Latest news with #Spellbound
The Hindu
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Hindu
Indian-American Faizan Zaki overcomes shocking, self-inflicted flub to win Scripps National Spelling Bee
Indian-American Faizan Zaki's enthusiasm for spelling nearly got the better of him. Ultimately, his joyful approach made him the Scripps National Spelling Bee champion. The favourite entering the bee after his runner-up finish last year, during which he never misspelled a word in a conventional spelling round, only to lose a lightning-round tiebreaker that he didn't practice for, the shaggy-haired Faizan wore the burden of expectations lightly, sauntering to the microphone in a black hoodie and spelling his words with casual glee. Including Faizan, whose parents emigrated from southern India, 30 of the past 36 champions have been Indian American, a run that began with Nupur Lala's victory in 1999, which was later featured in the documentary 'Spellbound.' Lala was among the dozens of past champions who attended this year and signed autographs for spellers, families and bee fans to honour the anniversary. Throughout Thursday (May 29, 2025) night's finals, the 13-year-old from Allen, Texas, looked like a champion in waiting. Then he nearly threw it away. But even a shocking moment of overconfidence couldn't prevent him from seizing the title of best speller in the English language. With the bee down to three spellers, Sarvadnya Kadam and Sarv Dharavane missed their words back-to-back, putting Faizan two words away from victory. The first was 'commelina,' but instead of asking the requisite questions — definition, language of origin — to make sure he knew it, Faizan let his showman's instincts take over. 'K-A-M,' he said, then stopped himself. 'OK, let me do this. Oh, shoot!' 'Just ring the bell,' he told head judge Mary Brooks, who obliged. 'So now you know what happens,' Brooks said, and the other two spellers returned to the stage. Later, standing next to the trophy with confetti at his feet, Faizan said, 'I'm definitely going to be having nightmares about that tonight.' Even pronouncer Jacques Bailly tried to slow Faizan down before his winning word, 'eclaircissement,' but Faizan didn't ask a single question before spelling it correctly, and he pumped his fists and collapsed to the stage after saying the final letter. The bee celebrated its 100th anniversary this year, and Faizan may be the first champion who's remembered more for a word he got wrong than one he got right. 'I think he cared too much about his aura,' said Bruhat Soma, Faizan's buddy who beat him in the 'spell-off' tiebreaker last year. Faizan had a more nuanced explanation: After not preparing for the spell-off last year, he over-corrected, emphasising speed during his study sessions. Although Bruhat was fast last year when he needed to be, he followed the familiar playbook for champion spellers: asking thorough questions, spelling slowly and metronomically, showing little emotion. Those are among the hallmarks of well-coached spellers, and Faizan had three coaches: Scott Remer, Sam Evans and Sohum Sukhantankar. None of them could turn Faizan into a robot on stage. 'He's crazy. He's having a good time, and he's doing what he loves, which is spelling,' Evans said. Said Zaki Anwar, Faizan's father: 'He's the GOAT. I actually believe that. He's really good, man. He's been doing it for so long, and he knows the dictionary in and out.' A thrilling centennial After last year's bee had little drama before an abrupt move to the spell-off, Scripps tweaked the competition rules, giving judges more leeway to let the competition play out before going to the tiebreaker. The nine finalists delivered. During one stretch, six spellers got 28 consecutive words right, and there were three perfect rounds during the finals. The last time there was a single perfect round was the infamous 2019 bee, which ended in an eight-way tie. Sarv, an 11-year-old fifth-grader from Dunwoody, Georgia, who ultimately finished third, would have been the youngest champion since Nihar Janga in 2016. He has three years of eligibility remaining. The most poised and mature of the final three, Sarvadnya - who's from Visalia, California - ends his career as the runner-up. He's 14 and in the eighth grade, which means he has aged out of the competition. It's not a bad way to go out, considering that Faizan became just the fifth runner-up in a century to come back and win, and the first since Sean Conley in 2001. With the winner's haul of $52,500 added to his second-place prize of $25,000, Faizan increased his bee earnings to $77,500. His big splurge with his winnings last year was a $1,500 Rubik's cube with 21 squares on each side. This time, he said he'd donate a large portion of his winnings to charity. The bee began in 1925 when the Louisville Courier-Journal invited other newspapers to host spelling bees and send their champions to Washington. For the past 14 years, Scripps has hosted the competition at a convention centre just outside the nation's capital, but the bee returns downtown next year to Constitution Hall, a nearly century-old concert venue near the White House. A passionate champion Faizan has been spelling for more than half his life. He competed in the 2019 bee as a 7-year-old, getting in through a wild-card programme that has since been discontinued. He qualified again in 2023 and made the semifinals before last year's second-place finish. 'One thing that differentiates him is that he really has a passion for this. In his free time, when he's not studying for the bee, he's literally looking up archaic, obsolete words that have no chance of being asked,' Bruhat said. 'I don't think he cares as much about the title as his passion for language and words'. Faizan had no regrets about showing that enthusiasm, even though it nearly cost him. 'No offense to Bruhat, but I think he really took the bee a little too seriously,' Faizan said. 'I decided to have fun with this bee, and I did well, and here I am.'
Winnipeg Free Press
24-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Phil Henley's Spellbound, an account of life with dyslexia, inspires
Some might know Canadian standup comedian Phil Hanley from memorable appearances on late night talk shows or festival appearances found on Instagram, where his intelligence and quick crowd work have won the Oshawa native a growing audience. In his surprising and moving memoir Spellbound, we learn that planting his feet on the standup stage and finding comfort and a career came to Hanley after many globetrotting adventures — all the while struggling with a severe form of dyslexia that made almost everything he undertook at school painstaking and fraught with anxiety. As is often the case with many brain processing issues, his one challenge is often compounded with others. Whether his distractibility and obsessive compulsions are also medical grade is less relevant than how Hanley has managed to cope and flourish. Spellbound While Hanley mixes up letters and numbers, it seems the number '10' starts to stick. Fancy folks in the fashion business see a commodity in his healthy figure and handsome face. Suddenly, a standup memoir becomes a book about high fashion during a fertile and freaky era. (The more the better!) Soon Hanley is in Milan working as a runway model. He finds a similar lost soul in the troubled and ill-fated designer Alexander McQueen. But life on the upside has its downs, and after a whirlwind season or so and a heavy heartbreak, Hanley lands back in North America. Next up, he's testing his quick wit with the improv collective Upright Citizen's Brigade — who, along with L.A.'s The Groundlings, have been keeping Saturday Night Live in cast members for many seasons. It's during this period in New York that Hanley begins to explore whether solo standup might be the ideal job. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. At the same time, a need to stay grounded leads him to transcendental meditation, made famous by the likes of the Beatles and David Lynch. The practice helps Hanley write, focus and tap into the absurd ideas that make his comedy unique. Being a former model doesn't help much on open mics, but it comes in handy as his prospects improve. Hanley's description of his rise to current fame takes up the last quarter of the book and is funny, wise and engaging. But near the end of his story so far, he circles back to his most steadfast companion — dyslexia. With Spellbound, and in his talks in schools, he is working to remove stigma and dispense encouragement. It must be said that it's not in paper format that we feel the full power of Hanley's resilience. He has recorded an audiobook, which took him over twice as long as a regular reader. Dyslexia doesn't care that he wrote the book. So while this review of Spellbound covers the print edition, the audiobook is a massive personal accomplishment, and should be mentioned as such. Lara Rae deals with attention deficit disorder and borderline personality disorder, and is a standup comic originally from Glasgow.
The Irish Sun
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘How did this get through?' fume Britain's Got Talent fans as they rip into ‘shocking' semi-final act
BRITAIN'S Got Talent fans fumed, 'How did this get through?' as they ripped into one "shocking" semi-final act tonight. ITV viewers were left baffled while watching novelty act Papi advance further in the competition with a performance involving squeaky rubber chickens. 4 BGT fans ripped into one 'shocking' semi-final act tonight Credit: Shutterstock Editorial The Taiwanese performer, who gained attention earlier in the series for his comedic renditions of Queen songs, returned to the BGT stage to perform a medley using the toys as instruments. While judge Amanda Holden appeared amused, even standing up at the end of his set, Simon Cowell, Bruno Tonioli and Alesha Dixon gave him the red buzzer. And fans watching at home weren't won over either, sharing their frustration over his inclusion in the semi-finals. One wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "Why the f**k would you put that through of actual talented people, make it make sense because that was fucking shocking. You judges put it though, d**kheads #bgt." more on Britain's Got Talent Someone else said: "Is this what #BGT #BritainsGotTalent has come too, someone squeezing rubber chickens!!!" A third raged: "How the hell did this guy, with squeaky toys, get through to the semi finals? #BritainsGotTalent #bgt." One more fumed: "This could quite possibly be the WORST Semi Final act I've ever seen #BGT." Their frustration didn't end there. Most read in Reality Earlier in the show, bored fans The cast of Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular kicked off proceedings - but not all viewers were left happy. Bored Britain's Got Talent fans slam segment saying it's been 'done to death' and insist show 'needs to move on' One viewer wrote on X: "I said this last year. The Greatest showman has been done to death already!! "BGT needs to come up with a new thing!!!" Another added: "I know the other judges mock Simon and his Greatest Showman obsession in their private group chat." While a third chimed in: "Every year there's stuff from this musical." A fourth shared: "#BGT can Simon Cowell not move on from the Greatest Showman." Meanwhile, competing for spots in the final were Hear Our Voice, IDOLLS, Papi Bucket, TK Magic, Joseph Charm, Maya Giotea, Max Fox and Obsequious. Britain's Got Talent airs on ITV1 and ITVX. Timeline of BGT Winners Britain's Got Talent has been thrilling fans since it burst onto the scene in 2007. Here we take a look at all the 2007: Paul Potts - The first ever winner of BGT was opera singer 2008: George Sampson - In series two of Britain's Got Talent a young 2009: Diversity - Dance troupe 2010 - Spellbound: Gymnastic troupe Spellbound really impressed judge 2011 - Jai McDowall: Viewers were stunned when 2012 - Ashleigh and Pudsy: 2013 - Attraction: Hungarian shadow artist group Attraction won the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent. The squad had taken part in the German version of BGT in 2012, however, they had only placed seventh. 2014 - Collabro: Classical music band 2015 - Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse: Dog lovers everywhere could't get enough of Jules O'Dwyer and pet pup Matisse. The impressive duo even performed on a tightrope to secure their win. 2016 - Richard Jones: Army man 2017 - Tokio Myers: Pianist 2018 - Lost Voice Guy: Stand-up comedian 2019 - Colin Thackery: Veteran army officer 2020 - Jon Courtenay: Singer and pianist 2022 - Axel Blake: Comedian 2023 - Viggo Venn: Known for his high-vis jackets, comedian 2024 - Sydnie Christmas: The reigning champ is singer 4 Novelty act Papi performs tracks using squeaky rubber chickens Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 4 He returned to the BGT stage to perform a medley using the toys as instruments Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 4 Simon Cowell, Bruno Tonioli and Alesha Dixon gave him the red buzzer Credit: ITV
The Irish Sun
18-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
Bored Britain's Got Talent fans slam segment saying it's been ‘done to death' and insist show ‘needs to move on'
BORED Britain's Got Talent fans branded a segment as 'done to death' and insisted the show 'needs to move on'. The smash-hit ITV variety show returned for to screens for its fourth semi final this series. 1 BGT fans weren't impressed with a semi-final's opening Credit: ITV Come Alive! The Greatest Showman Circus Spectacular' kicked off proceedings - but not all viewers were left happy. One viewer wrote on X: "I said this last year. The Greatest showman has been done to death already!! "BGT needs to come up with a new thing!!!" Another added: "I know the other judges mock Simon and his Greatest Showman obsession in their private group chat." More on Britain's Gor Talent While a third chimed in: "Every year there's stuff from this musical." A fourth shared: "#BGT can Simon Cowell not move on from the Greatest Showman." Meanwhile, competing for spots in the final were Hear Our Voice, IDOLLS, Papi Bucket, TK Magic, Joseph Charm, Maya Giotea, Max Fox and Obsequious. It comes as viewers previously slammed the show with Ofcom complaints following a "terrifying" semi-final act. Most read in News TV , 45 , returned to the BGT stage after his first audition The judges watched in horror as the performer swallowed flaming weapons. Britain's Got Talent embroiled in 'fix' row ahead of final as singer hits out at producers before he's axed Ant and Dec looked horrified while they got on a motorcycle car which Bao pulled using just his eyes. Ultimately, Bao failed to advance to the Grand Final - with Ping Pong Pang and Jasmine Rice qualifying. Ofcom revealed that May 10's Britain's Got Talent episode received 65 complaints. They confirmed to One fumed: "I find this act impossible to watch. How can this be classed as family entertainment … it's horrific." Another penned: "I don't want to watch an act which is intrinsically dangerous. It could have gone horribly wrong." While a third wrote: "Make it stop man I can't even watch how disgusting." Britain's Got Talent airs on ITV1 and ITVX. Timeline of BGT Winners Britain's Got Talent has been thrilling fans since it burst onto the scene in 2007. Here we take a look at all the 2007: Paul Potts - The first ever winner of BGT was opera singer 2008: George Sampson - In series two of Britain's Got Talent a young 2009: Diversity - Dance troupe 2010 - Spellbound: Gymnastic troupe Spellbound really impressed judge 2011 - Jai McDowall: Viewers were stunned when 2012 - Ashleigh and Pudsy: 2013 - Attraction: Hungarian shadow artist group Attraction won the seventh series of Britain's Got Talent. The squad had taken part in the German version of BGT in 2012, however, they had only placed seventh. 2014 - Collabro: Classical music band 2015 - Jules O'Dwyer & Matisse: Dog lovers everywhere could't get enough of Jules O'Dwyer and pet pup Matisse. The impressive duo even performed on a tightrope to secure their win. 2016 - Richard Jones: Army man 2017 - Tokio Myers: Pianist 2018 - Lost Voice Guy: Stand-up comedian 2019 - Colin Thackery: Veteran army officer 2020 - Jon Courtenay: Singer and pianist 2022 - Axel Blake: Comedian 2023 - Viggo Venn: Known for his high-vis jackets, comedian 2024 - Sydnie Christmas: The reigning champ is singer
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
Forget the buffet: Here's why a cruise should be on your vacation bucket list
Many people flock to cruise ships for their vacation because you get everything you want and need in one place: multiple ports of call, spas, pools, live entertainment and, of course, buffets. For some, however, buffets are a deterrent, and many cruise ships are starting to realize they may not be what passengers want anymore. The realization couldn't come at a better time, as travelers are increasingly choosing cruise travel over land-based vacations, according to June 2024 research from JP Morgan, which noted that consumers are more and more "focused on value within discretionary categories, with the value spread between cruises and land-based alternatives standing at 25-30% today versus 10-15% pre-pandemic." As a result, cruise operators are overhauling their fleets and on-board offerings to appeal to these consumers. In April 2024, Norwegian Cruise Line placed its largest ship order ever to meet rising demand. And Disney announced at its D23 fan event last August that it will expand its cruise fleet to 13 ships by 2031. Cruise lines are also getting creative with their dining solutions to accommodate guests who favor a more selective experience in lieu of a massive standard buffet. Aboard Princess Cruises' Sun Princess, the latest ship added to the cruise line's fleet, you'll still find grandiose dining rooms and a buffet, however, guests are offered a served buffet rather than a serve-yourself concept. The cruise line has also teamed up with some of the top chefs from around the world to curate its unique dining experiences. The ship boasts over 30 restaurants and bar venues with celebrity collaborators, including mixologist Rob Floyd, world-renowned artist Romero Brito, supermodel Tyra Banks, famed butcher Dario Cecchini and many others. "We wanted to bring a new taste and flair to our guests," said Sami Kohen, vice president of food and beverage operations for Princess Cruises. "The cruise line industry has been around since the early 1960s and the traditional dining room is part of our dining choices, but it's not the primary one that we want to implement." Take Makoto Ocean, for example, an edomae-style sushi restaurant aboard the Sun Princess. Chef Makoto Okuwa, a famed Japanese chef known for his brick-and-mortar restaurant in Miami Beach, has brought his culinary talents to the high seas, serving his delicious sushi and specialty dishes to cruise guests. Another unique addition to the Sun Princess is Spellbound by Magic Castle. The members-only concept -- the original clubhouse is located in Los Angeles -- is now giving passengers a sneak preview of its sumptuous dining, extravagant cocktails, and magical entertainment aboard the cruise ship, treating them to "incredible feats of magic from talented magicians, surprises in themed rooms and theatrical cocktails delivered by sleight-of-hand servers," according to a press release. Meanwhile aboard the Disney Treasure, Disney's latest vessel and sister ship to the Disney Wish, the company is taking immersive experiences to a whole new level. The Treasure's Haunted Mansion bar is the first bar of its kind in the cruise line's fleet. The ship is the first vessel to incorporate storylines found in Disney theme parks into new experiences found on-board. Unique light shows, spooky handcrafted cocktails, and even appearances from Madame Leota herself are just some of the sneaky surprises you can expect from this elevated, adults-only experience. Over at Plaza de Coco, the Treasure is taking dinner and a show to a whole new level. Once you walk past a long corridor, you feel like you're no longer aboard a ship and have been transported to a plaza en La Ciudad de México (Mexico City). With authentic Mexican cuisine and delicious handcrafted cocktails paired with an incredible mariachi show and entertainment from Disney and Pixar's famous animated film "Coco," you'll surely be celebrating Dia de los Muertos with your newfound familia. "When you think about the entertainment part of it, I haven't been to a place where you can actually have live music and entertainment and have a menu like this where we are putting all these Mexican touches," said Disney Cruise Lines food and beverage expert Isai Coca. In addition to elevated dining experiences, travelers are also seeking greater flexibility. Many cruise lines are doing away with the concept of seated dinners and giving control back to passengers so they can plan their days accordingly, whether they're looking to do a little remote work, spend an extra hour at the pool, or just head back to their cabin for a midday nap. Carlos Justina, food and beverage director aboard the Sun Princess, says that giving control back to passengers when it comes to when they want to eat, plus the use of technology with the Princess App, actually helps the company to adequately prepare and deliver a stronger experience to guests. If you're moving on from the cruise vacations of yesteryear or are simply looking to embrace a fresh, experiential concept, cruise lines are listening -- and chances are, you'll find what you're looking for.
