Culture Feature

The Upside of the Coronavirus: We're Finally Past Celebrity Drama

Celebrities' normal antics are not as entertaining (or as important) as they once seemed.

Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Kim Kardashian has lashed out at Taylor Swift, or Taylor Swift has lashed out at Kim Kardashian, but most of all, both lashed out at all of us for constantly devouring their drama.

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MUSIC

Alessia Cara Lights Up Times Square

A concert experience you shouldn't miss.

Last night I hit NYC's PlayStation Theatre in the heart of Times Square to catch the incandescent Alessia Cara while she was in town for The Pains of Growing Tour.

The place was jammed—I stood among a joyful crowd dancing—we automatically joining in as Cara kicked into Growing Pains' call-and-response:

"Hey, hey, hey, yeah, yeah

No, no band-aids for the growing pains"

Phones were up—so I could see dozens of mini-onscreen Alessias set against the actual, the awesome, Alessia, boldly striding about the stage in tee-shirt and fuschia jeans.

She brought us into her homey performance space, complete with couches and living room lamps. A headboard served as her bedroom while projections flowed on the walls and beyond the window panes. Throughout the evening, Cara switched out guitars, driving confidently through a setlist that absolutely transported the audience—took us away, blew us away, brought us together, brought us back to ourselves.

Canadian-born Cara is a singer/songwriter and online self-starter who posted her first videos at the age of 13. Cara journeyed through YouTube as a teenager, picking up steam until, at 16, one of her videos caught the attention of a record label exec. Now, as the first Canadian to win a Grammy Award for Best New Artist, at 23 she's come a long way from singing in the family bathtub.

Musically, her work draws on contemporary R&B and soul, with a bit of trip-hop syncopation thrown in for good measure. Cara wears her heart on her sleeve, vocally and lyrically. Her voice rises and swells and broods; her songs are filled with positive messages of acceptance and affirmation.

"But there's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark

You should know you're beautiful just the way you are

And you don't have to change a thing

The world could change its heart

No scars to your beautiful

We're stars and we're beautiful."

This concert was a deep excavation of what it is to live through wild times—when leaving your teens and planting your feet in the adult world. Who wants to do that with the current state of the world? Who isn't intimidated, fearful, and insecure sometimes?

"Then leave us alone 'cause we don't need your policies

We have no apologies for being

Find me where the wild things are"

The Pains of Growing Tour is a wild thing in of itself, but you can catch its next concert date.

MUSIC

Louis Tomlinson Wants to Be in Oasis So Bad

"Kill My Mind" is an Oasis rip off in the least flattering way.

Louis Tomlinson wants us to know that he's been listening to rock music.

Louis Tomlinson - Kill My Mind (Official Lyric Video)www.youtube.com

In an awkward 2017 profile with The Guardian, the former One Direction member described himself as "forgettable" and endorsed the idea that he was the "lowliest" member of the group, citing the fact that he never had a single vocal solo during his time with the band. "I'm trying to work out why it is that I'm [doing this]," he said, as a few offerings off his upcoming solo album played in the background. So he did what any uninspired artist would do: he went back to his "roots" and listened to the music he grew up with. "I grew up loving bands," Tomlinson told MTV. "Because I'm from the north of England naturally everyone's obsessed with Oasis and Arctic Monkeys." Consequently, Tomlinson's new single, "Kill My Mind," sounds like a mediocre tribute to early aughts British rock.

"Kill My Mind" is melodically reminiscent of a 2006 Arctic Monkeys B-side, while lyrics like, "kept me living from the last time, from a prison of a past life," attempt to carry the metaphorical significance of an Oasis record, but mostly just don't make any sense. Tomlinson's attempt at a low nasally growl when he sings, "and you hate me, and I want more," just sounds like Liam Gallagher mimicry. Thematically, Tomlinson's wish-washy narrative makes it sound like he's trying to appear more prolific and rock-and-roll-esque than he actually is. Even the lyric video shows a cartoon Tomlinson directly copying the outfit and stance of Liam Gallagher during an Oasis performance. All of it feels fraudulent, none of it is compelling, and all of it suggests Tomlinson would rather be a third Gallagher brother than himself.

TV

MTV's "Ghosted" and the Boundaries of Consent on Reality TV

Can someone who doesn't want to be on MTV's Ghosted still be filmed anyways, even without their consent?

Rachel Lindsay (American media personality and attorney)

Photo by Image Press Agency/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

MTV's Ghosted: Love Gone Missing taps into a core aspect of modern dating culture, but its premise also raises some major issues about consent on reality television.

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MUSIC

The BTS ARMY's Allegations of Racism Are Misguided

Can someone remind the fandom that the VMA's have always been problematic?

BTS (방탄소년단) 'Dynamite' Official MV

Fans of the K-pop septet BTS –known collectively as ARMY– have always had to vie for legitimacy. While the boy bands meteoric rise in the west has perplexed the general public, the "ARMY" has lived up to its name, taking to social media to launch a full-blown assault on the masses.

The fandom unifies against anyone – and I mean anyone – that may imply the slightest ill will or dislike towards the group, and even those with little social media clout are guaranteed a sudden influx of activity at a remote mention of the group. "I wrote [a] tweet, and then ARMY came," wrote The Atlantic. "People were like, 'Yeah, it's great, love it with us!'"

However, after MTV recently announced its nominations for the VMAs, members of ARMY deemed MTV racist. Aside from allegedly snubbing BTS for "Best Video," this year's award show will introduce a new category for "Best K-pop." As one die hard fan wrote, "For anyone confused as to why it's racist, they made the kpop category to limit bts and rob them from other awards."


ARMY has been monumental in BTS's global outreach and success, and they've fought tooth and nail to make the group distinguishable among mainstream circles. The fight is mostly warranted, as critics have continuously tried to dismiss the group. One writer at The New York Times said that "she wanted to 'gag' after learning some people saw both Madonna and 'a K-pop band of 20-somethings' as 'legendary,'" and an Australian news host was forced to apologize after making xenophobic comments towards the group. "It's common to see critics make snide comments about BTS because of their youth or their boy-band status," wrote The Atlantic. Variety published a take that The Jonas Brothers return was "just in time to show the BTSes of the world how it's really done."

With ARMY's pride and joy attacked from all angles, of course, they took issue with the recent MTV VMA nominations.

The allegations are valid, but frankly a bit late and obvious. From Miley Cyrus saying "my real mammy" in a backstage skit to Rebel Wilson openly mocking police brutality as she announced the nominations for "Best Hip-Hop Video," accusations of racism have forever plagued the VMA's. Nicki Minaj derided the awards as racist in 2015 after she was snubbed for "Video of the Year" for her work on "Anaconda," yet racked up nominations in Hip-Hop related categories. MIA similarly slammed the award show in 2016, accusing the VMAs of "racism, sexism, classism, and elitism" after her video for "Borders" – wherein she portrays the struggle of refugees – was exempt from nomination for "Best Video."


ARMY's fierce condemnation of the VMAs and sudden realization about the award show's racial biases portray a fandom focused solely on their beloved boys, rather than on achieving equal representation in media. The accusations are especially problematic considering the BTS fandom has regularly struggled to quell racism within their own ranks.

As powerful as ARMY is, the fandom has been historically quick to cancel and deride anyone that stands in their way. Last month, they deemed comedian Alex Williamson a "xenophobe" for introducing the group on his show as "the biggest band you've never heard of" and for expressing his surprise at the group's BBMA wins, because "only one" of them spoke English. While the latter joke may have been in poor taste, the statement about BTS' reach was technically accurate, and to deem him an outright racist for his remarks seemed like a massive leap. Still, ARMY demanded that Williamson be fired.

ARMY's expeditious sentencing of their foes makes their calls to "cancel" the VMAs seem hollow. It is also worth noting that many members still plan on participating in the show. "I love how we armys multitask," tweeted @BTS_0utsold. "I mean, we will drag @vma's by their racist, raggedy wigs but still vote for our boys BTS because they deserve every award and we'd love to give it to them." While ARMY is overall well-intentioned, fans seem to want to have their cake and eat it, too. Their calls to action aren't rooted in a socially conscious agenda or higher cause; they just love BTS and will attack anyone who speaks less than highly of them. In doing so, they often validate the very criticisms they try to overcome.

Even if the fandom's critiques of the VMAs are well-founded, the all-out assault on the VMAs seems misplaced, especially considering that the program barely pulls in viewers these days. Instead, ARMY's "ethos of inclusion" seems to only apply when the fandom's attention is directed towards BTS themselves.

But regardless, thanks to the ARMY's vocal support, BTS is now one of the most decorated pop groups of all time. While it may hurt to see BTS so easily dismissed by the mainstream, the haters don't lessen the group's massive accomplishments, which are more meaningful than any VMA award could be. Instead of picking a fight with every and any person who remotely disses or minimizes the group–which just promotes more criticism of BTS from outsiders– why not just let the boys' accomplishments speak for themselves? Eventually, the rest of the world will be forced to listen.

MUSIC

ALBUM REVIEW | Jessie Reyez "Being Human In Public"

Colombian and Canadian firecracker gives her best, for better or for worse.

Press photo

Jessie Reyez is a rebel... and that's an understatement.

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