#top American rapper

[idolwealth]

Island boys net worth, family, early life, career and more

The web has a skill for catapulting improbable figures to fame, and the Islanders are a great representation. These indistinguishable twins, Franky and Alex Venegas, detonated onto the scene in 2021 with their irresistible TikTok melody "I'm an Islander," enthralling crowds with their exceptional mix of music, style, and magnetism. In any case, past the snappy tunes and viral distinction, lies the inquiry that consumes at the forefront of everybody's thoughts: how much are the Little islanders really worth?

[renard-dartigue]

Hi now i'm curious what is the beef with the rappers

Man this is going to be long so I'll try to keep this simple and entertaining. I hope this comes across as clear cause I'm shook right now.

Here is a glossarie to break thing up:

Prologue (The Spark 🔥)

Round 1.1 (Physical Education 💪🏾)

Interlude part 1 (Roots 🏠)

Round 1.2 (2 Warning Shots 🔫)

Interlude part 2 (Pusha the Seer 👁)

Round 2.1 (Knifes Out 🔪 )

Round 2.2 (The Nuke 💥)

Epilogue (All eyes on him 👀)

My Theory 🤷🏾‍♂️

Highly recommend checking out the tracks yourself while you read along.

Prologue (The Spark)

Let it be known that I am a neutral party and that I don't take sides when it comes to rap beef. I was here for the music and creativity. I am just trying to recount events to the best of my knowledge. Sorry if some details are inaccurate.

Okay so basically, Drake, J Cole, and Kendrick Lamar are the Big 3 of the rap world right now.

A month ago, Future and Metro Boomin (two rapper who supposedly don't fuck with Drake anymore) released a song with Kendrick Lamar called "Like That". In the song Kendrick took a shot at Drake and J Cole, saying there isn't a big 3, its only him on top.

4 weeks ago J Cole dropped a track called "7 Minute Drill" that is dissing Kendrick. However, in a move that is very uncharacteristic of J, he took down the official track and formally apologized to Kendrick. Thus signaling his exit from the rap battle.

ROUND 1.1 (Physical Ed)

Drake on the other hand dropped "Push Ups" 2 weeks ago, a diss track that went after other rappers he doesn't like but mainly Kendrick. In it, he made fun of Kendrick's height and his contracts. He then ends the song with "I was really try'n keep it PG" meaning he has a nuke on Kendrick that people don't know.

Not long later, Drake dropped ANOTHER diss track "Taylor Made Freestyle" with Ai voices of Snoop Dog and fucking 2PAC! Kendrick has stated before that 2pac is one of his idols so this must have been a deep cut. In the song Drake claims Kendrick doesn't write his own music and uses the writers of Taylor Swift. Relating a rapper to pop music is seen as disrespectful.

INTERLUDE PART 1 (Roots)

Before I continue, I want to give a brief run down on how the public perceives these two rappers.

Drake portrays himself as a superstar, he's always on social media flaunting his success and partying with other celebrities, seeing alot of women and living a lavish lifestyle. His music is catchy, something you put on in the club. Most of his fan base praise him for his sick beats and witty lyrics. He's been in the music industry for a while and is no push over.

Kendrick Lamar is a very private person, doesn't expose anything about his personal life unless its on a track. He almost never gets into fights with anyone. He is a family man, stressing the importance of being there for his wife and son and encourages other fathers to do the same. His fan base praise him for his creative lyrics and highlighting the black American condition.

ROUND 1.2 (2 Warning Shots)

2 Day ago, Kendrick Lamar came back with his first official diss track on Drake called "Euphoria". In this song, Kendrick goes in on Drakes fake personality. Drake has always been known around the community as a bit of a poser, he grew up in Canada and was raised by his white mother, a relatively comfortable childhood. He was a star on the popular show Degassi when he was young. garnering him a fan base early in his career. Kendrick doesn't approve of Drake appropriating black American culture and acting like he some tough guy. When in reality he is a Canadian nerd thats disrespectful to 2pac. All throughout the song, Kendrick hits at things that many people have know about Drake, such as his behavior around underage girls. He also called Drake a deadbeat father who isn't in his son's life, even referencing his lost battle to Pusha T. Then Kendrick finally warns him that he has more dirt that he is willing to share if Drake takes things further.

Similar to Drake, Kendrick dropped another track called "6:16 in LA" later that day. This song focuses on Drake's environment, specifically the people he hangs with. Kendrick implies that Drake paid people to dig into his background and when they didn't find anything, Drake made up stuff instead. Kendrick then says that someone in Drakes group is leaking information to him about something even more serious. Also planting a seed in Drake's mind that his supposed friends don't actually like him, just like the clout from hanging around him.

INTERLUDE PART 2 (Pusha the Seer)

Taking a quick break again, we need to discuss something that occurred long before Drake's battle with Kendrick.

5 years ago, Drake was in a rap battle with rapper Pusha T, someone who was smaller than Drake at the time in terms of popularity. Pusha dropped a song called "The Story of Adidon" where he dropped a bomb that Drake had a kid and wasn't taking care of him. Drake initially denied it but it was later revealed to be true.

Since then Drake has never responded to Pusha T's diss track, making Pusha the current winner. And Kendrick is bringing it back into the light.

Round 2.1 (Knifes Out)

Around 2 am EST time of May 4th, Drake drops his diss track, "Family Matters" one of his strongest songs, switching his flow 3 times in the span of 7 minutes. In true Drake fashion, its a club song with a catchy beat. Like his previous diss, its aimed at multiple people but the main focus is on Kendrick, even bring up "I was really try'n keep this PG".

Drake doubles down on his black identity and mocks the fact that Kendrick and other rappers are saying he isn't black, (incorrectly assuming that they are coming at him for being mixed when the real issue is that he is appropriating black American rap culture as a Canadian mixed man who grew up in a safe environment) Drake not only calls Kendrick a fraud who only raps about black issues for attention, Or that his activism is performative. He makes a shocking claims that Kendrick is a wife beater. Then Drake says that Kendrick's son doesn't belong to him and implies Kendrick's producer was the real father.

The track caused an uproar. But only for the span of 15 minutes. Because Kendrick did the unthinkable.

ROUND 2.2 (THE NUKE)

Almost as if expecting Drake's move, Kendrick Lamar did what no one saw coming. He dropped his diss track "Meet The Grahams" about 15 minutes after Drake released "Family Matters".

This time around, in a fashion almost unheard of from him, Kendrick strips all the usual metaphors from his lyricism and structures his track like he is speaking to Drake and his family, 4 parts per individual.

Kendrick begins by speaking to Drakes Son, Adonis, the same son Pusha T exposed Drake for neglecting 5 years ago. He's apologizing to him for his father's behavior. Kendrick speaks to him softly but sternly like a mentor, telling him not to be like his father. Kendrick tells Adonis all the things Drake did and warns him not to do them too: involved with escorts, plastic surgery to appear more black, surgery to look more muscular, hiding a kid. (Kendrick stresses that Adonis is black regardless of being mixed, further highlighting that he isn't discrediting Drake's blackness because he's mixed but because he isn't being himself.) Finishing of by telling the kid to be proud of who he is.

The second half is Kendrick addressing Drake's mother and father, Sandra and Denise. Kendrick speaks to her like he's revealing tragic news, explaining to her that her son is involved in disgusting things. He goes down a list of things, his tone growing more intense and angry. Kendrick then claimed that Drake is employing and enabling pedos in his group, and hopes they die. Even implying that his group is going to be raided by the feds some day.

The third half is the MOST shocking of all. Kendrick begins talking to an unnamed individual, simply calls her babygirl. Similar to Adonis, Kendrick takes on a somber tone and apologizes to her for Drakes behavior. He says its not her fault Drake abandoned her, says that she is deserving of love. He warns her not to become a target for people like Drake to pray on and says she has so much to offer the world.

Kendrick revealed Drake has ANOTHER kid and isn't in their life! (Allegedly)

To close of, the fourth half is Kendrick speaking directly to Drake, his tone tired. He tries to reiterate that he doesn't have hate for him. However, Kendrick says Drake was the first one to go after his family and he couldn't let it slide. He once again calls for Drake to take the mask off. Then says this isn't a rap battle anymore, tells Drake he is fighting himself.

Epilogue (All eyes on him)

And so here we are, waiting for what will happen next.

Drake posted an Instagram story denying the claim he has another kid. But given what happened with Pusha T, we can't quite take his word for it yet. We should wait a bit to see if anything comes out.

Kendrick hasn't put out a statement on Drake's claims about him but given the recurring theme of Drake being a manipulative lier, Kendrick clearly denies it. Given how private he is, its difficult to prove or disprove it. Much like Drake's claims, we will have to wait and see if any evidence comes out about it.

Drake and Kendrick stans are at eachothers throats right now, arguing over who one and whats real or fake.

Right now everyone is looking to see if Drake is going to continue the battle or stay silent like he did with Pusha.

My Theory

Personally as an outside observer who only followed the beef for good music. I think this goes beyond a simple rap battle.

Here is my theory: Someone from Drake's clique told Kendrick that Drake and his producers were writing something about him. Real or fake, Kendrick was pissed. And so he drafted 3 tracks, dumping everything he hates about Drake into them. And then, with the leaker's help, Kendrick baited Drake into a battle, goading Drake to drop the "Family Matters" track so he can shut the battle down with "Meet the Grahams". Or maybe his first 2 tracks were a warning to Drake that if he released a track with lies on him he would reveal he has another kid.

I do think Kendrick initially had good intentions in trying to help Drake be a better person. But maybe the more he learned about Drake the less sympathetic he felt.

But I don't know thats just how I see it.

Thanks for reading my essay. I hope it made sense heh. I encourage healthy discussions in the comments and reblogs please. But everyone agrees that Drake is inappropriate with young girls. We won't argue over that.

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Teddy Swims - The Door 2024

Jaten Collin Dimsdale, also known by his stage name Teddy Swims, is an American singer-songwriter and rapper. Known for his genre-blending music, including soul, country, and pop, he originally attracted fans through song covers on his Youtube channel in 2019 and 2020.

"The Door" was released in April 2024 as the third single from his debut studio album I've Tried Everything but Therapy (Part 1). The song was described by Swims as about saving his own life and finding the courage to walk out on an abusive relationship that played a part in driving his friends and family out of his life. He further said: "It was so hard to convince myself of that at the moment, but that's when my priorities shifted from her to me, to saving myself, to loving myself again. "The Door" is about believing that you're always going to be okay if you trust in yourself."

"The Door" topped the charts in Bulgaria and the airplay charts in Kazakhstan and Russia. The song also reached the top ten charts in the UK, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Ireland, as well as the airplay charts in Croatia, Poland, Czech Republic, Belarus, and Romania. Moreover, the song received numerous certifications in several countries.

"The Door" received a total of 73,5% yes votes!

[andreasgypsysoul2020]

“I just wish that they could have done a Super Bowl half-time performance with some meaning behind it…”

Okay, Carol…

“The revolution is about to be televised - you picked the right time but the wrong guy.”

Kendrick Lamar just gave us a masterclass in storytelling - so let’s break down this performance like it's a video game, because that's exactly what Kendrick wanted. Remember how Super Mario had different levels that told a story? That's what we just watched, except instead of collecting coins, we're collecting layers of meaning.

Lamar's vision for the show was to portray his life as a video game, which was symbolic of reaching young people through a medium they understand. This theme was his way of illustrating his journey through the American dream, as noted by Shelley Rodgers, the art director for the show. This concept could be seen as a metaphor for navigating the complexities of fame and success in the music industry, akin to levels in a game.

Level 1: The Opening Scene

Samuel L. Jackson shows up as Uncle Sam - and if that's not the most perfect casting since Heath Ledger as the Joker, I don't know what is. This wasn't just for show - it's like when your parents try to tell you what to do with your life. Uncle Sam trying to control Kendrick's narrative is that same energy - it's about control, conformity, and breaking free. .

Level 2: The Car Boss Battle

Kendrick starts the show on top of a 1987 Buick Grand National GNX. If you're not a car person, this is like the Batman of cars - all black, all business, and with a serious story to tell. This isn't just any car - it's connected to his album "GNX" and represents his journey from Compton to the biggest stage in America.

Level 3: The Power-Up Costume

The dancers are doing this whole red, white, and blue thing, making the American flag come to life. But it's not about blind patriotism, it's about questioning what these colors really mean for different communities. The flag can also represent his stance on issues like racial justice, given his history with songs like "Alright" becoming an anthem for movements like Black Lives Matter.

Level 4: The Boss Fight

Now, this is where it gets spicy. Despite Drake trying to sue him, Kendrick performs "Not Like Us." That's like showing up to a fight with receipts in both hands. And then - plot twist - Serena Williams shows up doing the Crip Walk during this song. Remember when Drake was all about Serena? Yeah, that's some chess-not-checkers level of shade.

Level 5: The Special Items

Kendrick's rocking this jacket with "GLORIA" on it - a reference to his collab with SZA. And peep that "a" necklace he's wearing - it's probably referring to that line "Tryna strike a chord and it's probably A minor" from "Not Like Us." If you know, you know - and Drake definitely knows.

Final Boss: The Message

This whole performance wasn't just about the music - it was about identity, power, and who gets to tell whose story. Kendrick took the biggest stage in American sports and turned it into a Broadway show about being Black in America, about success, about rivalry, and about staying true to yourself even when Uncle Sam is trying to write your script.

This wasn't just a halftime show - this was Kendrick Lamar turning the Super Bowl into his own personal TED Talk, his own museum exhibition, his own protest rally, and his own victory lap all at once. Lamar being the first solo rapper to headline the Super Bowl halftime show in 2025 signifies the elevation of rap and hip-hop culture to mainstream acceptance at one of the highest levels of American entertainment. This act itself is symbolic of the progression and recognition of the genre.

Now watch it again…(Rachel Hurley)

[atzupdates]

[240117] ATEEZ will perform in Coachella…The first K-pop boy band

ATEEZ will perform on the stage of the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on April 12 and 19 in the desert Coachella Valley in Indio, California. The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival is the world's largest music festival with tradition and authority since 1999, attracting more than 200,000 audiences every year and is called a "dream stage" for many musicians. Among them, ATEEZ become the first K-pop boy group to perform on the Coachella stage, boasting the status of the "Best K-pop Artist." In particular, they will stand shoulder to shoulder with famous artists such as American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey, American rapper-producer Tyler the Creator, and American rapper Doja Cat. Earlier, ATEEZ topped the U.S. "Billboard 200" chart shortly after the release of their second full-length album, and entered the chart for five consecutive weeks, showing a unique shining global reputation. In addition, ATEEZ are the only fourth-generation K-pop group to enter the second place in the UK's "Official Album Chart" and achieve their own "first" and "best" records at the same time, and rose to the top of various charts at the same time as its release, including No. 1 on the Hanteo Weekly Chart for two consecutive weeks, No. 1 on the Circle Weekly Album Chart, No. 1 on the Bugs Weekly Album Chart, and No. 1 on the United World Chart. ATEEZ will hold the 2024 world tour "Towards The Light: WILL TO POWER" at Jamsil Indoor Gymnasium in Seoul on the 27th and 28th.

[snowseasonmademe]

I wanna know is who is your ultimate celeb husband because it seems like you have a lot of sides and not a main one😂

this is a great question :) let’s break everyone into boyfriends and husbands and then pick the top one for each.

rules:

everyone is starting at a 20/20 bc they all meet the base requirements for each category

the points given and taken are based off of vibes, zodiac signs, their looks, and what i know of them and their personalities.

enjoy ;)

————————————————————————

husbands (requirements: be 12+ years older than me, be fine, be from any other country than the u.s., be black, have tattoos)

lewis 🥇 (39/20) - im gonna be extremely nice and disregard the dog video i just saw. +5 points for the tats .and he’s hot for a shorty so +1 for that. very good style +3. +2 bc he’s an earth sign but -1 cause cap men are just horrible. but +3 for his accent (it’s questionable sometimes, he may or may not be american sometimes idk). he’s the goat so +6.

damson (35/ 20) - phenomenal actor +5. sexy ass accent +3. funny +2. +2 points for having good music taste. +3 points bc he’s a fellow earth sign.

skepta (18/20) - okay so he’s a rapper and lord knows they aren’t faithful so automatic -12 for that. adding back +3 for the tats. he’s my favorite uk rapper so +4 for that. great style +2 more. i also really like his voice to +1.

virgil (14/20) - yall know a love a water sign but he’s had a history of infidelity so the water sign points cancel out. so -12 for that. but +3 for the tats. the marriage and kids ruin my daydreams so -3 more for that. very great player/captain so +4. +2 bc he has a fine pair of legs in him.

~~~~~~~~~~

boyfriends (requirements: be 2-5 years older than me, be fine, be an athlete)

aurélien🥇 (43/20) - my first french boyfriend. +4 for being the first in addition to the +5 for being french. body is *chef’s fucking kiss* delectable +5. is the oldest +2. loves american more than i do +1. can play the piano +1. -1 bc his style is a bit off sometimes. adding the 2 back for having a good dog (that he doesn’t eat off of). family man +4.

jude (41/20) - my first ever soccer bf +5. godly body +3. i like his accent +3. carries his team +4. gives us content +1. momma’s boy -2 (no shade but that usually doesn’t end well). on that same notes, family man +3. cancer +2. likes to kiss and hug +2 lol.

jules (36/20) - my second french boyfriend. +5 for being french. +3 for his perfect chest. +4 for the impeccable style. his nose is really cute so +1 for that. pretty eyes +2. actually gives us content +1.

ibou (34/20) - most recent addition to my french bfs. +5 for being french. i love his teeth +3. juicy legs +4. funny +2. serious about his faith and i think it’s really cute +1. gemini tax -1.

klay (31/20) - although he is 15 years older than me he didn’t have tats so he’s here and not there. also he just doesn’t give me husband, yk? my favorite basketball player of all time +5. funny +3. can be an air head sometimes -1. but weirdly smart +2. thinks aquarius is a water sign -1. can drive a boat +3.

levi (30/20) - has tats +3. sassy -2. always gives boyfriend unintentionally all the time +4. i like his accent +3. (i think i need to watch more chelsea games y’all bc i feel like i should have more for him). his name is absolutely top tier +2. (100% moanable)

note: this took me absolutely way to damn long omggg. but let me say i didn’t expect lewis to win the husbands honestly, i thought it would be damson. and i didn’t think levi would rank so low. i need to get more into him fr. let me know where i should take away or add any points and feel free to do this in the comments or on your blogs with your husbands and boyfriends 💋.

[weeeeeekly]

STAYC (스테이씨) is a 7-member South Korean girl group under FAKE ENT. They consist of: Y/n, Sumin, Sieun, Isa, Seeun, Yoon, and J. They officially debuted on November 12, 2020 with their first single album Star To A Young Culture.

Group Name Meaning: STAYC is the acronym for Star To A Young Culture

STAYC Official Fandom Name: SWITH – stay with STAYC

Stage Name: Y/n Birth Name: L/n Y/n Position: Vocalist Birthday: January 1st, 2000 Zodiac Sign: Capricorn Height: N/A Nationality: American Color: Purple Representative Emoji: 🕊️

Stage Name: Sumin Birth Name: Bae Su Min Position: Leader, Vocalist, Rapper Birthday: March 13th, 2001 Zodiac: Pisces Height: 159cm (5’3) Nationality: Korean Color: Pink Representative Emoji: 🐰

Stage Name: Sieun Birth Name: Park Si Eun Position: Main Vocalist Birthday: August 1st, 2001 Zodiac: Leo Height: 159cm (5’3) Nationality: Korean Color: White Representative Emoji: 🐩

Stage Name: Isa Birth Name: Lee Chae Young Position: Lead Vocalist Birthday: January 23rd, 2002 Zodiac: Aquarius Height: 165cm (5’5) Nationality: Korean Color: Black Representative Emoji: 🐱

Stage Name: Seeun Birth Name: Yoon Se Eun Position: Vocalist Birthday: June 14th, 2003 Zodiac: Gemini Height: 167cm (5’6) Nationality: Korean Color: Blue Representative Emoji: 🦊

Stage Name: Yoon Birth Name: Sim Ja Yun Position: Lead Vocalist Birthday: April 14th, 2004 Zodiac: Aries Height: 173cm (5’8) Nationality: Korean Color: Green Representative Emoji: 🐯

Stage Name: J Birth Name: Jang Ye Eun Position: Vocalist, Rapper, Maknae Birthday: December 9th, 2004 Zodiac: Sagittarius Height: 169cm (5’7) Nationality: Korean Color: Red Representative Emoji: 🐶

masterlist | next

author’s note this took me longer than necessary & please ignore the time & battery at the top of the twt profiles & tweets because that’s just my phone. zero importance to the story.

[sargeantposting]

ARTICLE: The Florida Man of Formula 1 (2023)

Source: Michael M. Grynbaum, The New York Times Series: F1, 2023

Logan Sargeant, the only American driver in Formula 1, is zipping around the narrow streets of Baku, Azerbaijan, at roughly 200 miles an hour. His head bounces inside the cockpit as a wheel shudders over a rumble strip. It’s hard to hear over the banshee shriek of his V6 engine, carrying three times the horsepower of a run-of-the-mill Porsche Carrera.

Then the noise stops, and Baku vanishes. We’re inside a low-slung brick building nestled in the Oxfordshire countryside. The track, projected onto a CinemaScope-sized wraparound screen, was a mirage, part of a sophisticated training simulator. (F1 rules prohibit driving the real cars between races.) Mr. Sargeant climbs out of a replica driver’s seat wearing athletic pants. He won’t need a fireproof suit until later.

In three weeks’ time, Mr. Sargeant will do this for real: wind whipping his visor, G-forces of up to six times his body weight pressing on his neck, the ever-present threat of a catastrophic crash as he is watched by roughly 70 million people around the world. For now, it’s time for lunch. “Is chili bad for you?” he asks, digging into a bowl at his team’s commissary. “I don’t think it’s that bad.”

Williams Racing, in Grove, England. It was founded in Oxfordshire in the 1970s, but it’s now an American subsidiary: a Manhattan private equity firm, Dorilton Capital, bought the company in 2020 for an estimated $200 million.

F1 teams employ hundreds of employees and spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing the world’s most sophisticated racecars.

Reaching Formula 1, the highest level of international motor sport, is a big step for Mr. Sargeant, 22, a South Florida native who began racing rudimentary cars known as karts at 6 years old and this year joined the Williams Racing team as the first full-time American F1 driver since 2007.

For Formula 1 itself, finding a hometown hero for American fans is a giant leap.

Although it is enormously popular in Europe, F1 struggled for decades to break into the United States. That began to change in 2016, when the sport was purchased for $4.4 billion by the Colorado-based Liberty Media, owned by the cable magnate John Malone. Liberty ramped up its social media — F1 had barely kept a YouTube page — and backed a popular Netflix documentary series, “Drive to Survive.” Once geared toward aging white men, F1 now has a younger and more diverse fan base. American TV viewership is up 220 percent from 2018, and the sport made $2.6 billion in revenue last year.

Still, a subset of F1 devotees complain about what they see as an overemphasis on entertainment and ginned-up drama. Under Liberty, they argue, pure racing is taking a back seat to cheap tricks to reel in casual viewers. And they often use a dirty word for it: Americanization. “It is becoming more and more like Formula Hollywood,” Bernie Ecclestone, the 92-year-old Briton who built F1 into a global business, griped last year. “F1 is being made more and more for the American market.”

The backlash reached a crescendo at last week’s Miami Grand Prix, which was added in 2022 as a showpiece for American fans. In a prizefight-style pre-race ceremony, the rapper LL Cool J introduced the 20 drivers one by one amid swirling smoke and a squad of cheerleaders. Nearby, Will.i.am conducted a live orchestra playing the rap song he recently recorded with Lil Wayne as part of a “global music collaboration” with Formula 1. (The lyrics rhyme “Max Verstappen,” the name of the sport’s top driver, with “your champion.”)

“Pandering to the American audience is killing @F1,” wrote one fan on Twitter, echoing criticism that bubbled up across numerous F1 websites. Even the racers complained: “None of the drivers like it,” groused Lando Norris, a Briton who drives for McLaren. Undeterred, Liberty announced that the bombastic pre-race sequence would be featured at several more grands prix this year.

In the United States, F1 has long been associated with a certain European mystique, most famously, the louche glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix.

In the United States, F1 has long been associated with a certain European mystique. Its drivers race across the Ardennes forest (Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium), the plains of Lombardy (Italy’s Autodromo Nazionale di Monza) and, most famously, the louche glamour of the Monaco Grand Prix. The sport’s stateside image could be summed up by the 2006 comedy, “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby,” which featured Sacha Baron Cohen as a pretentious French F1 driver named Jean Girard, a snooty Eurotrash foil to Will Ferrell’s macho NASCAR cowboy.

In 2023, F1 can feel a bit more Ricky Bobby than Jean Girard. In Miami, drivers circled a track built in the parking lot of the Dolphins football stadium, past an artificial Monaco-style “harbor”: blue-painted asphalt topped with ersatz yachts. A new Las Vegas race in November will have cars zooming down the Strip past Caesars Palace. Meanwhile, traditional races in France and Germany are gone.

Katy Fairman, a journalist based in Brighton, England, who runs the F1 podcast “Small Torque,” said she was surprised by the spectacle when she attended a race in Austin, Texas. “There were girls with pompoms,” she said. “I remember watching it and thinking, Oh my gosh, this is so different from anything I’d seen F1 do in a long time.”

Ms. Fairman conceded that some Europeans find the American hullabaloo “tacky.” But she added: “When it’s something to do with America, I think Europeans are quite judgmental. I think it’s just a bit of lighthearted fun. You guys like to have a party.”

The arrival of Mr. Sargeant, who grew up about an hour’s drive from the Miami racetrack, has spurred new interest, including a profile and photo shoot in GQ, and he’s happy to play the part. “What’s up America, let’s bring that energy!” he shouted to the cameras after LL Cool J introduced him as “the local boy done good.”

But as with F1, there are growing pains. In Miami, Mr. Sargeant finished last, his race ruined on the first lap when he damaged a front wing. After the checkered flag, he apologized to his team, his voice barely a whisper: “I’m so sorry. I can’t believe it.”

Weeks earlier, in an interview in England, Mr. Sargeant had demurred about the pressure of wearing the stars and stripes. “I try not to get too caught up in the talk of the role of ‘first American,’” he said. “It’s still very early for me, and I have a lot to learn still.”

If Mr. Sargeant doesn’t perform, there are dozens of drivers eager to take his spot. “At the moment,” he said, “I just have to worry about staying here.”

For a globe-trotting athlete, Mr. Sargeant can be soft-spoken and endearingly self-conscious. 

‘I just want to get back in the gym.’

Before his tough Miami weekend, Mr. Sargeant was asked how he would celebrate a top 10 finish. “Honestly, it might sound lame, but probably just go back to my house and get in my bed for another night before I go back to London,” he replied. “That’s all I want to do.”

For a wealthy, handsome, globe-trotting athlete, Mr. Sargeant can be soft-spoken and endearingly self-conscious. It’s not unusual for someone who, like a tennis prodigy or Olympian gymnast, has devoted their life since childhood to a sole pursuit.

Mr. Sargeant was 6 when he and his brother Dalton got a kart from their parents for Christmas. “No one in the family was really even that much into racing,” Logan said. “We just picked it up as a hobby, something to do on the weekend.” He began winning junior races around the country — too easily. To reach the next level and pursue Formula 1, he’d have to leave behind his friends and beloved fishing excursions for life on a different continent: “We just needed a higher level of competition, and at the end of the day, that was in Europe.”

Mr. Sargeant left Florida before his 13th birthday, bouncing between Italy, Switzerland and Britain as he raced on the European junior circuit; in 2015, he became the first American to win the Karting World Championship since 1978. “As a kid, it was tough,” he recalled. “Coming from Florida, being outdoors all the time on the water, great weather — it was literally vice versa.” He eventually settled in London, where he spends most days working out with a trainer. “I get away from a race weekend, and I just want to get back in the gym,” he said. “I hate that feeling of leaving slack on the table.”

It is incredibly difficult to nab a seat in Formula 1. Today’s drivers are physical dynamos trained to optimize their reflexes and performance levels down to how well they can withstand jet lag — critical in a sport that this year will include 23 grands prix spread over five continents. F1 teams employ hundreds of employees and spend hundreds of millions of dollars developing the world’s most sophisticated racecars. But it’s ultimately up to the driver to execute.

It also helps to have money. Lewis Hamilton, the seven-time world champion and F1’s only Black driver, is an exception, having grown up on a London council estate. Many F1 competitors are the sons of multimillionaires (and some billionaires) who can bankroll pricey travel and high-tech cars.

Mr. Sargeant falls into the scion category. He hails from a wealthy Florida asphalt shipping family. His uncle, Harry Sargeant III, is a former fighter pilot and onetime finance chair of Florida’s Republican Party who has been sued by the brother-in-law of King Abdullah II of Jordan and whose name turned up, tangentially, in the 2020 impeachment of former President Donald J. Trump. (Harry was not accused of any wrongdoing.)

Logan’s father, Daniel Sargeant, worked alongside Harry until the brothers had a falling out. In a 2013 lawsuit, Harry accused Daniel of misdirecting $6.5 million in corporate funds “for the purpose of advancing the international cart racing activities” of his sons, Logan and Dalton; that litigation was eventually settled.

In 2019, Daniel Sargeant pleaded guilty in federal court in New York to foreign bribery and money laundering charges related to his business dealings abroad. He is free on a $5 million bond and is awaiting sentencing. A Williams spokesman said that Logan Sargeant was not “in a position to comment” on any of the legal matters involving his family.

In F1, none of this particularly stands out. The mother of Mr. Sargeant’s Williams teammate, Alexander Albon, was jailed in Britain for swindling millions of pounds in fraudulent sales of high-end cars. A Russian racer, Nikita Mazepin, was booted from the sport after his oligarch father, a close ally of President Vladimir V. Putin, was sanctioned following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

James Vowles, the Williams team principal, said in an interview that he hired Mr. Sargeant for his speed, not his U.S. passport. “I’m incredibly pleased that the sport is growing in America, but I think it would be anything but disingenuous to say that Logan’s here for any other reason than I think he’s got this pure talent,” he said.

In his F1 debut in Bahrain in March, Mr. Sargeant finished 12th, outpacing this year’s two other rookies. “He has this insatiable desire to be better, to want more,” Mr. Vowles said. “He’s a perfectionist, and I like that in him.”

Tooting around in a Vauxhall Astra

Britain, where Formula 1 originated in 1950, remains the sport’s spiritual home, where most of its 10 teams are based. Williams was founded in Oxfordshire in the 1970s, but it’s now an American subsidiary: a Manhattan private equity firm, Dorilton Capital, bought the company in 2020 for an estimated $200 million.

It was an important cash infusion for a team that had struggled to keep up with rivals. Manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz pour enormous resources into their F1 teams, which double as an elaborate global marketing campaign and an in-house innovation farm; tech developed for F1, like engines that recycle braking energy as an accelerant, can trickle into consumer vehicles.

Formula 1 car simulators at the Williams Racing factory.

Formula 1 drivers practice on sophisticated training simulators.

The Williams campus is a humdrum brick pile that could be mistaken for an office park — a far cry from McLaren’s space-age complex an hour’s drive away. Many F1 teams provide their drivers with a high-end sports car for personal use; Mr. Sargeant commutes in a Vauxhall Astra, a compact.

Even the team’s sponsors are relatively down-market; whereas the official watch of Ferrari is Richard Mille (starting price: $60,000), Williams has a deal with Bremont, whose timepieces retail for significantly less. (On a recent visit, a Williams press aide was quick to extract a spare Bremont watch from his pocket and ensure Mr. Sargeant was wearing it whenever a photographer hovered.)

Given the huge costs, corporate partnerships are crucial to F1, part of the reason the American market, with its abundance of affluent consumers and wealthy brands, has proved so tempting. Gerald Donaldson, a journalist who has covered F1 for 45 years, recalled how cars were gradually taken over by corporate logos starting in the late 1960s.

“Marlboro paid all the Ferrari bills, including the drivers, for many years,” he said in an interview. “There are eager companies who want the publicity.” Mr. Sargeant’s car features ads for Michelob Ultra beer and an American financial firm, Stephens. In Miami last weekend, beachgoers spotted an airborne banner reading “Go Logan!” alongside the image of a Duracell battery.

Last year, the Miami race was viewed on ABC by 2.6 million people, the biggest American audience for a live F1 telecast. Ratings for this year’s race fell about 25 percent, perhaps a result of a duller-than-usual season dominated by one team, Red Bull.

Still, viewing data show that F1 is expanding beyond affluent cities associated with elite sports: In 2022, its top five American TV markets included Asheville, N.C., and Tulsa, Okla. ESPN is clearly betting on more growth. When the sports network renewed its broadcast rights last year, it agreed to pay $90 million annually — up from the $5 million-a-year deal it signed in 2019.

Liam Parker, a former adviser to Boris Johnson who now leads communications at F1, said the sport was intent on rectifying past mistakes. “We were too arrogant,” he said. “We couldn’t understand why the American fan base wasn’t falling in love with us.” But he also pushed back on the complaints that Liberty’s efforts to raise the entertainment factor had stripped F1 of something essential.

“This whole argument of ‘Americanization,’ it’s a very crude way to describe things,” he said. “We shouldn’t ignore things that can improve things for new and core fans. It’s about giving people more choices in the modern era. It’s modernization of access to everyone.”

Mr. Hamilton, arguably the biggest celebrity of the current F1 lineup, has offered his own endorsement of Liberty’s approach. “I mean jeez, I grew up listening to LL Cool J,” he told reporters in Miami. “I thought it was cool, wasn’t an issue to me.”

For all the debates over elitism, good taste and corporate rap collaborations, the core appeal of F1, when you get right down to it, may be something simpler — something Mr. Sargeant got at when asked in the interview if he had loved cars as a kid.

“I absolutely love driving, as you can imagine,” he said. “But to be honest, I’m not one of those people who studies cars and, you know, likes to know every detail of every single car. It doesn’t really interest me.”

“The part that interests me,” he concluded, “is driving them as fast as I can go.”

Eliza Shapiro contributed reporting from Miami. Kitty Bennett contributed research. Michael M. Grynbaum is a media correspondent covering the intersection of business, culture and politics.  A version of this article appears in print on May 14, 2023, Section BU, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: The Florida Man Of Formula 1.

[twopoppies]

This...is craaaazy. 35 weeks behind schedule and they still tried to open 😳

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68954947

What a fucking disaster.

People working behind the scenes at the troubled Co-op Live arena in Manchester have spoken of what they say were "chaotic" events leading up to the bungled opening of the venue.

Workers involved with the project spoke on condition of anonymity as they did not have permission to speak out. They told the BBC:

Parts of the £365m venue were in a state of disarray less than 24 hours before the arena was supposed to open earlier this week

Staff were left in tears after they were forced to call off American rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie's gig at the last minute due to safety fears

Naming rights partner Co-op Group has flagged a "critical" risk of reputational damage to the wider Co-op brand

Construction staff at the venue warned others back in February that works were as much as 35 weeks behind schedule

Co-op Live was heralded as a "world-class arena" that "Manchester deserves" by Tim Leiweke, the American businessman leading the project, in an interview with the BBC last month.

But "the perfect building" Mr Leiweke promised soon suffered fundamental setbacks, with a series of high-profile acts - including Take That and Olivia Rodrigo - having their shows cancelled or postponed at the last minute to the bewilderment and frustration of performers, ticket-holders and staff.

Mr Leiweke has since apologised, and a Co-op Live spokesperson told the BBC events had been paused "to ensure the safety and security of fans and artists visiting the venue".

One staff member, hired as a "premium host" in the venue's VIP rooms, told the BBC she was in the building on Tuesday evening - fewer than 24 hours before the venue's debut performance by A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie was due to begin.

She said: "I think we were very sceptical: that was my first time in the arena and it did not look ready at all... They're doing everything with crossed fingers: it's a bit chaotic."

'Wires hanging down'

The VIP rooms were still "full of cardboard boxes", the woman said.

"They weren't done - there's loads of final bits [unfinished]. It was filled with workmen who were all still so busy doing random checks here and there, average safety checks... there were loads of wires hanging down."

She said some stairways also seemed incomplete. "There were wires everywhere and exposed lighting on the floor. It looked very messy. There were gaps in the stairs... it looked like a work in progress."

The woman, who has been employed on a casual contract, said staff members are still paid part of their wage if their shift is cancelled at short notice. Staff who are on site when a shift is cancelled are paid in full, a spokesperson for the venue said.

Meanwhile, another member of staff, this time working in an operations role at the venue, said: "The root cause of all the problems is coming from the building, not the operations. From an outside perspective, people presume it's being run badly."

"In reality we have a building that isn't ready, and we're being told it is ready - then things happen out of the blue that cause cancellations", they said.

[…]

The staff member said most public-facing areas of the building are complete - although the offices on the top floor and some premium areas of the building remain "unfinished".

As of Thursday evening, the dining area in the exclusive Amp Club has "no fixtures, no fittings, no tables there - it's just a shell," they said.

[…]

"People don't know that OVG [the Oak View Group] own the venue - they just see the Co-op brand," a staff member at the Co-op Group said.

On a site visit in February, the Co-op Group employee said they were told by construction workers the project was running 35 weeks behind schedule, in part due to delays with crane equipment.

"The Co-op's really disappointed with OVG's constant delays," the employee said.

Full article here

[fridaynightaus]

New AU jumpscare! This one is known as "Lucid Evening Lullabies" (or just "Lucid Lullabies" for short). Inspired by games like Nightmare Ned, American Mcgee's Alice, Among the Sleep, and Yume Nikki (among other things).

This AU begins with Jacob (aka "Boyfriend") coming down with a bad case of insomnia, he doesn't know why or how it happened, but he's been getting less sleep than usual, affecting his performance. His girlfriend Amber (aka "Girlfriend") decides to give him a music box to help him sleep. And sure enough, it works! Just a short tune or two and he's out like a light.

However using the music box had some unintended side effects. As when Jacob falls asleep, he falls into to surreal, vivid, and life-like dreams. But there's nothing bad about that...right?

Well, when there are dreams, there are also nightmares...And opening his eyes will not be enough for him to escape them. He must conquer them, one way or another. For if he doesn't wake up safe and sound...He may never wake up at all...

Anyways. Similar to Alice Madness Returns, Jacob and Amber's outfits change for each night (night's being the AU's version of "Weeks"). Each one of them themed after the dreams, which are in turn are based around the familiar faces and experiences BF has encountered in the past.

Outfit and night descriptions below!

Pajamas

Jacob's default outfit, and the one he always has in the beginning of the dreams.

He wears a blue long sleeved top with white accent lines and buttons, as well as a pocket with a white crescent moon on it. He also wears a pair of long, slightly baggy, blue plaid pants that are tucked into red slippers.

Night 1 ("Sleepy Hollows")

The first night is based on Week 2. It takes place on Halloween night in a suburban town bursting at the seams in Halloween decor and aesthetics, with the trees raining leaves of orange and yellow (think Halloweentown and the town in Hocus Pocus. That is until Jacob, Amber, and the spooky kids come across a decrepit mansion, where inside there are no treats...only a sour trick...

Here, Jacob wears a Jason Voorhees Costume (to match Amber's costume, which is a bit more thematically appropriate given the context. But can also be seen as a reference to Spooksides as his counterpart got his first name after the hockey masked killer). He has the hockey mask on the side of his hide, attached to a black strap. He is wearing a dark green shirt, a dark brown belt, a pair dark blue jeans, black gloves, and black boots which his pants are tucked into. His shirt and pants have (fake) blood stains on them. He is also wielding a fake machete, which has the blade stained with fake blood.

He does actually get to use it at some point, just not in the way one would think when it comes to using a machete...

Night 2 ("Final 'Xamination")

The second night is based on the events Pico's School, and a bit of Week 3. Just from that alone, you can tell this dream's quite closer to home for the little rapper. As a vile invader stalks the building, out of sight...waiting...watching. And a all-too familiar face has noticed that as well, but he's no sweet dream himself...

Jacob's uniform consists of a white, short-sleeved buttoned shirt, a blue tie, a blueish-gray sleeveless sweater. blue pants, and black loafers.

Night 3 ("Rose Fields Forever")

The third night is based on Week 6. With Jacob and Amber finding themselves in a "garden" (It's actually less of a garden and more of a jungle, just replacing the palm trees with cherry blossoms, rafflasia with roses, etc), the denizens welcoming them with open arms. Inviting them to become "hosts" for the upcoming festival to honor their handsome, flowery, idol.But soon they will learn that every rose has it's thorns...and a festival might not be the only thing they'll be hosting...

Jacob's outfit is a ancient Greek-based outfit. With a white tunic with gold accents. a gold belt, a blue toga fastened with reddish-pink gem with a gold base, and a pair of golden sandals. He also has a forget-me-not flower in his hair.

I also have a fourth night planned that centers around Inferno (BF's encounter with Blaze) but I just wanted to do the first three for now while I still try to figure that one out.

[getjoys]

Dazzling Daisy Bloom: Her Internet Fame Journey

Some people are born to shine, and Daisy Blooms is one of them. The 22-year-old social media sensation has captivated millions of fans with her radiant smile, uplifting posts, and generous spirit. But how did she go from being a regular girl named Daisy to a dazzling celebrity known as Daisy Blooms? In this article, we will explore her remarkable journey to internet fame, and how she uses her platform to spread joy and positivity to the world.

Birth, Parents and Education of Daisy Blooms

Daisy Blooms is not her real name, but a stage name that she adopted for her social media career. Her real name is Jameliz Benitez Smith, and she was born on June 9, 2001, in the United States. She is of mixed ethnicity, as her father is African-American and her mother is Puerto Rican. She has a younger sister named Jazmin, who also appears in some of her videos.

Daisy Blooms grew up in a musical family, as her father is a rapper and her mother is a singer. She was exposed to various genres of music from a young age, and developed a passion for singing and dancing. She also learned to play the guitar and the piano. She attended a local high school in the United States, where she was popular among her peers and participated in various extracurricular activities, such as cheerleading, drama club, and choir. 

In 2019, she completed her high school education and made the decision to pursue her aspiration of becoming a social media influencer. She then enrolled in an online college to study business and marketing. She enrolled in an online college, where she is studying business and marketing. She hopes to use her education to expand her brand and reach more audiences.

Rise to Social Media Stardom

Daisy Blooms started her social media career in 2022, when she was only 18 years old. She created an Instagram account under the name @jellybeanbrainss, where she posted photos and videos of herself wearing colorful outfits, posing with flowers, and sharing positive messages. 

Daisy Blooms quickly gained a dedicated following due to her cheerful personality, unique style, and motivating captions. In addition to her successful Instagram account, she also established a presence on TikTok under the username @daisyblooms. Her content on this platform included dance, lifestyle, and modeling videos set to popular rap and hip-hop songs. 

Daisy rose to fame on TikTok after a video of her dancing on top of a car went viral and amassed over 2 million views. As a result, she became one of the most influential and well-known celebrities on social media, with millions of followers across various platforms.

Daisy Blooms has collaborated with other notable stars such as James Charles, David Dobrik, and Emma Chamberlain. She has also secured endorsements from major brands including Nike, Sephora, and Coca-Cola. Her success has also been recognized by various magazines such as Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Teen Vogue. 

Relationship

Daisy Blooms is a social media star who has not revealed much about her relationship status. She does not share any videos or photos that indicate that she has a romantic partner, nor does she refer to anyone in her captions or comments. She seems to focus on her career and her fans, and does not disclose much about her personal life.

Social Media

Daisy Blooms has a presence on Instagram.........Read More

Source: Getjoys

[prettyboykatsuki]

My white ass little brother is getting all the Kendrick v Drake tiktoks for some reason and has been INVESTED even without listening to rap much. He said 'have you seen the Kendrick diss stuff?????' and it was the biggest 'LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING' moment of my adult life. Had to give him all the backstory, starting with Meg!!!!

KDSHFKJSD it's genuinely like CRAZZYYY. LET ME TELL YOU SMTH FOR REAL BECAUSE MAN......

i have a lot of the thoughts on the situation because like. i think a lot of people who are only hearing the recent diss tracks don't know how deep the drake kendrick beef and speculations go !!!! like almost as far back as drakes career as a musician.... that tension is so long-standing and they mutually have several records that people have speculated have been digs about the other.

THE THING IS THEY'VE KEPT THAT RELATIONSHIP MOSTLY OUT OF PUBLIC VIEW. when kendrick dropped a verse dissing the other two in the supposed big three - it was a big deal because the three of them have had a mostly amicable relationship to outsiders. there was a rumored jcole kendrick record for years (which ill mourn forever). everyone was anticipating the response!!! jcole even made one before pulling away !!!!

when drake releasd his intial response it was like.. the first time we've heard drake actually rap in YEARS LMAOO. IT WAS CRAZY AS IS!!! but then they just kept going. AND THEN KENDRICK RELEASED DOUBLE DISSTRACKS??? the same move drake pulled when he had his beef with meek mill years ago!!!! AND THEN DRAKE RELEASED ANOTHER RESPONSE FAMILY MATTERS AND KENDRICK RELEASED MEET THE GRAHAMS WITHIN A FEW HOURS OF THAT?

it's crazy. some of the most influential musicians of the genre and kendrick, one of the greatest lyricists of the 2010's , publicly beefing in such a way is insane. it's genuinely historic in terms of rap beef. and all of kendricks tracks have crushed all of drakes - despite the fact drakes diss tracks WERE GOOD!!! if he were going up against anyone else it would hold up. but it's kendrick, pulitzer winner, so he really hasn't been able to get up since 😭😭😭

on top of that kendricks disses and generally his music are heavily intergrated with black american culture and issues - and his criticism of drake through these means can't be overlooked. again these are longstanding critiques rappers have had against drake. its largely not just about music but about black culture overall. outside of celebrity drama its unbelievably relevant in that aspect as well. and i say this as an outsider to it repeating from other people interested in it, but its just too relevant to the conversation to ignore

meet the grahams is FATAL TOO. kendrick has been consistently bringing up the industrys issues with drake as a rap artist and how it's been in contention with his upbringing in his disses and then drake brought up his family. meet the grahams is making insane allegations that supposedly kendrick has receipts for, and it's not like people haven't known drake is fucking weird. but the way meet the grahams set it up.... im not over it.... shot after shot after shot. it is nothing like 6:16 in L.A. or euphoria it is crazy to me to witness real time.

like no wonder there is so much media attention for them right now this is like. INSANE. AND I HAVE NO INVESTMENT IN EITHER OF THESE RAPPERS as much as i just have for rap and it's history. and i cant believe the direction its been going on

im wondering if this is going to be the era of drake disses releasing and im dying to see who and what has something to say because the industry has had issues with drake for YEARS. its just crazy all of it is insane

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Nelly - Hot in Herre 2002

"Hot in Herre" is a song by American rapper Nelly, released as the lead single from his second album Nellyville (2002). It was written by Nelly, Charles Brown, and the producers the Neptunes. It features additional vocals by former labelmate Dani Stevenson and incorporates Chuck Brown's 1979 single "Bustin' Loose".

On April 15, 2002, "Hot in Herre" received over 760,000 streams on AOL Music's First Listen feature following its debut, setting a record for the website. The song was the inaugural winner of the Grammy Award for Best Male Rap Solo Performance at the 45th Annual Grammy Awards on February 23, 2003. In 2008, it was ranked number 36 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of Hip Hop". The song became Nelly's first number one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 and in Canada. It peaked at number four in the UK and reached the top 10 in several other international markets. The song was number three on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 Singles Chart for 2002.

Nellyville debuted at the top of the US Billboard 200. It remained at number one for four non-consecutive weeks and was eventually certified six-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of over six million equivalent-units in sales, which allowed Nellyville to become Nelly's second number-one, multi-platinum, and top-10 album in the US following his debut album Country Grammar in 2000. As of March 16, 2011, Nellyville sold 6,488,000 copies in the US, and it became the 14th best-selling rap album of all time. Internationally, it peaked at number two on the album charts in the UK, Australia, Canada, Germany, and New Zealand.

"Hot in Herre" received a total of 74,2% yes votes!

[pinkscaped]

wait omg myah please please PLEASE tell us more abt myrah’s career after allume (and maybe during too 🤭) i js NEED to hear more abt her !

MYRAH YAMAZAKI is a Japanese K-pop idol and global icon based in South Korea. She made her initial debut in the rotational girl group ALLUME in 2005 as the group's leader and lead vocalist until her generation's graduation in 2010. Myrah is often credited for making ALLUME as popular as they are, achieving international stardom during this time for her strong attitude and natural star quality. Her run in Allume would be dubbed "Myrah and Friends" by fans due her popularity often overshadowing her groupmates.

Myrah would immediately begin a solo career after her 2010 graduation, destroying both the Korean charts and Japanese charts with the mini album HAUTE TOPIC. HAUTE TOPIC would break records for having all four tracks debut in the Top 10 on Melon. Moonlight, Chase Me, Starlight, and Kitty Kat would all break into the top ten and remain there for a solid five months. Myrah's solo career would be proflic and global, debuting in Japan shortly after her Korean solo debut where she would destroy the charts there as well. She would be the highest-performing Flowerbank soloist ever until the acquisition of Baebi's contract in 2023.

Myrah is still a high profile celebrity, starring in a handful of blockbuster films, critically acclaimed dramas, and becoming the face of many luxury brands through out the years. She is also the head of the creative board in Flowerbank Entertainment, owning an impressive amount of stocks in the company. She has been the host of the radio show AllTalkMe for over ten years now, keeping her and Allume relevant over the years.

ﾞ . ✩ . ' ۫           INFORMATION!

STAGE NAME :: MYRAH

BIRTH NAME :: Myrah Yamazaki

Birthday :: December 1st 1987

Zodiac :: Sagittarius 

Birthplace :: California

Hometown :: Osaka, Japan

Ethnicity :: Japanese

Nationality :: American-Japanese

Faceclaim :: Devon Aoki

Height :: 175 cm || 5′9

ﾞ . ✩ . ' ۫           VIRAL MOMENTS!

"I don't think people realize we haven't actually had sex...I wish but we're acting, guys." One of her first viral moments as an actress was in 2016 during the press tour for A Man and a Woman with her co-star Gong Yoo. Myrah and Gong Yoo would go on to have a public relationship that would often have them going viral for their cute and funny moments. To fans' dismay, the pair would split in late 2020.

When she snatched Sooah's mic from her during a concert, singing her lines and high notes. "My mic wasn't working. It's not like she sings much anyways," Myrah would go on to say in an interview, fueling the fire of rumors about the two having a feud during their time in Allume. After this, Sooah would noticeably clutch her microphone whenever Myrah would walk by her.

"How could I not like her? I've never spoken to her. I love 2ne1. Shut up." Myrah would shut down rumors of her and CL of 2ne1 having beef, telling a fan to shut up when they spoke negatively of her. Shot in glorious 2009 iPhone quality, the video would make its round around the internet. A week later, Myrah would post a selfie with CL on her blog with the caption "My bestiiiiii~ ^-^ <3" and the two are still close to this day.

She put her hand up in Gdragon's face when he attempted to sing to her at the 2013 MAMA Awards. It was a lighthearted interaction, Myrah laughing the whole time, but the internet took it differently and deemed her "a rude bitch" and VIPS would begin to harass her. This would have very little effect on Myrah as she would go on to post a couple of photos of her with T.O.P and Gdragon in the studio with the caption: "I lovvveee rappers!! (*^^*)♡"

"She's a bitch! A hot one though!" Myrah would shout out her car window when she was escorted out of a club by Flowerbank CEO Kim Iseul. Myrah was a bit of a club-goer post-Allume, often having to be picked up by friends or, on rare occasions, her CEO. When asked by paparazzi about her thoughts on Iseul having to pick her up, prompting her to say her now most iconic line.

[theidcl]

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊ STARZIE is a seven-member fictional coed group that debuted on january 7th, 2024, under stellar entertainment. the coed supergroup was formed through the idol survival show "SHOOTING STARS" which premiered in 2023. the show's purpose was to gather currently active idols and put them up against each other in order to form the ultimate coed group featuring the highest-ranked idols.

the supergroup made their debut shortly into the new year with the mini album "mission one: take off" and promoted their title track "crush", as well as other b-sides from the album. their debut was garnered as both a domestic and international success, boosting STARZIE into the super rookie category very quickly despite only just debuting.

with the group being made up of some of the most popular idols from multiple generations, the public has opened their arms to the group while also throwing harsh criticism their way. many fans are excited to see their favorite idols pursue new activities and release different music alongside other highly popular idols, but due to being a coed group, the public has expressed concern over how scandals and rumors are bound to happen.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . group name ⇁ starzie

˖ ࣪ ˚ . fandom name ⇁ starnautz

˖ ࣪ ˚ . fandom color ⇁ #1ad700 #00a0d7

˖ ࣪ ˚ . company ⇁ stellar entertainment

˖ ࣪ ˚ . debut date ⇁ january 7th, 2024

˖ ࣪ ˚ . debut album ⇁ mission one: take off

˖ ࣪ ˚ . debut song ⇁ crush

˖ ࣪ ˚ . greeting ⇁ "one of a kind! hello, we are starzie!”

⁺˚⋆｡°✩₊ MEET THE STARZ!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ ELLIOT SON, professionally known as ELLIOT, was born in 1998 in baltimore, maryland, usa. elliot began his training journey at jyp entertainment, where he participated in the reality show 'stray kids', originally making the final lineup before leaving the group before debut and jyp as a whole, stating creative differences. he trained for 4 years before debuting in the boy group embers in 2019, which would disband just a year later. he would soon re-debut in pushing daises.

ELLIOT was a popular idol while on SHOOTING STARS, being a member of the totally spies group during the cover challenge, in which the team placed 2nd in the challenge. during the rewind challenge, elliot was a member of 3rd place team elec6ix. at the end of the show, elliot managed to finish the show in 5th place, making him the second announced member.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ elliot dowon son

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ february 14th, 1998

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ baltimore, maryland, usa

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ rapper, vocalist

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 5th place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 185cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean-caucasian

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ american

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ vernon chwe

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ BAE MINJU, professionally known as MINJU, was born in 1998 in liverpool, england, but she moved to london when she was three years old. every summer, she traveled to korea over the summer to spend time with her grandparents and cousins in busan. growing up, minju was always fond of music and dancing, which led to her dream of being a k-pop idol. minju applied to many agencies such as jyp and cube entertainment, but ultimately made her choice to join source music with a friend of hers in 2010. after training for five years, minju officially debuted as a member of gfriend under source music. after the disbandment of gfriend, she signed a contract with big hit music and made her solo debut on november 11th, 2021. although many had anticipated it, the whole thing became a total failure, and minju was put on hiatus.

MINJU held a fluctuating rank while on SHOOTING STARS, but was always dancing within and around the top seven. during the rewind challenge, minju was a member of 3rd place team elec6ix. in the cover challenge, minju was a part of wonderland, and they placed 1st overall. at the end of the show, minju managed to finish the show in 4th place, making her the third announced member.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ bae minju

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ march 14th, 1998

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ liverpool, englad

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ vocalist, rapper

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 4th place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 162.5cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ british

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ park jiwon

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ CHLOE LEE, professionally known as CHLOE, was born in 1998 in new york, united states. chloe's career began in 2016 after ranking second on the mnet surivival show 'produce 101', securing herself a spot in the temporary girl group, ioi. once ioi disbanded in 2017, chloe debuted in venus as their main vocalist and lead dancer. alongside her success in venus, chloe would also have a flourishing solo career that began in 2019 with the song "rollercoaster" and has been on the rise ever since. chloe is a renowned vocalist and lyricist in the industry, being one the most credited female songwriters in the kpop industry.

CHLOE started the SHOOTING STARS with a bang, quickly securing a spot as a leader in the first group challenge. she was able to pick her teammates during the rewind challenge and ended up picking wisely as her team, the dream, placed first overall. once again placing high enough to be chosen as a leader, during the cover challenge, chloe was in charge of the last place team the zoo. chloe was up the coveted position of first place in the finale but ultimately placed 2nd, making her the sixth announced member of the group.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ chloe lee

˖ ࣪ ˚ . korean name ⇁ lee chohee

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ june 17th, 1998

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ new york, united states

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ vocalist, dancer

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 2nd place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 152.4cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ american

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ han sohee

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ PARK MIKYUNG, professionally known as MIKA, was born in 2001 in gwangju, south korea. after being scouted at her middle school’s talent show, mika auditioned for dsp media and trained for two years before making her debut in april on august 24th, 2015 as the group’s main rapper and main dancer at the young age of 14. she promoted with the group for multiple months before she was announced to be a participant on mnet’s trainee survival show ‘produce 101′. mika made her debut in ioi after finishing the show ranked 5th, and later made her debut in the only subunit of ioi. after the group's disbandment, mika returned to april but quickly announced her departure from both the group and dsp media. signing with angelico entertainment, mika went on to have a successful acting and solo career before debuting in sugar n' spice. mika is considered one of the best producers and lyricists in the industry, going under the pseudonym m.ka.

despite being one of the most popular idols to partake in SHOOTING STARS, MIKA suffered from fluctuating rankings that made her position on debuting unknown. she started off the show strong by being a member of the winning team, the dream, during the rewind challenge. during the next challenge, the cover challenge, mika was instead part of the last place team the zoo. being the first announced member, mika finished the show in 6th place.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ park mikyung

˖ ࣪ ˚ . english name ⇁ isabella jade park

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ march 26th, 2001

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ gwangju, south korea

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ rapper, dancer, vocalist

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 6th place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 162cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ yu jimin

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ WANG LILING, professionally known as LILING, was born in 2001 in beijing, china. growing up, she appeared in numerous product commercials in china and was considered a well-known face despite the lack of attention she received from these commercials. liling debuted in august of 2019 with the girl group, hashtag, under the company melody media. when their first mini-album was released, fans suddenly began to favor liling over the other members, gaining her the title of ‘face of the group’. this meant that liling was constantly taking part in solo activities and brand deals. she is currently melody media’s sole representative, despite the rumors of favoritism.

LILING was one of the most popular idols while on SHOOTING STARS, earning her the spot of being the leader of the heart attack group during the rewind challenge, in which the team placed 4th. liling was once again selected as team leader during the cover challenge, where she was in charge of 4th place team timeless. at the end of the show, liling managed to finish the show in 3rd place, making her the fourth announced member. liling was chosen to be starzie's leader after winning multiple challenges and a voting round during their reality show "living with starzie".

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ wang liling

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ july 11th, 2001

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ beijing, china

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ leader, vocalist, dancer

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 3rd place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 160cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ chinese

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ chinese

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ ning yizhuo

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ FINN LEE, professionally known as FINN, was born in 2001 in florida, united states. beginning his career at 15, finn appeared on the angelico survival show "the new wave". finn would quickly become a fan favorite for his dedication, humor, and overall talent. he would end his run on the show, ranking 1st overall despite being one of the youngest there, securing him a spot in the revitalized group, deepdive. deepdive would make their re-debut in 2015 with seven members but would only seem to gain traction in 2020. finn is one of the most sought-after producers in the industry, with over 190 song credits to his name.

FINN started off SHOOTING STARS strong by placing fourth in the pre-voting and securing himself a team leader spot. during the rewind challenge, finn was the leader of the 3rd place team elec6ix. during the next challenge, the cover challenge, finn was a member of the wonderland team, who placed 1st. being considered the most dramatic ranking due to how many people could have taken the spot, finn finished the show ranked 7th, making him the last announced member of starzie.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ finn lee

˖ ࣪ ˚ . korean name ⇁ lee jungwoo

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ october 10th, 2001

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ florida, united states

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ rapper, vocalist

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 7th place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 183cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ american

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ park wonbin

*ੈ✩‧₊˚ OLIVER SONG, professionally known as OLIVER, was born in 2001 in massachusetts, united states. oliver made his debut as the lead guitarist of the idol band plastic flowers under superbloom media in 2018. after their second album, he was promoted to lead singer and has become the most well-known member of the group since his appearance on jtbc’s 'superband' and other variety shows. he would slowly become the most famous artist under superbloom media as well and has produced almost every piece of music released by the label since 2020. oliver made his official solo debut in march 2023 with the lead single "starting line", launching him into further fame as plastic flowers continues to top the charts with each of their releases.

being a previously well-known idol before participating in SHOOTING STARS, OLIVER managed to stay at the top the ranks throughout the show. he started off the show strong by being the leader of the mystery inc team during the rewind challenge, where they placed 2nd. placing first in voting, oliver was once again chosen as a team leader during the cover challenge; his team, wonderland, was able to place 1st. oliver was able to secure his spot as starzie's center after finishing the show ranked 1st place, making him the fifth announced member.

˖ ࣪ ˚ . full name ⇁ oliver song

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthday ⇁ december 12th, 2001

˖ ࣪ ˚ . birthplace ⇁ massachusetts, united states

˖ ࣪ ˚ . position ⇁ vocalist, center, maknae

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ranking ⇁ 1st place

˖ ࣪ ˚ . height ⇁ 178cm

˖ ࣪ ˚ . ethnicity ⇁ korean

˖ ࣪ ˚ . nationality ⇁ american

˖ ࣪ ˚ . faceclaim ⇁ seok matthew

[swiftllama]

September Compliments ☀️🔍

[Compliments Masterlist]

Hey guys! Back for another month! A month of a lot of small compliments sprinkled throughout this time around, but we still got quite a few full-on great complimentary moments. One in particular was very special 🥰

So let's get into it...

September 2023

Thinking OUTSIDE The Box (Herd Mentality)

Right off the bat, first day of the month, we got a Games video, and this video actually started off a theme throughout this month. The boys were in quite a few videos where they were playing games this month and were either competing against or working as a team so we got a lot of them complimenting each other on a job well down, plus the bestie-ism was shining through :-

Q: 'Name a brand beginning with an A’

Anthony: "I went to clothing for some reason."

lan: "Oh then I know what you did then."

Anthony: "Do you?'

lan: "You went to clothing.”

~

Anthony: "I put American Eagle. I'm thinking mall culture."

lan: [nodding] “I was thinking- I actually thought you'd either put American Eagle or All Saints."

-

Q: 'Name an animal beginning with a P’

lan: "I'm giggling [at his answer]."

Anthony: "I think I know why you're giggling.”

~

lan: "I put p**sy!"

Anthony: "I knnnew."

-

Anthony: "Did you [lan] just win?"

lan: "Oh!'

Anthony: "That's a win!" [cheering and clapping] "Yoooo! Because the nose [lan's answer for that round] knows!'

-

Q: 'Out of all the animals in the world, which is the cutest?'

lan: "I said cat."

Anthony: "I said kitten."

[everyone debating whether it counts as the same animal]

Anthony: "Also Ian," [shows him his card] "I wrote cat and crossed it out. I almost wrote it."

-

Q: 'Who is the toughest Disney princess?'

lan: "I did, I think her name is Merida?"

Anthony: "I put the one from Brave."

lan: "Oh!"

Anthony: "Yeah!"

I actually made a post of this moment because it was so cute! How excited they were they had the same answer and also Anthony's little tap dance when he realises 😊

l also loved Angela pointing it out :-

Angela: "Wait, that was so cool that you both said that really random one."

Chanse: "That is fun. Yeah."

Anthony: "Yeah."

lan: "She's tough."

Anthony: "But isn't she- she's like an archer."

Angela: "Sure, but like nobody talks about that movie."

Jackie: "I thought of it too, but I was like 'That's too much of a deep cut.'"

What did I say about the bestie-ism shining through? 🥰

-

lan: "Hey everybody. Here's a good one, Anthony I feel like you and I are gonna be aligned on this one."

Q: 'Name a rapper'

~

lan: "I said Drake."

Anthony: "I wrote Snoop Dogg."

So obviously not the same answer but very cute how lan thought they would be on the same wavelength and he gives the reason as to why he thought that :-

lan: "So Anthony and I played a, we played a fun little game yesterday, where we went on Spotify and we were trying to guess who were the top artists, because it ranks them-"

Literally awing out loud! the fact they were just playing that game together, it wasn't for a video or anything, just something they were doing together in their free time 🥹

Bonus - HELP! I became an NPC!

So this next moment doesn't really fall under the 'compliment' umbrella, but it is something that has become a sub-genre of these posts - is the 'daddy’ thing. Yep, you guessed it folks, Anthony was at it once again. Although, like in the 'You Posted That' episode, he's switching it up and now he's referring to himself as 'daddy’ :-

Anthony: [face appearing as if through a phone screen like in the main sketch]

lan: [pretends to put his fingers up Anthony's nose and then into his mouth]

Anthony: "Ooooh, daddy like."

Why are they like this 🤦‍♀️

Also I think @lilac-hecox & @only-frann summed up a perfect description of this Compliments Series :-

Hope you guys don't mind me tagging you, but this is literally what this series is 😄

Anyways, that was just a jokey little one, but as I said, it's now a 'thing' of these posts so I couldn't not include it.

Moving on...

We Already Regret This Embarrassing Photoshoot ft. Smosh

The boys went back on Good Mythical Morning for the first time in almost 8 years, and although this time around we didn't get any frosting foot massages or Titanic re-enactments there was a few compliment-adjacent moments :-

Link: [talking about the photo they had to re-create] "And lan, I gotta give it to you, man. You remembered a lot."

Anthony: "He did! The glasses. The shirt."

-

Anthony: "I'm feeling good about that one [their photo]."

lan: "I'm feeling good."

And then we got one of their high-five/hand-grip moments that they do a lot.

-

[lan and Anthony announced as the winners]

Anthony: "Yeeeah!'

Another high-five, of course

Anthony: "Yeah! Let's go!'

They just absolutely live for congratulating each other on anything and everything now and it's very sweet. And there's more to come!

Food Battle 2011 - Flashback w/ Smosh

As they're rewatching Food Battle 2011, lan points out in one of the shots how his cross-country team photo can be seen in the background :-

Anthony: "That's you lined up with all the cross-country... pals.

Oop was that jealous!anthony shining through a little there 🫢

lan: [laughs] "Pals."

Anthony: "Backlit. Looking epic."

So again, just another small little compliment, but lan's cross-country/running is brought up again and praised/complimented by Anthony in...

HELP! I became an NPC! Watch Party

[discussing how American sports are confusing]

Anthony: "I feel like Smosh and sports just don't mix in my brain."

lan: [laughs] “What sport do you think that aligns the most with Smosh?"

They go through multiple silly suggestions between the two of them and ones they read from the chat, before lan suggests :-

lan: “I feel like, and it's probably just because I did it, but cross-country. Smosh is cross-country."

Anthony: "Just cause you're part of Smosh and you did it?"

lan: "And you just keep going, and you just keep going. Just keep running."

Anthony: "Is that how you felt doing Smosh even when I left?"

lan: “Yeah. Like just gotta keep going. Just one more mile. One more mile."

Oh lan 🥺 I just had to pause to react to that before I get to the complimentary part of this conversation, but that's so sad. But also a perfect description of what I imagine it was like for him during those times when Anthony was gone. Having to remind himself to just keep going and pushing forward regardless.

Anthony: "What was your longest run?"

lan: "I did a marathon."

Anthony: “Yeah, I remember you ran past my street and I woke up bright and early, and I was like [pretends to be half asleep and waves].”

lan: [smiling] “Yeah, yeah I did."

Anthony: "How long was that run?"

lan: "26.2 miles."

Anthony: "Daaaamm, I didn't know [the] marathon was 26.2 miles, shiiiit.”

lan: “Yeah, and I averaged a little under an 8 minute mile.”

Anthony: “That is not bad. For 20 times 26?! That's good!"

So couple things to cover here!

1. Anthony waking up early to catch lan run by his street so he could wave to him CAN YOU HEAR ME CRYING 😭 that's the cutest thing ever!

2. Anthony saying how good of a time lan got in the marathon is so sweet. I live for Anthony bigging him up 🥹

Anthony's Birthday

This next lot I'd call complimentary-by-extension. Anthony's birthday rolled around and in typical lan fashion this was the birthday tweet we got from him :-

Oh lan, wouldn't expect anything else from you 😅

Thought that was going to be it but then Mr. Padilla came through for us! And this was the particularly special moment I mentioned in the beginning of this post. He made the post linked in the main header of this section, thanking everyone for the birthday wishes and said how it had been Mykie and his anniversary the week previous and how she took him to the Grand Canyon. The post was all photos of the two of them, but in amongst it all, he included this gem :-

lan 💛

Isn't this just the softest thing.

I mean...

1. We finally get to see lan interacting with Anthony's dogs 🙌 Also the fact you can tell how comfortable they must be around him given the fact she's laying on his chest quite content which means lan is around them often enough to have that bond with them 🥹

2. The fact they spent Anthony's birthday together after so many years of birthdays unshared & it also makes Ian's tweet funnier, like him being next to Anthony, realising people are probably expecting him to publicly wish him 'happy birthday’, him writing the most basic tweet with a low-quality gif, posting it, and then going right back to hanging out with Anthony 😆

Aaaaand…...

3. Probably the softest thing about this, and where I'm going to get a bit emotional writing/thinking about it because I have a lot of feelings about it, is the fact Anthony included that photo of lan within his birthday/anniversary post. It's just so unbelievably soft. I cannot get over it. There was was no mention of lan in the caption or anywhere else, it was all photos of Anthony and Mykie, but within it, this one little candid shot of lan. It's so special. And says a lot without explicitly saying anything at all. It's just like, 'here's a post of things that matter to me.’ I like to imagine Anthony choosing the photos for that post, and even with it being a birthday/anniversary post, he still made the conscious decision to include that photo of lan. Something he didn't need to do, the photo wasn't relevant to the post, and yet, he included it anyways. He wants people to know that's how he spent his birthday, with the people he loves most - he couldn't not include that photo of lan. And I think it comes back around to the fact he's just so happy to have lan in his life again and he'll take every opportunity to say/show it. I can picture him sitting there looking at lan laying on his floor across from him, his dog on lan's chest, and his heart just feeling so full and happy at the fact he has his best friend with him again when a year ago he didn't think this would ever be a reality for him again. It's just so, so special ❤️

Finishing off Anthony's birthday was something that came a few days after :-

Anthony's response to lan's birthday tweet ☺️

What I also love about this, is the fact that lan never tagged Anthony in his tweet and given it was a few days later that Anthony responded and by that point the tweet would have been buried in his timeline, and also that Anthony barely uses Twitter. Knowing all these things it's very likely that Anthony searched for lan's account for him to see that tweet 🥰

POKEMON ROOMMATE BATTLE Watch Party

In the BTS for the POKEMON ROOMMATE BATTLE sketch lan keeps getting distracted playing Pokémon for the whole shoot, eventually getting the gameboy taken off of him by Erin 😅 In this livestream they're watching the sketch and Anthony says :-

[scene where 'lazy lan' is sitting in the beanbag playing Pokémon not wanting to move]

Anthony: “This is actually what you were like on set that day cause you were just playing Pokémon the whole day."

lan: "Oh yeah, so we rented that prop from like a prop house."

Anthony: “The gameboy."

lan: "The gameboy. And it was working - it was full battery, Pokémon Red was in it, and I booted it up and was like ‘There's no way. No. No’. and I was just straight up playing Pokémon on and it was-"

Anthony: "Was it everything you remembered?"

lan: "It was sick, dude. It was fun. I was having fun. I was getting really distracted and it was not good for the shoot. But I think I got my Charmander to like level 11 or 12."

Anthony: "Yeah, you nailed it."

Just a cute little compliment I felt should be included 🙂 But sticking with the Pokémon theme, it leads me on to the next compliment...

‘I Choose You' Smosh Hat

Anthony posted this Instagram promoting the Smosh Pokémon-style hat they released as merch, but what stood out to a lot of us is his choice of the first photo + the caption :-

THE IMPLICATIONS! Him crowning lan with the hat and him saying ‘I choose you' 🥹 It reminds me of something I covered in my first Compliments post - the section covering the Smoshcast with Anthony and Shayne saying how they came back together and "choose to be best friends again" 💛🖤

Our Actual Worst Puns (Puns of Anarchy)

Another round of games and compliment-adjacent moments :-

Ian: [handing the cards out]

Anthony: "Oh, look at you. You're providing for your family.”

Just found this moment cute, Anthony referring to them as a family 🥹

[Jackie chooses Anthony's card and he reveals it's his]

Jackie: "I take it back."

Anthony: “I'm also 'Hand Solo' though, so [the other card Jackie was going to pick]?

Arasha: "I'm so pissed [because Anthony is winning]."

Ian: "Wow. Anthony's cleaning up” [claps]

-

[Round Category: Baby Boomers]

Ian's card -' A Whole New World' changed to 'A new video of an old, white person freaking out’

Anthony: [picks Jackie's card] “That was good. Although, I will say, I know this was yours, lan [from his handwriting]. That was an adventure, man. I appreciate that."

This isn't the only time the handwriting thing is brought up in the video :-

Keith: "Dude, where's my car?' turns into, 'Dude, where's my car? Oh wait, I can't drive?’ By far the best one, lan. And I know this came from you."

Anthony: "I know it came from lan too, cause I can see the handwriting."

Why is Anthony being able recognise Ian's handwriting so cute. He just knows him so well ☺️

One other moment I loved from this video was something I already made a post about here. Of Jackie referring to them as 'best friends' and Anthony laughing the hardest at his answer firing shots at lan, again, bestie-ism shining through 😄

Joycon HIDE AND SEEK (Everybody 1, 2, Switch)

Last one of the month! This video was full of so many great moments - two lanthony piggybacks, so many bestie moments, and them just being overly cute the whole time 🥰

And also many moments of them complimenting each other on doing well in the games. So many that I decided to compile a little video. Enjoy! :-

And that was it for September!

Hope you all enjoyed and I shall see you next time ❤️