Latest news with #Dicko
Daily Mail
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Australian Idol's Ian 'Dicko' Dickson reveals the major star who inspired him to become the 'b***ard judge' and 'humiliate' singers including fat-shaming Paulini
Ian 'Dicko' Dickson has revealed who was the inspiration behind his 'b***ard judge persona on Australian Idol. Dicko, 62, was a judge on the popular reality show for a total of seven years, sitting in the chair for the first two seasons and returning for three seasons from 2007 to 2009. Speaking on the podcast docuseries The Moment It Changed: Touchdown, Dicko admitted it was Simon Cowell who encouraged him to take on the role of mean judge. Across nine seasons of American Idol, Simon became notorious for his no-holds-barred approach to critiquing singing hopefuls. Dicko said that after Channel Ten had bought the rights to the reality juggernaut he went to London to meet Simon in person. 'I remember getting the car into the office from the hotel and on the back seat of the limo were the tabloid papers in the UK and Simon was on the front cover of three out of four tabloids in the UK,' he said. 'So I went in, saw Cowell and I went, "What is going on with you? What is going on?" 'He went, "kiddo you have to do this in Australia. This is going to be fantastic for you. And just quietly the meaner you are, the more the chicks love you." That was his advice to me.' Dicko said he was happy to oblige taking on the role of the 'mean judge' despite the 'humiliation' he would be required to dish out. 'Idol did require a b***ard judge and I guess I was happy to oblige,' he said. 'I realised the role that Simon played and how important that was to the show and whether we like to admit this or not, ritual humiliation of young singers was kind of part of this. 'There had to be an element of jeopardy when the young hopeful stood in front of the judges and the cameras. And I was that jeopardy, I guess.' Dicko also admitted that during a screen test for the series he dialed up the meanness and he felt 'awful' doing so. 'I actually did a screen test for Idol for the producers and really was a complete b***ard,' he said. 'I went home that night and could not sleep and I felt awful and I talked it over with my wife. I went, with my wife, "I'm not sure I can be the b***ard judge."' Elsewhere in the candid interview, Dicko said he believed Idol had done little to change the face of the Australian music industry. 'I don't think Idol changed the record industry at all,' he said. 'I think Idol changed the TV industry and changed the life of a few lucky individuals, mine included. 'If it had changed the music industry we would still be seeing it. We were a blip, a f***ing big blip, but it was a blip.' During his time on Idol, Dicko certainly faced his fair share of criticism for his judging approach. Back in 2003, he drew the ire of many after he criticised the appearance of Pauline Curuenavuli in front of a packed studio audience and thousands of viewers at home. The excruciating moment saw Paulini audition for the judges in an eye-popping gold dress only to have her hopes dashed by Dicko moments later. Back in 2003, he drew the ire of many after he criticised the appearance of Pauline Curuenavuli in front of a packed studio audience and thousands of viewers at home 'Choose more appropriate clothing and shed some pounds,' he told a devastated Paulini on national television. During his stint on I'm A Me Out Of Here! in 2023, Dicko reflected on the controversial incident. He admitted he would be 'tarred and feathered' if he tried to do something like that on Australian TV today and revealed people still ask him about the shocking incident. Dicko later broke down in tears as he recounted a father telling him that he'd caused his daughter's anorexia over the comments. 'He said, "This is your fault. She was an Australian Idol fan and when you said that comment to Paulini, she spiraled out of control and she is now in hospital, she might die and if she does, I am going to hold you personally responsible." 'To feel that my comments might have driven a beautiful young girl, the apple of her father's eye, into a hospital ward where she could die, is really hard'.
The Independent
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
200 years after the creation of braille, blind people in Mali say it has allowed them to fit in
Amadou Ndiaye meticulously ran his fingers across bumps in a piece of paper, making sense of the world he can no longer see. Two hundred years have passed since the invention of braille, the tactile writing system that has transformed the lives of many blind and partially sighted people by offering a path to literacy and independence. 'Braille helped me live my life," said Ndiaye, a social worker in Mali who lost his eyesight as a child. 'Before, people asked themselves the question: Here is someone who can't see, how will he make it? How will he integrate into society?' The West African country, with a population of over 20 million people, has long struggled to integrate blind and partially sighted people. According to eye care charity Sightsavers, around 170,000 people in Mali are thought to be blind. The 47-year-old Ndiaye was fortunate to attend the institute for the blind in Mali, where he learned to write in braille, and told himself: 'Really, everything that others do, I can do too.' He later attended university. He said braille has allowed him to develop his main passion, playing the guitar, which also emphasizes the importance of touch. 'Each pressure on the strings, each movement of the finger on the neck, becomes a living note, loaded with meaning," Ndiaye said. The guitar is an integral part of Mali's griot tradition, the cultural practice of storytelling through music. Musicians adapted the guitar to emulate the sounds of traditional string instruments like the kora. Local artists such as Ali Farka Touré have fused Malian melodies with elements of the blues, creating a soulful, hypnotic sound that has gained international acclaim. Iconic Malian musical duo Amadou and Mariam awakened Ndiaye's passion for the instrument when he was a boy. 'One day, near a photography studio, I heard their music resonating through the window, which pushed me to discover this universe,' he said. Known as 'the blind couple from Mali," the duo of Amadou Bagayoko, who lost his vision at age 16, and Mariam Doumbia, who became blind at age 5 as a consequence of untreated measles, rose to international fame in the 1990s with their fusion of traditional Malian music, rock, and blues. The couple met at Mali's institute for the blind, where Doumbia was studying braille and teaching classes in dance and music. At such places, braille has allowed students to overcome educational barriers such as taking longer to learn how to read and write. They can then take the same exams as anyone else, which allows them to seek employment, said Ali Moustapha Dicko, who teaches at the institute for the blind in the capital, Bamako. Dicko is also blind. Using a special typewriter, he can create texts in braille for his students. But he says his students are still at a disadvantage. 'We have a crisis of teaching materials,' Dicko said. He has one reading book in braille for his entire class of dozens of students. But with the development of new technologies, some blind and partially sighted people hope that educational barriers will continue to fall. 'There is software, there are telephones that speak, so there are many things that are vocal,' said Bagayoko of the musical duo. 'This allows us to move forward.' But Moussa Mbengue, the Senegal-based program officer for inclusive education at Sightsavers, said such advances still don't make the leap that braille did two centuries ago. "It cannot replace braille. On the contrary, for me, technology complements braille,' he said. ___ The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
Associated Press
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
200 years after the creation of braille, blind people in Mali say it has allowed them to fit in
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Amadou Ndiaye meticulously ran his fingers across bumps in a piece of paper, making sense of the world he can no longer see. Two hundred years have passed since the invention of braille, the tactile writing system that has transformed the lives of many blind and partially sighted people by offering a path to literacy and independence. 'Braille helped me live my life,' said Ndiaye, a social worker in Mali who lost his eyesight as a child. 'Before, people asked themselves the question: Here is someone who can't see, how will he make it? How will he integrate into society?' The West African country, with a population of over 20 million people, has long struggled to integrate blind and partially sighted people. According to eye care charity Sightsavers, around 170,000 people in Mali are thought to be blind. The 47-year-old Ndiaye was fortunate to attend the institute for the blind in Mali, where he learned to write in braille, and told himself: 'Really, everything that others do, I can do too.' He later attended university. He said braille has allowed him to develop his main passion, playing the guitar, which also emphasizes the importance of touch. 'Each pressure on the strings, each movement of the finger on the neck, becomes a living note, loaded with meaning,' Ndiaye said. The guitar is an integral part of Mali's griot tradition, the cultural practice of storytelling through music. Musicians adapted the guitar to emulate the sounds of traditional string instruments like the kora. Local artists such as Ali Farka Touré have fused Malian melodies with elements of the blues, creating a soulful, hypnotic sound that has gained international acclaim. Iconic Malian musical duo Amadou and Mariam awakened Ndiaye's passion for the instrument when he was a boy. 'One day, near a photography studio, I heard their music resonating through the window, which pushed me to discover this universe,' he said. Known as 'the blind couple from Mali,' the duo of Amadou Bagayoko, who lost his vision at age 16, and Mariam Doumbia, who became blind at age 5 as a consequence of untreated measles, rose to international fame in the 1990s with their fusion of traditional Malian music, rock, and blues. The couple met at Mali's institute for the blind, where Doumbia was studying braille and teaching classes in dance and music. At such places, braille has allowed students to overcome educational barriers such as taking longer to learn how to read and write. They can then take the same exams as anyone else, which allows them to seek employment, said Ali Moustapha Dicko, who teaches at the institute for the blind in the capital, Bamako. Dicko is also blind. Using a special typewriter, he can create texts in braille for his students. But he says his students are still at a disadvantage. 'We have a crisis of teaching materials,' Dicko said. He has one reading book in braille for his entire class of dozens of students. But with the development of new technologies, some blind and partially sighted people hope that educational barriers will continue to fall. 'There is software, there are telephones that speak, so there are many things that are vocal,' said Bagayoko of the musical duo. 'This allows us to move forward.' But Moussa Mbengue, the Senegal-based program officer for inclusive education at Sightsavers, said such advances still don't make the leap that braille did two centuries ago. 'It cannot replace braille. On the contrary, for me, technology complements braille,' he said. ___
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
200 years after the creation of braille, blind people in Mali say it has allowed them to fit in
BAMAKO, Mali (AP) — Amadou Ndiaye meticulously ran his fingers across bumps in a piece of paper, making sense of the world he can no longer see. Two hundred years have passed since the invention of braille, the tactile writing system that has transformed the lives of many blind and partially sighted people by offering a path to literacy and independence. 'Braille helped me live my life," said Ndiaye, a social worker in Mali who lost his eyesight as a child. 'Before, people asked themselves the question: Here is someone who can't see, how will he make it? How will he integrate into society?' The West African country, with a population of over 20 million people, has long struggled to integrate blind and partially sighted people. According to eye care charity Sightsavers, around 170,000 people in Mali are thought to be blind. The 47-year-old Ndiaye was fortunate to attend the institute for the blind in Mali, where he learned to write in braille, and told himself: 'Really, everything that others do, I can do too.' He later attended university. He said braille has allowed him to develop his main passion, playing the guitar, which also emphasizes the importance of touch. 'Each pressure on the strings, each movement of the finger on the neck, becomes a living note, loaded with meaning," Ndiaye said. The guitar is an integral part of Mali's griot tradition, the cultural practice of storytelling through music. Musicians adapted the guitar to emulate the sounds of traditional string instruments like the kora. Local artists such as Ali Farka Touré have fused Malian melodies with elements of the blues, creating a soulful, hypnotic sound that has gained international acclaim. Iconic Malian musical duo Amadou and Mariam awakened Ndiaye's passion for the instrument when he was a boy. 'One day, near a photography studio, I heard their music resonating through the window, which pushed me to discover this universe,' he said. Known as 'the blind couple from Mali," the duo of Amadou Bagayoko, who lost his vision at age 16, and Mariam Doumbia, who became blind at age 5 as a consequence of untreated measles, rose to international fame in the 1990s with their fusion of traditional Malian music, rock, and blues. The couple met at Mali's institute for the blind, where Doumbia was studying braille and teaching classes in dance and music. At such places, braille has allowed students to overcome educational barriers such as taking longer to learn how to read and write. They can then take the same exams as anyone else, which allows them to seek employment, said Ali Moustapha Dicko, who teaches at the institute for the blind in the capital, Bamako. Dicko is also blind. Using a special typewriter, he can create texts in braille for his students. But he says his students are still at a disadvantage. 'We have a crisis of teaching materials,' Dicko said. He has one reading book in braille for his entire class of dozens of students. But with the development of new technologies, some blind and partially sighted people hope that educational barriers will continue to fall. 'There is software, there are telephones that speak, so there are many things that are vocal,' said Bagayoko of the musical duo. 'This allows us to move forward.' But Moussa Mbengue, the Senegal-based program officer for inclusive education at Sightsavers, said such advances still don't make the leap that braille did two centuries ago. "It cannot replace braille. On the contrary, for me, technology complements braille,' he said. ___ The Associated Press receives financial support for global health and development coverage in Africa from the Gates Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
