Latest news with #2020s
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Barbra Streisand Extends Billboard Chart Record With Top 40 Debut of ‘The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two'
Barbra Streisand scores her 55th top 40-charted album on the Billboard 200, as the star-studded The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two debuts at No. 31 on the July 12-dated chart. With the arrival, she extends her record for the most top 40 albums among women in the history of the chart (since it began publishing on a regular, weekly basis in March 1956). Among women, Aretha Franklin and Madonna have the second-most top 40 albums, with 26 each. Among soloists, Streisand continues to have the second-most top 40 albums, with Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra each in the lead with 58. Among all acts, Grateful Dead has the most top 40 albums, with 64. More from Billboard Barbra Streisand on Her Long-Awaited Bob Dylan Duet: 'I Saw It As An Acting Piece' 5 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Erin Enderlin, Randy Houser, Charley Crockett & More Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong Celebrates 4th of July With 'F-k Donald Trump' Chant in Belgium Streisand also continues to be the only woman with top 40-charted albums on the Billboard 200 in every decade from the 1960s through the 2020s. She notched her first top 40 set of the current decade in 2021 with the archival project Release Me 2, which peaked at No. 15. The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two is an all-collaborations project, and is a sequel to Streisand's chart-topping 2014 duets album Partners. On the new effort, she is joined by stars including Mariah Carey, Bob Dylan, Ariana Grande, Paul McCartney and Sting. The new album also takes a bow at No. 4 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart. Streisand made her Billboard 200 debut 62 years ago, when her first album, the aptly-titled The Barbra Streisand Album, debuted on the chart dated April 13, 1963. It peaked at No. 8 and became her first of 34 top 10-charted albums for Streisand — a record among soloists. The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week in the U.S. based on multi-metric consumption as measured in equivalent album units, compiled by Luminate. The new July 12, 2025-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard's website on July 8. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Four Decades of 'Madonna': A Look Back at the Queen of Pop's Debut Album on the Charts Chart Rewind: In 1990, Madonna Was in 'Vogue' Atop the Hot 100
The Guardian
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
Evita review – Rachel Zegler is phenomenal but Jamie Lloyd's rock show drowns out the story
Director Jamie Lloyd has outraged some theatregoers, who evidently feel short-changed after paying good money to see Rachel Zegler as Eva Perón. In one scene, she wanders off stage and on to an outward-facing balcony to sing a magnetic reprise of Don't Cry for Me Argentina to the gathered crowd outside the theatre. What are these grumps complaining about? Not long ago, Lloyd staged Romeo and Juliet in the West End, but here is a balcony scene like no other. It makes for a sensational moment, when Perón triumphantly addresses the crowd on her husband Juan's election victory. It is 360-degree theatre, for the rich inside (who see it on a video feed) and for the 'hoi polloi' outside – very fitting for Perón given her disdain for the wealthy. It is no less than the director's biggest coup de theatre: the public itself is enlisted for his mise en scene of populist rallies, crowd hypnotism and authoritarian charm. The crowd might represent late 1940s Buenos Aires – or mid 2020s America under the spell of becoming 'great again'. Never mind complaints of a free show – maybe Lloyd should be paying them. Lloyd previously staged this Andrew Lloyd Webber musical (with lyrics by Tim Rice) at Regent's Park Open Air theatre in 2019. Then, it seemed like a dark high school musical, with stairs like bleachers and actors resembling flinty-eyed teens. This iteration has a streak of that but is bolder, more polished and pumped up. Zegler, in her West End debut, is phenomenal. Stripped to undergarments, she is an indifferently exposed Perón, conniving, deliciously villainous, pocket-sized yet steely in the extreme: a consummate ice queen. She strides with hands on hips, louche in her unstoppable ambition. There is comedy in her relationship with singer Agustín Magaldi (Aaron Lee Lambert, who sings On This Night of a Thousand Stars in a brilliant, barrel-like baritone), whom she swiftly, slickly disposes of once she has met Juan Perón (James Olivas). The new couple are well suited, their chemistry apparent in the duet I'd Be Surprisingly Good for You. If a successful musical is simply about the singing, dancing and spectacle, this one soars. The choreography by Fabian Aloise, who has previously worked on three other Lloyd shows, is out-of-this-world imaginative. The ensemble mesmerise with their sexual energy and charismatic aggression. A sinister military figure body-pops and balloons burst every time a gun is fired and detractors are popped off, one by one. These moves, this mood and this conspicuous melodrama would not look out of place in a Lady Gaga or Beyoncé stadium show. Nor would Jon Clark's lighting design and Adam Fisher's sound design: they are thunderous and pulsating. It's hypnotic but the narrative takes a backseat for this rock musical, which is almost entirely sung through, with what feels like thin connective tissue in its story. You see Perónism slipping into authoritarianism but don't quite understand how. In Lloyd's previous staging, the character of Che (Diego Andres Rodriguez, also the singing narrator) wore a Che Guevara T-shirt to let the audience know who he was. Now he is in black, and for those who are new to this story he might remain anonymous. There is an approximation to the characters as a whole, with very little focus on Perón's interiority. Maybe that is not the point, but how then can the audience feel the tragedy of her untimely death – which takes up so much time in the second half of the musical – if they cannot connect with it emotionally? The tone changes after the balcony scene, moving from blingy and bombastic to a quieter, more mournful register. For the first time you glimpse Perón's private emotion, after her great public display, as she sits in her dressing room in tears. It is an illuminating moment but this glimmer is not carried through into something more affecting. So the end bears a vacancy once the spectacle has abated – as if the real show finished some time ago. Don't Cry for Me Argentina, she sings, and you find yourself dry-eyed, although Zegler is a vocal powerhouse, as are the other performers. If you feel denied of the subtleties of story, character and commentary on populist power, you will still have an eye-popping night out. And the balcony scene is a stroke of genius. At London Palladium until 6 September
Telegraph
01-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
It's time to grab your bullet bra and face the world like a fashionable Joan of Arc
You can divine a lot about a modern epoch by the dominant fashion in brassieres. If the early 2020s were all about max comfort, with a surge in sports bras and soft bralettes and anything with zero underwires, the decade's second half may be more structured – to the point of mild aggression. Pop chanteuse Dua Lipa has just been photographed for the front cover of July's Vogue wearing a blush silk Miu Miu bullet bra designed by Miuccia Prada – but not much else. When Prada first put the garment on the catwalk last autumn teamed with candy-coloured knitwear, she asked afterwards: 'Do we need femininity in this difficult moment to lift us up?' Which seemed like the wrong question. This bra trend surely isn't about soft, kitten-like women and never has been in my lifetime. Dua Lipa's gym-toned arms and abs are more akin to resistance fighter than trad wife, whisking us back to 1990 when an athletic Madonna wore that John Galliano bullet corset for her Blond Ambition Tour. These are bullet-upholstered nipple-guards wielded as teasing warnings to the male of the species, reminding us the most lethal bullet bras in popular culture were sported by the machine-gun-breasted fembots in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery. Since Powers was intended to be a satirical version of James Bond, the fembots were possibly a knowing send-up of Ian Fleming's ceaseless commentary on bosoms in his James Bond novels: 'her hard breasts, each with its pointed stigma of desire', for random example, or 'her fine breasts out-thrown and unashamed under the taut silk'. Let's not forget that the first bullet bra was manufactured in 1941, designed by Perma-Lift – and surely no coincidence that lingerie named for ammunition should appear shortly before the USA entered the Second World War, subsequently being worn by 1940s pin-ups like Lana Turner. I've always seen highly structured underpinnings as the fashion lover's equivalent of Joan of Arc 's armour: the bones and metal wires make you feel far less soft and vulnerable and make you stand upright. There's a reason that cantilevered breasts are sometimes nicknamed bazookas, after rocket launchers, and why Lara Croft, gaming's most dangerous heroine, has the kind of precision-engineered shapewear that suggests frequent visits to Rigby & Peller (where the fitters can famously guess your bra size just by looking at your embonpoint). The fact is we are living in dangerous times, with the Middle East teetering on the brink of major conflict and Ukraine struggling valiantly to hold back Russian forces. If we don't gird our loins and chests now, when will we? The braless 'let it all hang out' hippie look was perfect for the 'make love, not war' 1960s and 1970s and also for the heroin-chic decadence of the grungy late 1990s. But it's not very 'now' – and never suited anyone over a D-cup. Which is why I've spent the weekend trying to dig out my own Maitresse bullet bra, made by Pangbourne-based, vintage-look lingerie company What Katie Did, whose gorgeous satin brassieres cost a small fraction of the Miu Miu version and will have you facing World War Three with – if not equanimity – a certain sense of fatalistic glamour. If the famous 1994 billboard of supermodel Eva Herzigova in a Wonderbra said 'Hello Boys', the bullet bra reinvented for 2025 says 'Farewell Foes'.
The Independent
26-06-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Living standards outlook for second half of 2020s is bleak, says think tank
UK households face a 'bleak' living standards outlook for the remainder of the 2020s, with the tough start to the decade also contributing to the risk that some could end up no better off by 2030 than they were a decade earlier, according to a think tank. The Resolution Foundation said that the 'bust, boom and bleak outlook' seen this decade could leave the 2020s 'as the first decade of the modern era to witness no improvement in disposable incomes across Britain'. In its 'central scenario', the typical annual real income of non-pensioners is set to grow 'only slightly' over the five years after 2024-25, by 1% overall, or a cash increase of around £300 in total. Its report said: 'Our outlook for 2025-26 specifically remains poor with income flat (0% growth).' The Living Standards Outlook 2025, funded by Nationwide Building Society, said that frozen tax thresholds and rising council tax are 'cancelling out real pre-tax earnings growth for many, even before accounting for water, rent and mortgage rises'. The report continued: 'Taking into account the cost-of-living crisis, the typical income in 2029-30 would remain essentially unchanged (0% growth) compared to 2019-20. 'This would clearly make the 2020s the worst decade out of the past six for living standards growth.' The outlook for the lower-income half of the non-pensioner population is worse in the years ahead, according to the projection. The foundation said the average real incomes of this group could be 1% (£200) lower in 2029-30 than in 2024-25. Within the weak outlook overall, some parts of the population are expected to fare better, the report said. The typical pensioner income is projected to rise by 5% between 2024-25 and 2029-30, with a £1,500 increase. Housing tenure also plays a key role in determining the outlook, according to the research, with mortgage holders set to see income falls as they come off fixed-rate deals, while outright homeowners are expected to see a boost to their living standards. The projection for weak income growth over the second half of the decade follows a 'rollercoaster' first half, in which living standards were rocked by Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, according to the foundation, which is focused on improving living standards for households on low to middle incomes. It said there was a 'mini living standards boom' as incomes grew by 4% (£1,300) in 2024-25. The foundation also said that the economic outlook could improve, with policies potentially offering a 'helping hand' to lift living standards for poorer households. Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation said: 'The living standards story of the decade so far has been bust and boom, with Covid-19 and a cost-of-living crisis followed by a much-needed recovery last year. But the rest of the decade looks bleak, with typical household incomes set to grow by just 1% over the next five years. 'There are winners and losers within this weak outlook, with pensioner incomes set to grow by a healthy 5% over the rest of the decade, while the poorest half of the population are set to see their incomes fall. 'But a stronger economy and the right policy interventions can brighten this outlook. Maintaining strong wage growth and returning to pre-pandemic employment levels would make middle-income Britain far better off, while ending the two-child limit can lift living standards for poorer families.' A Treasury spokesperson said: 'We know that many are still struggling with the cost of living which is why we were clear on the need to put more money in the pockets of working people in our Plan for Change. 'Since July, real wages have grown more than in the entire first decade of the last government, our commitment to economic stability has helped interest rates to fall four times, we have protected working people's payslips from higher taxes, froze fuel duty, increased the national living and minimum wage and in the latest data, real household disposable income per person is growing at its fastest pace in two years.'
Yahoo
25-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Living standards outlook for second half of 2020s is bleak, says think tank
UK households face a 'bleak' living standards outlook for the remainder of the 2020s, with the tough start to the decade also contributing to the risk that some could end up no better off by 2030 than they were a decade earlier, according to a think tank. The Resolution Foundation said that the 'bust, boom and bleak outlook' seen this decade could leave the 2020s 'as the first decade of the modern era to witness no improvement in disposable incomes across Britain'. In its 'central scenario', the typical annual real income of non-pensioners is set to grow 'only slightly' over the five years after 2024-25, by 1% overall, or a cash increase of around £300 in total. Its report said: 'Our outlook for 2025-26 specifically remains poor with income flat (0% growth).' The Living Standards Outlook 2025, funded by Nationwide Building Society, said that frozen tax thresholds and rising council tax are 'cancelling out real pre-tax earnings growth for many, even before accounting for water, rent and mortgage rises'. The report continued: 'Taking into account the cost-of-living crisis, the typical income in 2029-30 would remain essentially unchanged (0% growth) compared to 2019-20. 'This would clearly make the 2020s the worst decade out of the past six for living standards growth.' The outlook for the lower-income half of the non-pensioner population is worse in the years ahead, according to the projection. The foundation said the average real incomes of this group could be 1% (£200) lower in 2029-30 than in 2024-25. Within the weak outlook overall, some parts of the population are expected to fare better, the report said. The typical pensioner income is projected to rise by 5% between 2024-25 and 2029-30, with a £1,500 increase. Housing tenure also plays a key role in determining the outlook, according to the research, with mortgage holders set to see income falls as they come off fixed-rate deals, while outright homeowners are expected to see a boost to their living standards. The projection for weak income growth over the second half of the decade follows a 'rollercoaster' first half, in which living standards were rocked by Covid-19 and the cost-of-living crisis, according to the foundation, which is focused on improving living standards for households on low to middle incomes. It said there was a 'mini living standards boom' as incomes grew by 4% (£1,300) in 2024-25. The foundation also said that the economic outlook could improve, with policies potentially offering a 'helping hand' to lift living standards for poorer households. Adam Corlett, principal economist at the Resolution Foundation said: 'The living standards story of the decade so far has been bust and boom, with Covid-19 and a cost-of-living crisis followed by a much-needed recovery last year. But the rest of the decade looks bleak, with typical household incomes set to grow by just 1% over the next five years. 'There are winners and losers within this weak outlook, with pensioner incomes set to grow by a healthy 5% over the rest of the decade, while the poorest half of the population are set to see their incomes fall. 'But a stronger economy and the right policy interventions can brighten this outlook. Maintaining strong wage growth and returning to pre-pandemic employment levels would make middle-income Britain far better off, while ending the two-child limit can lift living standards for poorer families.' A Treasury spokesperson said: 'We know that many are still struggling with the cost of living which is why we were clear on the need to put more money in the pockets of working people in our Plan for Change. 'Since July, real wages have grown more than in the entire first decade of the last government, our commitment to economic stability has helped interest rates to fall four times, we have protected working people's payslips from higher taxes, froze fuel duty, increased the national living and minimum wage and in the latest data, real household disposable income per person is growing at its fastest pace in two years.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
