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☆ Jeff Bezos' hot yacht summer with fiancée continues in Croatia with Orlando Bloom, Katy Perry, and Usher
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-17 | by ( Haley Tenore | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The pair was photographed walking and sailing with A-listers Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, and Usher. Weeks earlier, the couple hosted a lavish engagement party on Bezos' $500 million yacht. Bezos and Sanchez were recently seen enjoying the summer weather with Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, and Usher, according to photos published in People. Bezos, Sanchez, Perry, Bloom, and Usher were photographed walking around Dubrovnik, Croatia, according to the report, a coastal city known for being a filming location for "Game of Thrones." Just weeks ago, the couple hosted an engagement party on Bezos' $500 million yacht in Italy, according to Page Six.

Persons: Jeff Bezos, Lauren Sanchez, Katy Perry, Orlando Bloom, Usher, Weeks, Bezos, Sanchez, Perry, Bloom, it's, Lil Nas X, Bill Gates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kris Jenner, Mackenzie Scott Bezos Organizations: MEGA, Sanchez's, Amazon, Bezos Locations: Croatia, Europe, Dubrovnik, Portofino, Italy

☆ Travis Scott’s ‘Utopia’ Repeats at No. 1
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Ben Sisario | More About Ben Sisario | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

1 on the Billboard album chart for a second time this week, while Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night” logs its 16th time as the top single. That total includes 146 million streams and 37,000 copies of the LP sold as a complete package. The last rap album to spend at least its first two weeks at No. 2, while his song “Last Night,” a monster hit on streaming services and pop radio, holds at No. Only Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road,” with 19 weeks in 2019, had a longer run at the top.

Persons: Travis Scott, Morgan Wallen’s “, ”, —, Tyler, Luis Fonsi, Yankee’s, Mariah Carey, Lil Nas Locations: United States, ”

☆ Old-School Fans Celebrate Hip-Hop’s 50th
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-13 | by ( Alex Vadukul | More About Alex Vadukul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The start of hip-hop dates to Aug. 11, 1973, when DJ Kool Herc created continuous break-beats by working two turntables during a party in a rec room at 1520 Sedgwick Ave in the Bronx. On Friday night, exactly 50 years later, a concert was held at Yankee Stadium — roughly a mile and a half from hip-hop’s birthplace — to honor the occasion, featuring Run-DMC, Slick Rick, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, Lil’ Kim and Nas. DJ Kool Herc, 68, also appeared onstage to accept an award. “I prefer old-school hip-hop,” Hetep said. He rapped about positivity, and that’s also what my music is about.”In the edited interviews below, attendees reflected on hip-hop’s 50th.

Persons: DJ Kool Herc, —, Slick Rick, Snoop Dogg, Lil ’ Kim, Nas, Tupac Shakur, Hetep BarBoy, ” Hetep, “, that’s Organizations: Yankee, ” Locations: Bronx

☆ Coach is the new 'cool girl' brand for Gen Z
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-10 | by ( Grace Mayer | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

After years of sluggish sales, Coach is seeing regained interest from Gen Z consumers. Gen Z increased its spending on Coach by 10% so far this year, according to a new report. According to a consumer spending report from Earnest Analytics, consumers under the age of 25 increased their spending on the Coach brand by 10% from January through June of this year. Once self-touted as "accessible luxury," Coach has since updated that message and its offerings to reinvent itself. In doing so, it hoped to tap into Gen Z and Millennial shoppers' values and re-elevate its luxury status.

Persons: Gen, Lil Nas, Earnest, Camila Mendes, Joon Silverstein, Coach's, Silverstein, Z, Todd Kahn, Nas X, Kate Spade, Stuart Weitzman, Michael Kors, Jimmy Choo, Versace Organizations: Service, Vogue Business, Business, Fashion, Capri Holdings, Capri Locations: Wall, Silicon, Riverdale, American, York

☆ Analysis: Tony Bennett sang in a key that Jason Aldean’s song can’t reach
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( John Blake | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

White jazz artists were antiracists before the term was inventedMany of the tributes to Bennett mentioned his disdain for bigotry. Many White jazz artists were antiracists, long before the word was invented. Frank Sinatra, Bennett’s musical mentor, recorded with and relentlessly championed Black jazz artists like Ella Fitzgerald and Count Basie. He hired a Black jazz bassist, Eugene Wright, and refused to play in segregated venues. There are countless photos of a beaming Bennett hanging out with Black jazz artists.

Persons: Tony Bennett, Ed Sullivan’s, Bennett, ”, Duke Ellington, “, ’ ” Bennett, there’s, Jason Aldean, Aldean, Dick Gregory, Coretta Scott King, Rick Diamond, Bennett —, ” Bennett, Frank Sinatra, Bennett’s, Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Dave Brubeck, Eugene Wright, Benny Goodman, Jim Crow, Ellington, Louis Armstrong, don’t, It’s, that’s, Lionel Hampton, Goodman, Michael Ochs, Amy Winehouse, Winehouse, fidgety, “ We’ll, “ You’re, ” Winehouse, Lady Gaga, John Mayer, Elvis Costello, Bennett’s unflappability, Bennett wasn’t, Brubeck, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, Bill Evans, Mark Allan, Greg Thomas, ” Thomas, Carrie Underwood, Faith Hill, Willie Nelson, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lil Nas, Wynton Marsalis, Bennett –, Anthony Dominick Benedetto, –, Thomas, John Blake Organizations: CNN, Toronto Star, MLK, Atlanta Civic Center, US Army, Carnegie Hall, Michael Ochs Archives, Jazz, Studios Locations: New York, Tennessee, America, Atlanta, Nazi, African, British, Turkey, Japan, London, Aldean, American, Europe, United States

☆ ‘Break Point’ Just Might Be the Best Way to Watch Tennis
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-19 | by ( Jake Nevins | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

“By the way,” Tomljanovic says at one point, “do we have a room?” Shortly after his daughter sealed her spot in the final eight of the world’s pre-eminent tennis tournament, Ratko was seen on booking.com, extending their stay in London. This is not the stuff of your typical sports documentary, but it is the life of a professional tennis player. “Break Point,” executive-produced by Paul Martin and the Oscar-winning filmmaker James Gay-Rees, arrived this year as a gift to tennis fans, for whom splashy, well-produced and readily accessible documentaries about the sport have been hard to come by. Perhaps this is because the narrative tropes of the genre tend toward triumphs and Gatorade showers, while the procedural and psychological realities of professional tennis lie elsewhere. The 10 episodes of “Break Point” render tennis unromantically: This is the rare sports doc whose primary subject is loss.

Persons: Ajla, Ratko, Chris Evert, ” Tomljanovic, Taylor Fritz, Paul Martin, Oscar, James Gay, Rees, splashy, Williams, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic —, Michael Jordan’s, Nas, Isiah Thomas, “, ” Barack Obama, Andre Agassi’s, ”, Stefanos Tsitsipas Organizations: Netflix, Tennis, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, Gatorade Locations: London, Chicago

☆ YouTuber Preston has seen his brand-deal revenue soar in the last 6 months after hiring an in-house manager
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-12 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Preston Arsement is a YouTuber and founder of media company TBNR, which runs 18 YouTube channels. In December 2022, he hired a brand partnerships manager to negotiate brand deals in-house. In late 2022, Arsement made a move to scale his organization further, and began negotiating partnerships in-house. And other social-media personalities have brought brand deals in-house like Israeli YouTuber Nas Daily and travel creators Yes Theory. "The competition, if there there is any, goes to the other talent that are part of the TBNR brand," Arsement said.

Persons: Preston Arsement, he's, Arsement, Brianna, Keeley, TBNR, Forbes, Tyler Wentz, Nas, onboarding Wentz, Wentz, Tyler, they're, It's Organizations: Preston, Night, TBNR, GameStop Locations: Dallas, TBNR

☆ Concert season is so weird right now
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Lisa Respers France | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Which “hurls” us into this week’s newsletter…Something to sip on…Pink performs on stage during a concert in Vienna, on July 1. ALEX HALADA/AFP via Getty Images“No home training.” – That’s what my late grandmother would have said about people who are throwing things at artists during concerts these days. Because clearly, if you are throwing things during a concert, you want to be a part of the performance. The married couple have a new weekly podcast, “The Best Podcast Ever.” Part of iHeartMedia’s Outspoken series, the project aims to amplify voices throughout the LGBTQ+ community. “The Best Podcast Ever” debuts July 10.

Persons: Pink, ALEX HALADA, ”, Lil Nas, Bebe Rexha, wilding, You’re, Tik tok, don’t, Charlie Puth, Adele, … Harrison Ford, Indiana Jones, That’s, ” “ Oppenheimer, Barbie ”, “ Barbie, Miranda Maday, Valerie Macon, Symoné, Miranda Pearman, “, Count, … Andrew Ridgeley, George Michael, Wham, Andrew Ridgeley, It’s, Michael Organizations: CNN, Getty, Lucasfilm, BEST, Netflix, Wembley Locations: Vienna, AFP, Stockholm, New York City, Vegas, Beverly Hills, China, England

☆ Norwegian Air to buy regional peer Wideroe for $106 mln
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

OSLO, July 6 (Reuters) - Norwegian Air (NAS.OL) has agreed to buy domestic peer Wideroe for 1.13 billion crowns ($106 million) as the reborn airline looks to strengthen its position in its home region. "The transaction is expected to provide significant benefits for travellers, employees and shareholders, and to strengthen the combined Norwegian and Wideroe as a key part of critical domestic infrastructure," Norwegian Air said in a statement. An important part of the regional infrastructure, Wideroe owns 40 Bombardier Dash 8 aircraft, and three Embraer E190-E2 jets, with seat numbers in each plane ranging from 39 to 110. The deal comes only two years after Norwegian Air emerged from bankruptcy protection with a smaller fleet and its debt almost wiped out, having raised cash. Norwegian Air said the two carriers had very limited overlap on routes, and it saw potential annual synergies from the acquisition of 200-300 million crowns ($18.8-28.2 million).

Persons: Privately, Wideroe, Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Anna Ringstrom, Mark Potter Organizations: Bombardier Dash, Embraer, Norwegian Air, Boeing, Victoria, Thomson Locations: OSLO, Norwegian, Scandinavia's

☆ A microscopic, knockoff Louis Vuitton handbag smaller than a grain of salt just sold for $63,750
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-29 | by ( Sarah Jackson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A typical Louis Vuitton handbag can set you back a few thousand dollars, but this microscopic knockoff is even pricier. It's smaller than a grain of sea salt and comes with its own microscope to view it, MSCHF says. Kevin Wiesner, MSCHF's chief creative officer, told The New York Times that the collective hadn't obtained permission from Louis Vuitton to use the design. LVMH, which owns Louis Vuitton, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment. MSCHF says the handbag is "smaller than a grain of sea salt."

Persons: Louis Vuitton, MSCHF, —, Louis, Kevin Wiesner, hadn't, MSCHF MSCHF, Lil Nas, Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg Organizations: Louis, Service, New York Times Locations: Brooklyn

☆ Elton John to thrill sun-drenched Glastonbury in final UK show
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-25 | by ( Sachin Ravikumar | Thomson Reuters | Sachin Ravikumar Is A Correspondent For Reuters In London Covering General News Across The Uk. Over Nine Years At Reuters | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

GLASTONBURY, England, June 25 (Reuters) - Elton John is set to close Glastonbury's Pyramid stage on Sunday night with a "completely unique" set for his last ever UK show that will also feature four surprise guests. "What's brilliant about Elton is it is like something for everyone, all ages," the 43-year-old who works in marketing said. "I've got a sparkly jacket in my bag ready to go, so I'll be busting that out for Elton." Glastonbury organiser Emily Eavis, whose father Michael started the festival on Worthy Farm in 1970, said the show would be an amazing send-off for John. "He's been carving out a set that's going to be completely unique to Glastonbury," Eavis told the festival's Glastonbury Free Press paper.

Persons: Elton John, Lewis Capaldi, David, Britney Spears, Yusuf, Cat Stevens, Blondie, Lil Nas X, John, Fan Emily Brett, London, Elton, I've, Glastonbury, Emily Eavis, Michael, Eavis, Sachin Ravikumar, Jane Merriman Organizations: Foo Fighters, Sky News, Glastonbury, Dua, Glastonbury Free Press, Thomson Locations: GLASTONBURY, England, British, Glastonbury

GLASTONBURY, England, June 21 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of music fans streamed into Worthy Farm in southwest England on Wednesday at the start of Glastonbury, the beloved music festival that will feature Elton John, Guns N' Roses and the Arctic Monkeys this weekend. Elated fans wore sun hats and lugged camping gear to the site of the world's biggest open-air arts and music festival, primed to witness hundreds of acts over five days culminating in British singer Elton John's last ever UK show on Sunday night. Heavy showers fell over the 900-acre grassy expanse of Glastonbury on Wednesday, although fans, many equipped with Wellington boots to wade through muddy fields, appeared undeterred. Glastonbury, founded by Michael Eavis 53 years ago, typically sells out before any headliners have been announced, given the strength of previous line-ups. "I've done a festival before but I've never managed to get my tickets here," said Glastonbury first-timer Hemmings.

Persons: Elton John, Elton John's, Yusuf, Cat Stevens, Blondie, Lizzo, Lil Nas, Lana Del Ray, Rick Astley, we've, Tom Hemmings, It's Elton John's, Alex Turner's laryngitis, Michael Eavis, I've, Glastonbury, Hemmings, Paul McCartney, Billie Eilish, Jason Cairnduff, Sachin Ravikumar, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: Glastonbury, Foo Fighters, Sheffield, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: GLASTONBURY, England, British, Glastonbury, Wellington, Bristol, Worthy, Ireland

☆ Egypt Spars With Dutch Museum Over Ancient History
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-18 | by ( Vivian Yee | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A new Dutch museum exhibit declares, “Egypt is a part of Africa,” which might strike most people who have seen a map of the world as an uncontroversial statement. But the show at the National Museum of Antiquities in Leiden goes beyond geography. It explores the tradition of Black musicians — Beyoncé, Tina Turner, Nas and others — drawing inspiration and pride from the idea that ancient Egypt was an African culture. The exhibit is framed as a useful corrective to centuries of cultural erasure of Africans. And some feel that it is their culture and history that are being erased in the Western quest to correct historical racism.

Persons: — Beyoncé, Tina Turner, Nas Organizations: National Museum of Antiquities, Facebook Locations: Egypt, Africa, Leiden, African, United States, Netherlands, East, North Africa

☆ I work as a celebrity stylist and moved from Paris to Los Angeles. Now I dress stars like Cardi B and Lil Nas X.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-17 | by ( Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Lycia Lamini moved from Paris to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of being a celebrity stylist. Now the 22-year-old is dressing some of the biggest celebrities including Cardi B and Lil Nas X. I packed up and moved from Paris to Los Angeles almost a year ago to pursue my dream of becoming a celebrity stylist. I attended fashion week events, which opened doors for me. Lycia Lamini has styled celebrities including Cardi B, Lil Nas X and Burna Boy.

Persons: Lycia Lamini, Cardi, Lil Nas, —, Lycia, Kollin Carter, Karl Lagerfeld, Prada, Christian Dior, Lenny S, Jay Z's, I've, Joey Bada, Kali, they're Organizations: Service, Art Basel, Roc Nation, Paris Fashion Locations: Lycia, Paris, Los Angeles, LA, Miami

☆ The brand behind the viral Big Red Boots has made a microscopic handbag 'smaller than a grain of salt'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-16 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The brand behind the viral Big Red Boots is releasing a tiny handbag 'smaller than a grain of salt.' MSCHF's Microscopic Handbag is bright green and modeled on a Louis Vuitton handbag. MSCHF, a New York-based art advertising collective, said it's exhibiting a tiny handbag at Pharrell William's auction house JOOPITER in Paris from June 20 to 24. MSCHF's Microscopic Handbag under a microscope. "Microscopic Handbag takes this to its full logical conclusion.

Persons: Louis Vuitton, —, Boots, Pharrell William's, Kevin Wiesner, MSCHF, Weisner, Lil Nas, Gabriel Whaley Organizations: Service, Louis, Louis Vuitton Monogram, New York Times, Times, Red Locations: New York, Paris

☆ A Navy pilot had to be rescued off the coast of Key West after ejecting from an F-5 aircraft
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Navy pilot had to be rescued from Florida waters after ejecting from an F-5 aircraft. Naval officials said Wednesday the pilot was part of the Fighter Squadron Composite VFC-111. Naval officials confirmed that a pilot assigned to Naval Air Station Key West was picked up in the waters off Key West on Wednesday morning. —NAS Key West (@NASKeyWest) May 31, 2023The aircraft, which was an F-5N plane, originally launched from Naval Air Station Key West. The Navy had to rescue the pilot from the water using an MH-60S search and rescue helicopter, the station said.

Persons: —, Sun Organizations: Navy, Naval, Wednesday, Fighter, Service, US Navy, Naval Air Station, West, NAS, Naval Air Station Key, Boca Chica, Local, Coast Guard Locations: Florida

Art of Craft is a series about specialists whose work rises to the level of art. The textile artist Bisa Butler was working in her studio in Jersey City, N.J., one day when her husband, John Butler, a D.J., played the song “The World Is Yours” by the hip-hop artist Nas. The song had a particular resonance for Ms. Butler and something clicked: “We can make of this world what we want,” she said. “Right now if you watch the news or read the wrong paper, or any paper, you can get depressed,” Ms. Butler said. Pieces in Ms. Butler’s new show are priced at six figures and up.

Revisit some of the predominant trends in music that came to define a mercurial decade, from pop-rap and boy bands to aesthetic sadness and protest anthems. Rap goes the viral pop routeAt the beginning of the 2010s, rap stars had trouble scoring their own No. Dark and dreary pop blows upLana Del Rey helped to usher in a new era of downbeat and dark pop. Karl Walter/Getty ImagesBoth the Weeknd and Del Rey have pivoted since their debuts, with their images becoming more complicated than their indie origins belie. Del Rey, meanwhile, has only burrowed deeper into her niche, crafting intensely personal records that have matured with her listeners.

TEL AVIV — Israel and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have agreed to a cease-fire ending five days of fighting between the two sides, one U.S. official and one Israeli official told NBC News on Saturday. The fighting has killed 33 Palestinians inside Gaza, including at least 13 civilians. Over the past few days, Israel has conducted more airstrikes, killing other senior Islamic Jihad commanders and destroying their command centers and rocket-launching sites. The Israeli military alleged the targeted homes belonged to or were used by Islamic Jihad militants. Islamic Jihad has retaliated by firing over 1,200 rockets toward southern and central Israel, according to the military.

☆ Chris Pratt's Met Gala post sparked conversation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Marianne Garvey | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Chris Pratt has upset some on the internet by showing off his toe. The “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. Playing off his role in “Guardians,” one commenter suggested the Marvel group help. “You want a toe, I can get you a toe,” they quipped. “You need the guardians of Podiatry.”

☆ 17 Looks That Did the Most at the Met Gala
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( The Styles Desk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The guest list for the first Monday in May, as the Met Gala is also known, serves as a Rorschach test for whom Anna Wintour deems important, circa now. Many guests wore black and white or suits and gowns embellished with pearls or flowers — favorite motifs of Mr. Lagerfeld. Doja Cat and Jared Leto each paid homage to Choupette, Mr. Lagerfeld’s feline friend. There were many wonderful dresses that paid respect to Mr. Lagerfeld’s legacy — in fact, there were too many to name. So here’s a reminder: The looks that follow did the most at the Met Gala — not necessarily the best, not necessarily the worst, just the most.

☆ Jared Leto wears giant 'Choupette' costume to Met Gala
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-02 | by ( Ben Kellerman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/4] Jared Leto, dressed as Karl Lagerfeld's cat Choupette, poses at the Met Gala, an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute with this year's theme "Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty", in New York City, New York, U.S., May 1, 2023. The invitation-only Met Gala, famed for its A-list celebrities and extravagant outfits, is a benefit for New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and marks the opening of the Costume Institute’s annual fashion exhibit. “Karl loved romantic but he also loved something a little edgy and nasty,” said American fashion designer Michael Kors. Meta Gala co-chair Dua Lipa wore a vintage 1992 Chanel Haute Couture Fall cream tweed gown and paired it with a never before seen 100 karat Tiffany diamond necklace. Reporting by Ben Kellerman in New York; Writing by Doyinsola Oladipo in New York; Editing by Michael PerryOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ 2023 Met Gala: Red Carpet Roundup
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-01 | by ( The Styles Desk | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The worlds of celebrity, fashion, politics, sports, business and art collide at the Met Gala, always held on the first Monday in May. The invitees posed, giving the crowds and cameras angle after angle for prime gawking. Mr. Leto wasn’t the only one who deconstructed an outfit. Janelle Monáe’s Thom Browne hoop skirt transformed into a sequined bikini. And Lil Nas X didn’t have much to take off, having arrived in full silver body paint, bejeweled thong and an elaborate mask.

☆ Elon Musk's Twitter: The fall of verification and birth of Twitter Blue
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-29 | by ( Amy O'Kruk | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

By comparison, more than 400,000 accounts were verified with the legacy blue checks before the purge. But one of Musk’s boldest and biggest changes has been Twitter Blue. Twitter Blue has stoked chaos and confusion. Once a sought-after status symbol, many users find the blue badge is no longer cool. Here’s a look back at the rise and fall of Twitter’s blue badge:

☆ How Elon Musk transformed Twitter’s blue check from status symbol into a badge of shame
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-24 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Over the weekend, numerous high-profile people announced — with apparent despair — that they too had been “punished” with verification badges. Twitter Verified account seen in an iPhone screen in Vancouver, Canada, on Dec. 9 2022. Instead of conveying authenticity, Twitter verification is now fraught with multiple conflicting messages. For weeks, many legacy verified users had signaled they would not be paying for Twitter Blue. It doesn’t benefit Twitter for celebrity accounts to be buried along with the other non-paying accounts Musk has said the platform will demote.

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