Here is our holiday music guide

Ask Grammy Award-winning music executive Kevin Liles about Christmas music, and he is making a list and checking it twice.
                                                 

Having worked with a long list of superstars — such as Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Mariah Carey, Migos, Fetty Wap, and Trey Songz, the industry veteran understands that certain songs of the season evoke rich memories.

“Holiday music is special because it has such a nostalgic feel to it,” said the co-founder and CEO of 300 Entertainment. “A good holiday song done right can stand the test of time.”

As an example, he points to Carey’s 1994 mega-hit “All I Want for Christmas is You.” The bouncy ditty (complete with ringing bells) joins traditional tunes such as Nat King Cole’s “The Christmas Song,” in having sold millions of copies for decades. Both songs are currently on Billboard's Holiday 100 Songs chart and remain perennial favorites.

Here are some other holiday tunes recommended by us, music experts, and our readers that we will have on repeat this season.

To unwrap the gift of seasonal R&B standards, consider soulful songs such as “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer” by The Temptations and Donny Hathaway’s horn laden “This Christmas,” released in 1971.

The experts say don’t be shy about putting new songs into your holiday rotation. Motown legend Smokey Robinson has a new EP, "Christmas Everyday." Demo Taped, a 19-year-old from Atlanta signed to 300 Entertainment, is known for electronic pop, but has recently released “Christmas Just Ain’t Christmas,” a hit originally performed by the O’Jays.

Kim Kardashian Calls on Her High-Powered Legal Team to Help Free Cyntoia Brown

Kim Kardashian West has reportedly enlisted the help of her high-powered attorney to free a sex trafficking survivor who was sentenced to decades in prison for killing a man who solicited her for prostitution as a teen.
                                                 

Kardashian West is making good on a promise she tweeted earlier this week, vowing to do all she could to help Cyntoia Brown, a 29-year-old woman who was sentenced as an adult at 16 years old for killing Johnny Mitchell Allen, a 43-year-old real estate agent who allegedly solicited sex from her.

Along with Brown, Kardashian West, 37, is looking to help Alice Johnson, a 62-year-old grandmother serving 21 years in prison for a first time, non-violent drug offense, according to The Blast.

Brown has been behind bars for more than 13 years and becomes eligible for parole soon after she turns 69. The woman reportedly endured repeated sexual abuse as a kid, according to the Tennessean.

Brown said she was forced to prostitute by a boyfriend who essentially became the underage girl’s pimp, taking the money that she would make. She claimed she shot Allen in self-defense because she allegedly saw him reach for his gun.

Although she has been incarcerated for more than a decade, interest in her story was reignited when stars like Kardashian West, Rihanna and Cara Delevingne shared a tweet about her controversial case.

In 2011, Brown was the subject of the PBS documentary Me Facing Life: Cyntoia’s Story. The film was produced by Daniel H. Birman, who documented Brown’s case from the week of her arrest until her conviction almost six years later. (Birman’s social media post went viral.

Here's Selena Gomez's Honest Review of Taylor Swift's Upcoming Album reputation

Selena Gomez is giving two big thumbs up in regards to Taylor Swift's new music.
                                       

As anticipation continues to grow for the release of reputation on November 10, fans can't help but speculate as to what will be heard on Taylor's latest album.

According to one of her closest friends, the wait will be absolutely worth it.

"I obviously love her so much and want her to do what she does and she's killing it," Selena gushed to Zane Lowe on Apple Music. "It's everything you would want and more so very proud and obviously a major fan."

Selena also revealed that Taylor played her the album that features hit songs including "Gorgeous," "Look What You Made Me Do" and "…Ready for It."

"It's honestly so inspiring," the singer added. "It's really cool to surround yourself with people and be involved with people who are inspiring and changing the way that they dictate what they love—whether that's acting or music—and she's one of those people who continue to do that."

While Swifties certainly have plenty of reasons to be excited, Selenators are also getting treated to new music from their favorite pop star.

Earlier today, Selena and Marshmello released their collaboration titled "Wolves." It's the latest track in a string of songs that have meant a lot to the singer.
"For me this year, I wanted to find a different place. I wanted my music to be a lot more meaningful to be honest," Selena explained. "That is kind of what I always searched for and I did a ton of records this year and last year as well. I just wanted to take my time."

She continued, "I'm going to release the songs I want to release. Just take my time. I was also going through stuff personally and I just wanted to take care of myself. Now that I'm in the spot I'm in…I'm ready. I want to get back in."

I Flew 8,040 Miles to Work Out With Ariana Grande

Fun fact about me: I get motion sickness very easily. (Almost too easily.) Put me in a moving vehicle and, within seconds, I'm a sweaty, dry-heaving mess. So why, in god's name, would I ever agree to get on a plane and fly 15 hours across the world — from New York City to Hong Kong (that's 8,040 miles, for reference), where there's a 100 percent chance I'll fall ill to unwavering turbulence? Because Ariana Grande asked me to. Here, my journey to conquering Hong Kong in 84 hours — all in the name of one certain Dangerous Woman.
                                             

Two weeks ago, when news of the 24-year-old singer's new Reebok partnership was announced (she joined the ranks of fellow faces of the athletic brand Gigi Hadid, Aly Raisman, and Future), less than 24 hours after the announcement had initially hit my inbox, I was invited to celebrate with the star — in Hong Kong, no less — a mere four days later. Crazy? Absolutely. Was I going? Hell yes, I was. How could I possibly say no? Short answer: I couldn't. "It's Hong Kong," I thought, "...with Ariana Grande." There was no way I letting this ship sail without me.

Upon arrival in Asia (I'm sorry, I still can't believe I was actually in Asia!!), I was given a loose itinerary, which had a large portion of my second day in Hong Kong devoted to spending time with the star. The tentative plan was to sit in on a panel led by Grande, in which she chatted about everything from fashion (she describes her personal style as "quirky with a beautiful twist," thanks to her stylist Law Roach) to inclusivity (she wants her to use her newfound platform with Reebok to encourage everyone to feel comfortable in their own skin) to dancing on stage with her real-life BFFs (her closest friends also happen to be her choreographers). And then, following the panel, we'd take a dance class led by — wait for it — Grande herself, in which we'd learn a few of her signature stage moves from her current Dangerous Woman tour.

Will George and Amal Clooney Make Post-Twins Debut?

Hollywood’s finest will start flocking to the city of canals this week for the 74rd Venice Film Festival, which opens Aug. 30 — giving the world a first look at some of the year’s most anticipated movies and, of course, some of the most glamorous couples in show business.
                                                 

George Clooney, who directed the dark comedy Suburbicon, and his human-rights lawyer wife Amal are likely to walk the red carpet on the island of Lido for the first time since they welcomed their twins Ella and Alexander in June. The two, who spent much of the summer at their home on Italy’s Lake Como, have plenty of history in Venice: They got married in the city in 2014, and George is a festival regular.

Jennifer Lawrence and her director boyfriend Darren Aronofsky, who fell for each other after making the movie mother! together, will premiere the intense, super-secretive horror thriller, starring Lawrence, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer and Javier Bardem. The two have praised each other in interviews and taken their romance public, but the film festival will probably be their red carpet debut as a couple.

Among other hot couples likely to show off their amore on the red carpet: Along with his role in mother!, Javier Bardem stars with wife Penélope Cruz in the Pablo Escobar drama Loving Pablo. And Matt Damon stars in two movies, Surburbicon and the opening night movie, Alexander Payne’s social satire Downsizing, so we’re hoping wife Luciana comes along for the festivities.

This years’ festival takes place from Aug. 30 to Sept. 9, kicking off the opening night with Downsizing, starring Damon and Kristen Wiig. The festival will also premiere the Netflix original Our Souls at Night as part of a planned tribute to stars Robert Redford and Jane Fonda, who reunited for the film 50 years after Barefoot in the Park.  And ending an 11-year succession of male jury chiefs, Annette Bening will lead the competition jury.

Tom Hanks to open London Literature Festival reading from debut short story collection

Tom Hanks will unveil his first collection of fiction at the Southbank Centre's London Literature Festival this year.
                                               

The Oscar-winning actor, 61, will give readings from his collection of short stories - entitled Uncommon Type - and discuss his writing process at the Royal Festival Hall in November.

The book, which is being published in October, contains a series of stories exploring the human condition and its foibles, with each tale connected by the recurring motif of a typewriter.

It includes stories about a man immigrating to New York City after fleeing a civil war, a woman adjusting to her post-divorce life, an actor enduring a whirlwind press junket, and an eccentric billionaire and his faithful assistant on the hunt for something larger in America.

The festival date will be Hanks' only UK appearance to discuss the book.

The London Literature Festival runs from 13 October to 1 November and features live readings, performances, talks, debates, visual displays, workshops and music.

Hanks joins a line-up including Anne Carson, Tracy Chevalier, Goldie, Karl Ove Knausgard, Annie Leibovitz, David Mitchell, Philip Pullman and Claudia Rankine.

The actor will appear at the Royal Festival Hall on 1 November.

Ted Hodgkinson, Senior Programmer, Literature and Spoken Word, Southbank Centre, said: “To hear these stories read live for the very first time by the unmistakable voice of their author, and hear what drew this remarkable storyteller to write fiction, will be a rare literary experience.”

Uncommon Type is being published by William Heinemann, Penguin Random House on 17 October.

Ariana Grande's Famous Crown Actually Made the Designer Cry

You know Ariana Grande’s famous crown. You probably even remember the one perched on R. Kelly’s head on the cover of his The Buffet album, or the time Paris Hilton 'Grammed a photo of her pup, who looked like royalty in a gold-studded miniature version.
                                           

 
The maker of these regal creations? Mary Collins of Vauje Jewelry, who inadvertently became the go-to supplier for all of Hollywood’s crown needs. It didn’t start out that way, but ever since she launched her crown and tiara collection in 2012 (three years after Vauje Jewelry was born), she’s built quite an impressive roster of celebrity fans, making custom-made pieces for Blue Ivy, Jason Derulo, Tyra Banks, Rick Ross, Jordin Sparks and Kevin Hart.
                                                 
How did you get into crowns?

I was creating pieces for retail, and sales were pretty low. I was getting bored and discouraged, so I decided to focus on photographers and stylists. I wanted to go big. So I came out with my crown line in 2012. I started showing pieces, and they got so much attention. Photographers and stylists began to pull my items for editorial, and it took off. Sometimes I have to remind people I don’t just design crowns, but that’s usually what they’re looking for. And it’s for everyone, not only celebrities -- I make them for birthdays, a newborn and so on.

Who was the first celebrity to wear one of your pieces?  

I thought my first celebrity would be a woman, but it was a male. It was Jason Derulo, and one of my good friends knew him and I hadn’t heard his music. I didn’t know much about him. I did my research before I met him. He was very nice and sweet -- a really, really nice guy. I got to see my first big celebrity and be backstage after his concert. He wore a gold crown with a 2-inch metal in the middle and four or five little ornates on top.

Why do you think celebrities are drawn to crowns?

Because people want to feel like royalty. I noticed it with Rick Ross. He always carries himself with confidence, but when he wore his crown on his birthday, and I could see a notable difference, that he was like, "I’m the king. I own this. I’m the boss." I see it with little girls too. When I had my pop-up shop, little girls wouldn’t want to take their crowns off.

How Katy Perry and her drag queens found themselves on the fake-news frontline

Apologies in advance for being the bearer of bad tidings, but it is time to take this whole fake news thing seriously. We all laughed, didn’t we, when the spread of misinformation played a decisive role in Brexit. “Oh, well!” That’s what we chortled. Similarly, we quickly dismissed fake news as just a bit of fun when its cheery deployment helped to propel Donald Trump into the Oval Office. It seemed as if the lols would never cease. But the fun is over now and we must face the facts: fake news may actually not be ideal. It may even be bad. Because, this week, it has finally gone too far. It has hit Katy Perry’s new album campaign.
                                     

The background here is that, last weekend, Pezza performed two songs on Saturday Night Live. Those who have been paying attention will know that Katy ushered in this new album era with a lead single that made a broad but commendable stab at articulating alienation, post-election anomie and the seductive danger of filter bubbles. Katy described her new direction as “purposeful pop”, an admirable notion on which she quickly U-turned, then reversed over with the grace and poise of Brian Harvey on a potato binge, by releasing Bon Appetit, her current single in which lyrics such as “I’m spread like a buffet” invite listeners to engage in a less than purposeful way with her undercarriage.

This fake news started its jolly journey to the top of the pop agenda following a post on the website of a production company and, following the pattern of mistruths in vastly less important areas such as presidential elections – it was both believable and complementary to existing narratives – it quickly spread. It was denied by Katy’s people (naturally) and Migos’s people (of course it was), except then it was also denied by a number of the drag artists who had been involved in the performance.

Twitter Photo Sparks Rihanna And Lupita Nyong’o Movie Idea

CALIFORNIA, USA, Wednesday April 26, 2017 – A 2014 photograph of Barbados pop princess Rihanna and Academy Award-winning actress Lupita Nyong’o has triggered a motion picture idea on Twitter, and both stars have taken to the social media site to indicate they’re up for it.
                                           

The photo of the pair, which was taken at a Miu Miu fashion show during Paris Fashion Week 2014, was shared by fans.

It caught the attention of Oscar winner Nyong’o (12 Years A Slave) several days ago and Rihanna has since tweeted she’s also ready to rock.

Now, fans of both icons just can’t wait to see the idea become reality.

That tweet garnered another 99,000 likes as well as a blitz of suggestions about the hypothetical movie.

One fan tweeted it over to Selma director Ava Duvernay saying she should helm it, and Duvernay appeared to be hot to trot.

“Lights set. Camera’s up. Ready to call action for these #queens,” she tweeted back.

Rihanna went on to retweet a fan’s idea to get Issa Rae, the creator and executive producer of Insecure, on board.

Rae appeared to respond in the affirmative, shooting back a Gif of a cat manically typing.

According to BBC News Entertainment reporter Frances Cronin, the idea of a movie based on the photo had been around on Tumblr when the photo was first published. But now that the main players have got involved, it looks like Twitter may have cast and created its first movie.

It's been a hard couple years of waiting since we learned that Rihanna's brand, Fenty, would expand to include beauty products in its range.
Thankfully, she recently gave us a little taste of what's in store. And it's oh-so-good.
At a Fenty x Puma event in LA, Rihanna wore a highlight so poppin' it could light an entire room. Fans were dying to know what it was.

Angelina Jolie fires brother from head nanny role

Angelina Jolie's brother James Haven has reportedly been let go by sister from his job as nanny to her brood.

The 43-year-old former actor was allegedly employed by the Mr. & Mrs. Smith star to supervise the six nannies she employs - one for each child - in the wake of her split from former husband Brad Pitt. However, he was noticeably absent from the actress' entourage on a recent visit to London.

Last September, the Daily Mail reported that Angelina had been leaving her children in the care of brother James and that he had accompanied her and the children to Cambodia where she was shooting a movie as well previously being spotted dashing through airports with the family on their travels.

However, new reports suggest Angelina has "quietly dismissed" James from his role as head nanny, after she realised the job was taking a heavy toll on him. The former actor and his sister have always been extremely close.

He famously came to the world's attention back in 2000 when Angelina and he kissed on the mouth at the Oscars where she won a Supporting Actress Academy Award for Girl, Interrupted.

"Things haven't been easy with Brad and Angelina's divorce, and James has done more than his fair share helping out while the family goes through a major upheaval," a source close to the star told Grazia. "But he's done. he's loved spending so much time with his nieces and nephews, but it's hard work and he's absolutely shattered.

James was said to have overall responsibility for running the team of nannies responsible for the former couple's children; Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, and twins Vivienne and Knox, but with such a large brood, the role soon spilled over into managing the household too.

Spencer Matthews dislocates shoulder

Spencer Matthews dislocated his shoulder on 'The Jump'.

The former 'Made In Chelsea' star was rehearsing for the Channel 4 winter sports show when he got into difficulty.

In a video obtained by The Sun Online, Spencer can be seen hurtling down the piste before falling over and colliding with a safety fence.

As paramedics rushed over to provide medical assistance, the reality star told them he had dislocated his shoulder but he managed to walk away from the incident after popping his shoulder back in.

"Those nets work. I always look at the red nets and I'm like they're mental they're never going to stop anyone ... If that wasn't there I'd be in the snow cross course."

Spencer will still compete on Sunday's (26.02.17) show as usual.

It comes after Spencer's pal Vogue Williams was forced to pull out of the show after badly injuring her knee.

A source said at the time: "Vogue is absolutely devastated. She was so looking forward to taking part and has been training religiously. She's one of the most competitive of the group and was in with a real chance of winning. But she fell very heavily during the ski cross training and really hurt her knee and on doctor's orders she has had to pull out."

And Sir Bradley Wiggins also had to quit the show after suffering a "small leg fracture".

Taking to Twitter at the time, he wrote: "Gutted to be leaving The Jump. I wanted to give you an injury update ...

"Seen a specialist, I have a small leg fracture & need to rest for 3/6 weeks. Good news no surgery or cast required ...

Spencer Abbott completes long journey to Blackhawks

As a crowd of reporters descended up on his locker stall, Spencer Abbott smiled and said: "It's good to be here."
               

Those aren't empty words for Abbott.

Abbott is the latest call-up for the Hawks from their AHL affiliate in Rockford, but he is not a young prospect by NHL standards. His path to the United Center ice against the Sabres on Thursday night was not a typical one.

He is a 28-year-old who began his career in the Maple Leafs system but played in just one NHL game. The Hawks traded for him in 2015 before Abbott, frustrated by floundering in the AHL, went to the Swedish Hockey League.

He came back to the AHL this season for one more crack at the NHL. It paid off.

On Monday, Abbott was just another name filling out an AHL roster. On Wednesday, he was skating at practice on the Hawks' top line alongside three-time Stanley Cup winners Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.

It's an opportunity Abbott said he thought might never come again. All he could do was keep producing points like he has done throughout his career and hope someone noticed enough to give him a shot. That shot comes Thursday.

Abbott had eight goals and 13 assists in 30 games with Rockford. He has been a playmaker at every stop in his career, including a season in which he posted 17 goals and 52 assists with the Toronto Marlies, the Leafs' AHL team.

But Wayne Abbott, Spencer's father, said Abbott could never crack the NHL rotation. The Leafs fired Brian Burke, the general manager who signed Abbott, in January 2013, the first full season Abbott was in the organization. That left Abbott without an ambassador on the Leafs, according to his dad.