''Ikonz'' is a national entertainment magazine published in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. It was a print magazine between 2006 and 2011.

Background

The publication was launched as a regional monthly glossy in December 2006 by AEM Worldwide. Its official national UK launch took place in February 2007. ''Ikonz'' caters for young

British Asian British Asians (also referred to as Asian Britons) are British citizens of Asian descent. They constitute a significant and growing minority of the people living in the United Kingdom, with 6.9% of the population identifying as Asian/Asian Bri ...

s, focusing on the film and

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, trai ...

in both

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywoo ...

and

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

. The magazine also carries mainstream British

celebrity Celebrity is a condition of fame and broad public recognition of a person or group as a result of the attention given to them by mass media. An individual may attain a celebrity status from having great wealth, their participation in sports ...

gossip, fashion and entertainment stories throughout.

Content

''Ikonz'' is primarily aimed at British Asian women, although not as directly as in other Asian magazines. Initially, the publication balanced editorial for both male and female audiences with distinct urban influences. Following a revamp in September 2007, a large portion of the magazine adopted a more female orientated theme with equal coverage afforded to mainstream content. A series of high-profile mainstream interviews, including exclusives with Halle Berry,

Jessica Alba Jessica Marie Alba ( ; born April 28, 1981) is an American actress and businesswoman. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in '' Camp Nowhere'' and '' The Secret World of Alex Mack'' (1994), and rose to prominence at age 19 ...

, and Jennifer Lopez, have encouraged the growth of the publication. These, along with Brit-Asian and urban interviews such as

Boyz II Men Boyz II Men (pronounced ''boys to men''), also known as B2M, is an American vocal harmony group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, best known for emotional ballads and a cappella harmonies. They are currently a trio composed of baritone Natha ...

Keisha White Keisha White (born 31 March 1988) is an English R&B singer. She has released two albums: ''Seventeen'' in 2005 and '' Out of My Hands'' in 2006. She is the voice behind ''"Someday"'', the theme to the CBBC television series '' The Story of Trac ...

Richard Blackwood Richard Clifford Blackwood (born 15 May 1972) is a British actor, presenter and rapper. Between 2015 and 2018, he played Vincent Hubbard in the BBC soap opera '' EastEnders''. In 2020, he began portraying the role of Felix Westwood in the Cha ...

Jay Sean Kamaljit Singh Jhooti (born 26 March 1981), better known by the stage name Jay Sean, is a British singer and songwriter. He debuted in the UK's Asian Underground scene as a member of the Rishi Rich Project with " Dance with You", which reach ...

and

50 Cent Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), known professionally as 50 Cent, is an American rapper, actor, and businessman. Born in the South Jamaica neighborhood of Queens, Jackson began pursuing a musical career in 2000, when he produced ...

, have allowed the publication to increase its appeal However, the magazine's key south Asian content remains in the form of Bollywood interviews with A-list artists including

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

Shah Rukh Khan Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...

Shilpa Shetty Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born Ashwini Shetty; Née Shetty; 8 June 1975) is an Indian actress who works mainly in Hindi-language films. Shetty made her screen debut in the thriller '' Baazigar'' (1993) which garnered her nominations for two Filmfar ...

Aishwarya Rai Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ( Rai; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian actress who is primarily known for her work in Hindi and Tamil films. The winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, she has established herself as one of the most popular celebrit ...

and

Bipasha Basu Bipasha Basu Singh Grover (born 7 January 1979) is an Indian actress and former model. Primarily known for her work in Hindi films, she has also appeared in Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and English films. Basu is the recipient of numerous accol ...

. In July 2007, it ran special coverage of the IIFA awards. Also featured heavily are British Bhangra artists. ''Ikonz'' is the only British Asian publication to have regular contributions from mainstream celebrities. In October 2007, actors

Kevin Sacre Kevin Sacre-Dallerup (born Kevin Bignell on 23 March 1978), accessed 30 May 2007 is a British actor. He is most famous for his performance as Jake Dean in the Channel 4 British soap opera ''Hollyoaks'', a role he played from 2002 to 2010. Ear ...

, Ricky Whittle and Sam Darbyshire from television soap

Hollyoaks ''Hollyoaks'' is a British soap opera which began airing on Channel 4 on 23 October 1995. It was created by Phil Redmond, who had previously conceived the soap opera ''Brookside''. Since 2005, episodes have been aired on sister channel E4 a da ...

appeared in a special

Halloween Halloween or Hallowe'en (less commonly known as Allhalloween, All Hallows' Eve, or All Saints' Eve) is a celebration geography of Halloween, observed in many countries on 31 October, the eve of the Western Christian feast of All Saints' Day. ...

photo feature for the magazine, alongside presenters from the

BBC Asian Network BBC Asian Network is a British Asian radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station's target audience is people "with an interest in British Asian lifestyles", especially British Asians between the ages of 18 and 34. The station ha ...

. The feature was reproduced by national publications including the Daily Star and

More (magazine) ''More'' was a women's lifestyle magazine published 10 times a year by the Meredith Corporation with a rate base of 1.3 million and a circulation of 1.8 million. A Canadian version was published under license by Transcontinental from 2007 to 2 ...

. The magazine took the step to support glamour model

Katie Price Katrina Amy Alexandra Alexis Price (''née'' Infield; born 22 May 1978) is an English media personality and model. She gained recognition in the late 1990s for her glamour modelling work and had regular appearances on Page 3 in the British t ...

in November 2007, following the publication in

Heat (magazine) ''Heat'' is an English entertainment magazine published by Bauer Media Group. Its mix of celebrity news, gossip, beauty advice and fashion is primarily aimed at women, although not as directly as in other women's magazines. It also features ...

of an offensive sticker mocking Price's son Harvey.

Personnel

The editor of ''Ikonz'' is

Reena Combo Reena may refer to: * Reena (given name), including a list of people with the name *Reena (actress) Reena is an Indian actress best known for her work in Malayalam cinema. She was one of the lead actress during the late 1970s. She has acted ...

, with

Adam Yosef Adam Yosef (born September 1981) is a British journalist, photojournalist and political activist. Background Yosef was born in September 1981 in Marston Green, England and is of South Asian and Middle Eastern heritage. Activism In 2003, Y ...

as the sub editor. The magazine's editorial team includes editorial assistants, contributors, international correspondents and freelance writers and photographers.

New Media

''Ikonz'' magazine is complemented by a website, an online video channel, a blog and online profiles including myspace and

facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin ...

. These mediums are edited by the Ikonz New Media Team and are an online interpretation of the magazine's style and 'personality'. In September 2007, the magazine launched a television advertising campaign. In February 2011, ''Ikonz'' magazine was relaunched as an online-only format, rebranded as 'Ikonz World'.

Charity

In December 2007, ''Ikonz'' donated

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year ...

gifts to the

Birmingham Children's Hospital Birmingham Children's Hospital is a specialist children's hospital located in Birmingham, England. The hospital provides a range of specialist services and operates the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for the city. The serv ...

Recognition

*In December 2007, ''Ikonz'' became the only ethnic partner for Clothes Show Live. *In December 2007, the magazine became an official partner of the Asian Style Awards, due to be held in 2008. *In November 2007, editor Reena Combo was nominated by the Institute of Asian Business (IAB), a division of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce, as Outstanding Woman in Business 2007. *In August 2007, ''Ikonz'' joined forces with

Madame Tussauds Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer ...

to select the next Bollywood star to appear at the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

attraction. *In June 2007, ''Ikonz'' was appointed an official partner to the IIFA awards, held in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

References

Ikonz to return in February as online magazine
- BizAsia, January 2011

- Financial Times, January 2008
'Torchwood's success is down to Cardiff'
- South Wales Echo, January 2008
Salman Khan immortalized at Madame Tussauds
- The Asian News, January 2008
Disparate colours of racism
- Hindustan Times, January 2008

- Ethnic Now, December 2007
Presents donated to children's hospital
{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes - Asian Age, December 2007

- Sky News, November 2007
Heat magazine apologises to Jordan for using disabled son on sticker
- Times Online, November 2007
X Factor boyband Boys II Men slam Simon Cowell
- Showbiz Spy, November 2007

- Digital Spy, November 2007
Ikonz only ethnic partner of Clothes Show Live
- Clickwalla, November 2007

- Ethnic Now, November 2007
Ikonz Magazine Backs Jordan’s Complaint Against Heat
- Simply Bhangra, November 2007

- Madame Tussauds, October 2007

- Channel 4, October 2007

- Channel 4, October 2007
Ikonz mag dresses up for Halloween
- Asians in Media, October 2007
Ikonz magazine goes in for new look
- BizAsia, September 2007
Many Asians 'do not feel British'
- BBC News, July 2007
Richard Blackwood in Bollywood debut
- Black UK Online, May 2007 * Bollywood star unveiled at Madame Tussauds - Wikinews, April 2007
‘Asian Heat’ secures nationwide distribution
- Press Gazette, March 2007
Ikonz, the new Asian entertainment mag gets launched
- Asians in Media, March 2007 * Big Brother star meets Tony Blair, February 2007

External links

Ikonz magazine myspaceIkonz magazine video channel
Defunct magazines published in the United Kingdom Entertainment magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 2006 Magazines disestablished in 2011 Mass media in Birmingham, West Midlands Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines published in the United Kingdom Online magazines with defunct print editions