The Entertainment Weekend Recap: March 13th
When it comes to sporting events, it has become a tradition to have the Star-Spangled Banner, otherwise known as the national anthem, performed. Regardless of the event attendees can expect to hear the national anthem, but not all performances of the Star-Spangled Banner are viewed equally. In the case of singer Jordin Sparks, she seemed to spark criticism from social media users with her performance at the Big 12 basketball conference championship on Saturday. Sparks has already proven that she is a talented singer, however, much of the feedback came from the high notes performed during the song.
Some social media users compared this incident to Fergie’s infamous national anthem performance back in 2018 at the NBA All-Star game. Despite complaints from some, Sparks did have supporters who came to her defense. One Instagram commenter stated, “I just love how people are criticizing her acting like they can do, better I would love to see all of these people criticizing her to get on the mic in front of hundreds of thousands of people and sing the whole national anthem and then we’ll see who will be talking then” (@summer__thedoll).
Jordin Sparks was not the only celebrity facing critiques from fans this weekend. Yung Miami, one-half of the City Girls, made an appearance in the hit Starz Network series “BMF.” Now, this is not the rappers first acting appearance, however, her crying scene in this role seemed to garner ample feedback from critics. Many users admitted to laughing at her acting during the scene although it was meant to be heartfelt and serious. Twitter user @jimmyneutchh stated, “Caresha had me screaming on BMF last night ????????????she’s mad funny.” The rapper didn’t seem to let the comments faze her and positively embraced those who offered her words of encouragement.
While Jordin Sparks and Yung Miami received pushback on their performances, Quality Control co-founder Kevin “Coach K” Lee, was awarded for his. Coach K is a businessman, entrepreneur, mogul, and executive. Now he will be the 2023 brand ambassador for Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead. The Buckhead location took to social media to make the announcement on Friday and expressed their thanks to the music executive for joining their team. Coach K also shared the news with his supporters and received an outpouring of congratulations.
Another popular yet controversial Kevin will also be celebrated. Internet personality and relationship advisor, Kevin Samuels, will be honored in the afterlife. His team has organized a “Celebration of Life” on Monday through a live-streamed remembrance ceremony. The internet personality unexpectedly died at the age of 53 on May 5, 2023. He reportedly collapsed and died after complaining of chest pains. The announcement of the ceremony was posted on his social media pages with the caption “the legacy continues.” Potential viewers will be able to watch the service on his YouTube channel.
The weekend came to a close with the 95th Academy Awards ceremony. This year’s ceremony was held at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles and was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Over the years the Oscars have developed a reputation for snubbing Black talents and this year appeared to follow suit. Despite having multiple films that starred Black actors and were led by Black production teams, the nominations did not reflect that reality.
Angela Bassett, Brian Tyree Henry and Rihanna were of the chosen few to receive nominations. However, Angela Bassett lost the award for Best Supporting Actress to Jamie Lee Curtis while Brian Tyree Henry lost the award for Best Supporting Actor to Ke Huy Quan. Rihanna was also on the losing end of her nomination for Best Original Song to Naatu Naatu.
