Showbiz in 2024: Taylor Swift, Oasis and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Make Headlines

A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)
A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)
TT

Showbiz in 2024: Taylor Swift, Oasis and Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Make Headlines

A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)
A man walks past a mural of Oasis band members Liam and Noel Gallagher by artist Snow Graffiti on a wall in Whitefield, near Manchester, Britain, August 31, 2024. (Reuters)

From Taylor Swift's record-breaking Eras tour to Sean 'Diddy' Combs' arrest, 2024 saw various stories from the entertainment world dominate headlines.

Below are some of the biggest.

* Taylor Swift won more awards, released another hit album and performed her Eras tour, the first to surpass $1 billion in revenue. Her Vienna shows were cancelled after authorities foiled a planned attack. Swift closed Eras' European leg in London before she wraps it completely in Vancouver on Dec. 8.

* US rapper and producer Sean "Diddy" Combs pleaded not guilty to charges he used his business empire, including his record label Bad Boy Entertainment, to sexually abuse women.

Combs has denied wrongdoing and his lawyers have argued the sexual activity described by prosecutors was consensual.

* One Direction member Liam Payne was found dead after falling from a third-floor hotel room balcony in Buenos Aires, triggering an outpouring of tributes from fans.

* Oasis announced a series of reunion gigs. Fans waited long hours in virtual queues to buy tickets only to find hiked prices as part of a "dynamic pricing" scheme, sparking probes into Ticketmaster over the sale.

* A New Mexico judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Alec Baldwin, agreeing with his lawyers that prosecutors and police withheld evidence on the source of the live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins when he pointed a gun at her on the set of Western "Rust" in 2021.

Armorer Hannah Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months.

The film premiered at a low-key Polish film festival in November.

* Harvey Weinstein's 2020 conviction for sexual assault and rape was overturned by New York's highest court, reopening the landmark case that fueled the #MeToo movement.

* Singer Justin Timberlake pleaded guilty in a New York State court to a lesser traffic charge than drunk driving - driving while ability impaired - after he was arrested when police spotted him failing to obey a stop sign and veering off lane.

* Beyonce's "Cowboy Carter" became the first album by a Black woman to land at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.

* "Inside Out 2" became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, taking $1.698 billion at the global box office.

* The world said goodbye to: actors Donald Sutherland, James Earl Jones, Maggie Smith, Shannen Doherty, Carl Weathers and Louis Gossett Jr., music supremo Quincy Jones and singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson among others.



Elton John Says He Has Lost His Eyesight

Elton John waves to the waiting media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP)
Elton John waves to the waiting media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP)
TT

Elton John Says He Has Lost His Eyesight

Elton John waves to the waiting media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP)
Elton John waves to the waiting media as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Monday, March 27, 2023. (AP)

British singer Elton John, 77, told a theater audience on Sunday that he had lost his sight.

One of the biggest selling artists of all time, the "Tiny Dancer" and "Rocket Man" star attended the launch of a show in London's West End but said he had been unable to watch the performance.

"As some of you may know I have had issues and now I have lost my sight. I haven't been able to see the performance but I have enjoyed it," John said, according to the Daily Mail.

John said in recent months that an eye infection had left him unable to see out of his right eye and that his left was "not the greatest", meaning he could no longer read or watch anything, and putting his ability to record any new music in future at risk.

John was on the red carpet on Sunday for the launch of "The Devil Wears Prada", a musical based on the best-selling novel for which he has written the score.

"It's hard for me to see it but I love to hear it and it sounded good tonight," he said.

John, who shot to fame in the early 1970s and whose piano-led rock songs and ballads such as "Candle in the Wind" have kept him in the spotlight since, played a farewell tour between 2018 and 2023, and has since focused on his family.