If you’re anything like us, we see an interesting headline during our daily scroll—pause to read it—but then keep scrolling without reading the actual story. So at the end of each week, we’re rounding up all the buzziest, news-worthy headlines you might have missed. Think of it like the “saved” feature on Instagram but for news instead of aesthetically pleasing photos. Rihanna earns his first Oscar nomination for her original song for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the first Grammy performers have been announced, and Lil Yachty drops his new psychedelic-alternative album Let’s Start Here.—this is what you missed.

#1

Rihanna Earns Her First Oscar Nomination for ‘Black Panther: Wakanda Forever’ Original Song
Rihanna took our breath away when she made her debut at this year’s Golden Globes with A$AP Rocky, thanks to her recent single “Life Me Up.” Although the singer skipped the red carpet, it’s fair to say that she still shined bright like a diamond amongst hundreds of other stars in attendance. If you can’t get enough of red-carpet RiRi, though, not to worry because we have a second chance to see the artist dripping in glam as Rihanna just earned her first Oscar nomination for the tribute track to the late Chadwick Boseman featured in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Her song “Life Me Up” will compete in the Best Original Song category along with another pop titan, Lady Gaga, for her song, “Hold My Hand,” in Top Gun, Maverick, as well as Diane Warren’s “Applause” from Tell It Like A Women. RiRi will return to award season on March 12. Still, before that, there is just one more thing on the superstar’s plate demanding her full attention—her highly-anticipated Super Bowl Halftime performance. Set to go live on the second Sunday of February; it is rumored that Jay-Z got on board to help conceptualize the show. The performance will mark the business mogul’s return to the big stage since the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, where she delivered a career-spanning medley of hits to celebrate her winning the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award. To say fans are ecstatic is an understatement. I know I’m not the only one waking up counting my blessings that RiRi is back and making boss moves.

#2

Lil Yachty Drops Psychedelic-Alternative Album ‘Let’s Start Here’
Atlanta star Lil Yachty is back with his fifth studio album Let’s Start Here., and marks the shift from his usual hip-hop and rap albums he’s best known for to enter a new genre sphere—namely, psychedelic-alternative. You’re not reading that wrong, and though it is surprising to hear of such a departure and change of beat, listeners are in for an absolute trip—I mean, treat. Some fans may have realized that Lil Yachty understood the assignment the moment the artist teamed up with Tame Impala for “Breathe Deeper Remix”, which made it clear how versatile Lil Yachty is, and how naturally he adapted to this new sound. For many months, spanning 2021 and 2022, he poured himself into a live instrumentation experience, which birthed this introspective, expansive, and highly-stylized 14-track no-skip album. Let me say it again: no skips. Let’s Start Here. is packaged in a cover that looks like it was generated by ai, with morphed faces, reminiscent of traditional wavy psychedelic imagery—think face melting—but in a more 2023 kind of way. This album is an ode to the music he grew up on, inspired by bodies of work such as Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, and multiple psychedelic journies. The album also features unreal emerging acts and vets alike, including Teezo Touchdown on “the ride-”, Justine Skye on “running out of time” and “THE zone~”, Fousheé on “pRETTy”, Daniel Caesar on “REACH THE SUNSHINE.”, and Diana Gordon whom Lil Yachty has said is “the true MVP of this album”. Lil Yachty translates his unwavering positive outlook into this project—including a sound clip from life-coach of our hearts Bob Ross—preaching valuable lessons on trusting the process and embracing mishaps. On “:(failure(:” Lil Yachty flips the idea of failure on his head, rethinking it as a chance to regain perspective on how it may fit into your overall journey, and practicing gratitude. He shares insight about appreciation and lack of attachment to physical objects, even going as far to say that if his house were robbed, he would try to accept the challenge and take it with grace—material items are replaceable, he reminds us. One thing is abundantly clear through this impressive body of work: having a can-do attitude and practicing gratitude can change your life. It’s cheesy and true. The creative feat of tackling a project like this and succeeding massively is not a common spectacle in the music industry and cannot go unnoticed. Back in 2017, it may not have been clear that a psychedelic-alt album would be a part of Lil Yachty’s legacy, and this moment in music history is one to relish in. Before you embark on the trip that is Let’s Start Here., it’s important to note that Lil Yachty has given us special instructions to listen to the album from start to finish—as the best psychedelic music experiences do—for the best listening experience.

#3

First Grammy Performers Announced: Bad Bunny, Brandi Carlile, Lizzo, and More
The 65th Grammy Awards are upon us, and am I the only one flabbergasted by how a year had passed since Doja Cat threw her vape away right as she ran up the stage and SZA walked up the podium in crutches to accept their Best Pop Duo/Group Performance award? Aside from the meme-orable moments, the Grammys always surprises us with stunning performances, and we should expect nothing less in this year’s award night by looking at the first round of performers that was announced to take the stage. Amongst the stars are Bad Bunny, Mary J.Blige, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras, and Sam Smith. Two-time Grammy winner Bad Bunny is up for three nominations: Album of the Year (Un Verano Sin Ti), Best Pop Solo Performance (Moscow Mule), and Best Música Urbana Album (Un Verano Sin Ti). Nine-time Grammy winner Mary J.Blige is nominated for six awards, including Record of the Year (for “Good Morning Gorgeous”), Album of the Year (Good Morning Gorgeous (Deluxe)), Best R&B Performance (“Here With Me”), along with three others in the R&B category. Brandi Carlile has been nominated for seven awards and will compete with Bad Bunny and Blige for both Record and Album of the Year. Luke Combs is up for three nominations, all in the country categories, including Best Country Duo/Group Performance (“Outrunnin’ Your Memory”), Best Country Song (“Doin’ This”), and Best Country Album (In These Silent Days). Steve Lacy has been nominated for four awards, primarily in the Pop and R&B category, including Record of the Year and Song of the Year (“Bad Habit”). Lizzo is nominated for five awards, including Record (“About Damn Time”) and Album of the Year (Special). Last but least, Sam Smith and Kim Petras are gearing up to win Best Pop Duo/Performance for their viral song, “Unholy.” If you think this list already guarantees a great time, additional performers will be announced in the following days. With the event going live in a little over a week, we can’t wait to see who will go home with some big wins, as well as the performances that will have us on the edge of our seats.

#4

Justin Bieber Sells The Rights to His Music Catalogue
Justin Bieber can get more than peaches this week as he officially sold his entire music catalog to Hipgnosis Songs Capital, a music investment company backed by a private-equity firm, Blackstone Inc. The deal pertains to 100% of Bieber’s publishing, including his artist royalties from his master recordings and neighboring rights. It’s reported that the two parties settled on just over $200 million, making this the largest rights sale for any artist in Justin Bieber’s generation and the largest acquisition from Hipgnosis, covering all 290 titles released by the artist before December 21, 2021, including Bieber’s most recent album Justice. His catalog will be welcomed by the works from Justin Timberlake, Leonard Cohen, Nile Rodgers, and Nelly Furtado, who also sold rights to Hipgnosis.

#5

Jack Harlow and ODESZA Set To Headline FVDED in the Park 2023
If you ask any Canadian, the only way we survive the brutal winter here is by holding out hope to go all out in the summer. For all my fellow Canadians, that beacon of hope just turned into a supernova with the announcement of Jack Harlow and ODESZA headlining FVDED in the Park 2023. Set in Holland Park, BC, the summer festival happening June 23 and 24 will feature acts from Beatoute alum A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Bia, Ferg, Lane 8, Metro Boomin, SG Lewis, Ski Mask the Slump God, Apashe, Channel Tres, Deathpact, and more. If hip-hop and EDM stars aren’t enough to win you over, DJ Snake will also appear as a special guest to bring “Taki Taki” to the dancefloor. FVDED in the Park had a rocky couple of years after being canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to public health reasons but last year’s festival made its grand return and set the records straight for the iconic BC festival it’s meant to be. To celebrate this summer fiesta, FVDED in the Park teamed up with Flair Airline to offer free base fare for FVDED festival weekend. For three hours, starting at 1 PM ET,  on January 27, base fares on flights from 10 Canadian cities to Vancouver International Airport (YVR) and Abbotsford International Airport (YXX) will be available for free using code: flairxfvded. The only thing that you should worry about now is how much fun you’ll have and whether to pack your Pit Viper shades—the answer is yes, by the way.