The Grammy Awards were held on Sunday, Summit summer scholarships are available, and everyone’s talking about Justin Baldoni’s new “evidence” website in his countersuit vs. Blake Lively. But first:
Song of the Week: “Denial is a River” by Doechii
Spurred on by her “Rap Album of the Year” win and performance at the Grammy Awards, Doechii’s song “Denial is a River” has resurged in popularity this week. In some ways, Doechii feels like a lightning bolt of creativity and originality in a genre that can sometimes feel sonically stagnant. “Denial is a River” is a perfect example of this artist’s unique style, as the fast-flowing, stream-of-consciousness lyrics recreate how a spurned woman in “denial” succumbs to anger and self-loathing. The lyrics of the song and her whole album are pretty explicit. If you want to read those lyrics, you can do so here (language).
And now for our three conversations…
1. Music’s Biggest Night
What it is: The 67th annual Grammy Awards happened this past Sunday.
How it went: It was a big night for music, but also a big night for Los Angeles—in between awards and performances, the event hosted in LA’s Crypto.com Arena included numerous pleas to donate to wildfire relief efforts. Several of the artists we’ve highlighted in our “Song of the Week” feature—Chappell Roan, Sabrina Carpenter, Doechii, and of course Beyoncé—won big awards. But Kendrick Lamar’s diss track “Not Like Us,” which has been called the unofficial anthem of the city of Los Angeles, won all five of the awards it was nominated for. If his album GNX had been released earlier, Lamar might have taken “Album of the Year,” too. Either way, Lamar is heading to Sunday’s Super Bowl performance at the peak of his game. [For more on the Grammys, including our discussion of Bianca Censori’s “wardrobe,” check out our Roundtable podcast.]
Continue the conversation: How well do you think the Grammys represent what’s big in music today?
2. Summit Scholarship
What it is: Summit Ministries is inviting Axis readers to apply for student scholarships for a twelve-day summer worldview training intensive.
Who it’s for: This scholarship is exclusively available to outstanding student leaders who have shown significant influence in areas such as sports, academics, entrepreneurship, student government, church, or other community leadership roles. Students who are selected for the scholarship will pay only a $195 registration fee, plus travel costs, instead of the regular price of $2,295. If you are interested in learning more, check out this video for details or apply for the scholarship on Summit’s registration page, using the code “AXIS.”
Continue the conversation: Who or what would you say has shaped your worldview?
3. Suit, Countersuit
What it is: Justin Baldoni’s legal team has published a website of “receipts” meant to refute Lively’s claims that Baldoni sexually harassed her on the set of their film, It Ends With Us.
Why teens are buzzing about it: The website is a trove of gossip fuel that connects a wide web of A-list celebrities. The site, “thelawsuitinfo.com,” contains a comprehensive timeline of events, including texts, interview transcripts, photos, and emails. Like seagulls flocking to a bucket of boardwalk french fries, prominent Gen Z commentators on TikTok and YouTube have descended on this timeline, picking apart the chain of events and adding their own theories and speculations on what went so wrong. The documents have provided an intimate and not-often-seen glimpse at how people in Hollywood actually talk to, and about, each other.
Let’s translate this one further…
A question we frequently ask ourselves as culture writers is whether a cultural event is worth discussing because it is relevant to teens or if it is just a viral piece of gossip—something we wouldn’t want to help spread.
But the drama surrounding It Ends With Us has become a subject of national fascination. Major news pundits have publicly weighed in on who they think is being honest and who they think is lying. #blakelively is approaching one million individual posts on TikTok, as is #justinbaldoni. These cases are a media circus, and the trial date is still over a year away.
Lively’s initial lawsuit alleged sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior on the set of a movie that was supposed to highlight the heartache of domestic abuse. Now, the movie’s troubled production has sparked more conversations about harassment and power dynamics than the film itself ever did. And everyone involved is about to spend the better part of a year reliving some of the most awkward moments of their career.
We’ll refrain from offering yet another opinion on what the outcome of this case will, or should, be. But we do think the buzz surrounding it offers a stark reminder of the perils of being in the public eye.
Being rich, beautiful, and charismatic looks like a lot of fun from the outside—until it isn’t. James 1:9-10 (ESV) warns us that attaining status and beauty are an empty pursuit on their own, because those things don’t last: “Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of grass he will pass away.”
For more context and nuance, check out our Roundtable podcast on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, or wherever you listen to podcasts. In the meantime, here are three questions to spark conversation with your teens:
- If people could read all your private texts and emails, do you think they would think differently about you?
- Why do you think people care so much about the lives of famous people?
- If you could choose one celebrity to spend the day with, who would it be?
PS: Know someone who could use our conversation starters with their teens? Share the CT with a friend!