title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: Cowell initially indicated that "The X Factor" may have two hosts. Numerous people were speculated to host the series, including "High School Musical" star Corbin Bleu, model Marisa Miller, and Dermot O'Leary, host of the UK version. On May 8, 2011, Nicole Scherzinger and Welsh presenter Steve Jones were announced as co-hosts of the show. However, following the departure of judge Cheryl in season one, Scherzinger took her place and Jones became sole host.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: After season one, Jones followed Scherzinger and judge Paula Abdul out the door as they were all dismissed from their duties on the show. Reports on who was going to replace Jones as the host circulated for months. Reality star Khloé Kardashian and "Extra" host Mario Lopez were confirmed as the two hosts hired. The season two auditions, boot camp, and judges' houses phases of the show went on without hosts as they were not yet confirmed. On April 22, 2013, Fox announced that Lopez would return as sole host for season three after Kardashian was not asked back as co-host.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: In each season, each judge is allocated a category to mentor and chooses a small number of acts (four or five, depending on the season) to progress to the live finals. This table shows, for each season, which category each judge was allocated and which acts he or she put through to the live finals.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: The "Pepsi Pre-show Live" is a podcast, sponsored by Pepsi, that is broadcast through the "X Factor" website one hour before every episode in the live rounds of the show. This program features behind-the-scenes looks backstage, acoustic performances, and interviews with celebrities, judges, contestants, and "X Factor" alumni. This program is hosted by Jesse Giddings, Adrienne Bailon, and Jim Cantiello.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: The show was also broadcast on ITV2 in the united Kingdom, season 1 proved popular launching just 1 day after the American launch date


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: At the 2012 Teen Choice Awards, "The X Factor" beat rival shows "American Idol" and "The Voice" to take the award for Reality Competition Show. "The X Factor" also won the award for Breakout Show, and Simon Cowell won the Male Personality award.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: In the quarter-final of season one, Scherzinger voted to eliminate contestant Rachel Crow from the show over Marcus Canty; this sent the result to deadlock. Following this, Crow was eliminated and Scherzinger was booed off the stage and her future on the show was put in jeopardy. She subsequently received death threats from some viewers. Scherzinger had been proven to be a unpopular judge, with her performance during the season being panned by critics, as well as controversy even before the show airing, regarding her replacing Cheryl Cole on the judging panel. Scherzinger was let go at the end of the season and later transferred to the UK show to replace Kelly Rowland for the 2012 UK series. On the UK show, Scherzinger became a more popular and successful judge.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: The airing of the season two judges' houses episode on October 17, 2012 was cut short abruptly in the middle of Lovato's selection for the top 16 to return to "MLB on Fox" coverage of Game 3 of the 2012 National League Championship Series, which had been in a lengthy rain delay and restarted (the game started at 4 p.m. ET so that Fox could run their primetime lineup upon the game's completion). After viewer complaints and a Twitter message from Cowell that consisted of his reaction being "It's what's known as a total f up," the episode was re-aired the next week in full.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: In season three, due to graphics errors made in the top 13 round of the live shows regarding voting, all voting results posted in that episode were invalidated, and the contestants sang once more in November 7, 2013, show, with the results revealed on November 13.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: Following the announcement of the show coming to America, several other broadcasters around the world expressed interest in acquiring the rights to show the American version of the show in their country. The below-mentioned countries may have their own version of "The X Factor", dubbed equally or under another name.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: On January 7, 2011, Fox, SYCOtv and FremantleMedia North America announced that Pepsi would be the official sponsor of "The X Factor". The sponsorship included an extensive multi-platform on and off-air marketing partnership. On June 9, Chevrolet was announced as the second official sponsor of the show. Chevrolet's sponsorship would also include an extensive multi-platform on and off-air marketing partnership. Sony was confirmed as the third official sponsor on July 26. Sony's sponsorship of "The X Factor" would also include an extensive multi-platform on and off-air marketing partnership. Verizon also sponsored the show; they were the official wireless sponsor.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: In 2012, the show was the second-highest revenue earning show of the year, with US$5.55 million ad revenue per half-hour, behind "American Idol".


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: For the third season, Honda and Procter & Gamble replaced the previous major sponsors of the show, with Procter & Gamble using it as a platform to promote its CoverGirl, Herbal Essences and Secret personal care brands.


title: The X Factor (American TV series)

text: In November 2014, it was reported that Cowell was considering re-launching the American version in 2015, though this was proved untrue. However, Cowell has said he was more than willing to give the American version another go, and that they received offers to bring it back on other networks, though he said he would bring it back when there is less competition in the TV talent show landscape. On 19 December 2013, "The X Factor USA" ceased operations for good.


title: Fisher-Price

text: Fisher-Price is an American company that produces educational toys for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, headquartered in East Aurora, New York. The company was founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Helen Schelle, and Margaret Evans-Price.


title: Fisher-Price

text: Founded in 1930 during the Great Depression by Herman Fisher, Irving Price, Price's illustrator-artist wife Margaret Evans Price, and Helen Schelle, the name Fisher-Price was established by combining two of the three names. Fisher worked previously in manufacturing, selling and advertising games for a company in Churchville, New York. Price had retired from a major variety chain store, and Helen Schelle previously operated Penny Walker Toy Shop in Binghamton, New York. Fisher-Price's fundamental toy-making principles centered on intrinsic play value, ingenuity, strong construction, good value for the money, and action. Early toys were made of heavy steel parts and ponderosa pine, which resisted splintering and held up well to heavy use. The details and charm were added with colorful lithographic labels. Mrs. Price was the first Art Director and designed push-pull toys for the opening line, based on characters from her children's books.


title: Fisher-Price

text: The mayor of Aurora, New York, supported Fisher by raising $100,000 in capital. In 1931, three of the four founders took 16 of their wooden toys to the American International Toy Fair in New York City and they quickly became a success. The first Fisher-Price toy ever sold was "Dr. Doodle" in 1931. In the early 1950s, Fisher-Price identified plastic as a material that could help the company incorporate longer-lasting decorations and brighter colors into its toys. "Buzzy Bee" was the first Fisher-Price toy to make use of plastic. By the end of the 1950s, Fisher-Price manufactured 39 toys incorporating plastics.


title: Fisher-Price

text: During the 1960s, the Play Family (later known as Little People) product line was introduced and soon overtook the popularity of earlier toys. The 'Family House' was one of the more popular Little People playsets. Herman Fisher retired at the age of 71 in 1969 and The Quaker Oats Company bought Fisher-Price the same year.


title: Fisher-Price

text: In 1991, Fisher-Price regained its independence from The Quaker Oats Company and became a publicly traded company. Two years later, in November 1993, Mattel bought Fisher-Price. A new management group set the company's focus on basic, infant and preschool products and began expansion into international markets. By 1997, Mattel decided to market all of its preschool products under the Fisher-Price name.


title: Fisher-Price

text: In 2004, Royal Caribbean Cruise lines launched Fisher-Price Cabanas, play laboratories for children on each of their cruise ships.


title: Fisher-Price

text: Fisher-Price has created approximately 5,000 different toys since the early 1930s. One of Fisher-Price's best-known lines is Little People toys, which includes people and animal figures along with various play sets such as a house, farm, school, garage and vehicles. The figures, which originally were wooden peg-style characters, are now molded of plastic and have detailed features.


title: Fisher-Price

text: In addition to Little People, some of the toys and toy brands that have remained popular for many years include Power Wheels, View-Master, Rescue Heroes, the Chatter Telephone, and the Rock-a-Stack. Other brands marketed under the Fisher-Price name over the years include Disney, Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, and See 'n Say.


title: Fisher-Price

text: Fisher-Price also designs and sells infant care products and has begun developing electronic toys for preschoolers.


title: Fisher-Price

text: In 2009, Fisher-Price bought all toy rights to Thomas & Friends except for the Wooden Railway line. Through Mattel's 2012 acquisition of HIT Entertainment, which subsequently became a division of Fisher-Price, Mattel now owns the property outright. With this, toys based on Mike the Knight and Bob the Builder have been subsequently released.


title: Fisher-Price

text: On August 2, 2007, Fisher-Price recalled close to a million toys, including the Dora the Explorer and Sesame Street toys because of possible hazards due to the toys being coated in lead-based paint.


title: Fisher-Price

text: Fisher-Price recalled all 4.7 million of their Rock 'n Play sleepers on 12 April 2019, days after the company recalled 250,000 infant soothers. The product was introduced in 2009, and holds the sleeping baby in an inclined position. More than 30 infants have died while sleeping in a Rock 'n Play. The Consumer Product Safety Commission said these deaths occurred "after the infants rolled over while unrestrained, or under other circumstances."


title: Fisher-Price

text: Years before the introduction of the Rock 'n Play sleeper, in the mid-1990s, the American Academy of Pediatrics' "Back to Sleep" campaign recommended that "babies should not sleep for long periods in inclined devices". In babies under one year old, dying during sleep is the leading cause of accidental death. The recommendation that babies sleep flat on their backs, in an empty crib, has cut this death rate in half.


title: Fisher-Price

text: The Rock 'n Play was designed 15 years after these sleep recommendations were published, and according to a Washington Post article, violated them. Fisher-Price sold the Rock 'n Play without first getting medical advice from more than one pediatric specialist, and without doing any real-world safety tests. They continued to sell it for years after the first deaths were reported.


title: Fisher-Price

text: Starting in the 1980s, seven games which carried the Fisher-Price name were developed by GameTek for the PC and the Commodore 64. In 1990, three of these titles were ported to the Nintendo Entertainment System:


title: Fisher-Price

text: Other Fisher-Price products include Activegear for families on the go, books, software, car travel accessories, footwear, infant carriers, music, eyeglasses and videos.


title: Principality

text: A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under the generic meaning of the term "prince".


title: Principality

text: Most of these states have historically been a polity, but in some occasions were rather territories in respect of which a princely title is held. The prince's estate and wealth may be located mainly or wholly outside the geographical confines of the principality.


title: Principality

text: Generally recognised surviving sovereign principalities are Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the co-principality of Andorra. Extant royal primogenitures styled as principalities include Asturias (Spain). The Principality of Wales existed in the northern and western areas of Wales between the 13th and 16th centuries; the Laws in Wales Act of 1536 which legally incorporated Wales within England removed the distinction between those areas and the March of Wales. The Principality of Catalonia existed in the north-eastern areas of Spain between 14th and 18th centuries, as the term for the territories ruled by the Catalan courts, until the defeat of the Habsburgs in the Spanish succession war, when these institutions were abolished due to their support for the Habsburg pretender. Principality of Asturias is the official name of autonomous community of Asturias.


title: Principality

text: The term principality is also sometimes used generically for any small monarchy, especially for small sovereign states ruled by a monarch of a lesser rank than a king, such as a Fürst (usually translated in English as "prince"), as in Liechtenstein, or a Grand Duke. No sovereign duchy currently exists, but Luxembourg is a surviving example of a sovereign grand duchy. Historically there have been sovereign principalities with many styles of ruler, such as Countship, Margraviate and even Lordship, especially within the Holy Roman Empire.


title: Principality

text: While the preceding definition would seem to fit a princely state perfectly, the European historical tradition is to reserve that word for native monarchies in colonial countries, and to apply "principality" to the Western monarchies.


title: Principality

text: Though principalities existed in antiquity, even before the height of the Roman Empire, the principality as it is known today developed in the Middle Ages between 750 and 1450 when feudalism was the primary economic and social system in much of Europe. Feudalism increased the power of local princes within a king's lands. As princes continued to gain more power over time, the authority of the king was diminished in many places. This led to political fragmentation as the king's lands were broken into mini-states ruled by princes and dukes who wielded absolute power over their small territories. This was especially prevalent in Europe, and particularly with the Princes of the Holy Roman Empire.


title: Principality

text: During the Late Middle Ages from 1200 to 1500, principalities were often at war with each other as royal houses asserted sovereignty over smaller principalities. These wars caused a great deal of instability and economies were destroyed. Episodes of bubonic plague also reduced the power of principalities to survive independently. Eventually, agricultural progress and development of new trade goods and services boosted commerce between principalities. Many of these states became wealthy, expanded their territories and improved the services provided to their citizens. Princes and dukes developed their lands, established new ports and chartered large thriving cities. Some used their new-found wealth to build palaces and other institutions now associated with sovereign states.


title: Principality

text: While some principalities prospered in their independence, less successful states were swallowed by stronger royal houses. Europe saw consolidation of small principalities into larger kingdoms and empires. This had already happened in England in the first millennium, and this trend subsequently led to the creation of such states as France, Portugal, and Spain. Another form of consolidation was orchestrated in Italy during the Renaissance by the Medici family. A banking family from Florence, the Medici took control of governments in various Italian regions and even assumed the papacy. They then appointed family members as princes and assured their protection. Prussia also later expanded by acquiring the territories of many other states.


title: Principality

text: However, in the 17th to 19th centuries, especially within the Holy Roman Empire, the reverse was also occurring: many new small sovereign states arose as a result of transfers of land for various reasons.


title: Principality

text: Nationalism, the belief that the nation-state is the best vehicle to realise the aspirations of a people, became popular in the late 19th century. A characteristic of nationalism is an identity with a larger region such as an area sharing a common language and culture. With this development, principalities fell out of favour. As a compromise, many principalities united with neighbouring regions and adopted constitutional forms of government, with the monarch acting as a mere figurehead while administration was left in the hands of elected parliaments. The trend in the 19th and 20th centuries was the abolition of various forms of monarchy and the creation of republican governments led by popularly elected presidents.


title: Principality

text: Several principalities where genealogical inheritance is replaced by succession in a religious office have existed in the Roman Catholic Church, in each case consisting of a feudal polity (often a former secular principality in the broad sense) held "ex officio" — the closest possible equivalent to hereditary succession — by a Prince of the church, styled more precisely according to his ecclesiastical rank, such as Prince-bishop, Prince-abbot or, especially as a form of crusader state, Grand Master.


title: Principality

text: Some of these instances were merely religious offices without sovereign power over any territory, while others, such as Salzburg and Durham, shared some of the characteristics of secular princes.


title: Principality

text: Prior to the European colonialism, South Asia and South East Asia were under the influence of the Indosphere, where numerous Indianized principalities and empires flourished for several centuries in Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam. The influence of Indian culture into these areas was given the term "indianization". George Coedes defined it as the expansion of an organized culture that was framed upon Indian originations of royalty, Hinduism and Buddhism and the Sanskrit dialect. This can be seen in the spread of Hinduism and Buddhism. Indian honorifics also influenced the Malay, Thai, Filipino and Indonesian honorifics.


title: Principality

text: In the colonial context, the term princely states was used, especially for those that came under the sway of a European colonising power: for example the British Indian and neighbouring or associated (e.g., Arabian) princely states were ruled by monarchs called Princes by the British, regardless of the native styles, which could be equivalent to royal or even imperial rank in the Indigenous cultures.


title: Principality

text: Principalities have also existed in ancient and modern civilizations of Africa, Pre-Columbian America and Oceania.


title: Principality

text: Several micronations, which "de facto" have few characteristics of sovereign states and are not recognized as such, more or less seriously claim the status of sovereign principalities. Examples are Sealand, a former military fort in the North Sea; Seborga, internationally considered a small town in Italy; and Hutt River and Principality of Wy in Mosman, internationally considered to be in Australia.


title: Rinku Rajguru

text: Prerana "Rinku" Mahadeo Rajguru (born 3 June 2001) is an Indian actress primarily working in Marathi language films, best known for her role in the film "Sairat".


title: Rinku Rajguru

text: In 2016, she made her debut with Nagraj Manjule's "Sairat" and won a National Film Award - Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) at the 63rd National Film Awards for her performance.


title: Rinku Rajguru

text: In the Kannada remake of "Sairat", "Manasu Mallige", Rajguru reprised her role. Later, she appeared in films like "Kaagar", "Makeup", and "Unpaused".


title: Rinku Rajguru

text: Rajguru, along with Lara Dutta, debuted in digital space through Hotstar's action-comedy "Hundred", released in 2020.


title: Paul Potts

text: Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is an English tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's "Britain's Got Talent" with his performance of "Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera "Turandot". As a singer of operatic pop music, Potts recorded the album "One Chance", which topped sales charts in 13 countries. Before winning "Britain's Got Talent", Potts was a manager at Carphone Warehouse. He had been a Bristol city councillor from 1996 until 2003, and performed in amateur opera from 1999 to 2003.


title: Paul Potts

text: Potts was born on 13 October 1970 in Kingswood, Bristol, and raised in nearby Fishponds by his father Roland, a bus driver, and mother, Yvonne ("née" Higgins), a supermarket cashier. He has two brothers and one sister.


title: Paul Potts

text: Potts attended St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School, where he developed his love of singing. He also sang with the choir at Chester Park Junior School and with the choirs at several Bristol churches, including Christ Church. Potts said in interviews that he had been bullied in school, and that experience may have made him lack self-confidence. He has also said that his voice had always been a source of solace in the past when he was bullied.


title: Paul Potts

text: After he left school in 1987, Potts had various jobs including working at Waitrose and Tesco; he also may have worked part-time at Debenhams. At the time of his "Britain's Got Talent" appearance, he was working in The Carphone Warehouse.


title: Paul Potts

text: In 1993, Potts earned a B.A. (Bachelor of Arts) Honours degree in Humanities from University College Plymouth St Mark & St John. In 1996, Potts was elected in a council by-election to represent the Eastville ward of Bristol City Council as a Liberal Democrat councillor; he was the youngest member of Bristol City Council and served until 2003.


title: Paul Potts

text: After winning "Britain's Got Talent", Potts took a six-month sabbatical from his job and resigned on 5 March 2008.


title: Paul Potts

text: Potts first sang opera in the minor roles of the Prince of Persia and the Herald in Puccini's "Turandot" for Bath Opera, an amateur company, in 1999. He then performed leading roles on four occasions: Don Basilio in Mozart's "Marriage of Figaro" in 2000; Don Carlos in Verdi's "Don Carlos" in 2001; Don Ottavio in Mozart's "Don Giovanni" in 2003; and Radames in Verdi's "Aida" in 2003. He also performed the role of the Chevalier des Grieux in Puccini's "Manon Lescaut" for the Southgate Opera Company in London, an amateur company, in May 2003. Additionally, he sang with a small ensemble from the Royal Philharmonic in front of an audience of 15,000 and toured northern Italy as a soloist as part of his music classes there.


title: Paul Potts

text: In several interviews, Potts revealed that he performed "Aida" despite doctors' wishes to remove an adrenal tumour they had discovered during his illness from a burst appendix, and shortly after the tumour surgery performed "Manon Lescaut". Potts broke his collarbone and suffered whiplash in a bicycle accident in 2003. The mishap and financial difficulties that followed led him to enter "Britain's Got Talent" despite not having sung in years.


title: Paul Potts

text: Potts auditioned for Simon Cowell's new talent show "Britain's Got Talent" at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff, Wales on 17 March 2007. The audition was televised on ITV in the UK on 9 June 2007. Potts sang the full rendition of Giacomo Puccini's "Nessun dorma," which was condensed for broadcast. His rendition of the aria brought looks of awe from the judges. Potts received a standing ovation from the audience of 2,000 people. The YouTube video clip from the show has had more than 188 million views as of June 2021.


title: Paul Potts

text: In the semi-final on 14 June 2007, Potts performed the main verses of Andrea Bocelli's "Time To Say Goodbye." He progressed to the final after receiving the highest public vote in that show.


title: Paul Potts

text: He performed "Nessun dorma" again for his finale on 17 June 2007, as well as an encore after he won the competition. Potts defeated the bookmakers' co-favourite Connie Talbot, and received the highest percentage of two million votes cast to win £100,000. He then performed Sarah Brightman's "Nella Fantasia" at the "Royal Variety Performance" on 3 December 2007, in front of Queen Elizabeth II.


title: Paul Potts

text: On 3 December 2012, he was invited to celebrate 100 years of the "Royal Variety Performance" alongside Spelbound, Diversity and 2009 finalist Stavros Flatley. Together they performed a dance routine finishing with Potts singing "Nessun Dorma" with Diversity dancing to the song.


title: Paul Potts

text: Shortly before the "Britain's Got Talent" final in June 2007, the programme was criticised for representing Potts as a simple mobile-phone salesman, when he had appeared with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and had plans for a summer tour with it. He was accused of being an experienced performer who was reaping the benefit of professional training. Potts responded that he had never worked as a professional singer. He had paid for lessons, but everyone taking part in the show had had some training. He had not claimed to be untutored, but had never performed any concert for pay and was therefore an amateur. He also said that the Pavarotti masterclass he attended in Italy was paid for from his own savings. His comments were confirmed by the singing teacher who gave him lessons until Potts gave up in 2003 due to illness.


title: Paul Potts

text: In the United States, he was profiled on a National Public Radio programme called "Day to Day", and appeared live on NBC's programme "Today".


title: Paul Potts

text: In July 2007, Potts performed "Nessun dorma" at a Katherine Jenkins concert at Margam Park, Wales. On 16 July 2007, his debut album "One Chance" was released in the UK, and claimed the No. 1 spot in the UK Album Chart the following week. In December 2007, Prime Minister Gordon Brown presented Potts with a platinum disc for having sold 2,000,000 copies of his album.


title: Paul Potts

text: On 13 December 2007, he performed in Leipzig in the live television broadcast of the 13th annual José Carreras Gala, accompanied by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg under the direction of Scott Lawton. In January he began a series of 97 concerts in 85 cities across 23 countries. This included three outdoor classical music concerts with the Finnish violinist Linda Brava and the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra at Sofiero Palace, Sundbyholms Castle and Slottskogsvallen from 24 to 26 July.


title: Paul Potts

text: In the semi-finals of the 2009 series of "Britain's Got Talent", Potts appeared in a comeback performance.


title: Paul Potts

text: Potts was invited to appear on an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" about YouTube, a site where clips of his performances had been viewed over 92 million times as of April 2012; , his first appearance on "Britain's Got Talent" was the fourth most viewed YouTube video in the UK. On 24 November 2007, Potts was interviewed on the National Public Radio programme "Weekend Edition". On 15 August 2008, he performed before the German football season opening match between Bayern Munich and Hamburger SV in front of 69,000 visitors as well as on 2 September 2008 during the farewell game for Oliver Kahn.


title: Paul Potts

text: In July 2008, Deutsche Telekom began using a TV and cinema advertisement centred on his "Britain's Got Talent" performance. In August 2008, he did a now famous duet with Daniel Powter on the Wolfbaggin' Tour. In October 2008, Paul Potts sang in Japanese TV advertisements for Ryukakusan Direct throat medicine. Potts received two nominations at the Echo Awards 2009 in Germany: Best International Male Artist and Album of the Year. He won the 2009 Echo Award for Best International Male Artist on 21 February 2009. On 22 April 2009, Potts was the guest co-host on the Australian television programme "The Morning Show" with Kylie Gillies. Expanding his talent to the online world, Paul Potts recently performed an exclusive in studio performance for AOL Sessions. He collaborated with Swedish singer Carola Häggkvist on her Christmas album "Christmas in Bethlehem", singing "O Holy Night". Potts has appeared twice on the popular Korean Talent TV show "Star King", first in 2008 and once again in 2010.


title: Paul Potts

text: He participated in the soundtrack of the 2009 Korean historical drama "Queen Seondeok", singing two major characters, Deokman and Yushin's love theme "Passo Dopo Passo" in Italian, meaning "Step by Step".


title: Paul Potts

text: Potts was in Toronto on 10 November 2010 performing a "flash opera" at the Union Subway Station to a moderately-sized crowd and finished to loud applause.


title: Paul Potts

text: In 2013 Potts appeared on the Korean television programme "Qualifying Man". Then on 9 August 2014 he appeared in Durban, South Africa alongside Got Talent winners 44-year-old James Bhemgee and 10-year-old soprano Amira Willighagen.


title: Paul Potts

text: In the summer of 2016 Potts took on two full length opera roles for the first time in his professional career. He played the role of Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca at Summer Sessions at Chiswick House on 15 and 16 June. Then in Hungary he played the role of Steuermann (Steersman) in Szeged Open Air Festivals' production of Wagner's Der Fliegende Holländer on 1 and 2 July.


title: Paul Potts

text: In September 2017, Potts won the 320th episode of the South-Korean television music competition , in a duet with .


title: Paul Potts

text: In 2019, Potts competed in "", reaching the final 12, but did not secure a place among the top 5 finalists.


title: Paul Potts

text: In 2022, he competed in "The Masked Singer (German TV series)" as a koala during the sixth season: he was eliminated in the third show.


title: Paul Potts

text: Potts met his wife Julie-Ann in an Internet chat room in 2001. Meeting face-to-face shortly afterwards, they married in May 2003.


title: Paul Potts

text: The Weinstein Company has adapted Potts's life in a film called "One Chance", with James Corden starring as Potts. The script is by Justin Zackham and the film is directed by David Frankel, the director of "The Devil Wears Prada".


title: Paul Potts

text: In 2013, Potts' memoir, "One Chance", was published by Weinstein Books, as a companion to the 2013 film of the same name. "One Chance" describes Potts’ difficult childhood, enduring passion for music, "Britain's Got Talent" win, and subsequent professional career. "One Chance" was featured as a top film tie-in of the year by "Publishers Weekly", where it was described as a "fascinating tale...of the shy Welsh (he was from Bristol) store manager who seized his dreams and won worldwide audiences."


title: Marc Shaiman

text: Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broadway musical version of the John Waters film "Hairspray". He has won a Grammy, an Emmy, and a Tony, and been nominated for seven Oscars.


title: Marc Shaiman

text: Shaiman was born to a Jewish family in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Claire (née Goldfein) and William Robert Shaiman. He grew up in Scotch Plains, New Jersey and attended Scotch Plains-Fanwood High School, but got his GED and left school at age 16 to start working in New York's theaters. He lives in both Manhattan and upstate New York.


title: Marc Shaiman

text: He is openly gay, and married Louis Mirabal, a retired lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy, on March 26, 2016.


title: Marc Shaiman

text: Shaiman started his career as a theatre/cabaret musical director. He started working at "Saturday Night Live" as an arranger/writer, where he portrayed Skip St. Thomas, the accompanying pianist for The Sweeney Sisters, a singing duo played by Nora Dunn and Jan Hooks, which earned him an Emmy nomination; he returned for an appearance on "The Saturday Night Live 40th Anniversary Special," having co-created Martin Short and Maya Rudolph's salute to musical sketch characters. He began his professional relationships with Billy Crystal and Martin Short during his tenure at the show. He also was a vocal arranger for Bette Midler, eventually becoming her musical director and co-producer of many of her recordings, including "The Wind Beneath My Wings" and "From a Distance." He helped create the material for her performance on the penultimate "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson". His work with both Midler and Billy Crystal led to his involvement on their films. He later produced Midler's CD "It's the Girls", which had the highest debut of Midler's recording career on the "Billboard" Album charts, and co-wrote Crystal's farewell to Jay Leno which featured Carol Burnett and Oprah Winfrey among others.


title: Marc Shaiman

text: His film credits include "Broadcast News", "Beaches", "When Harry Met Sally...", "City Slickers", "The Addams Family", "Sister Act", "Sleepless in Seattle", "A Few Good Men", "The American President", "The First Wives Club", "George of the Jungle", "In & Out", "Patch Adams", "", "", "Hairspray", "Flipped", "Mary Poppins Returns" and HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon" and "61*". On television, he worked on the final performances for Johnny Carson's "Tonight Show" (with Bette Midler), Conan O'Brien's "Late Night" (with Nathan Lane), both of Jay Leno's final "Tonight Show" broadcasts, and Nathan Lane's farewell to David Letterman called "Dead Inside."


title: Marc Shaiman

text: Shaiman has earned seven Academy Award nominations, a Tony Award and a Grammy Award for his work on the musical "Hairspray", and an Emmy Award for co-writing Billy Crystal's Academy Award performances. He has also been Grammy-nominated for his arrangements for Harry Connick Jr.'s recordings "When Harry Met Sally..." and "We Are in Love" as well as "Hairspray" and "Smash" and Emmy-nominated for his work on "Saturday Night Live" and "Smash". In 2002, he was honored with the "Outstanding Achievement in Music-In-Film" award at The Hollywood Film Festival, and in 2007 he was honored with ASCAP's Henry Mancini Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contributions to the music of film and television. He is the first recipient of the Film & TV Music Award for Best Score for a Comedy Feature Film. He wrote and sang the song "Yes" for his agent's film "Finding Kraftland", and co-wrote (with partner Scott Wittman) songs for Neil Patrick Harris when Harris hosted the 63rd Tony Awards (2009) and the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards (2009), and was Emmy-nominated for musical directing and co-writing the 82nd Academy Awards (2010).


title: Marc Shaiman

text: Shaiman co-produced and co-wrote cuts on Mariah Carey's 2010 Christmas album "Merry Christmas II You". He and Wittman wrote original songs for the musical-based television show for NBC, "Smash", which ran from 2012 to 2013, and served as executive producers. For their song "Let Me Be Your Star," Shaiman and co-lyricist Wittman were nominated for both an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award, and as executive producers they were nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Television Series - Comedy or Musical.


title: Marc Shaiman

text: Shaiman and Wittman were honored on April 28, 2014, by The New York Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall. The following year, Jennifer Hudson sang the"Smash" song "I Can't Let Go" at the 87th Academy Awards during the in memoriam tribute, featuring revised lyrics. The duo's latest Broadway musical "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" ran on Broadway at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, after finishing a four-year run on London's West End at The Royal Drury Lane Theater. Shaiman was Tony-nominated for his orchestrations for their previous Broadway musical "Catch Me If You Can". In 2021, they wrote a song titled "Save the City" for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in-universe Broadway production titled "" featured in the first episode of "Hawkeye", "Never Meet Your Heroes". It was released as a single on November 24, the day the episode became available on Disney+.


title: Marc Shaiman

text: In February 2021, it was announced that Shaiman and Wittman were writing songs for a new musical adaptation of "Some Like It Hot", coming to Broadway in 2022 with a book by Amber Ruffin and Matthew Lopez.


title: Marc Shaiman

text: In 2008, a controversy erupted nationwide when California Musical Theatre's then artistic director Scott Eckern resigned over the revelation of his personal donation of $1000 to a political campaign to support California Proposition 8, which was an amendment to change the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California. After the amendment was passed, donor information became public. Shaiman and other Broadway artists who had previously worked with the director became critical and called for a boycott of the theatre by all gay artists and performers, ending in the director's resignation days later.


title: Marc Shaiman

text: To protest the passage of California Proposition 8 in November 2008, Shaiman wrote a satiric mini-musical called "Prop 8 — The Musical." The 3-minute video was distributed on the internet at FunnyOrDie.com, beginning on December 3, 2008. It was written and produced in just a few days. The cast includes Jack Black (who plays Jesus), Neil Patrick Harris, John C. Reilly, Allison Janney, Andy Richter, Maya Rudolph, Margaret Cho, and Rashida Jones. Shaiman plays the piano and appears briefly in the video. It received 1.2 million internet hits in its first day.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Welsh mythology (Welsh: "Mytholeg Cymru") consists of both folk traditions developed in Wales, and traditions developed by the Celtic Britons elsewhere before the end of the first millennium. As in most of the predominantly oral societies Celtic mythology and history were recorded orally by specialists such as druids (). This oral record has been lost or altered as a result of outside contact and invasion over the years. Much of this altered mythology and history is preserved in medieval Welsh manuscripts, which include the Red Book of Hergest, the White Book of Rhydderch, the Book of Aneirin and the Book of Taliesin. Other works connected to Welsh mythology include the ninth-century Latin historical compilation "Historia Brittonum" ("History of the Britons") and Geoffrey of Monmouth's twelfth-century Latin chronicle "Historia Regum Britanniae" ("History of the Kings of Britain"), as well as later folklore, such as the materials collected in "The Welsh Fairy Book" by William Jenkyn Thomas (1908).


title: Welsh mythology

text: Four of the mythological stories contained in the "Mabinogion" are collectively known as the Four Branches of the Mabinogi. They concentrate largely on the exploits of various British deities who have been Christianized into kings and heroes. The only character who appears in every branch is Pryderi fab Pwyll, the king of Dyfed, who is born in the first Branch, is killed in the fourth, and is probably a reflex of the Celtic god Maponos. The only other recurring characters are Pryderi's mother Rhiannon, associated with the peaceful British prince Manawydan, who later becomes her second husband. Manawyadan and his siblings Brân the Blessed ( or "Blessed Crow"), Branwen and Efnysien are the key players of the second branch, while the fourth branch concerns itself with the exploits of the family of Dôn, which includes the wizard Gwydion, his nephew, Lleu Llaw Gyffes, and his sister, Arianrhod.


title: Welsh mythology

text: The first branch tells of how Pwyll, prince of Dyfed, exchanges places for a year with Arawn, the ruler of Annwn (the otherworld), defeats Arawn's enemy Hafgan, and on his return encounters Rhiannon, a beautiful maiden whose horse cannot be caught up with. He manages to win her hand at the expense of Gwawl, to whom she is betrothed, and she bears him a son, but the child disappears soon after his birth. Rhiannon is accused of killing him and forced to carry guests on her back as punishment. The child has been taken by a monster, and is rescued by Teyrnon and his wife, who bring him up as their own, calling him Gwri of the Golden hair, until his resemblance to Pwyll becomes apparent. They return him to his real parents, Rhiannon is released from her punishment, and the boy is renamed Pryderi.


title: Welsh mythology

text: In the second branch Branwen, sister of Brân the Blessed, king of Britain, is given in marriage to Matholwch, king of Ireland. Branwen's half-brother Efnysien insults Matholwch by mutilating his horses, and in compensation Brân gives Matholwch new horses and treasure, including a magical cauldron that can restore the dead to life. Matholwch and Branwen have a son, Gwern, but Matholwch proceeds to mistreat Branwen, beating her and making her a drudge. Branwen trains a starling to take a message to Brân, who goes to war against Matholwch. His army crosses the Irish Sea in ships, but Brân is so huge that he wades across. The Irish offer to make peace, and build a house big enough to entertain Bran, but inside they hang a hundred bags, telling Efnysien they contain flour, when in fact they conceal armed warriors. Efnysien kills the warriors by squeezing the bags. Later, at the feast, Efnysien throws Gwern on the fire and fighting breaks out. Seeing that the Irish are using the cauldron to revive their dead, Efnysien hides among the corpses and destroys the cauldron, although the effort costs him his life. Only seven men, all Britons, survive the battle, including Pryderi, Manawyddan and Bran, who is mortally wounded by a poisoned spear. Brân asks his companions to cut off his head and take it back to Britain. Branwen dies of grief on returning home. Five pregnant women survive to repopulate Ireland.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Pryderi and Manawydan return to Dyfed, where Pryderi marries Cigfa and Manawydan marries Rhiannon. However, a mist descends on the land, leaving it empty and desolate. The four support themselves by hunting at first, then move to England, where they make a living by making, successively, saddles, shields and shoes. Each time their products are of such quality that local craftsmen cannot compete, and drive them from town to town. Eventually they return to Dyfed and become hunters again. A white boar leads them to a mysterious castle. Against Manawydan's advice, Pryderi goes inside, but does not return. Rhiannon goes to investigate and finds him clinging to a bowl, unable to speak. The same fate befalls her, and the castle disappears. Manawydan and Cigfa return to England as shoemakers, but once again the locals drive them out and they return to Dyfed. They sow three fields of wheat, but the first field is destroyed before it can be harvested. The next night the second field is destroyed. Manawydan keeps watch over the third field, and when he sees it destroyed by mice he catches their leader and decides to hang it. A scholar, a priest and a bishop in turn offer him gifts if he will spare the mouse, but he refuses. When asked what he wants in return for the mouse's life, he demands the release of Pryderi and Rhiannon, and the lifting of the enchantment over Dyfed. The bishop agrees, because the mouse is in fact his wife. He has been waging magical war against Dyfed because he is a friend of Gwawl, whom Pwyll, Pryderi's father, humiliated.


title: Welsh mythology

text: While Pryderi rules Dyfed, in the south of Wales, Gwynedd in the north of Wales is ruled by Math, son of Mathonwy. His feet must be held by a virgin except while he is at war. Math's nephew, Gilfaethwy, is in love with Goewin, his current footholder, and Gilfaethwy's brother Gwydion tricks Math into going to war against Pryderi so Gilfaethwy can have access to her. Gwydion kills Pryderi in single combat, and Gilfaethwy rapes Goewin. Math marries Goewin to save her from disgrace, and banishes Gwydion and Gilfaethwy, transforming them into a breeding pair of deer, then pigs, then wolves. After three years they are restored to human form and return.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Math needs a new footholder, and Gwydion suggests his sister, Arianrhod, but when Math magically tests her virginity she gives birth to two sons. One, Dylan, immediately takes to the sea. The other child is raised by Gwydion, but Arianrhod tells him he will never have a name or arms unless she gives them to him, and refuses to do so. Gwydion tricks her into naming him Lleu Llaw Gyffes ("Bright, of deft hand"), and giving him arms. She then tells him he will never have a wife of any race living on Earth, so Gwydion and Math make him a wife from flowers, called Blodeuwedd (possibly "Flower face", though other etymologies have been suggested). Blodeuwedd falls in love with a hunter, Gronw Pebr, and they plot to kill Lleu. Blodeuwedd tricks Lleu into revealing the means by which he can be killed, but when Gronw attempts to do the deed Lleu escapes, transformed into an eagle. Gwydion finds Lleu and transforms him back into human form, and turns Blodeuwedd into an owl, renaming her Blodeuwedd and cursing her. Gronw offers to compensate Lleu, but Lleu insists on returning the blow that was struck against him. Gronw pleads to be allowed to hide behind a rock when he attempts to kill him. Lleu agrees. He kills Gronw with his spear, which is thrown so hard it pierces him through the stone he is hiding behind.


title: Welsh mythology

text: A large tradition seems to have once surrounded the Battle of the Trees, a mythological conflict fought between the sons of Dôn and the forces of Annwn, the Welsh Otherworld, and seemingly connected to the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi. Amaethon, one of the sons of Dôn, steals a white roebuck and a whelp from Arawn, king of the otherworld, leading to a great battle.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Gwydion fights alongside his brother and, assisted by Lleu, enchants the "elementary trees and sedges" to rise up as warriors against Arawn's forces. The alder leads the attack, while the aspen falls in battle, and heaven and earth tremble before the oak, a "valiant door keeper against the enemy". The bluebells combine and cause a "consternation" but the hero is the holly, tinted with green.


title: Welsh mythology

text: A warrior fighting alongside Arawn cannot be vanquished unless his enemies can guess his name. Gwydion guesses the warrior's name, identifying him from the sprigs of alder on his shield, and sings two englyns:


title: Welsh mythology

text: This account is so different from Geoffrey of Monmouth's account of Maximian (as Geoffrey calls him) in Historia regum Britanniae that scholars agree that the Dream cannot be based purely on Geoffrey's version. The Dream's account also seems to accord better with details in the Triads, so it perhaps reflects an earlier tradition.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Macsen Wledig, the Emperor of Rome, dreams one night of a lovely maiden in a wonderful, far-off land. Awakening, he sends his men all over the earth in search of her. With much difficulty they find her in a rich castle in Britain, daughter of a chieftain based at Segontium (Caernarfon), and lead the Emperor to her. Everything he finds is exactly as in his dream. The maiden, whose name is Helen or Elen, accepts and loves him. Because Elen is found a virgin, Macsen gives her father sovereignty over the island of Britain and orders three castles built for his bride. In Macsen's absence, a new emperor seizes power and warns him not to return. With the help of men from Britain led by Elen's brother Conanus (Welsh: Kynan Meriadec, French: Conan Meriadoc), Macsen marches across Gaul and Italy and recaptures Rome. In gratitude to his British allies, Macsen rewards them with a portion of Gaul that becomes known as Brittany.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Another mythological story included in the "Mabinogion" is the tale of "Lludd and Llefelys". Lludd is king of Britain, and his brother, Llefelys, is king of France. Lludd's kingdom is beset by three menaces: the Coraniaid, a demonic people who can hear everything; a terrible scream that is heard every May Eve that terrifies the people; and the continual disappearance of the provisions of the king's court. Lludd asks Llefelys for help, speaking to him through a brass tube so the Coraniaid can't hear. Llefelys creates a potion of crushed insects in water which destroys the Coraniaid when sprinkled on them. The scream, he discovers, comes from two dragons fighting. He gets the dragons drunk on mead and buries them in Dinas Emrys in what is now North Wales. He then overcomes the wizard who is stealing all of Lludd's provisions and makes him serve Lludd.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Guest included "Hanes Taliesin" in her translation of the "Mabinogion", despite the absence of this tale from the White Book of Rhydderch and the Red Book of Hergest. Subsequent scholarship has identified the tale as post-medieval and it is left out of most modern editions of the "Mabinogion". Still, elements of the tale predate this presentation. The tale is distinct from the Book of Taliesin, which is a collection of poems attributed to Taliesin.


title: Welsh mythology

text: According to the story, Taliesin began life as Gwion Bach, a servant to the enchantress Ceridwen. Ceridwen had a beautiful daughter and a horribly ugly son named Avagddu (elsewhere known as Morfran). Ceridwen determines to help her son by brewing a magic potion, the first three drops of which will give him the gift of wisdom and inspiration ("awen"). The potion has to be cooked for a year and a day, so Ceridwen enlists a blind man named Morda to tend the fire beneath the cauldron, while Gwion Bach stirs. Three hot drops spill onto Gwion's thumb as he stirred, and he instinctively puts his thumb in his mouth, instantly gaining wisdom and knowledge. The first thought that occurs to him is that Ceridwen will kill him, so he runs away.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Soon enough Ceridwen engages Gwion in a transformation chase in which they turn themselves into various animals – a hare and a greyhound, a fish and an otter, and a bird and a hawk. Exhausted, Gwion finally turns himself into a single grain of corn, but Ceridwen becomes a hen and eats him. Ceridwen becomes pregnant, and when she gives birth she throws the child into the ocean in a leather bag. The bag is found by Elffin, son of Gwyddno Garanhir, who sees the boy's beautiful white brow and exclaims ""dyma dal iesin"" ("this is a radiant brow") Taliesin, thus named, begins to recite beautiful poetry.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Elffin raises Taliesin as his son, and the two become involved in several adventures. In the presence of Maelgwn, king of Gwynedd, Elffin claims that his wife is as virtuous as the king's wife, and that Taliesin is a better bard than the king's. Maelgwn locks Elffin up and sends his boorish son Rhun to defile Elffin's wife and steal her ring as evidence. However, Taliesin has Elffin's wife replaced with a kitchen maid, thus preserving Elffin's claim. Taliesin then humiliates Maelgwn's bards with his skill, and frees his foster-father.


title: Welsh mythology

text: While "Culhwch and Olwen", also found in the "Mabinogion", is primarily an Arthurian tale, in which the hero Culhwch enlists Arthur's aid in winning the hand of Olwen, daughter of Ysbaddaden the Giant, it is full of background detail, much of it mythological in nature. Characters such as Amaethon, the divine ploughman, Mabon ap Modron, the divine son, and the psychopomp Gwyn ap Nudd make appearances, the latter in an endless seasonal battle with Gwythyr ap Greidawl for the hand of Creiddylad. The conditions placed on Culhwch by his mother are similar to those placed on Lleu Llaw Gyffes by Arianrhod, and Culhwch's arrival at Arthur's court is reminiscent of the Irish god Lug's arrival at the court of Nuada Airgetlám in "Cath Maige Tuired".


title: Welsh mythology

text: The hero of "Owain, or the Lady of the Fountain", is based on the historical figure Owain mab Urien. He appears as Ywain in later continental tradition. The romance consists of a hero marrying his love, the Lady of the Fountain, but losing her when he neglects her for knightly exploits. With the aid of a lion he saves from a serpent, he finds a balance between his marital and social duties and rejoins his wife. The narrative is related to Chrétien de Troyes' French romance "Yvain, the Knight of the Lion".


title: Welsh mythology

text: The narrative corresponds to Chrétien's romance "Perceval, the Story of the Grail", although, as with the other Welsh romances, scholars still debate the work's exact relationship to Chrétien's poem. It is possible that this romance preserves some of the material found in Chrétien's source. The sequence of some events is altered and many original episodes appear, including the hero's 14-year sojourn in Constantinople reigning with the Empress, which contains remnants of a sovereignty tale. The Holy Grail is replaced with a severed head on a platter. Despite the differences, however, the influence of the French romance cannot be discounted, particularly as its first part hardly matches the second.


title: Welsh mythology

text: The hero's father dies when he is young, and his mother takes him into the woods and raises him in isolation. Eventually he meets a group of knights and determines to become like them, so he travels to King Arthur's court. There he is ridiculed by Cei and sets out on further adventures, promising to avenge Cei's insults to himself and those who defended him. While travelling he meets two of his uncles, the first plays the role of Percival's Gornemant and educates him in arms and warns him not to ask the significance of what he sees. The second replaces Chrétien's Fisher King, but instead of showing Peredur the Holy Grail he reveals a salver containing a man's severed head. The young knight does not ask about this and proceeds to further adventure, including a stay with the Nine Witches of Gloucester and the encounter with the woman who was to be his true love, Angharad Golden-Hand. Peredur returns to Arthur's court, but soon embarks on another series of adventures that do not correspond to material in Percival (Gawain's exploits take up this section of the French work.) Eventually the hero learns the severed head at his uncle's court belonged to his cousin, who had been killed by the Nine Witches of Gloucester. Peredur avenges his family, and is celebrated as a hero.


title: Welsh mythology

text: This narrative corresponds to Chrétien's "Erec and Enide", in which the hero is Erec. The romance concerns the love of Geraint, one of King Arthur's men, and the beautiful Enid. The couple marry and settle down together, but rumors spread that Geraint has gone soft. Upset about this, Enid cries to herself that she is not a true wife for keeping her husband from his chivalric duties, but Geraint misunderstands her comment to mean she has been unfaithful to him. He makes her join him on a long and dangerous trip and commands her not to speak to him. Enid disregards this command several times to warn her husband of danger. Several adventures follow that prove Enid's love and Geraint's fighting ability. The couple is happily reconciled in the end, and Geraint inherits his father's kingdom.


title: Welsh mythology

text: "The Spoils of Annwfn" is a cryptic early medieval poem of sixty lines found in the Book of Taliesin. The text recounts an expedition to the Otherworld, led by King Arthur, to retrieve a magical cauldron. The speaker relates how he journeyed with Arthur and three boatloads of men into Annwfn, but only seven returned. Annwfn is apparently referred to by several names, including "Mound Fortress," "Four-Peaked Fortress," and "Glass Fortress", though it is possible the poet intended these to be distinct places. Within the Mound Fort's walls Gweir, one of the "Three Exalted Prisoners of Britain" known from the Welsh Triads, is imprisoned in chains. The narrator then describes the cauldron of the Chief of Annwn; it is finished with pearl and will not boil a coward's food. Whatever tragedy ultimately killed all but seven of them is not clearly explained. The poem continues with an excoriation of "little men" and monks, who lack in various forms of knowledge possessed by the poet.


title: Welsh mythology

text: The Welsh had been Christian for several centuries before their former mythology was written down, and their gods had long been transformed into kings and heroes of the past. Many of the characters who exhibit divine characteristics fall into two rival families, the "Plant Dôn" ("Children of Dôn") and the "Plant Llŷr" ("Children of Llŷr").


title: Welsh mythology

text: Llŷr, the patriarch of the other family, is possibly a borrowing of the Irish sea-god Ler. A foreign origin is further suggested by his epithet "Llediaith" ("half-speech"). His wife was Penarddun. According to the Mabinogion she was the mother of his three children, plus two others by Euroswydd. The "Mabinogi" name her as a daughter of Beli Mawr, though this may be an error for sister. Penarddun and Llŷr's children include:


title: Welsh mythology

text: Beli Mawr is an ancestor figure mentioned in various sources. Though obscure as a character, several of the many descendants attributed to him figure strongly in Welsh tradition. Works derived from Geoffrey of Monmouth's "Historia Regum Britanniae" name him as a King of Britain. The Second Branch of the "Mabinogi" name Beli as the father of Penarddun, though this may be a mistake for brother. Beli's more prominent children include:


title: Welsh mythology

text: While Arthurian literature grew to become a broadly European phenomenon, the Welsh can claim the earliest appearances of Arthur. Before Arthur became an international figure, writings and oral tales concerning him were more or less restricted to the Brythonic nations of Wales, Cornwall and Brittany. These tales in turn are divided roughly into Pre-Galfridian Traditions and those of Geoffrey of Monmouth. Wales also contributed to the Arthur of the Romance Tradition after the titular heir became an international sensation.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Each of these tales are contained within the modern Mabinogion collection, and are likely based on the romances of Chrétien de Troyes (though it is possible that they may have had a common Celtic source). See the above section on "The Three Romances" in The Mabinogion for details on these tales.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Includes folk tales, legends, traditions and anecdotes. The "cyfarwyddiaid" (singular: "cyfarwydd", "storyteller"), were members of the bardic order in Wales. The only historical "cyfarwydd" known by name is Bledri ap Cydifor ('Bledericus Walensis', 'Bleherus').


title: Welsh mythology

text: The "cyfawyddiaid" were considered a learned class with duties and an education that exceeded that of a common poet. They were court officials with extensive training in their art, and often had a close relationship with their lord. Their duties extended to the traditions involved in praising, celebrating and mourning their lord. Welsh folklore includes a number of tales that were preserved and told by the "cyfarwyddiaid", who were also tasked with conserving the traditional historical material, the accepted myth of the Welsh past, and sharing the corresponding stories, being considered as historians themselves. Besides storytelling, the "cyfarwyddiaid" also had the task of protecting the genealogies of the powerful families.


title: Welsh mythology

text: The tales of Welsh lore were shared as proverbs and songs, in addition to simple spoken stories. The historical tales were told along with the non-historical fables, without significant distinction. This allowed culture and history to be explored and taught through the poetics of the time. In earlier periods, the "penceirddiaid" are believed to have narrated stories in the courts of princes and nobles. Later, the stories were told by the "cyfarwyddiaid" for audiences other than nobility.


title: Welsh mythology

text: The writing of medieval folklore had adopted and explored a set of rules and themes. It relied on the poetic triads of the time, poetics, old verse and knowledge of histories, which enabled the conception of well-crafted stories about the historical truths of the population. Additionally, regions would adopt their own guidelines in storymaking, such as the Triads of the Island of Britain, which led tales to be based on mythological, historical and heroic themes. The writing also followed structure, having a chronological series of events in short episodes, known as features, which reflect the oral origins of the tales for easy story-telling to the audiences.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Welsh folklore was often compared to Irish literature of similar value. They both consisted of similar structure and aimed to inform about the past, rather than to target the mistakes of their ancestry with satire. The form of these tales also mimicked that of early Irish sagas, being prose sprinkled with poetry. Moreover, the conservation of Irish tales was also performed by a class of gentry, much like the "cyfarwyddiaid" of Wales. However, even with other similar duties, the Irish bards were not story-tellers. That role was saved for the poets in Ireland.


title: Welsh mythology

text: This type of storytelling, in both Ireland and Wales, was believed to have arisen through spiritual inspiration. The poets spoke ‘through’ great knowledge, which was sometimes thought to be acquired only by the practice of divination, a concept known as "ái" in Irish, and "awen" in Welsh. The Welsh "cyfarwyddiaid" were thus considered "awenyddion", able to deliver prophetic speech in a possessed state of "awen". This is not the only ritual practice that evolved around Welsh folklore, as other customs have originated from the tales themselves.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Folk tales and legends have also survived through retellings by common people. Storytelling could and does occur in many different forms: "gossip, games, dancing, and the reciting of riddles, tongue-twisters, nursery-rhymes, harp-stanzas, folk-songs and ballads."


title: Welsh mythology

text: Common occasions for telling folk narratives were the "nosweithiau llawen" (or "merry evenings," similar to a céilidh), "nosweithiau gwau" ("knitting nights"), and "Calan Gaeaf" (Winter's Eve).


title: Welsh mythology

text: The most famous of these are the tales concerning the "Oldest Animals," in which a character gathers information from different animals until the oldest animal is located.


title: Welsh mythology

text: "Culhwch and Olwen" lists the Blackbird of Cilgwri, the Stag of Rhedynfre, the Owl of Cwm Cowlyd, the Eagle of Gwernabwy, and the Salmon of Llyn Llyw. The Triad "The Three Elders of the World" lists several of the oldest birds.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Includes White Lie Tales, which are obviously and intentionally untrue. Common elements include the narrator's experiences in America, adventures while being carried on wings of a large bird, growing enormous vegetables, prowess at shooting around corners, ability to see over great distances. Famous recent authors in this genre are James Wade (Shemi Wad), Daniel Thomas (Daniel y Pant), Gruffydd Jones (Y Deryn Mawr) and John Pritchard (Siôn Ceryn Bach).


title: Welsh mythology

text: Includes Gwylliaid Cochion Mawddwy, a group of bandits who lived in Merioneth in the 16th century, mentioned in Thomas Pennant's "Tours of Wales" and other sources.<br>


title: Welsh mythology

text: Also includes the legend of Gelert, the namesake of the town of Beddgelert (whose name means "Gelert's Grave") in the Gwynedd area of Wales. The folktale is said to take place in the 13th century, and acts as a moral story about making hasty and rash decisions. In the legend, Llywelyn the Great, then-Prince of North Wales returned from hunting to find his baby missing, the cradle overturned, and his faithful hound Gelert with blood-stained fur and teeth. Believing the dog had killed his child and heir, Llywelyn drew his sword and killed Gelert. After the dog's dying yelp, Llywelyn heard the cries of his baby, unharmed and behind the cradle, along with a dead wolf which had attacked the child and been killed by Gelert. Llywelyn is overcome with sorrow and buries the dog, traumatised from its dying yelp. After that day, Llywelyn was said to never smile again.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Includes onomastic lore, which explains place-names. One notable example comes from the "Historia Britonum", in which the name 'Carn Cafal' is shown to come from a carn (or pile of stones) which mark the footprint of Arthur's dog Cafal.


title: Welsh mythology

text: Gerald of Wales mentions numerous aspects of current Welsh mythology and folklore in his books "Itinerarium Cambriae" (1191) and "Descriptio Cambriae" (1194)


title: Welsh mythology

text: While the following works are considered histories, they recount what would become a common myth of origin for the Welsh.


title: Delia Smith

text: Delia Ann Smith (born 18 June 1941) is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style. One of the best known celebrity chefs in British popular culture, Smith has influenced viewers to become more culinarily adventurous. She is also famous for her role as joint majority shareholder at Norwich City F.C.


title: Delia Smith

text: Born to Harold Bartlett Smith (1920–1999), an English RAF radio operator, and Welsh mother Etty Jones Lewis (1919–2020), in Woking, Surrey, Smith attended Bexleyheath School, leaving at the age of 16 without a single O-level. Her first job was as a hairdresser; she also worked as a shop assistant and in a travel agency.


title: Delia Smith

text: At 21, she started work in a small restaurant in Paddington, initially washing dishes before moving on to waitressing and eventually being allowed to help with the cooking. She started reading English cookery books in the Reading Room at the British Museum, trying out the recipes on a Harley Street family with whom she was living.


title: Delia Smith

text: In 1969 Smith was taken on as the cookery writer for the "Daily Mirror's" newly launched magazine. Their deputy editor was Michael Wynn-Jones, whom she later married. Her first piece featured kipper pâté, beef in beer and cheesecake. She baked the cake that was used on the cover of The Rolling Stones' album "Let It Bleed". In 1972 Smith started a column in the "Evening Standard". She later defected to the rival "Evening News", but she returned to "the Standard" when that newspaper bought out "the News". She wrote for both for 12 years; later she wrote a column for the "Radio Times" until 1986.


title: Delia Smith

text: Smith's first television appearances came in the early 1970s, as resident cook on BBC East's regional magazine programme "Look East", shown on BBC One across East Anglia. Following this, she was offered her own cookery television show, "Family Fare" which ran between 1973 and 1975.


title: Delia Smith

text: Smith became a recognisable figure amongst young people in the 1970s and early 1980s when she was an occasional guest on the BBC's Saturday morning children's programme "Multicoloured Swap Shop", giving basic cooking demonstrations.


title: Delia Smith

text: Her 1995 book "Delia Smith's The Winter Collection" sold 2 million copies in hardback, becoming the fifth biggest-selling book of the 1990s.


title: Delia Smith

text: In 2003 Smith announced her retirement from television. However, she returned for an eponymous six-part series airing on the BBC in Spring 2008. The accompanying book, an update of her 1971 best-seller "How to Cheat at Cooking", was published in February 2008, again becoming a best-seller.


title: Delia Smith

text: In 2010 she appeared in a five-episode series, "Delia through the Decades", with each episode exploring a new decade of her cooking.


title: Delia Smith

text: In March 2010, Smith and Heston Blumenthal were signed up to appear in a series of 40 commercials on British television for the supermarket chain Waitrose.


title: Delia Smith

text: In February 2013 she announced that she had retired from television cookery programmes, and would concentrate on offering her recipes online.


title: Delia Smith

text: It has been claimed that Smith's television series "Delia's How to Cook" led to a 10% rise in egg sales in Britain and her use of ingredients such as frozen mash and tinned minced beef and onions, or utensils such as an omelette pan, could cause sell-outs overnight. This phenomenon, dubbed the "Delia effect", was most recently seen in 2008, after her book "How to Cheat at Cooking" was published. Her fame (and her relatively uncommon name) has meant that her first name has become sufficient to identify her to the public and the "Delia effect" has become a commonly used phrase to describe a run on a previously poor-selling product as a result of a high-profile recommendation.


title: Delia Smith

text: From 1993 to 1998 Smith worked as a consultant for Sainsbury's. In May 1993 she and her husband Michael Wynn-Jones launched New Crane Publishing to publish Sainsbury's Magazine; the company also published several of Smith's books for BBC Worldwide. Although Smith and Wynn-Jones sold New Crane Publishing in 2005, Smith continues to be a consultant for Seven Publishing which now publishes the magazine.


title: Delia Smith

text: Smith has developed other business interests outside of her culinary ventures, notably a majority shareholding in the football team Norwich City, with her husband. Both Smith and Wynn-Jones were season ticket holders at Norwich and were invited to invest in the club, which had fallen on hard times.


title: Delia Smith

text: In February 2005, Smith attracted attention during the half-time break of a home match against Manchester City. At the time Norwich were fighting an ultimately unsuccessful battle against relegation from the Premier League, and to rally the crowd, Smith grabbed the microphone from the club announcer on the pitch and said: "A message for the best football supporters in the world: we need a 12th man here. Where are you? Where are you? Let's be 'avin' you! Come on!" Norwich lost the match 3–2. Smith denied suggestions in the media that she had been drunk while delivering the speech though she did concede that "maybe in the heat of the moment I didn't choose the best words".


title: Delia Smith

text: In 2008, it was reported that Smith had rejected an offer from Norfolk-born billionaire Peter Cullum, who wished to invest £20 million in the club, but wanted Smith and the other shareholders to relinquish their holdings. Both Smith and Cullin denied this offer had been made, with Smith telling the football club's AGM that she and her husband would be "very happy to stand aside" as majority shareholders if someone came along with an offer to buy them out.


title: Delia Smith

text: In August 2011, Smith announced that, anticipating her 70th birthday, she was stepping down from her catering role at Norwich City's Carrow Road football ground: "It is now time for a fresh approach and a younger team who, I am confident, will take the business even further."


title: Delia Smith

text: Already an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE), Smith was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours, "in recognition of ... [her] contribution to television cookery and recipe writing".


title: Delia Smith

text: In 1996, Smith was awarded an honorary degree by the University of Nottingham, a fellowship from St Mary's University College (a college of the University of Surrey) and a Fellowship from the Royal Television Society. In 1999 she received an honorary degree from the University of East Anglia and in 2000, a fellowship from Liverpool John Moores University.


title: Delia Smith

text: In 2012 Smith was among the British cultural icons selected by artist Sir Peter Blake to appear in a new version of his most famous artwork – the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album cover – to celebrate the British cultural figures of the last six decades.


title: Delia Smith

text: She was appointed Member of the Order of the Companions of Honour (CH) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to cookery.


title: Delia Smith

text: Smith was baptised in the Church of England, and attended a Methodist Sunday School, a Congregationalist Brownie group and later a Church of England youth group. At the age of twenty-two, she converted to Catholicism. Her first two short religious books, "A Feast for Lent" (1983) and "A Feast for Advent" (1983), are readings and reflections for these seasons. In 1988, she wrote a longer book on prayer, "A Journey into God".


title: Delia Smith

text: In 2012, Smith criticised atheism, stating that "militant neo-atheists and devout secularists are busting a gut to drive us [religious people] off the radar and try to convince us that we hardly exist."


title: Lists of Tamil-language films

text: The Tamil-language film industry has produced and released over 10000 films since the release of its first sound film, "Kalidas", in 1931. This is a master list of listings of films released from 1931 in the industry by decade of release.


title: The Next Day

text: The Next Day is the 25th studio album by English musician David Bowie, released over several dates in March 2013 through his ISO Records label, under exclusive license to Columbia Records. It was his first studio release in ten years after retreating from the public due to a heart attack on the A Reality Tour in 2004. Co-produced by Bowie and longtime collaborator Tony Visconti, the album was recorded in New York City at the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide Studios between May 2011 and October 2012. It featured contributions from new musicians and returning contributors, including Gerry Leonard, Earl Slick, Gail Ann Dorsey, Steve Elson, Sterling Campbell and Zachary Alford. The sessions took place under secrecy, with all personnel involved signing non-disclosure agreements.


title: The Next Day

text: "The Next Day" is primarily an art rock album, and contains many call-backs to Bowie's earlier works. The bleak lyrics are partly inspired by his reading of English and Russian history, and cover topics such as tyranny and violence. The characters vary from soldiers and assassins to school shooters and street gangs. The cover art was designed by Jonathan Barnbrook and is an adapted version of Bowie's 1977 album ""Heroes"". It contains a white square with the album's title obscuring his face and the ""Heroes"" title crossed out.


title: The Next Day

text: The debut single "Where Are We Now?" and announcement of the album were posted online, without prior announcement, on 8January 2013, Bowie's 66th birthday. It made headlines around the world, surprising fans and media who had assumed he had retired from music. Preceded by a viral marketing campaign, "The Next Day" topped charts worldwide and debuted at number one and two on the UK Albums Chart and US "Billboard" 200, respectively. It was his first UK number-one album since 1993 and his highest charting US album since 1976. Several singles with accompanying music videos were released throughout 2013. Outtakes and additional remixes appeared on "The Next Day Extra" in November.


title: The Next Day

text: "The Next Day" was released to critical acclaim and regarded as Bowie's best work in decades. Many reviewers highlighted the vocal and musical performances, and made positive comparisons to his earlier works. However, some felt the album lacked innovation and was overlong; it placed on several year-end lists. Among the first surprise albums of the 2010s, "The Next Day" was included in the 2014 revised edition of Robert Dimery's book "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".


title: The Next Day

text: David Bowie underwent angioplasty for a blocked artery in late June 2004, leading to the delay of his final live concert tour, the A Reality Tour. He largely withdrew from the public view after the surgery. Over the following years he was spotted walking around New York City, at various local venues and making occasional appearances at concerts and on television; he gave his final live public performance in November 2006. The only studio recordings he made during the period were small contributions to other artists such as TV on the Radio and Scarlett Johansson. He mostly cut off contact with many of his prior collaborators, including Tony Visconti, his longest working partner, whom he began speaking with after 2006.


title: The Next Day

text: Rumours circulated that Bowie was in poor health, particularly after he declined repeated invitations to perform at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. Others speculated he was suffering from cancer, although Visconti refuted these rumours in 2013, stating: "He does not have cancer. If there's one thing I would like to dispel it's the rumours about his ill-health. He's incredibly fit and takes care of himself. Obviously after the heart attack he wasn't too thrilled but he has an amazing family and friends."


title: The Next Day

text: In November 2010, Bowie contacted Visconti while in London, wanting to record some demos. Visconti returned to New York a few days later and joined Bowie in the studio with his former musicians, guitarist Gerry Leonard and drummer Sterling Campbell. The four worked for five to seven days at 6/8 Studios in Manhattan's East Village, a tiny rehearsal room which Leonard likened to "a little dungeon". The demos, written during Bowie's hiatus, were created on digital recorders and complete with basslines and drum patterns. According to Visconti, the ensemble primarily wrote notes on the demos and did not record any material until the final day. After about a dozen demos were made, primarily consisting of keyboards and wordless guide vocals for melodies, Bowie returned home and went silent for four months. Visconti later said that he spent the time writing and developing the material.


title: The Next Day

text: In April 2011, Bowie began a low key search for a New York studio to record at. According to biographer Nicholas Pegg, the first venue chosen, whose identity remains undisclosed, was discarded before recording began as the studio's personnel quickly exposed the secret. Bowie instead chose a venue close to his home, Crosby Street's the Magic Shop. The studio's owner, Steve Rosenthal, recalled: "It's not an exaggeration to say that we didn't know what was going on until the day that David showed up." Recording officially began on 2May 2011, with Bowie and Visconti acting as co-producers.


title: The Next Day

text: Engineer Mario J. McNulty, who had worked on "Reality" (2003), joined Bowie and Visconti at the Magic Shop. McNulty set up workstations for each player in the location's small "live" studio room, which had little separation between the players. Bowie was set up with a Baldwin piano, his Korg Trinity synthesiser, a six-string and twelve-string acoustic guitar, a tambourine and a digital mixer used to reference the demos. Like the early sessions for "Outside" (1995), Bowie placed emphasis on studio experimentation. At Bowie and Visconti's request, McNulty applied studio processing on the mixing board so it would "sound like a record on playback". Bowie disappeared with the music "to make sure he was on the right track", then bring the band back together to take the next step in recording when he was ready. Visconti described the recording sessions as "intense", but they stuck to regular hours.


title: The Next Day

text: Recording at the Magic Shop took place in blocks on and off until the autumn of 2012. Several of Bowie's prior collaborators contributed to the sessions. For the first two weeks in May 2011, Leonard was joined by Gail Ann Dorsey on bass and former "Heathen" (2002) and "Reality" guitarist David Torn. Dorsey later described the tracks as "different from anything else that's going on in the world". Campbell, who had touring commitments with the B-52's, was replaced by "Earthling" (1997) drummer Zachary Alford, who would play on most of the album's tracks. According to Alford, most of the songs were completed in two to five takes, recording one to two tracks per day. Leonard recalled that the sessions moved relatively quickly, but never felt rushed: "David likes to work hard in short bursts and get it done."


title: The Next Day

text: Songs recorded during the first block included "The Next Day" and "Atomica" on 2May, "How Does the Grass Grow?" and "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die" on 3May, "If You Can See Me" on 4May, "Dancing Out in Space" on 4 and 7May, "Like a Rocket Man" on 5May, "Born in a UFO" on 5 and 10May, "Heat" on 6May, "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" on 9May and "So She" on 12May. Many of the May tracks received subsequent work later on, including additional overdubs by other musicians. After the initial May sessions, recording halted until September. During breaks from the studio, Visconti would walk the streets of New York listening to music from "The Next Day" on his earphones: "I was walking around New York with my headphones on, looking at all the people with Bowie T-shirts on—they are ubiquitous here—thinking, 'Boy, if you only knew what I'm listening to at the moment.


title: The Next Day

text: Recording went on hiatus throughout the summer of 2011, when Bowie demoed "Boss of Me" and "I'll Take You There" with Leonard at the guitarist's home in Woodstock. The second block of recording commenced in September with Leonard, Alford and "Heathen" bassist Tony Levin. Songs taped during the week-long session included "I'll Take You There" and "God Bless the Girl" on 12September, "Love Is Lost" and "Where Are We Now?" on 13September, "The Informer" and "Boss of Me" on 14September, "I'd Rather Be High" on 15September, and "Dirty Boys" two days later.


title: The Next Day

text: After the second block, Bowie recorded vocals on and off from September to January 2012, at Human Worldwide Studios, where the majority of the backing vocals and other overdubs were also added. Lead vocals recorded during this time included "The Informer" on 21September, "Where Are We Now?" on 22October, "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" on 26October, "God Bless the Girl" on 2November, "Heat" on 5November, "Love Is Lost" on 19November, "Boss of Me" on 26November and "How Does the Grass Grow?" on 16January 2012; he also tracked every instrument aside from drums on an instrumental track titled "Plaid" from 19 to 20January. Bowie initially struggled with lyrics and vocals, with Visconti saying "In the beginning he was finding his voice". Dorsey and Leonard were initially afraid the artist would abort the album, while Magic Shop assistant engineer Brian Thorn stated: "I had no idea if the album would even be released. I was prepared to sit on it for as long as I needed to."


title: The Next Day

text: The musicians were given little information beforehand. Saxophone overdubs were provided by Steve Elson, who had worked with Bowie on records from "Let's Dance" (1983) to "Heathen". The new arrival Henry Hey, whose previous credits included works with George Michael and Rod Stewart, contributed piano overdubs over several sessions at both the Magic Shop and Human Worldwide on "Where Are We Now?", "The Informer", "God Bless the Girl" and "You Feel So Lonely You Could Die". Hey was hired by Bowie at Visconti's recommendation after the two had worked together on a Lucy Woodward jazz album. Visconti later told Pegg: "I loved his versatility and flawless technique.[...] [He] has a lovely, calming personality." Hey appreciated Bowie's enthusiasm for input from the musicians, telling Pegg: "It's a great way to work as it allows people to put forth their most prominent instinct on a passage."


title: The Next Day

text: In March 2012, Leonard was brought back to the Magic Shop for additional guitar overdubs, while Bowie continued tracking lead vocals. His second batch of tracks included "You Feel So Lonely You Die", "Like a Rocket Man" and "I'll Take You There" on 2March, the last of which he returned to on 5 and 14March, "The Next Day" on 16March, "If You Can See Me" on 4April, "Dirty Boys" on 8May and "I'd Rather Be High" the following day. The third and final block of recording commenced in late July 2012. Visconti took over on bass, while Campbell and long-time guitarist Earl Slick joined the sessions.


title: The Next Day

text: Songs recorded included a new version of "Born in a UFO" on 23July 2012, "Valentine's Day" the following day and "(You Will) Set the World on Fire" on 25July; Slick contributed overdubs to "Dirty Boys" and "Atomica". Slick was "pleasantly surprised" at the invitation to play on the album and described the sessions as "relaxed and fun". Bowie tracked a final round of vocals in the autumn of 2012: "Valentine's Day" on 18September, "Born in a UFO" on 26September, "(You Will) Set the World on Fire" the following day, "Dancing Out in Space" on 8October and "So She" on 23October.


title: The Next Day

text: Bowie took great pains to keep the recording of the album secret, requiring people involved to sign non-disclosure agreements. The Magic Shop ran with a skeleton crew of only one or two employees on days when Bowie was there. Visconti remembered having difficulty keeping silent, telling "Q" magazine in 2013 that "the hardest thing has been the past two years telling people I was working on a secret project [and] they'd immediate [assume it was Bowie]". Slick additionally struggled with the secret, telling "Mojo" that "it was rough. I was bursting to tell people that I'd been back in the studio with David, that he looks good, he's singing his ass off, that we got this great album. And I couldn't say a thing." Bowie's label were also unaware of the sessions; Columbia Records' PR firm in the UK learned of the project only a few days before the album was announced.


title: The Next Day

text: Studio manager and assistant engineer Kabir Hermon recalled having a few close calls throughout recording. In October 2011, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, who played on ""Heroes"" (1977) and "Scary Monsters" (1980), posted on his blog about a dream he had in which he received an invite from Bowie to work on a new project. The post initially attracted publicity despite Fripp having zero knowledge about Bowie's return to the studio. Once the new album was officially announced, claims that Fripp turned down an invitation to play on it were denied by the guitarist himself, who told "The Guardian" that he was not approached to contribute. Another close call occurred in July 2012, when Slick was spotted by a cameraman outside the studio.


title: The Next Day

text: Most commentators characterise "The Next Day" as a rock album, mainly featuring art rock. Visconti echoed these sentiments in an interview with the "NME", whom he described "The Next Day" to as "quite a rock album". Comparing the rock sound to Bowie's previous works, reviewers likened it to the music of "Scary Monsters". On the material, Visconti remarked: "If people are looking for classic Bowie they'll find it on this album, if they're looking for innovative Bowie, new directions, they're going to find that on this album too." Nevertheless, the tracks feature styles and references to many of Bowie's past albums, from "Ziggy Stardust" (1972) and "Low" (1977), to "Never Let Me Down" (1987) and "Hours" (1999). A few critics viewed "The Next Day" as an extension of its two predecessors, with Ludovic Hunter-Tilney of "Financial Times" stating that it is "as though it were indeed recorded on the next day and not after 10 years of unexplained inactivity".


title: The Next Day

text: The lyrics throughout "The Next Day" are pervaded by dark themes, leading Pegg to call it one of Bowie's "bleakest" albums. Unlike the spiritual ideals that encapsulated "Heathen" and "Reality", Pegg relates the lyrical themes on "The Next Day" to Bowie's 1967 self-titled debut, "Lodger" (1979) and "Tin Machine" (1989). Different types of conflict concern many of the tracks, from physical, emotional and spiritual, to cultural and ideological. Pegg additionally says that "in song after song we are confronted by images of tyranny and oppression, violence and slaughter." Several probe the mind-sets of different individuals, many of whom feel abandoned or lost, either out of reach or out of their depth. In his book "Ashes to Ashes" (2019), biographer Chris O'Leary found "repeated images of emigration and exile, of teenagerhood trying to survive in inhospitable climes; assassins and hitmen, revolutionaries and soldiers." Regarding the wide assortment of characters, "Uncut" David Cavanagh wrote that "The Next Day" transports listeners "from one scenario to another, often across continents and centuries, requiring us to readjust and get our bearings". According to Visconti, Bowie spent time during his sabbatical from music reading books on medieval English history, Russian history and monarchs of Great Britain, which were reflected in the album's lyrics; Pegg compares it to the material on "Hunky Dory" (1971) and "Station to Station" (1976). "The Guardian" Alexis Petridis found the lyrics "so dense and allusive you occasionally feel in need of a set of York Notes to get through them." The presence of younger characters was also highlighted by Pegg and Cavanagh.


title: The Next Day

text: Of the 29 songs recorded during the sessions, 14 were chosen for "The Next Day" final tracklist. In April 2013, Bowie personally sent a list of 42 words, which he considered relevant to "The Next Day", to novelist Rick Moody. Moody told "The Rumpus" that he requested a "sort of work flow diagram" for the album, assuming he would not receive a response and was surprised when he received a list of words "without further comment". Pegg dissected the list and attributed three words to each track:


title: The Next Day

text: "The Next Day" opens with the ferocious title track, which employs a funk rock groove with gaunt guitars that Pegg compares to the new wave of "Lodger" and "Scary Monsters". The dark lyrics concern a condemned man facing a horrific penalty; according to Pegg, the target is "the oppressive and corrupt edifices of organized religion in general, and of the Christian church in particular". In the song, Bowie proclaims "Here I am, not quite dying", which O'Leary interpreted as a response to the Flaming Lips' "Is David Bowie Dying?" (2011). "Dirty Boys" marks an "abrupt detour" from the opening track, using a slower-tempo, stuttering staccato rhythm emphasised by Slick's guitar and Elson's baritone saxophone, which Visconti likened to "stripper music from the 1950s". A few commentators drew comparisons to Iggy Pop's Bowie-produced 1977 album "The Idiot", particularly the songs "Nightclubbing" and "Tiny Girls". The lyrics spy on a delinquent street gang, which Pegg parallels to Bowie's "The London Boys" (1966). Visconti described the track as "a euphemism, and song" for all glam rock stars.


title: The Next Day

text: The lyrics of "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" are a commentary on fame, and follow a washed-out celebrity assessing newer up-and-comers. Joe Marchese of "The Second Disc" called it "an ironic comment from one of the biggest stars of all time." Set to a rich rock melody, Hunter-Tilney called the track "a sexagenarian take on the Hollywood depravity" of "Aladdin Sane" "Cracked Actor" (1973). In "Rolling Stone", Rob Sheffield considered "The Stars (Are Out Tonight)" about "two lovers looking at the night sky, where they see the whole universe buzzing with activity [...] They feel the stardust in their hearts blaze to life. And they suddenly feel like they're part of the cosmos, if only because they're together." Pegg orates Sheffield's take as proof that Bowie's songs offer more than one interpretation. According to Visconti, "Love Is Lost" is "not about a love affair, but how everyone has cut down their feelings in the internet age." The lyrics are written from the perspective of a 22-year-old in their darkest hour: he or she has lost his or her sight while looking into the past. The distorted snare drum effect is similar to those used on "Low". Overall an organ-heavy rock drudge, Pegg places the rhythm track somewhere between "the trick-shot ska of 'Ashes to Ashes' [1980] and the robotic glide of early Kraftwerk" over a "coolly remorseless keyboard" and "splashes of snarling guitar".


title: The Next Day

text: "Where Are We Now?" is about Bowie's time living in Berlin in the late 1970s. He casts himself as "a man lost in time" comparing and contrasting the divided Cold War-era city he used to live in and the modern-day city reunified with Germany, including various references to changes the city went through after the Berlin Wall's fall in 1989. Recalling "Reality" "The Loneliest Guy" (2003) and "Hours" "Thursday's Child" (1999), the reflective track utilises an elegant, subdued instrumental, relinquished with a piano part from Hey, who augmented Bowie's original. Visconti felt the song's melancholic tone was "very different" from the rest of the album. O'Leary finds "Valentine's Day", set to a boastful, burly and inviting melody, with glam guitars and 'sha-la-la-la' backing vocals, the catchiest song on the album. Cavanaugh noticed a touch of Lou Reed's "Satellite of Love" from his Bowie co-produced 1972 album "Transformer". However, the dark lyrics concern a school shooter, specifically a character named Valentine on the day he will become famous. It was inspired by the increasing amount of school shootings in the United States in the preceding years, including the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. O'Leary analyses the title as "a day to commemorate lovers is some grubby killer's day of indiscriminate revenge".


title: The Next Day

text: Deemed by O'Leary the "chaotic centerpiece" of the album, "If You Can See Me" features shifting time signatures and chord progressions, recalling the drum and bass styles of "Earthling" and anticipating the free jazz experimentation of "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" (2014). It also features prominent backing and co-lead vocals from Dorsey. Pegg finds it one of the album's "more impenetrable lyrics", featuring "lacerated, fragmented images and occasional nonsense-words", which drew comparisons to "Outside". Visconti suggested that "identities switch between someone who may be Bowie and a politician", to which Pegg dissected that "Bowie is conjuring an abstract everyman, an embodiment of every deranged leader who ever lived." "I'd Rather Be High" offers a culmination of the album's lyrical ideals, concerning a young traumatised soldier in the desert who laments that he would "rather be high" and succumb to his emotions. O'Leary argues that the track presents a broader theme: "civilization's recursive betrayal of its youth." Pegg similarly states that the protagonist "stands for every teenager who has ever been sent to kill and be killed for his country." "Billboard" Phil Gallo found the music a piece of neo-psychedelia reminiscent of works by the Beatles and the Smiths, with swirling guitars and a military-style drumbeat.


title: The Next Day

text: "Boss of Me" is the first of two Bowie–Leonard penned tracks from the sessions; Leonard composed the central riff and distinctive chord structure. Pegg and O'Leary deride the track as the album's weakest link, featuring "hackneyed and inconsequential" lyrics about a small town girl, while boasting one of the album's most wider-ranging melodies. The former and Cavanaugh also highlight its "irksomely unoriginal" title. Kyle Anderson of "Entertainment Weekly" relates its "gospel-glam strut" to "Aladdin Sane" "Watch That Man". Visconti described "Dancing Out in Space" as "a song about another music artist, possibly a conglomeration of artists." It contains references to Georges Rodenbach's "Bruges-la-Morte" (1892), a story about "a widower obsessed with his dead wife and subsequently with her double", although O'Leary finds the lyrics "a little more than crossword clues without answers". Musically, the track is a camp and "bouncy" pop song with a Motown-inspired beat. Pegg likens its chord structure and soundscape to "Heathen" "A Better Future". Some compared rhythm to Pop's "Lust for Life" (1977), which Bowie co-wrote and co-produced.


title: The Next Day

text: "How Does the Grass Grow?" returns to wartime with a lyric that juxtaposes life before and after the atrocity. "Dark, dismal and horrifying, yet infused with a perverse beauty", Pegg calls it one of the album's "hidden gems". O'Leary opines that the song acts as one of the album's "connecting hubs" with its thematic links to other songs. Bowie shares a songwriting credit with the Shadows' Jerry Lordan, as the melody of the "ya ya yay a" line is taken directly from that group's 1960 instrumental "Apache". A few outlets contrasted it with "Lodger" "Boys Keep Swinging" (1979). The heaviest track on the album, "(You Will) Set the World on Fire" is a pompous mid-1980s rocker, mimicking Bowie's 1987 cover of Pop's "Bang Bang". It takes place in 1960s Greenwich Village amid protests occurring during that time. In Visconti's words, the song is "about a young female singer who gets discovered in a nightclub in the 1960s. [...] It's not about anybody specific, but a couple of people who sang alongside [Bob] Dylan."