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Music is something that crosses all barriers, including the language barrier. It’s so much easier to learn songs in a foreign language than it is to actually learn the language itself. But there’s something interesting that happens for people who normally speak with an accent when singing. Suddenly their accents are gone.

Some of the biggest singers in America didn’t grow up in the United States and yet when they sing, they do so with an American accent. Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, Adele and Harry Styles to name a few, are all from England with the exception of Capaldi, who hails from Scotland. They’re some of the most popular singers in the world but their speaking accents are drastically different than their singing accents. But why is that?

Dave Huxtable, a language coach explores why singers who aren’t from North America, sing as if they are in a video uploaded to his YouTube channel.

In his video Huxtable dissects pieces from Adele, Harry Styles and discusses what it would sound like if they were speaking the same words they were singing.

“It’s actually not just British people. It also happens to people from Ireland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, and all other parts of the English speaking world,” Huxtable says.

The language coach explains that it was The Beatles who were some of the first artists from the UK to start singing in an American accent but they certainly weren’t the last. Huxtable reveals that American mainstream music is so popular and easily accessible now that it makes sense that listeners would pick up singing in the accent of the artists.

It’s quite trippy to hear the stars talk in their normal accents then immediately hear them sing in another. When only listening to their music you almost forget that they have an accent at all. But Huxtable’s impressions of the artists and his deeper explanation on how it all works is a must watch to get the full effect.

The boys of BTS are officially on a hiatus. Today (November 21), the K-Pop group’s label BigHit Music issued a statement saying that the group’s members Jimin, Jung Kook, V, and RM have officially begun the process of enlistment of their mandatory time in the Korean military.

“We would like to inform our fans that RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook have initiated the military enlistment process,” read the statement. “The artists are preparing to fulfill their military service duties. We will inform you of further updates in due course.”

Jimin, Jung Kook, V, and RM are the last of the group’s original seven members to enlist. Jin began the process back in December 2022 and Suga enlisted this past September. In October, J-Hope revealed that he was adjusting “very well” to life in the military, per Rolliing Stone.

Before enlisting, Jung Kook released his debut solo album, Golden. The band also announced a docuseries called BTS: Monuments: Behind The Star, which will stream on Disney+ next month.

The message from BigHit continued, saying, “We ask you for your continued love and support for RM, Jimin, V, and Jung Kook until they complete their military service and safely return. Our company will spare no effort in providing support for our artists. Thank you.”

BTS is expected to make their musical return in 2025.

Stephen A. Smith has turned into the most on television person of all time for one simple reason: He is incredible at having extremely strong takes on seemingly every subject and somehow is capable of finding any little way to debate them. Most of the time, we see Smith do this in the world of sports, but on the most recent episode of “The Stephen A. Smith Show,” he flexed his movie muscles in a way that I, quite frankly, cannot believe is real.

A caller named “Danny in Wisconsin” asked Smith for his thoughts on one particular person’s positioning in the GOAT of sports debate. Specifically, Danny wanted to know where Lightning McQueen and his seven Piston Cups stacks up, and I swear to god, there is no universe where you can expect this to get as heated as it does.

“You’re talking about the movie Cars, right?” Smith asks. And after Danny confirms that, yes, he is talking about the movie Cars, Smith mentions that McQueen and Strip Weathers are tied with seven Piston Cups.

“Strip Weathers has seven Piston Cups,” Smith authoritatively says. “I am not about to sit here and argue with a grown ass many about the movie Cars.”

Somehow the Fast & Furious franchise came up in this, because Smith basically said Danny — who is 21 — needed to argue with him over something that isn’t an animated movie.

“Stephen A,” Danny says, “Cars is as real to little kids as…”

“YOU’RE NOT A LITTLE KID,” Smith screams. “YOU’RE 21. YOU WOULD HAVE A POINT IF YOU WERE 7 YEARS OLD CALLING ME. YOU’RE 21 YEARS OLD. WHAT ARE YOU DOING, WEARING A DIAPER? GOODBYE, MAN.”

I dunno, man. The man is an artist.

Tom Cruise has mostly steered clear of politics. Apart from a brief period in the mid-aughts when he was very open about certain beliefs he holds — and nearly wrecked his career — he’s stuck to making big movies and endangering his life just to entertain. But when his agent came under fire for posts about the Israel-Palestine war, he used his clout to save her job.

Variety has a new post about how Hollywood is dealing with those in the industry who’ve posted about the conflict in the Middle East, especially those who’ve called out Israel’s response. One was far from a household name: Maha Dakhil, a CAA agent who “ignited a firestorm” at the agency over her Instagram posts. One read, “What’s more heartbreaking than witnessing genocide? Witnessing the denial that genocide is happening.”

Dakhil might have been fired, had her most important client not been Tom Cruise. According to the report, the superstar “made it known to CAA that he was backing her.” He went so far as to show up in person in the offices. As a result, she was relieved of her duties as co-chief of the motion pictures department but was able to keep working as an agent.

Variety’s report came the same day that two actresses were punished for statements condemning Israel’s ongoing bombing of Palestine. Oscar-winning actress and activist Susan Sarandon was let go from United Talent Agency for comments she made at a rally in support of the Palestinian people.

“There are a lot of people that are afraid, afraid of being Jewish at this time, and are getting a taste of what it feels like to be a Muslim in this country, so often subjected to violence,” Sarandon said at the rally, in comments that were criticized on social media.

Elsewhere, Spyglass Media Group fired Melissa Barrera from the Scream series over social media posts in which she wrote, “Western media only shows the [Israeli] side. Why do they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself.” Barrera had been the star of the previous two Scream films, which had rejuvenated the long-dormant franchise.

(Via Variety)

It’s been a minute since Eminem has put out new music — but the Detroit rapper has had quite an eventful past few weeks. Earlier this month, he made his Mom’s Spaghetti sauce available for purchase from online retailers, just two years after the namesake storefront opened in his hometown. Today (November 21), the “Lose Yourself” hitmaker announced he would be stepping into the video game realm.

In a teaser shared to Em’s Instagram account, the rapper teased involvement with the upcoming Fortnite finale event. The video clip shows an old-style television screen with the Fortnite logo flashing, then flashing Eminem’s signature backwards “E” logo.

The post’s caption reads “calling all grandmas 12.2.” alluding to a lyric from “Tone Deaf,” a song from his 2020 album, Music To Be Murdered By.

A snippet of the song plays in the video clip, specifically a line in which Em raps “I can make ‘orange’ rhyme with ‘banana’ /
Ornana / Eating pork rinds, sword fightin’ in pajamas / At the crib, playin’ Fortnite with your grandma.”

Though neither Fortnite nor Eminem have revealed the capacity to which the rapper is involved with the December 2 finale events, some leaks (per Forbes) have shown that Eminem skins will be available for players of the game.

You can see the teaser above.

Look above at that picture of Jon Hamm chilling in a hot tub from the new season of Fargo. Look closely. Then look closely-er. Notice anything odd? The more prurient of you may have checked out his nipples. If you did, you may have noticed something: they’re both pierced. They’re small, but they’re there. Here’s the thing, though: Jon Hamm, actor, does not have pierced nipples. His character, a ruthless sheriff out to nab a possible scam artist (Juno Temple), does. It’s Hollywood magic! But how did they give Hamm fake nipples? Is that an actual job?

It is (maybe)! Per Variety, last week Hamm and Temple appeared at a Fargo Season 5 screening in Los Angeles. There Temple was gobsmacked to learn about the fake breastwear. “A full, fake nipple?,” she asked him in front of the crowd. Hamm was all too happy to get into the nitty-gritty.

“I had to have some very blue latex put on my nipples, and then they cast a resoundingly lifelike pair of nipples, which they then pierced and placed over my own nipples, and we shot said nipples,” Hamm told the crowd. “The crew doesn’t get enough credit, but there was a dedicated nippleologist.”

Whether the crew member was simply an accomplished general make-up artist who someone who specializes in nipples is unclear. But if your specialty is fake nipples, that’s quite a get for your résumé. They look good, too! You really think the erstwhile Don Draper and current Fletch has pierced nips.

(Via Variety)

After becoming fed up with the material nature of the holiday season, a Redditor who goes by Somanycatsinhere, shared how she is putting her money towards things that matter rather than mindlessly buying gifts. Even though everyone’s situation differs, the post is an excellent reminder that we don’t have to give someone a store-bought gift reflexively. Instead, we can focus on getting something they actually need.

“I’m over buying gifts to be thrown away or donated,” she started her post. “I decided I’m done.”

The Redditor explained she usually visits her family a few weeks before the holidays for a joint Thanksgiving and “Early Christmas” celebration, and this year, she took a different approach to gift-giving.

“I made a visit to my sister with my 3 amazing nieces. … The kids have everything they can need or want: toys and clothing-wise—and it’s all so overwhelming. The kids don’t even play with most of it. It’s just piled up everywhere,” she wrote.

​So, instead of buying them more toys and clothes, she opened up a college fund for each niece, who receives a monthly amount “gifted” to them at birthdays and Christmas.

The woman’s sister is having financial difficulties, so she got her something super practical. “Took my sister to the store and told her she could fill the cart with household items and groceries for her and her husband’s Christmas present. Laundry soap, paper towels, toilet paper, groceries, etc. She loved it!” she wrote.

For her nephews who have everything, the poster gave them gift cards for their annual trip to Disney.

The woman’s extended family “throws nothing away” and collects “everything,” so the Redditor got them to agree to a family Christmas trip instead of exchanging gifts.

The post received over 150 comments from people who shared their approach to giving gifts during the holidays. Many who responded said they prefer to buy experiences for their family members instead of material objects.

“I gift experiences. Like membership to a batting cage for my nephew or a season pass to the zoo. I suggested horseback riding sessions or archery lessons for my daughter and some kind of jump park or karate class for my son,” Savvymama30a wrote. “I’ve also started buying more “experience” gifts than physical items. I’ve gotten gift certificates for massages, fancy restaurants, and concerts or shows for my parents the past few years,” Purplezara added.

During these challenging economic times, practical gifts can be a huge help.

“I think, slowly but surely, people are coming around to this way of giving. As a practical person, I thoroughly appreciate being gifted things I’ll actually use,” Yourdailysugarcube wrote. “When I was younger and newly on my own, my mom would gift me bulk items from Costco like paper towels, garbage bags, etc, and while it isn’t glamorous, it saved me a lot of money. I really appreciated those gifts!”

Ultimately, the holidays are all about spending time together, expressing gratitude for one another, and embracing the things that truly matter in life. Everyone has their love language, but this Reddit poster seems to be on the right track by focusing on giving people gifts they can use instead of something they’ll stick on a closet or get rid of at a yard sale.

November 22, 2023, will mark the 60th anniversary of one of the most horrific moments in American history, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. The anniversary has been greeted by a host of new documentaries and renewed interest in the conspiracies surrounding the assassination.

One historic moment from Kennedy’s short but consequential presidency occurred on the last night of his life, Thursday, November 21, 1963. That night, Kennedy, his wife Jacqueline, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, and his wife, Lady Bird, visited a formal dinner in Houston, Texas, held by LULAC — the League of United Latin American Citizens. The event featured a welcoming party of Mexican-American World War II veterans, including Medal of Honor recipient Macario García.

The event is believed to be the first time a sitting U.S. president publicly recognized the Latino vote.

The visit was a thank-you to Latino voters who played a significant role in Kennedy taking Texas in the 1960 election as part of his razor-thin victory over Richard Nixon. Mexican-American military veterans, angry that they still faced prejudice and second-class citizen status after serving their country in the war, bound together in the state to create the Viva Kennedy movement to elect the first Catholic president.

“[Veterans] assumed that things would change, that they would be like they were in the foxhole, or the military unit,” Professor Ignacio Garcia, author of “Viva Kennedy: Mexican Americans In Search of Camelot,” told NPR. “And when they came back and discovered things were not changed, they became very adamant about changing things.”

Kennedy’s trip to the LUAC gala was a way to publicly rededicate himself to Latino voters. However, the president’s primary goal on his Texas trip was to soothe party tensions caused by the fight between gubernatorial challenger Don Yarborough and Governor John Connally.

Kennedy arrived at the Grand Ballroom at Houston’s Rice Hote to the sound of the song “Kennedy, Kennedy” played by El Trio Internacional. When he took the stage, he said some words about his policies in Latin America and then introduced Jacqueline, who made a short speech in Spanish.

@vincepalamara1

Jackie Kennedy addresses LULAC gala in Houston, Nov. 21, 1963; the night before #jfk #jackiekennedy #jacquelinekennedy #vincepalamara #palamara

After the couple’s speeches, the room erupted with chants of “Viva Kennedy! And viva Jackie!”

Dr. William Elizondo, who was present at the historic event, recalls taking the opportunity to tell Kennedy about the problems with poverty and health faced by many Latinos in San Antonio. He remembers Kennedy saying, “I’m definitely going to look into it.”

“He was so vivacious about what he was going to do,” Elizondo told My San Antonio. “We felt grateful that things would be made better and change in a positive manner.”

Sadly, the next day, at 12:30 pm, Kennedy would be struck down by an assassin in Dallas, with Jacqueline by his side.

But Kennedy’s death didn’t squash the growing Latino political movement in the U.S. It would carry on, with many of its leaders, such as Edward Roybal, making their way to prominent roles in Washington, D.C. This new wave of Latino leaders would lobby to expand the Voting Rights Act to include Latinos, from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and establish the Latino vote as one of the nation’s most influential blocs.

Lana Del Rey is constantly reinventing herself — whether it be by choice or by divine intervention. In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar, the Grammy-nominated singer revealed how a shocking discovery led her to get rid of some of her most prized possessions.

For years, Del Rey believed her Zodiac sign was Gemini. She had fully embraced her Gemini characteristics, until later realizing that the timing of her birth didn’t line up with the placement on the Gemini stars.

“I lived my life as a Gemini,” Del Rey said. “It’s insane. And then I found out that I was four hours short. I threw out all my 14-karat gold twin Gemini pendants.”

Del Rey learned that she is actually a Cancer sun with a Leo moon and a Scorpio rising. this certainly sounds like a very expensive discovery and transformation, Del Rey accepted her actual Zodiac placement with open arms.

“I feel like I identify with Cancer qualities,” she said. “I’ve got lots of crabs in diamonds. I’ve got a ‘go bag,’ I’ve got a truck — I carry everything I have with me on my back like a little crab. Total crybaby. Tears all the time.”

You can see the interview clip above.

It must be humiliating to be losing so badly to someone who’s repeatedly said Barack Obama is the current president. But that’s what’s happening to Ron DeSantis. This time last year, some six months before he’d even formally launched his 2024 campaign, the Florida governor was the next great, very white hope for the Republican Party, while Donald Trump had turned into Sideshow Bob stepping on rakes. Now their fortunes have flipped, and DeSantis’ supporters are starting to have buyers’ remorse.

In a bit teased out by Raw Story, NBC News has a new report on what’s up with Never Back Down, the DeSantis super PAC that’s stuck by his side, even as he’s been felled by unflattering nicknames and footwear choices. A recent meeting descended into petty in-fighting. Instead of hashing out a plan to save their guy, members almost came to blows between the PAC’s top consultant, Jeff Roe, and longtime DeSantis confidant Scott Wagner.

“You have a stick up your a*s, Scott,” Roe told Wagner during a budget discussion.

“Why don’t you come over here and get it?” Wagner replied. He then rose out of his chair, Markwayne Mullins-style, before being restrained à la Bernie Sanders.

They have every reason to be on-edge. Though DeSantis has tended to place second in polls to Trump, it’s a very distant second. What’s more, a new contender, Nikki Haley, has been eclipsing him in some polls, which is to say trailing an insurmountable amount behind her old boss. In fact, a Washington Post/Monmouth University poll from last week had DeSantis in fifth in New Hampshire. That’s left some contributors angry about contributing at all.

“I’m a bit agitated these guys have spent all this money for no return,” one DeSantis contributor told NBC News. “You don’t just keep throwing money at RadioShack.”

Remember RadioShack? At one point the electronics retailer was a staple of every mall, selling everything from personal computers to CB radios to teeny-tiny doohickeys that only die-hard techies would ever know what to do with. Many of them shuttered in the mid-aughts, but technically they’re still around, although they’re even harder to find than someone who thinks Ron DeSantis will be president in 2024. In fact, comparing the “Don’t Say Gay” guy to RadioShack may be an even sicker burn than “Meatball Ron.”

(Via NBC News and Raw Story)