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Kylie Minogue is set to receive the global icon prize at this year’s Brit Awards, organisers have revealed.

The multimillion-selling star, who had viral success with Padam Padam after reinventing herself once again in 2023, is being recognised as a “pop phenomenon” and “one of the world’s most successful and iconic music stars”, thanks to a career spanning five decades.

Minogue, who is also nominated for international artist of the year, will perform at the ceremony next month, joining the previously announced Dua Lipa and Raye.

Raye. Pic: Callum Walker Hutchinson/Brit Awards
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Raye has a record seven nominations. Pic: Callum Walker Hutchinson/Brit Awards

She follows stars including Sir Elton John, David Bowie and Taylor Swift, who have all been named icons at the Brit Awards in recent years.

“I am beyond thrilled to be honoured with the global icon award and to be joining a roll call of such incredible artists,” Minogue said in a statement. “The UK has always been a home from home so the Brits have a very special place in my heart.”

The star, who is a three-time Brits winner, said she had “amazing memories from the awards over the years” and “can’t wait to be back on the Brits stage”.

Kylie’s history at the Brits

Kylie Minogue will receive the Brits global icon award this year. Pic: Erik Melvin/Brit Awards
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Padam Padam: We hear it and we know – Kylie Minogue is a Brits icon. Pic: Erik Melvin/Brit Awards

Minogue has been involved in some of the Brits’ most memorable performances over the years, including her Blue Monday mash-up of Can’t Get You Out Of My Head in 2002 and her duet with Justin Timberlake the following year.

She also performed her hit Wow in 2008.

The star returned to the charts last year with the hit single Padam Padam and clinched her ninth UK number one album with Tension.

Earlier this month, she picked up her second Grammy, for best pop recording, for Padam Padam.

Listing the star’s achievements, Brits organisers said: “Kylie’s glittering 30-plus year career has seen her amass sales of over 80m records worldwide, 5bn streams and 9 UK number one albums. Her multiple awards include three Brit awards, 18 ARIA Awards, two MTV Awards and two Grammy Awards.

“Kylie is the only female artist to score a number one album in five consecutive decades in the UK… in the UK alone, Kylie has achieved seven UK number one singles, and nine UK number one albums.”

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Still in our heads: The story behind Kylie’s biggest hit
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This year’s Brits shortlist is led by Raye, who has a record seven nominations including best new artist, artist of the year, album of the year for her debut record, My 21st Century Blues, and two entries in the song of the year category.

Central Cee and J Hus follow with four nominations each, while Blur, Calvin Harris, Dave, Little Simz, Olivia Dean, Young Fathers and four-time winner Dua Lipa are all up for three awards.

The winners of the genre awards for pop, dance, alternative/ rock, R&B, and hip-hop/ grime/ rap, will be determined by a public vote, which closes on Thursday.

This year’s ceremony takes place at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday 2 March, hosted by Clara Amfo, Maya Jama and Roman Kemp.

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‘Music is back’ as Taylor Swift helps drive record UK sales

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'Music is back' as Taylor Swift helps drive record UK sales

UK music sales hit a 20-year high of £2.4bn in 2024, helped by pop megastar Taylor Swift’s latest album, and driven by streaming and the vinyl revival, figures show.

Revenues from recorded music reached an all-time high, more even than at the peak of the CD era, according to annual figures from the digital entertainment and retail association ERA.

Total consumer spending on recorded music – both subscriptions and purchases – topped the previous record of £2.2bn in 2001, ERA said.

Noah Kahan performs during Soundside Music Festival on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Bridgeport, Conn. (Photo by Scott Roth/Invision/AP)
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Noah Kahan performing during the Soundside Music Festival in September. Pic: AP

Takings from streaming services including Spotify, YouTube Music, and Amazon rose by 7.8% to a little over £2bn.

Almost £200m was spent on vinyl albums, an annual uplift of 10.5%, while CD album revenues were flat at just over £126m.

Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department was the biggest-selling album of the year, aided by her record-smashing worldwide Eras tour.

More than 783,000 copies were bought, nearly 112,000 of them on vinyl – making it 2024’s biggest-selling vinyl album.

More on Taylor Swift

The biggest single of the year was Noah Kahan’s Stick Season, generating the equivalent of 1.99 million sales.

ERA chief executive Kim Bayley said 2024 was “a banner year for music, with streaming and vinyl taking the sector to all-time-high records in both value and volume.

Ms Bayley called it the “stunning culmination of music’s comeback which has seen sales more than double since their low point in 2013. We can now say definitively – music is back.”

Music revenues grew by 7.4% in 2024, while video rose by 6.9%, and games fell by 4.4%, according to preliminary figures.

Subscriptions to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV grew by 8.3% to £4.5bn – almost 90% of the sector’s revenues.

Deadpool & Wolverine was the biggest-selling title of the year, with sales of 561,917 – more than 80% of them sold digitally.

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Despite the games sector’s 4.4% decline last year, it remains nearly twice as large as the recorded music business.

Full game sales saw a drop-off with PC download-to-own down 5%, digital console games down 15% and boxed physical games down 35%, in favour of subscription models which grew by 12%.

EA Sports FC 25 – formerly known as Fifa was once again the biggest-selling game of the year, generating 2.9 million unit sales, 80% of them as digital formats.

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Aubrey Plaza says death of filmmaker husband is an ‘unimaginable tragedy’

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Aubrey Plaza says death of filmmaker husband is an 'unimaginable tragedy'

Actress Aubrey Plaza has described the death of her filmmaker husband as an “unimaginable tragedy”.

Jeff Baena was pronounced dead at 10.39am on Friday at a home near the Hollywood Hills and Los Feliz areas of Los Angeles.

On Monday, a medical examiner ruled the 47-year-old had taken his own life.

In a statement released to the media, Parks And Recreation star Plaza, 40, said: “This is an unimaginable tragedy.

“We are deeply grateful to everyone who has offered support. Please respect our privacy during this time.”

Baena, a director and screenwriter, worked with Plaza on 2014 horror film Life After Beth and 2017 historical comedy The Little Hours.

The couple had been in a relationship since about 2011 and married in 2021.

Pic: AP
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Jeff Baena and Aubrey Plaza. Pic: AP

Previously, Plaza told The Ellen DeGeneres Show she and Baena “got a little bored one night” during the COVID pandemic and decided to wed after celebrating their 10th anniversary.

She said after finding a wedding officiant online to perform the ceremony in their garden, she “created a very quick love altar in our yard” where they married.

Baena wrote 2020 thriller Horse Girl, starring Alison Brie, and 2022 dark comedy Spin Me Round, both of which he also directed.

He also co-wrote the 2004 comedy I Heart Huckabees alongside director David O Russell, which boasted a stacked cast that included Jude Law, Jason Schwartzman, Dustin Hoffman, Naomi Watts, Lily Tomlin and Mark Wahlberg.

Baena created the anthology comedy series Cinema Toast, which had an episode directed by Plaza and another starring Community actress Brie.

On X, Hollywood actor and comedian Marc Maron wrote: “Very sad about the tragic loss of a true artist and sweet guy.”

Sundance Film Festival, where Baena’s directorial debut Life After Beth premiered in 2014, wrote: “We extend our heartfelt thanks to Jeff Baena for sharing his stories and contributing to the lasting memories we’ve built together.

“Jeff, we’ll miss your wit, humour, and daring vision. Rest in peace, friend.”

Plaza had been announced as a presenter at Sunday’s Golden Globes ceremony earlier this week before her husband’s death.

Read more from Sky News:
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Director Brady Corbet, who won best director for his film, The Brutalist, said in his acceptance speech: “My heart is with Aubrey Plaza and Jeff’s family.”

Plaza was nominated for a Golden Globe in 2023 for her role in the second series of HBO dark comedy White Lotus and is also known for Disney+ series Agatha All Along, and films including Megalopolis, My Old Ass, Ingrid Goes West, Dirty Grandpa and Emily The Criminal.

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) confirmed it attended the residence where Baena died and said a coroner will lead the investigation.

If you are in need of support, Samaritans run a helpline which is open day and night, 365 days a year, on 116 123. You can also email jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

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RuPaul says his ‘heart is broken’ following death of The Vivienne

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RuPaul says his 'heart is broken' following death of The Vivienne

RuPaul has said his “heart is broken” following the death of former Drag Race winner, The Vivienne.

The drag queen and TV presenter said on Instagram on Monday he joined the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of The Vivienne, whom he called “an incredibly talented queen and a lovely human being”.

The Vivienne, whose real name was James Lee Williams, won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019.

Read more: The Vivienne’s rise as a drag ‘trailblazer’

The 32-year-old’s death was confirmed by their publicist Simon Jones on Sunday evening.

Danny Beard, who won the reality show in 2022, called The Vivienne “a proper entertainer” and “one of the most passionate, talented, geeky, girls I’ve ever known” and their death meant “there’s a piece missing now”.

Cheddar Gorgeous, that year’s runner-up, said on Instagram they had lost “a peer, a friend and an icon”, adding that “the entire world of entertainment grieves” and it was “impossible to make sense of such sadness”.

RuPaul joined the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of The Vivienne
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RuPaul joined the entire Drag Race universe in mourning the loss of The Vivienne

Bagachipz said on social media they would “talk to you before I go onstage for every single show I do”, calling The Vivienne a “powerhouse when you hit that stage”.

The Vivienne’s ex-husband, David Ludford, said the performer “made me feel love and shown me what it was really like to love someone”.

The Vivienne at the UK premiere of Wicked in November. Pic: AP
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The Vivienne at the UK premiere of Wicked in November. Pic: AP

The Vivienne, 32, rose to prominence in 2015 after becoming the UK Drag Ambassador for the American series of RuPaul’s Drag Race.

The show sees drag queens competing in front of a panel of judges to become the next drag superstar.

The Vivienne, whose drag name came from their love of designer Vivienne Westwood, later competed in the first UK series of the show in 2019, going on to win it after lip-syncing in the final to the Wham! hit I’m Your Man.

Williams, who was born in Wales, also came third on the 2023 series of Dancing On Ice.

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A spokesman for Cheshire Police said officers were called to a house in Chorlton-by-Backford, near Chester, at 12.22pm on Sunday following reports of a sudden death.

The force said there were “no suspicious circumstances”.

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