Latest news with #Commotion
CBC
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
Justin Bieber is in pursuit of honesty
Justin Bieber has been the subject of gossip since he was 15. But after a series of vulnerable social media posts, altercations with the paparazzi and his clean break from longtime manager Scooter Braun, fans and media alike have been speculating even more on the Canadian pop star's life and mental health. Then this past weekend, Bieber dropped a new album, Swag. The album itself was a surprise — it received almost no advanced publicity — and the music was also surprisingly experimental rather than pop. Plus, the songs on Swag openly react to the public scrutiny the star has faced lately, painting a fuller picture of Bieber's private life. Today on Commotion, host Elamin Abdelmahmoud speaks with music journalists Emilie Hanskamp, Natalie Harmsen and Reanna Cruz to discuss Swag and what Bieber is trying to tell us about himself on it. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: Elamin: Usually, when Justin Bieber's dropping an album, it's an event, you see the videos coming out, there's a whole pre-release thing. The fact that this surprise album came out — it's not like a Beyoncé surprise rollout, where the vinyl was ready, the merch was ready, everything was ready and then it arrived and it's here. He dropped this and then he's posting pictures from vacation and there were maybe a couple of billboards. Talk to me about the rollout of this album, Natalie. How are you feeling about it? Natalie: I was pleasantly surprised by it because it's been four years since Justice. It's been a minute, he's been gone. People have been speculating when he's going to make a comeback. Every year on New Year's Eve, I'm like, "This is going to be the year, guys, for the new Justin Bieber album." I'm not even a big Justin Bieber fan, but it's just been something I feel that's kind of in the cultural zeitgeist, like when is he going to return? So I think the fact that he is someone who has come from this pop machine and has made this really left turn of: "You know what? You're not going to get a lead single from me. I'm not going to be teasing things on TikTok. I'm not going to go the route that I did with Yummy, where I was promoting the hell out of that song and telling my fans to go stream it and begging to get it to number one." So to me, this really signifies that he is putting out an album with songs that he really wants to make. "This is the kind of music that I want to try on and see if it works for me, I don't really care if you like it or not" is the messaging that I'm getting with this rollout, so I think it's just mirroring that narrative that we're getting. Elamin: When I see this rollout, what's clear for me, Emilie, is that it is not a Scooter Braun rollout. So Bieber's been managed the entirety of his career by Scooter Braun, and then last week, he agreed to pay Scooter $31 million to settle [tour disputes], and they have not worked together for some time. And then you see this album rollout and the fact that there's no Scooter on this. How do you see that showing up in this moment that Bieber's in? Emilie: We are hearing some sources coming out who are saying things like, "This is the first album where Scooter Braun is not essentially breathing down Justin's neck." And I think the result of that is an album that you listen through that isn't desperately trying to land on a hit. And I don't say that as a criticism, as someone who maybe hasn't been the biggest fan or connector of Justin Bieber's music in the past. This is the first album where I'm like, "OK, I feel like it's getting closer and on the right path." And I feel it's because he isn't desperately trying to land on that Scooter Braun hit. And I think it's also why you look at the album cover and it's not his face on it, where all of his other [albums] — Journals aside — it's on his face. It's almost like he is trying to position himself out of the frame in a literal sense. Reanna talked about even at production level, it being more in the background versus the foreground, in terms of the album covering his image and how he wants to centre that or not centre that. So I think that we're getting closer and closer to an honest Bieber, or the capital T truth of who Bieber is as an artist. I just don't know that we've landed at the destination yet, but I think he's on the right track. Elamin: The few images that you do see, Reanna, you see Bieber a little bit to the side of the frame, way out of focus. And behind him, you see Haley Bieber holding their kid because he just became a dad last year. And you go like, "That's a pretty Mr. Morale [a Kendrick Lamar album] kind of cover." But there is something to be said about this record attempting to change the narrative of who Justin Bieber is, or maybe reintroduce who he is. How do you see this record maybe successfully doing that? Reanna: It's doing that pretty well, I would say. I feel like the last hits for Justin Bieber to reach public consciousness were Yummy and Holy, and both of those are kind of rote pop hits, they feel disposable. Even Holy is reaching for something grand, but it doesn't really land and doesn't stick the landing. This feels like a push for real artistry. And I agree that it's a step in the right direction for establishing who Justin Bieber is, what he wants to sound like and what he wants to do. And I think this album serves as a piece of content that switches the perspective on everything that's been going on in his life recently. Because on social media, he's been what we call "crashing out," just posting whatever. And you listen to the album, and he's like, "I actually do love my wife, guys. Like, I love my kid. We're going to get through this. I haven't been doing so well, but you know what? I'm OK." And I think music can really serve as a supplemental element to what's going on in somebody's life, obviously. And you listen to Swag and you're like, "Oh, OK, I'm getting the full picture of Justin Bieber, not just what I see on social media."
CBC
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- CBC
How a little monster became the biggest status symbol
Social Sharing Tiny plush toys with huge grins, cute fangs and big eyes have become the hottest accessory for celebrities, adults and children. These Labubu dolls have become so popular that it's nearly impossible to find one for purchase; and if you can locate a Labubu, it will likely cost a pretty penny. Today on Commotion, host Elamin Abdelmahmoud asks internet culture journalist Alyssa Mercante to explain how these little stuffed animals became the biggest status symbol.
CBC
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Is Lena Dunham's Too Much doing enough to make up for the faults of Girls?
Social Sharing After a hiatus from the small screen, Lena Dunham is back both in front of and behind the camera on her new series, Too Much. The TV show draws on Dunham's real life, much like her previous cult favourite HBO show Girls. This time, however, Too Much is set in London and follows the misadventures of a New York workaholic in her mid-30s named Jessica trying to recover from an unexpected breakup. Today on Commotion, culture critics Kathryn VanArendonk and Hanna Flint join host Elamin Abdelmahmoud to talk about the transatlantic comedy and whether it fixes some of what was wrong with Girls. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: Elamin: Hanna, could you set up a little bit of the plot that we're dealing with here when it comes to Too Much? Where do we meet Megan Stalter's character? Also, we should say Lena Dunham herself plays Jess' sister in the show. It's kind of nice to have Lena Dunham talking to the Lena Dunham allegory kind of character. But do you want to just set up the general plot of the season? Hanna: Yeah, so Jessica has gone through a breakup with someone she was with for eight years. She's working at a video production/advertising agency. She wants to be a director, but she's never stepped up to that role. And her brother-in-law, who happens to be her boss — nepo baby! — says, "Why don't you go to London for three months and do a commercial?" So she's like, "Right, I'm getting out of Dodge." And then her first night out she meets Felix, this very handsome, very jaded musician. And they embark on a messy romance as she's trying to find her feet in London, but she's also processing that breakup. I think in many ways, Lena's very good at understanding the romantic entanglements and the stress of modern dating — how, often, you might jump into a new relationship to try to use that as an antidepressant, to get over the last one…. But, I'm torn on this. She did an interview at Tribeca Film Festival, and Lena Dunham said: "I have wanted to make a romantic comedy about what happens when a loud, messy, complicated Jewess descends on a city of deeply repressed people — what will occur." And I take umbridge with the "city of deeply repressed people." This is the key flaw in this show…. Her idea or vision of London is so in the past, so archaic. It's the London that's basically someone who's been raised on Merchant Ivory films and rom-coms from Working Title, who also produced this show. And they're showing a very small, niche subsection of London that you only ever see in these kinds of shows…. That's not reality. This is the upper-middle class, very white, privileged areas…. This is not a real portrait of London at all. It's just a romanticized image of movie London [from someone] who hasn't moved on from that, who's taken that verbatim, you know? Elamin: What I like about that, Hanna, is that this is almost word-for-word what people said about Girls. Which is to say that Lena seems to traffic in a certain circle, and she doesn't really seem that interested, Kathryn, in being like, "I want to represent the world outside that circle."... This idea of "repressed London," this upper-class version of London — same thing happened with Brooklyn. When people watched Girls, they were like, "That's not the New York that I think about." And she's like, "That's the New York that I inhabit." I'm interested in that because Lena gets this pressure as sort of being a referendum on millennials and their ability to see the world. But she actually really inhabits a very specific slice of it. How much pressure does she deal with, in terms of trying to represent a wider version of the world that she exists in? Kathryn: She deals with a lot, but she also invites a lot…. One of the most fascinating things about her as a creator is trying to figure out which of these things she is doing purposefully, and when she is actually saying, like, "This is a thesis statement that I am offering to you," and which one of them are like, "I don't know, we're just out here. It's a comedy," you know?... One of the differences with Girls was that she had four central female characters. And there was a podcast recently where she said that she's not really a Hannah, she's more of a Shosh. I think, probably, there could be a bunch of think pieces on that one line alone. But by the nature of having these four central characters, it was more deliberately like, "It's not just me, it's not just this specific world that I'm living in. Here's a broader spectrum." It's Sex and the City, it's Friends, it's still in this very niche, privileged and bubble-like space, but it's a couple different versions of it. Too Much is like, "Here's our main character. She's playing, basically, me." And so it is a much narrower, I think, invitation for that kind of, "what does a generation mean" speculation.
CBC
09-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
Kesha's new album is 'really chaotic' — but that's not a bad thing
Kesha is back with her sixth album — and her first album as an independent artist. The album is called Period (stylized as "."). The new record comes after the resolution of a decade-long legal battle against her former producer and label head, Dr. Luke, whom she accused of sexual and emotional abuse. Today on Commotion, music critic Maura Johnston joins guest host Rad Simonpillai to discuss how the brash and messy sound reflects Kesha's newfound freedom as an artist. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube (this segment begins at 14:40): You can listen to the full discussion from today's show on CBC Listen or on our podcast, Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud, available wherever you get your podcasts. Interview with Maura Johnston produced by Stuart Berman.
CBC
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
After years of 'eat the rich' television, are we finally full?
Social Sharing Over the last few years, TV audiences have seen a boom of class commentaries on screen. From award season darlings like Succession, The White Lotus and Squid Game to newer entries like Your Friends & Neighbours and Nine Perfect Strangers, the "eat the rich" genre of TV has never been more popular. But in today's world, where economic disparities and concerns about a modern-day oligarchy seem to grow by the day, the appetite for these shows appears to be waning. Have we officially moved past the desire for a show that tells us rich people are flawed, amoral and out of touch with the common man? And if so, then what sort of series might gain popularity in the near future? Today on Commotion, TV critic Saloni Gajjar and culture critic Nicole Froio join guest host Rad Simonpillai to talk about why this year's spate of "eat the rich" television is falling short of our expectations. We've included some highlights below, edited for length and clarity. For the full discussion, listen and follow Commotion with Elamin Abdelmahmoud on your favourite podcast player. WATCH | Today's episode on YouTube: Rad: Saloni, you wrote that the terrible rich people have worn out their welcome. Why are you feeling that way? Saloni: To me, Succession was at a peak when it aired.… It capitalized on this phenomenon, but also it thoughtfully portrayed the twisted and toxic family. But I think in the past few years — even just this year alone, especially after January — we're seeing so much in real life about how the wealthy, usually white, usually male, tend to get away with a lot of things. I mean, just turn on the news. And so I think to make TV like this work, it's going to take a lot more than just the obvious satire and surface-level humor. We've been talking about empathy, you know, we really do lack that in real life sometimes when we're watching the news. And so when we turn on the TV, you want to see people you care about, instead of a commentary that's really just too on-the-nose and too harrowing, and too flashy, and just lacking substance. Rad: Well, it's interesting because, Nicole, we have all this satire about capitalism favouring the wealthy and then disenfranchising everyone else. And then in the real world, nothing has really changed. These shows haven't moved the needle culturally in any way. So what do you think should come after satire? Nicole: I think that we are living in a reality where it's not even like every month or every year — like every day, things get more expensive. And so watching the rich enjoy caviar, trips to Italy or to wherever, even if they get something coming for them, it's not satisfying because we're still living in this reality. And I think that it really shows … the limitations of an industry that is controlled by profit and capitalism, right? Like we're not doing these films, TV and art to change the world; we're doing it to profit. And so I think that it requires a really huge shift in what we think about in terms of culture, and why we do it. So after satire, I think we have to maybe rethink why we're doing these shows — and if it's to make people more rich, then we're basically just replaying a cycle forever.
