Jesus Would Back Gay Marriage – Elton John

English singer and pianist Sir Elton John says he believes Jesus Christ would have supported gay priests getting married.

In an exclusive interview with Sky News, the star told Dermot Murnaghan he hopes to marry David Furnish sometime next year and that it would be a low-key affair.

He also revealed his thoughts about the Pope – describing him as a “wonderful” man whose tolerance was an example to the Church of England.

The ‘Candle in the Wind’ singer said he hoped a concert, performed for the charity SportsAid at Stoke Park in Buckinghamshire last night, would raise £500,000 for the fund.

Sir Elton added that the global fight for gay rights was stalling and that he planned to talk with Vladimir Putin in Russia on the subject in November.

“Globally, we seem to have gone backwards over the last 18 months. I will see Putin and talk to him – I don’t know what good it will do though,” Sir Elton stated.

Discussing gay rights, he said that the Church of England might learn from the humility and tolerance of Pope Francis.

“The new Pope has been wonderful, he’s excited me so much. He’s stripped it [the Church] down to the bare bones and said it’s all basically about love,” Sir Elton said.

Sir Elton agreed that gay clergy should be allowed to get married and suggested that the celibacy vow for Catholic priests be abolished.

“These are old and stupid things. If Jesus Christ was alive today, I cannot see him, as the Christian person that he was and the great person that he was, saying this could not happen. He was all about love and compassion and forgiveness and trying to bring people together and that’s what the church should be about,” he said.

Asked about his own wedding, he said: “I don’t think we can get married until next year.

“However, when we do, it will be very quiet and off the cuff – we had our big shebang when we had our civil union.”

source:orange news

Why I have not been active in Nollywood—Genevieve Speaks

Nollywood actress, Genevieve Nnaji, has explained that her long absence in movie industry is as a result of poorly written scripts which she feels are not worthy for her professional character. According to the screen diva, Nollywood was initially known for quantity, but with the trend of things in the make-belief world today, quality needs to be the watchword of every producer. Being an advocate of change, the actress stressed that she cannot take part in any movie that does not have quality and great professionalism in telling the stories in a convincing manner. “I am among the people who advocate for the improvement of the industry. So said, I am constantly watching out for the kind of stories I take part in. I am in support of movies that show a great deal of professionalism and creativity,” Genevieve said. Having featured in top class movies like ‘Ije’, ‘Mirror Boy,’ and ‘Tango With Me’, the actress noted that she can never imagine herself taking in any weak films. “Having practiced my art in international and professionally produced stories like ‘Ije’; ‘Mirror Boy;’ and ‘Tango With Me’, I don’t think I can return to the blandness and mediocrity that characterised Nollywood in the past,” she added.

source: nigeriafilms.com

Beyonce Is World’s Most Powerful Celebrity

American singer Beyonce, who earned £62m last year, has been named the world’s most powerful celebrity.

Forbes credited Beyonce’s massive concert tour for pushing her into the top spot ahead of her husband, rapper Jay Z, who ranked sixth.

Beyonce’s current position was formerly occupied by Oprah Winfrey.

Winfrey has dropped to fourth place in the Forbes’ list after basketball player LeBron James and record producer and rapper Dr Dre took the second and third places.

A Forbes spokesman said Beyonce played 95 shows.

Along with her latest hit album ‘Beyonce’, which was released late last year, she earned millions from endorsement deals and her clothing line.

Last week she kicked off her first world tour with Jay Z.

Although Beyonce was not the highest earner on the list, her presence in the press and on social media assured her the top spot.

James, 29, who last week opted out of his NBA contract with the Miami Heat team, jumped from 16th place last year to second.

He earned an estimated £42m thanks to his performance on the basketball court, endorsement deals and the sale of headphone maker Beats Electronics to iPhone-maker Apple Inc for £1.7bn. James was a small part-owner of the business.

The most impressive rise on the list was Dr Dre, born as Andre Romelle Young. He earned £362m in 2014, and climbed from 63rd spot in 2013.

Forbes said the 49-year-old co-founder of Beats earned more money in the past 12 months than any other person in the history of its list.

Forbes compiled its 15th annual top 100 by estimating pre-tax earnings from June 1, 2013 to 2014 from tours, books, contracts, endorsements, movies and residuals.

Fame and influence is gauged by how often celebrities appeared in the media and the impact they had on the entertainment industry and culture.

Forbes also used StarCount, which looks at 11 social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, to determine presence in social media.

The top 10 most powerful celebrities are:

1. Beyonce

2. LeBron James

3. Dr Dre

4. Oprah Winfrey

5. Ellen DeGeneres

6. Jay Z

7. Floyd Mayweather

8. Rihanna

9. Katy Perry

10. Robert Downey Jr

 credit:orange news

Davido Wins Best African Act At BET

Nigerian music icon Davido, over the weekend won the Best International Act at the 2014 BET Awards.

The ‘Aye’ singer, who was nominated alongside African heavyweights like Sarkodie, Tiwa Savage and Mafikizolo, received the award at a pre-event taping before the main event.

Sarkodie who has been nominated twice for the Best African act category won the award in 2012 but lost to Davido this time around.

The 2014 BET Awards was held on June 29 at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and Ghana was well represented in Los Angeles in some the pre-event festivities.

On Saturday Sarkodie, Nigeria’s Tiwa Savage and Mafikizolo from South Africa graced the stage at the ‘BET Experience in LA’ hosted by Ghanaian actress Nadia Buari and Singer Fally Ipupa from D.R Congo.

 

Below is the list of Winners:

Best Female R&B/Pop Artist     Best Male R&B/Pop Artist

Beyoncé                                                    Pharrell Williams

Best Collaboration                                       Best Movie

Beyoncé f/ JAY Z – ‘Drunk In Love’            12 Years a Slave  

Best Actress                                                        Best Actor   

Lupita Nyong’o                                                      Chiwetel Ejiofor

         

Video of the Year                              Best Male Hip Hop Artist   

Pharrell Williams – ‘Happy’                               Drake

Best Female Hip Hop Artist                            Best Group

Nicki Minaj                                                                 Young Money 

Subway Sportsman of the Year              Best Gospel Artist

Kevin Durant                                                                 Tamela Mann

Subway Sportswoman of the Year         Best New Artist

Serena Williams                                                         August Alsina

YoungStars Award                                              Centric Award

KeKe Palmer                                           Jhené Aiko – ‘The Worst’ 

Best International Act: UK        Video Director of the Year

Krept & Konan                                                      Hype Williams

Best International Act: Africa

Davido (Nigeria)

I Can’t Change My Life- Stonebwoy

At age 26, dancehall genius Stonebwoy has a pleasant and warm personality uncommon among his peers and quite unusual for a contemporary dancehall musician.

Chief Executive of Burniton Music Group, Livingstone Etse Satekla aka Stonebwoy, is one of the few musicians living an exemplary life that makes one doubt the belief that the dancehall music genre has a tendency to promote profanity, vulgarism, immorality and violence.

He told NEWS-ONE  that there is no way his music career will make him abandon the proper upbringing he had from his parents in his childhood.

“I believe my lifestyle cannot change. I have been simple, I have been me and I have lived my life just as I was taught. I am not a perfect person but the Bible says by their deeds, you shall know them,” was Stonebwoy’s response when NEWS-ONE asked about his positive attitude.

He explained: “Positivity is one thing.  My attitude is from my upbringing. I was born into a Christian home, and not a house. So you have your parents, especially your father checking you. You have to read the Bible and believe you me there was no idle moment for me when I was growing up.  The little free time you had, your parents would literally force you to go and read the Bible and study it like a text book.

“So the quest for wisdom became important to me at a young age. I was taught that you just could not live your life anyhow, say anything and just do anything. We are not all the same but it pays to make a positive attempt to be a different person. When I say a different person, I mean a good and decent person and not a bad one,” he added.

Checks by NEWS-ONE showed that Stonebwoy literally spent  his childhood in church because his dad was an elder of the Deeper Life Church.

But he declined to comment when the paper asked which church he attended as a child.

“The church does not really matter and I do not want to mention it although a few people are in the know. Fact is, mentioning one church would make it seem as if I am saying this is the church that teaches the best. But it is not about church. It is about the Bible and the philosophy of life.

“Life itself is deep and nature teaches us all the time as we live and we grow. Even if you do not go to church and you do not read any book, I believe that within you, God has given you a special thing that hints you if you are doing something bad and also hints you if you are doing something good.

You feel the freeness in your spirit when you are doing the right thing and you feel the heaviness in your spirit when you are doing something wrong but you do not stop because you silence and kill your conscience,” Stonebwoy added.

When asked to tell who Livingstone was as a child, he said: “He has always been that guy that would rap, sing, read his books and top the class. That has been Livingstone but let us come back to my musician career because I believe that is my lane now and I want to focus on that.”

The award-winning musician recently returned from a tour of Europe and is working on his second album, ‘Necessary Evil’.

source:news1ghana.com