Entertainment – International

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 […]

Lorde cancels Israel show after pressure

JERUSALEM, Israel (AFP) — New Zealand singer Lorde has canceled a planned show in Israel after facing pressure from supporters of a boycott of the Jewish state over its occupation of Palestinian territory. The 21-year-old, who enjoyed phenomenal success while still a teenager, announced last week a Tel Aviv performance in June as part of a tour. After criticism from international and New Zealand activists, Lorde announced on Sunday she was canceling the performance in […]

Miss America CEO quits over misogynistic emails

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The Miss America pageant’s CEO resigned on Saturday after dozens of former beauty queens demanded he step down over leaked internal emails that contained misogynistic, fat- and slut-shaming language. “This afternoon, the Board of Directors of the Miss America Organization accepted the resignation of Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Sam Haskell, effective immediately,” interim chairman of the board Dan Meyers said in a statement. HuffPost published leaked emails two […]

Mariah Carey back to Times Square New Year’s after debacle

NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Mariah Carey must have made a New Year’s resolution to ensure a better sound system. The pop diva confirmed that she will return to Times Square in New York to ring in 2018, a year after she was humiliated by technical issues at the annual televised ball-drop. “We can all agree that last year didn’t go exactly as planned and we are thrilled to move forward together to provide […]

Facebook promises personalized music in first label deal

by Shaun Tandon Agence France-Presse NEW YORK, United States (AFP) — Facebook announced a licensing deal Thursday with Universal Music Group, its first with a major label, as the social media giant promised more personalized, interactive music features for its two billion users. The move marks a new foray into music by Facebook, which, despite its global conquest, had been low-key in developing music functions compared with fellow tech titans Apple, Google and Amazon. Universal — home […]

Kim Jong-Hyun’s suicide highlights dark side of the K-pop dream

by Jung Ha-Won Agence France Presse SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Known for its ultra-competitive, pressure-cooker society, South Korea has one of the world’s highest suicide rates. And this week the even higher stresses in the country’s lucrative showbiz industry took their toll on a K-pop superstar. Kim Jong-Hyun, a 27-year-old lead singer of the hugely popular boy band SHINee, took his own life in a Seoul hotel room on Monday, with his death sending […]

K-pop stars carry singer’s coffin after suicide

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — Six of K-pop’s biggest stars carried the coffin of fellow singer Kim Jong-Hyun to a hearse Thursday, after he died leaving behind a suicide note that spoke of his battle with loneliness and depression. Kim’s body was taken to his funeral from the Asan Medical Centre in Seoul where it had been lying at rest. The procession was led by one of Kim’s bandmates from SHINee — one of the […]

Kim Jong-Hyun bemoans loneliness in suicide note

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A top K-pop star bemoaned feeling “broken from inside” and “engulfed” by depression in a suicide note, it emerged Tuesday, as his death sent shockwaves among fans worldwide. Kim Jong-Hyun, a 27-year-old lead singer of the massively popular K-pop boyband SHINee, was found in a Seoul hotel room on Monday in what police said was suicide. Kim’s close friend, musician Nain9, released a suicide note on Tuesday on her Instagram […]

K-pop superstar Kim Jong-Hyun found dead in apparent suicide

SEOUL, South Korea (AFP) — A lead singer of SHINee, one of South Korea’s top K-pop boybands, died on Monday, police said, in what appears to be a suicide. Kim Jong-Hyun, 27, was found unconscious at a Seoul hotel by police after sending his older sister several text messages suggesting suicide, police said. The messages read “This is my last farewell,” “Things have been so difficult,” “Please let me go and say I did a […]

‘The Last Jedi’ rakes in $450.8 mn worldwide in opening

LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” — the latest episode in the blockbuster space saga — has raked in more than $450 million worldwide since hitting theaters, Disney said Monday — a major success for the most-hyped movie of the year. The film directed by Rian Johnson — which features the late Carrie Fisher’s final performance as Princess Leia — took in $220 million in North America, and another $230.8 million overseas, […]