Amy Winehouse’s father has stopped the production in Denmark of a play about the late British singer, declining permission for the use of her music and photos in the production, officials said Monday.
The play “Amy,” which was to have opened on Jan. 30 in a 220-seat theater in central Copenhagen, was based on interviews, concerts, Winehouse’s letters and newspaper articles. Denmark’s Royal Theater had earlier been granted a permit to perform the play by the Danish copyright agency Koda.
“We acted in good faith when we gave them the permission for the performance. We believed that the format — a theater play — was OK,” Koda spokesman Nicolaj Hylten-Cavallius said. “We were told by her father and the lawyers around him that we can forget all about the rights for the music, the photos, branding and everything.”
Koda said that Winehouse’s father, Mitch Winehouse, objected to the use of any of her music, photos or belongings, but gave no reason why, Mr. Hylten-Cavallus said.
“Amy,” written by a group of 11 Danish playwrights, depicted her life and use of drugs and alcohol.
The Grammy-winning British soul singer, known for her beehive hairdo, died from alcohol poisoning in July last year at the age of 27.
Bieber gets booed in Canada during halftime performance
Justin Bieber faced a hostile homecoming during his halftime performance at Canada’s football Grey Cup, facing boos and jeers.
The Toronto crowd booed Sunday when the 18-year-old pop star’s face popped up on the JumboTron screen. They booed when a host spoke his name. And they booed as he took the stage and throughout his medley of the chart-topper “Boyfriend” and the disco-inflected “Beauty and a Beat.”
If Mr. Bieber was bothered, it didn’t show.
“Thank you so much Canada,” Mr. Bieber said. “I love you.”
Earlier in the week, Mr. Bieber was presented with a Diamond Jubilee Medal by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and caused a scene by wearing overalls, unbuttoned on one shoulder, over a white T-shirt, with a backward baseball cap.
There was sufficient uproar that Mr. Harper even weighed in on Twitter.
“In fairness to [Mr. Bieber],” Mr. Harper tweeted Sunday, “I told him I would be wearing my overalls too.”
The Canadian Football League may have been hoping to court Mr. Bieber’s army of tween followers on Sunday. But recent Grey Cup halftime performers have skewed toward the comparatively heavy likes of Nickelback and Lenny Kravitz.
“J-Biebs doesn’t scream football, you know? Neither does Carly Rae Jepsen,” said Calgary’s Ryan Prisque, 22.
The 27-year-old Miss Jepsen also received a mixed reaction at first Sunday, but won the crowd over during an enthusiastic medley of her latest single, “This Kiss,” and her infectious hit “Call Me Maybe.”
PSY’s ’Gangnam Style’ video most-viewed on YouTube
South Korean rapper PSY’s “Gangnam Style” has become YouTube’s most viewed video of all time.
YouTube said in a posting on its Trends blog that “Gangnam Style” had been viewed 805 million times as of Saturday afternoon, surpassing Justin Bieber’s “Baby,” which had 803 million views. By Monday afternoon the gap had widened further, with “Gangnam Style” racking up more than 827 million views, while Mr. Bieber’s video had more than 805 million views.
The blog said the “velocity of popularity for PSY’s outlandish video is unprecedented.”
PSY’s video featuring his horse-riding dance was posted on YouTube in July, while “Baby” was uploaded in February 2010.
PSY’s video has become a global sensation, with many people around the world mimicking his “Gangnam Style” dance. In their October meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a South Korean, joked that he had to relinquish his title as “the most famous Korean,” and tried a few of PSY’s dance moves.
Chris Brown deletes Twitter account after feud
R&B singer Chris Brown has taken down his Twitter account after a vulgar online exchange with comedian Jenny Johnson.
Miss Johnson said she is receiving death threats on Twitter from Mr. Brown’s supporters.
The fight started when the 23-year-old Mr. Brown posted a picture of himself, saying he looked old. Miss Johnson replied: “I know! Being a worthless piece of (expletive) can really age a person.”
Mr. Brown fired back a series of crude sexual jokes. Miss Johnson posted a link to a news story about Mr. Brown’s 2009 assault on singer Rihanna.
Before deleting his account, Mr. Brown wrote: “Just ask Rihanna if she mad??????” The on-again-off-again couple have been seen together recently.
A representative for Mr. Brown’s record label didn’t immediately respond Monday to an email seeking comment.
Mr. Brown had 11.6 million followers on Twitter.
• Compiled from Web and wire reports
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