Hollywood
Sam Smith wins the ‘Record of the Year’ at Grammy Awards 2015
MUMBAI: Sam Smith dominated the 57th Annual Grammy Awards, which was held on 8 February, 2015, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
Smith swept the top honours for Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album for his smash hit song Stay With Me.
Pharrell Williams beat Smith in the Best Pop Solo Performance category while Pearl Jam’s Jeff Ament scored the Best Recording Package.
Beyoncé took back home the honour for the Best Surround Sound album and closed the night with a powerful performance of Take My Hand Precious Lord.
Kristen Wiigg gave an electrifying dance performance with Sia, while Smith performed to his hit song – Stay With Me with Mary J. Blige.
The complete list of Grammy Awards 2015 winners are as follows:
Record of the Year: Stay with Me (Darkchild Version), Sam Smith
Album of the Year: Morning Phase, Beck
Best New Artist: Sam Smith
Song of the Year: Stay with Me, Sam Smith, songwriters Sam Smith, James Napier & William Phillips
Best Pop Solo Performance: Happy, Pharrell Williams
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance: Say Something, A Great Big World feat. Christina Aguilera
Best Pop Vocal Album: In the Lonely Hour, Sam Smith
Best Dance Recording: Rather Be, Clean Bandit Featuring Jess Glynne
Best Dance/ Electronic Album: Syro, Aphex Twin
Best Country Album: Platinum, Miranda Lambert
Best R&B Performance: Drunk in Love, Beyonce and Jay Z
Best Rock Album: Morning Phase, Beck
Best Rock Song: Ain’t It Fun, Paramore, songwriters Hayley Williams and Taylor York
Best Rock Performance: Lazaretto, Jack White, songwriter Jack White
Best Music Video: Happy, Pharrell Williams
Best Alternative Music Album: St. Vincent, St. Vincent
Best Urban Contemporary Album: G I R L, Pharrell Williams
Best Country Song: I’m Not Gonna Miss You, Glen Campbell, songwriters Glen Campbell, Julian Raymond
Best Country Solo Performance: Something in the Water, Carrie Underwood
Best Country Duo/Group Performance: The Band Perry – Gentle On My Mind
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album: Cheek to Cheek, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga
Best Spoken Word Album: Diary of a Mad Diva, Joan Rivers
Best Metal Performance: The Last in Line, Tenacious D
Best Rap Album: Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP2
Best Surround Sound Album: Beyoncé – Beyoncé
Best Musical Theatre Album: Beautiful: The Carole King Musical
Hollywood
Paramount Skydance secures financing for Warner Bros Discovery deal
Debt syndication and new loans push $111 billion merger closer to close
WASHINGTON: Paramount Skydance has taken a major step towards its planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, securing fresh financing and completing the syndication of its bridge loan facility.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company confirmed that the bridge facility has now been distributed among a group of 18 banks, reducing total commitments to $49 billion from an earlier $54 billion. The move spreads risk across lenders and signals growing confidence in one of the year’s largest media deals.
Alongside this, the company has finalised permanent financing arrangements, including $5 billion in senior term loans and a $5 billion revolving credit facility. A previously planned $3.5 billion credit line has been dropped as part of the restructuring.
The loans are secured against key assets, including Paramount Global, Skydance Media and Warner Bros post-merger, underlining the scale and complexity of the transaction.
The financing push follows a competitive bidding process earlier this year, which saw interest from players such as Netflix before Paramount Skydance emerged as the frontrunner. The deal, valued at $111 billion, is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
Adding to the momentum, the company has also secured significant equity backing, including investments from Middle Eastern funds, with support from billionaire Larry Ellison, who has guaranteed the equity portion of the transaction.
Commenting on the development, Paramount Skydance chief strategy officer Andy Gordon said, “Our successful debt syndication and new debt facilities represent another important milestone towards the completion of our acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.”
Once completed, the combined entity is expected to carry net debt of just under $80 billion, reflecting the sheer scale of the merger.
As Hollywood continues to consolidate in the streaming era, this deal could reshape the competitive landscape, with Paramount Skydance betting big on scale, content and financial muscle to take on global rivals.
