time when she first moved to “jolly old London” as a teenager with her mother for a brief time.

Instead, her attention was taken by another, and possibly equally influential group of artists.

“There was a pop show about S Club 7 and all I did was just sit in the hotel and obsessively watch things relating to [the group],” she said.

“So, I didn’t go home with all this cultural British knowledge. I went home with a deep abiding love of S Club 7 and came back to school when everyone was obsessed with the Backstreet Boys and NSYNC.

“For me, I was literally like, ‘Guys, you got to hear this hot track right off the presses, it’s called Reach For The Stars’.”

Lena Dunham in a clip from Netflix series Too Much. Pic: Netflix
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Pic: Netflix

It wasn’t until her 30s, when the actress moved again to the city, that reality took hold and she quickly learned the difference between the imagined London and the real city.

Some stereotypes hold true, like the universal love for Paddington. Still, TV tropes like renting a flat on a single income in the city does not necessarily mean you’ll be treated to lavish rooms and a picturesque garden.

She says it was social cues she found most challenging to adjust to, as well as the different dictionaries used when speaking, technically, the same language.

“You come to a new country and even though you speak the same language, you’re totally absent from those tools,” she says.

“And I found that really striking as an adult in my 30s, trying to make friends, trying to date. I found it confusing enough to be a person in my own city of origin, so this was extra confounding.”

Too Much, her new Netflix series, is loosely inspired by her own London chapter and follows a workaholic New Yorker in her 30s who is sent across the Atlantic to work on a new project.

The 10-episode show is produced by Working Title – the company behind Bridget Jones, Notting Hill, About A Boy and Love Actually – and stars Hacks breakout actress Megan Stalter and The White Lotus actor Will Sharpe.

Megan Stalter stars as Jessica in Lena Dunham's new Netflix comedy Too Much. Pic: Netflix
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Pic: Netflix

Dunham says she always wanted to write about her time in the UK, but it was a conversation with Irish actor Andrew Scott that got the ball rolling.

“Actually, he’s the reason that I came to know Meg as an actor because he loved her on Hacks and he loved her videos, and he said: ‘Have you watched this woman’s work? I feel like there’s a real connection between you two’, and I started watching because of him and built a show around her.”

In a full circle moment, Scott appears in the series briefly as an arrogantly odd man who crosses paths with Megan Stalter’s character Jessica.

Andrew Scott in Lena Dunham 's new Netflix comedy series Too Much. Pic: Netflix
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Pic: Netflix

The Ridley actor isn’t the only famous face joining the cast in a cameo role. Dunham put a call out to most of Hollywood, and luckily lots were on board.

To name just a few, guest stars include Jessica Alba, Stephen Fry, Adwoa Aboah, Kit Harington, Rita Wilson, Rita Ora, Richard E Grant, Emily Ratajkowski, Andrew Scott, Prasanna Puwanarajah and Jennifer Saunders.

“It was one of those situations where you just reach for the stars, literally, and then you can’t believe when they appear,” says Dunham.

“It was just a non-stop parade of people that I was fascinated by, wanted to be around, completely enamoured of.”

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Lena Dunham speaks to Sky's entertainment reporter Debbie Ridgard
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A whole host of high-profile cameos feature in Lena Dunham’s Too Much

She adds: “I remember asking Naomi Watson, thinking, there’s absolutely no way that you’re going to want to come play this slightly demented woman. And she’s so playful and she’s so joyful and she just wanted to come and engage.

“Also, Jennifer Saunders has meant so much to me for so long, I had the AbFab box set as a kid, and I just think Patsy and Edina are the ultimate kind of messy women.

“She really showed me what comedy could be and… the space that women could occupy in comedy, and so having her come and join the show was really incredible.

“That was an episode that someone else was directing, Alicia McDonald, an amazing director, so I just got to sit and watch at the monitor like I was watching a movie, and it was very surreal for me.”

Too Much is out on Netflix now.

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‘I will not go quietly,’ Gregg Wallace says amid reports he’s been sacked by the BBC

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'I will not go quietly,' Gregg Wallace says amid reports he's been sacked by the BBC

Former MasterChef host Gregg Wallace has vowed he will “not go quietly”, amid reports that he has been sacked by the BBC.

It comes after the TV host faced an investigation, commissioned by MasterChef’s production company Banijay UK, into alleged inappropriate behaviour while working for the BBC.

In November, the 60-year-old stepped back from presenting the cooking show after accusations that he made sexual comments towards staff and celebrity guests on a range of programmes over 17 years.

Gregg Wallace receives his MBE for services to food and charity. Pic: PA
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Gregg Wallace received an MBE for services to food and charity in 2023. Pic: PA

Broadcaster Kirsty Wark, author and actor Emma Kennedy, and presenter Kirstie Allsopp, were among the high-profile figures who made claims of inappropriate behaviour against Wallace.

In a statement, released ahead of the publication of the summary of a report into the claims, the 60-year-old said he had been “cleared of the most serious and sensational accusations” made against him.

However, he said the report, carried out by independent law firm Lewis Silkin, had found him “primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018”.

Wallace’s statement, published on Instagram, came hours before the BBC News reported that 50 more people had made claims to the corporation against the presenter, including allegations he groped one MasterChef worker and pulled his trousers down in front of another.

In his statement, Wallace labelled BBC News’s claims as “uncorroborated tittle-tattle”.

Wallace wrote: “I have taken the decision to speak out ahead of the publication of the Silkin’s report – a decision I do not take lightly.

“But after 21 years of loyal service to the BBC, I cannot sit in silence while my reputation is further damaged to protect others.

“I have now been cleared by the Silkin’s report of the most serious and sensational accusations made against me.

“The most damaging claims (including from public figures which have not been upheld) were found to be baseless after a full and forensic six-month investigation.

“To be clear, the Silkin’s report exonerates me of all the serious allegations which made headlines last year and finds me primarily guilty of inappropriate language between 2005 and 2018.”

Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024
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Gregg Wallace on MasterChef. Pic: BBC/ Shine TV 2024

‘I was hired as the cheeky greengrocer – now that’s a problem’

Wallace said he recognised that “some of my humour and language” was at times “inappropriate” and, for that, he apologised “without reservation”.

“But I was never the caricature now being sold for clicks,” Wallace, who also referred to his recent diagnosis of autism, added.

“I was hired by the BBC and MasterChef as the cheeky greengrocer. A real person with warmth, character, rough edges, and all.

“For over two decades, that authenticity was part of the brand. Now, in a sanitised world, that same personality is seen as a problem.”

Wallace and Anne-Marie Sterpini in 2014
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Wallace and his partner Anna Wallace, pictured in 2014

Wallace: Complaints from ‘middle-class women of a certain age’

Shortly after the allegations first emerged, Wallace recorded a video where he dismissed his accusers as “middle-class women of a certain age”.

His remarks were met with huge criticism – including from Downing Street, where a spokesperson for the prime minister described them as “completely inappropriate and misogynistic”.

Wallace responded by posting a follow-up clip where he apologised and said he “wasn’t in a good space” when he posted the comments.

Wallace was replaced in the 20th season of MasterChef, which aired this spring, by restaurant critic and former I‘m A Celebrity contestant Grace Dent. Several Christmas episodes of the show were also pulled from the BBC’s 2024 festive schedule.

In April, Wallace spoke to the Daily Mail, denying all accusations against him and saying he had contemplated suicide following the allegations.

Wallace’s lawyers have previously called allegations that he engages in behaviour of a sexually harassing nature “entirely false”.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “Banijay UK instructed the law firm Lewis Silkin to run an investigation into allegations against Gregg Wallace. We are not going to comment until the investigation is complete and the findings are published.”

A Banijay spokesperson told Sky News: “We won’t be commenting until our report is published.” They have signalled the report will be published later this week or next.

Banijay previously said Wallace is “committed to fully co-operating” with the external review.

Alongside MasterChef, Wallace presented Inside The Factory for BBC Two from 2015 to 2023.

He also featured on various BBC shows over the years, including Saturday Kitchen, Eat Well For Less, Supermarket Secrets, Celebrity MasterChef and MasterChef: The Professionals, as well as being a Strictly Come Dancing contestant in 2014.

More recently, Wallace has been promoting his health and lifestyle website, offering one-to-one coaching from both himself and a team of experts, which includes nutritionists and doctors, and his wife Anna in the role of recipe curator.

Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.

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