Category: 5. Entertainment

Fans packed the 8,000-seat Tokyo Garden Theater in January for GMMTV Fan Fest 2025: “Live in Japan,” a major event celebrating Thai BL, short for “boys’ love,” dramas.

Banners bearing the faces of beloved on-screen couples lined the walls, while attendees clutched handmade signs along with flowers, letters and other gifts.

This was no one-off event, either. Similar gatherings happen every few months across the country, drawing dedicated communities of viewers who have embraced Thai BL dramas as more than just entertainment.

Twelve years after a breakup that didn’t stick — and one year shy of the 20th anniversary of its biggest album — My Chemical Romance is on the road this summer playing 2006’s “The Black Parade” from beginning to end.

The tour, which stopped Saturday night at Dodger Stadium for the first of two concerts, doesn’t finally manifest the long-anticipated reunion of one of emo’s most influential bands; My Chem reconvened in 2019 and has been performing, pandemic-related delays aside, fairly consistently since then (including five nights at Inglewood’s Kia Forum in 2022 and two headlining appearances at Las Vegas’ When We Were Young festival).

Yet only now is the group visiting sold-out baseball parks — and without even the loss leader of new music to help drum up interest in its show.

“Thank you for being here tonight,” Gerard Way, My Chem’s 48-year-old frontman, told the crowd of tens of thousands at Saturday’s gig. “This is our first stadium tour, which is a wild thing to say.” To mark the occasion, he pointed out, his younger brother Mikey was playing a bass guitar inscribed with the Dodgers’ logo.

So how did this darkly witty, highly theatrical punk band reach a new peak so deep into its comeback? Certainly it’s benefiting from an overall resurgence of rock after years dominated by pop and hip-hop; My Chem’s Dodger Stadium run coincides this weekend with the return of the once-annual Warped Tour in Long Beach after a six-year dormancy.

Then again, Linkin Park — to name another rock group huge in the early 2000s — recently moved a planned Dodger Stadium date to Inglewood’s much smaller Intuit Dome, presumably as a result of lower-than-expected ticket sales.

The endurance of My Chemical Romance, which formed in New Jersey before eventually relocating to Los Angeles, feels rooted more specifically in its obsession with comic books and in Gerard Way’s frank lyrics about depression and his flexible portrayal of gender and sexuality. (“GERARD WAY TRANSED MY GENDER,” read a homemade-looking T-shirt worn Saturday by one fan.) Looking back now, it’s clear the band’s blend of drama and emotion — of world-building and bloodletting — set a crucial template for a generation or two of subsequent acts, from bands like Twenty One Pilots to rappers like the late Juice Wrld to a gloomy pop singer like Sombr, whose viral hit “Back to Friends” luxuriates in a kind of glamorous misery.

For much of its audience, My Chem’s proudly sentimental music contains the stuff of identity — one reason thousands showed up to Dodger Stadium wearing elaborate outfits inspired by the band’s detailed iconography.

In 2006, the quadruple-platinum “Black Parade” LP arrived as a concept album about a dying cancer patient; Way and his bandmates dressed in military garb that made them look like members of Satan’s marching band. Nearly two decades later, the wardrobe remained the same as the band muscled through the album’s 14 tracks, though the narrative had transformed into a semi-coherent Trump-era satire of political authoritarianism: My Chemical Romance, in this telling a band from the fictional nation of Draag, was performing for the delectation of the country’s vain and ruthless dictator, who sat stony-faced on a throne near the pitcher’s mound flanked by a pair of soldiers.

The theater of it all was fun — important (if a bit crude), you could even say, given how young much of the band’s audience is and how carefully so many modern pop stars avoid taking political stands that could threaten to alienate some number of their fans. After “Welcome to the Black Parade,” a bearded guy playing a government apparatchik handed out Dodger Dogs to the band and to the dictator; Way waited to find out whether the dictator approved of the hot dog before he decided he liked it too.

Fans react as My Chemical Romance performs.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

Yet what really mattered was how the great songs still are: the deranged rockabilly stomp of “Teenagers,” the Eastern European oom-pah of “Mama,” the eruption of “Welcome to the Black Parade” from fist-pumping glam-rock processional to breakneck thrash-punk tantrum.

Indeed, the better part of Saturday’s show came after the complete “Black Parade” performance when My Chem — the Way brothers along with guitarists Frank Iero and Ray Toro, drummer Jarrod Alexander and keyboardist Jamie Muhoberac — reappeared sans costumes on a smaller secondary stage to “play some jams,” as Gerard Way put it, from elsewhere in the band’s catalog. (Its most recent studio album came out in 2010, though it’s since issued a smattering of archived material.)

Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance performs.

(Etienne Laurent / For The Times)

“I’m Not Okay (I Promise)” was blistering atomic pop, while “Summertime” thrummed with nervy energy; “Na Na Na (Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na Na)” was as delightfully snotty as its title suggests. The band reached back for what Way called his favorite My Chem song — “Vampires Will Never Hurt You,” from the group’s 2002 debut — and performed, evidently for the first time, a chugging power ballad called “War Beneath the Rain,” which Way recalled cutting in a North Hollywood studio “before the band broke up” as My Chem tried to make a record that never came out.

The group closed, as it often does, with its old hit “Helena,” a bleak yet turbo-charged meditation on what the living owe the dead, and as he belted the chorus, Way dropped to his knees in an apparent mix of exhaustion, despair, gratitude — maybe a bit of befuddlement too. He was leaving no feeling unfelt.

Singer-songwriter Bilal Maqsood released a second volume of nursery rhymes from children’s puppet show Pakkay Dost on YouTube on Tuesday.

The first volume came out in 2023 and the show’s vibrant visuals and engaging narratives garnered widespread acclaim, fostering a love for Urdu and enriching the lives of countless young viewers.

Actor Sajal Ali lauded Maqsood’s work on social media, penning, “Bilal Maqsood, you are doing a great job!”

She appreciated the show’s reignition of Urdu language amongst the youth, “Urdu is a beautiful language and it’s high time we stop running away from it.”

The actor reminded us that it’s cool to embrace our mother tongue, “It was always cool! Let’s own it, celebrate it and make it even cooler!”

On Wednesday, Maqsood took to Instagram to promote the new episodes, “I make Pakkay Dost for kids. I have always longed to make quality content for children and have finally gotten the opportunity to do it after Strings ended. I believe the entertainment industry has stopped focusing on children since the last two decades.”

Being a father himself, the singer observed, “Our kids are being raised on foreign content, which is out of our control. We cannot limit their screen time but the least we can do is to introduce them to shows that teach them good values, are safe and keep them connected to their culture and language.”

Expressing why he chose Urdu, Maqsood stated “I made Pakkay Dost because I wanted to make Urdu cool. Kids and parents often run away from Urdu and I wanted to change that. I want to request all parents and teachers to make sure that kids around them watch Pakkay Dost.”

The show has been captivating young minds with playful storytelling and colourful visuals, fostering a love for the Urdu language while imparting valuable life lessons. This makes it an enjoyable experience for children and a meaningful one for parents who want to instill cultural and linguistic pride in their children.

Each episode offers laughter, lessons, and an opportunity for children to connect with their roots. The show has garnered acclaim from parents and educators alike.

In January, Maqsood announced partnership with ConnectHear to make Pakkay Dost accessible to the hearing-impaired community through the integration of sign language interpretation.

“We are very excited to partner with ConnectHear,” said Maqsood. “Our mission is to bring joy, learning and cultural enrichment and create a brighter childhood for all children. This collaboration is a significant step towards making Pakkay Dost truly inclusive and ensuring that every child can experience the magic of our show.”

“At ConnectHear, we believe in creating a world where no one is left behind,” said Arhum Ishtiaq, CTO and Co-Founder, ConnectHear. “This alliance with Pakkay Dost allows us to bridge the gap in children’s entertainment and education for the Deaf community. We’re not just adding sign language to the show, we’re adding joy, imagination, and inclusion to every deaf child’s life.”

Kim Kardashian turned her attention to two emotional true crime stories over the weekend and used her massive social media reach to push them into the spotlight.

On Sunday, the SKIMS founder shared her reaction after watching One Night in Idaho, the Amazon Prime documentary about the 2022 murders of four University of Idaho students.

The Kardashian star, 44, posted on her Instagram Story that she thought she already knew the case but was shocked by what she saw.

“It’s really emotional and you can feel every friend and parents pain,” she wrote alongside a photo of her TV screen. “So many details I just didn’t know. Ugh it’s just unimaginable.”

Her post came only days after Bryan Kohberger was sentenced to four life terms plus ten years for killing Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin. 

The brutal stabbings shook the small town of Moscow, Idaho in November 2022 and held the nation’s attention for months.

Just an hour later, the mother four posted again about another case. This time it was the Netflix documentary Amy Bradley Is Missing, which revisits the baffling 1998 disappearance of the 23 year old who vanished from a cruise ship near Curaçao.

“This doc is mind blowing. Must see,” Kardashian wrote. “We must find Amy! This is so crazy.”

The case has puzzled investigators for decades. Despite alleged sightings and countless theories, Amy Bradley has never been found.

With more than 356 million Instagram followers, Kim Kardashian has often used her voice to highlight injustices and cold cases.

Though he’s remembered by hard rockers as the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne is known to Black Sabbath bassist Terence “Geezer” Butler as the Prince of Laughter. In an emotional essay penned in The Times U.K., the bandmate recalled his decades-long friendship with the heavy metal pioneer, recalling the formation of the seminal group and their final days at rehearsal.

On July 5, the group reunited fully for the first time in two decades, along with guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, to perform to a crowd of 40,000 in Aston, Birmingham’s Villa Park, the birthplace of the band in 1968. The star-studded, livestreamed affair was led by self-described Black Sabbath obsessive Jason Momoa and featured recorded tributes from famous fans like Dolly Parton and Elton John. All proceeds from Back to the Beginning — totaling nearly $200 million — were donated to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorns Children’s Hospice, in acknowledgement of Osbourne’s diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease in 2019.

“I knew he wasn’t in good health, but I wasn’t prepared to see how frail he was,” Butler recalled of the band sessions leading up to the farewell concert. “He was helped into the rehearsal room by two helpers and a nurse and was using a cane — being Ozzy, the cane was black and studded with gold and precious stones. He didn’t really say much beyond the usual greetings and when he sang, he sat in a chair. We ran through the songs but we could see it was exhausting him after six or seven songs. We had a bit of a chat, but he was really quiet compared with the Ozzy of old. After a couple more weeks we were ready for the show.”

He continued, “To me, Ozzy wasn’t the Prince of Darkness — if anything he was the Prince of Laughter. He’d do anything for a laugh, a born entertainer. I first became aware of him when I’d walk home from all-nighters at a rock club called the Penthouse, in Birmingham. I had long hair down past my shoulders and looked like a hippy. Ozzy would be on the other side of the road on his way from the soul all-nighters in Brum, with his cropped hair and mod suit. Complete opposites of each other. Little did I know then that within a year we would form what would become Black Sabbath and create a whole new form of rock music.”

Recalling the early days of Black Sabbath, long before Birmingham became the inflection point for heavy metal, Butler wrote, “Our first gig ended up in a massive brawl. Being from Aston, you had to know how to defend yourself, and certainly Ozzy and Tony in particular were no strangers to fighting. We became inseparable brothers in arms, always looking out for each other. People always thought Ozzy was a feral wild man, but he had a heart of pure gold. Most of his infamous antics — the bat saga, biting the head off a dove, pissing on the Alamo, snorting lines of ants, and the rest — came in his solo years, away from the restraints of the Sabbath crew. But if you were a friend in need, Ozzy was always there for you. When my son was born with a heart defect, Ozzy called me every day to see how I was coping, even though we hadn’t spoken for a year.”

Concluding his essay, Butler stated, “Nobody knew he’d be gone from us little more than two weeks after the final show. But I am so grateful we got to play one last time together in front of his beloved fans. The love from the fans and all the bands, musicians, singers and solo artists that night was incredible. Everyone had come to pay homage to the Prince. I am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him. Of course there are millions of things I will think of that I should have written, but how can I sum up 57 incredible years of friendship in a few paragraphs? God bless, Oz, it has been one hell of a ride! Love you!”

The legendary rock musician, solo artist and reality TV star died at the age of 76 on July 22, roughly two and a half weeks after his charity concert. His death was mourned by the rock world and fellow music industry peers like John, Metallica, Pearl Jam, Billy Idol and more.

Heartstopper star Joe Locke has officially wrapped filming on the highly anticipated finale of the hit Netflix adaptation, signaling the end of an emotional journey for fans of the show.

Locke shared a heartfelt post on Instagram, writing “Bye Charlie X” alongside behind-the-scenes images with co-star Kit Connor, thanking fans and the creative team behind the series.

The final chapter of Heartstopper, based on the sixth volume of Alice Oseman’s beloved graphic novel series, was adapted as a film instead of a traditional season. Directed by Wash Westmoreland (Still Alice) and written by Oseman herself, the finale has been in production for nearly two months.

Kit Connor also confirmed the wrap via social media, closing the book on Nick and Charlie’s story. In the final chapter, the couple faces the challenges of a long-distance relationship as Nick prepares to leave for university and Charlie gains new independence at school. Their emotional journey mirrors the personal growth of their circle of friends as they navigate love, change, and letting go.

Speaking to The Playlist, Locke explained that filming a feature-length finale was a practical decision. “We realized the only way to get it made this year is if we do a film… It makes it feel more cinematic and gives it the ending it deserves,” he said.

The Heartstopper finale film now moves into post-production, with fans eagerly awaiting its release and one last goodbye to Charlie and Nick’s coming-of-age story.