My heart will go on and on
Celine Dion IRL, No Boundaries, Addison isn't Britney...yet, Brat summer 💙
Happy Friday! Hope you had a gorgeous summer solstice, longest day of the year, and start to Cancer season 🦀
Summer Bucket List update: I picked strawberries, made a pie, and went to the beach with Marisa – my co-director and costar in our childhood music videos, *NSYNC super fan, and one of my first Nicstalgia guests. Our pop culture debates and dissections are extremely fun, and with Justin Timbertrash’s DWI and the subsequent memes that came of it, I couldn’t have asked for a more entertaining news cycle for our time together. All I have to say about that is….What goes around comes back around…
In this jam-packed issue:
💙 I breathed the same air as Celine Dion this week
🛣 Bring back CMT’s Crossroads! Wait, it never left…
👚 No Boundaries is back! Wait, it also never left…
💚 Brat summer activated
⭐️ I actually have a lot in common with Addison Rae??
📲 Ashlee new music, Rick Rolling, Paris is an underdog, Chappell Easter eggs, dresses over jeans, Kate Hudson sings now
ICYMI, last week’s issue included a list of upcoming essays, LTD2 comeback, American Girl brand identity refresh, my thoughts on post-pandemic concert-going, and soooooo much more. Btw, the REAL John and Jonathan were at the Allie X show last week!!
Housekeeping: I’m employing footnotes in this issue, I believe for the first time, to enhance your reading experience. As a reader, I tend to think they’re very annoying. However, as a writer, I do tend to abruptly change subjects and share every intrusive thought amusing fact and contextually-enriching anecdote that pops into my brain. I guess I could’ve written a separate section specifically on Taylor Swift and Def Leppard’s CMT Crossroads performance from 2008?? Anyway, enjoy!!!!!
Support Nicstalgia with a paid subscription for less than this Celine Dion mini champagne bottle souvenir from 1999. If I had a wine cellar, this would be in it.
Huge thank you to Nicstalgia supporters who I will love forever: Janine, Marie, Liv, Mitra, CY, and Aleena! 💐💐💐
💙 My heart will go on
If there is literally one thing you need to know about me, it’s that I love Celine Dion. I always say that my work and research in pop culture is not about the celebrities themselves; it’s about us – how culture shapes how we see ourselves, relate to one another, and see ourselves in the world. However, she is one celebrity I truly admire and am determined to one day meet in-person. Today, we are celebrating the life, legacy, and impact of the inimitable Celine Marie Claudette Dion! It’s cosmically obvious that I was born to be a Celine Dion fan. Celine Dion’s first English language studio album was released on the day I was born. Her last French language album before it, although I was not yet born, was released on my birthday too. I have always been a very deep person, with a big personality, who can experience a broad spectrum of emotions, and Celine’s music made me feel something that I could never quite express verbally, especially as a child. Although we share a sun and rising sign (Aries, Leo), I have a sensitive Cancer moon (like Mariah Carey lol). Astrology is the only lens through which I can even begin to articulate Celine’s sincere emotional resonance with me as a mere second grader.
I’ve likened being a diehard Celine Dion fan to being a diehard fan of a chronically-losing sports team. You’re always being pitied or made the butt of the joke. I even once had a guy roast me for liking Celine on a second (and last) date. When I told him it wasn’t going to work out (for several other reasons), he was so frustrated he blew his chance. He said that he would curse himself every time he heard Celine Dion from now on. Lmao. Did you honestly think I would choose you over Celine?? Oh my God, you did, no way, that is so sweet. A good amount of media about her is condescending, reinforcing a narrative that if you like Celine you must be a corny, gullible sucker devoid of personal taste. Carl Wilson’s 33 1/3 book, Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love: A Journey to the End of Taste, and The New Yorker’s article, “People Who Like Celine Dion Are People Too”, are particularly critical. I do think a lot of the criticism is gendered, in that this specific brand of pretentious, snobby male critic often employs a misogynistic, patronizing tone. The M.O. is essentially that what we culturally interpret as feminine traits (emotionality, sentimentality, etc.) is ersatz, kitschy, gauche, and *gasps* uncool. As much as I pride myself on my taste, I admittedly have zero chill about Celine. There is no irony whatsoever in my appreciation for her music. If that makes me uncool, so be it. But as both Celine and Taylor Swift prove, you can be both uncool and extremely successful.
As I got older, I started to – albeit very rarely – meet other Celine fans. My first semester of college, the girls in my suite would have sing-along sessions. I would often stand on my desk, belting/scream-singing whatever we blasted on my iPod. I have a distinct memory of singing “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now”, wailing “BABY BABY BABY” on the top of our lungs. It felt really good to have people to sing with. When I met my best friend shortly before college graduation, one of the first things we bonded over was our mutual love for Celine. One Christmas, she got me a custom Private Party (I’m dating myself here) CELINE DION sweatshirt that I still wear often. I feel endlessly grateful that we got to see her in concert together in March 2020 for what would be her last weekend of shows to date.
When social media came along, I found myself watching every Celine interview and bootleg documentary. A new layer of my fandom unlocked for me when I started to see her personality and realize we are similar in many ways. We’re both expressive and very extra, march to the beat of our own drum, love shoes, often break out into song in the middle of a sentence, and are always committing to the bit. Celine’s ability to be totally herself made me feel incredibly seen, especially at a time when I felt like I needed to censor myself and make myself smaller for others’ comfort, approval, or acceptance. Seeing her abilities hindered by Stiff Person Syndrome, the neurological disease she was diagnosed with in 2022, breaks my heart. It’s extremely sad to see someone – especially someone who dedicates their life to entertaining and making her fans happy – mercilessly suffer. It’s a twisted fate. She is one in a million, both as a tremendously talented world-famous megastar with enduring appeal and staying power, but also as one in a million people who are diagnosed with SPS.
This week, I attended the premiere of the I Am: Celine Dion documentary in New York City. (Not sure why I wasn’t interviewed for this clip of audience reactions?!) I will not give any spoilers – you can see the film in select theaters over the weekend or stream on Prime starting on 6/25 – but it was absolutely incredible. If you haven’t seen the compelling movie trailer, you NEED to watch it. I personally wasn’t expecting her to be at the premiere in-person, but she was. She looked great, and I feel so lucky to have been present in that room with people who genuinely love Celine like I do. (To the guy two seats down from me sobbing during the climactic ending scene, I wish I could’ve given you a hug.)
Now, I’m really happy that an audience, beyond her existing fanbase, can see how incredibly talented, strong, and courageous she truly is. Her humor, resilience, pain, joy, frustration, love for her family, love for her fans, and genuine appreciation for her most valuable instrument – her voice – all shine through. Even if you aren’t personally a fan, I HIGHLY recommend this documentary. If nothing else, you will leave with a renewed sense of empathy. While we don’t know what the future of Celine’s condition will bring, we do know for sure that her drive to perform is what keeps her fire burning bright. When she returns to the stage – she says she’ll be “Right in front of you”, which is one of my fav deep cuts btw – I will be front row. Not to be dramatic, but Celine is a sacred vessel, her vocal skill is other-worldly, and her ability to radiate golden energy and emote pure, unadulterated bliss is proof God exists and wants us to be happy. I will forever be a proud Celine fan!
🛣 Our society needs Crossroads
Sabrina Carpenter covered Chappell Roan’s “Good Luck, Babe!” and I thought, They need to bring Crossroads back! Come to find out, it never left. To date, Country Music Television has aired 83 episodes of CMT Crossroads over 16 seasons since 2002. The show pairs country artists with a musician from another genre, and they sing each other’s songs. Some of my favorite episodes:
Wynonna Judd & Heart (2004)
Sara Evans & Maroon 5 (2008)
Taylor Swift & Def Leppard (2008)¹ ² ³ ⁴
The most current example of a crossover moment – aimed at a mainstream audience versus an audience specifically interested in country music – is likely the memorable Grammys performance of “Fast Car” by Tracy Chapman and Luke Combs. What’s interesting now is that music is so much more genre-fluid than it was 22 years ago when the program began. While country crossover has been a thing (i.e. Shania Twain, Faith Hill, etc.), everything changed after two paradigm shifts: 1. The internet as a mode of listening to, buying, and selling music 2. Taylor Swift giving up the phony Southern accent and becoming inarguably the most bankable crossover star in history.
What would be very cool, rather than crossing over genres, is featuring cross-generational performances (i.e. the Coachella performances by Kesha x Renee Rapp, No Doubt x Olivia Rodrigo, etc.).⁵ Especially with algorithmically-driven and auto-playing streaming platforms – especially when you get older and have a habitually-established music taste – it can be difficult to discover and enjoy new artists.
👚 Is having No Boundaries a good or bad thing?
When it comes to millennial nostalgia news, you heard it here first: J14 Magazine is coming back in print, Limited Too is coming back (for tweens), Express will be rescued from bankruptcy to the tune of $174M, and now, Walmart’s private label No Boundaries is coming back. A private label is a brand created by the company at which it’s sold in order to compete with brands from other companies. For example, I.N.C., Bar III, Style & Co., Karen Scott, etc. are all sold by Macy’s for Macy’s in order to compete with external brands like Calvin Klein, Coach, DKNY, Michael Kors, etc.
Actually, like Crossroads, No Boundaries never technically left; it’s being “refreshed” for Gen Z and positioned as a brand that “inspires and celebrates the potential of self-expression.” Tbh, if this was 2019, that slogan could have worked, but now, that take seems tired and lazy. It’s pandering a generational stereotype. This particular brand name is kinda ironic, because specifically for Gen Z, the word “boundaries” exists in the cultural lexicon through the lens of mental health and socio-emotional relationships. Having “no boundaries” is actually stereotypically anti Gen Z, whereas Millennials are the epitome of having no boundaries, work-life balance, etc. due to strongly reinforcing Boomer parents’ societal conventions in more ways than not.
As much as I avoid going to Walmart like the plague, I recently found myself as a +1 this past weekend. I was actually impressed with the clothing selection and saw these epic No Boundaries clearance capris that unironically looked straight out of the 2000s. (Forgot to take a pic, was too stunned.) While I don’t exactly root for multi-billion dollar corporations, shopping at Walmart is probably the lesser of two evils as compared to SHEIN, Temu, and Amazon. (Late capitalism is so bleak.) I’m very curious to see if having marginally better ‘options’ shifts consumption patterns. Plus, the Greenpoint thrift store that sells a No Boundaries shirt for $88, when it’s worth no more than $9, MUST BE STOPPED!!!!⁶
💚 Brat summer activated
Charli XCX’s highly-anticipated album Brat has been released! I fully identify as a brat and have been enjoying the music, but also – even more so – her album’s go-to-market and launch strategy across various channels. Here are my favorite Brat-isms from around the internet:
Loved
’s well-articulated take on Brat. “I think the most lyrically interesting songs on Brat are the ones where she’s pushing through her own self-involvement to try to understand other people.”Enjoyed Should I Be a Mom, or Should I Stay a ‘Brat’?, as a 30-something woman confronted by the status quo and cultural norms surrounding motherhood.
Charli has programmed the brat collection for The Roxy Cinema in NYC. The film series includes Party Monster (2003) and Party Girl (1995). (“Can I get a falafel with hot sauce, a side order of baba ganoush, and seltzer, please?”) She also mentioned my other two canon movies as her favorites, Spice World and Sugar & Spice!
Wow she is just like me. There’s this account viralinterviews that…conducts viral interviews…where people pick between two celebrities. I’m on board with Charli’s picks – The only one who could dethrone Rihanna is Sky Ferreira. (Or for me, Gaga before 2012.)
Continuing the through-line of pop culture that is incredibly important to me, Charli gave shoutouts to Mariah Carey’s “Through the Rain” and Robyn’s “Don’t Fucking Tell Me What to Do” in an interview with British GQ.
Fans are speculating and hoping for an “Everything is Romantic” or even “Apple” remix with Caroline Polachek. (Fans = myself included.) I could listen to her sing the phone book.
Very interesting How to build brand energy piece from
!!! A thorough, detailed, insightful, absolute must-read for marketers.This piece by
dove into the female artist/male producer dynamic, the fact that “Gives You Hell” by the All-American Rejects has “technically perfect” mixing (true), and that “if every creative decision had to be justified in logical, rational terms, we would be living in a world without “that’s that me espresso.” And that, to me, is a world I want no part of.” Also true!ALMASHUPS made a mashup of “360” // “The 360 remix” // Miley Cyrus’s verse on will.i.am’s “Feelin' Myself” that blew up on Twitter and does go perfectly.
Speaking of songs that go perfectly, “Mean Girls” just goes with David Guetta’s “Sexy Bitch”. Luckily, many people noticed its similarity to that song and many other Millennial-era club hits, and of course, someone already made a mashup.
Charli-adjacent: I love A.G. Cook and his interview with Variety that says he ultimately hopes he can inspire others to “be idiosyncratic, to double down on personality, to not be worried about guilty pleasures, to enjoy whatever distinction of high culture or low culture.” That’s a very Nicstalgic take if you ask me.
⭐️ There’s only two types of people in the world
As the legendary Miss Britney Spears once proclaimed on her 2008 song Circus, “There’s only two types of people in the world: The ones that entertain, and the ones that observe.” I do believe this to ring as true now as it ever has. In a world where social media has democratized access to celebrity, everyone has a platform to both entertain and observe in a very direct – albeit parasocial and perhaps even voyeuristic – way. This was Addison Rae’s rise to “fame”, becoming at-times the most-followed person on TikTok. But nowadays, there are very few starlets who can truly shine when everyone online appears to be extremely conventionally attractive, talented, etc.
Interview Magazine puts the idea into our heads: Is Addison Rae Gen Z’s answer to Britney Spears? My take: absolutely not…yet. Her start on TikTok was like Britney’s stint off-Broadway and epic, now-hilariously-memed appearance on Star Search. Netflix’s He’s All That and Addison’s foray into music is akin to Britney’s Mickey Mouse Club stage. Addison has not had her “…Baby, One More Time” moment, but I think she will.
I’m not saying that I believe in her solely because I see a lot of myself in her, however:
We have the same coffee order: an iced NOLA with almond milk from Blue Bottle (TBT to the Dakota Johnson BB saga)
One of our favorite pastimes is making playlists
We value our taste and intuition
We share the dating philosophy, “If you can’t make me laugh, don’t look at me.”
We love shopping and working out
We love Britney Spears
Okay you probably identify with all of the above too, because my readers love music, have good taste, enjoy having a nice time, are fun to be around, etc.!!!!! Too young to be on Star Search, too old to be Addison Rae, but just the right age to be a pop culture podcaster, writer on Substack, and someone who memorized every piece of Britney Spears choreography!
📲 I’m just a simple girl in a high-tech digital world
Ashlee Simpson teamed up with Dairy Queen to “celebrate summer like it’s 2004” with a Brownie Batter BLIZZARD treat. Tbh, the script is pretty weak – overuse and misuse of the word ‘era’ must stop – but I love Ashlee and plan to have a full celebration of my own next month when Autobiography turns 20. I can also stop stalking Discogs now; Ashlee has confirmed they’re releasing Autobiography on vinyl AND she’s in the studio working on new music!
The other day, a fake screenshot circulated saying that Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” was taken off of YouTube. Did I know that this was a meme? Yes. Did I know that the video was uploaded to YouTube more than 10 years ago? Yes. Did I still get Rick Rolled by going to YouTube to check, just in case? Yes. Will I always love this man and this song? Yes.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but despite being conventionally beautiful, tall, skinny, white, and a super-rich nepo baby, Paris Hilton is actually the underdog of the 2000s. She has been underestimated for 20 years, and I think people might finally be catching onto her genius. I personally am obsessed with her very Aquarian pursuit in exploring emerging technology. What’s next for her? “Whatever’s new and in the future and people don’t have yet”. Like, yes. If there’s an opportunity, she’ll find it. As Paris releases Iconic, her 30th fragrance (!!??), we can all agree: We’ll Always Have Paris.
Move over Taylor Swift, Chappell Roan has Easter eggs for us. There are a striking number of parallels between her songs, performances, and social media techniques and the Muppets Cinematic Universe.⁷
Rachel Tashjian Wise accurately reported that a dress over jeans in The Row's new collection “looks extremely cool”, despite being “the most loathsome of millennial fashion trends”. I cannot wait to bring this back myself – just need to find the right dress and it’s over for you all!!!
Kate Hudson sang a cover of ‘Til Tuesday’s “Voices Carry” and it was actually good! I say actually not because I doubt her abilities, but because I simply didn’t know she was interested in singing. (Now I’ll listen to her CD, but to date, I’ve only heard her sing off-key in How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.) As long as Kate Hudson doesn’t release “Voices Carry” on a studio album before Sky Ferreira does, everything will be okay.
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¹ First of all, I could’ve sworn that Taylor Swift did Crossroads with Alan Jackson. Turns out I Mandela Effect/mixed up her performance on CMT Giants covering Alan Jackson’s “Drive”.
² I would like to note that the vocals are not good by either party. Joe Elliott was already far, far past his prime by 2008, and while I consider Taylor an extremely talented performer and songwriter, you cannot objectively call Taylor Swift – even with substantial vocal training and improvement – a skilled singer. Sorry to be the one to tell you this!!!
³ Joe Elliott specifically mentions that the song “Two Steps Behind” was from 1989 ;)
⁴ What fascinates me the most is that this performance was the tipping point where, for the rest of time, Taylor Swift would be more famous than Def Leppard. I grew up with Def Leppard, so it was exciting seeing someone from my generation expose the old songs to a young audience. I would buy the DVD of this show on Mercari tbh!
⁵ Repeating on the record that my personal dream crossover is a Caroline Polachek cover album of Celine Dion songs. Caroline also celebrated her birthday today and is living proof that yes, you can be extremely gorgeous, ethereal, talented, etc. well into your 30s!
⁶ Until the people at Limited Too give me a Nicstalgia exclusive interview, I’m gatekeeping the thrift store in NYC that I know has tons of LTD2 jeans.
⁷ When I was a kid, I specifically remember LOVING the Muppet Babies’ renditions of The Beach Boys’ “Kokomo” (the original was my favorite song as a kid!) and Fine Young Cannibals’ “She Drives Me Crazy”. Upon finding the YouTube video of the latter, I discovered it’s comprised of cameos by random celebrities and comedians, many of whom have already passed away [relatively young]. Someone commented, “What a collection of people who have all mostly passed away or if you're reading this in the future , who have all passed away.” Whoa.
A dear friend who loves pop culture (and has the same brain as us) told me about Sugar and Spice last summer and I absolutely loved it!!! It was a big inspo when I took a horror screenwriting class last fall.