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FX Feud: Bette and Joan Deconstructs a Rivalry for Tragedy, Not Comedy
Ryan Murphy’s new FX series compellingly shows the sexist forces that pitted two titans against each other.
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Universal Music New Zealand Limited Lorde Joyfully Crashes Into Her Next Chapter
“Green Light,” the comeback single for the inventive pop star, is an upbeat announcement of change.
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Scott Roth / AP Future Contains Multitudes
The rap star’s back-to-back new albums showcase his appeal with two very different sounds.
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Danny Moloshok / Reuters The 'Only' Profession to 'Celebrate What It Means to Live a Life'
In another strange sign of the mounting culture wars, Viola Davis’s emotional Oscars tribute to artists has become political fodder.
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Lucy Nicholson / Reuters Viola Davis's Urgent Call to 'Exhume the Ordinary'
The Fences Best Supporting Actress testified to art’s ability to tell the stories of regular people.
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Chris Pizzello / AP Five Ways of Seeing Five Minutes of 'Real People' at the Oscars
Did the prank with “Gary from Chicago” and his band of tourists humble Hollywood—or just condescend?
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Craig Blankenhorn / HBO Girls's Powerful Insight on Trauma
In “American Bitch,” Hannah confronts an author accused of sexual misconduct—and sees how her own past fits into a larger system.
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Sony Music Frank Ocean's Surprising Slide Back to Pop
His team-up with Calvin Harris and Migos on "Slide" scrambles some expectations, but mostly just sounds like summer.
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Universal The Maddening Media Obsession With Female Feuds, Katy Perry Edition
She can’t seem to get her music or politics evaluated without a mention of her supposed rival Taylor Swift.
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Rebecca Fanuele Steve McQueen's Unblinking Look at Life and Afterlife
The 12 Years a Slave director’s video installation Ashes highlights that death is narrative but existence is not.
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Ellika Henrikson Music to Celebrate the
30-Something BluesSweden’s Jens Lekman brings a writerly eye and disco uplift to a new decade on Life Will See You Now.
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Gianni Fiorito/HBO What The Young Pope Preached About Love
The first season of HBO’s Vatican dramedy portrayed a journey from amplifying suffering to easing it.
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Lucy Nicholson / Reuters Two Shades of #Resistance at the Grammys
Katy Perry tentatively tried out political messaging while A Tribe Called Quest loudly denounced the president.
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Lucy Nicholson / Reuters Adele, Beyoncé, and the Grammys' Fear of Progress
The 25 singer broke her trophy in two for Lemonade, the latest black visionary work sidelined in favor of a white traditionalist one.
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Lucy Nicholson / Reuters The Biggest Moments From the 2017 Grammys
Adele swept the awards, but gave credit to Beyoncé.
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Capitol Records / Vevo Katy Perry Proclaims a New Era of 'Purposeful Pop'
Her single “Chained to the Rhythm” is a cheerfully depressing indictment of not only Trump but all of society.
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Matt Sayles / AP Your 2017 Grammys Crib Sheet
This year’s show will be a forum for new talent, Beyoncé, and possible anti-Trump protest.
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Tami Chappell / AP Migos the Pioneers
The No. 1 album in the country is from a trio of Atlanta rappers whose dizzying coordination sounds deceptively simple.
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Adrees Latif / Reuters Lady Gaga Made America Spectacular Again
Her dazzling halftime show didn’t explicitly address politics but still delivered big messages.
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Jon Palmer / AP Pop Culture's Fraught Obsession With Celebrity Baby Bumps
Beyoncé’s announcement both feeds and disrupts the tabloid-pregnancy ecosystem, says the author of Pregnant With the Stars.
