title: Angelo Mathews

text: Year 2014 was the limelight of Mathew's captaincy, where Sri Lanka won many bilateral ODI series and also the 2014 Asia Cup. That year, he became the most successful ODI captain with 20 wins out of 32 matches and 62.50% of winning percentage. For his performances in 2014, he was named as captain of the World Test XI by ICC. He was also named in the Cricbuzz XI of the year.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: On 11 March 2015, during the last pool A match in 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup, against Scotland, Mathews scored the fastest fifty by a Sri Lankan in World Cups, and third fastest ODI fifty by a Sri Lankan after Sanath Jayasuriya and Kusal Perera. His fifty came from just 20 balls, where it includes 5 sixes and 1 four.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: Mathews was able to bring the team to quarter finals of the World Cup 2015 under his captaincy, where they lost the quarter final against South Africa on 18 March 2015. This defeat was Sri Lanka's first lost in World Cups after 2003, without reaching for the semi finals.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: Mathews became the fourth Sri Lankan all-rounder to take 100 ODI wickets with more than 3000 ODI runs after Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva, and Tillakaratne Dilshan. He took his 100th ODI wicket by lbw of Mohammad Hafeez on 26 July 2015.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: On 8 March 2016, Mathews was appointed as the T20I captain as well, due to continuous injuries of Lasith Malinga. On 17 August 2016, under Mathews' captaincy, Sri Lanka whitewashed Australia, which was at the Number 1 in Test rankings. This was the second time that Sri Lanka managed to Whitewash a major Test side in their history. Before that, West Indies who were led by Brian Lara were white washed in a three test series in 2001, and apart from that only Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have been whitewashed.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: In July 2017, Sri Lanka lost a five-match home ODI series 3–2 against Zimbabwe. Matthews said the defeat was "one of the lowest points in my career" and he stepped down as captain of the team in all three formats the following day.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: On 4 December 2017 against India, Mathews scored his eighth test century. His century came during a tough time for Sri Lanka's innings, where he built the innings slowly with captain Dinesh Chandimal. Finally Sri Lanka was able to drawn the match.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: Mathews scored his second ODI hundred on 12 December 2017 at Mohali during the second ODI against India. However his century was in vain due to the third double hundred of Rohit Sharma in the earlier innings and Sri Lanka was on a chase of mammoth total of 392. With Mathews unbeaten century however, Sri Lanka crossed 250 after 10 ODI matches and finally lost the match by 141 runs.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: During the second T20I against India, Mathews pulled up hamstring strain as he ran in to deliver the third ball of his third over. He left the field and did not came to bat as well. With medical treatments and news arrived, he will be out of cricket for at least two weeks.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: On 9 January 2018, Mathews has been reappointed as the captain for Sri Lanka in One Day Internationals and Twenty20 Internationals for the second time less than six months after he resigned from the position. He was stepped down from captaincy at the end of Zimbabwe tour of Sri Lanka in 2017 after ODI loss. However, with many defeats in all formats in 2017, new coach Chandika Hathurusinghe and new selection committee handed over limited over captaincy for Mathews for the second time.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: Things were not good for his captaincy, where Sri Lanka lost the first match for Zimbabwe in the Bangladesh tri-series. During the match he suffered a knee injury and ruled out from the rest of the ODI series. Dinesh Chandimal captained the side and won the series as well. Initial news revealed that, Mathews will recover for the Test series against Bangladesh, but he did not recovered and hence dropped from the Test squad. He also missed T20I series, where Chandimal appointed as the T20I captain. This Bangladesh tour was the third-consecutive overseas tour Mathews withdrew from with a hamstring injury, having also done so in 2017 in South Africa and India. In 2016, he had missed a full tour of Zimbabwe with "multiple leg injuries" as well.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: In May 2018, he was one of 33 cricketers to be awarded a national contract by Sri Lanka Cricket ahead of the 2018–19 season.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: Mathews was sacked as the captain of the Sri Lankan ODI and T20 team in September, 2018 after a disastrous 2018 Asia Cup campaign where Sri Lanka crashed out of tournament after losing both their group matches against Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Test captain Dinesh Chandimal was named as the replacement for Mathews to captain the limited overs teams.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: During the first Test against New Zealand in late 2018, Mathews scored his ninth Test century. Mathews along with Kusal Mendis batted all over fourth day, which was the fifth time that Sri Lankan pair had done that in Test history. On fifth day, they put on an unbeaten double century partnership which overall lasts for 115 wicketless overs for New Zealanders. With rain interrupted, the match was ended in a draw. The partnership of 246, was also Sri Lanka's highest for any wicket against New Zealand and also Sri Lanka's highest in the second innings of a Test. It was the first time a Sri Lankan pair has added 200-plus runs in the second innings of a Test outside Asia.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: In the second Test, Mathews injured with a hamstring trouble while he was batting with Chandimal. He was immediately sent for the medical scans and did not come to bat after tea. Sri Lanka finally lost the match and series 1–0. He was ruled out of the ODI tour and upcoming Australian tour as well.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: In April 2019, he was named in Sri Lanka's squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup. After consecutive failures of 0,0, 9 with the bat in World Cup, Mathews regained his form during the pool match against England. He scored unbeaten 85 runs to post a total of 232. With the bowling performance by veteran Malinga, Sri Lanka won the match by 20 runs. During the match, Mathews scored his 12,000th international run for Sri Lanka. During the match against West Indies on 1 July 2019, Mathews surprisingly requested to bowl the 48th over. He picked up the wicket of Nicolas Pooran who was on 118, and was all set to take the West Indies to victory. Mathews, had not bowled for 8 months, even in the nets. On 6 July 2019 against India, Mathews scored his third century, where all his three centuries now came against India. However, Sri Lanka lost the match by 7 wickets.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: Mathews was included to the T20I series against India in January 2020. It was his first T20I appearance after 16 months. He played in the third T20I on 10 January 2020 and started to ball as well. However, he finished with expensive figures of 38 runs in three overs without a wicket. With the bat, he scored 31 runs and Sri Lanka eventually lost the match and the series.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: On 22 January 2020, during the first test against Zimbabwe, Mathews scored his maiden double hundred. He scored unbeaten 200 runs in 465 balls within 600 minutes in the middle. His double hundred is recorded as the first double hundred scored by a Sri Lanka in five years after Sangakkara's double in 2015. Finally Sri Lanka won the match by 10 wickets and Mathews won the man of the match award. Sri Lanka was able to draw the second Test due to second innings unbeaten century by Kusal Mendis and sealed the series 1–0. Mathews won the player of the series award becoming highest run scorer in the series. Mathews scored 277 runs with a double hundred and one fifty at an average 138.50.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: During third ODI against West Indies, Mathews delivered match winning bowling spell. He bowled all 10 overs in the match since way back in July 2015 due to the injury of premier pacer Nuwan Pradeep. He took 4 for 59 where he bowled the penultimate over to win the match for Sri Lanka by 6 runs. He won man of the match award for match winning bowling performance.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: First test match of England tour of Sri Lanka 2021, Mathews scored his 6000 test runs. In the second innings he scored his 36th test half century. He scored 71 runs facing 219 balls and 344 minutes on the crease just hitting four boundaries. His patient innings helped to take a lead to Sri Lanka but England won the match by 7 wickets.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: Second test match of England tour of Sri Lanka 2021, Mathews scored his 11th test century. It was Mathews 1st test ton on home soil since 2015 and his first test ton at Gall International Cricket Stadium.He scored 110 runs hitting 11 boundaries to put a big total to the team in First innings. He is the highest run scorer for Sri Lanka in this series. But England won the match by 6 wickets and also won the series.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: On 27 February 2021, Mathews was appointed as Sri Lanka's stand-in captain for the T20I series in the West Indies as the appointed captain Dasun Shanaka, delayed in obtaining a US transit visa and travel with the team at the time. Under Mathews captaincy, Sri Lanka managed to win only the second T20I, where West Indies won the series 2–1. In batting, he had a poor outing, where he scored 5, 13 and 11 in three matches. Meanwhile, after the first ODI in the series, he left the tour of West Indies immediately for personal reasons citing his daughter's critical health condition.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: On 15 May 2022, during the first test match against Bangladesh, Mathews scored his 12th test century. He dismissed for 199 runs while reaching to his double century. Due to his innings match ended in a draw and Mathews later won player of the match award for his performance. He continued his good form into next match too scoring his 13th test century. He put 199 run partnership with Dinesh Chandimal and his unbeaten 145* helped put Sri Lanka into strong position. Finally Sri Lanka won the match by 10 wickets and Mathews won player of the series award for his consistent performance. He was highest run scorer in the series scoring 344 runs including two centuries. He was later voted as the ICC Men's Player of the Month for May 2022, becoming the first Sri Lankan to achieve the feat.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: In the Australian Test series in July 2022, Sri Lanka suffered a huge defeat, where the match ended in three days. During the match, Mathews contracted COVID-19 and ruled out of the Test. However, on 9 July 2022, he scored 52 runs in the first innings of the second Test against Australia. Later Sri Lanka posted a total of 554 courtesy of Chandimal's double hundred. Finally Sri Lanka won the match by an innings and 39 runs, marking Sri Lanka's first-ever innings victory in Test cricket against Australia.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: With three legends (Sangakkara, Jayawardene, Dilshan) retiring from international cricket, the team had a rough time in many bilateral series in all formats. They also lost Asia Cup, World T20 and Champions Trophy very cheaply and moved down to 8 and 7 places in rankings as well. With all these, Bangladesh toured Sri Lanka and drawn all formats, whereas Zimbabwe also recorded their first series win against Sri Lanka and the captaincy of Mathews was criticized for many reasons for their losses. Though he injured several times in his captaincy career, and replaced by Upul Tharanga in many winning notes, reporters suggested that Mathews will not captain until 2019 Cricket World Cup.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: Mathews was highly criticized for his running between the wickets. Sri Lanka coach Chandika Hathurusinghe stated that Mathews has involved for more than 64 run outs in past two years, more than the second worst. Out of those 64, about 45 times, the batsman at the other end got out, where Hathurusinghe suggested that it is a world record. Hathurusingha and the selectors contended that Mathews lacked the "cricket fitness" to field for 50 overs, then run between the wickets effectively. Under Mathews captaincy, Sri Lanka exit early from 2018 Asia Cup, where he was involved for three more run outs in the same fashion. Therefore, immediately after the series, he was removed from the limited over captaincy and also from the limited over squad for England home series.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: On 7 July 2021, Mathews announced that he is considering to retire from across all formats of international cricket as he had not signed the tour contract with SLC for the limited overs series against India and he complained of the unethical treatment by the management regarding the senior players in the team. His decision is mainly due to the pay dispute with the Sri Lanka Cricket Board and also due to the intentions of SLC to axe several senior players from the national team in the limited overs matches to nurture and give opportunities to the youngsters with the 2023 World Cup on focus.


title: Angelo Mathews

text: In July 2021, he announced that he was interested in taking a major responsibility to find donors for a social welfare project titled "Little Hearts" which is also a national fundraising project being initiated in order to build a Cardiac and Critical Care Complex at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children which is situated in Colombo. He was inspired to involve with Little Hearts fundraiser after acknowledging about the way the doctors and nurses had treated his daughter who was admitted at LRH hospital for sickness.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Vanessa Hau Mdee (born 7 June 1988), is a Tanzanian singer, rapper, television personality and radio host. Mdee is popularly known for being the first ever Tanzanian MTV VJ. She later rose to prominence as a radio and TV host, hosting "Epic Bongo Star Search" and "Dume Challenge" for ITV Tanzania before signing to B'Hits Music Group in late 2012.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: After joining B'hits Music Group, Mdee collaborated with Tanzanian rapper A.Y. on a record "Money" and Ommy Dimpoz, a Bongo Flava artist on a record "Me and You" that was later voted Song of the Year during the 2013 Kilimanjaro Music Awards. She received an even bigger buzz with the release of her first solo single "Closer", which in its first week was downloaded over 30,000 times, a feat achieved by no other Tanzanian artist. "Closer" remained on the charts for over 13 weeks.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Vanessa has had the chance to interview many artists, such as K'Naan, Kelly Rowland, French Montana, Mac Miller, Rick Ross, Ludacris, Miguel, Donald, Nazizi, Xtatic, Stella Mwangi, Camp Mulla, Tay Grin, Teargas and many more African and international acts. In 2015 and 2016, she released three singles ("Nobody But Me", "Never Ever" and "Niroge") which were also received well. In 2018, she was signed to Universal Music Group.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Vanessa Mdee was born on 7 June 1988 in Arusha, the third-largest city in Tanzania. Mdee became familiar with various cultures after growing up in New York, Paris, Nairobi and Arusha. She obtained her secondary and high level education at Arusha Modern High School. Mdee attended university at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa to pursue a law degree. Mdee quickly became familiar with many different forms of creative and performing arts.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: In early 2007, Mdee got the chance to audition for The MTV VJ Search in Dar es Salaam. Afterwards, she joined Carol and Kule to host the "Coca-Cola Chart Express". By 2008, Mdee had established herself in Tanzania and around the continent, hosting shows in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Mozambique, Angola, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo. She also became known in the United States and Brazil.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: In 2008, Mdee worked with the Staying Alive Foundation on a project close to her heart. She got to visit the Uwanja wa Fisi with then-Staying Alive Foundation Special Ambassador Kelly Rowland. Mdee also joined Malaria No More in their Z!nduka Campaign, a campaign aimed at the eradication of malaria.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: In early 2009 Mdee hosted "Senses, Sounds and Wisdom" with Zantel during the annual Sauti Za Busara International Music Festival, showcasing the ever-growing Swahili culture. Mdee's fashion sense has made her the go-to girl at every MTV Africa Music Awards. She hosted the red carpet event for three years in a row.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: In 2011, Mdee's became the host of 102.5 Choice FM's "The Hitlist". As host, Mdee played R&B, Hip-Hop, and Pop. She also interviewed many artists, such as K'Naan, Kelly Rowland, Mac Miller, Rick Ross, Ludacris, Miguel, Donald, Naazizi, Xtatic, Stella Mwangi, Camp Mulla, Tay Grin, Teargas, Dr. Sid and many more African and international acts.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Along with her pan-African weekly TV show, "MTV's Base Select 10" and daily radio gig, Mdee blogged as a roving reporter on behalf of "MTV Staying Alive" and UNAIDS on her Dynamites Mission website. She was MTV's voice at the 2011 UNAIDS Mali Youth Summit in Bamako and the subsequent High Level meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, She participated in the International Conference on HIV and STI's in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and cofounded (along with M. K. Asante) STANDWIDTH, under the UNAIDS umbrella.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: In 2012 Mdee hosted "MTV Base Meets", a show geared towards empowering young Africans from around the world by giving them the rare opportunity to sit down with an influential leader. "MTV Base Meets" brought her in the company of Russell Simmons, Alek Wek, former President of Nigeria Hon. Olusegun Obasanjo, football star Emmanuel Adebayor and Akon. Mdee also hosted the Kili Music Awards (Tanzania's music awards) as well as Tanzania's nationwide talent search "Epiq Bongo Star Search" (EBSS). Mdee is currently working on her new web series "Vee World Wide", about her travels and encounters with various celebrities from around the world. People who have appeared on "Vee World Wide" include Keke Palmer, Carol Rodrigues, Da Internz, Keyshia Knight Pulliam, Letoya Luckett, DWoods, GOOD Music's D'Banj and many more. Mdee was asked to audition for BET's "106 & Park", although she did not get the gig.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Also in 2012, Mdee was awarded at a gala in New York City by the UNA-YP (United Nations Association of Young Professionals) for being an African change maker. In the same month she was awarded by the GAVI Alliance for her support in the initiation of free vaccinations for Tanzanian children. In May 2013, Mdee was invited to speak at the World Economic Forum for Africa in Cape Town, South Africa on behalf of the GAVI Alliance on the announcement of the new record low price for the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccines. Later that same month, Mdee again spoke on cervical cancer at the Global Forum for Cervical Cancer Prevention in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on behalf of Global Health Strategies. Mdee officially became a GAVI Ambassador and an active voice against cervical cancer.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Mdee launched her music career in 2012, working on the single "Me and You" by Ommy Dimpoz. A month later 13 January 2013 – she released her first single "Closer". These scored her four nominations at Tanzania's Music Awards (Kilimanjaro Tanzania Music Awards), including "Bongo Pop Song of the year", which she won. She also won Collaboration of the Year.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: In, 2013 Mdee got added to the Dar es Salaam hub of the World Economic Forum as a Global Shaper. In October 2013 Mdee joined the GAVI Alliance again at the UN General Assembly where she spoke on a panel with Yoweri Museveni, President of Uganda. This trip ended with Mdee closing the NASDAQ by ringing the ceremonial closing bell, along with UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibe and Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President of Mali. Mdee was in turn awarded by the Global Health and Diplomacy for her work in advocacy.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Mdee hosted MTV Base's Hunters Oasis; a music festival around Africa with appearances from some of the African continents hottest artists and DJs. She also hosted Tanzania's "Epiq Bongo Star Search Season 7" and "Dume Challenge", seasons 1 and 2. Mdee also released her second single "Come Over" in November 2013 which has been on charts in Tanzania, Nigeria, Uganda, Kenya etc.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: In 2014, Mdee was nominated for 3 Kilimanjaro Tanzania Music Awards for Female Artist of the Year, R&B Song of the Year and Female Performer of the Year. On 3 May 2014, she won for R&B Song of the Year for "Closer". Mdee released her third single "Hawajui" on 13 June.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: 'Switch On' Airtel Campaign; Vanessa Mdee is involved in the 'Switch On' campaign by Airtel that is about connecting users to the internet and charged according to the kind of device in use.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: MTV Africa Music Awards; Vanessa Mdee alongside Nomuzi Mabena presented the Best Collaboration Award and Best Francophone Award. During the trip to Durban, South Africa she as an MTV VJ had an opportunity to sit down and interview Trey Songz, Miguel and French Montana all artists from the U.S.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Coke Studio Africa; Vanessa Mdee features in season II of "Coke Studio Africa" where she collaborates and performs with Nigeria's Burna Boy.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Kili Music Tour; Vanessa Mdee was among the artists that graced the Kili Music Tour 2014 stage in Mwanza and the finale in Dar es Salaam.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Serengeti Fiesta Music Tour 2014 – Sambaza Upendo (Swahili for 'Spread Love'); Vanessa Mdee was on Tanzania's biggest nationwide music tour, covering various regions. The tour final took place on Saturday, 18 October 2014 in Dar es Salaam where American rapper T.I graced the stage; other acts included Diamond, Davido, Waje, Victoria Kimani, Patoranking to name a few.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Vanessa Mdee received an endorsement deal from Crown Paints, to be its brand ambassador in Tanzania. Crown Paints is a number one paint manufacturing company in Eastern Africa.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: AFRIMA Awards; Vanessa Mdee nominated for two categories: "Best Female Artiste in Eastern Africa" and "Best African RNB & Soul" in the All Africa Music Awards. On 27 December, Vanessa Mdee won Best Female Artiste in Eastern Africa award in Lagos, Nigeria.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: On 8 November, Vanessa Mdee joined forces with another Tanzanian songbird Barnaba Elias to release their latest up tempo Afro Pop duet "Siri". It tells the tale of a cunning young man who tries to convince a young bride to embark on a love affair with him, with promises of plenty material things. Despite her upbringing the story ends at a crossroads, leaving the listener wondering. "Siri" is already rising fast on the Tanzania radio charts plus East African charts. Later on 8 December, the much anticipated video for "Hawajui" was premiered on "MTV Base" and has gone on to capture the attention of the African continent and beyond.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Early this year, Vanessa Mdee signed a brand ambassadorship deal with Samsung Tanzania. Vanessa has continued to attract a lot of attention from plenty of corporations due to her enormous talent and continued effort to grow her brand.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: On 26 March 2015, Vanessa Mdee released her fifth single "Nobody But Me" where she joins with heavy hitting South African rapper K.O on. Composed by Vanessa Mdee, Ntokozo Mdluli and Nahreel, the light hearted collabo will transcend from the airwaves to the club. "Nobody But Me" is already topping charts in various countries in Africa.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: On 4 April 2015, Mdee performed in Lagos, Nigeria at the Gidi Culture Festival known to be Africa's biggest beach festival, that was presented by Eclipse Live and Lagos State. The festival was held at Eko Atlantic. Vanessa Mdee shared the stage with some of the continent's top artists like Burna Boy, Awilo Longomba, M.I, Waje, Sean Tizzle, Victoria Kimani, Efya, Skales and many more. Vanessa Mdee was the only artist representing Tanzania at the festival.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Mdee is up for three Kilimanjaro Music Awards i.e. Female Artist of the Year, Female Entertainer of the Year and Afropop Song of the Year. The awards are set to take place 15 June 2015 in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Vanessa Mdee's also nominated for Favorite Female Artist at Tanzania's People's Choice Awards "Tuzo Za Watu" that take place on 22 May 2015 in Dar es Salaam.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: On 13 May 2015, Mdee joined forces with arguably seven of Africa's most popular songstresses for ONE mission and ONE mission only – Celebrating girl power! The campaign is calling on world leaders to put girls and women in the forefront in 2015. This is the year when the new development goals will be set by world leaders at the United Nations. Apart from Vanessa Mdee, the other artists are Victoria Kimani (Kenya), Judith Sephuma (South Africa), Waje (Nigeria), Arielle T (Gabon), Gabriela (Mozambique), Yemi Alade (Nigeria), Selomor Mtukudzi (Zimbabwe) and Blessing Nwafor. The song promotes the Poverty is Sexist Campaign globally, and will be officially launched in Nigeria, Mozambique, Zimbabwe and South Africa during the World Economic Forum for Africa and the African Union Heads of State Summit. The song is released in conjunction with a report by ONE titled, "Poverty is Sexist: Why girls and women must be at the heart of the fight to end extreme poverty". The report shows how unlocking women's economic potential could improve the lives of everyone in society. It also illustrates the structural nature of the social, economic, political and cultural barriers that militate against women and girls. The campaign has a petition which is calling on world leaders to track the fight against inequality and injustice by investing more in women and girls if the world is to end extreme poverty by 2030.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: On 23 June 2015, Mdee took home two KTMA Awards for "Female Artist of the Year" and "Best Female Entertainer". The awards were held in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania – which takes place every year.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Essence a popular US magazine – hadn't shot a cover in Africa since 1978. They decided it was time. They travelled to East Africa and photographed Erykah Badu in Zanzibar, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya for the August issue. Vanessa Mdee features in this Essence issue where she opens up about Tanzania, her music, inspiration and many more.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: The Mombasa Rocks festival was held at the Mombasa Golf Club – Kenya on 8 October 2016. Vanessa Mdee delivering an electrifying performance was among the headliners that featured international singing sensation Chris Brown, Nigeria's Wizkid, Tanzania's Alikiba and others.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Fiesta Tour: Vanessa among other Tanzanian music artists have been touring various cities in the country. Vanessa has performed in Dodoma, Morogoro, Arusha and is set to perform at the finale in Dar es Salaam.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: One Africa Music Festival: Vanessa performed live at the Toyota Center – Houston on Saturday, 22 October 2016. This unforgettable night featured Africa's finest such as Nigerian afrobeats stars 2Face, Banky W, P-Square, Dbanj, Olamide, Flavour, Kcee, Harrysongs, DR Congolese Fally Ipupa, South African duo Mafikizolo, East Africa's Vanessa Mdee, and many more.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: In July 2019, Vanessa Mdee was unveiled as one of the four pioneer judges for the debut season of "East Africa's Got Talent", which began airing in August 2019.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Vanessa Mdee released her debut album 'Money Mondays' on 15 January 2018. The album consists eighteen tracks, two as bonus and sixteen as official tracks. Including Bambino ft. Reekado Banks, Cash Madame, Bounce and Kisela ft. P Squares's Peter.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Money Mondays broke many records in East African Music history, a report announced by African most loved music streaming platform BoomPlay.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: Vanessa Mdee has been rumoured to have been in a number of romantic relationships but the only confirmed relationship is with her now ex, Tanzanian music star, Juma Jux. The pair were in a relationship for six years before the final breakup in 2018 which they mutually agreed to keep secret before Vanessa revealed the news in an interview in 2019. Juma Jux later revealed in an interview that his first breakup with the singer was as a result of a picture of Vanessa with Nigerian rapper, Ice Prince, with the two looking cozy. Vanessa was also linked to a rumoured romantic relationship with American superstar, Trey Songz, which she later refuted in an interview.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: On 25 November 2019, Rotimi, popularly known by his character, Andre, in the popular TV series, Power, shared a picture of him and Vanessa posing in an elevator on date night, with Vanessa also confirming their relationship by posting the same picture with a different caption. Rotimi told the story of how the two met at a party and hit it off and Vanessa also said in an interview how she knew he was her husband, only two days after meeting him. In a video posted on Instagram with Rotimi who was later joined by Vanessa, the pair revealed that they both had tattoos of each other's name on their bodies; her (middle) name, Hau, on his right wrist and his name, Rotimi, on her chest. They also have matching tattoos of the number 1045 on their wrists.


title: Vanessa Mdee

text: In December 2020, Vanessa announced her engagement to Rotimi by posting a video of her diamond ring on Instagram along with a long caption. The pair was expecting their first child together. It was announced with a series of maternity photos. On 29 September 2021, they welcomed a boy.


title: Huya Live

text: Huya Live () is a Chinese video live streaming service. The site is one of the largest of its kind in China, and also operates globally as Nimo TV. Similar to other streaming services like Loco, the site primarily focuses on video game live streaming and includes official broadcasts of esports competitions. In addition, Huya also has live broadcasts for a variety of other genres, including cooking, traditional sports and "real life" streams.


title: Huya Live

text: On 24 November 2014, it was announced that YY.com's video streaming service would begin operating independently as Huya Live.


title: Huya Live

text: On 4 January 2018, Riot Games gave Huya Live exclusive rights to broadcast the LCK, South Korea's professional esports league for "League of Legends", in China. The same was done for the LCS and LEC on 20 January 2020, the equivalent leagues in North America and Europe respectively.


title: Huya Live

text: In April 2020, Tencent became the largest shareholder of Huya, having increased its voting power to 50.1% which reduced JOYY's voting stake from 55.5% to 43%.


title: Huya Live

text: The mobile app of Huya was banned in India (along with other Chinese apps) on 2 September 2020 by the government, the move came amid the 2020 China-India skirmish.


title: Huya Live

text: Nimo TV is the global name of Huya Live. Nimo TV is the most used streaming platform in multiple countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, and Vietnam.


title: Taj Mahal (1999 film)

text: Taj Mahal is a 1999 Tamil-language romantic drama film directed by Bharathiraja. The film stars his son, Manoj, and Riya Sen in their debut as lead actors, with a supporting ensemble cast including Revathi, Raadhika, and Ranjitha. The film was written by Mani Ratnam while the music was composed by A. R. Rahman and B. Kannan handled the camera. The story of the film revolved around two clashing communities and two lovers caught in the vortex of their rivalry. The film was released during Diwali in 1999 and fared poorly at the box office.


title: Taj Mahal (1999 film)

text: Thiruppaachi and Sengulam are neighboring villages with a history of enmity between them. Maayan and Machakanni meet on the day of her engagement and it is love at first sight. Her marriage itself gets called off when the groom and his family insult Machakanni's family and her romance with Maayan continues. However, when her brother finds out about him, all hell breaks loose. The turned-down bridegroom is still itching for revenge and figuring out that the only way to extract it is to marry Machakanni, he pleads for forgiveness and succeeds in melting her brother's heart. The marriage is finalised but Maayan's friends swear to unite the star-crossed lovers. There is also a subplot of Maayan's aunt trying to get her daughter married off to Maayan.


title: Taj Mahal (1999 film)

text: Bharathiraja introduced his son Manoj as an actor with the film, stating that his son should appear as an actor before fulfilling his dreams of working as a part of the crew. Riya Sen, daughter of Hindi actress Moon Moon Sen was signed on to play the leading female role. Leading film-maker Mani Ratnam wrote the story for the film, while Rajiv Menon was also involved in initial script discussions but opted out after the film became a village-centric project. A. R. Rahman was signed to score the music while veteran cinematographers B. Kannan and Madhu Ambat also signed the project, ending a long hiatus in Tamil films. The team started pre-production work in late 1997 and shooting began in 1998, with the project becoming Janani Cine Arts' most expensive production to date.


title: Taj Mahal (1999 film)

text: During production, Bharathiraja considered giving his son a stage name of Manibharathi, but ultimately opted against doing so. An exact replica of the Taj Mahal on Marina beach in Madras for a song sequence. The film was shot across areas including Kulu Manali, Badhami, Hampi, Bellari and Poomparai.


title: Taj Mahal (1999 film)

text: The film was initially slated to face a box office battle with several other big films, notably Kamal Haasan's "Hey Ram", Mani Ratnam's "Alaipayuthey", Rajiv Menon's "Kandukondain Kandukondain", and Shankar's "Mudhalvan", but the delay of the first three gave "Taj Mahal" a possible leeway to become a success.


title: Taj Mahal (1999 film)

text: The New Indian Express gave the film a mixed review citing that it was "vintage Bharatiraja at his best", while also adding that Riya Sen "shines in spite of an alien language and the totally strange cultural milieu in which she is placed". The reviewer adds that "song picturisation is brilliant and Revathy and Radhika, both favourite ex-heroines of the director, put up an impressive show." The critic also labels that the "only eyesore is hero Manoj" and that "Bharatiraja has been a little over-ambitious here and could have edited at least 20% of the film, including many unnecessary action scenes."


title: Taj Mahal (1999 film)

text: The film became a financial failure at the box office and Manoj's career failed to take off despite a high-profile launch. The film was also set to be dubbed and released in Telugu, but the financial losses suffered had deterred the version.


title: Taj Mahal (1999 film)

text: The soundtrack features 10 songs composed by A. R. Rahman and lyrics by Vairamuthu. The album marked Rahman's fourth collaboration with Bharathiraja. The songs were noted for the extensive use of traditional instruments. Rahman introduced several singers into the Tamil music scene, the most notable being Palakkad Sreeram. He sang a dappan koothu style song "Thirupaachi".


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Today (also referred to as The Today Show) is an Australian breakfast television program, with an infotainment base, currently hosted by Karl Stefanovic and Sarah Abo and includes news and weather updates. It broadcast weekdays on the Nine Network. The show also has a weekend edition called "Weekend Today"


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: "Today" airs each weekday after "" and runs from 5:30 am to 9:00 am before "Today Extra", an extended light entertainment program, hosted by David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys. The show is broadcast from the Nine Network TCN studios in North Sydney, a suburb located on the North Shore of New South Wales. Although not affiliated with, the program shares a similiar infotainment format and title of the long running United States.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Officially launched as The National Today Show, "Today" is Australia's longest running morning breakfast news program. The show premiered on 28 June 1982. The original hosts, Steve Liebmann and Sue Kellaway, spent four years together before Liebmann left to present the evening news for Network Ten in Sydney. Former "60 Minutes" reporter George Negus took over the male presenting role. After four years, Liebmann returned to the Nine Network, hosting "Today" with Liz Hayes and Tracy Grimshaw. However, in December 2004, Liebmann had a mild heart attack, prompting him to retire from breakfast television.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In 2005, "National Nine News" reporter Karl Stefanovic replaced Liebmann as co-host. Tracy Grimshaw left "Today" at the end of 2005 to replace Ray Martin as host of "A Current Affair". While it had been widely speculated in the Australian press that "Seven News" presenter Chris Bath would co-host "Today" with Stefanovic from January 2006, the position instead went to former "Ten News" presenter Jessica Rowe. Rowe had mixed beginnings as the co-host of "Today" with some viewers and commentators criticising her because of her dress-sense and her apparent over-happiness, citing her constant nervous laughter. Following her court case against Network Ten, Rowe was subjected to comments from the media and viewers that she should be sacked and was not right for the role of "Today". Rowe's replacements while on maternity leave were Sarah Murdoch and Kellie Sloane, who both saw a significant increases in ratings. They both presented until Rowe's departure from the show, when the Nine Network released a press statement on 5 May 2007 saying that Rowe had left the Nine Network to "take up other opportunities for her career".


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In May 2007, former "Weekend Sunrise" co-host Lisa Wilkinson was appointed as Jessica Rowe's successor. In October 2017, Wilkinson resigned effective immediately from the network due to contract negotiations failing. She finished on the show on 16 October 2017. It was later announced that Wilkinson would join Network Ten and "The Project" as a senior host and editor. Deborah Knight temporarily replaced Wilkinson until Georgie Gardner, who previously regularly appeared on the program as its news presenter, was announced as a permanent replacement host. Gardner commenced hosting "Today" in January 2018.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In December 2018, it was announced that Karl Stefanovic would not be returning to "Today" after 14 years as host.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: On 5 January 2019, the Nine Network announced that Deborah Knight would join Georgie Gardner as co-host replacing Stefanovic. It was also announced that Tom Steinfort would replace Sylvia Jeffreys as news presenter and Tony Jones would replace Tim Gilbert as sports presenter and Brooke Boney would become entertainment presenter, working alongside Richard Wilkins. The new team began on 14 January 2019. In February 2019 it was announced that Natalia Cooper would not return to the show after her maternity leave, with Steven Jacobs becoming weather presenter once again.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: The revamped line-up attracted constant media scrutiny and struggled to attain viewers – at times recording record-low ratings. It has been noted by some commentators however that the viewership gap with "Sunrise" was actually higher in Wilkinson's first year as co-host in 2007, with the audience building over time to eventually overtake "Sunrise". The lower ratings were also attributed to the fact that overall television audiences had decreased in comparison with prior years.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In November 2019, the Nine Network announced that Karl Stefanovic would return to the show as co-host alongside "Weekend Today" co-host and "60 Minutes" reporter Allison Langdon from January 2020. Both Georgie Gardner and Deborah Knight remained with the Nine Network with Gardner leaving the show immediately.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In December 2019, it was announced that Tracy Vo would replace Tom Steinfort as news presenter, Alex Cullen would replace Tony Jones as sports presenter and Tim Davies would replace Steven Jacobs as weather presenter In March 2020, Tracy Vo permanently returned to Perth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alex Cullen now presents both news and sport.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: On 9 September 2022, "Today" broke the news of the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Karl Stefanovic and Allison Langdon presented rolling coverage from 4:30 am until 12 midday, when the coverage was taken over by David Campbell and Sylvia Jeffreys. Coverage included live crosses to Tracy Vo and Leila McKinnon, Charles Croucher and Carrie-Anne Greenbank, as well as various royal commentators including Camilla Tominey and Dickie Arbiter.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In November 2022, the Nine Network announced that "60 Minutes" reporter Sarah Abo will replace Allison Langdon from January 2023. Langdon has been appointed as host of "A Current Affair" replacing Tracy Grimshaw.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In January 2016, Nine announced that "Mornings" would be rebranded as "Today Extra" to become an extension of the network's breakfast show "Today". The show was moved to the "Today" studio, while keeping its focus on light entertainment and news updates.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In January 2019, Campbell was announced the new host of "Weekend Today". He will continue to host the program on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, with Richard Wilkins joining the show as co-host on Thursdays and Fridays.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In December 2019, it was announced that Sylvia Jeffreys will replace Sonia Kruger permanently upon her return from maternity leave in 2020. David Campbell will return to hosting the show each weekday, with Richard Wilkins moving to host "Weekend Today".


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: After Sylvia Jeffreys announced her pregnancy, Belinda Russell joined the show to present in Jeffreys' absence.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In January 2009, David Gyngell, chief executive of the Nine Network, and John Westacott, former head of news and current affairs, announced that "Today" would begin broadcasting on Sunday mornings. The program, entitled "Today on Sunday", competes in the same timeslot as the Seven Network's "Weekend Sunrise", which dominates Sunday morning television. The show launched on 1 February 2009 and the original team consisted of Cameron Williams and Leila McKinnon with the news presented by Amber Sherlock and the sport was presented by Tim Gilbert on Saturday and Michael Slater on Sunday.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: On 2 May 2009, after the launch of "Today on Sunday Australia", the Nine Network announced through a surprise edition that "Today on Saturday Australia" would return. The program incorporates the same presenting team as the Sunday edition, being the first Australian breakfast news program to broadcast seven days a week. Due to the launch of the Saturday version of the program, the Nine Network renamed the programs as "Today: Weekend Edition Australia". David Gyngell said that the launch of the weekend editions were a part of the Nine Network's plans to strengthen its news and current affairs department and return viewers to its once leading service. In July 2009, "Today: Weekend Edition Australia" was renamed as "Weekend Today". In September 2012, "Weekend Today" was extended to three hours on Saturday.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In September 2014, Deborah Knight permanently replaced Leila McKinnon as co-host of the show; following McKinnon's move to the news department.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In November 2016, Peter Stefanovic announced that he would be moving to "60 Minutes" in 2017 as a reporter. Tom Steinfort was announced as Stefanovic's replacement.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In December 2017, Deborah Knight". It was later announced that "60 Minutes" reporter Allison Langdon would replace Knight on "Weekend Today". Peter Stefanovic also returned as host replacing Tom Steinfort who will become a reporter on "60 Minutes".


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In December 2018, it was announced that Peter Stefanovic had parted ways with the Nine Network to pursue other opportunities. David Campbell was later announced as his replacement.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In January 2019, David Campbell and Allison Langdon are the co-hosts with the news presented by Jayne Azzopardi, sport presented by Clint Stanaway and weather presented by Tim Davies.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In November 2019, the Nine Network announced that Karl Stefanovic would return to "Today" as co-host alongside "Weekend Today" co-host and "60 Minutes" reporter Allison Langdon from January 2020.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In December 2019, Richard Wilkins and Rebecca Maddern were announced as co-hosts of "Weekend Today" from January 2020 replacing both David Campbell and Allison Langdon. Jayne Azzopardi will continue as news presenter, while Lauren Phillips will join the show as weather presenter.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In November 2021, it was announced that Rebecca Maddern had resigned from the Nine Network. Belinda Russell and Charles Croucher will replace Maddern and Jayne Azzopardi will continue to present news. Lauren Phillips also resigned from the show to concentrate on her radio career. Dan Anstey joined the show in 2022 replacing Phillips.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: After the initial success of "Today", a Saturday edition was produced in the early nineties. Hosted by Tracy Grimshaw, it featured more news, politics and economic reports. Tracy Grimshaw was later followed by Tara Brown and Richard Wilkins, before reporter Helen Dalley joined the program in 1996. These hosts were accompanied by news presenters Michael Usher, Anna Coren and Mark Burrows. In 2002, "Today on Saturday Australia" was cancelled due to budget cuts by the Nine Network.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: "Today" celebrated its 25th anniversary, on 28 June 2007, by travelling to five different Australian cities in one week, something which had never been before attempted by an Australian television show. Former "Today" hosts and musical guests were involved.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: On the official day marking the 25th anniversary, former hosts who made an appearance included Ian Ross, Tracy Grimshaw, Monte Dwyer, Liz Hayes and Helen Dalley. Sami Lukis, who replaced Monte Dwyer, did not appear, nor did original co-host Sue Kellaway. Original co-host Steve Liebmann was also unable to attend, nor was current weather presenter Steven Jacobs, however video messages from both were aired.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: "Today" celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012. The show began the year by unveiling a new set, logo and graphics.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In September, "Today" held a week-long celebration which included flashbacks from earlier episodes and live appearances by former hosts such as Steve Liebmann and Sue Kellaway with Tracy Grimshaw, Monte Dwyer and Sarah Murdoch. Liz Hayes was unable to join the show due to being on assignment with "60 Minutes" but shared her memories in a prerecorded message. Video messages were also left by Brian Bury, George Negus and Joan McInnes


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: "Today" celebrated its 40th anniversary, on 1 July 2022, with a special broadcast it featured guest appearances from former hosts Steve Liebmann, Sue Kellaway, Tracy Grimshaw, Lisa Wilkinson and Georgie Gardner.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: The team revisited four decades of major news events, celebrity guests, road shows around Australia and the world and wild viral moments. A dedicated highlights show, "Today 40th Anniversary Special" aired on 2 July which featured highlights from the special broadcast.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: "Today", an offshoot of "Nine News", predominantly presents news, sport, weather, entertainment and current affairs, focusing on the first news of the day. However the show also features topics including consumer affairs, health, politics, education, fashion, and the business and finance world. The show has daily feedback and topic segments for viewers to send in their thoughts and opinions via email, text messages and the show's website.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Initially, the program was only a two-hour broadcast, airing from 7:00 am to 9:00 am. After dropping "", the network moved "Today" to a 6:00 am start. Again, as part of the 2008–2009 "Nine News" brand's major expansion, in 2008 the show was changed to a three and a half-hour format, starting at 5.30 am to now "perfect match" breakfast radio stations. This move included an extended news, sport, finance and weather segment prior to the main program at 6:00 am. "Weekend Today" airs on both Saturday and Sunday from 7:00 am to 10:00 am.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Current presenters who have been fill-in hosts or co-hosts of "Today" in recent times include Alex Cullen, Richard Wilkins, Jayne Azzopardi, Leila McKinnon, Tom Steinfort, David Campbell, Sylvia Jeffreys, Charles Croucher, Lara Vella, Tracy Vo, Christine Ahern, Sophie Walsh, Belinda Russell, Amelia Adams and Brooke Boney.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Previous substitute presenters have included Ben Fordham, Cameron Williams, Kellie Sloane, Tim McMillan, Clint Stanaway, Sarah Murdoch, Sharyn Ghidella, Kim Watkins, Helen Dalley, Deborah Knight, Ellen Fanning, Ali Moore, Michael Pascoe, Peter FitzSimons, Peter Overton, Ross Greenwood, Michael Usher, Ken Sutcliffe, Mark Ferguson, Jennifer Keyte, Garry Lyon, Rebecca Maddern, Eddie McGuire and even Clive James on one occasion while the show was broadcasting from London. The former Premier of Victoria, Joan Kirner, presented the show on one occasion.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: The idea of providing the latest news has been critical to the function of the program. Under the current format, seven main bulletins are delivered, once every half-hour.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: During 2007, Kellie Sloane and Allison Langdon filled in for Georgie Gardner who was on maternity leave.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In July 2009, Georgie Gardner was appointed "Nine News Sydney" presenter on Friday and Saturday nights, she juggled her commitments with "Today" and presented the news from Tuesday to Friday. The "Weekend Today" news presenter would present the news on Monday. These news presenters have included Amber Sherlock (2009–2010), Alicia Loxley (2010–2011) and Deborah Knight (2011–2014).


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In 2014, Sylvia Jeffreys was appointed news presenter on "Today" replacing Gardner. Given that Sylvia would not be required to balance her role with any additional roles within the network, she was able to commit to the program five days per week, meaning the specialised Monday morning news presenting role was no longer needed. In December 2018, it was announced that Jeffreys would not return to "Today" in 2019 and move onto other projects.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In January 2019, Tom Steinfort was announced as Jeffrey's replacement. In December 2019, it was announced, "Nine Live Perth" news presenter, Tracy Vo would be the news presenter with Steinfort returning to "60 Minutes".


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In March 2020, Vo permanently returned to Perth due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Alex Cullen now presents both news and sport.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Jayne Azzopardi, Mark Burrows, Brett McLeod, Charles Croucher, Mia Glover, Amelia Adams, Amber Sherlock, Wendy Kingston, Kim Watkins, Ben Fordham, Peter Stefanovic, Vicky Jardim, Majella Wiemers, Helen Kapalos, Heather Foord, Peter Overton, Lizzie Pearl, Aislin Kriukelis, Allison Langdon, Andrew Lofthouse, Peter Hitchener, Mark Ferguson and Michael Thomson have all among others presented the news on occasions.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Each morning at 7:55am Effie Zahos presents a 'Your Money' finance segment based around consumer insights and information.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Alex Cullen currently presents sports news after the news bulletin every half-hour. In 2006, Cameron Williams was appointed as the inaugural sports presenter previously the news presenter would present sport headlines. Williams presented sport from 2006 until 2010, leaving the role to focus on co-hosting "Weekend Today" and "Nine News". Ben Fordham presented sport from 2011 until 2014. He left to focus on his family and 2GB radio show. In January 2019, Tony Jones was announced as Gilbert's replacement. Jones remained in the position until he was replaced in November 2019. In December 2019, it was announced that Alex Cullen will replace Tony Jones as sport presenter permanently from January 2020.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Tim Davies currently presents the weather after each news and sport bulletin, every half-hour. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Davies spent weeks touring Queensland for his weather reports, as it was relatively free of the virus.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Alex Heinke, Abby Coleman, Aislin Kriukelis, Julie Snook, Rose Jacobs, Emma Freedman, Amelia Adams, Sylvia Jeffreys, Scherri-Lee Biggs, Giaan Rooney, Gorgi Coghlan, Izabella Staskowski, Dave Kirwan, Jaynie Seal, Dan Anstey, Livinia Nixon, Carolyne Randoe and Majella Wiemers have all presented the weather on various occasions.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: "Today's" entertainment presenter, Richard Wilkins (Nine Network's entertainment editor), presents daily features, interviews, movie and television reviews from across the world of show business. In December 2018, it was announced that Brooke Boney would join "Today" as an entertainment reporter and will work alongside Wilkins. In December 2019, it was announced that Boney would remain as entertainment reporter with Richard Wilkins moving across to co-host "Weekend Today" Richard Wilkins and Renee Bargh are substitute entertainment presenters.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Technology commentator Trevor Long appears regularly with news related to technology, as well as presenting segments explaining technology or new gadgets. During the 2020 pandemic, his segments were primarily presented from his own studio at EFTM.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Traffic reports are shown at regular intervals during the show, and are presented in some cities from a local helicopter. Traffic reports only air into the metropolitan regions of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. They are produced and presented by traffic reporters from the Australian Traffic Network.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: From 2004 to 2007, "Sunrise" won the ratings battle, defeating "Today" by 62% between January and May 2007. However, during 2007, "Today" slightly improved its ratings and made audience gains, and made a 9% rise from 2006 between 7am and 9am, and a 16% increase in the key 6am to 7am news hour. In contrast, "Sunrise" fell 4% year-on-year in the 7am to 9am timeslot. Since Lisa Wilkinson joined "Today" in May 2007, the program consistently defeated "Sunrise" in Melbourne.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: On Good Friday 2009, "Today" defeated "Sunrise" for the first time in five years. Over the next four years, "Today" continued to make inroads on "Sunrise", defeating them for a weekly win in June 2011 for the first time in seven years, and winning Sydney in 2012. However, upon Samantha Armytage's appointment as host of "Sunrise" in August 2013, "Today"'s rating slipped for the next two years.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: After some sizeable wins in the second half of 2015, "Today" managed some of its best ever ratings in early 2016. "Today" defeated "Sunrise" in 2016 based on weeks won.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: After "Sunrise" reclaimed the ratings crown in 2017, the program's ratings slipped significantly in 2018, due to negative headlines surrounding co-host Karl Stefanovic. After Stefanovic was axed at the end of that year, the ratings for "Today" slipped even further in 2019, often posing record low ratings. The ratings trouble continued upon Stefanovic's return in 2020 with "Today" regularly beaten by both "Sunrise" and "News Breakfast", although gradually the viewership gap has been reduced overtime. In mid-September 2021, "Today" recorded first instance of leading viewership over "Sunrise" since 2018.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Due to the fact that Australia has more than one time zone, "Today" is not broadcast live to the entire nation.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: During daylight saving time, Queensland receives "Today" delayed by one hour. However, in 2007, "Today" began a trial and aired live into Queensland between 5:00 – 8.30am, with an extra Queensland-only half-hour. This was unsuccessful, and in 2008 the show returned to its previous delayed telecast.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Additionally, the Northern Territory has "Today" delayed thirty minutes during winter and one-and-a-half hours during daylight saving time.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Some parts of South Australia are also delayed by thirty minutes, and in Western Australia, the program is delayed by two hours during winter and three hours during daylight saving time.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: In the case of major breaking news (e.g. cyclone), the program goes live into the state to help provide residents with up-to-date information.


title: Today (Australian TV program)

text: Even though the name of the show is the same as America's NBC "Today Show", it has no link to its American namesake; in fact, due to affiliate agreements, Nine formerly aired ABC's "Good Morning America", one of the American program's chief competitors, between 4.00 and 5.00am, until June 2018 when the nine network declined to renew its contract. It is now airing infomercials in its place. "Today"s rival on the Seven Network, "Sunrise", follows the American NBC "Today Show" format, including a streetside studio. The Seven Network airs a condensed version of the American programme between 4.00 and 5.00am, preceding "Sunrise", which is titled "NBC Today" in program listings to avert confusion.


title: Viy (story)

text: "Viy" (), also translated as "The Viy", is a horror novella by the Ukrainian-born Russian writer Nikolai Gogol, first published in volume 2 of his collection of tales entitled "Mirgorod" (1835).


title: Viy (story)

text: Despite an author's note alluding to folklore, the title character is generally conceded to be wholly Gogol's invention.


title: Viy (story)

text: Students at Bratsky Monastery in Kyiv break for summer vacation. The impoverished students must find food and lodging along their journey home. They stray from the high road at the sight of a farmstead, hoping its cottagers would provide them.


title: Viy (story)

text: A group of three, the kleptomaniac theologian Khalyava, the merry-making philosopher Khoma Brut, and the younger-aged rhetorician Tiberiy Gorobets, attracted by a false target of wheat fields suggesting a nearby village, must walk extra distance before finally reaching a farm with two cottages, as night drew near. The old woman begrudgingly lodges the three travelers separately.


title: Viy (story)

text: At night, the woman calls on Khoma, and begins grabbing at him. This is no amorous embrace; the flashy-eyed woman leaps on his back and rides him like a horse. When she broom-whips him, his legs begin to motion beyond his control. He sees the black forest part before them, and realizes she is a witch (, "ved'ma"). He is strangely envisioning himself galloping over the surface of a glass-mirror like sea: he sees his own reflection in it, and the grass grows deep underneath; he bears witness to a sensually naked water-nymph ("rusalka").


title: Viy (story)

text: By chanting prayers and exorcisms, he slows himself down, and his vision is back to seeing ordinary grass. He now throws off the witch, and rides on her back instead. He picks up a piece of log, and beats her. The older woman collapses, and transforms into a beautiful girl with "long, pointy eyelashes".


title: Viy (story)

text: Later, rumour circulates that a Cossack chief ("sotnik")'s daughter was found crawling home, beaten near death, her last wish being for Khoma the seminary student to come pray for her at her deathbed, and for three successive nights after she dies.


title: Viy (story)

text: Khoma learns of this from the seminary's rector who orders him to go. Khoma wants to flee, but the bribed rector is in league with the Cossack henchmen, who are already waiting with the kibitka wagon to transport him.


title: Viy (story)

text: The Cossack chief Yavtukh (nicknamed Kovtun) explains that his daughter expired before she finished revealing how she knew Khoma; at any rate he swears horrible vengeance upon her killer. Khoma turns sympathetic, and swears to discharge his duty (hoping for a handsome reward), but the daughter killed turns out to be the witch he had fatally beaten.


title: Viy (story)

text: The Cossacks start relating stories about comrades, revealing all sorts of terrible exploits by the chief's daughter, whom they know is a witch. One comrade was charmed by her, ridden like a horse, and did not survive long; another had his infant child's blood sucked out at the throat, and his wife killed by the blue necrotic witch who growled like a dog. Inexhaustible episodes about the witch-daughter follow.


title: Viy (story)

text: The first night, Khoma is escorted to the gloomy church to hold vigil alone with the girl's body. Just as he wonders if it may come alive, the girl is reanimated and walks towards him. Frightened, Khoma draws a magic circle of protection around himself, and she is unable to cross the line. She turns cadaverously blue, and reenters her coffin making it fly around wildly, but the barrier holds until the rooster crows.


title: Viy (story)

text: The next night, he draws the magic circle again and recites prayer, which render him invisible, and she is seen clawing at empty space. The witch summons unseen, winged demons and monsters, that bang and rattle and screech at the windows and door from the outside, trying to enter. He endures until the rooster's crow. He is brought back, and the people notice half his hair had turned gray.


title: Viy (story)

text: Khoma's attempted escape into the brambles fails. The third and most terrifying night, the winged "unclean powers" ( "nechistaya sila") are all audibly darting around him, and the witch-corpse calls on these spirits to bring the Viy, the one who can see everything. The squat Viy is hairy with an iron face, bespattered all over with black earth, its limbs like fibrous roots. The Viy orders its long-dangling eyelids reaching the floor to be lifted so it can see. Khoma, despite his warning instinct, cannot resist the temptation to watch. The Viy is able to see Khoma's whereabouts, the spirits all attack, and Khoma falls dead. The cock crows, but this is already its second morning call, and the "gnomes" who are unable to flee get trapped forever in the church, which eventually becomes overgrown by weeds and trees.


title: Viy (story)

text: The story ends with Khoma's two friends commenting on his death and how it was his lot in life to die in such a way, agreeing that if his courage held he would have survived.


title: Viy (story)

text: Scholars attempting to identify elements from folklore tradition represents perhaps the largest group.


title: Viy (story)

text: Others seek to reconstruct how Gogol may have put together the pieces from (Russian translations of) European literary works. There is also a contingent of religious interpretation present, but also a considerable number of scholars delving in psychology-based interpretation, Freudian and Jungian.


title: Viy (story)

text: Among scholars delving into the folkloric aspects of the novella, Viktor P. Petrov tries to match individual motifs in the plot with folktales from Afanasyev's collection or elsewhere.


title: Viy (story)

text: Viacheslav V. Ivanov's studies concentrate on the Viy creature named in the title, and the themes of death and vision associated around it; Ivanov also undertakes a broader comparative analysis which references non-Slavic traditions as well.


title: Viy (story)

text: Hans-Jörg Uther classified the story of "Viy", by Gogol, as Aarne–Thompson–Uther tale type ATU 307, "The Princess in the Coffin".


title: Viy (story)

text: The witch (, "ved'ma" or , "pannochka") who attempts to ride her would-be husband is echoed in Ukrainian (or Russian) folktale.


title: Viy (story)

text: The Malorussian folktale translated as "The Soldier's Midnight Watch", set in Kiev, was identified as a parallel in this respect by its translator, W. R. S. Ralston (1873); it was taken from Afanasyev's collection and the Russian original bore no special title, except "Stories about Witches", variant c.


title: Viy (story)

text: The "Vid'ma ta vid'mak" (), another tale or version from Ukraine, also features a "ride" of similar nature according to (1893)'s study of Gogol; this tale was edited by Drahomanov.


title: Viy (story)

text: A listing of a number of folktales exhibiting parallels on this, as well as other motifs, was given by Viktor Petrov (pen names V. Domontovych) and paraphrase of it can be found in Frederik C. Driessen's study (avail. in English translation).


title: Viy (story)

text: Viy () was the name given to the "chief of the gnomes" (, "nachál'nik gnómov") by the "Little Russians", or so Gogol has insisted in his author's note.


title: Viy (story)

text: However, given that the gnome is not a part of native Ukrainian folklore, or of Eastern Slavonic lore in general, the "viy" has come to be considered a product of Gogol's own imagination rather than folklore.


title: Viy (story)

text: The fact that "viy" itself shows little sign of existing in the region's folklore record is an additional plain reason for the skepticism. Thus, Gogol's contrivance of the viy is the consensus opinion of other modern commentators also, who refer to the "viy" as a literary device, and so forth.


title: Viy (story)

text: In the past, the "viy" creature had been an assumed part of genuine Malorussian (Ukrainian) lore. For instance, Scottish folklorist Charlotte Dempster mentions the "vie" of Little Russia in passing, and floats the idea of the phonetic similarity to the vough or vaugh of the Scottish Highlands. Ralston suggested Viy was known to the Serbians, but clarification as to any attestation is wanting.


title: Viy (story)

text: There is a tantalizing claim that a Gogol acquaintance Aleksandra Osipovna Rosset (later Smirnova) wrote c. 1830 that she heard from a nurse, but this informant's reliability has been questioned, as well as her actual authorship at such a date, So the story was probably something Smirnova had heard or read from Gogol, but reshuffled as a remote past memory.


title: Viy (story)

text: The witch's husband in the Russian folk tale "Ivan Bykovich (Ivan the Bull's Son)", needed to have his eyebrows and eyelashes lifted with a "pitchfork" (). The aforementioned Viacheslav V. Ivanov (1971) is credited, in modern times, with drawing the parallel between Gogol's viy and the witch's husband, called the "old, old man" or "Old Oldster" (; "staryĭ starik"). However, this was perhaps anticipated by Ralston, who stated that the witch-husband ("Aged One") bore physical resemblance to what, he claimed, the Serbians called a "Vy", though he did not address resemblance with Gogol's viy directly.


title: Viy (story)

text: There also exists an old folk tradition surrounding St. Cassian the Unmerciful, who was said in some tales to have eyebrows that descended to his knees and which were raised only on Leap Year.


title: Viy (story)

text: Hugh McLean (Slavicist) (1958) is a noted example of a psychological study of this novella; he identifies the running motif of sexual fulfillment resulting in punishment in this Gogol collection, so that when the student Khoma engages in the ride of the witch, "an obviously sexual act", death is meted out as punishment. A supplementary understanding of this schema using Lacanian analysis is undertaken by Romanchuk (2009), where Khoma's resistance using prayer is an enactment of his "perversion", defined as Perversion is "a wish for a father's Law that reveals its absence". McLean's analysis was poorly received by Soviet scholars at the time.


title: Viy (story)

text: Due to the psychosexual nature of the central plot, namely Khoma's killing of the witch and her subsequent transformation into a beautiful girl, the novella has become open to various psychoanalytical (Freudian) interpretations, thus the attempt by some, to interpret Khoma's strife with the witch in terms of Oedipal desires and carnal relations with the mother.


title: Viy (story)

text: Viy was proclaimed "the image of an inexorable father who comes to avenge his son's incest", in a comment near the end given without underlying reasoning, by Driessen (1965) This was modified to "a condensation of the [witch] who was ravished by [Khoma] Brut and the sotnik/father who has vowed to take revenge against the ravisher of his daughter" by Rancour-Laferriere (1978), though Rancour-Laferriere's approach has been characterized as "an interesting extreme" elsewhere.


title: Viy (story)

text: Leon Stilman has stayed clear of such psychoanalytic interpretations, and opted to take the eye motif as symbolic of Gogol's own quest for gaining visionary power (an "absolute vision" or "all-seeing eye"). However, his study is still characterized as "psychosexual" in some quarters.


title: Viy (story)

text: The close relationship between the witch and the Viy has been suggested, based on the similarity of her long-eyelashes with the Viy's long-eyelids. And the Ukrainian word "viy" glossed as 'eyelid' incorrectly, has been connected with a hypothetical "viya" or "viia" meaning 'eyelash'.


title: Viy (story)

text: Further proposed etymology entwines connection with the word "vuy" (Ukr. 'maternal uncle'), suggested by This establishes the blood relationship between the two for some commentators.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: The Volkswagen Routan is a seven-seat minivan and rebadged variant of the Chrysler RT platform, with revised styling, content features, and suspension tuning from the fifth-generation Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: Manufactured alongside the Chrysler and Dodge minivans at Windsor Assembly and marketed in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, the Routan debuted at the 2008 Chicago Auto Show and went on sale in the United States in September 2008. The Routan's minivan variants include the Dodge Caravan, Ram C/V, Chrysler Town & Country, and Lancia Voyager (export)—that by 2009 have ranked as the 13th best-selling automotive nameplate worldwide, with over 12 million sold.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: Production of the Routan was halted in 2012 due to high inventory levels, and Volkswagen announced the 2013 model year would be primarily reserved for rental car companies and other fleets, with limited availability to the public at dealer showrooms. This also held true for the 2014 model year Routan.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: The Routan marked the start of Volkswagen's business strategy to offer additional vehicles specially developed for the U.S. market. The introduction of the 2009 model year minivan resulted from a partnership that began in 2005 between Volkswagen and DaimlerChrysler. Prior to the agreement, Volkswagen had no minivan model for the United States or Canadian markets. The Routan was sold only in North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico).


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: The automaker's intent with outsourcing production of the Routan to Chrysler was to avoid the significant expense of developing its own family-sized minivan. VW announced in an early 2008 projection that the company intended for the Routan and other models to help achieve significant expansion of U.S. sales. The Routan was Volkswagen's first van offered in North America since discontinuation of the Volkswagen Eurovan in 2003, and is not related to the European-market Volkswagen Touran.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: In 2012, Volkswagen halted production of the Routan at Chrysler's Windsor, Ontario, plant, despite having a production contract that ran through 2014. In January 2013, Volkswagen announced there would be no 2013 retail model, but held open the possibility that development may resume with a potential 2014 model. The 2013 Routan was reserved for fleet purchasers, and 2,500 were produced by Chrysler during the calendar year.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: Automotive industry analysts were not surprised by VW's decision to drop the Routan because buyers had no reason for selecting the Routan over the similar Dodge Grand Caravan or the Chrysler Town & Country, and the Routan's base price of nearly $28,000 was far more than the basic $21,000 Grand Caravan, while the Routan's list of equipment was less than included on the upscale Town & Country.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: The Routan features a rebranded version of Chrysler's hard-drive-based audio and navigation system—marketed by Chrysler as the MyGig system and by Volkswagen as the Joybox, but has neither Chrysler's Stow'n Go nor Swivel'n Go seating systems. Instead, the second-row seats in the Routan feature the Easy Out Roller Seat system, but can be modified using Chrysler or Dodge parts to have Stow'n Go or have Swivel'n Go seats installed. Routans for 2010 offered optional Wi-Fi access, which was also offered in Dodge and Chrysler versions as UConnect Web.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: The Routan is available with the Chrysler 3.8 L V6 engine producing and , and the 4.0 L V6 producing and —with either engine mated to Chrysler's 62TE six-speed automatic transaxle with manual shift capability (See Ultradrive#62TE).


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: For 2011, the Routan is available with a new engine from Chrysler, the 3.6 L V6 producing and mated to a six-speed automatic from Chrysler.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: Volkswagen Group of America had projected for the Routan to gain at least five percent of the U.S. minivan market, or 45,000 units of the 700,000 minivans sold currently. In January 2009, VW of America asked Chrysler Canada to stop production of the Routan for the month of February after 29,000 Routans had been shipped to US dealerships. By July 2009, 11,677 units had been sold.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: Volkswagen de México markets the Routan alongside the Transporter (formerly marketed locally as the Eurovan), replacing the European-built Volkswagen Sharan minivan in the autumn of 2008.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: Volkswagen Canada began selling the Routan during the autumn of 2008. Like its United States counterpart, VW Canada had not featured a minivan in its vehicle lineup since the discontinuation of the Eurovan. For the four months that the Routan minivan was on sale in Canada in 2008 (September through December), the company sold 335 units. The only engine available was the 4.0 L. The 3.8 L was not available in Canada. An evaluation of 2011 Canadian-market models described the Dodge-based minivan as "one of the best on the road and the VW version is a real bargain compared to buying a well-optioned Chrysler version" and that includes a nicer interior as well as sportier suspension and steering.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: At the 2013 North American International Auto Show, Volkswagen revealed the Volkswagen CrossBlue Concept SUV. The automaker is considering a seven-passenger SUV based on the show car as a replacement for the Routan. The production SUV, called Atlas, was launched in 2017 as a 2018 model.


title: Volkswagen Routan

text: "Volkswagen recalled 20,676 examples of the 2009–2010 Routan minivan to replace their key fobs and ignition switches." "In these vehicles, it's possible that if the switch is jarred, the key can be jostled out of the Run position. If this happens, then the engine shuts off, and the airbags, power steering, and power brakes are all deactivated, which is a safety problem."


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: The Rebel Heart Tour was the tenth concert tour by American singer Madonna, staged in support of her thirteenth studio album, "Rebel Heart" (2015). Comprising 82 shows, the tour visited North America, Asia, Europe and Oceania. It began on September 9, 2015, in Montreal, Canada, at the Bell Centre and concluded on March 20, 2016, in Sydney, Australia at Allphones Arena. The tour was officially announced on March 1, 2015, through Madonna's website and was led by Live Nation Entertainment's Global Touring Division, helmed by Arthur Fogel; this was the fifth collaboration between Madonna and Live Nation as well as her third tour to be promoted by the company. Additionally, the tour marked the singer's first visits to Taiwan, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macau, Philippines, Singapore, and New Zealand, and was her first to visit Australia since the Girlie Show (1993).


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Rehearsals for the tour commenced following its announcement and lasted 10–12 hours per day, with involvement from Madonna's team of creative directors, producers, designers and choreographers. It was inspired by shows like Cirque du Soleil and Chinese New Year, as well as the films "300" (2006) and "Grease" (1978). Madonna enlisted Jamie King as the creative director, and Megan Lawson and Jason Yong as choreographers. The tour featured costumes from Moschino, Prada, Miu Miu, Gucci and Swarovski jewelry, and an elevated stage with a cross-shaped runway ending in a heart-shaped B-stage. Multimedia was created by Moment Factory, while sound and light were produced by Clay Paky and DiGiCo, respectively. The central theme of the concert was love and romance and, like past tours by the singer, was divided into different thematic segments: "Joan of Arc/Samurai", "Rockabilly Meets Tokyo", "Latin/Gypsy" and "Party/Flapper". The set list had more than 20 songs picked from Madonna's career along with material from "Rebel Heart".


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Despite a number of controversies, critics gave the tour generally positive reviews, with praise going to Madonna's stage presence, vocals and the imagery presented; it was also commercially successful, with all shows sold out, and an audience of over 1.05 million. Rebel Heart grossed $169.8 million, extending Madonna's record as the highest-grossing solo touring artist with total gross of $1.131 billion, beginning with 1990's Blond Ambition Tour. This ranked her in third place on the all-time top-grossing "Billboard" Boxscore list, only behind the Rolling Stones and U2. The shows of March 19–20, 2016, performed at the Allphones Arena, were filmed by Danny Tull and Nathan Rissman for the film "Madonna: The Rebel Heart Tour". It premiered on December 9, 2016, on American cable channel Showtime while a live CD/DVD and Blu-ray was released on September 15, 2017.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: In March 2015, Madonna released her 13th studio album, "Rebel Heart"; the release was plagued by internet hackers leaking its content previously. Numerous news outlets started reporting about the supporting concert tour for the album, which was formally announced on March 1, 2015, on Madonna's official website. Titled Rebel Heart Tour, it was initially scheduled to begin on August 29, 2015, from Miami and continue throughout Europe, and end on December 20, 2015, in Glasgow, Scotland.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Rebel Heart was led by Live Nation Entertainment's Global Touring Division, helmed by Arthur Fogel. It was Madonna's fifth collaboration with Live Nation. Fogel commented that the leak had helped in bring more attention to Madonna's music and it was a positive scenario for the world tour. "It's kind of strange how it all came about, but it certainly hasn't been a negative in terms of getting people engaged with the new music. Anything that helps put it out there is good, even if it happens in a weird way", he concluded.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: On May 21, 2015, Madonna rescheduled the first five dates of the tour and moved them to January 2016. The singer confirmed that arrangement logistics was the cause of the postponement and announced that the first date was changed to September 9, 2015, at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada. "Billboard" reported Rebel Heart as an all-arena tour, and would visit cities where Madonna had not performed before. The tour visited Australia and New Zealand in early 2016, and was the singer's first visit to Australia in more than 20 years, having last toured there with the Girlie Show in 1993, and her first time in New Zealand. Philippines was added to the tour itinerary, for two performances at SM Mall of Asia in February 2016.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: After the tour started, Madonna revealed another 16 dates in Asia and North America. They included first ever concerts in Taipei, Bangkok, Louisville, San Antonio, Tulsa and Nashville as well as her first concerts in Tokyo in a decade and additional dates in Mexico City and Houston. Singapore was added to the itinerary for February 28, 2016; the concert was rated as "adults only" by the Media Development Authority (MDA) of the country. Before arriving in Australia, Madonna announced an extra show on March 10, 2016, at Melbourne's Forum Theatre. The show was billed as an intimate gig, and was described by the singer as a fusion of music, art and comedy. Titled , it was created specifically for Australian fans.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: While composing material for "Rebel Heart", Madonna would get "fleeting moments of ideas" of what she would like to perform on the tour. After the promotional performances supporting the album, she had a concrete imagery about the themes she would like to incorporate. In March 2015 she clarified: "I like to create personas and then the persona changes and grows into other things... I'm at the beginning of that process right now, in terms of thinking of my tour and stuff". Rehearsals for the tour occurred for 10–12 hours per day. Madonna admitted liking the tour's rehearsals and creative process, noting her complete involvement in its development. Unlike the MDNA Tour (2012), Madonna confirmed that her son Rocco would not perform onstage, but would instead work behind the scenes of the tour.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: By July 2015, Madonna was working on the set list with her team of creative directors, producers, designers and choreographers. She described the tour as "characteristically theatrical spectacle" included songs from her whole career. Madonna saw a challenge in alternating between material from "Rebel Heart" and her previous works, since "thematically the songs—the old and the new—they have to go together; sonically they have to go together". The concert was divided into four thematic segments, a custom for the singer: "Joan of Arc/Samurai", "Rockabilly Meets Tokyo", "Latin/Gypsy" and "Party/Flapper". Its main theme was derived from the title "Rebel Heart", and showcased the singer's personal statements and opinions, represented in the form of a journey. Love and romance were listed as the central themes of the show, with Madonna wanting the audience to feel inspired watching it. She juxtaposed opposite ideas of sexuality and religion, saying that "I'm very immersed in [how they are] not supposed to go together, but in my world it goes together". Inspirations for the Rebel Heart Tour came from shows like Cirque du Soleil and the Chinese New Year, as well as from films like "300" (2006) and "Grease" (1978). Jamie King was signed as the creative director for the show, while Megan Lawson and Jason Young choreographed the 20 dancers through intricate acrobatic dance steps. Since Madonna had started out as a dancer, she tried to find "unique and original dancers to work with" and create content and dance routines that would appeal to the audience.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: French choreographer Sébastian Ramirez was hired from the auditions to select backup dancers for the show, which saw over 5,000 applicants in Paris, New York and Los Angeles. Madonna admired Ramirez's work and enlisted him to choreograph two songs for the show. Ramirez was surprised by the fast pace in which Madonna and her team generated and swapped ideas for the tour. Taking charge of the whole show, Madonna would explain an emotion behind a song and then entrust Ramirez and the other choreographers to come up with a routine.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Two short videos were released on the singer's Instagram account, showing the rehearsals taking place. As "Devil Pray" and "Iconic" from the album played, the videos showed flamenco-inspired choreography, nuns dancing on poles, and an elaborate set adorned with dancers carrying giant props. The singer continued releasing images and videos related to the tour, including dance rehearsal workshops. Madonna chose comedian Amy Schumer as the opening act for the New York shows, deviating from her usual hiring of a band or a disc jockey to open the shows. The singer thought of the idea since she believed Schumer was a role model for young women. Diplo, one of the producers of "Rebel Heart", was hired as the opening act for the Montreal shows.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: For the stage setup, creative and logistical design group Stufish were hired. They started brainstorming with Madonna and King in January 2015, after a 25-song set list has been created. The central theme of "Rebel Heart" was reproduced in the runway resembling an arrow or a cross, with the heart at its tip. Stufish, who had previously developed the structures for The MDNA Tour, were enlisted for Rebel Heart. The perpendicular structures emanating from the middle of the runway allowed Madonna and her dancers to reach more audience. Joking that the stage looked like a penis, Stufish architect Ric Lipson recalled Madonna saying: "hearts and penises are clearly very linked and this is God's way of setting [my] life in motion".


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: The large main stage was elevated and set up at the end of the arenas, with a long catwalk extending from its middle. The middle of the catwalk had a circular stage, while the pathway ended into a heart-shaped B-stage. In order to facilitate the entrance and exit of Madonna and her dancers, openings were created throughout the length of the stage, as well as causeways underneath it. Behind the main stage, three large video screens were placed, with the band and Madonna's two background vocalists in front of it. A number of barriers and encasing were supplied by Mojo Barriers to separate the stage from the audience and the production areas upfront. All barriers were supplied in black aluminium.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: A complex machine structure enabled the whole stage to become mobile and assume numerous shapes and sizes throughout the show. The structure had a video screen that could change into the main stage floor. The same screen converted into an elevated platform of varying degrees within half-a-minute, or an angular wall for Madonna's dancers to sway from. Specially crafted bungee points were attached to the top edge of the machine, allowing performers to "flip, tumble, run and roll up and down the ramp". The screens showed the visuals created by Moment Factory and Veneno Inc. Another prop was a steel spiral staircase which was hidden from the audience initially. Lipson explained that it was created out of a single block of steel. Although it was not recommended to use the steel because of its heavy weight and enormity, Madonna wanted it since she had found the sturdiness useful during rehearsals. Simpler props designed by Stufish included a table used during the performance of "Vogue", which was long and had flickering tall candelabras at each end. A set of crosses for the dancing nuns were designed to support both Madonna and a dancer on it. They were finalized from 17 different prototypes, and were fastened with links, allowing the dancers to know which way they would swivel.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Tom Banks from "Design Week" magazine visited the area underneath the stage which was about tall. There the dancers changed, props were handed out and performers reached the main stage often through numerous hydraulic lifts. Banks further described the space as a "subterranean area, which is the footprint beneath the stage rather than back-stage. It's a maze of tunnels, wires and props interrupted only by platforms poised to send performers up into the light". Madonna sat on a trolley which transported her from one end to the other end of the stage. She had a temporary make-up room in the underneath area, for touch-ups in between performances. In total, the stage and the equipment required 27 semitrailers and 187 staff member to transport across Europe and North America. For the Oceania shows, three Boeing 747 airliners were hired. The singer flew to each location in her private jet, turning up at the venue in mid-afternoon for rehearsals, sound and safety checks. A leisure area was also enclosed backstage, with hospitality and catering areas. Madonna's dressing room consisted of furniture, pictures and gym equipment, along with several flowers. The singer explained to Nolan Feeney from "Entertainment Weekly" that every show felt like a battle to her since there was a lot of hustling backstage.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Everyone has to be super organized and vigilant. There’s no room for error. There are 30 seconds to change. You’re passing people under the stage, there are lifts going up and down. There’s a lot of dangerous stuff happening, and you have to fight through all of that and fight your fatigue or whatever personal issues you might be having that evening and get out there. It’s showtime! No matter what’s going on, you have to push through it and be a warrior.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Madonna had enlisted a Spanish tailoring company from Zaragoza for creating two bullfighter traje de luces costumes, along with a cape and matador-related costumes for her backing dancers. The tailoring company had to sign a confidentiality agreement about the costumes. They also made several adjustments to the traditional designs, such as replacing the imagery of Jesus or Mary with that of a capital 'M'. According to the company's manager Alfredo Roqueta, the suits were created in 12 days. Madonna and her dancers did not go for trials and sent their measurements through e-mail. PETA representatives condemned the outfits, criticizing the singer for "glorifying gore". In August 2015, Madonna revealed the name of the designers working on the costumes for the tour to "Women's Wear Daily"; they include Jeremy Scott for Moschino, Alessandro Michele for Gucci and Alexander Wang, along with Fausto Puglisi, Prada, Miu Miu, Swarovski and Lebanese designer Nicolas Jebran. Together with her longtime costume designer Arianne Phillips, Madonna showed snippets of the costumes on her Instagram. Additional designers included Geoffrey Mac, Lynn Ban, and Majesty Black.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: During a show, Madonna changed into eight different looks. She was accompanied by 28 performers, and had ten costume changes for 20 dancers, six for the background singers and four for the band. Phillips had been working "on-and-off" on the tour since December 2014. She had first heard of Michele in February 2015 through British fashion critic Suzy Menkes. Phillips contacted Gucci for designing costumes for the tour but it was not until April 2015 that the set list and the show's structure was finalized, which set off the creation of the costumes. Michele's designs consisted of a mix of chinoiserie style skirts with Spanish and Latin influences, portraying the singer as a "diva of the 1920s". Other costumes were described by Menkes as "an exotic, dancing Frida Kahlo with ruffles, color, and a different kind of aesthetic". Michele met Madonna while she was rehearsing in Manhattan and tried on the initial designs. Michele incorporated the singer's review comments and worked in his office for crafting the final costumes.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: For the first section, inspired by the album cover art and Joan of Arc, Phillips created a series of costumes with liturgical fabrics. She further took inspiration from a contemporary exhibition of samurai armor at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Miuccia Prada created the costumes for the second section, based on rock-n-roll and taking influences from Japanese street fashion. During the Latin influenced third section, Puglisi and Jebran crafted the matador-inspired costumes portrayed in the music video of the album's first single, "Living for Love". They used black tulle netting on the pants and paired the dress with a transparent side-paneling, coupling it with a black and fuchsia-colored jacket embellished with the letter 'M' in Swarovski crystals. Another design by Michele had Madonna wearing a shawl, flamenco hat, lace, skirts and a jacquard bodysuit. Phillips was impressed with the dress, saying that she was "completely blown away. I love [Michele's] hand. His clothes are lyrical and feminine and they tell stories." For the final section, Madonna worked with Scott and came up with a "Harlem-flapper-meets-Paris-in-the-Twenties" look. Scott created the final dress adorned with thousands of Swarovski crystals and long fringed gloves, for songs like "Material Girl".


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Two weeks prior to the opening night, the designing team moved to the rehearsal location at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island. Wang had to make alterations to the dresses due to last minute changes in production, adding that for Madonna "the performance comes first. She has to be able to dance and move and feel comfortable in it". A week later Michele had the final fittings for the Gucci costumes. Phillips explained that until the song performances and the choreography was fully finalized, Madonna did not give a final sign off on the costumes or the designs.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Montreal-based multimedia company Moment Factory were enlisted, this being their third collaboration with Madonna, following the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show and The MDNA Tour. They worked closely with King and Madonna to develop new backdrops, designing and producing the videos for the show. The three large video screens were used for achieving the theatrical effect of the visuals on a large scale. The opening video was filmed with boxer Mike Tyson, who appears as a guest vocalist on album track "Iconic". He felt that the video might be received negatively since the visuals showed him as a savage character, naked and held hostage in a cage. A clip of the video was previewed by the singer before the tour started, showing her pushing against the cage, embracing a shirtless man and a troupe of soldiers walking with insignia.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: British director Danny Tull was signed for the tour backdrops. Tull, who had collaborated with Madonna since her 2006 Confessions Tour, explained that the singer was a "detail-oriented person" and every scene in the backdrops had a creative meaning behind it. The first video showed themes including confinement, love, sex and violence among others, which changed in the backdrop for "Bitch I'm Madonna", where Tull wanted to create abstract imagery, superfluous color and dancing elements. The visual for "Devil Pray" showed drug intake, snakes, churches and crosses, interspersed with scenes of baptism and religious proceedings. In order to create the videos, Tull and his team discussed with Madonna at night since she was busy with rehearsals throughout the day. They aligned on the source of the images, any permission if required, usage of stock footage or creation of new graphics. The idea of using fan artwork during the performance of "Rebel Heart" emerged from this thought. Madonna's official website unveiled a contest where fans submitted their artwork related to the singer, with them displayed as a live digital gallery during the performance of "Rebel Heart". Several layering and rendering was done for most of the videos. Different multimedia software were used to create the clips, including Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects, Avid, as well as Final Cut Pro. For Tull, the challenge was to adapt each software based on the different videos they would create, including last minute changes and tweaks.


title: Rebel Heart Tour

text: Lighting designer Al Gurdon worked with Stufish and Tait Towers for the light setup, which was handled by PRG Group. The three main video screens were placed in an angular way, to facilitate a better vision for audiences sitting on the side areas. A Hippotizer V3 media server was used for content playback and was operated by PRG Nocturne's Will Stinson. They used their newly invented GroundControl followspot devices which were attached as a truss to the top of the screens, using Clay Paky Stormy Strobes. Fitted with high-definition cameras, they were operated from backstage, and the relevant personnel could simply use the cameras and direct the lights to illuminate specific areas. Console director Joshua Hutchings controlled their color, beams and shutters. Advantage of the followspot was to allow the lighting personnel to operate from a comfortable environment, rather than climb on heightened areas atop the stage. Hutchings explained the whole show was time-coded and inline with the choreography.