Aloe Blacc to visit Dubai in May for Blended festival

Plus, Ellen tips Oscars pizza delivery guy $1,000, Jiah Khan's mother claims proof that daughter was murdered and Team Oscar stars Muslim student.

Aloe Blacc. AFP / Britta Pedersen Germany

Aloe Blacc to visit Dubai in May for Blended festival

Aloe Blacc will be joining the line-up of international artists performing at Blended, a new music event at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre, which features a mix of blues, roots, jazz, soul and folk. Held in association with Dubai Calendar, Blended will take place on May 1 at 6pm and on May 2 at 4pm. The May 1 event will feature Xavier Rudd, Aloe Blacc and Joss Stone, while the May 2 show's main acts are Elvis Costello and Diana Krall. Tickets cost from Dh350 from Virgin Megastore outlets and online at www.blended.ae. – The National staff

Ellen tips Oscars pizza delivery guy $1,000

Ellen DeGeneres has given a US$1,000 (Dh3,673) tip to the man who delivered pizza at the Academy Awards ceremony on Sunday, Ace Showbiz reported. The man, Edgar Martirosyan, appeared in a Monday episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show to talk about the Oscar night. "You thought you were going to bring them [the pizzas] to some producers?" DeGeneres asked. "Yeah, they told me I'm just going to deliver for writers ... and then you came out and said just follow me and then I'm on a stage ... I was in shock." DeGeneres managed to collect some money in Pharrell Williams's famous hat for the tip, but Martirosyan had left. "I passed Pharrell's hat around and I ended up getting around $600, something like that," DeGeneres said on the talk show. "Here is some more ... here is $1,000." – The National staff

Jiah Khan’s mother claims to have proof that her daughter was murdered

Rabiya Khan, the mother of the deceased actress Jiah Khan, has moved the Bombay High Court again, alleging that she has audio recordings of witnesses in the case that prove her daughter was murdered. According to The Indian Express, Khan said she had conducted a "sting operation of the prime witnesses", claiming that their "statements had been manipulated" by Mumbai police. Jiah Khan was a Bollywood actress who was found dead in her apartment in June last year. – The National staff

Team Oscar stars Muslim US student

The Muslim University of Michigan student Zaineb Abdul-Nabi, a screen arts and cultures student from The Bronx, was among the six members of Team Oscar, which spent Oscars week in Hollywood getting to know the industry, appeared on the red carpet and presented Oscar statuettes to celebrity hosts at the event itself.

Launched last year, Team Oscar is a video-essay competition that is judged by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Oscars producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, and Channing Tatum, who announced the winners on The Ellen DeGeneres Show last Thursday. Contestants had to make a 60-second clip on how they're going to contribute to the future of film and include a short essay on the topic.

Abdul-Nabi hopes to blend traditional film and emerging digital technologies as a cinematographer. You can see all six entries on the Academy’s YouTube channel. – The National staff