Aurelia Butler

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    Israel’s Campaign to Win Eurovision Went All the Way to the Top

    Government social media accounts and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined a campaign to encourage people to vote for Israel’s entrant.Just minutes before Yuval Raphael went onstage to represent Israel at the Eurovision Song Contest final last weekend, the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, posted an appeal to his 1.5 million Instagram followers.“Vote #04 — New Day Will Rise” the prime minister’s post urged followers. “Vote 20 Times!” it added, a nod to the maximum number that viewers are allowed to cast under the contest’s rules.On a day when Israel’s military began mobilizing to advance farther into Gaza, and Israeli and Hamas negotiators were engaged in cease-fire talks, it was perhaps surprising that Netanyahu was weighing in on a spectacular, high-camp pop contest.Yet at a time when Israeli singers and artists are often shunned on the world’s stages over their country’s actions in Gaza, Eurovision appears to have grown in importance for Israel’s government.Eurovision fans vote for a variety of reasons, but Netanyahu’s direct plea was part of a wider effort by the government and pro-Israel groups to generate support for the Israeli contestant, via social media posts, email campaigns and YouTube ads.Israel secured the largest public vote at the final in Basel, Switzerland, which led to a nail-biting end to the show. Israel seemed poised to win right until the last minute of the vote count, when Austria, which had performed better in points from expert juries, leaped ahead.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Two Decades After Her Death, Celia Cruz Lives On for Her Fans

    Celia Cruz reigned for decades as the “Queen of Salsa,” with her signature shout of “¡Azúúúcar!” expressing in Spanish her music’s brand of joy and optimism. Twenty-two years after her death, the Cuban powerhouse singer still captivates her fans.The petite woman with a raspy voice wore tight, glittering dresses and colorful wigs and danced in high heels while singing her hit Spanish-language songs such as “La negra tiene tumbao” and “Ríe y llora.”Born Oct. 21, 1925, Ms. Cruz began her career in Cuba in 1940 and continued it in exile, producing more than 70 international albums and winning multiple Grammy Awards and Latin Grammys.She moved to New York in 1961, and brought her musical Cuban roots and mixed them with Puerto Rican and later Dominican rhythms, helping to usher the birth of salsa as a popular Latino genre in the United States.“When people hear me sing,” she said in an interview with The New York Times in 1985, “I want them to be happy, happy, happy. I don’t want them thinking about when there’s not any money, or when there’s fighting at home. My message is always ‘felicidad’ — happiness.”Ms. Cruz died in 2003 at her longtime home in Fort Lee, N.J., from complications after a surgery for a brain tumor. She was 77. Following a tour of her coffin in Miami, masses of fans honored her at a public viewing in New York City.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    15 Unforgettable Looks From Cannes 2025: Rihanna, Dakota Johnson and More

    Three-dimensional gowns, thigh-high men’s boots, adult-size bibs and more.Organizers of this year’s Cannes Film Festival cast a conservative shadow over the red carpet with the release of a new dress code noting that, “for decency reasons, nudity is prohibited.” The rule was seen as an attempt to tamp down on so-called naked dressing, a trend that in recent years has inspired more people to wear less coverage as a way to get attention.Whether it stopped people from showing skin was debatable. But it certainly didn’t stop stars from making waves with their appearances. Some, like the actor Jeremy Strong, took Cannes as an opportunity to test color palettes: He wore a range of pastels (purple, green, salmon) that would rival the selection at an Easter egg hunt. Others, like the models Bella Hadid, used the festival to debut new hair (she went blond).Of all the clothes on display at Cannes, which ends on Saturday, these 15 looks were some of the most memorable for myriad reasons — nakedness mostly not among them.Isabelle Huppert: Most Brat!Miguel Medina/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesThe fine threads used to construct the actor’s Balenciaga gown had the delicacy of natural hair, but the chemical green color now firmly linked to Charli XCX and her “Brat” album.Pedro Pascal: Most ‘Sun’s Out, Guns Out’!Sarah Meyssonnier/ReutersWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Drummer and Music Agent Among 6 Killed in San Diego Plane Crash

    Friends paid tribute to Daniel Williams, a former drummer for the metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada, and Dave Shapiro, a music agent who worked with Sum 41, Hanson and other bands.They were two rock music veterans who were excited to fly together from New Jersey to San Diego.One was Daniel Williams, a former drummer for the metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada. The other was Dave Shapiro, a music agent who worked with Sum 41, Hanson, Jefferson Starship and other artists, and was also a pilot who ran his own aviation business.In an Instagram story posted on Wednesday night, Mr. Williams shared a photo of their plane, a Cessna Citation, on a tarmac and two more photos of himself in the co-pilot’s seat.“Here we goooooo,” he wrote.But after crossing the country, the jet hit power lines and crashed in a residential neighborhood as it prepared to land in dense fog in San Diego early on Thursday morning.All six people aboard were killed, eight people on the ground were injured and 10 homes were damaged, the authorities said. It was not clear if Mr. Shapiro was piloting the Cessna when it crashed or if Mr. Willians was a co-pilot.Daniel Williams of The Devil Wears Prada at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival in 2012 in San Bernardino.Chelsea Lauren/Getty ImagesThe music executive Dave Shapiro last year in Nashville.Stephanie Siau/Sound Talent Group, via Associated PressOfficials on Friday did not release all of the names of the victims, but Mr. Shapiro, 42, was killed as were Emma Lynn Huke, 25, and Kendall Fortner, 24, two employees at Sound Talent Group, the company Mr. Shapiro co-founded, the company said.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Karol G’s Ode to Curves, Plus 7 More New Songs

    Hear tracks by Alejandro Sanz and Shakira, St. Vincent, Stereolab and others.Every Friday, pop critics for The New York Times weigh in on the week’s most notable new tracks. Listen to the Playlist on Spotify here (or find our profile: nytimes) and at Apple Music here, and sign up for The Amplifier, a twice-weekly guide to new and old songs.Karol G: ‘Latina Foreva’The Colombian singer and rapper Karol G cheerfully fends off some unwanted male attention by praising Latin women instead: “Those curves don’t even exist in NASCAR.” The inventive pop-reggaeton production stays light and changeable, with little keyboard blips and string lines making sure the familiar beat is always laced with bits of melody.Alejandro Sanz featuring Shakira: ‘Bésame’Husky meets breathy in “Bésame” (“Kiss Me”), the new duet by Alejandro Sanz, from Spain, and Shakira, from Colombia: a 20-years-later reconnection after their 2005 megahit “La Tortura.” They trade endearments over a track that connects Latin pop to Nigerian Afrobeats — and, in the bridge, tosses in some flamenco handclaps for more trans-Atlantic fusion.Guedra Guedra: ‘Drift of Drummer’Abdellah M. Hassak, the Moroccan electronic producer, records as Guedra Guedra. Guedra is a Tuareg dance that shares its name with a cook pot that becomes a drum when covered with an animal skin. “Drift of Drummer” mixes field recordings that Hassak gathered in his travels across Africa with hand drum machines and synthesizers. Juggling ever-changing layers of percussion over a brisk implied pulse and a terse bass line, the song is a cauldron of rhythms, humanized by snippets of speaking voices.St. Vincent featuring Mon Laferte: ‘Tiempos Violentos’St. Vincent is joined by another high-drama songwriter and singer, Mon Laferte, for a third iteration of “Violent Times,” which appeared on her 2024 album “All Born Screaming” and its Spanish-language version, “Todos Nacen Gritando.” The ominous horns, looming drumbeats and James Bond-theme chords of the original track remain. Where Laferte takes over certain lines, she brings her own sharp-clawed sweetness.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    Billy Joel Announces Brain Disorder and Cancels All Concerts

    Joel said he had normal pressure hydrocephalus, which has led to “problems with hearing, vision and balance.”Billy Joel, the arena-filling Everyman singer-songwriter, has canceled all of his upcoming concerts, including a large-scale tour scheduled for this year and next, because of a brain disorder known as normal pressure hydrocephalus, he announced on Friday.“This condition has been exacerbated by recent concert performances, leading to problems with hearing, vision and balance,” said a statement that was posted to the singer’s social media accounts. “Under his doctor’s instructions, Billy is undergoing specific physical therapy and has been advised to refrain from performing during this recovery period.”Normal pressure hydrocephalus, or N.P.H., is a rare condition that occurs when excess cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain, causing symptoms that include trouble walking and controlling one’s bladder. It can also lead to cognitive impairment, including memory problems.If the disease is diagnosed early enough, it can be treated successfully through surgery that creates a path for the fluid to flow out of the brain, alleviating symptoms. But in later stages, some of its effects can become irreversible.In his statement, Joel, 76, added, “I’m sincerely sorry to disappoint our audience, and thank you for your understanding.” A representative for Joel declined to comment further.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    At Cannes, Sneaky Period Pieces and Film Lovers’ Delights Rule the Screen

    Movies from China, Brazil, Iran and elsewhere prove that there’s so much more to cinema than Hollywood would have us believe.On Thursday, a few minutes after 10 p.m. on the 10th day of the Cannes Film Festival, a multitude of exhausted attendees — critics, programmers, industry types — abruptly woke up. The Chinese movie “Resurrection” had started, sending an immediate jolt through the theater. It was electric, dramatic, fantastic. People shifted in their seats to lean closer to the screen in the 1,068-seat auditorium. Experiencing awe can transform brains and bodies, and we were lit.A deliriously inventive, elegiac, self-reflexive fantasy written and directed by Bi Gan, “Resurrection” tracks a tragic mystery being, an entity known as a Fantasmer (Jackson Yee), across cinema history. A dreamer who clings to illusions, the Fantasmer’s journey effectively mirrors that of film itself, from its beginnings to its uneasy present. What makes the film especially delectable is that Bi Gan changes visual styles and narrative techniques throughout this movie odyssey. The opening section seems to take place around the time that the 19th century gives way to the 20th, but more precisely looks like — and heavily references — films from the art’s first few decades. Sometime later, a guy out of a Hollywood noir or a Jean-Pierre Melville thriller shows up.Chockablock with nods to other films and filmmakers, “Resurrection” is a cinephile’s delight. It was especially pleasurable to watch Bi Gan’s references to the pioneering Lumière brothers in a festival that showcases its award ceremony in a theater that bears their name. “Resurrection” may be wreathed in melancholy, but Bi Gan’s own journey through cinema is enlivening and encouraging. It was another reminder that great movies continue to be made despite the industry’s continuing agonies, which only deepened when, the week before the festival opened, President Trump threatened to impose a crushing 100 percent tariff on movies that were produced in “foreign lands,” though the White House has said no final decision had been made.The threat cast a lingering pall. The world’s largest film marketplace — where an estimated 15,000 industry professionals meet, great and make deals — takes place simultaneously with the festival. And the news out of the market was less than happy. “Did Trump’s tariffs hijack the world’s busiest film market?” read a headline on the France 24 news site. “Strong Festival, Soft Market” is how The Hollywood Reporter characterized the event’s final stretch.Whatever that means for our moviegoing future, this year’s festival was gratifyingly strong, the finest in a long time. The selections in the main competition — which vie for the Palme d’Or — can be a mixed bag, the product of programming taste, yes, but also favoritism, backroom politicking and other considerations. The festival functions as a vital showcase for European cinema, but it also relies on celebrity-driven movies to attract the news media that promotes it. That’s one reason the event is so protective of its red carpet and helps explains some of its much-derided rules, like no selfies on the steps leading to the Lumière.Lav Diaz revisits an explorer’s brutal travels in “Magellan.”Rosa FilmesWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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    The Best Movies of 2025, So Far

    Our critics picked 10 films that you might have missed but that are worth your time on this long holiday weekend.“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” and the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” are flooding theaters this Memorial Day weekend. But if you don’t want to follow the crowd, it’s also a good time to catch up on some terrific films you may have missed earlier in the year. I asked our chief film critic, Manohla Dargis, and our movie critic, Alissa Wilkinson, to recommend releases worth your time. All are in theaters or available online.‘Sinners’In theaters.The story: The twins Smoke and Stack (both played by Michael B. Jordan) return from Al Capone’s Chicago to open a juke joint in Clarksdale, Miss. That’s when the devil, or rather, an Irish vampire, shows up in this talker of a film.Manohla Dargis’s take: Directed by Ryan Coogler, this “is a big-screen exultation — a passionate, effusive praise song about life and love, including the love of movies. Set in Jim Crow Mississippi, it is a genre-defying, mind-bending fantasia overflowing with great performances, dancing vampires and a lot of ideas about love and history.”Read the review; interviews with Coogler and Jordan, and other cast members; and a critic’s essay.‘I’m Still Here’Stream it on Netflix or rent it on most major platforms.Fernanda Torres in “I’m Still Here.”Alile Onawale/Sony Pictures ClassicsWe are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More