Taylor Swift Makes Grammys History as Women Rule Music's Top Honors

epa11128269 (L-R) Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus of Boygenius, winners of the "Best Rock Performance" award for "Not Strong Enough", the "Best Rock Song" award for “Not Strong Enough”, and the "Best Alternative Music Album" award for "The Record"; Taylor Swift, winner of the "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" awards for "Midnights"; and Jack Antonoff, winner of "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", pose in the press room during the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 February 2024.  EPA/ALLISON DINNER
epa11128269 (L-R) Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus of Boygenius, winners of the "Best Rock Performance" award for "Not Strong Enough", the "Best Rock Song" award for “Not Strong Enough”, and the "Best Alternative Music Album" award for "The Record"; Taylor Swift, winner of the "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" awards for "Midnights"; and Jack Antonoff, winner of "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", pose in the press room during the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 February 2024. EPA/ALLISON DINNER
TT

Taylor Swift Makes Grammys History as Women Rule Music's Top Honors

epa11128269 (L-R) Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus of Boygenius, winners of the "Best Rock Performance" award for "Not Strong Enough", the "Best Rock Song" award for “Not Strong Enough”, and the "Best Alternative Music Album" award for "The Record"; Taylor Swift, winner of the "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" awards for "Midnights"; and Jack Antonoff, winner of "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", pose in the press room during the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 February 2024.  EPA/ALLISON DINNER
epa11128269 (L-R) Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, and Lucy Dacus of Boygenius, winners of the "Best Rock Performance" award for "Not Strong Enough", the "Best Rock Song" award for “Not Strong Enough”, and the "Best Alternative Music Album" award for "The Record"; Taylor Swift, winner of the "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Vocal Album" awards for "Midnights"; and Jack Antonoff, winner of "Producer of the Year, Non-Classical", pose in the press room during the 66th annual Grammy Awards ceremony at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, USA, 04 February 2024. EPA/ALLISON DINNER

Pop superstar Taylor Swift set another record on Sunday, winning the Grammy award for album of the year for an unprecedented fourth time as women dominated the music industry's top honors.
Swift also announced from the Grammys stage that she would release a new album in April, Reuters reported.
The 34-year-old won album of the year for "Midnights," eclipsing music legends Frank Sinatra, Paul Simon and Stevie Wonder, who each claimed the prize three times.
Swift said she was thrilled by the honor and gushed about the fulfillment she feels from writing and singing songs. "It makes me so happy," she said. "All I want to do is keep doing this."
Earlier, Swift claimed the prize for best pop vocal performance and used the moment to announce that she will release "The Tortured Poets Department" on April 19.
"I want to say thank you to the fans by telling you a secret that I've been keeping from you for the last two years," Swift said as she disclosed the new album, which was made available for pre-sales during the Grammys telecast.
Swift, who is about to jet to Tokyo to resume the world's highest-grossing concert tour, was among the women who swept the major Grammy awards on Sunday.
Billie Eilish claimed song of the year for "What Was I Made For?," a ballad written for the "Barbie" movie soundtrack.
"As a woman, it feels a lot of the time like you're not being seen," Eilish told reporters backstage. "I feel that this makes me feel very seen. Sometimes it feels really good to have somebody tell you 'good job.'"
Miley Cyrus, winner of her first two Grammys on Sunday, landed the record of the year honor for her empowerment anthem "Flowers."
"This award is amazing," Cyrus said, "but I really hope that it doesn’t change anything because my life was beautiful yesterday."
Best new artist went to R&B and pop singer Victoria Monet, who thanked her mom, "a single mom raising this really bad girl."
Winners were chosen by the musicians, producers, engineers and others who make up the Recording Academy. The group has worked to diversify its membership in recent years by inviting more women and people of color to its ranks.
SZA, who went into the night as the most-nominated artist, won three trophies including best R&B song for "Snooze."
"I came really, really far," she said. "I can't believe this is happening, and it feels very fake."
Indie rock band boygenius, a band formed by musicians Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, also claimed three awards.
JONI MITCHELL, BILLY JOEL PERFORM
Comedian Trevor Noah, back for a fourth stint as host, opened the show on CBS by joking that it was "the only concert that starts on time."
Folk singer Joni Mitchell performed for the first time at the Grammys, singing "Both Sides Now" from a chair and sporting blonde braids and a beret, with Brandi Carlile playing guitar beside her.
In a tribute to the many musicians and industry executives who passed away in the last year, Stevie Wonder played "For Once In My Life" to honor the late Tony Bennett who sang along from a video.
Annie Lennox sang "Nothing Compares 2 U" in a tribute to Sinead O'Connor, and Fantasia Barrino honored Tina Turner with her version of "Proud Mary," backed by singers in shiny gold and silver fringed outfits.
Jon Batiste played "Ain't No Sunshine" and "Lean On Me" in a tribute to Clarence Avant, known as "the Godfather of Black music."
Near the start of the show, country star Luke Combs sang his cover hit "Fast Car," alongside the original singer and writer of the 1988 song, Tracy Chapman.
Toward the end, Billy Joel performed his new single "Turn The Lights Back On," his first original song in 17 years.
In accepting the Dr. Dre Global Impact Award, rapper Jay-Z aired some Grammy grievances, including the fact that his superstar wife Beyonce had never won album of the year despite having earned more Grammys than anyone else.
"I don’t want to embarrass this young lady," Jay-Z said as Beyonce watched from the audience. "But she has more Grammys than anyone and never won album of the year. So even by your own metrics, that doesn’t work."



How the Coveted Bronze BAFTA Mask Trophies Are Made

Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
TT

How the Coveted Bronze BAFTA Mask Trophies Are Made

Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)
Completed British Academy Film Awards masks at the FSE Foundry in Braintree, England on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP)

Those winning a prize at the upcoming British Academy Film Awards will bag a coveted bronze mask trophy — and get a bit of an arm workout taking it home.

Along with the honor of being named the best of the year in the industry, winners at the BAFTA ceremony on Feb. 22 will be awarded one of the dozens of the 3-kilogram (6.6-pound) prizes.

This year the cast and crew of “One Battle After Another,” “Sinners,” “Hamnet,” “Marty Supreme,” and “Sentimental Value” are in the running for the trophies at the EE BAFTA ceremony, to be held at London's Royal Festival Hall.

As with many things in show business, all that glitters is not gold. The BAFTA masks are made of phosphor bronze, polished to a mirror finish that will reflect the happy face of its new owner.

Craftsmen at the AATi Foundry in Braintree, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast of London, use a sandcasting technique to make about 350 bronze trophies each year for all the BAFTA ceremonies — covering the film, television and gaming industries.

They are created in batches, and making one from start to finish takes around a week, the foundry's director Hugh Bisset said Tuesday.

The process starts with a pattern by the tooling team, often out of timber or 3D printing. That tool moves to the molding team which uses sand to make two recessed impressions of the mask, one each side. They are then closed together, ready for molten hot bronze — up to 1,200 degrees Celsius (2,192 Fahrenheit) — to be poured into it.

The metal takes about three or four hours to cool down, when it can then be removed from the sand. The masks' surfaces look dull and a bit rough around the edges at this stage, but after fettling, threading and polishing they are ready to be assembled before being checked over extremely carefully.

Bisset says it’s important that the masks are shiny and have no polish left on them.

“The thing I’m always conscious of is that these amazing actors and actresses, they pick up their awards and my big concern is that a smudge of polish will end up over their lovely, beautiful white dress,” he said. “There’s lots of things we need to think about.”

Bisset reckons the diligence and care that his skilled team puts into the making of the masks reflects the hard work of the winning filmmakers and movie stars.

While it’s still unknown if favorites Jessie Buckley, Timothée Chalamet and Teyana Taylor will get the glory on Sunday, whoever does win will take home something worth more than its heavy weight in bronze.

“There’s a lot of metal in it,” but each mask also has “a lot of time and love being put into it,” Bisset said.


Britney Spears Sells Rights to Music Catalogue

FILE PHOTO: Singer Britney Spears arrives at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, US, August 28, 2016.  REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Singer Britney Spears arrives at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, US, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/File Photo
TT

Britney Spears Sells Rights to Music Catalogue

FILE PHOTO: Singer Britney Spears arrives at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, US, August 28, 2016.  REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Singer Britney Spears arrives at the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, US, August 28, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo/File Photo

Pop star ‌Britney Spears has sold her rights to her music catalogue to independent music publisher Primary Wave, the ​latest artist to strike a deal for her work.

Entertainment site TMZ, citing legal documents it had obtained, first reported the news, saying the "Oops!... I Did It Again" and "Toxic" singer had signed the deal on December 30.

According to Reuters, it quoted sources as saying it ‌was "in the ‌ballpark" of Canadian singer Justin ​Bieber's ‌reported $200 ⁠million ​agreement to sell ⁠his music rights to Hipgnosis in 2023.

A person familiar with the situation said news of the Spears and Primary Wave deal was accurate. No further details were given.

Primary Wave, which is home to artists ⁠including Whitney Houston, Prince and Stevie ‌Nicks, did not ‌immediately respond to a request for ​comment. Spears has ‌not commented publicly.

The 44-year-old, one of ‌the most successful pop artists of all time, has topped charts around the world, starting off with "...Baby One More Time" in 1998. The ‌deal includes her songs such as "(You Drive Me) Crazy", "Circus", "Gimme More" and "I'm a Slave ⁠4 ⁠U", TMZ said.

Spears' ninth and last studio album, "Glory", came out in 2016.

In 2021, she was released from a 13-year court-ordered conservatorship set up and controlled by her father, Jamie Spears. The arrangement had governed Spears' personal life, career and $60 million estate from 2008 until it was terminated in November 2021.

Spears follows artists such as Sting, ​Bruce Springsteen and Justin ​Timberlake who have struck deals to cash in on their work.


Glitzy Oscar Nominees Luncheon Back One Year After LA Fires 

Brazilian actor Wagner Moura arrives to The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night held at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)
Brazilian actor Wagner Moura arrives to The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night held at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)
TT

Glitzy Oscar Nominees Luncheon Back One Year After LA Fires 

Brazilian actor Wagner Moura arrives to The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night held at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)
Brazilian actor Wagner Moura arrives to The Hollywood Reporter's Nominees Night held at the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, on February 10, 2026. (AFP)

Hollywood stars embraced at this year's Oscars nominee lunch, the glamorous pre-show gathering that was canceled amid last year's devastating Los Angeles wildfires.

Timothee Chalamet, nominated for best actor in "Marty Supreme," flashed a smile while fellow Best Actor contenders Micahel B. Jordan and Ethan Hawke also flitted around the annual luncheon in Beverly Hills.

Mexican director Guillermo del Toro chatted with his tablemates as Wagner Moura, the Brazilian star of "The Secret Agent," enthusiastically embraced Stellan Skarsgard and Oliver Laxe -- the latter of whom has his film "Sirat" up for best international feature film.

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Lynette Howell Taylor praised the diversity of this year's nominees.

"Ballots were cast from 88 countries and regions," the British producer said, adding that "the mission of the Academy is to amplify your art, movies and your voices."

The more than 200 nominees enjoyed a buzzy afternoon, all the more energetic after last year's lunch was canceled as huge fires razed whole communities around Los Angeles. That year the lunch was replaced with a smaller dinner at the Academy's museum.

"This is a recognition of Brazilian cinema, and of the cinema of our region," Moura told AFP.

Nearby, "The Secret Agent" director Kleber Mendonca Filho joked he was feeling animated -- "like a generator."

Skarsgard said that the impact of international films is growing, as evidenced by his historic nomination for Best Supporting Actor for Norwegian film "Sentimental Value."

Foreign films and their stars typically notch nominations in the international categories, but Skarsgard is competing against nominees from US blockbusters, including Benicio del Toro in "One Battle After Another" and Delroy Lindo in "Sinners."

Benicio del Toro meanwhile told AFP he was doubly thrilled after watching fellow Puerto Rican Bad Bunny perform at the Super Bowl halftime show over the weekend.

"I got goosebumps," he told AFP, adding: "It was beautiful."

The luncheon's other legendary del Toro, the director Guillermo, meanwhile said he was "calm."

While his "Frankenstein" is nominated for Best Picture, del Toro himself is off the hook for Best Director, which he said took the pressure off him and meant he could focus on promoting his team.

"I'm happy because nine nominations don't happen every day," he said.

Lanky heartthrob Jacob Elordi, up for best supporting actor, offered a similarly toned down vibe at an impromptu photo shoot.

"I'm chilling," he said. "It's all good."