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Lin-Manuel Miranda named Entertainer of the Year

The Associated Press has named Lin-Manuel Miranda the 2016 Entertainer of the Year.
It’s no surprise following the year that Miranda has had. When Miranda hosted “Saturday Night Live” in October, he told the viewing audience, “Most of you watching at home have no idea who I am.” While you may not know the name, you’ve probably heard of the entertainer.
Perhaps his most landmark achievement, “Hamilton” is one of the top musicals to ever hit Broadway. Miranda and his musical won 11 Tony awards on June 12, just hours after the tragic Pulse nightclub shooting.
With his acceptance speech, he honored the victims with a sonnet: “Love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love, cannot be killed or swept aside,” he said through tears. “Now fill the world with music, love and pride.”
AP recognized that Miranda beat out Beyoncé, Adele and Dwayne Johnson for the honor. The recognition places Miranda among the ranks of many great entertainers that came before him.
It’s rare that a theater composer is recognized as a great entertainer, but Miranda is much more than just a composer. He performs in the musical, also contributing his voice to the accompanying album “The Hamilton Mixtape.” The album featured famous artists from varying genres covering hit songs from the musical.
On top of hosting SNL and winning various Tony awards, Miranda also won a Pulitzer Prize in the category of drama. Additionally, he’s been nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Original Song for a Motion Picture.
The nomination is for “How Far I’ll Go” from Disney’s “Moana.” Miranda, alongside two others, wrote the songs for the hit movie that released this November.
Miranda’s success in entertainment is coupled with his involvement in social and political issues. From speaking before Congress to receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Pennsylvania to performing at political fundraisers, Miranda was a great presence throughout 2016.
It can be said that Miranda’s involvement with the Entertainer of the Year honor began in 2015. While “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” may have won in 2015, Miranda wrote one of the songs featured in the movie.
Miranda has begun working on his next project, Disney’s “Mary Poppins Returns.” It’s also been announced that he will be producing film and TV adaptations of “The Kingkiller Chronicle.”
“I’ve been jumping from thing to thing and what’s been thrilling is to see the projects that happen very quickly kind of exploding side-by-side with the projects I’ve been working on for years,” Miranda told AP. “I’m back in a planting mode after a harvest.”

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