This weekend will bring the virtual Save Our Stages festival, an effort spearheaded by the recently formed National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) attempting to raise awareness for the need to support small music venues during the pandemic. A lot of artists signed on to help out, and one of them, Foo Fighters, took to TV last night to promote the event.
The band guested on yesterday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live!, heading to the empty Troubadour in West Hollywood to perform one of their all-time classics, “Learn To Fly.” The performance was more acoustic than the album version, although they still worked on electric guitar into the mix.
Dave Grohl previously said of the event in a statement, “The smaller music venues and the ones that are really struggling are not only culturally important, they are emotionally important.”
The three-day event starts today, October 16, and runs through to October 18. Over 30 artists have been booked to perform, and aside from Grohl and the gang, participating acts include Brittany Howard, Brothers Osbourne, Dave Matthews, Dillon Francis, Finneas, G-Eazy, Gus Dapperton, Jason Mraz, Kelsea Ballerini, Leon Bridges, Macklemore, Major Lazer, Marshmello and Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, Phoebe Bridgers, The Roots, and YG.
You don’t need me to recount Gary Payton’s NBA credentials, but let’s go over a few things anyway just for fun. He was a nine-time All-Star and has the record for nine straight first-team All-Defense selections. He was an NBA champion with the Heat in 2006 and is one of the all-time great defenders at the point guard position.
For the past couple of seasons, before it shut down during the pandemic in 2020, Payton has brought his basketball savvy as a coach in the BIG 3 and, to no surprise, won the award for Trash Talker of the Year. He’s additionally served as an astute analyst for Turner. Now, it appears Payton is ready to take his coaching experience to the next level.
“I have had conversations in the past about coaching, but the timing wasn’t right. I believe I now am ready to coach,” Payton told Yahoo Sports in a phone interview Thursday night. “A lot of young NBA players are a voice away from reaching their true potential. I would like to join an NBA staff where I can help coach, mentor and guide players toward the hard work, focus and determination needed to become a reliable contributor to a team’s success.”
Payton certainly wouldn’t be the first former player to make the transition into coaching. Most recently, the Nets made the high-profile and somewhat controversial decision to hire Steve Nash for the head coaching gig, despite him not having any real experience on an NBA bench.
Payton’s experience could be a huge benefit to up-and-coming point guards. His tenacity as a defender and his savvy as a floor general could translate into a key mentorship role. Now that he’s tossed his hat into the ring, it’ll be interesting to see what opportunities might come calling.
Lil Yachty is being sued by a fan who claims Yachty and his crew jumped him at Rolling Loud last December according to TMZ. The fan, Jimmy Quivac, says that he was walking alone and heading into the Coliseum when he bumped into Yachty’s group while trying weave through a crowd at the entrance.
Quivac’s lawsuit says Yachty punched him in retaliation for the bump, then the others jumped in as well, kicking and stomping him on the ground. He says he suffered injuries to his arm, hand, and wrist and is suing Yachty for assault and battery, as well as emotional distress. The report does not say how much he is pursuing.
According to TMZ, Yachty said that he and his friends were leaving the festival and that Quivac shoved him, leading to a confrontation. Yachty insists they weren’t looking for a fight, only to find out why Quivac pushed him. TMZ’s report also has a video of the incident, in which the group can be seen confronting Quivac before the fight breaks out. The group does indeed spend a few seconds kicking the fallen fan before walking away and during the argument, it sounds like someone makes a few belligerent comments.
“What’s the best-selling scotch whisky in the world?” isn’t a particularly fun question. Though it’s easy to focus on aficionados, most drinkers weigh affordability and brand recognition high when grabbing a quick bottle. Better questions are: “Is the best-selling scotch whisky in the world deserving of its success? Does it taste good enough to justify its sales numbers?”
We’re not going to spoil those answers just yet. But we will say, while the masses have plenty of factors that impact their purchases. Assuming they have trash taste is wrongheaded.
The Spirit Business compiled a list of the ten best-selling scotch whisky brands by actual sales numbers. Scotch whisky as a whole — that’s the blended stuff and single malts — is experiencing a serious growth spurt. More expressions are becoming available on the U.S. market than ever before, despite the Trump administration’s damaging tariffs (which keep scotch prices higher).
Interestingly, there are no single malts on this list. Blended scotch clearly dominates if you look through a sales lens only. But are these wildly successful whiskies actually the best tasting, too? Let’s dive in and pick them apart.
Label 5 is a bottle of simple whisky you’ll find around continental Europe, mostly. It’s a rail bottle (cheap shots, mixer, etc.), so it’s no surprise that it’s one of the best selling in the world. The actual juice focuses on Speyside grain and malt whiskies, each around three years old.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is slightly bourbon-esque with vanilla, spice, and toffee sweetness. The palate is full of very sweet caramel apples with a citrus twist. The citrus helps usher in the quick end with alcohol warmth.
Bottom Line:
You can grab this in the U.S. in some regions but it’s not worth wasting your time tracking down. It might be a top ten seller but unlikely to make a top ten in anyone’s tasting notebook. If you do grab a bottle, use it as a mixer for highballs or scotch and Coke.
Good ol’ Black & White. This used to be Dean “The King of Cool” Martin’s go-to whiskey — so there’s a bit of panache that still goes with drinking this stuff. The black and white dogs on the label have become damn near synonymous with whisky in the U.K. to this day. The juice leans into Speyside grain whisky more than malt and is pretty damn dialed in.
Tasting Notes:
The bready grains come through with a note of lemon curd and a wisp of smoke. The lemon carries on and is married with a Christmas cake spice and caramel sweetness in the body of the sip. The end is short and sweet both literally and figuratively.
Bottom Line:
I really dig this stuff. It’s definitely a top 5 blend for me. Throw on an old Dino record, pour some of this over ice, and let the evening fade away.
Dewar’s White Label is a pretty easy bottle to find at U.S. liquor stores. The juice is a blend of 40 single grain and single malt whiskies. The core is the stone-cold classic, Aberfeldy.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a grassy nature on the nose next to an apple orchard dripping with honey sweetness. The honey carries on in the dram as oak, spice, and vanilla marry a buttery toffee and billow of mild smoke. The finish lingers as the honey holds your senses and the dry grassiness makes a reappearance.
Bottom Line:
This is a very solid bottle to have around for mixing up drinks, especially cocktails. It’s affordable, easily findable, and perfectly drinkable, which makes this a top three scotch blend in my book.
This is another whisky that’s really popular behind bars in France and more widely in Western Europe. The whisky is a blend of 18 single grain and single malts.
J&B is another back bar mainstay. This old-school blend became hugely popular in the U.S. after Prohibition and still sits on most American bar shelves to this day. The juice is a mix of 42 single grains and single malts with a heavy lean into Speyside whiskies.
Tasting Notes:
The nose is malty with a flourish of orange zest next to cedar bark and sweet, buttery toffee. That sweetness carries and folds in fatty nuts and a bit of red fruit. The oak and spice kick in late as the sip fades fairly quickly while warming you up.
Bottom Line:
This is a classic cocktail base and feels exactly like a solid 6/10. Though, its “brand” is squarely in our grandparent’s generation at this point. Still, this is a solid scotch to give a try as you learn to make some scotch-centric cocktails.
This scotch is climbing up the charts, mostly due to its popularity in Mexico. Bacardi has been pushing the stuff in Mexico for years now and it’s paying off — people really seem to dig it.
“Nothing to stop you enjoying its big, bold fruity flavor. Its taste of toasted cereal. Hint of juicy apple. And dollop of chewy toffee.”
Bottom Line:
This falls squarely into the “rail” bottle category of a mixing whisky that’s probably just tasty enough to take a shot of with a beer back and belongs squarely in the middle of any list, as it is here.
Chivas Regal has been winning whisky awards for decades. It’s started to make a comeback thanks to the fact that it’s legit tasty while still being affordable. And while this is a real powerhouse in East and South Asia, it’s readily available in pretty much every U.S. liquor store.
Tasting Notes:
This is a bold and deep blend. The nose opens with a rush of anise-forward spices next to bright lemons, salted caramel, cedar bark, vanilla pudding, and a hint of banana. The palate delivers on the promises made to your olfactory system and then adds in nuttiness, peppery spice, and well-rounded maltiness. The end holds onto the peppery spice as it warms and slowly fades towards a sweet finish.
Bottom Line:
I drank this stuff for about a year straight when I lived in Jakarta. Chivas highballs were my go-to. It also works really well simply on the rocks. This is legitimately a very tasty whisky at a very accessible price point that I’d likely rank as my number one blended scotch overall.
Grant’s prides itself on the triple barreling techniques they employ. The juice ages in ex-bourbon, new oak, American oak before it’s blended into the final product.
Tasting Notes:
There’s a lightness to the sip that’s, well, refreshing. The dram has echoes of bourbon with vanilla and caramel mingling with malty grains and a bit of oak and bitter chocolate. The end is swift, sweet, oaky, and warm.
Bottom Line:
This is another fairly easy whisky to find in the U.S. and certainly lives up to its price. That being said, I never reach for it because Chivas is usually sitting right next to this bottle. Still, this is certainly a top-five blend.
Ballantine’s Finest is another classic blend. The juice is a mix of 40 single grains and single malts from four regions around Scotland. The end result is a very approachable scotch at a very easy price.
Tasting Notes:
Malty grains and toffee are supported by a very distant wisp of smoke on the nose. The palate rounds out with sweet caramel malts next to subtle peatiness. That soft peat carries on to the slow, svelte, and warm finish.
Bottom Line:
If you’re thinking about getting into peat whisky, maybe give this a try. This blend would certainly be in my top ten but not my top five. Plus, there are tons of whiskeys in the U.S. at the $20 price point that beat this one.
Johnnie Walker being the best-selling scotch in the world was a given. There’s no getting away from this brand. It’s also a very wide label with eight-core bottles and a slew of specialty releases.
For the classic Black Label (linked for $40 above), the blend is compiled from over 40 whiskies from three dozen distilleries in the Diageo stable, including powerhouses like Talisker and Lagavulin.
Tasting Notes:
Citrus meets spicy Christmas cake and a bit of powdery pepper. Those wintery spices carry on through the taste as creamy maltiness, caramel sweetness, and dry herbs bounce on your tongue. The oak comes in late with a dose of peaty smoke that’s cut by an orange zest flourish on the quick end.
Bottom Line:
Johnnie Black is blended to a be a sipping whisky (Johnnie Red is for mixing). And, truthfully, it’s hard to not give Johnnie Walker its due. This stuff is very drinkable and often most people’s introduction to scotch as a style. It’s great on the rocks.
Personally, I’d grab Chivas before this for both taste and price. But I’d certainly grab this next.
Halloween is fast approaching, and since you’re not going to be attending any crazy costume parties this year (unless they’re on Zoom) you might as well stay home, get high, and snack on candy until your teeth fall out. But in order to keep your appetite cracking, you’re going to need some new in-season weed strains to smoke. Something to make the day feel festive.
In the spirit of Halloween, we’ve decided to build this list entirely around spookily-named strains. If the name doesn’t conjure a nightmare, it’s not making the list — sorry to fans of Skywalker, Gelato, Green Crack, and Zookies, you won’t find those strains here. (For those, you’ll have to turn to one of our other lists, like this one about strains for horny people!)
While this is the first time we’ve ever built a weed strains list based solely around names — and not THC or CBD content — we’ve made sure to filter out the lesser strains to ensure this list meets the same quality standards as our others. Which is a fancy way of saying yes, these strains will still get you baked out of your f*cking mind.
If you’re looking for a pungent strain packed with euphoria-producing THC, Monster Cookies is your bud. Expect frosted buds sticky to the touch with this Indica-dominant hybrid that crosses Girl Scout Cookies and Granddaddy Purple for an earthy berry-tinged strain that’ll chill you out and ease your mind.
Bottom Line
Reserve this strain for late-night smoke sessions, not because Monster Cookies will put you in a couch-lock, but because relaxing will feel too good to want to move.
Aliens are scary — enough said. This indica-dominant hybrid strain hails from the Bay Area and features Tahoe OG and Alien Kush genetics for a skunky and slightly sour strain that will knock you off your ass. With a whopping 33% THC, Alien OG will send even daily smokers into a sedated state, but the high here isn’t heavy and won’t make you feel weighed down.
Instead, you’ll find it to be tranquil and peaceful, perfect for exploring your own thoughts and taking in your surroundings.
Bottom Line
This strain will make you appreciative of the world, so feel free to vape it up at the end of a hike to ease your body and enjoy the view.
Another strong indica on the list, with Ogre Berry you’ll find dense buds with an abundance of orange hairs and a sticky gummy touch. Ogre Berry has a deep herbal scent with a peppery dry taste that’ll produce coughing fits if you have a preference for big hits.
Not the best smelling strain but it’ll chill you out and lift your mood after a long day.
Bottom Line
Stinky, sticky, powerful, Ogre Berry is best reserved for before bed smoke sessions or an empty schedule.
If you’re looking for an instant uplift for your mood, Jack the Ripper has got your back. Ironic that a strain named after a London serial killer would be known for its giggle-inducing high, but here we are. A sativa dominant hybrid, Jack the Ripper sports sticky trichome encrusted buds with flecks of purple and orange and a taste that mixes the woody earthy tones of pine and light tropical citrus.
Bottom Line
A great wake and bake strain, and perfect for murderin’!
Darth Vader slaughtered numerous Jedi younglings in a single night, and while it’s hard not to think of him as the eyebrow-sporting crusty old white dude that is revealed to us in Return of the Jedi — newer cuts of the film have removed the eyebrows, hilarious — he’s a frightening force and one of the best movie villains of the last 100 years.
Our point is, he’s every bit as iconic a horror figure as Dracula, so he’s earned a spot on this list, even if cannabis companies aren’t legally allowed to use his full name.
So indica-dominant that you might as well call this one a straight-up indica, Vader OG has a gassy-diesel scent with a skunky flavor that will bring on a killer case of munchies and waves of lethargy as soon as you’ve burned through your first bowl.
Bottom Line
Get your munchies in place before you light up because this strain will knock you out.
I mean, come on. What’s a Halloween-themed weed list without an appearance from at least one of Universal’s classic monsters? Frankenstein is yet another indica-dominant hybrid strain with a burnt earthy scent and a lemon-tinged flavor with subtle sweet flowery notes.
It’s not the strongest strain on the list, and it’s certainly not the best tasting, but it’s inarguably the most Halloween-themed… so there’s that.
Bottom Line
A solid indica dominant strain with an interesting flavor.
Closing out our list is this delicious tasting cross between Blackberry and OG Kush. Zombie Kush, despite a name that conjures rotting flesh, is surprisingly fragrant. Even a closed jar will emit a noticeable dank scent, so if you have cannabis-averse roommates, maybe skip out on this one.
If you don’t however, definitely try to pick up this indica-dominant hybrid strain if it’s available in your area. The dank scent is coupled with a woodsy floral flavor that is sure to make you feel one with nature. (Seriously, who’s in charge of naming strains?)
Bottom Line
A definite pick up if it’s available, Zombie Kush packs a powerful punch, a sense-igniting dank scent, and has deep flavors that’ll ease you into the ultimate state of relaxation.
‘
Pine, woody, flowery, deep kush flavor, dank smell, peppery, cross between Blackberry and OG kush
In 1992’s Batman Returns, The Penguin, played by Danny DeVito, has his campaign to be the mayor of Gotham foiled when Bruce Wayne, played by Michael Keaton, plays a secret audio clip of Penguin saying, “You gotta admit, I played this stinkin’ city like a harp from hell.” The people of Gotham, who, before this audio clip played, seemed to really admire Penguin and were ready to vote for him, all immediately turn on Penguin and pummel him with readily available produce. At the time, and until recently, this seemed like a reasonable response. No one likes putting their faith into someone or something, then being betrayed. But over the course of the last few years, this scenario has played out a few times in real life and the result has been, well, not quite that. To the point it has made one of the few “realistic” parts of Batman Returns into one of the most unrealistic parts.
And now, like Penguin, I have maybe tried to fool you. (Please do not throw produce at me.) To fool you into thinking this piece is about Batman Returns, when in fact it’s mostly about the movie that had to be an inspiration for that Penguin scene, Elia Kazan’s 1957 film, A Face in the Crowd. Now, I am far from the first person to recommend this movie based on current events. I am not even the first to recommend it this week. (Honestly, I’ve been putting it off for years until I read Jake Tapper’s essay about it earlier this week. As much as he admires this movie, he almost undersells how good it is.) Yes, I understood the movie is eerily comparable to Donald Trump’s rise through media and into the White House, but what I didn’t expect was this movie to open up an almost complete understanding of how that happened. Watching this movie was like having an awakening. After it was over I felt like Tony Soprano yelling at the sun, “I get it!”
A Face in the Crowd follows a man named Larry “Lonesome” Rhodes, played by Andy Griffth. (We’ll come back to the fact Griffith plays this role in a bit. It’s very important.) He’s discovered in a small-town Arkansas jail to be part of a local radio show about small-town folk. But Lonesome’s homespun and folksy humor is a big hit and he eventually gets his own show. Then a Memphis television show. Then a national television show out of New York City, eventually getting to the point where his endorsement can make or break presidential candidates. The other thing about Lonesome is that, on the air, he’s charming and his fans love him to an unhealthy degree. If he tells his fans to go wreak havoc somewhere, they will. But, also, Lonesome is a raging asshole.
Kind of famously, A Face in the Crowd wasn’t a hit at the time. And watching it today, this makes complete sense. And it all has to do with Andy Griffith.
Getty Image
You know, Andy Griffith, the actor best known for his role as Sherriff Andy Taylor of Mayberry from his self-titled show. Or, you know, Andy Griffith, the erstwhile star of Matlock. You know, American treasure Andy Griffith. But the thing is, when A Face in the Crowd came out, Griffith was a relative unknown. He certainly wasn’t a household name. It’s only now, in retrospect, that this film truly works because as a viewer we are pre-programmed to love Andy Griffith. So as a viewer, no matter how loathsome Lonesome gets, we see what Lonesome’s fans see. We can’t help but want to like the guy because he’s Andy Griffith. The whole movie, my brain is doing mental gymnastics trying to defend him. Oh, well, he’s just playing to the crowd. Or, oh, well, that controversy was in his past, he’s a different person now! This movie is quite an experiment to run on yourself. It truly puts a viewer in the mindset of someone who defends their hero at all costs. Or, at least, defends the “funny guy on TV I used to watch all the time.”
Okay, now let’s talk about the ending, which I alluded to when we were still talking about Batman Returns. (If you haven’t seen A Face in the Crowd and you actually want to watch this movie without knowing what happens to Lonesome, well, here’s where you should stop.) Near the end of the film, Lonesome is caught on a hot mic mocking his fans and calling them idiots. Just like what happened to Penguin, Lonesome’s fans turn on him immediately as we watch a montage of his viewers showing disgust. Lonesome then shows up for a dinner party he’s hosting for a senator running for president and no one shows up. He’s abandoned immediately. The game is up and Lonesome becomes desperate and basically has a mental breakdown.
Real life doesn’t work like this. But I’m not so sure we won’t get that ending, at least with just enough people for it to matter. We will see. But something did strike me while watching this ending take place. Both A Face in the Crowd and Batman Returns assume everyone would be offended by a reveal like this. In my life, I have lived in both Eldon, Missouri (population around 4,000) and New York City (population around 8.3 million) so I like to think I have a little bit of insight on how people in small towns think. People who would listen to someone like Lonesome Rhodes. Yes, members of the media (note: I am well aware I am part of the media) who grew up on the coasts have a tendency to portray middle Americas as “dumb.” (A bit after I worked at HuffPost, they announced a “bus tour of America” to fully understand why Trump won. I found this pretty insulting. Like it was some sort of zoo tour. I’d hear stories from former coworkers explaining what it was like to see “real America,” and my only response was, “Yeah … anyway I grew up there.”) People in “real America” are not usually “dumb.” But they do have the tendency to feel ignored. And I think some people have a tendency to think they are in on “the joke” with someone like Lonesome. That when Lonesome calls his viewers idiots, the reaction wouldn’t be, “How dare he!,” as opposed to, “Well, he certainly doesn’t mean me.” When Donald Trump said that maybe the coronavirus was a good thing because he wouldn’t have to shake hands with these “disgusting” people anymore, the average person isn’t going to think of themselves as disgusting. They are going to think, “Yeah, a lot of these people are disgusting, but he has to do what he has to do. He certainly isn’t talking about me.” Even though of course Lonesome is talking about them. Lonesome is a bad person and doesn’t care about anyone. But no one ever wants to admit they’ve been tricked. Hence why people don’t immediately start throwing produce.
Anyway, this was a long way of saying, “You really should watch A Face in the Crowd. Everyone who has been screaming about this movie for the last four years has been correct. But I think the movie only really works because of the circumstances. Because Andy Griffith, later, forged a career on being caring and wholesome. This movie, now, forces our brains somewhere that’s pretty hard to reach. This movie is kind of a miracle. Or you can watch Batman Returns again instead. But with all due respect to Mr. DeVito, only Andy Griffith can truly play us all like a harp from hell.
A couple weeks ago, Nicki Minaj revealed that she had given birth to her first child, but she’s been mostly tight-lipped in terms of info about the baby. While sharing photos of some baby gifts she got the other day, she revealed the child is a boy, but that’s about all the public knows about the child so far. Over the past day, a Minaj fan went viral for sharing a photo of the baby and revealing its name, except the photo and name aren’t real. Minaj herself caught wind of this and she’s pretty disgusted by the stunt.
Sharing the post, Minaj wrote, “116K likes. Not my baby. Not his name. Imagine doing this. Pls delete this person’s child from your page.”
@NICKIMINAJ/Twitter
In case Minaj’s denial wasn’t enough, a reverse image search reveals multiple instances of the photo appearing online before that tweet, like in this gallery of “75 Adorable Photos Of Ghanaian Babies” that was published in August.
This afternoon, the fan shared a screenshot revealing Minaj had blocked them on Twitter and wrote, “Omg [crying emojis] ya am deleting my existance.” They also changed their bio to read, “@NICKIMINAJ followed and blocked, it was a harmless joke omg.” They were more apologetic in a subsequent, sharing a message titled “Am sorry” that reads, “OK I made the post as a joke and I never knew how it would go, am really sorry to anyone u offended, I take all the blame and am really sorry to Nicki for offending her, I love you and I hope you can forgive me.”
While Kanye West campaigns to split the undecided vote and Ice Cube discusses policy with the existing regime, another hip-hop icon wants to try another tack to affect systemic change. Sean “Diddy” Combs announced the launch of his Our Black Party today, telling Charlamagne The God “It’s time for us to have our own Black political party.” Naturally, the interview took place on Combs’ own Revolt TV platform.
Diddy also took the opportunity to walk back comments he made earlier this year about withholding votes from the Democratic candidate Joe Biden, citing the seriousness of the upcoming election’s outcome. “A couple of months ago, I told everybody, ‘Hold their vote hostage,’” he explained.
“It would be irresponsible of me to have us hold our vote hostage but it would also be irresponsible of me to just let this moment go by. The world is watching—and [I’m doing] everything I can to make sure that going forth, that we’re a part of the narrative. That we own our politics.”
To that end, Combs said that he was inspired to start a new political party, reasoning, “If you look at the debates, we’re not even a part of the conversation. We don’t have any political power, we don’t have any political leverage and so we started our Black party with some young, fearless Black activists, elected officials, and I’ve stepped up and put the money behind it.”
Things have got too serious. It would be irresponsible of me to have us hold our vote hostage. But it would also be irresponsible of me to let this moment go by and not make sure going forward we are doing what it takes to own our politics.
He continued to insist that Black voters hold Democratic officials accountable. “We need to get Biden in and hold him accountable,” he tweeted. ” Trump has taken things too far. As Black people, we aren’t even a topic of real discussion. We can no longer stand for doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. That’s insanity! It’s time we unify.”
The NUMBER ONE priority is to get Trump out of office. HE HAS TO GO. We can’t allow this man to continue to try and DIVIDE US. The people that have the most responsibility and should be SCARED TO DEATH of this man are white people. WE ARE ON THE VERGE OF A RACE WAR.
We need to get Biden in and hold him accountable. Trump has taken things too far. As Black people, we aren’t even a topic of real discussion. We can no longer stand for doing the same thing over and over expecting different results. That’s insanity! It’s time we unify.
So, I’m launching one of the boldest things I’ve ever launched. I’m launching a Black political party with some young Black elected officials and activists. It’s called @OurBlackParty, it doesn’t matter if you are Republican or Democrat…
The mission is to create a platform to help advance a political agenda that addresses the needs of Black people. So, going forward we aren’t in the same position we are in today. Visit https://t.co/SYOSCLTVqm for more info.
Ever since it was teased back in September, HBO’s Industry has been giving off strong Euphoria meets Succession vibes, and the newest trailer dives deeper into the mystery and sexy intrigue going down between a group of twenty-somethings as they strive to make their mark in the world of high finance. But while some are under the illusion that their hard work and dedication will pay off, others are learning that meritocracy means nothing, and hierarchy is king. The young graduates will also grapple with how far they’re willing to go for the bottom line. From HBO:
Having come to London from New York to join the prestigious Pierpoint & Co., Harper (Myha’la Herrold) will stop at nothing to prove herself the best hire in her graduate class. Harper’s drive intensifies as she finds herself surrounded by people born into privilege, like Yasmin (Marisa Abela) who, despite her background, faces her own challenges. Yasmin has had different expectations placed on her since childhood and is tired of being underestimated professionally.
Naturally, Harper and Yasmin will find themselves up against peers from different backgrounds, including Robert (Harry Lawtey), whose working-class background and belief in meritocracy will leading him to butt heads against the likes of his roommate, Gus, who comes from an old-money family. Then there’s the “doe-eyed Hari” (played by Nabhaan Rizwan) who dresses like a “modern ‘master of the universe’” (an interesting visual) and will stop at nothing to succeed.
The young upstarts will also have to contend with the Managing Directors who may act like mentors, but behind the scenes, they see the ambitious new employees as a direct threat to their power in the company.
Growing up on the Jersey Shore, Carrie Fletcher only saw one image of the pop star in popular media: polite, ladylike, and unquestionably heterosexual. So when she left The X Factor as a contestant to begin her solo career under the moniker Fletcher, the singer thought she had to conform in order to make it big. Now, signed to a major label with a handful of successful releases under her belt, Fletcher tells Honda Backstage that what she really had to change was society’s perception of the perfect pop star.
As a deeply empathic person, Fletcher recalls growing up sheltered. Because she was used to receiving “tough love,” she said she oftentimes had difficulty expressing emotions — and that’s where music came in. Fletcher had been singing since she was 5 years old. But it wasn’t until she began writing her own music that Fletcher found her authentic voice and was able to see the power in her identity. “I remember having these thoughts of, ‘I want to write about my identity.’ But how does that fit into being a pop star?” she told Honda Backstage.
Fletcher penned her 2016 hit single “Wasted Youth” as a reflection on falling in love with a woman for the first time. Despite pushback from critics who told her that there’s “not a queer Taylor Swift,” the single soared to success, earned her a number of accolades, and confirmed what she already knew: In order to find true success, Fletcher had to silence critics and instead listen to her intuition. As she continues to work on new music, Fletcher strives to be a role model for LGBTQ and marginalized fans who are similarly struggling to find their own voice.
Watch Fletcher chart her rise from X Factor contestant to breakout pop star in an interview with Honda Backstage above.
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