Top 10 entertainment headlines of 2016
As 2016 nears its end, Yahoo Singapore looks back at some of the year’s top entertainment headlines.
10. Deaths of Prince, David Bowie and Anton Yelchin
Prince’s passing on 21 April was caused by an accidental overdose of fentanyl, an opioid painkiller 50 times more potent than heroin. The prolific 57-year-old pop-star left a treasure trove of unreleased recordings in a vault hidden in his Paisley Park mansion.
David Bowie’s death at age 69 came after an 18-month battle with cancer. The artiste behind hits such as “Let’s Dance”, “Modern Love” and “Under Pressure” released an album a few days before his passing on 10 January.
Anton Yelchin died by traumatic asphyxia after being pinned to a brick pillar and security fence by his own car whose engine had been left running. The 27-year-old Star Trek actor was in his driveway when the accident happened on 19 June.
9. Wardrobe malfunctions of Chrissy Teigen and Emily Ratajkowski
The super-high-slit dress that Chrissy Teigen wore to the 2016 American Music Awards revealed more than she probably intended. In a tweet, the model apologised to those “harmed mentally or physically” by her “hooha”.
As for Emily Ratajkowski, the extremely low-cut dress she wore to the New York Fashion Week party drew harsh criticism by E’s Fashion Police‘s guest host Tim Gunn, who called it “appallingly vulgar” and “repugnant”.
8. Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston
First reports of Taylor Swift and Tom Hiddleston dating appeared less than three weeks after Taylor split from her long-term boyfriend Calvin Harris.
Unsurprisingly, the romance didn’t last all that long, three months to be exact. The couple split amicably and were said to have different views on how public they wanted the relationship to be. Some speculated that the embarrassingly short-lived romance caused Armani to reconsider hiring Tom as its new face, a position which, ironically, was previously held by Taylor’s ex-boyfriend, Calvin.
7. Kim K’s Paris robbery
On 3 October, as she was in the French capital for Paris Fashion Week, Kim Kardashian was allegedly tied up and held at gunpoint in her hotel room by robbers who stole almost $10 million worth of her jewellery.
Five men dressed as cops were involved in the heist. They made off with Kim’s wedding ring valued at $4 million euros and a jewellery box valued at $5 million euros, according to the Paris prosecutor’s office.
Kanye West, who was in the midst of giving a concert in New York when he got news of what happened to his wife, abruptly ended his gig, citing a “family emergency”.
6. Brangelina’s divorce
The news that broke many hearts around the world and set the entertainment world abuzz: Angelina Jolie filed for divorce from Brad Pitt shortly after their second wedding anniversary.
Many speculated as to why Angelina instigated divorce procedures, but one of the most prominent theories was that Brad has been struggling with substance abuse. In December, news came out that Brad would subject himself to random drug and alcohol testing as part of the couple’s custody agreement.
The couple had been dating for 12 years. They have six children, aged 8 to 15.
5. Rui En’s drink-driving
In April, TV actress Rui En was involved in an accident when the car she was driving hit a stationary motorcycle. The owner of the motorcycle, Bahrom Sarmiten, said he quickly rushed to stop the car before it could leave the scene and claimed that Rui En smelled of alcohol when she stepped out of her vehicle.
When the news went viral in Singapore, Rui En’s label rep said the actress didn’t try to run away and that nobody was injured in the accident.
4. Cold Play sold-out concerts
Cold Play was supposed to give only one concert in Singapore, as part of the band’s “A Head Full of Dream” tour. But when ticket sales opened for the general public on 21 November, all tickets – priced between $78 and $298 – were snapped up within 90 minutes.
On 24 November, promoter Live Nation Lushington announced that Coldplay would be holding a another concert on 31 March. The second batch of tickets went on sale the next day at 10am and were all sold out by afternoon. The band sold 100,000 tickets in total.
3. Jay Chou’s concert
Jay Chou’s “The Invincible” concert on 3 September ran into acoustic problems, and a petition for refund soon surfaced on the Internet.
According to the petition signed by over 2,400 persons, concert-goers who were not seated in line with the speakers or levelled with the stage were only able to hear muffled sounds with an overpowering bass through the entire concert, which was held at Singapore Sports Hub.
This was not the first time that concert-goers have complained about the poor sound quality at the National Stadium. Similar problems were highlighted when Madonna visited in February. The Sports Hub acknowledged the latest feedback and said it would “continue to work towards improving patron experience”.
2. Fiona Xie’s return
After taking a break for almost seven years, Fiona Xie returned to local TV with a role on Channel 5’s show Left Behind. The seven-episode drama premiered in August this year.
Xie plays the character of psychiatrist Dr Jennifer Leong, who investigates cases of elder abuse, cyber bullying, gambling, transgender issues among others.
In 2009, Xie, who was once one of the most popular TV celebrities in Singapore, abruptly left Channel 8’s show Together due to personal reasons, mere days before filming was to start.
1. Nathan Hartono wins second place in Sing! China competition
Local heartthrob Nathan Hartono, who came in second in the Sing! China competition was the first Singaporean to make it so far in the singing reality show.
Hartono was coached by Mandopop king Jay Chou and even performed Chou’s hit song “Nunchucks” during the finals.
Ahead of the finals, Hartono had declared that if he won, he would be treating all Singaporeans to iced Milo. Nestle Singapore seized the PR opportunity and said that no matter the outcome, it would support Hartono by rolling out a Milo van at prime locations across the island on the day of the finals, which it did.
