Connect with us

Entertainment

Usher teases guest stars for Super Bowl halftime show

Usher teases guest stars for Super Bowl halftime show

Published

on

Usher teases guest stars for Super Bowl halftime show

R&B star Usher on Thursday revealed he will be joined by guest performers when he takes the stage for the Super Bowl halftime show — but did not disclose who made the cut.

The 45-year-old eight-time Grammy winner will play Sunday before a star-studded 65,000-strong crowd at the Allegiant Stadium — one of the most coveted gigs in the music business.

The singer gave no names but said his guests could be artists he has worked with before in what is intended to be a celebration of his career.

And one of those singers is none other than global superstar Taylor Swift, who is expected to be on hand to cheer on boyfriend Travis Kelce and his Kansas City Chiefs as they take on the San Francisco 49ers for the Lombardi Trophy.

Advertisement

Usher has worked with a bevy of music A-listers, including the likes of Beyonce, Jay-Z and Alicia Keys, as well as rappers Lil Jon and Ludacris, who feature on his biggest hit “Yeah!”

“There’s been these fantasy lists that have been going out and people trying to figure out what song I’m going to perform first and last, who’s going to come on stage with me,” Usher told a press conference on Thursday.

The hitmaker — who wrapped up a Las Vegas residency last December — said Sunday’s show would reflect different eras of his music career.

“I was very mindful of my past, celebrating my present, which is here in Las Vegas, and thinking about where we’re headed in the future,” Usher said.

“I’ve tried so many things my entire career, and I’ve just managed to gather people who celebrate my music.

Advertisement

“I went through a lot of ideas of who I would have share this moment with me and I do feel the people I’m going to share it with deserve it for what they did in their career whether we have collaborated together or whether they’ve had moments of their own.”

Is Usher a Swiftie?
When his recruitment for the Super Bowl halftime show was announced last year, Usher mischievously said Swift might play a part in his performance.

“I mean, she could be one person that I serenade. Or, she could be a special guest. I don’t know,” he told NBC television’s “Today with Hoda and Jenna” in November.

Swift invited Usher on stage at a show in Atlanta in 2011 to perform “Yeah!” with her.

While a surprise Super Bowl duet would threaten to break the internet, recent reports have poured cold water on the possibility, with the NFL Network saying there were no plans for the pair to perform together.

Advertisement

Usher — whose other hits include “OMG” and “My Boo” — himself appeared on stage at the Super Bowl in 2011 as a guest with the Black Eyed Peas.

A list of previous Super Bowl halftime headliners reads like a who’s who of the music industry, including the likes of Michael Jackson, Prince, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, U2, Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney.

The show has also stoked controversy, most infamously in 2004 when Janet Jackson inadvertently displayed her naked right breast while performing with Justin Timberlake in a controversy that became known as “Nipple-gate.”

More recent performers include Rihanna — who wowed the 2023 audience by revealing her pregnancy — and hip-hop legends Dr Dre, Kendrick Lamar, Mary J Blige, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and 50 Cent in 2022 in Los Angeles.

Also at Sunday’s game, country legend Reba McEntire will sing the national anthem and Post Malone will sing “America the Beautiful.”

Advertisement

Grammy and Oscar nominee Andra Day will perform a rendition of “Lift Every Voice and Sing” — often described as America’s Black national anthem.

Entertainment

Harvey Weinstein expected in New York court after rape conviction overturned

Harvey Weinstein expected in New York court after rape conviction overturned

Published

on

By

Harvey Weinstein expected in New York court after rape conviction overturned

Harvey Weinstein is due to appear in state court in Manhattan on Wednesday for the first time since New York’s highest court threw out his 2020 rape conviction last week.

The hearing before Judge Curtis Farber will give prosecutors and Weinstein’s lawyers a chance to address the next steps for the former film mogul, which could include a new trial.

“Harvey is looking forward to his day in a fair court,” said Weinstein’s spokesperson, Juda Engelmayer.

Weinstein, 72, has been serving a 23-year sentence in a prison in upstate Rome, New York. He is currently at Bellevue Hospital, where he was transferred following last week’s order, according to Engelmayer.

Advertisement

Jurors in Manhattan convicted Weinstein in February 2020 of sexually assaulting former production assistant Miriam Haley in 2006 and of raping aspiring actress Jessica Mann in 2013. They are among more than 80 women who have accused him of sexual misconduct.

The conviction included charges of first-degree sexual assault and third-degree rape. Weinstein, who has denied having non-consensual sexual encounters with anyone, was acquitted on other charges.

The verdict was hailed as a milestone for the #MeToo movement, in which women accused hundreds of men in entertainment, media, politics and other fields of sexual misconduct.

Last week, the New York Court of Appeals found that Judge James Burke, who presided over the trial, made a critical mistake by allowing three women to testify about alleged sexual assaults by Weinstein that were not part of the criminal charges against him. The court said this “prior bad acts” testimony violated his right to a fair trial.

The office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has signaled it plans to retry Weinstein.

Advertisement

“We will do everything in our power to retry this case, and remain steadfast in our commitment to survivors of sexual assault,” Emily Tuttle, a spokesperson for Bragg, said in an email last week.

The case was brought by Bragg’s predecessor, Cyrus Vance.

Regardless of whether he is retried, Weinstein is not likely to be released from jail because he was also sentenced to 16 years following his separate rape trial in California. The two sentences cannot be served concurrently.

Burke is no longer on the bench, so any retrial would be before a different judge.

Weinstein co-founded the Miramax film studio, whose hit movies included “Shakespeare in Love” and “Pulp Fiction.” His own eponymous film studio filed for bankruptcy in March 2018.

Advertisement

Continue Reading

Entertainment

‘Operation Madonna’: Rio readies for singer’s free mega-concert

‘Operation Madonna’: Rio readies for singer’s free mega-concert

Published

on

By

'Operation Madonna': Rio readies for singer's free mega-concert

Madonna’s long-awaited free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach has upended the neighborhood, with over a million fans expected — but for retired resident Mario Renato Borges, it’s the least the singer deserves.

“Welcome, Queen,” read some posters near the huge stage erected on the Brazilian beach, where Madonna will on Saturday give the biggest show of her 40-year career and the last of her “Celebration Tour.”

The 65-year-old American singer arrived in the coastal city on Monday after more than 80 shows in Europe, the United States and Mexico. This will be her only stop in South America.

The “Like A Virgin” and “Material Girl” performer traveled to Brazil with three planes and 270 tons of equipment, according to her production company.

Advertisement

She has set up camp at the luxurious Copacabana Palace hotel, connected to the stage by a suspended catwalk that dozens of fans crowded under this week, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pop star.

The biggest dance floor

Thanks to free admission, organizers expect Madonna’s concert to produce the “world’s biggest dance floor” of up to 1.5 million people — a figure only reached on the same beach by the Rolling Stones in 2006.

“The traffic is chaos but the concert will be great, especially because it’s Madonna, the queen of pop,” says resident Borges, who lives in Leme, a neighborhood at the end of Copacabana Beach.

Madonna’s fourth performance in Rio will contribute some 293 million reais (US$57 million) to the local economy, an income 30 times higher than what city authorities invested, according to the mayor’s office.

Around 150,000 foreigners are expected to swarm the city, with most hotels already fully booked.

Advertisement

“This will undoubtedly be one of Rio’s biggest international events. It will boost our economy and attract tourists from Brazil, Latin American and all over the world,” said the city’s Tourism Secretary Daniela Maia.

Return of the conical corset

Madonna fever is clear to see in Rio — the so-called “Marvelous City” — as the hours tick down to her performance.

At the Lix printing shop in the popular downtown Saara shopping district, the songs of the “Material Girl” are playing on loop to inspire devotees who can choose from personalized fans, hats or mugs.

Manager Livia Reis, 23, tells AFP that her store went viral on social media shortly after the concert was announced thanks to an influencer who visited the Madonna-inspired shop.

“A guy came in, took a photo and a video, and sent them to a fan club with 150,000 followers in Portugal. From there, it jumped to TikTok and Instagram,” she says.

Advertisement

One particularly popular item is a replica of the conical corset created by French designer Jean Paul Gaultier, which Madonna famously wore on stage in 1990.

Sold as a bra or a top, the item is “doing very well,” says Reis, who expects there will be “queues out of the door” in the days ahead of the concert.

Patrols on the corners

“All this activity is good for tourism, hotels and restaurants. But let’s hope the security is up to the task,” says 68-year-old Rio local Borges.

The mayor’s office has prepared an operation equivalent to New Year’s Eve celebrations in Copacabana, one of the most famous in the world that typically brings down some one million people.

“Operation Madonna” will see some 4,500 agents deployed, working with drones and facial recognition cameras. There will be police patrols on almost every street corner in the neighborhood.

Advertisement

Nagila Alves, 54, who works for a pest control company, was on her way to a client’s home when she stopped to take a photo of the impressive stage set up for Madonna.

“I will always love her. Madonna is timeless,” she tells AFP, adding she plans to delay her arrival on Saturday to dodge the crowds swarming to the front of the stage.

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Selena Gomez on social media: ‘I find it frustrating’

Selena Gomez on social media: ‘I find it frustrating’

Published

on

By

Selena Gomez on social media: 'I find it frustrating'

Selena Gomez feels frustrated by social media. The 31-year-old star has a huge online following, but Gomez often takes breaks from social media platforms to escape the negativity.

The brunette beauty – who has more than 400 million followers on Instagram – said at the TIME100 Summit: “I find it frustrating. Then I get a little mouthy and I want to defend the people I love.”

Gomez believes it’s important to take breaks from social media to retain a sense of perspective.

The actress – who is currently dating record producer Benny Blanco – explained: “I took four years off of Instagram, and I let my team post for me for those years. I felt like it was the most rewarding gift I gave myself.”

Advertisement

Meanwhile, Gomez previously claimed that there’s “so much strength in being vulnerable”.

The Only Murders In The Building star has spoken openly about her mental health struggles over recent years, and Gomez admitted that she’s found it to be a “very freeing” experience.

She told Wondermind: “I don’t love giving advice because I don’t have all of the answers.

“I’d say, though, find a friend or a family member you feel comfortable talking with and open up about what you are feeling. It’s very freeing to open up to someone. There is so much strength in being vulnerable.”

Despite this, Gomez doesn’t have any regrets over how she’s dealt with her own struggles.

Advertisement

The actress – who first found fame as a child – explained: “I try and not look back and wish anything could have been different. What I am happy about is that more people are opening up about their mental health.”

Continue Reading

Trending

Copyright © GLOBAL TIMES PAKISTAN