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Britney Spears is not a cautionary tale
Stop eulogising this woman. I’m not sure how many of you have been tuned into the current Pop Pantheon series about Britney Spears. I’m assuming at least a few of you. My Tate McRae article did very well, so I know I have a contingent of…pop fans on lock. Anyway, it has raised some concerns.…
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Rick and Morty and continuity (FROM THE ARCHIVES)
How do you tell a story with no stakes? Note: This article was written in December 2022., prior to the publicised abuse allegations concerning Justin Roiland. Recently, I decided to start watching the hit show everyone was talking about before the pandemic, ‘Rick and Morty’. Call it a whim, call it half a decade of…
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Selena Gomez finds direction on Sunset Boulevard
Finally. I want to out myself as something quite shameful in 2025 – a Selena Gomez fan…adjacent. On one hand, I don’t really care for her acting projects and don’t wear makeup, which are her two biggest endeavours of the past half-decade. Also, her status as a celebrity is significantly less interesting post-Bieber. But the…
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Tate McRae is a pop parody
Two hands on the steering wheel of a toy car. I really don’t know how to feel about Canadian pop starlet Tate McRae. Really, I don’t! On one hand, she’s not particularly good at her chosen career path. Her voice is nasal and unpleasant. She has a penchant for choreography that is technically impressive but…
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Your child is a publicity shield
The unfair life of a celebrity child. Does anyone remember when Diddy’s children came together to sing him ‘Happy Birthday’ while in jail? In an allegedly calculated PR move designed to gauge support following allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse spanning decades, the accused serial rapist and celebrity effectively put up the first and last…
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Wicked: Part One (2024) has a problem
Yes, I’m blaming Chu. ‘Wicked’ remains one of theatre’s most enduring classics for a goddamn reason. The family friendly veneer of Oz masks a musical that is both touching and genuinely compelling, taking the story of two women’s friendship and placing it against an admittedly quirky political drama. Plus, the obvious points it wins by…
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Emilia Perez is not a great musical
I cannot condone stan antics. If you’ve been following the road to release for ‘Emilia Perez’ (2024), you’d understand my trepidation going in. Despite being lauded at Cannes, there’s been an air of suspicion from the waiting audiences. A musical led by a cast made up predominately by people who can’t sing, on an incredibly…
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Lady Gaga has a disease (meh music)
Eye roll back, but not in ecstasy. The words “Lady Gaga Lead Single” used to mean something in this country. I want to take you back to 2011. Lady Gaga has spent the past three years establishing herself as the most aesthetically daring pop musician radio can handle. She’s done the meat dress, blown up…
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Brat…umn?
Charli xcx re-re-returns. I’m going to let you in on a secret…I’ve never fully got Charli xcx. To be fair, I don’t think many people were on Team Charli prior to 2024. She’s been a bubbling-under-babe since ‘Boom Clap!’ set her up for an explosion that never happened. But even amongst those who followed her…
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The other Katy Perrys
She’s surprisingly replaceable. This is not a review of ‘143’ (2024). If I were to write a full-blown review of Katy Perry’s seventh record, it would probably sketch out the cultural landscape of pop music in 2024, touch on Dr Luke as a mythologised figure, then outline why his current limpid approach to production fails…