Regine Velasquez and Ogie Alcasid, two of the most popular singers in the Philippines, are performing on March 27 at Emirates Golf Club Dubai, presented by SundanceLIVE. Velasquez and Alcasid took the Philippine music scene by storm in the 1990s and are still at the top of their profession today with sold-out shows and chart-topping albums. The couple, who married in 2010, have appeared on a television programme together for seven years. Ticketing details are expected to be announced soon. For more information, visit Facebook.com/SundanceLIVE or call 052 990 0112. – The National staff
India’s Got Talent boy heads to Ellen DeGeneres show
Akshat Singh, an eight-year-old boy who floored the judges on the television show India's Got Talent with a dance act that imitated the Bollywood star Salman Khan, has been invited by Ellen DeGeneres to appear on her Los Angeles-based show, reported NDTV. Singh has made it to the semi-finals on India's Got Talent, judged by the filmmaker Karan Johar and the actress Malaika Arora Khan. Singh said he was excited to be on the American chat show but admitted that he hadn't heard of DeGeneres before. – The National staff
Dubai producer to make 4-D Hindi drama
The Dubai-based producer P K Asokan is set to begin filming India's first 4-D movie in Mumbai in April, and has enlisted the Bollywood actress Priya Anjali Rai as the leading lady. Beyond the Truth is described as "a magical horror" and will be shot in 3-D as well as the 4-D format, which uses physical effects to enhance the viewing experience. The film is scripted for both Hindi- and English-language versions, at 100 minutes and 90 minutes respectively. The Hindi version is longer because of the audience's expectations of "at least four songs", said Asokan, who has already arranged the Los Angeles and New York screenings for Oscar consideration in 2015. Beyond the Truth is due out in October. Distribution in India is already in place and global territories are under discussion. – The National staff
Jackman to host Tonys
Hugh Jackman will once again take up hosting duties for the next Tony Awards on June 8 in New York. It will be his fourth time hosting them. He previously emceed the show from 2003 to 2005. Jackman was last on Broadway with a one-man show in 2011 that routinely sold out Manhattan's 1,176-seat Broadhurst Theatre. Neil Patrick Harris hosted for the fourth time last year but he'll be busy on Broadway this spring starring in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. – AP
French Oscar for Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is to be awarded an honorary César – the French version of the Oscar – for her career, just weeks after she denounced residents of her new hometown Paris as terribly rude. The American star, who is engaged to the French businessman Romain Dauriac, will receive her César at French cinema's annual gala awards on February 28. "When I first got there I thought people were not that whole kind of rude Parisian thing," she said. "Then people decided that once I wasn't going away they could just be really, terribly rude to me." – AFP
First lady wears Carolina Herrera
Michelle Obama chose a Venezuelan-American designer for the gown she wore on Tuesday to the state dinner honouring the French president François Hollande. The formal, ornate style of the gown by Carolina Herrera reflected French aesthetics, from the intricate beaded black bodice to the train and full skirt in a colour called liberty blue, according to Susan Swimmer, the author of Michelle Obama: First Lady of Fashion and Style. – AP