Farewell, Brazil | Pop Recap #11

Happy Sunday and happy September!!! I hope you all are having a fantastic holiday weekend! We are back with another week of entertainment news. Let’s start by looking at some of this week’s biggest trending topics…

As we all know, Twitter/X/whatever you wanna call it has turned into a massive mess ever since Elon Musk took over in 2022. I am a woman who prides herself in having her phone’s automatic updates turned off, so my Twitter app has not been updated since May 2022 in an attempt to avoid all of the crazy changes. That still didn’t save me from experiencing a massive change on the platform on Saturday. In Brazil, a Supreme Court judge ordered for an immediate suspension of Twitter/X until the company complies with court orders. I thought it was just my silly observation but it always seemed like Brazil had an incredibly large community of dedicated music fans - both online and in-person. I could never open the comment section of a post by my favorite artists without seeing multiple replies begging for them to “come to Brazil.” Whenever that artist did go to the country, it was a massive deal, with huge crowds and an internet craze centered on the visit. Now I know it's just Twitter, but as the hours drew late on Friday, it seemed as if the majority of my timeline became filled with accounts revealing they were Brazilian.

As a result, so many accounts that I have loved over the years were suddenly giving their farewells to the platform. It was a day full of memes and goodbyes, with many music artists even acknowledging the country’s departure from Twitter and the impact fan and update accounts had on building a community and supporting their careers.

Banning Brazilians from Twitter is like if they were to ban us Americans from TikTok. So many users from the country shaped internet culture on the app. I’m not even trying to be dramatic but things simply wouldn’t be the same! It’s just a good example of when you don’t know how good things are, until they’re gone. I’m curious to see if this ban even lasts but for now, I’ll be doing this too ⬇️

📺 In other news…Charles, Oliver and Mabel are back at it again. This time, the sleuthing trio is leaving behind The Arconia for Hollywood. Season 4 of “Only Murders in the Building” has officially kicked off and I am so excited about it!!! It’s one of my favorite shows and it’s one that somehow has a knack for consistently improving season by season despite setting a very high bar from the start. Meryl Streep is returning alongside Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez. New this season are Molly Shannon, Eva Longoria, Kumail Nanjiani, Eugene Levy and Zach Galifianakis. I very much will be theorizing every week with the new mystery of who killed Sazz, Charles’ stunt double played by Jane Lynch, and I will of course keep you all updated with my thoughts as the season progresses!

🎄It’s officially Jingle Ball season - which is SO crazy to me! When I opened my Instagram and saw a post from iHeartRadio about a lineup announcement party I truly couldn’t believe it. We’re still in August!?! For those that don’t know, Jingle Ball is an annual series of concerts hosted by iHeartRadio stations across the country. They function like mini music festivals, bringing a variety of the biggest artists of the year to various cities in December. I have been going to Jingle Ball since 2015 and because the shows typically fall so close to my birthday, I consider it to be a very important part of the holiday season. The Kid Laroi and Dasha will be taking the stage in Los Angeles to reveal KIIS FM’s Jingle Ball lineup on September 27. I’m assuming the lineups for the rest of the cities, as they vary by location, will be announced on or shortly after this date as well. My predictions for this year's tour lineup? Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Shawn Mendes, Charli XCX, Benson Boone, Shaboozey, Tommy Richman and Teddy Swims. But only time will tell which pop acts will take the stage across Dallas/Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, Chicago, Detroit, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Atlanta and Miami. Let me know who you hope plays on this year’s Jingle Ball tour on social media. 

🎵Oasis is back! The British group disbanded back in 2009 and after many, many years of saying they would never reunite - they finally are. Oasis announced 17 concerts in Europe set for 2025, all of which are now sold out. The group says more dates in other continents will be announced soon. 

🔮“Wizards Beyond Waverly Place” is set to premiere on Disney Channel on October 29 and on Disney Plus on October 30. As someone who was a Disney kid during the network’s prime early 2000s era, this is a television revival that I am extremely excited about. Many cast members from the original “Wizards of Waverly Place” series will be returning, including David Henrie, who is set to lead the revival, and Selena Gomez. But we are also now learning that the new entry into the Wizard world will be a full Disney affair! Disney stars Raven-Symoné and Danielle Fishel are set to direct episodes in the show’s first season. I cannot wait to check this show out, just in time for Halloween! 

Let’s get into more of this week’s trending headlines! 

• Marvel is celebrating its 85th anniversary. The franchise released a sizzle reel featuring its most iconic characters and new looks at “Thunderbolts,” “Daredevil: Born Again,” and “Ironheart.”

• Universal is unveiling more details about the next entry into the Jurassic Park franchise. The studio announced the upcoming dinosaur film starring Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey and Mahershala Ali will be titled “Jurassic World Rebirth,” and will release in theaters July 2025.

• A remake of the 1987 film “La Bamba” is officially in development by Mucho Mas Media and Sony Pictures. The movie is based on the life of rock-and-roll star Ritchie Valens.

• A trailer for “Sonic 3” has been released. The third entry into the Sonic the Hedgehog live action series features the addition of Keanu Reeves to the cast as Shadow the Hedgehog. It’s set to release in theaters on December 20. 

• A trailer for the Netflix musical “Emilia Perez” has been released. The film starring Zoe Saldaña, Selena Gomez and Karla Sofía Gascón is set to premiere on November 1 in theaters and November 13 on Netflix.

• Pharrell Williams and Michel Gondry’s upcoming film “Atlantis” has announced it will release on May 9, 2025. The musical has a stacked cast that includes Kelvin Harrison Jr., Halle Bailey, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, Brian Tyree Henry, Quinta Brunson, Anderson .Paak, Janelle Monáe, Tim Meadows, Missy Elliott, Jayson Lee, Jamilah Rosemond and Jaboukie Young-White.

• A Steve Harvey biopic is in the works at Objectively Good Media.

• Bad Bunny has joined Zoe Kravitz and Austin Butler in the cast of “Caught Stealing.” 

• Chris Pine has been cast in “The Kidnapping of Arabella.” The film marks his very first Italian-speaking role. 

• Leslie Mann, Isla Fisher, Michelle Buteau and Anna Faris have been cast in the comedy “Spa Weekend.”

• Barry Keoghan has joined Cillian Murphy and Rebecca Ferguson in “Peaky Blinders” film based on the Netflix series of the same name.

• Gwyneth Paltrow has joined Timothée Chalamet in A24 ping pong movie “Marty Supreme.”

• Maddie Ziegler and Avantika have been cast in the action film “Ballerina Overdrive.” 

• Molly Gordon, Logan Lerman, Geraldine Viswanathan and John Reynolds have been cast in the indie comedy “Oh, Hi!” 

• Barbie Ferreira has joined the cast of “Mile End Kicks,” a rom-com starring Devon Bostick, Stanley Simons and Juliette Gariepy.

• The Rachel Zegler and Kit Connor led production of Romeo + Juliet has extended its limited Broadway run. The show will now stay at the Circle in the Square Theatre through February 16, 2025. Performances begin on September 26.

• Deaf West Theatre has announced the cast for its production of American Idiot. Steven-Adam Agdeppa, L.J. Benet, Will Branner, Jerusha Cavazos, Lark Detweiler, Daniel Durant, Kaia T. Fitzgerald, Landen Gonzales, Tyler Hardwick, Otis Jones IV, Milo Manheim, Josué Martinez, Giovanni Maucere, James Olivas, Mason Alexander Park, Monika Peña, Mars Storm Rucker, Mia Sempertegui, Angel Theory, and Ali Fumiko Whitney will lead performances beginning October 2 at Los Angeles’ Mark Taper Forum.

• The Kennedy Center has revealed a star-studded cast for its upcoming Broadway Center Stage production of The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Philippe Arroyo, Beanie Feldstein, Noah Galvin, Alex Joseph Grayson, Taran Killam, Kevin McHale, Bonnie Milligan, Nina White and Anna Zavelson are set to star. The show has an extremely limited run, with performances October 11 through October 20.

• The full cast for Tammy Faye on Broadway has been announced. Joining Katie Brayben, Christian Borle and Michael Cerveris include Nick Bailey, Charl Brown, Mark Evans, Allison Guinn, Ian Lassiter, Raymond J. Lee, Max Gordon Moore, Alana Pollard, Andy Taylor and Autumn Hurlbert.

• Heathers the Musical is returning to New York in 2025.

• The Notebook has announced its final performance will be on December 15.

• MTV has announced additional performers for this year’s Video Music Awards. Anitta, Karol G, LL Cool J and Shawn Mendes are all set to take the stage at UBS Arena on September 11.

• Benson Boone and Raye have been added to this year’s Global Citizen Festival lineup. They join Post Malone, Doja Cat, LISA, Jelly Roll and Rauw Alejandro in Central Park on September 28.

• Halsey has released a trailer for her upcoming concept album The Great Impersonator. The project appears to be a musical journey across decades and genres, a result of Halsey asking the question “What if I debuted in the early 2000s? The ’90s? The ’80s? The ’70s?” 

• Megan Thee Stallion has announced a new collaboration with RM. “Neva Play” releases on September 6. 

• Camila Cabello has announced a deluxe version of her album C,XOXO will be released on September 6. 

Check out the official Fan Fave New “poppin’ music” playlist on Spotify here for a look into what’s trending and new releases I’m into.

• Netflix has released a first look at Season 4 of “Outer Banks” and announced it will be released in two parts. Part 1 will premiere on October 10 and Part 2 will be released on November 7.

• Nikki Glaser will host the 2025 Golden Globes ceremony. 

• A sequel of the iconic teen show “One Tree Hill” is in development at Netflix. Yay! Two Tree Hill. (Sorry, I never watched that show, I just wanted to make that joke.) 

• Tituss Burgess is getting a competition series at the Food Network, called “Last Bite Hotel.” 

• Kelly Monaco is leaving “General Hospital” after 21 years.

• Joel McHale is joining Season 3 of “Yellowjackets” in a guest star role.

• Kate Winslet is set to star in the Hulu crime drama “The Spot.” 

• Emilia Clarke is set to star in the Peacock Cold War spy thriller “PONIES.”

• “Acapulco” has been renewed for Season 4 at Apple. 

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of the Pop Recap newsletter! If you enjoyed it, make sure to share with a friend. make sure to stay connected with the Fan Fave community on social media. Also, the newsletter now has its own Instagram, so you should follow it right here :)

xx Katrina