#December 2019: Shawn Mendes
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https://www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefive/c5-things-to-do/article263224433.html
July 8
Shawn Mendes dishes on the tour he’s bringing to Charlotte — and on being a crocodile
Shawn Mendes has come a long way since he appeared on stage at live-music club Amos’ Southend seven years ago, at age 16, to play for a crowd of just over 1,300 fans.
The best proof of that? When he returns to Charlotte later this month, for the first time since that 2015 show, the now-23-year-old pop star responsible for monster hits like “Treat You Better” and “There’s Nothing Holdin’ Me Back” will need a venue that can hold more than 13,000 concertgoers this time.
Here are a few of the most interesting things we learned about Mendes during a recent teleconference with reporters to promote his upcoming “Wonder: The World Tour,” which supports his 2020 album “Wonder” and stops at Spectrum Center on July 22.
ON THE ALBUM THAT INSPIRED THE TOUR
While the rest of us were making viral pasta from TikTok and learning TikTok dances during the pandemic, Mendes was working on creating the “Wonder” album.
Mendes started working on the album right after his previous tour — “Shawn Mendes: The Tour,” which ended in December 2019. “I started making it and then the world went into pandemic, so it was definitely a fun time to make music, so I felt very called to write about things that really mattered to me.”
Specifically, he referred to his since-ended relationship with fellow pop star Camila Cabello, too, saying, “I was experiencing what it felt like to be in love for the first time, writing about that. And my process was really just trying to get as honest as possible and ... there was nowhere to go so I spent a lot of time just kind of writing in a journal and keeping track of all of kind of internal dialogue.”
ON RETURNING TO TOURING
“It’s been a long time and playing live is something that’s really been a life force for me since I was 15,” he said. “So I’m excited to feel that energy again and connect with people and see the fans. But I can’t say that I don’t have a lot of also anxiety surrounding it, too, because ... I spent a lot of time at home, I’ve gotten used to spending time around friends and family, and road life is definitely a different thing.”
“I think I’m looking forward to really just connecting to the fans again,” he continued, “and connecting to music and connecting to this whole thing that was lost for a couple years, and finding that beauty, because it really is the most special thing I’ve ever experienced — and I’m excited to feel that again.”
ON THE VIBE OF THE TOUR
“I really, with all my heart, think that it’s never been more beautiful,” he said. As much as anything, Mendes hopes fans feel a sense of humanity at the end of the show, saying: “Do you know that feeling when you watch like a really good movie, and it just kind of touches on all the very, like, small, nuanced pieces of what it is to be human and it kind of touches the heart in all the right ways? That’s the kind of thing that I’m aiming for, is to kind of touch the heart in all the right ways and have people feel very just like connected to love and sadness and all of the heavy stuff and the great stuff in between.”
As for the setlist, he said, “It’s really just about an ebb and flow and bringing people up at the right moments, letting them come down to take a breath and feel something deep. And then bringing them back up to kind of peak euphoria and just letting that roller coaster.”
ON HIS PLANS AFTER THE TOUR
For one, he said he’d like to find a home and put down roots. As for where that might be? “All my family’s in Toronto so I’d love obviously to be around them, but ... it’s just generally too cold in Toronto for my liking, so I really — I’m not sure yet. That’s the hard part for me.”
Also, he’d like to try his hand at acting. “I think I have an interest in what that would maybe be like for me,” he said.
Meanwhile, he will make his voice-acting debut in “Lyle, Lyle Crocodile” — as the movie’s titular singing crocodile — when the animated film is released this fall. It’s based on a children’s book where a boy moves to New York City and meets a crocodile who loves singing, baths and caviar.
“Seeing my voice come through the face of a CGI crocodile was bizarre,” Mendes said. But “I think it’s gonna be something I’m so proud of, especially as I get older.”
Mendes said the movie will affect kids in a positive way, which was the main reason he agreed to star in it. The film is set to be released in theaters on Oct. 17.
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In a span of a week :
Camila exposed for being a racist
Asap sex tape
Steph Curry dick got exposed
DaBaby dick got leaked(😍😍 btw)
Logan Paul is sucking dick
2019 really making a grand exist huh?💀
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🖤
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No one talks about how good the style music video is for an aesthetic.
@taylorswift @taylornation
#i stand with taylor#taylornation#taylorswift#taylorlurking#taytay#t.s. 1989#taylor swift 1989#1989 album#1989 lyrics#december 13 1989#red era#republic records#amas 2019#joe alwyn#ariana grande#shawn mendes#one direction#why dont we#selena gomez
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Hailee Steinfeld
I’m on the @whatiwillsay podcast this week to discuss all things Hailee Steinfeld - link!
Her Career
True Grit - 2010. Nominated at 14 years old for Best Supporting Actress Academy Award.
2015 - appeared in Shawn Mendes’ “Stitches” (acoustic) music video. Appeared in the Bad Blood music video. “Love Myself” single released.
Pitch Perfect 2 - 2015 / Pitch Perfect 3 - 2017
The Edge of Seventeen - 2016. Golden Globe nominee for Best Actress.
2016 - hit single “Starving” released
Marvel Cinematic Universe - Kate Bishop in Hawkeye, voiced Gwen Stacey in Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse.
2018 - “Colour” song and music video with MNEK, out gay British pop artist.
2019-2021 - played Emily Dickinson in “Dickinson” and was an executive producer on the show.
Hailee & Taylor
2011 - Taylor and Hailee were introduced by Emma Stone.
2012 - Hailee was backstage at the Red tour.
January 2013 - took trip together to Paris and posted about it. Several magazine articles. Taylor was in France to perform at an awards show in Cannes.
May 2013 - hung out at the Met Ball. Took Memorial Day trip together to Rhode Island and were papped.
September 2013 - papped shopping in West Hollywood. The night before, Taylor went to the Fun concert with Dianna and Sarah Hyland.
October 2013 - Taylor went to Hailee’s “Romeo + Juliet” movie premiere. Articles said Taylor was like Hailee’s big sister.
December 2013 - Hailee stayed over at Taylor’s house a few nights before Christmas. Posted some Swiftmas photos doing Christmas-y things.
January 2014 - hung out at a Golden Globes after party.
April 2014 - Glamour and Just Jared articles about Hailee and Taylor. They were papped walking around NYC going out to dinner. Hailee was 17 at the time. Taylor was 24. Hailee was on the cover of Nylon’s Young Hollywood issue. Hailee said that she and Taylor are good friends, “do everything together from baking cookies to vacationing in Rhode Island with matching outfits.”
March 2015 - iHeart Radio Awards.
May 2015 - Hailee was at Taylor’s after party for the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas. One of the first Tayvin appearances.
Bad Blood Music Video - released in May 2015. Premiered at the Billboard Music Awards. Hailee and some of the squad attended. Hailee was “The Trinity” in the video.
1989 Tour - Hailee walked the stage with Taylor, Lena Dunham, Gigi, and Lily Aldridge at a July 2015 tour stop in New Jersey.
2015 VMAs - August 2015. Won a moon man for Bad Blood mv.
March 3, 2016 - Taylor posted a photo with Hailee, Selena, and Camila for Camila’s birthday.
August 2016 - Hailee interview in Billboard/Seventeen. The 1989 era squad doesn’t see each other very much. “Not as close with Taylor as people think.”
October 2016 - US magazine article about group chat with the squad. Hailee seemingly left the squad as it transitioned towards the Brit girls.
January 2021 - in a radio interview, Hailee learned that “Evermore” may be partially based on Emily Dickinson.
December 2021 - Ivy plays during the closing credits of a Dickinson episode after Emily and Sue have sex.
Public Romances
Charlie Puth - 2015 - Hailee was spotted backstage hanging out with him at the AMAs. Never officially confirmed.
Cameron Smoller - 2016/2017. Attended the Golden Globes and other events together. Posted about each other on IG. Maybe back together in 2019-2021, but probably just stayed friends. Went to a Republic Records party and a Billie Eilish concert.
Niall Horan - Dec. 2017/Dec. 2018. Friends beforehand. Attended some events together.
Possible WLW
October 4, 2015 - posted a photo of herself on stage and captioned it “G-A-Y”
June 12, 2016 - tweeted about attending LA Pride and joining the LGBTQ community at Pride. “I could have danced all night in celebration of our freedom and equality.”
Sophie Turner
2015 - release of the Barely Lethal movie they did together. Movie was filmed in 2013.
Friends from 2013 - 2016. Photographed holding hands and wearing similar-ish outfits in 2015, including at a Barely Lethal screening in LA and a fan meet and greet in London. Sat front row next to each other at a London fashion week show. 2014 - papped holding hands and getting ice cream in Malibu.
Reunited and took a photo together at Coachella in 2017. Hailee was there with Cameron and Sophie was there with Joe Jonas.
Hailee was rumored to have set Sophie and Joe up in 2016 when they first started dating. A rumor she denies, but she’ll “take credit for it” because they are cute together. (Jimmy Fallon)
Sophie and Joe announced their engagement in 2017. Married twice in 2019. As far as I can tell, Hailee did not attend either of Sophie’s weddings. Sophie is out as “falling for souls not genders” and admitted in an interview to previously dating men and women.
2019 - Hailee and Sophie danced together and hung out at the VMAs. The three also hung out at the Vanity Fair Oscar party that year.
In late 2021 on the Netflix roast of the Jonas Brothers, Sophie talked about Joe’s purity ring and described who Joe had his fingers in, “co-stars, actresses, and supermodels.” No mention of Taylor.
Hailee was voted the #1 woman on the 2022 L Chat Hot 100 poll.
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Camren circle
A list of people who most probably know the truth, just because I was curious how many of them there are.
Friends from the industry
- 5H girls
- Halsey
“Strangers” - collaboration with Lauren in 2017
performance with Taylor and Camila at AMAs 2019
with Camila and Shawn at VMAs 2019
- Taylor Swift
Camila’s PR in 2015
5H as a guest on 1989 tour
Camila as an opening act on Reputation tour
Taylor supporting Camren at AMAs 2018
Lauren supporting Taylor
- Hailee Steinfeld
in Taylor squad in 2015
friends with 5H, mostly Ally and Camila
dating rumors with Camila
- Ariana Grande
Camila’s wifey
“God is a women” was too gay for Camila’s team, so it’s Ariana’s song now
- Hayley Kiyoko
Lauren giving an award to Hayley at Billboard's Women in Music 2018
with Camila on TRL in 2018
- Billie Eilish
(Camila collaborating with Finneas (Billie’s brother) on Used to this and First Man)
- Rosalia
Lauren Presents Rosalía With Rising Star Award | Women In Music
Camila with Rosalia at VMAs 2019 after she ditched Shawn and the stunt
- Becky G
Austin Mahone’s girlfriend after Camila
Lauren’s guest appearance on Becky’s podcast
PRs
- The Vamps
Brad - Lauren’s PR in 2014
on tour with 5H, Austin Mahone and Shawn Mendes in 2014
meeting Camila backstage in 2018
meeting Camila at Radio 1′s Teen Awards 2017
- Austin Mahone
PR with Camila in 2014
on tour with 5H, The Vamps and Shawn Mendes in 2014
pictures from the backstage at 99.7 NOW December 2015
- Shawn Mendes
on tour with 5H, Austin Mahone and The Vamps in 2014
“I know what you did last summer” - collaboration with Camila in 2015
“Señorita” - collaboration with Camila in 2019
Camila’s PR June 2019 -
- Ty Dolla Sign
“Work from home” - collaboration with 5H
Lauren’s PR April 2017 - April 2019
“In your phone” - collaboration with Lauren in 2017
- Lucy
PR with Lauren
friends with Lauren and Camila (at least back in the day)
Work relationships
- Ed Sheeran
“South of the border“ - collaboration with Camila in 2019
“The boy“ - collaboration with Camila 2017 (unreleased)
- Diplo
“Know no better” - collaboration with Camila in 2017
recorded over 20 unreleased songs with Camila
Diplo Introduces Camila Cabello at Billboard's Women in Music 2017
interview with Camila by Chelsea, so with Camren hints
Diplo retweeted Lauren’s tweet in July 2017
- Charlie XCX
writer on "Scar Tissue","Señorita","OMG",”Be Right Here”
opening act on Reputation tour
- Alejandro Sanz
“Mi persona favorita”
liked Camren posts in 2019
- Pharrell Williams
writer on “Crying in the Club” and “”Havana”
collaboration “Sangria Wine”
performing Sangria Wine on BBMas (one of my favorite performences plus Normila)
- Steve Aoki
“All night” - collaboration with Lauren
interestingly both pictures from February 2017
More:
----------Fifth harmony and One Direction - the connections
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Variety’s Grammy-nominated Hitmaker of the Year goes deep on the music industry, the great pause and finding his own muses.
“We’ll dance again,” Harry Styles coos, the Los Angeles sunshine peeking through his pandemic-shaggy hair just so. The singer, songwriter and actor — beloved and critically acclaimed thanks to his life-affirming year-old album, “Fine Line” — is lamenting that his Variety Hitmaker of the Year cover conversation has to be conducted over Zoom rather than in person. Even via videoconference, the Brit is effortlessly charming, as anyone who’s come within earshot of him would attest, but it quickly becomes clear that beneath that genial smile is a well-honed media strategy.
To wit: In an interview that appears a few days later announcing his investment in a new arena in his native Manchester (more on that in a bit), he repeats the refrain — “There will be a time we dance again”— referencing a much-needed return to live music and the promise of some 4,000 jobs for residents.
None of which is to suggest that Styles, 26, phones it in for interviews. Quite the opposite: He does very few, conceivably to give more of himself and not cheapen what is out there and also to use the publicity opportunity to indulge his other interests, like fashion. (Last month Styles became the first male to grace the cover of Vogue solo.) Still, it stings a little that a waltz with the former One Direction member may not come to pass on this album cycle — curse you, coronavirus.
Styles’ isolation has coincided with his maturation as an artist, a thespian and a person. With “Fine Line,” he’s proved himself a skilled lyricist with a tremendous ear for harmony and melody. In preparing for his role in Olivia Wilde’s period thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” which is shooting outside Palm Springs, he found an outlet for expression in interpreting words on a page. And for the first time, he’s using his megaphone to speak out about social justice — inspired by the outpouring of support for Black people around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.
Styles has spent much of the past nine months at home in London, where life has slowed considerably. The time has allowed him to ponder such heady issues as his purpose on the earth. “It’s been a pause that I don’t know if I would have otherwise taken,” says Styles. “I think it’s been pretty good for me to have a kind of stop, to look and think about what it actually means to be an artist, what it means to do what we do and why we do it. I lean into moments like this — moments of uncertainty.”
In truth, while Styles has largely been keeping a low profile — his Love On Tour, due to kick off on April 15, was postponed in late March and is now scheduled to launch in February 2021 (whether it actually will remains to be seen) — his music has not. This is especially true in the U.S., where he’s notched two hit singles, “Adore You,” the second-most-played song at radio in 2020, and “Watermelon Sugar” (No. 22 on Variety’s year-end Hitmakers chart), with a third, “Golden,” already cresting the top 20 on the pop format. The massive cross-platform success of these songs means Styles has finally and decisively broken into the American market, maneuvering its web of gatekeepers to accumulate 6.2 million consumption units and rising.
Why do these particular songs resonate in 2020? Styles doesn’t have the faintest idea. While he acknowledges a “nursery rhyme” feel to “Watermelon Sugar” with its earwormy loop of a chorus, that’s about as much insight as he can offer. His longtime collaborator and friend Tom Hull, also known as the producer Kid Harpoon, offers this take: “There’s a lot of amazing things about that song, but what really stands out is the lyric. It’s not trying to hide or be clever. The simplicity of watermelon … there’s such a joy in it, [which] is a massive part of that song’s success.” Also, his kids love it. “I’ve never had a song connect with children in this way,” says Hull, whose credits include tunes by Shawn Mendes, Florence and the Machine and Calvin Harris. “I get sent videos all the time from friends of their kids singing. I have a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old, and they listen to it.”
Styles is quick to note that he doesn’t chase pop appeal when crafting songs. In fact, the times when he pondered or approved a purposeful tweak, like on his self-titled 2017 debut, still gnaw at him. “I love that album so much because it represents such a time in my life, but when I listen to it — sonically and lyrically, especially — I can hear places where I was playing it safe,” he says. “I was scared to get it wrong.”
Contemporary effects and on-trend beats hardly factor into Styles’ decision-making. He likes to focus on feelings — his own and his followers’ — and see himself on the other side of the velvet rope, an important distinction in his view. “People within [the industry] feel like they operate on a higher level of listening, and I like to make music from the point of being a fan of music,” Styles says. “Fans are the best A&R.”
This from someone who’s had free rein to pursue every musical whim, and hand in the album of his dreams in the form of “Fine Line.” Chart success makes it all the sweeter, but Styles insists that writing “for the right reasons” supersedes any commercial considerations. “There’s no part that feels, eh, icky — like it was made in the lab,” he says.
Styles has experience in this realm. As a graduate of the U.K. competition series “The X Factor,” where he and four other auditionees — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson — were singled out by show creator and star judge Simon Cowell to conjoin as One Direction, he’s seen how the prefab pop machine works up close. The One Direction oeuvre, which counts some 42 million albums sold worldwide, includes songs written with such established hitmakers as Ryan Tedder, Savan Kotecha and Teddy Geiger. Being a studious, insatiable observer, Styles took it all in.
“I learned so much,” he says of the experience. “When we were in the band, I used to try and write with as many different people as I could. I wanted to practice — and I wrote a lot of bad shit.”
His bandmates also benefited from the pop star boot camp. The proof is in the relatively seamless solo transitions of at least three of its members — Payne, Malik and Horan in addition to Styles — each of whom has landed hit singles on charts in the U.K., the U.S. and beyond.
This departs from the typical trajectories of boy bands including New Kids on the Block and ’N Sync, which have all pro ered a star frontman. The thinking for decades was that a record company would be lucky to have one breakout solo career among the bunch.
Styles has plainly thought about this.
“When you look at the history of people coming out of bands and starting solo careers, they feel this need to apologize for being in the band. ‘Don’t worry, everyone, that wasn’t me! Now I get to do what I really want to do.’ But we loved being in the band,” he says. “I think there’s a wont to pit people against each other. And I think it’s never been about that for us. It’s about a next step in evolution. The fact that we’ve all achieved different things outside of the band says a lot about how hard we worked in it.”
Indeed, during the five-ish years that One Direction existed, Styles’ schedule involved the sort of nonstop international jet-setting that few get to see in a lifetime, never mind their teenage years. Between 2011 and 2015, One Direction’s tours pulled in north of $631 million in gross ticket sales, according to concert trade Pollstar, and the band was selling out stadiums worldwide by the time it entered its extended hiatus. Styles, too, had built up to playing arenas as a solo artist, engaging audiences with his colorful stage wear and banter and left-of-center choices for opening acts (a pre-Grammy-haul Kacey Musgraves in 2018; indie darlings King Princess and Jenny Lewis for his rescheduled 2021 run).
Stages of all sizes feel like home to Styles. He grew up in a suburb of Manchester, ground zero for some of the biggest British acts of the 1980s and ’90s, including Joy Division, New Order, the Smiths and Oasis, the latter of which broke the same year Styles was born. His parents were also music lovers. Styles’ father fed him a balanced diet of the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and Queen, while Mum was a fan of Shania Twain, Norah Jones and Savage Garden. “They’re all great melody writers,” says Styles of the acts’ musical throughline.
Stevie Nicks, who in the past has described “Fine Line” as Styles’ “Rumours,” referencing the Fleetwood Mac 1977 classic, sees him as a kindred spirit. “Harry writes and sings his songs about real experiences that seemingly happened yesterday,” she tells Variety. “He taps into real life. He doesn’t make up stories. He tells the truth, and that is what I do. ‘Fine Line’ has been my favorite record since it came out. It is his ‘Rumours.’ I told him that in a note on December 13, 2019 before he went on stage to play the ‘Fine Line’ album at the Forum. We cried. He sang those songs like he had sung them a thousand times. That’s a great songwriter and a great performer.”
“Harry’s playing and writing is instinctual,” adds Jonathan Wilson, a friend and peer who’s advised Styles on backing and session musicians. “He understands history and where to take the torch. You can see the thread of great British performers — from Bolan to Bowie — in his music.”
Also shaping his musical DNA was Manchester itself, the site of a 23,500-seat arena, dubbed Co-op Live, for which Styles is an investor and adviser. Oak View Group, a company specializing in live entertainment and global sports that was founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015 (Jeffrey Azoff, Irving’s son, represents Styles at Full Stop Management), is leading the effort to construct the venue. The project gained planning approval in September and is set to open in 2023, with its arrival representing a £350 million ($455 million) investment in the city. (Worth noting: Manchester is already home to an arena — the site of a 2017 bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert — and a football stadium, where One Love Manchester, an all-star benefit show to raise money for victims of the terrorist attack, took place.)
“I went to my first shows in Manchester,” Styles says of concerts paid for with money earned delivering newspapers for a supermarket called the Co-op. “My friends and I would go in on weekends. There’s so many amazing small venues, and music is such a massive part of the city. I think Manchester deserves it. It feels like a full-circle, coming-home thing to be doing this and to be able to give any kind of input. I’m incredibly proud. Hopefully they’ll let me play there at some point.”
Though Styles has owned properties in Los Angeles, his base for the foreseeable future is London. “I feel like my relationship with L.A. has changed a lot,” he explains. “I’ve kind of accepted that I don’t have to live here anymore; for a while I felt like I was supposed to. Like it meant things were going well. This happened, then you move to L.A.! But I don’t really want to.”
Is it any wonder? Between COVID and the turmoil in the U.S. spurred by the presidential election, Styles, like some 79 million American voters, is recovering from sticker shock over the bill of goods sold to them by the concept of democracy. “In general, as people, there’s a lack of empathy,” he observes. “We found this place that’s so divisive. We just don’t listen to each other anymore. And that’s quite scary.”
That belief prompted Styles to speak out publicly in the wake of George Floyd’s death. As protests in support of Black Lives Matter took to streets all over the world, for Styles, it triggered a period of introspection, as marked by an Instagram message (liked by 2.7 million users and counting) in which he declared: “I do things every day without fear, because I am privileged, and I am privileged every day because I am white. … Being not racist is not enough, we must be anti racist. Social change is enacted when a society mobilizes. I stand in solidarity with all of those protesting. I’m donating to help post bail for arrested organizers. Look inwards, educate yourself and others. LISTEN, READ, SHARE, DONATE and VOTE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
“Talking about race can be really uncomfortable for everyone,” Styles elaborates. “I had a realization that my own comfort in the conversation has nothing to do with the problem — like that’s not enough of a reason to not have a conversation. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve been outspoken enough in the past. Using that feeling has pushed me forward to being open and ready to learn. … How can I ensure from my side that in 20 years, the right things are still being done and the right people are getting the right opportunities? That it’s not a passing thing?”
His own record company — and corporate parent Sony Music Group, whose chairman, Rob Stringer, signed Styles in 2016 — has been grappling with these same questions as the industry has faced its own reckoning with race. At issue: inequality among the upper ranks (an oft-cited statistic: popular music is 80% Black, but the music business is 80% white); contracts rooted in a decades-old system that many say is set up to take advantage of artists, Black artists more unfairly than white; and the call for a return of master rights, an ownership model that is at the core of the business.
Styles acknowledges the fundamental imbalance in how a major label deal is structured — the record company takes on the financial risk while the artist is made to recoup money spent on the project before the act is considered profitable and earning royalties (typically at a 15% to 18% rate for the artist, while the label keeps and disburses the rest). “Historically, I can’t think of any industry that’s benefited more off of Black culture than music,” he says. “There are discussions that need to happen about this long history of not being paid fairly. It’s a time for listening, and hopefully, people will come out humbled, educated and willing to learn and change.”
By all accounts, Styles is a voracious reader, a movie lover and an aesthete. He stays in shape by adhering to a strict daily exercise routine. “I tried to keep up but didn’t last more than two weeks,” says Hull, Styles’ producer, with a laugh. “The discipline is terrifying.”
Of course, with the fashion world beckoning — Styles recently appeared in a film series for Gucci’s new collection that was co-directed by the fashion house’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, and Oscar winner Gus Van Sant — and a movie that’s set in the 1950s, maintaining that physique is part of the job. And he’s no stranger to visual continuity after appearing in Christopher Nolan’s epic “Dunkirk” and having to return to set for reshoots; his hair, which needed to be cut back to its circa 1940 form, is a constant topic of conversation among fans. This time, it’s the ink that poses a challenge. By Styles’ tally, he’s up to 60 tattoos, which require an hour in the makeup chair to cover up. “It’s the only time I really regret getting tattooed,” he says.
He shows no regret, however, when it comes to stylistic choices overall, and takes pride in his gender-agnostic portfolio, which includes wearing a Gucci dress on that Vogue cover— an image that incited conservative pundit Candace Owens to plead publicly to “bring back manly men.” In Styles’ view: “To not wear [something] because it’s females’ clothing, you shut out a whole world of great clothes. And I think what’s exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn’t have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred.”
But acclaim, if you can believe it, is not top of mind for Styles. As far as the Grammys are concerned, Styles shrugs, “It’s never why I do anything.” His team and longtime label, however, had their hearts set on a showing at the Jan. 31 ceremony. Their investment in Styles has been substantial — not just monetarily but in carefully crafting his career in the wake of such icons as David Bowie, who released his final albums with the label. Hope at the company and in many fans’ hearts that Styles would receive an album of the year nomination did not come to pass. However, he was recognized in three categories, including best pop vocal album.
“It’s always nice to know that people like what you’re doing, but ultimately — and especially working in a subjective field — I don’t put too much weight on that stuff,” Styles says. “I think it’s important when making any kind of art to remove the ego from it.” Citing the painter Matisse, he adds: “It’s about the work that you do when you’re not expecting any applause.”
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Reconciliation and Late-Stage Tayliz (September 2014 - Present)
Despite not seeing each other for a while, Taylor and Liz clearly still hold a soft spot in each other’s hearts.
During the Secret Sessions for 1989 in Nashville, fans took pictures in Taylor’s home, and you can clearly see she has photos from Charleston displayed:
When it came time to mend the fences between Taylor and Liz, Claire Callaway was the one who ended up doing it:
2 October 2014 - Claire tweets a TBT to the Charleston trip. Liz responds to it:
That seems to get the ball rolling, because when Taylor drops Out of the Woods as a single, this happens:
14 October 2014 - Taylor and Liz tweet about how much they miss each other:
Then, when Taylor walks the runaway with Karlie at the VSFS, this happens:
Taylor is with Karlie at the time, and obviously nothing romantic is happening on Liz’s end either, because...
20 December 2014 - Liz gets engaged to Bryan Brown and has dinner with friends:
16 February 2015 - Liz tweets that Taylor is badass
8 April 2016 - Liz makes this gay post on Facebook that I’d like to think is a response to Style, since the MV had come out a few months before:
And Liz seems to have found a group of gay friends...
Although, that could just be a typo.
15 July 2015 - Liz posts on Facebook that “Thanks to some really talented friends, I got to record something beautiful today. Can’t wait to share this one.” The picture she attaches definitely looks like Taylor:
Liz also tweets this:
We do NOT know where Taylor was that day. However, she performed in DC on the 1989 tour on the 14th and was papped in NYC on the 16th so it’s not impossible she was in Nashville working on something with Liz. Unfortunately, whatever they worked on has yet to surface (unless you subscribe to the theory that Liz is WB...)
3 August 2015 - Shawn Brooks releases a song called Matter of Time that was written sometime in 2014 by Liz.
Notable lyrics include:
She’s got me lovestruck, crazy
Going out of my mind
She’s got me lovestruck, crazy
But sooner or later, she’s gonna be mine
It’s just a matter of time
Don’t know what this means for Liz or TayLiz, since Liz has been with Bryan since early 2013 at the latest, but this is very gay and fun.
27 August 2015 - Thirst tweet:
31 August 2015 - Liz calls Taylor sexy in response to the Wildest Dreams MV:
15 October 2015 - Liz tweets about Better Than Revenge:
28 October 2015 - Liz quote tweets Taylor about OOTW acoustic:
11 November 2015 - Liz responds to Caitlin’s tweet tagging Taylor about nostalgia:
9 December 2015 - Liz congratulates Taylor on her Grammy noms:
13 December 2015 - Taylor’s birthday. Liz wishes her HBD:
29 January 2016 - Liz says her favorite song from 1989 is This Love:
15 February 2016 - Liz and Taylor both attend UMG’s Grammys afterparty at the Ace Hotel Theater :
26 February 2016 - Liz posts a TBT to Charleston:
16 April 2016 - Liz and Taylor both attend Coachella:
6 May 2016 - Liz tweets about This Love:
10 May 2016 - Liz possibly writes STFU and Hold Me (likely about Bryan, since he’s out on tour with the woman he’s going to leave Liz for, signaling to me that their relationship is on the fritz):
4 August 2016 - Liz posts a throwback to the Vogue photoshoot at the Bowery.
3 September 2016 - Liz and Bryan’s last interaction on Twitter:
(Bryan had been on tour with Jillian -- who he’d later marry -- and tweeting at her all summer, much more than he’d been tweeting with Liz). It’s important to note the way their relationship ended for when we start studying who Liz’s songs are about.
26 November 2016 - Liz tweets about Clean, possibly signaling her and Bryan have broken up by this point:
13 December 2016 - Liz wishes Taylor happy birthday with a post about Charleston (captions vary based on site). This also signals to me that her and Bryan are over, since she’s reminiscing on Taylor picking her up off the ground after her breakup with Jason:
11 July 2017 - Liz tells a fan that You Are In Love and All Too Well are her favorite songs from 1989 and Red (guess her favorite song is no longer This Love…):
11 August 2017 - Liz releases STFU and Hold Me:
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This MV has a LOT of parallels to the IKYWT video. The lyrics talk about “staring with a bang” (”took off faster than a green light go”?), and reckless abandon (”this path is reckless”). MV parallels are as follows (thank you @mercuryonparklane for all the help finding this):
(notice the key necklace?)
So, either Liz is lowkey ripping off Taylor’s work or she’s trying to signal that she was the muse for IKYWT. However, considering Liz is deliberately trying to keep her image separate from Taylor, it doesn’t make any sense that she would try and rip her off. Of course, it could just be a big coincidence...
30 September 2017 - In an interview with The Young Folks, Liz says that STFU and Hold Me is about “getting to that point in a relationship where you’re sick of going around and around talking about the same issue with your partner and it’s time to wave the white flag,” Huett says. “We’ve all been there.”
Of the lyrics “I’m coming from a line of problems / I was born and I became a product” Liz says “I’m not exactly the most polished person. I’d rather be real than perfect and sometimes that means I say things that make people uncomfortable or act out in relationships and test limits, etc… I’m an honest mess but I believe I can and should be loved in light of that. :)”
I still think this song was written about the end of her relationship with Bryan, but it’s still interesting to see how Liz describes herself in relationships.
27 October 2017 - Liz releases H8U
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This is another song that I think was written about Bryan. The lyrics reference taking another woman to a Tom Petty concert (Liz LOVES Tom Petty) and generally moving on quickly with another woman, which seems apt for the Bryan/Jillian situation going on.
HOWEVER, the lyrics also reference “our first date two years ago,” which doesn’t make any sense, since Liz and Bryan didn’t break up until 2016 and were together since early 2013. So it could maybe be lyrically about Taylor.
I do think the MV makes a deliberate Taylor reference, though, with the interrupting the wedding scene. Taylor famously had Liz dress as the Bridezilla on the Speak Now album art:
And, at the end of the H8U MV, Liz DOES kiss the blonde bride on the mouth after interrupting her wedding... which is... INTERESTING (especially since Liz is dressed in full RED the whole MV):
I don’t think it’s a stretch to presume Liz could’ve reversed their roles here. IDK.
9 November 2017 - Liz makes her “H8U, love these” playlist on Spotify, which features All Too Well.
1 November 2017 - Liz obsesses over Reputation:
15 November 2017 - Taylor posts an IG story with photos of her Liz and Caitlin in Australia in the background:
13 December 2017 - Liz wishes Taylor happy birthday:
20 December 2017 - In a now deleted tweet Liz obsesses over New Year’s Day
6 April 2018 - Liz releases Don’t LV U Anymore. Here are some interesting lyrics:
I don't steal your chapstick anymore / Don't wake up to your kiss anymore / And I don't have a washer and dryer full of guitar picks anymore / 'Cause you don't come over to my place anymore / Don't flirt with my roommate anymore / And I don't run to your friends / To get them on my side when we fight anymore / And I never say it / I keep it inside / But maybe I'm wasted / Or maybe it's time to get this off my chest, babe / ... / I don't love you anymore / But I don't love you any less / I don't play you my songs anymore / To see if they're good anymore / You don't tell me your secrets / 'Cause you don't know if I keep them to myself anymore / I don't go to church anymore / Don't know what to believe anymore / And I don't remember the beat of your heart / The smell of your car anymore / ... / Two years and counting / Still got all this weight on my chest / Two years and counting / And I can't remember what I can't forget
Based on the “two years and counting” line, as well as the line about a washer and dryer of guitar picks, I’m inclined to believe this is another song about Bryan.
However, it is a really similar sentiment to that Civil Wars song Liz posted back when her and Taylor first ended things, and the line about running to get friends on a side when fighting is very similar to the “you go talk to your friends, talk to my friends talk to me” in WANEGBT and the image in Battle/Let’s Go of all their friends standing around watching them fight. Could go either way.
9 April 2018 - Liz reposts a Facebook post announcing Dammit that implies it was written a while ago. But we already knew that.
19 May 2018 - Reputation in Pasadena. Liz attends. Surprise Song: All Too Well. Camila Cabello is the opening act.
27 May 2018 - Liz gives an interview at Bottlerock festival where she says that Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus is a song she used to get over someone (likely Bryan). She also says Havana was the song she last had stuck in her head -- probably because Camila performed it at Taylor’s show the previous week.
14 March 2019 - Liz makes a happy birthday post for Antoni (who’s dating her friend Trace):
27 April 2019 - Bryan and Jillian get married:
3 May 2019 - Liz releases Nothing Personal:
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This feels like DIRECT BRYAN SHADE, since she released it right after his wedding. However, you definitely could also read it as being about being let go from The Agency.
Early May 2019 - Taylor shoots YNTCD. Her and Antoni bond over their love of The National (keep in mind Taylor would end up asking a member of the National to work on exile with her):
17 June 2019 - Liz likes Taylor’s post announcing YNTCD is out:
26 June 2019 - Liz posts on IG a video of unreleased song “One of These Days” with the caption “i’m emo” Lyrics:
One of these days I’ll rise above the blue / One of these days when I get sober too / I’ll be flying high you know / Gonna say I told you so / One of these days I’ll rise above the blue / The stars will align / My heart will come back to life / I won’t have to cry anymore / Someday soon, when I / When I get over you / One of these nights I’m gonna get some sleep / One of these nights you won’t be in my dreams / I will lay this love to rest / I will miss you in this bed / One of these nights I’m gonna get some sleep / The stars will align / My heart will come back to life / I won't have to cry anymore / Someday soon, someday / When I get over you
More evidence that Liz does, indeed, struggle with the things that Reddit post suggested.
14 August 2019 - Liz posts on IG a video of an unreleased song called “I Wanted It to Be You” with the caption “I really did” and a red rose emoji. Lyrics:
I’ll find someone else to take your place / In no time at all I’ll be okay / So you don’t have to say it babe / We don’t have to cry / ‘Cause I know you got shit to do / And baby so do I / I’ll find someone else to take your place, hey / I wanted it to be you I’m closing down the bar with / I wanted it to be you I’m fighting in the car with / Who I could push away / Come back and beg to stay / Ooh, I wanted it, I wanted it, I wanted it / I wanted it to be you
Likely for Bryan BUT maybe a red rose grew up out of frozen ground with no one around to tweet it (lol I’m joking the lakes is very likely not about Liz).
22 August 2019 - Taylor releases the Lover MV, featuring the “breakable heaven” board game:
In the bottom left corner, you can spot a blue 0527. May 27th is Liz’s birthday. What does this mean? I don’t know. I absolutely do not know, but whatever it is is driving me INSANE.
28 August 2019 - Liz posts on Twitter a screenshot of her listening to Cornelia Street:
16 October 2019 - Liz comments on a fan’s video of Taylor performing at the NPR Tiny Desk concert saying “she cute”:
19 November 2019 - Liz says on IG that her favorite songs from Lover are The Archer and Cornelia Street:
22 November 2019 - Liz releases That’s What You Get. This is the one late-stage Liz song that I FULLY BELIEVE is about TayLiz due to a few very specific lyric parallels:
“That’s what you get when you recklessly fall in love” >> “This path is reckless” from Treacherous
“That’s what you get for keeping your armor up” >> “You come around and the armor falls” from State of Grace >> “I would put my armor down if you said you’d rather love than fight” from Story of Us.
“And all your friends are lining up to hate me” >> “You go talk to your friends talk to my friends talk to me” from WANEGBT >> “First shot’s fired everybody’s gathered around” from Battle >> “I can't run to your friends anymore / To get them on my side when we fight anymore” from Don’t LV U Anymore.
It also, just from an outside perspective, doesn’t make any sense for Liz to write a breakup song about Bryan blaming herself when it seems very clear to me that they broke up because Bryan wanted to be with Jillian instead. That’s not her fault. So either this is about another breakup (I’d guess Taylor, based on the lyric parallels), or she’s just very very self-loathing and won’t let herself think it’s Bryan’s fault (which both H8U and Nothing Personal don’t suggest to me).
25 November 2016 - Liz posts a video on her IG story about Taylor at the VMAs.
6 December 2019 - Liz talks about That’s What You get with Earmilk and gives an interesting quote:
Huett explains, “This song is about facing myself after a brutal season of running from it... I made a self-destructive choice that hurt someone I really value. The angle of the chorus is really sort of a letter to me after that first long look in the mirror. It SUCKED. However, in owning my shit (and sharing this song) my hope is that listeners might apply the sad lesson without having to learn the hard way, or, if they’ve ever found themselves in the regretful position I was once in, I hope this song can at least make them feel less alone."
This is SO DIFFERENT fro mhow her relationship with Bryan ended, but matches up so well with Liz getting help and owning her shit after spiraling in 2012.
24 July 2020 - Folklore drops. Two of the songs are written by the mysterious William Bowery. One of those songs is Betty -- a popular nickname for Elizabeth. Liz tweets at Taylor about the 1 because all of Taylor’s exes wanna think that song is about them.
So, IN CONCLUSION: Liz got help and worked through her shit and they’re on good terms now. They were possibly working on something together in 2015, although that never saw the light of day as far as we know. Liz seems to maybe be referencing Taylor in her music and MVs, but there’s no way to know for sure. Better Than Revenge on the Speak Now Tour was an iconic moment of sapphic energy, and maybe, just maybe, when Taylor re-records her masters, Liz will sing backup for her again.
Thanks for reading!
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This Charming Man: Why We’re Wild About Harry Styles
Variety’s Grammy-nominated Hitmaker of the Year goes deep on the music industry, the great pause and finding his own muses.
“We’ll dance again,” Harry Styles coos, the Los Angeles sunshine peeking through his pandemic-shaggy hair just so. The singer, songwriter and actor — beloved and critically acclaimed thanks to his life-affirming year-old album, “Fine Line” — is lamenting that his Variety Hitmaker of the Year cover conversation has to be conducted over Zoom rather than in person. Even via videoconference, the Brit is effortlessly charming, as anyone who’s come within earshot of him would attest, but it quickly becomes clear that beneath that genial smile is a well-honed media strategy.
To wit: In an interview that appears a few days later announcing his investment in a new arena in his native Manchester (more on that in a bit), he repeats the refrain — “There will be a time we dance again”— referencing a much-needed return to live music and the promise of some 4,000 jobs for residents.
None of which is to suggest that Styles, 26, phones it in for interviews. Quite the opposite: He does very few, conceivably to give more of himself and not cheapen what is out there and also to use the publicity opportunity to indulge his other interests, like fashion. (Last month Styles became the first male to grace the cover of Vogue solo.) Still, it stings a little that a waltz with the former One Direction member may not come to pass on this album cycle — curse you, coronavirus.
Styles’ isolation has coincided with his maturation as an artist, a thespian and a person. With “Fine Line,” he’s proved himself a skilled lyricist with a tremendous ear for harmony and melody. In preparing for his role in Olivia Wilde’s period thriller “Don’t Worry Darling,” which is shooting outside Palm Springs, he found an outlet for expression in interpreting words on a page. And for the first time, he’s using his megaphone to speak out about social justice — inspired by the outpouring of support for Black people around the world following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police in May.
Styles has spent much of the past nine months at home in London, where life has slowed considerably. The time has allowed him to ponder such heady issues as his purpose on the earth. “It’s been a pause that I don’t know if I would have otherwise taken,” says Styles. “I think it’s been pretty good for me to have a kind of stop, to look and think about what it actually means to be an artist, what it means to do what we do and why we do it. I lean into moments like this — moments of uncertainty.”
In truth, while Styles has largely been keeping a low profile — his Love On Tour, due to kick off on April 15, was postponed in late March and is now scheduled to launch in February 2021 (whether it actually will remains to be seen) — his music has not. This is especially true in the U.S., where he’s notched two hit singles, “Adore You,” the second-most-played song at radio in 2020, and “Watermelon Sugar” (No. 22 on Variety’s year-end Hitmakers chart), with a third, “Golden,” already cresting the top 20 on the pop format. The massive cross-platform success of these songs means Styles has finally and decisively broken into the American market, maneuvering its web of gatekeepers to accumulate 6.2 million consumption units and rising.
Why do these particular songs resonate in 2020? Styles doesn’t have the faintest idea. While he acknowledges a “nursery rhyme” feel to “Watermelon Sugar” with its earwormy loop of a chorus, that’s about as much insight as he can offer. His longtime collaborator and friend Tom Hull, also known as the producer Kid Harpoon, offers this take: “There’s a lot of amazing things about that song, but what really stands out is the lyric. It’s not trying to hide or be clever. The simplicity of watermelon … there’s such a joy in it, [which] is a massive part of that song’s success.” Also, his kids love it. “I’ve never had a song connect with children in this way,” says Hull, whose credits include tunes by Shawn Mendes, Florence and the Machine and Calvin Harris. “I get sent videos all the time from friends of their kids singing. I have a 3-year-old and an 8-year-old, and they listen to it.”
Styles is quick to note that he doesn’t chase pop appeal when crafting songs. In fact, the times when he pondered or approved a purposeful tweak, like on his self-titled 2017 debut, still gnaw at him. “I love that album so much because it represents such a time in my life, but when I listen to it — sonically and lyrically, especially — I can hear places where I was playing it safe,” he says. “I was scared to get it wrong.”
Contemporary effects and on-trend beats hardly factor into Styles’ decision-making. He likes to focus on feelings — his own and his followers’ — and see himself on the other side of the velvet rope, an important distinction in his view. “People within [the industry] feel like they operate on a higher level of listening, and I like to make music from the point of being a fan of music,” Styles says. “Fans are the best A&R.”
This from someone who’s had free rein to pursue every musical whim, and hand in the album of his dreams in the form of “Fine Line.” Chart success makes it all the sweeter, but Styles insists that writing “for the right reasons” supersedes any commercial considerations. “There’s no part that feels, eh, icky — like it was made in the lab,” he says.
Styles has experience in this realm. As a graduate of the U.K. competition series “The X Factor,” where he and four other auditionees — Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Liam Payne and Louis Tomlinson — were singled out by show creator and star judge Simon Cowell to conjoin as One Direction, he’s seen how the prefab pop machine works up close. The One Direction oeuvre, which counts some 42 million albums sold worldwide, includes songs written with such established hitmakers as Ryan Tedder, Savan Kotecha and Teddy Geiger. Being a studious, insatiable observer, Styles took it all in.
“I learned so much,” he says of the experience. “When we were in the band, I used to try and write with as many different people as I could. I wanted to practice — and I wrote a lot of bad shit.”
His bandmates also benefited from the pop star boot camp. The proof is in the relatively seamless solo transitions of at least three of its members — Payne, Malik and Horan in addition to Styles — each of whom has landed hit singles on charts in the U.K., the U.S. and beyond.
This departs from the typical trajectories of boy bands including New Kids on the Block and ’N Sync, which have all pro ered a star frontman. The thinking for decades was that a record company would be lucky to have one breakout solo career among the bunch.
Styles has plainly thought about this.
“When you look at the history of people coming out of bands and starting solo careers, they feel this need to apologize for being in the band. ‘Don’t worry, everyone, that wasn’t me! Now I get to do what I really want to do.’ But we loved being in the band,” he says. “I think there’s a wont to pit people against each other. And I think it’s never been about that for us. It’s about a next step in evolution. The fact that we’ve all achieved different things outside of the band says a lot about how hard we worked in it.”
Indeed, during the five-ish years that One Direction existed, Styles’ schedule involved the sort of nonstop international jet-setting that few get to see in a lifetime, never mind their teenage years. Between 2011 and 2015, One Direction’s tours pulled in north of $631 million in gross ticket sales, according to concert trade Pollstar, and the band was selling out stadiums worldwide by the time it entered its extended hiatus. Styles, too, had built up to playing arenas as a solo artist, engaging audiences with his colorful stage wear and banter and left-of-center choices for opening acts (a pre-Grammy-haul Kacey Musgraves in 2018; indie darlings King Princess and Jenny Lewis for his rescheduled 2021 run).
Stages of all sizes feel like home to Styles. He grew up in a suburb of Manchester, ground zero for some of the biggest British acts of the 1980s and ’90s, including Joy Division, New Order, the Smiths and Oasis, the latter of which broke the same year Styles was born. His parents were also music lovers. Styles’ father fed him a balanced diet of the Beatles, Fleetwood Mac, the Rolling Stones and Queen, while Mum was a fan of Shania Twain, Norah Jones and Savage Garden. “They’re all great melody writers,” says Styles of the acts’ musical throughline.
Stevie Nicks, who in the past has described “Fine Line” as Styles’ “Rumours,” referencing the Fleetwood Mac 1977 classic, sees him as a kindred spirit. “Harry writes and sings his songs about real experiences that seemingly happened yesterday,” she tells Variety. “He taps into real life. He doesn’t make up stories. He tells the truth, and that is what I do. ‘Fine Line’ has been my favorite record since it came out. It is his ‘Rumours.’ I told him that in a note on December 13, 2019 before he went on stage to play the ‘Fine Line’ album at the Forum. We cried. He sang those songs like he had sung them a thousand times. That’s a great songwriter and a great performer.”
“Harry’s playing and writing is instinctual,” adds Jonathan Wilson, a friend and peer who’s advised Styles on backing and session musicians. “He understands history and where to take the torch. You can see the thread of great British performers — from Bolan to Bowie — in his music.”
Also shaping his musical DNA was Manchester itself, the site of a 23,500-seat arena, dubbed Co-op Live, for which Styles is an investor and adviser. Oak View Group, a company specializing in live entertainment and global sports that was founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015 (Jeffrey Azoff, Irving’s son, represents Styles at Full Stop Management), is leading the effort to construct the venue. The project gained planning approval in September and is set to open in 2023, with its arrival representing a £350 million ($455 million) investment in the city. (Worth noting: Manchester is already home to an arena — the site of a 2017 bombing outside an Ariana Grande concert — and a football stadium, where One Love Manchester, an all-star benefit show to raise money for victims of the terrorist attack, took place.)
“I went to my first shows in Manchester,” Styles says of concerts paid for with money earned delivering newspapers for a supermarket called the Co-op. “My friends and I would go in on weekends. There’s so many amazing small venues, and music is such a massive part of the city. I think Manchester deserves it. It feels like a full-circle, coming-home thing to be doing this and to be able to give any kind of input. I’m incredibly proud. Hopefully they’ll let me play there at some point.”
Though Styles has owned properties in Los Angeles, his base for the foreseeable future is London. “I feel like my relationship with L.A. has changed a lot,” he explains. “I’ve kind of accepted that I don’t have to live here anymore; for a while I felt like I was supposed to. Like it meant things were going well. This happened, then you move to L.A.! But I don’t really want to.”
Is it any wonder? Between COVID and the turmoil in the U.S. spurred by the presidential election, Styles, like some 79 million American voters, is recovering from sticker shock over the bill of goods sold to them by the concept of democracy. “In general, as people, there’s a lack of empathy,” he observes. “We found this place that’s so divisive. We just don’t listen to each other anymore. And that’s quite scary.”
That belief prompted Styles to speak out publicly in the wake of George Floyd’s death. As protests in support of Black Lives Matter took to streets all over the world, for Styles, it triggered a period of introspection, as marked by an Instagram message (liked by 2.7 million users and counting) in which he declared: “I do things every day without fear, because I am privileged, and I am privileged every day because I am white. … Being not racist is not enough, we must be anti racist. Social change is enacted when a society mobilizes. I stand in solidarity with all of those protesting. I’m donating to help post bail for arrested organizers. Look inwards, educate yourself and others. LISTEN, READ, SHARE, DONATE and VOTE. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. BLACK LIVES MATTER.”
“Talking about race can be really uncomfortable for everyone,” Styles elaborates. “I had a realization that my own comfort in the conversation has nothing to do with the problem — like that’s not enough of a reason to not have a conversation. Looking back, I don’t think I’ve been outspoken enough in the past. Using that feeling has pushed me forward to being open and ready to learn. … How can I ensure from my side that in 20 years, the right things are still being done and the right people are getting the right opportunities? That it’s not a passing thing?”
His own record company — and corporate parent Sony Music Group, whose chairman, Rob Stringer, signed Styles in 2016 — has been grappling with these same questions as the industry has faced its own reckoning with race. At issue: inequality among the upper ranks (an oft-cited statistic: popular music is 80% Black, but the music business is 80% white); contracts rooted in a decades-old system that many say is set up to take advantage of artists, Black artists more unfairly than white; and the call for a return of master rights, an ownership model that is at the core of the business.
Styles acknowledges the fundamental imbalance in how a major label deal is structured — the record company takes on the financial risk while the artist is made to recoup money spent on the project before the act is considered profitable and earning royalties (typically at a 15% to 18% rate for the artist, while the label keeps and disburses the rest). “Historically, I can’t think of any industry that’s benefited more off of Black culture than music,” he says. “There are discussions that need to happen about this long history of not being paid fairly. It’s a time for listening, and hopefully, people will come out humbled, educated and willing to learn and change.”
By all accounts, Styles is a voracious reader, a movie lover and an aesthete. He stays in shape by adhering to a strict daily exercise routine. “I tried to keep up but didn’t last more than two weeks,” says Hull, Styles’ producer, with a laugh. “The discipline is terrifying.”
Of course, with the fashion world beckoning — Styles recently appeared in a film series for Gucci’s new collection that was co-directed by the fashion house’s creative director, Alessandro Michele, and Oscar winner Gus Van Sant — and a movie that’s set in the 1950s, maintaining that physique is part of the job. And he’s no stranger to visual continuity after appearing in Christopher Nolan’s epic “Dunkirk” and having to return to set for reshoots; his hair, which needed to be cut back to its circa 1940 form, is a constant topic of conversation among fans. This time, it’s the ink that poses a challenge. By Styles’ tally, he’s up to 60 tattoos, which require an hour in the makeup chair to cover up. “It’s the only time I really regret getting tattooed,” he says.
He shows no regret, however, when it comes to stylistic choices overall, and takes pride in his gender-agnostic portfolio, which includes wearing a Gucci dress on that Vogue cover— an image that incited conservative pundit Candace Owens to plead publicly to “bring back manly men.” In Styles’ view: “To not wear [something] because it’s females’ clothing, you shut out a whole world of great clothes. And I think what’s exciting about right now is you can wear what you like. It doesn’t have to be X or Y. Those lines are becoming more and more blurred.”
But acclaim, if you can believe it, is not top of mind for Styles. As far as the Grammys are concerned, Styles shrugs, “It’s never why I do anything.” His team and longtime label, however, had their hearts set on a showing at the Jan. 31 ceremony. Their investment in Styles has been substantial — not just monetarily but in carefully crafting his career in the wake of such icons as David Bowie, who released his final albums with the label. Hope at the company and in many fans’ hearts that Styles would receive an album of the year nomination did not come to pass. However, he was recognized in three categories, including best pop vocal album.
“It’s always nice to know that people like what you’re doing, but ultimately — and especially working in a subjective field — I don’t put too much weight on that stuff,” Styles says. “I think it’s important when making any kind of art to remove the ego from it.” Citing the painter Matisse, he adds: “It’s about the work that you do when you’re not expecting any applause.”
Harry for Variety. (2 December 2020)
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And isn’t just so pretty to think all along there was some invisible string
November 2019
When Taylor wakes up she’s alone and even though she knows Karlie is working all day, she can't help but pout softly in disappointment at the sight of the empty bed before her.
She rolls over onto the cool sheets and snuggles into Karlie’s pillow breathing deeply, when her gaze is caught by the large bouquet of roses on the bedside table.
Taylor shuffles up into a sitting position and leans over to pluck the small white envelope out of the sea of red flowers.
"My darling Taylor, happy November 13th! I know it’s not technically the day we met or even our anniversary, but it is the day my life changed forever.
I’m grateful for every day I get to spend with you. I love you. I can’t wait to celebrate with you tonight.
All my love,
Karlie"
Taylor can’t help but smile at Karlie’s sweet words and she reaches under her pillow for her phone so that she can thank Karlie for her gift. Neither of them really make a big deal out of the day but they still both like to mark it in some small way. Taylor decides against calling Karlie, she’s not sure if she has meetings today so doesn’t want to risk it, deciding to settle for a text instead.
She pulls up the acoustic version of the Lover remix that she had recorded the week before on her phone and sends it to Karlie with the caption the girl in my story has always been you. The version that she recorded with Shawn Mendes will go live later that day but Taylor thinks that Karlie deserves a preview before anyone else.
Taylor shuffles out of bed and plucks up the vase of flowers to bring downstairs and feed the cats and make some coffee, smiling when she realises that Karlie has forgone the traditional dozen roses and opted for 13 instead. As she shuffles around the kitchen of their apartment, she can’t help but reminisce on her relationship with Karlie and how far they have come in the last six years.
If anyone would have told Taylor that day that she was about to meet the person who would change her life forever, she would have had a hard time believing it. She hadn’t been expecting to fall in love but had been completely blindsided by Karlie as soon as she had met her.But looking back on it now with the benefit of hindsight there were so many signs that Karlie was always meant to be someone incredibly important to her.
The first time it happened, Taylor hadn’t been surprised. She’d heard enough about Karlie from Lily and other mutual friends to know that they were probably on to something when they said that Taylor and Karlie would be fast friends. But neither of them had expected to have quite so much in common.
It had all started with a simple text. Well, technically it had all started with a quote in Vogue magazine. A quote in Vogue and then a tweet in response to said quote. And then a lingerie fashion show. And then some flirting, some drinks, some kissing and a lot of texting.
That’s how Taylor had ended up at Karlie’s apartment in New York one afternoon in December a couple of weeks after they had met for a Christmas cookie baking date. Karlie had been banking on the cookies being enough of an activity that she would have something to focus on besides the fact that Taylor Swift was standing in her kitchen, looking adorable concentrating on her frosting and wholly kissable.
But they had spent the afternoon baking and decorating their cookies, settling easily into the same light-hearted banter with a side of flirting that they had been enjoying over text since Karlie had slipped Taylor her number the day they met.
They had both been laughing and playfully trash talking each other’s decorating skills and listening to one of Karlie’s playlists, when You’re so vain by Carly Simon came on over the small speaker and Karlie had mentioned offhandedly that her parents had named her after the singer.
Taylor had been so taken aback that she almost messed up the Santa cookie she had been decorating. Karlie hadn’t been sure why that was such a big deal until Taylor explained that her parents had named her after James Taylor.
When Karlie had done nothing but stare at her blankly, Taylor explained that they had been married and a shy, slightly awkward silence settled over them.
In an attempt to break the tension, Karlie had smeared some frosting on Taylor’s cheek and had ducked her head to press her lips against the spot, her tongue peeking out to swipe against Taylor’s skin.
The food fight that followed had left them both giggling and breathless, with sticky faces. Karlie had pressed Taylor up against her kitchen counter, pinning her there with an arm on either side of her and had trailed her lips from Taylor’s cheek to her lips, dotting kisses as she went before kissing her soundly, all thoughts of James Taylor and Carly Simon forgotten.
The second time it happened had been on their trip to Big Sur, what they both considered to be their real anniversary and the beginning of their official relationship after months of keeping it casual, although each of them knowing that the way they were beginning to feel was anything but casual.
Taylor had been planning on playing Karlie her new album on the trip but had been waiting for the right opportunity to broach the subject. It wasn’t the normal level of nerves that would accompany sharing what she had been working on for the last year and a half with someone. The fact that that someone happened to be the girl that she had fallen hopelessly in love with and the album in question happened to contain a number of songs about her ex-girlfriend wasn’t helping matters.
But when Karlie had reached out to link her fingers with Taylor’s where they were rested on the centre console and squeezed her hand, Taylor seemed to come to a decision.
When Taylor had asked Karlie if she truly liked her music, making it clear that she wouldn't hold it against her if she didn't, Karlie had rushed to reassure the singer.
Karlie had tugged on Taylor’s hand, bringing it to her lips and pressing a kiss to it before asking if she had ever told Taylor about the time that she had gone to the Fearless tour with her sisters when it came to St. Louis.
Taylor had snapped her head to look at Karlie, trying to gauge if she was serious as Karlie had mentioned it so casually. Karlie had smiled at Taylor’s shocked expression and just nodded before explaining that she Kariann and Kimby had all gone.
When Taylor asked her why she hadn't ever mentioned it, Karlie had just shrugged and explained that she didn’t want to make it weird. She had told Taylor that she was a fan of hers when they had met and she didn’t see any reason to labour the point.
Taylor had just smiled and shook her head, before taking a deep breath and asking Karlie to play “Road Trip Mix 13” on her iPod that was hooked up to the stereo system.
Karlie had leaned over to press a kiss against Taylor’s cheek, sensing that she needed some extra reassurance that no matter what Karlie was about to hear, it wasn’t going to change anything about how she felt about Taylor.
Taylor had come to regret her decision to do this whilst they were driving, she had hoped that it would be a welcome distraction but she had found herself wishing that she could look at Karlie to try and gauge her reaction. Instead she had focused on the gentle pressure of Karlie’s hand in hers, squeezing softly as the opening notes to Welcome to New York filled the car.
Those were just some of the things that they could laugh off at the beginning of their relationship as being crazy coincidences and not think any more about, but now six years later, it feels like the first signs of many that they were just meant to be.
Later that night, after enjoying the dinner that Taylor had prepared for them and then spending the rest of the evening enjoying each other, they were tangled together in the sheets of their bed, trading gentle kisses as their heart rates slowly returned to normal.
“Best day ever” Karlie mumbles in between pressing kisses to Taylor’s lips. Karlie shifts over to settle on her back and Taylor ducks down to lay her head on her chest. A comfortable silence settles over them both and the steady rhythm of Karlie’s heartbeat under her ear along with the gentle pressure of Karlie’s hand stroking up and down her bare back is almost enough to lull her to sleep.
“Did you know that I almost wasn’t going to do the fashion show?”
It takes Karlie’s brain a couple of seconds to process Taylor’s words, having been teetering on the brink of sleep herself. “What fashion show?” she asks confused.
“The VS fashion show,” Taylor clarifies shifting slightly so that she can look up at Karlie.
“Really?”
“Yeah, my management weren’t sure it would be good for my image, too risqué.” Taylor explains.
Karlie can’t help but smirk slightly at that, tightening her arms that are wrapped around Taylor’s waist and pulling her against her more firmly. “I can’t say I disagree with them, you wear lingerie really well," Karlie says biting her lower lip and letting her gaze sweep down Taylor's body.
Taylor gives her a playful shove but Karlie can tell that she’s secretly pleased with the compliment and the kiss that she drops on Karlie’s chest confirms the fact.
“How did I not know about this?” Karlie asks, turning the conversation back to Taylor’s earlier revelation.
“Honestly, I had kind of forgotten, I was just thinking about it today,” Taylor replies and Karlie can tell by the soft frown etched on her face that there is something else Taylor has on her mind.
She also knows from experience that there is no point in trying to push Taylor to say more so she just drops a kiss to the top of her head, content to wait her out.
A few moments later. “Do you ever think about what would have happened if we hadn’t have met that day?” Taylor whispers.
Karlie takes Taylor's hand from where it rests against her stomach and brushes her fingers over the angel wings ring that sits on the fourth finger of her left hand and she smiles, thinking of course Taylor would choose to wear that ring specifically today of all days. Most people assume that it's Taylor's ring and although that is technically true, she didn't get it for being an honorary angel and performing at two Victoria's Secret shows, Karlie had gotten it after walking her last VS show and gifted it to Taylor on the first anniversary of the day that they had met.
Karlie pauses to think for a moment before answering with a definitive no. Taylor is staring at her expectantly so Karlie elaborates. “I don’t even want to think about what my life would be like without you in it.”
“But what if I hadn’t been performing that year?” Taylor asks, shifting up so that she can prop herself up on her arm. “Or if you hadn’t been walking in that show? Or even if we had both been there but hadn’t been on stage at the same time? Or if Lily hadn’t introduced us” Taylor presses, getting more frantic with each question.
Karlie nudges Taylor over on to her side and then settles beside her on the pillow, so close that their noses are almost touching. “You wanna know what I think?” Karlie asks and Taylor just nods as if that should be obvious.
“I think that we met exactly when we were supposed to,” Karlie says, threading her fingers through Taylor’s hair in an effort to soothe her. “And I don’t know if it was fate or some higher power or what, but I think you and I were meant to be,” Karlie continues and Taylor feels warmth settle in her chest at Karlie’s words.
“And if it hadn’t been that day, it would have been another,” Karlie whispers in the small space between them before pressing a gentle kiss to Taylor’s cheek, then the tip of her nose, followed by each eyelid and then her forehead.
“And all the stuff that came before, the good and the bad led us to that moment, where we were both exactly meant to be” Karlie says against Taylor’s lips before Taylor leans forward and closes the minute gap between them and kisses Karlie soundly.
Let me know what you think, comments make me smile!
I meant to have this up on November 13th but the last couple of weeks have been a wild ride. I have no idea what's happening but I'll be here writing for as long as inspiration strikes...
#kaylor#kaylor fic#karlie freaking kloss#taylor and karlie#karlie and taylor#tswizzle#rpf#it's all part of the story#wake me up when november ends
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Sept 4
BACK ON TRACK Camila Cabello says therapy saved her life after burnout and anxiety!
CAMILA CABELLO has revealed how lockdown helped her turn her life around after nine years of non-stop work left her “burnt out and broken”.
The US pop superstar, best known for her hits Havana and Senorita, also paid tribute to her boyfriend Shawn Mendes, saying she has been able to lean on the singer in her darkest times.
In her most candid interview ever, Camila told us: “Before lockdown I was burnt out. I was living with a really high amount of anxiety.
“It was too much and it was not sustainable. I felt like I was running with a broken leg but I wasn’t really listening to how I felt.
“I kept telling myself everything was good, ‘I should feel fine, I should feel OK’.
“What I needed to do was say, ‘How do I actually feel?’ and letting that be OK. I needed to give myself permission to ask for help — because I needed help. I needed therapy.
“The pandemic gave me that pause to say, ‘Let’s not carry on running on this broken leg, let’s fix it’.
“In the past there were plenty of times when I’ve been working — not home or having any time for relationships, not having time to be healthy and happy — just working non-stop and not feeling good but doing it anyway.
“That’s something I would never do now. If I felt like that again, I’d just say, ‘Sorry, guys’.
Intense pace
“I know now I have to take care for myself. No one is going to know when I’ve reached a limit other than me, so I have to take care of myself in that way.”
The three-time Grammy nominee shot to fame in girl group Fifth Harmony on the US X Factor in 2012 before going solo in 2016.
The move paid off in 2017 when her debut single Havana reached No1 in 23 countries.
Her 2018 album Camila also topped the US charts.
And as her star continued to rise she supported Taylor Swift — who she now counts among her friends — on Taylor’s 2018 tour.
But Camila says the success came at a high price, revealing: “Anxiety is something I’ve struggled with since I was a teenager and so this has actually been a really positive time for me.
“I’ve learned a lot about balance, about saying no to things because it’s better for me to have that hour of therapy and see my friends.
"It’s about not allowing myself to get to the point where I’m burnt out.
“In the past year I’ve got a new therapist, I’ve made a lot of progress and I feel so much better.
“I’ve been working at such an intense pace since I was 15, so I never got a chance to go, ‘Hey, what does living without this pressure feel like?’ I felt like I didn’t know until this break.
“I have definitely seen the benefits in my relationships too. In fact, that’s probably one of the most important things — having that stability and having time to deepen intimate relationships.”
Camila, who released latest single Don’t Go Yet last month, has been dating Shawn since 2019 when they released sexy duet Senorita.
Last month the rumour mill went into overdrive when Camila appeared on TikTok with new jewellery on her ring finger. But she insists a wedding is not on the cards . . . yet.
She added: “Shawn has been so supportive. He is someone I feel I can really trust.”
The feeling is clearly mutual, with Shawn saying of Camila in an interview last December: “She’s so absolutely patient with me, especially when I’m stressed or anything is getting to me.
“She’ll text me. And if I ever am being bitey with her, she’d be like, ‘It’s OK, I love you no matter what’. That’s real strength and patience and love.”
Camila’s third album is due later this year and she plays Cinderella in a Prime Video remake of the Disney classic, with a 2021 “girl boss” twist on the traditional heroine.
She said: “This Cinderella isn’t waiting for anyone to save her. She’s ambitious, empowered and there are no evil people in there, just people struggling with their own trauma and history.
“A lot of the older fairytales are written by men so they give an outdated perspective on a story where a woman is a protagonist.
“This is a necessary 2021 version of a fairytale
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BACK ON TRACK Camila Cabello says therapy saved her life after burnout and anxiety
CAMILA CABELLO has revealed how lockdown helped her turn her life around after nine years of non-stop work left her “burnt out and broken”.
The US pop superstar, best known for her hits Havana and Senorita, also paid tribute to her boyfriend Shawn Mendes, saying she has been able to lean on the singer in her darkest times.
In her most candid interview ever, Camila told us: “Before lockdown I was burnt out. I was living with a really high amount of anxiety.
“It was too much and it was not sustainable. I felt like I was running with a broken leg but I wasn’t really listening to how I felt.
“I kept telling myself everything was good, ‘I should feel fine, I should feel OK’.
“What I needed to do was say, ‘How do I actually feel?’ and letting that be OK. I needed to give myself permission to ask for help — because I needed help. I needed therapy.
“The pandemic gave me that pause to say, ‘Let’s not carry on running on this broken leg, let’s fix it’.
“In the past there were plenty of times when I’ve been working — not home or having any time for relationships, not having time to be healthy and happy — just working non-stop and not feeling good but doing it anyway.
“That’s something I would never do now. If I felt like that again, I’d just say, ‘Sorry, guys’.
Intense pace
“I know now I have to take care for myself. No one is going to know when I’ve reached a limit other than me, so I have to take care of myself in that way.”
The three-time Grammy nominee shot to fame in girl group Fifth Harmony on the US X Factor in 2012 before going solo in 2016.
The move paid off in 2017 when her debut single Havana reached No1 in 23 countries.
Her 2018 album Camila also topped the US charts.
And as her star continued to rise she supported Taylor Swift — who she now counts among her friends — on Taylor’s 2018 tour.
But Camila says the success came at a high price, revealing: “Anxiety is something I’ve struggled with since I was a teenager and so this has actually been a really positive time for me.
“I’ve learned a lot about balance, about saying no to things because it’s better for me to have that hour of therapy and see my friends.
"It’s about not allowing myself to get to the point where I’m burnt out.
“In the past year I’ve got a new therapist, I’ve made a lot of progress and I feel so much better.
“I’ve been working at such an intense pace since I was 15, so I never got a chance to go, ‘Hey, what does living without this pressure feel like?’ I felt like I didn’t know until this break.
“I have definitely seen the benefits in my relationships too. In fact, that’s probably one of the most important things — having that stability and having time to deepen intimate relationships.”
Camila, who released latest single Don’t Go Yet last month, has been dating Shawn since 2019 when they released sexy duet Senorita.
Last month the rumour mill went into overdrive when Camila appeared on TikTok with new jewellery on her ring finger. But she insists a wedding is not on the cards . . . yet.
She added: “Shawn has been so supportive. He is someone I feel I can really trust.”
The feeling is clearly mutual, with Shawn saying of Camila in an interview last December: “She’s so absolutely patient with me, especially when I’m stressed or anything is getting to me.
“She’ll text me. And if I ever am being bitey with her, she’d be like, ‘It’s OK, I love you no matter what’. That’s real strength and patience and love.”
Camila’s third album is due later this year and she plays Cinderella in a Prime Video remake of the Disney classic, with a 2021 “girl boss” twist on the traditional heroine.
She said: “This Cinderella isn’t waiting for anyone to save her. She’s ambitious, empowered and there are no evil people in there, just people struggling with their own trauma and history.
“A lot of the older fairytales are written by men so they give an outdated perspective on a story where a woman is a protagonist.
“This is a necessary 2021 version of a fairytale.”
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I was tagged by my amazing friends @sparkga (sorry it’s taken me so long) and @secretly-of-course to do a quite in depth set of questions, so thank you both very much and here are my answers:
Name: Cameron (Nickname: Cam)
Gender: Male
Star Sign: Virgo
Height: Either 6′ or 6′1 I’ve been measured at both lmao
Time: 20:34
Birthday: 16th September
Favourite Bands: Some that come to mind rn are Imagine Dragons, Fleetwood Mac, ABBA, Daft Punk
Favourite Solo Artists: Again off the top of my head Avicci, John Barry, Lady Gaga, Carly Rae Jepson, Troye Sivan, Michael Jackson, Meghan Trainor, Shawn Mendes, Don Peake
Song currently stuck in my head: Soul Survivor from Knight Rider by Don Peake for some reason lol
Last Movie: The Matrix Revolutions I think from my rewatch of the trilogy in December
Last Show: I’m currently on series 3 of my Doctor Who series 1 - 4 rewatch so that if it counts?
When did I create this Blog?: February 2019
What do I post?: Mostly my thoughts and creations for fandoms I like, progress on my body confidence journey, and gay stuff I guess
EDIT: Omg how did I forget cat pictures?!?! Well that's what I reblog but one of my fav things on here aha
The last thing I Googled?: Nationality British or English lmao
Other Blogs?: I made one as a place to upload screenshots of some mods I created for a game but I haven’t gone on it since so won’t bother linking it here lmao
Do I get Asks?: Not very often but sometimes, they’re usually very sweet anons which I greatly appreciate :3
Following: 267
Followers: 399 (I’ve been meaning to go through them and check out your blogs but the only times I remember are inconvenient like when trying to sleep or when I’m mentally not up to it sorry :/ I will eventually tho)
Average hours of sleep: 8 or 9 I think
Lucky number(s): Idk about lucky but some numbers I like are 2, 3, and 5
Instrument(s): Guitar, Piano/Keyboard, a very long time ago the Ukulele too
What am I wearing?: Purple t-shirt, blue hoodie, purple undies, blue jeans and black socks
Dream Job(s): Writer and actor ever since I was a child
Dream trip: I’m not really into travelling so I don’t think I have one lol, I mean there are some places I wouldn’t mind visiting but it’s not that big of a deal to me tbh
Favourite food(s): I’m so bad at picking favourites, but cake and brownies come to mind rn aha
Nationality: British
Favourite song: I can’t pick just one song lmao, but three that I like that I can think of right now are Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jepson, Jolene by Dolly Parton and Exile Vilify by The National
The last book I read: I’m not sure but I haven’t read anything for a few months sadly :/ I need to get reading again
Top three fictional universes I’d like to live in: Honestly all I can think of right now is Star Trek so I can live on Voyager lmao
If you would like to and haven’t already been tagged I shall tag @karominoes @stardust-road, @seanmgilbert20, @business-pug, @themrkitty, @angelboyx92, @pufle10, @l1nks-world, @denethir, and @nurnoah
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🌙Masterlist
Started: December 1st, 2019.
Updated: February 4th, 2022.
.
SHAWN MENDES
- ❈ -
➵ Oneshot
- All I Want for Christmas is You | Shawn Mendes
When everything goes wrong on your Christmas plans Shawn always knows how to make it right.
- Electricity | Shawn Mendes
Going to the gym it’s already a part of Shawn’s life, but the whole atmosphere changes when he sees you waking in for the first time. It was like electricity.
- Missed Ya | Shawn Mendes
Shawn’s extra needy and really can’t keep his hands (or lips) to himself.
- Nine Months is Too Long | Shawn Mendes
You two decide to try to have a baby after you niece’s birthday party, and Shawn’s way too excited.
- Use Your Tongue, Honey | Shawn Mendes
*Prompt: “Use your tongue”
.
- ❈ -
➵ Series
- Paris | Shawn Mendes
When your parents decide to travel with your best friend’s family that you haven’t talked to in a while, who you have a massive secret crush on, what could go wrong, right? Right?!
- Heartstrings | Shawn Mendes
Shawn was a huge believer that the 'soulmates’ situation’ was the most stupid thing on the planet, specially since it was such a rare thing to find someone with the same mark as you. He would do anything he could to prevent the so called 'destiny’ from happening, but could he
- Heart by Heart | Raul Mendes | Secret Agent AU*
Y/N and Raul have been friends ever since they could remember. And falling in love with your best friend can be pretty tricky and messy 99% of the times, add that to the fact they’re constantly risking their lives side by side on the field since they’re both secret agents, and the best team that’s ever existed. Perfect recipe for disaster.
.
- ❈ -
➵ The Mendes Triplets | A.U
- Just the Way You Are | Peter Mendes
Peter gets even more insecure about his feelings towards you, that you don’t even know about.
- Valentine's Day
Shawn Mendes | Peter Mendes | Raul Mendes
How Valentine’s Day with each triplet would go.
- Brother's Best Friend | Peter Mendes
Being in love with a close friend isn’t always easy, but being in love with your brother’s best friend can be a lot harder. So for Peter, the shy one of the triplets, to fall in love with Raul’s bestie was almost a nightmare, but probably the sweetest one.
- Best Friend's Brother | Raul Mendes
Growing up with your best friend is amazing, having this loving and caring relationship is fantastic, planning your lives together seemed natural, what Y/N didn’t include in her plans was falling in love with Raul Mendes, Peter’s brother.
- His Hoodie | Raul Mendes
Raul is still insecure when it comes to asking his girlfriend about some stuff, like cuddles and wearing his clothes, and he’s pretty sure he’s sneaky about it, until he isn't.
- Invisible String | Raul Mendes {werewolf AU}
Raul is a werewolf and his mate turned out not only to be human, but his best friend’s little sister. And as much as he tried, he could not ignore that invisible string tying her to him.
- Birthday Girl | Raul Mendes
Where Raul makes sure his girl will have the best birthday ever despite anything else.
- Summer of Love | Raul Mendes (coming soon)
.
➵ Hey Angel | Raul Mendes (The Mendes Triplets)
Hey Angel is a two part story that turned out to be one of my favorite little universes to write and ended up writing a couple of little oneshots following the events of the original piece, but they can all be read individually and out of context.
- Hey Angel
Part II
Y/N was paired in a very important paper with the one and only, the cocky arrogant, troublemaker, Raul Mendes, and she’s 100% sure this was the beginning of a nightmare.
- Aster | Raul Mendes
“Asters are daisy-like perennials with starry-shaped flower heads that range in color, they bring delightful beauty to the garden in late summer and autumn." (oneshot post Hey Angel).
- A Quarter Past One | Raul Mendes
Prompt: “Look, I know you’re a hard ass but can you play with my hair? It would really help”
- Safe Haven | Raul Mendes
Y/N is really stressed and tired, and Raul always knows how to cheer her up.
- Our Little Winter Wonderland | Raul Mendes
When your 6'2 of a boyfriend, a former "Grinch", decides to turn your house into Winter Wonderland overnight.
*Blurbs/Requests
- Vacation Kisses
"okay ma'am hear me out vacation Raul kissing you like"
- Ripped Jeans
"Wearing ripped jeans in a cold day and when you both sit down at the outdoor cafe [...]"
- Can't Take my Eyes Off of You
"Singing sappy love songs to each other being all lovey with each other"
- New Bedding
“I thought of domestic Raul coz I just bought a new duvet cover and it just feels so good to be in bed just domestic Raul buying a new set of bedding and both of you losing your adulting minds at how good it feels”
- ❈ -
*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!
*Please do read the warnings in the beginning of each chapter, minors don’t read the +18 content (it will be marked with a “*”).
-🌙
#shawn mendes#masterlist#shawn peter raul mendes#peter mendes#raul mendes#shawn#shawn imagine#mendes#writing#shawn mendes imagine#sm#mendes army#shawn mendes fic#fluff#the mendes triplets#mendes triplets#shawn mendes au#alternative universe#shawn mendes oneshot#shawn mendes fan fic#shawn mendes fanfic#shawn mendes fanfiction#shawn mendes masterlist#the mendes triplet
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I am sorry ;-;
4. what are your favorite songs?
6. which genres of music do you tend to like the best?
7. what is the best concert you’ve ever been to?
8. song of the year?
9. album of the year?
11. how did you first find out about your favorite band/singer?
12. when/where do you first remember having heard your favorite song?
13. about how many times have you listened to your favorite song?
14. if someone asks you what music they should check out, what are your go-to recommendations?
15. what songs give you the most nostalgia?
16. what kinds of music were you raised on?
17. what are your favorite songs that have ever been popular?
18. who were your favorite musicians as a kid?
21. how do live performances, whether they’re from your friends or professionals, tend to make you feel?
22. singing in the shower or singing in the car?
23. if you were to become a musician, what kind of musician would you be?
24. if you could pick one instrument to learn how to play, what would it be?
]
29. how do you feel about video game soundtracks?
30. what soundtracks do you enjoy listening to the most?
36. what are some songs whose lyrics you relate to?
38. which songs do you think have the best lyrics?
40. are there any musicians whose lyrics you particularly tend to like?
41. do you prefer songs that have good melodies or songs that have good lyrics?
44. write a parody of at least a verse of any song you’d like.
45. name 5 songs you can’t stand.
47. turn a song lyric into a pickup line.
48. name the last 5 songs you listened to.
49. what are your favorite album covers?
51. how often do you listen to music?
53. if you could meet any musician you’d like, who would it be?
56. if you had a stage name, what would it be?
4. fever by enhypen, movie by penomeco, back to december by taylor swift
6. kpop, indle folk
7. i went to a shawn mendes concert in 2019 with my friends!
8. ohhh... uhh... drunk-dazed by enhypen
9. border: carnival
11. watching i-land & staying until the very end got me into enhypen
12. listened to fever from the album preview
13. too many times to count--
14. (nobody's ever asked me for song recs sksk) slchld definitely
15. fifteen by taylor swift and because of you by kelly clarkson
16. pop
17. tbh most american songs that i used to like are hella popular now
18. kelly clarkson and taylor swift
21. i've only been to two live performances but tbh they feel kinda surreal.
22. singing in the shower
23. probably an indie musician?
24. violin, because i already know how to play it
29. they're hella sick!
30. uh... disney soundtracks, specifically the princess and the frog and tangled
36. tired by nlve, show and tell by melanie martinez, blue and grey by bts
38. uh... any song that has a deeper meaning behind it is a song that i love.
41. good lyrics
44. "dazed dazed dazed, what the fuck is going on in here?"
45. any american pop song on the radio sksksk-
47. i can be the one for you for good, baby~ (i know it's already a pickup line but shut up)
48. movie by penomeco, let me know by pixy, fever by enhypen, bambi by baekhyun, mmmh by kai
49. pixy's album cover for wings!
51. everyday literally
53. enhypen
55. either... artzyy or artzemis
(holy shit rain-)
music asks
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December TC Challenge
stole this from @elder-edda (sorry for creeping! just, given the usual demographic of the tc community I was excited to find another 20-smthg)
1) what color is your tc’s hair?
He has just, simple brown hair but he’s starting to go grey which, no lie, is 100% doing it for me.
2) is your tc married?
Yes? He doesn’t wear a ring and I believe she kept her last name which makes me think it’s more of a civil partnership since they’ve been together since the early 2000s at least. But he also will refer to her as “my wife” and was telling me once that they waited until “after they got married” before moving in together.
3) if yes, do you care? would you do something with them regardless of their marriage?
I know these questions are general but I do take offense at the idea of being a homewrecker/other woman. I’ve met his wife, she’s really nice.
4) what’s your worst memory with your tc?
I put my foot in my mouth SO OFTEN. Good lord. Especially my last semester at that school? He was acting weird and I had just realized after fucking ... four years?? that I romantically liked him. So I kept bringing up my weird age fixation and other bs bc I have adhd and am possibly autistic?? and can’t read a room to save my life.
5) what’s your best memory with your tc?
One year we had a really bad snowstorm, so bad in fact that I had my first-ever snow day. The college that I used to go to has four campuses across as many cities, and C has to drive in twice a week to my (old) town from his. Now, morning classes had been canceled but afternoon classes had been given the go-ahead. C, who does not check his emails until he arrives at campus, evidently did not get this message until he was already in town and therefore didn’t have a morning class, but did have an afternoon class. On this day I had a late morning class that had been reinstated, but my prof didn’t get that memo so I also was on campus but didn’t have a class. So I went to visit his office, which I had been doing throughout the semester (I didn’t have a class with him at the time) and we just ... hung out for like 2 hours. It was so nice and one of the anecdotes he told me still haunts me lol.
sidenote: at the time, I hadn’t yet realized that I liked him, but I still went out of my way to visit him. Damn I was a dumbass.
6) does anyone in your school know how you feel?
ish? I told a classmate but in a “haha joking” kinda way. And a friend who went to that school knows. No one at my current school knows.
7) does your tc know how you feel?
I think he might? might have a lil inkling which would explain why he started acting so weird my last semester. Or at the very least was told/realized how bad it could look that he was getting so chummy w/ a student.
8) do you think there’s any chance your tc reciprocates your feelings?
He and his wife have been together for around 20 years now. No. No, I don’t think so. Maybe in an alternate universe.
9) are you getting your tc a christmas present? if so, what is it?
I have in the past! Specifically like, a tin of cookies lol. I’ve also given him an actual present when I left. I do intend to send him a Christmas card every year but not this year because ... you know ... the apocalypse.
10) have you ever flirted with your tc?
Flirtation inherently has intent. So, no. How he interpreted our interactions I don’t know.
11) how long have you had a crush on them? what began it all?
SO! TIMELINE!
I was at my old school from September 2014-April 2019, I had C for the first time in September 2015. Like I mentioned above, I did not realize I had a crush on him until literally the middle of my final exam of my class with him December 2018, so I’ve only consciously had a crush for about two years now. However, as I also mentioned, I went out of my way to stop by his office, even when I didn’t have a class with him. And my relationship with/feelings towards him are complicated so I’m not going to say I did so solely because I like him, but I would put it maybe closer to somewhere in 2017. You don’t plan your schedule around someone you don’t feel strong feelings for.
12) do you believe you’ll get over them shortly after you stop taking their class/have the chance to spend time with them?
As of today, it has been been exactly a year and a half since I last him in person. In the time since, I have cried over missing him, routinely gone back to keep up with his current research projects, and made his picture a part of my home screen. I almost exclusively listen to the playlist I made for him - so much so my Spotify Wrapped is pretty much that playlist with a few extras.
13) what kind of grades do you get in their class?
Haaaaaa pre-supension I was failing his classes. My first semester back I got .... a mid/high 70? and I finished my last class with him with an A+ and the essay I had written for his class had the highest grade between the two classes so..
14) does your tc ever do any tiny, little things that you adore?
When he puts a hand in his pocket and leans against the wall. When he tucks his hair behind his ear because he keeps falling in his face (he has long hair, a little past his shoulders). When he can’t stop himself from googling something even if its in the middle of class. How you can ask him anything at any time. The way he would chuckle at my jokes. How his handwriting hasn’t improved in decades. How easily he brushes off toxic masculinity. His candidness and willingness to share little anecdotes. The way he used to always smile whenever he saw me. That he goes home everyday to have lunch with his wife.
15) are you their favorite student?
I was! And it was obvious to other students that we had a friendly, casual relationship too. For a time, if his other students had questions about him they would ask me, and I usually had the answer. I didn’t matter in the long run, but I was.
16) do you two share any tastes? movies, books, music, etc.
He’s a legal historian, I’m a baby legal/political historian. We also like the same historical cooking youtube channel.
17) is your teacher religious?
I doubt he would say he’s religious, but I feel like we have a similar relationship to religion which is to say no formal association, but had profound effects on our childhoods and subsequently, presumably, how we view things as adults.
18) do you masturbate to them?
Yes.
19) do you communicate with them outside of school?
I sent him a meme once. And asked about the socialist uprising scandal he was apart of. I also almost emailed him while at a museum exhibition with my history friend. These are all through email.
20) do you have any tc songs or songs you relate to your tc? what are they?
SO my number one song this year was “You are the Reason” by Calum Scott because, you guessed it, of him. But also:
I Lost a Friend - Finneas
When You’re Ready - Shawn Mendes
You Are in Love - Taylor Swift
Break My Heart Right - James
& given the season, especially w/ what transpired last year, Last Christmas by Wham!
21) what’s your favorite thing your tc has said/memory you have with them?
One time he kinda trailed off in the middle of lecture after stating that he thought of xyz a particular way which contrasted one of the popular schools of thought, and the way he plainly said, “well, yeah, which I guess ... is I’m arguing it” almost like he was semi-surprised with himself has always stuck with me.
But also, in addition the memory I shared earlier, we spent an hour and a half talking about grad school and what to expect and how to get there.
22) do you plan to continue a relationship with them after you leave school?
I trid, I really did. But he doesn’t “socialize with students part or present” so I can’t exactly see him. But I did get some academic-related from him at the beginning of the year.
23) how will you deal during the summer? will you see him/her?
He’s a hermit who used my last vacation before I moved to go on all the vacations he had to postpone because he was working on his last book. And this past summer ... Covid. This question is obviously directed at high school students, but in general, he lives in the back of head always, and when I’m in my hometown for the summer my heart aches because theres a none-zero chance I’ll see him, but I know I won’t.
24) does your tc support gay rights?
Yes. He’s never been put in a position that I know of where he had to outright condemn homophobia, but in one of his classes, he actively made the choice to make the very first reading of the semester about how women in ancient times had more agency than assumed, and also how the woman in the case study was a lesbian.
25) what class do you have with them? And what period? Do you have them every day?
History classes. I won’t get into specifics because it’s kind of an eclectic mix and I’m paranoid someone from the area could come across this. But I had him twice a week every semester that I had him. Again this kind of question is more so applicable to high school students, not so much university students.
26) have you ever drifted out during a lecture thinking about them and missed information?
No. In his classes he is too enthralling, and I’m a good student otherwise.
27) have you stalked them online? what did you find out?
In theory. He’s a fifty-year-old history professor whose reaction to a description of the big lipped/tiny face filter on snapchat was “that sounds disgusting.” The man doesn’t have social media, and if he does those privacy settings are on so students can’t find him he thinks he’s very professional. I do visit his mini-bio section on the college website fairly often tho.
28) have you ever run into them outside of schools? what happened?
I did once. He introduced me to his wife, who said “oh you’re E! C has talked about you” and it apparently he had done so positively, and blew my mind because this was back when I was failing classes and also, as a person, I don’t believe that people think about me when I’m not there. They gave me a restaurant recommendation and afterwards his wife surprised me a they were leaving the restaurant because ... we had listened to them, and they also went there for lunch that day.
29) has your tc ever spoken of teacher-student relationships? what did they say?
It had recently come out that it had been found out that another professor had been in a relationship with a student and he’s the one that brought it up before class one day (with all of us not just me). He didn’t say anything for or against it, just that it was generally discouraged, but that most schools did have policies in place to handle the situation.
30) do you regret telling anyone about your tc? if you’ve kept it a secret, why have you done so?
Absolutely not. I can’t tell my best friends because they’d do nothing but give me shit for it and it would call every time I mention him into question. But the friends that I have told ... its been so freeing, and like a weight has been lifted from my heart. One friend in particular I unloaded on her all my emotional shit pertaining to him this past summer and she was so understanding it legit since then I’ve been less distraught when thinking about him. It still hurts, but it feels less like I’m suffocating now.
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