A video of thousands of Filipinos singing Ariana Grande's 2014 hit Break Free at a political rally on Sunday has gone viral and caught the attention of the pop star herself.
"I could not believe this was real," Grande shared on her Instagram stories, along with the video, which showed Emerald Avenue in Pasig City, east of Metro Manila in the Philippines, filled with a sea of pink, the official colour of 2022 presidential hopeful Leni Robredo.
"I love you more than words," Grande said, as she posted more videos from the rally, showing attendees dancing to her song.
Campaigning for presidential election of the Philippines began last month, ahead of the May 9 polls, with Robredo, who's currently the country's vice president, set for a showdown with Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr, son of the Philippines' former dictator.
Marcos Jr, whose namesake father was overthrown in a 1986 army-backed uprising, was narrowly defeated by Robredo in the 2016 vice presidential race.
Robredo, a staunch critic of President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal war on drugs, joined the race for president in October last year, promising to usher in a government that cares for the people, not personal interests.
Sunday's rally was an impressive show of strength for the lawyer and social activist, with the Pasig City police estimating that a crowd of 137,000 were in attendance, according to the Philippines' Daily Guardian.
Robredo was accompanied at the event, dubbed PasigLaban, by her vice presidential candidate senator Kiko Pangilinan, which also featured a number of live performances by Filipino artists. Acclaimed group Ben&Ben, who took the stage at Expo 2020 Dubai last week, were one of the performers.
Grande's song Break Free was released in July 2014 as part of her record-breaking second studio album My Everything. Produced by Zedd, who also co-wrote the song with Savan Kotecha and Max Martin, the EDM track peaked at No 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
It entered that chart the same week as Grande's other singles, Bang Bang and Problem, making her only the second female artist to have three songs in the Top 10 of the Hot 100 in the same week. Adele is the only other female artist to achieve that feat.
An accompanying music video, featuring an intergalactic theme, was released in August 2014. The video has now been viewed more than a billion times.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
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- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
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Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
}Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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%3Cp%3EThe%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20-%20Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Arabic%20Language%20Centre%20will%20mark%20International%20Women%E2%80%99s%20Day%20at%20the%20Bologna%20Children's%20Book%20Fair%20with%20the%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Translation%20Conference.%20Prolific%20Emirati%20author%20Noora%20Al%20Shammari%2C%20who%20has%20written%20eight%20books%20that%20%20feature%20in%20the%20Ministry%20of%20Education's%20curriculum%2C%20will%20appear%20in%20a%20session%20on%20Wednesday%20to%20discuss%20the%20challenges%20women%20face%20in%20getting%20their%20works%20translated.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
