Forget Jude. ‘Hey Nuge': Fan borrows from the Oilers for song covers
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Edmonton Journal
44 minutes ago
- Edmonton Journal
Fringe Review: Motherhood the Musical is an amazing performance brought down by poor acoustics
Motherhood, The Musical, at the 2025 Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are independently selected. Postmedia may earn an affiliate commission from purchases made through links on this page. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by David Staples, Keith Gerein and others, Oilers news from Cult of Hockey, Ask EJ Anything features, the Noon News Roundup and Under the Dome newsletters. Unlimited online access to Edmonton Journal and 15 news sites with one account. Edmonton Journal ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Stage 21, Holy Trinity Anglican Church, 10037 84 Ave. It's hard being a mom; there's the appointments, the constant messes to clean up and all of the gadgets to purchase. It's a lot, so thankfully Motherhood the Musical can put it all in context, along with some great musical numbers. Amy is expecting and her neighbourhood friends have thrown her a surprise baby shower. There's gifts, a few drinks, a surprising lack of baby-related games and a whole lot of gossip and advice. The first 60 minutes of the show is dominated by tunes such as 'Costco Queen' about the advantages and joys of shopping in bulk. Yes, there's also a song about Kegel exercises, accompanied by the awkward facial cues such a song would elicit. The material feels somewhat dated, resting on stereotypes of motherhood and relationships that might have been funny 10 years ago but feel somewhat dated in 2025. Kids do nothing but whine and make messes, until they are the cutest things ever and our moms miss them. Husbands are useless at best and aggravating at worst, while their own mothers are overbearing and intrude when they aren't wanted. It's harmless banter, but also cliched. Get the latest headlines, breaking news and columns. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again The bigger problem is the acoustics in the venue, making it difficult to hear when microphones cut out. The sound mixing also leaves something to be desired, drowning out the singers with overly loud music. It's two relatively minor gripes for a show with some of the best singing the Fringe has seen in a decade. The Wetaskiwin-based Waterworks Players put on a literal singing clinic, all five actors working absolute wonders with the material. This is a group to watch for future festivals to come. Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the news you need to know — add and to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here. You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal | The Edmonton Sun.
an hour ago
TikTok Canada is closing soon. The Beaches and bbno$ warn it will hurt homegrown artists
In 2021, a TikTok of Canadian rapper bbno$ raising his eyebrows to the beat of his single Edamame started gaining traction — and eventually changed the course of his career. The platform's Canadian team suggested he recreate the clip with a safari-themed filter, then helped push it globally. When that happened, the song just skyrocketed, he says of the track, which features Indonesian rapper Rich Brian and went six-times Platinum in various countries. bbno$ is among several Canadian artists worried about losing social media support that can make or break their careers as TikTok prepares to comply with a federal order to shut down its operations in Canada. For Canadian musicians, TikTok can be as vital as radio play once was. Its algorithm lets songs leap borders instantly, offering emerging acts — especially racialized artists facing barriers in traditional channels — a shot at global reach. With Ottawa's dissolution order set to take effect soon, TikTok Canada's team has been running campaigns to show its value — and Canadian artists are rallying behind them. LISTEN | B.C. rapper bbno$ nominated for Juno Award (new window) Being an artist in this generation is like, you're basically a TikTokker, says the Juno-winning rapper, born Alexander Gumuchian. Without having a TikTok team that I can relay information to — that could help me get banners, help me when things are starting to bubble — I'm losing ammunition to help fire my career up. Concerns around access to user data behind government's move In November 2024, Ottawa ordered TikTok's Canadian arm to dissolve (new window) following a national security review of its Chinese parent company, ByteDance Ltd., though the app will remain accessible in Canada. The order cited national security risks but a government spokesperson declined to provide specifics due to confidentiality provisions. Social media researcher Philip Mai says there are concerns around potential Chinese government access to user data, foreign surveillance of Canadians in sensitive sectors and misuse of information for propaganda. China's National Intelligence Law legally permits data access, raising plausible risk concerns, says the co-director of the Social Media Lab at the Ted Rogers School of Management. WATCH | Canada has ordered TikTok's offices closed. Should you still be on the app?: Still, no public evidence shows TikTok has shared user data with the Chinese government, and the company denies it. Mai says shutting down TikTok Canada reduces its physical and legal presence in the country, limiting the platform's potential for data surveillance and its ability to influence policy or public opinion. This strategy is less extreme than banning TikTok, but more than a slap on the wrist, he says. bbno$ says the platform's Canadian team has helped bolster his social media presence. Without it, he warns, many Canadian artists will face a bottleneck in their careers. Juno-winning Toronto band the Beaches says TikTok Canada has been instrumental in their rise. Without local teams championing Canadian musicians internationally, we're left competing with American artists as outsiders, not as domestic talent, says the group in a statement. This puts us at a disadvantage and pushes Canadian artists to leave the country just to have a shot at global success. Though the Beaches have enjoyed Canadian radio airplay for years, their single Blame Brett went viral on TikTok in 2023, helping them reach the U.S. Billboard charts for the first time. Mai warns TikTok Canada's closure would be a big blow to Canadian artists, reducing opportunities, support systems, grant programs and sponsorships. Enlarge image (new window) 'We're just four best friends from Toronto who wanted to start a band,' the Beaches said after winning group of the year. Photo: Ryan Bolton Photography/CARAS Forcing the closure of TikTok's Canadian operation will likely decrease Canadian visibility in the algorithm, he says, noting local staff often boost regional content via tailored campaigns, including ones highlighting Indigenous creators. Last month, TikTok CEO Shou Chew asked (new window) Minister of Industry Melanie Joly for an urgent meeting, warning that shutting down TikTok Canada would force layoffs, halt investments and pull support from creators and culture. The wind-up process is rapidly approaching a critical juncture, Chew wrote. TikTok declined to provide a date and to say whether it has heard back from Joly, who did not respond to questions about the meeting request. Loss for racialized alum of TikTok's Accelerator program, creators say The platform recently withdrew sponsorships for several Canadian arts institutions, including the Juno Awards and TIFF, and slashed the National Screen Institute's TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, which has supported nearly 400 participants since 2021. Indigenous hoop dancer James Jones says the federal government's shutdown order shows a disregard for the country's digital creators. It's really unfortunate that they are taking away a team that has been so supportive of the BIPOC community and the Indigenous community, says the Edmonton-based creator, who boasts over four million followers. LISTEN | Indigenous creators get a boost from TikTok accelerator program (new window) I don't think that anyone has ever asked us what we wanted or even reached out and said, `Hey, how is this going to affect you? ' Jones says early in his career, TikTok Canada offered advice on maximizing his reach and facilitating key connections with brands and publications. He says its Accelerator program has helped many Indigenous creators and small businesses. Jones feels the government is sending a message that we're not being prioritized. They don't care what happens to us, they don't care about our businesses, our brands, he says. They don't care about how it affects us personally to not have access to a team that supports us directly. Vanessa Brousseau, an advocate for missing and murdered Indigenous people, says the government's decision feels really painful, but familiar. It feels like a pattern and a way of oppressing minorities, oppressing Indigenous people, says the alum of the TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators. TikTok is the only platform that amplifies our voices and makes sure we're being heard. Brousseau worries that if the decision isn't reversed, it will be very detrimental to Indigenous TikTok creators. Sure, TikTok will still be there, but we won't be amplified anymore. We won't have those connections. We won't have those opportunities. Corrections A previous version of this story on the CBC News website referred to TikTok CEO Steven Chew. The TikTok CEO's name is Shou Chew. Aug 20, 2025 11:05 AM EDT
Global News
2 hours ago
- Global News
‘America we are BACK!' White House launches official TikTok account
The White House launched an official TikTok account on Tuesday, just weeks before another deadline approaches for TikTok's Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the popular social media platform or face a ban in the U.S. A 2024 law required TikTok to stop operating by January 19 of this year unless ByteDance had completed divesting the app's U.S. assets or demonstrated significant progress toward a sale. U.S. President Donald Trump opted not to enforce the law after he began his second term as president on January 20. He first extended the deadline to early April, then to June 19 and then again to September 17. The new account, using the handle @WhiteHouse, gained more than 100,000 followers as of Wednesday morning. The bio reads, 'Welcome to the Golden Age of America.' Story continues below advertisement The first video posted to the account shows footage of Trump declaring, 'Every day, I wake up determined to deliver a better life for the people all across this nation. I am your voice.' The post's caption reads, 'America we are BACK! What's up TikTok?' The second video shows images of the White House and has the caption, 'We're so back.' The third video shared on the official TikTok account is a montage of Trump, featuring clips of him dancing, sitting in a Tesla on the lawn of the White House and speaking to crowds at rallies and other notable appearances. 'Remember when the bunny took Joe Biden down? It's not taking Trump down,' Trump says in a clip of him at the White House Easter Egg Roll, recalling a 2022 incident involving former U.S. president Joe Biden. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'I was the hunted, and now I'm the hunter,' the video caption reads. The White House announced on X that it had joined TikTok, sharing the link to the new account and three eye emojis. Story continues below advertisement The TikTok account Trump used for his presidential campaign last year, @realdonaldtrump, has more than 15 million followers. The president also relies heavily on his Truth Social account to deliver his message and posts occasionally on his X account. 'The Trump administration is committed to communicating the historic successes President Trump has delivered to the American people with as many audiences and platforms as possible,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Reuters on Tuesday. 'President Trump's message dominated TikTok during his presidential campaign, and we're excited to build upon those successes and communicate in a way no other administration has before,' she said. Story continues below advertisement The creation of the White House TikTok account comes nearly four years after Trump issued an executive order to ban the app. 'The spread in the United States of mobile applications developed and owned by companies in [China] continues to threaten the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States,' an executive order signed by Trump in 2020 read. 'The United States must take aggressive action against the owners of TikTok to protect our national security.' 0:51 Trump extends TikTok ban deadline for another 90 days, WH confirms In June, Trump signed an executive order to keep TikTok running in the U.S. for another 90 days to give his administration more time to broker a deal to bring the social media platform under American ownership. 'We are grateful for President Trump's leadership and support in ensuring that TikTok continues to be available for more than 170 million American users and 7.5 million U.S. businesses that rely on the platform as we continue to work with Vice President Vance's Office,' TikTok said in a statement. Story continues below advertisement It is the third time Trump has extended the deadline. The first one was through an executive order on Jan. 20, his first day in office, after the platform went dark briefly when a national ban — approved by Congress and upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court — took effect. The second was in April, when White House officials believed they were nearing a deal to spin off TikTok into a new company with U.S. ownership that fell apart after China backed out following Trump's tariff announcement. Extensions to the deadline have drawn criticism from some lawmakers, who argue the Trump administration is flouting the law and ignoring national security concerns related to Chinese control over TikTok. Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said the Trump administration is once again 'flouting the law and ignoring its own national security findings about the risks' posed by a China-controlled TikTok. 'An executive order can't sidestep the law, but that's exactly what the president is trying to do,' Warner added. — With files from The Associated Press and Reuters
