wiicity

parallels between meet the parents, meet the fockers & focker in-law. the latest is set to star ariana grande with ben stiller and robert deniro returning for their iconic roles.

1 year ago today, charli xcx dropped her incredibly impactful album brat the record was nominated for an astounding 8 grammys and took home 3 and defined summer 2024 - 📸 @charli_xcx (2-8)

bad bunny’s massive career has been defined by his balance of consistent continuity and evolution. throughout his historic rise, he’s found a way to maintain a steady sense of identity and cultural pride, even as his sound and reach expanded to global status. with his latest album, ‘debi tirar mas fotos,’ el conejo malo maintains the feeling of home even while on an acclaimed worldwide tour. he even has a stage that works as a mini house, a casita, if you will. but this anchoring of self extends to his personal life too. “i’m very intuitive with who and how i spend my time. i take care of my mental and heart space, bien cabrón,” he told variety last year. “there are people that i work with who i’ve known since i was a kid, and what a blessing that is.” the blessings continue for bad bunny (born benito antonio martínez ocasio) today, with the super bowl halftime show performance. or, as his fans are calling it. the benito bowl. by @tuff__pictures

it was the day after the grammys when billie eilish woke up, dyed her hair (from red to black) and went off to shoot the album cover for her next project ‘hit me hard and soft.’ she got into a water tank that was, she estimated, 10 feet deep. “and i was in there for 6 hours,” she told host stephen colbert on ‘the late show’ as she recounted the day’s events and her wardrobe in 2024. “and,” she added, “i had a weight strapped to me.” so, who had this idea, colbert wondered. billie smiled and pointed at herself. “i was like, ‘i want to be fully dressed underwater, upside down,’” she said. when colbert asked if she could describe its meaning, billie decided not to break down the symbolism in order for fans to draw their own conclusions. fans loved the cover and the music, making it a critically acclaimed and fan favorite release. today, ‘hit me hard and soft’ turns 2 and to commemorate the occasion, billie teamed up with james cameron to co-direct a film that documents the album’s tour. the movie, which is out now, features more behind the scenes footage.

shakira reportedly picked up skateboarding during 2020’s lockdown to keep herself occupied. she posted a video in 2020 captioned “my new hobby: it was either this or pottery.” shakira is a woman of many talents, so it is no suprise that she could learn something as challenging as skating so quickly. since a young age, the global superstar who emerged from barranquilla, colombia, has had exceptional singing and dancing skills, resulting in an extraordinary musical career that’s spanned decades. her musical gifts extend beyond singing and dancing. she also plays several instruments, including the guitar. beyond that, she speaks 6 different languages, according to the cut. as if all of that wasn’t enough, during the lockdown, shakira also managed to graduate from a four-week online course in philosophy at the university of pennsylvania.

billie eilish might have the entire script of ‘the office’ memorized at this point. she recently went on ‘the office ladies’ podcast with the show’s co-stars jenna fischer & angela kinsey and broke down her passion for the show. she has been through the whole series over 30 times. she has so much of the script memorized that she knows exactly what each scene looks like just from listening to the dialogue. a few years prior, she sat down with one of the show’s other stars, rainn wilson, for a billboard interview where he quizzed her on ‘the office’ trivia. she nailed almost every question, remembering details that even the cast themselves have probably forgotten by now. her love of the show has made it into her music too. “my strange addiction” samples the scarn dance scene from threat level midnight, and every cast member whose voice was used had to personally approve it. they all did. billie might love the silver screen but she is now hitting the big screen, herself, thanks to ‘hit me hard and soft: the tour live in 3d.’ she co-directed the new film, which is out now, with ‘titanic’ & ‘avatar’ director james cameron.

since its original, theatrical release in 2003, ‘kill bill’ has proven its relevance by the music videos the film has inspired. much like 2 chainz’s former moniker, one item in the movie has a not-safe-for-work nickname, but is instantly recognizable on sight. the yellow chevrolet c-2500 silverado pickup often referred to as the “pu—y wagon” has worked its way into pop culture via some creative camera work. the truck appears in both missy elliott’s “i’m really hot” and lady gaga and beyoncè “telephone” video “[tarantino’s] direct involvement in the video came from him lending me the pu—y wagon,” gaga told e! news in a 2010 interview. “we were having lunch one day in los angeles, and i was telling him about my concept for the video, and he loved it so much he said, ‘you gotta use the pu—y wagon!’” hair, clothing, body positioning, and outright censoring have been used to obscure the truck’s risqué tailgate. other artists – such as sza and k-pop outfit brown eyed girls – sidestepped the vehicle entirely in their tributes to the ‘kill bill’ series.’ sneakerheads have noticed a similarity between the hattori hanzo sword sheath and the late kobe bryant’s signature shoe logo. these days, the influence is still going strong. ‘kill bill’ star uma thurman (and a sanitized version of the pu—y wagon) are available as a ‘fortnite’ skin. in 2025, tarantino re-released both volumes of ‘kill bill’ as a single, four-and-a-half-hour film. and, for those wondering, he owns the truck, but stopped driving it for practical reasons. it turns out, 22 years later, “bill” can be killed, but the movie’s influence is close to immortal.

dua lipa is a global superstar by day and book club enthusiast by night. plus, the artist known for cover stories of her own, has even quietly become an important interviewer in literature. dua has been running her own book club since 2022 called service95 which has its own podcast, live events, and even a taping at the new york public library. every month the club picks from lit across mediums: short story collections, essay collections, plays, translated fiction, etc. when dua was 15 years old she read ‘the handmaid’s tale’ for the first time. now, many year’s later, she has been able to sit across from margaret atwood herself. in her own words, dua described it as a pinch-me moment. even in her conversation with pulitzer prize-winning author hernan diaz, she knew details about his book that even the journalist that came before her didn’t. while the world marvels at her music, dua has been building a world of her own, built around her love of words.

a family’s story went from tragedy to triumph when the gàmez-cuéllar brothers, who’d been detained by ice agents earlier this year, found themselves onstage next to country music superstar kacey musgraves for a series of shows in texas this month. it’s been a whirlwind of a year for the mariachi band of siblings antonio (18), caleb (15), joshua (12) and their father, luis antonio. the family was reportedly detained by ice agents in march, in a case that drew criticism. after all, reports indicated that the family had entered the country on an asylum claim and had attended all of their required court dates before being detained at a scheduled check-in. bobby pulido, a lone star state-based singer running for texas’ 15th congressional district seat, issued a statement. “they followed the rules,” he said, according to the new york times. “they’re doing it the right way. now they’re being torn apart.” once they were released, singer kacey musgraves celebrated their homecoming on social media. “great,” she wrote. “so come on the road with me.” the brothers and their father went on to join kacey as part of her three-night spectacular at gruene hall in new braunfels this month. “it is wild to believe that we went from being in such a dark place to opening a show for one of country’s biggest stars,” antonio explained in an interview with the paper of record. @spaceykacey , who previously worked with mexican singer songwriter carín león, has been vocal about mexican influence in her work. she’s been particularly open about it as she described her new album, ‘middle of nowhere,’ which features touches of música mexicana. “i was inspired by the mexican community, their resilience, their hard work and their passion,” she recently told apple music. “it’s so woven into our texas culture. you couldn’t separate that if you tried. texas was part of mexico at one point. we would not be what we are, as we know it, without mexican influence.” after the show, luis antonio celebrated the special moment. “it was a great experience,” he explained. antonio added his own optimism: “mariachi music will be in our future.” write-up — @wiicity fotos — @charles.reagan

mac miller reportedly started playing piano at the age of 6. it was the first instrument he played, before the drums and the guitar and everything else. mac’s love for the piano stretched beyond music. in 2014, mac reportedly called famed producer rick rubin while on his way to europe, and asked for help with sobriety. rubin, it’s said, let miller spend the summer at his studio in malibu to recover. “i’d just go to rick’s house every day and just sit and play the keyboard,” he said. “before then, i never really played music unless i was recording it.” “rick’s piano,’ off balloonerism, is named after that summer. using keys from the exact piano that moved him through an important arc in his journey. here’s a look back at mac and his love for the piano.

this weekend, olivia rodrigo teamed up with fc barcelona for spotify’s annual el clásico collab. the global fútbol powerhouse wore olivia’s new logo on their jerseys as part of the initiative, which also extended to the club’s women’s team, fc barcelona femení. rodrigo was in town to celebrate her “billions club” hits on spotify (she’s got 9 of those). she commemorated the plaques w/ a one-night-only, invite-only concert for some of her most dedicated fans in españa just days before the game. liv also attended the match, meeting with and taking photos with players as well as the team mascot, cat, as fc barcelona got a 2–0 dub over real madrid. here’s a look at the game.

lady gaga and doechii dropped the music video for their new song “runway” a couple of weeks ago and die-hards on both sides have been dissecting it for easter eggs. a keen little monster recently pointed out that the video looks like it takes place on the back cover of lady gaga’s iconic artpop album. after a closer look, gotta say, solid theory.