Miguel Set to rock Beats on the Beach
R&B sensation Miguel will be performing as part of the free Beats on the Beach concert on November 21 at the Corniche as part of the Formula 1 fun. The American has had a stellar couple of years following the release of his breakthrough album Kaleidoscope Dream in 2012, followed by collaborations with the likes of Mariah Carey, The Chemical Brothers and Ludacris. Miguel rounds off a solid Beats on the Beach bill that also features the pop star Jason Derulo, Bollywood's Hard Kaur and the UAE's own Ruwaida Mahrouqi. The following night finds the Lebanese crooner Ragheb Alama headlining, alongside Rita Ora, Chada Hassoun, Juicy J, Tinashe and Sabine. – The National staff
Taylor Swift snubs Spotify
Taylor Swift removed all of her back catalogue from Spotify's streaming music service on Monday as a row between the artist and the leading online music distributor escalated. Spotify said Swift's management told it to pull the music late last week, so none of her songs are available to Spotify's 40 million users. Her single, Shake It Off, was the most-played song on Spotify last week. "We were both young when we first saw you, but now there are more than 40 million of us who want you to stay, stay, stay," Spotify said. "It's a love story, baby. Just say yes." The decision means that many fans will have only one option to hear Swift's new album, 1989, and that is to buy it. Music streaming services and file sharing have cut into music sales and many artists complain that the fees Spotify pays are too small. She did not allow 1989 to stream on Spotify when it was released last week. Spotify complained, which seems to have sparked the row that led to all her music being removed. – AP
Dunham reacts in ‘rage spiral’
Lena Dunham says she was in a "rage spiral" as she reacted to an accusation that she had sexually abused her little sister. In an article for the conservative National Review Online, Kevin D Williamson highlighted a passage from the Girls creator and star Dunham's best-selling memoir Not That Kind of Girl in which she recalled interactions with her sister, Grace, when they were children. Williamson said it was "very disturbing behaviour". Dunham posted several tweets over the weekend that she called a "rage spiral". She wrote that the allegations were "upsetting" and "disgusting". Describing the incidents as those of a "weird" 7-year-old girl, she challenged her critics to acknowledge that such experiences were common. "I bet you have some [stories] too, old men, that I'd rather not hear," she wrote. – AP