South Asian pop sensation, Yohani yesterday announced that her debut album “Kella” consisting 14 tracks composed entirely by herself has been accepted for consideration in the Best Global Music Album Category at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.

“This one is for Sri Lanka, for our stories, our sounds, and for everyone who believed in the dream of taking Sri Lankan music from home to the world,” Yohani de Silva shared via a post on her Instagram yesterday. 

The singer added that she was beyond grateful to share that her debut album, Kella, has been officially submitted for consideration in the Best Global Music Album category at the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.

 “This moment feels like a celebration not just for me, but for every artist and dreamer from my island who dares to believe in something bigger than ourselves. Kella was created with love, rooted in our traditions, and infused with the modern sounds of the world. Every beat, every lyric is a reflection of my home and heart,” she elaborated. 

She also went on to thank all of her incredible collaborators:

Label: Outright Play; Creative Producer: Dilanjan Seneviratne; Publicist: Dilshan Senaratne; Music Producers: Pasan Liyanage, Shenal Maddumage, Hibshi, Lahiru Perera, Wayanaka;

Lyricists: Dilanjan Seneviratne, Asiri Perera, Yohani; Creative Team: WYLD Global. The singer also extended a special thanks to Aditya Veera for guidance.

“To everyone who has listened, supported, and believed in me, this moment is for you. Let’s continue this journey together, taking Sri Lankan music to places it’s never been before. Kella is not just an album – it’s a piece of my heart. Thank you for letting it beat around the world,” she noted. – (Daily FT)

The story of a Sri Lankan worker, who migrated to Australia less than a decade ago and has become a millionaire now, has taken the internet by storm. At the age of 25, Vinul Karunaratne has made enough money to quit and shift full-time to doing gig jobs.

Karunaratne moved to Australia in 2015 and started working at 7-Eleven stores. But in 2019, he started taking on end-of-lease cleaning jobs on Airtasker. It’s a Sydney-based online marketplace that enables people to outsource everyday tasks – such as cleaning, assembling furniture, or yard work – for others to complete in exchange for cash.

Karunaratne told local news channel 7News that he didn’t have much resources and equipment when he started. “When I started, I didn’t even have much equipment. I had a vacuum, mop, bucket, and some rags,” he said, adding, “That was the stuff I had at home.”

His hard work eventually paid off and he was soon able to ditch his job at 7-Eleven to shift full-time to Airtasker.

According to the platform, Karunaratne is one of the top 10 earners on Airtasker. He manages to pocket an impressive $1,000 to $1,400 everyday. Dailymail reported that Karunaratne mainly performs bond cleans but also steams carpets and cleans offices.

Tim Fung, Airtasker founder and CEO said, referring to Karunaratne’s success on the platform that anyone can earn extra cash by working hard. Fung also termed Karunaratne’s story as ‘inspirational.’ Fung hoped that more work will be available on his platform in the coming days.

Karunaratne also shared his experience of working with the platform, saying it enabled him to be his ‘own boss.’

“It’s physical work, but it’s good money. I enjoy the flexibility and working on my own terms. I’m my own boss,” he was quoted as saying by the Australian media outlet. (WION)

A fans’ favourite on TV show MasterChef has said his love of cooking is inspired by his Sri Lankan heritage.

Brin Pirathapan, 29, from Chelmsford, is one the three finalists on the BBC One show.

Dr Pirathapan, who was working as a veterinary surgeon in Bristol before entering the show, said his passion for food was sparked by his parents.

“The food I grew up with was never boring, coming from a Tamil, Sri Lankan background – we had nice food on the table and it’s never bland,” he said.

He said the home cooking he experienced growing up set the standard for him.

“It gave me that basis of learning about flavour and creating flavour and from there I started looking into different cultures and cuisines and built up my repertoire from there,” he said.

“I’ve been incredibly lucky with the amount of support I have had.

“It so nice that everyone is proud of me in this quite different career path of what I know.”

‘Second chance’

Dr Pirathapan still works as a vet but said he would love to work in the food industry in the future.

“I have almost been given this incredible second chance to focus on a proper passion of mine and I would love to take it forward,” he said.

“My priority now is going to be food.”

He told BBC Essex he had watched MasterChef since he was a boy and would have regretted not applying this year.

“The first time I walked into that kitchen… and it just hit me like a tonne of bricks that I was there,” he said.

“It looks exactly like it does on the show. It doesn’t look like a TV set – it looks like the big kitchen and you’re just there in that kitchen you’ve been watching for two decades now”.

“That was a pretty big moment – it was definitely nerve-racking but super-exciting as well.”

Source : BBC