Golden Globes attracts 20 million viewers
Hollywood's three-hour Golden Globe Awards coverage averaged 20 million viewers on Sunday, the second biggest audience in a decade, according to NBC. The 74th edition of the annual ceremony, hosted this year by Jimmy Fallon, was up 1.5 million viewers from last year, the network said in a statement quoting figures from Nielsen Media Research. Viewership was up two per cent among adults 18 to 49 years old. Last year's ceremony hosted by Ricky Gervais averaged 18.5 viewers but, unlike the 2017 edition, faced head-to-head competition from an NFL playoffs game. This year's uptick in numbers comes as just about every major awards show, including the Oscars, the Emmys and the Grammys, has experienced a drop in ratings in recent years. The big winner at Sunday's ceremony was the modern musical romance La La Land which won seven Golden Globe Awards. The coming-of-age film Moonlight won the prize for best drama. One of the highlights of the show was a speech by actress Meryl Streep, who berated Donald Trump for his divisive rhetoric as she received a lifetime achievement award. — Agence France Presse
U2 plans tour to mark 30 years since The Joshua Tree
U2 have announced a stadium tour of North America and Europe to mark 30 years since The Joshua Tree, the Irish group's seminal album — but a UAE stop looks unlikely. The group will start the 25 shows on May 12 in Vancouver and end on August 1 in Brussels, it was announced on Monday. The tour will mark the first stadium-size shows by U2 since the 2009-2011 tour 360, which remain the highest-grossing tour in music history. It has long been speculated that the iconic band will one day visit Abu Dhabi, but stopping off during this summer stint seems unlikely due to the UAE climate — unless the tour is extended into autumn. Released in March 1987, The Joshua Tree reached into the roots of Irish and American music and produced classic hits With or Without You, Where the Streets Have No Name and I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For. — Agence France Presse
Aamir Khan’s Dangal beats his PK as highest Hindi grosser
With Dangal registering a collection of Rs345.3 crore (Dh186 million), Bollywood star Aamir Khan has created a new record for the highest Hindi grosser, beating the business of his own movie PK. The sports drama film, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, took a leaf out of wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat's real life. Dangal, which released on December 23, 2016, collected Rs14.33 crore on January 8, 2017, taking the cumulative total to Rs345.3 crore at the India box office, read a statement issued on behalf of the filmmakers. Dangal has been lauded by the audiences for its powerful portrayal of the story of Phogat who, much to the disapproval of his wife and his whole village, trained his daughters Geeta and Babita to wrestle. — IANS
‘Experience — running nation’: Spotify offers Obama job
If President Barack Obama is still wondering what to do when he leaves office next week, he has a ready job offer — from Spotify. The world’s leading streaming service on Monday (January 9) advertised an opening for “President of Playlists” — and said it was looking for someone with “at least eight years experience running a highly regarded nation”. If it was not any more obvious whom Spotify was seeking for the New York-based position, it asked for an applicant with “good team spirit, excellent work ethic, a friendly and warm attitude and a Nobel Peace Prize”. The company said the President of Playlists would come up with songs to suit occasions from “shooting hoops with your friends” to warming up for an address on “health care legislation that bears your name”. The Swedish company’s CEO Daniel Ek revealed the tongue-in-cheek offer over Twitter after Obama was quoted as joking about a job at Spotify. Over two consecutive Obama summers released Spotify playlists for holiday listening, revealing tastes heavy on classic soul and jazz. — AFP
Drake’s tour highest-grossing hip-hop tour
Rapper Drake’s Summer Sixteen tour has been named the highest-grossing hip-hop tour in history. Drake and rapper Future had teamed up on stage to perform 54 shows throughout July-October 2016. According to trade publication Poll Star Pro, tickets for the event raked in $85 million [Dh312 million], reports femalefirst.co.uk. The achievement topples rapper-record producer Jay Z and rapper Kanye West from the top of the highest-grossing tours in hip-hop history, with the duo previously making $75 million [Dh275 million] between October 2011 and June 2012. In November Drake made headlines after failing to appear at a club appearance at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, reportedly due to a last-minute financial dispute. — IANS