Latest news with #Gone
The Citizen
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
‘Touring South Africa is a dream': Calum Scott opens up about upcoming tour
'[My first tour to SA] made me feel special. That kind of moment is hard to forget.' Calum Scott is coming back to South Africa. The multi-platinum singer will return in January 2026 for three shows in Cape Town, Durban, and Pretoria as part of his Avenoir tour. It will be his third time visiting our shores, and he said South Africa makes him feel incredible special, just like his music has moved thousands of people around the world. The new album, also called Avenoir, is due in September, and is named after a word that means wishing memory could flow backwards. It promises to be personal, emotional and full of the kind of honesty fans have come to expect. This will be your third time performing in South Africa. What keeps bringing you back? On my first international visit for the Only Human tour, I remember my first stop in Durban and being blown away by the demand for tickets. It made me feel special. That kind of moment is hard to forget. Every time I've returned, the love has been the same. Touring is my favourite part of the job, and touring in South Africa is a dream. Touring SA is like a dream You've said 'Avenoir' is inspired by the idea of life being like rowing, always facing backward. Making this album was the first time I truly believed in myself as an artist. I've worked hard to get here, and I'm proud of that. Looking back at my ten-year career, all the twists and turns brought me to where I am now. I would not want to look ahead. It's the not knowing that makes life magical. Also Read: 'Roger Waters: The Wall' is an epic watch of powerful music Your music often explores regret, sorrow and undying love. Gone is one of the most thought-provoking songs I've written. It came from the realisation that our time is finite. In a session with Jon Maguire, I said, 'There will be a time when you hug your daughter, put her down, and never pick her up again.' It was sad, but as always, we found the hope in that and wrote about it. It's a reminder to live each day with love and laughter. Your music often becomes the soundtrack to big life moments. How does that feel? It's the highest honour I can imagine. When people tell me they used one of my songs at their wedding or to remember someone they lost, it makes me proud. There are millions of songs out there, and for someone to choose mine for something that personal means everything. Soundtrack to life's big moments How do you balance vulnerability with universality when writing? I've always seen vulnerability as universal. When I write honestly, I find that others connect with it too. Of course, I think about how much of myself to share, but I give a lot because I know that my vulnerability helps others. That is something I take seriously. What has changed most for you since 'Dancing On My Own'? My fashion sense. Did you see what I used to wear? Back then, I had just left a nine-to-five in Human Resources and was suddenly living my dream. I loved it, but I struggled with impostor syndrome until recently. Now, I feel more like myself than ever. If you had to go back on 'Britain's Got Talent' today… I couldn't do it. And I would not change anything about how I got here, but I'd much rather be a judge. I have experience now and, more importantly, I have empathy. Also, I know what it's like to stand there and risk everything for a dream. I think that's something valuable to offer. LGBTQ anthems and recognition 'Bridges' included LGBTQ anthems like 'Rise'. Does 'Avenoir' continue in that spirit? I'm proud to be recognised by the LGBTQ community, and it's important to me that people feel seen in my music. Avenoir touches on many themes, but emotion runs through it all. I love that people take my songs and make them their own, and I'm excited to see how this album resonates. How important is self-realisation for an artist? It has played a huge role in my growth. I still care as much as I did when I started, but I don't worry as much now, and that is freeing. It's taken ten years to believe in myself, but nothing worthwhile comes easy. Has success ever pulled you away from the storytelling you want to do? If anything, success gave me the confidence to stay true to it. It's hard when a song you believe in doesn't match the streams of your biggest hit, but that's part of it. Fans keep showing me that what I write matters, and that's what counts. Tickets are on sale through Webtickets and Breakout Events. NOW READ: A Million Ways To Die, NFOH reincarnated
See - Sada Elbalad
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- See - Sada Elbalad
Madonna to Finally Release "Ray of Light" Remix Album "Veronica Electronica": Here's When It Arrives
Yara Sameh Madonna will finally release her long-lost project 'Veronica Electronica,' featuring rare and unreleased remixes from her legendary 1998 album 'Ray of Light.' The album will also be available as part of the 'Silver Collection,' her ongoing career-spanning series of limited-edition silver vinyl reissues. The album arrives July 25 digitally and on silver vinyl, with 'Skin (The Collaboration Remix Edit)' available now. It is part of the singer's 2021 deal with Warner Music that saw her catalog returning to the company that released her first albums. An eight-track companion to 'Ray of Light,' 'Veronica Electronica' was originally envisioned by Madonna as a remix album in 1998. The record was ultimately sidelined by the original album's long string of hit singles. 'Ray of Light' went on to sell more than 16 million copies worldwide and earned Madonna four Grammy Awards, including Best Pop Album. The album's title is in itself a throwback, as 'electronica' was a loosely defined late-'90s musical genre of hard-hitting electronic dance music, defined by Prodigy, Moby, Underworld, Fatboy Slim, and occasionally stretched to artists like Bjork and Daft Punk. Optimistically considered a successor to the multiplatinum 'alternative' wave, the trend, if it ever really was one, quickly petered out with the end of the decade and the millenium. 'Veronica Electronica' features newly edited versions of club remixes by Peter Rauhofer, William Orbit, Sasha, BT, and Victor Calderone, along with the original demo of 'Gone, Gone, Gone' — a previously unreleased recording produced by Madonna and Rick Nowels. Track Listing: Side A 1. 'Drowned World/Substitute For Love' – BT & Sasha Bucklodge Ashram New Edit 2. 'Ray Of Light' – Sasha Twilo Mix Edit 3. 'Skin' – The Collaboration Remix Edit 4. 'Nothing Really Matters' – Club 69 Speed Mix Meets The Dub Side B 1. 'Sky Fits Heaven' – Victor Calderone Future New Edit 2. 'Frozen' – Widescreen Mix and Drums 3. 'The Power Of Good-Bye' – Fabien's Good God Mix Edit 4. 'Gone, Gone, Gone' – Original Demo Version * read more New Tourism Route To Launch in Old Cairo Ahmed El Sakka-Led Play 'Sayidati Al Jamila' to Be Staged in KSA on Dec. 6 Mandy Moore Joins Season 2 of "Dr. Death" Anthology Series Don't Miss These Movies at 44th Cairo Int'l Film Festival Today Amr Diab to Headline KSA's MDLBEAST Soundstorm 2022 Festival Arts & Culture Mai Omar Stuns in Latest Instagram Photos Arts & Culture "The Flash" to End with Season 9 Arts & Culture Ministry of Culture Organizes four day Children's Film Festival Arts & Culture Canadian PM wishes Muslims Eid-al-Adha News China Launches Largest Ever Aircraft Carrier Sports Former Al Zamalek Player Ibrahim Shika Passes away after Long Battle with Cancer Lifestyle Get to Know 2025 Eid Al Adha Prayer Times in Egypt Sports Neymar Announced for Brazil's Preliminary List for 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers News Prime Minister Moustafa Madbouly Inaugurates Two Indian Companies Arts & Culture New Archaeological Discovery from 26th Dynasty Uncovered in Karnak Temple Business Fear & Greed Index Plummets to Lowest Level Ever Recorded amid Global Trade War Arts & Culture Zahi Hawass: Claims of Columns Beneath the Pyramid of Khafre Are Lies News Flights suspended at Port Sudan Airport after Drone Attacks News Shell Unveils Cost-Cutting, LNG Growth Plan
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Madonna Reflects on the Birth of Her Alter Ego Veronica Electronica While Teasing 'Ray of Light' Remix Album
On Thursday, June 5, Madonna announced that she is releasing new music The project Veronica Electronica will feature rare and unreleased remixes from her critically acclaimed album Ray of Light It will be released on July 25Madonna is bringing a blast from the past with her upcoming new music release. On Thursday, June 5, the legendary performer, 66, announced on her website the upcoming release of her long-rumored project, Veronica Electronica. The record will feature rare and unreleased remixes from her critically acclaimed 1998 album Ray of Light. As a teaser for what fans can expect, Madonna released the deep cut for "Skin (The Collaboration Remix Edit)." The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now! Arriving July 25 on silver vinyl and digitally, Veronica Electronica serves as an eight-track companion to Ray of Light, which Madonna initially envisioned as a remix album in 1998. Pre-Order Veronica Electronica — Madonna (@Madonna) June 5, 2025 "The project was ultimately sidelined by the original album's runaway success and the parade of hit singles that dominated the spotlight for more than a year," the announcement explains. Veronica Electronica, which is available to preorder now, will feature newly edited versions of club remixes by Peter Rauhofer, William Orbit, Sasha, BT and Victor Calderone. The original demo of 'Gone, Gone, Gone," which is a previously unreleased recording produced by Madonna and Rick Nowels, will also be included. Madonna's last remix album was released in 2022 with the arrival of Finally Enough Love: 50 Number Ones. Her last studio album, Madame X, arrived in 2019. The performer opened up about what her new era of music means to her in a candid Instagram Stories post. "Making my Ray of Light album was a seminal moment in my life as an artist," she wrote. "I was going through a huge metamorphosis. I had given birth to my daughter Lola. I had found my spiritual path and I was ready to shed a new skin and take a road less traveled by." "I ventured into electronic music with William Orbit and I created an alter ego, taking one of my middle names- and Veronical Electronica was born," her statement continued. "Meet my other half.😜." Madonna's latest announcement comes two days after she marked her father Silvio Ciccone's 94th birthday on X and Instagram. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Her tribute read: "He has survived many wars and many losses in his he still has a sense of humor and a strong desire to get out of bed every morning and make the most of his day. Whenever people ask my father when he's going to retire, his answer is always the same. 'I'm going to go until the wheels fall off'!! S.A.M.E. 🩷🩵🤍🩶." Ray of Light quickly became one of the biggest albums in Madonna's career upon release in 1998. The album features the hit singles "Frozen," "Ray of Light," "Drowned World/Substitute for Love," "The Power of Good-Bye" and "Little Star." Madonna won Best Pop Album at the Grammys in 1999. Read the original article on People
Time Magazine
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time Magazine
First Look: Smoke Goes Inside the Mind of a Real-Life Serial Arsonist
The South Pasadena, Calif., hardware store thrummed with the usual rhythms of a Wednesday night: customers browsing shelves, cash registers chiming, the low hum of fluorescent lights overhead. Lurking in one of the aisles, a man quietly slipped an incendiary device, made from a cigarette, matches, and paper, into a section displaying foam rubber, with practiced ease. Fire roared to life minutes later, engulfing the store in a furnace of rising panic and confusion. The blaze at Ole's Home Center on Oct. 10, 1984, which killed four people, was one of nearly 2,000 suspicious fires across Southern California throughout the '80s and early '90s. Craft shops, department stores, and discount retailers struck by the arsonist all bore the same eerie signature: delayed ignition, maximum destruction, and a clean escape. Investigators were left grasping at smoke, trying to make sense of a pattern that felt deliberate but remained elusive. This true story, chronicled in the 2021 podcast Firebug, became the basis for Apple TV+'s new nine-episode crime drama Smoke, starring Taron Egerton, Jurnee Smollett, Greg Kinnear, Anna Chlumsky, and John Leguizamo, and debuting June 27. But it's no procedural retelling. It's a feverish descent into moral ambiguity, where duty and delusion, heroism and harm, become blurred in the heat of the blaze. 'What really drives my engine is always the human psyche,' Smoke creator, executive producer, and writer Dennis Lehane tells TIME. What captivated him wasn't the forensic detail of the fires, but the 'whacked out' emotional terrain that surrounded them. ' That's what I was locking on.' Lehane, whose literary canon includes the novels-turned-movie hits Gone, Baby, Gone and Mystic River, is no stranger to the fault lines of morality. When he first listened to Firebug, he wasn't immediately convinced it was a story he wanted to find his own way into. But the psychological undertones tugged at him. 'I really think this is about people who are turned on by the things that can kill them,' he explains. He approached Smoke not as a mystery to be solved, but as a dark drama where guilt, ego, and self-deception flicker and flare. A key decision was to set the story in the present day rather than tether it to the '80s and '90s, where its real-life roots lie. That shift allows the series to examine contemporary notions of trust, institutional failure, and existential unease. The show also marks a reunion between Lehane and Taron Egerton, who previously worked together on the 2022 Apple TV+ series Black Bird. In Smoke, Egerton stars as Dave Gudsen, an arson investigator in Umberland, a fictional town in the Pacific Northwest, whose life starts to buckle under the strain of a difficult case and a fragile home life. He's soon paired with Michelle Calderone (Jurnee Smollett), a sharp detective recently transferred from the metro police's robbery division. Because Michelle doesn't share the insular loyalties of the local department, her clear-eyed perspective proves essential as they track a pair of serial arsonists; she sees things the others don't. As the investigation intensifies, suspicion creeps closer to home. The evidence suggests one of the arsonists may have ties to the profession—perhaps a firefighter or someone from within the department itself—forcing Dave to consider the disturbing possibility that he may be pursuing a colleague, or worse, a friend. From the start, Smoke struck a chord with Egerton, who also serves as an executive producer. 'It felt like something that would be a stretch and a challenge,' he recalls. What intrigued him most was the contradiction at the heart of his character. Dave, he explains, is a man with a 'slightly self-aggrandizing image of himself' as a hero—yet his private life 'doesn't totally line up with that.' He's someone who regularly tests people's boundaries. To capture that duality, Egerton created a moral framework for Dave that doesn't necessarily align with conventional standards. 'He's the guy who has it all figured out and knows exactly what's right and wrong and knows what's for the best of everybody in there,' says Egerton, adding, 'I had to get under the skin of who he is and figure out what that very specific brand of morality is: What is OK for him and what's not, and also does that code of ethics apply when nobody's looking?' The actor's experiences mirrored his character's unease. Lehane recalls Egerton wrestling early on with how to portray the complexity of Dave. 'Those first two episodes he was in actor hell, I would argue,' recalls Lehane. But after their work together on Black Bird, Lehane already knew Egerton had the ability (and willingness) to push himself into emotionally raw places. 'When you find an actor who has the range to do anything you want to do, you hold onto that person, particularly if they're not just gifted, but as good a human being as Taron,' he explains. That discomfort ultimately served the role, lending Dave a raw, destabilized energy that captures a man struggling to hold his life together. A careful study of obsession The real story that inspired Smoke was even darker. By the late '80s, Southern California was in the grip of a firestorm—a wave of suspicious blazes that erupted with chilling regularity. They began quietly: a spark near a bolt of fabric, a flare in the foam rubber aisle, as at Ole's. But within minutes, these small signs gave way to catastrophe. Entire structures were gutted. First responders often arrived to find buildings fully engulfed, too late to save what was inside. As the fires spread, so did the sense that this was no coincidence. The ignition method was strikingly consistent: a crude yet effective time-delay mechanism, fashioned from everyday items like cigarettes, matches, and pieces of lined yellow notebook paper. The targets were just as deliberate: retail chains, mom-and-pop shops, and warehouse-style stores, all easy to access, lightly monitored, and filled with highly flammable merchandise. Over time, law enforcement homed in on John Orr, a former fire captain whose fingerprint was found on a partially unburned incendiary device. A federal jury convicted him in 1992 on three counts of arson, sentencing him to 30 years in prison. The following year, he admitted to setting three more fires. In 1998, Orr was tried again at the state level on 21 additional counts of arson and four counts of first-degree murder for the victims of the 1984 blaze at Ole's Home Center in South Pasadena, Calif. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. The story didn't end with Orr's conviction. His disturbing legacy drew the attention of filmmaker and former HBO executive Kary Antholis, who had followed the case for decades. He was just as interested in the psychology behind the crimes as he was in the procedural details—not just how the fires were set, but why. His investigation became the foundation for Firebug, the podcast he created with Emmy-winning producer Marc Smerling. Through exhaustive research and a series of taped interviews with Orr and those who knew him, Antholis assembled a chilling portrait of a man who spent years crafting his identity through fire and fiction. One of the most revealing discoveries by law enforcement was a manuscript entitled Points of Origin, a novel Orr wrote with moments mirroring the real-life fires with uncanny specificity. 'He was doing this [lighting fires] for a very long time, so I think he wanted to take a bow for it,' Smerling explains. The result was more than a true-crime chronicle. Firebug became a slow-burning study of the seductive power of control. 'Orr had a strangely twisted ego that drove him to do these things,' Smerling continues. 'He had incredible feelings of powerlessness. This was his way to foster power.' Moving from ambience to 'action' Although Smoke takes creative liberties by reimagining characters, relationships, and story arcs, Lehane built a show that trades sensationalism for something more unsettling—a meditation on identity, obsession, and unraveling. Every episode opens with a visual and sonic elegy: a title sequence created by the studio Digital Kitchen, depicting objects consumed by flame and underscored by a new song from Thom Yorke called 'Dialing In.' Yorke's slow track twinkles with dread, setting the emotional temperature for what's to come. That precise tone—moody, dark, charged—was carefully calibrated. Kari Skogland, who directed The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and The Loudest Voice, oversaw the show's first two episodes. Lehane chose Skogland partly for her ability to draw subtle, nuanced performances from actors. 'I would be like, I want you to pull that from the actress,' says Lehane, adding, 'But I don't want it to be obvious. I want it to be on a second viewing that viewers catch it.' In a medium increasingly reliant on digital wizardry, Smoke leans into practical effects when possible. 'The fire in Event Horizon is spectacular,' says Lehane, also citing the visceral realism of films like Backdraft and Only the Brave. 'Right from the beginning, I said to my team, this is what I want it to look like. I don't want to endanger anybody, but we have to find a way to do practical fire.' To bring that vision to life, the production team constructed a sprawling 'burn stage' in Vancouver, where fires could be safely set and controlled. In addition to using fire-resistant materials and having safety-focused crew on set, members of the city's fire department were stationed close by during filming. This wasn't just technical bravado, but a commitment to realism. The fire had to feel alive, volatile, and credible—a force the actors had to confront in real time. The opening scene in Smoke's pilot episode showcases one of the series' more complex and technically demanding moments. In the scene, Egerton's character navigates a hoarder's house overtaken by flames. Achieving the effect required precise teamwork—all while the actor navigated the growing inferno. 'Taron, God bless him, man,' Lehane says. 'There are no special effects in that scene. That's just Taron on the burn stage with pipes all around him shooting actual fire.' Egerton, for his part, welcomed the production's commitment to realism. 'I think we all feel a little bit of fatigue when things are heavily reliant on computer generated imagery. There's a real value in storytelling to things that feel tangible and practical,' says the actor. 'It was obviously a challenging sequence to do, but things that are worth something are normally hard won. It really does have a kind of magic to it.' What tragedy leaves behind In Smoke, fire isn't just a destructive force, it's the show's emotional grammar: how guilt simmers, how ego combusts, how lies catch and burn. The series draws its fear and unease from a chilling idea: the sense that dangerous people often hide in plain sight. 'We just miss them. We don't see them, because we're not looking very hard on a psychological level,' Smerling says. 'You have to understand people at a deeper level than the surface.' It's a notion that resonates deeply with Egerton, who sees the world of Smoke as a dreamscape of moral distortion. 'It resembles our world, but it's also a kind of slightly darker, heightened version of it,' he explains. As the episodes unfold, the narrative mutates, and what begins as a crime story bends into something more abstract, more interior. 'It really shifts, changes, and distorts over time,' he says. 'It becomes something much more psychological and weird.' For Lehane, the truest devastation lies not in what the fire takes, but in what it reveals. The show's most haunting moments are its most intimate: the quiet reckonings, long-deferred truths, characters unable (or unwilling) to look themselves in the mirror. 'I hope it leads people to question a lot of these paths they're going down,' says Lehane, adding, 'I wish we could all just admit, 'Hey, we're all messed up—every single one of us.' And if you're not, you're lying to yourself and to everybody else. So just strive to be a little better every day.' That is the core of Smoke. Beneath the fire and ash, beyond the secrets and suspense, it asks the simple, difficult question: What does it cost to live in denial? 'Every single person in the show lies to themselves, and it only leads to grief,' Lehane continues. 'There's not a single person, with the exception of [one], who's honest with themselves—and look how much pain is caused by that.'
Forbes
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Aaliyah's Posthumous Single Earns The Singer Her First New Radio Hit In A Decade
Nearly a quarter-century after her passing, Aaliyah is back on the Billboard charts. The late superstar returns with a new posthumous single, a collaboration with fellow R&B artist Tank. Her vocals – and not artificial intelligence – were used for the tune "Gone," and it's clear that programmers across the U.S. have rallied behind the track, collectively turning the newly-released cut into a radio hit on multiple tallies this frame. "Gone" opens on a pair of Billboard rankings this week. It launches highest on the Adult R&B Airplay chart, where it debuts at No. 20. While it narrowly misses the top 40 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay tally, it only barely does so, instead starting off at No. 43. During her lifetime and in the years since, Aaliyah has now collected 14 hits on the Adult R&B Airplay chart. With this latest tune, she ups her count on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay tally to 23 songs. Tank, meanwhile, has now amassed 25 entries on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay list and two more on the Adult R&B-only roster. It's been well over a decade since Aaliyah last scored a hit on the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay tally, which is considered the most competitive radio ranking in those genres. She last appeared on the list with a new track in 2012, when Drake joined her on "Enough Said." That cut went on to spend 10 weeks on the tally, but only climbed as high as No. 48. While it's been years since Aaliyah reached the R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay list, she more recently found success on the Adult R&B Airplay chart. Interestingly, it wasn't with the Drake tune. The Weeknd was co-billed as a lead act on "Poison," which arrived on the radio ranking in early 2022 and climbed to No. 21. That track was expected to serve as the lead single from Aaliyah's still-forthcoming posthumous album, but little has been heard about the project since.
