On Friday, December 8, Nicki Minaj went back to her roots by releasing the second installment of her no-skips debut album,
Pink Friday, with Pink Friday 2. The 2010 debut included radio hits like "Super Bass", "Fly (feat. Rihanna)", and "Moment 4 Life", and went triple Platinum. So you can imagine the hype behind The Queen of Hip-Hop's fifth studio album is surging to an all-time high...
Enter Gag City.
A few days before the album dropped, Minaj invited her army of Barbz to a pink utopia: Gag City. Named after the slang term, which we now use to indicate a loss for words, Gag City's every Barbie lover's dream...that became an instantaneous meme.
X (or Twitter, whichever you prefer) took their own creative liberties alongside the help of AI to put virtually anything you could think of in Gag City. Most of the Gag City attendees are fan-approved queens who are worthy of Nicki Minaj's approval. So obviously that includes the Starbucks Lemon Loaf. Unfortunately, others decided that Cardi B was denied entry to Gag City due to their 2018 New York Fashion Week brawl.
But there's one ultimate Barb who was awarded the Golden Ticket to Gag City...and that's none other than "Roman's Revenge" cover rapper, Timothee Chalamet! Spotify made our new
Wonka star the cover of their Teen Beats playlist as he enters Gag City, which is just about the highest compliment.
Spotify, who had their own mega-viral moment with the introduction of Sound Towns during the release of 2023 Wrapped last week, also announced on X that they were including Gag City as a new destination. The streaming platform is seemingly teasing a visit from Nicki Minaj herself, making their headquarters on X "#GagCity" and interacting with the Queen Barb.
Pink Friday 2 is already a hit album, but we already knew it would be. Minaj hit every mark, including star collaborations like J. Cole, Drake, Lil Uzi Vert, and Future, and she has even promised to release a new track everyday. The gift that keeps on giving, Gag City and Pink Friday 2 will always be famous.
Now that I've obsessively pored through my Spotify Wrapped 2023 playlist a few times over, unfortunately I need something new. Regardless of the fun Spotify Wrapped features this year, my Blend playlists with friends are the entire Stick Season (We'll All Be Here Forever) album with a mixture of Elvis. So it's not even like I can get variety there!
I know I'm not the only one who's done this: whether you may be an Apple Music or Spotify type of person, you're a bit tired of the same old-same old right now.
Which is where I have to step in and be my own hero here. You may be familiar with this little segment I run called "Weekend Playlist", an all-over-the-place roundup of the best music released this week. And as we're surging into the holiday season, I am spending a lot of time traveling...so I need fresh playlists.
Before we know it, I'll be preaching about how it's the new year, which calls for new music...but before I get too ahead of myself, let's stay in the moment. One of my favorite things to do is create a playlist for every type of mood I'm in, which only further proves my credentials as Playlist Maker Of The Year.
It's December 8, which means it's time for a brand new Weekend Playlist! Let's get listening!
Nicki Minaj- Pink Friday 2
Barbs, assemble. The epitome of Nicki Minaj is the Pink Friday album, with hits like "Super Bass", "Moment 4 Life", "Roman's Revenge", and "Did It On 'Em", it's a literal no-skips body of work. Now the Queen of Rap is here with the next installment of the iconic album, Pink Friday 2.
You've seen the Gag City memes already, and there's perhaps no bigger buzz for an album this week than the swarm of listeners ready to consume more Nicki. I'm ready to be sent back to middle school with the classic Nicki/Roman we all know and love.
FLETCHER- "Eras Of Us"
FLETCHER is a name to keep on your radar as we enter 2024. With her first single release since her 2022 debut album, "Eras Of Us" gives listeners a glimpse of her iconic, powerhouse of a voice mixed with an ethereal, pulsating beat riddled with guitar riffs. Step into the dreamworld of FLETCHER with this bold new single, one of her best yet.
What I like about the song is that she's taking steps away from her classic debut sound, making a leap towards risk-taking and cleaner production sounds that transform her music into a full-body experience.
Toosii- "IDGAF"
It's already been a mega year for Toosii, whose track "Favorite Song" was a fan-favorite. One of the most viral artists of 2023, Toosii is back with "IDGAF"- a carefree anthem reflecting on his career thus far and all he's conquered in his path.
With an accompanying music video filled with clips from Toosii's journey, "IDGAF" is an intimate look into who he is as a person and an artist.
obai- "dancefloor"
At 18 years old, Obai has the classic R&B sound reminiscent of early 2000's greats like Usher, Nelly, and Destiny's Child had perfected. The song is well-constructed- catchy hooks, a euphoric, enchanting beat, and lyrics that are both well-written and sexy in all the right parts. It's an exciting submission to an already impressive track record for Obai, who has been working with music since he was 12.
"dancefloor" offers insight of what's to come: more hit-worthy tracks that are good for dancing, driving, and much more.
The Killers- Rebel Diamonds
Lead singer of The Killers, Brendan Flowers, just sat down with Zane Lowe to discuss their new greatest hits album, Rebel Diamonds, the making of iconic songs like "Mr. Brightside" and "When We Were Young", and how Zane had a part in all of it. Compiling some of their quintessential classics that the public still loves to this day.
It's a great time to be nostalgic with some pivotal moments from The Killers' prolific career.
Tate McRae- Think Later
Although Tate McRae is only 20 years old, she has tons of viral bangers under her belt already like "you broke me first" and "she's all I wanna be." And after a big year with hits like "greedy" and "10:35", and an even buzzier Saturday Night Live performance that got us asking "are real dancing popstars back?"...Tate McRae is showing what she's got with a new album, Think Later.
She's already massively successful, but this sophomore album seems to be ready to show the world who Tate McRae really is.
“Barbie has a great day every day. Ken only has a great day if Barbie looks at him.”
- Helen Mirren, narrator for Barbie
Growing up as a girl, I played with all sorts of dolls: American Girl, Bratz, Polly Pocket, and of course, Barbies. I had the Dream House, the Dream Car, the color-changing mermaid . . . and let's not forget Ken. But as I aged, Barbie became more problematic.
Suddenly, we grew up and realized that Barbie didn't reflect the diversity (by any means) of our world very well. She was dimensionally impossible, but as we grew up she was our role model?!?! How could we spend our lives coveting a blonde-haired, cinched-waisted, pink-loving Barbie-life if the girl selling the dream was unattainable?
And then there were the controversial Barbies…1965 Slumber Party Barbie's scale was set at 110 pounds. She had a dieting book titled “How To Lose Weight” with the advice “Don’t Eat!” OMG - our role model was promoting eating disorder culture!
1965 Slumber Party Barbie
Daily Mail
Mattel was failing to realize that by making Barbie a doctor, lawyer, homeowner, extraordinaire, she truly was our role model as little girls. We were looking at these dolls potentially seeing what our future could look like. And if it meant being 110 pounds to have the Dream Car, that sends the opposite message.
But there is no one I have more faith in than Greta Gerwig to do the injustices of Barbie justice. We have just under one month until Gerwig’s
Barbie movie releases into theaters…on the same day as Christopher Nolan’s polar opposite Oppenheimer, which has started its own collection of memes for a double-header day.
Barbie has already stolen the hearts of social media with perhaps the best marketing we’ve seen for a movie in a long time (barring the accidental chaos marketing of Don’t Worry Darling). We’ve gotten picturesque stills of BarbieLand, the Architectural Digest tour of the Dream House, hilarious trailers, and of course the iconic movie posters. The main message of the posters? Barbie (Margot Robbie) is everything, and he’s just Ken (Ryan Gosling).
From the trailer we can tell that Barbie lives in her pink world with other Barbies and Kens, like Dua Lipa being Mermaid Barbie. But one day when Barbie throws her party (complete with synchronized dance and bespoke song), she lets a thought out:
“Do you guys ever think about dying?” Party halts.
Now that she’s contempating her mortality, things for Barbie become less than perfect: her heels touch the ground (gag) and she falls off her roof (gasp)..So she’s given a choice: return to her world (presented as a high heel) or go to the Real World and figure out what life’s really about (presented as a worn out Birkenstock). Unfortunately for Barbie, she has to choose the latter.
In BarbieLand, she explains, “
Basically everything men do in your world, women do in ours.” As for the Kens? “I honestly don’t know.” If you can tell the theme of this film so far, it’s that women are running the show.
But what Greta Gerwig gets right with
Barbie so far is that BarbieLand is impractical. In the Architectural Digest tour, Margot Robbie shows us how the pool is fake because there are no elements in Barbie’s world. She showers without water, has a fridge filled with decal food, and a lot, she admits with a laugh, is “not super practical, but nothing is for Barbie.”
The success of the movie already is proving to be major. With Ryan Gosling’s fierce dedication to being Ken, you find it hard
not to root for this movie in the box office. He’s given us quotes like “If you really cared about Ken, you would know that nobody cared about Ken” and coined the term “Ken-ergy.”
On Jimmy Fallon, Gosling likened Ken to an un-cool accessory, saying that nobody really ever played with a Ken doll. “
I was surprised how…some people were clutching their pearls about my Ken, as though they ever thought about Ken for a second. They never played with Ken! Nobody ever plays with Ken.”
And we’ve already seen the blazing hot pink merchandise that has scattered stores. You can buy Barbie-inspired satin pillowcases, Barbie glassware, Barbie cookware. Our lives are suddenly immersed in our picturesque Barbie DreamWorld,
but this time with a grown-up twist.
We’re no longer emulating the Barbie look, per-se…but the Barbie Dream. It’s about female empowerment and uplifting others, becoming successful in your own way, and loving the color pink always. It’s more of the Barbie mindset than the Barbie body.
With a star-studded cast consisting of Will Ferrell, Margot Robbie, Ryan Gosling, Simu Liu, Emma Mackey, Kate McKinnon, and more…and an equally studded soundtrack with features from Nicki Minaj and Ice Spice, Dua Lipa, Ava Max, Charli XCX, Khalid, Lizzo, etc. This movie radiates power.
As a lover of all things pink, I’m here for the Barbie collabs. Here are my faves to get you ready for the movie of the summer:
I moved to the New York City area last August, and one of the first venues I heard of was the elusive Brooklyn Mirage. It’s a live music venue located in the heart of Brooklyn, New York where any DJ whose anybody plays night after night in the summer. It draws huge crowds, fans of EDM and people who just like dance music come together in this courtyard-esque venue.
So when I finally got the chance to go see the legendary David Guetta, who has won two Grammy awards and been gracing us with our favorite radio hits for decades now, I couldn’t pass it up. Whether I knew it or not, I had been listening to David Guetta’s music for years. Hits like “Who’s That Chick (feat. Rihanna)”, “Titanium (feat. Sia)”, and “I’m Good (Blue) (feat. Bebe Rexha)” are chart-dominating tracks that Guetta has released.
There’s nothing like watching someone who has made such an impact on the music industry and world of EDM. I’ve frequented a few EDM shows in my time, so I knew the energy would be high. But I was curious to experience a show by such a legend and witness how the crowd would respond to songs they grew up listening to versus new remixes and original beats.
What I find unique about EDM shows is the range in which the show can possess. You can switch up vibes from upbeat to slow in less than one minute, you can control the crowd’s energy through beats alone. You can do cover after cover, remix after remix, and it can be different each time.
Which is exactly how David Guetta’s show was. He opened strong, with his classic, "Titanium" and most recent hit “I’m Good (Blue)”, which has topped charts and was nominated for a Grammy this year. It’s probably the most-played song at clubs and bars near you. And it’s a great way to get the crowd moving early on. Especially when it’s
your song.
It can be hard to capture the audience’s attention when you’re not out there fully able to talk to the crowd and stop the sound whenever you want. However, David Guetta had no problem. With a laser light show spanning across the Mirage and enough graphics to sync up with every beat, there wasn’t a shortage of things to look at and enrapture you.
From my view over the crowd, I was able to see that the place was filled to the brim. Sure, that made getting drinks a bit of a hassle. (It’s a cashless and cardless event, anyway. You sync your card to your wristband before entering the event itself — and I wouldn’t expect anything less from one of NYC’s hottest venues.) But no one seemed to mind once the music started.
He played a crazy range of his catalog. He had old hits like “Where Them Girls At (feat. Flo Rida)” and “Hey Mama (feat. Nicki Minaj, Bebe Rexha, and Afrojack)” that everyone could sing along to. But that wasn’t all, original mixes, remixes of classic songs and trending club hits, and mixes of older hits like Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams.”
It’s a show that you don’t want to miss if you have the opportunity. David Guetta has made a plethora of our favorite tracks, and his impact on the music industry isn’t underrated. He’s an icon for a reason, and his live shows prove just that.
Despite the large number of people dancing along in the GA section, it didn’t matter if there were 100,000 people. They just cared about the music.
Does anyone remember Disney Channel’s Disneymania albums?
During the golden era of Disney Channel Original content, the channel would release a compilation of their hottest stars singing their hottest songs. The Disneymania series ran for 8 years, between 2002 to 2010, and put out seven albums.
This was the heyday of Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, and many more. With covers and originals alike, these compilation albums go down in history for their pure bizarreness — and also for putting out some certified bangers.
That same feeling — a mix of wonder, whimsy, and pure joy — is what I’m expecting from the Barbie movie soundtrack, which announced its features today.
If you thought the live-action Barbie movie couldn’t get any more iconic after revealing its cast of Barbies and Kens, its musician line-up rivals that of some festivals this summer.
Compiled by legendary producer Mark Ronson, there are some expected guests and a few surprises. The lineup includes Charli XCX, Dua Lipa, Ice Spice, Lizzo, PinkPantheress, Tame Impala, Haim, Nicki Minaj (of course the queen of the Barbz would be on the Barbie soundtrack), Khalid, and more.
The biggest surprise? Ryan Gosling. That’s right. Our starring Ken Doll apparently has his own song on the soundtrack. And you better believe that’s the song I’m tuning into FIRST.
The movie of the summer is almost upon us folks. And it’s bringing with it, the songs of the summer.
Barbie, starring Margot Robbie and written/directed by Greta Gerwig, will go down in camp history — right alongside films like the live-action Scooby-Doo series and the Disneymania albums.
The newest trailer promises fun, laughs, and a dose of existentialism. Every peek we get of Barbie makes us more and more eager for July 21st to hurry up and get here.
I
love listening to music. You’ve probably gathered that if you’ve seen or read any of my interviews…but it’s true! Music makes the world go round.
Especially on the weekends when the weather is this nice. It’s almost sinful not to curate a playlist and spend time outside with my friends. Everyone goes to me for playlist recs, so I’m constantly on the lookout for new tunes that everyone will like.
There’s a constant stream of new songs every week, and I’m here to give you your ultimate weekend playlist with the best new music out there. If you’re looking for something to freshen up your Spotify or Apple Music repertoire…here’s my picks for this week’s Friday Playlist!
Lewis Capaldi “Wish You The Best”
Lewis Capaldi is one of music’s greatest voices right now. With crooning vocals and lyrics to shatter anyone’s heart…”Wish You The Best” is a Capaldi classic. A breakup anthem that is soon to hit radio stations on repeat, “WYTB” is everything a fan could ask for and more.
Hot off a new documentary, a few new singles, and a busy 2023, Lewis’ new single is the perfect relaxing intro to your weekend playlist.
Ice Spice, Nicki Minaj “Princess Diana”
To get the party started, we have Queen Nicki Minaj pairing with Princess Ice Spice on Ice Spice’s “Princess Diana.” Ice Spice has quickly risen to stardom in the music world, gaining respect and recognition from some of the world’s biggest rappers. Her face is seen on billboards everywhere following her TikTok famous track “Boy’s A Liar.”
“Princess Diana” is the track that makes you want to get up and dance with your friends. It’s ready for pregame playlists across the country, and just in time for a great weekend.
Lauren Spencer Smith ft. GAYLE and Em “Fantasy”
Lauren Spencer Smith knows a thing or two about toxic relationships. Combine her talent with GAYLE, who wrote breakup anthem “abcdefu” and Em Beihold, and you have yourself a hit record. It’s empowering, it’s refreshing, and it’s worthy of a listen.
Spencer Smith is the breakthrough act of 2022, and “Fantasy” solidifies that. She’s a talented singer-songwriter who can relate to any listener.
Austin Millz, ESTELLE “Freeway”
DJ Austin Millz has released EDM banger “Freeway” with the legendary ESTELLE. You may know ESTELLE’s vocals from “American Boy (ft. Kanye West)”, but “Freeway” takes you to a whole new world of dance beats and club vibes. It could make anyone feel like they’re at a club in Ibiza.
You won't want to miss Austin Millz this year, who has already had a few major singles. “Freeway” is all good vibes and makes you feel the way music should: like an escape to a far away oasis.
Quinn XCII, “Georgia Peach”
With Quinn XCII’s smooth vocals and his even catchier lyrics, “Georgia Peach” is your summer anthem. It’s perfectly paired with a glass of wine on the beach, reminiscent of good times. It literally makes you want to go outside and have fun.
An accompanying music video with TikTok’s finest @Octopusslover8 (Jake Shane) and an upcoming tour in May with A R I Z O N A and Julia Wolf, it truly is the summer of Quinn. He talked about his new album,
The People’s Champ, with Popdust recently!
Lyn Lapid, “poster boy”
20 year-old Lyn Lapid is making a name for herself in the music industry right now. With a sophomore EP lurking in the shadows, “poster boy” is the latest single from a much-anticipated body of work. Her previous single “Do U Really” enforces Lyn Lapid’s insane talent.
Lyn was discovered after launching her mega-successful TikTok page, which garnered 1 billion views and 5 million followers in no time. “poster boy” is the perfect introduction to Lyn’s music..not to be missed.