How Did Our 2025 Pop Star Rookie of the Year Olivia Dean Take Over the World So Quickly?

At the beginning of 2025, Olivia Dean was still a mostly unfamiliar name to stateside pop fans. She’d seen some success in her U.K. home country with 2023 debut album Messy, but even there, the singer-songwriter was still more of a critical favorite than a proven hitmaker. But when 2025 hit, Dean turned it on early, and the next 12 months proved one long crescendo that has climaxed with her beginning the new year as one of the biggest artists in popular music, on either side of the pond.

This 2025 Rookie of the Year spotlight episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast looks at Olivia Dean’s 12-month journey from burgeoning cult favorite to global pop superstar — find Thomas Smith’s essay on Olivia’s brilliant rookie season here — with a key assist from Billboard U.K.’s Sophie Williams, who helps explain to host Andrew Unterberger how Dean was able to kick her career into such high gear so quickly. We marvel at her 2025 accomplishments, and look forward to what she still might have left on this album campaign in her year to come. Read more...

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Stranger Things 5 Finale Ending Explained: What Happens to the Hawkins Crew?

In the Stranger Things finale, everyone assembles for the largest and most complex battle sequence of the entire series. At the start of Episode 8, titled “The Rightside Up,” the crew wastes no time launching its final stand against Vecna (Jamie Campbell Bower) and the Mind Flayer to save the world. Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), Kali (Linnea Berthelsen), and Max (Sadie Sink) team up to attack Henry (aka Vecna) in his mind, while Hopper (David Harbour) and Murray (Brett Gelman) prepare the trigger for the bomb that will destroy the Upside Down. The rest of the party braces to enter the Abyss to rescue the kidnapped kids. “By the time we get to Episode 8, we don’t have to spend any time talking,” series co-creator Matt Duffer tells Netflix. “We’re able to jump right into it, and everybody was able to play their part in it.” Read more....

Faith, socialism, Millennials. Takeaways on Mamdani's NYC inauguration

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s Jan. 1 inauguration and block party reflected a diverse city looking to make good on the 34-year-old democratic socialist’s promises to address affordability. On a freezing New Year’s Day, the Democratic mayor took his ceremonial oath of office on the steps of City Hall, with thousands of people lining several Manhattan blocks and a slate of celebrities championing him with Millennial cultural touchstones. Mamdani acknowledged people, including those outside the five boroughs , want to see how a leftist will manage a municipal government. The former state assemblyman from Queens vowed to govern the in same as manner as he was elected: as an unapologetic democratic socialist. Read more....

Several killed as Iran protests over rising cost of living spread

At least five people have been killed as demonstrations over the soaring cost of living in Iran spread to more parts of the country. At least three people were killed and 17 others were injured at protests in the city of Azna in Lorestan province, some 300km (185 miles) southwest of Tehran, Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency reported on Thursday. Videos shared online appeared to show objects in the street ablaze and gunfire echoing as people shouted: “Shameless! Shameless!” Earlier, Fars said two people were killed during protests in the city of Lordegan, about 470km (290 miles) south of the capital Tehran in the Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. “Some protesters began throwing stones at the city’s administrative buildings, including the provincial governor’s office, the mosque, the Martyrs’ Foundation, the town hall and banks,” Fars said, adding that police responded with tear gas. Read more....

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