Artist Spotlight: Justin Bieber

Posted in Artist Spotlight, Entertainment, Music by

Surprise. An article about the ever-rising superstardom of Canadian not-so-young-anymore heartthrob, Justin Bieber.

It would be foolish of me not to capitalize on Bieber’s explosion in popularity, right?

The artist of the month featured in the month of January is Justin Bieber.

I never thought I'd see the day where I'd willingly save a picture of Justin Bieber onto my computer.

I never thought I’d see the day where I’d willingly save a picture of Justin Bieber onto my computer.

Admittedly, I am not a fan of the man they call Justin Bieber. I don’t really follow his every move like the Beliebers out there, I don’t really listen to his music, nor am I a big fan of his apparent Diva attitude. What I can admit to, however, is that the recent change in his sound has caught the attention of a more grown-up audience, and for good reason as well. Justin Bieber isn’t a boy anymore. He’s a man. And other grown ass men around the world are acknowledging that.

This babyfaced blond was first discovered on YouTube (it seems like every bloody artist nowadays is discovered on YouTube, and here I am tone deaf with no concept of pitch whatsoever). He was soon signed to a record deal and released his first album in 2010, where he recorded typical teeny bopper pop songs like Somebody to Love and the infamous Baby featuring Ludacris. His babyface, my-voice-hasn’t-cracked-yet vocals and typical teenager charm caught the attention of young impressionable girls worldwide, and the Biebs became a hit.

Of course, you can’t possibly be liked by everyone, and as much as Bieber was adored, he was despised by a more mature audience.

Apparently, Bieber didn’t stick to his goody two-shoes image too long, and he chose to go down a more risky path. In 2012, Bieber released his third studio album, Believe. The single As Long As You Love Me featuring Big Sean included a more adult video clip, including scenes of Bieber being beat up by his girlfriend’s disapproving father (I actually laughed at this. I’m a terrible person.) After these more adult-y songs, it would be expected that Bieber would be more well received, right? Well, other than the ridiculously catchy song Boyfriend, adults still didn’t respond well to the Biebs.

Fast forward to 2016, and now this meme could not be any more accurate.

This is truth.

This is truth.

So what happened in between the release of Believe and today? Bieber’s fourth album, Purpose. The cover art should spell it out for you, really; Bieber isn’t a boy anymore, and he wants to let people know that. This album featured hit after hit after hit, with my most favourite being Sorry, where the video clip features an old family friend New Zealand dance extraordinaire Parris Goebel and her dance crew. Compare Bieber’s first album to his most recent, and you can clearly see the evolution that the Canadian has gone through.

With only four studio albums to his name, it’s surprising that the man has amassed such an empire and mass following, and it doesn’t seem like his popularity is stopping any time soon. I mean, today it was reported that he had dyed his hair purple. Like, this is headline stuff right here. I dyed my hair bright red once, and no one wrote about that… tear.

I acknowledge that Bieber has come a long way since his Bieber-hair days, and does have the talent that warrants this much attention, but I am quite content to sit here listening to Kacey Musgraves tbh. Y’all can have Bieber.

– by The Black Widow

Review: Beautiful Player

Posted in Books, Entertainment by

I haven’t done a book review in a while. Let’s hope I haven’t forgotten how to do it…

Back to Widow’s Lure, the Beautiful series by dynamic duo known as Christina Lauren returns with the fifth installation, Beautiful Player. Much like Beautiful Stranger did for Chloe’s friend Sara, Player explores the life of Bennett’s friend Will Sumner and his best friend’s little sister, Hanna Bergstrom.

Will was the object of Hanna’s childhood fantasies while Will barely noticed Hanna or “Ziggy” when she was a barely legal teenager. Years later, Hanna is stuck too much into her work. After being urged to have more of a social life from her brother, Hanna enlists the help of her long lost friend Will to kickstart a social life and, in true Christina Lauren fashion, the two embark on a very unique and sexually-driven relationship.

As if these book covers aren't enough to get you.

As if these book covers aren’t enough to get you.

This book was very true to its authors. It was filled with sex, sex, sex, and more no-nonsense sex. The friendship agreement between Will and Hanna was very different, and that was what kept me entertained while reading this novel. I mean, like, I don’t generally take my strictly friends into a room at a party and give them pleasure with my hand, and then act as if nothing happened. To each their own, though, of course.

As is well documented in my book reviews, I tend to find romance novel heroines irritating, but I found Hanna to be quite real. I have no filter when it comes to the words that come out of my mouth, and Hanna evidently suffers from the same mental disability problem I have, so I related to her on a personal level, moreso than Chloe or Sara.

On the contrary, I wasn’t remotely attracted to the character of Will at all. I don’t know whether it was his personality, the way or he was written, or maybe I’m suffering from some book-boyfriend-no-no-syndrome, but I found him to be quite bland. I did like how he kept referring to Hanna as “Plum”, but that was about it. Sorry Will. Not everyone can be Bennett Ryan. Sa-wooooooon.

Christina Lauren stay true to their style of writing, keeping the pages of this novel full of detail when it comes to the sexcapades of the two protagonists, while making sure to inform the reader that this isn’t just another throwaway erotica piece with no detail to real life outside of raunchy bedroom romps. Their use of imagery is always on point and I could picture every intimate detail of what I was reading.

Wid-o-meter
Storyline: 7.0/10
Style of writing: 7.8/10
Overall: 7.4/10

Another exceptional novel from Christina Lauren that doesn’t follow any kind of romance novel mould that is often found in literature these days. Their erotic scenes are almost unmatched and their novels and novellas will stand the test of time, in my sweet and humble opinion.

Stay tuned for my review on the final novel in the Beautiful series: Beautiful Beginning.

– by The Black Widow

Artist Spotlight: Sam Hunt

Posted in Artist Spotlight, Entertainment, Music by

There may be a slight bias as to why this man is the featured artist of the month, but I look to explain something that has been bugging me about him for months.

The featured artist of the month November is Sam Hunt.

Sam is currently in the middle of writing his second album. (SOURCE: official Sam Hunt website)

Sam is currently in the middle of writing his second album. (SOURCE: official Sam Hunt website)

If you haven’t read my review for his debut album Montevallo, you can do so by clicking here. The album is also available for purchase on iTunes.

The year 2015 may very well have been the greatest year in Sam Hunt’s life. Three singles from his debut album have been number one on the US Country and US Country Airplay charts (Leave the Night On, Take Your Time and House Party) and the album was also number one on the US Country album chart and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 chart, which is an outstanding feat for a rookie country music artist.

On top of this, Hunt has been nominated for several awards this year, including Single of the Year and Song of the Year for Take Your Time and New Artist of the Year at the CMAs. He won the Songwriter-artist of the Year award at the ASCAP Country Music Awards, the Breakthrough Video of the Year award at the CMT Music Awards, and he also took home the New Artist of the Year award at the Taste of Country Music Awards.

Sam’s had a killer year, no doubt, but that’s not what I wanted to discuss.

I wanted to write about why I liked Sam Hunt. I mean, really get to the heart of why I’m such a fangirl of his. And this also leads me to what really annoys me about most of his other fans.

Looking at the image above, there’s no denial that Sam Hunt is a very attractive man. Every box you didn’t even know you had on your “Dream Man Checklist”, he ticks off: he’s tall, dark, handsome, can play guitar and sing well, and he also has an affinity for snapbacks and funky pairs of pants. Yes, I admire his looks and, yes, it does make it easier to like him.

But that’s not why I like him, and that’s what bothers me about other Sam Hunt fans.

All of the comments on his photos across various different social media platforms tend to target one thing about his person – his looks. Fair enough, say and do whatever you want, but when there are so many other impressive feats about this man, it gets kind of repetitive, irritating and monotonous when all one can say about Sam Hunt is “OMG BAE AF”.

Let’s take, for example, the fact that he had a hand in writing every single one of his songs on the Montevallo album. If you’re not aware of how the music industry generally works, the singer does not write their songs; they are given demos sung by other vocalists and written by other smart people, choose whether they want to record that song, and voila. That song is now “theirs”. But Sam took this to the next level and co-wrote each song on his album and on top of that, recorded the vocals. If I’m not mistaken, he also had a hand in the instrument playing, but don’t hold me to that.

That’s talent, right?

On top of that, whether this is intentional or not, Sam is ushering in a new era to the country music genre. The genre of country music is very traditional in the sense that it isn’t too welcoming to change of any kind. Sam’s style of music is different in that while the country roots are evident in his music, he welcomes inspiration from other types of music into his songs. RnB, hip-hop and pop are welcome influences into songs such as Take Your Time and Single for the Summer and while this has caused backlash from country music traditionalists, I for one thoroughly enjoy the change.

On the topic of change, this is where I have to mention that I get daily Google alerts every time Sam Hunt is mentioned on the web. I like to think of it as stalking dedication as a fan. Receiving these Google alerts in my e-mail inbox daily, I get to read a lot of articles that mention the country musician that other fans might miss, and some of them have a very common theme: “Sam Hunt has a black back-up guitarist! Wow! Much shock! Many horror!” I’m sorry but it’s 2015. It shouldn’t be that noteworthy that Sam has a back-up guitarist who is black (Tyrone Carreker, if you’re interested in looking up this talented guitarist). These same articles also talk about Sam’s personal style as if they’re watching a dog walk on its hind legs, to borrow a quote from Mean Girls. Sure, he isn’t wearing Wrangler jeans with cowboy boots, but why does that prove to be a topic of discussion? There isn’t anything unusual about the way he dresses. I love his style personally.

Through his music, the way he dresses, and even who he chooses to have in his band, Sam is ushering in a revolution in country music, and on top of his enormous amounts of talent and absolutely charming personality, that is why I like Sam Hunt. Not because his biceps are huge (kiss me!) or his award-winning smile, but the fact that he is changing the country music genre, and for someone like me, that is very liberating. Hopefully as Sam’s career continues, the minds of country music fans will open and they’ll see their beloved music in a totally different light. I mean, even today, women in country music still aren’t treated the same as their male counterparts. This shouldn’t even be a problem.

Recommended tracks
Take Your Time from Montevallo
Break Up in a Small Town from Montevallo
Single for the Summer from Montevallo
Cop Car from Montevallo (FUN FACT: he originally co-wrote this song for Keith Urban)

You can follow Sam Hunt on social media at the following links:
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter

– by The Black Widow

#NoahTakesAmerica2015 Part 3: Black Widow Mourning

Posted in Lifestyle, Travel by

Alas, all good things must come to an end. Even the great things like my Contiki tour.

I didn’t really plan this effectively because flying into Nashville, Tennessee (which is like my most favourite city in the world) should’ve been the time of my life. Due to my Post Contiki Depression (shortened to PCD), I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have.

Nashville was everything I pictured it to be. It really is a beautiful city and seeing it in person reminded me of why I loved this place so much.

So, funny story, the CMAs were on the night after I flew into Nashville but because I’m dopey af, I wasn’t aware of this until the day I left Sydney. Naturally, there were no tickets left, so I watched the CMAs from the comfort of my hotel room while the real thing happened a few minutes down the road from me. Thanks a lot, Country Music Association.

After settling into my room, I went across the road to get some dinner at a nice pub called the Tin Roof. The service there was lovely and the food wasn’t too bad either. What really amazed me, however, was when I looked up from my phone and casually saw Chris Young standing in front of me. I’ve been a big fan of his for who knows how long, and all I could muster up was a giggle. Or several giggles. Okay so I just sat there laughing as Chris Young spoke to some other people. He then walked past me and looked at me and right there was the perfect opportunity to strike and ask him for an autograph and/or a picture. But no. I kept staring with a stupid look on my face and laughed again. And then he had left the pub. And my opportunity had left me.

Oh, and they had this cute ass sign in the pub as well.

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The next day, to deal with my PCD, I went shopping at the fancy mall in Green Hills. Sadness and a credit card does not equal great things. I bought more than I should have.

Thankfully, there was a Tiffany’s there and after some begging, they were ordering in my double chain charm bracelet to be delivered the day before I flew out. And with that, #Tiffanys has come to a peaceful rest.

After eating at the Cheesecake Factory, I watched The Intern at the cinemas (tickets were just under $10… that is outrageous!) which was a cute af movie. I returned to my room and sat in my PCD and sadness and went to bed at like 9.

I spent the day after to accomplish all my touristy goals: I went on a tour of the Grand Ole Opry which was absolutely amazing. We got to walk around backstage and even went through the artist’s entrance into the Opry AKA the entrance all the stars take when they come to perform. I can’t even begin to describe how amazing this tour was, and ot make it better, my tour guide was amazing. God bless her I can’t remember her name.

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After the Opry I went to the Johnny Cash Museum, and if you know me well, you are aware that I lurrrrrve Johnny Cash, so this small museum blew my mind. I thought I knew everything about the Man in Black but this taught me a lot about my country idol. DID YOU KNOW that he voiced the coyote in that Simpsons episode where Homer’s wiggin’ out and he’s sitting on top of a pyramid looking for his spirit guide which turns out to be a coyote which turns out to be Johnny Cash? Mindblowing.

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A cheese pizza and cheesy garlic bread slices later, I waltzed on over to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, which was a bit different than I thought it would be; notably, it was a lot more interactive and child friendly than I imagined it was. It was great to see so much country music culture in one building, and then standing in the physical Hall of Fame was ridic.

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The day after was my final day in America, so naturally I spent most of it sulking about my holiday finishing. I went to another bar across the road from me for lunch called Two Bits, which turned out to be the greatest bar I’ve ever been to. Its a bar that has free arcade and console games inside and the staff there encourage you to play and get your game on as you eat and drink to your heart’s content. Umm, amazing, right?

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I made a friend there who later invited me out for drinks and dinner. He paid for everything. And I gave him a fake name. I kind of feel bad, but at the same time, I don’t.

Oh, and I picked up my Tiffany’s bracelet. It’s beautiful. I have a love affair with it.

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Free drinks and dinner ended my holiday and it was unfortunately time to head back home.

I won’t bore you with the details of my 28 hour travels back home (including the sweet old man sitting next to me on the plane who snored directly into my ear) but I will leave you with my final thoughts and shout outs to those who made my holiday as magical as it was.

SHOUT OUTS
Toni and Stacie: Thanks for breaking me into travelling and holding my hand as I got used to the wonders of airport security. I have been bitten by the travel bug and don’t plan on being home much anymore.
Tayla: Thank you for our drunken cousin night out. The D&M we had was one of the best I’ve ever had and I would not want to have that conversation with anyone else.
Brandon: My BFFL. Thank you for taking me all over Salt Lake to find my Edelman jersey, and thank you for being the devil on my shoulder and making me spend way more than I should have. And, also, thank you for being so understanding.
Jodie and Joey: My two first friends on Contiki! Thank you for being the first two to speak to me and make me feel comfortable. The times we had together were amazing, and if it weren’t for the nicknames we made, I wouldn’t have known who everyone was by the end of the trip. I’m glad you two don’t live too far away from me because I plan on hanging with you guys all the time. My holiday would not have been as great if I didn’t meet you guys.
Georgia: My bestie… what can I say? I broke down when I had to say bye to you because I was obviously closest to you and there was a reason to that. You are such a great person and I’m glad to have travelled with you for those 13 days. Thank you for being there to pick up the pieces for when I fell apart (twice) and thank you for your weird ass shoulder kisses and your antelope neck. I love you too Feddo.
Nate: Bae should really stand for “Best At Everything” when it comes to you because you’re so great at everything you do. Thank you for being my Contiki boyfriend and for warning off unwanted attention. And thank you for dancing with me in Dallas just so I felt included. You don’t know how much that meant to me. Love you always, my sexy awkward middle walk.
Hannah: My partner in crime. You’re just amazing. There’s nothing more to say. Your wit and sense of humour is as on point as your beautiful face. Thank you for all the good times we had together, and thank you for misreading the menu and ordering a salad wedge and providing me with the best memory I have of my holiday. See you at the inaugural Mac and Cheese Convention in Dallas.
Michelle and Andrew: PLESSSSS. STOP LOOKIN AT MEHH. WHY CAN’T I JUST BE NORMAL? I love you guys. Simply put, thank you for being you. Michelle, you are one of the greatest people I have ever met and I lowkey have a massive crush on you. Andrew, you now have to live with the fact that you have two other alter egos now: Carlos and Rear Exhaust Pipe. Oh, and thanks for letting me take your shirt off while dancing on a bar.
Genevieve: The Queen of the Planned Orgy. You are one of the kindest people I have ever met, and the most humble. Your spirit is as beautiful as your face and I am so glad to have met you. It feels like I’ve known you my entire life, and it has been like three weeks. Thanks for all the orgies as well, you saucy little minx you.
Tony and Mitch: My Enzo and Cass. Tony – thank you for walking me home in Durango and for keeping me warm. Thank you for dancing with me in Dallas and making me feel special. Thank you for holding my hand as I tried not to break down. Thank you for coming to my room and D&Ming with me as you cheered me up. Mitch – thank you for cuddling me on the coach when I was cold. Thank you for giving me your jumper in Dallas when I was cold (I see a pattern here). Thank you for carrying me and putting me to bed in New Orleans when I was too blind to do so myself. And thank you for reiterating that yes, I may be high maintenance, but everyone still loves me for it.
Elaine: Thank you for just being you, really. Your spirit really lit a fire into the group that we needed. And thank you for coming to my room after Halloween bearing french fries from Maccas and listening to me talk about why everyone pissed me off that night. You’re fantastic.
Tui and Memory: Thank you for assuming I can speak Samoan when I’m clearly white-washed af. The term “Memory Loss” doesn’t have the same meaning for me anymore. MEMORY, ALL ALONE IN THE MOONLIGHT. I love you guys.
Scott: The ultimate man of my dreams Scotty. Thank you for taking the time to get to know me, and for really listening when I spoke to you. Thank you for hunting me down that night in Amarillo to make sure I was okay, and thank you for holding my hand that night as I cried to you. You’re a top bloke, whether you want to see it or not.
Alex: The best roomie one could ask for… kind of. Thank you for being you. I thoroughly enjoyed picking up your pieces every night you came back to the hotel blind drunk and I’d have to take care of you. I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way. And thank you for knowing which bed was mine automatically.
Serena and Ricky: Queen Bee Serena and Big Daddy Ricky. Thank you for giving me the greatest fortnight of my life. There is nothing more I can add to that.
The rest of my Contiki group: You may not get your own individual shout out but you all meant so much to me. You have all left a lasting print in my life and I’m thankful for it. I know that I have taken 50 lifelong friendships with me, and I truly do consider you family. I love you all.
The guy in Nashville who paid for my drinks and dinner whose name I don’t know: What’s good.

I’m already starting to plan next year’s holiday in Europe. While I highly doubt it’ll be as great as this holiday, who knows?

After misplacing three pairs of sunglasses, missing a flight and crying to speed through the lines, breaking a pair of boots in Salt Lake, splitting a pair of jeans in Durango, leaving my niece’s snow globe in Fort Worth, and throwing a chair across a room in a fit of drunken rage in New Orleans, I am home.

Here’s to an end of a marvellous holiday and possibly the greatest five weeks I’ve ever had.

– by The Black Widow