Back in action after an unnecessary break, but we have moved over onto an entirely new site, with a change in management, some new additions to the PicturePerfect team, all the while keeping the same awesome features that you've grown to know and love about us. Just to get our feet wet, this weeks Unbecoming's will highlight some noteworthy and occurrences. Shoot!
• Layla of the pop girl group SYNCO announces her departure from the group. The decision for her to leave was met with a mixed reaction from the twitter-verse. There oddly, still hasn't been a response from her former group-mates. Did they not care that much?
• Riot! In the Boulevard announces their highly anticipated album "Young Cardinals", which should be a very good album. We look forward to doing a track-by-track for a future "Unbecomings".
• Joshua Grimmie announced in a heart-felt letter that he is diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the news was met with an (mostly) overwhelming support from different celebrities and supporters.
• The New Heroes premiere brought out some A-list celebrities including Isabel, Bilal Holmes, Aubrey Mikkel, Rum and more! Some of the best dressed of the night were Cristina Lake, Dakota, Victoria Black and Lexi Marie Taylor. And the some of the worst: Mariko, Rum, and Chris Walker.
• The New Heroes went #1 at the box office and managed to break box office records.
• Eric Hess was injured and hospitalized after purchasing and driving a 55 year old train right off the rails. Rock star life. Luckily Hess wasn't killed and was released the next morning.
• Rum announces new album, "Try Forgiveness" which desperately needs a new single. The anticipation for the album is waning, especially with Coke in full promotional swing. The only single we have gotten from "Try Forgiveness" was "Ain't That Deep", and that was released last year.
• Radio Vine reappeared for the first time in over three years to announce her E.P "F.O.A.M.S" just to fade into obscurity once again.
• Elyar Black announces his upcoming album "Unclassified". Singles "Superpower" and "Gold Digger" have since been released.
• Mandy Williams announced that "Don't Talk To Me" would be the final single released before her anticipated album, Electrified is released. DTTM was a pretty good record.
• Abie Lena returns following a hiatus and announces a must see "Comeback Event and World Tour", now that's how you go about coming back, Radio, take notes. The tour kicks off 9/7!
• Austin Nimmo managed to have the longest running number one on the charts this year with "Strength".
• Gemma Kane and Elyar Black announced that they were dating, and it was met with a mostly negative response and quite a few twitter feuds. Gemma and Elyar vs. Lexi Marie Taylor and her boyfriend.
• James Urie begins streaming his new album "Liberty?" including track "Kill You With Kindess" which apparently includes jibes at his ex wife, none other than the Gemma Kane! This too, causes a twitter spat. James Urie didn't respond but instead James's current girlfriend and rapper, Lotus, made some cryptic posts on Instagram.
• Kidd Amaze appears on a very funny episode of Wild N'Out and looked good out there! He has charisma and star quality that gave Nick Cannon a run for his money on his own show.
• Eilidh releases her highly anticipated album "Head In The Clouds". Some album highlights were "What You Mean", "Fragile" and "Take Me There".
• Upcoming "I Will Be Your Mirror" guest, Coke poses for Playboy with boyfriend Kidd Amaze. We learned a lot about the both of them. Including their knack for getting it on even when Kidd Amaze is asleep and let's not forgot Kidd's "three rings".
• Joshua Grimmie announced "The Story Of A Heart" tour which boasts 69 dates, at affordable prices. Elite VIP goers are promised one-on-one conversations with Grimmie himself! The tour kicks off 10/16.
• Lincoln is releasing a perfume entitled "Glory". The scent is said to be "bright and sensually sweet".
• SYNCO and management had reportedly hired a team of writers for their next album, with the new single being produced by Stromae. One question, when will THEY start writing?
• In a shocking new development, Hannah Beth Merjos tragically passed away. Rest in Peace and we are sending our condolences to the Merjos family.
• Eilidh announced the dates to her upcoming "Head In The Clouds" tour kicking off 1/25/18. You might want to save up in the mean time.
THE GOOD: • Coke and Dominic Brown compliment eachother in this collaboration. It's hard to imagine Coke working with many other artists considering the fact that she mostly working alongside her sister Rum. But, Coke and Dominic seem like a match made in music heaven.
• Coke and Dominic's vocals are sexy and deep, and it goes perfectly with the the latin vibe.
• Samples the classic "Maria Maria" by Santana, giving the song a nostalgic touch.
• Coke trades in her usual alternative sound for something new, and when done properly, it's gold. In this case, it was done properly.
THE BAD: • The lyrics are clever, but confusing and hard to follow and understand.
• The "Connect the dots, no polka" line was cringey and un-needed
THE VERDICT: •BUY THIS! I dare to say that this is a key in for song of the summer. It was released at the perfect time considering that Now You See Me didn't make waves like it was thought to. It looks like Coke went back to the drawing board and came back with something more appealing.
THE GOOD: • Cassie Valentine's vocals are superb. It's almost like she effortlessly sings wonderfully and that's what's most good about "Love"
• The spoken bit ending the song is both haunting and sensual.
• Love's chorus stands out, where Cassie does nice vocals runs.
• The laidback, chilled vibe doesn't seem too try hard and it feels very natural and vibey.
THE BAD: • Young Hood doesn't really add much to the record and so wasn't really needed on this song.
• The lyrics also don't go anywhere aside from being a deep "break up song".
THE VERDICT: SUPPORT THIS! Cassie Valentine has come off a very successful year and she hasn't missed a beat. Cassie seems to be going in a slightly new direction with the new material, trading in R&B/Pop of her last album for something more eccentric, vibey and more soulful than she's already been.
THE GOOD: • The thudding club beats, lurking synths and sharp clicks gives the song an instantly catchy vibe.
• Wonderful production values
• The artwork.
• "I missed my window, you could've been an out / Took too long to make a play, I'm watching from the sidelines now"
• The chorus is above average both production wise and lyrically.
THE BAD: • It goes no where vocally.
• It completely overshadowed "Sex On The Beach", which is arguably the better song.
THE VERDICT:BUY THIS! It's nice to see Misu go from being nominated for the artist to watch award at the FCA, and going on to achieve number one hit status. At least we know her music career won't be as short lived as her CBB stint. It's compelling to see where she goes next after releasing two quality singles at the same time. There's a lot for her to live up to now.
THE GOOD:• The Spanish intro of the song that gets cut off by the aggressive backing beat. It gives the song an instant "listen more" appeal.
• The latin influences throughout "Anarchy", especially during the chorus, was cleverly produced and placed.
• The overall sound is nothing like other rap songs currently out.
• Payton's flow in general, and throughout the song is unique and often times when you hear him rap, you know it's Payton.
• Payton's fiery verses are good and don't let up, he sounds focused like never before.
THE BAD: • The chorus is too repetitive.
• The clean version is too heavily edited and leaves the song sounding quite odd.
THE VERDICT:SUPPORT THIS! Payton has been overlooked for some time for his rapping. He clearly hasn't taken to this kindly and has released his best rap song yet. After a successful run and win on Celebrity Big Brother, naysayers of Payton should really take notice now that he's found his niche and honed in on it. I'm sure he's got more.
THE GOOD: • The creepy, dark and mysterious production values gives us a sound that Barbie Doll has made somewhat of her signature. No one sounds like her.
• Barbie Doll's raspy, unique vocals only adds to the unique record.
• The song tells a heartbreaking tale, a welcomed change in subject from what we are currently getting on the radio.
• The songs beat sounds like a creepy, lullaby. Very clever and different.
• Production and vocal wise, the chorus is big!
THE BAD: • Sounds too much like her previous releases, mostly like "Dead"
• Given the subject matter of the song, the lyrics fall flat.
• The song is too short and can leave the listeners thinking, "that's it?"
THE VERDICT:BUY THIS! Barbie Doll is criminally underrated, mostly due to her lack of consistency but we respect that she does not conform to industry norms and maintains in her own lane and has her own sound. Her career deserves to be on the next level, but it's up to her to make sure she gets out there and makes it happen.
The Celebrity Big Brother Finale has EVERYONE talking and we here at PICTUREPERFECT want to congratulate Payton on his win! 7 of 12 writers at PICTUREPERFECT agreed that this was one of their favorite seasons of the franchise, mostly because everyone seemed to be themselves throughout, and there was no-one who seemed like a try hard camera hog. Everyone was straight up about who they were and even though the season lacked fights and drama, it made up for it in nudity and hooks ups. Here are the general opinions of the 11 housemates discussed amongst a panel of 12 writers. Nina - Nina lived up to our expectations and was so entertaining throughout the entire season. Always up for anything, she was often getting Reuben and Payton to do silly things. The queen of banter, Nina offered nudity, sass, and an overall good time throughout her stay. A favorite among the panel. 11 of 12 panelists enjoyed Nina on CBB6
Gretchen - Gretchen was sweetheart nearly as witty and crazy as Nina. Her and Nina made the perfect tandem, although she stood in Nina's shadow throughout. We would have liked to see Gretchen be more of a "soloist" and not just Nina's tag team partner in the Celebrity Big Brother House. 8 of 12 panelists enjoyed Nina on CBB6
Tatiana - Tatiana was suppose to be the "stirrer" of drama but she fell pretty flat at doing that in the house. We wanted to see the "Legit Dont Like You" persona come into the house and really get things started but that persona never really came out. On the bright side, it showed that Tatiana isn't all that bad. Still, when we saw her name and photo come up as a cast mate, we thought she was going to be one of the most entertaining and unfortunately, she wasn't. 3 of 12 panelists enjoyed Tatiana on CBB6
Tyler - The underdog! Tyler came out of this actually looking rather well. He went into the house as the least known housemate and made it to the final. Tyler had a knack for trying to get under people's skin in the beginning of the season but that was quickly put to a stop when Payton threw a glass bowl at his head after a near fight. He spent the rest of the season keeping it calm, cool and collective, and it worked. Dodging eliminations left and right, he made it to the final. 7 of 12 panelists enjoyed Tyler on CBB6
Payton - As Nina said at one point during the season, Payton was the "life of the party." during the season. The winner! At first, we weren't so sure about Payton going into the Celebrity Big Brother house. Most of us thought he would go in and get very, very annoying quickly, but we turned out to be wrong. Always up for a shot, or a smoke, Payton added comedic relief, entertainment and a bit of drama to the Celebrity Big Brother house. Not to mention his hot and heavy on screen hook up with Liyah and his adorable relationship with his cousin Reuben, and an iconic entrance into the house, Payton offered more than one could imagine and he'll be remembered with the CBB greats after his run. 9 of 12 panelists enjoyed Payton on CBB6
Reuben - Reuben came into the CBB6 as someone people didn't really know of if they weren't familiar with his former show but he quickly solidified himself as a gentleman with a wild side! It was wonderful seeing Reuben on CBB6 as he completely found himself on the series. He started out as a shy, conservative individual but broke out of his shell. Nudity! Shots! And even a smoke! Reuben kept up with his cousin Payton and even sparked up a romance. Making it to the final 2, Reuben had a really successful run on CBB6. 10 of 12 panelists enjoyed Reuben on CBB6
Sabina - Sabina came into the house as the glamour girl who we thought would crack under pressure and be the first to walk. Unfortunately we were wrong, Sabina held it together and made it to the final 5. Sabina wasn't apart of most of the crazy antics in the house, but she made sure the house was clean (it had better be) and generally seemed like a caring person. One of the girls who offered eye candy, she left a lot to the imagination as she refused to do any nude or anything out of the ordinary. We wanted Sabina to show her wild side. The wildest she got was a hot hookup with Reuben under the covers. But we wanted more! 6 of 12 panelists enjoyed Sabina on CBB6.
Misu - She walked! But she shouldn't have. The brief moments we got to see Misu were great, her choice of words were T.V gold but she left it go too early. If she would have stayed, we believe she would have made it really far in the competition. 2 of 12 panelists enjoyed Misu on CBB6
Chaelin - Chaelin was a complete let down. She barely had any camera time and this was really her time for people to get to know her away from her former CBMD group. She let it slip past. A beautiful and down to earth girl, she got eliminated rather quickly. 1 of 12 panelists enjoyed Chaelin on CBB6.
Liyah - Liyah was a standout in CBB6 because of her laid back, home-girl attitude that we wanted to see more of. You can tell she was really just being herself throughout the time she was there. Her and Payton complimented eachother well and they had a HOT moment on Celebrity Big Brother. We believe Liyah should have made it further into the competition. 8 of 12 panelists enjoyed Liyah on CBB6.
Kyle - Kyle was another one who experienced entirely new things on CBB6. As the youngest housemate, he quickly showed that he DIDN'T want to be known as the baby of the house and was mature enough to keep up with the older contestants. He managed to even kiss Tatiana after a game of Truth or Dare and try some shrooms that he didn't even know were actually shrooms! 5 of 12 panelists enjoyed Kyle on CBB6.
Cara - Cara is a beloved blogger, business woman and fashion designer. But reality TV just isn't her forte. We nearly forgot her on this list because her stay was so short lived! She came across as a bit judgy, but she was cool girl from the start. It would have been nice to see her stick around and show herself more. 1 of 12 panelists enjoyed Cara on CBB6
Rico - Last but not least is Rico. The suave, and fun housemate got on well with everyone in the house and was always up for some fun. After Payton woke up with a bulge, Rico started to show his off everyday and, a bit...too much that it became quite weird after a while. A "no wonder why I have a boner ...it's because of the woman in here" joke said to Sabina didn't sit too well with viewers either, but we know Rico only meant it to be funny. 5 of 12 panelists enjoyed Rico on CBB6.
Hope you enjoyed the read!
Cody Malone
Picture Perfect Writer