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By Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Rapper Kendrick Lamar topped the list of Grammy contenders for the second straight year on Friday with nine nominations, outpacing the seven nods for pop superstar Lady Gaga in the race for the music industry's top honors. Lamar's "GNX" and Gaga's "MAYHEM" will compete for the prestigious album of the year trophy at the Grammy Awards 2026 ceremony in February. Neither artist has won the honor despite multiple nominations in the category. Others nominated in the album field include Bad Bunny for the Spanish-language "Debí Tirar Más Fotos," Justin Bieber for "Swag" and Sabrina Carpenter for "Man's Best Friend." Three rap albums are in contention. In addition to "GNX," Tyler, the Creator’s "Chromakopia" and "Let God Sort Em Out, from the duo Clipse, were nominated. "The Life of a Showgirl" by Taylor Swift, who has claimed album of the year an unmatched four times, was not in the running because it was released after this year's Grammy eligibility window closed. Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican musician who will perform at next year's Super Bowl halftime show, received six nominations including for record, song and album of the year. He was the first Latin artist to be nominated in the three major categories in the same year. For the album prize, "I think it's between Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar," Billboard awards editor Paul Grein said. Grein said he gave the edge to Lamar, who would be the first solo male rap artist to land the prize. "I think he'll do it," Grein said, "but you can never discount Lady Gaga who is loved by everyone." Two K-pop songs landed in the song of the year field, an award given to songwriters. They are the chart-topping "Golden" from the soundtrack of "KPop Demon Hunters," the most-watched movie in the history of Netflix, and "APT." by Rose and Bruno Mars. "Golden" received three total nominations. "Never did I imagine this level of success," said Rei Ami, one of the voices behind the fictional "Demon Hunters" group HUNTR/X. "It's really hard for all of us to process still." "APT." also was nominated for record of the year, a trophy given to producers and performers, and best pop duo/group performance. Others on the list included Gaga's "Abracadabra," "luther" by Lamar and SZA, and "DtMF" by Bad Bunny. In the best new artist category, Olivia Dean and KATSEYE will compete with Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and others. Thomas, an R&B and soul musician, also received an album of the year nomination for "Mutt." Grammy winners will be chosen by the roughly 15,000 voting members of the Recording Academy and announced at a red-carpet ceremony in Los Angeles on February 1. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Google's YouTube said it is open to negotiating a fair deal with Disney to restore the entertainment giant's networks to its YouTube TV pay‑TV service, while it accused Disney of misrepresenting facts and seeking higher rates than rivals and its own smaller platforms. Disney said on Friday it continues talks with YouTube TV to bring back its networks, heading into "another sports-packed weekend without a deal in place." On Monday, YouTube TV proposed restoring ABC and ESPN, in response to Disney's request to bring back ABC for Election Day coverage. "Our team stands ready to make a fair agreement in line with their deals with other distributors and we encourage Disney to come to the table and do what's best for our mutual customers," YouTube said in a statement to Reuters. YouTube said Disney is seeking a rate above what Charter and DirecTV pay for the ABC networks. The video streaming service said it is not seeking better rates, as Disney claims. The dispute centers on carriage fees, the per‑subscriber rates distributors pay to carry broadcast and cable networks. "YouTube TV continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions," Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro had said in a memo to employees on Friday. Disney said it began talks by offering YouTube TV a "deal that would cost less overall than the terms of our recently expired license," and said it had offered fair terms in line with agreements reached by other distributors since last summer. YouTube TV, one of the largest U.S. pay‑TV distributors, has been negotiating this year with media companies that have threatened to pull their networks from the platform. Disney's networks went dark on YouTube TV late last Thursday after talks failed to produce a licensing deal, the companies said in separate statements. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City and Anhata Rooprai in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Disney said on Friday it is continuing talks with Google's YouTube TV to restore ABC and ESPN after its networks went dark on the pay-TV service. On Monday, YouTube TV proposed restoring ABC and ESPN, in response to Disney's request to bring back ABC to the pay-TV service for Election Day coverage. "YouTube TV continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions," Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo on Friday to employees. Disney began talks with YouTube TV by offering YouTube TV a "deal that would cost less overall than the terms of our recently expired license," they said in the memo. "That's real savings that YouTube TV could pass along to its customers." It said it had offered fair terms, in line with agreements reached by other distributors since last summer, according to the memo. YouTube TV did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. One of the largest U.S. pay-TV distributors, YouTube TV has been in a series of negotiations this year with companies threatening to pull their networks from the platform. Disney's networks went dark YouTube TV late last Thursday after talks failed to produce a licensing deal, the companies said in separate statements. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Rapper Kendrick Lamar topped the list of Grammy contenders for the second straight year on Friday with nine nominations, outpacing the seven nods for pop superstar Lady Gaga in the race for the music industry's top honors. Lamar's "GNX" and Gaga's "MAYHEM" will compete for the prestigious album of the year trophy at the Grammy Awards 2026 ceremony in February. Neither artist has won the honor despite multiple nominations in the category. Others nominated in the album field include Bad Bunny for the Spanish-language "Debí Tirar Más Fotos," Justin Bieber for "Swag" and Sabrina Carpenter for "Man's Best Friend." Three rap albums are in contention. In addition to "GNX," Tyler, the Creator’s "Chromakopia" and "Let God Sort Em Out, from the duo Clipse, were nominated. "The Life of a Showgirl" by Taylor Swift, who has claimed album of the year an unmatched four times, was not in the running because it was released after this year's Grammy eligibility window closed. Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican musician who will perform at next year's Super Bowl halftime show, received six nominations including for record, song and album of the year. He was the first Latin artist to be nominated in the three major categories in the same year. For the album prize, "I think it's between Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar," Billboard awards editor Paul Grein said. Grein said he gave the edge to Lamar, who would be the first solo male rap artist to land the prize. "I think he'll do it," Grein said, "but you can never discount Lady Gaga who is loved by everyone." Two K-pop songs landed in the song of the year field, an award given to songwriters. They are the chart-topping "Golden" from the soundtrack of "KPop Demon Hunters," the most-watched movie in the history of Netflix, and "APT." by Rose and Bruno Mars. "Golden" received three total nominations. "Never did I imagine this level of success," said Rei Ami, one of the voices behind the fictional "Demon Hunters" group HUNTR/X. "It's really hard for all of us to process still." "APT." also was nominated for record of the year, a trophy given to producers and performers, and best pop duo/group performance. Others on the list included Gaga's "Abracadabra," "luther" by Lamar and SZA, and "DtMF" by Bad Bunny. In the best new artist category, Olivia Dean and KATSEYE will compete with Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and others. Thomas, an R&B and soul musician, also received an album of the year nomination for "Mutt." Grammy winners will be chosen by the roughly 15,000 voting members of the Recording Academy and announced at a red-carpet ceremony in Los Angeles on February 1. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Rapper Kendrick Lamar topped the list of Grammy contenders for the second straight year on Friday with nine nominations, outpacing the seven nods for pop superstar Lady Gaga in the race for the music industry's top honors. Lamar's "GNX" and Gaga's "MAYHEM" will compete for the prestigious album of the year trophy at the Grammy Awards 2026 ceremony in February. Neither artist has won the honor despite multiple nominations in the category. Others nominated in the album field include Bad Bunny for the Spanish-language "Debí Tirar Más Fotos," Justin Bieber for "Swag" and Sabrina Carpenter for "Man's Best Friend." Three rap albums are in contention. In addition to "GNX," Tyler, the Creator’s "Chromakopia" and "Let God Sort Em Out, from the duo Clipse, were nominated. "The Life of a Showgirl" by Taylor Swift, who has claimed album of the year an unmatched four times, was not in the running because it was released after this year's Grammy eligibility window closed. Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican musician who will perform at next year's Super Bowl halftime show, received six nominations including for record, song and album of the year. He was the first Latin artist to be nominated in the three major categories in the same year. For the album prize, "I think it's between Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar," Billboard awards editor Paul Grein said. Grein said he gave the edge to Lamar, who would be the first solo male rap artist to land the prize. "I think he'll do it," Grein said, "but you can never discount Lady Gaga who is loved by everyone." Two K-pop songs landed in the song of the year field, an award given to songwriters. They are the chart-topping "Golden" from the soundtrack of "KPop Demon Hunters," the most-watched movie in the history of Netflix, and "APT." by Rose and Bruno Mars. "Golden" received three total nominations. "Never did I imagine this level of success," said Rei Ami, one of the voices behind the fictional "Demon Hunters" group HUNTR/X. "It's really hard for all of us to process still." "APT." also was nominated for record of the year, a trophy given to producers and performers, and best pop duo/group performance. Others on the list included Gaga's "Abracadabra," "luther" by Lamar and SZA, and "DtMF" by Bad Bunny. In the best new artist category, Olivia Dean and KATSEYE will compete with Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and others. Thomas, an R&B and soul musician, also received an album of the year nomination for "Mutt." Grammy winners will be chosen by the roughly 15,000 voting members of the Recording Academy and announced at a red-carpet ceremony in Los Angeles on February 1. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

By Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Rapper Kendrick Lamar topped the list of Grammy contenders for the second straight year on Friday with nine nominations, outpacing the seven nods for pop superstar Lady Gaga in the race for the music industry's top honors. Lamar's "GNX" and Gaga's "MAYHEM" will compete for the prestigious album of the year trophy at the Grammy Awards 2026 ceremony in February. Neither artist has won the honor despite multiple nominations in the category. Others nominated in the album field include Bad Bunny for the Spanish-language "Debí Tirar Más Fotos," Justin Bieber for "Swag" and Sabrina Carpenter for "Man's Best Friend." Three rap albums are in contention. In addition to "GNX," Tyler, the Creator’s "Chromakopia" and "Let God Sort Em Out, from the duo Clipse, were nominated. "The Life of a Showgirl" by Taylor Swift, who has claimed album of the year an unmatched four times, was not in the running because it was released after this year's Grammy eligibility window closed. Bad Bunny, the Puerto Rican musician who will perform at next year's Super Bowl halftime show, received six nominations including for record, song and album of the year. He was the first Latin artist to be nominated in the three major categories in the same year. For the album prize, "I think it's between Lady Gaga and Kendrick Lamar," Billboard awards editor Paul Grein said. Grein said he gave the edge to Lamar, who would be the first solo male rap artist to land the prize. "I think he'll do it," Grein said, "but you can never discount Lady Gaga who is loved by everyone." Two K-pop songs landed in the song of the year field, an award given to songwriters. They are the chart-topping "Golden" from the soundtrack of "KPop Demon Hunters," the most-watched movie in the history of Netflix, and "APT." by Rose and Bruno Mars. "Golden" received three total nominations. "Never did I imagine this level of success," said Rei Ami, one of the voices behind the fictional "Demon Hunters" group HUNTR/X. "It's really hard for all of us to process still." "APT." also was nominated for record of the year, a trophy given to producers and performers, and best pop duo/group performance. Others on the list included Gaga's "Abracadabra," "luther" by Lamar and SZA, and "DtMF" by Bad Bunny. In the best new artist category, Olivia Dean and KATSEYE will compete with Leon Thomas, Alex Warren and others. Thomas, an R&B and soul musician, also received an album of the year nomination for "Mutt." Grammy winners will be chosen by the roughly 15,000 voting members of the Recording Academy and announced at a red-carpet ceremony in Los Angeles on February 1. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Diane Craft and Cynthia Osterman)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

TEL AVIV (Reuters) -The director of Israel's entry for the 2026 Oscars about a Palestinian boy's quest to see the sea hopes it will help arouse compassion in his homeland during so much conflict. Prospects for lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians have rarely looked so bleak after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, two years of war in Gaza and surging settler violence in the West Bank. However, director and writer Shai Carmeli-Pollak has taken heart from the reception to his film "The Sea" which won Israel's top film prize so was automatically submitted for the foreign-language Oscar prize to be decided in March.  "I met the audience that came to watch it and it was amazing that people could be emotional and sometimes shed a tear for this story while violence and atrocities happened not far from here," Carmeli-Pollak said in an interview this week after a viewing. "The Sea" tells the story of Khaled, a Palestinian boy in the Israeli-occupied West Bank who fears growing up without seeing the sea and makes the perilous journey alone and without travel papers into Israel to try to reach the coast.  He had recently been turned away at a checkpoint on a school trip to the sea, and his sudden disappearance from home leads his father, an undocumented labourer in Israel, to risk arrest by setting out in search of him. "The Sea" won Best Picture at September's Ophir awards, the Israeli equivalent of the Oscars, prompting condemnation from Culture Minister Miki Zohar, who pulled funding from the ceremony over the movie's portrayal of the Israeli military. Israel's government since 2022 has been among the most right-wing in its history, adamantly opposed to Palestinian statehood and committed to expanding settlement in the West Bank.  The 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which killed more than 1,200 people, has hardened many Israelis towards Palestinians and made criticism of the army more sensitive. 'COMPASSION AND LOVE' Carmeli-Pollak and the Israeli-Palestinian producer of "The Sea", Baher Agbaria, said it was important to make films that helped people hear each other's stories.  "I hope that the film will open other channels – channels of compassion and love – and give other ways that we can live together in this place," Carmeli-Pollak told Reuters. Agbaria said it felt surprising to bring a Palestinian story to mainstream cinemas in Israel against the backdrop of the war.  "Because (of) what is happening this is time also for this film, you know, for this kind of story, to listen to the others," he said.  The film was released in cinemas in Israel in July and is still running.  At the 2025 Oscars, an Israeli-Palestinian film "No Other Land", about the Israeli displacement of a Palestinian community in the West Bank, won the documentary feature film award, also angering Israel's government. Carmeli-Pollak, a longtime peace activist, said that even though the government did not want him to represent Israel, he was proud to be part of a community of filmmakers who chose to honour "The Sea".  "I represent every people, like both Israelis and Palestinians, that aspire for peace and for equality and for living together in a different way than this government is working for." (Reporting by Miro Maman in Tel Aviv and Lianne Back in Jerusalem, writing by Angus McDowall, editing by Andrew Cawthorne)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Disney said on Friday that it is continuing negotiations with Google's YouTube TV to bring back ABC and ESPN after the entertainment giant's networks went dark on the pay-TV service. On Monday, YouTube TV proposed restoring ABC and ESPN, in response to Disney's request to bring back ABC to the pay-TV service for Election Day coverage. "YouTube TV continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions," Disney Entertainment Co-Chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told employees in a Friday memo. Disney's networks went dark on YouTube TV after negotiations failed to reach a licensing deal, the companies said in separate statements late last Thursday. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Disney said on Friday it is continuing talks with Google's YouTube TV to restore ABC and ESPN after its networks went dark on the pay-TV service. On Monday, YouTube TV proposed restoring ABC and ESPN, in response to Disney's request to bring back ABC to the pay-TV service for Election Day coverage. "YouTube TV continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions," Disney Entertainment co-chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a memo on Friday to employees. Disney began talks with YouTube TV by offering YouTube TV a "deal that would cost less overall than the terms of our recently expired license," they said in the memo. "That's real savings that YouTube TV could pass along to its customers." It said it had offered fair terms, in line with agreements reached by other distributors since last summer, according to the memo. YouTube TV did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. One of the largest U.S. pay-TV distributors, YouTube TV has been in a series of negotiations this year with companies threatening to pull their networks from the platform. Disney's networks went dark YouTube TV late last Thursday after talks failed to produce a licensing deal, the companies said in separate statements. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

(Reuters) -Disney said on Friday that it is continuing negotiations with Google's YouTube TV to bring back ABC and ESPN after the entertainment giant's networks went dark on the pay-TV service. On Monday, YouTube TV proposed restoring ABC and ESPN, in response to Disney's request to bring back ABC to the pay-TV service for Election Day coverage. "YouTube TV continues to insist on receiving preferential terms that are below market and has made few concessions," Disney Entertainment Co-Chairs Dana Walden and Alan Bergman and ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told employees in a Friday memo. Disney's networks went dark on YouTube TV after negotiations failed to reach a licensing deal, the companies said in separate statements late last Thursday. (Reporting by Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Tasim Zahid)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)