Connect with us

Published

on

Beyonce and Taylor Swift have made Grammy history, with the nominations for this year’s awards revealed.

Beyonce leads this year’s female-dominated nominations, receiving 11 nods and making her the most nominated artist in the show’s history, with 99 in total.

Her success as the most-nominated artist comes after her country album, Cowboy Carter, was roundly snubbed at this year’s County Music Association Awards.

The43-year-old star’s chart-topping album secured nods for album of the year and best country album, while track Texas Hold ‘Em is up for record of the year and song of the year.

Beyonce picked up her 32nd gong at last year’s ceremony, but despite winning the most awards in a lifetime, she’s yet to win the coveted album of the year award.

With nods across a host of genres, including pop, country, Americana and melodic rap, many will be predicting she’ll surely take the prize next year. If she does, it will make her the first black woman to do so this century.

Meanwhile, Swift’s seventh nod in the album category for her surprise double album The Tortured Poets Department means she overtakes Barbra Streisand, who had formerly tied with the Shake It Off star with six nominations.

Swift won the best album category last year with Midnights.

Following Beyonce in the lead for nominations, Charli XCX – whose trend setting album Brat saw the moniker become word of the year – has seven nods (her first as a solo artist), as does Billie Eilish, Kendrick Lamar, and Post Malone.

The influence of Charli XCX helped make brat a big deal in 2024. Pic: Reuters
Image:
The influence of Charli XCX helped make brat a big deal in 2024. Pic: Reuters

Billie Eilish keeping it real with her trademark laid back look. Pic: AP
Image:
Billie Eilish. Pic: AP

American singer-songwriter Sabrina Carpenter continues her stellar year with six nods, as do Chappell Roan and Swift, who finishes her record-breaking Eras tour in North America next month.

As well as Charlie XCX getting some Grammy nomination love, British star Raye also received her first nominations for best new artist and songwriter of the year non-classical.

Carpenter and Roan also made it into the prestigious best new artist category.

Sabrina Carpenter during the BBC Radio1 Big Weekend at Stockwood Park, Luton. Picture date: Sunday May 26, 2024.
Image:
Sabrina Carpenter. Pic: PA

Chappell Roan performs during the first weekend of the Austin City Limits Music Festival on Sunday Oct. 6, 2024, at Zilker Metropolitan Park in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP)
Image:
Chappell Roan. Pic: Jack Plunkett/Invision/AP

While The Beatles – who formed in Liverpool and went on to become the biggest musical act in the world – are up for record of the year with Now And Then.

Nominations were announced by past Grammy winners including Kylie Minogue, Mark Ronson and last year’s best new artist recipient, Victoria Monet.

Kendrick Lamar has replied to Drake's diss track and it's pretty brutal. Pic: AP
Image:
Kendrick Lamar. Pic: AP

Post Malone performs "America the Beautiful" before the NFL Super Bowl 58 football game Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Doug Benc)
Image:
Post Malone. Pic: AP

The annual ceremony – which gives out a whopping 94 gongs in total – has four big categories – album, record and song of the year and best new artist.

The Recording Academy have adjusted to those categories this year, reducing the number of potential nominees from 10 to eight.

It’s also updated some of its rules to keep up with the rise of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in music and introduced three new categories – best African music performance, best pop dance recording, and best alternative jazz album.

The eligibility period for work ran from 16 September 2023 to 30 August 2024.

Women dominated last year’s awards too, with Swift taking album of the year, Eilish winning song of the year and Miley Cyrus taking home record of the year.

The 67th Grammy Awards take place on Sunday 2 February 2025, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Main category nominees

Album Of The Year
New Blue Sun – Andre 3000
Cowboy Carter- Beyonce
Short N’ Sweet – Sabrina Carpenter
Brat – Charli XCX
Djesse Vol. 4 – Jacob Collier
Hit Me Hard And Soft – Billie Eilish
Chappell Roan The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess – Chappell Roan
The Tortured Poets Department – Taylor Swift

Record Of The Year
Now And Then – The Beatles
Texas Hold ‘Em – Beyonce
Espresso – Sabrina Carpenter
360 – Charli XCX
Birds Of A Feather – Billie Eilish
Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar
Good Luck, Babe! – Chappell Roan
Fortnight – Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone

Song Of The Year
A Bar Song (Tipsy) – Sean Cook, Jerrel Jones, Joe Kent, Chibueze Collins Obinna, Nevin Sastry & Mark Williams, songwriters (Shaboozey)
Birds Of A Feather – Billie Eilish O’Connell & Finneas O’Connell, songwriters (Billie Eilish)
Die With A Smile – Dernst ‘D’Mile’ Emile II, James Fauntleroy, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars & Andrew Watt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars)
Fortnight – Jack Antonoff, Austin Post & Taylor Swift, songwriters (Taylor Swift Featuring Post Malone)
Good Luck, Babe! – Kayleigh Rose Amstutz, Daniel Nigro & Justin Tranter, songwriters (Chappell Roan)
Not Like Us – Kendrick Lamar, songwriter (Kendrick Lamar)
Please Please Please – Amy Allen, Jack Antonoff & Sabrina Carpenter, songwriters (Sabrina Carpenter)
Texas Hold ‘Em – Brian Bates, Beyonce, Elizabeth Lowell Boland, Megan Bülow, Nate Ferraro & Raphael Saadiq, songwriters (Beyonce)

Best New Artist
Benson Boone
Sabrina Carpenter
Doechii
Khruangbin
Raye
Chappell Roan
Shaboozey
Teddy Swims

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Banksy’s piranhas police box put in protective storage ahead of museum display

Published

on

By

Banksy's piranhas police box put in protective storage ahead of museum display

A Banksy artwork, where a glass police box looks like a tank of piranhas, has been moved into protective storage ahead of its display at the London Museum’s new location.

The artwork made headlines last summer when it featured as part of the street artist’s animal-themed collection in the capital, which concluded with a gorilla appearing to lift up a shutter on the entrance to London Zoo.

The piranhas piece is now in the care of the London Museum and will be kept in secure storage before it becomes accessible to the public as part of a permanent display at the museum’s Smithfield location, which is opening in 2026.

The artwork is moved from London's Guildhall. Pic: PA
Image:
The artwork is moved from London’s Guildhall. Pic: PA

The police box had stood in Ludgate Hill since the 1990s before it was painted to resemble a fish tank.

The box was temporarily relocated by the City Of London Corporation to Guildhall Yard, where thousands of visitors viewed it from behind safety barriers, after Banksy confirmed he was responsible for the artwork.

It was later moved to Guildhall’s South Ambulatory.

Banksy’s London animals collection was made up of nine works including a rhino seemingly mounting a silver Nissan Micra, two elephant silhouettes with their trunks stretched out towards each other, and three monkeys that appeared as though they were swinging on a bridge.

More from UK

Some of the works, which also included a howling wolf on a satellite dish, were removed, covered up or vandalised, after being painted across the city from 5 to 13 August 2024.

Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said: “Banksy stopped Londoners in their tracks when this piece appeared in the Square Mile – and now, we’re making it available to millions.

“By securing it for London Museum, we’re not only protecting a unique slice of the City’s story, but also adding an artwork that will become one of the museum’s star attractions.”

The artwork after it first emerged. Pic: PA
Image:
The artwork after it first emerged. Pic: PA

Brendan Barns, chairman of the City of London Corporation’s culture, heritage, and libraries committee, said: “Banksy’s Piranhas are already part of City legend – and soon, they’ll be part of London’s story, too.

“Moving this piece into the care of London Museum guarantees that millions of people will be able to enjoy it, alongside an extraordinary collection that celebrates the capital’s creativity and diversity.”

Read more:
Latest Banksy street art located after speculation

Blink-182 star to auction rare Banksy worth millions
Two men charged with stealing Banksy painting

Glyn Davies, head of curatorial at London Museum, added: “With the arrival of Banksy’s Piranhas, our collection now spans from Roman graffiti to our first piece of contemporary street art.

“This work by one of the world’s most iconic artists now belongs to Londoners, and will keep making waves when it goes on show next year in the Museum’s new Smithfield home.”

London Museum’s London Wall site opened in 1976 and closed in December 2022 in preparation for the move to Smithfield.

London Museum Docklands remains open.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Taylor Swift announces engagement to boyfriend Travis Kelce

Published

on

By

Taylor Swift announces engagement to boyfriend Travis Kelce

Taylor Swift has announced she is getting married to her NFL star boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

The pop star and Kansas City Chiefs tight end shared the news in a joint post on Instagram, with the caption: “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married.”

The announcement was liked more than 1.7 million times just over 30 minutes after it was posted.

Pic: Instagram / @taylorswift
Image:
Pic: Instagram / @taylorswift

Swift and Kelce started their relationship in 2023, after the three-time Super Bowl winner said on his podcast New Heights that he tried and failed to meet the singer at her Eras Tour concert in Kansas City.

Rumours grew that the couple were dating after Swift was spotted at a number of Chiefs games. On her seventh time in the stands, she brought her father, Scott Kingsley Swift, along.

Kelce told the Wall Street Journal in November 2023: “There were definitely people she knew that knew who I was, in her corner [who said]: ‘Yo! Did you know he was coming [to the Eras Tour]?’

I had somebody playing Cupid… She told me exactly what was going on and how I got lucky enough to get her to reach out.”

More on Taylor Swift

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

From January: Taylor cheers on Travis after Chiefs win

Earlier this month, Swift appeared on Kelce’s podcast, New Heights, and announced her 12th album, titled The Life Of A Showgirl.

Speaking to Kelce and his brother Jason, Swift said it was inspired by the Eras Tour – and also talked about his attempt at meeting her two years ago.

While she said his plan to give her his number on a friendship bracelet was a “wild, romantic gesture,” she joked he “didn’t do any proper logistical planning” and thought he would be allowed backstage.

“Because he knows the elevator lady, he thought he could talk to her about just getting down to my dressing room,” she added. “That’s how it works in 1973.”

Read more about Taylor Swift:
Swift’s final London show was the ‘best’
The impact of the ‘excruciating’ Era’s tour
Her new chart record

The new album, which will be released on 3 October, marks her first release since she took back control over her entire back catalogue from private equity firm Shamrock Capital.

Sky News culture and entertainment reporter Gemma Peplow said after her globe-trotting tour and a swathe of re-releases over recent years, the new album cemented Swift’s reputation “as the hardest-working star in pop”.

Despite rumours he would retire after losing this year’s Super Bowl, Kelce will play for the Kansas City Chiefs again this season.

He told GQ magazine his on-field performances “slipped a little bit” as he started acting, and added: “I’m just saying that my work ethic is such that I have so much pride in how I do things that I never want the product to tail off, and I feel like these past two years haven’t been to my standard.”

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Men should ‘demand’ prostate cancer test, ex-Sky presenter says – as he speaks about his stage-four diagnosis

Published

on

By

Men should 'demand' prostate cancer test, ex-Sky presenter says - as he speaks about his stage-four diagnosis

Former Sky News presenter Dermot Murnaghan has called on men to “demand” a prostate cancer test and for the government to actively offer screenings, after his own stage-four diagnosis.

Speaking to Anna Jones on Sky News, Murnaghan said he didn’t have any of the usual prostate cancer symptoms – such as frequent or urgent urination or the occurrence of blood – but “fell very ill on a foreign holiday”.

Upon being treated by the NHS, he was diagnosed with stage-four cancer.

Pointing to how prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests are getting more accurate, Murnaghan said they should be offered in the same way as screenings for other cancers are.

“They might cost a little bit more money, but think about the money you save,” he said.

“Treating people who get to my stage, there’s an awful lot of things that are being thrown at me that are costing a lot of money.

“As in so many other cancers, if you are diagnosed much, much earlier, then of course you save money much further down the line.”

Symptoms of prostate cancer

According to the NHS, symptoms will usually occur only once the cancer has grown or spread.

People may notice changes to the way they urinate, such as:

• Finding it difficult to start urinating or straining to urinate

• Having a weak flow of urine

• “Stop start” urinating

• Needing to urinate urgently or often, or both

• Feeling like you still need to urinate when you’ve just finished

• Urinating during the night

Other symptoms can include:

• Erectile dysfunction (being unable to get or keep an erection)

• Blood in your urine or blood in your semen

• Lower back pain and losing weight without trying to (these may be symptoms of advanced prostate cancer)

He said he finished chemotherapy in early July and is currently waiting to see what the effect has been.

It comes as a coalition of more than 60 cancer charities, known as One Cancer Voice, is warning the government must take urgent steps to tackle cancer care in England – including faster diagnosis targets and better prevention policies.

According to analysis carried out by the charities, more than six million new cancer cases could be diagnosed in England between now and 2040.

This would equate to a diagnosis every two minutes, which is up from one every four minutes in the 1970s.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Cancer cases to rise in England

Murnaghan said there is “no formal screening programme” for prostate cancer and men “actually have to ask for it rather than be offered it as so often happens with other cancers”.

In the absence of a screening programme, he said he would advise men of a certain age to “go and demand it”.

‘A real bolt from the blue’

Speaking of how he put off screening, Murnaghan said: “In my own case, I fell through those gaps.

“I foolishly sat in your [presenter Anna Jones] position for many many years speaking to people about this very issue and talking about men, particularly over the age of 50, men in high risk groups who may have a history of it in their family, to go and ask for this screening…

“And I kept thinking you know ‘once I got over that age I will go and do that’,” he said.

“I kept thinking, ‘okay well you know I’ll get round to it’, life intervenes, jobs, children, holidays…all kinds of things and I never did…

“So what happened was at the end of last year I fell very ill on a foreign holiday and kind of rushed back here to get treated by a wonderful health service and was diagnosed, a real bolt from the blue.”

Read more:
England warned it faces six million new cancer cases by 2040

The former Sky News presenter is planning to join Sir Chris Hoy on a charity bike ride to raise money for cancer charities.

Sir Chris was himself diagnosed with stage four prostate cancer in September 2023.

Murnaghan is a familiar face to Sky News viewers as one of its main presenters from 2007 until 2023.

In September 2022, he announced the death of the late Queen Elizabeth II on the channel.

Before joining Sky, he presented ITV’s News At Ten and the BBC Ten O’Clock News – now known as BBC News At Ten – as well as Channel 4 News.

Murnaghan also presented the quiz show Eggheads on BBC Two for 11 years.

Continue Reading

Trending