Tuesday 22 July 2014

Is The Voice rigged? Anja Nissen wins The Voice Australia, but do the numbers add up?

18-YEAR-OLD Anja Nissen has been crowned the winner of 2014′s The Voice Australia over runner-up Jackson Thomas and third placed Johnny Rollins.

But did she really win by way of receiving the most votes — or was she simply the most viable ‘artist’ of the bunch in the eyes of Channel 9 producers and Universal music executives?

More: What The Voice coaches won’t tell the winner

The biggest TV premiere of the fall season could be the one involving a 25-year-old show

Years ago, when I named The Simpsons the best TV show of the 20th century for TIME magazine, one of the reasons that I gave was its depth; it had a vast canvas and dozens, nay hundreds, of characters well-drawn enough to potentially carry a story. It “created worlds within worlds,” I wrote–and this October, it’s going to become a world.

Simpsons World, to be exact: the digital platform, unveiled for TV reporters in Los Angeles yesterday, that FXX network will use to take maximum advantage of acquiring the entire 25-season run of The Simpsons. Accessible on the web and through apps (you also need service from a participating cable provider), it will allow you to watch any Simpsons episode you want, any time.

(CNN) -- It looks like Kanye West's new wife is rubbing off on him.

In the August issue of GQ magazine, the rapper talks about everything from his design ambitions -- he'd like to build amusement parks -- to his next album to his home life, including the relationship he's built with uber-celebrity Kim Kardashian.

According to West, his reality star bride, whom he married in May, has helped him acquire a unique set of skills: "Kim K skills," if you will.

FX is taking another trip to "Fargo," where the cast is changing but some of the characters are not.

The network announced Monday that it has renewed the series for a second season with new actors, time period and crime.

Executive Producer Noah Hawley told a TV Critics' panel that season two will be set primarily in North Dakota in 1979 with a younger version of the Lou Solverson character (played by Keith Carradine in season one.) His daughter, Molly, who Allison Tolman portrayed, is just 4 years old.

Looks like Zac Efron and Michelle Rodriguez are still having a good time together.

The Neighbors star was spotted, overnight bag in hand, apparently leaving Michelle's Los Angeles home on Sunday, the pair having enjoyed a night out with pals on Saturday at Chateau Marmont.

Zac was also carrying a skateboard as he eased his way out through a side entrance and made his way to his car, his morning hair tucked under a baseball hat.

Davis's appointment ahead of Newsnight's three incumbent female presenters comes as BBC is criticised for 'gender imbalance'

Evan Davis will switch from BBC Radio 4's Today to present Newsnight, succeeding Jeremy Paxman as the face of the BBC2 current affairs show.

His appointment as Newsnight's lead anchor ahead of the programme's three incumbent female presenters came on the same day that the BBC Trust ordered the corporation to tackle the continued "gender imbalance" in its programmes.

The BBC has faced persistent criticism in recent years over the lack of women in presenting and other on-air roles, a point highlighted again in its annual report for the year to the end of March, published on Monday, which also revealed that "audience appreciation" for the BBC's TV channels had fallen across the board.

1D hit the big screen for the second time with footage from San Siro stadium, with This Is Us director Morgan Spurlock rumoured to be returnin

One Direction have revealed plans for a follow-up to their concert film This Is Us.

In a video message, the five-piece boy band said the new movie, titled Where We Are, will hit cinemas for one weekend only on 11 and 12 October, followed by a DVD release. According to Digital Spy, it will feature footage from a recent concert at Milan's San Siro stadium and is aimed at fans unable to get tickets for the band's current tour.

From Damon Albarn's Blur songs to Rag 'N' Bone man's lost blues legend voice, performances fit good-naturedness of event

A gigantic "ahhhh" spreads across the Suffolk countryside as Damon Albarn comes to the close of End of a Century on the second night at Latitude. It's not one of relief from the crowd that he's turned to the Blur back catalogue after a set based around his lovely, but not exactly lively solo album. It's a gasp of pleasure at the spectacle of the lightning forking across the sky. It's a measure of the good-naturedness of this event that the arrival of a biblical deluge is greeted with such wonderment: on a weekend of largely glorious weather, there's a determination to be uplifted that's almost contagious.

Pregnant Katie says she still loves her loves hubby Kieran but that she has not forgiven him for cheating on her

Betrayed Katie Price says she and hubby Kieran Hayler will move house because she can't bear the fact he slept with other women there.

The former glamour model, who is now pregnant with her fifth child and has opened up about her cheating spouse, said she wants to move as part of a "new start" - and needs to time to reflect on their future together.

She still loves Kieran - as do her children - but admits she cannot forget what he did.

A pine tree planted in 2004 in memory of former Beatle George Harrison in a Los Angeles park has died after being infested by beetles.

The sapling was planted in the city's Griffith Park near the observatory.

Harrison, who died in 2001, spent his final days in LA and was a keen gardener.

Council officer Tom LaBonge told the LA Times the memorial had grown to more than 10 feet tall in 2013, but the tree beetle attack had overwhelmed it.

She is thought to have had just four guests at her secret wedding - so it is no surprise Cheryl Cole wanted to celebrate her nuptials with a bigger party.

The pop star, who married French restaurateur Jean-Bernard Fernandez-Versini, was joined by family and friends at an exclusive London venue last night.

Dressed in a floor-length black gown which had a sheer skirt, the 31-year-old singer smiled for waiting photographers as she left the gathering.

The biopic of the Second World War code-breaker later convicted for homosexuality also stars Mark Strong, Rory Kinnear and Keira Knightley
The first trailer for the Alan Turing biopic The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch as the Second World War code-breaker, has been released. Norwegian director Morten Tyldum's film, based on Andrew Hodges's book Alan Turing: The Enigma, has been selected to open this year's London Film Festival on October 8.

Apple has announced the first batch of headline acts for its eighth annual iTunes Festival in London.

The music event will take place at Camden's Roundhouse once again and will run for 30 days in September.

Among the acts confirmed are Maroon 5, Pharrell Williams, Kasabian, Beck, Sam Smith, Blondie, Kylie, David Guetta, 5 Seconds of Summer, Calvin Harris, Robert Plant and Chrissie Hynde, with more performers due to be announced at a later date.

Singer and TV star Tulisa Contostavlos's trial over drugs allegations has collapsed.

Judge Alistair McCreath told Southwark Crown Court he thought prosecution witness Mazher Mahmood had lied in giving evidence.

Mr Mahmood claimed Ms Contostavlos, 26, had brokered a deal through her friend Mike GLC to supply Class A drugs.

The Sun journalist Mr Mahmood has been "suspended pending an internal investigation" the newspaper said.

She’d already hinted at a ‘second wedding’ following her super-secret nuptials – and now Cheryl Cole has made good on that promise with a lavish bash in London.

The singer and X Factor judge – who revealed last week that she had tied the knot with partner Jean Bernard Fernandez-Versini – was joined by around 50 guests for a celebration at the capital’s exclusive Library Club.

They included former Girls Aloud bandmates Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh – who along with the other guests donned black and white outfits for the occasion.

Andi Dorfman, this is your life. In advance of the July 28 Bachelorette finale -- when she'll choose between two men, Josh and Nick -- Andi sat down to face 16 of the 23 other suitors she sent home this season, including fan favorites Chris, Marcus, and Marquel. That's right, Bachelor Nation, it's time for Men Tell All. As in years past, this episode was chock-full of unexpected drama -- but Andi, surprisingly, had very little to do with any of it. Let's recap!

The episode kicks off with a few words from Chris Harrison, who gives a brief recap of the season's drama so far. He promises lots more to come in the next two hours -- but first, an appearance from one of the most beloved Bachelor/Bachelor couples in history, Ashley and J.P. Rosenbaum! Ashley, in case you didn't know, is super pregnant, and also super happy. "I've had a beautiful pregnancy, a wonderful pregnancy," she gushes. "J.P.'s been great. The baby's very active, so that's been fun."

Robert Downey Jr leads the list of the highest-earning Hollywood actors for the second year running.

The Iron Man star, 49, has seen his status rocket following his recurring role as the superhero in the Marvel films. He banked around 75 million US dollars (£43.9 million) in the past 12 months, from June 2013 to June 2014, according to Forbes.com.

Dwayne Johnson took second place, having starred in the Fast And Furious films, GI Joe: Retaliation and the upcoming Hercules. The former pro wrestler, also known as The Rock, earned an estimated 52 million US dollars (£30 million) in the past year.

UPDATED with details from the arrest report.

Hey, we get it — things can get a little crazy down on the Grand Strand sometimes, especially when you’re partying with a couple of NFL players.

Farrah Franklin, who was in Destiny’s Child for five months in 2000, was arrested near Myrtle Beach, S.C., early Sunday morning for disorderly conduct, reports Gannett station WLTX-TV. (She was detained on similar charges in California in 2011.)

JJ Abrams has revealed the X-Wing spacecraft, which will feature in Star Wars: Episode VII.

The director of the seventh instalment of the sci-fi series showed the X-Wing, as it will appear in the film, with a pilot climbing into the cockpit in a video posted on his Bad Robot Twitter account.

The filmmaker is also offering two film fans the opportunity to appear in the movie, as part of the Star Wars: Force For Change charity campaign to benefit Unicef.

Fargo's second season will be a prequel and set in Sioux Falls

In June, Fargo's writer Noah Hawley revealed that he saw the riotously successful Channel 4 show as an anthology crime drama, with a new cast and setting for each subsequent series.

Now he's given further details away about the second season of Fargo, notably that the new series will be a prequel to the first, set in 1979, and will "stand alone as a period piece".

The former child star who played Mel Gibson's daughter in The Patriot has died at the age of 21.

Skye McCole Bartusiak died at her home in Texas on Friday.

Jacqueline Fernandez, star of hit films like Murder 2, Housefull and Race 2, was the leading lady of choice for Kick, reveals her co-star Salman Khan. Kick will be Jacqueline's first film as the sole female lead after her debut movie Aladin (2009).

The Sri Lankan beauty's toned body, showcased to great advantage in the Kick song Jumme Ki Raat, has made her the envy of fans and female colleagues alike. Salman says that he keeps telling his lovely co-star she looks fantastic. (Also read: Salman Khan: Holiday Season Does Matter a Lot for Releases )

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. – Courtney Love and Marilyn Manson have roles on the upcoming final season of "Sons of Anarchy."

The musicians join such previous guest stars as Stephen King and David Hasselhoff as unusual casting choices in the motorcycle club drama on FX.

"We try to have some things that are fun," creator and executive producer Kurt Sutter told the summer TV critics' meeting Monday.

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