Entertainment

Ariana Grande’s petal Never Fully Blooms: Review

Ariana Grande knows how cruel the world can be. “Society desperate for remedy/ Empathy, fix this reality,” she declares on “kiss me,” the sprawling opener of her eight studio album, petal. It’s no surprise Grande adopted this philosophy – love as the cure for a rotting world – given everything she’s been through: most notably, a terrorist attack during the “Dangerous Woman Tour” in 2017 and the death of her long-term partner, rapper Mac Miller, a year and some change later. More recently, she’s experienced scrutiny from a parasocial public, with many questioning her dalliances with various Wicked co-stars and taking issue – or concern (if you can even call it that) – with her increasingly gaunt appearance. That’s a lot for one person to handle.
But, in true pop star fashion, Grande uses her greatest gift – music – to nurse her wounds. Her last effort, the celestial eternal sunshine, saw Grande deploy her post-Sweetener blend of lo-fi R&B and pop to express her woes. Now, her sadness has hardened to “an unfiltered rage.” On petal, Grande triangulates grievances with her celebrity, the press, and lovers past, all while proving she’s still got a few more stylistic circles to square. She’s admittedly gone a bit “feral,” and her newfound experimentation is surprisingly ear-catching, though at times disappointingly pussyfooted, especially when paired with clumsy lyricism.
Find Last-Minute Arian Grande Tickets Here
Take that opener, “kiss me,” whose clunky percussive hits and distorted synth crashes make the perfect apocalypse-now type atmosphere for Grande to get all existential over. That same abrasiveness is found on “petal,” a progressive-waltz whose time changes mirror its lyrical ambivalence. Here, she questions the age old notion that great art can only come from suffering. (“Take your broken heart, make it into art,” as the late Carrie Fisher said). “Long as she gets the ovation each night/ Heartbreak won’t bitе, this is paradise,” Grande sings. It’s a delicate balance every artist faces, one Grande has become accustomed to. At what point does offering up the most intimate, vulnerable parts of oneself to a hungry audience become too heavy a burden to bear? Is the solution to completely detach as to not feel anything at all? Or to keep pushing the bad feelings down?
Related Video
She explores the latter on the UK garage-tinged “oh well”: “I play all the parts that I’m supposed to, right?/ And I just throw a band-aid on my whole damn life.” In the end, she retraces that earlier philosophy, that love is all she needs. “There’s no more running/ And there’s nowhere with nobody else that I’d rather be,” she sings on album closer “nowhere, nobody,” her deep admiration for Imogen Heap bursting through as her voice turns crystalline in the chorus.
Grande kept a tight ensemble of collaborators this go-around. The entire album was co-written and executive produced by herself and Ilya Salmanzadeh. Max Martin was tapped for lead single “hate that i made you love me” and two other tracks, but petal presents a largely singular Grande. (It was even her first album to be released through her own imprint label, Babydoll Music, a subsidiary of Republic Records.) The lack of outside voices gave Grande the creative clearance to go “fuck it” and explore arenas she was “too shy or polite to tap into before.” The autobiography works best when Grande just talks her shit.
She harnesses a Positions-era horniness at times, like when she brags that her nether regions possess enough power to make a grown man cry on “big feelings,” a track that deserves a better melody and metaphor than its title, or just how unforgettable those same nether regions are on “never get over me,” the type of R&B/pop romp Grande could conjure in her sleep.
Other times, though, Grande’s pen is more limited than lucid, so much so that the left-of-center production choices feel like wasted potential. “stay” is so full of lyrical and melodic platitudes that the electronic beeps and bops in the background sound like they got lost on their way to a better track. “like i do” glides with a dirtier iteration of a thank you, next trap beat but is marred with eye-roll inducing one-liners: “my ego small/ but I’m still Grande” (a low-hanging-fruit play on her surname’s proper pronunciation) and “I’m making cents off of your nonsense,” to name a few. To be fair, there is one eye-widening line where Grande boasts being a source of inspiration for an ex man’s new girl… whoever that may be. Lead single “hate that i made you love me” continues in the vein of eternal sunshine’s “we can’t be friends (wait for your love)” by taking shots at an overbearing press; now, however, the message trumps the medium as Grande employs aimless synth sparks and a tepid drum pattern to lament her relationship with celebrity.
Grande sold this album as angrier and darker than her past work. Though her lyrics glean something weightier, her waifish vocal performance makes the aforementioned “unfiltered rage” hard to buy. “warning signs (interlude)” broods as Grande laments a lover (or audience?) who ignores her pleading cries. The eery, electronic production crescendos, but Grande’s voice remains static until the very end when her voice, too, turns computerized – but only for a second. Even when she’s not selling anger, Grande’s voice leaves much to be desired, and it’s quite a shame since she’s shown her expansive vocal capabilities many times before. It’s especially unfortunate on “bad thing (bunny hop),” an Olivia Rodrigo-style track that chronicles the early push and pull of a messy attraction. It would’ve been better bought if Grande’s voice wasn’t drowned out by the pop-rock production.
Perhaps in this latest evolution of Ariana Grande, the pop star has found strength in softness. She dons a notably lighter voice as an act of vocal preservation, utilizing it even to shut down the discourse about her body. It’s that quiet authority that permeates the high points of petal. She’s not reinventing any sort of wheel, nor has she marked a benchmark in her pop canon. What she has done, however, is plant creative seeds that could be paths to new sonic landscapes should she let them bloom. Most importantly, Grande has given us a glimpse into how she’s feeling now and the type of whispery yet grounded presence she prefers, one that’s brave enough – and vulnerable enough – to use petals for armor.
Stream Ariana Grande’s Petals in Hi-Res Qobuz

Entertainment

DGA and IATSE Urge Rob Bonta to Settle With Paramount

Directors Guild of America (DGA) and IATSE, the California attorney general’s union, are calling on Rob Bonta of California to resolve his antitrust case with Paramount. They argue that continued uncertainty regarding Warner Bros. is detrimental. Discovery merger will hurt the industry.
On Wednesday, the two unions sent a letter of request to Bonta as well as Paramount Skydance’s CEO David Ellison. They urged both sides to reach an agreement which would address their concerns about harms to competitiveness.
The two unions expressed their concern about the impact that a delayed decision on the merger proposal would have on the members of the respective unions and the entire industry.
This letter places the unions in conflict with the Writers Guild of America which has filed a separate antitrust lawsuit to attempt to stop the merger. This antitrust lawsuit has caused divisions in the movie industry. Both Regal Cinemas, AMC Theatres, and Cinema United have all backed the merger.
Bonta, along with a coalition consisting of 12 state attorneys general, filed a lawsuit in July to stop the merger. They argued that it would create an illegal concentration in the markets for basic cable distribution and the theatrical market. Araceli Martinez Olguin, a judge in California, issued a temporary order halting the merger. Last week, a trial date of March 2, four months after Paramount had preferred, was set.
Ellison is trying to get Bonta at the table to negotiate. He has also been working on rallying support within the film industry for this deal. Bonta repeatedly stated that he was not interested in “behavioral remedies” — like a promise to release thirty movies per year within a 45 day window — and is instead focused on structural solutions, something Paramount is unwilling to consider.
Russell Hollander was the national executive director for the DGA and Matthew Loeb the IATSE international president signed the letter. In the letter, it is argued that the trial date of March 2, 2019 will be “damaging” for an “already-struggling industry”.
The letter says that the merger proposal is making things worse for our members, who are struggling to find work. We are aware that productions have been put on hold, or even canceled completely. This has led to a further decrease in the amount of work available for our members.
In the letter, the unions urge the two parties to reach an agreement on certain conditions. Many of these Paramount already accepted, including the requirement that the studios continue to operate as two separate companies, each producing at least fifteen films per year. They also ask Paramount to commit to continuing licensing outside content at the same level as it was before the merger.
The unions will urge both the states and Paramount to accept an earlier date for the trial if they cannot come to a compromise. Paramount was eager to have a faster timeline. However, states requested time from the judge to obtain documents and depose Paramount executives in order to strengthen their case.

Entertainment

‘Bachelor’ and ‘DWTS’ Alum Melissa Rycroft Pleads Guilty in DWI Case

Melissa Rycroft plead guilty to her DWI in Texas and won’t be spending another day behind bars.
According to documents obtained by Us Weekly, the former “Bachelor” and “Dancing with the Stars’ alum received his sentence last week following a plea agreement. The judge signed off the deal on Monday.
Rycroft received a 20-month probationary period instead of the 280-day jail sentence… she was also ordered to pay $2,000 worth of fines and costs. Rycroft will also be required to perform 36 hours of community work, complete a DWI course and submit to a substance use evaluation.
Rycroft is subject to strict probationary conditions. She cannot consume alcohol or illegal drugs during her probation.
It’s prohibited for her to drive…unless the vehicle has an ignition interlock with camera.
Rycroft, a woman from New York City was arrested for DWI in September of 2025. The police report says that Rycroft told the officers she was involved in a hit and run, but her witnesses said it wasn’t true.
Rycroft is a former Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader. She addressed her arrest later on social media… saying that she was struggling, but still trying to move forward.

Entertainment

Tony Khan announces new matches, segments for tonight’s AEW Dynamite

Tony Khan made a number of announcements about tonight’s AEW dynamite.
The AEW President revealed just hours before the event that Persephone, CMLL World’s Women Champion and Hikaru will be teaming up against Thunder Rosa as well as TBS Champion Maya World.
“Persephone/@ShidaHikaru vs @MayaWorldd/@ThunderRosa22 Persephone & Shida got the win vs TBS Champion Maya World & her partner Hyan on AEW Collision! Thunder Rosa, who has a grudge against Persephone will now join Maya in a fight between Persephone/Shida tonight!
Khan also confirmed that Will Ospreay would appear tonight on the show.
Kris Statlander vs. Viva Van has been scheduled.
The episode tonight will be held at the Pearl Concert Theater in the Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas. WrestleTix reported on Wednesday that 1,680 tickets had been sold for the show tonight.
Below is the updated line-up.
AEW Dynamite line-up for August 12, 2020

Entertainment

Lilly Wachowski Says Hollywood Won’t Make Her Next Film Due To Trans Cast

Lilly Wachowski, a transgender woman who lives in Los Angeles, is trying to create a movie with a cast of all other genders… but only if the film industry allows her.
The Matrix’ co-auteur explained recently that, despite the excitement surrounding the script, investors “really do not want to make” The Hunted – a dystopian political thriller co-written by Mickey Ray Mahoney with a budget of $10 million – due to its “wall-to wall trans cast.”
Wachowski said on KCRW’s The Business Podcast that people like the film, but don’t really want to be in it. “I need to be creative in order to find different ways of getting this out there.”
The film is currently in development under Wachowski Anarchists United, and Natasha Lyonne’s Ariadne label. Last weekend the two teamed up to do a live reading event at Dynasty Typewriter.
Wachowski said, “This was a script I felt very strongly about writing. This was my response to the transgender community and what’s happening around them. It gave me an outlet to vent all my frustration, anger and rage.
She said, “I will go to the store and grab this trans-joy with my friends.” It’s nothing like I imagined, but it is still the same.
The Hunted, a political thriller in the vein of Wild in the Streets or V for Vendetta is set in dystopian America in which transgender people have been brutalized to the fringes of the society. Two transwomen search for the perpetrator of a horrific crime that sets off an uproar of resistance and mutual support within the trans community. They eventually find him at the top of the government.

Entertainment

Clavicular Says He’s Attracted to ‘Beautiful’ AOC

Clavicular claims Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez has a personality that is “maxing”… and cites her fiery nature, charisma and charm as the reasons why he loves her. He also adds her beauty shouldn’t be sneered at!
We asked the influencer who made “looksmaxing go viral” to join us for “TMZ Live”, Wednesday, about his comments that he was able to “fix” AOC.
Clav told us two things that we should know. First, he said only that he was able to “fix” AOC in order to boost social media engagement.
He’s also not actively pursuing her because he has an existing girlfriend. The two of them are happy.
Clav says he’s drawn to “the beautiful Congresswoman”, as well as her fiery energy in protests. Clav finds her charismatic, which he also finds appealing.
Clav told us that he and his girlfriend would enjoy a fun relationship… and imagined the future as an interchange of ideas. He said she could improve her personality, and they then can discuss looksmaxing.
When asked if they share the same politics, Clavicular said he is not one of those guys. But if she wanted to talk about something with him, he was all ears.
Clav is also asked about AOC’s mixed response to the looksmaxing phenomenon in our interview. For specific reasons, he says that despite her negative comments, he does not see them as being totally unkind.
AOC has recently split with her long-term fiance Riley Roberts and is currently undergoing an IVF process that includes freezing her eggs. While a romance may not be on the table, it seems like Clav would welcome a collaboration of a more creative nature.