Kate KimberlinStrangely, this weekend was a pretty big weekend in terms of pop culture. From the local to national level, my social media feeds were set ablaze with discussions of different topics all weekend. For those of you who weren’t able to keep up, here is my recap of some of the big topics I saw throughout my feeds.
Britney Spears’ conservatorship was terminated on Friday.
After 13 years, pop artist Britney Spears was finally able to regain control over her life, including her estate and finances, as well as her person/likeness. The legal contract, beginning when she was 28, came under massive amounts of fire by fans and lawyers alike, since even Spears (now 40) has expressed that the situation with her dad as the guardian has been “abusive.” Fans rejoiced outside of the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in Los Angeles, with many playing music, holding up protest style signs or even dressed in some iconic looks from her career. Even Paris Hilton and Donatella Versace, both friends and supporters of Spears seeking freedom from the contract, voiced their congratulations on Spears’ Instagram post on Friday. For those of you following or have friends that follow the #FreeBritney movement, she is finally free!
Taylor Swift released her version of her fourth album, “Red,” along with a ten minute version of the hit “All Too Well” and a short film to accompany it.
Another pop artist had her fair share of the news cycle, with many hilarious fan tweets that advertised the release of the album — and the immediate villianzation of actor Jake Gyllenhaal. Yes, you guessed it, Taylor Swift finally released her version of her fourth album “Red.” This has come after the re-release of her first three albums, since she was technically not the owner of any of the master recordings of her first six albums. After attempting to get the masters back from producer Scooter Braun and record label Big Machine, Swift confirmed the re-recording of her albums after the tracks were sold to a private equity firm last year. This was a highly anticipated re-release, since Swift did announce that she had plans to re-release the six albums after her announcement on Tumblr about her contract she had with Braun and the label.
The album is one that arguably gained Swift a lot of popularity, with hits like “22” and “All Too Well” on the album. The latter was re-released with a 10 minute version, including a short film accompanying the re-release, that starred “Stranger Things” actress Sadie Sink and “Maze Runner” actor Dylan O’Brien. The song and film is about Swift’s relationship with Gyllenhaal, which illustrated the tumultuous nature of their three month dating stint in 2010. Swift even purposefully casted the short film with two actors that had a similar age gap as her and Gyllenhaal did. And, with many girls in this generation growing up listening to Swift, they naturally had a lot to say about the album, song and short film. For those of you with friends, significant others or family that have been Swifities since day one, be sure to check on them. While many of the tweets were very funny, I know the album or film has left them a little emotional (I know this because the film might have gotten me, a non-member of the fandom), so I am sure they need a hug and some support.
Two former Bachelor contestants came to town, along with ESPN’s College GameDay (though these two were not as mutually exclusive as you think).
If you are not a student of the university, citizen of Oxford or have just been living under a rock, I’m sure you have heard or seen the Saturday Oxford had. Not only was the Grove the backdrop of ESPN’s weekly show, “College GameDay,” Bachelor franchise contestants Matt James and Tyler Cameron were in town this weekend. Many believe that Cameron was in town to be the “College GameDay” celebrity guest picker in the segment of the show, but that unfortunately was not the case. Cameron is just a big supporter of head coach Lane Kiffin and wanted to show his support for the high stakes game. While he did play for Florida Atlantic University for the 2015-16 seasons after transferring from Wake Forest, he did miss Kiffin as head coach by a year. However, Cameron has continued to voice that he is a fan of Kiffin, through videos like this on Twitter, and for those of you wondering, Matt James was also a former Wake Forest Deacon, playing alongside Cameron. The pair were seen on the show drinking Hot Toddies at the Library and Ajax during the day, as well as a frat party Friday night. While there was speculation Cameron could have been the celebrity guest picker for GameDay, Kiffin ended up being the guest picker of the weekend, and while some were disappointed by the show’s choice, he took it all in stride. Armed with many jokes about how he got into the position, he did surprisingly well for someone who has had an interesting resume when being in front of the press. As a spectator of the show myself, as well as my 16 year-old brother, we had so much fun despite not being raised on college football. For those of you not in attendance this weekend, I firmly believe that this was the “Party in the ‘Sip” everyone always talks about. Safe travels to the show as they head to Ohio State this weekend!
Harry Styles’ announcement of his new business endeavor into cosmetics.
For those of you who are fans or friends of his, Harry Styles announced his new cosmetic and fragrance brand, “Pleasing.” According to attendees of his Glendale, CA show, there were ads around the Gilia Rivera arena, despite teasing the brand for months in press photos of him wearing the merch. The website is also up, with a launch date of Nov. 29, and presales are already sold out. The brand is advertising nail polish, lip oil, an eye gel and an “illuminating serum” for its first launch. Rumors have also been circulating about the brand releasing a perfume, since there has been paperwork for the company to begin “the wholesale of perfume and cosmetics.” I will admit to being unaware of Styles teasing the company since I do consider myself a fan, but I can’t say I’m not excited. I’ll wait for some reviews to surface first, but I would definitely love to get my hands on some of the nail polish if I get a chance.
