Month: August 2017

The daughter of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. stood beside her father’s newly unveiled statue Monday, just a few blocks from where he grew up, handing out hugs and telling each well-wisher: “It’s about time.”

The statue paying tribute to King made its public debut Monday morning on the Georgia Capitol grounds in front of around 800 people including Gov. Nathan Deal, many other state political leaders and several members of the King family. The sculpture’s installation comes more than three years after Georgia lawmakers endorsed the project.

“Forty-nine years ago when my father was assassinated, he was the most hated man in America. Today, he is one of the most loved men in the world,” the Rev. Bernice King said of her father, who was slain in 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee.

A replica of the nation’s Liberty Bell tolled three times before the 8-foot (2.4-meter) bronze statue was unveiled on the 54th anniversary of King’s “I have a dream” speech at the 1963 March on Washington. The statue depicts King in mid-stride, holding a jacket and grasping a batch of papers.

Bernice King said her father gave the nation a sense of hope in a time of turmoil, and his statue can serve a similar purpose today.

Bringing the statue into reality took multiple struggles. Officials had to negotiate with King’s family for the right to use his image. Then an artist was selected for the project, only to be killed in a motorcycle accident. After a lengthy screening, sculptor Martin Dawe was chosen to replace him.

Dawe said he knew other tributes to King had been criticized and he set one goal: Make the statue look like the man.

King’s statue was erected in his Southern hometown at a time when monuments honoring Civil War Confederates are coming down in many other places across the South.

“This tribute is important and a lasting statement about the value of inclusion, the strength of our diversity and the power of grace and how it changes hearts,” Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed said. “This statue comes at a time when there are many conversations about historical monuments going on nationally and within the state. When the time comes, I’m confident in the city of Atlanta that we will walk it together as we have again, again and again.”

Reed said $40 million is being invested to redevelop the Martin Luther King Jr. drive corridor to improve mobility and safety. The mayor also said a $23 million MLK Recreation and Aquatic Center will be opened in Atlanta by the end of the year.

Morehouse College professor Timothy Miller kicked off the ceremony singing Ray Charles’ song, “Georgia on My Mind.”
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Stars including Kevin Hart, Katy Perry and country singer Chris Young are lining up to help raise money for flood relief efforts in Houston.

 

Hart has pledged $25,000 to victims of Hurricane Harvey. In an Instagram video posted Sunday, Hart said he was starting a celebrity challenge to donate money to the cause. Beyonce, Jay Z, Justin Timberlake, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Jerry Seinfeld are among the stars he called on to do the same.

 

Young said in a Twitter video that he has started an online fundraiser for the Red Cross and donated $100,000 to it.

 

Perry urged viewers to donate while hosting MTV’s Video Music Awards on Sunday night and tweeted a link to the Red Cross’ donation efforts to more than 100 million followers on Twitter.
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Country music star Chris Young is donating $100,000 for disaster relief efforts in Texas.

 

Nashville-based Monarch Publicity says in a news release that Young lived in Arlington, Texas, before signing with RCA records and has family and close friends in Hurricane Harvey’s path.

 

Young says in the statement that communities in Texas “are going to be dealing with so much damage and loss of life for a long time to come.”

 

Young’s donation through his foundation will benefit the Red Cross and other disaster relief groups.  He says during tough times, “you turn to your friends to help those in need and that’s exactly what I’m doing.” He asked others to join his fundraising effort.

 

Young is a native of Murfreesboro, about 25 miles southeast of Nashville.
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Kendrick Lamar was the king of the 2017 MTV Video Music Awards, winning six awards on a night full of emotional performances, political moments and a new, eye-popping Taylor Swift music video.

 

Lamar’s “Humble” won video of the year, best hip-hop video, direction, cinematography, art direction and visual effects on Sunday at the Forum in Inglewood, California. He also gave an explosive performance of “Humble” and “DNA,” backed by ninjas dancing near fire.

 

But the VMAs, hosted by a forgettable Katy Perry with performances by Miley Cyrus and Ed Sheeran, was tamer than most years, not relying on the shock value and wild antics of past shows. Instead, touching performances and powerful speeches took center stage.

Emotional performances

 Logic performed his inspirational song “1-800-273-8255,” named after the phone number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. He was joined onstage with suicide attempt survivors as well as singers Alessia Cara (best dance video winner) and Khalid (best new artist winner). Lyrics from Logic’s song include: “I don’t wanna be alive/I just wanna die today” and “I want you to be alive/You don’t got to die today.”

 

Kesha introduced the performance and also offered words of encouragement: “As long as you don’t give up on yourself, light will break through the darkness.”

 

Pink was also emotional when she accepted the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award, telling the audience a story about her daughter, who was sitting in the crowd with her father Carey Hart. Pink said her daughter recently told her that “I’m the ugliest girl I know … I look like a boy with long hair.”

 

Pink said she then showed her 6-year-old daughter photos of performers such as Michael Jackson, David Bowie, Janis Joplin, George Michael, Elton John and Freddie Mercury.

 

“You are beautiful and I love you,” Pink said to her daughter.

‘Do not give up’

Rock singer and Oscar winner Jared Leto remembered Linkin Park’s Chester Bennington, who hanged himself in July. Leto also mentioned Chris Cornell, who hanged himself in May.

 

“I think about his band, who were really his brothers, and I remember his voice,” Leto said of Bennington. “That voice will live forever.”

 

“Hear me now, you are not alone. There is always a way forward. Reach out. Share your thoughts. Do not give up,” Leto added.

 

The night also featured political moments focused on the Aug. 12 rally in Charlottesville, Virginia that turned violent after Nazis and white nationalists opposed to the city’s plan to remove a statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee clashed with counter protesters. Heather Heyer, 32, was killed when a car plowed into a crowd.

Mother honors daughter

The Rev. Robert Wright Lee IV, a descendent of Gen. Lee, told the audience: “As a pastor it is my duty to speak out against racism, America’s original sin.”

 

Heyer’s mother then entered the stage, telling the audience: “Only 15 days my ago, my daughter Heather was killed as she protested racism. I miss her but I know she’s here tonight.”

 

Bro announced The Heather Heyer Foundation, a nonprofit that will award scholarships and “help more people join Heather’s fight against hatred.”

 

Paris Jackson also spoke out against hatred.

 

“We must show these Nazi white supremacist jerks in Charlottesville, and all over the country, that as a nation with liberty as our slogan, we have zero tolerance for their violence and their hatred and their discrimination. We must resist,” Michael Jackson’s eldest daughter said before presenting an award.

Swift offers new video 

Lamar’s performance kicked off the three-hour show, followed by the premiere of Swift’s video for “Look What You Made Me Do,” which featured the singer dressed like a zombie in one scene and surrounded by slithering snakes in another. The video for the track, rumored to be a diss toward Kanye West, also featured Swift in a tub of diamonds, a cat mask, and a car that crashed (she was holding a Grammy). The clip ended with a dozen of Swifts — in memorable outfits she’s worn in the past — symbolizing how the singer felt the media has portrayed her through the years.

 

Swift and Zayn, who didn’t attend the show, won best collaboration for “I Don’t Wanna Live Forever.” Jack Antonoff and Sam Dew, who wrote the song with Swift, accepted the award.

 

Sheeran performed his hit, “Shape of You,” and was later joined by rapper Lil Uzi Vert. Sheeran won artist of the year, a new award established after MTV eliminated gender categories like best male and female video.

 

“Thank you to all the fans,” Sheeran said.

 

Tearful presentation

Fifth Harmony, who lost a group member last year and released their first album as a foursome last week, won best pop video for “Down.” Ally Brooke and Dinah Jane of the group were in tears as they accepted the award alongside Normani Kordei, Lauren Jauregui and rapper Gucci Mane.

 

“This is honestly so unreal. Thank you to God and thank you to our families,” Jane said.

 

Fifth Harmony started their performance standing on high platforms to sing “Angel,” then falling backward like superheroes. They followed it with the upbeat “Down,” taking a break from singing to perform intense choreography. Later, water rained on the four girls, who dropped their microphones at the end of the performance.

 

Lorde, who had the flu, danced throughout the performance of “Homemade Dynamite” instead of singing it, wearing a tin foil half dress, pants and sneakers.

Summer hit missing

Lamar’s win for video of the year beat videos by Bruno Mars, DJ Khaled, the Weeknd and Cara. “Despacito,” which was snubbed in the video of the year category, lost the only award it was nominated for: song of summer. Lil Uzi Vert’s Top 10 hit, “XO Tour Life,” won the prize.

 

Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s international hit is the most viewed video on YouTube and currently No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. MTV said Universal Music Latin Entertainment didn’t submit the video, while the record label said they weren’t asked to send in the clip.

 

Shawn Mendes, 30 Seconds to Mars, and Perry, with guest Nicki Minaj, performed during the show. Rod Stewart, DNCE and Demi Lovato sang remotely from Las Vegas.

 
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An Emirati filmmaker is pushing boundaries and bypassing state censors by delicately unraveling a story about a traditional Arab family grappling with issues of homosexual love, gender identity, sectarianism and women’s rights.

The movie focuses on a conservative Iraqi family who begin seeing and unearthing one another’s secrets after the family matriarch goes blind and dies.

What makes the film “Only Men Go To the Grave” particularly avant-garde is that the homosexual characters are not simply supporting characters or portrayed as Westernized or globalized elites, like past characters in other famous Arabic films. Rather, the film’s stars are homosexual lovers who are also traditional Arab mothers, wives and caretakers.

The movie, by filmmaker Abdallah Al Kaabi, also reveals its central male character to be struggling with his masculinity and gender. In possibly the movie’s boldest scene, the character dresses in full makeup, a wig, jewelry and a dress.

Most surprisingly, the Arabic film passed state censors to screen at major movie theaters across Dubai this month. The United Arab Emirates, and Dubai specifically, are more liberal and seen as more tolerant than other parts of the Gulf, such as Saudi Arabia, where there are no movie theaters.

Al Kaabi says he believes the film’s handling of homosexuality and gender identity helped propel it to the big screen.

“A movie in the end is a story and people don’t really have a problem with what you talk about in the story, but they have a problem with how you expose it,” he told The Associated Press after a screening of the film.  “I think you need to show good taste when you talk about controversial and taboo issues,” he said.

The lovers in his film are never shown being physically intimate.

Egyptian cinema — the oldest and most revered film industry in the Arab world — has tackled homosexuality in film since the 1950s, though often portraying it as something that exists among a progressive minority. Gay characters have also been portrayed in some films as psychologically ill or are punished in some way.

Tunisian cinema has also depicted homosexuals in movies since the 1970s, while a genre of so-called queer cinema is currently surfacing among Lebanese filmmakers.

Egyptian film critic Joseph Fahim said Al Kaabi’s film appears to be the first made by an Arab Gulf filmmaker to tackle the issue of homosexuality in such a candid manner.

“It shows that this is coming from within, especially that the director casts no judgmental eye on it … he treated it in a matter-of-fact way, not as a disease. That is also a major stepping stone,” Fahim said.

Watch the film’s trailer:

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It took Al Kaabi six years to complete the ambitious project, which was awarded best Emirati film at the Dubai International Film Festival in 2016 — the year it was produced.

Al Kaabi grew up in the smaller emirate of Fujairah along the Gulf of Oman. With little entertainment around him, he would venture out to the emirate’s only video store and rent VHS tapes. It sparked in him a love for cinema.

“My pastime was to travel and dream through movies so I was watching a lot of Hollywood movies, Egyptian movies and Bollywood movies,” he said.

After vacationing in Iran, Al Kaabi was awed with the country’s vibrant film scene in the southern city Ahvaz, known for its ethnic diversity. He decided to shoot his debut feature film there using Iranian actors of Arab heritage and actors from Iraq.

Across the Gulf, there are varying degrees of censorship and support for independent filmmakers like Al Kaabi.

Despite there being no theaters in Saudi Arabia, a handful of films have been shot there in recent years. In Kuwait, which once held the mantle for Gulf theatrical productions, censors pulled Disney’s new Beauty and the Beast from theaters this year after the public’s reaction to what Disney called its first “gay moment” for a character.

Homosexuality and cross-dressing are forbidden in the predominantly Muslim Gulf. A popular transgender social media star said she was denied entry to Dubai by airport officials last year because her passport still listed her as “male.”

In Saudi Arabia, homosexuals and cross-dressers can be imprisoned, fined and lashed. Earlier this year, Saudi police raided a gathering of men dressed in women’s clothing outside the capital, Riyadh. A Pakistani arrested in the raid later died in police custody under unclear circumstances.

Though rare, judges in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq and a handful of other countries can issue the death penalty in cases of same-sex relations.

Possibly for this reason, Al Kaabi prefers to describe the relationship between the women in his film as “alternative love.”

Still, throughout most of the Middle East, there is a narrow margin of acceptance for transgender individuals and homosexuality so long as it isn’t visible to the public. More recently, some Gulf countries have begun considering laws that would permit gender reassignment.

In the UAE, two Emirati women are petitioning the courts to be recognized as males. Last year, the UAE approved a law that would allow gender reassignment surgery for those who psychologically identify as the opposite sex.

The scene of the male character dressed as a woman, shocking for its raw and rare portrayal of a transgender character, left one young Emirati college student perplexed.

“There are things I really didn’t understand in the movie, like the man. Why was he wearing these kinds of clothes like woman clothes?,” Mahra Al-Nuaimi said after watching the movie.

Her cousin, Moza Al-Hamrani, appeared less confused by the filmmaker’s motives. As a student of film, she said she hoped to one day have the chance to produce similarly groundbreaking work.

“The issues to do with gender identity and sexuality — I thought like `Whoa, did he really do that?”‘ But I was also proud that someone finally spoke out about it, because these issues exist but everybody turns a blind eye,” she said.
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Floyd Mayweather Jr. figured out a 50th opponent, letting Conor McGregor have the early rounds before stalking him late and leaving the mixed martial artist defenseless and exhausted on the ropes.

Mayweather battered McGregor around the ring in the later rounds, finally stopping him at 1:05 of the 10th round Saturday night with a flurry of punches that forced referee Robert Byrd to stop the fight.

Before a pro-McGregor crowd that roared every time the UFC star landed a punch, Mayweather methodically broke him down after a slow start to score his first real stoppage in nearly a decade. He did it in what he said would be his final fight, against a fighter who had never been in a professional boxing match.

McGregor boxed surprisingly well early. But after landing some shots in the first three rounds, his punches seemed to lose their steam, and Mayweather went on the pursuit. McGregor backpedaled most of the way, stopping only to throw an occasional flurry as Mayweather wore him down.

“I think we gave the fans what they wanted to see,” Mayweather said. “I owed them for the (Manny) Pacquiao fight.”

McGregor had vowed to knock Mayweather out within two rounds, and he won the early rounds with movement and punches to the head. But the tide of the fight turned in the fourth round as Mayweather seemed to figure out what he had to do and began aggressively stalking McGregor.

“I turned him into a Mexican tonight,” McGregor said. “He fought like a Mexican.”

In a fight so intriguing that it cost $10,000 for ringside seats, McGregor turned in a respectable performance for someone in his first fight. But Mayweather’s experience and his ring savvy paid off as he executed his game plan to perfection.

“Our game plan was to take our time, go to him and take him out in the end,” Mayweather said. “I guaranteed everybody this fight wouldn’t go the distance.”

Mayweather was widely criticized for not going after Pacquiao in their megafight, and he didn’t make the same mistake this time. In a fight that could make him $200 million he seemed to stagger McGregor with a series of punches in the ninth round, then came back in the 10th eager to finish it off.

McGregor went over and hugged Mayweather. He seemed almost happy in the ring afterward, secure that he had given a good performance even in losing.

“I was a little fatigued,” he said. “He was composed in there, that’s what 50 pro fights can give you.”

Mayweather ran his record to 50-0, surpassing Rocky Marciano’s 49-0 record and giving himself a great parting gift. He repeated afterward that he was not going to fight again.

“This is my last fight for sure. 50-0 sounds good, I’m looking forward to going into the Hall of Fame,” Mayweather said. “I picked the best dance partner to do it with.”

Irish fans arrived by the thousands in the days before the fight, filling the arena for the weigh-in and boisterously cheering for their man. They even went off in the middle of the night and spray painted an Irish flag and “49-1” on a billboard on Interstate 15 promoting Mayweather’s businesses.

The capacity crowd at the arena cheered McGregor on, but they quieted as the fight progressed and Mayweather showed his dominance.
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Spotify says Taylor Swift has set a new global first day streaming record.

The music delivery site said Saturday it had logged more than 8 million same-day streams for her new single, “Look What You Made Me Do.”

The 27-year-old singer dropped the much-anticipated song late Thursday to streaming platforms and iTunes.

She wrote and produced it with frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, who performs in the bands Bleachers and fun. It’s the first single from her sixth album, “reputation,” set to be released Nov. 10.

The video for the song will premiere Sunday on the MTV Video Music Awards. A clip previewed Friday on “Good Morning America.”

YouTube said Saturday the song’s lyric video broke a record for that site, with more than 19 million same day views.
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We’re interfacing with the five most popular songs in the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Singles chart, for the week ending August 26, 2017.

We greet a new song this week, but that’s not the big story.

Number 5: Charlie Puth “Attention

Let’s open in fifth place, where Charlie Puth jumps two slots with “Attention.”

His first came in 2015, when his hit with Wiz Khalifa, “See You Again,” topped the Hot 100 for 12 weeks. Charlie says record bosses wanted him to simply write the song, not sing on it or appear in the video. He threatened to withhold the track if he didn’t get to participate…and that turned out to be the decision that made him a star.

Number 4: Imagine Dragons “Believer”

Imagine Dragons has a serious hit on its hands as “Believer” jumps a notch to fourth place.

It’s the Las Vegas band’s second biggest hit, following its 2012 breakthrough “Radioactive,” which peaked at number three and sold more than 10 million copies. On August 26, the band travels to Utah for the LoveLoud Festival. It’s the brainchild of lead singer Dan Reynolds and benefits LGBTQ youth within the Mormon Church.

Number 3: French Montanta Featuring Swae Lee “Unforgettable”

Holding in third place are French Montana and Swae Lee with “Unforgettable.” 

French is the new brand ambassador for Ciroc Vodka – he’s the personal choice of Ciroc boss Sean “Diddy” Combs. Mr. Montana helped develop and name its latest flavor, Ciroc French Vanilla. Diddy tells People Magazine that one dollar from the sale of every bottle will go toward the charitable Mama Hope Organization.

Number 2: DJ Khaled, Rihanna and Bryson Tiller “Wild Thoughts”

Staying put in second place are DJ Khaled, Rihanna, and Bryson Tiller with “Wild Thoughts.”

Anchoring the song is Carlos Santana’s 1999 hit “Maria, Maria.” In a statement to Billboard Magazine, Santana thanks his original collaborator, Wyclef Jean, and says DJ Khaled, Rihanna, and Bryson Tiller move it into a new dimension…with the groove still intact.

Number 1: Luis Fonsi & Daddy Yankee Featuring Justin Bieber “Despacito”

Luis Fonsi, Daddy Yankee, and Justin Bieber remain your Hot 100 champs for a 14th week with “Despacito.” That ties it with Los Del Rio’s 1996 hit “Macarena” as the longest-running Spanish-language champion in Hot 100 history.

The sky’s the limit from here, so you have to join us next week!
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Detectives missed chances to stop pedophile rock star Ian Watkins in the years before he was charged with child sex abuse, Britain’s police watchdog said Friday.

Watkins, lead singer of the Welsh band Lostprophets, was sentenced in 2013 to 29 years in prison for crimes against children as young as 1.

In a highly critical report, the Independent Police Complaints Commission said that South Wales Police made mistakes and in some cases failed to “carry out even rudimentary investigation” into reports about Watkins’ behavior by an ex-girlfriend and other witnesses between 2008 and 2012.

Ex-girlfriend Joanne Mjadzelics told police in 2009 that she had a cellphone message from Watkins about his desire to sexually abuse children. The watchdog said police considered her report “malicious” and didn’t examine the phone.

Watkins, now 40, was eventually arrested for drug offenses in 2012, and police found evidence of abuse on his computers.

Lostprophets — which formed in 1997 and had a chart-topping album in 2006 with “Liberation Transmission” — disbanded after Watkins’ arrest.
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Section by section, American artist Ryan Mendoza painstakingly disassembled the small wood-frame home of civil rights icon Rosa Parks after learning that the struggling city of Detroit was going to have it demolished. He shipped it across the Atlantic Ocean and rebuilt it in the German capital of Berlin, saving the home and creating a new tourist attraction.

The house has been up in Berlin less than a year, but after violence at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the growing call to remove Confederate monuments in the United States, the New York native said it’s now clear to him that Parks’ house needs to return soon to the U.S.

“It’s actually become a necessity, as we see people rising up and seeing things for what they are,” he said. “As Americans begin to understand they have to re-contextualize these monuments, the Confederate statues, there is a lack of civil rights monuments to balance things out.”

Parks, who died in 2005, became a leading name in the civil rights movement for refusing in 1955 to give up her seat on a bus to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama. She moved to Detroit in 1957 to escape death threats and stayed in the house with her brother and his family — crammed into the tiny residence with more than 15 people.

After the financial crisis of 2008 and Detroit’s dramatic decline, Parks’ home was abandoned and put on a list for demolition. Parks’ niece Rhea McCauley instead bought it from the city for $500 and donated it to Mendoza for preservation. In 2016, he and others took it carefully apart, then rebuilt it on the lot in Berlin where his studio and home are.

Queen Yahna, a soul and gospel singer from Philadelphia who now lives in Berlin, performed for the crowd at the house’s official dedication in April. Visiting the house this week, she said it doesn’t matter to her where the house is, so long as Parks’ struggle is remembered.

“The issue of racism is going on, negative things are going on and there are different things, positive, that can be brought to light, not just physical monuments,” she said. “The spirit is more important.”

But Mendoza said even though the house is tucked away on his lot, it still draws curious onlookers daily — including many Americans — showing how important a symbol it is.

“Imagine if the house were on a public setting in a prominent city in the U.S.?” he said. “That’s an educational tool that shouldn’t be denied the American people. They have to know their past.”

He said a foundation has offered to help pay the costs of moving it back to the U.S., and he’s been in talks with museums and a university about putting it on display, but there’s no timeline yet on when the house may return.

His dream would be to see the derelict home reconstructed on the lawn of the White House with the blessing of U.S. President Donald Trump.

“Trump says that he’s not a racist. This would be a wonderful moment for him to redeem himself in the eyes of Americans,” Mendoza said. “He wants to embrace all of America’s past. Why not embrace the house that Rosa Parks once lived in?”

McCauley, Parks’ niece who still lives in Detroit, told The Associated Press that she would welcome the home’s return to the U.S.

“We need all the help we can get, in light of all current events,” she said.
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You can finally shake it off: Taylor Swift has released her new single.

 

The 27-year-old singer dropped the upbeat song “Look What You Made Me Do” –  which uses an interpolation from Right Said Fred’s 1991 hit “I’m Too Sexy'” – late Thursday to streaming platforms and iTunes. The song, featuring elements of pop, dance and house, includes sharp lyrics like: “Honey, I rose up from the dead I do it all the time/I got a list of names and yours is in red, underlined I check it once/Then I check it twice.”

 

The track ends with a voice message of Swift saying, “I’m sorry, but the old Taylor can’t come to the phone right now. Why? Oh, ’cause she’s dead.”

 

The video will premiere Sunday night on the MTV Video Music Awards.

 

Some felt the song was a diss toward Kanye West, whom Swift has had issues with in the past. Last year their feud hit a new height when West’s wife, Kim Kardashian, released audio recordings that she said proved Swift gave West the go ahead for a Swift reference in the song “Famous.”

 

Swift’s voice message on her new song could be a reference to the audio Kardashian leaked. Others felt the opening lines of “Look What You Made Me Do” – ” I don’t like your little games/Don’t like your tilted stage” – was a reference to West’s recent tour, which featured a floating stage.

 

The anticipation of “Look What You Made Me Do” helped Swift trend heavily on social media. The song is the first single from her sixth album, “reputation,” to be released Nov. 10. A clip of the song’s video will premiere Friday on “Good Morning America.”

 

Swift wiped her social media pages clean last week and caused a frenzy online with video snippets of slithery snake parts. Fans dissected the clues in hopes it would reveal details about her new music, and the pop star finally announced Wednesday that a new song would come this week followed by an album three months later.

 

“Reputation” is the follow-up to 2014’s “1989,” Swift’s first official pop album after years of dominating in country music. “1989”  launched seven hit singles, from “Shake It Off”  to “Bad Blood,” and won three Grammys, including album of the year. The album helped her produce a star-studded world tour, featuring guest appearances from musicians such as Justin Timberlake and John Legend to A-List celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres and Chris Rock.

 

“Look What You Made Me Do” uses an interpolation of a melody from “I’m Too Sexy,” a No.1 hit that was written by Richard Fairbrass, Fred Fairbrass and Rob Manzoli. After the song’s release, Right Said Fred tweeted thanks to Swift and called the new song a marvelous reinvention.

 

Swift wrote and produced the new song with frequent collaborator Jack Antonoff, who performs in the bands Bleachers and fun. Antonoff, who has produced for Lorde, Sia, Sara Bareilles and others, earned a Grammy Award for his work on three songs from Swift’s “1989.”

 

He also produced and co-wrote Swift and Zayn’s Top 5 hit from the “Fifty Shades Darker” soundtrack, “I Don’t Want to Live Forever,” and the two shared a Golden Globe nomination for the song “Sweeter than Fiction,” from the 2013 film “Once Chance.”

 

Swift’s “reputation” could become the singer’s fourth album to sell more than one million albums in its debut week, following “1989,” 2012’s “Red” and 2010’s “Speak Now.”

 

 

 
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On Alaska’s Kenai peninsula, the city of Homer proudly calls itself the halibut fishing capital of the world. For more than 30 years it has held an annual “Halibut Derby.” VOA’s Natasha Mozgovaya and Aleksandr Bergan were there for this year’s big event.
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