Category: 5. Entertainment

beauty

Not every plan works out the way you think it will. Esra Khan thought she’d make it big in cricket, she played at the national T20 level in 2023, but things didn’t go as hoped. After facing setbacks, she found herself exploring something completely different: modelling.

Coming from a traditional Pashtoon background, the shift wasn’t easy, especially with a conservative mother at home. Esra kept her early work quiet, only opening up once she began working with photographer Khawar Riaz. Since then, she’s done shoots for brands like ‘Parniyaan’ by Ayesha, ‘Anzalna’, ‘Safawa’, ‘Croche’, and a few others.

This week, she talks beauty favourites with our readers…

When did you first fall in love with makeup?

I was very young. I remember watching my mother apply her lipstick in the mirror. I was fascinated by the colours and how confident she looked afterward.

What’s your must-have product before stepping out into the sun?

Sunscreen, every single day. I use SPF 50 in the morning, even if I am staying indoors. If I know I will be outside for a while, I also carry sunglasses and a wide-brimmed hat. Sun protection is a habit now.

Any skincare advice you always follow?

Hydrate your body and your skin. Drink water, use a good moisturiser, and include a hyaluronic acid serum if your skin feels dry. Lip balm is essential, and I never forget to apply body lotion, even if I am in a rush.

What are your top picks when it comes to perfumes and lipsticks?

Perfumes I reach for often include YSL Libre, Chanel Chance, and Zara Red Temptation. They all have different moods. In lipsticks, I stick with M.A.C, Maybelline, and Huda Beauty Bombshell. These work for both daily use and events.

Foundation can be hard to match. What works for you?

I prefer warm beige tones with golden undertones. The goal is always a natural look. I want it to blend into my skin, not sit on top of it or look cakey.

How do you take off your makeup after a long day?

I believe in double cleansing. First, I use micellar water or a cleansing balm to break down the makeup. Then I follow up with a gentle foaming cleanser. After that, it is toner, serum, and moisturiser. I do this routine even when I am tired.

Can you walk us through your daily skincare routine?

In the morning, I start with a cleanser, toner, vitamin C serum, a good moisturiser, and sunscreen. At night, I double cleanse, then use a treatment serum like retinol or niacinamide. I finish with a night cream and an under-eye product. It is all about consistency.

How do you prevent hair damage?

Weekly oiling helps a lot. I use coconut or argon oil. I avoid using heat without a heat protectant, and I never tie my hair too tight to avoid stress on the roots.

What’s your regular hair care routine like?

It is very simple. I go for regular trims, oil my scalp once a week, and use a deep conditioning treatment every weekend. I avoid trying too many new products at once.

Makeup can be expensive. What’s your advice for someone on a tight budget?

Stick to the basics. You do not need a long list of products. Focus on learning good technique. Brands like Maybelline, e.l.f., and Essence make affordable products that are also reliable. Quality does not always mean high price.

Do you follow a specific diet to keep your skin glowing?

I try to eat a balanced diet. Water comes first. I include fruits like oranges and berries, leafy greens, nuts, and foods rich in omega-3. What you eat shows up on your face over time.

Is there one product you always carry with you?

Lip balm. I cannot do without it. A good concealer also makes a big difference, especially under the eyes. These two are my daily essentials.

Which makeup brands are your favourites?

Charlotte Tilbury and Rare Beauty are very consistent in terms of texture and finish. Huda Beauty has great shades and formulas. For affordable options, I often reach for Maybelline.

What do you always keep in your beauty pouch?

A mirror, lip balm, nude lipstick, compact powder, hand cream, and a mini perfume. Just enough to freshen up during the day.

Is there any part of makeup that still intimidates you?

Winged eyeliner. No matter how much I practice, one side always turns out different. I also tend to overfill my brows sometimes, which ruins the entire look.

How often do you get facials?

If possible, I go to the salon once every four to six weeks. But if I cannot, I do a basic facial at home every Sunday. Cleanse, exfoliate, mask, and moisturise. That is enough to give my skin a break.

Who are some stylists or makeup artists you admire?

I really like the work of Natasha Khalid and Bina Khan. Aleena Qadeer also has a clean, modern aesthetic that I enjoy.

What is your take on whitening creams?

I do not support them. Beauty is not about being fair. It is about taking care of your skin and feeling good in your natural tone. Healthy skin is always better than altered skin.

What does beauty mean to you?

Beauty means feeling like yourself. It is about confidence, being kind, and how you carry yourself.

Photography: Khawar Riaz

Sofia Carson is remembering her close pal Cameron Boyce, 6 years after his death.

In a recent chat with Vanity Fair, ahead of the premiere of her new Netflix film, My Oxford Year, the Purple Hearts star recalled her “brother” like costar Cameron.

“He will forever and ever and ever be one of the most extraordinary people that has ever entered my life,” Sofia told the outlet about her late pal.

For those unversed, Cameron and Sofia’s friendship began at the set of Descendants.

“I had lived a very normal life. I had had a normal childhood, a normal upbringing,” Carson further noted. “Fame didn’t enter my life when I was a child. So I have witnessed what a different experience that is.”

Sofia attributed her success in her acting career to Cameron, “He became a brother to me and my sister. Him and his family took us in like family when we knew nothing about this industry,” she added.

It is pertinent to mention that Cameron tragically passed away in 2019 due to a seizure at the age of 20.

In memory of the actor, a welfare foundation named the Cameron Boyce Foundation was founded to raise funds and awareness of people suffering from epilepsy.

The 1975 frontman Matty Healy has warned of a musical “silence” that would come without the pubs and bars that give UK artists their first chance to perform.

Fresh from headlining Glastonbury in June, Healy is backing a new UK-wide festival which will see more than 2,000 gigs taking place across more than 1,000 “seed” venues in September.

The Seed Sounds Weekender aims to celebrate the hospitality sector hosting bands and singers just as they are starting out – and for some, before they go on to become global superstars.

Healy, who is an ambassador for the event, said in a statement to Sky News: “Local venues aren’t just where bands cut their teeth, they’re the foundation of any real culture.

“Without them, you don’t get The Smiths, Amy Winehouse, or The 1975. You get silence.”

Oasis, currently making headlines thanks to their sold-out reunion tour, first played at Manchester’s Boardwalk club, which closed in 1999, and famously went on to play stadiums and their huge Knebworth gigs within the space of a few years.

GigPig, the live music marketplace behind Seed Sounds, says the seed sector collectively hosts more than three million gigs annually, supports more than 43,000 active musicians, and contributes an estimated £2.4bn to the UK economy.

“The erosion of funding for seed and grassroots spaces is part of a wider liberal tendency to strip away the socially democratic infrastructure that actually makes art possible,” said Healy.

“What’s left is a cultural economy where only the privileged can afford to create, and where only immediately profitable art survives.”

He described the Seed Sounds Weekender as “a vital reminder that music doesn’t start in boardrooms or big arenas – it starts in back rooms, pubs, basements, and independent spaces run on love, grit, and belief in something bigger.”

Read more from Sky News:
Oasis photographers recall the early days
Heavy metal to reality TV: The wild life of Ozzy Osbourne

The importance of funding for grassroots venues has been highlighted in the past few years, with more than 200 closing or stopping live music in 2023 and 2024, according to the Music Venue Trust. Sheffield’s well-known Leadmill venue saw its last gig in its current form in June, after losing a long-running eviction battle.

In May, Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy announced the £85m Creative Foundations Fund to support arts venues across England.

And last year, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee called for a levy on tickets to large concerts at stadiums and arenas to help fund grassroots venues, which artists including Coldplay and Katy Perry, and venues including the Royal Albert Hall, have backed.

But most seed venues – the smaller spaces in the hospitality sector that provide a platform before artists get to ticketed grassroots gigs or bigger stages – won’t qualify for the levy. GigPig is working to change this by formalising the seed music venue space as a recognised category.

“The UK’s seed venues are where music careers are born,” said GigPig co-founder Kit Muir-Rogers. “Collectively, this space promotes more music than any other in the live music business, yet it has gone overlooked and under-appreciated.”

The Seed Sounds Weekender takes place from 26-28 September and will partner with Uber to give attendees discounted rides to and from venues.

Tickets for most of the gigs will be free, with events taking place across 20 UK towns and cities including London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Leicester, Newcastle and Southampton

Story Continues

Keshia Knight Pulliam, who shared the screen with Malcolm-Jamal Warner on “The Cosby Show,” highlighted the Emmy-nominated actor’s musical talents as she broke her silence on his death.

Pulliam on Sunday shared an Instagram video of Warner playing the bass at Atlanta’s City Winery. She shared the video of Warner, best known for his portrayal of clean-cut Theodore Huxtable, a week after he drowned while swimming in the Caribbean off Costa Rica. He was 54.

“A week ago I lost my big brother but I gained an angel,” Pulliam captioned her video. She played Rudy Huxtable, the youngest of the TV family’s children.

“I love you… I miss you,” she added, before referencing the other Huxtable children. “We got our girls.”

“House of Payne” star Pulliam, 46, is the latest “Cosby Show” star to mourn Warner. As news of the actor-musician’s death spread last week, co-stars including Bill Cosby, Geoffrey Owens and Raven-Symoné paid tribute. Cosby told CBS News last week he and co-star Phylicia Rashad were “embracing each other over the phone” when they learned of Warner’s death.

“He was never afraid to go to his room and study. He knew his lines and that he was quite comfortable even with the growing pains of a being a teenager,” Cosby said of Warner.

Owens, who appeared as Warner’s on-screen brother-in-law, Elvin Tibideaux, said in a statement shared with Deadline that his co-star’s death had left him speechless. “Malcolm was a lovely man; a sweet and sensitive soul. I respected him for many reasons, including the fact that he genuinely loved the act of creation,” he said.

Warner, also a TV director and a Grammy-winning musician, was on vacation with his family at the time of his death. He was swimming when a current pulled him deeper into the ocean.

The Red Cross in Costa Rica confirmed to The Times last week that its first responders also tended to another man in the same drowning incident that claimed Warner’s life. The patient, whose identity was not disclosed, survived. First responders found Warner without vital signs, and he was taken to the morgue.

As news of his death spread last week, his Hollywood peers, including Morris Chestnut, Tracee Ellis Ross, Viola Davis and Niecy Nash also paid tribute on social media. Beyoncé honored the actor, briefly updating her website to include a tribute to the TV star.

Pulliam also thanked fans on Sunday for their support as she mourned. “Thank you for every text, call and all the love that you have sent my way,” she said in an Instagram story. “I’ve just needed a moment.”

City Winery in Atlanta, the venue from Pulliam’s video, will host an event in Warner’s honor on Wednesday. “This tribute is our communal offering to say: Thank you. For the way he gave, for the work he created, for the bridges he built between TV, poetry, music, and love,” says the event website. According to the site, all profits will go to Warner’s family. He is survived by his wife and daughter.

FaZe Banks has stepped down as CEO of FaZe Clan, citing severe stress and backlash related to crypto scam allegations involving the MLG coin and Kick streamer Adin Ross.

The co-founder of the popular esports and content organization made the announcement on July 28, 2025, through a social media post, where he firmly denied any fraudulent activity.

“I’ve never scammed anyone a day in my life,” Banks wrote, blaming the controversy on how his “FaZe” name can easily be manipulated online. He expressed concern that the accusations were negatively impacting other members of FaZe Clan and stated he would be stepping away from both the organization and social media for the foreseeable future.

The controversy began in early 2025 when Banks and several FaZe members promoted the MLG meme coin. The coin surged in value before plummeting after mass sell-offs, leading to online accusations of a “rug pull” scam. A leaked group chat from July 28 allegedly showed Banks blaming Adin Ross for the token’s collapse, saying Ross was used as “exit liquidity.”

Adin Ross confirmed the leaked messages were real but denied any role in a scam. He responded, “The Banks screenshot is real… but MLG being rugged wasn’t me.”

FaZe Clan has yet to issue an official statement regarding Banks’ resignation or the MLG coin controversy.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” kept up the momentum at the summer box office that has boosted Hollywood’s year-to-date haul at the turnstyles to a more than 10% gain over last year’s strike-disrupted frame.

The nuances of “Fantastic Four’s” performance in its opening weekend at the box office are discussed on the latest episode of podcast “Daily Variety.” Rebecca Rubin, Variety‘s senior film and media reporter, explains all that Marvel Studios has riding on the film that introduces a new generation of new-ish characters to the vaunted Marvel Cinematic Universe. The film’s $118 million opening weekend haul was fueled largely by the core target audience for Marvel movies. But that might change.

“About 68 % of opening weekend audiences were men,” Rubin says. “That was a little surprising to me, not because it’s surprising that men like to see superhero movies, because that is really the target demographic. But if you’ve see if you’ve seen ‘Fantastic Four,’ Vanessa Kirby’s character and storyline is very female-centric and she’s pregnant. I don’t think Marvel’s had a pregnant superhero before. So I am curious if in the coming weeks it’ll start to over-index a little more with females because I’m sure there will be people who resonate a lot with her character.”

“Fantastic Four” also upheld another recent trend for big-budget pics that Hollywood is happy to see. Moviegoing is increasingly driven by premium-priced tickets for large-screen theaters a la Imax.

“Nearly 50% of ticket sales came from premium large formats,” Rubin says, “which means that when people did go to see it, they really wanted to see it on the biggest and the brightest screens. And that has definitely been a trend that has been increasing since the pandemic. When audiences want to leave the house, they really are over-indexing on [high-end screens including] IMAX, Dolby, 4DX — just these screens that they really can’t replicate in the home.”

Also in this episode, Michael Schneider, Variety‘s television editor, delivers the highlights from what proved to be a quieter San Diego Comic Con gathering this past weekend. George Lucas’ surprise appearance and the controversy stirred up by “South Park’s” skewering of President Trump were among the talked-about moments from the four-day marathon.

Schneider himself moderated panels for the upcoming revivals of “King of the Hill” (for Hulu) and “Phineas and Ferb” (for Disney+).

There wasn’t as much significant news out of Comic Con but that didn’t seem to matter to the hardcore fans. The cosplay game was fierce this year, Schneider says.

“My favorite costume — I was walking down the street and along comes a man carrying some balloons, wearing a blue turtleneck, pants, big bushy mustache. It was Milchick from Severance,” he says. “Whoever was cosplaying as Milchick did such a fantastic job, down to the balloons with Adam Scott’s face on them. It was brilliant.”

(Pictured: “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”)

Listen to Daily Variety on iHeartPodcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Spotify and other podcast platforms.

Although Marvel Studios did not make a presentation in Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con this year, Gallery Books held a presentation of Super Visible: The Story of the Women of Marvel Comics Sunday afternoon in a return to the roots of the convention — fan and community engagement.

Written by Beautiful Creatures author Margaret Stohl, former Marvel Entertainment editor Jeanine Schaefer and producer and host of the Women of Marvel podcast Judith Stephens, the book delves into the experiences of women behind Marvel Entertainment — from the early days of the comics to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“We talked to some of the movie people that had come into earlier chapters, but we really had to focus less on Marvel Studios by the end,” Stohl told Deadline Saturday morning. “There also would have been five more years of an approval process. This book has taken five years. We interviewed 140 women all through the pandemic. Our job here is to make sure that books like this get into curriculums, get into libraries, are on the record so that people know we were always here. And they can fight about it or not like it, but some things are facts.”

The book itself could become a comic-like series in its own right, with the first draft weighing in at 650 pages. The now 377-page version was published June 24, 2025. The trio of authors quickly realized that no one experience of women behind Marvel was exactly the same.

“[There was] imposter syndrome, but [also] reverse imposter syndrome, where you didn’t have to be one of [the men] because you were never going to be one of them, and freeing that could be, which is an experience,” Stohl said. “And also there was this heartbreak thing that ran all the way through, which was ‘What is the vulnerability of loving something that might not love you back? How do you navigate that?’ Because lot of Marvel story lines, in terms of people who work there, end in a kind of heartbreak, you move on. Especially for women of a certain time, you had to make more money to support your kids, or you didn’t have childcare. You became a teacher, or you got divorced from the editor.”

Stohl herself worked on “re-engineering” the backstory of Captain Marvel ahead of the 2019 film starring Brie Larson as Carol Danvers, and she contributed many anecdotes from this experience as well as earlier ones working on Black Widow: Forever Red and Black Widow: Red Vengeance as well as The Mighty Captain Marvel.

“We like to say that for a Marvel creator or staff member, it’s a journey to seeing yourself as a protagonist and a hero, and you can’t write a hero if you can’t see yourself as a hero. Carol Danvers was a secretary at NASA, in their security. She was the blonde sidekick girl. That journey to the middle of the page is always so messy,” she said. “I would say that female superheroes are still on a messy journey to the center of the box office. Partly, that’s the fandom. Partly, that’s the reflection, Marvel’s always been — Stan Lee, would say — it’s the world outside your window, so you absolutely see what’s going on in the world bubbles up into what’s going on in the Marvel. It’s not ever a static thing. I’d say we’re in a slightly different place now than we were even when we kicked this book off five years ago, and I think it’s a quieter moment for female superheroes.”

A very early draft of the book’s cover featured a composite of several women heroes like Carol Danvers aka Captain Marvel, Silk, She-Hulk, Jean Grey, Shuri, and Kamala Khan aka Ms. Marvel, but the final product went in a different, scaled-back direction with the title sitting alongside Sue Storm, aka The Invisible Woman. The decision to “build the imagery” around that idea was Schaefer’s.

“There are so many photos that it could just be a whole book of just photos. I looked at the cover, and I [thought], ‘When [publishing] made this cover, before the manuscript, even a draft was done, I don’t think they could really understand the scope the book, or the type of book that it was, because here haven’t been books about this,” Schaefer said. “There was a thought that, ‘we’re not even really sure of the depth of how many women there even are.’ I don’t know how much we can think about that, so ‘let’s keep it focused on the women characters,’ but after looking through it, I [thought], ‘This needs to sit alongside the Jill Lepore Wonder Woman biography, and the History of Stanley Kubrick visual compendium that they made. This needs to sit alongside those more scholarly and academic works that really are a preservation,’ and so we wanted to signal that when you look at this, it’s not a book about comics, this is a book about people, about history and about our culture.”

It was not lost on the group that this design choice tied in well timing-wise with the release of Fantastic Four: The First Steps (2025) July 25, starring Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm. No spoilers here, but her storyline also reflects what Super Visible aims to achieve.

“It’s actually kind of interesting, and not super surprising that a pregnant, mom figure, a sister figure in the oldest, most classic Marvel first family is the Marvel box office hero of this moment,” Stohl said. “I think that’s sort of the one right now that culture can agree on. It is always in flux.”

RELATED: Vanessa Kirby On Not Hesitating To Commit To Marvel & The “Complete Privilege” Of Working On ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

With her background on the podcast, Stephens secured countless interviews for the trio, many of which did not make it into the book as direct quotes, but still informed the story. Stohl stressed the “personal relationship” invested in the book with all three contributors leaning on their networks to leave no stone unturned.

“Judy was able to cajole so many photos out of people. Things that they would not normally give you,” “We’d be talking to a woman in her old folks home in a retirement community and [she’d say], ‘I have so many things, but I can’t lift the box.’ Then we would get to work about how to get the box,” the Beautiful Creatures author said. “We’re a microcosm of the project, and we used every resource we had in our networks to try to get this captured before more of these women died and were lost and left without telling the story. Because if you read a history of comics, there are no women in it until page 300, so that was the thing we were trying to fix.”

Schaefer was brought on as editor to find, according to Stohl, “the golden threads,” themes and stories to organize the book into its chapters. Schaefer did consider a chronological version, or timeline, as the spine, but she preferred to pull readers through with people and their stories, still starting with the publication date of The Fantastic Four in 1961. What resulted were chapters like “The Carol Corps: Carol Danvers, Kelly Sue DeConnick and the Start of a Movement” as well as “Meet Me in the Bathroom: How Women Find Each Other In an Industry That Prioritizes Male Spaces.”

RELATED: Dominique Thorne Unpacks Riri’s Deal With The Devil In ‘Ironheart’ Finale

“I had the themes of family, hardship, passion, and then here’s the theme of bathroom with 75 tick marks next to it because that came up the most, more than any other thing,” Schaefer said. “They each talked about it individually of the other person, so one of them brought it up, but [Margaret and Judy] didn’t then say ‘Oh, can you corroborate this?’ [They] volunteered this other side of the same conversation that happened in the bathroom.”

The bathroom chats were as important to editor and colorist Irene Vartanoff and Marie Severin to Black Widow director Cate Shortland and Captain Marvel director Anna Boden, who ran into each other in the restroom early on in their time at the Marvel offices.

Schaefer stressed how actress Sophia Di Martino, who plays Sylvie in the Loki series, called the set one of the best she had ever worked on “because of the attention that was paid to her needs as a mom.”

“The costume designer, who was a woman, was able to design costumes where [Di Martino] could nurse while she was on the set,” Schaefer said. “That consideration — I think you get better work.”

Stephens also connected the dots of Di Martino getting hired by Loki Season 1 director Kate Herron after their work together on an independent film previously. This snapshot aligned with the broader theme of women opening doors for each other.

“Kate Herron talked about how she was told, ‘If you don’t hire women, if you don’t ask to hire women, you won’t get them,’” she said. “All of these directors talked about how they really tried to get as many Heads of Departments to have women.”

Another story emphasized by the trio was that of Margaret Loesch, President at Fox Kids and former president of Marvel Animation, who was instrumental in adapting Christopher Claremont’s X-men books into X-Men: The Animated Series, as told by X-Men: The Animated Series staff writer Julia Lewald. With the help of writer and editor Louise Simonson, Claremont’s editor Annie Nocenti and Head of Graz Entertainment Stephanie Graziano, the final product came out so much better than the first draft, and as President of Marvel Entertainment Dan Buckley said, on page 97, paved the way for the whole Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Still more interviews with actresses playing women heroes onscreen like Brie Larson, Zoe Saldaña, Ming Na-Wen, Iman Vellani, Teyonah Parris and Scarlett Johansson — who chatted 15 minutes past the planned 30 —  also shaped the book. While not directly quoted, Eternals director Chloe Zhao also contributed.

“We had probably our most intelligent conversation with her that framed a lot of the thinking that was about, you need to be able to be vulnerable to make art, but you need to have your armor up to survive studios full of men, and it’s really confusing to know when you can take it down and when you can put it up,” Stohl said. “We a very long conversation about that. I think we quoted her in every single interview after that, so they’re all in there.”

Schaefer, who echoed Stohl’s observation with the note that there were more announcements on the cinematic side of things coming out when the book was first announced 5 years ago, drew attention to the more niche panels hosted at Comic-Con 2025. Even with it being the first year since 2009 without a Women of Marvel panel, the community engagement — which was a torch carried by the women behind Stan Lee’s columns mentioned in Chapter 1 — is just as important now as ever.

“Looking at the panel lineup this year, I did feel like it was people gathering to talk about the thing that they’re excited to do whereas traditionally, for the past 15 year, it’s been people coming [for] studio announcements, and they’re all essentially advertisements, for better or for worse, for the thing,” she said. “So it was cool to see there’s so many academic panels. That’s what this book feels like, is people getting back together to talk about this stuff and to cement it and keep it present in a way. That’s what why I think the convention is important and gathering in person is important.”

RELATED: Comic-Con 2025 Photos: Best Of Panels, Activations, Cosplay & Convention Floor

The first “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast with The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square was on Monday, July 15, 1929, and scheduled for 3 p.m.

A single microphone for the choir and announcer was attached to the ceiling, with a long cable connecting it to KSL’s radio controller, located a city block away. Nineteen-year-old Ted Kimball, son of organist Edward P. Kimball, climbed a 15-foot-tall stepladder and announced each song that was sung by the choir.

A short article the following day in the Deseret News noted the success of the first broadcast, calling it “highly satisfactory.” The broadcast was transmitted to WJZ in New York over the telephone system and then went to more than 30 stations, including KSL.

“In the opinion of the National Broadcasting Co. officials, the weekly broadcasts of the Tabernacle Choir and organ will prove a most popular program,” concludes the article.

Ninety-six years later, Sunday, July 13, 2025, marked the 5,000th week of broadcasting for the 360-voice Tabernacle Choir’s weekly 30-minute “Music & the Spoken Word” broadcast.

Here’s more about the historical broadcasts from the Church News archives.

Milestone broadcasts

First broadcast: July 15, 1929

1,000th broadcast: Oct. 17, 1948

2,000th broadcast: Dec. 17, 1967

3,000th broadcast: Feb. 15, 1987

4,000th broadcast: April 30, 2006

5,000th broadcast: July 13, 2025

First broadcast

The program on Monday, July 15, 1929, was under the direction of director Anthony C. Lund with Edward P. Kimball at the organ. The broadcast opened — as it still does — with “Gently Raise the Sacred Strain.”

• Chorale from the “Meistersinger” by Richard Wagner
• “Sonata in B-flat Minor,” first movement, by Boslip (organ solo)
• “The Morning Breaks,” by George Careless
• “An Old Melody,” arranged by Edward Kimball (organ solo)
• The finale from “Elijah,” by Felix Mendelssohn
• “The Pilgrim’s Chorus” from “Tannhäuser,” by Richard Wagner (organ solo)

As the first broadcast concluded, Lund said: “Wow! I’m glad that’s over with.” Then glancing up at the microphone, he added, “Gosh, I hope that thing’s off.”

A large red curtain was hung from floor to ceiling in the Tabernacle in the first rows of the benches — and those benches covered with carpet — to help with the sound quality for a single microphone.

Tuning in …

• The first broadcast on July 15, 1929, reached more than 30 stations.

• “Music & the Spoken Word” moved to a Sunday morning spot in September 1932 when KSL switched networks.

• The 1,000th broadcast on Oct. 17, 1948, reached an estimated radio audience of 10 million listeners.

• By the 2,000th broadcast on Dec. 17, 1967, “Music & the Spoken Word” was aired on 300 U.S. radio stations and 128 television outlets; broadcast through television, AM/FM, short-wave radio and U.S. Armed Forces radio; and available in Canada, South and Central America and more of Europe, Australia and New Zealand — reaching an estimated two-thirds of the world.

• By the 5,000th broadcast, 6 million people in 50 countries around the world were tuning in via radio, television or online.

Singing in 2,000 broadcasts

At the 2,000th broadcast on Dec. 17, 1967, there were five choir members who had participated in the first broadcast in 1929. They were:

• Cornelius G. Van Os
• Deinna Van Os
• Jessie Evans Smith
• Kenneth Rogerson
• Margaret S. Hewlett

The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square’s conductors

• John Parry 1849-1854
• Stephen Goddard 1854-1856
• James Smithies 1856-1862
• Charles John Thomas 1862-1865
• Robert Sands 1865-1869
• George Careless 1869-1880
• Thomas Griggs 1880
• Ebenezer Beesley 1880-1889
• Evan Stephens 1889-1916
• Anthony C. Lund 1916-1935
• J. Spencer Cornwall 1935-1957
• Richard P. Condie 1957-1974
• Jay E. Welch 1974
• Jerold Ottley 1974-1999
• Craig Jessop 1999-2008
• Mack Wilberg 2008-present

‘Music & the Spoken Word’ presenters

Nineteen-year-old Ted Kimball climbed the 15-foot ladder to read the names of the musical numbers each week until he was called on a mission to France. Other KSL staff members filled that announcer position, including Earl J. Glade, the station manager who “convinced the National Broadcasting Co. that the choir would be a good network feature,” and Roscoe Glover, according to the Church News’ coverage of the 2,000th broadcast in the Dec. 16, 1967, edition.

A young returned missionary named Richard L. Evans began in June 1930. The reading of the musical titles became “a meaningful reading of the message of the song.” Over time, this was expanded to the 2½- to three-minute “Spoken Word,” according to the archives. He continued these “sermonettes” after he became a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

• Elder Richard L. Evans 1930-1971
• J. Spencer Kinard 1971-1990
• Lloyd D. Newell 1990-2024
• Derrick Porter 2024-present

Kelsea Ballerini recently runinted with fellow country star Maren Morris to write music together for the first time.

In a recent chat with People, Ballerini candidly spoke about their meet up sharing that it felt more like fun than work.

“Maren and I haven’t had the chance to catch up in years, and we’ve both had so much life that’s happened,” Ballerini told the outlet.

“We’ve recently just reconnected and I’ve always really looked up to her songwriting and her musicality, and we’ve never written together. So I was like, ‘Come on down to Charleston. Let’s write.’”

Dishing about their time together, Ballerini added, “[It was] me, her and Alysa [Vanderheym], and we wrote and we went to dinners. It was not work. It was much more play than work.”

Earlier in June the duo appeared in playful TikToks, and fans will soon get to see the pair’s musical collaboration.

Moreover, Ballerini also hinted at her show runs in Australia and feeling ease in stillness.

“I wish I could sit here and tell you I had a bunch up my sleeve. I really don’t for the first time in a long time, and I’m learning to be comfortable with that,” she noted.