Blind and autistic singer Kodi Lee wins America’s Got Talent

Fan favourite Kodi Lee has been crowned the winner of America’s Got Talent.

Lee, who is blind and has autism, had been a front-runner on the show since wowing judges with his first audition.

The 22-year-old triumphed during Wednesday’s final, with America’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowellsaying it was the “best final I have ever Kodi Lee America’s Got Talentsat in on in my life”.

He won after performing a duet of Calum Scott’s You Are The Reason with British X Factor winner Leona Lewis.

When his name was read out as the winner, Lee jumped for joy while holding his mother Tina’s hand as confetti rained down.

Lee won ahead of opera singer Emanne Beasha, violinist Tyler Butler-Figueroa, singer Benicio Bryant, dance troupe Light Balance Kids and the Ndlovu Youth Choir.

As well as taking home the one million US dollar prize pot (about £802,000), Lee will headline a string of Las Vegas shows in November.

Lee’s story had captivated viewers in the US, who were told he was born with an eye condition called optic nerve hypoplasia and was diagnosed with autism at the age of four.

His mother accompanied him on stage throughout the competition. His rendition of Leon Russell & Friends’ A Song For You in the first round went viral, after he stunned judges Cowell, Gabrielle Union, Julianne Hough and Howie Mandel with his performance.

Tina explained how singing had “saved his life”. She said: “We found out that he loved music really early on. He listened and his eyes just went huge, and he started singing, that’s when I was in tears.

“I realised he’s an entertainer. Through music and performing, he was able to withstand living in this world because when you’re autistic, it’s really hard to do what everybody else does. It actually has saved his life playing music.”

In the semi-final Lee performed a cover of Simon & Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water after Paul Simon approved his use of the song after seeing his first audition.

Katy Perry discusses ending her feud with Taylor Swift

The two pop superstars were involved in a row over backing dancers,which Perry has now said was “just a misunderstanding”.

Swift wrote the 2014 hit Bad Blood about the disagreement while Perry’s 2017 collaboration with Nicki Minaj, Swish Swish, is said to have been her response.

However, the two have now made up and Perry said they wanted to set an example to their global fanbases.

During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she said: “I’m all about redemption and forgiveness and for setting an example for those younger people, that it can be cool to ask for forgiveness and confront someone that you may have an issue with or a problem with and talk it out.”

Relations between the pair began to thaw when Swift was on her Reputation Tour and Perry sent her an olive branch.

They later shared cookies they baked together on Instagram and Perry said since “10 people in the world have as much in common as we do” they should be friends.

Champions League full-time scores

Chelsea 0-1 Valencia

Salzburg 6-2 Genk

Napoli 2-0 Liverpool

Dortmund 0-0 Barcelona

Ajax 3-0 Lille

Benfica 1-2 Leipzig

Westlife announce stadium tour date at Pairc Uí Chaoimh

Chart-toppers Westlife will bring their record-breaking reunion tour back to Ireland with a gig in Cork on August 28.

Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Nicky Byrne and Kian Egan admitted that being privileged to play sell-out concerts for their Irish fans is like "being able to relive your youth."

Shane insisted the concert at Pairc Ui Chaoimh next year will be Ireland's only "bespoke concert" in 2020 - though the band held out the prospect of playing further gigs in Cork if the Friday August 28 gig sells out.

They have ruled out further Irish gigs in 2020.

"It is absolutely fantastic to be playing for our Irish fans. It really is like getting to relive our youth," Shane said.

However, the band said the issue of any further concerts has not been decided.

"That is a matter for Dermot Desmond (MCD) - but we would absolutely love to play more concerts for our Irish fans," Nicky Byrne said.

But the band said any further concerts will definitely be at Pairc Ui Chaoimh.

Mark Feehily, who is due his first child in just three weeks, said they loved their concerts at Croke Park this year but wanted to be able to bring their new bespoke show outside Dublin to other parts of Ireland.

Kian Egan said they were expecting one of the best concerts they have ever played.

"It is going to be a great night and we are really excited about it," he said.

However, the support line up remains a closely guarded secret.

"We will have a special guest for the concert next year - but that won't be announced until Wednesday," Mr Desmond said.

The band said they are delighted to return to Cork having previously played the Live At The Marquee series.

Promoters MCD and Cork GAA hosted a press conference at 8am today (Monday) to unveil details of the major Pairc Uí Chaoimh concert.

The Cork concert will form part of a world tour aimed at supporting the band's eleventh studio album 'Spectrum' which is being released on November 8.

Westlife admitted they were "absolutely blown away" by the astonishing reaction to their comeback concerts in Croke Park last July.

The two gigs proved a sell-out success at the Dublin GAA headquarters - and Westlife said they were now eager for more Irish concerts.

Westlife said the reaction to their Croke Park shows was "absolutely overwhelming" and "very emotional."

They will now be the third major act to play the €70m revamped Pairc Uí Chaoimh after Ed Sheeran played three sell-out concerts in 2018 and Rod Stewart played a single gig there last May.

The four Irish stars recently completed their comeback 'Twenty' tour which opened in Belfast on May 22.

Across a total of 51 concerts in Europe and Asia, they sold an estimated 700,000 tickets.

It included concerts in Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Denmark, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Singapore, the Philippines, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates.

The tour concluded with a high-profile concert in Hyde Park in London on Sunday night.

It saw them celebrating 20 years of hits including a remarkable total of 14 chart-toppers in the UK.

Last June, Mark Feehily and his fiancé Cailean O'Neill revealed that they were set to welcome their first child.

The singer announced at the band's second Croke Park concert that he and his partner were set to become fathers to a baby girl.

All four singers reformed Westlife last October after deciding to take a break from recording and touring in 2012.

Shane said the break turned out to be "the best thing possible" for the band.

Westlife originally formed in 1998 and were managed by Louis Walsh.

They were initially signed by Simon Cowell in the UK and Clive Davis in the US.

On their comeback tour, the band took the UK by storm before going on to perform across South East Asia with a final concert in Indonesia on September 1.

Westlife have already confirmed a gig for Wembley Stadium on August 20 next which is expected to prove an 90,000 ticket sell-out.

Box Office: 'Hustlers' racks up solid $33 million debut, 'Goldfinch' bombs

Boosted by rave reviews and stellar word of mouth, “Hustlers” beat expectations and now ranks as the best start for an STX film, along with the biggest live-action opening weekend for stars Jennifer Lopez and Constance Wu. Directed by Lorene Scafaria, “Hustlers” is based on Jessica Pressler’s 2015 New York magazine article about a group of strippers who turn the tables on their wealthy Wall Street clientele after the 2008 recession hits.

Not all newcomers were as fortunate. Warner Bros.’ “The Goldfinch,” adapted from Donna Tartt’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, misfired with a disastrous $2.6 million from 2,542 locations. Those ticket sales are well behind projections that estimated an opening weekend near $12 million. The mystery drama, which cost $40 million to produce, stars Ansel Elgort stars as Theo, a young man who turns to art forgery after losing his mother in a freak tragedy. “The Goldfinch” was skewered by critics after it premiered at the Toronto Film Festival.

Despite a sour start for “The Goldfinch,” Warner Bros. still dominated box office charts. For the second weekend in a row, “It: Chapter Two” was the No. 1 movie in North America. The scary sequel pocketed another $40 million this weekend, boosting its domestic tally to $153 million. Between “It: Chapter Two” and its predecessor, the franchised based on Stephen King’s horror novel has generated over $1 billion worldwide.

Lionsgate’s “Angel Has Fallen” slid to third place, adding $4.4 million in its fourth weekend of release. At No. 4, Universal’s comedy “Good Boys” picked up $4.2 million, taking its bounty to a solid $73 million in North America. Rounding out the top five is Disney’s “The Lion King” with $3.5 million. After nine weeks in theaters, the remake has amassed a mighty $534 million at the domestic box office.

Reuters

Tyson Fury in hospital for stitches to eye after gruelling Wallin win

The Gypsy King, 31, battled valiantly to beat the Swede southpaw in a unanimous points victory, taking it 116-112, 117-111 and 118-110.

But Fury's win was in doubt from the third round after his vision was hampered following a hefty blow to his right eye.

He was later hospitalised to get stitches on the cut of which he shared the before and after pictures.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic to announce Manchester United deal this week: "It will be this summer's big bomb"

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is set to announce where he will play his football next season on Tuesday.

The much sought after Swede is understood to be joining Manchester United on a bumper one-year deal as Jose Mourinho's first signing as boss.
With speculation ramping up as to where his next destination will be Ibrahimovic was quizzed following the 3-0 win over Wales on Sunday.
It has already been confirmed that Ibrahimovic will be allowed to leave Sweden training when the time is right.
Boss Erik Hamren said: "We have days off. We plan our activities and the players can act based on that. I'm not going to speculate about such things." Ibrahimovic is a free agent this summer after his PSG contract expired. He has been linked with a move to Old Trafford for some time and new United boss Jose Mourinho, who coached Ibrahimovic at Inter Milan, is keen to get a deal over the line before a ball is kicked in France. United will have to pay Ibrahimovic £300,000-a-week but will offset that against no transfer fee as he is a free agent. The deal may include a one year option to extend but it is a huge coup for United. Ibrahimovic may not be getting any younger but he has just enjoyed the most prolific goalscoring season of his career, netting 50 times in all competitions for PSG as they completed a domestic treble.