Arts

Arts

From pop star to pop legend: Ariana Grande’s transition to icon status

By Jack Clohisy | April 13

There’s no doubt that Ariana Grande has become a household name across the United States. She’s the female artist with the most No. 1 debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 and the only artist to debut her first six lead singles in the Top 10 for a reason: Grande is a musical force within her industry. Especially in light of her three recent Grammy nominations, 28-year-old Grande is making a pivotal transition in her career as she attempts to transcend from the pop obsession she’s been for nearly the past decade into a long-lasting icon.

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Arts

Omar Apollo’s “Ivory” shows musical growth at its finest

By Geoff Tobia Jr. | April 12

The growth and rise to pop stardom by Omar Apollo is still in progress, but the progress he’s made in the past five years is wild. Apollo has gone from sporadically dropping singles to releasing two very solid EPs and distributing his first mini-album experience on “Apolonio” (2020). It’s been a long way since his EP “Stereo” (2018) days, but he’s still held onto that same passion and boldness that helped him work his way out of his bedroom in Indiana to make big waves in the LA pop scene. “Ivory” (2022), Apollo’s latest addition to his catalog and a debut, full-length album, has even more personality. It’s his most explorative, drawing from many different fascinating inspirations and bringing it all together on one album. 

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Columns

A Compendium of Actors: Lily Collins can do it all

By Henry Chandonnet | April 12

Often, we try to box actors and actresses into their appropriate category: indie actor here, big-budget action star there. This column has surely fallen prey to that same difficulty, establishing genres and niches that actors may unilaterally fill. Still, actors are not monoliths. They can do what they like, take on the projects they want and thus spread their talents far beyond a singular career pathway. This multifacetedness is exemplified by Lily Collins, an actress who takes on both trashy Netflix shows and prestigious Oscar films and does so with ease. This is a testament to her talent; Collins is able to tackle a myriad of roles, making her a jack of all trades.

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Arts

'Bridgerton' is back with a more emotional, complex second season

By Ryan Fairfield | April 11

In 2020, Season 1 of “Bridgerton” (2020–) was the most-watched original series on Netflix, with 82 million households watching the series within 28 days of its initial release. Adapted from Julia Quinn’s bestselling novels, the series follows the Bridgertons, a noble family in 19th-century Britain, as they attempt to find love and their place in society. The first season followed the eldest daughter, Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), as she debuted in London society and set her heart on finding a husband, only to fall for the most desired man in the city — the Duke of Hastings, Simon Bassett (Regé-Jean Page). The second season turns its focus to the eldest son of the Bridgerton family, Anthony (Jonathan Bailey), who has finally decided to settle down and find his match. Anthony does not anticipate that finding love will be an easy task, but it only becomes more complicated when the Sharma family arrives from India. Anthony starts courting the younger sister, Edwina (Charithra Chandran), only to start falling for the older sister, Kate (Simone Ashley).

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Columns

The Art of Good Soup: Lucky and charming

By Sadie Leite and Ellie Lester | April 11

We are tired. Sadie has purple feet (and them dogs are BARKING). Ellie ate salsa for breakfast. With salt. But it was pico de gallo, which makes it a little better?

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Arts

WEEKENDER: Sammy Rae & The Friends fill the Royale with gratitude

By Henry Chandonnet | April 8

Sammy Rae & The Friends have brought their radical joy to Boston once again. The band triumphantly returned for a double feature at the Royale on March 26 and 27 with its 2022 tour, filling the venue with cheerful bliss and uptempo funk. The shows were filled with both optimism and a deep sense of catharsis, having been the band’s final performances before a one-month tour hiatus.

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Columns

Public Cinemy No. 1: Narrative corruption within ‘The Dropout’

By Sacha Waters | April 8

I will admit I love Hulu’s “The Dropout” (2022), a highly-anticipated miniseries on Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes. It’s beautifully written, beautifully shot and beautifully acted. Even teachers at my high school, Holmes’ alma mater, have commented on how well the miniseries captured Holmes’ eccentric character. But the show occasionally falls into the pothole of becoming what it means to analyze: America’s obsession with narrative smoke and mirrors.

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Arts

Tate McRae brings her North American Tour 2022 to Boston’s Royale

By Miriam Vodosek | April 7

Eighteen-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter and dancer Tate McRae brought her 2022 North American Tour to Boston’s beautiful Royale nightclub last Friday. The night was filled with high energy and girl power, and it featured an all-female lineup.

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Arts

Olivia Rodrigo discusses heartbreak that inspired ‘SOUR’ in documentary ‘driving home 2 u’

By Ryan Fairfield | April 7

The release of her single, “drivers license,” back in January 2021 launched Olivia Rodrigo into pop superstardom. With her follow-up singles “deja vu” (2021) and “good 4 u” (2021), Rodrigo proved to the world that she is more than just a Disney Channel child actress.Rodrigo continued to gain critical and popular appeal with the release of her debut album, “SOUR” (2021), which broke multiple streaming and charting records. Due to drama surrounding the album, as many of the songs seem to be about Rodrigo’s past relationship, Rodrigo kept a majority of the details of making the album quiet from the public.

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Columns

Micro-Trend of the Week: So you were wrong: A survival guide

By RaiAnn Bu | April 7

After seven weeks of hard-hitting fashion journalism, the well has run a bit dry. There’s nothing else to report on, a lull as the seasons transition. So instead, I have constructed a guide based on learned and lived experience on how to survive wasting your money. 

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Arts

Analyzing 'Dune' in light of the Oscars

By Carl Svahn | April 6

Fear is everywhere in Frank Herbert’s “Dune” (1965). It’s there when the members of House Atreides arrive at their new and hostile home, the desert planet Arrakis. It’s there when Paul Atreides, the protagonist of the book, questions what his role in said story will be. Most importantly, however, it surrounds the book and franchise itself. Though “Dune” is the best-selling sci-fi book of all time and has influenced other giants in the genre like George Lucas, William Gibson and Neal Stephenson, it carries a reputation as an overly complex and even boring story on its own, which has turned many a casual reader away.

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Columns

K-Weekly: BTS gives a stellar Grammy performance, again

By Odessa Gaines | April 5

BTS once again showed the world why it’s on top on Sunday night with its performance on the Grammy Awards stage. The seven-member boy band has seen overwhelming amounts of success since it debuted back in 2013, breaking records with regularity in South Korea and abroad. The band members are known not just for their comedic timing, good looks and charisma but for their beautiful lyrics, lifting vocals and mind-blowing dance moves.

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Arts

Peach Pit does right by fans at Boston performance

By Sadie Leite and Ellie Lester | April 5

On Friday, April 1,Peach Pit paid a visit to Boston’s Big Night Live for its 2022 tour celebrating the release of its third album, “From 2 to 3” (2022). With a loaded lineup packed with songs from all three projects, the band delivered a lively performance with plenty of fun hair flips and intense guitar solos — and a violin.

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Columns

A Compendium of Actors: The fate of female-led films at the Oscars

By Henry Chandonnet | April 5

The 2022 Oscar nominees for best actress represented five separate films, none of which received nominations for best picture. This was for myriad reasons, whether it be film quality, intended audience or rampant commercial misogyny. Nonetheless, it represents a broader issue of equity in the film industry: Actresses are either given bad movies to make the best of or great movies that aren’t allowed to grow.

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Arts

‘Our Flag Means Death’ sets sail with humor and heart

By Nate Hall | April 4

In the last few years, Taika Waititi has become popular for a distinct brand of comedy that mixes absurd humor with emotional depth, which is exemplified in “Thor: Ragnarok” (2017), “Jojo Rabbit” (2019) and “What We Do in the Shadows” (2019–). In his newest project, the HBO Max series “Our Flag Means Death” (2022–), Waititi’s comedic instincts as an actor are stronger than ever.

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Arts

10 years of 'The Hunger Games'

By Ryan Fairfield | April 4

The 2010s birthed dozens of book-to-movie adaptations, mainly based on young adult books. There was “Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief” (2010), “The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones” (2013), “The Maze Runner” (2014), “Divergent” (2014) and many more. Of all of the popular adaptations, few have stood the test of time and most remain forgettable, with fans of the books remembering them as disappointing. Yet, one adaptation stands out among the rest as impactful and memorable, while also having garnered both critical and popular acclaim — “The Hunger Games” (2012–2015).

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Columns

The Art of Good Soup: Oh, ginger!

By Sadie Leite and Ellie Lester | April 4

This week we went home. A place that loves us and cares for us and sometimes does things to us like making us fall asleep in our friend’s bed across campus and walk home at five  in the morning because you swore you would just take a nap. No? Just Ellie? Anyways. 

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Arts

Putting a twist on ‘Cheaper by the Dozen’

By Odessa Gaines | March 31

In the year 2022, viewing audiences are intimately familiar with reboots, sequels and spinoffs of dearly loved TV shows and movies. By March of this year alone, Hulu released “How I Met Your Father” (2022–), Peacock released “Bel-Air” (2022–) and Disney+ has released “The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder” (2022–) and “Cheaper by the Dozen” (2022). 

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Column

Micro-Trend of the Week: 'I'M SCREAMING'

By RaiAnn Bu | March 31

In recent marketing and advertising trends, there has been a shift from high production value to an intentionally unpolished bid for authenticity. Ads have become sponsored hauls: an ordinary girl following the familiar template and vernacular of another haul video, seemingly devoid of a secondary motive to sell you a product, or a Twitter screenshot posted on Instagram captioned with “I’M DYING” or “THIS IS SO CUTE,” followed by pictures of some trendy piece of jewelry.In the caption is a much too convenient link to the item and a sheepish #ad hiding in the corner.

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Arts

Charli XCX's "Crash" channels the joyous irony of dance pop

By Henry Chandonnet | March 30

Charli XCX has entered her dance pop sellout era. This may read as scathing or critical, but the act is intentional. In a combination of joyous reflection and deep irony, Charli XCX reclaims her pop sound and takes the pop music market head-on. The result is her fifth studio album and eighth long-form project, “Crash” (2022). The album is a sonic trip and is sure to be a club classic. “Crash” brings back the Charli XCX we know and love, returning to the iconic pop sound but with a new aura of reclamation and free-spirited nature. In short, Charli XCX is free. She can be a self-actualized sellout, so long as she wants to. 

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