Browsing Tag

blake shelton

Taylor Swift Spins a Compelling Tale with Folklore

-What are we all thinking about Taylor Swift‘s new album? I’m only two listens in but I’m digging it. It’s restrained and contemplative (but not introspective — some of the songs are clearly fiction, like “The Last Great American Dynasty,” which is about Rebekah Harkness who once owned Swift’s house, or “Cardigan,” “August” and “Betty” — which is a trilogy revolving around a high school love triangle. Of course, many people think the trilogy is really about Karlie Kloss). My favourite songs from her in the past few years are “Archer” and “Dress,” so I was already in the bag for stripped-down Taylor.

-The reviews are overwhelmingly positive, with the Guardian giving it 5 stars and saying while it’s “Swift’s most coherent record since her staunchly country days, it’s nonetheless her most experimental, developing on Lover’s stranger, more minimalist end,” Buzzfeed saying that “in isolation, alone with a paper and a pen and a guitar, she’s yet again written some fucking great songs,” Rolling Stone praising it for “the most head-spinning, heart-breaking, emotionally ambitious songs of her life,” Billboard noting “there’s nothing quiet about this songwriting tour de force,”  Teen Vogue saying “in her restraint, she leaves space for couplets that slice through the heart,” and Variety observing “at least this one won’t require an album-length Ryan Adams remake to convince anyone that there’s songwriting there.”

Jennifer Lopez turns 51 today, just in case you want to feel bad about yourself.

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani debuted the video for their new duet “Happy Anywhere”, which was shot by her brother, Todd Stefani, who quarantined with the couple at Shelton’s Oklahoma ranch.

-There was a panel for The New Mutants at Comic-Con and I think everyone is shocked that it’s still going ahead.

Mel Gibson‘s rep reveals he was hospitalized back in April with covid. Unlike Tom Hanks, I guess he didn’t feel the duty to share his experience and educate his fans on the seriousness of the virus.

-Here’s another good breakdown of the Britney Spears conservatorship.

-I don’t believe for a second any of the “ratings” numbers Netflix releases, but if they’re bragging about the performance of Charlize Theron‘s Old Guard, hopefully that means a sequel is coming.

-Also, Charlize doesn’t strike me as the most social media plugged in celeb, so her responding to fan praise is great.

-This is a really good piece on how baffling it is that this far into the streaming wars, nobody (not even Netflix) seems to know how to build a good user interface, making browsing a headache and searching an embarrassment. I recently did a Happy Endings rewatch on Amazon Prime and every single time I’d have to search for the next episode, even though I’d watched the previous one the day before.

-Speaking of Amazon Prime, How To Build a Girl starring Beanie Feldstein hits the streaming service today. I saw this last year at TIFF and was very charmed by it.

-Stranger Things’ Joe Keery plays a rideshare driver on a murder spree on the trailer for Spree.

Kanye West Calls Slavery a “Choice”

-Ok, if whatever Kanye West is doing is just performance art and not actually him losing his mind, he needs to stop. This isn’t amusing anymore. He just crashed TMZ Live and said “When you hear about slavery for 400 years, for 400 years? That sounds like a choice. Like, you where there for 400 years and there’s all of y’all? It’s like we’re mentally imprisoned.” When Harvey Levin is looking at you like you crossed a line, that ain’t good.  (Also, bless TMZ’s Van Lathan for standing up to him like that.)

-A French tourist was sitting alone in a New York City restaurant and ordered a cosmo because it’s Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw’s favorite drink. When the bartender told Sarah Jessica Parker, she paid his tab and ordered a cosmo for herself too. Man, sometimes I still really love her.

Blake Shelton is trying to pretend his “karma” tweet wasn’t about Miranda Lambert. Sure, Jan.

Ashley Judd is suing Harvey Weinstein for due to damage done to her career as a result of his alleged sexual harassment. According to the lawsuit, she felt something “unseen” had been holding her career back and didn’t realize until December that it was Weinstein. She says any financial recuperation will go to Time’s Up.

Ava DuVernay, Viola Davis, Shonda Rhimes and more are adding their voices to the #MuteRKelly campaign.

Tiffany Haddish and Charlamagne sounded off about him a year ago.

Gwyneth Paltrow told the Today Show that her kids are “excited” about her engagement. Wait, so she DIDN’T get married a couple of weeks ago in Mexico? I’m so confused.

-I saw Zachary Levi speak at a fan convention last year and I remember thinking, “man, he’s got some bad takes.” So this tweet doesn’t surprise me.

-The cast of Avengers: Infinity War read mean tweets about themselves on Kimmel. Tom Holland‘s was my fave.

-This is a nice surprise: The Crown star Claire Foy will receive $275,000 in back pay.

Busy Philipps is going to host a late night show? Here for it!

-The new Ant-Man and the Wasp trailer introduces Goliath to the MCU.

Selena Gomez Talks Reuniting with Justin Bieber, Staying Friends with The Weeknd

selena-gomez-billboard

-In her new Billboard cover Selena Gomez claims she still has a “true friendship” with The Weeknd after their split: “We ended it as best friends.”  She also talks about her and Justin Bieber finding their way back to each other: “I’m 25. I’m not 18, or 19, or 20. I cherish people who have really impacted my life. So maybe before, it could have been forcing something that wasn’t right. But that doesn’t mean caring for someone ever goes away.”

-Speaking of reunited celebs, Chris Evans and Jenny Slate are officially back on according to People, which is as official as it gets.

Blake Shelton is denying rumours that he had a secret meeting with Paul Ryan. Not very sexy, Sexiest Man Alive.

-Lady Bird star Beanie Feldstein wants people to stop complimenting her weight loss. (I realized about halfway through the movie that she’s Jonah Hill’s sister and then that was all I could see.)

-Ha! HBO’s Confederate is now “not actively being worked on.”

-Vogue gave Michael B. Jordan the 73 Questions treatment.

-As Weinstein et. al. fall, why are we still waiting on a reckoning for R. Kelly?

-The screenwriter of ‘Rachel Getting Married’ and ‘The Mummy’ claims sexual assault by Russell Simmons, who now says he is stepping down from Def Jam.

Meredith Vieira once said she found a “bag of sex toys” in Matt Lauer‘s office.

-In the new THR actors roundtable, Tom Hanks says “there are predators everywhere.” He added, “I think eventually everybody who has a production office is going to have a code of ethics and behavior. If you don’t follow these, you will not work here.”

Adam Driver, who basically redefined “emo,” admitted he has no idea what that word means.

-I really liked this interview with Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, talking about how every job she was offered after that had the word ‘girl’ in its title. She found herself having to tell people, “I can write for someone who’s got a penis and a set of balls. Even if he’s just got one ball and a penis, I can write for that guy too.”

-Here’s our first look at Jon Hamm in Good Omens as Angel Gabriel.

Armie Hammer demonstrated how hard it is to dance on film when there’s no music.

-I may have watched this clip of Drake being surprised by the JumboTron a ridiculous amount of time today…

-Speaking of great clips, here’s Kelly Clarkson in Carpool Karaoke. I love the part where her husband surprises her.