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Kylie Minogue wins her first Grammy in 20 years

<p dir="ltr">Kylie Minogue has won her first Grammy in 20 years, taking home the award for Best Pop Dance Recording. </p> <p dir="ltr">The songstress picked up the award for her hit track <em>Padam Padam</em>, beating fellow Aussie Troye Sivan for his song <em>Rush</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">The award was handed out during the Premiere Ceremony of the 66th annual Grammys, where she was nominated for six awards for her new album <em>Tension</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 55-year-old shared a sweet clip of her reaction to the win, showing her screaming and running around in a dressing gown while her team shared their congratulations. </p> <blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C28KH94vZoR/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg);"> </div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style="width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"> </div> <div style="width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"> </div> </div> </div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;"> </div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;"> </div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" href="https://www.instagram.com/reel/C28KH94vZoR/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A post shared by Kylie Minogue (@kylieminogue)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">She captioned the video, “Padam? Padam! ❤️❤️ Thank you SOOO much recording academy 🥹🥰😘”</p> <p dir="ltr">Padam Padam reached the top 20 in several countries, including Australia, the UK and America.</p> <p dir="ltr">This is the sixth time Kylie has been nominated for the prestigious award throughout her career, only winning it once before in 2004 for her song <em>Come Into My World</em>.</p> <p dir="ltr">Before her win, Minogue dazzled on the red carpet at industry heavyweight Clive Davis’s pre-Grammys gala on Sunday.</p> <p dir="ltr">Sporting a black mini dress, Kylie posed with country music legend Shania Twain while other stars walked the carpet. </p> <p dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 12pt;"><em>Image credits: Getty Images </em><span id="docs-internal-guid-44812604-7fff-e385-0206-a2af0888283c"></span></p>

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“You better f**king not leave”: Ben Affleck finally reveals what was said at the Grammys

<p>The Grammys are always going to cause a little bit of tension, with sayings like “it should’ve been me”  bound to be heard, but for big shot actor Ben Affleck, the 2023 ceremony could be described as a “take your husband to work day”, so he said.</p> <p>A "tense moment" between the star and wife J.Lo appearing to get into a tiff went viral on the internet, and he’s finally responded, according to the <em>New York Post</em>.</p> <p>Affleck, 50, recalled the incident as a standard “husband-and-wife-thing”, despite the spawning of several memes.</p> <p>“I saw [Grammy host Trevor Noah approach] and I was like, ‘Oh, God,’ they were framing us in this shot, but I didn’t know they were rolling,” Affleck told the Hollywood Reporter, “I leaned into her and I was like, ‘As soon they start rolling, I’m going to slide away from you and leave you sitting next to Trevor.’”</p> <p>“You better f**king not leave,” Lopez responded, according to her husband.</p> <p>Affleck continued to play the doting husband, but Lopez appeared to be out of sorts after she threatened him, saying,“‘All right, who is this act?’ Like, I don’t keep up. My wife does, obviously. And yeah, it is your wife’s work event.”</p> <p>Affleck shared, "I had a good time at the Grammys. My wife was going, and I thought, ‘Well, there’ll be good music. It might be fun.’”</p> <p>Lopez seems used to her husband’s apparent case of resting ‘bro’ face, joking about it soon after the event, writing on Twitter about Affleck’s “happy face” during a trailer for his latest movie <em>Air</em>.</p> <p>Meanwhile, the director and co-star of the new film, which is based on a true story of Nike’s creation of Michael Jordan’s infamous shoe line, has had his fair share of award shows, “I’ve gone to award shows and been drunk, a bunch. Nobody ever once said I’m drunk.” He told the <em>Hollywood Reporter</em>.</p> <p>“[But at the Grammys] they were like, ‘He’s drunk.’ And I thought that’s interesting. That raises a whole other thing about whether or not it’s wise to acknowledge addiction because there’s a lot of compassion, but there is still a tremendous stigma, which is often quite inhibiting.”</p> <p>Affleck has struggled with alcohol abuse in the past but has since recovered.</p> <p>He previously made waves when he appeared to blame his unhappy marriage to ex-wife Jennifer Garner, claiming, “I probably still would’ve been drinking” if he was still with her, he told SiriusXM’s T<em>he Howard Stern Show</em> in 2021.</p> <p>He is now happily married to 53-year-old superstar Lopez, whom he married in July 2022 after their on-and-off again relationship over the years.</p> <p>The couple co-parent five children together from previous marriages and are reportedly moving into a $96 million Pacific Palisades estate.</p> <p><em>Image credit: YouTube</em></p>

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Harry Styles' Grammy award acceptance speech causes backlash

<p dir="ltr">Harry Styles has come under fire for an off-handed comment he made during his Grammy Awards acceptance speech. </p> <p dir="ltr">The former One Direction member won the biggest award of the night, taking home the trophy for Album of the Year for his 2022 masterpiece <em>Harry’s House</em>. </p> <p dir="ltr">The 29-year-old took to the stage with his musical collaborators to accept the award, giving a speech of thanks to those who have inspired him along his musical journey. </p> <p dir="ltr">However, a fleeting comment he made has caused outrage, telling the audience, “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often.” </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Harry Styles accepts the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Grammy?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Grammy</a> for Album of the Year. <a href="https://t.co/yom28xGdvk">https://t.co/yom28xGdvk</a> <a href="https://t.co/0037FGJ52C">pic.twitter.com/0037FGJ52C</a></p> <p>— Variety (@Variety) <a href="https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1622456380522385408?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">The statement raised eyebrows, with many encouraging Harry to check his privilege. </p> <p dir="ltr">Much of the criticism came from people who believed Beyoncé should’ve won the award, saying Harry’s comment was coming from a place of white privilege. </p> <p dir="ltr">Only three black women have won Album of the Year in the Grammys’ 65-year history, and it’s been 24 years since a black woman took home the prized award, when Lauryn Hill won for <em>The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill</em> in 1999. </p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Harry styles said “this doesn’t happen to people like me very often” and I gotta be honest I can’t think of a type of people this happens for more</p> <p>— hey man nice tweet (@jazz_inmypants) <a href="https://twitter.com/jazz_inmypants/status/1622458638878101505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">“this doesn’t happen to people like me very often” IT LITERALLY ONLY HAPPENS TO PEOPLE LIKE YOU????</p> <p>— َ (@ungodlywests) <a href="https://twitter.com/ungodlywests/status/1622455999511552005?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">“this doesn’t happen to people like me often” who, white british men? 😭</p> <p>— no (@zedonarrival) <a href="https://twitter.com/zedonarrival/status/1622456047775408129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 6, 2023</a></p></blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Despite the backlash, <em>Harry’s House</em> was the second <a href="https://toofab.com/2022/12/31/top-5-most-streamed-albums-of-2022/#:~:text=Bad%20Bunny%20sat%20at%20the,third%20year%20in%20a%20row.">most streamed</a> album of 2022, while Beyoncé’s <em>Renaissance </em>album didn’t even crack the top five. </p> <p dir="ltr">While other fans continued their tirade about his speech, die-hard Harry Styles fans rushed to his defence, with one person writing on Twitter, “Harry Styles gave THIS humble speech and people are hating on him because their fave didn’t win?? He deserved this Grammy more than anything so respectfully, get over yourselves.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Another fan said, “It's not cool to hate on Harry Styles just because he won the Grammy you wanted someone else to win, so ZZZZZZ for that honestly. He had one of the biggest albums and singles of the year, the math IS ACTUALLY MATHING.”</p> <p dir="ltr">One person, who is seemingly well-versed in the world of online fan culture, summed up the discourse perfectly, saying, “Harry could give the nicest speech in the world, &amp; be a genuine a** person and you got twitter warriors picking apart everything he says to make it negative. Y’all are actually miserable.”</p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p>

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Ukraine president appears at Grammy's from bunker

<p dir="ltr">Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky made a surprise appearance at the Grammy’s from his bunker as war continues to tear into his country.</p> <p dir="ltr">In a pre-recorded video from his bunker in Kyiv, Zelensky delivered a powerful speech asking the audience and viewers to “support us in any way you can” as fighting continues between Ukraine and Russia. </p> <p dir="ltr">"The war. What's more opposite than music,” President Zelensky began.</p> <p dir="ltr">"The silence of ruined cities and killed people. Our children drew swooping rockets, not shooting stars.</p> <p dir="ltr">"Over 400 children have been injured and 153 children died. And we will never see them drawing."</p> <p dir="ltr">“Our parents are happy to wake up in the morning. In bomb shelters, but alive. Our loved ones don’t know if we will be together again. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The war doesn’t let us choose who survives and who stays in eternal silence.</p> <p dir="ltr">“Our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can’t hear them. But the music will break through anyway.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He urged and encouraged musicians and viewers of the Grammy to “fill the silence with your music!”</p> <p dir="ltr">“We defend our freedom. To live. To love. To sound. On our land, we are fighting Russia which brings horrible silence with its bombs. </p> <p dir="ltr">“The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music! Fill it today to tell our story. Tell the truth about this war on your social networks, on TV. </p> <p dir="ltr">“Support us in any way you can. Any — but not silence. And then peace will come. </p> <p dir="ltr">“To all our cities the war is destroying. Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Volnovakha, Mariupol and others. They are legends already. But I have a dream of them living. And free. Free like you on the Grammy stage.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Zelensky’s speech served as an introduction to John Legend’s live performance, which then featured a backdrop of photos from war-torn Ukraine. </p> <p dir="ltr"><em>Image: Getty</em></p>

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“Music brings everybody together”: Violinist Itzhak Perlman explains the magic of music

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Masterful violinist Itzhak Perlman was born in Israel and has been playing the violin since the age of three. He is well known for his brilliant virtuoso technique and has had his music featured in iconic films such as the Disney movie </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Fantastia 2000 </span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">as well as </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Schnidler’s List</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Perlman has also won 16 Grammy awards for his achievements in music.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He recently spoke to </span><a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/music/article-music-brings-everybody-together-violinist-itzhak-perlman-on-musics/"><span style="font-weight: 400;"><em>The Globe and Mail</em></span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> about how music has a way of bringing people together and how many of us need music more than ever in this difficult political climate.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I always felt that music brings everybody together, because music is really an international language,” he explained.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“No matter where you go – whether you go to the Middle East or you go to the Far East or countries that have a strained relationship between each other – and you see that there was a cultural exchange, it’s like a barometer; you feel that relations improve.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Music is always the first thing that brings you a signal that relationships are starting to improve,” he continued.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“It brings people together. When you go to a concert hall and you listen to a Beethoven symphony, you are no longer in a country that listens to this or that or [is dealing with whatever] problems. It binds everybody together.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Buw-s8vhtZ8/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="margin: 8px 0 0 0; padding: 0 4px;"><a style="color: #000; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none; word-wrap: break-word;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Buw-s8vhtZ8/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">@theperlmanmusicprogram does outreach at the Dreyfoos Public School in Palm Beach, FL.</a></p> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;">A post shared by <a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/itzhakperlmanofficial/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank"> Itzhak Perlman</a> (@itzhakperlmanofficial) on Mar 8, 2019 at 3:11pm PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Perlman also explained how he distances himself from emotionally charged pieces, as one of his more popular pieces features in the film </span><em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Schnidler’s List</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. The film is about a man who saved more than a thousand mostly Polish-Jewish refugees from the Holocaust by employing them in his factories during World War II.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“I think about it as the piece [of music]. I try not to think about what it’s associated with. At the beginning, when I first saw the film and then I associated the music with what was happening with the film, it was a very emotional experience,” Perlman said. </span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“But the more I play it, the more I concentrate on the music itself. Of course what happens in the movie is an organic part of the piece.”</span></p>

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