If there is one thing Keke Palmer knows how to do best—well, aside from her Angela Bassett impression—it’s ride the moment. While hosting Saturday Night Live, the multi-hyphenate performer addressed recent pregnancy rumors by announcing that she is in fact pregnant:
The star walked down the hallowed SNL stage steps in a long fitted suit coat that all but confirmed it before she even had to say anything—from her full, glowing face to her boobs and belly barely being contained by the suit jacket.
Keke Palmer and her boyfriend, Darius Jackson, have been dating since March of this year. Palmer and Jackson met at Issa Rae’s memorial day party back in the spring of 2021. Jackson’s brother, Sarunas, played “Dro” on Issa Rae’s Insecure (the married guy in an open relationship that Molly dates).
2022 has been quite the year for Palmer with her starring turn in Jordan Peele’s NOPE putting her in the awards conversation. While buzz around NOPE has certainly died down since its release last July, Palmer has continued to stay on everybody’s minds. At this point in the Oscar’s conversation, the idea that Palmer might secure a nomination is slightly unlikely but certainly not impossible. With her New York Film Critics Circle win and now this baby announcement, Miss Keke might just be able to charm her way into a much deserved nomination.
SZA RECIEVES INSPIRATION FROM PRINCESS DI
After much anticipation and speculation, SZA has announced during her turn as the musical guest on SNL that her sophomore album will be released December 9th (FRIDAY!!!!!). In promoting the new album, SZA followed in the footsteps of Beyoncé’s Renaissance with a cover story and glowing write-up by Billboard (it’s not British Vogue, but than again, SZA’s not Beyoncé. According to Billboard: “‘S.O.S’ is album that certainly justifies a five-year wait.”
When SZA teased the album cover art on social media, fans immediately came back with this image:
The image is of Princess Di exactly a week before her untimely death by paparazzi. The similarities between the two images are striking and clearly intentional. SZA stated that she related to the loneliness projecting from the image. SZA has long been wary of all the fame and press that came with the release of her debut pabulum “CTRL” back in 2017. In her recent Billboard cover story, the artist says that part of the reason it took her so long to finish the album was the anxiety around the grueling album cycle and the pressure for the album to be as good as the first. It’s a very similar situation to rise of Lauryn Hill with The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill and the subsequent fall from grace as Miss Hill rejected the fame and weight of responsibility. Luckily for SZA, it doesn’t appear that she’ll be meeting the same fate, though this quote from her Billboard cover story does standout:
“I feel like music, in this capacity, I don’t see longevity,” she confesses. “I like to create, I like to write, I like to sing, and I like to share. But I don’t know if chasing after superstardom or whatever I’m supposed to be doing right now is sustainable for me or for anybody. I’mma take a good swing at it, and I’mma give ’em my absolute best.”
(I’ve spent the entirety of today listening to SOS and these are my favorites so far: “Kill Bill,” “Love Language,” “Used,” “Smoking on my Ex Pack,” “F2F,” and “Open Arms.”)
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH BRITNEY
Britney went dark on social media mere days after an alarming birthday post about her sister. Fans have long been speculating that Britney Spears’ mental health has been on the decline (I mean, whose wouldn’t after the shit she’s been through.) Some have even questioned whether or not Britney isn’t still under a conservatorship.
Earlier this week, the star took to Instagram to wish her sister Jamie Lynn a happy birthday:
The post comes as quite the surprise considering everything that Britney has said about her family since her conservatorship ended, making it clear that she wants nothing to do with them.
The fact that her account went dark only days after the post makes the whole thing all the more fishy.
On top of this, in a bizarre Instagram live from Sam Asghari, Britney’s husband, the former personal trainer appears to catch the pop star off guard in bed. She responded by saying: “I have nothing to say. I don’t want to talk to them right now,” referencing the nearly 3,000 people who tuned in.
According to Page Six, a source explained that the social media break was Britney’s decision and that “silence can be a powerful thing.”
Spears has since reinstated her Instagram.
DISSECTING THE BREAK-UP ANTHEM
Break-ups are truly the worst. They blindside you. They knock you off your axis. They send your world upside down. Now I’m not talking about the soft kind of break up that you can slide pass with a barely a scratch. No, I’m talking about the kind break up that smacks you in the face and knocks the floor out from under you. I think you get the picture. Break ups suck! But there is one perk to them: the break up anthem.
People love to joke on social media before artists like Adele and SZA release new albums that they need to get their heart broken to really enjoy the full album experience. While the practicalities of it are silly to say the least, the sentiment couldn’t be truer. At no other times does a breakup anthem hit harder than when you’re going through a break up. To listen to something like SZA’s “I Hate U” or literally any Adele song while going through a breakup is to welcome a wave of feeling like you’ve never experienced. There is a level of relatability that is imply not there unless you’re going through it.
In honor heartbreaks everywhere, a playlist of breakup anthems to vibe with, jam with, and get you through:
I saw an astrology tik tok guru the other day talk about how the of this year is all about slow endings and slow beginnings going into the new year. It’s supposed to be a time of rest, reflection, and preparation for what’s to come (Of course, I say this as I plan on going out every night this weekend. We all have different ways of coping!) I have big plans and high hopes for 2023. Here’s to moving slowly and intentionally through the rest of the holidays and into the new year. Looking forward to what is coming.
X, Bryce
i know the 2024 at the end was a typo but i’m pretending it’s not and you were just like... i’m giving myself another year before having big plans and high hopes again 😭