Latest news with #popCulture
Daily Mail
4 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Britney Spears dances in school uniform inspired by her 1998 hit Baby One More Time
Britney Spears 's Baby One More Time video has gone down in music history after she took to the school hallways in a tiny uniform. The music video was a huge pop culture moment, propelling the singer, then 16, to superstardom and playing a key role in the rise of the teen pop genre. And Britney gave her fans a taste of nostalgia on Tuesday, as she slipped into a school uniform-inspired look 26 years after the video was first released. While the pop star didn't perform the routine to her memorable hit, the video was reminiscent of the performance that made her a star. Britney, now 43, showed off her figure in a red bikini and white frilly cropped blouse, which she styled with a plaid miniskirt. Britney's debut hit and its iconic video has become synonymous with the record-breaking artist. The 1998 single topped the charts for 32 weeks in 22 countries.
Daily Mail
10 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Britney Spears is back in her school uniform! Singer slips into a plaid mini skirt and white blouse 26 YEARS after starring in her iconic Baby One More Time video
Britney Spears ' Baby One More Time video has gone down in music history as one of the most iconic videos of all time as she took to the school hallways in a tiny uniform. The music video was a huge pop culture moment, propelling the singer, then 16, to superstardom and playing a key role in the rise of the teen pop genre. And Britney gave her fans a taste of nostalgia on Tuesday, as she slipped into a school uniform-inspired look 26 years after the video was first released. While the pop star didn't perform the routine to her memorable hit, the video was reminiscent of the performance that made her a star. Britney, now 43, showed off her figure in a red bikini and white frilly cropped blouse, which she styled with a plaid mini skirt. Britney's debut hit and its iconic video has become synonymous with the record-breaking artist, but the track was nearly recorded by two other legendary groups. The 1998 single shot the star to fame, topped the charts for 32 weeks in 22 countries and became one of the best-selling songs in history with more than 10 million copies sold. But the track only fell into Britney's lap when TLC and The Backstreet Boys failed to bite on the song. The track - originally called Hit Me Baby One More Time - was initially intended for Martin's longtime collaborators BSB, who he had already written Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) for. However, they declined the song before TLC were offered the chance to record the track. T-Boz said back in 2013 of the decision to turn down the song: 'I was like, I like the song but do I think it's a hit? Do I think it's TLC? I'm not saying "hit me baby." No disrespect to Britney. It's good for her. But was I going to say "hit me baby one more time'? Hell no!" 'That's not even my subject of conversation, so you know, it worked for her, I'm happy for her, I like Britney. 'Every song isn't good for each artist, and when you're a real artist you know what you believe in and what you really want to sing. So, I'm clear that it was a hit, but I'm also clear that it wasn't for TLC.' Simon Cowell has also revealed he wanted his British band 5ive to record the song calling Martin and attempting to bribe the hitmaker with a Mercedes-Benz. He previously told the Howie Mandel Does Stuff podcast: 'The guy plays it down the phone to me, this song Hit Me Baby One More Time' I'm like, "My God, I've got to have this song."' 'So I phoned up Max, and I said, "Max. Please, please give me this song." And he went, "No, I've promised it to someone else." And I said, "Well, I'll send you a Mercedes – literally a Mercedes 500 SL if I can have this song."' Martin declined to offer the song to Simon, and told him a brand new artist was due to record the song, with Simon recounting: 'I went, "Who?" And he went, "Britney Spears." I went, "Max, let me give you some advice. No one is going to have a hit with a name called Britney Spears."' Simon was left eating his words shortly afterwards when Britney skyrocketed to fame and became one of the best-selling artists of all time - even landing a judging spot on his show, The X Factor USA years later. The concept for the iconic music video was Britney's idea. She shopped her entire midriff-baring school-girl outfit from K-Mart. By locking eyes with the camera while she danced through the hallways of a high school, while striking every move with expert precision, Spears won the hearts of millennial pre-teen girls everywhere. Her debut album, also named ...Baby One More Time, was released in January 1999 and sold 25 million copies, while spawning the hit singles Sometimes, You Drive Me Crazy and Born To Make You Happy. It is the best-selling debut album by any artist.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
What happened to the ultimate noughties party boy Fran Cosgrave: Reality star was left bankrupt and on verge of being homeless after party days with Calum Best - now he's unrecognisable after huge career shift
From winning the first ever series of Love Island to his bromance with Callum Best, not to mention his links to Westlife And Atomic Kitten, Fran Cosgrave was like a walking emblem of noughties pop culture, all the way up to his frosted tips. While influencer culture means that so many of today's celebs don't have an immediately recognisable talent, the nightclub owner from Dublin was the original 'famous for being famous' reality star with nobody quite sure why he was suddenly all over their screens. His first claim to fame was being a bodyguard for boyband Westlife and his engagement to Natasha Hamilton forged the second major alliance between the Irish group and Atomic Kitten - with Brian McFadden, of course, married to Kerry Katona. When his relationship with Natasha ended, he got together with Jodie Marsh and their memorable PDAs were as numerous as Fran's reality stints, but things ended acrimoniously when she accused him of cheating with her friend and blasted his party lifestyle with close pal Calum Best. By his own admission, things were spiralling out of control for Fran, who told 'I woke up one morning, bankrupt, five stone over weight, on antidepressants, jobless, on the dole and on the verge of becoming homeless – in short, the most miserable I had ever been in my life.' But 20 years on from when he first entered the limelight and Fran Cosgrave looks a world away from his reality TV days, after ditching fame to become a DJ and launch his own coffee company. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop The former nightclub owner, 47, has put his party days behind him and when he's on the road, he said there's 'no drinking, no partying. 'I'm eating well, training and exercising at every port, meditating and making sure that I get as much sleep as possible.' He now focuses on running his business, RUUD Coffee, which he founded this year after launching his own bespoke coffee blends and brand, Concrete Coffee, in 2024. Fran has also turned his back on TV to pursue his passion for house music, going by the name Futuristic Polar Bears, and becoming an international DJ. He has produced hit tracks like Running Wild and Damaged, with his Instagram bio stating he has 90 Million streams on Spotify. The Irish star often shares his music and shows to his followers, and has gone on tours to perform around the world, including Thailand, Ibiza, Germany, United States, Canada, Russia and Brazil. While Fran is almost unrecognisable from how fans will remember him from the early noughties, having ditched his mohawk and packed on even more muscles, as well as adorning his impressive biceps with a wide assortment of tattoos. He appears to be a big fan of keeping fit and training in the gym, sharing topless selfies on X of his chiselled physique. His first claim to fame was being a bodyguard for boyband Westlife, ahead of his TV debut on I'm A Celebrity in 2004, where he ended up in third place behind Joe Pasquale and Paul Burrell. The following year, he appeared on the inaugural series of Celebrity Love Island, going on be crowned the first winner alongside Jayne Middlemiss. The pair's romance would prove to be short lived and they soon went their separate ways, but Fran remained close with fellow Islanders Callum Best and Paul Danan. The trio reunited in 2006 for a short-lived car-crash reality show called Calum, Fran and Dangerous Danan, which saw them ravel from Texas to Los Angeles on Route 66. He also released his autobiography, Reality Check, the same year, following his life from growing up on a Southern Ireland housing estate to climbing to fame. Fran then made a failed attempt at pop stardom after signing with Skint Records and releasing the single Jetsetter in August that year. While he also took part in Channel 4's reality show, Fool Around With, where he was tasked with discovering who out of four girls was single. And his love life also ended up in the headlines, with him enjoying relationships with Atomic Kitten star Natasha Hamilton and glamour model Jodie Marsh. Fran and Natasha dated at the height of her fame in 2001 and welcomed son Josh, 22, in August 2002, before splitting the following year, then briefly reuniting in 2005, only to break-up again. Explaining their split at the time, the singer said: 'We were young and he worked until 6am. It was bound to fall apart.' Fran also had a relationship with Jodie from 2003 to 2004, with the pair often seen making raucous and attention-grabbing public appearances together. The former page 3 girl slammed him after their split, claiming that she dumped him because he was drinking heavily, reliant on Viagra in bed and cheated on her with her friend. In an interview with The Sunday People in 2004, Jodie also claimed to have discovered she was pregnant with his child a week after their split, but that when she called to tell him the news he 'screamed' at her and insisted she was lying. She said: 'I never wanted to get back with Fran - as far as I was concerned our relationship was over. I thought that, as the father, Fran had the right to know and should have a say in the matter. But he screamed down the phone at me, calling me a f***ing liar, saying I was attention seeking and making it all up. 'I felt so hurt that a man I had once loved could speak to me like that. I wouldn't have wanted to have a baby with a bloke like him. He was a boozer and a womaniser and if he treated me like that, what kind of father would he be?' Jodie went on: 'In the beginning he was loving and protective. Then he became aggressive and controlling but I turned a blind eye to it because I loved him. 'I paid for everything - the roof over his head, his clothes, his food, his drink, weekends away. I spent pounds 60,000 on Fran - but the most he ever bought me was a bunch of flowers from a garage for my birthday. He had no shame or pride.' She claimed Fran 'left me with no confidence' and that he would go out every night, sometimes coming home so drunk he was 'shaking and vomiting'. After he confessed to sleeping with one of her close pals, she said she ended it, saying: 'For me that was the ultimate betrayal and I kicked him out of my house. Something in my head just clicked and I realised what a complete and utter doormat I'd been for this man.' Jodie added to The Telegraph in 2005: 'I felt like I couldn't live without him. But it was only him sleeping with my mate that turned a light on in my head and I said, "Wake up you stupid girl!" After turning his back on fame, Fran went on to become the proud father of daughter, Patience Elisabeth, 15, and son Elijah, 14, with partner Elle Crawforth. He has said that he's happiest when at home with his family, admitting that he no longer mixes in the party circles he was frequently surrounded by in his younger years. Fran has admitted that his time in the spotlight was full with as many lows as it was highs, having battled depression and bankruptcy when his nightclub business went bust. In 2019, he reflected on his rapid rise to fame after Love Island, recalling: 'I was on Oxford Street and people were screaming in the streets, running out of shops to get an autograph - it sounds unbelievable now but it was absolutely insane. 'I did a DJ show up North and they had to take me off the decks as there was a huge crush at the front. I'd spend 20 minutes signing autographs in Tesco.' However, he admitted there was also a lot of harsh comments from people 'being ridiculously horrible', making him become depressed and turn to food for comfort, resulting in him putting on four and a half stone and losing much of his hair. In an interview with The Daily Mail, Fran admitted: 'I went through a time where I didn't look like me. Everyone was slagging me off, and I really felt I just had to take it.' While he explained that the duty of care protocols set up by ITV to protect Love Island contestants' mental health didn't exist when he did the show in 2005. He said: 'God, there wasn't anything like that, and I think some people on the show had really challenging days - which is only to be expected if you're somewhere for 11 or 12 weeks. 'You'd go have a chat with someone in the hut or whatever, but there was no awareness [of what challenges might arise] afterwards. That's the thing with fame. I always tell people not to get to wrapped up in it.' He struggled with continuing his career as he got older and said he became fed up of the industry by 2008, saying: 'For me and Calum, the whole thing was party, party, party. I just felt I couldn't go on after a point. 'There were a lot of younger people moving into the scene, and I just felt it wasn't the place for me. I needed to figure out how to make my next move and ended up facing massive personal challenges. 'It was extremely hard going from one stage to the other and I tried to step away and go back to normal life. A lot of the stuff I'd done in the club industry, I just needed to move away from it.' Fran previously told Jennifer Zamparelli on RTE 2FM, that he began to reject TV offers and pull away from the celebrity scene. He said: 'You can't take it [fame] too seriously because it's gone as quick as it comes. As it came towards 2009, things just started to spin out of control a bit, as it does. 'I was kind of finished with the whole celebrity thing. I started saying, "no" to loads of programmes and I just wasn't interested in it. 'My manager, rightly so, was like, "Mate why won't you do any of these things?" I was just like, "I'm not there anymore".' He sold his last nightclub to Peter Stringfellow in 2009 and turned to studying and finding his passion for personal coaching, claiming that 'it saved my life'. Though he previously admitted he would return to reality TV 'in a heartbeat', he was the 'happiest I've ever been'. Fran told the Mail: 'If something came up, I'd do it in a heartbeat, but genuinely, it's okay if it doesn't. I'm now the happiest I've ever been in my whole life - I've managed to turn my passions and dreams into my everyday life. But I know I'm one of the lucky stories.' While he issued a wise word of warning to today's reality stars and the pursuit of fame, saying it was 'artificially inflated' and that 'very few people can make it last'. 'When things go wrong, people look around and wonder why it's happening and who is doing this, but the biggest lesson I learned at that time was to look at myself and realise that I was the one making bad decisions. 'That was the real changing point for me. You learn very quickly not to get caught up in it. It's a disillusion bubble, and pretty soon you adjust to what negative stuff people are saying. 'The problem with today's reality stars is that you are taking kids out of normal jobs like working in Tesco, and then thrust them into a celebrity bubble. It's artificially inflated. 'The experience comes and goes but the danger lies in thinking, "I've made it now". Very few people can make it last. The expectation of kids when they see this stuff on TV radically changes their expectations of being famous.'
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Brooke Shields turns 60: a look back at her iconic career
Brooke Shields, who turns 60 on Saturday, has captivated audiences for decades with her work as a model, actress and author. From her breakout in "Pretty Baby" and "The Blue Lagoon" to TV roles on "Suddenly Susan" and "Lipstick Jungle" and Broadway stints in "Chicago" and "Cabaret," Shields remains a pop culture icon.
Forbes
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Every Game Of Star Wars Unlimited Is A Climactic Cinematic Battle
The month of May is a big one for fans of Star Wars. At the beginning is May the Fourth, which went from a silly pun holiday to an important pop culture day for new releases and announcements of upcoming movies and shows. The original film was released on May 25th, 1977 and has changed the world ever since. I spent a lot of my fan time this month playing Star Wars Unlimited from Fantasy Flight Games. It's a trading card game in the modern style featuring characters, locations, ships, droids and more from all across the Star Wars universe. Asmodee North America sent along some Star Wars Unlimited materials for this review. Star Wars Unlimited is a fast paced card game where players build decks around specific people and places from the various films, TV shows and books about Star Wars. Players face off with a simple goal to reduce their opponent's hit points to zero first. The game takes place on two arenas of land and space and players must balance their attacks and defenses on both sides of the board. Cards are also used as resources in the game. Generally this means the card is out of play, though there are some cards that can be brought back at the right time. This setup keeps the bad start of many games like this to a minimum. Each release comes with a pair of decks built around specific Star Wars personalities. Additional leader and base cards are available in booster packs for fans who want to construct their own deck. The booster packs also have cards geared for collectors such as foils, full bleed art and alternate art options. The leaders offer specific bonuses but they are also part of the game clock. At a certain point, each leader can come out onto the field and start doing massive damage to their opponents. Deploying a leader at just the right time can swing the momentum of a game or drive a victory home. The first set of Star Wars Unlimited cards focuses on the classic era in and around Star Wars: A New Hope. There are a lot of iconic characters in the set. The starter features a classic clash between the father and son duo of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader as the pre-built decks. One of the things that's helped Star Wars stand out as a franchise is that it's not afraid to explore the seedier side of the galaxy. That's the focus of this expansion which allows players to bring in criminals, syndicates and other morally ambiguous characters from the franchise. The pre-built decks here feature The Mandalorian (and Grogu, of course) facing off against Moff Gideon. The Clone Wars get their time in the sun with this expansion. There are a lot of great ground side cards in this expansion plus plenty of Jedi and Sith at the height of their power. Ahsoka Tano and General Grievous lead the pre-built decks in this expansion. This period and the prequels remain controversial to many Star Wars fans. The good news here is that this expansion is one of the easiest and most inexpensive to find online because of those feelings. Fans that want to get into this game without a big investment should look for these boxes. This expansion focuses on pilots and starships. Cool rides from several different eras get their own cards here. Han Solo and Boba Fett face off in the spotlight decks which are sold individually rather than a combined starter. Jump to Lightspeed marks the first series that sells Carbonite Boosters. These premium booster packs feature more of the collector style cards per pack. Fans who want to find the perfect centerpiece for their deck or a high value card they can flip to other players should check these out. The upcoming expansion expected in July draws from the massive history of the Jedi. Characters come from the High Republic era all the way down to the sequel trilogy. Qui-Gon Jinn and Darth Maul are at the head of this release's spotlight decks. The dual battlefields capture the feeling of the final act of the best Star Wars movies where the action cut back and forth between a massive space battle and individual heroes slugging it out on the ground. Developing the skill of knowing when to strike an opponent's cards versus when to hit the base is the key to winning the game. Every expansion adds a new keyword mechanic but the cards are very good at explaining what it does on the card rather than forcing players to pause while they look up a rule. Gamegenic continues to do excellent work with its premium game accessories. The Xtra Wide Game Mat helped me keep my cards straight on the table while featuring my favorite ship in the Star Wars fleet. The Premium Tokens made it easier to read the game state from across the table. Everybody has a favorite Star Wars character. With every expansion, more and more leader cards come out, which makes it very easy to build decks around nearly any named character. While it's not an effective deck for me yet, I really enjoyed building one around the dual leader of Chancellor Palpatine/Darth Sidious which really mirrors the future Emperor's two-faced ways during the Clone Wars. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder One of my favorite things to do with a box of boosters is sit with family and friends and open them together. It lets everyone show off their Star Wars knowledge by identifying where a specific card is from. It also leans into the trading aspect of the trading card game when foils and other special cards come out of a pack. The first ever Galactic Champion of Star Wars Unlimited will be determined in Las Vegas on July 25-27th, 2025. Check your local game store for more information as well as Organized Play opportunities.
