Keith Urban will be sorry to see the end of American Idol when it bows out this year after its 15th and final season.
The Australian country-music star has been a judge on the US reality-TV singing competition since season 12 in 2013.
However, slipping ratings have sealed its fate, and with the last season now underway – UAE fans can watch it on Thursdays and Fridays on OSN – the sadness has already started to seep in for Urban. “I am going to miss it,” he says. “There is nothing that has quite that feel on television, where you can sit down and watch it with your whole family.”
However, he remains optimistic about the year ahead. “I feel really good about this year,” he says. “And I hear that sentiment from a lot of other people. There’s a lot of optimism from a lot of people who just want this to be a good year.”
One of the things he has to look forward to is the release of his ninth album, RipCORD. An exact date has yet to be announced – but the world tour to support the record will begin on June 2 (although all the dates announced so far are in the United States and Canada).
“I am anxious to get it done,” he says. “I hate the build-up of anything. If I could, I wouldn’t talk about any of it. I would just put it out.”
Urban has been teasing fans with snippets of information about the album for months. He's already put out two singles from the record, the Grammy-nominated John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16, and his second single, Break on Me.
“I’d much rather have the record out six months before I tour,” he says. “I certainly don’t want to wait to tour because the record is not done already. I still think the record is going to be out before the tour. Probably.”
For RipCORD, he's been working with a new crop of producers and musicians, including guitarist and producer Nile Rodgers, who won three Grammys for his work with Daft Punk on their album, Random Access Memories.
"This last year was a lot of experimenting and working with a lot of different people, much like I did with [2013 album Fuse]," Urban says. "And so now it's just sort of distilling it down to the things that feel right and true."
• American Idol is broadcast at 8pm on Thursdays and Fridays on OSN First HD
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
Brief scores:
Toss: South Africa, chose to field
Pakistan: 177 & 294
South Africa: 431 & 43-1
Man of the Match: Faf du Plessis (South Africa)
Series: South Africa lead three-match series 2-0
