Category Entertainment News

Fresh from his success at the Grammys and a triumphant Super Bowl halftime show, Puerto Rican megastar Bad Bunny is set to take the lead role in an all-star film, producers announced Wednesday.

“Porto Rico,” which will be directed by Grammy-winning rapper Rene “Residente” Perez Joglar, is described as a cross between a Caribbean western and a historical drama about the island both men call home.

The film will also feature stars such as Viggo Mortensen, Javier Bardem, and Edward Norton, and will be produced by Academy Award winner Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

“Porto Rico” tells the story of Jose Maldonado Roman, known as “Aguila Blanca” (White Eagle), a revolutionary who fought against colonialism in the late 19th century.

“I have dreamed of making a film about my country since I was a child,” said Perez Joglar.

“Puerto Rico’s true history has always been surrounded by controversy.

“This film is a reaffirmation of who we are — told with the intensity and honesty that our history deserves.”

READ ALSO: Bad Bunny Celebrates Puerto Rico At Super Bowl

The film fuses “historical scope with a visceral, lyrical approach and a gripping narrative inspired by true events,” a statement added.

The rapper and founder of Calle 13 posted a carousel of historical photos and thanked the team accompanying him on the film project, which will center on Bad Bunny.

The 31-year-old reggaeton artiste is on an unstoppable streak.

At the beginning of February, Bad Bunny won three Grammys with his acclaimed “DeBI Tirar Mas Fotos,” which was crowned album of the year, a first for an all-Spanish language offering.

A week later, he delivered his Super Bowl halftime show, the most-watched musical performance in the world, with over 120 million viewers, in which he celebrated the rhythms, colors, flavors, and traditions of Puerto Rico.

While many people acclaimed the joyous performance, President Donald Trump griped that he could not understand what was being said because it was in Spanish.

The performer, whose real name is Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio had already ventured into film with minor roles in movies like “Bullet Train,” alongside Brad Pitt, and “Caught Stealing,” with Austin Butler.

But “Porto Rico” will mark another milestone in the career of the most popular performer on the planet.

Residente, also an actor and producer, said he had been looking for someone to lead his directorial debut who “feels Puerto Rico as deeply as I do and who is as proud as I am when they sing our true anthem.”

Edward Norton, who also produces, highlighted the potential of the Residente-Bad Bunny duo.

“Everybody knows what a poet of language and rhythm Rene is. Now they’re going to see what a visual visionary he is as well,” said Norton, who recently appeared in Olivia Wilde’s “The Invite” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

US pop star Taylor Swift was crowned the biggest-selling global artist of 2025, industry body IFPI announced Wednesday, the fourth consecutive year and sixth time she has claimed its annual prize.

The 36-year-old’s success was turbo-charged by the October release of her latest album, “The Life of a Showgirl”, which set several streaming records, and by the release of a docuseries about her record-breaking The Eras tour.

“2025 was another landmark year (for Swift), driven by exceptional worldwide engagement across streaming, physical and digital formats with the release of her 12th album … and the documentary of her tour,” IFPI said.

The body, which represents the recorded music industry worldwide, noted Swift had now won its top annual artist prize as many times as all other artists combined over the past 10 years.

READ ALSO: Taylor Swift Breaks Down In Eras Documentary Over Southport Attack

IFPI hands out the Global Artist of the Year Award after calculating an artist’s or group’s worldwide sales across streaming, downloads and physical music formats during the calendar year and covers their entire body of work.

Swift beat out Korean group Stray Kids, which came in second — its highest-ever ranking and the third consecutive year in the global top five.

Fresh from his Super Bowl halftime show, Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny placed fifth in the rankings, his sixth consecutive year in the chart.

American rapper Tyler, The Creator marked his first appearance on the chart, in 12th place, with IFPI noting he had “continued to generate strong vinyl sales across his catalogue”.

London Fashion Week launched on Thursday with a rare visit from King Charles III.

The king surprised crowds when his car pulled up outside a show by British-Nigerian designer Tolu Coker.

After shaking hands and greeting industry leaders and designers, Charles took a front-row seat between British Fashion Council chief executive officer Laura Weir and top UK designer Stella McCartney.

It was one of several public duties the king carried out on Thursday, apparently seeking to project an air of business-as-usual.

The monarch, dressed suavely in a grey suit with turned-up hems, presented McCartney with a scarf after touring stands of clothes showcasing various designers.

One of the designers showing in the coming days is 27-year-old Joshua Ewusie, a breakout British creator born to Ghanaian parents who is due to put on his second show with his brand “E.W.Usie”.

The young designer has been supported by the King’s Foundation, a charity founded by Charles, helping to provide a studio space shortly after he graduated from the prestigious Central Saint Martins school. One of the foundation’s partners is Chanel.

Royal Flavour

London Fashion Week (LFW) is better known for nurturing new talent than big-name shows, and Ewusie epitomises the event’s ability to give a platform to rising stars.

His hometown, London, which boasts several fashion schools, provides “great support for young designers,” Ewusie told AFP ahead of his LFW presentation on Sunday.

“There are so many opportunities, I think, that London gives to help young brands start,” he added.

Coker, whose show the king attended, launched her brand in 2018.

Her catwalk, which featured elegant, mainly unisex designs inspired by diverse identities, highlighted “craftsmanship, sustainability and the creative industries”, fashion week organisers said in a statement.

The king’s presence, they added, reinforced “British fashion’s place on the world stage”.

Not far away, at the Waldorf Hotel, a tribute was held to one of Fashion Week’s stalwarts, Paul Costelloe, who died in November aged 80.

The Irish-American’s romantic, sartorial catwalks were a regular fixture on the opening day of the London fashion week since the inception of the show in 1984.

His son William Costelloe is now the creative director of the brand, which wrote on social media ahead of its LFW Autumn/Winter 2026 opening show: “A new season. A powerful moment. A legacy moving forward.”

Other notable names, including Harris Reed and Richard Quinn, are returning to the catwalk in London, with Burberry closing the week in its usual fashion on Monday evening.

Other labels will bring a royal flavour to the runway, with brands worn by Princess Catherine including Emilia Wickstead, Edeline Lee and Erdem putting on shows.

Fashion Incubator

However, there will be no show from the breakout Northern Irish designer Jonathan Anderson, who was one of the most eagerly awaited at London Fashion Week in recent seasons.

The 41-year-old took over at Dior last June, leaving little time for his own brand, JW Anderson, which he founded in 2008.

For several years, London has been losing ground to rivals in Paris and Milan, but it has clung onto its role as a breeding ground for young talent.

The British Fashion Council’s NewGen initiative provides funding for emerging talent, with several up-and-coming designers finding their stride at LFW through the incubator.

For more than a decade, the global rise of Afrobeats has been charted not only in streams and sold-out arenas but also in milestones that once seemed out of reach for African musicians.

On Wednesday, Nigerian superstar Burna Boy added another defining moment to that story, becoming the first African artist to place at least one song on the Billboard Hot 100 for six consecutive years, a streak spanning 2021 to 2026.

The landmark was sealed when “Only You,” his collaboration with J. Cole, debuted on the chart the week of February 21, 2026, at peak 78.

The cross-genre record, which combines introspective rap with Afro-fusion and reggae influences, appears on Cole’s long-anticipated album The Fall-Off.

Beyond another chart entry, the moment symbolised the Grammy award-winning singer’s sustained presence at the heart of the global music conversation.

READ ALSO: Tems Makes History With Seven Billboard Hot 100 Entries

Billboard Hot 100 Journey

The Billboard Hot 100 is the music industry’s definitive weekly chart in the United States, ranking songs based on streaming, radio airplay, and sales.

Since 1958, it has been the main measure of a song’s popularity and a major marker of mainstream success.

Beyond prestige, the chart influences revenue and marketing decisions, making it both a cultural benchmark and a powerful business tool in the global music industry.

Burna Boy’s Hot 100 journey began in 2021 with a feature on Justin Bieber’s “Loved By You,” a modest debut that quietly signalled his arrival on the chart.

The34-year-old singer returned a year later with “Last Last,” the global hit that became his longest-charting record and a defining moment in his international breakthrough.

In 2023, his presence intensified with two appearances: “Sittin’ On Top Of The World” featuring 21 Savage and “Talibans II” with Byron Messia.

The momentum carried into 2024, when he again logged multiple entries, including “Just Like Me” with Seyi Vibez and 21 Savage, as well as “We Pray” with Coldplay, highlighting his reach across both mainstream pop and alternative audiences.

By 2025, his feature on Gunna’s “WGFT” ensured the streak continued, paving the way for 2026’s “Only You” with J. Cole.

This latest entry not only maintained his record of placing a song on the Hot 100 for six consecutive years but also brought his total career entries to eight, making him one of the most charted African artistes in history

Burna Boy’s chart dominance arrives amid a golden era for African music, where commercial achievements often feed into long-running fan debates about leadership within the genre.

While comparisons with peers such as Wizkid and Davido remain a fixture of pop culture discourse, Burna Boy’s consecutive-year streak pushes the statistical benchmark that sets him apart in terms of sustained international visibility.

Yet the moment is not his alone.

Temilade Openiyi, aka Tems, has quietly built a milestone of her own.

READ ALSO: Afrobeats Going Through ‘A Purge,’ Returning To Its Roots — Joeboy

With the debut of her single “What You Need” on the Billboard Hot 100, the 30-year-old became the first African female artiste to record seven entries on the chart, even securing two spots in the same week, spotlighting the growing appetite for African voices led by women.

Beyond The Charts

The chart milestone caps an eventful period for Burna Boy.

His 2025 album No Sign of Weakness earned a nomination for Best Global Music Album at the 2026 Grammys, where Brazil’s Caetano Veloso and Maria Bethânia ultimately took the prize, while South Africa’s Tyla won Best African Music Performance.

On the live circuit, the award-winning singer continues to command major stages.

He is slated to headline the 2026 edition of the Reggae Land Festival in the United Kingdom and is also billed for Afro Nation Portugal, reinforcing his role as a festival mainstay capable of bridging audiences across genres and countries.

Global Moment

Born Damini Ebunoluwa Ogulu in Port Harcourt, Burna Boy has shaped his career around what he describes as Afro-fusion, a mixture of Afrobeats, dancehall, reggae, hip-hop and pop that gives his music both global appeal and an African core.

That sound has made it easy for him to move across markets and collaborate with international stars without losing his identity, at a time when streaming platforms are breaking down borders and pushing African music deeper into the mainstream.

Award-winning Nigerian filmmaker Kunle Afolayan has entered a major international partnership with the Benin Republic government, signing a landmark Memorandum of Understanding.

The agreement with the Société de Productions Audiovisuelles (SOPA) was signed on Thursday in Lagos, positioning Afolayan and Kunle Afolayan Productions as strategic partners in Benin’s efforts to develop a globally competitive film ecosystem.

Central to the partnership is the planned co-production of a large-scale Orisha/Vodun-themed television series.

The project will merge Nigerian and Beninese cultural narratives, drawing from shared spiritual traditions to create a story designed for international audiences.

Producers say the series will employ advanced production techniques, including the innovative use of artificial intelligence for pre-visualisation, virtual environments, visual effects, and story development.

The collaboration highlights Afolayan’s expanding influence beyond Nigeria, building on the global reception of projects such as Aníkúlápó.

Kunle Afolayan

Born in 1974, Afolayan is widely credited with elevating production standards in Nollywood through technically refined and culturally grounded storytelling.

He is the son of late filmmaker Adeyemi Josiah Afolayan, also known as Ade Love, and studied Economics at the University of Lagos before obtaining a diploma in digital filmmaking from the New York Film Academy.

READ ALSO: Acting Was My Calling, Not Just Family Legacy – Gabriel Afolayan

In recent years, the filmmaker has expanded his creative reach with projects distributed on Netflix and films such as Recall.

His extended creative enterprise, KAP Group, oversees key industry infrastructure, including the KAP Film & Television Academy and the KAP Film Village & Resort, both designed to train talent and support large-scale productions.

Afolayan is also recognised as a leading figure of the “New Nollywood” movement, noted for high-budget films that prioritise strong narratives and technical excellence.

His breakthrough feature, The Figurine (Araromire), is widely regarded as a landmark production and won multiple honours, including Best Picture at the Africa Movie Academy Awards.

He later achieved commercial and global success with October 1, a historical psychological thriller that performed strongly at the box office and received major award nominations.



Other notable titles in his filmography include the romantic comedy Phone Swap, the socially conscious drama Citation, and the coming-of-age story Mokalik, all of which elevated his reputation for harmonising entertainment with social commentary.