Latest news with #English-language
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Netflix's most-watched shows see strong presence from non-English content: Report
Find out what's new on ST website and app. SEOUL - English-language shows are no longer dominating Netflix's most-watched list, its latest biannual engagement report showed, with non-English-language titles from the UK and South Korea boasting a strong global performance. The streaming service has released viewership data every six months for titles that surpass 50,000 hours of watch time since December 2023. The latest report, covering January to June, accounts for 99 per cent of all viewing on the platform. Non-English series made up a significant portion of the most-watched list. According to the report, 10 of the top 25 most-viewed shows in the first half of 2025 were in languages other than English. Topping the list was the UK psychological crime thriller Adolescence, logging 145 million views. South Korea followed with Squid Game Season 2 and Season 3 at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, ahead of the US political thriller, Zero Day. The report also highlighted other Korean titles that garnered attention: When Life Gives You Tangerines drew 35 million views, followed by the first season of The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call with 34 million, and both seasons of Weak Hero — Class 1 and Class 2 — which earned 22 million and 20 million views, respectively. Scandinavian content also made an impression. Denmark's Secrets We Keep logged 34 million views, Norway's Number 24 brought in 24 million, and Sweden contributed three breakout hits: The Are Murders Season 1 (33 million), The Breakthrough (29 million) and The Glass Dome (20 million). Colombia posted strong numbers following 2024's One Hundred Years of Solitude (5 million). The country's latest entries include the first season of Medusa (21 million), Fake Profile: Killer Match (20 million) and Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful (13 million). Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore 30% of aviation jobs could be redesigned due to AI, automation; $200m fund to support workers: CAAS Singapore Alleged Kpod peddler filmed trying to flee raid in Bishan charged with 6 offences Business Global fintech firms expanding in Singapore with larger offices, APAC hubs Singapore UOB awarded $17.7m in civil suit against Lippo Marina Collection over inflated housing loans Life Kinokuniya opens third bookstore in Raffles City, weeks ahead of schedule Business DBS shares rally to a new record as STI clocks yet another high Singapore 5 foreigners charged over scheme to deliberately get arrested in S'pore to sell sex drugs Life F1 Singapore Grand Prix: Music acts Lewis Capaldi, Clean Bandit, Spice Girls' Melanie C added In the film category, American features took up the majority of the top 10 list. Leading the pack was the action film, Back in Action, starring Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, while psychological crime drama Straw and romantic comedy The Life List rounded out the top three. Another notable trend in Netflix viewing habits was the continued popularity of legacy Netflix originals. Nearly half of all original series viewing came from titles released in 2023 or earlier. Standouts such as Orange Is the New Black, Ozark, and Money Heist each surpassed 100 million hours viewed during the first half of 2025. On the film side, Netflix originals Red Notice, Leo, and We Can Be Heroes all logged more than 20 million views. Anime remains a major draw for global audiences as well. New titles such as Sakamoto Days Season 1 attracted 24 million views, while legacy franchises such as Naruto amassed 45 million views across seasons. Studio Ghibli classics Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle each drew 6 million views. Kids and family programming continues to thrive. Standouts include animated feature KPop Demon Hunters (37 million), Ms Rachel Season 1 (53 million), France's Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight (16 million), and Gabby's Dollhouse, which tallied 108 million views across seasons. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
NDTV
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- NDTV
'Vivacious Varenya': The 10-Year-Old Assam Girl Who Has Over 20 Lakh Followers
New Delhi: A 10-year-old girl from Assam is making waves on social media with her fluent English, expressive videos, and remarkable confidence. Varenya Borbora, popularly known online as Vivacious Varenya, is a social media personality and content creator from Jorhat. Her Instagram account has over 2 million followers and is managed by her mother, Masumi Sharma Borbora. Her YouTube channel, which features vlogs and educational videos, has over 16,500 subscribers and is handled by her father, Pranjal Borbora. Her elder sister also helps her edit videos. Varenya is known for her articulate command over English, which she developed on her own by watching English-language movies, cartoons, and reading books. She began picking up vocabulary, accents, and sentence structures even before fully mastering her native language, Assamese. Her deep love for English has become a central theme of her online presence, where she often helps others learn and enjoy the language. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vivacious Varenya (@vivacious_varenya) She first went viral with a short video in which she gently tapped a meditation bowl and asked, "Are you feeling a little anxious today?" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Vivacious Varenya (@vivacious_varenya) Varenya is also a singer and frequently posts covers of popular English songs on YouTube.
Korea Herald
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Korea Herald
Netflix's most-watched shows see strong presence from non-English content: report
Netflix releases its latest biannual engagement report tracking viewership data for first half of 2025 English-language shows are no longer dominating Netflix's most-watched list, its latest biannual engagement report showed, with non-English-language titles from the UK and South Korea boasting a strong global performance. The streaming service has released viewership data every six months for titles that surpass 50,000 hours of watch time since December 2023. The latest report, covering January to June, accounts for 99 percent of all viewing on the platform. Non-English series made up a significant portion of the most-watched list. According to the report, 10 of the top 25 most-viewed shows in the first half of 2025 were in languages other than English. Topping the list was the UK psychological crime thriller 'Adolescence,' logging 145 million views. South Korea followed with 'Squid Game' Season 2 and Season 3 at No. 2 and No. 3, respectively, ahead of the US political thriller, 'Zero Day.' The report also highlighted other Korean titles that garnered attention: 'When Life Gives You Tangerines' drew 35 million views, followed by the first season of 'The Trauma Code: Heroes on Call' with 34 million, and both seasons of 'Weak Hero' — 'Class 1' and 'Class 2' — which earned 22 million and 20 million views, respectively. Scandinavian content also made an impression. Denmark's 'Secrets We Keep' logged 34 million views, Norway's 'Number 24' brought in 24 million, and Sweden contributed three breakout hits: 'The Are Murders' Season 1 (33 million), 'The Breakthrough' (29 million) and 'The Glass Dome' (20 million). Colombia posted strong numbers following last year's 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' (5 million). The country's latest entries include 'Medusa' Season 1 (21 million), 'Fake Profile: Killer Match' (20 million) and 'Karol G: Tomorrow Was Beautiful' (13 million). In the film category, American features took up the majority of the top 10 list. Leading the pack was the action film, 'Back in Action,' starring Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, while psychological crime drama 'Straw' and romantic comedy 'The Life List' rounded out the top three. Another notable trend in Netflix viewing habits was the continued popularity of legacy Netflix originals. Nearly half of all original series viewing came from titles released in 2023 or earlier. Standouts such as 'Orange Is the New Black,' 'Ozark,' and 'Money Heist' each surpassed 100 million hours viewed during the first half of 2025. On the film side, Netflix originals 'Red Notice,' 'Leo,' and 'We Can Be Heroes' all logged more than 20 million views. Anime remains a major draw for global audiences as well. New titles such as 'Sakamoto Days' Season 1 attracted 24 million views, while legacy franchises such as 'Naruto' amassed 45 million views across seasons. Studio Ghibli classics 'Spirited Away' and 'Howl's Moving Castle' each drew 6 million views. Kids and family programming continues to thrive. Standouts include animated feature 'KPop Demon Hunters' (37 million), 'Ms. Rachel' Season 1 (53 million), France's 'Asterix & Obelix: The Big Fight' (16 million), and 'Gabby's Dollhouse,' which tallied 108 million views across seasons.
Time of India
6 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Ananya Birla's savage reply to a fan's question is breaking the internet; Who is she and what did she say?
Social media has become a platform that bridges the gap between fans and celebrities, who host live telecasts for interaction with fans and friends. Sometimes, from these live sessions, there are some moments that instantly go viral online. Recently, Ananya Birla , who is well known for her work in music, entrepreneurship, and as a member of the influential Birla family, shared such a moment with her followers. She hosted an open Q&A session on social media, inviting fans to ask her anything, and Ananya responded to all with grace and wit. Among the flood of responses, one fan's unusual question grabbed the internet's attention, and so did Ananya's reply. While many public figures avoid answering personal or potentially uncomfortable questions, her humorous response became the talk of the town. Who is Ananya Birla? Ananya Birla is an Indian singer, entrepreneur, and businesswoman. She is the daughter of Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the Aditya Birla Group. Ananya began her entrepreneurial journey at just 17 after founding Svatantra Microfin, a microfinance company supporting rural women. She later launched the luxury lifestyle brand Ikai Asai. As a musician, she has released several English-language singles and collaborated with global artists. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Drink 1 Cup Every Morning – See What Happens A Week Later! Health Insight Undo Recently, Ananya has also taken up a leadership role in the family business by joining the boards of major companies like Grasim, Hindalco, and ABFRL. Ananya Birla's viral reply wins the internet Ananya Birla is no stranger to the spotlight but this time her humour stole the show during a recent social media interaction. In a lively Q&A session with fans. One fan's question in particular has since gone viral for the way it was asked. 'Aap wahi Birla ki beti ho?? Cement wale Mm meaning ' Are you the daughter of the Birlas associated with cement?' the user asked. Ananya didn't shy away or take offense. Instead, she replied humorously, 'Haan Ji. UltraTech was the name, last time I checked,' according to her post on social media platform X. Her response has got over 1 lakh views and varied responses. 'The weirdest question I have ever seen here lol,' one user commented, while another praised her for 'gracefully balancing humour and generosity.' For the unversed, UltraTech Cement, the company referenced in the post, is a part of the Aditya Birla Group. It is India's largest cement manufacturer and ranks fifth globally, and third outside of China, according to company data.
Time of India
13 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Belinda Carlisle returns to Pop with first English album in 30 Years; 'Once Upon a Time in California' drops Aug 29
Set to be released on August 29, 2025, beloved 1980s rock star Belinda Carlisle is going back to her musical roots with a fresh studio album called 'Once Upon a Time in California'. The album marks Carlisle's first English-language pop record in nearly three decades and features ten reimagined classics that shaped her formative years in Southern California. 'Once Upon a Time in California' pays tribute to vintage pop culture The album is a deeply personal collection of cover songs that reflect Carlisle's musical upbringing in Southern California. It features reimagined versions of classics such as 'Anyone Who Had a Heart' by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, 'If You Could Read My Mind' by Gordon Lightfoot, 'Superstar' by The Carpenters, and 'Everybody's Talkin' by Harry Nilsson. Other tracks include 'The Air That I Breathe', 'Time in a Bottle', 'Never My Love', 'One', 'Get Together', and 'Reflections of My Life'. Produced by Gabe Lopez—who previously collaborated with Carlisle on 'Wilder Shores,' the album blends nostalgia with fresh arrangements, offering a sonic tribute to the music that shaped her youth. Belinda Carlisle's new album follows EP Kismet and Rock Hall induction Carlisle's last major release was the 2023 EP 'Kismet', featuring songs written by Diane Warren. Her comeback into pop was greeted with widespread praise and fan excitement. Her legacy as among the most powerful voices of her generation was confirmed in 2021 when she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of The Go-Go's. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Fans react to Belinda Carlisle's announcement with nostalgia and excitement Carlisle announced the album on social media, writing: 'I'm so excited to announce my next single 'Get Together' from my upcoming album 'Once Upon a Time in California' will be out this Thursday, July 17, 2025! Stay tuned ❤️ #NewMusic #belindacarlisle' Fans flooded the comments with messages like: 'Ooh baby, do you know what that's worth?' and 'My heart's been burning for you since the wild, electric days of Heaven on Earth.' 'Once Upon a Time in California' available for pre-order in multiple formats The album will be released via Demon Music and is available for pre-order on CD, digital, and vinyl formats, including limited edition signed copies and sunset-coloured vinyl. Carlisle's UK tour Heavenly Hits will run from September 5 to 13, giving fans a chance to hear the new songs live.
