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Entertainment Shorts

Published:Tuesday | October 5, 2021 | 12:08 AM
From left: Jelani Remy, Matt Manuel, John Legend, Jawan M. Jackson, Nik Walker and James Harkness arrive at the 74th annual Tony Awards at the Winter Garden Theatre.
AP
From left: Jelani Remy, Matt Manuel, John Legend, Jawan M. Jackson, Nik Walker and James Harkness arrive at the 74th annual Tony Awards at the Winter Garden Theatre.

COVID -19-delayed Chopin piano competition opens in Poland

WARSAW, Poland ( AP ):

A gala concert on Saturday opened the 18th edition of the prestigious Frederic Chopin international piano competition, which was postponed by a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The October 2-23 competition was scheduled for October 2020, but authorities put the popular event off expecting that social distancing requirements would ban the usual crowds of fans from attending the auditions at the National Philharmonic in Warsaw.

The competition in which only Chopin's works are played is reputed for launching world careers for its winners and finalists. It includes three stages of solo piano performances, the best of which lead to the promotion to a higher stage, and the final stage where the few finalists play one of Chopin's two concertos with the orchestra.

The winner gets a gold medal and a prize of US$45,000 and prestigious recording and concert contracts. The announcement of the winner is expected October 20.

John Legend joins The Temptations musical producing team

NEW YORK ( AP ):

At the Tony Awards, John Legend played live with cast members from the Broadway musical Ain ’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of the Temptations. Now he's going further and joining the show's producing team.

Legend and his partners Mike Jackson and Ty Stiklorious from Get Lifted Film Co are backing the musical about The Temptations, which is preparing to return to Broadway on October 16.

"This is a musical I love and a story I want to help share. In this pivotal time, it’s so important that we support and maintain Broadway, an essential part of the soul of New York and the entire nation. I’m honoured to be a part of the Ain ’t Too Proud team and the return of Broadway,” Legend said in a statement.

Ain ’t Too Proud traces the rise of R&B group The Temptations, who sang such hits as Just My Imagination, My Girl and Papa Was a Rollin’ Stone. This year marks the 60th anniversary of the group's founding and a new album is due next year, kicked off by the single Is It Gonna Be Yes or No written by Smokey Robinson.

Magnum announces sixteen finalists for Top Performa competition

Sixteen contestants will compete for the title of Magnum Top Performa.

More than 1,700 entries were received for the lyrical battle competition spearheaded by Magnum and endorsed by noted artiste manager, Romeich Major.

The competition aims to give emerging artistes a platform to showcase their lyrical talents.

The final 16 are: D’Molly, Shaye Calibra, Formula, King Calie, Kurry Stain, Panasoniq, Romeii, Deana-Can, G Vybz, Kriz Kapital, Jase, Kyash D, Ty Talented, Prince Saj, Brawlin, and Tatik.

The winner of the competition will walk away with $1,000,000 and a music video and song produced by Romeich. The second-place winner will receive $300,000 and a feature on a compilation riddim from Romeich, while the semi-final runners-up will receive $100,000 each.