🤯 The Second Coming
On BLACKPINK's Rolling Stone extravaganza, Florence Pugh's relationship rumors, and a good gaming chair. (Jams by Maisie Peters)
Hi, gang! How’s it going?
My clicking thumb’s been extra cliquey lately. 🤭
Let’s count the number of BLACKPINK tweets I’ve “liked” since Rolling Stone announced its June cover story of the K-Pop group on May 23 (11 days ago).
…actually, better not.1 MOVING ON!
And now, the meat of this newsletter…
[🤯 MIND BLOWING] BLACKPINK’s Second Coming
They’ve got now and got next — BLACKPINK, the biggest girl group in the world, is only the third all-female group to cover RS magazine.
Can you guess the other two?
#BLACKPINKxRollingStone week married the most iconic music mag of several generations with 2-3 years of rampant anticipation and speculation of BLACKPINK’s will-they/won’t-they return—a week of BP content, therein announcing the group’s upcoming sophomore album and next world tour, to drive Blinks like me hog wild.
This volume of content, from the cover story and RS’s accompanying exclusive interviews with each member of the group (clockwise from left, above: Jisoo, Rosé, Jennie and Lisa) released each day of the week of May 23 (in order by age!) to all of the extra A/V bits, made it worth the time and resources the magazine put into it.
It’s a principle of the journalism industry, to the max; in this case, setting up shop across the world in Seoul, South Korea, to return with not one story but a dozen. (Not too different than when RS worked with BTS a year ago.)
RS tapped Asian-American freelancers to send back words and pictures from Seoul. The photographer, Peter Ash Lee, hadn’t tweeted since 2019 before posting his cover photo on the 23rd. The writer, Haeryun Kang, hadn’t ever written for RS.
To keep this project under wraps was a feat on par with the group’s own covert operation. Just read Kang’s lead here:
In an otherwise ordinary Seoul neighborhood, the headquarters of YG Entertainment rise like a giant spaceship above the Han River. YG is one of South Korea’s largest entertainment agencies, producing international K-pop stars, as well as, more recently, actors and models. Opened in 2020, its new complex extends nine stories aboveground and five below. The upper floors are brightly lit and open: meeting rooms with huge windows, an employee cafeteria, even a pho restaurant. Hundreds of YG employees walk busily about. There are screens everywhere, showcasing YG’s huge roster.
The underground floors feel more like a secret den: This is where artists practice in dance studios, record music, and trainees mingle with the stars. And it’s where Blackpink, the world’s most popular girl group, are recording songs for their next album, their first since the early days of the pandemic. Once the album (due sometime later this year) is complete, the flurry of activity will start again, giving the YG employees something new to buzz about and sending the lives of the group’s four members — Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rosé — into overdrive.
[🤔 THINKING] More Than Friends?
You might’ve seen photos circulating last week that show Florence Pugh and Will Poulter together at a beach in Ibiza.
People were quick to read into it.
More pointedly, they hurriedly adopted as fact that Pugh had cast aside longtime boyfriend Zach Braff for Poulter, Pugh’s co-star in “Midsommar” and who you may know from “We’re the Millers” and “Dopesick.” Worse, many seemed to feel a sense of relief from these photos (case in point, what follows the tweet above, “AND FUCK THAT OLD MAN,” et al).
Of course, as the world turns, following closely behind these were photos of Braff and a “female pal” (not Pugh) at dinner in Los Angeles—but not before Pugh denied the rumors via her Instagram story.
“Thanks for saying we look sexy .. doesn’t mean we’re doing the sexy.”
Poulter reposted her story.
This calls back an icky smear campaign people have had against Pugh and Braff’s relationship since it became public around 2019 — because Braff is 47 and Pugh 26.
That first backlash shuttered Pugh’s interest in being so open on social media, which is part of what’s made her such a favorite (besides her awesome professional works). Her popular “Cooking with Flo” live videos virtually disappeared.
Now, as that door into Pugh’s world was starting to creak open, including posts from this Ibiza trip, we’re back again to this. We’re the rumors true? No. Anyone following her social media probably could’ve called that out before she had to herself. Worse, these rumors were rooted in hate and out-of-date thinking.
If she had been spotted in the start of a new relationship, good for her. But Dr. Dorian is a catch, man. Deal with it.
[😍 LOVING] A Good Gaming Chair for the Floor
I recently purchased the Giantex Floor Folding Gaming Sofa Chair Lounger Folding Adjustable 14-Position Sleeper Bed Couch Recliner (Black) for our basement, to resolve the aches and pains of sitting crisscross on the floor to play video games 2 feet from the TV.
So far, 👍 👍.
[🎧 JAMMING] More Maisie Peters
I wanted to revisit Maisie Peters, an Ed Sheeran mentee, for a moment this week because she can be such a fun, corky songwriter.
"Maisie, did you meet my brother?"
And then I said, "No, I didn't"
And then he started coming over
And my heart went love him, he's the one and we shall wed
Sang with this particular cadence, “And my heart went love him, he’s the one and we shall wed” is such a funny, bubbly, real feeling. It’s about the innocent naivety of love at first sight, when your heart moves a thousand times faster than your head—a war she’s waging throughout this.
“Cate’s Brother” (and Maisie’s shaggy blonde hair) reminds me of the 80s electronic scene in all of its keytar glory, but also of The Pettit Project (later Love You to Death), a Canadian pop-punk group very important to me during my early high school years, because they share similar vibes.
I can’t ignore the old band’s influence on how I feel about “Cate’s Brother,” and Maisie Peters, now. On its own, however, “Cate’s Brother” is an extraordinarily fun song.
Thank you for reading again this week! If you liked this particular collection of mess, please consider telling someone about it.
Since I started typing, there’s been more BLACKPINK content but also this teaser trailer for the live-action Pinocchio, and Nelly Korda has returned to the LPGA not a moment too soon.
Take care.