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    Austria Wins Narrow Victory Over Israel in Eurovision Song Contest

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    Austria’s entrant, JJ, took the prize after a tense count that was neck-and-neck until the last votes were revealed.Austria narrowly edged out Israel to win the Eurovision Song Contest after a tense vote count on Saturday night in which the lead switched repeatedly and the victor became clear only at the last moment.Israel received the most points in the public vote, which accounts for half of the overall tally. Last year, the competition was overshadowed by protests over Israel’s involvement because of the country’s military campaign in Gaza.Austria was represented this year by JJ, a classically trained singer, who performed “Wasted Love,” a dramatic song about heartbreak. He received 436 points to Israel’s 357.Sweden, the pre-event favorite, came fourth.Austria last won the competition in 2014, when Conchita Wurst, a bearded drag queen, triumphed with “Rise Like a Phoenix.”JJ, a 24-year-old whose real name is Johannes Pietsch, is a countertenor, meaning that his vocal range most closely matches that of a female mezzo-soprano. He sings in the choir at the Opera School of the Vienna State Opera, and in recent months has appeared onstage in the company’s productions of Mozart’s “The Magic Flute” and Benjamin Britten’s “Billy Budd.”Accepting the Eurovision winner’s trophy, a tearful JJ thanked the voters and called on them to “spread more love” in the world.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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      Finland’s Eurovision entry, Erika Vikman, shows her ‘sexual power.’

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      Reporting from from the St. Jakobshalle arena in BaselLouane singing “Maman,” a song addressed to her mother, who died of cancer.Fabrice Coffrini/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesWhen Louane was offered the chance to represent France at Eurovision, she immediately knew what she wanted to sing about: her mother.As a child growing up in a small town, Louane, whose real name is Anne Peichert, watched Eurovision with her parents and five siblings while gathered around the TV eating pizza. Even when it wasn’t Eurovision season, Louane recalled in an interview, her mother would put on videos of Celine Dion’s winning performance from 1988, and they would watch together, mesmerized by the Canadian singer’s voice.Those happy Eurovision sessions ended abruptly in 2014 when Louane’s mother died from cancer.A star in France with five hit albums, Louane, now 28, said that over the past decade she had written and sung many songs expressing grief and anger over her mother’s death.Her Eurovision track, a powerful ballad called “Maman,” has an altogether different message, however. “It’s a letter to my mother saying: ‘I’m finally fine. I’m finally good in my life. I am, myself, a mother,’” Louane said. “It’s a super special song to me.”Louane makes that transformation clear when she sings in French: “I’m better now / I know the way / I’m done walking down this memory lane.”Louane said the track had a secondary message that went beyond her own story. “What I’m going to try and make everyone understand,” she said, “is that even through the deepest pain, deepest sadness, you can find a way to be better, to finally be well.” More

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      Yuval Raphael, Israel’s Eurovision Entrant, Survived the Hamas Attacks of Oct. 7

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      Not long after the attacks, Yuval Raphael said, she resolved to follow her long-held dream of becoming a professional singer.When Hamas attacked the Nova music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, Yuval Raphael went from dancing with friends to hiding in a bomb shelter.After attackers broke into the shelter and started shooting partygoers, Raphael played dead, then lay beneath bodies for eight hours until she was rescued.That experience, Raphael told the Israel Hayom newspaper earlier this year, changed her outlook on life. “When I was there, I realized that everything could be over in a moment, and you don’t want your life to end without experiencing it,” she said. Not long after the attacks, Raphael said, she resolved to follow her long-held dream of becoming a professional singer.Now, Raphael, 24, is representing Israel at Eurovision with “New Day Will Rise,” a ballad in which she sings, over twinkling piano, “New day will rise / Life will go on / Everyone cries / Don’t cry alone.”As Israel’s retaliation to the Oct. 7 attacks grinds on, some Eurovision fans have called on the competition organizers to expel Israel from the contest over the country’s conduct in the war.At last year’s final, some audience members booed Israel’s singer as she performed, though others cheered her. Raphael told the BBC this week that she was expecting a hostile reception during her performance and that she had been rehearsing with distracting sounds playing in the background. Indeed, on Thursday in Basel, a small group of protesters blew whistles and waved flags to disrupt one of Raphael’s public rehearsals.But, she told the broadcaster, she was trying to avoid the furor and stay focused on winning. Eurovision’s slogan is “United by music,” she said, adding, “That’s what we are here for.” More

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      Estonia’s entry, ‘Espresso Macchiato,’ brewed trouble in Italy.

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      When Tommy Cash, a rapper and singer from Estonia, won his country’s Eurovision selection with “Espresso Macchiato,” he barely had time to celebrate before a backlash began.In the song, Cash sings in a cheesy Italian accent that he is “sweating like a Mafioso” from working so hard, and just wants a coffee. “Me like mi coffee,” he says: “Very importante.”Cash’s riff on Italian clichés did not go down well in some parts of Italy. Gian Marco Centinaio, a lawmaker with Italy’s far-right League Party, posted on Instagram that Eurovision should ban the song. “Is this the idea of ​​European brotherhood that the organizers of the Eurovision Song Contest have in mind?” he wrote.The flap also made headlines because Codacons, an Italian consumer rights organization, complained that the song “conveys a message of a population tied to organized crime.”In a recent interview, Cash said that he found the reaction over the top. He hadn’t meant to insult Italians, he said: “I love Italy. I love the people. I’m drawn to them because they’re so passionate.”In earlier songs, he rapped in English with his own heavy Eastern European accent, he said, and he also made a track with a German-accented chorus. His comedic Italian voice in “Espresso Macchiato” was no different than those, he said.Cash — who has made several tracks with Charli XCX — has many fans in Europe who love his left-field vibe and provocative videos, but he’s never been close to a household name. But in Italy, at least, he is now a star. Cash said that he had performed on Italian TV many times since “Espresso Macchiato” blew up. On a recent trip to Milan, he added, fans chased him down the street.He had a simple message for anyone who still felt insulted. “Drink a coffee,” he said: “Chill!” More

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      Which act is the safest bet?

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      Kaj, representing Sweden with the song “Bara Bada Bastu,” is most likely to win according to most gambling companies.Sebastien Bozon/Agence France-Presse — Getty ImagesFor all the singing competition’s silliness, one aspect of Eurovision is serious business: the betting.Gambling companies expect Eurovision fans to wager about $265 million on the contest’s outcome, said Sam Eaton of Oddschecker, a British company that aggregates odds for major events.Eaton said that Eurovision was usually “the biggest market of the year” for online bookmakers, after sports events and elections.This year, gambling companies predict that Kaj, Sweden’s representative, is most likely to win. The comedy group will be singing “Bara Bada Bastu,” a catchy, if somewhat silly, track about the joys of taking a sauna.Kaj’s only serious rival, Eaton said, is JJ, an opera singer representing Austria with “Wasted Love.”How can bookmakers be so sure that this year’s Eurovision is a two-horse race? Eaton says the answer lies in data, especially the numerous Eurovision fan websites that run polls asking which song should win.A poll run by Eurovisionworld.com, for instance, had received over 220,000 votes as of Saturday. Kaj topped that poll with 17 percent, and JJ was second with 15 percent. Erika Vikman, representing Finland, and Shkodra Elektronike, Albania’s representative, were together in a distant third with 6 percent. The fans who voted in those polls were also likely to participate in Eurovision’s public vote to decide the winner, Eaton said.In seven of the past nine years, Eaton added, the act that topped those fans poll had gone on to win. “Eurovision is one of the easiest events to bet on,” Eaton said: “The information’s all there.” More

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      Michael Flynn, a Trump Ally, Sponsors Beethoven at the Kennedy Center

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      Following the president’s overhaul of the center, Mr. Flynn, the former national security adviser, has made a substantial gift to the National Symphony Orchestra.The list of donors to the National Symphony Orchestra, one of the Kennedy Center’s flagship ensembles, is usually filled with financiers, socialites, corporations and foundations.But the name of a sponsor of this week’s performances of Beethoven’s “Missa Solemnis” stood out. It was Michael T. Flynn, the general and former national security adviser during President Trump’s first term. He was listed, along with his nonprofit, America’s Future Inc., as “performance sponsors” for the National Symphony Orchestra’s concerts from May 15 to 17.Mr. Flynn said on social media that his nonprofit was “thrilled to sponsor a spectacular three-night performance at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts!”“This performance is filled with a vibrant celebration of music, culture, and the unyielding spirit uniting all Americans,” he wrote in a post on X. “The Kennedy Center shines as a proud symbol of our nation’s legacy!”Mr. Flynn’s gift to the National Symphony Orchestra totaled $300,000, according to two people familiar with the donation who were granted anonymity because details of the gift were not publicized.Officials at the Kennedy Center said they did not have details of the gift.“We didn’t know how much but we welcome all sponsorships,” the center said in a statement.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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      The Broadway Best of Charles Strouse

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      The composer’s musicals, including “Annie” and “Bye Bye Birdie,” captured essential elements of American culture. Here are five of his most memorable songs.“Bye Bye Birdie” and “Annie,” the composer Charles Strouse’s most popular musicals, were not just big hits that are regularly revived on professional and amateur stages. They captured essential elements of American culture, including a yearning for escape from an older generation’s shackles and a can-do spirit to overcome adversity.Strouse, who died Thursday at 96, wrote jingles, pop songs and movie scores, but he remains famous for his Broadway shows. In addition to those two blockbusters, three others help make up his career peaks.Here are five numbers that illustrate Strouse’s suppleness as a composer and his knack for instantly hummable melodies.1960‘Bye Bye Birdie’Few musicals showcase as many great numbers as this hit about the Elvis Presley-like star Conrad Birdie, who, as a publicity stunt, visits a Midwest family before shipping off to the Army. The movie version, from 1963, is one of Hollywood’s best musicals of that decade, even though it made big changes to the show. The most egregious was casting Janet Leigh in the role of Rose Alvarez, played by Chita Rivera on Broadway. But it is hard to nitpick with the focus being shifted to Kim, a teenager discovering her sultry side, because she was played by Ann-Margret in an explosive performance that made her a star — she was particularly electric in the number “A Lot of Livin’ to Do.”Bonus video: In 2024, Vanessa Williams performed that song at the annual Miscast event, keeping the pronouns originally sung by Conrad Birdie intact.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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      Chris Brown Arrested in Connection With 2023 Assault, British Authorities Say

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      The R&B singer, who has a history of violent episodes, was charged with grievous bodily harm.British prosecutors on Thursday arrested and charged Chris Brown, the R&B singer, with grievous bodily harm and are holding him in custody.Brown, 36, was charged over an assault that reportedly took place at a venue in Hanover Square in London, on Feb. 19, 2023, according to the Metropolitan Police. He remains in custody and was set to appear at Manchester Magistrates’ Court at 10 a.m. on Friday, the police said.A news release from prosecutors on Thursday gave no further details. Under British law, news outlets are not allowed to publish details of an incident that may prejudice any trial once someone has been charged.A lawyer and a talent agency that represents Brown did not immediately respond to emails and calls seeking comment on Thursday night.Brown has a history of violent episodes and has been accused of violence against women multiple times. In 2014, he pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault after assaulting a man outside of a hotel in Washington the previous year. In 2018, a woman sued Brown, saying he held her against her will at his Los Angeles house while a friend of his raped her; that lawsuit was settled out of court in 2020. In 2009, Brown pleaded guilty to assaulting Rihanna, his girlfriend at the time, in his car. He and received a sentence of five years’ probation. He has also been accused of throwing a rock through his mother’s car window in 2013 and punching a woman at a Las Vegas nightclub in 2016.Brown’s songs have landed him 17 Billboard Top 10 hits, most of which were released between 2005 and 2015.Hank Sanders More

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      Charles Strouse, Composer of ‘Annie’ and ‘Bye Bye Birdie,’ Dies at 96

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      He wrote some of the most enduring musical theater numbers of his era and earned three Tony Awards, a Grammy and an Emmy.Charles Strouse, an accidental Broadway composer whose work — including hits like “Annie” and “Bye Bye Birdie” — earned him three Tony Awards, a Grammy and an Emmy, died on Thursday at his home in Manhattan. He was 96. His death was confirmed by Jim Byk, a spokesman for the family.Mr. Strouse had more than a dozen Broadway shows to his credit and composed some of the most enduring musical theater numbers of his era: “Put On a Happy Face” and “Kids (What’s the Matter With Kids Today?)” from “Bye Bye Birdie,” which opened in 1960 and featured lyrics by his frequent collaborator Lee Adams; “But Alive” from “Applause” (1970), a musical adaptation of the movie “All About Eve” starring Lauren Bacall, with lyrics by Mr. Adams; and “Tomorrow” and “It’s the Hard-Knock Life” from “Annie” (1977), with lyrics by Martin Charnin.All three shows earned Tonys for Mr. Strouse — “Birdie” and “Applause” for best musical and “Annie” for best original score. Both “Birdie” and “Annie” were made into hit movies.Andrea McArdle, in the title role, with Sandy Faison (left) and Reid Shelton (second from left) in “Annie.” Mr. Strouse’s biggest hit, it opened on Broadway in 1977 and ran for almost six years.PhotofestLauren Bacall starred in “Applause” (1970), which, like “Bye Bye Birdie,” won Mr. Strouse and Mr. Adams the Tony for best musical.PhotofestMr. Strouse’s music has been recorded by Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Duke Ellington and Jay-Z, who sampled the corresponding number from Broadway’s “Annie” on his 1998 rap single “Hard Knock Life (Ghetto Anthem).”Some of Mr. Strouse’s numbers became so ubiquitous that they seemed revered and reviled by the public in equal measure. Each response in its own way was a badge of honor.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