Latest news with #NinaSimone
News24
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News24
20 questions with actress Denise Zimba
We put actress and TV presenter Denise Zimba on the spot in our rapid fire series. 1. What's the one app you can't live without? Spotify. 2. How would you spend R1 million in 24 hours? Travel to Tokyo, get spa and cosmetic treatments, buy the coolest gadgets and fashion, go to the street markets and eat as much as I can, and sleep at their fanciest hotels. 3. Which song always makes you dance? Rock with You by Michael Jackson. 4. Which three people (dead or alive) would you invite to your fantasy dinner party? Eartha Kitt – Her upbringing is a sad story, but she came out on top and understood life and its complexities. I would love to sit with her, hear about her journey and pick her brain. Marylin Monroe – I want to hear all the scandals and secrets of Hollywood's elite, over margaritas, and to thank her for standing up for Billie Holiday. Nina Simone – I would love to have her teach me music, how to play the piano. She was one of the best musicians in the world, but because she was black she lost out on what could have been the greatest journey of her life. 5. Which fictional character would you love to play in a movie? Lara Croft in Tomb Raider. I would love to see a black woman playing that badass action character. 6. If you could relive one day from your past, which one would it be? Being with a special person dear to me, who has passed on, the true love of my life. I would do anything to go back and fight for us. 7. What's the best piece of advice you've ever received? Walk into the room knowing you carry the light of God, fearing no man, and knowing that God will always protect you and make way. 8. What's your most-used emoji in chats and why is it your favourite? The laughing emoji. I'm always cracking jokes and sending the most hilarious memes to everyone. 9. What's the most delicious thing you've ever eaten? A really good spaghetti bolognaise, followed by the perfect vanilla coconut cake. 10. If you could own a holiday home anywhere in the world, where would it be? Marbella in Spain. 11. What's your all-time favourite book? The Seat of the Soul by Gary Zukav. 12. Who's your biggest inspiration in life? Me. Because I know my story better than anyone, and what I have overcome inspires me to be better and greater. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Denise Zimba (@missdenisezimba) 13. What smell instantly takes you back to childhood? My mom's cooking. 14. Other than your current career, what would your dream job be and why? A travel writer – being paid to travel the world and experience luxurious places and review them. 15. Sweet or salty snacks – which do you crave more? Salty. Crackers with tuna or salmon and salsa topped with sriracha sauce. 16. If you had to compete in a reality TV show, which one would it be? Love Island, lol. To kiss all the boys I like, and stress all the girls out. Knowing it's all a game, and being entertained by those taking it seriously. 17. Name a movie that always makes you cry, no matter how many times you watch it. The Notebook. 18. What's your most irrational fear? Burning alive. 19. If your life had a signature catchphrase, what would it be? 'Here we go again! Time to put your big girl panties on.' 20. If you were stranded on a desert island, what are three items you'd want to have? A ton of wet wipes, tampons and a picture of my baby girls. Show Comments ()
UAE Moments
02-07-2025
- General
- UAE Moments
Daily Affirmation for July 2, 2025 to Kickstart Your Vibe
✨ Today's Affirmation: 'I trust the timing of my life — I'm not behind, I'm exactly where I need to be.' Everyone's posting milestones, upgrades, and glow-ups — and you're just... trying to remember what day it is. The pressure to 'be there by now' is real. But let's be real: timelines are fake, and you're not late to your own life. Today's cosmic download: comparison steals joy, but trust builds peace. You're not behind — you're blooming on your own clock. 🧘♀️ Why This Works: This affirmation releases the need to chase someone else's pace. It grounds you in your own process, your own journey, and your own magic. Trusting the timing means letting go of panic and leaning into patience. 🌿 Your Mini Mission: Let time feel like a friend today: – Say out loud: 'There's no deadline for becoming who I'm meant to be.' – Unfollow or mute one account that makes you spiral into self-doubt. – Write down 3 things you've done well this year — growth counts too. 🎧 Timeline-Softening Playlist: Songs for letting go of pressure and vibing in your own lane: – 'Vienna' – Billy Joel – 'Good Days' – SZA – 'Ribs' – Lorde – 'Feeling Good' – Nina Simone – 'Sunflower' – Rex Orange County 🔮 Bonus Energy Tip: Keep moonstone nearby today. It's the crystal of divine timing — reminding you that things unfold exactly when they're meant to. Hold it close and tell yourself: 'There's no rush. My path is unfolding with purpose.'
San Francisco Chronicle
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Hozier calls for ‘ceasefire in the Middle East' ahead of headlining Outside Lands
Hozier is making his rounds on the festival circuit ahead of his headlining Outside Lands set in August and is using his platform to advocate for Palestine. The Irish singer, who is scheduled to perform at the San Francisco music festival in Golden Gate Park, spent nearly five minutes during Summerfest in Milwaukee to call for 'a cease-fire in the Middle East.' 'Peace and safety and security for everybody in that region means a Palestine that's free from occupation,' he said midway through his performance on Friday, June 20. 'It means a Palestine that's free to move towards self-determination and statehood.' The 'Take Me to Church' singer drew a parallel to the Irish civil rights movement that primarily took place in Northern Ireland during the late 1960s and early '70s. He went on to emphasize that support for Palestine doesn't inherently lead to antisemitism. 'The way that we would show up for our brothers or our sisters … we can do that for people in Palestine,' he said. 'We can also reject the kind of divisionism that would turn us against our Jewish neighbors, that drive us towards antisemitism, the old weaponized forms of racism and imperialism that would turn us against our Muslim brothers and sisters also.' Earlier this month, during a set at New York's Governors Ball Music Festival, he honored musicians who, like Nina Simone, have fought for political change through their work by flashing their names on-screen while performing 'Nina Cried Power.' Palestinian singer Nemahsis, Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap and American rapper Macklemore were among the artists he highlighted.
BBC News
03-06-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
'I don't need to hide my tics after charity song'
A woman from Pool has been chosen to sing in a choir to record a song to highlight Tourette's Willoughby, 38, joined a group of singers who all have the condition to record the Nina Simone song 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' to help charity Tourettes Action raise awareness."It's the perfect song for this campaign because Tourette's syndrome is one of the most misunderstood disorders," Mrs Willoughby Action said the condition affects one in 100 school-aged children and more than 300,000 people in the UK. 'I didn't know' Mrs Willoughby said her symptoms began when she was eight years old when she started grunting, coughing and worsened, she said, and she was diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome three years later in Willoughby said school had been very difficult and she had not wanted to go because she had not been sure what was said: "I didn't know what was going on, I'd blink, I'd tic and my eyes would twitch."This drew looks from other pupils, she said, and from teachers, too."I had a teacher mimic me," she said."I didn't know I was doing it so I didn't know why the teacher was mimicking me back and it was really upsetting."Child psychologists were assigned to her, but she said they did not understand why she did not want to go to school."I was the child that was treated like I was misbehaving, with them saying I was a problem and that I didn't want to go to school," she said. 'Comfortable in my own skin' It is people with Tourette's syndrome being misunderstood that inspired Mrs Willoughby to take part in the charity music said: "I've never been around people with Tourette's syndrome so to go to London and do that video with so many wonderful, beautiful people - to be accepted and to feel comfortable in my own skin and with who I am and to feel free to tic was the most special experience I've ever had."She said being with others with the syndrome made her realise how much she had hidden her tics."From that I have learned so much. To feel accepted and accept myself and I now feel I don't need to hide who I am and I don't need to hide my tics," she said: "The experience has had a longer lasting lifetime effect."I am who I am and I am learning not to be embarrassed because I've always felt I'm the weirdo, I was always treated like the weird child, like the problem."Being in that room was a sort of love and acceptance from people that understand and that was the amazing part for me."
New York Times
26-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Ute Lemper Still Sings Songs of Rebellion. The Stakes Are Still High.
'Welcome to Weimar — to the year 2025,' Ute Lemper announced. The German-born singer and actress was greeting friends and colleagues who had squeezed into the Birdsong Society's small headquarters by Gramercy Park to hear her perform songs from her latest album, which celebrates Kurt Weill, a composer Lemper has championed for four decades. Sliding into the album's title number, 'Pirate Jenny,' Lemper got even closer to a listener who had been standing just a few feet away, fixing him with a snarling grin. Featured in 'The Threepenny Opera,' the most celebrated of Weill's noted collaborations with the playwright Bertolt Brecht, the tune has been covered by artists from Nina Simone to Judy Collins. It's also the only standard written from the perspective of a hotel maid waiting for a ship of pirates to arrive and, at her behest, murder all the guests. 'It's a song about revolution and rebellion,' Lemper explained in an interview before the event. The singer is less intimidating in conversation than she is when channeling bloodlust. She'll turn 62 in July, and with her long, lean frame and impossibly high cheekbones, she still projects the cool beauty of a runway model. Lemper was perceived as something of a rebel herself, at least in her native country, when Decca Records released 'Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill' in 1988. The album, which evolved from 'a little fringe record I made in Berlin' a couple of years earlier, earned Lemper an international fan base — with one notable exception. 'The Germans hated it,' Lemper recalled. 'They weren't interested in speaking about the past.' Decca's chief executive at the time, Roland Kommerell, German himself, had started a project dedicated to bringing back music that had been banned under the Nazis, including classical symphonies and Weimar-era cabaret songs — music composed by Jews who were persecuted or, like Weill, forced into exile. 'It was a huge chapter to rip open; it was still bleeding at the time,' Lemper said. 'And suddenly, I was in the position to have to respond to hundreds of journalists about this music. I became almost the representative of my generation, the Cold War generation, in Germany.' Lemper lived for a while in Paris and in London, where she starred in the Brecht- and Weill-inspired musicals of John Kander and Fred Ebb, winning an Olivier Award for her portrayal of the merry murderess Velma Kelly in 'Chicago,' a role she also played on Broadway. Since 1998 she has called New York home; she currently resides on the Upper West Side with her second husband, the musician Todd Turkisher. Turkisher played percussion on 'Pirate Jenny,' which also features 'Mack the Knife,' 'My Ship,' 'Speak Low' and 'Surabaya Johnny.' Co-produced by David Chesky, Turkisher's frequent collaborator, and Lemper, the tracks wrap her pungent, dramatically astute vocals — applied through the years to the words and music of artists as diverse as Jacques Brel, Philip Glass, Nick Cave and the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda — in Chesky's atmospheric, often eerie arrangements. The album sprang from a conversation Lemper had last year with Chesky, who released it on his label, the Audiophile Society. Lemper pointed out to Chesky, also a composer, that 2025 would be the 125th anniversary of Weill's birth. 'And he said, 'you should do something different. Let's make it more accessible for a new generation, with a groovy component, but without watering down the strength of the stories.'' In an email exchange, Chesky wrote, 'Ute owns this genre of Weill material; she understands the world of Brecht and Weill better than anyone I have ever encountered. But I proposed to her, what if we took these classic songs and set them in this dark, late-night, Berlin cabaret vibe, while using the electronic language of today's music? Then you have versions that still honor the songs but have a more direct connection to today's world.' Adrienne Haan, another German-born, New York-based singer who has won acclaim performing a range of international material, including Weill's songs, was a teenager when she first discovered Lemper. In a phone interview, Haan, 47, said she had been influenced by many artists who recorded from the 1920s through the '50s, 'but Ute was much closer to my age, and she was such a strong interpreter. There was a certain steel in her voice, and I found it fascinating that someone from Germany, from the generation above me, could make it in America.' A prolific live performer, Lemper will trace Weill's life and songbook on May 27 and 29 at the Manhattan cabaret venue 54 Below. The engagement follows one earlier this month at Neue Gallerie, where she presented another favorite program, 'Rendezvous With Marlene,' based on a three-hour phone conversation she had in the late 1980s with another German woman known for denouncing Hitler: Marlene Dietrich. Lemper had written Dietrich, then in her late 80s, 'to apologize' for comparisons that had been drawn between them, 'and to thank her for the inspiration she had given to generations of women,' she said. 'Marlene was a woman ahead of her time; she raised the gender question 100 years ago — she was bisexual, she dressed like a man,' she added. 'And she became an American citizen and fought against the Nazis, entertaining troops on the front lines. She wanted to go home later, but the Germans thought she was a traitor.' Attentive to history's darker recurrences as well as its nuances, Lemper is wary of certain comparisons that have been made involving President Trump. 'There is only one Hitler,' she said, but called the current moment a 'new chapter,' that is 'really worrisome' in no uncertain terms. Lemper has also been interested in expressing herself more through songwriting. In 2023 she released 'Time Traveler,' consisting entirely of original material, as well as a memoir in German with the same title, 'Die Zeitreisende' — featuring an epilogue by her daughter, Stella, who just earned her master's degree in creative writing at Columbia University. 'I had already published a memoir when I was 30,' Lemper mused. 'An East German publisher asked me to write it, because so much had already happened with my career, and living through the fall of the Wall.' She hopes the new book, which has been translated into Italian, can also be made available in English: 'I incorporated tales from those times, and obviously followed that up with more decades of life and motherhood and ups and downs. I so appreciate aging. I would never want to turn the wheel back — except maybe for a little less backache, and a new hip.' Lemper is considering a replacement, but only when she can find time in her schedule — which this spring alone has also included a German revival of a staging of Brecht and Weill's 'The Seven Deadly Sins,' which she first performed in more than three decades ago. 'We're going to take it to Paris next year, and then London,' she said. 'I still have more to give, and I have to give it at every performance. The more you give, the more you have.'
