Filipino-Australian singer Cyrus Villanueva has made it through to next week’s grand final of The X Factor Australia.
“It’s pretty ridiculous to believe that a couple of months ago I was studying for an exam and now I’m on The X Factor stage,” said the 19-year-old graphic design student before Monday’s live semi-final.
The remaining four acts each performed two songs. Villanueva covered Ed Sheeran's up-tempo track Don't and Phil Collins's ballad In the Air Tonight (see below for video) which received a standing ovation from the judging panel.
Calling Villanueva “a serious artist that’s fresh for Australia”, Guy Sebastian said: “What a time to peak. Every time someone wins the show, they think back to a certain performance. If you end up winning this show, people will remember that.”
Singer James Blunt added: “Week after week, you show us diversity, charisma, stage presence. It would be a joke if you’re not in the grand final, Cyrus.”
"That was sick," said Dannii Minogue after Villanueva's performance of In the Air Tonight. "I feel like I'm getting sick – I've got the Cyrus virus, well and truly. It's painful and so good."
Villanueva’s mentor, Chris Isaak, told him: “It’s so exciting. I never hear an audience get that excited – and I play a lot of shows.
“You know, Cyrus, at one point of this competition I was thinking: ‘Boy, it would be great for Cyrus to do a show – he can open for me.’ Now, maybe I can open for you.”
Joining him in the final will be Jess & Matt, a folk-pop duo and real-life couple, and Louise Adams, a 31-year-old former lawyer.
Big T, a 22-year-old railway-yard worker, was eliminated in the audience vote.
Amy Vachal impresses with a jazzy cover version of Drake hit
Filipino-American singer-songwriter Amy Vachal survived last week's top 24 playoffs to reach the final 12 of the American edition of The Voice.
On this week's live show, the 26-year-old, who lives in the New York borough of Brooklyn, performed an acoustic rendition of Drake's latest hip-hop track, Hotline Bling, while accompanying herself on the guitar. The song was chosen by her coach, Adam Levine.
“Amy, I think you made a really brave choice in listening to me,” said the Maroon 5 frontman. “I know that it was a weird choice. You took a risk and did something bold. You put an entirely new spin on a really great song and you should be so proud of the artistry involved in that.”
"That song is so big. Gwen sung it to me on The Tonight Show once," quipped Blake Shelton, addressing rumours he's dating fellow coach Gwen Stefani.
Stefani added: “That was so cool and definitely better than the version that we did on Jimmy Fallon’s show, for sure, 100 per cent. I think you are just an amazing artist and I love watching you sing. I love your style. I though it was gorgeous.”
Pharrell Williams told Vachal: “You always make songs yours. It’s an amazing, uncanny ability that not many people have. It’s the reason I pushed my button for you in the very beginning and it’s the reason I’m happy you are now with Adam.
“The idea that you can come out here and take such creative license and bring so much of you – all of that Brooklyn, New York jazz element to that song, in that way, is a beautiful thing. And it’s why we like doing this show – to provide opportunities like that.”
Vachal’s cover peaked at No.8 on the US iTunes charts.
The competition's front-runner is 21-year-old Jordan Smith, the only contestant who did better than Vachal on iTunes, with his recording of Great Is Thy Faithfulness soaring to the top spot, toppling Adele's hit Hello.
Darren Espanto earns praise from Nicki Minaj
Teenage Filipino singer Darren Espanto has earned a fan in Nicki Minaj. The American pop star posted on her Facebook page a video of Espanto's cover of Sia's hit, Chandelier.
It was recorded for a Philippine radio station in August. “So effortless. Incredible voice!” Minaj wrote.
The 14-year-old replied: “Wooooaaaah! Thank you so much Queen @NickiMinaj!”
Espanto was the runner-up of the first season of The Voice Kids Philippines last year.
His first album, released in December, debuted on top of the Philippine iTunes charts.
Espanto visited the UAE last month, headlining the Abu Dhabi Pinoy Music Festival on October 16.
artslife@thenational.ae
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Company Profile
Company name: Big Farm Brothers
Started: September 2020
Founders: Vishal Mahajan and Navneet Kaur
Based: Dubai Investment Park 1
Industry: food and agriculture
Initial investment: $205,000
Current staff: eight to 10
Future plan: to expand to other GCC markets
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
HERO%20CUP%20TEAMS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cins%3EContinental%20Europe%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fins%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrancesco%20Molinari%20(c)%3Cbr%3EThomas%20Detry%3Cbr%3ERasmus%20Hojgaard%3Cbr%3EAdrian%20Meronk%3Cbr%3EGuido%20Migliozzi%3Cbr%3EAlex%20Noren%3Cbr%3EVictor%20Perez%3Cbr%3EThomas%20Pieters%3Cbr%3ESepp%20Straka%3Cbr%3EPlayer%20TBC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E%3Cins%3EGreat%20Britain%20%26amp%3B%20Ireland%3C%2Fins%3E%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ETommy%20Fleetwood%20(c)%3Cbr%3EEwen%20Ferguson%3Cbr%3ETyrrell%20Hatton%3Cbr%3EShane%20Lowry%3Cbr%3ERobert%20MacIntyre%3Cbr%3ESeamus%20Power%3Cbr%3ECallum%20Shinkwin%3Cbr%3EJordan%20Smith%3Cbr%3EMatt%20Wallace%3Cbr%3EPlayer%20TBC%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Godzilla%20x%20Kong%3A%20The%20New%20Empire
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAdam%20Wingard%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBrian%20Tyree%20Henry%2C%20Rebecca%20Hall%2C%20Dan%20Stevens%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Indoor Cricket World Cup Dubai 2017
Venue Insportz, Dubai; Admission Free
Fixtures - Open Men 2pm: India v New Zealand, Malaysia v UAE, Singapore v South Africa, Sri Lanka v England; 8pm: Australia v Singapore, India v Sri Lanka, England v Malaysia, New Zealand v South Africa
Fixtures - Open Women Noon: New Zealand v England, UAE v Australia; 6pm: England v South Africa, New Zealand v Australia
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Get Out
Director: Jordan Peele
Stars: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford
Four stars
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Pari
Produced by: Clean Slate Films (Anushka Sharma, Karnesh Sharma) & KriArj Entertainment
Director: Prosit Roy
Starring: Anushka Sharma, Parambrata Chattopadhyay, Ritabhari Chakraborty, Rajat Kapoor, Mansi Multani
Three stars
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Details
Through Her Lens: The stories behind the photography of Eva Sereny
Forewords by Jacqueline Bisset and Charlotte Rampling, ACC Art Books
