March Madness: From the Oscars to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour & Beyond

March was busy in the entertainment industry. The Oscars, Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, dating rumours, and new songs kept fans enthralled, states Shourya, in his monthly round-up – exclusively for Different Truths.    

March was a hectic month in the entertainment industry. From The Oscars to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour to dating rumours and new music, here is your monthly dose of everything new.

The Oscars 2023 was held on the 8^th of March and was a successful event. And by successful, I mean there was no mixing of envelopes and no violence over offensive jokes. I had almost forgotten that the event happened this month, ages ago. The night was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, who gave the annual ceremony a grand opening for the third time. He started the event with a series of jokes poking fun and comedically touching severe issues like the absence of nominations for women in the major categories, lack of diversity, the failure of ‘Babylon’ at the box office, and the well-known Will Smith slap. He also introduced the “crisis team” by citing fictional characters from the movies nominated that night where Andrew Garfield, upon being called Spiderman, gave a very awkward response which made us love him even more.

It was a proud moment for India as the song, ‘Naatu Naatu,’ won ‘Best Original Song’ at the Oscars after a thunderous performance that was given a standing ovation. The film, ‘Everything Everywhere All at Once’, won big at night, winning seven times. Michelle Yeoh won ‘Best Actress’ and gave a heartwarming speech as her family’s reaction to her win went viral, while Brendan Fraser won ‘Best Actor’.

Ke Huy Quan and Jamie Lee Curtis won ‘Best Supporting Actor’ and ‘Actress’ respectively, adding to the seven wins of the “Movie of the Year”. Some people were not happy with the award for Supporting Actress not being given to Angela Bassett for her fantastic performance in ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’. Rihanna shared a magical version of ‘Lift Me Up’, and Lady Gaga went authentic, make-up-free, giving a glorious rendition of ‘Hold My Hand’. In contrast, the duo of Sofia Carson and Diane Warren gave a melodious performance of ‘Applause’, all nominees for ‘Best Original Song’.

March was the month of Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift kicked off her blockbuster tour titled, ‘The Eras Tour,’ which will tour internationally after 51 stops in the United States. Taylor will go from stadium to stadium, city to city, performing 44 songs from her catalogue of 10 albums, giving a jaw-dropping performance for three hours without any breaks each night. With awe-striking visuals, glorious set pieces, bejewelled outfits and splendid choreography, this tour received a 100/100 rating from every critic.

The term, predicted to be the highest-grossing tour of all time, started at the State Farm Stadium of Glendale, Arizona, which was temporarily renamed as ‘Swift City’ to honour the concert, and Taylor also received the keys to the city of Arlington, Texas where she performed after her Las Vegas shows. With two surprise songs and countless varieties of outfits to keep the show fresh every night, this tour is set to be a masterpiece.

Speaking now of Taylor Swift (pun intended), she released four unreleased tracks before the tour, including three rerecorded songs and a fresh new song called ‘All of the Girls You Loved Before’, which has gone viral due to its catchy rhythm.

Miley Cyrus released her highly anticipated new album, ‘Endless Summer Vacation’, and I am addicted to the summery feeling this album evokes inside me. At the same time, some fans felt it was a disappointment compared to her previous album, ‘Plastic Hearts.

Lana Del Rey released her new album ‘Did You Know There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd’, an artistic masterpiece. The album is one of her best works, with melodious and angelic songs to gritty and cute ballads.

Sabrina Carpenter released the deluxe version of her album titled ‘Emails I Can’t send fwd:’ The new four songs released are gorgeous. She also released a remix of her hit song ‘Nonsense’ featuring rapper Coi Leray.

Ariana Grande remixed the hit song, ‘Die for You’ by The Weekend, a viral track from this month. ‘Boy’s a Liar Pt. 2’, a bubblegum pop song by Pink Pantheress and Ice Spice, has gone viral everywhere and has become an instant hit on the charts and on social media, with me also being part of the fanbase for this track.

Demi Lovato released a rock version of her song ‘Heart Attack’, which honestly slaps very hard. Meghan Trainor also released a new song from the deluxe version of her album ‘Takin’ It Back’ titled ‘Mother’, and let’s say the internet is praying for the retail workers who will have to tolerate listening to the embarrassing lyrics of this somewhat annoying song, every single day.

Also, it seems people like to listen to racist country singers, as country artist Morgan Wallen’s songs were all over the charts this month.

The iHeartRadio Music Awards were held on March 27^th. With no surprise, this was Taylor’s night as she won six awards, including the ‘Innovator Award’ where she gave an overwhelming speech, ‘Song of the Year’ for her hit song ‘Anti Hero’, and others. Harry Styles won ‘Artist of the Year’ while Pink was presented with the ‘Icon Award’. Other winners were BTS, Drake, SZA, Sam Smith & Kim Petras, Coldplay, Imagine Dragons, Morgan Wallen, Jax, Bebe Rexha & David Guetta.

There was also a devastating stampede during rapper, GloRilla’s concert on March 5^th at Rochester’s Main Street Armory, where three people tragically died. Concerts should be controlled, and the authorities should establish proper security as these kinds of incidents are becoming frequent.

March became the month for dating rumours. The internet was shocked when rumours of a relationship between singers Shawn Mendes and Sabrina Carpenter started to spread (I guess Shawn has a thing for short girls). However, Shawn confirmed in an interview that he and Sabrina are only friends.

The internet was set ablaze when a video of Harry Styles kissing model Emily Ratajowski in Japan went viral, confirming their relationship. It also came as shocking news to everyone as it was revealed that singer Bad Bunny was dating Kendall Jenner (unsuitable for him because a relationship with one of the Kardashians certainly doesn’t bring good luck). Speaking of Bad Bunny, his ex-girlfriend recently sued him for 40 million dollars for using one of her recordings in his songs without her permission (people should learn not to mess with their exes).

Actress Reese Witherspoon officially called it quits with her now ex-husband. We can wish her luck in finding love.

‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ was officially released in theatres on 24^th March and has earned 250 million globally since its release. At the Oscars this month, the trailer for the live-action adaption of Disney’s classic animated film, ‘The Little Mermaid’, starring Hailey Bailey, premiered for the audiences and was met with widespread enthusiasm from viewers, who gushed over the visuals and Hailey’s fantastic vocal performance.

At the same time, the other side of the internet complained about the film being too dark in terms of lighting (at this point, Twitter has become a war zone). A trailer for Marvel’s new series, ‘Secret Invasion’, was also released this month, and so was a trailer for Sony’s film, ‘No Hard Feelings’, starring Jennifer Lawrence. The trailer was hilarious and lively, which is missing from today’s films. Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler acted like true best friends, teasing each other about sweatshirts and dating choices. Chris Rock debuted his new stand-up comedy show on Netflix, which Will Smith surely did not like.

Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber resolved their conflict (at least, it seems so) on social media. Selena posted a message asking all her supporters to stop sending Hailey death threats, which Hailey herself has informed her of. Hailey also contacted her followers on social media and talked about the situation, but the fans are still choosing teams. A hit-and-run ski crash case against Gwyneth Paltrow also made headlines this month, as she won and was declared not guilty. She left with her countersued 1 dollar (inspired by Taylor Swift, as always) as she kissed the court goodbye and wished the accuser well.

Here are my most iconic moments from this month:

· “This is a beacon of hope and possibilities”, said Michelle Yeoh as she gave an inspiring speech after winning ‘Best Actress’ at the Oscars.

·       Jamie Lee Curtis gave a hilarious reaction as she won the Oscar for ‘Best Supporting Actress’.

·       Lady Gaga helped a photographer as he fell on the red (or white) carpet. However, she still needs to support herself and get Vaseline for her lips.

· Tem’s dress at the Oscars was hilarious as the people behind her struggled to see past her headpiece and had to lean forward all the time.

·       Hugh Grant said his favourite part about The Oscars is Vanity Fair, and we might know why, as he gave one of the most chaotic interviews of all time.

·       Malala Yousafzai was asked about her take on the ‘Harry Styles spitting on Chris Pine’ incident, where she responded by saying, “I only talk about peace.”

·       MM Keeravani singing a rendition of ‘Top of the World’ by The Carpenters as he gave his acceptance speech for winning ‘Best Original Song’.

· “And mark my words, I will not be the last”, said Taylor Swift at ‘The Eras Tour’ as she became the first woman to headline the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas and the first person to perform three consecutive shows at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

·       Taylor Swift’s iconic stage dive at The Eras Tour, as she swam from the diamond-shaped stage beneath the runway to the other side.

·       As Selena Gomez and Hailey Bieber followed each other on Instagram, a viral tweet called it ‘the modern treaty of Versailles’.

And I’m signing off till next month.

Thank you for sparing a moment and reading this month’s edition of ‘Pop Talk.’

Picture design by Anumita Roy

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