1 The original Idol
A 20-year-old waitress from Texas, Kelly Clarkson was not considered a major contender, until a spirited performance of Aretha Franklin's (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman during the top-eight show won over America. Clarkson remains the most successful Idol contestant, in terms of worldwide record sales.
2 The magic of Fantasia
Season three's Fantasia Barrino had a firecracker of a voice – and stunned viewers with a nuanced, tear-stained take on George Gershwin's classic, Summertime, during the top-eight show. It remains arguably the most astonishing American Idol performance.
3 Idol's first controversy
Season three's front-runners – African-Americans Fantasia Barrino, Jennifer Hudson and LaToya London – shockingly received the fewest votes during the top-seven show, leading to Hudson's controversial elimination. Elton John slammed the results as "incredibly racist". Hudson went on to become the only Idol contestant to win both an Oscar and a Grammy.
4 Joke contestants
You may not remember the names of most of the unsuccessful Idol contenders – but you probably know William Hung, one of the show's most talked-about contestants. His rendition of Ricky Martin's She Bangs was so spectacularly woeful. The exposure landed him a record deal – and he became the third-best-selling singer from his season.
5 Country superstar
Season four's small-town girl Carrie Underwood became the show's first big country superstar. Now a Nashville hitmaker, she is the best-selling Idol contestant in the US and has won seven Grammys, the most for an Idol alumnus.
6 A vote for the worst
During season six, 17-year-old Indian-American contestant Sanjaya Malakar was at the centre of a controversy after managing to survive elimination for weeks, thanks to a campaign by the website Vote for the Worst and radio personality Howard Stern to rally behind the judges' most-hated contestant. Malakar finished seventh. The press speculated that Idol would have been cancelled had Malakar won.
7 The WGWG fan base
For five consecutive seasons – from season seven to 11 – a white male who played the guitar won the Idol crown. Critics dubbed it the “WGWG” (white guy with guitar) phenomenon, with the winners owing their success to tween girls and elderly females – the show’s dominant voting demographics.
8 Master showman
Adam Lambert remains one of Idol's most polished and entertaining performers. He was operatic, weird and exciting – and always put on a show. He lost out to WGWG Kris Allen who, upon winning, said: "Adam deserved this."
9 Sanchez sizzles
Another powerhouse singer who lost out to a charming male crooner in the final, 16-year-old Filipino-American Jessica Sanchez is one of the show's most impressive belters. During the season 11 final, the octave-defying Sanchez sung And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going with Jennifer Holliday. It's probably the most exhilarating performance ever on Idol – watch it on YouTube now.
10 Diva versus diva
Season 12 proved to be memorable for all the wrong reasons, thanks to a lacklustre slate of contenders and a season-long feud between judges Mariah Carey and Nicki Minaj, who could not get along. After clashing during the early audition rounds, Carey and Minaj refused to interact or even look at each other throughout the season. "I've invited them back to the finale to sing That's What Friends Are For," said the show's producer, Nigel Lythgoe.
artslife@thenational.ae
RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer)
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: Kidd Malibu, Sandro Paiva, Musabah Al Muhairi
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
Winner: Raakezz, Tadhg O’Shea, Nicholas Bachalard
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
Winner: Au Couer, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
Winner: Rayig, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
Winner: King’s Shadow, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
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.
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
About Okadoc
Date started: Okadoc, 2018
Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Healthcare
Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth
Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February
Investors: Undisclosed
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
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6
Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm
Torque: 410Nm at 3,500rpm
Transmission: 6-speed manual
Fuel consumption: 10.2 l/100km
Price: Dh375,000
On sale: now
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm
Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km
Price: from Dh362,500
On sale: now
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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.
ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
