Latest news with #SuperStar
Time of India
19-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Star Health Insurance introduces variants for personalised health coverage
Chennai: Retail health insurance provider Star Health Insurance has launched Star Flexi , an expansion to its product 'Super Star'. The company states that Star Flexi is designed to offer additional options and customisation to the existing Super Star health plan . With this, Star Health has introduced three new variants — Essential, Preferred, and Secure. According to the company, the three packages are designed to serve a wide range of customers, from individuals in rural and semi-urban areas to those in metropolitan cities who prefer more comprehensive and premium coverage. Anand Roy, MD & CEO, Star Health Insurance, said, 'With the launch of the three curated health insurance packages , 'Essential', 'Preferred', and 'Secure', we are reinforcing our commitment to expanding access to high-quality healthcare insurance from small villages and towns to metros'
Euronews
15-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Euronews
Meet the pop star singing to bring Eurovision back to Slovakia
'My song is about deciding to act on things that you can actually influence. I am singing about standing up for myself and walking away from toxic situations or anything that makes me stagnate in life. I am saying goodbye to all of it,' Adonxs says in between rehearsals in Basel for Thursday's Eurovision semi-final. Slovak-born Adam Pavlovčin, performing under the artist name Adonxs, is draped in a glittering white cape and his eyeliner is shimmering. Representing Czechia with his hit 'Kiss Kiss Goodbye,' he has only one focus: 'I just want to qualify honestly. That is the goal. I am not even thinking past that point.' Adonxs' musical career took off in 2021 after he was victorious in the Czech-Slovak show 'SuperStar', becoming the first openly queer winner. A couple of years ago, Adonxs said kiss kiss goodbye to his home country Slovakia and is now based in Prague – a city he calls home. 'Our music markets truly work like one, so it comes very natural to compete for Czechia.' Representing Slovakia was however never an option as the country left the contest in 2012. Adonxs thinks the reason is political: 'This is purely because there is no interest from the government's side. I know a lot of people that would love Eurovision to come back to Slovakia.' Under Prime Minister Robert Fico's government, Slovakia's attitude toward culture and arts has shifted. 'We all remember the LGBTQ+ free zones in Poland. Slovakia is now experiencing a similar situation, particularly when it comes to art,' Adonxs explains. The Slovak government has proposed multiple anti-LGBTQ bills in recent years. As an outspoken queer artist and activist, Adonxs believes the country is moving in the wrong direction. 'I do not think Slovakia is in very good hands right now,' he says. 'Funding for liberal and queer culture has been cut. It is horrible. I think it comes from pure unhappiness. A happy person would not try to suppress someone else's creativity. I actually feel sorry for them.' A person that has been central to this shift is Martina Šimkovičová, the culture minister from the far-right Slovak National Party. She has faced criticism for cracking down on public institutions that are not aligning with the government's views. 'Šimkovičová must be very frustrated – I mean, she is afraid of art while being in charge of it,' Adonxs says.
Leader Live
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Leader Live
Singer Adonxs tells of journey from ‘couch-surfing in London' to Eurovision star
Slovakian singer Adonxs, 29, who was the frontman of a London-based band called Pace and attended the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMMI) in the capital, will represent Czechia in Basel, Switzerland, as the competition takes place this week. The self-described queer artist, real name Adam Pavlovcin, is a previous winner of the Czech singing contest SuperStar, and is entering Eurovision with the dramatic song Kiss Kiss Goodbye – written in London. A post shared by ADONXS (@ageofadonxs) At a hotel in Basel on Tuesday, he told the PA news agency: 'It was one of the best decisions for me to move to London, although the first year was definitely a big struggle. I was considering so many times moving back.' He added that for the 'first month, (he did not know) anyone in the city, (while) already studying, (and) looking for a place, couch-surfing… looking for a part-time job, it was a lot'. Adonxs said that he learned a lot through his professional experience, but also praised 'the creative hub' of London, where he met his band, made up of Greek, Slovakian, British and Monegasques musicians. He called this time, 'a huge stepping stone for me', and says he is hoping to return to the UK. 'I feel like the UK music market is market of its own, and it's not that open to a lot of foreign, new artists, and especially being in there as a foreigner, might be even more trickier,' Adonxs added. He also said that he does not think that the Eurovision organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), is 'forbidding the queer flags, or trans flags', with the new rules this year. 'Eurovision is a very queer safe space, and it's full of queer people, so I don't think it's censoring queer people,' Adonxs said. 'I feel like Eurovision would not be here without queer people, and the only thing is that we will see the flags all around the arena, and we (artists) won't be able to have them. 'I wasn't planning on bringing the Slovakian flag, because I'm proudly representing Czechia. I would probably wear a queer flag, but I wasn't having this thought process with myself just yet. 'So now I know I won't be able to do it, but come on, my performance is queer, and people know that, and I'm a queer artist, so I don't think we can get rid of that on stage.' A post shared by Eurovision Song Contest (@eurovision) The delegations are only being allowed to promote their own country's flag during the contest, and not an LGBT+ one. However, fans have no restrictions on what they can bring into the arena, unlike last year when pro-Palestinian flags had restrictions. Adonxs said he hopes his performance at Thursday's semi-final will be 'liberating, uplifting and powerful', and get audiences to 'be fully connected to what's happening on stage, to be connected with the illusion and fantasy that I'm bringing on stage and live through it with me'. 'The thing that people might not know is sometimes I feel like I might be unreachable, or reserved, and I'm not. I'm just shy, or I'm really introverted,' he added. 'I'm not reserved and I'm reachable. I'm very much reachable.' The first semi-final is held on Tuesday, while the second semi-final will start on Thursday, and the final at the same time, 8pm BST, on Saturday. The three shows will be broadcast on the BBC in the UK.
South Wales Guardian
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Guardian
Singer Adonxs tells of journey from ‘couch-surfing in London' to Eurovision star
Slovakian singer Adonxs, 29, who was the frontman of a London-based band called Pace and attended the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMMI) in the capital, will represent Czechia in Basel, Switzerland, as the competition takes place this week. The self-described queer artist, real name Adam Pavlovcin, is a previous winner of the Czech singing contest SuperStar, and is entering Eurovision with the dramatic song Kiss Kiss Goodbye – written in London. A post shared by ADONXS (@ageofadonxs) At a hotel in Basel on Tuesday, he told the PA news agency: 'It was one of the best decisions for me to move to London, although the first year was definitely a big struggle. I was considering so many times moving back.' He added that for the 'first month, (he did not know) anyone in the city, (while) already studying, (and) looking for a place, couch-surfing… looking for a part-time job, it was a lot'. Adonxs said that he learned a lot through his professional experience, but also praised 'the creative hub' of London, where he met his band, made up of Greek, Slovakian, British and Monegasques musicians. He called this time, 'a huge stepping stone for me', and says he is hoping to return to the UK. 'I feel like the UK music market is market of its own, and it's not that open to a lot of foreign, new artists, and especially being in there as a foreigner, might be even more trickier,' Adonxs added. He also said that he does not think that the Eurovision organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), is 'forbidding the queer flags, or trans flags', with the new rules this year. 'Eurovision is a very queer safe space, and it's full of queer people, so I don't think it's censoring queer people,' Adonxs said. 'I feel like Eurovision would not be here without queer people, and the only thing is that we will see the flags all around the arena, and we (artists) won't be able to have them. 'I wasn't planning on bringing the Slovakian flag, because I'm proudly representing Czechia. I would probably wear a queer flag, but I wasn't having this thought process with myself just yet. 'So now I know I won't be able to do it, but come on, my performance is queer, and people know that, and I'm a queer artist, so I don't think we can get rid of that on stage.' A post shared by Eurovision Song Contest (@eurovision) The delegations are only being allowed to promote their own country's flag during the contest, and not an LGBT+ one. However, fans have no restrictions on what they can bring into the arena, unlike last year when pro-Palestinian flags had restrictions. Adonxs said he hopes his performance at Thursday's semi-final will be 'liberating, uplifting and powerful', and get audiences to 'be fully connected to what's happening on stage, to be connected with the illusion and fantasy that I'm bringing on stage and live through it with me'. 'The thing that people might not know is sometimes I feel like I might be unreachable, or reserved, and I'm not. I'm just shy, or I'm really introverted,' he added. 'I'm not reserved and I'm reachable. I'm very much reachable.' The first semi-final is held on Tuesday, while the second semi-final will start on Thursday, and the final at the same time, 8pm BST, on Saturday. The three shows will be broadcast on the BBC in the UK.
South Wales Argus
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- South Wales Argus
Singer Adonxs tells of journey from ‘couch-surfing in London' to Eurovision star
Slovakian singer Adonxs, 29, who was the frontman of a London-based band called Pace and attended the British and Irish Modern Music Institute (BIMMI) in the capital, will represent Czechia in Basel, Switzerland, as the competition takes place this week. The self-described queer artist, real name Adam Pavlovcin, is a previous winner of the Czech singing contest SuperStar, and is entering Eurovision with the dramatic song Kiss Kiss Goodbye – written in London. At a hotel in Basel on Tuesday, he told the PA news agency: 'It was one of the best decisions for me to move to London, although the first year was definitely a big struggle. I was considering so many times moving back.' He added that for the 'first month, (he did not know) anyone in the city, (while) already studying, (and) looking for a place, couch-surfing… looking for a part-time job, it was a lot'. Adonxs said that he learned a lot through his professional experience, but also praised 'the creative hub' of London, where he met his band, made up of Greek, Slovakian, British and Monegasques musicians. He called this time, 'a huge stepping stone for me', and says he is hoping to return to the UK. 'I feel like the UK music market is market of its own, and it's not that open to a lot of foreign, new artists, and especially being in there as a foreigner, might be even more trickier,' Adonxs added. He also said that he does not think that the Eurovision organiser, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), is 'forbidding the queer flags, or trans flags', with the new rules this year. 'Eurovision is a very queer safe space, and it's full of queer people, so I don't think it's censoring queer people,' Adonxs said. 'I feel like Eurovision would not be here without queer people, and the only thing is that we will see the flags all around the arena, and we (artists) won't be able to have them. 'I wasn't planning on bringing the Slovakian flag, because I'm proudly representing Czechia. I would probably wear a queer flag, but I wasn't having this thought process with myself just yet. 'So now I know I won't be able to do it, but come on, my performance is queer, and people know that, and I'm a queer artist, so I don't think we can get rid of that on stage.' The delegations are only being allowed to promote their own country's flag during the contest, and not an LGBT+ one. However, fans have no restrictions on what they can bring into the arena, unlike last year when pro-Palestinian flags had restrictions. Adonxs said he hopes his performance at Thursday's semi-final will be 'liberating, uplifting and powerful', and get audiences to 'be fully connected to what's happening on stage, to be connected with the illusion and fantasy that I'm bringing on stage and live through it with me'. 'The thing that people might not know is sometimes I feel like I might be unreachable, or reserved, and I'm not. I'm just shy, or I'm really introverted,' he added. 'I'm not reserved and I'm reachable. I'm very much reachable.' The first semi-final is held on Tuesday, while the second semi-final will start on Thursday, and the final at the same time, 8pm BST, on Saturday. The three shows will be broadcast on the BBC in the UK.
