Saturday Night Live is the Mecca for sketch comedy. Some of our favorite actors and comedians launched their careers at Lorne Michaels’ long-running
SNL – Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikus, Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, Kate McKinnon, Maya Rudolph, John Mulaney, Jimmy Fallon, Pete Davidson, I could go on…
And while your preferred comedians probably got their start in the writer’s room at 30 Rock, don’t forget the live musical guest. Being invited to play on
SNL is one of the biggest honors in a musician’s career.
There’s something about being on that stage that tells you about who an artist truly is…if they can sing live or not…if they have any stage presence. The
SNL musical guest’s performance is often a topic of discussion on social media – it’s a terrific venue for teasing new music, growing your following, and showing what you’re made of.
But many stars find themselves floundering on the elusive
Saturday Night Live stage. The platform has the catapult to an artist into the stratosphere…and the gig can sometimes go south and be tough to watch.
After Sabrina Carpenter’s show-stopping superstar performance, it got me thinking about the Ghosts of
SNL’s Musical Guests Past. Not every act feels like a professional, well-rounded concert.
So, while some shine and others flop, here are our picks for the Best and Worst
SNL Musical Performances!
WORST:
Ice Spice
Oh, how I wanted this performance to go differently. A lot of the time, I fear Ice Spice may lack the star-quality, It Factor when it comes to live performances. This is just one of those examples.
21 Savage
21 chanting “redrum” over and over almost had me fast-forwarding through the whole thing. If I were in the audience, his flat, monotonous performance would’ve been even more difficult to endure – despite 21’s attempt to class it up with a pair of sad ballet dancers.
Kanye West feat. Lil Pump
This is genuinely hilarious if you don’t take it seriously. Confession: I’m smiling as I write this. It reminds me of when you’re 8 years old and you perform with your cousin for the whole family.
Lana Del Rey
I love Lana so it hurts me to include this…but this was a tough watch. She shows signs of promise, but it’s pitchy and all over the place. Her first real performance was riddled with nerves, but thankfully Coachella was a redemption.
Ashlee Simpson
I mean, you knew it was coming. As Ashlee lip-synced her way through her performance, disaster struck when the vocals fell out of sync. She walks off stage mid-song, but the band plays on – it’s literally like watching
The Titanic as the boat goes down.
BEST:
Taylor Swift
The “All Too Well (10-Minute Version)” performance will
always be iconic. In her fifth appearance on the show, Swift only performed one song and it was this 10-minute masterpiece.
Sabrina Carpenter
Talk about utilizing the stage!
Finally someone makes SNL feel like a concert and not a beat poetry session. A spectacular performance all around – no notes!
Tate McRae
Bring back popstars with dance routines! Tate McRae’s viral
SNL act was high-energy and captivating. She nails her vocals while slaying that dance number flawlessly.
Harry Styles
There was nothing more iconic than when Harry Styles dropped “Watermelon Sugar” during his
SNL double-header. It was the first time the world heard the song, and instantaneously made it the hit song of the summer.
Billie Eilish
Billie’s debut album,
WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO? was critically acclaimed and shot her to super-super-superstardom. Her SNL performance solidified that she can sing on any stage and shine.
In the words of Renee Rapp: “Can a gay girl get an amen?”
In the song “Not My Fault,”
Renee Rapp teamed up with Megan Thee Stallion on an unapologetically gay anthem for the major motion picture, Mean Girls: The Musical. The song starts with the now-iconic clip from the original movie in which Cadie confronts Janice with the accusation: “It’s not my fault you’re like, in love with me or something.”
Since
Mean Girls dropped in 2004, there have been many think pieces about Janice’s role as forming the caricature of early-2000s red-scare lesbian panic. That was the year after Madonna and Britney shocked the world by kissing on the VMAs stage. It was four years before Katy Perry solidified her stardom with her hit “I Kissed A Girl.”
Sapphic stars had, of course, achieved fame and success before — in the 90s, having a k.d. Lang poster in your room was the equivalent of listening to
Girl in Red (we’ll get to that) — but queerness was still othered. For better or worse, Glee wouldn’t toxify our airwaves until 2009. And queerness was something to be whispered about, especially sapphic relationships — which went either ignored or fetishized.
Now, in 2024, having an explicitly queer song leading a major studio film shows a seismic sapphic shift. Janice is no longer at the fringes of the film’s plot. And the implications of having a lesbian play Regina George? Yes, a gay girl can get an amen from me.
Renee Rapp is just one of the young, sapphic popstars gracing the airwaves today. In those toxic early-2000s, a popstar’s success depended on how well their sexuality could be marketed by and to men. Hindsight has us reckoning with the
egregious objectification of Britney Spears and her peers in recent years. But now, with social media, the biggest popstars have more control over their image and have achieved success by unapologetically marketing to women — 2023 wasn’t the year of the girl for nothing.
The biggest stars in the world are leveraging predominantly female audiences —
Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, and even male pop giants like Harry Styles. And now the queer girls are taking over by singing not just about girlhood, but explicitly about sapphic desire. Within this zeitgeist, they’re remaking what it means to be a girl for everyone. No longer is it about appealing to the male gaze, it’s about identifying with people who make you feel seen and follow your interests unapologetically. This message is resonating with the straights and sapphics alike. Particularly on TikTok, it’s causing some to realize they’re not as straight as they thought.
From Gay-Famous to Mainstream-Famous
There’s long been a category of celebs who are irrefutable icons in the queer space but who go largely ignored by the mainstream music crowd. Think Troye Sivan. He’s been gaymous since his first album,
Blue Neighborhood. Close to a decade later, he’s finally broken through to the mainstream. Traversing from queer subculture to mainstream pop culture usually takes years. What’s exciting about the latest class of girls who like girls is that they’re starting their careers with mainstream recognition — and a lot of that is thanks to TikTok.
From young artists coming out in the past few years to emerging artists branding themselves as queer from the get-go, queerness is no longer relegated to the sidelines.
However, niche queer music communities are alive and well. It’s how “do you listen to
Girl In Red” became code for asking if a girl was queer. And it’s why, on TikTok, algorithms are leading individuals to queer content creators and suddenly realizing they, too, are queer. “If TikTok is showing you this, you might be gay,” read a wave of videos during the pandemic. And for many people, TikTok was right. Perhaps this surge of sexual awakenings has something to do with a new generation looking for queer representation in music. And finally, finally, it’s here.
Perhaps this is what Jojo Siwa was talking about when she declared in her now-notorious interview that she was the harbinger of “gay pop.” When she said in an interview that she “wanted to start a new genre … called ‘gay pop,’” she might have been onto something. She later clarified that she didn’t mean she invented the genre, but wanted to be part of bringing it mainstream. “There’s so many gay pop artists … but I think that those gay pop artists do deserve a bigger home than what they have right now,” she said.
Fortunately for Jojo Siwa, she’s getting what she wanted — gay pop artists are getting way bigger platforms. Unfortunately for Jojo Siwa, it’s not her.
Femininomenons
Take Coachella 2024. It might as well have been Pride. One of the hottest queer moments was the rise of Chappel Roan. Bard of bisexuals everywhere, Chappell Roan has been giving gay girls infectious pop hits since 2020, with “
Pink Pony Club,” the lead single of her debut album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess.
After her Coachella set and her viral summer single “Good, Luck Babe!” — a song about a queer girl who leaves the singer for a man — Chappell is one of the biggest rising stars to emerge from the desert, the people’s princess. Roan’s album is full of soaring pop bangers that put queerness at the center. The opening track, “Femininomenon” is a neologism Chappell created that combines “feminine” and “phenomenon.” The songs that follow are about coming of age, coming into one’s queerness, and discovering one’s whole self — themes that have earned her a cultish fanbase and a viral
Tiny Desk Concert, the hallmark of any true indie artist.
Other
femininomenons are shaking up the industry scene across all genres — both on and off stage. Billie Eilish has been a global megastar since she was only a teenager. After coming out as bisexual in 2023, Billie made headlines at Coachella for her undeniable queer energy. Having a Grammy-winning pop superstar be openly queer is a sure sign that the tide is changing. Especially since, after penning the song that defined girlhood last year — “What Was I Made For?”, which won Song of the Year at the Grammys for Barbie — her new album, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT, features songs like “Lunch” about queer desire.
Billie isn’t the only established young female singer to explore queer themes in their music and videos. Singers like Madison Beer, who was discovered in 2012 at the age of 13, has since come out as bisexual and talked about songs on her new album that are inspired by relationships with women. And these go beyond the lyrics.
Her newest single, “Make You Mine,” is accompanied by visuals inspired by emblematic bisexual film,
Jennifer’s Body. Her other single, “Sweet Relief,” features a trans model as the love interest — which should not be revolutionary in 2024, but in the mainstream pop world, it still is.
Then there are the bevy of alternative and rock artists who have become queer icons. From Phoebe Bridgers and Boygenius to MUNA and Remi Wolf, Gen Z favorites are here, queer, and soon everyone will be talking about them.
The industry and mainstream audiences are finally feeling the heat from these female stars and paying attention in a huge way. In the words of Chappell Roan herself: “You’d have to stop the world just to stop the feeling.”
Here are the young, queer popstars singing about sapphic love:
Renee Rapp
Our media-untrained princess is a loud and proud lesbian force. After declaring “a huge thank you to every man that helped make me realize that I was a lesbian” at the GLAAD Media Awards, I’m excited to see where her music and personality take her next.
Chappell Roan
This Midwest princess launched the gay pop hit of the summer with “Good Luck, Babe!” We’ve been massive Chappell fans for
years, and we love watching her finally get the attention she deserves. Sapphic sleeper hits from her debut album include “Naked in Manhattan.” Stream The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess now!
Billie Eilish
Billie’s latest era promises to be her most authentic yet. She has always been known for her daring fashion and unconventional approach to popstardom — traits that many have read as signals of her queerness — and it’s thrilling to see her step into her new album bringing an unapologetic vibe to everything she does. Stream “Lunch” now.
Victoria Monét
After winning Best New Artist at the 2024 Grammy Awards, Victoria Monét’s career is primed to to hit the stratosphere. A songwriter and frequent collaborator with big names like Ariana Grande, Monét has been behind the scenes for years. But now her own songs are poised to take over the airwaves. She’s also confirmed her bisexuality and how coming out freed her as an artist — perhaps allowing her to earn her a Grammy.
“In songwriting, I stopped writing pronouns that weren’t accurate,” she told Em Rata on
High Low. “It was really freeing, and it opened up another window of creativity where I could say whatever I actually feel and be true.”
Phoebe Bridgers
Phoebe Bridgers has been the unchallenged giant of the confessional indie singers since her debut album
Stranger in the Alps. Collaborations with artists like MUNA, she has confirmed her queerness in her music and in everything from Sapphic sartorial choices and of course, her work with Boygenius. At this year’s Grammys, Bridgers issued a direct FU to the straight male gatekeepers of the industry, using her way with words to say: “the ex-president of the Recording Academy, Neil Portnow, said that if women want to be nominated and win Grammys, that they should “step up” … To him, I'd like to say, 'I know you're not dead yet, but when you are, rot in piss.'"
Boygenius
Comprised of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus, and Julien Baker, Boygenius is a collaborative project of Sapphic singers singing rock bangers. The 2024 Grammys saw them winning in traditionally male categories such as best rock song and best rock performance for their single “Not Strong Enough,” as well as best alternative album for their debut studio album,
The Record.
Ethel Cain
Another for the sad, ex-Tumblr girls, Ethel Cain’s melancholy melodies are finally gaining mainstream attention. Ethel Cain’s character says Southern gothic fantasy of Hayden Anhedönia, a 24-year-old artist whose stage persona is much like character-based singers of yore — think Marina and the Diamonds. The world she creates in
Preacher’s Daughter and her other work is similar to the dark fantasies of Lana Del Rey. And similarly, this world is about chasing freedom above all else.
"I want some variation for the trans experience as depicted in trans art," Anhedönia told
Billboard in 2022. "Ethel Cain the character is trans, but I didn't make it a big part of the story because to me, being transgender is kind of boring. It's like, 'I have brown hair, I'm transgender' — it's very 'whatever,' you know? Ultimately, it's not about the identity itself, it's about the freedom to be whatever you are."
MUNA
MUNA is an indie-pop comprised of Katie Gavin, Josette Maskin, and Naomi McPherson who have been gaymous since their
debut album in 2017. Thanks to collaborations like “Silk Chiffon” with Phoebe Bridgers and features in queer films like
Alex Strangelove, they’ve been reaching an increasingly mainstream audience with their infectious gay pop bangers.
Remi Wolf
With multiple viral hits under her belt and one of the most impressive voices on the pop scene, Remi Wolf is the coolest Gen Z stars out there. Her eclectic style, genre-bending sound, and energetic stage presence make her a certified superstar. And her indiscriminate use of pronouns in her music solidifies her as a bisexual superstar.
Girl in Red
Girl in Red used to be an IYKYK niche music act known pretty much only by girls who like girls. If she came up on your Spotify algorithm, it was trying to tell you something. But she has since exploded and become an indie-pop darling — even collaborating with pop princess, Sabrina Carpenter on “ You Need Me Now?”
Madison Beer
Like Billie, Madison’s latest phase feels more herself and unrestrained. A child of the Tumblr days, it’s no surprise that she’s drawn to queer ephemera like Jennifer's Body. As she blossoms as a musician, let’s hope we hear more sapphic themes in her lyrics.
It’s been a fun and flirty few weeks for film releases. Last year’s surprise summer romance Anything But You finally came to streaming and is sitting pretty on Netflix’s Top 10. Zendaya and Luca Guadagnino’s Challengers is all sweat, sex, scorn, and some truly fine tennis — no wonder it’s the number-one movie at the box office.
And now, the long-awaited Amazon Prime Video drama
The Idea of You is finally-finally out...and the internet can't get enough.
After months of promo — and
a viral trailer that garnered over 125 million global views across all social media platforms, breaking the record for the most watched trailer for any original streaming movie — Anne Hathaway’s turn as a single mother who falls in love with the most famous popstar on the planet is. Finally. Here.
Any clip of the film reveal what’s at its core: sizzling chemistry, Hathaway’s unfailing charm, and a sudden tenderness that reveals that The Idea of You is not just one more spicy mommy movie (sorry, Fifty Shades of Grey). It’s a character study of Solène, Hathaway’s character, who turns 40 and is a woman in search of herself. Where does she find herself? In the arms of a 20-something-year-old rockstar based loosely on Harry Styles.
Is The Idea of You based on a true story?
Directed by Michael Showalter,
The Idea of You is based on Robinne Lee’s best-selling novel of the same name. The book’s now cult-like devotees slowly but surely gained momentum. The novel found a feral fanbase during those cold and lonely months of the early pandemic when everyone had the “Watermelon Sugar” music video on repeat simply to recall what outside air and human touch felt like.
But the book initially published way back in 2017 — doesn’t that feel like the Paleolithic Era? — just about a month to the
day after Harry Styles released his debut album. This is significant because, in the years that followed, the book seems to predict certain events and themes in the popstar’s relationships — specifically his headline-grabbing love affair with Olivia Wilde.
The pretty much predictive elements of the book are proof of why Lee’s novel is so compelling. It’s not just about the fantasy. And it’s not, she insists, a fan-fiction — though she has admitted it’s based on Harry Styles as well as Prince Harry and Eddie Redmayne … interesting mix. It’s about love. It’s about women. And it’s about coming of age or coming into your sexuality, at a time when society has put you on the shelf.
Is The Idea of You good?
The
Idea of You is bringing back the rom-com. Watching the film, I couldn’t help but say aloud: “we’re so back.” From a classic awkward-but-charming meet-cute to the sexy montages of relationship bliss set to upbeat music, The Idea of You does everything you want a rom-com to do. And because it’s been so long since we’ve seen a high-budget romantic comedy of this caliber — with Anne Hathaway no less! — it doesn’t feel trite, it feels refreshing. Invigorating. Addictive.
This is due in no small part to the stunningly sensual performances by Hathaway and her leading man, Nicholas Galitzine (
Bottoms and Red, White, and Royal Blue), who plays Hayes Campbell. Hathaway raves about her co-star's ability to create chemistry with anyone. So, paired with an Oscar-winning actress, of course, the sparks were flying.
If you didn’t believe in the characters' chemistry, the film would fall apart. The tension between them must be strong enough to withstand a world tour, societal judgments, and Sol’s own self-doubts. And this pair delivers. As you watch, you’ll fall in love with Galitzine, too. In interviews, he’s got the same quintessential British charm of a young Hugh Grant. On-screen, he’s every bit the magnetic rockstar that easily packs a stadium full of girls hoping to catch his eye and his heart.
For her part, Hathaway plays the somewhat farfetched role with grounded authenticity. She’s not the typical someone who gets swept away by this young rockstar. She’s a complex character who allows herself to take a risk. To meet her complexity, Galitzine has to imbue his own character with far more than rock’n’roll, fake tattoos, and that one little earring. He crafts exactly the kind of dream boy you hope is underneath your fave heartthrobs. Sensitive and boyish, but full of depth, Galitzine’s Hayes Campbell plays perfectly against Hathaway’s Solene —
literally.
I get what Anything But You is trying to say — but did it get there?
For what it is, this film is spectacular. Give it a Teen Choice Award, a People’s Choice Award,
and a VMA for the promotional August Moon visuals. It’s certified Fresh with a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. For too long, the genre’s been handed paltry budgets for trite storylines and left in the dust. But after years of being underinvested in and undervalued by the gatekeepers of cinema, The Idea of You proves why we should bet on character-driven movies about women.
Though we still adore many of those heroines from the rom-com heyday — that includes Anne Hathaway as Andy in
The Devil Wears Prada or The Princess Diaries — there’s one notable difference between this story and the films of yore. Our protagonists’s age.
Despite Hathaway’s youthful appearance, Solène isn’t just some ingenue. She’s not a 20-year-old trying to make it in the big city. She’s not a naive Manic Pixie Dream Girl from a small town whose purpose is to introduce all the beauty in the world to a jaded man. And she’s certainly not a corporate Girlboss who just needs a man to show her there’s more to life. No, Solène’s a divorced mother and gallerist who is on her journey to self-discovery.
We meet her as she’s embarking on a camping trip in an attempt to find herself in nature. But when that camping trip morphs into a chaperoning expedition to Coachella, Solène is thrust into the giddy world of being a rockstar girlfriend for a man more than 15 years her junior.
Anne Hathaway says this age dynamic is part of why she wanted to take on this role. Some skeptics have asked why Hathaway is already being relegated to mom roles or why she took on a fluffy film, the hidden complexity is what drew her to it.
“For some reason, we talk about coming-of-age stories as being something that happens to you in the earliest part of your life, and I don’t know about you, but I feel like I keep blooming,” Hathaway said at the film’s
SXSW premiere.
Indeed, the film focuses on Sol’s age from many different angles. There are the establishing shots of Sol forced to make lackluster conversation with men her age at her birthday party. There’s her toxic dynamic with her ex-husband and the sense that she’s trying to emerge whole from the shell of a bad marriage. There’s of course, the contrast between her teenage daughter (Ella Rudin) insisting she’s too old for the group August Moon while Sol herself has a steamy affair with its lead singer. But most of the focus on her age is external.
The Idea of You tackles society’s expectations and constraints of middle-aged women. It parrots back outdated attitudes slamdunk debunks them — by showing you that Sol is still sexy, thank you very much.
While looking like Anne Hathaway and being attractive to a 24-year-old shouldn’t be the metrics for one’s worth, they don’t hurt. But in Sol’s case, we don’t see much of her personal development beyond this brief tryst. What we do see, is the people in her life grappling with the external pressures thrust upon them by hyperbolic headlines and social media abuse.
“It’s because you’re a woman,” Rudin’s character plainly states. Yet, the film doesn’t get more nuanced than that. But does it have to? After all, we’ve seen this familiar trope play out in real life. Namely, with Olivia Wilde during the
Don’t Worry Darling press tour firestorm. And I worry any further extrapolation would have resulted in a Barbie-type monologue.
At its core,
The Idea of You is a step above fan-fiction but it achieves what the best fan-fics do: validate your fantasies. It says, hey [your name], you, too, deserve love. Love in this case is the attention of a Coachella performer (Sabrina Carpenter, call me), but it’s also the belief that you’re worthy of that attention. And watching that sort of lavish affection bestowed on a woman over 25 on screen is refreshing and thrilling.
Even more, it’s proof that the female gaze is ruling cinema and it’s here to stay.
How to watch The Idea of You
The Idea of You is streaming on Amazon Prime Video starting May 2nd.
Like all rom-coms, this movie is just as good if you watch it alone in your room, giggling and kicking your feet as if you’re watching it sleepover-style with all your besties. It’s also screening at a select number of theaters. So, check your local showtimes for tickets, take your blankets to the cinema, and giggle and gasp along with the crowd as you all fall in love with Nicholas Galitzine together.
With a name like mine, I'm fully aware of the traumas that come with people not being able to pronounce it. So when Loewe's latest star-studded campaign came out, I felt their decades-long struggle. No, my name will never be on a keychain, but it's taught me to learn how to pronounce things...
fast.
Loewe, pronounced low-ay-vay, has subtle-y worked its way beyond runways and onto the bodies of our favorite celebrities. Lowkey celebrity power couple, Harry Styles and Taylor Russell, are often seen touting Loewe bags. It makes sense, considering Russell has been the face of multiple Loewe campaigns.
In the
Decades of Confusion short film directed by Ally Pankiw, written by Dan Levy, and creative directed by Jonathon Anderson, Levy and Aubrey Plaza face off in a spelling bee. As the moderator, Levy asks Plaza to spell Loewe- to which she stutters and struggles and messes up by the second letter.
Although Plaza is decked out in vintage Loewe from head-to-toe, we fast forward years later to a married Plaza finding out that there's a "w" in Loewe.
What works: brands being self-aware, knowing that none of us could figure out how to pronounce the name. You see Loewe written across headlines and sewn into labels, you see it all over magazine covers with Hollywood's hottest stars, but you constantly have to Google how to say it.
Loewe has found a way to make themselves relatable, despite the fact that their pricing isn't necessarily accessible. The Spanish fashion house known for their minimalist styles and artisanal craftsmanship...but they continue to push boundaries through design innovation and clever campaigns.
If you like surrealist fashion, where clothing is turned into visual representations of art (think Loewe's puzzle bag), then this is the brand to watch in 2024.
Growing up a One Direction fan, I am brimming with unnecessary knowledge of four British (and one Irish) men. I have continued to follow
Harry Styles throughout his illustrious solo career, and I still watch their This Is Us documentary once a year. And in the world of boybands and sick obsession comes fan fiction.
Yes, I'm no stranger to the classic fanfic lore: your mother sold you to One Direction because she couldn't pay her bills, or Harry is the emotionally unavailable soccer star at your school and you, dear Y/N, are the nerd assigned to tutor him. And some fanfics were so addictive that they were turned into films --
see: the After series by Anna Todd.
But now, we've been introduced to a new band in a new film that totally doesn't ring any familiar bells: August Moon.
Who Is August Moon?
August Moon is the fictional band in the new Amazon Prime movie,
The Idea Of You, directed by Michael Showalter and starring Anne Hathaway and Nicholas Galitzine. Based on the novel by Robinne Lee, "The Idea Of You" was fashioned after Harry Styles and his rumored love for older women. The internet has already been abuzz comparing Galitzine's Hayes Campbell to Styles- the patchwork tattoos, the One Direction-inspired photoshoots and mannerisms, and of course the British accent.
24-year-old lead singer Hayes meets 40-year-old Solene (Hathaway) at
Coachella (where else?) and sparks fly. If you want to read more about what happens in the trailer, check out our recap here!
Just like
Daisy Jones & The Six,August Moon will be releasing their music on streaming platforms across the world. Their first song, "Dance Before We Walk", was featured in the trailer today.
The song itself isn't as bad as I anticipated, it's reminiscent of British synth indie pop made popular by bands like The 1975. Singing alongside
Galitzine, there's Jaiden Anthony, Raymond Cham, Vik White, and Dakota Andan. And it looks like that won't be the last of August Moon!
The band has also just activated an Instagram account (and it already has over 5k followers), so it truly looks like they're taking the Daisy Jones approach. The hype surrounding any band mirroring One Direction is huge, and it only amplifies when the lead singer is played by a current Hollywood heartthrob who's seemingly in
everything.
You can listen to "Dance Before We Walk" here:
MORE ABOUT THE IDEA OF YOU
Directed by Michael Showalter
Screenplay by Michael Showalter and Jennifer Westfeldt, Based Upon the Book by Robinne Lee
Produced by Cathy Schulman p.g.a., Gabrielle Union p.g.a., Anne Hathaway p.g.a., Robinne Lee, Eric Hayes, Michael Showalter, Jordana Mollick
Executive Produced by Douglas S. Jones, Jason Babiszewski, Jennifer Westfeldt, Kian Gass
Starring Anne Hathaway, Nicholas Galitzine, Ella Rubin, Annie Mumolo, Reid Scott, Perry Mattfeld, Jordan Aaron Hall, Mathilda Gianopoulos, Raymond Cham Jr., Jaiden Anthony, Viktor White, Dakota Adan
Genre Romantic Drama
Based on the acclaimed, contemporary love story of the same name, The Idea of You centers on Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of August Moon, the hottest boy band on the planet. When Solène must step in to chaperone her teenage daughter’s trip to the Coachella Music Festival after her ex bails at the last minute, she has a chance encounter with Hayes and there is an instant, undeniable spark. As they begin a whirlwind romance, it isn’t long before Hayes’ superstar status poses unavoidable challenges to their relationship, and Solène soon discovers that life in the glare of his spotlight might be more than she bargained for.
This film is like if your mom stole your Wattpad moment. The Idea of You follows Solène (Anne Hathaway), a 40-year-old single mom who begins an unexpected romance with her daughter’s favorite pop star. She goes from begrudgingly chaperoning her daughter to Coachella to meeting, to falling for, 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Nicholas Galitzine), the lead singer of a band, August Moon, based on One Direction.
That’s just where the story begins. The film takes us through their whirlwind romance as Solène wrestles with her unexpected passion for a man almost half her age and the media attention that comes with him. Oh the things we do for boys who play guitar.
I’m expecting something that feels like a mix of After (the original Harry Styles-inspired story), A Star is Born, Fifty Shades of Grey, and How Stella Got Her Groove Back. It’s also been compared to Daisy Jones & The Six (by us … we compared it to that). The trailer just dropped and it teases a film that will no doubt be a thrilling ride.
The Idea of You trailer is out now. Watch it here:
The Idea of You - Official Trailer | Prime Videowww.youtube.com
What is The Idea of You based on?
There are many reasons this film has been generating buzz ever since the project was announced. The craziest reason is also the most compelling: it’s kind of about Harry Styles — with a little inspo taken from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, too. Sounds absolutely bonkers? It is. But it’s more than just fan service — this film promises to stand on its own.
The Idea of You is based on a bestselling novel by Robinne Lee. Before her turn as a bestselling novelist, Robinne Lee was an actress. You might recognize her for her roles Hitch, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. So no surprises that she ended up writing this steamy novel.
Though it was released in 2017, the book became a hit during the pandemic — famous for its surprising and emotionally tumultuous ending. Of course, the source material also got readers hooked. Lee has confirmed in interviews that she was inspired to write the book after stumbling across a One Direction video. Many fan fiction writers have been there, too.
But unlike teens on Wattpad or AO3, Lee’s book is about more than just lust — though there is a lot of that, too. The book is about a woman in her 40s rediscovering her sexuality and feeling desirable. Sure, the story might have gotten its roots when Lee realized that Styles has dated his fair share of older women (and this was before the messiness of the Don’t Worry Darling press tour that deserves its own movie), but it’s really a dramatic tale about how women get overlooked as they age. One that says hey, you’re still just one Coachella ticket away from the hottest relationship of your life — no matter your age.
While the adaptation reimagines the characters and tells the story in the spirit of the novel — so don’t expect a line by line reenactment — fans are hoping the book’s spirit and wrenching ending is realized fully in the new film.
The Idea of You Cast
Alongside Nicholas Galitzine and Anne Hathaway (who is also a producer on the film with Gabrielle Union), The Idea of You stars Ella Rubin, Annie Mumolo, Reid Scott, Perry Mattfeld, Jordan Aaron Hall, Mathilda Gianopoulos, Raymond Cham Jr., Jaiden Anthony, Viktor White, and Dakota Adan.
The Idea of You Soundtrack
While it’s definitely not a musical, this film is based on a boyband and one of the most famous musicians in the world. To give fans the full experience, Nicholas Galitzine gets to show off his singing in the film’s full Original Motion Picture Soundtrack, which will be available in tandem with the film’s release.
Nicholas Galitzine is no stranger to singing on camera. His first major roles in Handsome Devil and The Beat BeneathMy Feet saw him clutching a guitar. He also played the Prince in Amazon’s jukebox musical adaptation of Cinderella alongside Camilla Cabello. Most notably, fans know him for his TikTok covers and guitar playing, making him perfect for this Harry Styles-esque character. Wherever they’re making these charming, singing Brits — take me there.
The film follows the couple through the superstar’s tour with his boyband, August Moon, so of course there’s lots and lots of original music. The first song, "Dance Before We Walk", was featured in the trailer. Just like Daisy Jones & The Sixand A Star Is Born, this is sure to be a soundtrack to remember. The band has also just activated an Instagram account (and it already has over 5k followers), so you can follow along on Instagram.
The Idea of You is set to have its World Premiere at SXSW Festival on March 16th as the Closing Night Film. After premiering in Austin, you can stream The Idea of You on Prime Video on May 2nd. Calendar: marked.
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