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Posts tagged as “Melbourne”

Serena Williams Triumphs over Sister Venus to Win Record 23rd Major Title at Australian Open

Serena Williams Triumphs over Sister Venus to Win Record 23rd Major Title at Australian Open

By goodblacknews on January 28, 2017

ct-serena-williams-venus-venus-williams-austra-003
Serena Williams lifts her trophy after defeating her sister Venus Williams in their women’s singles final match at the Australian Open in Melbourne on Jan. 28, 2017. (Mark R. Cristino / EPA)

article via chicagotribune.com
Serena Williams held up a Grand Slam winner’s trophy for the 23rd time, celebrating her unrivalled place in history, and received a congratulatory letter and a pair of custom-made shoes from Michael Jordan, the name most synonymous with No. 23.
Venus Williams got to watch from close range again, and shed tears more of joy than regret after being beaten in a major final for the seventh time by her record-breaking younger sister.
Serena won the all-Williams final, the ninth in Grand Slam history and the second in Australia, 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday.  With her record seventh Australian Open title, Serena moved ahead of Steffi Graf for the most major titles in the Open era.

When Serena sat on the court, holding both arms up to celebrate on Saturday, Venus walked over to her sister’s side of the net for a hug.  “This was a tough one,” Serena said. “I really would like to take this moment to congratulate Venus, she’s an amazing person — she’s my inspiration.  There’s no way I would be at 23 without her — there’s no way I would be at one without her. Thank you Venus for inspiring me to be the best player I can be and inspiring me to work hard.”
Asked if it felt awkward to be on the receiving end of so many losses to her sister, the 36-year-old Venus didn’t flinch.  “No, because I guess I’ve been here before,” she said. “I really enjoy seeing the name Williams on the trophy. This is a beautiful thing.”
Venus won the last of her seven majors in 2008 at Wimbledon. She didn’t make the second week of a major for a few years as she came to terms with an energy-sapping illness after being diagnosed with Sjogren’s syndrome in 2011. And she only made it back to the semifinals last year at Wimbledon.

Prince Pays Tribute to Late Girlfriend Vanity in 1st Show on Solo Tour in Australia

By goodblacknews on February 16, 2016
Prince on 2016 “Piano and a Microphone” Tour (photo via news.com.au)

article by Cameron Adams via news.com.au

REMEMBER when musicians became superstars because of their talent?

Prince may be the last of his kind.
Australia is the surprise first global leg of his Piano and a Microphone solo tour, a tour which didn’t exist a month ago but will be talked about for years.
Armed just with a piano and that immense talent, Prince put on the kind of concert you just don’t expect to see from a superstar. It was spontaneous and intimate. It was like a private piano party, just with 2,000 people watching. It was pure Prince.
His first Melbourne show at the State Theatre was particularly emotionally charged — Prince admitting he’d just found out about the death of Denise Matthews, aka Vanity, his ex-girlfriend from the early ‘80s and protégé when she fronted the band Vanity 6.
“Someone dear to us has passed away, I’m gonna dedicate this song to her,” Prince said before playing a touching version of “Little Red Corvette” with a touch of “Dirty Mind” — songs from the era when they were together.

First sign of new Prince merchandise
First sign of new Prince merchandise (Source: Supplied)

Prince reworked his classic “The Ladder” to replace the name ‘Electra’ with ‘Vanity’ — so the lyrics ran “This Prince, he had a subject named Vanity who loved him with a passion, uncontested.”

After an encore Prince returned to the stage noting “I am new to this playing alone. I thank you all for being so patient. I’m trying to stay focused, it’s a little heavy for me tonight. Just keep jamming … She knows about this one.” That introduced a truly incredible version of  “The Beautiful Ones,” another song from the Vanity era (she was the original choice for lead in the “Purple Rain” movie), the song ending with Prince changing “my knees” for “Denise … Denise”.
Unusually chatty and candid, he continued going off script. “Can I tell you a story about Vanity? Or should I tell you a story about Denise? Her and I used to love each other deeply.  She loved me for the artist I was, I loved her for the artist she was trying to be.  She and I would fight. She was very headstrong ’cause she knew she was the finest woman in the world. She never missed an opportunity to tell you that.”
Prince then opened up about a fight where he threatened to throw Vanity in the pool.  She said “You can’t throw me in the pool, you’re too little.”  He then asked his six foot bodyguard Chick to do the dirty work for him.  “I probably shouldn’t be telling this story,“ he said, “but she’d want us to celebrate her life and not mourn her.”
To read more, go to: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/prince-pays-tribute-to-late-girlfriend-vanity-in-first-show-on-australian-solo-tour/news-story/d80310448ef160275398c7f36d2f221d

 

Beyoncé-Inspired Skyscraper to Be Built in Australia

By goodblacknews on July 8, 2015
Model of Beyoncé-inspired skyscraper (l); the inspiration (r) [photos via hollywoodreporter.com)
Model of Beyoncé-inspired skyscraper (l); the inspiration (r) [photos via hollywoodreporter.com)

A skyscraper inspired by a fabric-wrapped body in Beyonce‘s “Ghost” music video is set to be built in Melbourne, Australia.  According to Dezeen Magazine, the Elenberg Fraser firm won approval in May to build a 68-story curvaceous skyscraper that will boast 660 apartments and a 160-room hotel, along with retail space.

Parametric modeling was used to design the building’s form, which dips in and out throughout the exterior of the skyscraper. No completion date has been announced.
The Premiere Tower at 134 Spencer Street was designed to respond to climate and wind changes: “The complex form – a vertical cantilever – is actually the most effective way to redistribute the building’s mass, giving the best results in terms of structural dispersion, frequency oscillation and wind requirements,” the Fraser website explains.
Watch the music video below:

“For those more on the art than science side, we will reveal that the form does pay homage to something more aesthetic – we’re going to trust you’ve seen the music video for Beyoncé’s ‘Ghost,'” the Elenberg Fraser site says.
article by Natalie Stone via hollywoodreporter.com