The greatest pop star of the 21st century is...| Pop Recap #25

Happy Sunday everyone! It’s the 25th edition of the newsletter, which isn’t a super high number but it’s a fun, even one. I love writing this every week and I’m glad to hear that you all love reading it, so cheers to 2500 more! Anyways, I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday and got a great start to the holiday shopping season on Black Friday. Let’s dive into all the must-know highlights from the past week!

🗞️ MAKING HEADLINES 🗞️

🧠Do you see how I write the headlines for stories in this newsletter? Very clear, very mindful. Very…demure…which happens to be the Word of the Year, according to dictionary.com!

🎤 Since August, Billboard has been counting down its top 25 pop stars of the 21st century. This week, the number two pick was revealed to be Taylor Swift. This leaves one other iconic pop star left to be unnamed by the music publication…Beyoncé! Now, this choice has received some pushback online, with people debating which of the two artists deserved it more. Both Taylor and Beyoncé are extremely influential and have had record-breaking careers, although Beyoncé has been in the industry longer than Swift, commanding the entire 21st century. Since 2000, Billboard has named Taylor Swift its annual Greatest Pop Star three times, while Beyoncé received the recognition in both 2003 and 2014. Who do you think deserved to be #1? Does it even matter? There’s no tangible prize or accolade being handed out, but it’s certainly stirring up some fun and interesting conversations online. Let me know your thoughts on social media.

🇨🇴Karol G has made history as the first musician to receive a custom Bratz doll. Available for preorder beginning December 3, the doll will replicate the Colombian singer’s look at the 2023 Latin Grammy Awards.

🧹Wicked has officially had the biggest opening weekend for a film based on a Broadway musical. The movie raked in $165 million globally in its first weekend, topping the record previously held by the 2014 Into The Woods film.

🏆 The 2024 HBCU Honors airs tonight on BET! I had the opportunity to interview performers Erica and Krista Campbell and film producer Will Packer at the show. Check out my coverage!

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Hosted by Kym Whitley, this year’s HBCU Honors celebrates Packer, inventor Dr. Lonnie Johnson, and entrepreneur Jewel Burks Solomon. MC Lyte, Fantasia and Hezekiah Walker were among the performers. Tune in for all the excitement and action at 8PM EST on BET.

In this edition...

• Film News

• Theater News

• Music News

• Television News

• Pick of the Week

🎥 FILM NEWS 🎥

• Barry Keoghan is set to play Ringo Starr in the upcoming Sony Beatles biopic.

🎭 THEATER NEWS 🎭

• Hell’s Kitchen is launching a national tour, kicking off in Cleveland, Ohio in Fall 2025.

• Boy George will return to Moulin Rouge! on Broadway as Harold Zidler beginning on March 25.

🎵 MUSIC NEWS 🎵

• The Billboard Music Awards are set to return on December 12 on Fox, with Michelle Buteau as host. Zach Bryan (18), Taylor Swift (16), Morgan Wallen (15) and Sabrina Carpenter (9) are the leading finalists for the night.

• The Super Bowl pre-game lineup has officially been announced. Jon Batiste is set to sing the National Anthem, Trombone Shorty and Lauren Dangle will perform America the Beautiful, and Ledisi will sing Lift Every Voice and Sing. They join halftime headliner Kendrick Lamar as entertainers for the 2025 game in New Orleans, Louisiana.

• J. Cole is celebrating the 10 year anniversary of his Forest Hills Drive album with a special one night only performance at Madison Square Garden.

• The Weeknd has announced a one night only performance at Rose Bowl Stadium in promotion of his album Hurry Up Tomorrow, officially releasing January 24.

• Lana Del Rey has announced her album,The right person will stay, will release on May 21.

📺 TELEVISION NEWS 📺

• Saturday Night Live has released a teaser for its 50th Anniversary special, which is set for February 16 on NBC.

• Bachelor star Joey Graziadei and Jenna Johnson have won Season 33 of Dancing With the Stars.

👍🏽 PICK OF THE WEEK 👍🏽

For this week’s pick, I have to share my favorite Black Friday purchases! Last month, Taylor Swift announced she would be releasing a special edition Eras Tour book exclusively at Target, along with The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology on vinyl for the very first time. There was a lot of fan anticipation leading up to the drops, and it turned out hundreds of Swifties camped out at my local Target to pick up the new items. After a fail at our local Target (all vinyls were swiftly sold out just fifteen minutes after opening at 6AM), me and my mom spent our Black Friday morning driving around until we finally found a store with the vinyl still in stock. I was so excited to get the vinyl because it has all 31 TTPD songs, plus four bonus acoustic tracks! I also picked up the tour book and it’s filled with beautiful photos and stories behind bringing each era to life. I’m particularly interested in the behind-the-scenes of the massive tour, so it was cool to see rehearsal photos and images of how they set up the stage. Overall, its a great Swiftie purchase to commemorate the historic Eras Tour, which I had the pleasure of attending twice.

Thanks for reading this week’s edition of the Pop Recap newsletter! If you enjoyed it, make sure to share with a friend. Stay connected with the Pop Recap and Fan Fave community on social media.

xx Katrina