Entertainment_Culture

Latest Stories

PEEP.jpg

Rapper Lil Peep has died at age 21. He's shown her in music video of his song "Awful Things." (Image: Screen grab of https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOujzvtwZ6M)

11152017_ap-163182706990298201.jpg

Kurdish leaders remain committed to a political settlement but say their famed peshmerga militia forces are ready to take up arms to defend their homeland. (Associated Press/File)

Madonna was a leading presence during the emergence of MTV in the 1980s, she is known for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music, as well as visual imagery in music videos and on stage. She has also frequently reinvented both her music and image while maintaining autonomy within the recording industry. Besides sparking controversy, her works have been praised by music critics. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", Madonna is often cited as an influence by other artists. Madonna's popularity was further enhanced by her roles in films such as Desperately Seeking Susan, Dick Tracy, A League of Their Own, and Evita which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.

AP_7408121205

Bing Crosby's trademark warm bass-baritone voice made him the best-selling recording artist of the 20th century, having sold over one billion records, tapes, compact discs and digital downloads around the world. The first multimedia star, from 1931 to 1954 Crosby was a leader in record sales, radio ratings, and motion picture grosses. Crosby won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Father Chuck O'Malley in the 1944 motion picture Going My Way and was nominated for his reprise of the role in The Bells of St. Mary's opposite Ingrid Bergman the next year, becoming the first of six actors to be nominated twice for playing the same character. In 1963, Crosby received the first Grammy Global Achievement Award. He is one of 33 people to have three stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, in the categories of motion pictures, radio, and audio recording.

AP_60010101148

Elvis Presley is regarded as one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century.Presley's first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel", was released in January 1956 and became a number-one hit in the United States. After a series of successful network television appearances and chart-topping records, he was regarded as the leading figure of rock and roll. In November 1956, Presley made his film debut in Love Me Tender. In 1958, he was drafted into military service. He resumed his recording career two years later, producing some of his most commercially successful work before devoting much of the 1960s to making Hollywood films and their accompanying soundtrack albums. In 1968, following a seven-year break from live performances, he returned to the stage in the acclaimed televised comeback special Elvis, which led to an extended Las Vegas concert residency and a string of highly profitable tours. Commercially successful in many genres, including pop, blues and gospel, he is one of the best-selling artists in the history of recorded music, with estimated record sales of around 600 million units worldwide. He won three Grammys, also receiving the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36, and has been inducted into multiple music halls of fame.

AP_56092817485

Cher gained popularity in 1965 as one-half of the folk rock husband-wife duo Sonny & Cher after their song "I Got You Babe" reached number one on the American and British charts. She began her solo career simultaneously, releasing in 1966 her first million-seller song, "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)". She became a television personality in the 1970s with her shows The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, watched by over 30 million viewers weekly during its three-year run. In 1982, Cher made her Broadway debut in the play Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean and starred in its film adaptation. She subsequently earned critical acclaim for her performances in films such as Silkwood (1983), Mask (1985), and Moonstruck (1987), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Cher has won a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, an Academy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, a Cannes Film Festival Award, and a special CFDA Fashion Award, among several other honors. She has sold 100 million records worldwide to date, becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. She is the only artist to date to have a number-one single on a Billboard chart in each decade from the 1960s to the 2010s.

AP_5601010720

Frank Sinatra is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 150 million records worldwide. Sinatra found success as a solo artist after he signed with Columbia Records in 1943, becoming the idol of the "bobby soxers". He released his debut album, The Voice of Frank Sinatra, in 1946. Sinatra's professional career had stalled by the early 1950s, and he turned to Las Vegas, where he became one of its best known performers as part of the Rat Pack. His career was reborn in 1953 with the success of From Here to Eternity, with his performance subsequently winning an Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor. Sinatra forged a highly successful career as a film actor. After winning an Academy Award for From Here to Eternity, he starred in The Man with the Golden Arm, and received critical acclaim for his performance in The Manchurian Candidate. He appeared in various musicals such as On the Town, Guys and Dolls, High Society, and Pal Joey, winning another Golden Globe for the latter. Toward the end of his career, he became associated with playing detectives, including the title character in Tony Rome. Sinatra would later receive the Golden Globe Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1971. On television, The Frank Sinatra Show began on ABC in 1950, and he continued to make appearances on television throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Sinatra was also heavily involved with politics from the mid-1940s, and actively campaigned for presidents such as Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan.

AP_17267114917706

Justin Timberlake is a singer-songwriter, actor and record producer. He appeared on the television shows Star Search and The All-New Mickey Mouse Club as a child. In the late 1990s, Timberlake rose to prominence as one of the two lead vocalists and youngest member of NSYNC, which eventually became one of the best-selling boy bands of all time. From 2008 through 2012, Timberlake focused on his acting career, effectively putting his music career on hiatus; he held starring roles in the films The Social Network, Bad Teacher, In Time, and Friends with Benefits.

AP_17267114570856

Justin Timberlake performs at the Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival on Saturday, Sept. 23, 2017, in Franklin, Tenn. (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)

AP_17267106387010

Queen Latifah, is a rapper, songwriter, singer, actress, model, television producer, record producer, and talk show host. She signed with Tommy Boy Records in 1989 and released her debut album All Hail the Queen the same year, featuring the hit single "Ladies First". Nature of a Sista was her second and final album with Tommy Boy Records. Latifah starred as Khadijah James on the FOX sitcom Living Single, from 1993 to 1998. Her third album Black Reign, spawned the single "U.N.I.T.Y.", which won a Grammy Award and was successful on the Billboard Hot 100. She then starred in the lead role of Set It Off and released her fourth album, Order in the Court, in 1998, with Motown Records. Latifah gained mainstream success and acclaim with her performance in the film Chicago, receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She has appeared in a number of films, such as Bringing Down the House, Taxi, Barbershop 2: Back in Business, Beauty Shop, Last Holiday, Hairspray, Joyful Noise, 22 Jump Street and Girls Trip. Latifah received critical acclaim for her portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith in the HBO film Bessie, which she co-produced, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. Since 2016, she has starred as Carlotta Brown in the musical drama series Star. She has long been considered one of hip-hop's pioneer feminists. Queen Latifah received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2006. Latifah's work in music, film and television has earned her a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, an Academy Award nomination and sales of over two million records.

AP_17252183995721

Jennifer Hudson rose to fame in 2004 as a finalist on the third season of American Idol, coming in seventh place. As an actress, she made her film debut portraying Effie White in Dreamgirls, for which she gained worldwide acclaim and won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has also appeared in such films as Sex and the City, The Secret Life of Bees and Black Nativity. She has made numerous television appearances, including guest roles on Smash, Empire and Inside Amy Schumer. In 2015, she made her Broadway debut in the role of Shug Avery in the revival of The Color Purple. She also became the principal singer of The Color Purple musical album, which earned her the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album and a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program.

AP_17146476850855

Will Smith is an actor, producer, rapper, comedian, and songwriter. In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular NBC television series The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which ran for six seasons until 1996. After the series ended, Smith transitioned from television to film, and has gone on to star in numerous blockbuster films. He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100 million in the domestic box office, eleven consecutive films gross over $150 million internationally, and eight consecutive films in which he starred, open at the number one spot in the domestic box office tally. Smith has been ranked as the most bankable star worldwide by Forbes. As of 2014, 17 of the 21 films in which he has had leading roles have accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million each, five taking in over $500 million each in global box office receipts. As of 2016, his films have grossed $7.5 billion at the global box office. For his performances as boxer Muhammad Ali in Ali (2001) and stockbroker Chris Gardner in The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Smith received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

AP_17035836490679

Harry Connick Jr. is a singer, big band leader, talk show host and actor. He has sold over 28 million albums worldwide. He played Grace's husband, Leo Markus, on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace from 2002 to 2006. Connick began his acting career as a tail gunner in the World War II film Memphis Belle. He played a serial killer in Copycat, before being cast as a fighter pilot in the blockbuster Independence Day. Connick's first role as a leading man was in Hope Floats with Sandra Bullock. His first thriller film since Copycat came in the film Basic with John Travolta. Additionally, he played the violent ex-husband in Bug, before two romantic comedies, P.S. I Love You, and the leading man in New in Town with Renée Zellweger. In 2011, he appeared in the family film Dolphin Tale as Dr. Clay Haskett and in its 2014 sequel.

AP_16327770864936

Mos Def embarked on his hip hop career in 1994, alongside his siblings in the short-lived rap group Urban Thermo Dynamics (UTD), after which he appeared on albums by Da Bush Babees and De La Soul. He subsequently formed the duo Black Star, alongside fellow Brooklyn-based rapper Talib Kweli, and they released their eponymous debut album in 1998. He was featured on the roster of Rawkus Records and in 1999 released his solo debut. Since the early 2000s, Mos Def has been well known for his roles in films such as Something the Lord Made, Next Day Air, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, 16 Blocks, Be Kind Rewind, The Italian Job, The Woodsman, Bamboozled and Brown Sugar, as well as for his portrayal of Brother Sam in the Showtime drama series Dexter. He is also known as the host of Def Poetry Jam, which aired on HBO between 2002 and 2007.

AP_16323215241010

Mark Wahlberg is an actor, producer, businessman, former model, rapper, and songwriter. Wahlberg was known by his stage name Marky Mark in his early career as frontman for the group Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch, releasing the albums Music for the People and You Gotta Believe. Wahlberg later transitioned to acting, appearing in films such as the drama " The Basketball Diaries" with Leonardo DiCaprio & Boogie Nights and the satirical war comedy-drama Three Kings during the 1990s. In the 2000s, he starred in the biographical disaster drama The Perfect Storm, the science fiction film Planet of the Apes, the heist film The Italian Job, 4 Brothers (2005 film) and the Martin Scorsese-directed crime drama The Departed, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In the 2010s, he starred in the action comedy The Other Guys alongside Will Ferrell, the biographical sports drama The Fighter (for which he earned an Academy Award nomination as a producer for Best Picture), the comedy Ted, the war film Lone Survivor, the crime comedy Pain & Gain, the science fiction action film Transformers: Age of Extinction and the sequel Transformers: The Last Knight, the comedy Daddy's Home, the disaster film Deepwater Horizon, and the thriller Patriots Day. Wahlberg has also served as executive producer of four HBO series: the comedy-drama Entourage (200411), the period crime drama Boardwalk Empire (201014), and the comedy-dramas How to Make It in America (201011) and Ballers (2015present). Wahlberg received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on July 29, 2010.

AP_16172657990951

David Bowie was a singer, songwriter and actor. He was a leading figure in popular music for over five decades, acclaimed by critics and other musicians for his innovative work. His career was marked by reinvention and visual presentation, his music and stagecraft significantly influencing popular music. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. His acting roles included Major Celliers in Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), the Goblin King Jareth in Labyrinth (1986), Pontius Pilate in The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), and Nikola Tesla in The Prestige (2006), among other film and television appearances and cameos. He stopped concert touring after 2004 and his last live performance was at a charity event in 2006. In 2013, Bowie returned from a decade-long recording hiatus with the release of The Next Day. He remained musically active until he died of liver cancer two days after the release of his final album, Blackstar in 2016

AP_02092402303

Tom Waits is a singer-songwriter, composer, and actor. Waits has built up a distinctive musical persona with his trademark growl, his incorporation of pre-rock music styles such as blues, jazz, and vaudeville, and experimental tendencies verging on industrial music. He is best known for his supporting roles in Paradise Alley and Bram Stoker’s Dracula and my personal favorite, Wristcutters: A Love Story.