Stay Tuned

The Daily Star, Oneonta, N.Y., Friday, November 20, 2020 4 By Kyla Brewer TV Media A lot has changed in the past several months, but one thing that never seems to change is the power of music to unite us. This year it seems especially important to find safe ways to celebrate, and the stars of the music in- dustry are poised to do just that in the days ahead. Join in the celebration as fans and recording artists cele- brate outstanding achieve- ments in music at The 48th An- nual American Music Awards, airing Sunday, Nov. 22, on ABC. The ceremony may look a little — or a lot — different this year, but the awards will still celebrate a mix of genres, from rock and hip hop to country and pop. There's a tie for top nomi- nees for this year's awards. Both The Weeknd and Roddy Ricch scored eight nomina- tions each. They'll go head- to-head for both Artist of the Year and Song of the Year. Ricch is also up for New Artist of the Year; Collaboration of the Year (with DaBaby); Fa- vorite Song, Pop/Rock; Favor- ite Male Artist, Rap/Hip Hop; Favorite Album, Rap/Hip Hop; and Favorite Song, Rap/Hip Hop. Meanwhile, The Week- nd's other nominations in- clude Favorite Song, Soul/ R&B; Favorite Album, Soul/ R&B; Favorite Male Artist, Soul/R&B; Favorite Album, Pop/Rock; Favorite Male Art- ist, Pop/Rock; and Favorite Music Video. Those are impressive lists, but the two recording artists face some stiff competition from some of the music indus- try's heaviest hitters. Newcom- er Megan Thee Stallion clocked in with the second-highest number of nominations for New Artist of the Year; Favorite Female Artist, Rap/Hip Hop; Favorite Song, Rap/Hip Hop; and two for Collaboration of the Year — one for her work with Cardi B on "WAP" and the other for her work with Be- yoncé on "Savage Remix." Six different acts earned four nominations each this time around. DaBaby, Bad Bunny, Doja Cat, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift could each take home as many as four awards. Swift and Bieber join The Weeknd and Ricch, along with Post Malone, in the Artist of the Year category. It's a category Swift knows well, as the singer is the current record holder for the most Artist of the Year wins with five. Should she win in any of the four catego- ries in which she's nominated this year, she'll break her own record for the most AMA wins of all time. At the 2019 Ameri- can Music Awards, Swift was honored as the Artist of the De- cade and broke Michael Jack- son's previous record of 25 AMA wins. She now has 29 American Music Awards to her credit and could walk away with even more before Novem- ber is over. Even Swift may find it diffi- cult to compete with the rising popularity of R&B, hip hop and Latin music. In fact, the genres have been gaining such main- stream momentum that the American Music Awards have expanded its categories to re- flect their current popularity and relevance. They include Fa- vorite Male Artist and Favorite Female Artist for Rap/Hip Hop and Favorite Male Artist, Favor- ite Female Artist, Favorite Al- bum and Favorite Song for Lat- in Music. Other notable nominations include one for late rapper Juice WRLD, who died in De- cember. He is up posthumously for Favorite Male Artist, Rap/ Hip Hop. In the country genre, Dan + Shay picked up three nominations: Favorite Song, Country; Favorite Duo or Group, Country; and Collabo- ration of the Year for "10,000 Hours" with Bieber. Former One Direction member Harry Styles could pick up his first solo award for Favorite Album, Pop/Rock. Of course, watching awards shows isn't only about seeing your favorite stars accept awards. It's also an opportunity to see some of the world's most popular acts perform, and this year should be no dif- ferent. In October, Billboard magazine put the call out to fans to see who should per- form at this year's ceremony. The list of suggestions included The Weeknd, Taylor Swift, Rod- dy Ricch, BTS, Megan Thee Stallion, Billie Eilish, DaBaby and Bad Bunny among others. coverstory Taylor Swift is nominated for Artist of the Year The beat goes on: Stars celebrate at the American Music Awards By Adam Thomlison TV Media Q: Who was the actor who played the deposed dicta- tor in "The Bourne Identity" (one of my favorite mov- ies)? I'm sure I recognize him from something. A: You almost certainly do. Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje has been involved in some enormous film and TV projects over the past few years. He was already on the Hollywood map before appearing in 2002's "The Bourne Identity," in the relatively small but de- manding role of a deposed dictator trying to shake down the CIA (communicated through a series of wild-eyed, tooth- gnashing monologues). Prior to that, he had won a couple of awards playing Simon Adebisi on HBO's awards-magnet series "Oz." He had also ap- peared in a couple of films that, though less prestigious, brought in a whole lot of cash: 1995's "Congo" and "Ace Ven- tura: When Nature Calls" and 2001's "The Mummy Returns." Not surprisingly for an actor with that kind of range, he's been pretty busy ever since, and in plenty more high-profile stuff. On TV, he had a 28-episode run in seasons 2 and 3 of "Lost" as Mr. Eko, and did two episodes as the slave ship captain Mal- ko in the fifth season of "Game of Thrones." On the big screen, he recently appeared as Killer Croc in the mega-hit comic book flick "Suicide Squad" (2016) and in a smaller role in the equally large comic book movie "Thor: The Dark World" (2013). Under less makeup (but still some make- up), he played Heavy Duty in 2009's "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Co- bra." Q: Was "Father Dowling Mysteries" based on any- thing? Are there books? A: There are books, and then there are other books. This could lead you down a deep literary rabbit hole. "Father Dowling Mysteries," the feather-light mystery series starring Tom Bosley (of "Happy Days" fame) as a priest with a sideline in sleuthing, was based on a series of Father Dowling novels by American author Ralph McInerny. However, mystery heads will note the character's similarities with another popular clergyman-turned-crime fighter, Father Brown. In McInerny's obituary (he died in 2010), Britain's Telegraph newspaper wrote that he "fashioned Dowling as a spiritual heir to G.K. Chesterton's Father Brown, compassionate but not entirely worldly." So, if you loved "Father Dowling Mysteries," which aired for three seasons, first on NBC and then on ABC, from 1989 to 1991, and you were hoping to get more, you have plenty of reading to do. McInerny wrote 29 Father Dowling novels, from his intro- duction in "Her Death of Cold" in 1977 to the final novel, "Stained Glass," in 2009. But, if you finish those in a hurry (they promise to be breezy reads), then you have the 53 Father Brown short stories writ- ten by G.K. Chesterton. You also, of course, have the TV series "Father Brown" to plow through — eight seasons in and going strong on the BBC in the U.K., and over here on PBS and online. Have a question? Email us at questions@tvtabloid.com. Please include your name and town. Personal replies will not be provided. hollywoodQ&A Towne Floring 3 x 2

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