#stream Beyoncé's Renaissance album

[snackugaki]

the best thing about making AUs is that you truly can do anything with your AU doodles

like making them do the Cuff It Challenge

you can do it too, just doodle whatever you want and truly no one on this earth has any real power to stop you 🙏

snacku tmnt au brainrot pt.1 | pt.2

[bey-life]

Beyoncé's new album RENAISSANCE is now available everywhere. 🪩

▫️ Apple Music:

▫️ iTunes:

▫️ Amazon:

▫️ Spotify: https://t.co/uOpQu1r2Qn

▫️ TIDAL: https://t.co/Fk0sw3IKNI

[cross-u-out]

i wonder if we're ever gonna get an energy extended mix cuz 😭

[noctumbra]

let me wake up a little more and then it's STREAMING RENAISSANCE TIME.

[cozyaliensuperstar7]

beyhive.be:

NEWS about this morning ! 𐚁

⭑ “II MOST WANTED” ft. Miley Cyrus becomes officially the third single of the album. Parkwood sent it to radio, so let's listen our local radio stations! 📻

⭑ “ALWAYS BEEN COUNTRY“ website continues its way and added several more pictures in black & white. the first ones reminds me of Renaissance! the old pictures & the quote are like a tribute to the black country cowboys pioneers. 🖤

#beyonce #beyoncé #beyhive #bey #queenbey #queenb #sashafierce #singer #dance #shows #thecarters #jayz #blueivy #rumicarter #sircarter #knowles #tinaknwoles #solangeknowles #tinaknowles #mathewknowles #lemonade #dangerouslyinlove #renaissance #hairroutine #haircare #hairline #cécred #worldtour #beyonceactii #cowboycarter @mstinaknowles @mrmathewknowles

bluebeybleed:

Via @bey.park As confirmed by Columbia Records & Parkwood, I MOST WANTED by Beyoncé & Miley Cyrus is officially the next single from Cowboy Carter

The song has already impacted US Pop, Hot AC and Rhytmic Radio last week.

Beyoncé has shared a new II MOST WANTED visualiser on YouTube.

Support the song by buying it (from iTunes, Amazon, Qobuz, 7 Digital), streaming it, requesting to radio and sharing on social media.

And I’ll be your shotgun rider ‘til the day I die...

mstinaknowles:

Brazil has the some of the most amazing fans ❤️❤️❤️

[angelofverdum]

Renaissance a Film by Beyonce

Beyonce the artist that you are.

I love this movie so much I can't stop thinking about it. Beyoncé's mind works in a way that is so fascinating to watch.

I don't know how many times she is going to solidify as one of the best performers to ever exist, but I hope she never stops. She was born to be an artist.

Homecoming is one of my favorite albums, in my mind, there was no way she could top that performance and documentary, and then she did it.

It's terrifying thinking that she would top the Renaissance tour.

I'm a sucker for bts content, but because Beyonce doesn't promote anything, watching her behind the scene is way more fascinating to me.

Beyonce is a great filmmaker. The way she created the storytelling for this movie is amazing.

I love every part of this. It had so many funny and touching moments.

Like what do you mean people were gaslighting her. If she tells you that there is a bigger lens you find a bigger lens, damn.

And the part where creative director Blue Ivy didn't let her cut Diva, exactly queen. She risked her neck for us.

I love that she said she has nothing to prove to anyone at this point because she is so right.

Beyonce once said to Chloe and Halle: ‘Don’t worry about trying to dumb yourself down. The world is gonna have to catch up to you.' and that's one of the major reasons I love Beyonce.

I feel like she is the only artist out there who creates a whole concept for an album. She doesn't collect a bunch of songs and throw them in an album together. She was ahead of time when she said "People don't make albums anymore"

Also she looked so pretty the whole movie. Like it made go Damn this bitch is beautiful.

Like look at her being gorgeous while mad at the incompetence of other people.

I just wish we could've seen more of the process of creating the tour.

I want to see why she put a tank in the middle of the show. Was it because of the knee?

Why no opening act?

Why did she decide to have so many outfits?

Why did she cut Thique/AUIYM and Drunk in love, just to bring them back in some shows. Was it because she got sick?

What did she think about the mute challenge? Did she expect it to become this whole thing?

What does she think about the beyhive naming her horse Reneigh?

I feel like she shared so much but she was still holding back.

I love to see Blue and her work ethic. Rumi is so lovely and funny. I love her saying she was in "Texas bama, Houston". She was so funny for that and doing the Alien superstar's choreography.

Also, It's so funny to me that when people knew that she was going to talk about the power outage in Alien Superstar we were going to see her cussing people, but nope she understood and just took advantage of the situation.

I just love Beyoncé so much. I need this movie in a streaming service by yesterday. I need to rewatch it every day.

[nahimjustfeelingit-writes]

Whew chile my momma finna disown my sister over some Beyoncé 😭😭😭 here’s a snippet of what happened:

*Texas Hold ‘Em playing on the radio*

Mom: I’m just so proud of B, she has grown so much since her first debut!

Me: Ikr, this new album is so good!

Mom: Oh you listened to the whole thing too? What’s y’all favorite???

Me: Ya Ya is my personal fav!

Mom: Ooo I like that one too but 16 Carriages got me in a chokehold (notices my lil sister didn’t say nun) Ummm I said Y’ALL, lil girl. What’s your fav song?

Sis: I didn’t listen to it.

Mom: What you mean? I blast it all the time, plus it’s on the radio.

Sis: Yeah, ik but I wouldn’t even know the titles to pick one out. (See we’re quiet) Y’all… do know that right? I never willingly listened to anything of hers-

Mom: (gripping the stirring wheel) Well why tf not??

Sis: (shrugs) I never really did listen to her like that. I mean yeah I got a few songs that I like but they got stuck in my head cause y’all played them.

Mom: What you gotta against Beyoncé, lil girl?????

Sis: Nothing, I just… I mean I’m not an avid listener. I still like her music, she’s cool, but I’m not breaking my back tryna study her flow or nothing.

Mom: Jesus Christ my own daughter is a hater-

Me: No she’s not Ma-

Sis: No I’m not! I respect her as an artist but I’m just not bumping her 24/7. That doesn’t make me a hater.

Mom: Well you ain’t no supporter…

Sis: I don’t HAVE to be one, Momma…

Mom: You support all these other artists, even ones who ain’t never gonna win nothing or be nothing!

Sis: Ma… those artists are ppl who I discovered on my own, ppl who I resonate and relate to. They have completely different genres-

Mom: You’re a black female, Beyoncé is a black female. Boom, y’all related now stream her shit I’m not playing with you.

Sis: That’s not-

Me: Girl just listen to the album!

(This was a REALLY watered down version but lil sis brought up Amerie as a fav and that almost made Ma kick her out at the red light 😭😭😭)

Lmaoo!!!

I’m laughing at this! It is her opinion but every one I know that says something similar or get turned off because it’s country I just say LISTEN TO IT. I’m tryna get my sister into it now she’s stuck on Renaissance lmaooo

[iwanthermidnightz]

As Taylor Swift rolled into Los Angeles this week, the frenzy surrounding her record-breaking Eras Tour was already in high gear.

Headlines gushed that she had given $100,000 bonuses to her crew. Politicians asked her to postpone her concerts in solidarity with striking hotel workers. Scalped tickets were going for $3,000 and up. And there were way, way too many friendship bracelets to count.

These days, the center of an otherwise splintered music world can only be Taylor Swift.

The pop superstar’s tour, which is now finishing its initial North American leg with six nights at SoFi Stadium outside Los Angeles, has been a both a business and a cultural juggernaut. Swift’s catalog of generation-defining hits and canny marketing sense have helped her achieve a level of white-hot demand and media saturation not seen since the 1980s heyday of Michael Jackson and Madonna — a dominance that the entertainment business had largely accepted as impossible to replicate in the fragmented 21st century.

“The only thing I can compare it to is the phenomenon of Beatlemania,” said Billy Joel, who attended Swift’s show in Tampa, Fla., with his wife and young daughters.

In a summer of tours by stars like Beyoncé, Bruce Springsteen, Morgan Wallen and Drake, Swift’s stands apart, in numbers and in media noise. Although Swift, 33, and her promoters do not publicly report box-office figures, the trade publication Pollstar estimated that she has been selling about $14 million in tickets each night. By the end of the full world tour, which is booked with 146 stadium dates well into 2024, Swift’s sales could reach $1.4 billion or more — exceeding Elton John’s $939 million for his multiyear farewell tour, the current record-holder.

Swift has now had more No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 over the course of her career than any other woman, surpassing Barbra Streisand. With the tour lifting Swift’s entire body of work, she has placed 10 albums on that chart this year and is the first living artist since the trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert in 1966 to have four titles in the Top 10 at the same time.

“It’s a pretty amazing feat,” Alpert, 88, said in a phone interview. “With the way radio is these days, and the way music is distributed, with streaming, I didn’t think anyone in this era could do it.”

But how did a concert tour become so much more: fodder for gossip columns, the subject of weather reports, a boon for friendship-bracelet beads — the unofficial currency of Swiftie fandom — and the reason nobody could get a hotel room in Cincinnati at the end of June?

“She is the best C.E.O., and best chief marketing officer, in the history of music,” said Nathan Hubbard, a longtime music and ticketing executive who co-hosts a Swift podcast. “She is following people like Bono, Jay-Z and Madonna, who were acutely aware of their brands. But of all of them, Taylor is the first one to be natively online.”

Before Eras, Swift hadn’t been on tour since 2018. And her catalog has grown by seven No. 1 albums since then, fueled in part by three rerecorded “Taylor’s Versions” of her first LPs — a project hailed by Swift’s fans as a crusade to regain control of her music, though it is also an act of revenge after the sale of Swift’s former record label, a move that, she said, “stripped me of my life’s work.”

“Folklore” and “Evermore” expanded her palate into fantastical indie-folk and brought new collaborators into the fold: Aaron Dessner from the band the National and Justin Vernon, a.k.a. Bon Iver, rock-world figures who helped attract new listeners.

The other major tour this year that is enticing fans to book transcontinental flights, and to show up costumed and in rapture, is also by a woman: Beyoncé, 41, whose Renaissance tour is a fantasia of disco and retrofuturism. Like Swift, she is also a trailblazing artist-entrepreneur, maintaining tight control over her career and fostering a rich connection with fans online. Together with Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie,” a critique of the patriarchy told in hot pink, they are signs of powerful women ruling the discourse of pop culture.

But in music, at least, the scale and success of Swift’s tour is without equal. Later this month, after completing 53 shows in the United States, she will kick off an international itinerary of at least 78 more before returning to North America next fall. Beyoncé’s full tour has 56 dates; Springsteen’s, 90. (Recently, Harry Styles wrapped a 173-date tour in arenas and stadiums, grossing about $590 million.)

Outside Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, fans posed for selfies and shared their ticketing ordeals. Esmeralda Tinoco and Sami Cytron, 24-year-old former sorority sisters, said they had paid $645 for two seats. A stone’s throw away, Karlee Patrick and Emily DeGruson, both 18 and dressed as a pair in angel/devil costumes after a line in Swift’s “Cruel Summer,” sat “Taylorgating” at the edge of the parking lot; they said they had paid $100 for parking but couldn’t afford tickets.

As Swift’s opening acts finished, the crowd rushed in. Glaser, the comedian, later said that of the eight shows she had been to, her favorites were the ones where she had brought her mother — and converted her to Swiftie fandom.

“Everyone is in love with her,” Glaser said her mom told her after one show in Texas. “Now I get it.”

[lorangechim]

I need you baby overnight.

Songs you can listen to while reading:

I want your video - Djo

Tití me preguntó - Bad Bunny

I Feel Love - Sam Smith

Blue Monday - New Order

Hot Girl (Bodies Bodies Bodies) - Charli XCX

Heads Will Roll - Yeah Yeah Yeahs

Bizcochito - Rosalía

I Follow Rivers (The Magician remix) - Lykke Li, The Magician

Party - Bad Bunny ft. Rauw Alejandro

Summer Renaissance - Beyoncé

Linda - Tokischa, Rosalía

Singamo -  Tokischa, Paulus Music, Yomel El Meloso, Leo RD

Link to this playlist if you want to listen while reading:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3lKlTPW4Ye2zVLvNt5oQ2n?si=efb84b657cd04d89 

Summary: Besties night wasn’t supposed to end up with you pressed up against a tall, dark and handsome stranger, but here you are.

Words: 5,350

Genre: This one is a little more steamy than the previous ones I’ve posted, but nothing too out there. Not fluff ? just vibes lmao.

WARNINGS: Alcohol consumption, a little steamy (nothing too graphic or smutty though), light cursing, making out with strangers. Both parties involved are a little tipsy but entirely aware of themselves and their actions, don’t worry, they are safe and just getting a little liquid courage that’s all.

A/N: I’ve been listening to Djo’s newest album ‘Decide’ non-stop since it came out and was absolutely thrilled at the idea of boyfriend being entirely too happy by safe guarding girlfriend’s bag at a club while she dances with her friends bc it’s not really his scene, but it IS her’s and he will go along with whatever she wants and makes her happy described track #7 ‘I want your video. 

Also I kinda  just wanted to write Johnny and MC having fun, grinding and kissing each other in the middle of the dance floor, so yeah, enjoy lmao.

(Also stream ‘Decide’ by Djo, it’s a really good album!!)

Read this story on AO3.

-

[This story alternates between 2 povs, one is MC and the other Johnny’s. Every ☆ﾟ*･｡*･ marks a change in pov. ]

The bass of the loud music is thrumming in your chest as you laugh and dance with your friends. Usually one for preferring to stay in, you’re happy you agreed to come out tonight. Dancing has always been fun for you, either in the privacy of your bedroom with a hairbrush in your hand or out in between sweaty bodies all around you.

Loud cheering from the lounge area next to yours interrupts your thoughts and you turn around to look for what caused the commotion. Among the few raised hands in the hazy air of the club, you see a guy dancing wackily, he spins and gives an exaggerated sultry look to one of his friends which makes everyone burst out laughing, even himself.

You shake your best friend Luna’s shoulder to gain her attention and gesture for her to look over. Once she does she laughs and cheers for the guy from afar raising her hand.

 “He’s kinda cute” you scream into her ear over the loud music. 

Instantly she looks you in the eyes and gives you an all too familiar look that you know will result in trouble for you both.

“Luna, no” you stop her before her brain comes up with more ideas.

She rolls her eyes playfully “Okay, okay. It’s besties night.” 

She winks at you and you side hug her, giving one last glance at the still dancing man, you turn back to your friends who just returned with more colorful drinks effectively missing a pair of brown eyes landing on you.

☆ﾟ*･｡*･

He had one of the worst days ever at work in a long long time. His boss kept throwing task after task at him and asking for everything to be done ASAP the whole day, and no matter how many times he told her that he already had a lot of things on his plate she paid it no mind and kept pushing and pushing.

At the end of the day (with a little help from Jaehyun) everything got finished in time for them to clock out and go home.

Only they weren’t going home, not yet. It was Friday and Johnny, Jaehyun and the guys had already planned to go out since Wednesday. Now his only goal for tonight was to dance and laugh until his body ached.

Upon arrival everyone downed a shot together to get the party started and once he started to feel the buzz of the shot and the beer he had been drinking, Johnny decided it was time to dance. He stood up and started shimmying around everyone until they joined him and swayed their bodies.

Haechan, ever the comedian, started flailing his arms around exaggeratedly making everyone laugh. And Johnny, ever the guy to go along with his antics, flailed his arms in response, which immediately turned into a competition of who could make the biggest clown of themselves. 

Until Haechan pulled out the Michael Jackson moves and Johnny could not, WOULD NOT, let Haechan win. So he opened his legs and dropped his ass to the floor causing everyone (including those around who weren’t a part of their group) to erupt in screams and laughter.

He continued fooling around and after the wildness and cheering toned down, the embarrassment kicked in a little, so Johnny looked around making sure the strangers around weren’t looking at him still.

His eyes landed on two girls side-hugging on the table to the right from where he was. They seemed to be turning back to their group after witnessing his and Haechan’s “epic” dance battle, the smallest from the two was smiling and her cheeks pushed her eyes to form into crescents. 

Cute he thought. Maybe he wouldn’t mind adding ‘dancing with a pretty girl’ to his list tonight.

☆ﾟ*･｡*･

You feel a drop of sweat running down your spine so you think it’s time to cool down a little. Walking the few steps to the small stool, you plop down and stretch to grab an unopened water bottle from the ice tray in the center of the table.

After drinking almost half of it, Luna comes over to you “It’s so hot in here!” She screams over the loud music. 

You offer her the water bottle and she finishes the rest of it. You are both singing loudly to each other to the song playing in the speakers when a spark behind Luna catches your eye.

You look closely and see one of your friends holding his lighter to light a cigarette for another guy. With the lit cigarette between his fingers the guy stands up straight and you catch sight of his face through the smoke blowing out of his mouth.

His hair is slicked back with a few strands falling attractively down his forehead, dressed in all black. You recognize him as one of the guys who was cheering for his dancing friend earlier from the table beside yours. You grab Luna’s attention and gesture behind her with a jerk of your chin, and when she turns her head to look behind her, you search to your left spotting the guy still dancing.

When Luna looks back at you, there’s a determined look in her eyes, she smiles and before you can stop her she yells over the music.

“Hey!” She says over her shoulder, catching the attention of the still smoking guy. 

She starts turning and grabs your hand without looking to drag you with her closer to where the guys are standing. He waits for her to continue.

“Your friend has moves!” She gestures with her thumb to the dancing guy.

His lips turn up just the slightest in a smile, a smirk would be a more accurate way to describe. His eyes drift for a second to his friend and then back to Luna and his gaze seems to get just a tad bit darker. With a voice that seems to come straight from his chest he utters a deep “Yeah” he takes a drag out of his cigarette, “He sure does”.

His eyes turn down just a tiny bit down to give Luna a subtle once over that you do not miss. And you definitely, most certainly do not miss the way Luna seems to slightly tumble back just a little and covers it by changing her weight to rest from one leg to the other.

And you definitely know what it means to find your best friend at a loss for words.

Your brain is going wild thinking of what to do or say to get Luna out of the situation when Liz and Jackson smack a tray full of shots to the little table behind you both.

“Shooooots!” Jackson screams over the loud music beckoning you all to come closer.

You let out a cheerful “Oooh!” Grabbing Luna’s hand “Let’s go!” You tell her, you’re about to turn around when Jackson comes over screaming.

“Hurry up! We have to take them all together” he says hurriedly trying to drag you and Luna over to the little table.

You roll your eyes playfully at him “Alright, alright we’re going!” You laugh.

Once he’s sure you’re moving over to the table he turns to your friend who is still standing next to the nameless stranger.

“Come on Alex! And uhh..” Jackson pauses, waiting for the guy to say his name.

“Jaehyun” you hear him mumble behind you.

You turn to look at Luna and raise your eyebrows suggestively at her. She rolls her eyes playfully and nudges your arm with her elbow as if to say she isn’t remotely interested in knowing his name.

Jaehyun stands right in front of Luna, shot in hand (courtesy of Jackson). His eyes going back and forth to Jackson who is excitedly saying something to him you can’t hear and stealing glances at your best friend next to you.

After Jackson successfully manages to get everyone to stand around the small table and pass around the shot glasses to everyone he starts counting out loud.

“Ok, let’s go!”

“1!” Jaehyun’s eyes are now locked on Luna’s.

“2!” Luna notices and is glaring right back at him, challenging.

Jaehyun smirks and brings the shot glass up to his lips, his eyes glued on your friend.

“3!!” Jaehyun winks, and throws his head back to drink.

You almost choke in surprise before tipping your head back and swallowing the alcohol (you’re not even sure what kind it is) in one gulp, the liquid burning down your throat. 

Smacking the little glass face down on the table you turn to look at Luna with a grimace on your face.

“That was disgusting!” You shout over the music and join the cheers the rest of your friends have just erupted into.

A figure appears in your peripheral vision, you turn your head back to your right, where the movement registered. Your body still facing Luna.

A tall guy with dark brown hair parted down the middle is standing next to Jaehyun, upon further inspection, you recognize his frame as the cute guy who was dancing earlier. He was taller than you expected from this close.

Eager to take a closer look, your eyes start roaming down. He’s wearing tight black jeans, and a black white polka dotted silky button up shirt. The first few buttons of his shirt are open, his pale chest peeking out, and you blame the shot you just took a few seconds ago for the way your gaze lingers on the skin on display.

Your eyes finally reach his face and you notice how pretty his lips look, and once you finally  reach his eyes he is already looking at you, one corner of his lips tilted up in a smile.

Shit, he totally caught you staring. You feel a drop of sweat run down your spine. You smile awkwardly at the tall and handsome stranger and turn your head to look back at your best friend.

Leaning into her, hand cupping your mouth “You wanna go to the bathroom?” you scream.

“Sure!” she takes your hand in hers and you both start walking, all the while you feel someone’s eyes on your back.

☆ﾟ*･｡*･

Johnny soon found his answer when his eyes landed on the backs of a pair of girls standing in front of Jaehyun. The same girls he saw hugging earlier.

Jaehyun’s eyes stuck to the taller of the two.

He wasn’t going to lie to himself and pretend he wasn’t walking over to where Jaehyun was standing right now just to try and make the shorter girl smile and get a closer look than what he saw earlier.

Taking the few steps over, he patted Jaehyun’s left shoulder effectively turning his attention from the girl currently talking with her friend (who was scrunching her nose in a very cute way, albeit rather disgusted), to him.

“Taking shots without me?” he joked.

Jaehyun smiled, in that way that almost always looked like a smirk.

“I didn’t want to interrupt your… sick moves” he said, the last part glancing at the girls in front of them.

“How considerate” he replied back, giving his best friend a knowing look that made him laugh.

And that’s when he noticed her checking him out. Her brown eyes big (in contrast to how he remembered seeing them last) intently going from his exposed chest, stopping for half a second at his lips and then finally landing on his own eyes.

Feeling a surge of confidence, he thanked his past self for his fashion choices, which he totally chose on purpose. He stared back giving her an honest smile which she returned quickly before looking back at her friend next to her and shouting something intelligible into her ear which resulted in them taking each other's hands and turning to walk in the opposite direction.

His attention was diverted when he felt a nudge at his shoulder. When he turned to look at Jaehyun he found a similar look he himself gave to his friend a few minutes before. It was almost scary how they could see right through each other sometimes.

He nudged Jaehyun back, “Where’s my shot?” he asked.

Jaehyun reached for one of the tiny glasses forgotten in the middle of the little table and handed it to him.

“Cheers” he said, clicking Jaehyun’s empty shot glass with his. Both their eyes returned to the girls walking away.

☆ﾟ*･｡*･

The line at the bathroom was short, you stopped to stand at the back of it and turned to face Luna.

“Dude, he totally caught me gawking at him.”

She laughed, “who?”

“That guy! The one we saw slut dropping earlier”

A look of realization crossed her features “He’s the same one? The one you thought was cute?”

“Yes!” you cover your face with your hands in embarrassment before continuing, “He probably thinks I have the hots for him now, which I do, but he doesn’t need to kno-”

Luna cuts off your rant “Oh come on, because it’s so bad to have a pretty girl checking you out” she rolls her eyes playfully before continuing.

“I’m more concerned with the fact that he seems to be friends with that.. guy” she says the last word with disdain.

“Who? Jaehyun?” you take a step forward, the line advancing.

She makes an annoyed face “Is that his name? He looks like the most arrogant ass I’ve seen in a while. And I’ve seen a lot.” 

You can’t stop the laugh that bursts out. “What?” you ask, grabbing her arm to pull her forward as the line advances more, bringing you two to the front.

“Did you see the way he looked at me?” She asks, offended.

“Yeah, like he wants to completely eat you alive? Like he would JUMP at any opportunity to get you to look his way? Yeah, I saw that.” 

“Whatever” she says, fighting hard to bite back the traces of her smile that she would be able to hide if you were anyone else other than her best friend. You can read her like an open book and she knows, but she would rather chew glass than to admit a guy (derogatory), scratch that a handsome guy, left her utterly speechless 3 words in.

“Mhmm” you hum.

After you’re done with your business, you meet up at the sinks. Washing your hands and re-touching your makeup side by side.

“Do you think they’ll still be there when we go back?” you ask after reapplying your lipstick.

“You might want to look your best if they are.” she replies, offering you the small perfume you gave her to keep in her purse.

Taking one final look in the mirror, you adjust your blue top and start heading out of the bathroom and back to everyone, Luna’s arm clasped around yours so as to not lose each other in the crowd.

Sure enough, both men are still there when you return, still talking to Alex. 

As if sensing your presence, Jaehyun looks at Luna for like a second before returning his attention to the still talking man in front of him and his friend.

You see him nudge his friend with his elbow while still nodding along at whatever Alex is still ranting about.

The taller guy starts to turn his head to look your way, but before his eyes can catch up with his head, you pretend not to notice them and turn to Luna.

“It’s really hot in here” you tell her, gathering your hair into a ponytail and fanning your neck with your free hand.

Luna looks over to you nodding, she opens her mouth to say something but gets cut off when you both hear the song that has just started to play.

‘Heads will roll" by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, your favorite song to dance to. You freeze for a second and then turn to look at Luna with wide eyes “OH MY GOD!!” you scream and you both start swaying your hips and screaming the lyrics to each other excitedly.

Every one of your friends knows you absolutely love this song, they all look at you and start cheering and dancing around you.

Alex even interrupts his talking to look over and point at you with his finger while he laughs at your excited dancing which ultimately brings the attention of both his companions over to you.

You move your hips to the beat of the song, loudly (and terribly) singing along to the lyrics, trying, and failing not to smile and ignore the pair of eyes you still feel on you.

Alex rounds the table over to where your dancing circle is standing and joins the fun, his  mysterious friends trailing behind and joining in too.

Jaehun was standing to your right, but a single pat on the shoulder from his friend (who you’ve yet to know the name of) resulted in him scooting away and making space for his taller companion to claim the spot next to you.

You feel his arm bump into you constantly with both your movements. The material of his polka dotted shirt feels soft in your skin, causing occasional shivers to erupt down your arms.

A group of people passed by behind you, one of the guys bumping into his back resulting in him almost tripping over you and bumping into your arm extra hard. 

You stumble a little, a giggle escaping your mouth.

His hand instantly reaches over to your forearm to steady you.

When you look up, you find him already looking down at you. An apologetic smile on display.

He leans over to reach your ear “Sorry!”, he says, squeezing the arm that he hasn’t let go of yet. His whole body is now facing you instead of the center of your dancing circle.

And oh, he’s really close. Not close enough.

You lift your free arm and place it on his shoulder, you hope he gets it. The need to be close, to touch.

Using his arm as support, you get on your tiptoes to reach his ear and lean a little into him, “I don’t mind, don’t worry”. 

Because you honestly didn’t, in fact you were hoping he kept bumping into you. Preferably with his mouth, bumping into yours… repeatedly.

When you lean back into your true height, you sneak a glance up to his face and catch the second his eyes flicker down to look at your lips before the corners of his own tilt upwards in delight.

He got it.

Your head started to turn back to your friends still dancing around you, your hand slowly running down his arm and lifting to let him go.

The second he noticed and felt the lightweightedness of your hand, he brought your attention back to him by catching your hand in his.

He let go of your forearm and brought his hand up to cup next to his mouth and brought his face closer to yours again.

“I think we’d be safer dancing closer together,” he says with a wolfish smile. His breath ghosting over your neck.

“Oh really?” you say, eyebrows lifting upwards, incredulously laughing.

His smile grew, just a hint of wickedness to his eyes. 

“Yeah,” he nodded, proud. Like he just had the best idea ever. 

“Big crowd and all” he finished, gesturing to the moving sweaty bodies around you but paying them half a thought while his eyes stayed on you, waiting.

Laughing, you pretend to think it over.

“I guess that would be practical” you answer, taking one step forward, the smell of his cologne catching you a little off guard.

He smells really good, citrusy and a little earthy.

He lifts your intertwined hands and brings yours back down, placing it on his left shoulder again, like it belongs there.

After patting your hand in place, he brings his back down slowly and lets it hover near your waist, like he is asking if you’re okay with it.

You look up to him through your lashes and smile, reaching for it and bringing it down to touch your waist just as you start swaying to the beat of the song playing. He lets out his breath through his nose in a laughing matter and sways along with you. 

“Since we are sharing personal space,” you start “I think I have automatically gained access to your name”

“Johnny” he answers. You say it back to him, testing the syllables on your mouth before introducing yourself to him.

He gives you a nod and says your name back to you, signaling that he got it.

Looking around, you catch Luna’s eyes, and she gives you a smug look lifting her drink in the air as if to cheer for you getting to dance with the cute guy you liked. 

You widen your eyes at her and smile in disbelief like ‘look at me dancing with this pretty guy right now’, when you notice a dark figure coming closer to her. Jaehyun.

You throw the same smug look and a little nod as she did you a few seconds ago and she seems confused until Jaehyun leans in close and whispers something in her ear, and then she understands. 

Good for her. She deserves to be swept off her feet once in a while.

Once again, you take advantage of the music being so loud, and lean into Johnny to speak in his ear and ask him, “Can I trust your friend with my best friend?” 

He looks over to where you gestured with a lean of your head and understands your question.

“Oh, for sure. Jaehyun’s a cool dude. And if he’s not, I’ll hold him so you can punch his face in if he disrespects your friend, don’t worry.”

You burst out laughing, and something in his tone when he says that tells you he really would.

“And what about you? Can I trust you?” you ask him playfully.

“Of course you can, I’m keeping you safe from stumbling drunks bumping into you right now, aren’t I?”

You don’t seem entirely too convinced though, so he adds “Besides, I’ll punch myself in the face if I ever do something to ruin my chances with you.”

And it makes your stomach flutter a little, the way that he so openly admits that he likes you. Or it could be the alcohol you’ve consumed finally catching on to you. 

Either way you decide to do what you do best. Deflect your shy blush with humor, so you ignore his comment and tease him back.

“And what makes you think you have any chances?” you laugh. A dumb question, he must know you like him too, you’ve always been way too obvious in your feelings, a heart on your sleeve kinda gal. 

But the way his hands feel on your waist makes your brain slow.

He lifts up a brow, confused, and leans in just that little bit more to look closer into your eyes.

“I don’t?” he asks, a little amused.

Your bodies now moving out of rhythm. Too slow to go along with the upbeat song playing and the rapid moving bodies around you.

His breath is hot on your face, and you can only think about how warm his lips would feel, if you just leaned in that little bit more.

“You do.” you whisper, daring a quick glance down at his parted lips.

“Good.” you can read on his lips more than hear, before he leans in the rest of the way and closes the fraction of distance between you both.

And it feels good, so good that your brain shuts down and forgets to make your lips move and kiss back. Too caught up in how good the way the press of his lips feels, but you are barely able to enjoy it when he pulls away, cutting it short, too short.

Your eyes open, confused. And you see it in his face, the slight panic that you may have thought he was going too fast, it was too forward of him.

But that’s not quite right, you try to collect yourself and reassure him as quickly as you can, that you want this. That it was entirely too short of a kiss and it doesn’t even count as one!

Your outrage and tipsiness makes you a little more uncoordinated than usual.

So when you take his face in your hands and pull him in again, your chins knock together. And it doesn’t hurt you, but maybe it hurts him and you think you are entirely messing this up.

Johnny pulls you away by gently tugging your hair. And it makes your vision go a little blurry around the edges, going insane a little. You end up staring back up at him, your mouth parted open in a gasp. And his smile is big and charming.

The gentle caress of his thumb behind your ear, is the only warning he gives before diving back in, and it makes you groan a little in satisfaction, instantly kissing back.

You can feel how he tries hard not to let his smile interrupt your kissing. 

The confident prick, you pull back with a loud smack to catch your breath. Your noses touching, you look up at him almost daring. 

You gently swipe your tongue along his bottom lip and he frantically pulls you closer by your hips, your hands going around his neck, your chests pressing together.

And it’s your turn now, to try not to smile into the kiss.

You can feel his hands gently caressing the lower part of your back, your own tugging the short hair at his nape lightly.

And the thing is, you've kissed people before, not that many but kissing is not entirely new for you. But it has never felt this good before. And you don’t know what else to do with yourself, feeling a little dazed. And tomorrow when you are sober, you might blame the alcohol for this feeling, if only to save face when you tell Luna about it.

The need to breathe ultimately makes you start pecking each other to allow yourselves to catch your breaths slowly, but unwilling to stop kissing altogether.

When your breathing slows down, you are able to pull back just a little to look at Johnny. The smile on his face mirroring yours quickly interrupted by a playful frown when you pull a little too far for his liking and he presses you back into his chest with the hand still on your back and starts dancing to the beat of the song again.

The dancing resumes, your bodies a little bit closer now that is clear you are both into each other. Kisses are exchanged every time one of you makes the other laugh by singing badly or a funny face while dancing. Not as slow as the first (second?)  kiss, but just as good.

You are not sure you will get to kiss him again after tonight, but for now you are content to enjoy yourself and not think about what will happen tomorrow.

Eventually the suffocating heat of the sweaty bodies around you, and Johnny’s towering body pressed to yours gets to be a little too much and you need a break to hydrate yourself.

He pecks you quickly again when you tell him, before nodding and taking one of your hands in his as he starts to lead the way and move people out of the way so you can get back to the little table where the small bucket with ice cold water awaits.

While you cool yourself down, you start looking around for Luna, last time you saw her she was standing here, Jaehyun by her side like a shadow.

A poke to your side startles you and you turn to find Luna standing there, a big knowing smile on her face. Jaehyun trailing not far behind her.

Upon closer look, you notice Luna’s sparkly lip gloss (which she had definitely reapplied in the bathroom before) seems to have disappeared.

Just as you’re wondering if she got another drink without you, you hear Jaehyun laughing and turn your eyes to look at him.

Finding a very interesting spark of glitter on one corner of his mouth.

Now that you notice, his lips look a bit swollen too.

Your eyes narrow and you look back at Luna, confirming her lips to be in the same swollen and reddened state as his.

You wiggle your eyebrows at her.

“What?” she asks, laughing.

“Mmm nothing, you wanna dance?” you ask her, a smug look on your face.

“Absolutely”

She takes your hand to start pulling you out of the impromptu hall that people are going to and from beside your little table, but you turn back to look at Johnny.

“You wanna come?” you ask him and then turn to look at Jaehyun beside him, extending the invite to him too.

He doesn’t even look at his friend for confirmation, “Sure” and takes your other hand, Jaehyun following.

You start dancing around with Luna in front of you, both of you leaning into each other and laughing. 

When she’s close enough to be able to hear you, you feign a surprised face and reach over to the corner of your mouth.

“You have a little smudge”

She looks absolutely guilty, like you just caught her eating cookies before dinner. She quickly reaches up to her mouth to wipe it away only to find it clean.

You burst out laughing, “So interesting how Jaehyun’s mouth looks a lot more glossy than before, don’t you think?” you whisper yell into her ear.

She gently pushes you away “Oh like you’re any better ma’am!” she returns playfully, making you laugh. 

A hot flash goes up to your face and you squeeze your best friend in a hug.

The four of you spend the rest of the night dancing together and having fun, occasionally breaking apart into couples, much to Luna’s pretend annoyance.

A few hours later, you reach out to grab your coat to put on and head home, when Johnny beats you to it and helps you shrug it on over your shoulders.

“You know, I was thinking you will definitely need coffee tomorrow when you wake up” he starts nonchalantly.

And you know where he’s going, and the thought that this moment may not be as fleeting as you thought it would thrills you.

“Mmm probably”, you say. Not having the heart to tell him you don’t actually drink coffee, at all.

“So, what do you say I pick you up and we go get some” He pauses, “Together”. 

“I mean if you want to.” he adds.

You quickly pull out your phone from your crossbody bag, unlock it and hand it to him.

“Oh definitely” 

He beams a little, taking your phone and calling himself.

He leans in close, “See you tomorrow then” he slides your phone back into your hand.

You take advantage of the closeness and turn your head to peck his cheek. 

“Goodnight.” 

☆ﾟ*･｡*･

When next Friday rolls around, Johnny goes out again. A little more tired but entirely too content to stay on the sidelines this time. 

A neon crossbody bag hanging across his chest into his left side and a pretty girl with glitter across her cheeks dancing with her best friend and throwing smiles his way every now and then.

The kisses he gets to steal as soon as she comes back to him to cool off in between her dancing giving a lifetime of jokes and teasing material to Jaehyun standing at his side.

But he doesn't mind. 

Not when Johnny gets to tease him back about the undeniable crush Jaehyun has on your best friend and her apparent need to tell him that even if she likes him back (“Just a little, don’t flatter yourself Jae”) he’s not as cool as he thinks himself to be.

[ END. ]

[cirie-won-thirty-four]

Some thoughts on act ii

Jolene has always been a bird song to me, and this new take keeps it that way! I do feel if I ever put my clown suit on and tried to came to a girl ‘as a woman’ about my man, I’d probably take the Beyoncé route lol

Bodyguard is the BEST song on the album, and may have just entered my ‘favorite songs of all time’ list! Truly a perfect song!

Everyone is 100% right about YA YA! I know that song is going to be EVERYTHING on the tour!

I know Oh Louisiana is short but it’s so good! It’s definitely underrated as well, I haven’t seen alot of people rave about it as much but I absolutely loved it.

Smoke hour is so cute! Her getting Willie Nelson to say KNTRY is so fucking funny

Overall, I usually dislike when an album is more than 12-14 songs because its typically done as a cash grab to max out streaming numbers but this felt very purposeful! Unlike Renaissance, which was a 10/10 no skips album, there were def some skips on this one and some songs I didn’t care for that much, however as a cohesive project, and the fact that one of the songs on there is entering my hall of fame of songs in existence, I’d say CC is a solid 8.9/10!

[berlinini]

(Started this as an ask for @seasurfacefullofclouds1 to give my two cents on the ~ leak as promo ~ discourse, but it's too long so I'm making it a stand-alone post.)

A few days ago I attended a panel with a very knowledgeable entertainment lawyer from Toronto, whose opinion and expertise I trust way more than whomever on stan twitter is saying leaking songs and albums are a good way to ramp up promo for an artist. She said album leaks are a huge concern for labels: the success of an album basically rests on how good it does the first day of its release, and then the first week. There's a momentum and, I quote indirectly, that momentum is money. The labels care about money (breaking news: that's the main thing they care about!), they know that a song or an album that leaks = money lost.

There is no way a label or an artist will leak the work on purpose knowing it will break the momentum of the release (esp when such release includes more than the music itself: promo, interviews, tv appearances, etc. etc. which all cost so much money and have to be careful planned ramping up to release day). At this point it's self-sabotage to say "hey let's put this song on the Internet, it'll get people talking!"

It's becoming harder and harder to keep everything under wrap before the official release because album formats have multiplied, and with that the chance that someone somewhere will fuck up - we've seen it with Amazon for Louis. Beyoncé's Renaissance was "leaked" because a CD store in Germany put up the album for sale before the release date, by accident. And with Internet, it spread and made the news. However, Beyoncé is at a point where this kind of mistake won't ruin her album's performance, nor her promo. Apart from her most devouted fans, people will wait to access the album in a convenient way - which means nowadays when it drops on the streaming platforms. Of all the people who read the news about Renaissance leaking, how many googled it to listen to the songs? I assume most people thought it sucked and moved on - there was no PR done around (though in this case it's 100% certain it was an unforeesable human mistake and never could've been a ruse from the label to create buzz around the album).

Anyways, this brings me to my second point, that is leaks of any kind are for people who truly care. Casual fans usually will not find out about it unless it makes the headlines. So what would be the purpose of ruining fans' anticipation and excitement by releasing information or songs this way? Everyone would have preferred to find out LT2's release date another way - by a proper announcement.

I also think that's it's possible for leaks to be intentional on the artist or label's part only if they know that the fans will buy/stream the album anyway when it is officially released. It wouldn't affect the charts. In most cases a full blown out promo is also planned for the album. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case for HS3 - the entire album leaked, but with dedicated fans such as harries and larries, Sony didn't have to stress about the performance of the album once it was released.

So tldr: if you think artists and/or labels leak songs and albums on purpose as a promo tactic, you're dumb.

[theworldisyonces]

Former President, Barack Obama just tweeted out his annual summer playlist, and what song do you think was number 1? THAT’S RIGHT, it was “Break My Soul” by Beyoncé featuring Big Freedia!!! He always has good taste. BREAK MY SOUL IS AVAILABLE NOW ON EVERY MUSIC STREAMING PLATFORM!!! Go take a listen. The song is also on Beyoncé’s upcoming album, RENAISSANCE, AVAILABLE ON JULY 29th!!!

[lerr-writes-fic]

Music game!

rules: shuffle your “on repeat” playlist from spotify/the music service of your choice and post the first 10 tracks.

thanks for tagging me, @ellena-asg!!

I use Apple Music, so I put my Replay 2023 playlist on shuffle - it's gonna be a lot of Beyoncé, y'all.

spoiler alert: I am very predictable in ways even i could not imagine. Replay 2023 dragged my ass... more under the cut!

Steve Biko (Stir It Up) by A Tribe Called Quest

if I'm not listening to Beyoncé or movie soundtracks, I'm listening to A Tribe Called Quest.

2. SUMMER RENAISSANCE by Beyoncé

what a powerful way to end her rebirth after Lemonade. Also love that she sampled by man Giorgio Moroder who also worked on the soundtracks for Scarface (1983) and Top Gun (1986).

3. CHURCH GIRL by Beyoncé

this is my absolute favorite song on RENAISSANCE. "nobody can judge me but me, I was born free" brings me to tears and then I immediately shake my ass bc Beyoncé tells me to "drop it like a thotty, drop like thotty."

4. Verses from the Abstract by A Tribe Called Quest

this song is from The Low End Theory, which is a different album from song #1. it's wild to think this album wasn't a big commercial success, but it still went on to create alternative hip hop.

5. 6 Inch (feat. The Weeknd) by Beyoncé

this is my second fave song from Lemonade, and how could anyone not love this song? a sexy song about a woman working her ass off thinking she's doing it for herself, but in the end, she was trying to get her man's approval... brutal

6. Main Title (From the Motion Picture "Scarface") by Giorgio Moroder

okay y'all, i swear i'm writing these lil tidbits in real time as i listen. i had no idea this song would come up despite mentioning it in my answer for #2. fun fact about this album: it was not available on streaming until 2022, which i know bc i bought the Scarface CD in 2020 so that I could listen to it in my car

7. Top of the World by Trevor Jones

not gonna lie, my least favorite song from this album was next, so I skipped and got this song instead, which is an actual bop! fun fact about The Last of the Mohicans, it was my least favorite movie for 13 years, but i gave it a final chance a while back. lemme tell ya, Michael Mann does not disappoint, and the music is outstanding.

8. Auto Rock by Mogwai

another song from another Michael Mann movie, this time it's Miami Vice (2006), and apparently this is my most played song this year. Michael Mann does such a wonderful job of picking music to fit the tone of his movie endings.

9. Line of Sight (feat. WYNNE & Mansionair) by ODESZA

full disclosure, i had to skip 4 more songs from Beyoncé's RENAISSANCE to get to this song... sorry not sorry

10. Elk Hunt by Trevor Jones

welp, I guess we just had to end on a Michael Mann movie song. This the best song in The Last of the Mohicans though, so i ain't complaining.

welp. i am nothing if not predictable, which i hate 🤣🤣

[cyarskj1899]

SOCIAL MEDIA

Most Viral Songs on TikTok in 2022

As the year comes to an end, we take a look back at the songs that dominated TikTok in 2022.

By

Noah A. McGee

PublishedDecember 14, 2022

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Despite the fact that some folks in Congress are trying to ban TikTok in the United States, the social media app’s popularity only grew larger in 2022, thanks to these songs that went viral.

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2 / 17

List slides

“Cuff It” - Beyoncé

Beyonce CUFF IT Dance Challenge #TikTokHypeComps

Queen Bey had plenty of hits on her 2022 album, Renaissance. But this was arguably the one that most resonated with fans on TikTok. Users everywhere made videos of themselves with friends or family doing the trendy dance. 

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3 / 17

List slides

“Doja” - Central Cee

Central Cee - Doja (Directed by Cole Bennett)

Central Cee is a British artist whose 2022 song was in heavy rotation in the minds of every TikTok user, thanks to the opening line on the track. Instead of writing it out, I think you’ll understand what I’m saying once you hear the song. Even though it was a popular song in the United States, it became a smash hit in the UK, charting at number 2. 

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4 / 17

List slides

“Billie Eilish” - Armani White

Armani White - BILLIE EILISH.

The Philadelphia rapper’s most popular song to date is partly due to the name of the track, which takes after the talented singer. Thanks to the popularity of the song on TikTok, it peaked at 58 on the Billboard Hot 100. 

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5 / 17

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“Sensual Seduction” - Snoop Dogg

Sensual Seduction

Not every popping song on TikTok is new. This 2008 hit from Snoop Dogg had a resurgence on the app thanks to its smooth opening beat, which had a fun trendy “challenge” to go along with it. 

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6 / 17

List slides

“In My Head” - Lil Tjay

Lil Tjay - In My Head (Official Video)

Although this song was released much earlier in the year, it eventually became a hit on the app thanks to its catchy drill beat, which makes it easy to dance to.

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7 / 17

List slides

“WAIT FOR U” - Future

Future - WAIT FOR U (Official Music Video) ft. Drake, Tems

This song didn’t inspire one trendy dance or “challenge;” people just enjoyed the hell out of it thanks to its soulful sample of Tems, and the duetof Drake and Future, who never disappoint. 

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8 / 17

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“Just Wanna Rock” - Lil Uzi Vert

I JUST WANNA ROCK | TIKTOK COMPILATION

Lil Uzi Vert just has a knack for making songs go viral on TikTok. This one in particular, and the viral dance that went along with it, could be seen all over. Quite frankly, the music video for this song feels like one long TikTok video. This track is just a banger.

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9 / 17

List slides

“Bad Habit” - Steve Lacy

Steve Lacy - Bad Habit (Official Video)

Steve Lacy’s 2022 album, Gemini Rights, became a hit this year thanks to people constantly using this song in particular on the app, remixing both sped-up and slowed-down versions of the tracks. Interestingly enough, though, at his live showsmany fans could only sing the song’s chorus and none of the verses.

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10 / 17

List slides

“I Hate U” - SZA

SZA - I Hate U (Audio)

Although this song was well-known by hardcore fans long before it was officially released on streaming services near the end of 2021, this song became a banger on TikTok mostly due to SZA’s incredible singing. Not every song is about dancing; TikTokers just like good music.

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11 / 17

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“United In Grief” - Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar - United In Grief (Official Audio)

While this song was excellent, the use of this song on TikTok was less about the chorus and more about the opening line where K. Dot says, “I’ve been goin’ through somethin’/One-thousand eight-hundred and fifty-five days/I’ve been goin’ through somethin’/Be afraid.” People used this time to reflect on how much they’ve changed since Kendrick’s last album, Damn., was released.

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12 / 17

List slides

“Super Freaky Girl” - Nicki Minaj

Nicki Minaj - Super Freaky Girl (Official Music Video)

Everyone loves a good “freaky” song on TikTok, and Nicki Minaj gave us exactly that with this track that details her various sexual encounters. 

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13 / 17

List slides

“Jimmy Cooks” - Drake

Drake & 21 Savage - Jimmy Cooks

This song is just dope as hell. Period. It’s Drake and 21 Savage: what else do you need to know? The popularity of this track on TikTok and in real life fueled the desire for a collaboration album from the two rappers.

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14 / 17

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“Miles” - skaiwater

Skaiwater - Miles TikTok Dance Compilations

The original song is good, but the version where it’s sped up and features Lil Uzi Vert is absolutely addictive. People could not stop dancing to this song, especially when he says, “Oh my God!” halfway through the song. 

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15 / 17

List slides

“Speak Up” - is0kenny

is0kenny- Speak Up (Official Video)

This popular YouTuber walked into a social media hit, thanks to the song’s solid beat and catchy lyrics. 

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16 / 17

List slides

“L$D” - Luclover

L$d Luclover TikTok Dance Compilation

If you’re 25 or younger and haven’t heard the first 19 seconds of this track, I’ve got questions. The opening line to this song was a constant all over the app for people to do the popular dance associated with it.

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17 / 17

List slides

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Black Women Who Inspired Us In 2022

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These Black celebs received more boos than applause from the Black community this year.Load more slideshows

Sent from my iPhone

[cozyaliensuperstar7]

Why am I not surprised? They talk about authenticity. They say they don't want "outsiders" coming in the industry.

Beyoncé is a Black Southern woman from Texas with Black Southern parents ( Matthew is from Alabama. Tina is from Texas. ) She is country.

A lot of people in the Country music world claim they only want authenticity in the industry but they accept other artists who aren't Southern or grew up in the South like Taylor Swift (Pennsylvania) Shania Twain (Canada) Keith Urban (Australia). Shania Twain did have some backlash at first but fans enjoyed her music so much she couldn't be denied.

"Daddy's Lessons" was a hit and when Beyoncé performed the song with the Dixie Chicks the so called Country music purists didn't like it.

The country music industry didn't accept like Lil' Nas X's (from Georgia) a country song "Old Town Road" until Billy Ray Cyrus did a new version with him so they couldn't deny it was a country song.

There are Black Country music artists such as Mickey Guyton, Kane Brown and Darius Rucker but that doesn't mean they haven't dealt with racism within the industry. Mickey for example has been outspoken about this and her song "Black Like Me" addresses this issue.

People want to deny this but Black people have a rich history in the origins of Country music.

Even some White artists are tired of the nonsense. Maren Morris has spoke against the racism in the country music industry.

She recently left the genre because if it's toxicity.

Maren Morris opened up about everything that led up to her decision to walk away from country music. In a Wednesday episode of The New York Times' Popcast podcast, the singer-songwriter said that she simply could not "participate in the really toxic arms" of country music in Nashville.

People are still going to stream her songs and her upcoming album Renaissance Act II because...it's Beyoncé. 🤷🏾‍♀️

So some little radio station in Oklahoma doesn't have to play her songs because they can't stop greatness.

[atlafan]

Ur totally right that it’s not Harry’s fault but u can admit that Beyoncé was robbed… she’s always winning the smaller categories of awards. The Grammys are continuously prioritizing white ppl- that’s just a fact. Renaissance, Kendrick’s and bad bunny’s albums were important for queer/POC culture in a way that I don’t think Harry’s was. Either way- I’m happy for all but I’d be cheesed if I was any of them :/

I honestly thought Kendrick was going to win AOTY because of how impactful it was, so when he lost I was genuinely shocked. As far as the Beyonce issue goes...I don't think she was robbed of anything. I know it must be frustrating to see her be nominated in this category time and time again only for her to lose, but she also now holds the record for most grammy's won, so I feel like she still had a good night. And I really liked Renaissance, I had it on repeat for months after it came out, but I honestly only really like about half the album? I've never been a giant fan of hers anyways, mostly because of how scared I am of her fans lmao

I'm not on the recording academy voting squad, so I don't know what boxes need to be checked for an album to be considered AOTY. Do they take streams/units bought into account? Do they look at how many songs were written by the artist? How the songs were produced? Who the songs were produced by?

For me, compared to the other albums, I feel like HH consumed the year. As It Was got popular on tik tok by accident, whereas Cuff It/Break My Soul/America Has a Problem were purposely used on tik tok to gain more popularity. And same goes for Lizzo with About Damn Time, she does the majority of her marketing on tik tok. And I was so excited for Adele's new album, but it fell short for me. I don't like Easy on Me at all. I know the album was deeply personal for her, and that's fine, but it just wasn't what I wanted/expected from her. Same sort of goes for Special??? Lizzo's first album has some of my favorite songs on it. Like I really wanted another song like Tempo, you know?

all that being said, the Grammy's are a joke and they're rigged. Artists get nominated on the basis of how much they schoomze the academy with gifts and reasons why they should be nominated. The Grammy's don't mean shit when they exclude other artists. How can you say someone is the best when you're not taking in a full spectrum of artists? The Weeknd is a perfect example of this. Blinding Lights should have been nominated for song of the year, right? And it wasn't, the academy still had the NERVE to ask him to perform after snubbing him! After Hours is an insanely good album, and it got paid dust. And don't even get me started on Plastic Hearts being snubbed. Miley put so much into that album, and it was so different and fun, and they snubbed her too.

I don't think anyone is ever going to be happy with any type of voting results. I just hate to see people being nasty online and making fun of other people. If you don't like someone's music, that's fine. If you don't like an artist, that's fine. I'm not perfect when it comes to this because I shit on TS all the time, but I do try to keep it civil and academic. I love a good critique if we're really getting into it. I love a good debate as long as it doesn't get personal.

I was shocked Harry won AOTY because he won pop vocal album. I figured they gave that to him so someone else would win the former, but I was surprised. We all know his music writing/making process, and I think that in itself is worthy of note. He goes off, does his thing, makes sure his album is cohesive (to the best of his ability, he's not always right), and then is strategic with how he puts his singles out. He makes sure the full body of work is done before releasing new music. Many artists in that category are notorious for releasing random singles/EP's instead of full albums because their record companies just want to see money and numbers.

I'm rambling now, but I love that we're having this conversation! I think it's important to have these discussions.

tldr: fuck the recording academy :)