Pretoria News Weekend 2023-03-18

Rising 28-year-old South African dancer and rapper Costa Titch (born Costa Tsobanoglou) died after collapsing on stage last Saturday while performing in Johannesburg. Titch entered the entertainment world as a dancer with Cassper Nyovest, another South African hip hop megastar, before trying his luck as a rapper, often dabbling in the country’s amapiano dance music genre. He had a huge hit with his track Big Flexa and was destined to shine bright on the country’s music scene. Being white, Nelspruit-born Titch brought new colour and a distinctive flavour to the music scene with his use of African languages, earnest experiments in cultural subversion and elaborate urban dance routines that challenged the “white men can’t dance” myth. There are other reasons why Titch’s role in the country’s music scene can be…

Up-and-coming actor and musician Luthando “BU” Mthembu is working hard on establishing himself as a name in the entertainment industry. Born in KwaMashu, KwaZulu-Natal, Mthembu, also known as BU the Zulu Vegan, became known to Mzansi as a contestant in the third season of Big Brother Mzansi. He has gone on to show that he is a multi-talented individual, with his achievements in music and acting. The 32-year-old actor has had roles in Ayeye: Stripped and Redemption, which he auditioned for, something he is a firm believer in, and as a singer, he has an EP on the way. Critics might argue that Mthembu is landing his acting gigs because he was on Big Brother Mzansi. It’s no secret that reality shows are known to be platforms for individuals to…

Megan Thee Stallion is working on new music. The 28-year-old rap star – whose real name is Megan Jovon Ruth Pete – released her second studio album Traumazine in August last year, but after joking that she managed to get tickets to Beyoncé’s upcoming Renaissance World Tour by simply calling the superstar directly, teased that she is working on what will be her third record. Speaking at the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscar Party, she told Entertainment Tonight: “Oh I’m gonna tell you how I got them [tickets]. Oh, baby, you know I called Beyoncé directly. “You know Beyoncé is my aunty. This is my first night out and I am here! Oh, and I am (working) on a new album!” The Sweetest Pie hitmaker has enjoyed huge success over recent…

Avril Lavigne is filming a tell-all documentary. The 38-year-old singer has joined forces with Disney+ to create a documentary exploring her journey in the music business. A source told The Sun newspaper’s Bizarre column: “Avril has been hard at work on this in-depth documentary for a while now and the makers have hundreds of hours of footage. “She talks at length about her life, from how she got her break in music. Some of her showbiz pals will also be in the film talking about her. Avril was a teenager when she released her hit debut album so her career has been interesting. There’s a lot to talk about.” Meanwhile, Lavigne previously admitted that she found teenage stardom to be “really awkward”. The singer shot to fame during her teens,…

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi is not just good on the field. A t home, he’s a present, caring father. The proud father took to Instagram to share a video of himself doing his daughter Keziah’s hair. He was brushing her curls with Beyoncé’s Brown Skin Girl playing in the background. And while the results were great, his followers advised him to be more gentle next time. @Themombum: “You must hold the hair above where you are brushing, not the whole head like rugby ball this girl is brave, mine would have been moaning every brush stroke!” While they joked about how he was holding her head like a rugby ball, Kolisi said the next hairstyle will be braiding. “Next step is braids #forher Representing our @netballsa team. World Cup is…

Gwyneth Paltrow has found rectal ozone therapy to be “very helpful”. The 50-year-old actress has revealed that the therapy – which involves having gas delivered via a catheter into the colon – is the weirdest wellness treatment she’s ever tried. During an appearance on the Art of Being Well podcast, Paltrow said: “I have used ozone therapy, rectally. Can I say that? It’s pretty weird. It’s pretty weird, yeah. But it’s been very helpful.” The Oscar-winning actress also revealed that she’s consumed ketone drinks as part of her wellness journey. Paltrow observed that the drinks tasted like “cherry gasoline”. She said: “It helps with cognition and brain fog and energy. I have it with green tea in the afternoon. It tastes pretty, pretty bad. I believe they are coming out…