Katrina
Welcome to the Fuzzmas Advent Awards, a series running every day throughout December celebrating all our favourite things from 2018. Today we’re counting down our top ten celebrity news stories from this year.
2018 has definitely been an eventful year in the world of showbiz. As usual, we’ve embraced the good and the bad, the shocking and the surprising, and it’s safe to say that 2018 is a year which will be remembered in pop culture history for a long time to come.
However, for day fourteen of our Fuzzmas Advent Awards, we’re focusing on some of the biggest and most positive celebrity news pieces which have brought a smile to our faces this year. From comebacks to record breakers, breathtaking marriage ceremonies to the new era of Kardashian-Jenners, here are ten of our celeb news story highlights from 2018.
10. Joe Sugg joins Strictly Come Dancing
Back in August, YouTuber Joe Sugg was announced as a contestant on this year’s Strictly Come Dancing, marking the first social media star and internet celebrity to ever take part on the show. Whilst many doubted his ability, here at Fuzzable we knew he’d be a golden sign up and he most definitely hasn’t let us down.
Over the course of the series, he and his partner Dianne Buswell have wowed the audience, with Joe flourishing into a beautiful dancer. On Saturday, they will compete in the grand final and we have everything crossed for Team Joanne to take home the glitterball trophy. Whatever happens, Joe has definitely paved the way for YouTubers and we anticipate seeing a lot more of them on our TV screens in the future.
9. Taylor Swift breaks records with Reputation Tour
2018 has been a great year for Taylor Swift, with the songstress spending most of it on the road with her Reputation World Tour. Along the way, Taylor broke numerous records in terms of venue attendance and grossing. She set new venue records in both gross and attendance during the debut performance at University of Phoenix Stadium, whilst also topping her own gross and attendance counts during her visit to Levi’s Stadium.
Additionally, Taylor broke records during her Pasadena, Seattle and Denver shows. She also made history as the first female artist to headline Dublin’s Croke Park twice, and the first woman to headline three consecutive nights at MetLife Stadium and Gillette Stadium.
The Reputation tour also became the highest grossing tour of all time in the United States. After 38 dates, the tour sold over 2 million tickets and grossed $266.1 million in sales, taking the title away from The Rolling Stones who grossed $245 million from their 2005-2007 A Bigger Bang Tour. For those of you who missed the tour, or simply want to relive it, a filmed recording of her incredible tour will be available to stream on Netflix on the morning of New Year’s Eve.
8. John Legend gains EGOT status
In September, John Legend won a Primetime Emmy for his work on Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. In return, he became one of only 15 people to achieve EGOT status, meaning that he’s won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and a Tony.
John is the first black man to gain EGOT status, and the first person to receive the four awards in four consecutive years. He completed the achievement in the shortest time (3 years, 7 months) and is also the second youngest person to achieve this.
John has won 10 Grammys during his career, most recently one in 2016 for Best Song Written for Visual Media for ‘Glory’. He took home a Best Original Song Oscar for ‘Glory’ in 2015, and a Tony in 2017 for Best Revival of a Play for Jitney. His Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) completed the pack.
7. Westlife announce their reunion
Over the years we’ve been highly anticipating many band reunions, and there’s no doubt that the return of Westlife has been high on our list of hopes. On October 3, they delighted fans across the world with a simple 30 second video which saw them reunite and announce that new music and a new tour would be “coming soon”.
A few weeks later, Westlife announced The Twenty Tour, which will kick off across the UK in May 2019. After originally announcing 12 dates, the tour has since been expanded to cover 32 dates due to phenomenal demand. The band, made up of Shane Filan, Nicky Byrne, Kiam Egan and Mark Feehily, will also be releasing a brand new album next year, meaning that Westlife fans have loads to look forward to in 2019.
6. Ariana Grande breaks records with ‘thank u, next’
Ariana Grande has spent most of 2018 in the headlines, from the success of her Sweetener era to her love life. However, her biggest triumph this year is without doubt her single ‘thank u, next’. Released as the first track from her forthcoming album of the same name, ‘thank u, next’ sees Ariana thank many of her famous exes for the lessons they taught her whilst also acknowledging that self-love and empowerment is equally as important.
Since its release, the track has continuously broken records across the board. ‘thank u, next’ broke the record for the most streams received by a song in a single day by a female artist on Spotify on November 5, with Ariana breaking her own record every day through until November 9. The track is also the fastest to surpass 100 million streams, doing so in 11 days.
‘thank u, next’ broke numerous records on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and marked Ariana’s first number one in the country. Amongst other countries it also debuted at number one in the UK, marking Ariana’s third UK number one. The track recently scored the biggest one week streams in the UK, notching up 14.9 million plays.
If that wasn’t enough, Ariana’s 2000’s chick flick inspired visual for ‘thank u, next’ broke BTS’ record for the most-watched music video in YouTube within 24 hours with 55.4 million views. It also became the fastest Vevo video to reach 100 million views.
5. Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra get married
2018 has seen many celebrity weddings however, one of the most beautiful was the recent nuptials between Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra. The couple got married at the beginning of this month and shared their stunning pictures with the world.
The lengthy festivities combined both Nick and Priyanka’s cultures and religions, with both a Christian wedding and Hindu ceremony, complete with angeet, mehndi and haldi ceremonies. The couple were joined by their friends and family, including Nick’s brothers Joe and Kevin, who attended with fiancée Sophie Turner and wife Danielle Jonas respectively.
4. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle get married and announce baby news
The only wedding bigger than Nick and Priyanka’s this year was the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle back in May. The Royal couple married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, with the ceremony being broadcast across the world and watched by a global audience of over 2 billion.
The ceremony included an empowering sermon from The Most Reverend Michael Curry, whilst The Kingdom Choir wowed the crowd with a stunning performance of ‘Stand By Me’. The wedding was attended by a number of famous faces including George and Amal Clooney, Idris Elba, Tom Hardy, Oprah Winfrey, Serena Williams, James Corden, David and Victoria Beckham, Sir Elton John, Meghan’s former Suits co-stars, and her good friend Priyanka.
In October, the couple announced via Kensington Palace that they were expecting their first child. Meghan is due to give birth in the Spring, with the baby being seventh in line to the throne.
3. Three new Kardashian-Jenners are born
On the subject of babies, 2018 saw the Kardashian-Jenner clan gain three new members with Kim Kardashian, Kylie Jenner, and Khloé Kardashian all welcoming baby girls. Kim and her husband Kanye West began 2018 by revealing the birth of their third child, Chicago West, via surrogate.
Next up was Kylie, who revealed in February that she’d given birth to her first child, a girl named Stormi. Whilst it was highly speculated that Kylie had been expecting a baby, the reality star and business woman chose not to reveal her pregnancy to the world in the run up to the birth as she wanted to enjoy her special first journey into motherhood and keep it between her family and close friends.
Last but not least, Khloé gave birth to her first child, a baby girl called True, back in April. Having struggled to conceive in the past, Khloé’s pregnancy was extra special and in her own words, her “greatest dream realized”.
2. BTS deliver powerful speech at UNICEF conference
K-Pop group BTS have had a phenomenal 2018, from winning awards to achieving global chart success. However, one of their most sensational achievements this year was delivering a powerful speech at UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited conference. Having already teamed up with UNICEF as ambassadors for their #EndViolence campaign while hosting their Love Myself campaign, the group – who strive to portray positive messages within their music – were the perfect candidates to deliver a passionate message at the conference.
RM, the group’s leader, delivered an emotive speech which expressed the struggles he faced in his youth as he battled with other people’s opinions of himself, yet ultimately encouraged others to know their worth as an individual, embrace your passions, and to be the best version of yourself.
During the most poignant part of his speech, RM said: “Yesterday’s me is still me. Today, I am who I am with all of my faults and my mistakes…I have come to love myself for who I am, for who I was, and for who I hope to become…No matter who you are, where you’re from, your skin colour, your gender identity, just speak yourself.”
BTS are continuously a positive influence for their fans thanks to their thought-provoking music, however, their UNICEF speech allowed them to reach non-ARMY on a global scale, and proved why they are some of the most influential young men in the industry right now.
1. Spice Girls make their highly anticipated return
If we had a pound for each time we heard a Spice Girls reunion rumour, we’d be able to happily retire right now. After months of ‘will they, won’t they?’, it was announced in November that the Spice Girls – minus Victoria Beckham – will be reuniting for a UK stadium tour next year. Geri, Emma, Mel B and Mel C confirmed the news with quite possibly our favourite video announcement of all time, which definitely spiced up our life.
Initially the girlband announced six dates, however, after astronomical demand (and breaking Ticketmaster UK’s records for the busiest ticket sales), the Spice World tour is now made up of 14 stadium dates across the UK. The girls will be joined by Jess Glynne as a support act across all shows.
Since announcing their reunion, the Spice Girls have already been spreading their Girl Power for good with the launch of their #IWANNABEASPICEGIRL t-shirt range in aid of Comic Relief’s Gender Justice initiative.
