Nica Veronica: June 2014

Monday, June 30, 2014

Beyonce tops Forbes celebrity power list

Beyonce has topped the Forbes celebrity power list for the first time since her debut on the list in 2004.

The singer, who has earned an estimated $115m (£67.4m) in the last year, was joined by her husband Jay-Z at number 6, who made $60m (£35.1m).

The pair are currently on a joint tour of the US.

Last year, they were named the highest-earning celebrity couple by Forbes. In 2013, they jointly earned an estimated $95m (£59m).

Forbes' Celebrity 100 also takes into account fame, which the magazine measures by counting the number of mentions in print, TV and radio.

It also uses a score system that measures social media power across 11 platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.

Basketball player LeBron James is ranked second place on this year's list, while hip hop star Dr Dre occupies third spot with the highest takings in this year's Top 10 - $620m (£363m).

Source: BBC

BET Awards 2014

The 2014 BET Awards ceremony took place Sunday, and the night's big winner was Beyonce. The pop superstar nabbed three awards, including the 2014 FANdemonium award, voted on by viewers. Pharrell Williams and August Alsina also had a happy night, taking home two awards apiece.

Nicki Minaj won for best female hip hop star, and in her acceptance speech, she praised herself as a hip-hop star who doesn't have someone writing for her, an apparent dig at Iggy Azalea. Drake beat out Jay Z for best male hip hop star.

12 Years a Slave was chosen as best movie, with the film's stars, Lupita Nyong’o and Chiwetel Ejiofor, taking home acting awards. Lionel Richie was honored as the lifetime achievement award recipient.

One memorable moment of the night was Kevin Hart interrupting presenter Kerry Washington and referring to himself as "Oliver Pope," a reference to Washington's Scandal character, Olivia Pope. At another point, host Chris Rock tried to one-up 2014 Oscar host Ellen DeGeneres by passing out chicken and waffles from L.A. favorite Roscoe's.

The awards began under the shadow of violence, with one man shot to death and another stabbed in two separate pre-show incidents. BET said the preshow parties at which the violence occurred were not officially affiliated with the awards show. During the show, Rock joked that this is the only awards show where people worry about their safety.