Music: Album Reviews, Chart-Topping Songs, and More | Showbiz Cheat Sheet

Olivia Rodrigo Explained Why Gwen Stefani’s Songs Changed Everything for Her

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 20:11:46 +0000

Olivia Rodrigo has so much in common with Gwen Stefani. That’s no accident. Rodrigo recently explained why the No Doubt singer inspired her so much as an artist. In addition, Stefani explained what inspired all of her musical ideas.

Olivia Rodrigo said Gwen Stefani songs feel like ‘the diary of the coolest girl you know’

Rodrigo has straddled the lines between pop and rock more than any other star of her generation. She’s a critical darling for her ability to balance radio hits with musical credibility. In addition, many listeners love her music for its honesty. Stefani had a very similar career, giving us both classic 1990s alt-rock songs like “Just a Girl” and “Spiderwebs” alongside bubblegum pop smashes like “Hollaback Girl” and “The Sweet Escape.”

During a 2024 exchange with Nylon, Rodrigo discussed why Stefani’s music meant so much to her. “Gwen’s ability to evolve and explore different styles of music, songwriting, and aesthetic while still remaining true to herself is incredibly inspiring,” Rodrigo said. “To me, she’s a prime example of an artist who defies stereotypes and preconceived boundaries and just makes stuff that she thinks is cool. If that’s not a true artist, I don’t know what is.”

Rodrigo felt that the “Wind It Up” singer‘s work especially connected to her because it explored womanhood. “Gwen sang about being a woman moving about this world in detail that I had never before heard put to music,” Rodrigo writes. “She unapologetically sings about things ranging from wanting to make out with someone to fantasizing about having a husband and kids. There’s so much heart in every word she says, and every song feels like it’s ripped from the diary of the coolest girl you know.”

Gwen Stefani doesn’t take credit for her own work

Rodrigo was quick to praise Stefani’s musical talent. In contrast, Stefani didn’t credit herself for her incredible catalog. Instead, she said her inspiration came from a higher power.

“These ideas come from somewhere,” she said. I believe they come from … from God, I’ll say it.” Nylon noted that Stefani was raised Roman Catholic and has become more openly religious in recent years. In her best song of the 2010s, “Make Me Like You,” she thanks God for guiding her to find the right romantic partner.

Olivia Rodrigo took the stage with No Doubt to sing a classic song

Rodrigo’s connection to Stefani extended beyond mere admiration. Entertainment Weekly reported that No Doubt reunited at Coachella 2024. Rodrigo took to the stage with No Doubt to perform “Bathwater.” After the song was over Stefani affectionately called Rodrigo “my little vampire,” a nod to Rodrgio’s hit ballad “Vampire.” It was a fun moment where two similar singers paid tribute to each other’s talents.

Stefani might not be quite as influential as her predecessor, Madonna, but her impact on pop music cannot be ignored. She paved the way for other female stars to straddle the worlds of rock and pop, including Hayley Williams of Paramore, Pink, Kelly Clarkson, and Avril Lavigne. In addition, you can hear the influence of her bubblegum tracks in the music of Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Nicki Minaj, and Kesha.

Rodrigo took some cues from Stefani and so did many other icons of modern music.

Paul McCartney Was 1 of Only 3 People John Lennon Trusted, Said Cynthia Lennon

Emma McKee — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 17:22:00 +0000

Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s relationship did not end on ideal terms. While they had moved past the vitriol of the late 1960s and early 1970s, they never quite reached the level of friendship they had when they first met. According to Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia, McCartney was one of only a handful of people Lennon liked.

Paul McCartney was one of the few people John Lennon trusted

McCartney and Lennon met at a church fête in 1956. While their relationship had its base in their shared love of music, they soon realized they had a great deal in common. The trust between them only improved their musical relationship.

Paul McCartney and John Lennon | Bettmann/Contributor via Getty

Cynthia said that while Lennon had many acquaintances, there were very few people he loved and trusted. McCartney became one of these confidantes.

“Paul was one of the three people John was closest to,” Cynthia wrote in her book John. “Although he had plenty of cronies, he only really let his guard down with Paul, me, and Stuart Sutcliffe.”

Paul McCartney initially wanted to be like John Lennon

According to Cynthia, before Lennon and McCartney were that close, the latter did his best to emulate his older bandmate.

“In those days, Paul tried hard to impress John, posing and strutting with his hair slicked back to prove that he was cool, because John was very much the leader,” she wrote. “It was his band, and he had the final say about who got in and who didn’t, and what they played. Then, he was everything Paul wanted to be — laid-back, self-assured, and in charge. As the schoolboy he still was, Paul could only aspire to those things.”

Their dynamic eventually became more equal, though.

“As the two became closer this changed,” she wrote. “John recognized Paul’s musical talent and that he could learn from him. Paul responded by becoming more confident and they came to share decisions and eventually ran the group together.”

Cynthia Lennon believed her husband needed his bandmate

Cynthia believed Lennon was more of the band leader than McCartney was. Still, she didn’t think her husband would have reached such great levels of success without his bandmate. McCartney had the drive necessary to achieve recognition. On his own, Lennon did not.

“I don’t think that at nineteen John had the faintest idea he would be rich or successful, or even hoped for it in the same way that some people hope to win the football pools,” Cynthia said in the book Lennon: The Definitive Biography by Ray Coleman. “Paul was a keen schoolboy but John wasn’t like that. He was just happy doing what he wanted. He was carefree.”

Paul McCartney and John Lennon | Jeff Hochberg/Getty Images

She wasn’t sure he would have been a musician at all without McCartney’s help.

“He would have ended up a bum … It’s hard to say that now, after what happened, but he wouldn’t have cared that much,” she said. “I’d have gone out to work, he wouldn’t have any qualifications whatsoever because he was falling foul of the art college, and Mimi would have pushed him in all sorts of directions. He would have needed to learn a trade, or go back to school again, and I can’t see him concentrating. He’d have gone downhill.”

Ariana Grande Made 1 ‘Break Free’ Line ‘Annoying’

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 06:25:05 +0000

Ariana Grande‘s “Break Free” is a beloved pop single. For that reason, it might surprise Grande’s fans that one line of “Break Free” was supposed to be annoying. Here’s a look at what Grande thinks of the song in retrospect.

Ariana Grande said ‘Break Free’ was important ‘for so many people’

During a 2024 interview with First We Feast, the “Thank U, Next” singer discussed collaborating with producer Max Martin on “Break Free.” Martin was behind huge hits like Britney Spears’ “…Baby One More Time,” Katy Perry’s “I Kissed a Girl,” and Taylor Swift’s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” While Martin has been described as a pop genius, Grande took issue with one of his demands.

“I was a lot younger, and I did not want to do the intonation on ‘Say I don’t want ya,’ and he was like, ‘No, it really needs to be like pingy, like annoying,'” Grande recalled. “It has to be like, ‘Say I don’t want ya.’ And I was like ‘Fine’ … and that’s what made it to the record!”

In retrospect, Grande seems to be proud of “Break Free.” “I’m so grateful for it because it made it so much better,” she said. “I love that song, I love what that song has done for so many people.”

“Break Free” has become a feminist anthem as well as a popular song in the LGBTQ community. The tune’s empowering lyrics are part of why Grande is considered an LGBTQ icon.

Why Ariana Grande had some negative feelings toward her early hits

While Grande likes “Break Free” now, she once had a contentious relationship with her early hits. “There was a time when it was hard for me to feel that same gratitude that I do now for certain songs and for the music because I think some of it was like a stressful time,” the Wicked actor said. “I think becoming a pop star is insane at 19 or 20 and I think that experience was married to some of the songs a little bit.”

Grande has rid herself of these negative associations. She revealed that therapy and the passage of time healed her. Now, she loves her old hits.

‘Break Free’ took over the world

“Break Free” was a big hit. Pop fans just can’t resist a good breakup song that doubles as a female empowerment anthem. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 at a time when Grande’s music was inescapable. The track lasted on the chart for 22 weeks.

Grande included “Break Free” on her album My Everything. That record was a milestone in Grande’s career, as it showed off more musical diversity than her R&B debut album, Yours Truly. My Everything peaked at No. 1 for a week, lasting on the chart for 89 weeks in total. My Everything produced four other singles: “Problem,” “Bang Bang,” “Love Me Harder,” and “One Last Time.” Each of those singles reached the top 20. Few artists will ever be as famous as Grande was in 2014. While My Everything is not the most cohesive album ever, it produced an incredible run of hits.

“Break Free” might have an annoying line but it found its way into our hearts.

Kesha Wants to Drop ‘Tik Tok’ Nod to Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 05:05:51 +0000

Sean “Diddy” Combs‘ place in popular culture will never be the same. Case in point: Kesha said she will replace the positive reference to Diddy in “Tik Tok” as soon as she can. In addition, the pop star explained how she felt about “Tik Tok” 15 years after its release.

Kesha’s new ‘Tik Tok’ lyric shows she doesn’t like Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

Kesh’a “Tik Tok” helped define the sound of the early 2010s. Alongside Lady Gaga’s “Just Dance” and the Black Eyed Peas’ “I Gotta Feeling,” it made dance-pop the dominant sound of 2009-2013. If you turned on the radio at that time, you would probably hear an upbeat song about clubbing.

Many zoomers are familiar with the opening line of Kesha’s “Tik Tok”: “Wake up in the morning’ feeling like P. Diddy.” In 2024, The Hollywood Reporter said that Kesha changed the line to “Wake up in the morning feeling like, f*** P. Diddy!” The singer plans on making that change permanent.

“‘Tik Tok’ was the first single that I put into this world that had my voice and my name credited!!!!” Kesha wrote on social media. “I remember making it fun and happy because that’s how I felt and wanted others to feel. What I’m so proud of is that’s how this song still makes me feel, through it all, and those are emotions I want all of us to connect to.”

Kesha said ‘the world has changed so much and so have I’

At the same time, Kesha described “Tik Tok” as a bit of a relic. “15 (!!!!!!) years later, I see this song as a snapshot into the way I saw the world at the time,” she said. “That girl was naive and wild and playful. This song eternalizes a side of myself that I love very much, and now see I have to protect fiercely. The world has changed so much and so have I.”

The “Die Young” singer vowed to rerecord “Tik Tok.” “I will rerecord it when I have legal rights to!” she said. “It stands for fiercely protecting my fun and unadulterated joy, in myself and in others. The whole ride has been absolute insanity, but the joy is still riding.”

‘Tik Tok’ took over the world

“Tik Tok” did incredibly well for a debut single. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks, lasting on the chart for 38 weeks in total. “Tik Tok” stayed at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 longer than all of Kesha’s other singles. It also charted for more weeks than any of Kesha’s other songs, with the exception of her Pitbull collaboration “Timber.”

Kesha included “Tik Tok” on her debut album, Animal. That record was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a week, charting for 85 weeks. Animal produced three other top 10 singles: “Blah Blah Blah,” “Your Love Is My Drug,” and “Take It Off.” While it wasn’t a charting single, the title track from Animal produced a memorable, trippy music video. Although Animal was not Kesha’s most critically acclaimed record, it defined her as a hitmaker.

Love or hate “Tik Tok,” the song will never feel the same way again.

Why Ryan Reynolds Wanted Celine Dion to Do a Song for ‘Deadpool’

Matthew Trzcinski — Fri, 09 Aug 2024 03:57:32 +0000

Ryan Reynolds transformed Deadpool from a character that only comics fans liked to an international pop culture icon. He accomplished this partly through the amazing songs in the Deadpool movies. During an interview, the director of Deadpool 2 explained why Reynolds asked Celine Dion to record a new song for the Deadpool series.

Ryan Reynolds wanted a Celine Dion-style song for ‘Deadpool 2’

During a 2018 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Deadpool director David Leitch discussed why Dion became part of the pop culture-referencing world of Deadpool. Initially, he wanted to find a power ballad for Deadpool 2 in the vein of Berlin’s “Take My Breath Away” from Top Gun or Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On” from Titanic. While power ballads aren’t too prevalent today, Hollywood movies from the 1980s and 1990s often had hugely successful power ballads on their soundtracks that helped promote the films. Leitch found a song called “Ashes” that felt right for Deadpool 2 and then he sought a singer with the chops to perform it.

“I brought it to Ryan Reynolds and we started to riff on it,” the director said. “And he’s like, ‘You know who we should get? We should approach Celine. She’s an incredible singer, she’s amazing, but she’s also someone who works in the sort of subversive Deadpool universe.'”

Leitch said that Reynolds’ idea was similar to other behind-the-scenes Deadpool moments. “It’s a lot of how things work on Deadpool: One of us has an idea, another one brings another idea to it, and then all of a sudden magic happens,” he said, laughing. “So Ryan reached out. We had the song that was going to work for the movie, and then Ryan reached out and said, ‘Celine, would you like to record it?'”

How Celine Dion reacted to the offer of doing a track for a ‘Deadpool’ movie

Dion liked the song and agreed to record it. She understood the tone of the film. As a little icing on the cake, her son was a Deadpool fan — as is everybody under a certain age.

Leitch explained his goals with “Ashes.” “[We wanted it to be] really sincere with Celine’s performance, but then do the classic Deadpool subversion and pull the rug out,” he said. “We felt it was really important that we were involved creatively, so that’s why I really wanted to make time out of my schedule to direct it.”

‘Ashes’ wasn’t 1 of Celine Dion’s biggest songs

While “Ashes” is one of Dion’s best songs, it’s not one of her biggest hits. It didn’t reach the Billboard Hot 100. Instead, it peaked at No. 17 on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100, which is equivalent to No. 117 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Considering Dion once gave us megahits like “The Power of Love” and “Because You Loved Me,” the performance of “Ashes” was underwhelming at best. However, some of the best pop songs never became hits. For example, The Beatles never even released “Here Comes the Sun” or “Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds” as singles. Furthermore, “Ashes” is great because it works so well in the over-the-top Deadpool series.

“Ashes” wasn’t a hit but it’s impressive because it manages to be subversive and sincere at the same time.

Taylor Swift Cancels 3 Eras Tour Shows Because of a ‘Planned Terrorist Attack’

Emma McKee — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 14:51:00 +0000

Taylor Swift has been traveling across the world for her Eras Tour for over a year, and she has just canceled dates for the first time. Swift’s team announced the cancellation of all three of her Vienna shows following the arrest of two men plotting a terrorist attack at one of the concerts.

Taylor Swift canceled all her Eras Tour dates in Vienna

Swift planned to play three shows in Vienna, Austria beginning on Thursday, Aug. 8. One day before the first show, Austrian concert promoter Barracuda Music announced the cancellation of all three dates on Instagram.

Ernst Happel Stadium | Clive Mason/Getty Images

“Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour Vienna Shows canceled due to government officials confirmation of planned terrorist attack,” the post read. “With confirmation from government officials of a planned terrorist attack at Ernst Happel Stadium, we have no choice but to cancel the three scheduled shows for everyone’s safety. All tickets will be automatically refunded within the next 10 business days.”

Swift has yet to comment on the cancelation, but her website reflects the announcement that ticket holders will receive refunds.

Two suspects have been arrested for the planned attack at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour

Ahead of the cancelation, Austrian authorities arrested two suspects. Per The New York Times, the primary suspect is a 19-year-old man with an allegiance to the Islamic State. He confessed his plans to authorities. Franz Ruf, the head of public safety in Austria, shared in a press conference that the suspects intended to use explosives and other weapons to kill as many concertgoers as possible.

A 17-year-old accomplice was arrested outside the stadium. Police also took in a 15-year-old boy for questioning, but they do not believe he participated in the plot. Some media reports claim that a manhunt for two other suspects is currently taking place across Europe.

Austrian intelligence officials say they did not push for the cancellation of the tour dates. Still, they said they understand the decision.

She once said she was afraid of violence occurring at one of her shows

In 2019, Swift said that the idea of violence at one of her shows is a major fear.

“After the Manchester Arena bombing and the Vegas concert shooting, I was completely terrified to go on tour this time because I didn’t know how we were going to keep 3 million fans safe over seven months,” she wrote for Elle. “There was a tremendous amount of planning, expense, and effort put into keeping my fans safe.”

She said that her level of celebrity has already led to her feeling unsafe. Acts of violence at other shows forced her to take precautions.

Taylor Swift | Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

“My fear of violence has continued into my personal life,” she wrote. “I carry QuikClot army grade bandage dressing, which is for gunshot or stab wounds. Websites and tabloids have taken it upon themselves to post every home address I’ve ever had online. You get enough stalkers trying to break into your house and you kind of start prepping for bad things.”

Still, she said she did not want to live her life in fear of what could happen.

“Every day I try to remind myself of the good in the world, the love I’ve witnessed and the faith I have in humanity,” she wrote. “We have to live bravely in order to truly feel alive, and that means not being ruled by our greatest fears.”

Journey Didn’t Want ‘Don’t Stop Believin” in ‘Glee’

Matthew Trzcinski — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 04:04:53 +0000

Glee was one of the defining TV shows of the 2010s and the cast’s cover of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin'” was a hug pop culture moment was a huge pop culture moment. However, the members of Journey were not enthused at first. Notably, Glee made the original song much cheesier than it ever was before.

A Journey member revealed how ‘Don’t Stop Believin” got bigger and bigger

During a 2024 interview with The Guardian, Journey’s Neal Schon discussed his feelings about “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

When I first heard the finished song I knew it was special, but it took years to get to the place where it’s a worldwide anthem. Everybody has their own theory about why ‘Don’t Stop Believin” exploded in the new millennium. First, there was the movie Monster, with Charlize Theron. Then came The Sopranos — I remember my phone blowing up and all my friends saying: ‘Man, did you see the final scene?’

Then Glee happened. I was terrified by that because I thought it was a teenybopper show, not so cool for us. Little did I know that it would open up a younger generation to our music. I’m a rocker and a blues guy, and we always joke that if I think something is too schmaltzy, it’s usually gonna be big!”

‘Glee’ made ‘Don’t Stop Believin” very schmaltzy

“Don’t Stop Believin'” was always schmaltzy. Glee turned it into 100% pure sucrose. The a cappella section, the use of Auto-Tune, the limp guitar riff, and Lea Michele’s over-emotive singing all combine to make it a theater kid disaster that could only sound good if you’re five years old and this cover is your first exposure to Journey. Fortunately, Glee‘s fans were too young to know the original versions of the older songs on the show.

Schon discussed the impact of “Don’t Stop Believin’.” “We just got done selling out three years of arenas and the band is firing on all cylinders right now,” he said. “When we play ‘Don’t Stop Believin” live, I feel like I’m in my Ferrari.”

At some point, “Don’t Stop Believin'” stopped being a song. It’s now a fact of life. If you know one song, it’s probably “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

How the Journey and ‘Glee’ versions of the song performed

The original “Don’t Stop Believin'” reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and stayed on the chart for 16 weeks. The tune appeared on the album Escape. That record peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for a single week, making it Journey’s only chart-topper in the United States. Escape lasted on the Billboard 200 for 154 weeks.

The Glee version of “Don’t Stop Believin'” reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and lasted on the chart for seven weeks, meaning that it peaked higher than the original. “Don’t Stop Believin'” became Glee‘s biggest hit. A whopping 207 songs from Glee charted on the Billboard Hot 100, however, the vast majority of these songs only charted for one week.

Glee‘s “Don’t Stop Believin'” appeared on the album Glee: The Music, Volume 1. That album climbed to No. 4 on the Billboard 200. It spent 75 weeks on the chart, making it the show’s biggest album.

“Don’t Stop Believin'” is great when Journey is singing it.

Celine Dion Gave Us the Best ‘Deadpool’ Song

Matthew Trzcinski — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 01:52:49 +0000

Marvel‘s Deadpool franchise relies more on pop songs than almost any other Hollywood movie series. While the Deadpool movies highlighted some classic tracks, the best Deadpool song came from the legendary Celine Dion. Here’s a look at what made her contribution to the series stand out from the rest.

Celine Dion’s ‘Ashes’ has a history different from the other ‘Deadpool’ songs

The Deadpool movies probably include more pop songs than fight scenes. The songs range from classic (Madonna’s “Like a Prayer”) to mediocre (Avril Lavinge’s “I’m with You”) to terrible Huey Lewis and the News’ “The Power of Love”). The one Dion song in the franchise, “Ashes,” might not be as good as “Like a Prayer,” but it’s still the best Deadpool song.

Why? Well, “Like a Prayer” had been around for decades by the time it appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine. In addition, it has appeared in other movies, such as Gummo and Never Been Kissed. Meanwhile, “Ashes” debuted in Deadpool 2, which makes it a true Deadpool song in a way that other tunes that the appear in the franchise are not. The song has Marvel in its DNA.

Why the song works so well for ‘Deadpool’

The other reason “Ashes” is the best Deadpool song is that it finds Dion in her element. Dion is primarily a balladeer, but too many of her ballads are middle-of-the-road easy-listening tunes. “Ashes,” on the other hand, gets suitably dramatic. It’s not as over-the-top as “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” but it’s still a lot of fun. The cheeky melodrama of “Ashes” fits in well with the tone of the franchise.

“Ashes” also works well as a straightforward power ballad. The line “Can beauty come out of ashes?” works beautifully. It’s the sort of line that can help people feel better during trying times. Who needs Katy Perry’s “Firework” or John Lennon’s “Imagine” when you can listen to “Ashes” for pick-me-up?

‘Ashes’ was supposed to sound like another Celine Dion song

During a 2018 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Deadpool 2 director David Leitch discussed “Ashes” and its connection to another Dion classic. “It’s probably not what people expected,” he said. “I wanted to create an original thematic song for the film that sort of was an emotional through-line for the characters. It’s not only Deadpool, but also a lot of characters in the film. I was looking for a thematic song in the classic ’90s style of ‘Take My Breath Away’ or ‘My Heart Will Go On.'”

Leitch discussed Dion’s reaction to “Ashes.” “I think she was actually taken aback by the song as well,” he recalled. “She’s a really sort of fun personality and a really beautiful person, and I think she understood what we were trying to do. And yeah, it was fun, and there might be some slight satire to it, but the song is a really emotional song, and we needed it to land in a genuine way for the movie, first and foremost. So she got it. And I think she loved the material and she elevated it in a way that only she can do it.”

“Ashes” was made for Deadpool, and Deadpool was made for “Ashes.”

NSYNC Choreographer Reacts to ‘Bye Bye Bye’ in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’

Matthew Trzcinski — Thu, 08 Aug 2024 00:26:32 +0000

The opening of Marvel‘s Deadpool & Wolverine makes striking use of “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC. NSYNC’s choreographer revealed that the dance in the song’s music video was connected to the apocalypse. He also compared the dance to famous moves by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ started a viral trend surrounding NSYNC’s ‘Bye Bye Bye’

In 2024, Forbes reported that Deadpool & Wolverine caused the dance from the “Bye Bye Bye” music video to reemerge on TikTok. Numerous people are recreating the moves as part of a viral trend. Darrin Henson, the creator of the dance, had some strong emotions about this new trend.

“To see it have a resurgence again has been a spectrum of emotional colors, as you can imagine,” he said. “I created it in a time period where people thought the world was coming to an end [with Y2K], and I was actually connecting the world through dance. So, 24 years later, to actually see a new generation of youth participate in the energy of the dance is really wonderful.”

Darrin Henson said his work with NSYNC has a huge legacy

Henson gave us a lot of great choreography over the years. He was behind dance routines by other 1990s/2000s icons like Britney Spears and the Spice Girls. All these years later, he considers the “Bye Bye Bye” routine his magnum opus.

“This dance really is the king of hill when it comes to the choreography that I have created,” he stresses. “Growing up, you got to see Michael Jackson in ‘Beat It’ and ‘Smooth Criminal;’ Janet Jackson in ‘Rhythm Nation;’ and John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. To be a part of that, to know that ‘Bye Bye Bye’ stands in the same space as these timeless dances, is pretty incredible.”

Henson might be getting ahead of himself. We have no idea if the “Bye Bye Bye” dance will be as indelible as “Beat It” or Saturday Night Fever. Despite this, the fact that people care about his choreography for “Bye Bye Bye” 24 years after that song debuted is a step in the right direction for his legacy.

The resurgence of “Bye Bye Bye” is part of modern pop culture’s fascination with the early 2000s. Deadpool & Wolverine also makes use of other tunes from the era, like Avril Lavigne’s “I’m with You.” In the past year, we’ve also seen other nods to the 2000s, such as Halsey’s redux of Britney Spears’ “Lucky” and the musical remake of Mean Girls.

How ‘Bye Bye Bye’ performed on the charts

“Bye Bye Bye” peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Besides “It’s Gonna Be Me” and “Music of My Heart,” “Bye Bye Bye” was NSYNC’s highest-charting single. The tune lasted on the chart for 23 weeks.

NSYNC included “Bye Bye Bye” on the album No Strings Attached. That record topped the Billboard 200 for eight weeks, the band’s personal record. No Strings Attached lasted on the chart for 82 weeks altogether. Love or hate No Strings Attached, it captured the sound of early 2000s pop like few other albums.

“Bye Bye Bye” was one of NSYNC’s biggest hits and Deadpool & Wolverine proved it has relevance in the modern day.

George Harrison Revealed When He Stopped Feeling Like an ‘Embarrassment’ to John Lennon

Emma McKee — Wed, 07 Aug 2024 20:46:00 +0000

George Harrison and John Lennon became close in the years they spent with The Beatles. They didn’t start out this way, though. Lennon initially hadn’t wanted Harrison to join the band, believing he looked so young that he damaged the band’s image. Harrison said that after an experience he and Lennon shared, he no longer felt he embarrassed him.

George Harrison said he stopped feeling like he embarrassed John Lennon after they tried LSD

In the mid-1960s, The Beatles began using LSD. Lennon and Harrison were the first to try the drug, and Lennon estimated that he used it 1,000 times.

“I don’t think John had a thousand trips; that’s a slight exaggeration,” Harrison said in The Beatles Anthology. “But there was a period when we took acid a lot — the year we stopped touring, the year of the Monterey Pop Festival, we stayed home all the time, or went to each others’ houses.”

George Harrison and John Lennon | Stephen Shakeshaft/Mirrorpix via Getty Images

Harrison said that taking LSD with Lennon changed the dynamic of their relationship. It made him feel closer to Lennon than all the other Beatles.

“After taking acid together, John and I had a very. interesting relationship,” he said. “That I was younger or I was smaller was no longer any kind of embarrassment with John. Paul still says, ‘I suppose we looked down on George because he was younger.’ That is an illusion people are under. It’s nothing to do with how many years old you are, or how big your body is. It’s down to what your greater consciousness is and if you can live in harmony with what’s going on in creation. John and I spent a lot of time together from then on and I felt closer to him than all the others, right through until his death.”

George Harrison could tell he embarrassed John Lennon when they were young

When Harrison first met Lennon, he could tell he embarrassed the older musician. Paul McCartney invited Harrison to join the band, but Lennon wasn’t a fan.

“I think [John] did feel a bit embarrassed about that because I was so tiny,” Harrison said in the book George Harrison: Behind the Locked Door by Graeme Thomson. “I only looked about ten years old.”

Lennon admitted he tried to avoid Harrison, who did whatever he could to be close to him.

“He came round once and asked me to go to the pictures with him but I pretended I was busy,” Lennon said. “I didn’t dig him on first sight.”

They encouraged their bandmates to try LSD

Once Lennon and Harrison had tried LSD, they felt they couldn’t relate to McCartney or Ringo Starr, who hadn’t taken it.

George Harrison and John Lennon | Don Paulsen/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

“John and I had decided that Paul and Ringo had to have acid because we couldn’t relate to them anymore,” Harrison said, per Rolling Stone. “Not just on the one level — we couldn’t relate to them on any level, because acid had changed us so much. It was such a mammoth experience that it was unexplainable. It was something that had to be experienced, because you could spend the rest of your life trying to explain what it made you feel and think.”

Starr tried it and, after some hesitation, McCartney did too.