title: Jon Cryer

text: On November 16, 2018, it was announced that Cryer had been cast as Lex Luthor on The CW's "Supergirl" in a recurring role. (He had coincidentally played Lenny Luthor, Lex Luthor's nephew, in the 1987 film "".) His first appearance in the fifteenth episode of Season 4, titled "O Brother, Where Art Thou?". He reprised the role in the "Batwoman" and "The Flash" episodes of the Arrowverse crossover "Crisis on Infinite Earths".


title: Jon Cryer

text: On April 15, 2019, Cryer joined other WGA writers in firing their agents as part of the WGA's stand against the ATA and the unfair practice of packaging.


title: Jon Cryer

text: Cryer married British actress Sarah Trigger in 1999, with whom he has a son, Charlie Austin. They divorced in 2004. On a February 2007 episode of "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", he announced that he was engaged to entertainment reporter Lisa Joyner, whom he married in Mexico in June 2007. On September 29, 2009, they announced that they had adopted a baby girl.


title: Jon Cryer

text: When "Pretty in Pink" co-star Molly Ringwald told "Out" magazine in 2012 that she believed Cryer's character was gay, Cryer stated, "I respectfully disagree. I want to stand up for all the slightly effeminate dorks that are actually heterosexual. Just cause the gaydar is going off, doesn't mean your instruments aren't faulty. I've had to live with that, and that’s OK." Also in 2012, he told Jeff Probst that when he and Joyner started dating, she wondered if he might be gay because "he never kissed me." Cryer was asked in 2014 if he was "mistaken for gay"; he called himself "an effeminate heterosexual dork" and made a tongue-in-cheek remark about never being propositioned: "Fellas, you're dropping the ball."


title: Jon Cryer

text: Prior to the 2008 presidential election, Cryer attended a fundraiser hosted by the McCain campaign and, according to news reports, endorsed John McCain. When Cryer did not make a public endorsement for the 2012 race, his spokeswoman said that the 2008 report aligning him with the Republican Party was a "mistake" and that Cryer was "not really political." He had attended events for both Republicans and Democrats "because he wanted to hear what both sides had to say."


title: Jon Cryer

text: In regard to Donald Trump, Cryer opined on the May 5, 2016, episode of the podcast "Never Not Funny", "I have been pointing out, and I have been screaming to the rooftops, that Donald Trump is the Charlie Sheen of politics [...] I have to tell you, I love Charlie Sheen, I loved working with him when he was sober, but he was, he's full of shit. He has been full of shit, he has serious addiction. His addiction is obviously serious, drugs, and, but, Trump is just addicted to feeling important. I think if anybody is under the delusion that he cares about anybody in America besides himself, they are stoned and need to rethink their priorities, 'cause it's just ridiculous that's he's gotten as far as he has."


title: Edward James Olmos

text: Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in "Miami Vice" (1984–1989), "American Me" (1992) (which he also directed), William Adama in the re-imagined "Battlestar Galactica" (2004–2009), teacher Jaime Escalante in "Stand and Deliver" (1988) (for which he received an Academy Award nomination), Detective Gaff in "Blade Runner" (1982) and its sequel "Blade Runner 2049" (2017) and the English dub voice of Mito in the 2005 Disney dub of "Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind". In 2018 through 2022, he has played the father of two members of an outlaw motorcycle club in the FX series "Mayans MC".


title: Edward James Olmos

text: For his work in "Miami Vice", Olmos won the 1985 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. For his performance in "Stand and Deliver", Olmos was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: He is also known for his roles as folk hero Gregorio Cortez in "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez", patriarch Abraham Quintanilla in the film "Selena", narrator El Pachuco in both the stage and film versions of "Zoot Suit", and the voice of Chicharrón in "Coco".


title: Edward James Olmos

text: Over the course of his career, Olmos has been a pioneer for more diversified roles and images of Latinos in U.S. media. His notable direction, production, and starring roles for films, made-for-TV movies, and TV shows include "Wolfen", "Triumph of the Spirit", "Talent for the Game", "American Me", "The Burning Season", "My Family/Mi Familia", "Caught", "12 Angry Men", "The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca", "Walkout", "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit", "American Family", and "Dexter".


title: Edward James Olmos

text: Olmos was born and raised in East Los Angeles, California, the son of Eleanor ("née" Huizar) and Pedro Olmos, who was a welder and mail carrier. His father was a Mexican immigrant who moved to California in 1945 and his mother was an American of Mexican descent. His parents divorced when he was seven years old, and he was primarily raised by his great-grandparents as his parents worked. He grew up wanting to be a professional baseball player, and at age 13 joined the Los Angeles Dodgers' farm system, playing as a catcher. He left baseball at age 15 to join a rock and roll band, which caused a rift with his father, who was hurt by the decision.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: He graduated from Montebello High School in 1964. While at Montebello High School, he lost a race for Student Body President to future California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres. In his teen years, he was the lead singer for a band he named "Pacific Ocean", so called because it was to be "the biggest thing on the West Coast". For several years, Pacific Ocean performed at various clubs in and around Los Angeles, and released their only record, "Purgatory", in 1968. At the same time, he attended classes at East Los Angeles College, including courses in acting.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: In the late 1960s and the early 1970s, Olmos branched out from music into acting, appearing in many small productions, until his big break portraying the narrator, called "El Pachuco," in the play "Zoot Suit", which dramatized the World War II-era rioting in California brought about by the tensions between Mexican-Americans and local police. (See Zoot Suit Riots.) The play moved to Broadway, and Olmos earned a Tony Award nomination. He subsequently took the role to the filmed version in 1981, and appeared in many other films including "Wolfen", "Blade Runner" and "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez".


title: Edward James Olmos

text: In 1980, Olmos was cast in the post-apocalyptic science fiction film "Virus" (復活の日 "Fukkatsu no Hi"), directed by Kinji Fukasaku and based on a novel written by Sakyo Komatsu. His role required him to play a piano while singing a Spanish ballad during the later part of the film. Although not a box office success, "Virus" was notable for being the most expensive Japanese film ever made at the time.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: From 1984 to 1989, he starred in his biggest role up to that date as the taciturn police Lieutenant Martin Castillo in the television series "Miami Vice", opposite Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas, for which he was awarded a Golden Globe and an Emmy in 1985. At this time, Olmos also starred in a short training video for the United States Postal Service entitled "Was it Worth It?", a video about theft in the workplace. He was contacted about playing the captain of the on "" when it was in pre-production in 1986, but declined.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: Returning to film, Olmos became the first American-born Hispanic to receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, in "Stand and Deliver", for his portrayal of real-life math teacher, Jaime Escalante. He directed and starred in the controversial crime film, "American Me" in 1992, and also starred in "My Family/Mi Familia", a multi-generational story of a Chicano family. He had a slight appearance in the video of the American rock band Toto, "I Will Remember" (1995), where he can be seen with actor Miguel Ferrer. In 1997, he starred alongside Jennifer Lopez in the film "Selena". Olmos played Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo in the 2001 movie "In the Time of the Butterflies". He also had a recurring role as U.S. Supreme Court Justice Roberto Mendoza in the NBC drama "The West Wing". From 2002 to 2004, he starred as a recently widowed father of a Hispanic L.A.-family in the PBS drama "".


title: Edward James Olmos

text: From 2003 to 2009, he starred as Commander William Adama in the Sci-Fi Channel's reimagined "Battlestar Galactica" miniseries, and in the television series that followed. He directed four episodes of the show, "Tigh Me Up, Tigh Me Down" (1.9), "Taking a Break from All Your Worries" (3.13), "Escape Velocity" (4.4), and "Islanded in a Stream of Stars" (4.18). He also directed a television movie based upon the show, "". Regarding his work on the show, he told CraveOnline, "I'm very grateful for the work that I've been able to do in my life, but I can honestly tell you, this is the best usage of television I've ever been a part of to date."


title: Edward James Olmos

text: In 2006, he co-produced, directed, and played the bit part of Julian Nava in the HBO movie about the 1968 Chicano Blowouts, "Walkout". He also appeared in Snoop Dogg's music video "Vato". In the series finale of the ABC sitcom "George Lopez", titled "George Decides to Sta-Local Where It's Familia"; he guest-starred as the plant's new multi-millionaire owner. More recently, he has been a spokesperson for Farmers Insurance Group, starring in their Spanish language commercials.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: Olmos joined the cast of the television series "Dexter" for its sixth season, as a "brilliant, charismatic professor of religious studies".


title: Edward James Olmos

text: Olmos starred in the second season of "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." as Robert Gonzales, the leader of a rival faction of S.H.I.E.L.D., for five episodes.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: Olmos has often been involved in social activism, especially that affecting the U.S. Hispanic community. During the 1992 Rodney King Riots in Los Angeles, Olmos went out with a broom and worked to get communities cleaned up and rebuilt. He also attended an "Oprah" episode relating to the L.A. riots as an audience member. In 1997, he co-founded the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival with Marlene Dermer, George Hernandez and Kirk Whisler. That same year, he co-founded with Kirk Whisler the non-profit organization, Latino Literacy Now, that has produced Latino Book & Festivals around the US, attended by over 700,000 people.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: In 1998, he founded Latino Public Broadcasting and currently serves as its chairman. Latino Public Broadcasting funds public television programming that focuses on issues affecting Hispanics and advocates for diverse perspectives in public television. That same year, he starred in "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit". In 1999, Olmos was one of the driving forces that created "Americanos: Latino Life in the U.S.", a book project featuring over 30 award-winning photographers, later turned into a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, music CD and HBO special.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: He also makes frequent appearances at juvenile halls and detention centers to speak to at-risk teenagers. He has also been an international ambassador for UNICEF. In 2001, he was arrested and spent 20 days in jail for taking part in the Navy-Vieques protests against United States Navy target practice bombings of the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. On January 5, 2007, he blamed the United States government for not cleaning Vieques after the U.S. Navy stopped using the island for bombing practice.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: Olmos narrated the 1999 documentary film "Zapatista", in support of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, a revolutionary group that has abstained from using their weapons since 1994. He also gave $2,300 to New Mexico governor Bill Richardson for his presidential campaign (the maximum amount for the primaries). In 2020 supported Joe Biden for President.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: He is also a supporter of SENS Research Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to treating and curing diseases of aging by repairing the underlying damage caused by aging. A series of animations explaining the concept of SENS has been narrated by him.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: From 1979 to 1987, Olmos lived in West New York, New Jersey. In 1971, he married Kaija Keel, the daughter of actor Howard Keel. They had two children, Bodie and Mico, before divorcing in 1992. Olmos has four adopted children: Daniela, Michael, Brandon, and Tamiko. He married actress Lorraine Bracco in 1994. She filed for divorce in January 2002 after five years of separation. Olmos also had a long-term relationship with actress Lymari Nadal. They married in 2002, and separated in 2013.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: In 1993, Olmos was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters (L.H.D.) degree from Whittier College.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: In 1996, he was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from California State University, Fresno. In 2007, after a seven-year process, he obtained Mexican nationality. Asteroid 5608 Olmos is named in his honor.


title: Edward James Olmos

text: In 1992, a teenage girl accused Olmos of twice touching her in a sexual manner while they watched TV and flirted together. Olmos paid the family a cash settlement of $150,000 in response to the allegations, but denied that they were true. He claimed that the settlement was in fact meant to protect his son, Bodie Olmos, not him.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: Benjamin Mendy (born 17 July 1994) is a French professional footballer who last played as a left-back for club Manchester City. He represented the France national team from 2017 until 2019.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: After coming through Le Havre's youth academy, Mendy began his playing career with the club's reserve team in 2010, eventually being promoted to the first team a year later. He remained with the club until 2013, when he joined Ligue 1 club Marseille. Mendy spent the next three seasons with "Les Olympiens" before leaving for Monaco, with whom he won the national championship in 2016–17. In the summer of 2017, Mendy moved to English club Manchester City on a then world-record transfer fee for a defender. He subsequently won the Premier League in his first season in England.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: Mendy made his senior debut for France in 2017 after previously being capped by France youth teams at under-16, under-17, under-18, under-19 and under-21 levels. He was chosen in France's squad for the 2018 World Cup which they won.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: In August 2021, Manchester City suspended Mendy when he was charged with sexual offences. In May 2022, he pleaded not guilty to seven charges of rape, one of sexual assault and one of attempted rape, relating to six complainants.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 24 July 2011, Mendy signed his first professional contract, a three-year contract with Ligue 2 club Le Havre. Mendy made his professional debut on 9 August 2011 in the team's 2–1 Coupe de la Ligue second round defeat to Amiens.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 8 July 2013, Mendy signed for Ligue 1 club Olympique de Marseille. Mendy was signed by manager Élie Baup, who led Marseille to a second-place finish and qualification for the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League in the previous season. He made his club and Ligue 1 debut on 11 August against Guingamp, and scored his first goal for Marseille on 24 September against Saint-Étienne. Mendy was in the squad for all six group stage matches, and made his European debut on 1 October at Borussia Dortmund. However, Marseille lost all their group stage matches while falling out of the competition, and Baup was sacked in favor of former club manager José Anigo. Mendy was sparingly used toward the end of the season by Anigo, and made just one start in Marseille's final fourteen games. His performance in the start, against Lille on 20 April 2014, was criticized by former Marseille left-back Éric Di Meco, who claimed he would "eat a rat" if Mendy ever made the French national team. After the season, Mendy was included on the 40-man shortlist for the 2014 Golden Boy award.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: Mendy developed his game the following season under Argentinian manager Marcelo Bielsa, as Mendy claimed Bielsa had "given back to him the strength and aggressiveness lost last year." Mendy made 33 starts in the league in the 2014–15 campaign, getting 6 assists as well as Marseille qualified for the Europa League. On 23 September 2015, Mendy was shown a straight red card shortly after coming on as a substitute against Toulouse, after he committed a professional foul on Toulouse's Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro. Mendy would be given a two-match ban, and later missed a further 13 games for Marseille after picking up a hamstring injury against Caen in the Coupe de France on 3 January 2016.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: Mendy played for five different managers in three seasons at the Stade Vélodrome. He made 101 competitive appearances with the club and had 14 assists to his name.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 22 June 2016, Olympique de Marseille's Ligue 1 rivals Monaco announced that they had signed Mendy on a five-year contract. Mendy made his debut for the club in the first leg of the Champions League third round against Turkish club Fenerbahçe on 27 July. On 18 December against Lyon in Ligue 1, Mendy was shown a red card for kicking at the backside of Lyon midfielder Corentin Tolisso. This was his second dismissal of the season after he was sent off in the play-off round of the Champions League against Villarreal. Mendy was banned for five matches for the incident, later reduced to four as he made his return against Lorient on 22 January 2017.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 4 February, Mendy assisted two of Monaco's goals by crossing the ball to the scorers Valère Germain and Radamel Falcao in their 3–0 Ligue 1 home win over Nice. Mendy scored his first goal for Monaco in the Coupe de France against former club Marseille on 1 March. The goal, scored in extra time, gave Monaco a 3–2 lead, as Mendy also provided two assists in the 4–3 victory. Monaco made a run to the semi-finals of the Champions League, and Mendy provided 4 assists in the campaign before they were eliminated by Juventus.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: Mendy was a key part of Monaco's 2016–17 Ligue 1 championship season, making 24 starts in the league for "Les Monégasques" under manager Leonardo Jardim. Monaco scored a league-leading 107 goals during the season, and Mendy was noted along with fellow full-back Djibril Sidibé for their forward play. On 16 May, Mendy was named to the 2017 UNFP Team of the Year, along with 5 of his teammates. The next day, Monaco clinched the Ligue 1 title against Saint-Étienne on the penultimate day of the season, their first in 17 seasons in what would be Mendy's final game with the club. After the season, Mendy was part of the exodus away from the Stade Louis II that included starlets Bernardo Silva, Tiémoué Bakayoko, and later Kylian Mbappé.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 24 July 2017, it was announced that Premier League club Manchester City had signed Mendy on a six-year contract, for a fee reported to be £52m. The transfer fee eclipsed the previous record for a defender, set ten days prior by City on teammate Kyle Walker.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 23 September 2017, Mendy sustained an injury against Crystal Palace, hurting his right knee in a challenge against Palace forward Andros Townsend. The club later confirmed that he had ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee, and he underwent surgery in Barcelona on 29 September. Mendy returned from injury on 22 April 2018, as a 75th-minute substitute for Fabian Delph in a game against Swansea City at the City of Manchester Stadium. This appearance gave him the minimum five league games required to receive a Premier League winners' medal.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: In the 2018–19 season, Mendy played in 10 of the first 12 Premier League games for City, assisting five goals in the process. On 14 November 2018, days after the 3–1 win against Manchester United, it was announced Mendy had once again undergone surgery in Barcelona for a cartilage problem in his left knee, and was expected to be out for 12 weeks.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: Mendy is a French youth international having represented his nation at under-16 and under-17 level. In 2011, he was a part of the under-17 team that reached the quarter-finals at the 2011 U-17 World Cup.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: Mendy was called up to the senior France squad for the first time to face Luxembourg and Spain in March 2017. He made his debut on 25 March 2017 against the former, playing the whole game in a 3–1 2018 World Cup qualification away win.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 17 May 2018, he was called up to the French squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. He played 40 minutes as a substitute in a goalless group game against Denmark as France won the tournament.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 26 August 2021, Cheshire Constabulary charged Mendy with four counts of rape and one count of sexual assault and remanded him in custody. The initial charges related to alleged offences against three different female complainants, all aged over 16, between October 2020 and August 2021. His application for bail was refused, as he had broken prior bail conditions imposed that he should not host any house parties. Manchester City suspended him pending a trial. Mendy appeared in court on 10 September and was remanded in custody.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 16 November 2021, Mendy was charged with two further counts of rape. In December he was charged with a further count of rape allegedly perpetrated against a new complainant. His trial date was moved from January 2022 to later in that year.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 7 January 2022, Mendy was granted bail on condition that he live at his home address in Prestbury, Cheshire, not contact complainants and surrender his passport. On 2 February, he appeared in court to face a new charge of attempted rape against a sixth complainant. Mendy pleaded not guilty on 22 May to seven charges of rape, one of attempted rape and one of sexual assault, relating to six complainants. On 1 June, Mendy was charged with an additional rape brought forward by a new complainant.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: The trial began on 10 August 2022 at Chester Crown Court. Mendy was charged with eight rapes, one attempted rape and a sexual assault. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. The jury was made up of 14 jurors – eight men and six women – including two alternates, all of whom had to certify that they had no connection to Manchester City, Manchester United or the police.


title: Benjamin Mendy

text: On 13 September 2022, Mendy was found not guilty of one count of rape against a 19-year-old woman. Judge Stephen Everett told the jury to deliver a not guilty verdict after the prosecution decided not to pursue a guilty verdict on the one count.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: Descendants is an American musical fantasy adventure-comedy television film directed and choreographed by Kenny Ortega. The film stars Dove Cameron, Sofia Carson, Booboo Stewart, and Cameron Boyce as the teenage children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella de Vil, respectively. The film follows these teenagers adjusting to life outside their island prison, while on a mission to steal the Fairy Godmother's wand and free their parents from captivity. It debuted on July 31, 2015, as a Disney Channel Original Movie, to positive reviews and 6.6 million viewers.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: The film also stars Mitchell Hope, Melanie Paxson, Brenna D'Amico, Sarah Jeffery, Zachary Gibson, Jedidiah Goodacre, Dianne Doan, Dan Payne, Keegan Connor Tracy, Wendy Raquel Robinson, Maz Jobrani, Kathy Najimy, and Kristin Chenoweth.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: The first installment in the "Descendants" franchise, "Descendants" was spun off into a CGI animated short-form series titled "", and was followed by a sequel, "Descendants 2", which premiered on July 21, 2017, and a third film, "Descendants 3", which premiered August 2, 2019.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: Belle and Beast have married and become king and queen. Following the establishment of the United States of Auradon, they have created a prosperous new nation from the surrounding kingdoms, and banished the villains to the Isle of the Lost, an island slum surrounded by a barrier where magic is suspended. Now, twenty years later, their son, Ben, who will soon be crowned king, announces that his first proclamation is to give four selected children from the Isle of the Lost a chance to live in Auradon, away from the influence of their villainous parents, despite his father's protests. He chooses Carlos, son of Cruella de Vil; Jay, son of Jafar; Evie, daughter of the Evil Queen; and Mal, daughter of Maleficent. On the island, Maleficent instructs the quartet to steal the Fairy Godmother's magic wand to release the barrier so she can take over Auradon.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: Traveling to Auradon Preparatory, the four meet Ben and his self-proclaimed girlfriend Audrey, daughter of Princess Aurora. They also meet the Fairy Godmother, the school's headmistress. Evie uses her mother's pocket-sized magic mirror to locate the wand in a nearby museum, and Mal uses her mother's spinning wheel from the museum to put the security guard to sleep, but they fail to steal the wand due to a barrier around it. After learning that the Fairy Godmother will use the wand at Ben's coronation, the four wait it out by attending classes, but start to fit in with the students. Jay is recruited into the school's "tourney" team (a sport similar to field hockey, hurling and lacrosse), while Carlos overcomes his fear of dogs by befriending the school's dog, Dude. Evie, though intelligent, acts vain to impress Chad, Cinderella's son, but ends up doing his homework for him. Dopey's son, Doug, encourages her not to pander to others and be herself.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: Mal becomes popular, using Maleficent's spell book to improve the looks of Jane and Lonnie, the daughters of the Fairy Godmother and Mulan, respectively. Jane in particular dislikes her looks, especially because her mother won't use her own magic to change them. Learning that Ben's "girlfriend" will be seated close to the wand during the coronation, which is used during the ceremony, Mal bakes a cookie laced with a love potion and gives it to Ben, who falls madly in love with her, much to the shock of his friends, particularly Audrey. On a date with Ben, Mal becomes conflicted with her growing inner goodness and desire to please her mother, unsure of how to react to Ben's feelings towards her. During the school's family day, the villains' children are ostracized after an encounter with Audrey's grandmother, Queen Leah, who hates Mal because Maleficent's curse was the reason she missed Aurora's childhood, prompting an argument that drives Mal to end the beauty spell she used on Jane. Ben tries to reassure them that everything will be okay after the coronation. Doug tries to remain friendly towards Evie, but Chad forces him to distance himself from her.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: At Ben's coronation, Mal gives him a brownie containing the love spell's antidote, believing it is unnecessary to keep him under the spell. It turns out, per Ben's admission, that he was already freed of the spell since their date when he went swimming in the Enchanted Lake, believing that Mal only did it because she really liked him. However, much to Mal's surprise, it turns out Ben has had feelings for her all along. During Ben's crowning, a disillusioned Jane grabs the wand from her mother, wanting to improve her beauty, only for her to accidentally destroy the Isle's barrier. Mal takes the wand from Jane, but torn over what to do, is encouraged by Ben to make her own choice rather than follow Maleficent's path. Mal recognizes that she and her friends have found happiness in Auradon and they choose to be good.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: Maleficent crashes the coronation ceremony, freezing everyone except Mal and the VKs. When they defy her, Maleficent transforms into a dragon. Mal and her friends use a counterspell, turning Maleficent into a lizard, her tiny size based on the amount of love in her heart. Mal returns the Fairy Godmother her wand as she unfreezes everyone and tells her not to be hard on Jane. While the villains watch the celebration from afar, Auradon Prep's students party through the night. Mal's eyes turn green as she addresses the audience, telling them the story is not over yet.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: On December 12, 2013, Disney Channel announced the production of the film and released the plot outline. Kenny Ortega, a director who has previously worked with Disney Channel on the "High School Musical" trilogy, was announced to be directing the film. The script was written by Josann McGibbon and Sara Parriott. Filming began in the spring of 2014. Filming took place in Vancouver and in locations such as Hatley Castle and the British Columbia Parliament Buildings in Victoria, Canada. The costumes were designed by Kara Saun.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: "Descendants" made its debut on Family Channel in Canada on July 31, 2015, simultaneously with the United States. It was also the last Disney Channel Original Movie to air in Canada on Family after the launch of a Disney Channel there. The film premiered on August 1, 2015 on Disney Channel in Australia and New Zealand and on September 25, 2015 on Disney Channel in the United Kingdom and Ireland. In the Middle East and Africa, the film premiered on September 18, 2015 on the English feed of Disney Channel. It premiered in Turkey on October 17, 2015 on Disney Channel.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: "Descendants" was released on DVD on August 18, 2015. According to The Numbers, the domestic DVD sales are $18,241,833.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: "Descendants" received positive reviews from critics. Isabella Biedenharn of "Entertainment Weekly" gave the film a "B" grade, saying "... plot isn't really the point. The fun is in the roll call... It's no "High School Musical", but the songs are catchy, and the junior villains are worth rooting for." Tisha Mae Eaton of Moviepilot.com stated, "It's a movie that definitely had the feel of a Disney classic with a modern twist and I highly recommend it." Alex Reif of LaughingPlace.com gave it a score of 4.5 out of 5 saying, "... I highly recommend this to any Disney fan, if for no other reason than to see what they've done with the characters, the "Hocus Pocus" references, and Kristin Chenoweth's Maleficent which is closer to the animated character than Angelina Jolie's portrayal." Brian Lowry of "Variety" called it "... a playful and tuneful TV movie, exhibiting much higher ambitions than, say, the "Teen Beach" franchise." By contrast, Amy Amatangelo of "The Hollywood Reporter" gave it a mixed review, calling it ""High School Musical" meets "Once Upon a Time". It smartly ushers little girls who have grown up watching Disney movies into the tween audience and is an idea so ripe for merchandising that the Disney Store is already chock-full of "Descendants" costumes, dolls and T-shirts." She called the story "flimsy", but singled out the performances of Chenoweth, Najimy, Robinson and Jobrani.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: Before the film made its TV debut, it was viewed more than one million times on the Watch Disney Channel app.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: It was viewed by 6.6 million people on its premiere night and 10.5 million viewers in Early DVR Playback. Shortly after the premier air date, ratings showed the film was the fifth most watched original movie in cable history.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: In Australia, the film attracted 151,000 viewers, making it the sixth highest-rated broadcast on pay television on its premiere day. The British premiere was watched by 827,000 viewers, making it the most-watched broadcast on Disney Channel of that week and month. The viewers rose to 1.45 million in 28 days, making it the highest viewership ever on the network.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: During the 2015 D23 Expo, Disney announced that a sequel to "Descendants" had been ordered. The news was made official on the Disney Channel Facebook page on October 15, 2015. "Deadline" reported that Parriott and McGibbon would reprise their duties as screenwriters and executive producers and that all of the cast from the first film was expected to return. On June 10, 2016, it was announced that China Anne McClain would join the sequel as Ursula's daughter, Uma.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: On February 16, 2018, Disney Channel announced a third film in the series, "Descendants 3", which premiered on August 2, 2019.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: Before the film's premiere air date, Disney Channel announced a live action mini series leading up to the event. Every day leading up to the release of the film, a new episode of "" would be released revealing more secrets about the students at Auradon Prep. Each episode of the series is under 5 minutes long, with 23 episodes in total.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: Right after the film finished airing on Disney Channel, it was announced that a CGI-animated short spinoff titled "" would be released on September 18, 2015. Furthermore, former "Phineas and Ferb" storyboard artist Aliki Theofilopoulos Grafft announced on Twitter that she was directing the series, with Jenni Cook as producer, and that the original cast would be reprising their roles.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: Disney Channel announced a television special titled "Descendants: The Royal Wedding" which premiered on August 13, 2021.


title: Descendants (2015 film)

text: "Descendants (Original TV Movie Soundtrack)" is a soundtrack album by cast of "Descendants", released on July 31, 2015 by Walt Disney Records. The soundtrack peaked at number 1 in United States at "Billboard" 200, number one on the US Top Digital Albums and topped the US Top Soundtracks.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 following bankruptcy. Fiorentina have played at the top level of Italian football for the majority of their existence; only four clubs have played in more Serie A seasons.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Fiorentina has won two Italian Championships, in 1955–56 and again in 1968–69, as well as six Coppa Italia trophies and one Supercoppa Italiana. On the European stage, Fiorentina won the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1960–61 and lost the final one year later. They finished runners-up in the 1956–57 European Cup, losing against Real Madrid, and also came close to winning the 1989–90 UEFA Cup, finishing as runners-up against Juventus after losing the first leg in Turin and drawing in the second one in Avellino.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Fiorentina is one of the fifteen European teams that played the finals in all three major continental competitions: the Champions League (1956–1957, the first Italian team to reach the final in the top continental competition), the UEFA Cup Winners (1960–1961 and 1961–1962) and the UEFA Cup (1989–1990).


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Since 1931, the club have played at the Stadio Artemio Franchi, which currently has a capacity of 43,147. The stadium has used several names over the years and has undergone several renovations. Fiorentina are known widely by the nickname "Viola", a reference to their distinctive purple colours.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Associazione Calcio Fiorentina was founded in the autumn of 1926 by local noble and National Fascist Party member Luigi Ridolfi, who initiated the merger of two older Florentine clubs, CS Firenze and PG Libertas. The aim of the merger was to give Florence a strong club to rival those of the more dominant Italian Football Championship sides of the time from Northwest Italy. Also influential was the cultural revival and rediscovery of , an ancestor of modern football that was played by members of the family.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: After a rough start and three seasons in lower leagues, Fiorentina reached the in 1931. That same year saw the opening of the new stadium, originally named after Giovanni Berta, a prominent fascist, but now known as Stadio Artemio Franchi. At the time, the stadium was a masterpiece of engineering, and its inauguration was monumental. To be able to compete with the best teams in Italy, Fiorentina strengthened their team with some new players, notably the Uruguayan Pedro Petrone, nicknamed "el Artillero". Despite enjoying a good season and finishing in fourth place, Fiorentina were relegated the following year, although they would return quickly to . In 1941, they won their first Coppa Italia, but the team were unable to build on their success during the 1940s due to World War II and other troubles.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: In 1950, Fiorentina started to achieve consistent top-five finishes in the domestic league. The team consisted of players such as well-known goalkeeper Giuliano Sarti, Sergio Cervato, Francesco Rosella, Guido Gratton, Giuseppe Chiappella, Aldo Scaramucci, Brazilian Julinho, and Argentinian Miguel Montuori. This team won Fiorentina's first "scudetto" (Italian championship) in 1955–56, 12 points ahead of second-place Milan. Milan beat Fiorentina to top spot the following year. Fiorentina became the first Italian team to play in a European Cup final, when a disputed penalty led to a 2–0 defeat at the hands of Alfredo Di Stéfano's Real Madrid.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Fiorentina were runners-up again in the three subsequent seasons. In the 1960–61 season, the club won the Coppa Italia again and was also successful in Europe, winning the first Cup Winners' Cup against Scottish side Rangers.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: After several years of runner-up finishes, Fiorentina dropped away slightly in the 1960s, bouncing from fourth to sixth place, although the club won the Coppa Italia and the Mitropa Cup in 1966.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: While the 1960s did result in some trophies and good Serie A finishes for Fiorentina, nobody believed that the club could challenge for the title. The 1968–69 season started with Milan as frontrunners, but on matchday 7, they lost to Bologna and were overtaken by Gigi Riva's Cagliari. Fiorentina, after an unimpressive start, then moved to the top of the Serie A, but the first half of their season finished with a 2–2 draw against Varese, leaving Cagliari as outright league leader. The second half of the season was a three-way battle between the three contending teams, Milan, Cagliari and Fiorentina. Milan fell away, instead focusing their efforts on the European Cup, and it seemed that Cagliari would retain top spot. After Cagliari lost against , however, Fiorentina took over at the top. The team then won all of their remaining matches, beating rivals Juve in Turin on the penultimate matchday to seal their second, and last, national title. In the European Cup competition the following year, Fiorentina had some good results, including a win in the Soviet Union against , but they were eventually knocked out in the quarter-finals after a 3–0 defeat in Glasgow to Celtic.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: "Viola" players began the 1970s decade with "Scudetto" sewed on their breast, but the period was not especially fruitful for the team. After a fifth-place finish in 1971, they finished in mid-table almost every year, even flirting with relegation in 1972 and 1978. The "Viola" did win the Anglo-Italian League Cup in 1974 and won the Coppa Italia again in 1975. The team consisted of young talents like Vincenzo Guerini and Moreno Roggi, who suffered bad injuries, and above all Giancarlo Antognoni, who would later become an idol to Fiorentina's fans. The young average age of the players led to the team being called "Fiorentina Ye-Ye".


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: In 1980, Fiorentina was bought by Flavio Pontello, who came from a rich house-building family. He quickly changed the team's anthem and logo, leading to some complaints by the fans, but he started to bring in high-quality players such as Francesco Graziani and Eraldo Pecci from Torino; Daniel Bertoni from Sevilla; Daniele Massaro from Monza; and a young Pietro Vierchowod from Como. The team was built around Giancarlo Antognoni, and in 1982, Fiorentina were involved in an exciting duel with rivals Juventus. After a bad injury to Antognoni, the league title was decided on the final day of the season when Fiorentina were denied a goal against Cagliari and were unable to win. Juventus won the title with a disputed penalty and the rivalry between the two teams erupted.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The following years were strange for Fiorentina, who vacillated between high finishes and relegation battles. Fiorentina also bought two interesting players, "El Puntero" Ramón Díaz and, most significantly, the young Roberto Baggio.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: In 1990, Fiorentina fought to avoid relegation right up until the final day of the season, but did reach the UEFA Cup final, where they again faced Juventus. The Turin team won the trophy, but Fiorentina's "tifosi" once again had real cause for complaint: the second leg of the final was played in Avellino (Fiorentina's home ground was suspended), a city with many Juventus fans, and emerging star Roberto Baggio was sold to the rival team on the day of the final. Pontello, suffering from economic difficulties, was selling all the players and was forced to leave the club after serious riots in Florence's streets. The club was then acquired by the famous filmmaker Mario Cecchi Gori.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The first season under Cecchi Gori's ownership was one of stabilisation, after which the new chairman started to sign some good players like Brian Laudrup, Stefan Effenberg, Francesco Baiano and, most importantly, Gabriel Batistuta, who became an iconic player for the team during the 1990s. In 1993, however, Cecchi Gori died and was succeeded as chairman by his son, Vittorio. Despite a good start to the season, Cecchi Gori fired the coach, Luigi Radice, after a defeat against Atalanta, and replaced him with Aldo Agroppi. The results were dreadful: Fiorentina fell into the bottom half of the standings and were relegated on the last day of the season.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Claudio Ranieri was brought in as coach for the 1993–94 season, and that year, Fiorentina dominated Serie B, Italy's second division. Upon their return to Serie A, Ranieri put together a good team centred around new top scorer Batistuta, signing the young talent Rui Costa from Benfica and the new world champion Brazilian defender Márcio Santos. The former became an idol to Fiorentina fans, while the second disappointed and was sold after only a season. The "Viola" finished the season in tenth place.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The following season, Cecchi Gori bought other important players, namely Swedish midfielder Stefan Schwarz. The club again proved its mettle in cup competitions, winning the Coppa Italia against Atalanta and finishing joint-third in Serie A. In the summer, Fiorentina became the first non-national champions to win the Supercoppa Italiana, defeating Milan 2–1 at the San Siro.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Fiorentina's 1996–97 season was disappointing in the league, but they did reach the Cup Winners' Cup semi-final by beating Gloria Bistrița, Sparta Prague and Benfica. The team lost the semi-final to the eventual winner of the competition, Barcelona (away 1–1; home 0–2). The season's main signings were Luís Oliveira and Andrei Kanchelskis, the latter of whom suffered from many injuries.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: At the end of the season, Ranieri left Fiorentina for Valencia in Spain, with Cecchi Gori appointing Alberto Malesani as his replacement. Fiorentina played well but struggled against smaller teams, although they did manage to qualify for the UEFA Cup. Malesani left Fiorentina after only a season and was succeeded by Giovanni Trapattoni. With Trapattoni's expert guidance and Batistuta's goals, Fiorentina challenged for the title in 1998–99 but finished the season in third, earning them qualification for the Champions League. The following year was disappointing in Serie A, but "Viola" played some historical matches in the Champions League, beating Arsenal 1–0 at the old Wembley Stadium and Manchester United 2–0 in Florence. They were ultimately eliminated in the second group stage.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: At the end of the season, Trapattoni left the club and was replaced by Turkish coach Fatih Terim. More significantly, however, Batistuta was sold to Roma, who eventually won the title the following year. Fiorentina played well in 2000–01 and stayed in the top half of Serie A, despite the resignation of Terim and the arrival of Roberto Mancini. They also won the Coppa Italia for the sixth and last time.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The year 2001 heralded major changes for Fiorentina, as the terrible state of the club's finances was revealed: they were unable to pay wages and had debts of around US$50 million. The club's owner, Vittorio Cecchi Gori, was able to raise some more money, but this soon proved to be insufficient to sustain the club. Fiorentina were relegated at the end of the 2001–02 season and went into judicially-controlled administration in June 2002. This form of bankruptcy (sports companies cannot exactly fail in this way in Italy, but they can suffer a similar procedure) meant that the club was refused a place in Serie B for the 2002–03 season, and as a result effectively ceased to exist.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The club was promptly re-established in August 2002 as Associazione Calcio Fiorentina e Florentia Viola with shoe and leather entrepreneur Diego Della Valle as new owner and the club was admitted into Serie C2, the fourth tier of Italian football. The only player to remain at the club in its new incarnation was Angelo Di Livio, whose commitment to the club's cause further endeared him to the fans. Helped by Di Livio and 30-goal striker Christian Riganò, the club won its Serie C2 group with considerable ease, which would normally have led to a promotion to Serie C1. Due to the bizarre "Caso Catania" (Catania Case), however, the club skipped Serie C1 and was admitted into Serie B, something that was only made possible by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC)'s decision to resolve the Catania situation by increasing the number of teams in Serie B from 20 to 24 and promoting Fiorentina for "sports merits." In the 2003 off-season, the club also bought back the right to use the Fiorentina name and the famous shirt design, and re-incorporated itself as ACF Fiorentina. The club finished the 2003–04 season in sixth place and won the playoff against Perugia to return to top-flight football.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: In their first season back in Serie A, however, the club struggled to avoid relegation, only securing survival on the last day of the season on head-to-head record against Bologna and Parma. In 2005, Della Valle decided to appoint Pantaleo Corvino as new sports director, followed by the appointment of Cesare Prandelli as head coach in the following season. The club made several signings during the summer transfer market, most notably Luca Toni and Sébastien Frey. This drastic move earned them a fourth-place finish with 74 points and a Champions League qualifying round ticket. Toni scored 31 goals in 38 appearances, the first player to pass the 30-goal mark since Antonio Valentin Angelillo in the 1958–59 season, for which he was awarded the European Golden Boot. On 14 July 2006, however, Fiorentina were relegated to Serie B due to their involvement in the 2006 Serie A match fixing scandal and given a 12-point penalty. The team was reinstated to the Serie A on appeal, but with a 19-point penalty for the 2006–07 season. The team's 2006–07 Champions League place was also revoked. After the start of the season, Fiorentina's penalisation was reduced from 19 points to 15 on appeal to the Italian courts. In spite of this penalty, they managed to secure a place in the UEFA Cup.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Despite Toni's departure to Bayern Munich, Fiorentina had a strong start to the 2007–08 season and were tipped by Italian national team head coach Marcello Lippi, among others, as a surprise challenger for the "Scudetto", and although this form tailed off towards the middle of the season, the "Viola" managed to qualify for the Champions League. In Europe, the club reached the semi-final of the UEFA Cup, where they were ultimately defeated by Rangers on penalties. The 2008–09 season continued this success, a fourth-place finish assuring Fiorentina's spot in 2010's Champions League playoffs. Their European campaign was also similar to that of the previous run, relegated to the 2008–09 UEFA Cup and were eliminated by Ajax in the end.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: In the 2009–10 season, Fiorentina started their domestic campaign strongly before steadily losing momentum and slipped to mid-table positions at the latter half of the season. In Europe, the team proved to be a surprise dark horse: after losing their first away fixture against Lyon, they staged a comeback with a five-match streak by winning all their remaining matches (including defeating Liverpool home and away). The "Viola" qualified as group champions, but eventually succumbed to Bayern Munich due to the away goals rule. This was controversial due to a mistaken refereeing decision by Tom Henning Øvrebø, who allowed a clearly offside goal for Bayern in the first leg. Bayern eventually finished the tournament as runners-up, making a deep run all the way to the final. The incident called into attention the possible implementation of video replays in football. Despite a good European run and reaching the semi-finals in the Coppa Italia, Fiorentina failed to qualify for Europe.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: During this period, on 24 September 2009, Andrea Della Valle resigned from his position as chairman of Fiorentina, and announced all duties would be temporarily transferred to Mario Cognini, Fiorentina's vice-president until a permanent position could be filled.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: In June 2010, the "Viola" bid farewell to long-time manager Cesare Prandelli, by then the longest-serving coach in the team's history, who was departing to coach the Italian national team. Catania manager Siniša Mihajlović was appointed to replace him. The club spent much of the early 2010–11 season in last place, but their form improved and Fiorentina ultimately finished ninth. Following a 1–0 defeat to Chievo in November 2011, Mihajlović was sacked and replaced by Delio Rossi. After a brief period of improvements, the "Viola" were again fighting relegation, prompting the sacking of Sporting Director Pantaleo Corvino in early 2012 following a 0–5 home defeat to Juventus. Their bid for survival was kept alive by a number of upset victories away from home, notably at Roma and Milan. During a home game against Novara, trailing 0–2 within half an hour, manager Rossi decided to substitute midfielder Adem Ljajić early. Ljajić sarcastically applauded him in frustration, whereupon Rossi retaliated by physical assaulting his player, an action that ultimately prompted his termination by the club. His replacement, caretaker manager Vincenzo Guerini, then guided the team away from the relegation zone to a 13th-place finish to end the turbulent year.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: To engineer a resurrection of the club after the disappointing season, the Della Valle family invested heavily in the middle of 2012, buying 17 new players and appointing Vincenzo Montella as head coach. The team began the season well, finishing the calendar year in joint third place and eventually finishing the 2012–13 season in fourth, enough for a position in the 2013–14 Europa League.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The club lost fan favourite Stevan Jovetić during the middle of 2013, selling him to English Premier League club Manchester City for a €30 million transfer fee. They also sold Adem Ljajić to Roma and Alessio Cerci to Torino, using the funds to bring in Mario Gómez, Josip Iličić and Ante Rebić, among others. During the season, Fiorentina topped their Europa League group, moving on to the round of 32 to face Danish side Esbjerg fB, which Fiorentina defeated 4–2 on aggregate. In the following round of 16, however, they then lost to Italian rivals Juventus 2–1 on aggregate, ousting Fiorentina from the competition. At the end of the season, the team finished fourth again in the league, and also finishing the year as Coppa Italia runners-up after losing 3–1 to Napoli in the final.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: In 2014–15, during the 2015 winter transfer window, the team club sold star winger Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea for €30 million but were able to secure the loan of Mohamed Salah in exchange, who was a revelation in the second half of the season. Their 2014–15 Europa League campaign saw them progress to the semi-finals, where they were knocked-out by Spanish side Sevilla, the eventual champions. In the 2014–15 domestic season, Fiorentina once again finished fourth, thus qualifying for the 2015–16 Europa League. In June 2015, Vincenzo Montella was sacked as manager after the club grew impatient with the coaches inability to prove his commitment to the club, and was replaced by Paulo Sousa, who lasted until June 2017 and the appointment of Stefano Pioli. Club captain Davide Astori died suddenly at the age of 31 in March 2018. Astori had suffered a cardiac arrest while in a hotel room before an away game. The club subsequently retired Astori's kit number, 13. Fiorentina suffered during the 2018–19 Serie A campaign and ended the season on a 14 match winless streak, finishing in 16th place with only 41 points, 3 points from the relegation zone. On 9 April 2019, Pioli resigned as manager and was replaced by Montella.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: On 6 June 2019, the club was sold to Italian-American billionaire Rocco Commisso for around 160 million euros. The sale marked the end of the Della Valle family's seventeen-year association with the club. Vincenzo Montella was confirmed as coach for the first season of the new era despite the team's poor end to the previous campaign, which saw them finish only three points clear of the relegation zone. Fiorentina continued their struggles from the previous year, spending the majority of the season in lower midtable. Montella was sacked on 21 December after a 7 match winless run which left the club in 15th place, and was replaced by Giuseppe Iachini.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Fiorentina have had many managers and head coaches throughout their history. Below is a chronological list from the club's foundation in 1926 to the present day.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The official emblem of the city of Florence, a red fleur-de-lis on a white field, has been pivotal in the all-round symbolism of the club.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Over the course of the club's history, they have had several badge changes, all of which incorporated Florence's fleur-de-lis in some way. The first one was nothing more than the city's coat of arms, a white shield with the red fleur-de-lis inside. It was soon changed to a very stylised fleur-de-lis, always red, and sometimes even without the white field. The most common symbol, adopted for about 20 years, had been a white lozenge with the flower inside. During the season they were Italian champions, the lozenge disappeared and the flower was overlapped with the "scudetto".


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The logo introduced by owner Flavio Pontello in 1980 was particularly distinct, consisting of one-half of the city of Florence's emblem and one-half of the letter "F", for Fiorentina. People disliked it when it was introduced, believing it was a commercial decision and, above all, because the symbol bore more of a resemblance to a halberd than a fleur-de-lis.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Until the 2022–23 season, when the club unveiled a new, stylistically simplified badge, the logo was a kite shaped double lozenge bordered in gold. The outer lozenge had a purple background with the letters "AC" in white and the letter "F" in red, standing for the club's name. The inner lozenge was white with a gold border and the red fleur-de-lis of Florence. This logo had been in use from 1992 to 2002, but after the financial crisis and resurrection of the club the new one couldn't use the same logo. Florence's "comune" instead granted Florentia Viola use of the stylised coat of arms used in other city documents. Diego Della Valle acquired the current logo the following year in a judicial auction for a fee of €2.5 million, making it the most expensive logo in Italian football.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: When Fiorentina was founded in 1926, the players wore red and white halved shirts derived from the colour of the city emblem. The more well-known and highly distinctive purple kit was adopted in 1928 and has been used ever since, giving rise to the nickname "La Viola" ("The Purple (team)"). Tradition has it that Fiorentina got their purple kit by mistake after an accident washing the old red and white coloured kits in the river.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The away kit has always been predominantly white, sometimes with purple and red elements, sometimes all-white. The shorts had been purple when the home kit was with white shorts. Fiorentina's third kit was first worn in the 1995–96 season and it was all-red with purple borders and two lilies on the shoulders. The red shirt has been the most worn 3rd shirt by Fiorentina, although they also wore rare yellow shirts ('97–'98, '99–'00 and '10–'11) and a sterling version, mostly in the Coppa Italia, in 2000–01.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: For the 2017–18 season and the first time in its history, the club used five kits during the season, composing of one home kit (all-purple) and four away kits, each one representing one historic quartiere of the city of Florence: all-blue (Santa Croce), all-white (Santo Spirito), all-green (San Giovanni) and all-red (Santa Maria Novella).


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: "Canzone Viola" (Purple Song) is the title of the Fiorentina'a song, nowadays better known as "Oh Fiorentina". It is the oldest official football anthem in Italy and one of the oldest in the world. Dated 1930 and born only four years after the creation of the club, the song was written by a 12-year-old child, Enzo Marcacci, and musically arranged by maestro Marco Vinicio. It was published for the first time by the publisher Marcello Manni, who later became the owner of the rights. It soon achieved notoriety thanks to the printed media and the Ordine del Marzocco, a sort of original viola-club, which printed the lyrics of the song and distributed it to a home match on November 22, 1931.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: The song was recorded by Narciso Parigi in 1959 and again in 1965; the latter version replaced the original edition as the Fiorentina anthem. Subsequently, Narciso Parigi himself acquired the ownership of the rights, which he donated in 2002 to the supporter club Collettivo Autonomo Viola.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: A.C. Fiorentina S.p.A. was unable to register for 2002–03 Serie B due to financial difficulties, and then the sports title was transferred to a new company thanks to Article 52 of N.O.I.F., while the old company was liquidated. At that time the club was heavily relying on windfall profit from selling players, especially in pure player swap or cash plus player swap that potentially increased the cost by the increase in amortisation of player contracts (an intangible assets). For example, Marco Rossi joined Fiorentina for Lire 17 billion in 2000, but at the same time Lorenzo Collacchioni moved to Salernitana for Lire 1 billion, meaning the club had a player profit of Lire 997 million and extra Lire 1 billion to be amortised in 5-years. In 1999, Emiliano Bigica also swapped with Giuseppe Taglialatela, which the latter was valued for Lire 10 billion. The operating income (excluding windfall profit from players trading) of 2000–01 season was minus Lire 113,271,475,933 (minus €58,499,835). It was only boosted by the sales of Francesco Toldo and Rui Costa in June 2001 (a profit of Lire 134.883 billion; €69.661 million). However, it was alleged they were to transfer to Parma for a reported Lire 140 million. The two players eventually joined Inter Milan and A.C. Milan in 2001–02 financial year instead, for undisclosed fees. Failing to have financial support from the owner Vittorio Cecchi Gori, the club was forced to windup due to its huge imbalance in operating income.


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: Since re-established in 2002, ACF Fiorentina S.p.A. are yet to self-sustain to keep the team in top division as well as in European competitions. In the 2005 financial year, which cover the first Serie A season, the club made a net loss of €9,159,356, followed by a net loss of €19,519,789. In 2006 (2005–06 Serie A and 2006–07 Serie A), Fiorentina heavily invested on players, meaning the amortisation of intangible asset (the player contract) had increased from €17.7 million to €24 million. However the club suffered from the 2006 Italian football scandal, which meant the club did not qualify for Europe. In 2007 Fiorentina almost broke-even, with a net loss of just €3,704,953. In the 2007 financial year the TV revenue increased after they qualified to the 2007–08 UEFA Cup. Despite qualifying to the 2008–09 UEFA Champions League, Fiorentina made a net loss of €9,179,484 in 2008 financial year after the increase in TV revenue was outweighed by the increase in wage. In the 2009 financial year, Fiorentina made a net profit of €4,442,803, largely due to the profit on selling players (€33,631,489 from players such as Felipe Melo, Giampaolo Pazzini and Zdravko Kuzmanović; increased from about €3.5 million in 2008). However it was also offset by the write-down of selling players (€6,062,545, from players such as Manuel da Costa, Arturo Lupoli and Davide Carcuro).


title: ACF Fiorentina

text: After the club failed to qualify to Europe at the end of 2009–10 Serie A, as well as lack of player profit, Fiorentina turnover was decreased from €140,040,713 in 2009 to just €79,854,928, despite the wage bill also falling, "la Viola" still made a net loss of €9,604,353. In the 2011 financial year, the turnover slipped to €67,076,953, as the club's lack of capital gains from selling players and 2010 financial year still included the instalments from UEFA for participating 2009–10 UEFA Europa League. Furthermore, the gate income had dropped from €11,070,385 to €7,541,260. The wage bill did not fall much and in reverse the amortisation of transfer fee had sightly increased due to new signings. "La Viola" had savings in other costs but counter-weighted by huge €11,747,668 write-down for departed players, due to D'Agostino, Frey and Mutu, but the former would counter-weight by co-ownership financial income, which all made the operating cost remained high as worse as last year. Moreover, in 2010 the result was boosted by acquiring the asset from subsidiary (related to AC Fiorentina) and the re-valuation of its value in separate balance sheet. If deducting that income (€14,737,855), 2010 financial year was net loss 24,342,208 and 2011 result was worse with €8,131,876 only in separate balance sheet. In 2012, the club benefited from the sales of Matija Nastasić and Valon Behrami, followed by Stevan Jovetić and Adem Ljajić in 2013. In 2014, due to €28.4 million drop from the windfall profit of selling players, the club recorded their worst financial results since re-foundation, despite the fact the club maintained the same level of windfall profit, the result was still worse than in 2013. Moreover, Fiorentina also revealed that the club had a relevant football net income of minus €19.5 million in the first assessment period of UEFA Financial Fair Play Regulations in the 2013–14 season (in May 2014). (aggregate of 2012 and 2013 results), which within the limit of minus €45 million, as well as minus €25.5 million in assessment period 2014–15 (aggregate of 2012, 2013 and 2014 results). However, as the limit was reduced to minus €30 million in assessment period 2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18 season, the club had to achieve a relevant net income of positive €5.6 million in 2015 financial year. "La Viola" sold Juan Cuadrado to Chelsea in January 2015 for €30 million fee, to make the club eligible to 2016–17 edition of UEFA competitions.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Michael Holbrook Penniman Jr. (born 18 August 1983), known professionally as Mika ( , stylised as MIKA), is a singer-songwriter born in Beirut, Lebanon, and raised in Paris and London.


title: Mika (singer)

text: After recording his first extended play, "Dodgy Holiday", Mika was named the number-one predicted breakthrough act of 2007 in an annual BBC poll of music critics, Sound of 2007. Mika released his first full-length studio album, "Life in Cartoon Motion", on Island Records in 2007, which has sold more than 8.3 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit Award—Best British Breakthrough act—and receive a Grammy Award nomination. He topped the UK Singles Chart in January 2007 with "Grace Kelly" and has since gone on to record four more platinum-selling studio albums (most recently "My Name is Michael Holbrook" released in October 2019), as well as serve as judge/mentor on both the French version of "The Voice" and the Italian version of "X Factor".


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika also starred for two seasons in his own television variety show in Italy, "", which won the 2017 Rose d'Or Award for Entertainment, and has hosted his own BBC Radio 2 show "The Art of Song". In 2022, he co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest alongside Italian singer Laura Pausini and Italian television presenter Alessandro Cattelan.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In addition to his musical career, Mika has also worked as a visual artist and designer on various projects, among them sunglasses for the Italian eyewear company Lozza, a clothing line for Belgian retailer JBC, pens for the 100th anniversary of Pilot, and (along with his sister Yasmine) three watches for Swiss company Swatch.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika was born in Beirut, the third of five children—he has two older sisters, Yasmine and Paloma, a younger sister Zuleika, and a younger brother, Fortuné. His parents are an American-born Lebanese mother (Mary Joan "Joannie", , daughter of John Mouakad and Odette Farah) and an Israeli-born American father (Michael Holbrook Penniman, son of William Frederick Penniman III and Dorothy Dyar). Mika's father was a banker born in Jerusalem. His father's father – Mika's paternal grandfather William Frederick Penniman III – was a diplomat. Mika's maternal grandfather John Mouakad was Syrian (from Damascus).


title: Mika (singer)

text: When Mika was a year old, his family was forced to leave war-torn Lebanon and moved to Paris, France.


title: Mika (singer)

text: The family lived happily for a time in Paris. The first piano piece the young Mika learned to play was "Les Champs-Élysées", by Joe Dassin. At the age of 7, he wrote his first song, a piano instrumental called "Angry", which he describes as "awful".


title: Mika (singer)

text: In 1990 Mika's father went on a business trip to Kuwait and became trapped in the U.S. embassy for seven months when the Gulf War broke out. When the elder Penniman returned home, he had to take a new job, which meant a move to London.


title: Mika (singer)

text: The family moved to London when Mika was 9 years old. There, he attended the Lycée Français Charles de Gaulle, where he experienced severe bullying and had problems with dyslexia. In response to these experiences Mika was home-schooled by his mother and trained in music by Alla Ardakov (Ablaberdyeva), a Russian opera professional. He also studied with the Royal Opera in London and made his stage debut as a chorus member in Strauss's Die Frau Ohne Schatten at the Royal Opera House in London's Covent Garden. He continued as a boy soprano with the Royal Opera and, at 15, he showcased his vocal range in a 1998 production of "The Pilgrim's Progress" by Vaughan Williams.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Although still young, Mika also worked singing jingles for a variety of companies, most notably Orbit chewing gum and British Airways.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Once he returned to school, Mika attended St. Philip's School in Kensington, where he was the head of the Schola Cantorum (the St. Philip's Choir). Later he attended Westminster School in London, where he starred in a number of school productions to great acclaim.


title: Mika (singer)

text: After a very brief stint (one day) at the London School of Economics, Mika then managed to gain entrance to the Royal College of Music. By day, Mika studied and practiced his scales, but by night, he visited the rock and electro clubs of Soho and Camden, and wrote pop songs.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika left the Royal College of Music to record his first album at Casablanca Records. His first single was a limited 7"/download release called "Relax, Take It Easy" (2006). It was playlisted by UK's BBC Radio 1 and was made Record of the Week by DJ Scott Mills. His "Dodgy Holiday" EP also became available for download. The song "Billy Brown" was available for free download for a week from the iTunes Store. A song titled 'Overrated', which was recorded in 2004, was "unofficially" released online. His debut radio appearance was on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show in September 2006.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In 2007, things took off for Mika. His single "Grace Kelly" was released by Universal Music for digital download on 8 January 2007. On 19 January 2007, he appeared on "Later... with Jools Holland", and on "The Friday Night Project". That same month, Mika was voted the top of the BBC News website's Sound of 2007 poll. "Grace Kelly" reached number one on the UK Singles Chart on 21 January 2007, and stayed at number one for five weeks.


title: Mika (singer)

text: The single featured on his debut album, "Life In Cartoon Motion", which was released on 5 February 2007. The album went straight to number one in the UK and 11 other countries, and brought comparisons with artists such as Freddie Mercury, Scissor Sisters, Elton John, Prince, Robbie Williams and David Bowie. The song "Grace Kelly", in fact, references Mercury in the lyrics: "I try to be like Grace Kelly/But all her looks were too sad/So I tried a little Freddie/I've gone identity mad." The album went on to sell more than 8.3 million copies worldwide and rack up 2.8 billion streams.


title: Mika (singer)

text: "Life in Cartoon Motion" has a coming of age theme and deals with Mika's transition from childhood to the present, though he has stated that not all of the songs are autobiographical. His songs often deal with difficult topics. For instance, in ""Big Girl (You Are Beautiful)"" the theme of larger women suffering from discrimination is explored. Mika has said that the fact that his mother was a big woman, and that he had seen the prejudices against her, helped him to write the song. In another example of dealing with more difficult subject matter, in the song ""Billy Brown"", Mika writes about a married man who has a homosexual affair.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika toured the United States in June 2007, with support from Sara Bareilles and Natalia Lesz. He also made several significant U.S. television appearances to support his new album. He was the musical act for "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" on 26 March 2007 and 14 February 2008 and for "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" on 27 March 2007. He also performed live on "So You Think You Can Dance" on 26 July 2007.


title: Mika (singer)

text: On 10 October 2007, Mika began his Dodgy Holiday Tour, playing at venues across Europe. On 17 November 2007, Mika started the UK leg of his tour in Glasgow, Scotland, with support from Palladium. The North American leg of his tour began in January 2008 with support from The Midway State and Creature and continued through February with a stop in Los Angeles for the 50th Annual Grammy Awards, where he was nominated for "Best Dance Recording" for his song "Love Today."


title: Mika (singer)

text: On 20 February 2008, Mika opened the 2008 Brit Awards with a live performance of "Love Today," "Grace Kelly," and a duet, "Standing in the Way of Control", with Beth Ditto of Gossip. He was awarded the BRIT Award for Best British Breakthrough Artist later that night.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Prior to the release of his second studio album, Mika released a limited-edition extended play titled "Songs for Sorrow" on 8 June 2009. The EP includes 4 tracks and a 68-page book featuring lyrics and exclusive illustrated interpretations of each song by some of Mika's favourite artists and designers, among them Jim Woodring, Sophie Blackall, Alber Elbaz, and his own sister, DaWack. The song ""Blue Eyes"" was used to promote the EP, and was A-listed on the BBC Radio 2 playlist.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika's second studio album "The Boy Who Knew Too Much" was released on 21 September 2009. Mika recorded the majority of the album in Los Angeles with producer and musician Greg Wells, who also produced his debut album "Life in Cartoon Motion". The album has been described as Mika dealing with his adolescent teenage years and "in a sense is kind of part two" of his first album.


title: Mika (singer)

text: The album was originally titled "We Are Golden" after the first single from the album, "We Are Golden". On 20 July 2009 in an on-air interview with DJ Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1, Mika revealed he was considering renaming the album, because he wanted "something a little more ridiculous." On 6 August 2009 it was confirmed that the album's title would change to "The Boy Who Knew Too Much".


title: Mika (singer)

text: The first single from the album, "We Are Golden", made its radio debut in the United Kingdom on 20 July 2009, on BBC Radio 2 and was released for download on 6 September 2009, with the physical release following on 7 September 2009. The single debuted at number 4 on the UK Singles Chart on 13 September 2009. Mika's promotional tour of the single included live performances at the iTunes Festival 2009 at The Roundhouse in Camden, London and on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross in September 2009. It was reported that Mika spent £25,000 on drinks after inviting fans to join him at his local pub via Twitter on 7 September 2009 to celebrate the release of his single.


title: Mika (singer)

text: "Blame It on the Girls" was released as the second single in the United States and Japan. This was alongside "Rain" being the second single in the United Kingdom, which was released on 23 November. "Blame It on the Girls" was released as a single in the United Kingdom on 15 February 2010. His American promotional tour consisted of live performances on Good Morning America in New York City on 25 September 2009 and the Late Show with David Letterman on 14 October 2009.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In November 2009 Mika performed 'Rain' and 'We Are Golden' live at the Sydney Opera House for the Australian Idol Grand Final. He also performed on Sunrise on the Seven Network in Australia. On 30 November 2009, Mika performed "Let It Snow" in a duet with Japanese pop star Hikaru Utada.


title: Mika (singer)

text: At Blackpool's Opera House in December 2009 Mika had the opportunity to perform in the Royal Variety Performance in front of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. The Royal Variety Performance is an annual gala evening, which, ever since it was established in 1912, is traditionally attended by members of the British Royal Family. Mika sang his single, "Rain," during the evening, which included performances by Lady Gaga, Michael Bublé, Miley Cyrus, Bette Midler, and Whoopi Goldberg, and later had the chance to meet Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip.


title: Mika (singer)

text: On 21 March 2010 Mika performed a song he had written, "Gave It All Away", with Boyzone on ITV1 for "Boyzone: A Tribute To Stephen Gately".


title: Mika (singer)

text: In May 2010 Mika released the single "Kick Ass (We Are Young)", the title track to the 2010 film "Kick-Ass". The song played during the film's closing credits.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Before the release of his third album, Mika stated in numerous interviews that it would be more simplistic and less layered than the previous one. Mika announced the title of the album, "The Origin of Love" in a French interview on 17 June. Mika said he would include a number of French tracks on the album, and that the musical style would include elements of Daft Punk and Fleetwood Mac. He described the album as less childlike and more serious.


title: Mika (singer)

text: The first single released from the album was "," Mika's first French track. It was released online on 1 July 2011. The video for the song was released 16 August and featured the French actress Fanny Ardant, along with a number of other well-known French actors and personalities.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika collaborated with a number of artists on various tracks of this album, including Nick Littlemore of Empire of the Sun, Paul Steel, frYars, , Priscilla Renea, Billboard, Hillary Lindsey, Pharrell Williams, Benny Benassi and Klas Åhlund. Greg Wells was again involved in the production of the album. At the time he was working on his own album, MIKA also contributed his vocals to the production of The All-American Rejects' 2012 album Kids in the Street.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Around this time Mika also collaborated with the singer Madonna, and the resulting song, "Gang Bang," can be found on her album "MDNA."


title: Mika (singer)

text: On 8 June 2012, the video for "Make You Happy" was released on Vimeo. The song served as a buzz single for the album. On 14 June 2012, "Celebrate", which features Pharrell Williams, was announced as the album's lead single. The album was released internationally on 17 September 2012 and in the UK on 8 October 2012.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Included on this album was "Popular Song," which Mika co-wrote and performed on the album with songwriter Priscilla Renea (who now goes by the professional name Muni Long). The song, which borrowed a well-known melody from the musical "Wicked" by Stephen Schwartz, was later remixed and released as a duet in 2013 with Ariana Grande before she reached "superstar" status.


title: Mika (singer)

text: The 2012 Summer Olympics took place in London from 25 July to 12 August 2012, and before the gold medal beach volleyball game on 8th August, Mika performed "Grace Kelly" and "Celebrate" on the sand court. The same day he also did a Q&A with fans and performed a short set for Rock The Games, which live-streamed on the YouTube channel of the London 2012 games.


title: Mika (singer)

text: On 23 April 2013, Mika was revealed to be the new judge on the seventh season of "The X Factor Italy". He was the first international mentor on the Italian edition of the show. Mika returned to the panel for the eighth and ninth series of the show before leaving to focus on other projects.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika released a compilation album, on 18 November 2013, in Italy titled "Songbook Vol. 1," including 20 songs from his three previous albums, plus a few re-worked tracks.


title: Mika (singer)

text: On 17 January 2014, Mika took part in the Italian television show on La7, and performed a duet with the Nobel Prize in Literature recipient Dario Fo of the song "", written by Fo and played by Enzo Jannacci. That same evening, Mika was presented with a platinum disc for the album "Songbook Vol. 1."


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika joined (the French version of the television show The Voice) as a judge/mentor in 2014. One of his contestants, Kendji Girac, won the competition that year.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika released another French single on 11 June 2014, "Boum Boum Boum". The video (which came out 7 July) was filmed entirely in Spain on the set of the famous western "The Good, The Bad and the Ugly," and features Mika in a variety of guises—from cowboy to James Bond-like spy.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In February 2015, Mika performed a series of three concerts with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor Simon Leclerc. The concerts featured a selection of Mika's songs scored for a full orchestra by Mika and Leclerc. The concerts met with glowing reviews, with some calling the presentations "memorable" and "a beautiful collaboration between the artist and the orchestra."


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika's next album was preceded by the single "Talk About You", previewed on 25 March 2015, with the official video on YouTube a few days later.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika began a tour to support his upcoming album on 3 May 2015 in Brooklyn, New York, and subsequently toured in major cities around the world. On 25 May 2015 the official video for the next single, "Good Guys", was released.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika's fourth album, "No Place in Heaven", was released on 15 June 2015. He described the album as "direct, low-down, open, candid, playful, yet a mature pop album which takes its inspiration from '60s pop music". On 13 November 2015 the album was re-released in the form of a double-disc deluxe edition, containing a number of bonus tracks on Disc 1 as well as a full-length orchestral bonus disc, which includes a performance by Mika with L'Orchestre Symphonique De Montreal.


title: Mika (singer)

text: The following year, Mika began filming for his own television show, called , in Italy. The variety show featured a number of Italian actors, musicians and other cultural icons, as well as performers from around the world, including Kylie Minogue, Sting, LP and Dita von Teese. In addition to music, the show had comedy sketches and serious looks at life around Italy. The show won the 2017 Rose d'Or as Best Entertainment Series.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Starting 1 January 2016 and periodically through January 2019, Mika hosted a series of episodes (11 in total) of "Mika: The Art Of Song" on BBC Radio 2. In the programs, he discussed musical influences and focused on a variety of artists, including Joni Mitchell and Carole King.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika reunited with conductor Simon Leclerc at the end of 2016 to perform two concerts at the Teatro dell'Opera di Firenze in collaboration with the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. The concerts were performed 30 and 31 December with the orchestra and choir of Maggio Musicale, under the direction of Leclerc, who had previously conducted Mika's symphonic performances in Montreal and Como.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In February 2017, Mika performed a medley of his own songs at the Sanremo Festival, as well as a tribute to the late George Michael.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika released a single, "It's My House," which also served as the theme song for the second series of his show Stasera Casa Mika in October 2017.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In 2018, Mika featured on "Adam to Eve no Ringo", a tribute album to Japanese musician Ringo Sheena, covering Sheena's song "Sid to Hakuchūmu" from her debut album "Muzai Moratorium" (1999).


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika collaborated with the French singers Doriand and Philippe Katerine on a single called ""Danser Entre Hommes"" in late 2018. It was released by Doriand on 30 August 2019. All three men appear in the song's music video.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In May 2019, Mika released the single "Ice Cream" and announced his fifth studio album, "My Name Is Michael Holbrook", for release on 4 October 2019. The album, described as "intensely personal" by a number of reviewers, also contains elements of "disco-tinged exuberance" and "joyous pop" with "anthemic choruses and vocal harmonies".


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika collaborated with singer Jack Savoretti on single ""Youth And Love"", which was released on 28 June 2019. The original version of the song appeared on Savoretti's March 2019 album "Singing To Strangers". The new duet was produced by Cam Blackwood, with Mika’s vocals recorded at his home studio in Florence. It received a worldwide exclusive play from Zoe Ball on her BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show, first airing on 19 June 2019 and was subsequently added to BBC Radio 2’s New Music Playlist (A list). (A special edition of Savoretti's album was released on 6 December 2019 including "Youth And Love" with Mika as the 20th track.) Savoretti subsequently appeared on a track on Mika's new album, "Ready to Call This Love."


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika was a guest at singer Andrea Bocelli’s charity orchestral concert at Teatro Del Silenzio in Lajatico, Italy on 25 July 2019, and duetted with him on the song "Ali Di Libertà". Mika also sang his own "Happy Ending" and "Tiny Love", accompanied by the orchestra, a troupe of dancers, Ida Falk-Winland, and Max Taylor, and was interviewed onstage by the host. The concert was broadcast on Italian television network RAI1 on 14 September 2019.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Several singles and accompanying videos were released in the months leading up to the debut of the "My Name Is Michael Holbrook" album: "Tiny Love," "Dear Jealousy," "Tomorrow," and "Sanremo." The album was promoted in September 2019 with the seven-date Tiny Love Tiny Tour at small venues in New York, Montreal, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico City. In addition, Mika appeared on the American TV show "Late Night with Seth Meyers" on 11 September 2019, performing new song "Tiny Love," along with "Big Girl" from his first album.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In October 2019, Mika was honored with the Music Award at the 2019 Virgin Atlantic Attitude Awards hosted in London by the UK's Attitude Magazine. The award acknowledged that "after staring down homophobia at the start of his pop career, Mika is now making unapologetically queer music that also processes his past pain." In a related article in Attitude, Mika noted, "If I didn't have music, I would not have been able to understand or deal with my sexuality in the same way. It's always been at the centre of my writing."


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika launched a worldwide tour, known as the Revelation Tour, in London on 10 November 2019. The 2019 leg of the tour included dates in Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland and Belgium. It continued in 2020 with stops in Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, and Italy then went on to several dates in New Zealand and Australia. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mika announced in February 2020 the cancellation of the Asian leg of the tour in Japan, China and South Korea. Subsequently, the North and South American leg of the tour were cancelled, including a performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In between concert stops, Mika made several television appearances, including: a live episode of X Factor Italia (24 October 2019); the finale of France's The Voice Kids (October 2019); and the live finale of Danse Avec les Stars (23 November 2019). Mika also performed on top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris as part of its 130th anniversary celebration in October 2019.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In January 2020, Mika released the album "MIKA Live at Brooklyn Steel," for digital download/streaming only. It is a recording of his 13 September 2019 concert at the venue Brooklyn Steel in New York.


title: Mika (singer)

text: With touring on hold due to the pandemic, Mika returned to Italian television and X Factor Italia as a judge in the summer/fall of 2020.


title: Mika (singer)

text: After the devastating explosion that hit Beirut in August 2020, Mika was moved to honor his Lebanese heritage and organized a streaming concert in aid of the citizens of that city. The resulting concert film, titled "I Love Beirut", featured a number of international performers, including Kylie Minogue, Danna Paola, Louane, Salma Hayek and Rufus Wainwright. It was viewed in 106 countries around the globe and raised more than €1 million.


title: Mika (singer)

text: The summer of 2020 also saw Mika release a number of collaborations. In August, he released "Le Coeur Holiday" with the French rapper Soprano, with whom he had worked on "The Voice France". The video for this song was an animated short that featured cartoon versions of the singers in a touching tale of friendship. Also in August, Mika duetted with Italian singer Michele Bravi on an updated version of "Bella d'estate," originally recorded in 1987 by the singer Mango. Rounding out the summer of international collaborations, on 11 September 2020, Mika appeared along with Mexican singer and actress Danna Paola on her single titled "Me, Myself".


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika sang vocals on one more single around this time, this for the Canadian singer-songwriter Pierre Lapointe. The song, "Six Heures d'Avion Nous Séparent", appears on Lapointe's 2020 album "Chansons Hivernales."


title: Mika (singer)

text: Just before Christmas 2020, Mika hosted "Do Re MIKA Sol," a concert to benefit the charity Imagine for Margo, held in the pediatric department of the French "Institut Curie". The concert was broadcast live on Facebook. Mika performed a set of Christmas carols for patients and their families, and hospital staff, accompanied by members of the 100 Voices of Gospel. Mika closed out 2020 by performing several times at the palace of Versailles in Paris. In mid-December he performed an intimate live concert with the Royal Opera of Versailles with a variety of classical and other musicians. An album of the concert, "Mika a l'Opéra Royal de Versailles", was later released in early 2021. Mika also performed at the New Year's Eve celebration, La Grande Soiree, filmed at Versailles, which aired on France 2, where he performed an 8-minute opening medley of some of his biggest hits.


title: Mika (singer)

text: With touring and most live performances still on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mika turned to a number of other projects in 2021.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In March 2021, Mika launched a project that was billed as an open-air exhibition to give colours back to Paris. Collaborating with a number of artists and his sister Yasmine, Mika created a series of posters that were displayed on the Morris columns and other advertising boards around the city.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika quarantined in Canada for two weeks in Spring 2021 so that he could then work on the Canadian version of the talent show "Star Academie." Mika served as artistic director for two episodes, during which he coached the young contestants as well as performing with them. In addition to performing a number of his most popular songs, Mika performed a cover of David Bowie's "Heroes" and Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah."


title: Mika (singer)

text: For Pride Month in June, Mika partnered with job-search platform Indeed, for an initiative called "Soundtrack of Empathy." The initiative encouraged workers to share their music playlists with colleagues, in an effort to create a more empathetic workplace. Along with the "Soundtrack of Empathy," Mika performed a live-streamed benefit concert, which raised $40,000 for Lady Gaga's Born This Way Foundation. There was also an influencer roundtable featuring artists selected by Mika, who spoke about the shared language of music and how it naturally encourages empathy and sparks vulnerability.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika performed at two private concerts hosted by jeweler Chopard during the Cannes Film Festival in July. While attending these events, he was followed by Italian filmmaker Pif, who aired a special episode in the fall on a day in Mika's life on the Italian television show Il Testimone (The Witness).


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika continued his work as a judge on "X Factor Italia" in 2021, alongside co-judges singer Emma Marrone, Italian rapper and producer Hell Raton, and Manuel Agnelli, of the Italian band Afterhours. He also rejoined The Voice France, for a special "All-Stars" 10th anniversary edition.


title: Mika (singer)

text: September 2021 marked Mika's return to larger performances, as he headlined a private event hosted by American Express for its premium cardholders. The concert was held at Salle Pleyel in Paris for about 2000 attendees.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Reuniting once again with composer and conductor Simon Leclerc, Mika performed orchestral versions of many of his hits during two sold-out concerts in October at the Philharmonie de Paris. The concerts were performed with the National Orchestra de France and the Choeur Stella Maris on 23 and 24 October. The 23 October concert was filmed and subsequently broadcast on TV in both France and Italy. It was later also broadcast on several PBS stations in the United States.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In early December 2021, Mika announced that he would be continuing his partnership with Indeed, which would sponsor a short North American tour in Spring 2022. With stops in New York (Brooklyn), Boston, Montreal and Toronto, the "For the Rite of Spring Tour" was scheduled to span three weeks in April. Additional dates were added to the For the Rite of Spring Tour, including two dates at the Coachella festival in California. Unfortunately, Mika became ill and needed to cancel the Boston date, and reschedule the others, but eventually the tour took place.


title: Mika (singer)

text: After concluding the "For the Rite of Spring Tour," Mika jetted to Italy to serve as co-host for the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 alongside Italian singer Laura Pausini and TV presenter Alessandro Cattelan.


title: Mika (singer)

text: On 13 May, Mika released the single "Yo Yo". The lyric video for the single was released at the same time. Mika performed "Yo Yo" for the first time as part of a show-stopping interval medley at the grand final of the Eurovision contest on 14 May 2022. The video for Yo Yo was directed by Mika and was released on 14 June.


title: Mika (singer)

text: The summer following Mika's Eurovision stint was one of his busiest ever. He kicked off the season with a performance at Disneyland Paris Pride, an appearance that was postponed from two years earlier due to the pandemic.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Immediately afterward, Mika flew to New York to participate in "Take Pride Live!", an hour-long YouTube Pride Month special sponsored by Indeed, and hosted by Terrell Grice. During the program, Mika debuted a new song, "Who's Gonna Love Me Now?" The ballad is featured in the directorial debut of Emmy, Tony, and Grammy Award winner Billy Porter called "Anything's Possible."


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika then returned to London after a more than two-year absence for a sold-out concert at the famous Roundhouse in Camden on 3 July 2022. He followed that with an array of festival shows throughout July, August, and into early September, with stops in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain and Sardinia. Due to insurmountable technical and logistical problems, however, a planned "Magic Piano Tour" covering 10 dates in Italy in September and October was indefinitely postponed.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In between the festival shows, Mika found time to record and release a single, "Bolero," with Italian singer BabyK. The single came out 17 June, with the video featuring both singers releasing on 14 July. Mika promoted the single by performing it with BabyK at the TIM Summer Hits show in Italy.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In addition, Mika retained one Italian concert date—at the famed Arena di Verona on 19 September. There, nearly 20,000 fans were entertained for almost two hours, with confetti, balloons, bubbles, fan actions and more in an explosive end-of-summer celebration.


title: Mika (singer)

text: In October, Mika performed in Monte Carlo, at a charity event organised by the Venetian Arts Foundation to benefit the Prince Albert II Foundation, and its coastal resilience and marine protection projects.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Looking to the future, Mika has already announced a number of new projects. He is currently working on two albums, to be released in 2023—one in the French language, the other in English. In addition, he has been working on his first film score, which will be part of the upcoming French-language film titled "Princes of the Desert ("formerly called "Tehu)" directed by Eric Barbier and starring Alexandra Lamy, Youssef Hajdi, and Nadia Benzakour. It is due to be released in February 2023.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika has also been tapped to serve as judge on a new television program in the UK called "The Piano." The series, produced by Love Productions (also responsible for "The Great British Bake-Off"), follows a number of musicians on a journey from playing in public train stations around the UK to the Royal Festival Hall stage. Hosted by Claudia Winkleman, the show will also feature Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang as judge alongside Mika. The series is set to be broadcast on the UK's Channel 4 in early 2023.


title: Mika (singer)

text: A few tour dates for 2023 have also been announced: Mika will play two dates in Japan in May -- Osaka on 23 May and Tokyo on 24 May. Mika will also return to the UK festival scene in 2023, and is set to perform on 18 June at the Isle of Wight Festival.


title: Mika (singer)

text: Mika's legal name is Michael Holbrook Penniman, Jr., but he was given the nickname Mica by his mother. As he grew older, he changed the 'c' to a 'k'.