Latest news with #English-accented
Metro
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
Stevie Wonder called London to say he loves us last night – and it is mutual
It was a very, very warm night in July, and music legend Stevie Wonder dropped by BST Hyde Park last night to tell 65,000 people he loved them. Well we certainly loved him back. At 75 years old, the music icon has not lost a single bit of his vocal power. He can still nail the high notes, still deliver his most famous lyrics with charm and charisma, but all the while even after six-decades of singing his voice sounds amazing. But then again he has sold over 100,000,000 records, so why do I sound surprised. On what would turn out to be the final gig of British Summer Time – after Jeff Lynne pulled out tonight – Stevie put on a show that had us boogying long into the night and at times felt like it could quite easily have been a headline set on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury. Somewhere he was rumoured to be this year – but it never quite came through. Speaking of surprise guests, Stevie wasn't the only music legend in Hyde Park last night as I spotted Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood watching on from a music tower. As they say, game recognises game, just as much as icons recognise icons. Stevie actually contributed to the Stones last album in 2023, but it just shows how irresistible the charm to see Stevie live in person really is. Making his return to Hyde Park for the first time since 2019, Stevie was brought on stage in the blistering sun by his daughter and son, who would both join him again throughout the night, completing the family affair feel of the evening. The crowd of mums, dads, grandmas, and grandads, dads and their daughters, boyfriends and girlfriends, all just showed how eclectic Stevie's music is, and how we all can't get enough of it. Wearing a white jacket with the faces of John Lennon and Marvin Gaye, he welcomed Hyde Park with his very own funny, fake English-accented 'hello'. He told the crowd just how much he loved playing in London and made what felt like a poignant message to everyone there, thanking the forefathers of technology for creating what allows blind people to see. He said 'every single person who is blind should be able to see in their own way' and told anyone who didn't agree with him, 'if you don't believe me, let's meet in the dark and let's see what happens.' With the sun still beaming down and the third heatwave of the summer coming to an end, Stevie started the last night of his Love, Light and Song UK tour with Love's In Need of Love Today, followed by an emotional tribute to John Lennon's Imagine – maybe the one cover we didn't see coming. After soloing on the harmonica, Wonder launched into Master Blaster (Jammin') and Higher Ground, before You Are My Sunshine got the crowd swooning. Another of his big-hitters got the crowd jigging and jiving in the park, as he got the men to sing one half, and the women in the audience the other half, of the chorus to Signed, Sealed, Delivered. The crowd (myself included) allowed themselves to get wrapped up in the emotion of the evening, with some of us worried that these might be some of Stevie's final shows. There was a family in front of me, and the dad (who looked like he was in his 70s) was recording almost every blink of the show on his phone. He was a sweet-looking man, but it was the point where his son started to poke fun at him about recording too much, his wife then stepped in and basically told him to enjoy it and not on his phone. I think that was the feeling, that again these are the nights that we should enjoy, London in the sun, singing to Stevie Wonder. I'm not sure it gets any better than that, and we don't know how many more times we will get to share these Stevie moments together. His soul-filled setlist lit up the baking Hyde Park, and everyone sang along to 'Isn't She Lovely' and swayed in the heat. While a picturesque sunset lit up the sky, Stevie brought his daughter, Sophia, on stage, telling everyone it was her birthday today (July 13) and dedicated Happy Birthday to her. Surely, having Stevie sing Happy Birthday to you must never get old, and even after all these years, having thousands of people sing it back to you must also still be the best thing in the world. The real hip-swingers Stevie saved till last, as he closed the night, telling the crowd, 'I know we've got to go, but we're gonna keep this party going' and so he did. The mammoth three-hour set was closed with the funky riff that everyone knows, as he kicked off Superstition with whoops when the instantly recognisable doop, doop, doop hit the air. This was truly the highlight of the evening for me, a song that I have sung and danced at wedding after wedding to, and now to hear it front and centre and watch a true musical genius blast it out loud felt like a privilege. Before signing off himself, the living legend's last comment before leaving the stage was: 'I love you with my deepest heart and there's nothing you can do about it.' I think this was the point where we all had a little tear in our eyes Stevie has an incredible back catalogue spanning generation after generation, but he's not getting any younger, just like the rest of us, so how many more times will we get to see him perform like this? More Trending I think I counted at least eight times Stevie shouted back to cries of 'I love you', and 'I love you Stevie'. Each of these cries he clearly loved, and you could see he took them all in his stride. He said before the show started how much he loved London, and attempt after attempt, he just couldn't resist giving his British accent a whirl, which gave the crowd a giggle every time he did. But more than anything, it just showed how much he truly loves playing in the capital and that it was the signed, sealed, delivered love letter to us all that he called in to let us know. Got a story? Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: Over 70 arrests at UK protests after Israel kills 59 Palestinians MORE: 'I watched my classmate tear down my Pride poster – so I made an LGBTQ+ club' MORE: Huge fire rips through warehouse with smoke seen for miles across south London
Metro
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Metro
People are struggling to separate Google's new video AI from real life
Google's new AI software is becoming a 'tedious burden' for content creators, with viewers struggling to tell the difference between fake videos and real life. AI generated clips made by the new cutting-edge tool Veo 3 can include dialogue for the first time to create realistic videos from street interviews that never happened, to fake stand-up comedy shows. The tech has even been used to 'resurrect' Greek mathematician Pythagoras to explain his famous theorem in front of a fake Parthenon. But while seasoned experts can tell the video is faked, the majority of the fast-scrolling public may notice little difference between a deepfaked clip and a genuine one. Californian creator Ari Kuschnir experimented with the Veo 3, which uses Google's filmmaking tool Flow. He wrote on Instagram : 'AI can Talk! I spent 2 hours playing with Veo 3 @googledeepmind and it blew my mind now that it can do sound! This is all Generative AI text to video out of the box… it comes with dialogue, sound design and music.' In another example of how the software could be used in minutes, one creator uploaded a video of a news broadcaster appearing to read out a story about how Buckingham Palace had been taken over by an army of cats. The faked clip shows an English-accented newsreader as he informs his audience: 'Breaking news: A Scottish bald cat named Big White has led an army of felines to seize Buckingham Palace, declaring itself the new King of Britain.' Another generated video showed a female newsreader appearing to announce that bestselling author J K Rowling had sunk on a yacht attacked by orcas. The clipped female presenter is shown saying: 'In shocking news, JK Rowling's yacht sank with her onboard after being attacked by orcas off the coast of Turkey.' The cutting-edge AI technology has also been used to create musical performances. One uploaded to YouTube by AI creative Jerrod Lew showed Google's tool used to create a series of musicians, from an opera soprano in front of an orchestra to a rock band appearing to perform live on stage in front of a wild crowd. One user commented: 'The internet is going to be even bigger wasteland than it is now. The fact that it takes just a few seconds to create these clips with a few words is insane. 'We already lived through the era of TikTok brain rot, the doom scrolling, and this will advance it even more. Can't imagine where the internet space will be in 5 years or less.' But YouTubers are concerned that the new tech is allowing copycats to effortlessly plagiarise their work. Mark Brown is behind the channel Game Maker's Toolkit and produces clips on video game design for his 1.65 million subscribers. This week, his voice was stolen using AI and reused to narrate a clip on another anonymous channel. He explained that while YouTube has systems to detect traditional plagiarism, AI has made it easier to lift content without the author even knowing. Instead, the platform relies on viewers realising content has been stolen and reporting copycats, which Mark says have become a 'tedious burden' for creators. He told the Metro: 'In this case the only way to know that someone had trained an AI on my voice and then used that to narrate a video, was for someone to find and watch it, realise it sounded suspiciously like me, and then send the link to me so I could report it to YouTube. 'Right now it's effortless to impersonate someone but almost impossible to detect it.' AI or Artificial Intelligence involves computer systems performing tasks usually done by a human, such as decision-making and reasoning. AI is trained using machine learning, which enables it to understand complex concepts such as multiple outcomes and probabilities. Natural language processing allows computers to also understand and then manipulate human language. The technology is increasingly being rolled out to replace many administrative functions and jobs normally carried out by human workers. Source: NASA 'But beyond that, it's just a very strange, invasive and quite creepy thing to have happened. My voice is a very fundamental part of who I am – and not something I was expecting another person to steal!' While cheap use of AI to imitate work is concerning, Mark believes there will still be a market for human-produced content. He added: 'This video received over 60,000 views, some amount of advertising income, and was high in search results for the topic. So it's pretty concerning that this easily generated slop content is pushing out stuff made by humans. 'However, I do believe that there will always be an audience for human-made content, made with effort and heart. And I think YouTube is showing that it doesn't want this sort of content on its site. 'So hopefully real content will win out in the end. But right now there is a serious technical imbalance between making this stuff and detecting it.' It comes as the Government has come under fire after unveiling plans to exempt tech firms from copyright laws. Sir Elton John said he felt 'betrayed' by ministers, who are on track to 'rob young people of their legacy and their income', who he said wouldn't have the resources to fight tech giants. He told BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg that ministers were being 'absolute losers and I'm very angry about it'. Google unveiled its latest wave of updates on Tuesday, including 'AI Mode', which rolled out across the US this week, and new additions to its Gemini virtual assistant. At its developer conference in California, the tech giant also unleashed its new real-time translation software. Google's latest AI features include: AI Mode for searches- available only in the US A 'try it on' feature for online shopping Google Veo 3 – creates realistic videos with fake characters and dialogue Gemini Live – point your phone at an item and talk to an AI assistant about it New smart replies on Gmail It showed how AI could now be used, for example, to help a tourist book accommodation in Mexico by translating their sentences into Spanish and even imitating their accent to match. More Trending Online shoppers will also be able to make use of a new 'try it on' feature. By uploading a picture of themselves, consumers will be able to see how they look in a range of clothes. The technology is so intuitive that it understands how a range of fabrics and materials fold, stretch and drape on different bodies. And, in another huge innovation, once they've found the perfect garment, shoppers can use a new price-tracking feature that will purchase the product once it is reduced. Customers can enter their budget, and the AI wizardry will buy the item for them once it reaches the desired price. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page. MORE: WWE Saturday Night's Main Event 2025 UK start time for free YouTube live stream MORE: Warning to 1,800,000,000 Gmail users over sophisticated scam MORE: Is the Europa League final 2025 on YouTube? How to watch for free in the UK
Washington Post
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Washington Post
It's Washington's biggest party weekend. Can anyone see the stars?
As guests scanned the room at a Friday party hosted by United Talent Agency, a mainstay of the White House correspondents' dinner weekend, their eyes eventually — finally — fell upon a famous face. 'From 'The White Lotus'!!!' screamed a woman in a blunt-cut black bob. She was ecstatic to see Jason Isaacs, who played the pill-swallowing pater familias of a wealthy Southern family, haunted by legal trouble and frequently zonked out in the latest season of the show. He was standing by the wine bar at the back of Osteria Mozza chatting and taking selfies in a dark shirt and dark jacket — once again a guest in a decadent setting, this time playing himself (alert, English-accented).
Telegraph
12-04-2025
- Telegraph
The forgotten Thai island just three hours from Bangkok
I watched from the top deck as our catamaran slipped gently across the Gulf of Thailand, approaching the jungle-shrouded Ao Salat Pier. A golden Buddha statue peered out through the greenery, towering above a dock of wooden pallet crates where a low-slung port office was shaded by a lopsided piece of plastic sheeting. Beneath it sat a beaming port attendant, all smiles for the intrepid travellers who were soon to disembark on the island of Koh Kood. Located in the Trat province of the Gulf of Thailand, just a few miles from the border of Cambodia, this pretty little island is one of a handful in the area – though most, unlike Koh Chang, Koh Kood and Ko Mak, are uninhabited. Whilst more easily reached from Bangkok than some of the more popular islands in Thailand's south, a journey to Koh Kood nevertheless requires a flight and ferry from Bangkok, which take roughly three hours in total. As is so often the case, however, this greater effort translates to greater reward: the extra distance, combined with a limited flight and ferry season, keep visitors – and development – on Koh Kood at bay, while Koh Chang, just an hour's ferry from Trat, is busier and more built up. But there's plenty to recommend Koh Kood beyond a lack of tourists. In the north, you'll find Soneva Kiri – a luxurious eco resort which was a pioneer of the barefoot luxury movement – as well as a small string of upscale hotels which dot the western coast. Other than this, a visit to Koh Kood is like returning to a time to when 'bucket bars', full moon parties and social media were but a speck on Thailand's horizon. Places like this are becoming harder and harder to find thanks to Thailand's recent push for luxury tourism (helped by the release of The White Lotus' third season – which is set on the southern isle of Koh Samui), and the resulting surge in bookings, with an incredible 5.5 million foreign tourists visiting in the first month and a half of 2025. And yet, if you know where to look, there are still uncrowded islands to be found – and with its white sand-beaches, translucent waters, wild rainforest and small traditional communities, Koh Kood may be the best of the bunch. Travelling with my husband and six-month old daughter, I chose to stay in Bang Bao Beach, a crescent-shaped bay with shallow turquoise water, palm trees reclining towards the horizon, and only two resorts. Siam Beach Resort slightly edges out the other with its beachfront accommodation, while its bar – with beanbags and happy hour cocktails – and simple restaurant serving Thai classics, made for a perfect place to while away the evenings. We quickly melted into island life, not hearing another English-accented voice for the entire week we spent there. Germans and Spanish visitors dropped in, but otherwise the clientele was mainly wealthy Thai families on holiday from Bangkok. We swam in bath-warm waters every day and hung out in hammocks dangling over the sea, occasionally spotting a sea turtle. The food, too, was a revelation – cheaper and spicier than anywhere we'd been in Thailand; a sure indication of authentic local cuisine, untempered for western palettes. One of the finest meals we had was at diminutive dining room Bang Bai Home, a friendly, inexpensive family-run restaurant a short walk from the resort. We ordered steamed snapper with Thai herbs whipped up by a matriarch chef who was overjoyed to entertain our six-month-old while we ate. This was a running theme on our visit, where the warm Thai hospitality was a constant highlight and locals were thrilled to be welcoming tourists after a turbulent time during the pandemic. Later in the week, we moved to Koh Kood Paradise Beach, a Thai family-owned collection of traditional-style villas with sloped roofs that boasts the longest private beachfront on the island. As at most resorts on the busier, more developed southern islands, Paradise Beach offered watersports, evening performances and beach massages, but when we wanted to explore the island's mangrove swamps and other pristine beaches (Ao Noi and Klong Chao were two of our favourites), we would call a taxi from our hotel reception or rent scooters for the day. The single paved road that encircles the island was well laid, and we rarely saw more than a handful of other vehicles the whole time we were there. But the highlight was the trio of waterfalls – Huang Nam Khiao, Khlong Chao and Khlong Yai Kee – set deep in the tangle of jungle at the centre of the island. Though Huang Nam Khiao has parking, a small restaurant and rope swings dangling over its freshwater pool, it remains lush and peaceful – the preserve only of those who know it's there. For now, the same can still be said of Koh Kood – a little piece of a Thailand long lost in the likes of Koh Samui – and, hopefully, a secret that will remain so for many years to come. Essentials Thai Airways flies from London to Trat via Bangkok from £1,042 return. From Bangkok, the flight to Trat takes one hour; from Trat, take a private taxi or minibus to Laem Sok Pier (40 mins), then a ferry onwards to Koh Kood (90 minutes). Visit during October and May; Koh Kood closes and ferry services are suspended during the summer monsoon season. Eco-luxury resort Soneva Kiri (0066 82 208 8888) has one-bedroom bay view pool villas from £1,104 per night, including breakfast. A simple one-bed beach hut at Siam Beach Resort (0081 907 1940) costs from £40 per night, including breakfast.
