Shourya explores pop culture news, including the Barbie movie, the Met Gala, and Coachella, showcasing music releases and celebrity moments, in a two-month roundup, exclusively for Different Truths.

While April was a slower month in the entertainment industry, May was packed full of new and happening events, from the Met Gala and Coachella to Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour and Prince Charles’ Coronation. Let me update you on the latest pop culture news.

The entire world has turned pink in anticipation of the upcoming Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling. Greta Gerwig’s Barbie movie, with thrilling trailers, vivid costumes, nostalgic scenery, and a popular figure, will revive Hollywood.

The Barbie poster trend has taken the internet by storm, as many have united to make their own posters, and posters for their favourite celebrities, with iconic and catchy tag lines. The highly anticipated movie is set to release on July 21, with many people declaring that this movie is going to “heal” them. It is also supported by a soundtrack featuring various music artists, including Dua Lipa, Pink Pantheress, Nicki Minaj, and Ice Spice (who, ‘from Princess Diana’ are now sampling Aqua’s iconic song ‘Barbie Girl’ to make something of their own), The Kid LAROI, and others. The hype for this production is phenomenal, and I’m looking forward to seeing if it lives up to its reputation.

The Met Gala was held on the first day of May this year, with the dress theme honouring the late designer, Karl Lagerfield. Many celebrities debuted their looks on the carpet this year, with themes of black-and-white, cats, and reviving previous Vogue outfits being consistent. Conan Gray wore a beautiful and intriguing suit with embroideries and a trail, complimented with a folding china fan and tie, while Billie Eilish went for a goth look wearing a black and flowy lace dress, looking hauntingly beautiful. Some fans even joked that she looked more like the character Wednesday than the actress who played Wednesday herself, on the red carpet. Anne Hathaway stole the thunder as she wore a gorgeous white dress put together with golden pins, and Michelle Yeoh brought classy magic to the carpet, wearing a tuxedo-style gown. Gisele Bündchen quite literally looked like an angel, while Gigi Hadid went for the opposite, a dark goth look. 

Underdogs Alton Mason and Anok Yai also served one of the best looks of the night, while Lil Nas X’s look was the most controversial, where he spray-painted his body a silver colour accompanied by a dramatic mask. Rihanna joined the carpet late, but it was worth the wait, as she wore a white gown with a jacket covered in white flowers. Cardi B showed how much time and effort she spent on the event by highlighting three stunning looks.

Alia Bhatt wore quite a boring look for her first Met Gala appearance, while Isha Ambani stunned in a black sari-gown.

While the Met Gala is for celebrities, Coachella is for the public. Many thousand people went to the annual Coachella event, where top music artists take to the stage to perform, held in California this year, and showed amazing dedication towards their outfits. 

Diljit Dosanjh became the first Indian artist to ever perform at Coachella alongside other artists such as Bad Bunny, BLACKPINK, Rosalia, Billie Eilish, Charli XCX, Becky G, Kali Uchis, and others, with a surprise performance from Zendaya. Frank Ocean’s set for the show received widespread criticism. He was said to have appeared late (late for releasing new music as well), given a weird performance, and cancelled the 100 ice skaters scheduled to join him due to a supposed leg injury. He also cancelled his set on the second weekend of Coachella, and fans were clearly not happy. 

Speaking of events, Beyoncé began her ‘Renaissance World Tour’ on May 10 in Stockholm, Sweden, and it was the talk of the town (it’s Beyoncé, what did you expect?). The concert was roughly two and a half hours long, with Beyoncé performing many of her old hits along with the songs on her latest album, ‘Renaissance’. The tour was shimmering with beautiful and intricate costumes (some of them change every show), and monumental set pieces, including a flying horse, a silver tank, a jewelled shell, and many others. The production of the show was impeccable, and Beyoncé (as usual) served up her best vocals and dance routines, with her iconic hair flips, unbelievable riffs, and dazzling smile. Everyone praised the tour, and critics gave it high marks. After touring internationally, Beyoncé will return to the United States to complete her tour by September.

The coronation of Prince Charles took place on the 6^th of May as he took the title of King Charles III and his spouse, Camilla, queen, at Westminster Abbey. To commemorate this historic moment, Katy Perry was invited to perform at the occasion, where she gave an amazing performance of her songs ‘Roar’ and ‘Firework’. A video of her being lost, looking for her seat also went viral on social media. After being mocked for “mom-shaming” an American Idol competitor, Katy Perry is asking to be removed as a judge, accusing her of being egotistical and cruel.

There is no month when Taylor Swift is not in the news. Taylor Swift announced the re-recorded version of her third album, ‘Speak Now’, titled ‘Speak Now Taylor’s Version’, in the most surprising way at her Nashville show. It is set to come out on July 7 and I can’t wait to be enchanted by the seven new vault tracks as well as the old songs. Speaking of Taylor Swift, it came as a shock to everyone on the internet when she called it quits with her boyfriend, Joe Alwyn, with whom she had been in a relationship for six years. With her writing songs about him such as ‘Lover’, ‘Sweet Nothing’, ‘Invisible String’ and ‘Lavender Haze’, fans never expected this and were really astonished. She also had a casual fling with ‘The 1975’ singer, Matty Healy, which was widely criticised on the internet, due to Healy’s racist and demeaning remarks on various occasions. Taylor also released another version of her latest album, titled ‘Midnights (The Til Dawn Edition)’ which includes ‘Karma’ featuring Ice Spice (with a sloppy rap verse from her), ‘Snow on the Beach’ featuring more vocals from Lana Del Rey, and a new song called Hits Different.

Kendrick Lamar recently featured on Beyoncé’s song, ‘America Has a Problem’ from her album ‘Renaissance’ where he gave a stunning delivery and made the song even better. Kendrick was also featured on Baby Keem’s track, ‘The Hillbillies’, and they made a great song together. Kanye West made his comeback after a long break, although not a strong one, featuring on Fivio Foreign’s song, ‘Concussion’. Ed Sheeran released his new album ‘Subtract (-)’, a record about loss, dealing with it, and moving on. The album was partly excellent and partly unbearable, which gives me mixed feelings about it. Dua Lipa released her song from the Barbie soundtrack titled, ‘Dance the Night’, which is a bop. ‘Alone’, a collaborative song, by Kim Petras and Nicki Minaj, was lacklustre. Other songs released were:

• ‘Never Ending Song’ by Conan Gray
• ‘Jackman.’ By Jack Harlow
• ‘WHERE SHE GOE’ by Bad Bunny
• ‘Say Yes To Heaven’ by Lana Del Rey
• ‘Chemical’ by Post Malone
• ‘Antariksh’ by Anuv Jain
• ‘Put It On Da Floor Again’ by Latto ft. Cardi B

Ed Sheeran recently won a court case, where he was accused of copying his song ‘Thinking Out Loud’ from Marvin Gaye’s song ‘Let’s Get It On’. These accusations deeply disgusted him, and he even threatened to quit music if found guilty. Luckily for him, the trial resulted in his victory. James Corden’s ‘Late Late Show’ aired its last episode on the 27^th of May 2023, where James invited his friends, Harry Styles and Will Ferrell. He even got emotional due to the show’s ending and will now focus his attention on his family. Adele also did ‘Carpool Karaoke’ with James before the show closed its last chapter. The Country Music Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards were also held in these months. During the CMT Awards, Shaina Twain was awarded the Equal Play Award. At the same time, the ACM Awards were hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, where Dolly also gave a performance of her new song ‘World on Fire’, and Chris Stapleton won Entertainer of the Year. 

Legendary Swiss singer Tina Turner, died on May 24, at the age of 83. Known as the ‘Queen of Rock ‘n’ Roll’, this was truly a grievous loss for the music industry. She will always be known as one of the greatest artists in history. Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello were back together when they were seen kissing at Coachella and were later seen together at Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The two had previously split in 2021, which was deeply saddening news for everyone on the internet after their song ‘Senorita’ had gone viral back in 2019. It seems like they might have gotten back together for good, and people meant to be with each other find a way back to each other. Billie Eilish and her boyfriend, Jesse Rutherford, have finally split after seven months. The internet had been warning Billie about the age difference between the two for months, however, she had turned a blind eye to these hateful comments. It is really saddening that older men are still taking advantage of younger women to this day. Martha Stewarts became the oldest woman to be featured on a magazine cover, appearing on the cover of ‘Sports Illustrated’ at the age of 81 (which she absolutely slayed).

Jeremy Renner made his first red carpet appearance at the premiere of ‘Rennervations’ since his fatal accident on New Year’s Day, where he faced life-threatening injuries. He bravely walked the carpet using a cane and reassured fans of his well-being. The teaser trailer for Marvel’s new series, ‘The Marvels’ also dropped, and Kim Kardashian was added to the cast of ‘American Horror Story’, which the internet claimed was truly an American horror story. Millie Bobby Brown shook the internet with the news of her engagement at the age of 20. Many people felt it was too early for her to get married, but as long as she is happy and loved, age is irrelevant. 

The internet was also furious when pictures from the set of the movie adaptation of Colleen Hoover’s famous book, ‘It Ends with Us,’ were released. Fans were upset with the casting, the costumes, the hair and makeup, and the whole overall setting of the film. They demanded younger and more suitable actors and actresses to play the roles. Speaking of movies, Lady Gaga is shooting for the second Joker movie, where she is bringing to life the role of Harley Quinn. It will be interesting to see her in this role after her recent work in ‘A Star is Born’, and ‘House of Gucci’.

Disney’s latest live-action adaptation, ‘The Little Mermaid’, debuted on the big screen on the 26^th of May, where the character Ariel was brought to life by Halle Bailey. Despite a stunning performance from Halle, the film overall lacked the magic that was prevalent in the animated version. The Internet raised concerns over the film’s dark lighting and the awkward animated characters, which are sea creatures. Additionally, worries about Post Malone and Ariana Grande’s health surfaced, but the singers handled them politely by assuring fans that they were healthy and happy. 

Here are my top moments from the month:

• Jennifer Lawrence wears a red gown with flip-flops at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival
• Jared Leto’s cat outfit at the Met Gala
• Doja Cat, dressed as a cat, says “Meow” to every question she was asked at the Met Gala
• ‘Karma is my bestie’, said Ice Spice in her sloppy and awkward rap verse in her feature on Taylor Swift’s song, ‘Karma’
• Halle Bailey performs her phenomenal version of ‘Part of Your World’ at Disneyland and is swarmed by little girls as she steps into the role of a Disney princess
• Doja Cat calls her last two pop albums ‘cash-grabs’ and starts a war on Twitter
• Beyonce’s daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, joins her onstage to dance at her concert in Paris
• News of The Weeknd’s show, ‘The Idol’, having extremely vulgar scenes going viral

And I’m signing off until next month.

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

Picture design by Anumita Roy and videos from YouTube

Shourya Sharma

Shourya Sharma is a high-school student at Delhi Public School Noida. He has written down stories, songs, scripts, poems and articles since childhood. At the age of 12, he published his first book, “Alive with the Extinct”, which received critical acclaim. He has now refocused his passion for writing on the wonderful web of songwriting. He regards writing as a beautiful way of expressing oneself. He loves writing on fictional, humorous and psychological topics.

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