Fans have been waiting for seven years for a new submission from iconic angst rap-rock band, Linkin Park. When lead singer, Chester Bennington, tragically committed suicide in 2017, the band went on an indefinite hiatus — after creating seven monumental studio albums together. Since then, there's been silence. Until today.
Linkin Park is used to causing a frenzy. Their hit album,
Hybrid Theory, catapulted the band into rockstar status in early 2000. For two decades, the group led a movement: reviving rock and roll — mixing in original dance, rap, and pop elements along the way. With tracks like "In The End" and "One Step Closer", Linkin Park was a staple in a defining music movement.
They're one of the best-selling bands of the 21st century, winning many fan-nominated and academy-voted awards such as two GRAMMYs. And now, they're ready to return with fresh faces and an even fresher single.
Last night during a live performance, the band announced that Emily Armstrong of the band Dead Sara will be the latest co-vocalists for Linkin Park. They also will be adding Colin Brittain, a songwriter and producer, as one of their drummers.
In addition, Linkin Park will be releasing their first song in seven years, "The Emptiness Machine" and a new album with lead single, "From Zero", out November 15!
The band is officially back in action, and fans are certainly excited for the return of yet another iconic music group!
New mother
Hailey Bieber has been the ultimate influencer for just about everyone on the planet. She’s dictated trends like chrome nails, glazed donut skin (thanks, rhode), and even hair color. And if Hailey Bieber uses Kosas concealer, so do we.
Not only does she make a product look easy to use, she’s also a supermodel who knows trends
before the public does. Listening to Hailey Bieber expound about trends is the smart thing to do.
But one thing I am confident about is the fact that I cannot afford
Hailey Bieber’s entire wardrobe. Yes, she may be the inspiration for our capsule closets and obsession with basics…she’s also a multi-millionaire. And I, sadly, am not.
That’s not going to stop me from aspiring to a supermodel-caliber closet on a regular salary. In fact, since
Hailey celebrates the basics so much, it actually makes her style affordable to recreate. No one can tell if Hailey’s tee is Prada and mine is H&M…
If you’re going to emulate a celebrity’s style, it’s key to invest in pieces where quality makes a visible difference like leather jackets or dresses. But ultimately, we’re looking to shop smarter and save money.
Hailey Bieber has iconic outfits that we all can easily achieve, so let’s look into how to get her look for less!
Hailey’s All White Moment
Hailey is blessed. Even while pregnant with son, Jack Blues Bieber, she can wear regular-sized clothing. But what I especially like about this outfit is that it works for multiple occasions and looks terrific on all body types.
Here are some great options for a similar Hailey-inspired look:
And, of course, there’s the bag. A Birkin knockoff by YSL is awesome, but even then, still too pricey. Luckily enough, the market’s glutted with Birkin dupes that are more affordable.
An Easy Fall Trench Look
Honestly, this is such a fantastic look that’s easily put together with essential items already in your closet: a white tank, trousers, and trench coat. What Hailey does best is make basic look thrilling. And an easily achievable look.
Plus, a trench coat is a necessity when it comes to fall weather. It’s one of the most underrated outerwear pieces for the fashion lover. A trench coat and heels says corporate, it gives off an official vibe that I love.
If you want this ensemble, here are a few close-to-identical pieces:
Now that we’re suddenly transitioning into fall weather, we need to start thinking about cold weather pieces. If there’s one thing that is
very Hailey Bieber, it’s an oversized leather jacket.
She’s constantly photographed with a big leather Balenciaga bomber jacket — upwards of $6,000. So while we can’t afford Hailey’s iconic leather jacket — that she wears with everything — we
can replicate.
These are my favorite leather bombers that are inspired by Hailey:
If you’re partial to the mob wife aesthetic, this one’s for you. When Mrs. Bieber donned this YSL faux fur jacket with a pair of jeans, red pumps, and sunnies, we knew this would be a style inspo pic for many.
Nothing makes you feel sassier than a fur coat. When I wear one, I seriously feel like a runway model hiding secrets in my jacket. Drape it over a dress for added warmth this winter, with leather leggings, or even jeans like HB.
We all love a little black dress. But again, the weather is transitional right now. Great for date night, or dinner with your friends, or just a special occasion in general. I love this dress on Hailey because she lets her accessories do the talking.
Whether you choose to style it with simple jewelry and a chic up-do, or colorful heels and matching bag, with a simple black dress like Hailey’s Bottega Veneta dress you cannot go wrong.
Again, a $2,900 dress isn’t the ideal price tag, I’ve found a few similar looks for far less:
Holiday Season calls for a red dress…I know it, you know it. So let’s get it out of the way early! Have one on deck so you don’t have to stress about it come December.
What amazing about this Hailey look is that she really commits to the all red. Red pumps, red lip, red strawberry earrings, and of course…the red dress.
This Ermanno Scervino Fall 2023 dress is, of course, far beyond our price range. But something like it is certainly achievable. Just look for a structured empire waist and tight bodice on your strapless dress.
Here are a few similar options if you want the Bieber look:
When we talk, Becca Stevens is in Hong Kong, playing a string of shows. Before that, she was in Japan. Before that, she was on Broadway on the cast of the Tony Award-winning musical, Illinoise. All while juggling the demands of motherhood and working on her new album, Maple to Paper.
“It’s all very surreal and exciting,” she says. But as someone whose artistry has developed over
years, she’s used to being in service to the art — wherever that takes her. Maple to Paper is proof of her commitment to following her inspirations, no matter how painfully personal. An album about motherhood, artistry, and selfhood, it explores Stevens’ grief over losing her mother while becoming a mother herself. Known for her ability to infuse her personal reflections with universality, Maple to Paper shows Stevens at her most vulnerable.
As her first acoustic folk album, most of it was recorded in single takes, produced alongside Nic Hard to create a stripped-down sound that keeps the listener grounded as the lyrics explore philosophical realities and existential meditations. But this doesn’t feel like a departure — rather an extension of herself. With each album, she says, she embraces a different muse.
Maple to Paper involved searching through the most tender parts of herself by stepping into a character and a new sound and transmogrifying them for an audience.
“This record is very different from
Wonderbloom,” she says. “I'm sure that there will be people who are not into it, and they'll think, I guess this is how she is now. But by the time that happens, I will already be working on the next thing, so I'm not even what they think I am. Once it gets to that point, I'll already be somebody else.”
Becca spoke to us about all things
Maple to Paper and Illinoise — talking transformation, transmuting painful emotions to an audience, and her inspirations (including Sufjan Stevens).
(Photo credit: Shervin Lainez)
POPDUST: How has it been to play the new songs?
Becca Stevens: So much of this process has been a solo venture — writing them at home alone, recording them at home alone — so getting to play them in front of human beings who are reacting to things is awesome.
One thing that has been really cool and refreshing is to hear people laugh at my jokes. Because my sense of humor in a couple of the songs is a little dark and dry. And to hear people get it and laugh at it is startling to me because I've just been singing them alone, and then I hear people get my dumb little jokes, and it startles me in a really nice way.
POPDUST: You’ve talked about the anxiety of sharing such a personal album. Can you speak to that a little bit?
Becca Stevens: In the darkest moments of this album – processing my grief and also birthing the album artistically – I would get in my head about feeling like it was too much to share, too personal to put out into the world. And these intense moments of imposter syndrome being like, Why? What makes me important enough to share this kind of grief with a bunch of potential strangers? Why would I do that?
And it's actually funny that I ended up doing
Illinoise because I was feeling that way one night, and one of the things that brought me out of it was listening to Sufjan Stevens's Carrie & Lowell. The deep sense of catharsis that album gives me made me think, I need to be writing this stuff anyway. The only difference is that I'm recording it and sharing it with people. And if, by sharing that, I could have that kind of effect on one person, then it's worth it to me.
POPDUST: How do the songs change when you go from that initial cathartic expression to something for an audience?
Becca Stevens: There are stages. The writing process was like ugly therapy sessions. Just processing and going through all the stages of grief randomly, like a grief roller coaster. Then, the recording process was one step removed from that. I was more focused on trying to rise above the technicality and go back into the emotional — but in a more controlled, spectator-type way, dipping back into the role of how I felt when I wrote the songs, but without losing control. And I say that because in the recording process, I had takes when I was able to fully commit to this character that was experiencing the grief, but if I had gone fully into it, then I wouldn't have been able to execute the song.
So it's a balancing act there. And that was almost an athletic venture. It took me the better part of a year to get to the point where I believed all of the takes. The recording was done live. Everything. I was singing and playing at the same time, and I was really hoping for as close to complete takes as possible. The third stage that I'm in now, performing this stuff, is totally different. It's a totally different experience to be able to witness the exchange of energy and have it be received by an audience.
POPDUST: In some of your lyrics, you talk about this juxtaposition of privacy and performance because you’re talking about such private moments. But you’re very aware of the Artist as a performer and the Artist's role in translating a feeling to an audience. Can you talk about where the idea of character fits in?
Becca Stevens: This record came at the perfect time in my artistry. Separate from the process of traversing this grief of losing my mom and while becoming a mother, I have been, with each record, more and more inspired by the task of stripping away the veil, like the artistic veil, and really cutting to the core of honesty. I think it's easier to do that when there's something that you have to be really honest about. On the hard days, I'm like, This is too much to share. And then on the good days, I could be like, Okay, this is the ultimate challenge — to really buckle down and embrace the truly authentic voice that's coming out of an experience that literally everyone goes through at some point in their life: loss.
If we're lucky, our parents die before we do, and so it's a very shared human experience. So, committing to the expression of honesty and authenticity was a refreshing challenge and something that I'm interested in anyway. Early in my songwriting career, it was my tendency to avail myself of things that I was really feeling or ashamed of feeling. And I'm always going to be a person that's drawn to doing the thing that's harder for me. And so this record was like, Okay, this is already hard, so I might as well go full throttle into that thing that's been interesting to me.
POPDUST: Do you feel differently about any of this album – or can you see growth or evolution in your perspective with distance? Or even answers to some of the questions that you pose in the songs?
Becca Stevens: When I was in Hong Kong, I was playing old songs and these new songs on the same set. Also, in Japan, I sprinkled in a couple of old songs and played them after the new songs. And they feel so different to me. It's not it's not like I dislike my old songs. It just feels like such a different version of myself, a different part of my brain, and a completely different energy on stage. Songs from Regina make me feel empowered, and I feel like I'm stirring up energy and raising the energy in the room. Then, songs from Maple to Paper feel heavier, like I'm bringing people into this really heavy, dark, but womb-like state.
As far as my reaction to the songs, after some time, it's much easier for me to get through them without crying. Now, I can enjoy the process of playing them, and I can enjoy them. I can step outside of them and enjoy the music and the process of sharing them with people.
POPDUST: For this album, you reference confessional folk influences. Who was inspiring you, and what was drawing you to those influences?
Becca Stevens: Nick Drake and Elliot Smith both come to mind — not only as songwriters but as guitar players. Some of their records are just guitar and voice, but — at least for me personally, as I'm listening to them — it doesn't occur to me. Then I'm like, what's happening here, and it’s very simple. It's just guitar and voice, or guitar and voice doubled. But because of how it's recorded and played, particularly the guitar playing, it feels so full, and you don't miss the fancy overdubs, production, orchestrations, and stuff like that. So, that was something that I referenced with Nic Hard when we were mixing it. We sent a lot of stuff back and forth — we talked about Nick Drake and Elliot Smith, and then there's some Kurt Cobain and Radiohead in there. There's Robert Johnson, Piedmont blues guitar, and right-hand stuff in there. And also people like Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell. And almost the sound of folk, without it being specifically attributed to any one person,
POPDUST: Some of the people that you mentioned make me think of that opening line of that opening track, “Now Feels Bigger Than The Past.” You say: “What is it about an artist dying that makes art feel more palatable?” What was on your mind when you wrote that?
Becca Stevens: Do you remember what year Prince died? Like 2016. I wrote the first line on a little piece of paper and stuck it to my wall shortly after he died because I'm a huge Prince fan. And I remember being annoyed by seeing people who I knew weren't really fans sharing bite-sized versions of Prince on social media – whatever the most popular song, and acting so emotional about losing him.
On one hand, I was like, great. He deserves that. But also, as an artist who's struggling in the streaming world and still very much feeling the burden of artistry on my body after the 20 years that I've put into this artistry, the world doesn't take care of me. And then you look at somebody who's had such fame as Prince, and in a lot of ways, the world still wasn't taking care of him either. People at his level, you've seen time and time again somebody dies because they overdose on a drug that can help them sleep at night or get through the next day because the work is so taxing.
And they're not making the money that they need to be making from their art because people aren't paying for it anymore. Then, we tag a Spotify clip on a social media post. And I was just frustrated by the fact that these people weren't actually supporting the art. But I jotted that on a piece of paper, stuck it to my wall, and forgot about it for a while. Then, a year or so later, when my mom was re-diagnosed with breast cancer, and she was dying, I pulled the paper off and wrote this song that created a thread between the two.
POPDUST: Mortality is a theme on this album. So is impermanence. Can you talk about creating that thread?
Becca Stevens: So I was thinking about this idea of impermanence and how that affects our perception of the thing. Like someone dies, and then suddenly, you want to dive into their work and appreciate them more. What if you take that same concept into someone who’s betrayed you? And then they die, and you're able to forgive because they're gone. Then, the third verse is the same thing applied to the process of losing one's parent or mother and how that affects them as well. When my mom was sick and dying, and after she died, I thought about my own mortality a lot, especially when I was writing “If I Die Before You.”
POPDUST: You talk a lot about the maker feeling the way that they'll be seen. Thinking about audience, does the idea that the work will be seen and heard by an audience affect you when you write?
Becca Stevens: As a songwriter, there's this constant dance, almost like the angel and the devil on your shoulder, between the Muse feeding you this beauty and this effortless artistry and this internal critic that is like embodying voices from your past, or voices from social media, or what you fear other people might think. Our job is to oscillate between the two. Sometimes, those voices of the internal critic are feeding you things that might be useful. And sometimes, it's total Malarkey, and it needs to be ignored at all costs.
POPDUST: To talk about Illinoise, what was it like to be part of that production?
Becca Stevens: As I mentioned before, I'm a huge Sufjan Stevens fan. I got the call from Timo Andrus, who did the orchestration for the show, and we've been friends for 20 years. And Shara Nova, who sang on the original album on Illinois from way back in the day, she could only do the first half of the run and my friend Timo was like, oh, Becca would be really cool for this. Let's see if she's available. And he called me — I think it was three weeks after I had a baby — and he was like, I know you just had a baby, but I feel like you'd be really cool for this. And I was so committed to taking this time to recover and be quiet, but he started talking about it, and I was like, Oh, I think I have to audition for this because it just sounds too good to be true. So I auditioned, kind of half thinking that I wouldn't even get it. And then I was offered the part.
Being in the show was so amazing to be a part of something bigger than me that had really very little to do with me. It gave me so much space on the stage to have a sense of coming back into working, working hard, but to come back into feeling like an artist and like a professional publicly after a couple of years of feeling more like a mom. I felt like I was doing exactly what I was meant to do, rather than being alone in a room trying to figure out what I was
supposed to do.
POPDUST: Another theme of the album is impermanence, and a live production only exists each night while an album is recorded permanently. How do both experiences and living in both worlds lend to the art itself?
Becca Stevens: Some nights, I'd be on the train with people who were at the show who didn't even know who I was. I struggled sometimes, like an ego struggle where I was like, Is this even happening? But it was both challenging and also deeply cathartic and refreshing that I didn't matter. I'm a part of this bigger thing. It's not being recorded, and I'm not seeing it back. My daily mantra became: “Have fun, be in service to the bigger thing, and don't take yourself too seriously.” And I was just telling myself that over and over and over again.
And now that I'm coming back to this world where I'm playing my own music, I think I'm noticing a difference. It's easier for me to handle my own nerves and use some of those same tools. Because even though these shows that I'm playing now are all me and by myself, the same stuff still applies. People come to shows, and if you're lucky, you have 70% of their attention. We're really not all that important. So, I'm able to have more space for that feeling of being a conduit and serving the greater thing,
Listen to Maple to Paper here:
Watch the video for “Now Feels Bigger Than The Past” here:
In an era where everything old is new again, millennial nostalgia has reached fever pitch. Everything is a reboot or a remake or a rehash these days — from films like
Yes, IP is king, and Hollywood runs on sure bets. But also, we can’t overlook the power of a heartthrob to shape culture. And the particular brand of nostalgia I’m feeling is totally fueled by the unexpected comebacks of two early 2000s heartthrobs: Zac Efron and Chad Michael Murray.
Efron had a surprising summer Netflix hit in his turn as a reformed celebrity playboy in
A Family Affair. Yes, the film stars Nicole Kidman — who’s in another age-gap romance this year Babygirl, alongside Efron’s former costar Harris Dickinson. But the most headline-worthy thing about the film was the press tour. Fueled by costar Joey King’s own memories of being a High School Musical and Hairspray fan, Efron took fans through a highlight reel of his finest moments.
From reaction videos of his most iconic scenes to brand-new revelations about decade-old performances, it was refreshing to hear Efron’s perspective. After distancing himself from the Disney bubble, Efron barely talks about his days as a teen dreamboat. But we haven’t forgotten. So this influx of information was a welcome change — and oh my god, the lore was better than I could have imagined.
Efron spent a lot of time reminiscing on his breakout role in the Disney Channel Original Movie
High School Musical. From revealing that the “Getcha Head In The Game” dance number (basketball shots and all) was filmed in one take to shouting out his castmates and saying he’s up for a reunion, it was everything I never knew I needed. The most rousing revelation was when he casually dropped the fact that his most memorable — and most memed — performance of “Bet On It” in High School Musical 2 was entirely improvised.
Fans reeled at the tsunami of tea. What do you mean that every perfectly executed moment of angst in that video was improvised? Pure genius. Virtuosic commitment to the bit. “Give Zac Efron a Retroactive Oscar,” exclaimed
The Cut. And I agree. I’ve been saying that Zac Efron needs his flowers for years. He’s our generation’s McConaughey. And he’s finally getting his due — especially since his role in The Iron Claw last year, alongside Jeremy Allen White and Harris Dickinson. With upcoming projects on the way, he’s in a verifiable career resurgence.
But he’s not the only one of my teenage crushes experiencing a second act to their career.
Chad Michael Murray, the brooding heartthrob who filled every millennial girl's dreams during his time on
One Tree Hill, has been staging a comeback of his own. While promoting his latest projects — Mother of the Bride, along with the new steamy CW series Sullivan's Crossing — he’s been doing interviews, appearing on podcasts, and making TikToks to fuel our nostalgia — and it’s working.
For the past few years, Murray’s been popping up in the most random media. He did a stint on
Riverdale as a hot cult leader (I would have fallen for it too). He did a couple of Hallmark movies. But now he’s back in the mainstream and digging into this nostalgia hole alongside us.
As he prepares to film
Freaky Friday 2 — a sequel to the 21-year-old Lindsay Lohan flick, which is in turn a remake of the original-original 1976 Freaky Friday that starred Jodi Foster! — we’re eating it up. It’s 20+ years since the original, so Murray’s celebrating by spilling the tea on some of his best roles. He’s also been reciting some of his most memorable lines to melt fans' hearts.
But along with the lore, there’s gossip galore. In hindsight, some facts about backstage beef and our faves feuding have emerged. But they don’t cloud our visions of those iconic millennial dramas — honestly, the smell of drama just makes me more intrigued.
The headline? Chad Michael Murray found himself in the middle of a love triangle between Lindsay Lohan, Hillary Duff, and Aaron Carter. Carter dumped Duff for Lohan in a move that’s reminiscent of the
Olivia Rodrigo and Sabrina Carpenter drama.
Here’s where it gets interesting. Murray worked with Lohan on
Freaky Friday the year before A Cinderella Story. As a co-star to both starlets, he became a conduit for chaos. Long story short, they both gossiped about each other in the press — a 2000s version of subtweets or Twitter beef — and Duff barred Lohan from the A Cinderella Story premiere. Here’s hoping Duff will make it to the Freaky Friday 2 premiere.
But it's not just the stars who are feeling this nostalgia wave. The reunions and comebacks have created a strange new reality where millennials are simultaneously reliving their youth
and facing their mortality. This nostalgia boom has led to some unexpected trends in the world of fashion and pop culture. Low-rise jeans are fully back and other millennial memories are being resurrected in front of them by Gen Z — raising questions about whether we're moving forward or simply stuck in a Y2K time loop.
The resurgence of these millennial icons, combined with the run of reunion tours sweeping the nation, has created a perfect storm of nostalgia that's hitting millennials harder than the realization that "10 years ago" is no longer the 90s. Take the reunion of the Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus being crowned a Disney legend, and even
Justin Bieber having a baby. Everything’s a reminder that our favorite childhood stars are old now — and we are too.
The resurrection of these cultural touchstones has sparked a new phenomenon: nostalgia whiplash. One minute, you're belting out "Breaking Free" in your car, feeling like you're 16 again. The next, you're googling "Zac Efron age" and having an existential crisis when you realize he's old enough to play the dad in movies. It's like emotional time travel if time travel leaves you with a slight hangover and the realization that you can't stay out as late as you used to.
And with time, secrets often emerge. Like how when Britpop icons Oasis announced their reunion, fans took a trip down memory lane to revisit the best and worst of the Britpop/hard rock band. With time, the good seems better, and the bad just gives it layers.
There’s no show that epitomizes this more than
Glee. For better or for worse, Ryan Murphy changed the television landscape with this one. By making a show entirely about outsiders — namely putting queer people front and center for the first time — he was a pioneer of representation. But Glee didn't birth a legion of gleeks for no reason — that chaotic, cursed show had a profound impact on us. Can you believe the first episode premiered 15 years ago?
It’s been 15 years since “Don’t Stop Believing” got an update, since a whole new generation of these kids were indoctrinated into loving the musical
Funny Girl (guilty), and the world met Lea Michele. But the past 15 years haven’t been easy. The Glee curse is just about as tragic as the Kennedy family curse.
Stars of the show — Corey Monteith, Naya Rivera, and Mark Salling — have died. Members of the crew have also been victims of the
Glee curse, including assistant director Jim Fuller, who died of a heart attack; production assistant Nancy Motes, who died by suicide; and Matthew Morrison's stand-in Mark Watson, who died from a “car fire.”
Plus, shows like
The Price of Glee and Quiet on Set have revealed the dark truths behind some of our cherished childhood shows. That’s the price of getting older: seeing the hard truths beneath the rosy veneer.
Yet, for all the existential crises and surreal moments, there's something undeniably comforting about this latest wave of nostalgia. In a world that often feels chaotic and unpredictable, there's solace to be found in the familiar chords of a Jonas Brothers song or still saying, “they did this on
Glee” whenever you’re at a bar and a classic rock song plays.
I often wish it could just be 2008 again, the year
High School Musical 3 and Twilight both came out in theaters. Or better yet, Summer of 2007, when High School Musical 2 premiered on the same night as the first episode of Phineas and Ferb and the Hannah Montana Episode “Me and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas and Mr. Jonas” — the epic Disney Channel crossover that inspired the best Jonas Brother song, “Lovebug.” That just might have been the best night of my life.
But now I’m here: slathering on anti-aging treatments, considering “preventative” Botox, and checking my 401K balance. If you want to feel even older, here are some of our other teen media favorites that are having
Significant Anniversaries this year:
1. A Cinderella Story (20th Anniversary)
Remember when we thought AOL Instant Messenger was the height of romance? Oh, to text Austin Ames “LOL” over AIM. Now we're getting ghosted on the apps and no amount of fairy godmother magic can fix our dating lives.
This flick sold us the lie that the hot quarterback was secretly a sensitive poet who'd fall for the quirky outsider. A classic tale for rom-coms but this is arguably one of the best that’s ever been executed. No Cinderella adaptation has come close to this one. Especially not
Another Cinderella Story with Selena Gomez — though “Tell Me Something I Don’t Know” was a banger. With a new Freaky Friday in the works, I’m hoping this Chad Michael Murray flick will also get its remake.
I’ll never forgive Ryan Murphy for giving theater kids a platform …yet they can never make me hate
Glee. Cast feuds, diva drama, and rumors of on-set fights just add to the allure of the drama. Glee is the reason TV went from High School Musical to an even more musical high school and then further onto musical college, like Pitch Perfect. But I can still sing every Mercedes harmony in the Glee soundtrack.
Yes, age has taught me that Mr. Schue was kind of a creepy man-child with a vest fetish who lived vicariously through his students — why were his students the only people at his wedding??? And though
Rachel Berry was supposed to be the protagonist, we realized that being a diva doesn't get you ahead in life. It only makes everyone hate you at the office Christmas party.
Yet, there’ll never be anything like belting the
Glee version of “Don’t Stop Believing” — or better yet, Jonathan Groff’s rendition of “Bohemian Rhapsody.”
3. Mean Girls (20 years)
20 years ago,
fetch happened. The movie is a hallmark of millennial nostalgia, with quotes so insidious they worked their way into memes and lexicons alike. Tina Fey's magnum opus about teenage cruelty gave us unforgettable quips and unrealistic expectations of high school hotness. Two decades later, the remake they made for Gen Z starring Renee Rapp, frankly, doesn’t come close to the original. I cherish the Lohan version even more now that I’ve seen what a trainwreck the second version is. The limits of our obsession does not exist, apparently.
4. Napoleon Dynamite (20 years)
Remember when random equaled funny? This indie darling made awkward cool in peak millennial humor. Nothing about this movie would fly anymore. Gen Zs probably cringe at our love for it. But when it was good, it was very-very good.. We quoted it ad nauseam, wore "Vote for Pedro" shirts unironically, and thought “ligers” were a laugh riot. Every year, more than one person donned a Napolean wig, glasses, and a “Vote For Pedro” shirt and did that dance sequence in my high school talent show. That experience can never be replicated by TikTok dances or Netflix films.
5. Saw (20 years)
Nothing says millennial childhood quite like a sadistic puppet forcing people into elaborate death traps. This torture porn franchise kickstarted our generation's fascination with escape rooms and moral dilemmas. Now we're too anxious to watch anything more intense than "Great British Bake Off." How the mighty have fallen.
6. The Notebook (20 years)
The fact that
The Notebook was 20 years ago is a testament to Ryan Gosling. He’s still managed to be relevant to the zeitgeist and one of the least awful men in Hollywood. From playing our dear Noah in this Nicholas Sparks masterpiece to playing Ken in Barbie, he is always in our hearts. In the words of Glenn Powell, “Gosling is a legend.” Cut to 2024, and we're swiping through dating apps, wondering why our Hinge matches don't build our houses or write us 365 letters. But we can still dream.
7. Anchorman (20 years)
Is
Anchorman the boy equivalent of Mean Girls? Every non-funny man I’ve ever met thinks “Stay Classy” is a hilarious quote and witty reference. And who can blame them? At the time, Anchorman was the peak of comedy. We laughed our asses off at Ron Burgundy's chauvinistic antics. But still liking this movie is a red flag — it’s a sign that a person’s sense of humor might not have matured beyond age 15.
8. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (20 years)
The way stills of this movie haunted Tumblr should be examined. Pink and blue-haired Kate Winslet is admittedly still on my winter mood boards. This film was an episode of
Black Mirror before Black Mirror. For a film about erasing our exes from our brains, it sure felt romantic at the time. Two decades later, we're still trying to Marie Kondo our emotional baggage while stalking our high school crushes on Facebook. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet's mind-bending romance feels more like an indie fever dream with each passing year.
9. Spider-Man 2 (20 years)
Have you heard about the
Spiderman to tennis movie pipeline? Kirsten Dunst doing Wimbledon, Emma Stone doing Battle of the Sexes and Zendaya doing Challengers — I might venture to say these are the finest things to come out of the Spiderman franchise. But I have to admit, the Tobey Maguire version is a classic. The fact that we’ve been through Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland as Spiderman, plus the Spiderverse series — in the past twenty years! — is mind-boggling to me.
Rumors began to swirl online yesterday that the American Royal Couple, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, were heading for Splitsville.
It began with a Reddit post with an alleged contract, providing an exact date when Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift would break up. This fueled even more gossip that the iconic couple — who have made debuts together on-stage at Swift's Era's Tour — were a so-called PR relationship.
Online forum and social media users began to speculate whether or not Swift and Kelce's relationship has merely been a ploy for popularity — or not. However, Travis Kelce shut down those rumors immediately by having his PR firm, Full Stop, call lawyers to confirm these documents are falsified and they will be taking action.
image C/O Daily Mail
It's a sigh of relief for many as The Tortured Poet's Department singer and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end haven't called it quits. But it's also an important sign not to believe everything you see on a Reddit thread...and luckily, this couple will never go out of style.
A spokesman from Full Scope told The Daily Mail that the document is "entirely false and fabricated and were not created, issued or authorized by this agency."
'We have engaged our legal team to initiate proceedings against the individuals or entities responsible for the unlawful and injurious forgery of documents,' Full Scope added.
It's been a busy week for Travis Kelce, who spent the summer following Taylor on tour, as he prepares for the start of NFL season on Thursday. He also just revealed the trailer for Ryan Murphy's latest show, Grotesquerie,starring Kelce and Niecy Nash. While the trailer is sure to turn heads, we can't help but still fear for his acting abilities— or lack thereof!
Regardless, we can all relax now knowing Taylor and Travis are still going strong. And I will wait patiently for the engagement rumors to ensue.
These days, the inception of many careers starts on social media. At first, there was YouTube, now there's TikTok. This video-based social media platform is where Sam Tompkins began posting clips of himself singing covers of popular songs. While many aren't successful, Sam Tompkins had a different story to tell.
His story truly starts with his cover of Bruno Mars' "Talking To The Moon," which sent viewers into a frenzy over Tompkins' captivating voice. From there, he collaborated with JNR CHOI to create a viral remix of the song...which would become the soundtrack for
millions of TikTok's by users everywhere.
He's a mega-viral singer who has already proven that he's not letting this moment end. Sure, there's always the question of "what's next," but Tompkins seems to have the formula figured out. His vocal ability has gotten him here for a reason, and fans quickly recognized that his relatable lyrics and hard-hitting choruses are replay-worthy.
But it's not just the fans who love Tompkins...who has received recognition from superstars like Elton John, Bebe Rexha, and Justin Bieber. There's something special woven into his silky smooth vocals that makes Sam Tompkins an obvious choice for the next star in the music industry.
His debut album,
hi, my name is insecure, which was released on July 26, is a step inside Tompkins' soul. While many artists play it safe during the first submissions, it's clear that Sam had a different approach...and we're lucky he did.
The album itself is stunning: an aesthetically pleasing, sonically dynamic masterpiece that showcases his depth as an artist. A ballad-heavy, introspective piece of work with tracks like "lose it all", which was another hit among listeners and fans. Each song is riddled with emotion and ladened with instrumental backing that just contributes to the well-rounded tracks.
You can listen to hi, my name is insecure here:
He's one of the most exciting artists out there, and he deserves all the success he's receiving...and while he may make it look easy, we know it certainly is not.
We spoke with Sam Tompkins about his debut album, touring with The Kid LAROI, and much more! Check it out below:
Congratulations on your debut album, hi, my name is insecure! As your first official album, what was it like to create a full body of work?
Creating an album is difficult in hindsight as I’m sure you can imagine, but actually (at least for me), it felt really natural. I loved the writing process and recording and figuring it all out step by step. it was chaos and it was tricky at times, but it just felt right.
What is the main message behind your album? How does it represent you as an artist?
I guess the main message would be a problem shared is a problem halved. that’s kinda my mantra as a person and artist to be honest. Be vulnerable and you will find the challenges you’re faced with don’t feel as scary. Saying “hi my name is insecure” straight off the bat as the title for my introduction to the world as an artist just felt like the right thing to do. I am insecure and i will not be ashamed of that anymore. it’s natural… we all feel it.
While the album title is a bit self-explanatory, what does it mean to you? How did it feel right when making the single and the album?
I always compare it to
8 Mile. That rap battle at the end where Eminem's character basically just insults himself for the first verse using all of the negative things he knew his opponent was gonna use against him basically rendering the other guy useless. When i say i'm insecure and own that, i am essentially taking control and power over the situation.
You just went on tour with The Kid LAROI…what was your favorite part about touring live? Will we see a solo Sam Tompkins tour soon?
It was amazing. Honestly, my favourite part was seeing one of my favourite artists doing his thing in the flesh. Yes! I am supporting Myles Smith across America in September and then doing my own tour in Europe and the uk in November!
Your “Talking To The Moon” cover went viral on TikTok. Can you tell us a little about that experience?
Honestly, it was just such a whirlwind. I was just bored one night and decided to make the video and it just changed my life in so many ways. Kinda crazy to experience that level of vitality, but it’s something I’m super proud of.
What are three words you’d use to describe this album?
"Honest", "Raw", "Rollercoaster"
(Photo credit: Shervin Lainez)
image C/O Daily Mail 
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