Entertainment
Dua Lipa, Stormzy, white rose pins rule Brit Awards (Round-up)
London, Feb 22 (IANS) Artistes Dua Lipa and Stormzy shined at the 38th edition of Brit Awards, where most stars gave a shout-out to the victims of sexual harassment in solidarity with the Time’s Up movement by sporting white rose pins.
Hip hop star Stormzy, whose real name is Michael Omari, beat artistes like Ed Sheeran and Liam Gallagher in the British Male Solo Artist category. He also grabbed the British Album of the Year at the ceremony that was held at the O2 Arena here, reports guardian.com.
Stormzy’s album “Gangs Signs & Prayer” was up against Lipa’s “Dua Lipa”, Sheeran’s “Divide”, J Hus’ “Common Sense” and Rag’n’Bone Man’s “Human”.
But Lipa also went back home with trophies.
Receiving the first award of the evening for Best British Female Solo Artist, Lipa thanked “every single female that’s been on this stage before me that has given girls like me — not just in the music industry but in society — something to look up to, and has allowed us to dream this big.
“Here’s to more women on these stages, more women winning awards, and more women taking over the world.”
She also received the British Breakthrough Act honour at the ceremony hosted by comedian Jack Whitehall.
The Brit awards became the latest awards ceremony to show support and solidarity with the Time’s Up movement, with artistes including Lipa, Sheeran and Camila Cabello, wearing white rose pins or carrying white roses to protest against sexual harassment in the entertainment industry.
Singers Anne Marie, Ellie Goulding, Sam Smith, Rag’n’Bone Man and Rita Ora also made the gesture after the awards’ organisers invited attendees to don the pins, which were distributed before guests arrived on the red carpet.
Rag’n’Bone Man scored his third Brit award as his track “Human” won Best British Single, reports guardian.com.
Kendrick Lamar was voted Best International Male Solo Artist. He was a surprise performer of the night that also featured performances from Lipa, Sheeran, Stormzy, Justin Timberlake, Smith, Ora and Foo Fighters.
Foo Fighters were awarded Best International Group, their fourth win in the category in their three-decade career. Lorde won the Best International Female Solo Artist.
Gallagher performed “Live forever” as a tribute to the victims of the Manchester arena bombing, after Ariana Grande pulled out earlier in the day due to sickness.
Shortly thereafter, Gorillaz, the cartoon hip-hop band formed by Blur frontman Damon Albarn and illustrator Jamie Hewlett, picked up their first Brit award, having lost out nine times previously since the band was formed 20 years ago.
Following the release of their album “Humanz”, they won best British Group, beating the xx, Royal Blood, Wolf Alice and London Grammar.
Sheeran, who, despite releasing the biggest-selling album in the UK last year with “Divide”, missed out on wins in the top categories. He was, however, awarded the Global Success Award, a non-nominated prize that recognises international commercial success by British artistes.
The night was interspersed with political references. When TV presenter Dermot O’Leary asked what was missing from this year’s ceremony, Emma Willis, presenting an award with him, replied, “Female co-host?”
The evening ended with a performance by Stormzy, moments after winning British Album of the Year, in which he rapped: “Theresa May, where’s that money for Grenfell?”
–IANS
ks/nn/sac
Entertainment
Casino Days Reveal Internal Data on Most Popular Smartphones
International online casino Casino Days has published a report sharing their internal data on what types and brands of devices are used to play on the platform by users from the South Asian region.
Such aggregate data analyses allow the operator to optimise their website for the brands and models of devices people are actually using.
The insights gained through the research also help Casino Days tailor their services based on the better understanding of their clients and their needs.
Desktops and Tablets Lose the Battle vs Mobile
The primary data samples analysed by Casino Days reveal that mobile connections dominate the market in South Asia and are responsible for a whopping 96.6% of gaming sessions, while computers and tablets have negligible shares of 2.9% and 0.5% respectively.
The authors of the study point out that historically, playing online casino was exclusively done on computers, and attribute thе major shift to mobile that has unfolded over time to the wide spread of cheaper smartphones and mobile data plans in South Asia.
“Some of the reasons behind this massive difference in device type are affordability, technical advantages, as well as cheaper and more obtainable internet plans for mobiles than those for computers,” the researchers comment.
Xiaomi and Vivo Outperform Samsung, Apple Way Down in Rankings
Chinese brands Xiaomi and Vivo were used by 21.9% and 20.79% of Casino Days players from South Asia respectively, and together with the positioned in third place with a 18.1% share South Korean brand Samsung dominate the market among real money gamers in the region.
Cupertino, California-based Apple is way down in seventh with a user share of just 2.29%, overshadowed by Chinese brands Realme (11.43%), OPPO (11.23%), and OnePlus (4.07%).
Huawei is at the very bottom of the chart with a tiny share just below the single percent mark, trailing behind mobile devices by Motorola, Google, and Infinix.
The data on actual phone usage provided by Casino Days, even though limited to the gaming parts of the population of South Asia, paints a different picture from global statistics on smartphone shipments by vendors.
Apple and Samsung have been sharing the worldwide lead for over a decade, while current regional leader Xiaomi secured their third position globally just a couple of years ago.
Striking Android Dominance among South Asian Real Money Gaming Communities
The shifted market share patterns of the world’s top smartphone brands in South Asia observed by the Casino Days research paper reveal a striking dominance of Android devices at the expense of iOS-powered phones.
On the global level, Android enjoys a comfortable lead with a sizable 68.79% share which grows to nearly 79% when we look at the whole continent of Asia. The data on South Asian real money gaming communities suggests that Android’s dominance grows even higher and is north of the 90% mark.
Among the major factors behind these figures, the authors of the study point to the relative affordability of and greater availability of Android devices in the region, especially when manufactured locally in countries like India and Vietnam.
“And, with influencers and tech reviews putting emphasis on Android devices, the choice of mobile phone brand and OS becomes easy; Android has a much wider range of products and caters to the Asian online casino market in ways that Apple can’t due to technical limitations,” the researchers add.
The far better integration achieved by Google Pay compared to its counterpart Apple Pay has also played a crucial role in shaping the existing smartphone market trends.
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