<ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>We dissect the cinematic influences behind "<keyword id="25913" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="20" keywordseo="toxic">Toxic</keyword>," the 2003 <a href="https://www.insider.com/britney-spears-facts-2019-1#she-calls-reality-tv-the-worst-thing-shes-ever-done-in-her-career-12">Britney Spears</a> hit that remains both a critic and fan favorite over fifteen years after its release.</strong></li><li><strong>The high-pitched strings in "Toxic"'s famous hook are actually sampled from a '80s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com.au/category/bollywood">Bollywood</a> musical, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/5-bollywood-adaptations-of-shakespeares-novels/articleshow/44020029.cms">"Ek Duuje Ke Liye."</a></strong></li><li><strong>The chorus on "Toxic" draws musical inspiration from the first Bond film, specifically its iconic 007 <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/james-bond-theme-songs-ranked-2015-11">theme song</a> — which, it turns out, was born out of Indian music.</strong></li><li><strong>Insider spoke to classical Carnatic vocalist Manasi Prasad and classically-trained composer Adam Ragusea to find out why the sounds of Bollywood and James Bond have such an affinity for each other in "Toxic."</strong></li><li><strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.<br /></a><strong><strong></strong><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet"></a></strong></strong></li></ul><em><em></em><div type="Youtube" id="cj6CDicY3NM" title="How Bollywood Gave Britney Spears Her Greatest Hit" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cj6CDicY3NM/mqdefault.jpg"></div><br />Following is a transcript of the video.</em><br /><br />- ♪ Baby, can't you see ♪<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: Rewind to 2003. <keyword id="14710" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Britney-spears">Britney Spears</keyword> hasn't had a big hit in almost four years, and critics say her career is slumping. This all would change when she dropped her song "Toxic."<br /><br />♪ It's dangerous ♪ ♪ I'm falling ♪<br /><br />["<keyword id="8274485" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Tere-Mere-Beech">Tere Mere Beech</keyword> Mein"]<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: The real story behind "Toxic" begins in 1981 in India with a blockbuster Bollywood musical. Those high-pitched strings in the score? You've heard them before, at the opening of Toxic, then repeated throughout the song. It's this musical number, "Tere Mere Beech Mein," that's the source of "Toxic"'s unmistakable hook and riff and a lot of the song's intensity.<br /><br />Manasi Prasad: "Tere Mere Beech Mein," it's from a classic film called "Ek Duuje Ke Liye."<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: This is Manasi Prasad, a classical Carnatic vocalist with an encyclopedic knowledge of Indian music.<br /><br />Manasi Prasad: This song is actually based on an Indian classical rāga, or melody. It's ♪ La la la ♪ ♪ La la la la la la ♪ ♪ La la ♪ So you'll find a lot of other Indian songs which are in this rāga. It's used to convey feelings of very intense emotions. I think one of the reasons why, you know, Bollywood songs work so well is the range or the pitch of the songs tends to be really high, and it brings an intensity and a brightness.<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: Britney's team of songwriters, led by hit maker Cathy Dennis, took two tiny sections of the musical number and expertly merged those two sections together.<br /><br />["Tere Mere Beech Mein"] ["Tere Mere Beech Mein"] ["Toxic"]<br /><br />Adam Ragusea: There's a string hook that's got the low, fast part, which is the ♪ Bum bum ba da da da dum ba da da dum ♪ and then there's a very high keening part that goes ♪ Da da ba ♪<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: This is Adam Ragusea, a writer and YouTuber who's also a classically trained composer. That second part of the hook that Adam just sang? It starts on a superhigh F sharp, a note that lies far outside the song's key of C minor, making the whole thing sound disorienting.<br /><br />Adam Ragusea: That screaming F-sharp note makes the whole thing sound cinematic and scary in a fun way, like an action film.<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: There's definitely something that sounds dangerous in that string sample. This has a lot to do with the film it was lifted from, a tale of forbidden romance.<br /><br />Manasi Prasad: It was a story about these star-crossed lovers. They fell in love, and it was opposed by their families, so both of them ended up dying at the end of the movie. So it's kind of a really tragic, intense love story.<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: In the movie, love is danger, and that's reflected in the music, especially in the glissandos, these sliding figures in the strings, which are pretty much the signature of "Toxic"'s sampled hook. They sound slippery and precarious, which fits since Britney's singing about slipping under and falling.<br /><br />♪ It's dangerous ♪ ♪ I'm falling ♪<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: Somehow, these notes sound even more treacherous when the sample's played backwards halfway through the track. Beyond the screechy orchestral parts borrowed from Bollywood, the other big source of danger in "Toxic" comes from the buzzing, ominous-sounding guitar.<br /><br />♪ I'm addicted to you ♪ ♪ Don't you know that you're toxic ♪<br /><br />♪ And I love what you do ♪ ♪ Don't you know that you're toxic ♪<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: If that guitar bit sounds kind of old-school to you, that's because it's surf, a rock subgenre that was biggest in the late '50s and early '60s, when there was a boom of interest in West Coast wave culture.<br /><br />Clip: Surfing! [surf guitar]<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: Surf guitar is played in a way that conjures up the sounds and feel of surfing with a hard and fast picking style and loud, wet-sounding reverb.<br /><br />♪ Never been ♪<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: If surf's supposed to capture the carefree California ethos, you might be wondering why the guitar in "Toxic" has very much the opposite feel. That deep, low guitar tone sounds suspenseful in a way that matches the adrenaline rush of the Bollywood strings. That's probably because you identify that twangy guitar with something else entirely, one of the most recognizable movie themes in the world.<br /><br />["James Bond Theme"]<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: The first-ever Bond film, "Dr. No," came out in 1962, right in surf rock's heyday. So it's not surprising that its title song, which would set the template for all later Bond themes, was fueled by surf. The 007 theme had an outsized influence on the music of all the Cold War spy films and TV series that followed it.<br /><br />["Secret Agent Man"]<br /><br />♪ There's a man who leads a life of danger ♪<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: By now, the tone of guitar that you hear in "Toxic" has big spy connotations, and the song's Bond-inspired music video seems to be a nod to this connection. OK, so we've got the aggressive twang of the surf guitar evoking the reckless daring of a special agent and frantically sliding Bollywood strings capturing the rush of a risky love affair. How is it that these two disparate sounds from opposite sides of the globe seem to have such an affinity for each other? Turns out, they share some of the same musical DNA. Monty Norman, the film composer who penned the 007 theme, lifted its melody from a previous piece he'd written for a play adaptation of "A House for Mr. Biswas," VS Naipaul's novel about Indian immigrants. Basically, the sound that has come to define spy music was in fact born of Indian music.<br /><br />Adam Ragusea: And so, when we hear those two aesthetics put together in "Toxic," it feels really natural to us.<br /><br />Meredith Geaghan-Breiner: "Toxic" distills some of the most thrilling sounds of global cinema into a three-minute pop masterpiece. What other club banger combines Bond and Bollywood so perfectly and remains a DJ staple 15 years on? That is why "Toxic" is not only the greatest triumph of Britney's career, but one of the most impressive pop hits of our time.<br /><br />♪ With the taste of your lips ♪<br /><br />♪ I'm on a ride ♪ ♪ You're toxic ♪<br /><br />♪ I'm slipping under ♪<br /><br />♪ With the taste of a poison paradise ♪<br /><br />♪ I'm addicted to you ♪<br /><br />♪ Don't you know that you're toxic ♪<br /><br />

How Bollywood gave Britney Spears her greatest hit

<p class="drop-cap">Allow <keyword id="12426380" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="duckwrth" source="Orion">Duckwrth</keyword> to set the scene: "You're at a party. It's dimly lit, a couple of neon lights here and there. Everybody's grooving, having a good time." As you move across the dance floor, the lively horde parts to reveal a person sitting in the corner, looking "hella anxious" and wearing a surgical mask.</p><p>"His bro is like, 'Yo, take your fucking mask off. You're already here,'" Duckwrth continued, a mischievous grin creeping across his face. "And then a girl grabs him."</p><p>If Duckwrth's new album were to soundtrack a movie, that's how it would start.</p><p>I asked him to describe the storyboard when we met for coffee in Brooklyn last month, a few days following his sold-out concert at the Bowery Ballroom. Out of six proposed locations, he selected <a href="https://sincerelytommy.com/">Sincerely, Tommy</a>, a Black-owned boutique and café in Bed-Stuy. </p><p>As we sat on the bench outside, the sherbert-haired singer fulfilled my request without a hint of hesitation - giving the distinct impression that he'd watched that scene unfold several times already.</p><p>Just before kicking off his fall tour, Duckwrth released "SG8*" as a follow-up to his August 2020 album "SuperGood." The eight-song project explores the post-lockdown collision of anxiety and hedonism, but isn't shy about the latter reigning supreme.</p><p>In the opening song, Duckwrth swiftly assumes the role of ringmaster: "Pull up at nine / And if you want, you can go tell a friend." In the standout fourth track, "Mask Off (Feelings)," he puts it even blunter: "I won't be idle anymore / And I'm fresh out of patience."</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2RSgs2gRV-4" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>The delivery is indelicate by design. Duckwrth, 33, wrote the album's first song in November 2020, but the concept truly took shape in the spring. As the weather grew warmer and the promise of a vaccine grew stronger, he was captivated by our collective hunger - for normalcy, sure, but also something more feral that went largely unsaid.</p><p>Duckwrth's previous album was recorded in a month-long period of self-imposed fasting: no alcohol, no drugs, and no sex. This time around, he went with impulse over discipline.</p><p>"Janelle Monáe was throwing all these crazy parties. She invited me to her last one and I was just like, 'Janelle, I need to be there, but I'm scared as fuck,'" he explained in a reverent whisper. "But I was looking at everybody and I feel like all I was hearing people say was, 'I don't want to be safe no more.' I was like, 'Yeah, let me put that in a song.'"</p><hr /><p class="drop-cap">The cover art for "SG8*" shows Duckwrth with his back to the camera, stepping outside to find a warped landscape.</p><p>Duckwrth, who studied graphic design at San Francisco's Academy of Art University, spent upwards of 15 hours manipulating the image. He added a scenic photo to the background, replete with mountains and clouds, then rendered the vista unrecognizable.</p><p>After an extended period of indoor isolation, many of us can relate. The world may no longer look the same to some of us - more volatile, perhaps, yet technicolor.</p><div type="image" title="duckwrth sg8 cover art" height="3000" width="3000" msid="87402514" hostid="261"></div><p>During Duckwrth's live shows, fans chant the lyrics to "We Outside" like they're casting a spell: "We back outside / We ain't tryna go back in." Concerts have always been a rarefied space, where everyone has at least one thing in common. These days, that common thread - coming together to dance, sing, and be connected by <keyword id="11898471" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="music" source="Orion">music</keyword> - feels like actual magic.</p><p>At Bowery Ballroom, surrounded by impossibly chic outfits and confident auras, it occurred to me that Duckwrth is particularly skilled in this sorcery. His live shows are packed with people who understand that his music is not just a sonic experience, but a visual one, too.</p><p>"What's tight is that everybody at my shows is just so colorful and bold," he said. When I joke that everyone in attendance was also attractive, he laughed at the sentiment.</p><p>"Yes. I'm so happy to curate a moment of hot people," he said, eyes glinting playfully.</p><p>But that's not to say getting back on the road didn't come with its challenges.</p><p>Since the release of "SuperGood" last year, described by critics as "a west coast summer breeze" (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/aug/23/duckwrth-supergood-review-jared-lee-solo-debut-super-bounce-earthgang">The Guardian</a>) and "a vibrant sonic collage of escapism" (<a href="https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/duckwrth-supergood-album-review-2731571">NME</a>), Duckwrth has been forced to reckon with a shift in his media coverage: from eclectic rapper to <a href="https://www.billboard.com/charts/next-big-sound-25/2019-11-30">R&amp;B star-on-the-rise</a>.</p><p>"There are far better singers than me. I'm more of a crooner and like, there's motherfuckers who really sing," he mused. "So I went into these shows like, 'Damn, how am I going to be in this space and fulfill these expectations of me being an R&amp;B artist now?'"</p><p>"I'm like, 'Me?' I came into it back in the day doing <a href="https://djbooth.net/features/2020-01-28-how-has-backpack-rap-aged-in-two-decades">backpack rap</a>," he added. "So that's very new."</p><div type="image" title="duckwrth film photo 1" height="2000" width="3000" msid="87402515" hostid="261"></div> <div type="image" title="duckwrth film photo 2" height="2000" width="3000" msid="87402516" hostid="261"></div><p>Duckwrth, whose birth name is Jared Lee, was raised in "a gospel family," always surrounded by instruments and vocalists. But growing up, he wasn't very serious about music. He dabbled with choir, though he doesn't remember how long he stuck with it, and began playing the tuba when he was in middle school. Why tuba? "Because I wanted to be different," he explained, matter-of-factly.</p><p>He began making his own music in college, using an altered version of his mom's maiden name, Duckworth. (He dropped the "O" because he "didn't like the way it looked logo-wise.")</p><p>After building a modest reputation as a rapper in the Bay Area, mostly by participating in <a href="https://youtu.be/86DumZxda5E">friendly freestyle competitions known as "Cyphers,"</a> he released his debut mixtape "DUCKTAPE" online in 2012.</p><p>Though he's since moved towards sparkly synths and silky vocals, the spirit of counterculture continues to pulse at the core of his work.</p><p>Duckwrth doesn't much care for comparisons or labels - though he does nod enthusiastically when I describe his music as "jambalaya-style."</p><p>"We are the new neo-soul, I guess. We're the generation that came from the Erykah Badus," he mused. "But also, we are the iTunes generation. Before iPods, you were a B-boy, you were a punk, you were a gangster, you were a scene kid. You were a this or a that. And then after iPods, it's okay for you to go from fucking Dead Kennedys, to Lauryn Hill, to Three Six Mafia."</p><p>"We were able to take all those music genres and put them into one basket. I like that. My spinal cord is punk, but I'm known as an R&amp;B artist now."</p><p>Would he ever make a pure punk album? "For sure," he replied immediately. "I already have it planned out."</p><p>The side-project will be called Good Soldier, he revealed. It'll likely take a cue from the animated band Gorillaz, so fans can scream and mosh without feeling like they're at "a classic Duckwrth show."</p><p>As always, he's started planning every visual; already gauging every face in the crowd.</p><div type="image" title="duckwrth press photo" height="3000" width="2382" msid="87402517" hostid="261"></div><hr /><p class="drop-cap">After playing the Day N Vegas festival next month, Duckwrth will jet off to Europe for <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CTpqgBzvTaV/">another string of concerts</a> in January. Then, in March, he'll join <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/billie-eilish">Billie Eilish</a> on <a href="https://twitter.com/DUCKWRTH/status/1425889703618695168?s=20">the "Happier Than Ever" world tour</a>.</p><p>The two artists met at SXSW back in 2018: "We saw each other and it was just immediate," he said with a snap of his fingers.</p><p>Shortly after, he opened for a few shows on her 2019 "When We All Fall Asleep" tour. She even joked on her Beats 1 radio show that <a href="https://twitter.com/DRAG2LOVEYOU/status/1425540995475656706?s=20">she's "in love with him,"</a> while her brother <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/finneas-oconnell">Finneas</a> praised Duckwrth as a "sweet, talented dude."</p><p>"It's not just knowing Billie. It's knowing Billie's family," Duckwrth explained. "That's what's really cool about her. I get really giddy talking about it, because there's so much love in their family and they show us so much love. It's really tight. But my connection with her and her family has grown as the years have gone on."</p><p>For his second round in front of Eilish's loyal audience, Duckwrth is eager to revive "Kiss U Right Now," the breakout hit from "SuperGood" that he performed on many stages before it was officially released.</p><p>"Every time we did it, it would be like, 'Ooh!' It would just always be an uproar and then people started asking for it on Twitter," he said. "A lot of Billie's fans were asking for that song. So, I know when we do it, it's going to go up, for sure."</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/r9Zp_SSGZ1s" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>In fact, Duckwrth cited "Kiss U Right Now" as the consistent highlight of his shows.</p><p>"I love the challenge of trying to find something that crosses over and it has a bit of user-friendliness," Duckwrth told me. "That's not to say that I'm censored in any way, but I like music that spans beyond a certain niche. 'Kiss U Right Now,' anyone can relate to that."</p><p>"It doesn't even have to be sexual. You kiss your grandma, you know what I'm saying?" he added, that playful grin creeping back. "It's a bold statement, a statement of love: 'I think I want to kiss you right here in front of everybody, right now.'"</p><p>It makes sense that a bold statement of love would resonate with people now more than ever. To hold someone close, to embrace without fear, has never felt more vulnerable, or more needed. </p><p>Duckwrth never revealed what happened to the star of his "SG8*" film, after a mysterious girl arrives to the party and pulls him away from the outskirts. But it's not hard to imagine what he had in mind.</p>

Drinking coffee with Duckwrth, the neo-soul crooner who wants to start a punk band

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="1895128" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Lorde">Lorde</keyword> dropped a new song titled "Solar Power" on June 10 after teasing her return earlier that week.</li><li>It's the lead single from her highly anticipated third album, also called "Solar Power."</li><li>The 12-track album will be released on August 20 and was inspired by "the natural world."</li></ul><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/lorde">Lorde</a> has finally unleashed her first song since "Melodrama," her <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-albums-lost-aoty-grammy-awards-snubs">Grammy-nominated album</a> that dropped almost exactly four years ago.</p><p>The new single, titled "Solar Power," was surprise-released on June 10. She had teased the cover art <a href="https://www.lorde.co.nz">on her website</a> earlier that week, alongside the phrase, "Patience is a virtue." </p><p>It's the first taste of Lorde's forthcoming third album. Here are all the details we have so far about her new era of <keyword id="6354530" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="music">music</keyword>.</p><h2>'Solar Power' is a beachy earworm, cowritten and coproduced by Lorde and Jack Antonoff</h2><p>Antonoff is <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-most-important-artists-of-the-decade-2010s">the most-trusted collaborator</a> of both Lorde and her close friend, <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/taylor-swift">Taylor Swift</a>. He executive produced "Melodrama" and cowrote nearly every song on the tracklist, save for "Homemade Dynamite."</p><p>"Solar Power" is primarily driven by a choppy strumming pattern on acoustic guitar, vaguely reminiscent of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFCL6f7hy2s">"The Louvre,"</a> the fourth track on "Melodrama."</p><p>"I hate the winter / Can't stand the cold / I tend to cancel all the plans," she sings to open the song. "But when the heat comes / Something takes a hold / Can I kick it? Yeah, I can."</p><p>Back in November 2020, Lorde told fans in an email, "The beginning of summer is my favorite time in New Zealand, and this year in particular it feels like a gift."</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CP1eFIIDXSx" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Ophelia Mikkelson Jones (@opheliaafm)<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime=""></time></p></div></blockquote><p>The song is notably warmer and more stripped of theatricality than her previous releases. It's probably safe to assume this reflects Lorde's current musical direction. Her previous lead singles, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlcIKh6sBtc">"Royals"</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMK_npDG12Q">"Green Light"</a> - both of which landed in the top 25 of <a href="https://www.insider.com/best-songs-of-the-decade-2010s-ranked-2019-11">Insider's best songs of the decade ranking</a> - were sonically and thematically true to their parent albums.</p><p>A Jack Johnson-esque snare drum arrives in the second pre-chorus, while the chorus boasts triumphant melodies that <a href="https://etcanada.com/news/793747/george-michaels-estate-releases-statement-regarding-those-lorde-solar-power-and-freedom-90-comparisons/">recall George Michael's "Freedom! '90."</a></p><p>In the minute-long outro, every instrument swells in volume while Lorde harmonizes with herself, chanting the titular phrase. <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/phoebe-bridgers"></a></p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wvsP_lzh2-8" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/category/phoebe-bridgers">Phoebe Bridgers</a> and <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/clairo">Clairo</a> contributed backing vocals, marking the first time a Lorde song has included any voice aside from her own.</p><p>In <a href="https://youtu.be/If-VG2s0lX8">an interview with Zane Lowe</a>, Lorde called Bridgers and Clairo her "god-tier female vocalists" and revealed "Solar Power" also includes vocals from a few male musicians from New Zealand.</p><p>"I just knew it had to be a gang," she said. "This record, more than any that I've made, isn't just about me. It's my friends and my family and my country, and I knew the sentiments were not just mine alone to deliver... It's fun not to be alone, finally."</p><h2>The song seems to contain a nod to her long-rumored boyfriend, which could mean a loved-up album is on the way</h2><p>In the pre-chorus of "Solar Power," Lorde sings, "No shirt, no shoes, only my features / My boy behind me, he's taking pictures."</p><p>The 24-year-old New Zealand native, whose real name is Ella Yelich-O'Connor, is reportedly dating Universal Music executive Justin Warren.</p><p>Warren, who is 17 years Lorde's senior, <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/lorde-romance-rumours-ridiculous/GYEGM3X3VZI2ZOZSIDDJW5DJNQ/">denied relationship rumors</a> when the pair were first seen in 2016. However, they've been photographed together several times over the past few years, most recently in October 2020, when <a href="https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-8886939/Lorde-seen-time-EIGHTEEN-months-kisses-boyfriend-Justin-Warren.html">they were spotted kissing in Auckland</a>.</p><p>Lorde's studio debut "Pure Heroine" deals largely with the fears and ecstasies of being a teenager; "Melodrama" was a pure breakup album, presumably inspired by <a href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/reports-lorde-has-split-from-boyfriend-james-lowe/IJW34YLMGXFBCEYBXATEK6SO4Y/">her split from James Lowe in 2015</a>. </p><p>With Lorde apparently in a long-term relationship, her third album could mark a major departure from the existential, daggered songwriting of her past.</p><h2>The album is also called 'Solar Power' and will be released on August 20</h2><p>Alongside the song's release, Lorde sent an email to fans with the subject line, "Hey, cuties."</p><p>"There's someone I want you to meet," she wrote. "Her feet are bare at all times. She's sexy, playful, feral, and free. She's a modern girl in a deadstock bikini, in touch with her past and her future, vibrating at the highest level when summer comes around. Her skin is glowing, her lovers are many. I'm completely obsessed with her, and soon you will be too."</p><p>"It's my divine pleasure to be introducing you, at long last, to my third studio album, SOLAR POWER."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Lorde Brasil ☀️  (@LordeBrasil) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1403114342321643525?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2021</a></blockquote><p>Lorde described the album as "a celebration of the natural world, an attempt at immortalizing the deep, transcendent feelings I have when I'm outdoors."</p><p>She revealed that her "best mate," <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CP1eFIIDXSx/">Ophelia Mikkelson Jones</a>, took the cover photo in a spontaneous moment of joy on the beach. The era's music videos were all directed by Joel Kefali, who directed her "Royals" visual back in 2013. </p><p>Lorde also noted how the lead single was released on the same day as <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ring-of-fire-solar-eclipse-how-to-watch-2021-6">the year's only solar eclipse</a>, and told fans to "look to the natural calendar for clues" about the album.</p><p>"I want this album to be your summer companion, the one you pump on the drive to the beach. The one that lingers on your skin like a tan as the months get cooler again," she wrote.</p><p>In a follow-up email on Monday, June 21 - the day of the <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/summer-solstice-2021-traditions-scn-trnd/index.html">Summer Solstice</a> - Lorde announced that her new album will arrive on August 20.</p><div type="image" title="lorde solar power photos tracklist" height="1500" width="1500" msid="83730733" hostid="261"></div><p>"Solar Power" will include 12 songs and two bonus tracks. The titles indicate themes of natural beauty ("California," "Oceanic Feeling"), surrealist storytelling ("Stoned at the Nail Salon," "The Man With the Axe"), spirituality ("Big Star," "Mood Ring"), and epic poetry ("Helen of Troy").</p><h2>The album was partially inspired by Lorde's 2019 trip to Antarctica, but was postponed when her dog suddenly died</h2><p>Lorde began working on new music about two years ago, after she returned from Antarctica in early 2019. She said the trip was galvanized by her <a href="https://www.insider.com/photos-antarctica-ice-melting-highest-temperature-climate-change-2020-2">increasing awareness of climate change</a> and environmental responsibility. </p><p>"When I went to Antarctica, I hadn't yet started writing again after finishing 'Melodrama.' I realized after the trip that what my brain had been craving was a visit to an alternate realm," she wrote in an email to fans.</p><p>"Albums live in their own realms in a way, and Antarctica really acted as this great white palette cleanser, a sort of celestial foyer I had to move through in order to start making the next thing."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Lorde Daily  (@LordeDaily) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1331427457510084608?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 25, 2020</a></blockquote><p>Shortly after she sent that email, <a href="https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/entertainment/2020/12/lorde-s-trip-to-antarctica-inspired-the-name-of-her-new-album.html">Lorde told New Zealand's Newshub</a> that her experience directly inspired the title of her next album.</p><p>"I actually decided on the album name right around that trip," she said. "Just coming back from that trip I thought, this is what it is."</p><p>Lorde was accompanied by her friend Harriet Were, who photographed their journey on film. The shots were compiled into a photo book titled "Going South," which was made available for purchase in limited quantities. </p><p>Recently, fans began to receive their pre-ordered copies, and some noticed a hidden message on the inside cover: "Blink three times when you feel it kicking in - 2021." This has revealed itself to be a lyric from "Solar Power."</p><blockquote class="twitter-tweet blockquote" data-lang="en" data-cards="" data-conversation="">-Lorde fix , soon to be solar powered  (@Lorde_fix) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1403001966087708692?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 10, 2021</a></blockquote><p>In her email, Lorde described the book as "a sort of perfect precursor to this album in an abstract way," so it's safe to assume that a good chunk of it was written in the trip's immediate aftermath.</p><p>However, she stopped making music in November 2019 when <a href="https://www.insider.com/lorde-email-fans-postponing-next-album-death-dog-pearl-2019-11">her beloved dog, Pearl, suddenly died</a>. As she explained in another email, her grief impacted her vision for the album.</p><p>"I have lost my boy, and I need some time to see the good again, to finish making this for you," she wrote. "It won't be the same work - as anyone who has felt loss can understand, there's a door that opens that you step through, and everything is different on the other side."</p><p>Lorde later said she returned to the studio that December "just for something to do."</p><p>"To my surprise, good things came out. Happy, playful things," she wrote in a May 2020 email. "I felt my melodic muscles flexing and strengthening. Jack came over to work in the studio in Auckland, and I went to LA. It flowed. A thing started to take shape."</p><p>She said they had continued to work remotely during the pandemic, adding, "The work is so f---ing good, my friend. I am truly jazzed for you to hear it."</p>

Lorde just announced the release date of her new album 'Solar Power.' Here are all the details we have so far.

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/57a9dc3dce38f2d6038b585f-1399/suicide%20squad.png" alt="suicide squad joker bowie" data-mce-source="Warner Bros. and Evan Agostini/ Getty Images (inset)"><p class="source"><span>Warner Bros. and Evan Agostini/ Getty Images (inset)</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>There's a bit of the Goblin King in Jared Leto's portrayal of the Joker in "Suicide Squad."<p>The actor told NME that he spoke&#xa0;with a "famous writer in the world of DC" and David Bowie was mentioned when discussing how to create the character.</p><p>"<span>We discussed David Bowie a bit - not necessarily the music of David, but his class, his elegance, his timelessness," Leto said.</span></p><p><span>Bowie's alter-ego Ziggy Stardust was certainly an afficiando of makeup and kooky costumes, and Bowie even played an antagonist in the cult classic "Labryinth." </span></p><p><span>Leto even has a music side gig as the lead vocalist for rock band Thirty Seconds to Mars.</span></p><p>"<span>I think David Bowie's probably an inspiration for, like, almost anything you could do creatively," Leto said.</span>&#xa0;</p><p>Watch the full NME interview with Leto:</p><p><div><iframe width="800" height="600" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/7V_LpyVFibU" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/50-cent-massive-6-million-mansion-bankrupt-sale-debt-2016-7">Nobody wants to buy 50 Cent's massive $6 million mansion</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1sZWF2NDE6_fnd8VhR997N8SNIpNSX5t" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '1sZWF2NDE6_fnd8VhR997N8SNIpNSX5t',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Here's who Jared Leto says inspired his Joker in 'Suicide Squad'

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5d6938c62e22af29c7551666-2222/gettyimages-1132281737.jpg" border="0" alt="Gamer" data-mce-source="iStock / Getty Images Plus"><p class="source"><span>iStock / Getty Images Plus</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><strong>Multiple women have come forward with claims that men in the video game industry abused them.&#xa0;</strong></li><li><strong>The claims range from allegations of rape and sexual assault to reports of inappropriate public behavior at industry events.</strong></li><li>The accusations have prompted a larger conversation about how men within the gaming industry use positions of power to target and intimidate women and non-binary people.</li><li><strong><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.</a></strong></li></ul><p>Several prominent men in the video game industry have been accused of abusing women and non-binary individuals this week.</p><p>Game designer Nathalie Lawhead sparked the conversation on social media on August 26 with a <a href="http://www.nathalielawhead.com/candybox/calling-out?fbclid=IwAR1Zp4BqcEcrZ4iZzgwtfLiYsTVDBsTclB0OyPLpJNHr4zUWb_t3I3wsk7E">blog post titled "calling out my rapist."</a> Lawhead accused Jeremy Soule, a music composer for popular video games like "The Elder Scrolls," of rape and abuse during their time working together at a Vancouver development studio.</p><p>A second woman, Aeralie Brighton, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Aeralie/posts/2800156463332203">wrote a Facebook post claiming that Soule</a> sent a video of himself masturbating to her and blocked her involvement in a professional project when she told him she only wanted a professional relationship. Brighton is a vocalist with credits on games like "Ori and the Blind Forest."</p><p>The accusations against Soule led to a larger discussion about men in the gaming industry alleged to have used their status to abuse or harass other people.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oculus-cofounder-michael-antonov-accused-sexual-assault-vr-demo-2019-8">An Oculus cofounder was accused of sexually assaulting a woman while she was wearing a VR headset during a demo</a></em></p><p>Zoe Quinn, a game designer and comic creator who was also central target of the GamerGate movement in 2014, said <a href="https://twitter.com/UnburntWitch/status/1166212005629325313">she was sexually assaulted and emotionally abused by Alec Holowka</a>, who helped create popular indie titles "Aquaria" and "Night in the Woods." Other game developers <a href="https://twitter.com/KaiClavier/status/1166832062080397313">also shared negative experiences</a> they say they had with Holowka in support of Quinn.</p><p>In response, the other creators of "Night in the Woods" announced that they would be cutting ties with Holowka and canceled an upcoming project as a result.</p><p>The conversation later turned to Luc Shelton, who works as a programmer for the British Studio Splash Damage. Adelaide Gardner, who produces content for table top games, said <a href="https://twitter.com/ohadelaide/status/1166232999349956608">Shelton intentionally hid their relationship from other people and was sexually abusive.</a></p><p>Multiple people accused developer Alexis Kennedy of <a href="https://twitter.com/betterthemask/status/1166757343767465986">targeting and isolating young women in the gaming industry as romantic partners</a> and using his position as a studio executive to intimidate others. Kennedy was the CEO and cofounder of Failbetter Games, an independent studio know for the games "Sunless Sea" and "Sunless Skies."</p><p>Olivia Wood, a writer and editor at Failbetter, <a href="https://twitter.com/babelfishwars/status/1166788762392829953">said she was in a two-year relationship with Kennedy</a> that they hid from coworkers. Wood said Kennedy had affairs with other coworkers and prospective employees and became abusive in the workplace after they separated.</p><p>Another game designer, Emily Short, <a href="https://twitter.com/emshort/status/1166807338336051208">said Kennedy pushed boundaries</a> and made her feel uncomfortable with sexual comments while she was working as a freelancer with Failbetter. Failbetter released a statement in support of Kennedy's accusers, and said it had no longer had any personal, creative, or financial ties to him.</p><p>Kennedy denied engaging in predatory behavior and said he had a "small number of fully consensual relationships" with other people in the gaming industry. <a href="https://twitter.com/alexiskennedy/status/1166762265892311042">He claimed he would seek legal counsel</a> and would make a police complaint against one of his accusers.</p><p>Autumn Rose Taylor, a marketing director in the virtual reality industry, said that <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/oculus-cofounder-michael-antonov-accused-sexual-assault-vr-demo-2019-8">Oculus cofounder Michael Antonov reached beneath her skirt</a> and touched her inappropriately while she was wearing a VR headset during a private demo several years ago. In response to Taylor's claim, Riot Games developer <a href="https://twitter.com/kchironis/status/1166575481258483713">Katie Chironis said another Oculus employee sexually harassed her in front of several other employees</a> and is still employed by the company.</p><p>The allegations have garnered widespread support from others in the video game industry and people on social media, with many advocating for the accused men to be stripped of their roles in the industry. Some people have advocated for the accused to have an opportunity to defend themselves, but only Kennedy has made a public statement following the string of accusations.</p><p>Business Insider has reached out to the men accused, but has yet to receive a response from any of them.</p><p class="tagline"><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/brand-investment-esports?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=videogames&amp;itm_campaign=brand-investment-esports"><img src="https://static.businessinsider.com/image/5d3718e78d66427858223be4" alt="Exclusive FREE Report: Brand Investment in eSports by Business Insider Intelligence" border="0" style="width: 100% !important" /></a></p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>During our relationship he cheated on me with people brought to company events, and who were wanting to work with the company. He broke up with me by messaging me that he'd cheated on me with a colleague (also his direct report) at the office Halloween party.</p>- Olivia Wood 🐾  (@babelfishwars) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1166788763688812544?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Alexis left Failbetter three years ago. We no longer have any ties with him personally, creatively or financially.</p>- Failbetter Games  PAX West  (@failbettergames) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/1166824227099615232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 28, 2019</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pavlok-electric-shock-bracelet-wearable-quit-biting-nails-bad-habit-2019-8">This electric-shock bracelet helped me quit biting my nails</a></h3>        <div>            <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/BLjjysMZ-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script>        </div>    </div>

Multiple men in the video game industry have been accused of sexual assault and harassment, and it's sparking an industry-wide conversation about abuse

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="2050605" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Victor-Oladipo">Victor Oladipo</keyword> really, really wants to get back to <keyword id="6361805" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="NBA">NBA</keyword> <keyword id="36237" type="SPORT" weightage="60" keywordseo="basketball">basketball</keyword>.</li><li>The two-time NBA All-Star returned from a brutal leg injury in January and was just beginning to hit his stride when the NBA put the season on hold March 11.</li><li>Oladipo told Insider that learning of the league's shutdown brought a "'Whoa, what do we do now?' type of feeling," but he's since learned to view the pause as an opportunity to "continue getting stronger."</li><li>Even though he's "itching more than someone with Chickenpox" to rejoin his <keyword id="544933" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Indiana-Pacers">Indiana Pacers</keyword> teammates on the court, he recognizes that the current situation is "about life and death, not winning and losing."</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>Victor Oladipo learned about the sudden shutdown of the NBA season the same way many of us did — on TV.</p><p>On the evening of March 11, the two-time NBA All-Star was at home, flipping between channels to catch snippets of the league's slate of games for the night. Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks took down the Denver Nuggets, Joel Embiid dropped 30 in the Philadelphia 76ers' win over the Detroit Pistons, and the hapless New York Knicks managed to record a W against Trae Young and the similarly-hapless Atlanta Hawks.</p><p><div type="image" title="victor oladipo.JPG" height="1013" width="1351" msid="75544575" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Oladipo remembers gearing up to watch Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans later in the night, but first up was the Utah Jazz versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p><p>Then everything got turned upside down.</p><p>Minutes before tip-off, the Jazz announced that Rudy Gobert had tested positive for COVID-19 and the game was canceled as Utah's players were placed in isolation in their locker room. Soon enough, the entire season was put on hold, and Oladipo's source of income was suddenly in question.</p><p>"I was switching back and forth between games when the alert came on," Oladipo told Insider. "I was like 'Whoa, are you serious?' And they had to stop games and they came out with the announcement that the rest of the season was canceled."</p><p>"It was a different type of 'Whoa, what do we do now?' type of feeling," he added.</p><h2>Late in January, Oladipo had returned to the court after a brutal leg injury kept him off the floor for more than a year</h2><p>The seventh-year guard was finally beginning to find his groove when the coronavirus pandemic — and Gobert's diagnosis — forced the NBA to shutter its doors for the season.</p><p><div type="image" title="victor oladipo" height="1666" width="2221" msid="75544576" hostid="261"></div></p><p>"Coming back isn't always peachy clean," Oladipo said. "There were a few bumps in the road, but before the <keyword id="58679" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Quarantine">quarantine</keyword> started I was starting to hit my stride and get that feeling back."</p><p>The timing obviously wasn't ideal for anyone, but for a star on the mend after a full year of watching from the sidelines, the cancellation of the season was devastating. Still, Oladipo has tried to look at the bright side of the situation and views quarantine like "almost getting a second chance."</p><p>"I had the opportunity to look at it two ways: negatively or positively. At the end of the day I chose the positive outlook on it," Oladipo said. "I'm just using this opportunity to give me time to get healthy and continue getting stronger."</p><p>"I'm definitely optimistic and definitely thankful for where I'm at right now," he added. "I just have to continue to keep working hard and staying ready."</p><p><div type="image" title="victor oladipo.JPG" height="1000" width="1333" msid="75544577" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Oladipo has turned his garage into a makeshift weight room where he can bulk up and continue to rehab. And unlike many other NBA players, Oladipo is fortunate in that he has access to a court where he can safely put up shots while continuing to adhere to social distancing protocols. </p><p>"For the most part I'm just trying to stay ready because you don't know what tomorrow can bring," he said. "I'm really focused on the court and getting back to my old self and actually getting back to better than my old self. That's my number one priority."</p><h2>When he's not refining his game, Oladipo is busy discovering new activities and picking up old hobbies that he had set aside</h2><p>He sees quarantine as "a time for people to relearn themselves," and he's been doing a bit of everything as a result. He hosts a weekly Instagram Live concert series on the NBA Instagram page to promote independent artists, plays lots of ping pong, watches "The Last Dance," and works on his own music.</p><p>"Not being able to do everything that we do on a normal basis forces us to attack and pay attention to things that we might not normally get a chance to," Oladipo said.</p><p>An accomplished vocalist, Oladipo has released multiple albums and <a href="https://www.vibe.com/2018/11/victor-oladipo-vo-album">gotten favorable reviews</a> on his music. He appeared on the second season of Fox's "The Masked Singer" and has collaborated with popular artists such as Eric Bellinger, 2 Chainz, Trey Songz, and Tory Lanez.</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ScB892Sg0OU" frameborder="0"></iframe><p>"I got some new stuff brewing," Oladipo said. "I'm definitely planning on dropping another album soon. I just have to make sure everything's right and that it's the right fit, so I'm just taking my time."</p><p><div type="image" title="victor oladipo.JPG" height="1667" width="2223" msid="75544578" hostid="261"></div></p><p>The 27-year-old is also committed to doing his part to help those most affected by the crisis currently at hand. Oladipo encourages fans to share their best "tunnel walk" looks to help raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts in Indiana. Each time someone posts their 'fit on Instagram with #flipyourlook and @motorolaUS in the caption, Razr donates $50 to the <a href="https://www.iedc.in.gov/home" target="_blank" rel="noopener">IEDC Foundation</a>, which provides lifesaving PPE from local and regional businesses to aid in the fight against the pandemic.</p><p>"It's a tough time and luckily we're fortunate that guys like myself and other guys in the league are able to withstand something like this," Oladipo said. "But there's a vast majority of people who aren't, and I feel like it's our job and duty to help people like that."</p><h2>Even though he's kept himself plenty busy, Oladipo really, really wants to get back to NBA basketball</h2><p>He says he's "itching more than someone with Chickenpox" to rejoin his Indiana Pacers teammates on the court, but recognizes that the current situation is "about life and death, not winning and losing."</p><p>"It's what I love to do, so of course I miss playing. Playing in front of the fans and everything like that, of course, I miss that," Oladipo said. "But at the same time, you have to be smart ... At that point, when it becomes life-threatening, the severity is different than whether you win or lose a game. The perspective has to be different and your approach has to be different — everything has to be different at this point."</p><p>"Of course we miss the game and of course we want to play, but when it comes down to threatening your life, you have to take it really seriously," he added.</p><p><div type="image" title="victor oladipo.JPG" height="1785" width="2380" msid="75544579" hostid="261"></div></p><p>Like the rest of us, Oladipo has no idea when the coronavirus pandemic will be under control to the extent that NBA players can return to the hardwood.</p><p>"During this pandemic, we're all just guessing and the unknown is a scary thing," he said. "Not knowing what happens next or where to go from here is a tough pill to swallow."</p><p>While he acknowledges that the uncertainty of it all is quite unsettling, Oladipo is doing what he can to control the controllable and be ready as soon as he gets the call. </p><p>"I'm just trying to keep working and do what I do," Oladipo said. "I'm trying to stay ready and control what I can control during this time because a lot of things are out of your control.</p><p>"Eventually, when things get back to normal, you can just pick up where you left off," he added.</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/video-michael-jordan-trolled-diana-taurasi-for-free-throw-miss-2020-4">Michael Jordan once trolled Diana Taurasi for a year after the WNBA icon missed a free throw at his summer camp</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/dennis-rodman-rebounding-skill-the-last-dance-2020-4">Dennis Rodman spent late-night gym sessions rebounding for his friends so he could track the trajectory of different shots</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/muffet-mcgraw-retires-notre-dame-coach-changed-womens-sports-2020-4">Muffet McGraw has stepped down as the head basketball coach at Notre Dame. She fundamentally shifted the landscape of women in sports.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/wnba-fans-angery-espn-adam-schefter-during-nfl-draft-2020-4">Coverage of the NFL Draft stands in stark contrast to that of the WNBA last week. A tweet about the first sporting event in 'forever' led fans' anger to boil over.</a></li></ul>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/victor-oladipo-itching-more-than-someone-with-chickenpox-nba-return-2020-5">Insider</a>

Victor Oladipo is 'itching more than someone with Chickenpox' to resume NBA play even though he is keeping busy in quarantine

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Block by Blockwest was a virtual <keyword id="6354530" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="music">music</keyword> festival hosted in <keyword id="858537" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Minecraft">Minecraft</keyword> with livestreams on both YouTube and Twitch.</li><li>The festival, which included acts like Grandson, Idles and Sir Sly, was organized by the band Courier Club.</li><li>Although the event faced technical setbacks in April, it delivered an immersive, festival-like experience that could help set a precedent for virtual music events.</li></ul><p>On Saturday, May 16, I attended my first music festival in months. Instead of buying overpriced beer and jostling against other concertgoers for a good view of the stage, I leisurely logged onto Minecraft at 3 pm EST and entered the virtual world of Block By Blockwest (intended to spoof the South by Southwest name and similarly abbreviated as BXBW), a virtual festival featuring very real music from groups like Grandson, Idles, Pussy Riot, The Wrecks, and Sir Sly.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CAGVaOiAMrB" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">BXBW BACK FROM THE DEAD Powered by @thedigitalocean</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by  COURIER CLUB (@courierclub) on May 12, 2020 at 12:08pm PDT<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-05-12T19:08:00+00:00">May 12, 2020 at 12:08pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><p>Of course, this isn't the first concert experience to take place in Minecraft or online during the pandemic. Pitchfork's Cat Zhang reported on <keyword id="3997287" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="concerts">concerts</keyword> from bands like Anamanaguchi or 100 gecs that took place in Minecraft, spearheaded by <a href="https://openpit.net/">Open Pit</a>, a volunteer collective of event organizers who have put together Minecraft concert events in the past. Block by Blockwest, however, started as an independent effort by Courier Club, a four-piece indie band that recently released its debut EP, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKPpRFfzeOk">"Drive Like Your Kids Live Here,"</a> a week before the original event, which was slated for April 25.</p><p>Things on that day didn't go quite as planned, with technical setbacks leading to the cancelation of the original April 25 event, but BXBW came back strong on May 16, drawing in approximately 5,000 Minecraft players and 134,000 livestream viewers on Twitch and YouTube. All proceeds from the event benefited the CDC Foundation's Coronavirus Emergency Response Fund, <a href="https://give4cdcf.org/cdcf2020/BXBW">raising nearly $50,000,</a> according to the event's team page on the CDC Foundation website.</p><p>What started as a small event originally slated to fall on the heels of the Courier Club's debut EP, "Drive Like Your Kids Live Here," turned into a festival featuring big name artists performing in an immersive Minecraft world filled with interactive games, special features and easter eggs, and plenty of opportunities for attendees to interact with artists and each other. </p><h2><strong>Block by Blockwest was an immersive experience built in Minecraft.</strong></h2><p>The festival took place in a custom Minecraft server featuring three separate stages (i.e. fully fleshed-out settings ranging from a mountain lodge to an underground hangout) as well as a lobby and paintball arena where users could play 50 v. 50 games while still tuning into the music. Attendees tuned into the artists' sets, which were pre-recorded, via livestreams on YouTube and Twitch. In the meantime, they could socialize with people in the BXBW discord server, which also served as the event's central hub for information and updates. Attendees could also get VIP status by making a $15 donation, which earned them perks like virtual artist meet-and-greets on Discord as well as concert emotes in-game.</p><p>The idea itself started partially as a joke. "We made a tweet joking around one day being like, 'Oh, if our tour gets canceled, we're going to throw a show with Minecraft,'" Timothy Waldron, Courier Club's lead vocalist, told Insider when we spoke in mid-April. "We thought it was cheeky to say at the time. And then our tour got canceled."</p><p>Waldron texted Steve Silverglade, the brother of Courier Club's bassist Michael Silverglade, and someone who "knows what he's doing" when it comes to Minecraft servers, asking if it'd be possible to hold a concert in the game.</p><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" style="background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px); data.width~540;"><div style="padding:8px;"><div style="background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:62.4537037037% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"><div style="background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style="margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9rcxxGph-h" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank"></a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by  COURIER CLUB (@courierclub) on Mar 13, 2020 at 8:30am PDT<time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2020-03-13T15:30:06+00:00">Mar 13, 2020 at 8:30am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote><p>From there, interest spiked in the event. Courier Club provided a list of bands that they were fans of to their manager, who began to reach out. Cowgirl Clue was the first artist to sign on, and as other artists joined the lineup, their friends found out and bigger artists started to come aboard as well. "Towards the end, it became people approaching us about it," Waldron said. </p><h2><strong>Development of the festival was a collaborative effort.</strong></h2><p>From there, development began as the group began to build the concert world, drawing upon open-source code to create elements like the initial concert stage. On the other hand, the band also started to build up a community for the event as well, directing attendees to sign up for <a href="https://discord.com/invite/MeVk6ZD">BXBW's Discord server</a>. </p><p>The group was worried about technical difficulties, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B_OadSxJaKz/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link">conducting a stress test</a> and pre-party on the festival server on April 22, three days before the initial event date. When I spoke with Waldron and lead guitarist Ryan Conway, April 23, they said that the stress test had helped them iron out the big kinks on the server, with things generally going well.</p><p>Then, everything turned out to be much bigger than anyone had prepared for, with unprecedented turnout on April 25 overloading the servers. Rather than trying to push through, the BXBW team made the decision to reschedule the event for May 16 in order to deliver on the immersive experience that they had promised early-on. </p><p>BXBW partnered with DigitalOcean, a cloud infrastructure provider, for server hosting, as well as Cloudflare, a web security, for DDOS protection. In the end, the development team was comprised of five international developers from the UK, Germany, and the United States. BXBW also hosted "community build events," where members of the Discord server and players who used the pre-festival Minecraft server came together to help build the worlds that would comprise the experience.</p><h2>BXBW was able to virtually capture the festival experience.</h2><p>"Creating an opportunity like this where we're providing that festival experience where you're engaging with people is why we wanted to create that festival dynamic," Ryan Conway, Courier Club's lead guitarist, told Insider. "We wanted it to be an interactive thing where someone can go into it for a day and play the different games and look at the art and check out all the different artists and meet people."</p><p>Block by Blockwest delivered on that aspiration, with <a href="https://www.nme.com/reviews/block-by-block-west-festival-review-idles-pussy-riot-nasty-cherry-sports-team-2671053">NME's Ali Shutler calling it</a> "the closest we've yet come to an authentic festival experience. More than just a concert, BXBW was a total experience: there were bars where VIPs could get virtual drinks like a "Starblocks Latte" or a "Blockweiser;" I stumbled across a Shrek complete with a "get out of my swamp" sign. There were virtual representations of art available for purchase in real life; I jammed to alt-rock band The Wrecks' set by making my Minecraft avatar jump around and head bob. </p><p><div type="image" title="shrek bxbw" height="1800" width="2400" msid="75833307" hostid="261"></div></p><p>The festival's primary success, however, was building a community that doesn't appear to be going away any time soon. People on the BXBW Discord server are still chatting two days after the event, and there's a second event in the works. Ultimately, Courier Club hopes that the event will help set a bar for events in the future, even post-pandemic.</p><p>"One thing I've been saying to people is that we want to lay this out as a blueprint on how to handle things moving forward and maybe handle connectivity and accessibility in the music world," Conway said. "This is something that costs you maybe the cost of Minecraft if you don't have it, and that's it. It's gonna open up a lot of doors."</p><ul class="read-more-links"><li>Read more:</li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/live-private-concerts-coronavirus-watch-online-music-streaming-2020-3">Artists are playing live concerts from their homes amid the coronavirus outbreak — here's how to watch the best ones</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/travis-scott-fortnite-concert-video-photo-visually-stunning-the-scotts-2020-4">Travis Scott's 'Fortnite' concert was the game's most visually impressive event to date</a></li><li><a href="https://www.insider.com/music-events-festivals-tours-concerts-canceled-postponed-coronavirus-2020-3">Every tour, concert, and music festival that's been canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak</a></li></ul>Read the original article on <a href="https://www.insider.com/minecraft-music-festival-block-by-blockwest-bxbw-courier-club-2020-5">Insider</a>

Inside Block by Blockwest, the immersive Minecraft music festival that could set a precedent for the future of live entertainment

<p>Beyoncé was the lead singer of girl group Destiny's Child <span>-</span> and don't you forget it!</p>
<p>In a newly unearthed interview clip going viral after being <a href="https://vine.co/v/hVYvJLih90P" target="_blank">posted to Vine</a>, teenage Beyoncé throws some serious shade toward her bandmate Kelly Rowland.</p>
<p>In the vintage footage, Rowland tells the interviewer, <span>"I'm the second lead vocalist of the group," at which point Beyoncé conveniently coughs and rolls her eyes.</span></p>
<p>The ladies have since <a href="http://www.gossipcop.com/beyonce-halftime-show-video-super-bowl-2013-destinys-child-reunion-performance-watch-youtube/" target="_blank">buried the hatchet</a>, but it's still pretty entertaining. Watch below:</p>
<p><span></span><iframe width="600" height="600" frameborder="0" src="https://vine.co/v/hVYvJLih90P/embed/simple"></iframe></p>
<script async="" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>

Teenage Beyonce Rolls Her Eyes At Bandmate Kelly Rowland In Viral Vine Clip

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/56c299976e97c62f008b74cb-1067-800/adele-grammys%20all%20i%20ask%20getty.jpg" alt="adele grammys all i ask getty" data-mce-source="Getty Images"><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>One thing we definitely don't associate with world-class vocalist Adele is bad audio.<p>So when the Grammys sound went out during the British singer's performance on Monday night's awards broadcast, it was the show's bad.</p><p>The stripped-down setup for a crushing Adele performance was all there: a dramatic spotlight on the singer in a floor-length, fitted scarlet gown and just a piano.</p><p>Then, as she began&#xa0;singing&#xa0;"All I Ask" from her third&#xa0;album, "25," the sound cut out for several seconds, returning during the first verse.</p><p>It may have also thrown off the singer, as one Los Angeles Times music writer&#xa0;observed on Twitter that Adele's usually pitch-perfect notes were actually flat this evening.</p><p><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>That said, Adele wasn't the only one flat tonight. So I hope the shade is equal. Cause my ears can list of a few flat moments. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRAMMYs?src=hash">#GRAMMYs</a></p>- Gerrick D. Kennedy  (@GerrickKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/699430062047645696">February 16, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">Sound challenges had plagued the live-awards telecast all night, but fans were especially unhappy about the occurrence during Adele's performance:</p><p class="embed-spacer"><div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>The mixer just got choked out. I promise you. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRAMMYs?src=hash">#GRAMMYs</a></p>- Gerrick D. Kennedy  (@GerrickKennedy) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/699429200147537921">February 16, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Oh, <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRAMMYs?src=hash">#GRAMMYs</a>, come on. Such a bummer to even temporarily mess up an Adele number. <a href="https://t.co/muEa9v64ZM">https://t.co/muEa9v64ZM</a></p>- Marisa Roffman  (@marisaroffman) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/699428667072450560">February 16, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>How many millions of people tuned into just to see Adele, and this sound shit happens?! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/GRAMMYs?src=hash">#GRAMMYs</a></p>- Andrew Hampp  (@ahampp) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/699428258815684609">February 16, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">&#xa0;<div><blockquote class="twitter-tweet" lang="en"><p>Adele's mic going out is a crime on par with kidnapping the president.</p>- Jenna Mullins  (@JBomb11) <a href="https://twitter.com/mims/statuses/699428150468448258">February 16, 2016</a></blockquote><script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p><p class="embed-spacer">And in case you were wondering, although she performed, <a href="http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/02/15/adele-will-perform-at-grammys-but-cant-win/" target="_blank">Adele isn't up for any awards this year</a>. She released "25" after Grammy eligibility. It will qualify for awards at the 2017 ceremony.&#xa0;</p><p class="embed-spacer"><strong>Watch the audio-challenged Adele performance below:<br /></strong>&#xa0;<div><script src="//cdn.playwire.com/bolt/js/zeus/embed.js" data-config="//config.playwire.com/1003055/videos/v2/4599772/zeus.json" data-width="480" data-height="270" type="text/javascript" charset="utf-8"></script></div></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/adele-raps-nicki-minaj-monster-verse-2016-1">Adele rapped an iconic Nicki Minaj verse on 'Carpool Karaoke'</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="xoNXk2MDE632tCv8-dZHDjIoitj5iUPW" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'xoNXk2MDE632tCv8-dZHDjIoitj5iUPW',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

Adele's sound went out during her Grammy performance and the internet isn't happy

What the cast of 'Out of the Box' is doing 20 years later

<p class="drop-cap">It's hard to believe that a song about a corrupt superhero who was murdered from the inside out via an "ass bomb" would get nominated for an Emmy, but that's par for the course for Amazon Prime Video's diabolical drama series "<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/the-boys">The Boys</a>."</p><p>Based on Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's comic-book series of the same name, and executive produced by <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/seth-rogen">Seth Rogen</a> and Evan Goldberg, "<keyword id="11916582" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="the-boys" source="Orion">The Boys</keyword>" is a fresh take on the superhero genre that garnered critical acclaim after its premiere in July 2019. </p><p><a href="https://www.insider.com/the-boys-season-2-details-references-2020-9">Season two</a>, released in September 2020, doubled down on the show's unapologetic look at a world in which superheroes, known as supes, are owned by a nefarious corporation called Vought International.</p><p>But before finding a way to top season one's famous dolphin scene - due to <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-boys-amazon-season-2-fun-facts-behind-the-scenes-details">another gory sea creature casualty</a> - the season two premiere opened with <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-boys-erin-moriarty-starlight-suit-challenges-season-two-interview-2020-10">Starlight/Annie January</a> (<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/erin-moriarty">Erin Moriarty</a>) being forced to deliver an award-worthy performance at the funeral for the aforementioned supe, Translucent (Alex Hassell).  </p><p>"The Boys" composer Christopher Lennertz received very clear directions from showrunner and executive producer Eric Kripke before he wrote the song: "He said, 'I need you to write me an Adele-meets-Celine-Dion-meets-Whitney showstopper, over-the-top power ballad," he recalled. </p><p>The result was "Never Truly Vanish," an unabashedly grandiose song that's equal parts heartfelt and ludicrous in its delivery by Moriarty (yes, that <em>is</em> actually her singing the track).</p><p>Writer and co-executive producer Michael Saltzman said that's what made the song and accompanying visuals so hilarious - it's the conjunction of how "ridiculous" the production was paired with "the absolute conviction and sincerity with which they're doing the song."</p><p>"And the writing of the song had to be approached the same way, it's gotta be a legit, authentic song that would be in this situation," Saltzman added.</p><p>Ahead of the <a href="https://www.insider.com/category/emmys-2021">73rd Primetime Emmys</a> next month, Lennertz and Saltzman spoke to <a href="https://www.insider.com/">Insider</a> about how Starlight's anthem came together and landed the "The Boys" a <a href="https://www.insider.com/emmys-nominees-winners-list-2021-7">nomination</a> for outstanding original music and lyrics.</p><div type="image" title="Erin Moriarty performing as Starlight on season two of &quot;The Boys.&quot;" height="1184" width="1578" msid="85514232" hostid="261"></div><hr /><p class="drop-cap">The idea for Starlight's musical moment started in the writers' room while mapping out season two.</p><p>Although the show's head writer, Kripke penned the episode, "The Big Ride," Saltzman described the process as "a real group effort" in which all the writers pitched story ideas and contributed to the outlines.</p><p>Saltzman, who joined the show in its second season after one of his scripts caught Kripke's attention, "dabbled" in songwriting throughout his three decades working in <keyword id="11898468" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tv" source="Orion">TV</keyword>. As a fan of the comic-book genre and musicals, the former "Murphy Brown" showrunner was eager to try his hand at writing lyrics for Starlight to sing at Translucent's funeral. </p><p>"I volunteered to Eric and I said, 'I love writing song lyrics and I have a real take on this if you'd let me do it,'" Saltzman recalled. "He said, 'Yeah, knock yourself out.'"</p><p>Saltzman's goal was to write the lyrics "with a degree of sincerity and authenticity." </p><p>"You can't be making fun of the thing you're doing while you're doing it," he said. "You have to write it as if it's a legit version of the song that Celine Dion is going to sing at the 'In Memoriam' segment at the Oscars. It had to have that kind of gravitas to it."</p><p>One phrase from the writers' room served as the crux for his lyrics: "You'll never truly vanish from our hearts." The phrase was a play on Translucent's power of invisibility, which would inspire other satirical lyrics like: "And though we could see through you, it seems we hardly knew you."</p><p>Another comic-book character also served as inspiration for Saltzman's lyrics.</p><p>"If Translucent had been a character like Angel in the X-Men with actual wings, 'Wind Beneath My Wings' would have been the perfect song for his memorial," Saltzman said. "That was kind of the template that I had in my head when I was writing."</p><div type="image" title="Erin Moriarty performing as Starlight on season two of &quot;The Boys.&quot;" height="1190" width="1586" msid="85514234" hostid="261"></div><hr /><p class="drop-cap">Lennertz said that he "rolled over laughing" when Kripke, whom he met while studying music at USC, first mentioned the song idea. The composer received the script for the episode approximately six to eight months before they started shooting season two.</p><p>The direction he got from the showrunner, aside from channeling iconic powerhouse singers, was that it needed to be "ridiculously cheesy, over-the-top, but it also has to be something that Starlight would sing in the modern world. It has to be something that Vought would produce."</p><p>Because Kripke wanted the song to have lines that seemed serious on first listen, but are far more ridiculous upon closer inspection, Lennetz received a script with lyrics like "our heroes never die" and "your spirit fills the sky."</p><p>"It's the straighter the better whenever it comes to song parodies like that. And they're hard to do," Lennertz said.</p><p>"It's like a ski jump or something. If you don't commit to it, you're going to hurt yourself, always," he added. "It's one of those things where you've got to just be like, 'No, no, this is what we're doing and we're going to sell it till the very end of it. There's no wink. There's no cracking a smile. It is serious, as serious as can be.'"</p><blockquote class="pullquote-wrapper"><q class="pullquote-quotation">Within 10 minutes she was fully acting the part and singing to the microphone as if she was Whitney Houston or Adele.</q> <cite class="pullquote-source">"The Boys" composer Christopher Lennertz on <keyword id="11916583" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="erin-moriarty" source="Orion">Erin Moriarty</keyword></cite></blockquote><p>With Saltzman's ideas and the visuals written into the script, Lennertz began composing "Never Truly Vanish," which took approximately six months mainly because Lennertz had to work around Moriarty's availability and other production factors.</p><p>Kripke and the "Boys" crew knew that the song was going to begin at the funeral, and would include visuals like young Translucent's bar mitzvah photos showing a floating yarmulke over his invisible head. Starlight would sing to an empty glass casket and the whole setting would feel "extremely patriotic with religious overtones," Saltzman said. </p><p>Then the scene would cut to The Deep (<a href="https://www.insider.com/category/chace-crawford">Chace Crawford</a>) watching the funeral from a TV in a bar in Sandusky, Ohio. </p><p>"We had to make sure there were perfect sections in each part of the song so we could make that work in the show," Lennertz said, explaining that the verses needed to compliment Kripke's planned visuals.</p><p>Additionally, Lennertz said that the song needed to have a "huge bridge moment where she really belts it out and we needed the big drum fill that gets us back into the chorus, which every big power ballad has to have."</p><p>And that bridge had to be accompanied by Starlight's eyes lighting up as she dramatically raised her glowing hand.</p><div type="image" title="Erin Moriarty performing as Starlight on season two of &quot;The Boys.&quot;" height="1188" width="1584" msid="85514236" hostid="261"></div><hr /><p class="drop-cap">Lennertz said that the final version heard on the show is quite similar to the first demo, sans Moriarty's vocals. <br />After getting Kripke's seal of approval on the demo, which was completed in spring 2019, Lennertz worked with Moriarty to tailor the song to her range. </p><p>"Everybody wants something to sound the best it can sound," the composer said, adding that no matter how great a vocalist is, "if something's not in their range, it's gonna be terrible."</p><p>"We've all seen it on TV when some amazing singer sings the National Anthem and it's just one step too high and they can't hit the big note," he explained. "So luckily, Erin was really down with the entire approach."</p><p>Lennertz determined the top of Moriarty's range over the phone as he played the piano. Then he adjusted the key to fit her vocal ability. After Moriarty rehearsed the song and minor adjustments were made to accommodate room for breathing and other aspects, it was time for her to record.</p><p>"When Erin finally came in to sing, it was where it all sort of came together and everyone went, 'Oh, this is special,'" said Lennertz, describing the recording process as "magical." </p><div type="image" title="Erin Moriarty performing as Starlight on season two of &quot;The Boys.&quot;" height="1196" width="1594" msid="85514237" hostid="261"></div><p>Moriarty had never been in a recording studio prior to singing "Never Truly Vanish" so there was some skepticism about whether she'd be able to fully deliver. Any doubts were squashed when the actress began recording. </p><p>"It took two minutes, literally. And she was like, 'All right, let's go,'" Lennertz remembered. "She got in the booth and she absolutely sold the concept just like she did on-screen and said, 'I'm going to commit to this.'"</p><p>"Within 10 minutes she was fully acting the part and singing to the microphone as if she was Whitney Houston or Adele," he added. "She just jumped right in and nailed it. We were giddy."</p><p>Lennertz said the rough mix of Moriarty's vocals on the track proved to everyone "that it was going to work" musically and within the context of the show. </p><p>"Eric played it for us after it had been recorded and everyone kind of looked around and went, 'Wow, this is amazing. Who's doing the vocals?' And he was like, 'Erin is,'" Saltzman recalled. "She blew us all away."</p><p>Kripke decided that they needed a bigger stage and larger auditorium for the funeral because of how grand the song turned out, Lennertz said. By the time they were ready to film the scene, all Moriarty had to do was lip-sync and channel all the emotions that she brought in the studio. </p><p>"My jaw was on the floor when I finally saw what they shot," Lennertz added. "I was like, 'This is better than it read in the script.' And it read great in the script." </p><p>That led to making a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rw_OHwI5dUQ">black-and-white music video,</a> starring Moriarty's character, surrounded by a bunch of invisible dancers.  </p><p>"It's just such a ridiculous idea," Lennertz said. "Eric and I always talk about the fact that they literally are paying us to be this ridiculous is just... We never would have thought of this when we were sitting in film school together."</p><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Rw_OHwI5dUQ" frameborder="0"></iframe><hr /><h2 style="text-align: center;"> </h2><p class="drop-cap">The brilliance of "Never Truly Vanish" lies in how comically serious the song is, but it's also a precursor to Starlight's season two journey.</p><p>When viewers first met her, she was a starry-eyed supe who wanted to save the world with her ability to absorb electricity and emit energy blasts. So when she earned a coveted spot in the prestigious Vought-run supes group, known as The Seven, Starlight thought she hit the jackpot.</p><p>The illusion was quickly shattered when she realized that her colleagues were far from the clean-cut heroes that they pretended to be in public. On her first day as part of the Seven, she was sexually assaulted by The Deep. When she went to cry in the bathroom afterward, Translucent was lurking inside and misusing his power of invisibility to spy on women.</p><p>Throughout the season, Starlight would toe the line between her duty to Vought and her desire to make a real difference with the help of The Boys, a rag-tag vigilante group that includes her love interest, Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid). </p><div type="image" title="the boys 203 starlight" height="1089" width="1452" msid="85514239" hostid="261"></div><p>Starlight's previous experiences, along with being forced to perform a tribute to a perverted supe at the opening of season two, set the stage for her to <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-boys-erin-moriarty-starlight-dark-side-season-2-interview-2020-10">summon "a dark side of herself,"</a> Moriarty previously told Insider. </p><p>"It was always going to be a Starlight moment," Lennertz said of "Never Truly Vanish."</p><p>"One of the things they really wanted it to do was comment on the fact that she made a huge transition from the beginning of season one to the end of season one," he continued, "both with her relationship with Hughie and with her empowerment of 'I'm not going to take s--- anymore.'"</p><p>"And here was this guy Translucent, who she knew was this creep that used to hang out in the bathroom. And the real honest truth about Vought is, 'That's too bad. You gotta sing this thing because you're part of The Seven and we pay your salary.' It's that gross over-commercialization, sellout thing that had to be in there to set up the rest of season two."</p><hr /><p class="drop-cap">Historically, superhero series and movies have largely been shut out of major award shows. In recent years that's changed thanks to groundbreaking projects like "Black Panther," which earned Marvel its first three Oscars in 2019.</p><p>In its freshman season, "The Boys" nabbed one Emmy nomination, for outstanding sound editing for a comedy or drama series (one hour). By the time the show returned for season two, more people caught onto its <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-boys-aya-cash-colby-minifie-season-2-racism-interview-2020-10">clever commentary on real-world events</a> and ability to completely flip the superhero genre on its head.</p><p>Barack Obama even <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CI8RF86AxVo/">named "The Boys" as one of his favorite shows of last year</a> and told <a href="https://ew.com/books/barack-obama-a-promised-land-interview/">Entertainment Weekly</a> that he watched the series when he needed a break from writing his memoir, "A Promised Land."</p><p>"When President Obama singled the show out as one of his favorite of the year that blew my mind," Saltzman said, calling "The Boys" a "zeitgeist show" that's become part of the larger "cultural conversation."</p><div type="image" title="the boys season 2 supes" height="1233" width="2500" msid="85514240" hostid="261"></div><p>Given the continued reach of "The Boys," the five total Emmy nominations this year weren't out of the blue. Still, Lennertz said it was a "total shocker" to those involved in the making of the show.</p><p>"All of us just assume that superhero shows aren't going to get award nominations because they haven't in the past," Lennertz said.</p><p>In addition to the nomination for "Never Truly Vanish," the series got a nod for drama series and was recognized in categories honoring sound mixing, special visual effects, and writing.</p><p>Saltzman admitted he was completely clueless about how best song nominations work because he had never written anything that had a shot at one. In fact, he wasn't even planning on waking up early for the Emmy nominations, since he didn't expect much from them. But when his wife came into their bedroom that morning, he had exciting news to share.</p><p>"She saw me sitting up in there and she goes, 'Oh, you're up?' I said, 'Yeah. Hey, guess what I have in common with Robert Lopez and Bo Burnham?' And she said, 'What?' I said, 'That we're all Emmy nominees for best song. And she was like, 'What?'" he recalled with a laugh.</p><p>"It was a huge thrill to be in that company. And such a delightful surprise."</p><hr /><p class="drop-cap">For fans who enjoyed Starlight's "Never Truly Vanish" and speedster A-Train's "lit" anthem "Faster" (performed by actor Jessie T. Usher, featuring Aimée Proal) from season two, Lennertz said "there's a lot of songs" in the <a href="https://www.insider.com/the-boys-season-3-amazon-details-information-2020-9">upcoming third season</a> - but he didn't reveal who will be singing. </p><p>"I can't tell anybody what they are or how many, but Eric did let everybody know that there would be more supes singing this year," he said. "I'm really excited about who's singing those."</p><p>The composer added: "What we haven't done yet is a duet and I would love to do a duet. That's all I can say."</p><div type="image" title="the boys 202 a train starlight" height="1505" width="2007" msid="85514242" hostid="261"></div><p>For Lennertz, getting to work with Kripke for nearly 30 years and compose original tracks for the characters of "The Boys" is a full-circle moment that makes the recent Emmy nomination even more rewarding.</p><p>"It was like somebody handed me the job that I didn't even know I wanted five years ago," he said. "And now I've got my dear friend being like, 'Hey, do it for us and let's have fun with it and go over the top.'"</p><p>"I will keep writing as many songs for Eric as he wants me to write."</p>

A deep dive into Starlight's unabashedly over-the-top, Emmy-nominated power anthem 'Never Truly Vanish' from 'The Boys'

<img class="gwt-Image" src="/photo/50720394.cms" style="width: 800px; height: 600px;" /> Women dominated this year's <keyword id="6391019" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Padma-awards">Padma awards</keyword> for sports with tennis star Sania Mirza and ace shuttler <keyword id="30618" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Saina-Nehwal">Saina Nehwal</keyword> getting the nod for the Padma Bhushan, while archer <keyword id="86231" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Deepika-Kumari">Deepika Kumari</keyword> was chosen for the Padma Shri here today. <br /><br />

	All three were in sublime touch last year and brought the country laurels in their respective sports. 
<br /><br /> Sania enjoyed the most sensational run, clinching nine titles -- including two Grand Slams last year with Swiss great Martina Hingis. The exceptional performance propelled her to the top of the <keyword id="935171" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="WTA-doubles-rankings">WTA doubles rankings</keyword>. <br /><br />

	The 29-year-old is currently competing in the Australian Open in Melbourne, where she has reached the women's doubles quarterfinals with Hingis. 
<br /><br /> Saina has also been in spectacular touch, winning silver medals at the All England and World Badminton Championship last year besides clinching the India Open Super Series and <keyword id="2039194" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Syed-Modi-Grand-Prix-Gold">Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold</keyword>. <br /><br />

	Deepika, on the other hand, won a silver at the Archery World Cup Final besides bronze medals at the World Cup Stage II and the Asian Team Championships. 
<br /><br />

	Saina, who is in the country to compete in this week's Syed Modi Grand Prix Gold Tournament, said the honour has left her surprised. Interestingly, the 25-year-old had expressed her displeasure at being ignored for the award last year. 
<br /><br />
<br /><br />

	"It is a great honour and I want to thank the Ministry for giving me the award. I am very happy with the way the last year has gone, I have been performing well. I reached World No.1 last year and now I am World No.2. I am sure this award will give me more motivation to do well further this year," Saina said. 
<br /><br />

	"It came as a complete surprise to me. I had no clue. I did not expect at all. There was no news of it at all. When I think that I am just 25 and I have received this award, it makes me feel great. But it is still a long way to go." 
<br /><br />

	Saina was left disappointed after the Sports Ministry decided to reject her application for the award in January last year, citing norms. 
<br /><br />

	The ministry had picked two-time Olympic-medallist wrestler Sushil Kumar for the honour last year. 
<br /><br />

	Saina was bestowed the Khel Ratna and Padma Shri in 2010 and also received the Arjuna Award in 2009. 
<br /><br />

	The 21-year-old Deepika, meanwhile, had also won the team silver along with Laxmirani Majhi and Rimil Buriuly in the World Championships. <br />
	<br />
	
		Superstar Rajinikanth, founder of the Reliance empire late Dhirubhai Ambani, Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and media baron Ramoji Rao have been chosen for Padma Vibhushan, country's second highest civilian award, this year. 
	<br /><br />
	
		Former Jammu and Kashmir Governor Jagmohan, former DRDO chief V K Aatre, cancer specialist and chairperson of Adyar Cancer Institute Dr V Shanta and eminent Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dancer Yamini Krishnamurthi and classical vocalist Girija Devi and Indian-American economist Avinash Dixit have also been named for Padma Vibhushan on the occasion of this year's Republic Day celebrations. 
	<br /><br />
	
		Noted actor Anupam Kher, singer Udit Narayan, former CAG Vinod Rai, chairperson of media group Bennett, Coleman &amp; Co. Indu Jain, sports star Sania Mirza and Saina Nehwal, spiritual leaders late Swami Dayanand Saraswati, Swami Tejomayananda and former US Ambassador to India Robert Blackwill are among the 19 eminent people chosen for Padma Bhushan. 
	<br /><br />
	
		Industrialist Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry, Maruti Suzuki chairman R C Bhargava and eminent architect Hafeez Contractor also figure in the list of Padma Bhushan awardees. 
	<br /><br />
	
		Senior lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who was the prosecution counsel in the Mumbai terror attack case, actors Ajay Devgn and Priyanka Chopra get Padma Shri.
	
		<br />
		Renowned sculptor Ram V Sutar, Manipuri theatre personality Heisnam Kanhailal, Hindi and Telugu writer Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad, Sanskrit scholar N S Ramanuja Tatacharya, Punjabi journalist Barjinder Singh Hamdard, gastroenterologist D Nageshwar Reddy and scientist A V Rama Rao have been chosen for Padma Bhushan. 
	<br /><br />
	
		Actor the late Saeed Jaffrey, CEO of MasterCard Ajaypal Singh Banga, archer Deepika Kumari, Bharatanatyam dancer Prathibha Prahlad, Gujarati folk musician Bhikhudan Gadhvi, Goa's musician Tulsidas Borkar and scientist Onkar Nath Srivastava were among those who were named for Padma Shri awards.

<br />


Padma Bhushan for Sania Mirza, Saina Nehwal

<p><div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image"><img src="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/523b3e47eab8eaf639647572-1200-924/lynyrd-skynyrd-johnny-van-zant-l.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Lynyrd Skynyrd, Johnny Van Zant, l" width="480" /><p class="source on-image">Reuters/Fred Prouser</p><p class="caption">Johnny Van Zant, lead vocalist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, performs at the taping of Country Music Television's special "CMT Giants" which honors Hank Williams, Jr. in Los Angeles October 25, 2007. </p></div></div>While researching a story on why <keyword id="1781283" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="The-South">the South</keyword> is <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/south-has-more-violent-crime-fbi-statistics-show-2013-9">more violent than the rest of America</a>, we came across this strange study on the Southern "<a href="http://mypages.valdosta.edu/mwhatley/7670/activity/honor.htm">culture of honor</a>."</p>
<p>The study - "Insult, Aggression, and the Southern Culture of Honor: An 'Experimental Ethnography'" - is from 1996, but it investigates a phenomenon that still exists today. The study acknowledges several other theories of why the South is relatively violent, including poverty, hot weather, and its history of slavery.</p>
<p>The study, however, sets up an experiment to investigate the "culture of honor" theory that Southern men feel the need to take some kind of action when they've been insulted.</p>
<p>The researchers enlisted white male undergrads from the University of Michigan, 42 from the North and 41 from the South. They initially were told they'd be participating in an experiment on "limited response time conditions on certain facets of human judgment."</p>
<p>They didn't know they were about to be called an asshole.</p>
<p>Here's the first part of the experiment:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 60px;">As the participant walked down the hall, a confederate of the experimenter walked out of a door marked "Photo Lab" and began working at a file cabinet in the hall. The confederate had to push the file drawer in to allow the participant to pass by him and drop his paper off at the table. As the participant returned seconds later and walked back down the hall toward the experimental room, the confederate (who had reopened the file drawer) slammed it shut on seeing the participant approach and bumped into the participant with his shoulder, calling the participant an "asshole."</p>
<p>The study also used other methods to "insult" the Southerners and Northerners.</p>
<p>Observers then observed the participants' body language and verbal reactions. They were also asked to complete verbal exercises, and their testosterone levels were measured.</p>
<p>Southerners were more upset by the insult. Their testosterone levels rose. They were more likely to behave in a domineering way after the insult, too.</p>
<p>Southerners, to be sure, may have been more bothered by being called asshole because they're less used to rudeness, the researchers said. But Southerners could also have different "rules" for how to respond to an insult. That is, they may believe they should fight back if they're put down.</p>
<p>That urge to retaliate could help make a whole region more violent.</p>
<p>Quoting a Dallas homicide detective, the study noted, "Murders result from little ol' arguments over nothing at all. Tempers flare. A fight starts, and somebody gets stabbed or shot. I've worked on cases where the principals had been arguing over a 10 cent record on a juke box, or over a one dollar gambling debt from a dice game."</p>
<p>Read <a href="http://mypages.valdosta.edu/mwhatley/7670/activity/honor.htm">the full experiment</a> here.</p>

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