Rosalia Wins Big at Latin Grammys for ‘Lux’

Spanish singer Rosalia poses in the press room after she won Album of the Year for "Lux", Song of the Year for "La Perla", Best Pop Song, Best Short Form Music Video and Best Alternative Music Album during the 27h Annual Latin Grammy Awards at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 12, 2026. (AFP)

09:50-13 November 2026 AD ـ 03 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1448 AH

Rosalia took home the coveted Latin Grammy for Album of the Year on Thursday, winning for her sweeping, avant-garde classical pop album "Lux (Complete Works)" at the gala celebrating the best in Spanish- and Portuguese-language music.

The Spanish superstar also took home the Song of the Year prize, which celebrates songwriting, for "La Perla." Argentine Milo J pulled an upset to take home Record of the Year for "Nino," beating the likes of Karol G and Mon Laferte at the 27th annual awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

Rosalia, who opened the show with an ethereal performance blending songs off her acclaimed album, entered the night as among the favorites to win big.

"To all the people who told me I wasn't good enough, or that my music was too weird, I'm thankful I didn't listen to a damn word," she said onstage.

"Now I'm winning these prizes," Rosalia added to applause.

It was her third Latin Grammy for Album of the Year, following "Motomami" in 2022 and "El Mal Querer" in 2019.

Critical buzz for "Lux" also has Rosalia tipped as a top contender for major Grammy nominations, which are due to be announced next week.

Milo J's win came as a surprise for the 20-year-old roots rapper who infuses folkloric elements into his music.

He said he considers "Nino" the song "I'm most proud of out of everything I've created so far."

"Long live Argentine folk music!"

Argentine duo Ca7RIEL & Paco Amoroso notched three wins. Karol G -- who delivered a theatrical performance alongside a mariachi band -- scored two, including for best musica urbana album.

Fellow Colombian artist Aria Vega meanwhile won the prize for Best New Artist, a distinction that in years past gave a leg up to the careers of talents including Juanes, Calle 13 and Karol G herself.

- Generation-defining artist Daddy Yankee -

The evening also saw a constellation of stars spanning the genres descend on Vegas to celebrate Puerto Rican reggaeton legend Daddy Yankee, who was honored with the Person of the Year award.

The star appeared elated as Janet Jackson presented him with the prize -- the two previously worked together on 2018's "Made For Now."

"It takes vision and courage to help change the sound of music, and to create new possibilities for artists who come after you. Daddy Yankee did just that," Jackson said, before offering a few words in Spanish.

"Tu musica ha inspirado a toda una generacion," she said -- "your music has inspired an entire generation."

Daddy Yankee was a major force in globalizing reggaeton -- a wildly popular genre that blends Latin and Caribbean rhythms with US hip hop and Jamaican dancehall, which was once censored in his native Puerto Rico.

Shortly before accepting the lifetime achievement award, the artist delivered an electric line-up of his hits including "Con Calma" and "Gasolina," appearing onstage with a massive Puerto Rican flag.

He was joined by artists including LL Cool J, French Montana, Bad Gyal, and Bizarrap.

Another moving moment of the evening came as stars belted out salsa anthems in tribute to Willie Colon, the luminary of New York salsa who died in February.

The night's winners also included Edgar Barrera, who won Producer of the Year, and the Brazilian artist Anitta, who took home the Latin Grammy for best Portuguese language contemporary pop album.

Rosalia Wins Big at Latin Grammys for ‘Lux’

09:50-13 November 2026 AD ـ 03 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1448 AH

Rosalia Wins Big at Latin Grammys for ‘Lux’

Rosalia, who opened the show with an ethereal performance blending songs off her acclaimed album, entered the night as among the favorites to win big.

"To all the people who told me I wasn't good enough, or that my music was too weird, I'm thankful I didn't listen to a damn word," she said onstage.

"Now I'm winning these prizes," Rosalia added to applause.

It was her third Latin Grammy for Album of the Year, following "Motomami" in 2022 and "El Mal Querer" in 2019.

Critical buzz for "Lux" also has Rosalia tipped as a top contender for major Grammy nominations, which are due to be announced next week.

Milo J's win came as a surprise for the 20-year-old roots rapper who infuses folkloric elements into his music.

He said he considers "Nino" the song "I'm most proud of out of everything I've created so far."

"Long live Argentine folk music!"

Argentine duo Ca7RIEL & Paco Amoroso notched three wins. Karol G -- who delivered a theatrical performance alongside a mariachi band -- scored two, including for best musica urbana album.

Fellow Colombian artist Aria Vega meanwhile won the prize for Best New Artist, a distinction that in years past gave a leg up to the careers of talents including Juanes, Calle 13 and Karol G herself.

- Generation-defining artist Daddy Yankee -

The evening also saw a constellation of stars spanning the genres descend on Vegas to celebrate Puerto Rican reggaeton legend Daddy Yankee, who was honored with the Person of the Year award.

The star appeared elated as Janet Jackson presented him with the prize -- the two previously worked together on 2018's "Made For Now."

"Tu musica ha inspirado a toda una generacion," she said -- "your music has inspired an entire generation."

Shortly before accepting the lifetime achievement award, the artist delivered an electric line-up of his hits including "Con Calma" and "Gasolina," appearing onstage with a massive Puerto Rican flag.

He was joined by artists including LL Cool J, French Montana, Bad Gyal, and Bizarrap.

Another moving moment of the evening came as stars belted out salsa anthems in tribute to Willie Colon, the luminary of New York salsa who died in February.

The night's winners also included Edgar Barrera, who won Producer of the Year, and the Brazilian artist Anitta, who took home the Latin Grammy for best Portuguese language contemporary pop album.

Entertainment

Spielberg Says He Has the Same Enthusiasm as He Did Making 8 mm Movies as a Boy

(L/R) US actor Robert De Niro, US filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese attend the 18th Annual Film Benefit at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, on November 12, 2026. (AFP)

09:43-13 November 2026 AD ـ 03 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1448 AH

Spielberg Says He Has the Same Enthusiasm as He Did Making 8 mm Movies as a Boy

(L/R) US actor Robert De Niro, US filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese attend the 18th Annual Film Benefit at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York, on November 12, 2026. (AFP)

Decades of success haven’t dulled Steven Spielberg's appetite for filmmaking. The excitement that first drew him to the camera is still very much alive.

Before being honored at the Museum of Modern Art’s film benefit, Spielberg looked back on his journey from an ambitious young filmmaker to one of Hollywood’s most admired directors.

“I still have the enthusiasm that I had when I was 12 years old making 8 mm movies, little Westerns at home. That has never gotten old. I’ve gotten older, but that hasn’t gotten old,” Spielberg told The Associated Press at Thursday’s gala.

Though Spielberg has received virtually every major honor in filmmaking, from Academy Awards to industry tributes, recognition from MoMA holds particular significance.

“The Museum of Modern Art was one of the first museums ever to recognize film back in the mid-’30s as an art form. Not just as a concession or some kind of a technological concoction, but a real art form,” Spielberg said on the black carpet.

One of the most successful and influential directors in film history, Spielberg has made more than 35 feature films. His work spans fantasy, science fiction, and historical dramas, along with deeply human stories that explore the world around us.

From “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” and “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” to “Jaws,” “Jurassic Park” and the “Indiana Jones” series, he has taken audiences to extraordinary places. He has also turned to history and human conflict in films such as “Saving Private Ryan” and “Schindler’s List.” The latter won three Oscars in 1994, including best director for Spielberg.

Spielberg rarely goes looking for a specific genre. More often, he says, the stories find him, sometimes arriving out of nowhere.

“Often the movies that I wind up directing are the films that sneak up on me from behind, like an idea, like ‘E.T.’ which just came out of the blue one day,” he said.

The 1982 film, about a boy who befriends a stranded alien, became a sensation and one of the most beloved films of its era. It also became one of Spielberg’s signature works.

That instinct to follow an idea wherever it leads speaks to the curiosity that continues to drive his work and his reluctance to repeat himself.

“I’m a bit like a chameleon. I kind of take the shape of the environment that I’m standing in front of. And so my favorite directors are the directors who were able to come out of a hole each time, a different hole each time, and didn’t make the same movie in the same style again and again and again,” he said.

Celebrity guests included Robert De Niro, Michelle Williams, Drew Barrymore, Emily Blunt and John Krasinski. Spielberg’s longtime friend Martin Scorsese was also there to celebrate the director. On a rainy New York Evening, Spielberg made his way to the entrance to greet Scorsese with a warm embrace when he arrived.

The evening opened with a surprise appearance by Tom Cruise, followed by a special tribute featuring Emily Blunt, Steve Martin and Martin Scorsese. Oscar winner Ariana DeBose performed “Somewhere” from “West Side Story.” Bruce Springsteen also performed an acoustic version of “Dancing in the Dark.”

The annual benefit raises funds for MoMA’s film collection, supporting the preservation and acquisition of important works of cinema, as well as the museum’s film exhibits. Chanel has sponsored the event since 2011.

In his acceptance speech, Spielberg reflected on the collaborative nature of the medium and people who have shared in his journey.

“Standing alone up here feels wrong. Filmmaking is collaborating. And when I get singled out on a night like this it reminds me that I have never stood alone,” he said.

Entertainment

Movie Review: James Gray Delivers a Milestone Crime Drama in ‘Paper Tiger’

Adam Driver, from left, director James Gray and Miles Teller attend the premiere of the film "Paper Tiger" at the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 16, 2026. (AP)

17:34-11 November 2026 AD ـ 01 Jumada Al-Alkhirah 1448 AH

Movie Review: James Gray Delivers a Milestone Crime Drama in ‘Paper Tiger’

Adam Driver, from left, director James Gray and Miles Teller attend the premiere of the film "Paper Tiger" at the 79th international film festival, Cannes, southern France on May 16, 2026. (AP)

The American Dream has seldom looked so bleak as in “Paper Tiger,” James Gray’s beautifully punishing tragedy about a middle class family in Queens. With operatic grace and 35 mm grit, “Paper Tiger” shrewdly and authentically explores ideas about wealth, worth, the cost of family and the price of wanting more.

In 1986 New York, Wall Street might be booming in its “greed is good” era, but across the East River — where the grass still grows tall and the twin towers look small and distant on the skyline — Irwin Pearl (Miles Teller) is up early making storm windows for the winter. This is being done very much against the wishes of one of his teenage sons, who is trying to sleep in. Winter is three months away anyway, he complains.

Irwin is an ordinary dad, kind and a little goofy, resplendent in a constant stream of neatly but not stylishly tucked-in plaid shirts and windbreakers. He seems older than his years, though he’s probably barely 40. Part of that might be due to the choices Teller has made for his voice and accent, sounding a little like Peter Falk in “The Princess Bride,” but it’s also spiritually true that every generation gets to believe that all the ones prior were always “old.”

Irwin is married to Hester (Scarlett Johansson), a practical but spirited woman who has started to fantasize about life in the suburbs. They live in a modest house where you can practically feel the texture of real life. It's a home of laughter, love and schoolwork — both parents dream of their boys going to Ivy League schools and doing better than they did. The boys also have their eyes on a fancier life, whining, “Why do we always have to buy crappy stuff and live crappy?”

They wouldn’t be the first ungrateful teens who fail to recognize just how good they have it. But they get glimpses of the rich life in their uncle Gary (Adam Driver), a former police officer who now does quite well as a security consultant. He has the suit and car, and the grand gestures he makes seem casual. When we meet him, he’s dropped by Irwin and Hester’s with a steak dinner for five from “Luger's.”

Gary proposes an idea to his brother, an engineer with a specialty in risk assessment: There’s a project in the works to clean up the Gowanus Canal, and they might be able to help. The businesses, once controlled by the mafia, are being taken over by Russian immigrants. Gary has spotted an opportunity to help them navigate the ins and outs of regulations.

The offer of a windfall comes as a relief for Irwin, stressed by the looming cost of college for two kids. Gary, too, is going through an expensive divorce. Irwin wonders if there is something shady beneath it all, but Gary reminds him that “we’ve never played in the dirt.” Still, there’s a foreboding feeling that this is not going to be as simple, clean and easy as Gary is promising. The movie, after all, began with a quote from Aeschylus: “Let there be wealth without tears; enough for the wise man who will ask no further.”

It’s only a matter of time before things start going very wrong: One night, Irwin takes his boys out for a “nighttime risk assessment,” and they soon find themselves swarmed by paranoid Russian goons with guns.

Gray, who finds new notes in a genre he’s already put his mark on with films like “Little Odessa,” “The Yards” and “We Own the Night,” is masterful at slowly, methodically building tension and dread to an almost unbearable crescendo. The decisions these brothers make, first together, then separately, take on the grandeur and weight of a classic tragedy.

Hester, meanwhile, becomes a physical manifestation of the polluted canal as she endures her own secret health crisis. Like many mothers before and after her, she feels it is her duty to bear the weight of a death sentence in private. There are louder, uglier, bigger things happening all around and she doesn’t want to worry anyone. It’s a beautiful performance from an actor who often gets lost in franchise and spectacle.

But it’s Driver who really steals the show as a man doomed by the responsibility he feels for his brother. Beneath Gary's easy smile, charm and flash festers a different kind of heartbreak and loneliness. He can also be shockingly violent. And, when it comes down to it, the brotherly loyalty and desire to protect at any cost might only go one way.

It builds to one of the more thrilling and inventive showdowns in recent film history — a rare movie that embraces, rather than tries to disguise, the omnipresent sound of planes taking off and landing at a nearby airport.

The whole grimy affair is agonizing, as everyone tries in vain to do the right thing. The morbid joke is that it was rigged from the beginning — not just the job, but the entire system, the false promises of capitalism, the ways in which corruption is enabled, and the paradox of honest wealth.

“Paper Tiger” may be set 40 years ago, but in the most fundamental way, it’s not a movie about our past.

Rosalia Wins Big at Latin Grammys for ‘Lux’

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Rosalia Wins Big at Latin Grammys for ‘Lux’

Spielberg Says He Has the Same Enthusiasm as He Did Making 8 mm Movies as a Boy

Movie Review: James Gray Delivers a Milestone Crime Drama in ‘Paper Tiger’

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