NEWSMAKERS
NEWSMAKERS
Drake tops nominees again for 10th annual BET Hip-Hop Awards
ATLANTA
Drake does it again. For the second-straight year, the Canadian rapper tops nominees for the BET Hip-Hop Awards.
In a statement to The Associated Press, BET said Tuesday that Drake received 12 nominations for the 10th annual awards show. It airs Oct. 13.
Drake’s chart-topping “If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late” became the first platinum-selling album this year. He had 14 songs simultaneously placed on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, tying a record set by The Beatles in 1964.
Rap veteran Snoop Dogg returns for the third- straight year as host of the show, which will be taped Oct. 9 at the Boisfeuillet Jones Atlanta Civic Center.
Big Sean earned 10 nominations and Nicki Minaj scored nine nods. Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole each got eight nominations.
Maya Angelou’s art collection sells for nearly $1.3 million
NEW YORK
The art collection of celebrated writer and civil-rights activist Maya Angelou sold for nearly $1.3 million Tuesday.
A painted story quilt that hung in Angelou’s Harlem home and was commissioned by Oprah Winfrey for Angelou’s 61st birthday brought $461,000 at the Swann Galleries sale.
“Maya’s Quilt of Life” by African-American artist Faith Ringgold depicts Angelou surrounded by flowers along with excerpts from some of her writings. The acrylic on canvas with a pieced fabric border had a pre-sale estimate of $150,000 to $250,000.
The nearly 50 artworks were consigned to the auction house’s African-American Fine Art Department by Angelou’s estate.
Angelou died last year at age 86.
Football season transforming ratings
NEW YORK
Television’s fall season is already in full swing – the football season.
Fresh entertainment programming doesn’t begin until next week, after the Emmy Awards. Football is so dominant now that 11 of the 20 most-watched prime-time programs last week were either games or shows about the games. The top nonfootball event in the rankings, CBS’ “60 Minutes,” is there in large measure because it comes directly after an NFL game.
The Thursday night kickoff game to the NFL season, between Pittsburgh and New England, was seen by 27.4 million people. Only one other game – in 2010 between Minnesota and New Orleans – had more viewers in the 14 years that the NFL has done this season opening game.
In an oddly compelling competition Sunday night, AMC’s “Fear the Walking Dead” narrowly beat ABC’s coverage of the annual “Miss America” pageant, 7.2 million to 7.1 million viewers.
Thanks to the two prime-time NFL games, NBC trounced the competition with an average of 11.3 million viewers last week. CBS had 5.9 million viewers, ABC had 4.3 million, Univision had 2.4 million, Fox had 2.1 million, Telemundo had 1.4 million, ION Television had 1.1 million and the CW had 1.05 million.
Associated Press