In this week’s handle with care, Holivia is over, 2023 GRAMMY nominations, and Bachelor in Paradise power rankings. This post is too long for email, so click here to read in your browser.
Swifties have unleashed their rage against Ticketmaster amidst two dismal and non-productive presales, and a canceled general sale for Taylor Swift’s upcoming tour. The ticketing company had issues before the presales even started, with Verified Fan codes arriving late, and waitlisting fans who had received “boosts” for the ticket buying queue from purchasing music and merch from Swift’s online store, or previous ticket holders from her canceled Lover Fest shows in 2020.
Presales were scheduled for 10 a.m. local time on Tuesday, and east coast shoppers experienced Ticketmaster’s website crashing immediately due to historic demand, followed by a queue that paused for many hours. West coast fans had their presale postponed for later that day, and the Capital One cardholder presale was rescheduled for the day after.
Friday’s public onsale was also canceled “due to extraordinarily high demands on ticketing systems and insufficient remaining ticket inventory to meet that demand,” according to Ticketmaster’s Twitter.
Conspiracy theories were starting to take shape online, with some hypothesizing that the boosts some fans were supposed to have went to the people who didn’t have any. Many blamed Ticketmaster’s monopoly on the ticketing industry after their 2010 merger with LiveNation. Non-Swifties are also starting to worry about what this means for future tours, like Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour.
Taylor Swift released a statement on her Instagram stories, saying in part, “There are a multitude of reasons why people had such a hard time trying to get tickets and I’m trying to figure out how this situation can be improved moving forward. I’m not going to make excuses for anyone because we asked them, multiple times, if they could handle this kind of demand and we were assured they could. It’s truly amazing that 2.4 million people got tickets, but it really pisses me off that a lot of them feel like they went through several bear attacks to get them.”
Bear attacks!! And several! Ticketmaster had previously shared a blog post on what went wrong, but removed it and posted this one instead. One Swiftie already combed through and annotated both posts to see what the differences were. You just know Tree Paine got (legally) Ticketmaster’s ass! The company is now under investigation by the Justice Department… karma’s a relaxing thought.
Single ✅ New Ferrari ✅ In Mexico ✅
In a People magazine exclusive, Harry Styles and Olivia Wilde have broken up after nearly two years together. It was reportedly “a very amicable decision,” and they are “still very close friends.” News of the breakup comes right before Styles goes to Mexico for Love on Tour. Latinas are up!!
Very Good News!!!
There’s a new Princess Diaries sequel in the works, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Anne Hathaway hasn’t signed on yet, and Mandy Moore doesn’t think she’ll be in it.
I’m kicking off handle with care’s awards season section early this year because the GRAMMY nominations were announced on Tuesday. I’ve barely had time to digest the news because of how bananas this week was, but let's get into it!
Things I liked about the 2023 GRAMMY Nominations
I, for one, am terrified for the Beyoncé vs. Adele rematch, mostly because Renaissance was the superior album, and you know the Academy will try and split votes. Harry Styles also received a handful of nominations (no “Grapejuice” SOTY nomination 😒), but it’s going to be contentious with Bad Bunny, Kendrick Lamar, and Lizzo also in the mix. The GRAMMYs will air Feb. 5, 2023, and you can read the full list of nominations here.
These are my notable takeaways:
ABBA’s album Voyage (which I had forgotten was in the running), received an Album of the Year nomination, along with “Don’t Shut Me Down” for Record of the Year.
Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (The Short Film)” is nominated for Song of the Year. Red (Taylor’s Version) as a whole was snubbed after discussions on whether or not it would even be eligible as a re-recorded album with new material.
Omar Apollo is nominated for Best New Artist. I’m sooo excited about this as someone who has been a fan of his for four years.
Bad Bunny is nominated across the Pop and Latin categories.
“Unholy” by Sam Smith and Kim Petras is nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.
“King” by Florence + The Machine was nominated for Best Alternative Music Performance, but Dance Fever was snubbed in the album category.
“VIRGO’S GROOVE,” “PLASTIC OFF THE SOFA,” and “CUFF IT” by Beyoncé each received nominations.
MOTOMAMI by Rosalía is nominated for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. Should’ve been AOTY!
The Best Song Written for Visual Media category will be a bloodbath: Beyoncé, Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga are all nominated, among others. My pick? “Nobody Like U” from Turning Red, by Billie Eilish and Finneas O’Connell.
Bachelor in Paradise Power Rankings (Week 8) ((Thank God))
Usually on this show, the final few days are really boring up until the proposals. But these contestants are literally being mined for drama, anything will become a storyline. In these two episodes, Eliza speaks to Justin, and he rejects her because he doesn’t want to be her second choice. The most recent Bachelorettes, Gabby and Rachel, arrive on the beach to tell the women about their firsthand experience with Johnny, Logan, and Tyler. There’s also a chaotic end-of-Paradise Sadie Hawkins dance hosted by thee Thecca, aka Becca and Thomas from last season. These will be my final power rankings for the season, and I’ll even predict if the couples left will get engaged. Next week, I’ll talk about the season as a whole because, wow… I have some thoughts!
Brandon & Serene
These two are still going strong, but their first real speed bump was consoling each other after Rodney left the beach. Do we know if Brandon is a water sign? Anyway, these two are definitely still into each other, and I think they’ll definitely get engaged.
Johnny & Victoria
This couple spends a lot of time talking about their families this week, since things are getting Serious. Johnny tells Victoria about his older brother, who is currently in prison. He admits that he’s thinking more about possibly getting engaged. My prediction is that they won’t; he doesn’t seem to be ready for one!
Brittany & Tyler
She is ecstatic to hear Gabby and Rachel’s glowing review of Tyler. They go on a dinner date out on the town, and end it by dancing in the street. I feel like there’s a chance they get engaged at the end, but if not, they’re leaving as an established couple.
Danielle & Michael
She calls Florence an “old sea hag” for some reason… hm. Based on how quickly Michael stopped his relationship with Sierra, I don’t think he and Danielle will get engaged at the end. Even though they seem to really like each other, they both seem scared to progress things.
Shanae & Joey
She absolutely counted her lucky stars that Mara didn’t try going for Joey. Shanae and Joey are still a new couple, so I don’t think they’ll get engaged.
Florence
After feeling a little threatened by Mara taking Justin out on a date, Florence is bothered by Justin’s behavior after it. He broke the unwritten rule of talking to your partner after you get back from a date with someone else. She actually packs her belongings to leave before Justin shows up at her doorstep, and tells her that he feels stronger towards her than Mara.
Justin (Twin)
He played the field a bit this week by accepting a date with newcomer Mara. Afterwards, he failed to speak to his initial partner, Florence, which really annoyed her. Justin almost lost her too, but he confessed that he likes Florence more than Mara.
Mara
Miss Marinara (from Clayton’s season) is down at the bottom of the rankings by circumstance, because when you’re one of the final arrivals on the beach, there’s just no chance you will form a connection strong enough to make it out of there with someone at the end. But she did her best considering everyone was upset over Rodney leaving. She gets rejected three (3) times before going on a date with Justin(?) where they turn into human churros, but the connection doesn’t pan out for her in the end.
Aaron & Genevieve
It simply would not be a week in Paradise without one of their unserious fights. This week: is an itch the same as pain. No!!!! Aaron thinks itching is “low-level pain,” and Genevieve cannot even believe what she’s hearing. She packs her bags for the second time and tries to discreetly leave. Aaron is able to stop her, and they bicker even more before making up again. If they get engaged, I will eat my first-born.
Logan & Kate
Ooo, I hate this pairing very much. I actually feel bad for Logan, because Kate has continued to talk shit about him behind his back. She said he is “26 years old, not established, drives an orange Honda, has a broken phone, he’s a dog walker,” like, maybe leave and go find Hayden!! Logan tells her that her speech to him at the rose ceremony hurt his feelings, and they smooth things over until Lyndsey arrives and wants to go on a date with him. Kate is angry he’s even considering it, so Logan ends up declining. Kate is gleeful watching Lyndsey self-eliminate. Gabby and Rachel lowkey tear Logan to shreds, but I felt like Rachel’s comments specifically were Frankenbit together in the edit. I predict that they will break up before proposals start.
Jessenia
Unfortunately for her, Andrew found a better connection with Ency. At the Sadie Hawkins dance, she realizes she has more to say to Andrew, and asks if they can talk. She’s hurt that he discarded her so easily, while he’s spent a lot of time with the men. When she finds out he’s still upset over Teddi leaving, she leaves herself.
Andrew
Heartbreak is Andrew’s vibe this week, or I guess this whole season. He is in tears over Rodney leaving, but manages to temporarily catch a break when Ency arrives on the beach. They go on a date and really hit it off, which causes him to take a second look at his connection with Jessenia. He “breaks up” with her and starts to fully turn his attention to Ency. Jessenia pulls him for a serious chat at the Sadie Hawkins dance, and is interrupted by a jealous Ency twice. Eventually, he confesses to Jessenia that he is still hurt over Teddi leaving the beach many moons ago. He then tells Ency that he wants to leave, and resists her pleas for him to stay.
Ency
She’s one of the final arrivals along with Lyndsey (who leaves immediately when she gets rejected by Logan), and luckily for her, Andrew is interested. There’s an obvious connection on the date, but everything goes downhill during the dance. Ency is annoyed that Andrew ditched her to talk to Jessenia. To her disadvantage, she seeks advice from Genevieve and Kate… please for the love of God, ask literally anyone else!!! She interrupts their conversation two times, and even gives him an ultimatum. When they finally get a chance to talk, Andrew is checked out, but Ency begs him (nearly 40 times) in tears to stay with her. She breaks down in the restroom before leaving herself. She’s at the bottom of the rankings for being too down bad for a man she’s known for one day.
Thank you for reading! And sorry it was really long today lol. I wrote a couple more things this week for mitú, but I loved covering the red carpet from this year’s Latin GRAMMYs. I’m really happy to be writing more lately! See you next Sunday, and happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate!