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Today's featured article

Meghan Trainor

Title is the debut major-label studio album by American singer-songwriter Meghan Trainor (pictured), released on January 9, 2015. Initially a songwriter for other artists in 2013, Trainor signed with Epic Records the following year and began recording material she co-wrote with Kevin Kadish. They drew influence from retro-styled music as they were tired of chasing radio trends. Title includes "All About That Bass", which reached number one in 58 countries, and two other US Billboard Hot 100 top-10 singles: "Lips Are Movin" and "Like I'm Gonna Lose You". Reviewers criticized the album's repetitiveness and doubted Trainor's longevity, though some appreciated her wit and audacious attitude. It debuted at number one on charts in the US, Canada and the UK, and spent multiple weeks at the summit in Australia and New Zealand. Title was the ninth-best-selling album of 2015 worldwide. It was supported by the 2015 That Bass Tour and MTrain Tour. (This article is part of two featured topics: Title and Meghan Trainor albums.)

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Today's featured picture

Michael William Balfe (1808–1870) was an Irish composer, best remembered for his operas. Balfe was born in Dublin and grew up on Pitt Street, which was renamed Balfe Street in 1917 in his honour. After moving to Wexford with his family as a child, he began a career as a violinist, moving to London in 1823 after his father's death, later relocating again to Italy and Switzerland, where he married the Hungarian-born singer Lina Roser. Balfe began pursuing an operatic singing career as well as composition, and moved back to London with his family in 1835. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed at least 29 operas, almost 250 songs, several cantatas, and other works. He was also a noted conductor, directing Italian opera at Her Majesty's Italian Opera House for seven years, among other conducting posts. His most notable opera is The Bohemian Girl, which continues to be performed. This photograph of Balfe was taken by the studio of the French photographer Nadar; this albumen print was made in 1900.

Photograph credit: Nadar; restored by Adam Cuerden

Did you know...

Limia tridens male

... that a hypothesized land bridge may have allowed some fish species (example pictured) to migrate from South America to Cuba?
... that a Sunday afternoon phone call to Ken Battle laid the foundations for the Canadian Child Benefit program?
... that in the narrative epic Pem Nem, the union of two lovers is a metaphor for the union of the soul with God?
... that after becoming a born again Christian, soprano Jane Stuart Smith abandoned a successful opera career to pursue a life of service?
... that Singapore's first R-rated play was performed despite the police finding parts of it "offensive"?
... that the Filipino boy band SB19 considered disbandment after their debut single "Tilaluha" saw little success?
... that Richard Stratton's diplomatic career took him "from South America to Japan, and from Southern Africa to the foothills of the Himalayas"?
... that among the millions of prisoners of war murdered by the Germans during WWII there were also tens of thousands of their former allies, the Italians?
... that American football player Noah Knigga went viral for his last name and had to clarify its pronunciation?

In the news...

Wildfire in Pacific Palisades

A series of wildfires (pictured) in Southern California, United States, leaves 5 people dead and forces more than 180,000 others to evacuate.
A 7.1-magnitude earthquake hits Tingri County in the Tibet Autonomous Region, China, leaving at least 126 people dead.
Indonesia becomes a full member of BRICS.
Justin Trudeau announces his intention to resign as prime minister of Canada.
Luke Littler wins the PDC World Darts Championship.

On this day...

January 9

Aircraft involved in the Iran Air Flight 277 accident

1797 – War of the First Coalition: The siege of Kehl by Habsburg and Württembergian forces ended when French troops withdrew from their fortifications.
1917 – First World War: Troops of the British Empire defeated Ottoman forces at the Battle of Rafa on the Sinai–Palestine border.
1972 – The Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association lost to the Milwaukee Bucks, ending a 33-game winning streak, the longest in major American professional team sports.
1975 – The Great Storm spawned the first of 45 tornadoes over a three-day period in the Southeastern United States.
2011 – In poor weather conditions, Iran Air Flight 277 (aircraft pictured) crashed near Urmia Airport, Iran, killing 78 of the 105 people on board.

T. W. Robertson (b. 1829)
Carrie Chapman Catt (b. 1859)
Farhan Akhtar (b. 1974)
Lei Jieqiong (d. 2011)

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