Merab Dvalishvili has withdrawn from his coaching gig on the ‘Russian TUF’ show Hype Reality, leaving some angry people to scramble last-minute and save the show from collapsing.
News came out earlier this week that the UFC bantamweight champion would coach opposite former champ Petr Yan in the third season of Hype Reality. Season two featured Arman Tsarukyan and Khamzat Chimaev as coaches, so the program is no stranger to having top UFC names participating.
But tensions between Georgia and Russia continue to be extremely high two months after a controversial election in Dvalishvili’s home country that some say were swayed by Russian interference. Marches and protests in the streets are ongoing, and “The Machine” received a lot of anger from people in his home country for participating in a Russian show.
According to Hype Reality head Alfredo Auditore, Dvalishvili pulled out of the show at the last minute, leaving them in a lurch.
“Very bad news – UFC champion Merab Dvalishvili will not be the captain of our reality show,” Auditore wrote in a statement. “Everything fell through at the last moment. Tickets had already been bought, and that’s how it happened. Now we are urgently looking for a replacement, and words simply cannot describe the damage that has been done to the promotion. Because this is the most expensive reality show. I have invested much more in it than before.”
That was the politically correct statement from Hype Reality. On the other side of the spectrum was this video from someone else on the Hype Reality team repeatedly calling Merab Dvalishvili a b—h.
After the UFC champ Merab Dvalishvili pulled out of Hype Reality (Russian TUF) at the last moment because of the social media hate and left Hype with huge losses, one of their VPs recorded this video “Merab, this is the house you’d be in now if you weren’t a coward and a b1tch” https://t.co/SAT9EYFozgpic.twitter.com/d15eT53WVY
“Hey Merab, this is the hall you could have been in if you weren’t such a coward and a b—h,” a man said as he toured the Hype Reality filming location. “This is the kitchen where you could cook yourself breakfast if you weren’t such a b—h … This is the terrace where you could do your morning exercises if you weren’t such a b—h. This is the pool where you could swim … if you weren’t such a b—h.”
Dvalishvili hasn’t made an official statement on his withdrawal from the show, but we expect he’ll have a lot to say about the situation given his reaction to past disrespect.
Tulsi Gabbard may join President Donald Trump’s cabinet starting in 2025. The former Democrat , who has since joined the Republican Party, was nominated by the president-elect to be his Director of National Intelligence and is currently undergoing confirmation hearings.
“For over two decades, Tulsi has fought for our country and the freedoms of all Americans,” Trump noted in a statement upon nominating Gabbard in November 2024. “As a former candidate for the Democrat presidential nomination, she has broad support in both parties. She is now a proud Republican! I know Tulsi will bring the fearless spirit that has defined her illustrious career to our intelligence community, championing our constitutional rights, and securing peace through strength. Tulsi will make us all proud!”
This isn’t Gabbard’s first time taking center stage in the political arena. She gained a following after running for president in 2020 during the Democratic primaries. Though she endorsed former 46th President Joe Biden at the time, the U.S. Army Reserve officer criticized the Democrats and became an active supporter of Trump.
As her political career advances, some voters want to learn more about Gabbard and her personal life, including her relationships and marriage. Learn more about Gabbard’s husband here.
Is Tulsi Gabbard Married?
The former Hawaii Representative was married to her first husband, Eduardo Tamayo, from 2002 to 2006. She later married her current husband, Abraham Williams, in 2015.
Abraham is a cinematographer and an actor, according to his IMDb page. He has also worked in the camera and electrical department for various films, shorts and TV series.
Does Tulsi Gabbard Have Children?
Gabbard does not have children. She underwent IVF (in vitro fertilization), though, which Gabbard mentioned during Meghan McCain‘s podcast in mid-2024. Gabbard and her husband kept her IVJ journey private.
What Will She Do as the Director of National Intelligence?
According to dni.gov, the director of national intelligence (DNI) is “the head of the U.S. intelligence community, overseeing and directing the implementation of the national intelligence program and acting as the principal advisor to the president, the national security council, and the Homeland Security council for intelligence matters related to national security.”
With military experience, Gabbard is expected to bring her knowledge to the table if she officially becomes the DNI.
“I never thought I wanted to have a career in the military, just like I never thought I wanted to have a career in politics,” she previously said, according to The Veterans Project. “Both of those decisions came from a place where, at the time, I felt that’s where I could serve. With the military, it was because of 9/11. Like most people in this country, life changed for me that day. Growing up, I hadn’t put much thought into foreign policy or the geopolitical threats facing Hawaii and our nation. The attacks on 9/11 were a major wake-up call.”
Tucked away in the heart of Kampala, Uganda, the Kasubi Tombs are not just an ordinary historical site—they’re a living piece of royal history.
This UNESCO World Heritage site is the final resting place of four kings from the Buganda Kingdom, making it one of Uganda’s most important cultural landmarks.
The tombs are a stunning reminder of the kingdom’s rich past and spiritual heritage.
Mukasa, who was born in Uganda, told the BBC of the first time he visited the Kasubi Tombs: “It was stunning.”
“Not just the scale of it, but the entire grandeur of the building.
“[It] was constructed in the late 19th Century before the introduction of modern materials, using traditional centuries-old methods.
“I felt that the building had a presence.
“When you were inside it, it dominated you.”
Built in the 19th century, the tombs are an architectural marvel, crafted with grass-thatched roofs and wooden posts that showcase traditional Buganda craftsmanship.
The inside of the building mirrors a sacred forest with 52 circular rings symbolising all of the Buganda clans.
The site is a circular symbol of life and death, honouring the kings who shaped the kingdom’s past.
The tombs are home to the remains of four kings of Buganda—Kabaka Muteesa I, Muteesa II, Mwanga, and Daudi Chwa—each playing a significant role in the history of Uganda.
But the Kasubi Tombs aren’t just about the past—they’re a place where the Buganda people continue to celebrate their culture and spirituality through rituals and ceremonies.
In 2010, a devastating fire ravaged the site, including the tomb of Kabaka Muteesa I, leaving the nation in shock.
Just three years later, another fire broke out, destroying part of the site again, including traditional regalia that had been salvaged from the earlier blaze.
The Kingdom of Buganda, with the help of international partners, embarked on a determined and costly journey to restore the tombs and ensure their survival for future generations.
The iconic tombs were taken off the UNESCO List of World Heritage in Danger in 2023 and opened a few months ago to the public, leading to a renewed surge in visitors.
Peter Berg’s gritty portrayal of the brutish Old West landscape in American Primeval has become one of the most popular new streaming series of 2025. After becoming a global streaming hit on Netflix, the show – which was intended to be a limited series – has now sparked a conversation about potentially returning for American Primeval season 2. While some of the best American Primeval characters would not be able to return in a theoretical second season, an American Primeval spinoff series could introduce a whole new cast of characters and extend the narrative to a different gruesome period of American expansionism.
Within all the gory violence and chaotic warfare on display in American Primeval lives a timeless tale of survival set along the lawless American frontier. Rarely does a Western series blend so seamlessly into a horror hybrid, with haunting frights and terrifying acts of violence that are impossible to unsee. American Primeval avoids falling into the trappings of classic Westerns that typically glorify the rogue lifestyles of cowboys and lawmen alike. The series delivers a visceral and authentic recreation of its period, offering a more bleak portrayal over a romanticized one, which has certainly struck a chord with audiences.
Audiences Responded Far Better To American Primeval Than Critics Did
Some Critics Claimed American Primeval Lacked Strong Character Development
With an above-average Rotten Tomatoes score of 68%, which drops to 58% among Top Critics, American Primeval isn’t necessarily a critical success. Its much higher 88% audience score, however, more accurately depicts the general viewer consensus around the series and explains its massive streaming numbers on Netflix, which have kept it in the Top 10 TV Shows since it was released on January 9, 2025. American Primeval peaked at #1 upon its release, a position it held for quite a while before more recent series such as The Night Agent and American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson rose to the top.
Several “Rotten” reviews of American Primeval critiqued the series’ lack of well-rounded characters despite strong performances from its ensemble cast. Tim Lowery of AV Club writes, “When that brutality is this heavyhanded, you can’t help but wish as much thought and energy was put into fleshing out these people as the pain they endured.” A handful of critics felt that the characters were underdeveloped, reduced to being vehicles for demonstrating violence, which some critics found to be too extreme. On the other hand, many 5-star audience reviewers applaud American Primeval for its captivating story, thrilling action scenes, and authentic grit.
American Primeval Continues The Western Genre’s Small Screen Success
Yellowstone & Taylor Sheridan Series Have Inspired A New Western Golden Age
The modern Western genre has seen a notable uptick in popularity on streaming and television platforms, fueled by the enormously popular Yellowstone and other Taylor Sheridan series like the recent Landman. While there aren’t nearly as many Western hits in theaters nowadays, despite Kevin Costner’s best efforts with his Horizon franchise, American Primeval’s popularity proves that a vast at-home audience wants to watch Westerns on streaming. Series like Yellowstone and American Primeval seemingly tap into a slightly older demographic, which is partly why Horizon became a streaming success after underperforming in theaters. Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel 1923 is also another example.
Similar to how independent horror movies have evolved and expanded through outlets like Neon and A24, Westerns have matured and refined through platforms such as Paramount and Netflix.
American Primeval has joined Yellowstone, 1923, and other notable Western series as part of a new Golden Age for the genre. Similar to how independent horror movies have evolved and expanded through outlets like Neon and A24, Westerns have matured and refined through platforms such as Paramount and Netflix. While there may not be a direct sequel or spinoff for American Primeval, its success on Netflix will certainly inspire other gritty Westernprojects like it. With straight-to-streaming releases, critical reception may not be as significant as theatrical releases, allowing more viewers to watch new releases with virtually no financial risk.
Will American Primeval’s Success Lead To More Of The Show?
The Success Of The Miniseries Should Spark A Netflix Western Franchise
Image via Netflix
American Primeval has the makings of a lasting Western franchise for Netflix. Even if Betty Gilpin’s Sara and other surviving characters don’t return for a direct continuation, American Primeval could still expand as a spinoff, anthology, or even a prequel series. American Primeval season 2 may follow a similar format to American Horror Story, following a new slate of characters in a different setting each season. Each season of American Primeval could depict specific periods of American history – such as the Fetterman Massacre on the Great Plains – while matching the bleak tone, whipping cinematography, and gory violence of the original.
Happy Gilmore returns! After almost 30 years, Adam Sandler
returns to the green (and wields his unorthodox swing) in a new look at the long-awaited comedy sequel, Happy Gilmore 2
. Coming to Netflix
2025, the follow-up will find Sandler back as one of his most beloved characters, the ice hockey player-turned-golfer with severe anger issues as he faces off once again with his arch-rival, Christopher McDonald’s Shooter McGavin. You can check out this latest look at Happy Gilmore 2, courtesy of the “Next on Netflix” event,below.
Released way back in 1996, the first Happy Gilmore stars Adam Sandler, Christopher McDonald, Julie Bowen, and the late, great Carl Weathers, and follows an unsuccessful ice hockey player with a red-hot temper, Happy, who discovers a newfound talent for golf. While the first movie was met with a mixed response upon release, it has since garnered a cult following, with many excited to see the return of Gilmore and the continued rivalry between him and the villainous Shooter McGavin.
Netflix officially ordered a sequel to the beloved sports comedy last year, with Sandler returning as the titular character and penning the script alongside the original movie’s writer, Tim Herlihy. For the sequel, Sandler will reunite with Murder Mystery director Kyle Newacheck, with the filmmaker behind the likes of What We Do in the Shadows, Workaholics, Community, and Parks and Recreation taking over the helm from Happy Gilmore director Dennis Dugan.
Who Stars in ‘Happy Gilmore 2’?
Netflix
The sequel will bring a few more familiar faces back alongside Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore. Christopher McDonald (Thelma & Louise, The House Bunny) returns as Shooter McGavin, with Julie Bowen (Modern Family, Hubie Halloween) all set to return as Virginia Venit. Ben Stiller (Tropic Thunder, Zoolander) is also back as Hal L., the scene-stealing orderly who tortured Happy’s beloved grandma in the first movie.
Adam Sandler’s return in Happy Gilmore 2 has been given its first teaser from Netflix.
The rest of the cast includes Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, AKA Bad Bunny (Bullet Train), NFL champion Travis Kelce (Grotesquerie), Conor Sherry (The Terminal List), Ethan Cutowsky (Shameless), Maxwell Jacob Friedman (The Iron Claw), Philip Fine Schneider, Scott Mescudi, AKA Kid Cudi (Trap), Margaret Qualley (The Substance), Benny Safdie (Oppenheimer), and Nick Swardson (Just Go with It). The sequel will also include cameos from several pro golfers, including Keegan Bradley, John Daly, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa, Jack Nicklaus, and more. Plot details for Happy Gilmore 2 have yet to be confirmed, but it is expected that Happy will take a younger golfer under his wing, with the pair going head-to-head with Shooter McGavin and his new protégé.
Sadly, several prominent Happy Gilmore stars are no longer with us, including The Price is Right host Bob Barker, Carl Weathers, and Joe Flaherty. Sandler, though, has promised that Happy Gilmore 2 will pay tribute to all of them, with the actor saying, “somehow they’ll be involved.” We’ll see how when Happy Gilmore 2 lands on Netflix later this year.
What makes a record of the year? At the Grammy Awards, it can be a stunning performance or an ingenious production, a glimpse into the future or a glance at the past, a worldwide smash or an obscurity by a longtime fave. Ahead of Sunday’s 67th Grammys, here’s a ranked list of all 66 songs that have won record of the year since the Recording Academy’s first ceremony in 1959. Arranged from worst to best, the rundown includes expert commentary from half a dozen previous winners: Sheryl Crow, Toto’s Steve Lukather, producer Mark Ronson, Michael McDonald, Chic’s Nile Rodgers and Charles Kelley of the country trio Lady A.
Days of Wine and Roses
Henry Mancini, 1964
Over Barbra Streisand’s “Happy Days Are Here Again”?
Theme from ‘A Summer Place’
Percy Faith, 1961
Over Ray Charles’ “Georgia on My Mind”??
Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu (Volare)
Domenico Modugno, 1959
Over “The Chipmunk Song”???
Here We Go Again
Ray Charles and Norah Jones, 2005
A posthumous win for Charles that you can scorn and sympathize with at the same time.
This Is America
Childish Gambino, 2019
A record that already feels impossible to explain.
Stay With Me
Sam Smith, 2015
Likely drearier than you remember.
Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, 1964.
(LMPC via Getty Images)
Sunny Came Home
Shawn Colvin, 1998
One reason to be happy that this perfectly ordinary folk-pop ditty won record and song of the year: the opportunity it gave Ol’ Dirty Bastard to interrupt Colvin’s song of the year speech to proclaim that “Wu-Tang is for the children.”
Bette Davis Eyes
Kim Carnes, 1982
Record of the year enters the MTV era.
Another Day in Paradise
Phil Collins, 1991
Right singer, wrong song.
Walk On
U2, 2002
A dose of well-meaning reassurance in the wake of 9/11.
Don’t Worry, Be Happy
Bobby McFerrin, 1989
“He’s one of the greatest jazz singers of all time — like Al Jarreau on steroids — and he wins for making some little f—ing novelty song,” Lukather says of McFerrin’s a cappella chart-topper. “Hit records are a blessing and a curse, man.”
Everything I Wanted
Billie Eilish, 2021
“This is really embarrassing for me,” Eilish confessed as she picked up her second straight record of the year award — a prize the 19-year-old spent the rest of her speech saying should have gone to Megan Thee Stallion for “Savage.” (She was probably right.) What’s funny — and a little tragic — about the dreamy “Everything I Wanted” is that it’s more or less about trying to deflect praise like the academy’s: “If they knew what they said would go straight to my head,” Eilish sings, “what would they say instead?”
Whitney Houston, 1986
(Elise Amendola / Associated Press )
Graceland
Paul Simon, 1988
Twelve months after Simon’s “Graceland” was named album of the year at the 1987 Grammys, still-besotted voters bestowed the LP’s title track with the prize for record of the year.
Not Ready to Make Nice
The Dixie Chicks, 2007
More of a moral victory than a creative one.
Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Green Day, 2006
A fine Green Day tune, but the band was more deserving of the record prize a year before with “American Idiot,” which lost to that middling Charles/Jones duet. In 2006, there was no justifying “Boulevard” over Mariah Carey’s “We Belong Together.”
Tears in Heaven
Eric Clapton, 1993
An unimaginable horror leads to an inevitable win.
Unforgettable
Natalie Cole with Nat King Cole, 1992
Natalie Cole’s virtual duet with her late father could’ve been stiff, creepy or worse; somehow it ended up deeply endearing.
A Taste of Honey
Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass, 1966
Among the records vanquished by Alpert’s finger-snapping instrumental: the Beatles’ “Yesterday.” Says Lukather: “It was all jazz guys voting back then — jazz and classical musicians. The Beatles were rock ‘n’ roll. There was no way they were gonna let those guys win.” Indeed, Bob Dylan’s epochal “Like a Rolling Stone” wasn’t even nominated.
Bobby Darin, 1960
(Michael Ochs Archives / Getty Images)
I Honestly Love You
Olivia Newton-John, 1975
Light, lovely — and definitely not better than Joni Mitchell’s “Help Me,” which it nonetheless defeated.
Beautiful Day
U2, 2001
Grammy voters can rarely resist an act’s rededication to its fundamentals.
Use Somebody
Kings of Leon, 2010
The most recent rock song to win record of the year, “Use Somebody” beat both Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift in their first appearances in the category (with “Poker Face” and “You Belong With Me,” respectively). Said lead singer Caleb Followill as he and the rest of the band received their Grammy: “I’m not gonna lie — we’re all a little drunk.”
Uptown Funk
Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, 2016
Ronson credits the “Today” show’s Hoda Kotb, of all people, for helping to break this future wedding-reception staple: “She talked about it for like 20 minutes one morning — ‘I love this Bruno Mars song’ — and next thing I know, it shot into the top five on the iTunes Store. Then it didn’t leave for six months.”
About Damn Time
Lizzo, 2023
A bass line for the ages.
Wind Beneath My Wings
Bette Midler, 1990
“Hey, Bonnie Raitt — I got one too.” That’s how Midler, then 16 years past her first Grammy, accepted the final award of 1990’s ceremony, not long after Raitt sealed a midlife comeback of her own with an album of the year win for “Nick of Time.” As a piece of songwriting, Larry Henley and Jeff Silbar’s “Wind Beneath My Wings” is pretty drippy (which is probably why it also won song of the year). But Midler’s vocal makes it soar.
The Eagles, 1977
(Gijsbert Hanekroot / Redferns)
Love Will Keep Us Together
Captain & Tennille, 1976
Hooks on hooks on hooks.
Clocks
Coldplay, 2004
Wanna feel old? Coldplay frontman Chris Martin used his acceptance speech to dedicate the British band’s win to John Kerry, “who hopefully will be your president one day.”
Hello
Adele, 2017
As pop songs titled “Hello” go, Adele’s comes in a close second after Lionel Richie’s.
Please Read the Letter
Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, 2009
A slow-and-spooky goth-folk rendering of a tune Plant had written and recorded a decade earlier with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, “Please Read the Letter” became a surprise-hit single from Plant and Krauss’ surprise-hit “Raising Sand,” which sold more than a million copies and brought the duo half a dozen Grammys overall. Lady A’s Kelley, whose oldest brother had turned him on to Led Zep as a kid — “He made me watch ‘The Song Remains the Same,’” he says, “and I was like, ‘What the hell is this guy doing walking through the mountains with a sword?’” — brought “Raising Sand” into the studio as he and the rest of Lady A were at work on their second LP. “I remember playing it for them and going, ‘Dude, listen to this s—.’ It’s got such a darkness. It was like the coolest freaking record I’d ever heard.”
Leave the Door Open
Silk Sonic, 2022
“Drinks is on Silk Sonic tonight,” Anderson.Paak assured his competitors as he and Bruno Mars completed what he accurately termed a “clean sweep” at the Grammys with this four-times-awarded throwback-soul joint.
Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
The 5th Dimension, 1970
Crisply harmonized yet legitimately trippy.
Michael Jackson, 1984
(Reed Saxon / Associated Press )
Get Lucky
Daft Punk featuring Pharrell Williams and Nile Rodgers, 2014
“The main thing they said to me is they wanted to make a record as if the internet never existed,” Rodgers recalls of the brief he received from the helmeted robots of France’s Daft Punk. “Most people wouldn’t know how to interpret that. But musicians speak in an interesting language — what I call band-speak, B-A-N-D.” The result was a pristinely arranged Studio 54 homage with real blood in its veins.
I Left My Heart in San Francisco
Tony Bennett, 1963
Swoon.
Sailing
Christopher Cross, 1981
Arguably the ne plus ultra of seafaring yacht rock, “Sailing” “just feels good — like a warm little blanket,” says Kelley, who leads a side-project cover band called Dick Fantastic & the Fabulous 4Skins that performs Cross’ tune about letting the canvas do its miracles. Even so, Cross’ unprecedented Grammy mop-up — in addition to record of the year, he won album and song of the year as well as best new artist — set him up for a rough ride as he tried to build a long-term career. “Nobody knew what the kid looked like,” says his friend Lukather. “He had a really tasty album with no pictures, and he won all these awards, then people expected John Travolta in his prime or something.”
Just the Way You Are
Billy Joel, 1979
A year after this placid soft-rock ballad brought Joel his first two Grammys — it also won song of the year — Sinatra released a ring-a-ding rendition of the tune with a completely different emotional approach. “I didn’t care how he did it as long as he did it,” Joel told The Times in 2017. “Twist it into a pretzel if you want.”
Higher Love
Steve Winwood, 1987
“I don’t know if he’s the most soulful white guy, but he’s certainly on the Mt. Rushmore,” Ronson says of the English singer who did time in the Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith before striking out on his own. “When music got very slick and expensive-sounding in the late ’80s, he always walked the right side of the line: You could hear the $200,000 Synclavier, but the grooves and arrangements were so clever and intricate. And the message of ‘Higher Love’ — it’s got something really honest and earnest in it.”
Flowers
Miley Cyrus, 2024
She came in like a disco ball.
The Doobie Brothers, 1980
(Lennox McLendon / Associated Press)
Strangers in the Night
Frank Sinatra, 1967
Ol’ Blue Eyes at perhaps his most elegantly pugnacious.
Kiss From a Rose
Seal, 1996
Said Seal in an interview with The Times in 2023: “I’m not by any means the world’s greatest singer, but I have a thing that I do, and ‘Kiss From a Rose’ is a showcase of that.”
Change the World
Eric Clapton, 1997
It makes zero sense that the great Kenny “Babyface” Edmonds had to wait to win record of the year until he produced this acoustic roots-soul jam that Clapton cut for the soundtrack to 1996’s “Phenomenon” (in which Travolta plays a small-town mechanic who … turns into a genius after being struck by lightning?). That said, “Change the World” cooks, not least because of the rub between Babyface’s luscious groove and Clapton’s well-creased vocal. Says Crow, who reportedly dated Clapton in the late ’90s: “It’s like Bonnie and ‘Nick of Time’ — these people who’ve lived a full life and then sing a song that cauterizes itself in a moment.”
Somebody That I Used to Know
Gotye featuring Kimbra, 2013
A quirky alt-pop success story with a title that proved all too apt.
Don’t Know Why
Norah Jones, 2003
“One take with a live band” is how Jones described her breakout single to The Times last year — both a flex regarding her natural vocal finesse and an understatement of her and producer Arif Mardin’s record-making acumen.
24K Magic
Bruno Mars, 2018
Guess who’s back again?
Tina Turner, 1984
(Richard Drew / Associated Press)
Smooth
Santana featuring Rob Thomas, 2000
You know it from that opening drum hit.
Need You Now
Lady Antebellum, 2011
Fourteen years later, Kelley still can’t believe his Nashville trio’s power ballad beat Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ “Empire State of Mind,” which he thinks might have lost only as a result of vote-splitting between it and Eminem’s “Love the Way You Lie.” Yet Kelley and his bandmate Hillary Scott captured an ache in “Need You Now” that transcends genre. “It’s almost an R&B song,” Crow says. “The yearning in her voice — it’s too good.”
Rolling in the Deep
Adele, 2012
The rough edges of her singing against the rough edges of the drums.
This Masquerade
George Benson, 1977
Benson was already one of Rodgers’ two favorite guitarists (along with Wes Montgomery) when the former cut a swank version of Leon Russell’s “This Masquerade,” in which he also took lead vocal. “I thought I would drop dead,” Rodgers says, comparing his reaction to the first time he heard John Coltrane sing on “A Love Supreme.” “Benson’s voice is magical, man — next-level beautiful.”
Mrs. Robinson
Simon and Garfunkel, 1969
Hey, hey, hey.
Killing Me Softly With His Song
Roberta Flack, 1974
Flack became the first artist to win record of the year twice in a row when this vivid account of a pop-star encounter took the prize after her earlier victory with “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face.”
Roberta Flack, 1974
(Harold Filan / Associated Press)
Moon River
Henry Mancini, 1962
Wistfulness embodied.
All I Wanna Do
Sheryl Crow, 1995
Crow triangulates the sound among Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan and Stealers Wheel; she says the lyric illustrates “the burnout of somebody sitting in a bar across from a car wash.” She didn’t plan to put it on her debut album, “Tuesday Night Music Club,” until she sent her brother a pre-release cassette. “I told him I thought it was a B-side, and he was like, ‘Are you kidding me? That’s your big song.’ He was right, of course: Now I hear it on the radio, and it still sounds so good.”
My Heart Will Go On
Celine Dion, 1999
Too big to fail.
Mack the Knife
Bobby Darin, 1959
The first recipient of the Grammys’ coveted best new artist award (which wasn’t presented until the ceremony’s second edition), 23-year-old Darin doubled up with a record of the year win for his chart-topping take on the murder ballad from Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s “Threepenny Opera.” “The way he swung it and sang it with a smile on his face was just genius,” says McDonald, who calls himself a “huge, huge fan of Bobby Darin, and for the same reason that I’m a fan of Ray Charles and Nat Cole and Frank Sinatra: the confidence that they could take a song from one musical approach and completely re-create it in another.” Grammy voters loved “Mack the Knife” so much that they nominated Ella Fitzgerald’s interpretation for record of the year in 1961.
Up, Up and Away
The 5th Dimension, 1968
It took the Grammys until after the Summer of Love to fully acknowledge that pop music had moved beyond the crooners and show tunes of the show’s early days. Voters in ’68 didn’t just go for this lightly psychedelic flight of fancy — they also gave the Beatles their first (and only) album of the year award for “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Says Rodgers of “Up, Up and Away,” for which Jimmy Webb also took song of the year: “I love the fact that the 5th Dimension were Black and that they represented a different style from what we considered at that time the typical R&B type of vocalizing.”
Rosanna
Toto, 1983
Among the musicians who didn’t vote to nominate Toto’s “Rosanna,” according to Lukather: the members of Toto, none of whom had yet joined the academy when the L.A. band earned a nod for record of the year with this exceedingly crafty studio-geek classic. “Once we found out, they wouldn’t let us join until after the Grammys because obviously we would’ve voted for ourselves,” Lukather says. “People can lie and say they don’t do that. They do.”
U2, 2002
(Tony Gutierrez / Associated Press)
We Are the World
USA for Africa, 1986
No less a logistical feat than an artistic achievement, the charity single to end all charity singles plays today like a handmade supercut of ’80s-era extravagance.
What a Fool Believes
The Doobie Brothers, 1980
“We wanted it to sound like one of the great old records from the ’60s,” McDonald says, which led the Doobies to “go out and get a piece of plywood because we’d heard that Bob Gaudio had done that on some Four Seasons stuff. We came back and mic’d up the plywood and just stomped four on the floor behind the track.”
Hotel California
The Eagles, 1978
A high point for polished yet hirsute L.A. rock: The Eagles’ Hollywood phantasmagoria is named record of the year the same night Fleetwood Mac wins the album prize with the darkly glittering “Rumours.”
It’s Too Late
Carole King, 1972
So thoroughly did King dominate the ’72 Grammys (where she won four major awards) that her competition for record of the year included herself: Up against this wise and jazzy breakup tune was her pal James Taylor’s soothing rendition of King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.”
What’s Love Got to Do With It
Tina Turner, 1985
McDonald hears Turner’s comeback smash — the one that launched her as a superstar solo act after she left an abusive marriage to her longtime musical partner Ike — as a testament to her perseverance. “I don’t know who else could deliver that message the way Tina did,” he says. “From anyone else, the song might’ve just sounded cynical. With her, it took on a kind of profound meaning.”
Beat It
Michael Jackson, 1984
“It’s still the high-water mark for a heavy electric guitar over a dance-pop beat,” Ronson says of Jackson and producer Quincy Jones’ crack at creating a rock song for the world-conquering “Thriller” LP. (That’s Lukather on rhythm guitar and Eddie Van Halen on the solo.) Reckons Crow, who got her start in the music biz as a backup singer for Jackson on tour behind “Bad”: “There’s no one that doesn’t know that song.”
Billie Eilish, 2020
(Associated Press)
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
Roberta Flack, 1973
Not a single note is out of place.
The Girl From Ipanema
Stan Getz and Astrud Gilberto, 1965
Gilberto’s first recorded vocal performance — cut, as she told it, at the suggestion of her husband, Brazilian singer and guitarist João Gilberto — crystallized an idea of pop sophistication that made her an instant star and helped send the sound of bossa nova around the world.
Bad Guy
Billie Eilish, 2020
The “duh” still kills.
Rehab
Amy Winehouse, 2008
Ten pounds of attitude in a five-pound bag, Winehouse’s signature song is hard for Ronson to hear these days, given the dark turn the singer’s life took not long after it came out. Yet the song was born as the two joked around while walking through New York City. “She was like, ‘There was this time my dad came over trying to make me go to rehab, and I said, “No, no, no,”’” Ronson recalls. “The way she said it, it had its own hook and rhythm to it. The song was done in about a week. We were just going on instinct.”
Bridge Over Troubled Water
Simon and Garfunkel, 1971
One of those songs you can’t quite believe didn’t exist at one point.
I Will Always Love You
Whitney Houston, 1994
“There’s no other record where somebody put on a better performance than ‘I Will Always Love You,’” Babyface told The Times in 2022, and it’s hard to disagree as Houston’s vocal rolls over you in all its splendor and precision. But the finest recording by pop’s greatest ballad singer is also a story about Houston’s lifelong drive to bring herself into being. It’s high on possibility and haunted by loss.
Something Wicked this way comes on Jeff Goldblum‘s upcoming album, Still Blooming. The singer/actor’s latest jazzy LP with the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra is due out on April 25 and it will feature duets with both of his Wicked co-stars, Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo.
The always-charming double-threat star previewed the collection on Thursday (Jan. 30) with a taste of the first single, a slinky cover of “The Best Is Yet to Come” featuring vocals from Scarlet Johansson. The song co-written by Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh is best known for Frank Sinatra’s 1964 version with the Count Basie Orchestra from his It Might as Well Be Swing album; it was first recorded by Tony Bennett for his I Left My Heart in San Francisco album (1962), and has also been taken on by Michael Bublé, Bob Dylan, Chaka Khan and Ella Fitzgerald over the years.
“Out of the tree of life, I just picked me a plum/ You came along and everything started to hum,” Johansson breathily sings over a subtle, bossa nova arrangement.
Grande helps Goldblum kick things off on his fourth album with her take on the 1931 standard “I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do),” another song recorded by Sinatra, with Erivo pulling up for the sentimental “We’ll Meet Again.” According to the track list for the 9-song album that a release said features the actor along with “his talented friends, all veterans of the stage and screen, with collaboration that underscore the delicious link between jazz and pop culture,” it will also feature vocals from Maiya Sykes on “Stella By Starlight” and Goldblum himself on “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye.”
Other tracks on the album from Verve Records described as a “tasteful curation of beloved jazz standards from both the Golden Era of Broadway and the Great American Songbook” include: “The Grease Patrol,” “Blue Minor,” “Bye-Ya” and “Bouncing with Bud.”
A new test to identify people with inflammatory bowel disease with the highest risk of bowel cancer is more than 90 percent accurate, research has shown.
People with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis, are known to be at an increased risk of bowel cancer, although not all will experience it.
Scientists at the Institute of Cancer Research (ICR) have developed a new DNA testing method to determine which people with IBD have the highest risk of bowel cancer.
The team now wants to develop the technology into a test for to improve how doctors respond to bowel cancers linked to Crohn’s, ulcerative colitis and other types of IBD.
ICR Professor Trevor Graham said: “Most people with ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease won’t develop bowel cancer.
“But for those that have these conditions and are showing signs of pre-cancer in their colon, there are some tough decisions to make.
“Either they have it monitored regularly, in the hope it doesn’t become cancer, or they have their bowel removed to guarantee they don’t get cancer in the future. Neither of these options are particularly pleasant.”
Cancer Research UK, which backed the research, said the new approach should mean fewer people with IBD will need to undergo surgery or regular colonoscopies to lower or gauge their risk of cancer.
About half a million people in the UK have IBD, with Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis the most common types. Both conditions can sometimes cause pre-cancerous cells to form because they irritate the lining of the bowel.
Some three in 10 people with these abnormal cells will go on to develop bowel cancer within 10 years and before the study it was hard to tell who they might be.
Once the new test becomes available it should mean fewer people with IBD have to face the choice of regular monitoring or bowel removal, according to Cancer Research UK.
Professor Graham said: “Our test and algorithm give people with IBD, and the doctors who care for them, the best possible information so that they can make the right decision about how to manage their cancer risk.
“We can accurately identify those people at high risk whilst putting the minds of many others at rest.”
To determine people’s cancer risk, scientists at the ICR teamed up with doctors at St Mark’s, the UK’s specialist bowel hospital.
They found people with IBD whose pre-cancerous cells had lost multiple copies of their DNA were much more likely to develop bowel cancer.
The scientists created an algorithm which can calculate the risk of developing bowel cancer, based on the exact pattern of DNA changes in the pre-cancerous cells.
Craig Foster, from Waterlooville, lost his wife Fariba to bowel cancer in February last year. A dental receptionist, Fariba had lived with ulcerative colitis since she was 18, when she had three-quarters of her bowel removed to help manage the condition.
Mr Foster said: “Research like this will save lives. It gives me comfort to know there are scientists working right now so no-one has to experience the same situation Fariba was in.”
Dr Iain Foulkes, Cancer Research UK’s Executive Director of Research and Innovation, said genome sequencing is changing how experts look at cancer.
He said: “Getting a full readout of tumour DNA means we can see a much bigger picture of how someone’s cancer started and how it is likely to change over time.
“With this research, we can focus resources on treating people with IBD who are at really high risk, saving health services valuable time and money. We can also give those at lower risk peace of mind and remove the fear of bowel cancer in the future.”
Blackpink star Rosé was totally living her best life during her time in Japan. The K-pop icon dropped a new set of photos on Instagram to recap the fun-packed trip. Rosé was in Japan to perform at one of the biggest music festivals in the country. The singer took the stage of GMO Sonic 2025 on the second day. Besides serenading the audience, Rosé was also seen enjoying karaoke night in the recap photos.
Blackpink’s Rosé enjoys karaoke in Japan recap photos
Blackpink’s Rosé took to her Instagram to share a look inside her recent trip to Japan to perform at the GMO Sonic 2025 on January 26. The singer dropped a series of backstage selfies, giving a glimpse of her chic performance outfit, along with more candid snaps. She wore a cropped white tank top and striped brown tie. Rosé paired the look with trousers layered beneath a skirt. She captioned the recap post, “until next time japan.”
Rosé also shared some on-stage clips from the show, as well as a photo of a “Drink. Dance. Freak” sign while some fans were seen holding the Blackpink lightsticks. Through the Instagram post, she continued to give a glimpse of her fun shenanigans in Japan, one of them being a karaoke night. The 27-year-old shared a video of her and Peggy Gou, a South Korean DJ and singer-songwriter, belting out the hit song “Wannabe” by Spice Girls.
The carousel even included a photo of Rosé and Gou sitting on the couch and posing in their cool outfits — hoodies and cargo pants. The “APT.” hitmaker also shared more candid photos from the night. Meanwhile, Rosé’s Japan recap post has racked up almost 3.5 million likes at the time of writing. The comments section is packed with fans gushing over the singer. Rosé’s karaoke partner, Gou, also wrote, “Hey that’s my cornerrrr.”
Proving that you can’t please all the people all the time, some Wheel of Fortune viewers have gone from complaining about puzzles being too obscure to now saying the Bonus Round puzzles are becoming “too easy.”
The complaints came after Thursday’s (January 30) episode, which saw a three-way showdown between Marilyn Harrod from Louisville, Kentucky, Shaun Terbeest from Waupun, Wisconsin, and Denise Robinson from Lihue, Hawaii.
All three players got on the board early, but Robinson began to pull away from the competition when she solved the puzzles in the Mystery and Express rounds, giving her a significant lead with $31,898, plus a Collette Alaskan tour.
She continued to rack up money in the Triple Toss Up and Speed Up rounds, giving her a blowout victory with a massive $47,898, compared to Terbeest’s $10,250 and Harrod’s $3,000.
Heading into the Bonus Round, Robinson selected the “Place” category, along with the additional letters “H, D, V, and A.” This left her with a two-word puzzle that read: “_ A N _ / V A _ L T.”
It didn’t take her long to figure out “Bank Vault,” adding an extra $40,000 to her winnings, giving her a huge grand total of $87,898.
While many viewers were happy for Robinson’s win, some felt the Bonus Round was way too easy, with one X user writing, “That was literally the easiest final #WheelOfFortune I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“Is it me or are the puzzles getting a lot easier this season after RSTLNE?” added one YouTube commenter.
“That was too easy,” said another.
“With RSTLNE, I knew it was Bank Vault!” another added.
Another wrote, “Literally got it even before the letters she chose were shown!”
“I knew this one just from R-S-T-L-N-E because they’ve used it before, but it was back in the 1980’s,” said one fan.
Others were frustrated with another $40,000 prize, which has come up several times this season.
“What’s the point of the bonus wheel if it’s ALWAYS landing in 40k, well OK maybe not ALWAYS, but it FFELS like it’s consistently landing on 40k,” wrote one YouTube commenter.
“It’s rarely anything other than $40,000, but congratulations!” said another.
Another wrote, “$40,000 are we surprised.”
“Why has it always $40,000 in the bonus round? When was the last time the big prize was more than that?” said one fan.
“We got 104 shows with Still No million dollars, $70,0000 & $75,000 winners on wheel of fortune season 42nd…” added another.
What did you think of Thursday’s episode? Was the Bonus Round puzzle too easy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
Wheel of Fortune, Weeknights, Check local listings
