Latest news with #HurricaneHuda
NBC News
a day ago
- Entertainment
- NBC News
Hot 'bombshells' crowd bars nationwide for 'Love Island USA' finale
'We have women screaming at the TV screen like it's a Knicks playoff game,' said Peter Massaro, the owner of Cobblestones, adding that hosting watch parties around the show 'took off like I never could have imagined.' Across the country, similar scenes played out at dozens of other venues, where the sentiment among fans was clear: 'Love Island USA' isn't just a show, it's an event. The reality series, which streams on Peacock, follows a group of singles over the course of six weeks as they race to couple up and form romantic connections, or risk getting dumped from the island. (Peacock and NBC News are both units of NBCUniversal, which is owned by Comcast.) In San Marcos, Texas, attendees at the nightclub The Marc gathered for a party that featured a meet and greet with contestant Jeremiah Brown; at The Palm and The Pine in Hollywood, California, fans lined up for a photo booth and entered a raffle in collaboration with NYX Cosmetics; Bigs Fullerton in California served drinks like the 'Hurricane Huda' and 'Mamacita' — catchphrases that went viral among fans; and in Las Vegas, fans watched in the typical Sin City way — at a pool party at Stadium Swim. Watch parties are far from a new concept. Popular shows, like HBO's 'Game of Thrones' as well as other reality franchises like 'Vanderpump Rules,' have drawn in massive crowds for similar events. But pop culture experts like Steve Granelli, an associate teaching professor of communications at Northeastern University, say the surplus of gatherings around 'Love Island USA' has underscored a need for 'pure escapism.' 'You watch it every day. It gives you something to retreat into,' Granelli said. 'It's the thing that people are gathering to talk about, gathering to watch.'
Miami Herald
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Miami Herald
‘This is our Super Bowl': How ‘Love Island USA' became a South Florida phenomenon
After the seventh season of 'Love Island USA' came to its gripping conclusion on Sunday, there was no denying the real winner of the show, which has become a cultural phenomenon, is South Florida. Not only has the show filled its roster with contestants that hail from South Florida, but it has also filled sports bars and restaurants during the slow summer months when the professional teams are between seasons. Fans across South Florida — and the country— flocked to local bars and restaurants that hosted watch parties during the season. This season was the most watched of 'Love Island USA,' the American version of the popular UK series of the same name. In the show, hot, young singles ditch their day jobs to spend a summer in a villa in Fiji where they couple up, break up, make out and fuel six weeks' worth of memes, drama and social media discourse — all while wearing tiny bikinis and high heels. The show is filmed in real-time, which means fans can influence what happens by voting. At Casa Tiki in Little Havana, over 120 fans packed the bar and lounge space, sipping on 'Love Island'-themed cocktails like Hurricane Huda and Soul Ties with rose petals strewn on the bar counter for Sunday's season finale. Casa Tiki was one of the first bars in Miami to jump on the idea as young women posted on social media about wanting bars to host watch parties, said Michael Guerrero, the bar's multimedia manager. 'It's what the girls demanded!' Guerrero said. 'It did give us that feel of people watching something together, and in this case, mainly girls. Girls wanted to feel like guys do watching a sporting event.' The 'Love Island' watch parties, held twice a week, have been a hit. Reservations for seats at the bar's lounge space sold out for every watch party, Guerrero said. During intermissions, the hosts grabbed audience members on stage for flirty games, like 'hottest make-out session' and 'worst date story.' The bar even raffled Labubus, the trendy plush toy popular among Gen Z (and apparently, 'Love Island' fans). 'I love it. For guys, they have their sports. For girls, this is our Super Bowl,' said Carla Lumbi, 31, who wore a shirt with cast member Amaya Espinal's face on it to the watch party at Casa Tiki. When Espinal and accountant Bryan Arenales, a Latino couple, won the show, Lumbi and the rest of the bar jumped out of their seats to cheer. Nic Vansteenberghe, a 24-year-old Jacksonville native who graduated from Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, was the only Floridian to make it to the finale. Vansteenberghe and his partner Olandria Carthen, known as 'Nicolandria,' were the runners-up. Vansteenberghe, a registered nurse and model, lived in Miami and then traveled for three months before going on the show, said Vansteenberghe's manager Ron Gerard of NEXT Management Miami. Besides Vansteenberghe, season 7 of Love Island USA's South Floridian cast members included: Austin Shepard, a 26-year-old pool technician who lives in Fort LauderdaleChelley Bissainthe, a 27-year-old Haitian-American day trader born in Miami Yulissa Escobar, a 27-year-old mobile bar owner from MiamiElan Bibas, a 24-year-old technology consultant who lives in MiamiGracyn Blackmore, a 25-year-old who lives in West Palm Beach But the South Florida representation on the show was not without controversy. Escobar was unceremoniously removed from the villa on the second episode after a clip of her saying the N-word on a podcast resurfaced. Vansteenberghe unknowingly became one of the season's main characters, with fans (and even his own family members) hoping that he would finally couple up with Carthen, despite their previous ties to other contestants. Nicolandria also had the support of major brands, NFL teams, the University of Miami and Delray Beach native and tennis superstar Coco Gauff. 'nicolandria stans we upppp #LoveIslandUSA,' Gauff posted on X. But perhaps Vansteenberghe's biggest contribution to the show was a viral conversation he had with fellow islander Huda Mustafa when she revealed to him that she has a daughter back home. Just google 'I'm a mommy' and prepare to go down the rabbit hole. Back at Casa Tiki, 'Love Island' fan Julia Ceresani, 24, said she and friends Brooke Howard and Yami Figueroa were happy to see the South Florida representation on the show. 'I absolutely love it. I think Florida gets such a bad rep normally, although, I don't know how good the show is for that honestly,' Ceresani said, laughing. 'But I love that they're repping Florida in a non-crazy, Florida Man way.' Howard, 30, was pleasantly surprised to learn that Vansteenberghe was a fellow FAU alum, though she was hoping for Iris Kendall and Pepe Garcia to win. 'Go Owls!' she said.
Cosmopolitan
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Cosmopolitan
Party Crashers: The Unifying Beauty of the ‘Love Island USA' Watch Party
I've always rejected the notion that Love Island USA is 'mindless TV.' I'm too familiar with the highly analytical post-episode breakdowns on TikTok and the r/LoveIslandUSA subreddit to accept that. But at my first watch party for the show, my belief in its substance—and its power—solidified. The Ainsworth, an elevated sports bar in New York City, hosts a viewing event for the show almost nightly, because they're smart. Thanks to the show's groundbreaking success this year, bars have been hosting similar events across the country. But I finally decided it was past time to dive into the watch party action myself after seeing a truly euphoric viral video of a sports bar reacting to season 7's Nic and Olandria's first real kiss. That's how I found myself at the Ainsworth, sipping on a themed 'Hurricane Huda' cocktail, and surrounded by fans enraptured by one of season 7's final episodes. Maybe it was the very serious exchange I had with a stranger at the bar about different Islanders' attachment styles, or the diagnostic commentary I heard around the room during Huda and Chris's tense exchange about PDA. But if watching my favorite reality show on stadium-sized TVs taught me anything, it's that sports fanatics cherish the bar viewing experience for very good reason. Season 7 of Love Island USA has been its most divisive one yet. There have been problematic old social media posts from cast members resurfaced, controversial Islander oustings, and a constant rotation of online witch hunts calling every Islanders' morality into question at one point or another. Hence, the internet discussions dissecting every beat of the show's on/offscreen action have gotten a bit overwhelming. But when you're watching the show with fellow Love Island fans in person, the world of online discourse and stan wars feels so distant, no matter whether your takes align or not. And I found that to be the beauty of the watch party. It represents neutral territory. I witnessed true community that Tuesday, with two of my colleagues in tow. I usually prefer to watch Love Island USA in solitude. Like the dutiful fan I am, I tap in right at 9:00 pm five nights a week (I'm a proud Saturday Aftersun skipper). I tuck into bed with my laptop's glow as my only source of light. Then, for 60-90 minutes, I concentrate on outrageously beautiful singles searching for love. I love this routine. I can catch all of each episode's subtle details and pore over contentious debates on my feeds and in my group chats in silence. But as fun as that's been, it was way more delightful to wax poetic about my love for Nicolandria with a table of girls I'll likely never speak to again. Or, if you're my coworker Jess, to eavesdrop on a passionate bathroom discussion about Huda's self-destructive behaviors. ('I get it, I always have crash outs, but she's going to lose a good man for that,' said one sympathetic woman from the stall.) This season has been my favorite reality show's most popular one (it cleared one billion minutes viewed within its first week). And that's definitely a result of last season's momentum, and maybe even its controversies. But getting to witness that cultural impact in the flesh (and out of the depths of a subreddit) made it all the easier to love. I watched a crowd erupt into cheers while Amaya and Bryan started hooking up in the Hideaway, and I was reminded that this show, while not mindless, is technically meant to be fun. Looking back, there were so many moments this season I would've much rather watched on a stadium-sized TV with near-strangers instead of alone. The totally unexpected Jeremiah dumping. The first time Amaya mispronounced the word 'opportunity.' Definitely Nic and Olandria's kiss in Soul Ties. But because I missed out, I tried the next best thing and called my fellow party attendees into our own confessional booth for some season 7 reflecting. Most shocking moment? I was surprised Clarke and Taylor didn't stay! They had a relatively good relationship, even though she's not a favorite. I really don't think Chelley had any business calling Huda and Chris out for being a thing when she was clearly pursuing Ace! Hot take? Nic and Olandria should get married and live together forever. I want them to build a family! Hot take? Hannah and Charlie should've been together. Charlie shouldn't have left. Hot take? They should've stood for Jalen to stay instead of Huda. She should've gone home, and I don't believe in her redemption arc. Hot take? Why is Chelley with Ace? She could do better! He triggers me, he reminds me of every asshole in high school ever. Most shocking moment? When they had to read everything that they hate about each other in front of each other! That was pretty brutal, but as a Bravo viewer, I loved it. Also, the fact that I've been seeing TikTok edits comparing Nic and Olandria to Elphaba and Fiyero from Wicked. Like, oh shit, was Cierra Glinda? Hot take? I'm so concerned with what they're eating every day. I need a day in the life. Are they eating? Is there central AC? Why are they never in the pool? Hot take? Huda and Chris should win! They're starting to grow on me. I didn't like Huda at first, but I think she's just misunderstood. People call day and night asking for reservations and asking if we're showing the show. It's exploded. Last Thursday, we had a line out the door; it was like a sporting event. We had to blow these parties up with specialized cocktails. We have 57 screens here, so it creates the right experience for people to enjoy it. I started watching the show last season, I love it. Favorite Islanders? Amaya and Bryan all the way. You can't not love her. Favorite Islander? I love Chris. He's exactly who Huda needed. I've been loving the Huda redemption arc. Favorite Islander? My favorite guy is Pepe, I think he's a man. My favorite girl is Iris. She's an unproblematic queen. Favorite Islander? I've loved Nic since the beginning. I know he's made some messy choices, but he's been my number one Favorite Islander? Amaya! I like Nic individually, but I don't know how I feel about Nicolandria. I used to be a stan, but I feel like Nic's very lustful. He's looking better already, though. That's the Black Wife Effect. Most shocking moment? The Cierra exit gagged me the most. Not because I didn't think it needed to happen, but I didn't think it would happen at this point in the show. Also, the Jeremiah dumping was crazy. That was driven by pure hateration. Favorite Islander? I love Pepe. He's funny, he's charming, he's sexy…I could go on. Hot take? …I kind of like Taylor and Clarke. I get that Taylor moved funny with Olandria, but he and Clarke don't deserve all of the hate they're getting. Favorite Islanders? Nic and Olandria!
