Entertainment
Taylor Swift’s love of the color orange sets social media branding ablaze
Taylor Swift‘s upcoming album release and her love of all things orange isn’t lost on her fans — or brands that are seeking a ride on what has become an enormous economic tailwind.
On Wednesday after Swift went on the “New Heights” podcast co-hosted by her boyfriend, NFL football star Travis Kelce, to announce the imminent release of her 12th studio album “The Life of a Showgirl,” major companies went into marketing overdrive.
Numerous corporations, from United Airlines to Olive Garden, began posting orange hued memes on their own social media accounts soon after the new album was announced. Shake Shack, FedEx, Buffalo Wild Wings, Cinnabon, Walmart and Netflix did, too.
That is because Swift appeared onstage wearing orange numerous times toward the end of her Eras Tour and she discussed her feelings about the color on the Wednesday podcast.
“It feels like energetically how my life has felt,” the 14-time Grammy winner tells co-host Jason Kelce.
Lewis Joly / AP
Many, it seemed, saw value in tying their brand to Swift.
More than a dozen NHL teams followed with posts on social media acknowledging Swift’s new album, both north and south of the Canadian border.
Even X got in on the action, declaring that it had a new profile pic: a glittery orange X. The post has garnered 5.5 million views so far.
Google is using its search engine to celebrate the October release of Swift’s “The Life of a Showgirl.” Users search for “Taylor Swift,” are greeted with a stream of orange digital confetti, along with a flaming orange heart and the phrase, “And, baby, that’s show business for you.”
Swift’s tour appearances have become economic events. The singer’s Eras Tour two years ago was the first such tour to cross the billion-dollar mark, according to Pollstar’s 2023 year-end charts. Cities and their surrounding areas registered a sizeable economic boost after Swift appeared, with thousands of fans making the pilgrimage and spending money at hotels, restaurants and elsewhere.
Swift also mentioned during the Wednesday podcast that she had Lasik eye surgery. In response, the X account for LASIK.com wasted no time promoting the fortuitous namedrop. The post currently has more than 389,000 views and 15,000 likes.
About 500,000 Americans undergo Lasik every year, CBS News recently reported. And while the American Refractive Surgery Council says the complication rate is less than 1%, side effects are not uncommon and should not be taken lightly by those considering the procedure.
Swift’s two-hour chat with the Kelces’ marks the singer’s first ever podcast interview, a milestone moment for the medium.
By Thursday afternoon, Wednesday night’s talk had already been seen more than 11.7 million times on YouTube. Clips distributed on Instagram, TikTok, X and elsewhere have received more than 400 million views, and the episode was also available for streaming on audio platforms.
It has further to go to be a record-setter, though. The most-watched podcast episode ever on YouTube, and likely the most-consumed podcast ever, is by a company called Thmanyah, a Saudi Arabian Arabic podcast network and independent journalism platform, according to its website. The video has racked up 144 million views in two years.
Swift, who infrequently gives interviews to journalists, revealed key information about her upcoming album, “The Life of a Showgirl,” and talked about her relationships with Travis Kelce and her family, and her joy of gaining full control of her past work — a yearslong quest.
Entertainment
King Charles adorns Windsor in surprise move after Andrew’s exit
King Charles made a surprise change at Windsor property after his younger brother Andrew’s exit from Royal Lodge.
The 76-year-old has taken a decisive step to bring a historic sculpture from London museum to his royal residence.
A striking bronze sculpture depicting Hercules and Achelous will be installed at Windsor Castle, after it spent 69 years in the West London museum.
The art piece is returning to the precise location where it stood throughout the first nine years of the King’s childhood.
The British King’s decision, revealed last October, caused confusion and scepticism from observers who questioned why he would need to acquire additional treasures given the royal collection already at his disposal.
The statue, regarded as treasure, will take its place within the fountain at the centre of the East Terrace Garden.
The bronze was crafted by Charles Crozatier and entered the royal collection when George IV purchased it in 1829.
For decades, it graced Windsor’s East Terrace Garden before being removed from its plinth in 1957 during renovation works.
Originally intended for relocation to Hampton Court’s Privy Garden, insufficient funding meant the sculpture was instead placed into storage.
Entertainment
Kanye West exits quietly after private visit to Human Rights Center
Kanye West also known as Ye is making headlines again for his highly watched visit to the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Beverly Hills.
The rapper spent around 90 minutes inside the Jewish human rights organisation on Monday evening, keeping a low profile as he exited without addressing questions, heading straight to his car.
While details of the visit remain private, the setting itself has drawn attention given the backlash he has faced over past antisemitic remarks.
In recent months, Ye has publicly attempted to reset the narrative.
Earlier this year, he issued a lengthy apology, acknowledging he had “lost touch with reality” and expressing regret over his comments that he is committed to accountability and change.
The visit comes at a time when his professional schedule has taken several hits.
A number of performances have been disrupted, including a planned show in Marseille being postponed indefinitely, while other appearances have faced complications following controversy surrounding his past statements.
His removal from major festival line-ups and restrictions in certain regions have also added to the challenges surrounding his return to the stage.
A concert in India is expected to mark his first performance in the country as it remains on the calendar, with fans closely watching.
Entertainment
WhatsApp to let users generate private summaries of unread chats
Meta-owned WhatsApp is working on a new feature that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to summarise unread messages, so users don’t have to scroll through endless group chats and one-on-one conversations.
The Meta-owned messaging and video calling platform said that it announced a feature that lets users summarise multiple unread chats.
This feature will allow users to catch up on multiple conversations more efficiently without opening them separately, it added.
According to WABetaInfo, chats will be summarised by the artificial intelligence. It emphasised that the process is secure, and messages will remain private through private processing. This means that Meta can not access the messages during the process.
Once development is complete, the feature will be rolled out to select beta testers.
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