It’s Not Me it’s You: Lily Allen’s ‘West End Girl’ Album Review
Mainstream British artist, Lily Allen has been thrust into the media limelight with her divorce from sci-fi series Stranger Things actor David Harbour, of which she shines a harsh light on in her second album “West End Girl”. Allen, married to Harbour for four years, wrote and recorded the entire album in ten days, delivering a real-time account of the breakdown of their relationship.
Describing herself as a “modern wife” in ‘Relapse’, Allen gives a first-hand detailing of the toll her marriage took on her, and the guilt she felt trying to be a role model for her daughters amid her weary choice to agree to an open relationship. ‘Relapse’ is an album-defining track and an honest account of Allen’s unsteady relationship with alcohol, having been sober since 2019.
Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and the Closest Thing America Has to a Royal Wedding
When Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce got engaged, the news didn’t just land as a pop star marrying a football player; it was treated like history. Headlines declared it “the closest thing to an American royal wedding,” as though an engagement could double as a coronation. People magazine even called it “our answer to a royal wedding,” complete with balcony-kiss comparisons to Charles and Diana. TikToks flooded timelines, NFL dads shrugged in amusement, Swifties wept, and for one surreal moment, America behaved as if it finally had royals.
Taylor’s Triumph: Swift Reclaims Her Original Masters
On the 30th May, Taylor Swift took to Instagram to announce she now owns the master recordings (Masters) of her first six albums. She shared three photos of her, surrounded by vinyl’s of her original albums: Taylor Swift, Fearless, Speak Now, Red, 1989, and Reputation. “All of the music I’ve ever made…now belongs…to me”, she wrote in a lengthy letter uploaded onto her website. For the very first time, Swift now owns the music, the artwork, the concert films, and the unreleased songs for her albums made between 2006 and 2017.