Some might say that the very idea of Kings of Leon being invited to entertain the crowds at an event like Abu Dhabi's inaugural grand prix - alongside such artists as Beyoncé, Aerosmith and Jamiroquai - would have been unthinkable a few years ago. However, they would be wrong.
Sticky floored rock venues and muddy festival tents may have been where this Tennessee four-piece has spent much of its career, and a territory that many of the band's contemporaries still roam, but grand ambition has always been one of their defining characteristics.
Four albums released in just six years, each more popular than the last, and a touring schedule relentless enough to make many bands consider early retirement have made Kings of Leon one of the decade's biggest success stories.
The group's journey begins in America's Deep South. The three Followill brothers, Caleb (vocals), Nathan (drums) and Jared (bass), were all, literally, sons of a preacher man. Roaming from state to state, the boys rarely settled anywhere for long enough to receive the musical education that many other teenagers would get. But when their father resigned from the church and divorced his wife in the late Nineties, the brothers relocated to Nashville and quickly embraced the music and lifestyle they had previously been denied.
It wasn't long before the band began to draw interest from RCA Records and, in need of a lead guitarist, "kidnapped" their cousin Matthew from his hometown in Mississippi in order for him to join them.
Soon after appearing on the pages of music magazines in early 2003, with full-face beards, cowboy boots and impossibly skinny jeans, came Kings of Leon's first international release, the Holy Roller Novocaine EP. Although not a big seller, the record's gritty Southern-fried sound earned the band a significant amount of exposure ahead of its debut later that year.
Hot on the heels of The Strokes, The White Stripes and other vintage-sounding guitar bands, Kings of Leon became one of indie rock's most talked-about groups, thanks to the triumphant release of the debut album Youth and Young Manhood.
It was lauded as "one of the best debut albums of the last 10 years" by the British music magazine NME and the band gained a devoted following in the UK. Singles such as California Waiting and Molly's Chambers became overnight dance-floor favourites, no doubt contributing to the band later being picked to tour in support of The Strokes and U2.
Kings of Leon also managed to inspire a number of detractors, though. Some began to question whether the band, with its elaborate image, was just an example of style over substance and false rumours began to circulate of the group being a record-company creation.
Only 15 months after Youth and Young Manhood came Aha Shake Heartbreak. This album featured the same stripped-down production, scrappy guitars and drowsy vocals as its predecessor and contained dance-floor-friendly tracks such as the singles The Bucket and Four Kicks. After a warm critical reception, tours with Bob Dylan and Pearl Jam followed.
The band's longest wait between albums, almost two and a half years, was broken in March 2007. Kings of Leon graced the covers of music magazines the world over, now sporting shorter haircuts and distinctly less facial hair, in support of Because of the Times.
Although instantly recognisable, thanks largely to Caleb's Southern drawl, this recording had a very different flavour to its predecessors. Gone were the jangly guitars and stomping drums, in came lopping bass lines and a production job that would have suited Joshua Tree-era U2. Critics agreed that the album, which featured the singles On Call and Charmer, was not only the band's most mature, but also its darkest.
Entertainment Weekly described Because of the Times as "an epic widescreen movie of a CD and the band's best to date," however many of the hipper music titles began to forsake Kings of Leon, believing the outfit to be pursuing a more mainstream sound.
If that third album revealed the band's ambitions as stadium-sized artists, the fourth achieved it. Despite hitting shelves toward the end of 2008, Only By the Night was the biggest seller of the year globally. It also finally scored a top-five placing on the Billboard 200 in the US, a market where the band had previously been somewhat overlooked.
The album featured Kings of Leon's most grown-up clutch of songs, including singles such as Sex on Fire and Use Somebody, complete with effects-laden keyboards and thunderous choruses - a far cry from the Southern twang of earlier releases.
As a result, the last year has seen the band playing its biggest shows yet, of which Abu Dhabi will be just one. Now all those years in student hangouts and grubby rock clubs appear to be paying off. Unremitting recording and touring, teamed with an undeniable ability to create crowd-pleasing rock songs, has earned this band a space on the world stage.
ogood@thenational.ae
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
Persuasion
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Who is Allegra Stratton?
- Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
- Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
- In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
- The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
- Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
- She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
- Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
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Company%20Profile
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Chelsea 2 Burnley 3
Chelsea Morata (69'), Luiz (88')
Burnley Vokes (24', 43'), Ward (39')
Red cards Cahill, Fabregas (Chelsea)
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
RESULTS: 2018 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING - EUROPE
Albania 0 Italy 1
Finland 2 Turkey 2
Macedonia 4 Liechtenstein
Iceland 2 Kosovo 0
Israel 0 Spain 1
Moldova 0 Austria 1
Serbia 1 Georgia 0
Ukraine 0 Croatia 2
Wales 0 Ireland 1
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
The specs
Engine: 77.4kW all-wheel-drive dual motor
Power: 320bhp
Torque: 605Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh219,000
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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TOUCH RULES
Touch is derived from rugby league. Teams consist of up to 14 players with a maximum of six on the field at any time.
Teams can make as many substitutions as they want during the 40 minute matches.
Similar to rugby league, the attacking team has six attempts - or touches - before possession changes over.
A touch is any contact between the player with the ball and a defender, and must be with minimum force.
After a touch the player performs a “roll-ball” - similar to the play-the-ball in league - stepping over or rolling the ball between the feet.
At the roll-ball, the defenders have to retreat a minimum of five metres.
A touchdown is scored when an attacking player places the ball on or over the score-line.
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Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Top tips
Create and maintain a strong bond between yourself and your child, through sensitivity, responsiveness, touch, talk and play. “The bond you have with your kids is the blueprint for the relationships they will have later on in life,” says Dr Sarah Rasmi, a psychologist.
Set a good example. Practise what you preach, so if you want to raise kind children, they need to see you being kind and hear you explaining to them what kindness is. So, “narrate your behaviour”.
Praise the positive rather than focusing on the negative. Catch them when they’re being good and acknowledge it.
Show empathy towards your child’s needs as well as your own. Take care of yourself so that you can be calm, loving and respectful, rather than angry and frustrated.
Be open to communication, goal-setting and problem-solving, says Dr Thoraiya Kanafani. “It is important to recognise that there is a fine line between positive parenting and becoming parents who overanalyse their children and provide more emotional context than what is in the child’s emotional development to understand.”
SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
The biog
Favourite car: Ferrari
Likes the colour: Black
Best movie: Avatar
Academic qualifications: Bachelor’s degree in media production from the Higher Colleges of Technology and diploma in production from the New York Film Academy
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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