Hannah Montana (2006)
by Hannah Montana (a.k.a. Miley Cyrus)
Looking for an artist who provides music that is “the best of both worlds,” with good meoldies by a popular TV personality? Look no further than the remarkable Hannah Montana, who has been influencing teens since 2006. Although there are other albums with far more Grammys, Hannah Montana should have won them all.
Popular pop icon Miley Cyrus created the musical project Hannah Montana, and it established her music career when her popularity took off with her role as the central character in the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana (2006-2011). As Miley Cyrus was only 13 years old when she released this album, her lyrics are authentic, genuine, and relatable to a teenage perspective. I personally received her debut album Hannah Montana (2006) as a birthday present when I was in elementary school, and you bet I learned the lyrics to every song. I highly recommend listening to the top hits from this album to get any party started right, beginning with the track “The Best of Both Worlds.” Anyone would get pumped listening to Hannah’s voice mixed with an intense electric guitar that accompanies this rock ‘n roll track. Not to worry—the many moods included in Hannah Montana are also perfect for any vibrant teenager to relate to. Following the jam-worthy track, “Pumpin’ Up The Party,” the album switches from the initial party mood to courageous-girl-vs.-the-world vibes.
The second half features messages that enforce Hannah’s portrayal as a role model that encourages any listener to take chances, face self-doubt, and stand to be brave against anyone who tells you that you are incapable of facing your fears. “This Is The Life” is the final track, and it is hopeful and inspiring; the following lyrics show just that: “Take the world, Shakin’, stirrin’, That’s what I’ve goin’ on, I throw my cares up in the air, And I don’t think they’re comin’ down.” Hannah’s message shows that with self-determination and maintaining a fierce attitude to rise above the haters, it is worth it to step outside of your comfort zone to be the best and strongest version of yourself.
Even 18 years later, when I scroll on my iPhone instead of my iPod Touch in search of music to get me out of a funky mood, I can always rely on Hannah Montana’s bold album to have me dancin’ in no time. Listen to one of Miley Cyrus’ best albums, Hannah Montana (2006), as it successfully blends the influences of rock ‘n roll, pop, and country genres from the early 2000s.
While Ghost Stories was originally a show adapting Japanese folklore into a format for young teens, the English dub allowed wild ad-libbing from the cast. It was the early 2000s, and South Park’s dark and politically incorrect humor was generating a cultural wave. It’s fair to assume South Park is largely what inspired the voice actors of Ghost Stories. The dialogue of Ghost Stories becomes a steady stream of unpredictable verbal chaos. The characters randomly bring up Western politicians and celebrities, and every episode includes crude humor that would never be allowed in a show aimed at a younger audience, but none of this is to the degree of early South Park. This anime is famous for the ad-libbing done by the cast. It isn’t far into the first episode before it becomes apparent that something is odd, but that instance alone does not prepare the audience for the insanity that is to come. It’s crude and dark, too crude and dark to quote. Most of all, it’s amusing. No summary could do justice for this show. If any of this sounds interesting, I recommend watching the first episode, or, at the very least, watching a YouTube video of highlights from the show.
Looking to take the next step in your life to find your one true soulmate? Are you ready to settle down and be in a committed, loving, trustworthy relationship with the spouse of your dreams? Take notes from the many single adults who are featured in Love is Blind, as their
In this movie, which should probably be considered the best movie musical ever, we are introduced to cats of all kinds. The main character Victoria is dumped by her family and left in the street, where she is found by a tribe of street cats called Jellicle cats. Every year on the night of the Jellicle Moon, the cats go to the Jellicle ball so they can compete to be chosen by their leader, Old Deuteronomy, to be the Jellicle choice (I’m pretty sure the word “Jellicle” is half the script in this movie). The cats compete to be the Jellicle choice because they believe it is the only way to get to cat heaven, or as they call it, the Heaviside Layer, where they will be given new life. We learn about the indecisive Rum Tum Tugger, outcast Grizella, evil Mccavity, and (the obvious choice because he’s played by James Corden) gluttonous Bustopher Jones, among many others. Chalk full of song and dance, this movie is sure to keep you entertained and make you love both cats and musicals if you don’t already. Who will be the Jellicle choice? Why did James Corden not win an Oscar for his performance in this movie? Available to watch on Netflix, Google Play, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.
In one of the most incredible animated movies Hollywood has ever seen, Gene the “Meh” emoji must go on an epic quest across the interworkings of the phone he lives in to fix his broken code. As an emoji, he should only be able to make one face, but for some reason, he can make all the different faces he wants. This is a problem because he isn’t able to make the right face and therefore can’t do his job and is at risk of being deleted if he can’t get the problem fixed. He is accompanied by his best friend, Hi-5, who is played by none other than James Corden, and the hacker Jailbreak. Together they travel from app to app in hopes of editing Gene’s code, and they end up finding out their whole phone’s system is in trouble! They have no choice but to try to fix the problem before their whole world is shut off forever. Will they ever be able to fix Gene’s code? Will their whole world be lost forever when their phone gets shut down? Available on Tubi, Google Play, Apple TV, and Amazon Prime.
Perhaps the biggest April Fools’ Day joke of all is that most countries celebrate the holiday, but nobody knows the actual origins of what started the traditional day of tricks. All we know for sure is that now the date of April 1st is a day to celebrate spring and sunshine after the bleakness of winter with harmless pranks.
In 1957, the BBC aired a three-minute segment on the Swiss spaghetti harvest. Yes, the spaghetti harvest. Did you think spaghetti came out of a box? Narrated by the BBC’s leading news commentator Richard Dimbleby, a trusted voice by the British public, this seemingly benign April Fools’ Day joke bamboozled an audience not yet accustomed to such an exotic delicacy. If Dimbelby said spaghetti grew on trees, then by jove, it grew on trees. The esteemed men on the television would never tell lies, after all. Why, that’s just … well, it’s just poppycock! What sort of monster would do such a thing?
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This edition’s influential athlete is Russell Wilson, who plays quarterback in the NFL for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2014, Russell and his wife Ciara created the Why Not You Foundation. This foundation is a nonprofit dedicated to fighting poverty through education, and empowering youth to have the “Why Not You?” attitude. In other words, the organization challenges youth to embrace opportunities, overcome obstacles, and make positive impacts throughout their lives. The foundation also supports equal opportunities for students, and even children’s health and food-security initiatives. Wilson works hard at extending the foundation’s support and impact by advocating for research into illnesses like pediatric cancer, making visits to various children’s hospitals across the U.S., and partnering with various organizations like the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of America. One of the foundation’s more recent endeavors surprised ten nonprofit organizations from Colorado and Utah with $100,000. These grants were given to help further build their work for creating healthier communities. You can donate to this charity