In this week’s handle with care, all things Midnights, the Olivia Wilde salad dressing fiasco, and Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour is confirmed. Plus, Bachelor in Paradise power rankings. This newsletter is too long for email, so click here to read it in your browser.
This week Taylor Swift released her 10th studio album, Midnights, and it became an immediate success despite some mixed reviews from the public. However, critics were very nice to Tay, giving her glowing reviews. The album broke the Spotify record for most-streamed album in a single day, and Swift became the most-streamed artist in a single day in the streaming service’s history. It was fated after the app crashed within the first couple minutes of its release. And it might have helped that just three hours after Midnights was released, Swift chaotically dropped Midnights (3am edition) with seven bonus tracks.
Swift also announced prior to the album’s release that every song will get a music video, and will feature Laura Dern, Haim, Pat McGrath, Dita Von Teese, and more. The video for “Anti-Hero” was released Friday morning, and it stars comedians Mike Birbiglia and John Early, as well as It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Mary Elizabeth Ellis.
After my first listen, I quickly gathered that these 13 tracks were the children of 1989 and reputation. The standard edition of the album was produced with Jack Antonoff, who is responsible for 1989, Lorde’s Melodrama, and Clairo’s Sling, among others. They sound nothing like folklore and evermore, which was jarring for some fans online. She went from “I’ll meet you where the spirit meets the bones,” and “I want auroras and sad prose,” to “Sometimes, I feel like everybody is a sexy baby,” and “Draw the cat eye sharp enough to kill a man.” Not all of her albums can be Brontë sisters drag, but even throughout the catchy hooks, I found her to be introspective in a way that you can only be when you can’t sleep and you start thinking about key moments from your life.
I knew I needed Midnights to marinate in my thinky organ a little bit before deciding how I felt about it. It took me listening to it in the car to be obsessed with “Midnight Rain.” My Midnights song of the day is “Bejeweled,” another track I couldn’t entirely get behind after the first listen. You need to know that I immediately got the song about Harry Styles, “Question…?” It was evident from the “Out Of The Woods” interpolation, references to their New Years kiss in 2013 and her song “Style.”
Lana Del Rey is also the only featured artist on the album, and she sings backing vocals on “Snow on the Beach.” The song also references Janet Jackson’s song “All For You,” and she posted a cute video of her listening to it on social media. My favorite song from the jump was “Karma,” just read this silly ass chorus:
Listening to her sing about karma in general as a broad theme is one of my favorite things about her music, but this song was very light-hearted rather than the darker, more vengeful songs on reputation. She also explores more specific themes in this album: self-hatred, fantasizing about revenge, falling in love, falling apart, and wondering what might have been. In my opinion, the seven 3am edition bonus tracks exemplify the themes much better than the standard edition’s 13 tracks. Maybe it’s because she worked with her folklore and evermore collaborator, Aaron Dessner.
My Midnights Top 5
I feel like since COVID lockdowns happened, Taylor Swift albums come at very pivotal times for me. They kind of bookmark certain parts of my life, and it’s interesting that this arrived as I was exactly one month into being 24 years old. These are my top 5 songs at the moment, with some of my favorite lyrics.
Karma — “Ask me what I learned from all those years / Ask me what I earned from all those tears”
You’re On Your Own, Kid — “Something different bloomed, writing in my room” + the bridge 😭
Labyrinth — “You know how much I hate that everybody just expects me to bounce back just like that”
Glitch — (I like the whole thing and I will be throwing ass to it on tour)
Dear Reader — “Dear reader, the greatest of luxuries is your secrets”
Big week for salad dressing
Olivia Wilde and Jason Sudeikis were at the center of the week’s main pop culture controversy after their former nanny was interviewed by the Daily Mail. She remained anonymous, but she alleges that Wilde started to pursue Harry Styles while she was still with Sudeikis.
The nanny recounted a moment when Wilde was making a salad with her “special dressing” for Styles, which she intended to drop off for him, but Sudeikis, “lay under her car so she wouldn’t leave.” Wilde and Sudeikis released a joint statement saying that her claims are “false and scurrilous.” But then Wilde posted this on her story:
The page in the photo is from Nora Ephron’s book Heartburn, and includes the recipe for the special salad dressing. Sudeikis’ ex-girlfriend Keeley Hazell later posted a page from the same book, posting a passage underlined in pencil in her copy of Heartburn that reads, “Vera said: ‘Why do you feel you have to turn everything into a story?’ So I told her why: Because if I tell the story, I control the version.” Part of the passage was on the page with the salad dressing recipe. Inch resting!
Ellen’s tethered
Late Late Show host James Corden was temporarily banned from famous NYC restaurant Balthazar, after owner Keith McNally alleged that he was “abusive” to servers after his wife’s egg yolk omelette wasn’t up to his standards. McNally later said that Corden called to apologize, leading to the unbanning of him. In an interview with the New York Times, Corden said regarding the situation that he hasn’t “done anything wrong, on any level.” It’s just very insane behavior to apologize, and then backtrack.
Renaissance Tour is HAPPENING
Beyoncé attended last night’s Wearable Art Gala, and one of the prizes at the auction was a concert ticket package for her Renaissance Tour. The shows are confirmed to start in the summer of 2023.
The package included first class airfare for two courtesy of United Airlines, hotel accommodations, two concert tickets, and a guided backstage tour with Miss Tina. It was valued at $20K and sold for $150K.
Bachelor in Paradise Power Rankings (Week 4)
After a wild second rose ceremony, it’s Paradise’s first “Split Week,” where the women are split from their partners and sent to a resort while the men get to know brand new women on the beach. Jared and Ashley I. finally go home, along with James and Justin. Casey has no choice but to go home after collapsing on the beach due to stress from some drama he was involved in. And he still can’t walk after that.
Tyler
Fresh from his breakup with Rachel on the most recent Bachelorette season, he’s Split Week’s hot commodity!! Shanae and Brittany are both interested in him, and Shanae even takes him out on a tantric yoga date. Later that evening, he gets to know Brittany, and it’s safe to say that he likes her more than he likes Shanae. They agree to go on a date together if the opportunity comes, and they kiss.
Michael
Even though he rejected Sierra, Michael simply did not realize he would have to fight for a rose. Luckily for him, he seems to be a producer fave, and Danielle from Nick’s season walks down the steps literally ten minutes before roses have to be handed out. He’s saved, and the next morning he goes on a date with Danielle. They go on a yacht and bond over losing a partner. When they come back, it’s a whole new ballgame, with women they hadn’t seen on the beach yet. Split Week did not apply to them, apparently!
Danielle
She was brought into the mix to save Michael from going home, and she couldn’t even say hello to everyone before being taken away by him to talk. She gives him her rose, and she gets a date card the next morning. She picks Michael, and they spend the afternoon on a yacht and talk more about their past. Danielle’s fiancé died of a drug overdose 11 years ago, so she and Michael talk about their grief. They return to the beach and see all new couples, but they aren’t affected at all.
Victoria
She gives her rose to Johnny, and even with Split Week going on, Victoria is trying not to worry about what her partner is doing on the beach. It’s interesting because she certainly wasn’t this mature on Peter’s season two years ago. She also tried to comfort the rest of the women who were really going through it.
Brittany
Her budding connection with Andrew doesn’t seem to faze Casey, because he tells her what Peter said about her after the date, that she’s a “clout chaser” that only talked about her TikTok and Instagram, thus showing Brittany that he’s trustworthy. She confronts Peter about it, and he doubles down. Incel vibes!!! He ends up leaving before the rose ceremony, and Brittany spends more time with Andrew before ultimately giving him her rose. When Brittany leaves for the resort, she takes interest in Tyler from Gabby and Rachel’s season.
Jessenia
After arriving in the new crop of women, she has her sights set on Andrew. He friendzones her, but she’s persistent! She sets up a pizza date with him, and she lets him know that she’s not like other girls because she plays video games. That convinces him, and they kiss at the end of the night.
Johnny
This grown man asked the woman he’s dating why she looked different in the morning, and it’s because Victoria was not wearing makeup. This is a Taylor Swift-themed newsletter today, so it’s very “got nothing in my brain” of him. But other than that, he’s loyal to Victoria.
Aaron and Brandon
After all the couples split, they both flat out denied being tempted by the new women (along with Johnny). Aaron, the self-proclaimed “rock of Gibraltar,” is actually convincing me he has worked on himself since the last time he was on this show.
Logan
After seeing his *prized (*definitely bought at the airport) bracelet on Shanae’s ankle, he takes it as a good sign he’s getting her rose. And he was right! But when the new women arrive for Split Week, he’s conflicted on if he should give one of them a chance. He fought for Shanae, but she did explore other options in front of him. When Sarah gets a date card and picks him, he agrees to it.
Eliza
When she arrives, she’s excited to see Rodney there. They get to know each other, and they go on a dinner date together. Unfortunately for Lace, I can see this working, although I was personally excited for Lace to have a connection with Rodney.
Sarah
One of three new arrivals from Clayton’s season, she gets a date card and picks Logan for a horseback riding on the beach date.
Kate
Determined to stay on the beach for a good time and a long time, she pairs off with Jacob in the evening. They make out in a pool, and spend more time together.
Jacob
After getting Jill’s rose, he wastes no time with the new group of women the next morning. He’s really interested in Kate, and they spent all their time together. It’s not looking good for Jill I fear…
Andrew
He got a rose from Brittany, and they can’t continue building their connection because all the women are sent away to test the men. I underestimated how much Andrew likes Brittany, because he kind of friendzoned Jessenia. After an impromptu date set up by Jessenia, he changes his mind, and kisses her.
Genevieve, Jill, Lace, and Serene
All four of these women gave their roses to their respective partners (Aaron, Jacob, Rodney, and Brandon), and when the news of Split Week comes, they are not happy. They wallow in their air conditioned hotel room, even with brand new men to get to know. Lace is so shaken by the split, that she goes back to Paradise to talk to Rodney… except he’s on a date with Eliza. We’ll see their conversation in tomorrow’s episode.
Shanae
She picks Logan at the rose ceremony, which means James is going home. On one hand, Shanae was the only woman open to exploring new connections with the new men. She goes on a date with Tyler, and says she feels more of a connection with him than with Logan. That evening, Shanae is ready to get to the Boom Boom Room with him, but on the other hand… she got cockblocked by Jill as Shanae is trying to lure him over.
Rodney
Things were looking very positive for him and Lace, until the girl he wanted to meet on the beach most showed up. Rodney wasted no time whisking Eliza away… even before Lace left the premises! After going on a date with Eliza, Mr. “So blessed, so thankful” is surprised to see Lace back on the beach.
Florence
Coming all the way from The Bachelor Australia, she doesn’t seem to have made a connection with any of the men yet. That’s a shame, because it’s a long flight from Australia to Mexico.
Adam, Alex, Olu, and Rick
Adam from The Bachelorette Australia (who is apparently Chris Hemsworth’s Thor body double!!!), Alex from Rachel Lindsay’s season, and Olu and Rick from Michelle’s season are having a pointless time in Paradise. None of the women are getting to know them because they want to be loyal.
Hi, thanks for reading today!! This was a long one, and I know not everyone that reads is a Swiftie, so I appreciate it. Today I am going to war in my Duolingo leaderboard, because I simply cannot drop out of the Diamond league. See you all next week with my October favorites 💚