Category: Entertainment

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Tinubu congratulates Rema, Burna Boy, others as Nigeria shines at 9th AFRIMA

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has congratulated Nigerian artistes who won awards at the 9th edition of the All Africa Music Awards (AFRIMA), saying their success shows that Nigeria’s creative industry continues to gain global recognition.

In a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Thursday, the President praised the winners for making the country proud on the continental stage.

“I warmly congratulate our outstanding Nigerian artistes for their remarkable achievements at the 9th edition of the All Africa Music Awards. Your success on this great continental stage is a proud moment for our nation and a strong reflection of the depth of talent, creativity and hard work that define Nigeria’s music industry,” Tinubu said.

The President added that the artistes did more than win trophies, stressing that, “You have not only won awards; you have projected our culture, amplified the voice of our youths and strengthened Nigeria’s creative identity across the continent and beyond.”

Nigerian artistes dominated the awards ceremony, which held from January 7 to 11, 2026, in Lagos, the official host city designated by the African Union Commission. Rema won Artiste of the Year, Best Male Artiste in Western Africa and Best African RnB and Soul. Burna Boy clinched Album of the Year. Shallipopi won Song of the Year and Best African Collaboration alongside Burna Boy. Phyno emerged Best African Hip-Hop, Qing Madi won Most Promising Artiste, Yemi Alade secured Best Soundtrack, while Chella won African Fans’ Favourite. Kenny Ogungbe and Dayo Adeneye received the AFRIMA Legendary Award.

Tinubu said the achievements of the artistes reflected years of consistency and hard work, adding that Nigerian music has become “a strong voice for the country across Africa and beyond.” He noted that platforms such as AFRIMA continue to create opportunities for African talents to shine globally.

He also commended Lagos State for hosting the event, describing the state as Africa’s creative capital. “I commend Lagos State for once again proving its capacity as Africa’s creative and entertainment capital. I congratulate the Lagos State Government and His Excellency, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, for the excellent hosting of Africa’s global music awards and for providing a safe, vibrant and welcoming environment for delegates, artistes and guests from across the continent,” he said.

The President further assured that his administration would continue to support the creative industry, saying it has the potential to drive economic growth and job creation. “Culture is the soul of a people, and music remains one of Africa’s strongest voices. I remain deeply committed to supporting initiatives that promote our culture and empower our creative talents. Our government is fully committed to empowering young Nigerians and strengthening the creative economy,” Tinubu added.

AFRIMA, founded in 2014 by the International Committee of AFRIMA in partnership with the African Union Commission, is regarded as Africa’s biggest music awards platform. The 9th edition recorded participation from more than 1,216 artistes, delegates and stakeholders from at least 48 African countries.

Activities for the 2026 edition began on January 7 with a Welcome Soiree at the residence of the Deputy British High Commissioner, followed by the Africa Music Business Summit at the Eko Convention Centre. Events continued with the AFRIMA Music Village at Ikeja City Mall, which attracted over 20,000 fans and featured performances from more than 25 top artistes, before ending with a sold-out grand finale where winners received the 23.9-carat gold-plated AFRIMA trophy. (Guardian)

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KPop Demon Hunters wins Golden Globes for best animated film

Netflix mega-hit KPop Demon Hunters has won a Golden Globe for best animated feature, while its breakout anthem Golden was named best original song.

The animated film, which centres on a girl band Huntr/x that uses music to save the world from evil forces, has scored many chart-topping achievements since it premiered in June.

“Through this film we really wanted to depict female characters the way that we know women, which is really strong and bold,” director Maggie Kang said.

Fellow director Chris Appelhans, who accepted the best animated feature award with Kang, called the film a “love letter to music”. “To the power it has to connect us, to make us see some kind of shared humanity,” he said.

Fans have spoken of how the film’s empowering themes of self-acceptance, community, and fighting against inner “demons” resonated with them.

Singer-songwriter Ejae, who co-wrote and performed Golden, accepted the award for best original song along with Mark Sonnenblick and Lee Hee-joon.

In a tearful speech, she recalled her “tireless” pursuit early in her career to become a K-pop idol had ended with rejection and disappointment.

She dedicated the award to “people who have [had] their doors closed at them”. “It’s never too late to shine like you were born to be”, she said, quoting the song’s lyrics.

“I’m so part of a song that is helping other girls, other boys and everyone all get through their hardship to accept themselves,” she said.

KPop Demon Hunters quickly became an animated sensation since its release in June.

It became Netflix’s most-watched film of all time within two months, with Golden clinching the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 just weeks after it dropped. Another track, Your Idol, made it to number eight on the Hot 100.

Sunday’s Golden Globe accolades come after the film was named best animated feature and Golden named best song at the Critics Choice Award early this month.

Ejae earlier told the BBC that the film’s success “feels like a dream”.

“It’s like I’m surfing for the first time and a big wave just came through,” she told BBC Newsbeat. “I’m trying my best to get through it.

Korean-American actress Arden Cho, who voiced the main character Rumi, said her life mirrored Rumi’s journey.

“I can honestly say that at different points in my life, I hated a lot of myself and I wanted to be someone else,” she told BBC Global Women.

“I hated that I looked Asian, that I didn’t have blue eyes and blonde hair, because that’s what was beautiful at the time.”

Cho said the film was a tribute to people in underrepresented communities – it’s a film that brings “hope and joy and love to all these different communities”.

The film’s success at the Golden Globes – often seen as a prelude to the Academy Awards – will likely stoke Oscar buzz.

KPop Demon Hunters is one of 35 film features eligible for the animated feature category at this year’s Oscars. However the films shortlisted for this category has not yet been announced. (BBC)

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Golden Globes 2026: “One Battle After Another” and British series “Adolescence” win big

The stars of film and TV gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday for the 83rd Golden Globes ceremony, and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another and Netflix miniseries Adolescence emerged as the big winners on the night, earning four Globes apiece.

One Battle After Another won Best Film (Comedy or Musical), Best Supporting Actress for Teyana Taylor, Best Director and Best Screenplay, both for Anderson, who has become only the second filmmaker after Oliver Stone to collect Best Director, Screenplay and Film (as a producer) at the Globes.

Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s postmodern countercultural novel “Vineland”, Anderson’s tenth feature centers around a dishevelled revolutionary (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is forced out of retirement when a former enemy (Sean Penn) threatens his daughter (Chase Infiniti) in a bid to revive an old grudge. Euronews Culture ranked it our Number 1 Movie of 2025 and it is the clear front-runner this awards season.

In one of the evening’s best speeches, singer and actress Teyana Taylor sent a message to “my brown sisters and little brown girls watching tonight”.

“Our light does not need permission to shine,” she told them. “We belong in every room we walk into. Our voices matter and our dreams deserve space.”

While many were betting on Ryan Coogler’s vampire thriller Sinners to take Best Film in the Drama section, Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, a speculative drama about William and Agnes Shakespeare based on Maggie O’Farrell’s bestselling novel, pulled off an upset by winning the Best Film (Drama). Its star, Jessie Buckley, also won Best Actress in a Drama.

At the Oscars, Buckley will have to compete against Rose Byrne, who was rewarded for her lead performance in Mary Bronstein’s punishing parental drama If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.

Sinners – another one of our 2025 favourites – did end up winning Best Score and the Cinematic and Box-office Achievement award, beating the likes of Avatar: Fire and Ash, F1, Weapons and Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning.

Other big winners of the evening include Timothée Chalamet, who nabbed his first Golden Globe for Marty Supreme, beating George Clooney and Leonardo DiCaprio. The 30-year-old is poised to win his first Oscar for his role in Josh Safdie’s first solo outing behind the camera. Loosely inspired by the life and career of US ping-pong player Marty Reisman, Marty Supreme is a coming-of-age film about scheming and whatever-it-takes determination in the face of adversity.

“My dad instilled in me a spirit of gratitude growing up: Always be grateful for what you have,” said Chalamet. “It’s allowed me to leave this ceremony in the past empty handed, my head held high, grateful just to be here. I’d be lying if I didn’t say those moments didn’t make this moment that much sweeter.”

Elsewhere, Brazilian actor Wagner Moura was the surprise winner in the Drama category for his role in the political thriller The Secret Agent, becoming the first Brazilian to win the award. His win follows Fernanda Torres’ success last year for I’m Still Here.

“This is a film about memory – or the lack of memory – and generational trauma,” Moura said. “I think that if trauma can be passed along generations, values can too. So this is to the ones that are sticking with their values in difficult moments.”

The Secret Agent also won Best Film (Non-English language), beating favourite Sentimental Value.

Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård, 74, did win Best Supporting Actor for Sentimental Value. He joked that he hadn’t prepared a speech “because I thought that I was too old”, before making an impassioned plea for people to see films like his on the big screen.

“Cinema should be seen in cinemas,” he said to cheers from the audience. (EuroNews)

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‘Sinners,’ ‘One Battle After Another’ Win Big at 2026 Critics Choice Awards

It was a big night for Ryan Coogler’s Sinners and Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another at the 31st Annual Critics’ Choice Awards. Those two films were among the big winners at this year’s award show, which took place at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica. 

Sinners took home awards for Best Original Screenplay (Coogler), Best Young Performer (Miles Canton), Best Casting (Francine Maisler), and Best Score (Ludwig Göransson). As for One Battle After Another, it landed awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Anderson) and Best Adapted Screenplay.

In television, Abbott Elementary star Janelle James won Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series; Tramell Tillman of Severance was awarded Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Hosted by Chelsea Handler, the night also featured big wins for Frankenstein and TV shows such as The Pitt and The Studio.

You can see a list for winners of the major film categories below: 

Best Picture

  • “Bugonia” (Focus Features)
  • “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
  • “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
  • “Jay Kelly” (Netflix)
  • “Marty Supreme” (A24)
  • “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
  • “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
  • “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
  • “Train Dreams” (Netflix)
  • “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)

Best Director

  • Paul Thomas Anderson, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
  • Ryan Coogler, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
  • Guillermo del Toro, “Frankenstein” (Netflix)
  • Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme” (A24)
  • Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
  • Chloé Zhao, “Hamnet” (Focus Features)

Actor

  • Timothée Chalamet, “Marty Supreme” (A24) (WINNER)
  • Leonardo DiCaprio, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
  • Joel Edgerton, “Train Dreams” (Netflix)
  • Ethan Hawke, “Blue Moon” (Sony Pictures Classics)
  • Michael B. Jordan, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
  • Wagner Moura, “The Secret Agent” (Neon)

Actress

  • Jessie Buckley, “Hamnet” (Focus Features) (WINNER)
  • Rose Byrne, “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You” (A24)
  • Chase Infiniti, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
  • Renate Reinsve, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
  • Amanda Seyfried, “The Testament of Ann Lee” (Searchlight Pictures)
  • Emma Stone, “Bugonia” (Focus Features)

Supporting Actor

  • Benicio del Toro, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
  • Jacob Elordi, “Frankenstein” (Netflix)(WINNER)
  • Paul Mescal, “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
  • Sean Penn, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)
  • Adam Sandler, “Jay Kelly” (Netflix)
  • Stellan Skarsgård, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)

Supporting Actress

  • Elle Fanning, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
  • Ariana Grande, “Wicked: For Good” (Universal Pictures)
  • Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)
  • Amy Madigan, “Weapons” (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
  • Wunmi Mosaku, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)
  • Teyana Taylor, “One Battle After Another” (Warner Bros.)

Original Screenplay

  • Noah Baumbach and Emily Mortimer, “Jay Kelly” (Netflix)
  • Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, “Marty Supreme” (A24)
  • Ryan Coogler, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.) (WINNER)
  • Zach Cregger, “Weapons” (Warner Bros.)
  • Eva Victor, “Sorry, Baby” (A24)
  • Eskil Vogt and Joachim Trier, “Sentimental Value” (Neon)

Young Performer

  • Everett Blunck, “The Plague” (Independent Film Company)
  • Miles Caton, “Sinners” (Warner Bros.)(WINNER)
  • Cary Christopher, “Weapons” (Warner Bros.)
  • Shannon Mahina Gorman, “Rental Family” (Searchlight Pictures)
  • Jacobi Jupe, “Hamnet” (Focus Features)
  • Nina Ye, “Left-Handed Girl” (Netflix)

See the full list of winners for the award show (THR). 

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MTV Channels come full circle with final clip: “Video Killed The Radio Star”

MTV shut down five of its music channels in the United Kingdom.

The television channel officially stopped broadcasting on its MTV Music, MTV 80s, MTV 90s, Club MTV and MTV Live channels in the country on Wednesday, Dec. 31, according to multiple reports, after reports of the move first surfaced in October. 24-hour music channels in other countries are also said to be off-air.

BBC journalist Jono Read captured MTV Music’s final moments in an X post on Wednesday. The station ended its run with The Buggles’ 1979 single “Video Killed the Radio Star” – the first video ever to air on MTV – followed by a sign-off animation. At the bottom, a news ticker read: “MTV Music is now closed. Continue watching over at MTV.”

USA TODAY has reached out to MTV for comment.

The flagship U.K. station MTV HD remains on air, and its American MTV channels – including MTV, MTV2, MTV Live, MTV Classic and MTV Tres – are unaffected.

Four decades after the revolutionary station aired music videos 24/7, MTV’s decision is a further sign of the times. MTV’s flagship channel began increasingly circulating reality-show-heavy programming in the 2000s with series like “The Real World,” “Teen Mom” and “Jersey Shore.” The network’s sister channels feature more music-centered content, though with significantly less reach, distribution and revenue.

In 2023, MTV shuttered its music news division and website, MTV News. Its campus-centered offshoot, MTVU, ceased airing at universities in 2018, and currently airs only as a digital cable channel.

MTV changed the television landscape with its launch in 1981, playing music around the clock and related programming guided by video jockeys, or VJs, and was influential in the growth of the music video as an artistic medium. The channel also evolved in the genres of music videos it promoted. MTV moved from rock to pop and R&B – and later, hip-hop – after it broke its own color barrier in the 1980s with the promotion of Michael Jackson’s music videos for “Billie Jean” and “Thriller.” (USAToday)

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Brigitte Bardot’s funeral will be held next week in French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez

The funeral for Brigitte Bardot will be held next week in Saint-Tropez, the glamorous French Riviera resort she helped make famous and where she lived for more than a half-century, local authorities said.

The cinema star and animal rights activist died last Sunday at the age of 91 at her home in southern France.

A ceremony is scheduled on Jan 7 at the Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption Catholic Church and will be broadcast on two large screens set up at the port and on the Place des Lices central square, Saint-Tropez town hall said in a statement Monday.

The burial will then take place “in the strictest privacy” at a cemetery overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, according to the statement. The ceremony will be followed by a public homage for fans at a nearby site.

“Brigitte Bardot will forever be associated with Saint-Tropez, of which she was the most dazzling ambassador,” the statement said. “Through her presence, personality and aura, she marked the history of our town.”

The movie star settled in her Riviera villa, La Madrague, in Saint-Tropez and retired from the film industry in 1973 at age 39.

The so-called marine cemetery, where Bardot’s parents are buried, is also the final resting place of other celebrities, including filmmaker Roger Vadim, Bardot’s first husband.

Bardot’s younger sister, Marie-Jeanne Bardot, known as Mijanou, posted on Facebook a photo of Brigitte at age 12, accompanied by a message honoring “the one I adored more than anything.”

She wrote that Bardot now “knows whether our beloved pets are waiting for us on the other side.

“Let her not be afraid, and let her instead be in the love and joy of reuniting with them all.” (JapanToday)

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BTS announces March comeback date, putting an end to a nearly four-year hiatus

They’re going to light up 2026 like dynamite: K-pop group BTS’ comeback has an official date.

According to a note shared to social media by the entertainment company BigHit Music, the mega popular group will return on March 20.

That’s after a nearly four-year hiatus, as all seven members of BTS — RM, Jin, Jimin, V, Suga, Jung Kook and j-hope — completed South Korea’s mandatory military service.

“March 20th comeback confirmed,” BigHit Music wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Rapper Suga was the last group member to be released — from his duties as a social service agent, an alternative to serving in the military that he reportedly chose due to a shoulder injury. That was in June 2025.

The six others, RM, V, Jimin, Jung Kook, Jin and j-hope, served in the army.

BTS tiered their enlistments, giving ample time for its members to focus on solo projects while the group was on a break.

Last summer, the group teased a world tour and announced that a new album would be released in the spring of 2026. At the time, they said they would begin working on the project in July 2025.

“Since it will be a group album, it will reflect each member’s thoughts and ideas,” they said in a statement. “We’re approaching the album with the same mindset we had when we first started.”

The 2026 album will mark their first since 2022’s anthology, “Proof,” their 2021 Japanese compilation album “BTS, the Best,” and their last studio album, “Be,” released in 2020. (JapanToday)

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Beyonce declared a billionaire by Forbes magazine

U.S. singer Beyonce is now a billionaire, Forbes magazine said, becoming only the fifth musician to achieve such a milestone.

The 44-year-old entertainer joins a select club that includes her husband, rapper Jay-Z, as well as Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen and Rihanna, according to the publication, known for its rankings of the world’s richest people.

Beyonce reached the landmark after several very lucrative years.

In 2023, her Renaissance World Tour grossed nearly $600 million.

She then reinvented her musical profile in 2024 with the Grammy-winning country album “Cowboy Carter” before staging the world’s highest-grossing tour of 2025.

Combining these earnings with income from her music catalog and other deals, Forbes estimated that Beyonce brought in $148 million in 2025 before taxes, making her the third highest-paid musician in the world.

The publication did not provide a more specific estimate of the former Destiny’s Child member’s net worth, who founded Parkwood Entertainment to manage her career and productions.

Forbes said that while Beyonce has expanded her business empire with ventures such as a hair care brand, a whiskey label and a clothing line, most of her personal wealth derives from her music, along with her global tours and controlling the rights to her back catalog. (JapanToday)

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Hollywood stars Idris Elba, Cynthia Erivo recognized in New Year’s honor’s list

Britons ranging from Hollywood stars Idris Elba and Cynthia Erivo to a 102-year-old judo instructor have been named in King Charles III’s New Year’s honors list, an annual tradition that recognizes people for their contributions to UK public life.

Elba, who starred as a drug dealer in “The Wire” and the president of the United States in “A House of Dynamite,” was knighted for his services to young people after he and his wife, Sabrina, founded the Elba Hope Foundation to target issues such as knife crime, education and poverty.

The actor accepted the honor on behalf of the young people served by the charity.

“I hope we can do more to draw attention to the importance of sustained, practical support for young people and to the responsibility we all share to help them find an alternative to violence,” Elba said.

Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, the ice dancing duo who won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, were also awarded top honors, with Torvill receiving a damehood and Dean a knighthood.

Erivo, one of the stars of “Wicked,” was named a Member of the British Empire, or MBE, for services to music and drama. And John Hearn, who goes by the name Judo Jack, received a British Empire Medal, after the Guinness World Records recognized him as the world’s oldest judo instructor.

Other honorees include author and comedian Richard Osman, who writes the “Thursday Murder Club” book series and was declared an Officer of the British Empire; retired marathon runner Paula Radcliffe, Officer of the British Empire; and 101-year-old D-Day veteran Mervyn Kersh, who was awarded a British Empire Medal for school talks on Holocaust remembrance and his wartime service.

The history of Britain’s honors system stretches back to the Middle Ages, when monarchs gave gifts of land, money and titles to those who served the crown. In modern times, that has evolved into a hierarchy of honorary distinctions awarded by the king on the recommendation of the government.

Modern honors are awarded for contributions in areas such as government, academia, the arts and sports. While many of the awards go to politicians, pop stars and Olympic medalists, honorees often include librarians, charity workers and civil servants who serve their communities with little fanfare.

In all, 1,150 people received New Year’s honors this year.

The most prestigious honors are knighthoods and damehoods. Men who receive the awards are entitled to use the honorific “sir” before their names, while women use the title “dame.”

Below that are the three levels of the Order of the British Empire. These are known, in order of precedence, as Commander, or CBE; Officer, or OBE; and Member, or MBE. Recipients are entitled to use the initials related to their award after their names.

Honors are generally announced twice a year on New Year’s and the king’s birthday. They are presented by the king or another member of the royal family at ceremonies throughout the year. (JapanToday)

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George Clooney, his wife Amal and children become French citizens

Hollywood star George Clooney has become French, along with his wife Amal Alamuddin Clooney and their two children, an official decree seen by AFP on Monday showed.

The publication, in France’s government gazette, confirms an ambition Clooney alluded to early in December when he hailed French privacy laws that keep his family shielded from paparazzi.

“I love the French culture, your language, even if I’m still bad at it after 400 days of courses,” the 64-year-old actor told RTL radio at the time — in English.

“Here, they don’t take photos of kids. There aren’t any paparazzi hidden at the school gates. That’s number one for us,” he said.

The now-dual U.S.-French citizen has a long attachment to Europe, which even pre-dates his 2014 marriage to Amal, a British-Lebanese human rights lawyer who speaks fluent French.

Clooney owns an estate in Italy’s picturesque Lake Como region, purchased in 2002, and he and Amal bought a historic manor in England.

Their property in southern France — a former wine estate called the Domaine du Canadel, near the village of Brignoles — was purchased in 2021.

They also own a New York apartment and a property in Kentucky, but reportedly sold homes in Los Angeles and Mexico over the past decade.

The glamorous couple are parents to eight-year-old twins.

Clooney told RTL that although the family jet-sets around, their French home “is where we’re happiest”.

Clooney is also a director and producer, and has two Oscars to put on whichever mantlepiece suits: one for best supporting actor in 2006’s “Syriana” and as a producer on 2012’s “Argo”.

On top of his cinema pay checks, he has raked in millions for celebrity endorsements, including for Nespresso, and got a windfall pay-out for selling his stake in a tequila brand.

Clooney is not the only Hollywood luminary to want to go French: U.S. director Jim Jarmusch on Friday told France Inter radio that he plans to apply for French nationality.

“I would like a place that will allow me to escape from the United States,” he said, also saying he was attracted to French culture. (JapanToday)