Kathniel Breakup
On November 30, 2023, social media users were taken by storm when love team Kathryn Bernardo and Daniel Padilla announced their breakup. The pair, commonly referred to as Kathniel, went public on social media about the end of their 11 year relationship as the two of them have "grown apart". Filipinos online paid emotional tribute to the pair, whose films and teleseryes captivated households in the country and abroad. Despite the rumors that have been surrounding the pair for several months or even years, many expressed significant shock and distress at the announcement, which some writers have attributed to Kathniel's portrayal, both on and off screen, as a genuine and model romance.
Story by Jerome Tan
Taylor Swift's most streamed artist
Taylor Swift truly never goes out of style, especially when she became the Top 1 most streamed artist around the world. Spotify released their annual Spotify Wrapped last November 29, 2023 and revealed Taylor as the highest overall streamed artist by users. She gained an enormous 26.1 billion streams since January 1 of last year, defeating Bad Bunny who reigned at the top for the past 3 years. Not only that, but her Midnights album was a massive hit, earning the title of the second most streamed album around the world. Her continuous success with the ongoing Eras Tour and releases of “Taylor’s Version” albums made fans ecstatic. Two of her most streamed songs were “Cruel Summer” and “Anti-Hero”, placing at 6th and 10th place respectively. She’s known for her big reputation and hard work on songwriting, creating music that tells her stories and touches the hearts of her listeners.
Story by Hannah Pastrana
Eras movie
As the Eras Tour was mostly in other countries, Filipino swifties here were overjoyed when the Eras movie came out. I was one of the many people who watched it and enjoyed it greatly. She has sung songs from 9 albums: Lover, Fearless, Evermore, Reputation, Speak Now, Red, Folklore, 1989 and Midnights. It was a wonderful experience watching it. Swifties had sung their hearts out as Taylor sang the songs.
Story by Julia Arellano
Renaissance movie
The Renaissance movie is a concert film by Beyoncé about her Renaissance World Tour. It shows the behind the scenes of creating and producing the tour, along with surround performances and Beyoncé's thoughts as she went on her world tour. The film shows not only the behind-the-scenes of the tour, but also shows how much effort was put into it. It also presented her humanity as she talked about recovering from a knee injury while on tour. The movie did spectacular at the global box office, making 21.8 million dollars on the opening weekend.
Story by Isabella David
SAG-AFTRA Strike
The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) is a union that represents about 160,000 actors and other media professionals in the United States. Every three years, the actors’ contracts are renewed by the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), who represent Walt Disney, Netflix, and other media companies.
However, last year, the union and AMPTP failed to reach an agreement on the new contract’s terms and conditions by the deadline, July 12, which resulted in the SAG-AFTRA calling for an actors’ strike (which began on July 14). The strike caused a majority of sets to shut down indefinitely, postponing new movies and shows’ releases. After 118 days of strike, a tentative agreement was reached regarding the working conditions of the industry on November 8, ending the longest strike against Hollywood and the second-longest actors’ strike in history. SAG-AFTRA then opened a ratification vote on November 14, which revealed that 78.33% of ballots were in favor of the previously mentioned tentative agreement. The new contract provides actors with pay increases, protection around the use of artificial intelligence, and streaming-based bonuses.
Story by Chesca Chua
Five Nights at Freddy movie
The Five Nights at Freddy's (FNAF) movie is based on the Five Nights at Freddy’s games by Scott Cawthon. FNAF is a popular game franchise originally created in 2014 by the indie developer Scott Cawthon. The movie adaptation of the game was announced in April 2015, but due to factors such as major script changes and crew changes, it was released on October 27, 2023. Fans and critics have mixed opinions on the movie itself, agreeing that it is not the best horror film out there and is more targeted for the fans of the original games. The target audience are younger children, so horror and gory parts of the movie were toned down.
Story by Sabine Chua
Coldplay concert
“Look at the stars, look how they shine for you and everything you do, they were all yellow.”
As the iconic British pop-rock band, Coldplay, made a triumphant return to the Philippines, performing at the Philippine arena on January 19 and 20, 2024 for their "Music of the Spheres" tour, their fans were undoubtedly treated to a cosmic performance that ignited the stage with sparks of musical brilliance. Serenading the audience with their timeless hits like "The Scientist" and "Viva la Vida," Coldplay transformed the event into an adventure of a lifetime, skillfully creating an atmosphere that made the audience feel as though they would never experience something just like this once more. The production was far from a mere spectacle, but an immersive journey that transported the audience to their paradise, creating what could only be labeled as “My Universe.”
Story by Vian Ching
Miss Universe 2023
Miss Universe 2023 is the 72nd annual competition, in which 84 distinct women from different countries compete for the title of Miss Universe. This year’s competition was held in El Salvador on November 18, 2023. The choice of location has been met with criticism due to the fact the area has an ongoing state of emergency. People believe the pageant was a distraction from El Salvador’s economic crisis. A second controversy began when seven contestants exposed the fact that they had been sexually harassed by pageant organizers, 5 of whom were inappropriately photographed against their will. Later on, they filed police reports. On the positive side, Miss Philippines (Michelle Dee, a 28-year-old born in Makati City) was awarded 3 different awards, namely the Best National Costume, Fan Favorite, and Spirit of Carnival Awards. Miss Philippines also won gold and was placed in the top 10. The winner of this year’s competition was Sheynee Palacious of Nicaragua, with 1st runner-up being Anntonia Porslid of Thailand, followed by Moraya Wilson of Australia.
Story by Maika Go
Comments