Every Single Album - Our Top 5 Summer Concert Moments So Far

Episode Date: July 31, 2025

Nora and Nathan talk about the most fun and impactful summer concert moments that have happened so far this season, including: equipment mishaps at Beyoncé and Katy Perry's shows (11:39), Charli XCX's set at Glastonbury (25:31), Beyoncé reuniting Destiny's Child at the final "Cowboy Carter" show (46:51), and Taylor Swift randomly popping up at the "Tight End & Friends" concert (and of course all of the rumors swirling about "TS12") (57:16). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan HubbardProducer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello and welcome to every single album. I'm Nora Prynciotti, and as always, I am joined by Nathan Hubbard. Nathan, how are you doing and are you ready to talk about one of your favorite subjects, which is live concerts? Live events, summer concerts. I thought we were doing another dead pets episode. We are in essence always doing another dead pets episode, one way or another if you really think about it. Fair enough. Before we get started, because what we're going to do today is we are going to go through a top five from each of us in moments from summer concerts so far.

And I will say right off the top that that is the only prompt we have given each other. And therefore, I have interpreted this rather loosely, including the words summer and concerts. So I'm curious to see where you went with it, but I think that's going to be really fun. However, I need to talk to you about something first, which is that last week something very funny happened to me, which is that I made an error that I don't regret on both podcasts that I'm a part of. And it wasn't until I did it on the second one and had a second co-host, in this case, the fabulous Jody Walker, be like, Nora, what are you talking about that there's like a club song about going to a Hime concert that caused me to actively Google the song that I told you I heard

on a small island off the coast of Italy about going to Hime. Do you remember this conversation? Yeah, honestly, I didn't know what the fuck you were talking about, but I just rolled with it. So that's not what that is. That's a David Gettas song about going to the nightclub high in Abiza, which is a famous nightclub in Abiza, if such things are famous to you. Get the fuck up. We're going to hide. Let's go.

Let's go. And I, at some point in my life, I actually did know that information. But I just wanted to share with you that that's how broken the Los Angeles indie pop rock band Haim has made my brain. Is that, like, you know, they say all roads lead to Rome. Like, to me, all roads lead to Haim.

and I just made up a song that you thought was well you didn't make up the song the song was made had nothing to do with Heim and you just went to this is Heim and I was like this must be about Heim I was like all of these 30 something

Roman people must be singing about going to a Heim concert like that must be what's going on right now because that's sort of if we're honest that's kind of what the Heim fan base does yeah yeah they superimposed their

entire world onto Haim or vice versa. On to three women, I don't know. I will not be changing. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you that happened. I wanted to share with our audience that that's actually not what that song is about. I wanted to share with David Getta that if he is looking for the possibility for an additional remix opportunity, that it's right there, my dude. And that's all.

I can't wait to find other things that might be about Heim, that you're not. you talk about. I mean, hear me out. Haim residency at high in Abiza. Well, that could happen. I mean, they need a little bit more, they need more bang your head against the wall. Yeah. I also don't. I don't think of Haim is, Haim is like very American in a certain way. Yes. But they do have that. They need more in the back half of I quit than the front hat. they do have that the song they did with Calvin Harris Pray to God, that's what it's called.

That actually slaps. And I think it's one of their most streamed. Like that is always a thing that jogs my memory of the actual scale of Hime when I'm looking at Spotify. And I realize that this Calvin Harris remix is like one of their most popular songs technically other than like songs with Taylor Swift.

Speaking of which, they must have got connected through Taylor, right? That song happened in 2014. Yeah, everyone was, I mean, that's an idea that was probably hatched up, uh, on Watch Hill over the 4th of July, some rosé wearing some solid and striped bikinis. That feels right. Yeah, at some point I want to come back to why that place has not been used the last two years for 4th of July. It is a shockingly publicly accessible piece of real estate for someone like her to own. And then it was owned by me.

And then it was owned by me. I do think her parents spend a considerable amount of time there. Anywho, shall we get to it? Shall we talk about some shows? All right. We're going to go bottom to top. We're going to save the best for last. And, you know, there is no...

We are? Yes, we're going to go 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Every single piece of information that I am giving our audience. Nathan knows and is doing this thing that he's addicted to doing, which is pretending that it is his first day on earth every time he walks onto this podcast. So we're just going to do that. And these are the moments in summer concerts, festivals, touring that have made an impact on us, have made an impression on us. They don't necessarily have to be the most high profile. They don't necessarily have to be something other

than that. But why don't we just kick it off? Nathan, will you give us your number five? go first. No. I have to go first. Why do I have to go first? Okay. Because I have like 20 and all of mine are actually going to be reactive. This is a living, breathing document. The ratings, a little bit like a draft, but the ratings are going to move based on you. So don't mess this up. Okay, fine. I will go. I will go first. Great. I was like, I came on so ready for you to give me some shit about some choices that I've made. because I wanted to make them that maybe bend the rules a little bit. And now you've just told me that you completely went rogue and did your own thing. So this is great.

The first, my number five is bending the definition of summer a little bit. Okay. Because it is the Lady Gaga Coachella set, which did take place in April. Look, I know that. However, here's the deal. It felt like summer. It felt like summer. Everybody was outside.

They're enjoying the, you know, the nice Coachella air. More than that, I think we're going to look back on that performance as really critical to making the mayhem era like a real victory for her and real sort of proof that Lady Gaga has her A game. I think, like, I love that album. I'm still listening to that album. I think particularly songs like, How Bad Do You Want Me, have really, like, stayed in rotation for me and for a lot of people. But that album, just as an album,

as good as I think it is, when that was all we had, it didn't entirely beat the reheating nachos allegations. Like that conversation felt attached to the album as a whole. Man, we talked about that in the episode. Yeah, totally. And some of that is, you know, I think some of that was intentional. Some of that was just this is where she is and this is what a lot of people want from her.

And the music was great. Michael's in charge now. And Michael's in charge now. And we thank Michael and we chant for Michael, a real thing that happened at this performance. But then she went and she really owned that stage and did so. so much with the choreography, did so much with the set design. And I just, I think it pushed the envelope in a way that made this an era unto itself. And it kind of escaped the slight greatest hits feel of it all.

And so I think that when we, when we sort of look back not only on this era for Gaga, but also on this period of time where there are these arties, who had their career beginnings many years ago, who have tried with varying degrees of success. Shout out to Katie Perry, who's apparently dating Justin Trudeau. As one does. As one does.

This was, she was the one who did it right. Like, she was the one who stuck the landing. And I just think that this set had a huge amount to do with that. And so that's why it is my number five top moment from summer concerts, so far, even though it happened in April. Well, I'll give you a reason to be able to include it on the list because it was in my honorable mentions, but I have Chapel and Olivia at Gaga's show last night for the same reasons that you said.

They were there, both in person, there's video, them singing, just being fans. And as you said, starting with the Coachella Show, this concert experience has been one of the highlights of the summer. It's a big, expansive, impressive show and taps into all of the theater nerd instincts that exist within Gaga. But there's shit getting pumped into people's feeds every night because when she comes out and takes that sort of curtain call, there's always something a little fun to see. She wiped out at one point.

Like, whatever. Like, it is a big-ass show. And the fact that Chaplain Olivia, who are of the next generation, are there. they're paying their respects as fans says something and tells you all you need to know. These women are out going and seeing each other's shows. I mean, I, I, Hyde Park in London all summer long has had people showing up. And the pop girlies have been going to see each other and half of it is fandom. A quarter of it is insecurity to make sure that nobody else is putting on a better show.

you know, and a quarter of it is probably just to be seen. But the, it matters when Chapel and Olivia show up as fans to the Gaga tour. All right. So how am I supposed to, since you apparently have 20 and this is only crossed your list with an honorable mention, what am I supposed to ask you for? Should you give me five? Yeah, no, no, I'm going to give you, I'll give you number five. That's fine.

Okay. I mean, it's women being perilously close to death. because of poorly installed cables on their flying props. Like, it's like, Katie Perry. Why are we calling this a top moment? This is the bottom moment. This is like the worst thing that's happened.

Well, you asked for number five. Katie Perry almost fell off a butterfly in San Francisco. She has some kind of sphere that also tilted weirdly in Adelaide, Australia. She freaked out and grabbed the things and the whole stage hands came in, like spinal tap, which is an old school movie. They're redoing it.

but it's like the original rockumentary, but it's fake, and it's like, it's just terrific. Wait, they're redoing Spinal Tap, too. Spinal Tap 2. Spinal Tap 2 is coming. And it's going to be better than Happy Gilmore 2, just so you know. Spinal Tap 2 is going to be fantastic. So it's coming. And, but like all of the stage hands and like all those titles that I don't really know what they do, the gaffer and the key grips and shit, I assume key grip just means that's a guy who has really strong hands to grip onto the metal sphere when it tilts weird and it's about to dump Katie Perry. Is that right? As far as we know.

Or Beyonce in the Red Cadillac in Houston where she actually had to stop the show. Like, they stopped the music. That was like a moment of panic. So, I mean, props to Katie Perry who shot her ass into space. So maybe she's got a little more tolerance for altitude changes. But she, like, there's been a lot of these mishaps. and it is creating the wrong kinds of moments from these shows. Beyonce at least has had, you know, she's had Jay-Z.

She had the wonderful reunion this week with Destiny's Child on stage in Vegas. Oh, we'll discuss that. Okay, great, great. I was sort of trying to tee you up on that. Katie Perry, she's falling off butterflies and then dating ex-Canadian prime ministers. So whatever. It just let's not drop these women from, it is important to deliver an experience worthy of paying.

And the technology has gotten so much better around live shows and the expectations of fans are that these are going to be better than going to see a Broadway show. Like somewhere between the special effects and a Marvel movie, you know, whatever, and whatever a Cirque de Soleil show is for crying out loud. I just don't know that other than, Pink, just remember.

Pink is the one who's made to fly around. Can I give a free idea to anyone who wants to take it? Call Pink. Call Pink and ask like, who's your cable guy? No, Pink doesn't have a cable guy because Pink uses silks. She uses those hanging scarves and Pink is an actual athlete who can flip around and she could be in a Marvel movie. Okay, still.

Because she's actually an acrobat. Pink has been doing shows or she's like flying around and flipping it. around and high in the air for years at this point. And Neri a mish house as far as I'm concerned. You don't see her ass in a butterfly. She just says keep it 100. That's why you call Pink. And Pink says, Beyonce, you are one of our nation's

greatest natural resources. Get out of the fucking car. Get out of the car. Don't hang the Cadillac. Do not hang the Cadillac. And that's why it's enough already. Let's keep two feet on the ground, ladies. That's my number five.

Okay, okay, I like it. Number four, actually, I would be interested to know if this artist has any plans of flying through the air in his tour, which is number four for me is Bad Bunny Puerto Rico residency. Okay. So Bad Bunny. Bad Bunny is in the midst of a 30-show residency in Puerto Rico, his home, this summer, which started earlier this month. And when this was initially announced, he said he's doing this big residency in Puerto Rico. The first nine shows, there ended up being 30 altogether, although they added some extra dates after it sold out very quickly. The first nine shows are exclusively for Puerto Rico residents.

And I love this because I just think it's someone who is on top of his game showing up for people that matter to him. And then I also love it because when he was asked to him, you know, asked. about, okay, why are you doing this? Like, what was the thought process of deciding to do this instead of a broader tour, which actually he is going on an international tour afterwards, although he's skipping the continental U.S. entirely. But he's doing this big thing in Puerto Rico. Is that not true?

I'm just telling you, bad money going to come play stadiums in the U.S., like at some point. Well, sure, afterwards. But, like, you know what? Yeah. That, if and when he does that, I'm not going to be like, kill hypocrisy. because the thing that when everybody's excited about it, you get people buying tickets, it's still funneling that energy, resources, money towards Puerto Rico.

Yes. Here's the other thing that I love about it. This is an artist flexing using his power. It's awesome. 100%. Here's the other thing I love about it. When he first started to be asked about it, he said this. He said this on social media sort of describing like the decision.

I'm in Puerto Rico. I'm home having fun. And to be honest, I don't want to leave. I love it. I absolutely love it. And I have to say, I know a lot of people who are going. I know a lot of people who are in the shows that are open to anyone are just making a trip of it and going. And it's, you know, it goes into the early fall.

It is a time of year that is not usually. peak tourism season in a place that relies on the tourism industry, but has to deal with the fact that that is typically pretty uneven throughout the year. And you just, you love to see, as you said, a guy using his power for good. Party in the RICO, you know, it comes at the same time as he, speaking of Happy Gilmore 2, two shoutouts in this podcast so far. Let's see how many more we can do. there maybe actually is going to be a third if we do end up talking about Taylor.

Bad Bunny plays the role of Adam Sandler's caddy, Happy Gilmore's caddy in this movie. And he has about the same number of lines that you just gave us. But he, you know, he does everything from paint Travis Kelsey with honey. Yes. Only to have me to, you know, mix up. He really gets into a fight with Travis Kelsey. he's kind of the nemesis to Travis Kelsey in this movie.

Bad Bunny, I'm trying to think of the last thing Bad Bunny did that didn't go over well. And I'm really drawing up, like, that is, this is a person with just incredibly high approval rating who I think, like, understands that and is doing the things that you hope someone with that is going to do. You'll love to see it. the crowning achievement in this movie is he passes out and that wins the day. So he, in his own way, plays the part of hero yet again. Shout out to Bad Bunny. Love it. Okay. Your number four, or your numbers 15 through 10 or whatever it is? Yeah. I mean, I'm really counting on you to pick some of these up, but I'll do it. It's fine. Um, Morgan Wallen

walkout guest rehabilitation tour. Go on. This is a very controversial human being, but this human being is dominating the streaming charts at the moment. And he had at one point

a really interesting streak of athletes who would walk out with him. they turn the camera on him as he's walking out. It's not a new idea. You two did this back when they were playing their stadium tour. The cameras would come. The lights would go out. The cameras would come on.

They'd follow you two out of the dressing room and people would cheer. Morgan does this. The crowd gets hyped up. And halfway through his walk, they're showing him to make his way through the bowels of the stadium. And halfway through the walk, some celebrity guest, more often than not, is standing there and does the walk out with him. He daps him up as he goes up. on stage and that's it. And the crowd generally like cheers for that celebrity. And he's had Peyton

Manning. He played at Tennessee at the stadium. He had Peyton Manning in full like his college uniform and a helmet for fuck's sake. As you know, he had Travis Kelsey and Pat Mahomes in Kansas City and Vegas. I think he had Tom Brady and maybe Mike Tyson. All were reasonable choices. And yeah, the internet goes a little bonkers about some of the politics stuff of it. But like it was all like must see. This summer has been weird as fuck. This summer in Houston he had Mattress Mac who is the guy who is known for just like torching his own money from his

mattress empire on bad bets on Houston sports teams that seem to invariably lose. Except I guess maybe he would make some money when the Astros had their cheating run of World Series wins. But mostly he like seems to be known as the guy who loses really big money on sports betting. Yeah. He had Roger fucking Clemens and Drake in Houston. Roger Clemens who has...

That one, that is cursed blood rotation. Like, if you've ever seen one. What are we doing in like a let's rehab these two guys' moment? And then he had one of your personal favorites in Wisconsin, none other than Mississippi's own Brett Farve come out. And it's like he's personally trying to rehabilitate. every disgraced famous person? No, he's...

I couldn't disagree with that more. He's not trying to do. No, he's doubling down. He's, he is assembling, you know, the army of the lightly canceled and the, the, right.

Because, and they all get together and they feel like victims, and they walk through a tunnel underneath the stadium. Right. What's going on with this? Who's next? It's like next it's going to be

Galane Maxwell or whatever name is. I literally do you know what is going through my head is, oh God, Nathan's going to make a Jeffrey Epstein joke. Nathan's going to make a Jeffrey Epstein joke. It's not a fucking joke. He'll probably do it. Okay. But that is not the same as effective imagery have.

It's fine. You want to hate us. You want to be like all you cool kids in your cities. Do you want to talk down to us? By the way, I love the songs. I just, I think Morgan Wall is a clown. we're going to hang out and raise a middle finger and be like, F you, we don't care.

And I think some of those people don't, like, don't know. Like, Tom Brady doesn't know what he's doing there. Tom Brady's just like, this is a thing for me to do. It's like showing up at a UFC fight, except. Yeah. This is something more. Yeah. I, yeah, there is something very amusing about it.

There's also something to me about where, like, I just. a bunch of men who feel like they're victims of undeservid I are getting together, it can't end well. I don't support it. I can't get behind it. But I will grant you that it is invariably one of the events of the summer touring season

that has created an impact. I want to see him walk out with George Santos. Okay, that could happen. Like, that will happen. Except. The fire festival guy. Yeah, no, literally like that's, he's going to go through, like, that's really funny. That would be really funny.

Billy Wats his face. Yeah, whatever. Look, we'll probably never get it. But I would be fascinated to watch Morgan Wallen and Taylor Swift release an album on the same day. On the same day. And why? Because you think that there would be, like, to see who's, get streamed more, like who would get the majority of the oxygen?

Yeah. Yeah. I think the answer is Taylor Swift, but I think... I would feel highly confident that the answer is Taylor Swift. The question would be by how much? Yeah, and I just think that the underpinning, like, ride or die for this artist for Morgan Wallen, like, it is Trumpian and it's in its level of devotion. Yeah. Interesting.

Okay. I want to point out that the two, your first two choices, and now I understand that you are sort of like filling in gaps from what I'm choosing. You're in on the bit. You're in a bit now. These are like the most awful things. I got great ones. Don't worry. Oh, no. Okay. Choose wisely. What's your number three?

All right. My number, no, this is my number three. I have Charlie XX at Glastonbury. Technically. in a second billing slot. But I think you could tell very obviously that for the people who were there, she was the real headliner.

And, you know, I went back and forth a little bit just kind of in my head comparing this to the Gaga Coachella set because I actually think that the Gaga Coachella set did more for Gaga than this performance did for Charlie. I agree. Like, Brat Summer last year was such a thing that she didn't need this.

Like, there was no, there wasn't another rung up the ladder left for her to get in terms of ubiquity or in terms of sort of putting a cherry on top of this era. And I think that what Charlie does also is, like, live performance is less central to her artistry. and what she is giving her fans and sort of putting into culture than it is for Gaga. Still, I think just because, you know, one of the things that I love about Charlie is that she wears her Britishness

very outwardly in a way that I find incredibly charming. I think for her to have this experience, it just made me so happy for her that I will always remember it as a part of things that happened and part of this festival season. So that's Charlie XX at Glastonbury. Yeah, I had it on my list, and since it's in your top five, it is no longer in mine.

I listed it as Charlie XX Applegirl. We had Gracie Abrams at Glastonbury. We had Chaparone at Primavera. We had Gen Orate, and Romie Mars, and Roseet and the Brooklyn shows. Like, it became... The Romi Mars moment was really something special. It became a thing. Yeah.

And it became one of those like, bless me as cool moments. But it also, like the Glass & Berry show, I'm glad that you sort of fixate on that. First of all, she took a little bit of criticism for that show. Yeah, absolutely. I would say even more than a little bit of criticism. Yeah, like it's just her bouncing around autotune. How is this any different?

And I think that to be candid, the question about Brat that we had when we received this album and we gave it such high marks was how is she going to perform this? What's it actually going to look like? And when you compare it to a Gaga show or, you know, chapel show, or even like a Billy Isles show,

there's more happening at those shows than... But it's kind of the vibe. Like, it's kind of the point. the dirty messiness of the show is kind of the point. And I think it is important to note that she came on Night 2 after her now husband and his band Maddie Healey, speaking of which Maddie should walk out with Morgan Wallen. That's like going to happen.

Again, that's going to happen, except for the fact that Morgan Wallin has never heard of the 1975. Probably. And except for the fact that I think it is Charlie, who on her own kind of rehabilitated Maddie and by broader proxy the band and into that slot. You know, you said that last week

and I've been thinking about it kind of ever since. Do you really think that? I'm not sure that I think... Yeah. I think the people who got mad at Maddie are... Like, do you think that that changed 1975 listening habits?

No, again, I don't think it moved the MAGA base. I think it moved the independent. who could have been swayed one way or the other, and coming out of tortured poets would have been like... You're using that as like an analogy, right? You're not talking about like actual Republicans. Correct. Correct, correct, correct. Like there is a group of fans on both sides of that aisle

who will never change their mind about any of it. And there's a subsection of the Taylor Swift fan base that, you know, believes everything from she and Maddie are still in love to, you know, Taylor Swift is gay. and Travis is like on and on and on, right? So there's some folks who are so in the, and one of them may be right. I have my own opinions about that.

It's fine to believe what you want to believe. I'm just saying there's people in those fan bases who are stuck or who are holding firm to their beliefs, they're close-minded, strong opinion, strongly held. They're not going to change their mind. I think that there are some casual listeners of both who meet in the middle of a Venn diagram who would say, oh, there's actually space for the messiness that I heard about on tortured poets

with Maddie Healy in this cinematic universe of Charlie X-C-X. And oh, this band, the 1975, objectively when I take the personality stuff out of it, this is a interesting portfolio of music. And wow, when I watch them live, it turns out Maddie Healy is a frontman. The fact that Charlie Healy is... Charlie X-C-X-X-X-E-X. Drama! Yeah, no, right, right, right.

And that I got Gabrieette, Charlie Exus is giving a lane for them, and Gabriette's in there, and there's some other, you know, the whole 360 video, right, cast and crew. Be it, girls. They're underground and they're supposed to be messy, and sometimes they're playing a character, and sometimes it's the way it is, but there's cool there.

I don't have to cancel that. I think it was something. I really do. I generally don't feel like there are that many people who were in musically on the 1975 who are now out or who were out who are somehow now in. I do think there is a very large group of people who were not listening to the 1975 and probably still are not listening to the 1975 who are now aware of him. him in a different way.

And I think clearly he has internalized a lot of that and seems more and more to kind of let that spill out in dribs and drabs when he's in public. Where I come from is one, like I just, I got to say, I love the songs. I love that band. Sometimes I'll, you know, I'll put on being funny in a foreign language and just be like, fuck, this is the greatest band. I just love this band so much. And I don't think that's ever going to change for me.

me. Two, I do think that they get a little bit of a, there's a little bit of an advantage to, like, he's a rock star. And I don't really look to my rock stars to be pure, right? Like, I'm not really looking for an uncomplicated person who's going to say the right thing at every turn. I have just been, I have been spending a lot of time thinking about your comment that Charlie was really integral to, to bringing them back into the mix. and I don't know. I don't know. I question a little bit how many people

pulled out of the 1975 crew in a real way, I suppose. I think the 1975 is right now bigger than they've ever been. Wow. When do you think they'll put out new music, by the way? It's coming. I want it.

I want it now. I would really like that. And we will cover it. I know people will get mad at us, but we will cover it. Yeah. Okay. Back to Charlie, though.

I do think the other thing is that she would not have, like, the criticism for that show, part of why people know that happened is because she brought attention to it. I'm not sure that there would have been that much discussion of, oh, people went to the Charlie, people said Charlie at Glastonbury, and we're talking about how she basically kind of just DJs

and there's a lot of autotune and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. If Charlie herself hadn't been tweeting about it and being like, this is really fascinating to me, I love to push these buttons. I think that's true. I just don't think that there were like tons of people in that crowd who were going, oh, man, this wasn't the show I was hoping it would be. Don't read the comments. There's always going to be people in the basement.

Or do read the comments if you're someone like Charlie who seems to be. to not get upset about it and actually kind of makes it up to her own. It comes for us all if you read the comments. Don't read the comment. I guess that's true. No, I agree with that as a general piece of advice. Okay. Who is your number three?

Kendrick Lamar's Grand National Tour. Oh, cool. He had the highest grossing hip-hop show ever in Seattle. Then he goes to Toronto, speaking of Drake. and Canadians. And he plays not like us, which was a pretty big moment and place to do it. Of course he played.

He played it everywhere. But performing it in Toronto really hit home. But it sparked, I think it was the butterfly wings that started the sandstorm that became the hurricane. It has sparked a lot of this negative press run around LeBron James. Because people are, clowning LeBron for sort of dropping Drake as a friend. Drake has a tattoo, had a tattoo of LeBron James on his arm, which he has now changed to shy Gileas Alexander, the reigning MVP of the

NBA, who is Canadian. He had the tattoo altered to be SGA now. Then LeBron opts into his contract with the Lakers that starts all this buzz around whether or not he's actually going to play for the Lakers and where else he's going to go. And, you know, a lot of chatter, dark behind the scenes chatter that's been negative around LeBron and his sort of whimsical friendship stuff. There was video of him and his wife

in some, you know, whatever, European resort town with Jeff Bezos and his what, like lots of weird hatred that sort of started out of this moment. Well, I think there is a general, I love that we're having this conversation right now on this podcast. I think that LeBron tends to struggle to beat the Fairweather Friend allegations in general. Like he is someone who is seen as, he's actually like, I always think that there are some weird parallels between LeBron and Taylor, where they are people who largely have had these long and hyper, hyper, hyper successful. careers under immense, immense, immense levels of scrutiny.

Right. And they've never really... They've done everything we asked them to do. They've done everything that we've asked them to do. They've never really transgressed in a way that is like actually meaningful, right? Like they've never... There's nothing that's, you know, criminal or really not... Like, nothing really bad exists.

Carly Clause is Drake? With both people. there are a lot of people who just find them a little annoying. And so there are these little things that people just continue to dig at and dig out and dig at. And with LeBron, which actually I think in some ways, people, you could make an analogy here with Taylor as well, it is this idea that like he is a front runner. And like he always needs to be, whether it's on a team or associating with people, it needs to be, it's opportunistic.

It's who's the most powerful, who's in right now, who's cool right now. And so therefore, you know, friends with Drake, when Drake is a cool person to be friends with, the tides turn on Drake, LeBron drops, Drake is pissed. That not only says something about where Drake's stature maybe is as opposed to where it was, but then also LeBron is choosing these people for clap, essentially. And I don't know whether that's true or not, but I do think. I think it, I think part of the reason it has kickstarted all of that is because it plays into this preexisting idea that people do have about LeBron. And that makes it stickier.

Well, in the late 2000s, like 0,8,09, there was a general sentiment amongst the live event industry that hip hop and rap just didn't sell tickets. Yeah, it streamed a lot. Yeah, it was on the charts, but just fans don't buy tickets, it doesn't sell tickets. So I think fast forward, both Kendrick and Drake have proven that it is a genre that has passionate fans who do buy tickets. And when Kendrick sets the record for the highest-grossing hip-hop tour of all time, I think it matters. By the way, like Drake, Nokia, like hasn't had a horrible,

Drake is not taking exclusively else. And for a while it felt like he certainly. was. So just, I don't know, just, you know, watch that space, I suppose. Just throwing out bones left and right today. All right. Number two, speaking of throwing out things left and right. Oasis Reunion Tour. I mean, after 16 years, brought together, by the way, in large part credit to Maddie Healey. Like, this is an unbelievable thing that happened. And I think for me, just the fact that this tour is taking place, the fact that they

really did figure it out, to some extent at least. And I think to me, because they've hit Wembley and we've seen these last few shows, Dulele-Lipa singing, Don't Look Back in Anger, Tom Cruise in the audience, like the stars have come out to Wembley. And I think that, because that has gone to some extent, viral has given me a little bit of the impression that I was looking for of what it feels like at those shows. And you see the videos of, yes, there are the celebrities in the box, but then there are just hordes and hordes and hordes of English bros who are jumping up and down.

And they are so excited. They are. And I think the only thing that's left to see is, will the energy be the same in America? Yeah. Will there be the same overwhelming, like, I hope they haven't peaked because it looks awesome on video right now. And the energy is killer. And it's just, is it, is that basically the soccer hooligan vibe that's happening?

That's a perfect way to put it. People are like glomming onto and will that carry over to the states? Was it core speaking to the center of the soul of Americans in the same way? I can't wait to see what the energy is like in the crowds here. Did you see that video of Duleepa? Yeah. I've seen a lot of videos at Dulepa. People are catching her just like smoking cigarettes in Italy.

They're catching her smoking cigarettes in France. I mean, she just vacations and smokes. But she has so far escaped your list of people who may or may not have gotten Taylor Swift into smoking, which she may or may not actually be. So far. until I see the two of them together. Okay, just check in. Sometimes people get added to that list a little bit willy-nilly, so I'm just checking.

She tried to get my daughters to smoke in London one time. Dual-lepa? Yeah. Say more? She bought them shots, and then they were going outside for a siggy break. I was like... You were like, Duolipa? Stop trying to give my children tobacco products?

Nicotine. Yeah. It was a Chilton Fyehouse before it burned down. Yeah, it wasn't malicious in any way. It was, listen, the dual leap of tent is broad and wide and anyone is invited. Yeah, she's a vibe. She's just the best. I love that woman.

She's going on tour. I love her, too. Okay. All right, so that's an interesting one, and that puts me in an interesting situation, because I think that other than Oasis, we spoke about this last week and produced Akia before we got on this, podcast gave me some shit about it. I do think that that Ozzy Osbourne show in Birmingham was a really, really massive event

for the summer. And Black Sabbath's last event, like the rock gods and lords, Tom Rello and, like, slash and like everybody, Metallica, like all of the gods came out to pay homage to this guy. And days later, he passes away. And to me, I talked about it. but specifically Youngblood, who I think stole the show there and did the song changes

and sort of showed himself to be the next generation of rock. And it had the crowd singing acapella just very reminiscent to Freddie Mercury at Live Aid in 1985. And Ozzie dying a few days later, right after there's this video

of Youngblood giving Ozzie across. Ozzie had given Youngblood his cross. Youngblood had a cross made for Ozzy that he gave to him at that show. There was this sort of passing of the torch moment. And then for Ozzy to pass, like, wow, really big moment in rock and roll history that happened there. And that I think over time, we will look back on that. And you don't have to be a fan of the genre. You probably miss it if you weren't. But for a lot of people deep into like showmanship, which Ozzy was all about, deep into, you know, as we talked about,

Ozzie was the one who gave permission to artists to go on TV and turn themselves into television stars, like a very, very meaningful and I think big summer concert moment. Also something that you can see having the potential to be revisited. And I'm sure there are going to be some tributes over the course of the next year. I'm sure there are going to be some, you know, Grammys, rock hall stuff. where there's going to be a desire to honor. And some of that is probably likely at this point

to involve Youngblood. Some of that maybe won't, but it'll involve other people and pay tribute in other ways. And so I'm sure that, you know, I was, like, aware that that happened before he died, but not anywhere near as aware as I am now that it's been pointed out mostly by you

that that was a thing that had just happened. So I think people who are not super in on the genre and were not paying attention to it will be aware of that in hindsight who otherwise would not have been. Yeah, I mean, there's no doubt it was a largely dude, uh, audience.

So you might have missed it. A dude bro audience? But now it won't be. It wasn't so broy as it was like, oh, yeah, anyway, it's just like rock. And it's a genre that, you know, Again, still pierces through a lot of what we hear today. For sure.

Nora, what's number two? Well, number one. Number one. Number one. See, I got to just live bet this. I wish I could live bet Nora's number one. That's such a troubling sentence. Go ahead.

Give it to us. Number one. Destiny's Child Reunion at Cowboy Carter, closing in Las Vegas. Oh my God. Okay. So, Beyonce, if anybody missed it, I don't really know how you would have,

brought out Destiny's Child, Michelle Williams and Kelly Rowland, to the closing night of Cowboy Carter in Las Vegas. They come, they come up on the stage, and Beyonce just goes, Destiny's Child, bitch. Right. It's so good.

And then they start, They start doing Lose My Breath and they're strutting down the catwalk and they're so in sync and they're so good and they all look so good and they sound so good. Kelly Rowland is wearing nipple tassels? No, they're not suspended. No, they're not suspended. No, but they were so like locked in. Listen to you. They were so good.

I mean, okay, we've had moments of Destiny's Child reunion before, right? Like they were on. They came out at Coachella in 2018. But. What was this? Why was this the thing? I mean, what? It's like, 2018 was a while ago at this point.

Okay. Also, here's the thing that I thought was just crazy about it, is that, so they come out, they do that, they do booty-licious, it's amazing, everybody's screaming, and then Beyonce is like, give it up for Destiny's Child, and then they go,

and then, Blue, it goes right into DejaVu. So blue has the catwalk moment in DejaVu. And so it's like... Passing of the torch. Well, it's like Destiny's Child and then Destiny's Child's Child's. Yeah. And I thought that was incredible. Destiny's Grandchild. Destiny's Grandchild. That, like, that gave me chills. I did also think, like, those are just three people who approach what they do with this, like, seriousness where every step is, like, the biggest step they're ever

going to, like, they have, they're, they have, like, athlete mentalities, I think, all of those women. I think that's what part of, like, what has helped their bond last so long. And the fact that they were doing this, that they're just going to do, you know, this one night. But, and it's not like the choreography was really complicated, and they are all. incredibly talented and accomplished dancers and dancers together. So I understand that they have quite a foundation to build on there. But they were so in sync. Like it was so perfect in the way that I think part of what's amazing about watching Beyonce on stage is that she really strives for that. And I think it brought out the fact that that's actually something that all of those women share.

So I was just super into it. It has also raised the question. you know, we think of Cowboy Carter as quote unquote Act 2. Right. And when are we getting the rock? Well, when are we getting rock? Okay. But so here's here's the question. The assumption, and this is what I continue to believe, and I think there is the most evidence pointing to this theory, is that Act 3 is going to be a reexamination of rock and roll in some way.

and that that genre like country with Cowboy Carter and like dance music with Renaissance is going to be a central focus of the album. The question that's come up after this performance, though, is that what if Act three, three people, three members has something to do with bringing Destiny's Child back together. I personally don't really think that's what's going to happen. I think that we have a lot of, you know, just indications that she has approached all of these albums with the intent of kind of digging back into the roots of a specific genre and that it's going to culminate with rock and roll. That said, a lot of that history, if she does examine it with rock, has to do with, okay, what was sort of first and foremost taken from R&B? Destiny's Child, foundationally, an R&B girl group.

There is also an interesting through line of, you know, Rock is this genre that I think tends to be thought of as very, very male, but Beyonce,

by doing it, she is a woman who will be doing this. And so because of all that, I can see the idea of having an R&B girl group interacting with those ideas

could be really compelling. So do I think that, act three is going to be Destiny's Child Reunion album? No, I don't. Do I think that Act 3 could have a song featuring Destiny's Child, a song that brings Destiny's Child back together? I can absolutely see that happening. And also they were all together and they looked so good and they were all wearing like hot pants and fringe. Kelly Roland was wearing nipple tassels. It was a big moment. There's no denying it. It was a big. It was a big.

big moment. I'd like, I'm just to see what Beyonce does from a touring perspective from here. I think it's sort of fitting she ended in Vegas. Wouldn't surprise me to see her do some kind of sphere residency next time out, something like that to not just sort of go around the world. But she's getting to the point where- It will be the third time. Yeah. Yeah. She's getting to the point where she's almost too old for this shit. Like she just doesn't need, too old too rich for it. Not like too old to tour. I just mean like she can be over the logistics of all this. She's given up a lot of herself for world tours now.

She could kind of say, hey, fans, you come to me and we're going to do a special show that is more manageable for my lifestyle and my voice and all that stuff. We'll find out. All right. What is your number one? I mean. And then you have to go through the like 14 other things that you haven't brought up. I've manipulated this list so as to sort of yin to your yang.

but I'm just so confused about how you didn't talk about the cold play couple. Oh, look at these two. All right. Come on. You're okay? Oh, what? Either they're having an affair or that's very sharp. I had less to do.

Okay, I did put it in an honorable mention. I had two honorable mentions, and one of them is the cold play kiss camp. I don't. Okay. Enough has been said. Enough has been said. I will confess that that whole thing did make me kind of want to go to a cold play concert, not in a way where prior to any of that happening,

I was like, I don't want to go to a cold play concert. I just frankly wasn't thinking about it. And now all of a sudden I am. And so I guess that's good. I would just say that that does not feel like an event that is centrally about cold play. And so that is why I didn't choose it. Yeah, I mean, I've probably seen 20 cold play concerts

just from like a work situation over the years. I really think Chris Martin is in the Hall of Fame of Frontman. He really is. And, uh, yeah, no, I want to go to a Coldplay concert now. It's worth seeing. It really is. Fix you is a fucking hell of a song. No, totally, totally. I, and all I mean by that is just prior to the last couple of weeks, I just simply wasn't thinking about that. And now all of a sudden I'm like, oh, that would be really fun. Yeah. Well, so I had some other honorable mentions that I would have thrown in. I think that

chapel at primavera was a real show that said, wow, she's not just. to U.S. phenomenon. She's an international star. I do think she has some very interesting moments ahead of her as she's about to put out Subway again. A little grumblings from some of the fan base that all the stuff is sounding the same, that the giver wasn't what they'd hoped. And, you know, so it's a, it's a moment for chapel. I don't think it can be undone, though, because when you look at the video from that prima vera show is just like, holy shit, there's just nothing quite like this. I will also say kudos to her. for, you know, and we'll see how it goes,

but I am pre-registered for a chance to buy tickets to several dates that she's doing. Yeah, the pop-up shows in New York. And I found the interface pretty seamless, and it seems like she is keeping her fans and the fan experience and avoiding scalpers and bots and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. like that has seemed well handled to me so far. Wait till the on sale. It's hard to do when there are going to be a lot of people who want those shows,

but she's playing, what, four in New York, two in Missouri and two in L.A. I assume it at the Rose Bowl. So she's, yeah, she's out there doing it. I thought that Sabrina Carpenter's two Hyde Park shows where she played to 65,000 people each night, were pretty big too. They were great reviews kind of cemented that she's here to stay and that she's not just a sort of one act pony. She's introduced Manchild there. Those were pretty big shows in a summer of pretty big shows at Hyde Park.

Zach Bryan was there. Noah Khan was there. Gracie Abrams was there. Gracie's show at MSG the other night felt big. There was a lot of just like that was the culmination of the elevation of Gracie Abrams for sure. I think very quietly role model bringing on all these sallies is like the male equivalent of the apple girl thing.

Yeah. And it hasn't sort of totally peaked yet, but I think Natalie Portman came out the other night and there have been a few others. Renee Rapp came out earlier in the tour. So those are all fun little ones. But I mean, the one that I can't believe you didn't mention and that is my number one

is Taylor fucking Swift at tight-end university. in Nashville. Kane Brown brings her up with Chase Rice's guitar. That's not a real concert. That is a concert. And it's just a reminder how much this woman loves to work.

And so, Nora, we've seen zero paparazzi photos of her coming out of a studio. We've seen photo dumps from Travis Kelsey now of all these vacations that they took together. I mean, God,

Duelipa has got nothing on Taylor Swift right now. They seem to have a whole ton of fun. That's not true, by the way. It's not true, by the way. But it's not like we've had, listen, during the Maddie era and all that, she was going in and out of Electric Lady Studios in New York all the time. We were seeing it.

We knew something was going on. And then bang, it came sooner than we thought. But we had some kind of evidence. What we have now is Hits Day, double said there was buzz in the universal building about the next Taylor Swift project, which was promptly deleted

quickly. Well, it wasn't entirely deleted. It went from a sentence that was like, you know, the buzz in the universal building is that there's, that we're building up to new Taylor.

And then it got, the sentence became, and there's always Taylor. It's in a paragraph about like upcoming music happenings. And then it just becomes, and there's always Taylor. So like, clearly they're not willing to take away the entire wink. But also clearly someone got a phone call. Yes.

Yes. Someone got a phone call. Or a very angry email. It's happened to the worst of us, hasn't it? And even the best of us, maybe. So the thing is there is a lot of. smoke around this right now. It feels like a lot of fan-based generated smoke to me more so than actual evidence

because it's hard for her to do the studio thing without that level, you know, the visibility. Now, she can be sneaking around. And I do believe, just based on that photo dump, her priority this off-season was actually having an off-season that she's earned through years of unbelievable hard work. and it looks like she's off having fun and, you know, developing the relationship. And once a month we get an anonymous source in people, TreePain, telling us how amazing things are going, as recently as this week, if they're really focused on what's next. Now, I don't know.

The problem with anonymously, if it is TreePain, who anonymously gives stuff to people now and then, is there's other sources that definitely give stuff to people. And we don't know when it's Tree Pain, who knows what the fuck she's talking about. and, you know, Joe donkey ass, who doesn't know what the fuck he's talking about, talking to people. So whatever, I wish they could give us like a level one, level two, level three, level four, level five source to tell us like how seriously we should be taking this nonsense. Here's the thing, Nora. Do you think TS12 is on its way? Do you think TS12 is on its way?

Is she going back to work when Travis goes back to work? Well, okay, so then hold on. Can we discuss the other piece of mostly unverified gossip, which was that there was a music video recording in L.A. Where the dancers only had a click track and they weren't allowed to hear the song, which is, that's how she's done it. Yes. That was video from a lot of the video that surfaced online was video

from six years ago video shoots. Like there was just a whole bunch of bullshit that was put out around that. Yeah. Do I really think that it's coming? I guess no. Do I think T.S.12 is coming this fall? No.

Do I feel like there's a little bit of a whiff of something in the air? Like a little bit of just sort of O. to lurking Taylor? Yeah, I kind of do. I do feel a little bit like like she is testing the waters of... I think the only water she's testing is in the Caribbean and some rando place in Europe

and when that snow was falling out of the sky at the Yellowstone Club. I mean, here's the real variable. If there's a recording studio that I don't know about at the Yellowstone Club, like, all bets are off. There's not. Right? There's not.

There's great candy shacks. There's restaurants. There's people's houses. There's no recording studio. I don't know. You can do a lot inside some of those houses. Oh, boy. Just a theory.

I'm just saying that the studio that we see her going in and out of is always electric lady because that's the one where she can't hide. There are other places where she can record where people don't know that it's happening. Yes, yes, yes. But like, remember we got Aaron Dessner with the picture on her birthday. She was definitely at Long Pond. And we just had a sense. There was some smoke somewhere.

Now maybe she's just completely fucking locked it down and is going to do some kind of crazy surprise drop. No, I'm with you. I agree that I think it is not indicative of fire. yet in this case. On the other hand, Nora. Yes. She also has not spent every single day with Travis Kelsey.

She has been doing other things. She has been off. And so then the question is, well, what else is she doing? Like, this is the first time that they've had time completely off. Like, what else could she be doing? Why wouldn't they settle in the same place if she doesn't feel compelled to do work? well, she's got meetings of blah, blah, blah. But like, if this is truly off time,

and that's the one part in my head where I'm like, she doesn't know how to have off time. And that's why I said Taylor Swift at Tight End University because she's supposed to be off for the first time ever. She has two fucking vodka crans. And Chase Rice is like, well, I got a guitar. She's like, let's go, boys. She's writing out the charts.

And she's playing song. She can't stop. And here's the other thing is that she's having a, how she's wired. The whole new set of experiences that she's never had before. And if she is truly... But hanging out with Carissa Thompson? That's not what I would have gone to first, but sure.

Yeah, that doesn't mean either. If she's in a new kind of love, I don't know how that wouldn't spark some creative impulses. Like, truly, I'm not trying to, like, fit this into a tinfoil hat thing. Yeah, well, but here's the thing, is that, like, yes, we have that song. Touch me while your bros play Grand Theft Auto. And we have... I forgot about it. The alchemy has some amount of...

Clearly, Travis referencing lyrics. So when I... A soft spot for So High School just because I think it's completely ridiculous. And I actually think, like, the vibe of it kind of... Like, it reminds me of, like, an old six-pence-on-the-richer song. And I think that's fun. They also did it awesome, the way they treated it live. was awesome.

Really cool. Yeah. Is either one of those songs A plus Taylor Swift? No. No. Let's say that she entrap. That was just the beginning.

That was just warming up the gong. That's what I'm saying. That's what I'm saying. Is if this is for real zies, how long is she going to be able to go before that emotion gets translated into something that doesn't reference spin the bottle?

Yes, I just would say, hypothetically speaking, if I was her totally unlicensed therapist, I would say you have just conquered the world of business and music. You have elevated yourself to the Mount Rushmore of all timers based on your work from the last five years. You have culminated that with an incredible business victory through sheer genius use of marketing and patience and capital to take back control of your catalog, vanquishing the foes who tried to take it from you, and for a short period of time did. You are now in a high functioning, healthy relationship with a human being who is going into their one vacation period a year

before they have to go back to work. Taylor, things are about as good overtly and the big areas of your life that you spend time on as they possibly could be in this moment, catch your breath. Catch your breath. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Take a moment to reflect and to think about what you want life.

to be from here. And then, as you are uniquely suited among almost any human being who has ever walked the planet to do, go get it and you will. I suppose we shall find out. Any other honorable mentions, Nathan, that you didn't get to? No, I mean, listen, we're going to hear, here's what I think just to close off this conversation. This is what I'm excited about as we roll into August. I think we're going to hear new chapel Rhone. I think we're going to hear new Gracie. Abrams. I know we're going to hear new Sabrina Carpenter before we hear new Taylor Swift. And I think there's some others who are going to be a part of that journey too. Hello, Phoebe Bridgers. I know you're out there. I know it's coming at some point. Hello, Renee Rapp. I'm interested

to hear this album. Hello, like a host of those. Harry Stiles, you motherfucker, you cannot be in Italy for that long. You can't just be running marathons and showing up. Yes, he absolutely can. but I know you're not gonna. So, you know, there are some things still to come. And then, you know, let's see if, let's see who the latest weirdo is to walk out with Morgan Wallen. All right. Well, on that note, this has been every single album. I'm Nora Prenciatti.

As always, he's Nathan Hubbard. Thank you to Kaya McMullen for producing this episode. And to you for listening, we will talk to you next week.