Tag: superstars
Exclusive: Mathew Knowles Talks Managing Superstars Like Beyonce, Tools for Success, & More at XP Music Futures
In an ever-changing musical landscape, to be the best, it’s vital to be guided by the best. And for the likes of Destiny’s Child, Solange, and Beyonce, that expert shepherding came courtesy of Mathew Knowles.
Widely hailed as one of the greatest music managers and branding architects of all time, the Houston-native served as one of the central engines powering the iconic careers of his colossal clientele.
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Amazon celebrates employee superstars who go the extra mile for others
AMAZON is celebrating its employees with the Amazon Stars global initiative.
The initiative, which launched in 2020, recognises employees for their talent and skills used to support to their colleagues and local communities.
Alongside their great work at Amazon, many of the company’s employees also make outstanding contributions to their local communities by volunteering their time, raising funds and using their unique skills and talents for the benefit of the community.
To shed a spotlight on some of these incredible people, Amazon created Amazon Stars – a programme to shine a light on the Amazon heroes who go the extra mile for others.
Speaking about the initiative, John Boumphrey, Amazon UK Country Manager, commented: “The Amazon Stars initiative was conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic to celebrate our employees who go above and beyond to help others in their communities.
“We received such an overwhelming response of incredible stories, that we were delighted to keep the programme going.”
This year, hundreds of employees at Amazon nominated colleagues who have done great work inside and outside of the retail organisation, for one of the three Amazon Star awards.
Kerry Robinson, Jack Moore and Joseph Wilson have been crowned as the winners, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to their local communities.
Each of them took home Dream Boxes, worth £1,500, as a personalised prize from Amazon to thank them for their commitment to good causes.
Meet Amazon’s community heroes:
Kerry Robinson – selfless animal rescue volunteer
Kerry Robinson works as a receptionist at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Wakefield.
Originally from Neath in South Wales but now living in Huddersfield, Kerry has volunteered for 25 years at a variety of animal welfare charities across the UK.
Most recently, Kerry has become involved with Hope Pastures, a horse, pony and donkey sanctuary in Leeds where she volunteers every Saturday morning.
Kerry’s love for ensuring the rehabilitation of animals was noted by her colleagues, making her the first winner of a 2022 Amazon Star award.
I don’t do things for any gratitude or rewards, so winning an Amazon Star award is just amazing.
Speaking on her work, Kerry said: “I started supporting Hope Pastures by buying the second-hand items the charity was selling online to raise money.
“As I’ve got four horses of my own, I appreciate the cost that goes into looking after them and I wouldn’t want ours to be left without anyone to look after them.
“I don’t do things for any gratitude or rewards, so winning an Amazon Star award is just amazing.”
Jack Moore – passionate aviation mentor
Jack Moore, a shift manager at Amazon’s delivery station in Birmingham, took home Amazon’s second Amazon Star award.
Jack is an ex-airline pilot who takes young people with a passion for flying on adventure flights over Birmingham, to inspire them to fulfil their potential and encourage them to follow their dreams of becoming pilots.
He also completes aerobatic flight challenges to raise money for charities in his local area.
I want them to believe that they can succeed at whatever they set their minds to – because they can!
Speaking on his experience of mentoring young people in the community, Jack said: “Many years ago, aviation was a closed-off industry, but I hope that through my charity work we can open it up and make careers in aviation possible for children from underprivileged backgrounds.
“I want them to believe that they can succeed at whatever they set their minds to – because they can!”
Joseph Wilson – inspirational music coach
Joseph Wilson is a team lead at Amazon’s fulfilment centre in Dartford, and is the third and final winner of Amazon Stars 2022.
Joseph is a multi-instrumentalist who plays the drums, bass guitar and piano.
Every year, he uses his gifts to mentor and encourage young, emerging artists who have the talent to write and play music but lack the financial means to pursue a career in the industry.
Joseph also organises Church Play, a mentor-led workshop for young people with musical talent.
The event takes place annually and involves musical experts and professional musicians mentoring young people with musical ambition, encouraging them to not only follow their passions, but also finish school and develop as people.
Music is everything to me; when I play, I am home.
Speaking on his passion for music and the impact of Church Play, Joseph said: “Music is everything to me; when I play, I am home.
“One young man I’ve worked with for some time, who’s a great drummer, recently got to play a show with me at the O2 in London.
“Getting to watch him to do what he loves was such a joy – that’s what motivates me.”
I dismissed Nvidia Reflex as for esports superstars – but now I don’t want to go back to life without it
One of the best things about graphics card hardware from Nvidia is the software that accompanies it. In a tight, closely competitive competition between it and AMD, software has always been one of the key differentiators. In the last hardware generation, Nvidia added a new piece of software that I casually dismissed – but as the 3000 series generation drew to a close, I finally tried it – and found myself hooked on it.
I’m talking about Nvidia Reflex, a little bonus software option that uses your fancy high-end graphics hardware and various clever methods to reduce the input lag between your input devices – primarily keyboard and mouse, of course, but this’d also work with controllers – in turn theoretically making you more deadly in-game.
When the 30-series first launched, I dabbled with Reflex but never really paid it too much attention. I was more interested in improved versions of the frame-rate boosting DLSS, and how it’d let me crank up the visual fidelity and real-time lighting in newer games like Cyberpunk 2077. But recently, I returned to Reflex – and in that return, I realized what an impressive tool it is.
Twitch is betting against streaming superstars
YouTube needs stars, but Twitch can build its own