Music:
Niall Horan, The Show
“The Show” is the third solo album released by Niall Horan since his departure from One Direction in 2016. The new album has 10 pop and rock styled songs. It was headlined by the early release of songs “Heaven” and “Melt Down” earlier during the spring. “The Show” sold 68,000 copies within its first week of release, it now has 148 million streams and earned a number 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart.
Taylor Swift, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)
Taylor Swift released her version of the album “Speak Now” on July 7. She originally released “Speak Now” Oct. 25, 2010 but then it was sold to Scooter Braun with Ithaca Holdings in 2020. Swift decided to re-record and release the six albums as Taylor’s Version; “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” being released almost 13 years after the original release. “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” has 22 tracks total, 17 from the original release and 5 from the vault. 507,000 copies of “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version)” have sold, the album has 269 million streams and it was number 1 on the billboards the week of release.
Movies:
“Barbie”, was released on July 21, 2023. Directed by Greta Gerwig, starring Margot Robbie as Barbie and Ryan Gosling as Ken, made $162 million opening weekend. Throughout the film we get to see what life is like in seemingly perfect Barbie Land but then Barbie and Ken are forced to go to the real world and they discover how imperfect life is. “Barbie” has now earned over $1 billion and has a possibility of 9 Oscar nominations.
“Openhimer” was released July 21, 2023. Directed by Christopher Nolan, starring Cillian Murphy as J. Robert Openheimer and Florence Pugh as Jean Tatlock. The film made $82.4 million opening weekend. “Oppenheimer” follows the story of J. Robert Openheimer as he invents the atomic bomb that would soon be used against Japan in World War II. “Openheimer” has now earned $718 million and has a possibility of 3 Oscar nominations.
“The Sound of Freedom” was released July 4, 2023. Directed by Alejandro Gomez Monteverde starring Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard and Eduardo Verastegui as Paul. The film made $155 million opening weekend. “The Sound of Freedom” shows how Tim Ballard rescues a young boy from child traffickers and after learning his sister is still captured, they launch an investigation to help find her. “The Sound of Freedom” has now earned $178.1 million and is not likely to receive any Oscar nominations.
Events:
Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, the North American leg, debuted on March 17, 2023 lasting all summer through August 9, 2023. During the three and a half hour show, you are walked through all ten of Swift’s “eras”, singing at least one song from each album. Ticket prices ranged from $49 to $449. Each show had an average attendance of 72,500 people. Fans would dress up in outfits inspired by a song or album and would make friendship bracelets to trade with other fans while at the show. The Eras Tour so far has made $2.2 billion and still has South American and European dates left before returning to North America in the fall of 2024.
Sports:
The FIFA Women’s World Cup was hosted by New Zealand and Australia July 20 – Aug. 20, 2023. The 32 competing teams were drawn into eight groups of four nations. The top two of each group moved on to the knockout rounds and from there they played until there were two final teams left. Team USA made it to round 16 before losing to Sweden on Aug. 6. Neither team scored during the game but Sweden won by default because they have a better record compared to team USA.
