Making a really good documentary about a musician is a delicate dance. You want to be forthcoming and vulnerable, but you don’t want to destroy the narrative your publicist has been in the media. You want to show the music and how it’s made, but only if it’s going to make you look undervalued or worthy of your critical praise. You want to be relatable, but you have to remember that your career makes you inherently different than those who will watch. You want to cover the stories everyone already knows, but be able to provide enough new information to keep it interesting.

Taylor Swift’s new Netflix documentary, “Miss Americana,” is able to pull off a majority of these things. The 86 minute film, which premiered Jan. 23 at the Sundance Film Festival, explores the singer-songwriter’s journey to stardom and the effects it has had on her.

The film largely concentrates on the period of time after “1989,” when her massive star power suddenly became a huge liability. It chronicles the creation of her two most recent albums “reputation” and “Lover,” follows the stadium tour that accompanied the former and discusses many of the headlines Swift made during that time.

The documentary is built around the deconstruction of the beliefs Swift held onto at the beginning of her career. “My entire moral code, as a kid and now, is a need to be thought of as good. It was all I wrote about. It was all I wanted. It was the complete and total belief system that I subscribed to as a kid,” she states early in the film.

Throughout the documentary, you see this belief system push the star to new heights, her drive and ambition being obvious results. But there is much more exploration into the darker side of this belief.

A montage chronicling her meteoric debut album and early success is punctuated by the incident at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. This moment is declared as the beginning of several psychological hang-ups that Swift has largely kept quiet about until this documentary. Explaining the lasting consequences of this, she says, “When you’re living for the approval of strangers and that is where you derive all of your joy and fulfillment, one bad thing can cause everything to crumble.”

Swift discusses her struggles with an eating disorder, depression and general insecurity. She can be extremely self-deprecating — at one point declaring she has a “really slappable face” — and is hyper aware of any potential criticism that may result from her smallest actions.

One of the themes that rings through the most is loneliness. There are many points in the film where she discusses how alone she feels — like after her second time winning Album of the Year at the Grammys, during the height of #TaylorSwiftisOverParty. These moments leave you with a heartbroken feeling.

Swift is more open and honest in this film than she has ever been. Many of the film’s most honest and captivating moments are not even captured by the documentary crew. There are various moments captured by Swift, her team and her family when the crew wasn’t there, like the moment she found out “reputation” was not nominated in the major categories at the Grammys and the moment she declared her first political stance on Instagram.

“Miss Americana” is a troubling portrait of stardom in modern times. But Swift is resilient and bold. The documentary captures a huge turning point in Swift’s career but largely leaves the business out of it. It focuses on her personal drive. The stakes of success and failure aren’t logged in dollar amounts but lasting mental trauma. For fans of Swift, the documentary is a deeper look at the star they know and love. For the rest, it is an explanation of the cold and calculated victim the media has spun her to be.

Netflix has slowly been building up their reality television profile. As a genre, it has lagged behind their other original productions. The service instead put its focus on creating binge-worthy dramas, sitcoms and true crime documentaries.

Slowly, they started attracting viewers to shows like “Queer Eye,” “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo” and “Nailed It.” These were slick reality shows, able to provide funny and intimate moments for the viewer.

But now, Netflix has made their first properly trashy reality show. “The Circle” is a new competitive reality show with a fresh — and seemingly stupid — concept: a group of people living together in an apartment building, competing to be the most popular and win an absurd amount of prize money.

The twist? The contestants cannot see each other and are unable to interact in person. The residents are only able to interact through a voice-activated platform installed on screens within their apartment called “The Circle.”

The Circle is built like a bare-bones social media platform. Each competitor creates a profile with their pictures, their age and a brief biography. There is a wall where they can post statuses and a chat feature where they can have private or group chats with the other players.

This is where the show moves from being “Big Brother” like to a confusing hybrid of the genre classic and “Catfish.” After all, if no one can see you in your apartment, who’s to say you aren’t the 6-foot-2-inch model with a four pack shown on your profile?

This is a feature that many of the players take advantage of and one that drives the interactions between players. Everyone is trying to figure out who is being “real” and how to appear “genuine.” The players make gut assumptions about others and sweat over how others will react to their choices. Should their profile picture show off their body or show that they love their friends and family? How much flirting is too much? If they hint that someone might be a catfish, will people turn around and point the finger at them?

The stakes of not being believable enough are dismissal and replacement. The two top-ranked players send someone home after each ranking. The player sent home is replaced by a new profile, a new potential catfish.

The show is objectively bad. Unlike regular reality competitions that rely on contrived dramatic confrontations to create must-watch moments, “The Circle” consists of people staring at screens and largely talking to themselves. It has removed genuine human contact, the basis of what is supposed to make reality television interesting.

Nevertheless, I found myself absolutely sucked in by this show. It is fascinating to watch these players talk themselves in circles – wink, wink – and try to plot out their catfishing schemes.

Much of the show’s charm comes down to the casting. All the players have compelling personalities. Most of the players being themselves are truly endearing and reveal moving life stories. The catfish are equally charming and have put careful thought into their adopted personas.

One of the most interesting characters to watch is Seaburn. The profile pictures Seaburn uses are actually his real-world girlfriend, Rebecca. Watching him struggle to flirt and sympathize with period cramps are the comedic highlights of the series.

The moments of truth come when someone gets sent home. Before they leave, the player is allowed to visit another player’s apartment. Some go after the one who sent them home, while others try to see if the connection they’ve made with a player – friendly or romantic – is real.

In these conversations, the show tries to impart lessons on how society judges different figures within itself. An often repeated line is “don’t judge a book by its cover.” But the bigger message gleaned from the show is that we really can’t stop this instinct.

The show is weirdly comforting and affirming. You are watching people navigate complex social situations and try to free themselves of the anxieties that their daily life brings them. Even removed from each other and with money on the line, these people are able to form friendships, have vulnerable conversations and be freaking horny.

Again, this is by no means peak television. But you may just find your eyes glued to the screen for every minute of it.

“Standing now, in a mirror that I built myself” are the lyrics that open Halsey’s new album, “Manic.” They are a fitting introduction into the songwriter’s third album, which acts as an introduction to the woman behind the star and persona that is Halsey: Ashley Frangipane.

The lyrics are on the track entitled “Ashley,” which serves multiple purposes. It is an introduction to and explanation of the concept for this album. On “Manic,” Halsey gets more personal than she ever has before. She takes fans on a journey through her mind and her experiences with mania as a result of her bipolar disorder. The album is also meant to be a contrast to the public perception of mania and manic behavior.

The track is a discourse on the struggle and pain she puts herself through to create music. It is an early warning that, because of these pains, she can’t be sure how many albums she has left in her.

While Halsey has become a pop artist, “Manic” puts this label at odds with her body of work. “Ashley” is as close to the traditional sound one would expect from a Halsey song that the album gives you. “Manic” is a sonically diverse album, experimenting with new sounds from track to track. It is genre-less, putting a straight-forward pop track like “Graveyard” right next to an alternative-country barn burner like “You Should Be Sad” and following that with the cinematic “Forever … (Is a Long Time).”

“Manic” sounds nothing like “Hopeless Fountain Kingdom,” and even less like “Badlands” that came before it. It cements Halsey as an artist who reinvents her sonic palette with each project.

Where her previous projects had a central sound that defined them, “Manic” is defined by how far it will go to run away from an easy definition. The vision board for the project would include pictures of Shania Twain, Fiona Apple, The Beach Boys, The Wonder Years and shots from “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and “Jennifer’s Body” — films which are both sampled on the album.

The structure of the album is meant to keep the listener from settling into one space for very long. A quick reordering of the tracklist may create a more easy listening experience. But (unlike most albums where this would enhance your perception of the album) doing so would completely destroy the impact of it. The fleeting nature is the conceit.

The album has three features, each serving as representations of influential relationships in Halsey’s life. The first is Dominic Fike, who acts as a brotherly energy on a ‘60s rock inspired interlude warning Halsey to leave her partner. Alanis Morissette represents the formative female relationships that allowed Halsey to feel empowered sexually and professionally. The final feature is SUGA from K-pop supergroup BTS. His interlude is an examination of her relationship with music and questioning the dedication to the art.

Though these tracks are simple interludes, they are so well crafted and written that you wish they were fleshed out into full songs. This is felt most in “Dominic’s Interlude,” which is infectious, but criminally short — it clocks in at just over a minute long. “Alanis’ Interlude” is a baffling sonic mix — part rap, part ‘90s alt rock, part punk pop — but its confusion is addicting.

As much as the sonic nature of this album imparts the feeling of mania on the listener, the lyrics are where the story of the album is fully sketched. Halsey has had a way with words since her debut album, but “Manic” pushes her poetry to new heights.

“Hopeless Fountain Kingdom” and “Badlands” hid behind extended metaphors of Shakespearean drama and dystopian wastelands to permit the sharing of raw and honest emotions. The escapism created the window for relating to those outside of yourself.

On “Manic,” Halsey cuts herself open to show her guts. It’s a risky choice at a time when she is at the height of her fame, and her daily life is the least relatable it has been in her career so far. But on this album, it is her own specificity that cuts deepest.

The best example is probably the track “Still Learning.” One of the most pop-leaning tracks on the album, it opens with the lines, “I should be living the dream / But I’m livin’ with a security team.” It’s a fake out, leading you to believe that this will be just another song from a popstar about how being famous is really hard. But Halsey almost instantly turns her pen to deeper, more introspective topics: “I should be living the dream / But I go home and I got no self-esteem.”

The album briefly touches on her high profile break up with rapper G-Eazy on tracks like “Without Me” and “You Should Be Sad.” Largely though, Halsey focuses on her other painful experiences and seeks to find a sense of catharsis in getting all of it out into the world.

Two of the most moving tracks lyrically come towards the end of the album. “More” first presents itself as a simple love song. When you look deeper into the lyrics, it reveals itself to be a song about Halsey’s reproductive struggles. It is an aching track but one of the most impressive on the album.

The closing track, “929,” is a stream of consciousness explanation of the whole album. There is no structure to the song, just a confessional rant illuminating everything that hasn’t been addressed on the album so far. It is as honest as Halsey could get. While it is self-deprecating in a remarkably withering way, it is not meant as a negative review of her current position. It is an acknowledgement that she has a lot to figure out, but she has managed to make space for herself in recent years.

Despite its drip, drip, drip release strategy, “Manic” is best consumed as a full body of work with a strong artistic vision.  It is meant to take you on a journey, and without that context, many songs lack depth, and some really don’t make sense at all. It is an emotionally draining piece, but it holds a sense of unfounded optimism that manages to breakthrough the pain and trauma. It is one of the first great albums of the new decade.

“Invisible Life” opens with two sisters hiking through a lush green jungle. As they make their way, they lose sight of each other. This scene captures the benign scenario of losing a sibling. It lasts minutes; you know they are just ahead. But the fear of the worst still rises within you.

The worst case is what the rest of the movie painfully illustrates. These two sisters, Guida and Euridice, will find themselves soon separated again. This time, much more permanently.

“Invisible Life” is based on Martha Batalha’s novel “The Invisible Life of Euridice Gusmao,” originally published in the film’s language, Portuguese. The story uses the two sisters to illustrate the harsh realities of being a woman in 1950s Brazil.

Guida and Euridice are just beginning adulthood, but they already have high ambitions. Guida wants to be deeply in love with and loved by a man. And at the exposition, she thinks she has found the one — Iorgos, a Greek sailor who her father will never approve of. Euridice is intensely focused on her piano lessons, as she dreams of studying in Europe at the prestigious conservatory in Vienna.

But the world is not ready for women with ambitions. The girls’ father, Manuel, looms large over their lives, and it is obvious he is displeased with his daughter’s antics. Their mother lives in his shadow, the quiet housewife following his wishes.

But Guida is impatient. She is young and in love and believes it will last. One night she sneaks out of the house with the help of Euridice to meet Iorgos. Euridice expects to let Guida back in at 1 a.m., but Guida never shows. Guida has eloped with Iorgos to Greece, promising via letter to return soon enough.

She does return, but not under the circumstances she expected. She arrives alone, broke and pregnant. Her father is so ashamed of his daughter that he banishes her from the house. To protect Euridice from this shame, he lies to Guida, telling her she has achieved her dream and is studying in Vienna.

In reality, Euridice herself, pushed by family and friends into a relationship with a man named Antenor has married. Still she continues to focus on auditioning for the conservatory, avoiding pregnancy as long as she can.

It is here that the narrative of the melodrama becomes clear. We watch as these sisters strive to still find fulfilling lives and not forget each other. Guida writes letters to Euridice for years, sending them to her parents’ home in hopes they will send them on to Vienna. They never do. Euridice becomes equally desperate for information on her sister, eventually hiring a private detective to try to track her down.

“Invisible Life” is gritty, and it’s uncomfortable. Director Karim Ainouz creates an unflinching and honest narrative. The two female protagonists are not overly glamourized; they are real. The sex scenes are devoid of passion and feminine pleasure. They are stilted and awkward.

The film casts the patriarchy in a deservedly dark and menacing light. It is a specter holding these women’s heads underwater and forcing them apart. Neither can find support in their surroundings, and neither can find the unconditional love and happiness they had with each other.

This is a raw feminist work, not forcing an undeserved sense of empowerment into a narrative where there is nothing redeeming for these women. It highlights contemporary issues like women’s right to choose, poverty and equality in the workplace. It is a historical melodrama but is equally apt for our times.

Selena Gomez’s second album with Interscope Records looked like it would first arrive two years ago. Starting in the summer of 2017, almost two years after the release of her last album “Revival,” Gomez released a string of singles, such as “It Ain’t Me” and “Bad Liar,” that appeared to be building to something.

But a long-form project never coalesced. There was little promo for the tracks, and they all performed well, but not to the heights that “Revival” had. Gomez continued to dip her toe into the music world every couple months for the next two years, releasing a single for the Netflix show she produces and appearing on big collaborations for DJ Snake and J  Balvin. But mostly, she stayed quiet.

A lot can happen to a person over the course of four years. And when you live in the public eye the breakups, make-ups, changes, tribulations and even just the outfits are well documented. Your highs and lows are on display for everyone.

Selena Gomez is keenly aware of this. Once the most followed person on Instagram and half of one of the most talked-about relationships on the planet, Gomez has faced more than her fair share of public scrutiny. And for the four years between her albums “Revival” and “Rare,” Gomez faced emotional trials along with life-altering health struggles.

Gomez revealed she was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disorder, in 2015. Complications from the disorder caused her to need a kidney transplant in 2017 and have deeply affected her mental health. Despite mostly stepping out of the spotlight during this time, every move she made was still breathlessly covered by the press.

On her new album “Rare,” Gomez shares her side of the story. It is an honest and reflective album that shows a huge amount of growth for Gomez as an artist and as a person.

“Rare” is a straight forward pop album. It doesn’t take the listener on a deeper journey, and every song can stand alone. Like her past albums “Revival” and “Stars Dance,” the album explores various subgenres throughout its tracks. It is sonically diverse, but never strays too far from a center just left of mainstream.

“Lose You to Love Me” is the only ballad on the album. As the lead single, it was an odd choice. There are more obvious easy radio hits on the project, including “Look at Her Now” which was released the next day as a promotional track, but the track ended up being Gomez’s first number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The song is produced with a captivating atmosphere, and the lyrics are relatable for many.

“Lose You to Love Me” is one of Gomez’s strongest vocal performances in recent memory. The late album track “Crowded Room,” a collaboration with 6lack shows off an assured falsetto range that is not present anywhere in her catalog.

The title track, “Rare,” opens the album. The track is about feeling a romantic partner has grown apathetic. Gomez is stating quite simply that she expects to be treated better. “I don’t have it all / I’m not claiming to / But I know that I’m special,” Gomez croons in the chorus. Gomez has learned her worth and is embracing a new sense of confidence.

This sentiment is echoed on the track “Vulnerable.” The song feels trite at first, but further listens pull you deeper into the lyrics and the spacey groove of the sonic palette. Co-written and produced by Jon Bellion, the song explains to a potential significant other that Gomez is willing to reveal all of herself. She is willing to “show all of her demons,” but she expects the other person to reciprocate.

Tracks like “Dance Again” and “Let Me Get Me” embrace finding yourself after emerging from the dark times. These tracks impart her wisdom gained from her own experience and explore the connection between her physical being and her mentality. “I kickstart the rhythm / all the drama’s in remission / no I don’t need permission” she sings in the pre-chorus of “Dance Again.” There is an intoxicating sense of power and freedom within these tracks.

“I think I was really kind of hurting, and I think that prevented me from doing a lot more creatively,” Gomez said when talking about the long gap between her albums to Beats 1. When listening to the album, this concept is perceptible. While the songs are dealing with her struggles in a very real way, the songs have a certain levity that can only happen when you have healed from the wounds.

“Rare” is an interesting contrast to Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” in this way. Grande created her album in the midst of her trauma. The emotions were visceral and honest, and the more frivolous tracks had a sense of escapism and denial.

“Rare” is no less honest than Grande’s work, but it is approaching the material with distance. Gomez seems to have found a sense of healing and acceptance in respect to what happened. And she’s looking forward, not backward.

As a result, the songs are not as deep, and sometimes that is a detriment. “People You Know” is one of those tracks. It lacks a sense of detail to cement the song emotionally. Instead, it relies on vague metaphors and a repetitive hook.

Part of this lack of detail though can be attributed to the fact that through the media, it is already obvious who these tracks are about. Any little details that Gomez drops into her lyrics — “Gotta chop-chop all the extra weight I’ve been carrying for 1460 days” from the penultimate track “Cut You Off — are morsels that give just enough context, but not enough to inspire a hundred speculating think pieces.

The album’s closing track, “Sweeter Place,” is the album’s standout. It is the most experimental production-wise, and the melodies stick in your brain.

The Kid Cudi collaboration asks all the questions presented throughout the album, and in a way also answers all its questions. At the beginning of the hook, Gomez questions “Is there a place where I can hide away?” And by the middle of the same hook, she has deduced that “There must be a sweeter place.”

This place is where Gomez is and where she is headed. She is moving onward and upward from a tumultuous period in her life with refined confidence and a renewed sense of self.

The internet’s stalker crush is back with a new object of fascination. The former Lifetime series “You” debuted its sophomore season just before the new year.

“You” became yet another series to find a whole new life at Netflix. Developed by Sera Gamble (“Supernatural,” “The Magicians”) and Greg Berlanti (“Riverdale,” “Arrow” and “Dawson’s Creek”), the first season aired on the Lifetime network, attracting a modest audience over its run. But when it started streaming on Netflix, it went viral with a reported 40 million accounts viewing the season.

This season sees obsessive bookstore manager Joe Goldberg, portrayed by Penn Badgley (“Gossip Girl,” “Easy A”), move to Los Angeles and take on a new identity. Based loosely on Caroline Kepnes’ novel “Hidden Bodies,” the season is a compelling continuation of the series

As teased at the end of the first season, Joe’s ex-girlfriend Candace Stone — who he believed he had killed — is in fact alive. Furthermore, she has been keeping tabs on him and is hellbent on exposing him for his crimes.

Instead of attempting to kill her again, Joe flees across the country to start a new life. Once there, he becomes Will Bettelheim and yet again finds love at first sight — with Love. Yeah, it’s a bit on the nose, but this isn’t claiming to be award-winning television.

While the majority of last season focused on Joe’s obsession with Beck and her friendships, the writers decided to add more subplots to create a more expansive story this season. Obviously, Candace does not stay away for too long and is soon a factor yet again. Similar to season one, Joe develops a protective compulsion for his teenage neighbor, Ellie. Lastly, in flashbacks cut in throughout the season, the show takes the time to examine Joe’s childhood and try to explain how he ended up this way.

The change of scenery allows for other shifts in the show, too. The cinematographers play up the difference in weather, capturing a warmer palette and lots of light flares. The writers take the opportunity to play up the cultural differences between New York and LA. Joe takes aim at the people, their obsession with fame, their health kicks and the stagnant climate. At first, the season appears to be a scathing critique of the City of Angels. But as it progresses, it becomes a teasing love letter to the city and its people.

Badgley does an excellent job of inhabiting and embodying this alluring protagonist. He does a wonderful job of maintaining his simultaneous presence within the scene and the voice-over diatribe. This season more than the last, you can feel him play into the satire more than give in to the character.

Badgley’s new co-star this season is Philadelphia-area native Victoria Pedretti (“The Haunting of Hill House,” “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”). Pedretti gives an excellent performance as Love Quinn and brings her complex and misleading character to life in a vulnerable, frenetic way. She is the highlight of the new season, giving a much more interesting foil to Joe than Beck did in season one.

Given more screen time this season, Candace (Amber Childers) highlights the brilliance of the writing in the series. Somehow, they manage to make the obvious psychopath a likeable character to root for. Candace, the not-quite-rational but obviously moral and traditional “hero,” is perfectly shaded to come off as the villain and an annoying nag. It is an uncomfortable discourse on likability that the show forces the audience to sit with.

All in all, the second season of “You” is a fantastic continuation of the story. It does much better than many Netflix originals at keeping the original essence of the series that fans love and adding something new.

It was a lively night at The Fillmore when Kim Petras came th

It was a lively night at The Fillmore when Kim Petras came through Philadelphia on her “Clarity Tour” Nov. 19. It was the rising pop star’s second time playing in the city this year, after a sold-out show at the Theatre of the Living Arts in June.

The line outside the venue before doors opened stretched past The Fillmore’s gates. Petras’ fans were eagerly awaiting the show, even though many of them had probably just seen her in June. Part of this anticipation stems from the sheer amount of music Petras had released since her last tour.

Kim Petras is a growing pop phenomenon known for her high energy tracks and her constant music releases. This year alone, Petras released two full-length projects — her debut album “Clarity” and a Halloween album entitled “Turn Off The Light” — and a handful of collaborations with acts like Cheat Codes, Charli XCX, MAX and Stefflon Don.

By the time the opener began, the venue was buzzing with energy. The opener for the night was DJ Alex Chapman. He got the crowd moving and singing along with a wide variety of tunes both new and old. He worked his way across different genres, fitting tracks like “Who Says,” “Sugar We’re Going Down” and “Thotiana” in the same set.

Chapman knew Petras’ fanbase well. He was able to slip some cult favorites into his set that he knew would really getting the crowd going. In fact, it was Charli XCX’s “Vroom Vroom” that saw the peak of the crowd’s energy.

By the time the Petras took the stage, the crowd was even deeper in than when the show began. The show was not sold-out, but it felt like it must have been close.

Kim Petras opened the show with the tour’s titular song and took instant command of the room. It may only be her second headlining tour, but she knows how to work the stage. She does not tour with a band, instead opting for her producer Aaron Joseph to cue and mix tracks for her. Though it is a large space for just two people, the stage never felt empty with just Petras and her producer.

The stage design was much more elaborate for this show than Petras had had for her show at the TLA — a perk of playing bigger venues. The stage had three tiers connected by stairs and a wall of oscillating LED lights in the back. There was also a spinning circular platform in the high back corner surrounded by lights, which she used for a couple songs.

The setlist contained a fair amount of songs from both of Petras’ 2019 albums. Though spooky season was over, it was the Halloween-inspired tracks like “Death By Sex,” “Massacre” and “There Will Be Blood” that elicited some of the biggest responses from the crowd.

Most of her music is dance ready, high-energy pop tunes. It was impressive to see Petras maintain enough stamina throughout the show to keep up with the music. She did take a couple moments in the set to slow things down, including a cover of “Human” by The Killers.

At one point in the set, Petras spotted a fan she recognized in the front row. She asked the crowd to sing a chorus of a song not normally on the setlist with her a capella. The venue launched into a sing-a-long of “If U Think About Me,” one of Petras’ early songs and the fan’s favorite. It was a beautiful moment and a testament to Petras’ appreciation of her fans.

Overall, it was another great show for Kim Petras. She is definitely a force to keep your eye on and one to check out next time she makes her way through the city.

The rising icon Kim Petras will return to Philadelphia Nov. 19 to play a show at The Fillmore. She has had a busy year, releasing two full-length projects (“Clarity” and “Turn Off The Light”), completing her first headline tour over the summer and collaborating on projects with various artists like Charli XCX, Ariana Grande, Cheat Codes and Max. Ahead of her show in Philly, The Triangle got to talk to “the b—-h with the sauce” about her new music video, her inspirations and her new tour.

The Triangle: Was there a specific moment or thing that you feel pushed you to start writing music?

Kim Petras: I’ve always loved music, and I feel like I could really relate to songs. They would always make me feel things. I used to listen to music and be like, “Wow, I feel exactly like this.” I felt understood. I think the reason I started writing songs was to express my own emotions. I was an introvert and kind of shy, so I’d write songs to express things the way I wanted to express them as I was too shy to talk to people and didn’t always feel like I could get my point across in conversations. I think songwriting is me being in my head and expressing how I really feel because I can’t always say those things to people.

TT: For people who have never heard your music, how would you describe your sound?

KP: I don’t like to describe my sound as it’s actually influenced by many  things. It’s influenced by pop. It’s influenced by hip-hop. It’s influenced by old music, by new music, by all kinds of music that I like. I think people should listen and make up their own minds of what they think it sounds like. I don’t want to put a label or a stamp on it. I listen to all kinds of music, so my sound is my own personal mash-up of all my favorites things.

TT: What other musicians inspire you whether in the studio or on stage?

KP: My songwriter friends inspire me, like lil aaron, Theron Thomas and Vaughn Oliver, who’s an incredible producer. I think songwriters and those that work behind the scenes are very inspiring. I used to religiously watch anything I could find about Max Martin on the internet, as well as anything I could find about the Bee Gees, Carole King… just all kinds of amazing, classic songwriters.

On the stage, I’m really inspired by Steven Tyler from Aerosmith. I’ve been listening to a lot of his music, and I think his voice is insane. I recently got to meet him and see him live and was so impressed that he sounds just as good now — if not better — than he did years ago. I always feel inspired by Lana Del Rey as well. She’s probably my favorite lyricist ever. Nicki Minaj is also amazing. She’s another artist who I think is one of the best lyricists of all time. She can really write, and it’s so incredible. I love Post Malone, I love Daft Punk – lots of people!

TT: You recently released a video for “Icy.”  Who did you make the video with and what inspired you while creating the visual?

KP: I made the video with this amazing director, Alexandre Moors. He’s really incredible, and he’s done some amazing stuff with Juice Wrld and Miley Cyrus. We started talking because my creative director knows him, and we really wanted to make “Icy” come to life. I think the sound of the song is really cold and chrome-y and has all the colors that the video does. The chorus is about becoming a bionic, stronger version of yourself. I love it! I think it’s definitely my favorite visual that I’ve done so far, and I think it represents me the best.

TT: Which song on “Clarity” means the most to you? Why?

KP: They all mean a lot to me, and I think my favorite changes weekly. “Blow It All” gives me a really hopeful feeling and makes me want to not give up. I know it has its silly moments as well, but I think it’s really melancholic in an uplifting way. “Another One” is also one of my favorites because it always makes me really emotional. That one came together really organically. I just sang the chorus a couple of times and then every other lyric fell into place in the studio. That one is really special, but my favorite changes daily depending on the mood I’m in.

TT: There has been a growing coalition of diverse voices in pop music in the past few years. Do you feel this is the result of the industry changing and opening up for more voices or fans searching harder for musicians they can more closely identify with? 

KP: I don’t think this industry changes for anybody. I think it’s really about the artists breaking through. Now, with the internet, you’re able to build your own platform and you don’t have to depend on the opinions of people who are looking at how much money they can make off of your music. All the diverse artists that are breaking through and breaking barriers have built their own fanbases who love them for who they are. That’s the reason they’re succeeding. I don’t think it’s necessarily the industry opening up. I think it’s the artists fighting hard to get seen, building their own platforms and breaking through on their own.

TT: You have gained a reputation for constantly releasing new music. Just this year, you have released two full projects and a handful of features. How do you approach planning all these releases, and do you feel pressure to keep this steady stream up for your fans? 

KP: I don’t feel any pressure. I release music when I feel that it’s ready and when I feel that I’m ready. I just don’t like releasing songs all at once, which is why many people are like, “Woah, you’re constantly releasing songs and projects.” I’m just splitting up bodies of work, letting every single song shine and trying different things. It may be a little unconventional for established artists, but it’s really amazing for upcoming artists because you get to constantly keep your audience on their toes and surprise them. I wanted to do things my own way, so I release music when it’s finished and then just have fun with it!

TT: So, you’re going on a second headlining tour this year. What can fans expect to be different from your show earlier this year?

KP: Well, this time I get to really do it on a bigger scale. The last tour was my first headlining tour. It was in smaller venues and had smaller staging. This feels like a real show! I don’t want to give too much away, but I have a story arc from front to back, and I feel like it’s the best show I’ve ever put together.

TT: What’s your favorite memory from touring and performing so far?

KP: There are many because I’m traveling with my best friends. My entire team consists of friends at this point, and I love spending time with them all. I think, most of all, my favorite memories come from meeting all of my amazing fans, but I can’t really pick just one!

Get ready to say “Good morning, Charlie” yet again. The reboot of the beloved “Charlie’s Angels” franchise arrives in theaters this weekend with a fresh set of Angels and a refined look at female empowerment.

The franchise began back in the ’70s with a television show on ABC. Created by Ivan Goff and Ben Roberts, the original cast featured Kate Jackson, Farrah Fawcett and Jaclyn Smith. The show aired for five seasons and produced 110 episodes before getting cancelled. Despite its cancellation, the Angels attracted a devoted cult fanbase that would spawn future iterations.

Fast forward to the aughts, and the Angels were embodied by Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu for two blockbuster action movies. These movies have that distinct lens of early 2000s cinema and adds a comedic tone along with the action elements. Later, ABC would try to reboot the franchise again with a television show. This reboot failed to gain traction and ended after seven episodes.

In the midst of a slew of reboots and revivals and reunions in pop culture, it’s good to take a step back and ask, “Is this one really necessary?” The 2019 “Charlie’s Angels” film definitely makes strong arguments for being one.

The preceding installments of the franchise have all featured clever women spies that can kick ass. But at the same time, the Angels were never given an assured sense of empowerment and were consistently hyper-sexualized. The original was among the group of shows that inspired the phrase “Jiggle TV.” The 2000 film is no doubt one of the horniest films I have ever seen — so horny that you almost miss the problematic racial elements.

The new “Charlie’s Angels” features strikingly gorgeous actresses in stunning outfits, but it never crosses the line of sexualization unless it is being used as distraction. The three female main characters are grounded individuals that are either self-assured and independent or grow to be by the end of the film.

This refreshing feminist lens is most likely provided by Elizabeth Banks. She wrote the screenplay, directed and acted in the film. Save for one episode of the 2011 television series, “Charlie’s Angels” has been fully helmed by male directors until Banks stepped in. Her approach to the franchise is more in step with current culture.

This is Elizabeth Banks’ second feature length film. In “Charlie’s Angels,” she builds on the style that she established in “Pitch Perfect 3.” The movies share similar tones, editing flourishes and cinematography.There are moments that cause you to question the production quality – some heavy grain and a wholly questionable stock footage “girl power” montage – but for the most part, this movie is a worthy output.

The movie begins with the introduction of Sabina Wilson (Kristen Stewart) and Jane Kano (Ella Balinska), two Angels working together to complete a mission. This film has taken the liberty of expanding three angels into an entire global network of female spies operating under the Townsend Agency name. To match the increased number of Angels, there is now a worldwide network of Bosleys to match.

Rounding out the traditional trifecta of female stars is Naomi Scott (“Aladdin,” “Lemonade Mouth”). She plays Elena Houghlin, an engineer who is driven to the Townsend Agency as a whistleblower. She works on a top secret technology project that is being rushed to market despite its ability hacked to kill people.

The film is shot in gorgeous locations around the world as the Angels travel across western Europe to prevent the technology from getting into the wrong hands.

In the past, the three main characters have had established chemistry when they are introduced. In this film, the characters are getting to know each other as the film progresses. It makes for a different story progression but gives you a more fulfilling view of their bond by the end credits.

The three actresses all give great performances. Stewart’s character is full of charisma but acknowledges that she can be a little much. Balinska gives Jane a steely coldness that betrays her true dedication and love for the agency and the people within it. Scott is appropriately endearing and awkward and perfectly delivers her character’s arc.

I would like to dedicate a paragraph of this review to the outfits and styling in this movie. The characters wear incredibly stylish outfits in every single scene of the movie. There are the practical outfits that, while action-ready and casual, are still sleek and cutting-edge in appearance. More intriguing, though, are the various outfits they wear on missions. This film is full of enviable dresses, jackets and accessories. Kristen Stewart is also able to pull off every wig she is given.

This film is not revolutionary cinema. It isn’t trying to be. This is a fun spy flick to see with friends. It does exactly what it needs to do and remains entertaining from beginning to end. In fact, the end is one of the best parts of the film as a parade of cameos help bring the film to a close.

It is a great continuation of the franchise, and I hope that Stewart, Balinska, Scott and Banks have the opportunity to make another.

It was a lively night at the Theater of Living Arts on Tuesday as Bea Miller brought her “Sunsets in Outerspace” Tour to Philadelphia. It was the young singer’s second stop in the city this year, moving up to the TLA from The Foundry.

Miller had two other female vocalists open up for her. The first was Kennedi, a singer-songwriter from Minnesota. Kennedi’s music represented the darker, hip hop influenced synth-pop portion of the night. Her music was emotional, stand-offish and chill. As she spoke in between songs, she let the crowd in on her personality, but she lost some of her edge once she started singing. Still, she was largely able to win over the crowd. Coming in knowing nothing about her music, I will say she has an ear for a hook. Every chorus was very catchy and I found myself picking up most of them.

The second opener was Kah-Lo, a Nigerian-born musician. She was here to bring the clubby, hype portion of the night. Though she has not cracked through the mainstream consciousness yet, Kah-Lo has some impressive accomplishments under her belt, including 250 million streams total on Spotify.

Living up to her self-proclaimed title of “hype queen,” Kah-Lo really got the crowd going. Her thumping afro-beats, spun by her DJ Harrison First, had many in the crowd jumping and moving. Kah-Lo also got moving herself, doing some casual choreography throughout before really showing off during her new single, “Exit Sign.” It was obvious that Kah-Lo has a natural talent from performance.

Finally, around 10 p.m., it was time for Bea Miller. As headliner, Miller brought a rock-driven pop sound to the set with her three piece band backing her up. After taking in all three acts, it was interesting that the trio had been booked to one show. While all of their music was pop-driven and full of confidence, they are all very different acts. It just did not have the consistent build of the average concert.

Still, Miller was able to keep the crowd squarely in line with where she planned to take the rest of the night, opening with the first single of her last album, “Song Like You.” The snarl Bea Miller brings to this track is impressive in the recording, but she sinks her teeth in even deeper live.

Click to view slideshow.

Miller’s voice is so unique and is enthralling in the live setting. It constantly feels like it might crack at any moment, but its ability to dance on the edge makes it all the more enjoyable.

Miller played some fan favorites and certified spooky season tracks during her set. The first, “To the Grave,” was the closing track of her sophomore album, “Aurora,” and showcased her falsetto. The second was the deep cut “Dracula” from her debut album, which gave her a chance to fully rock out.

Over the course of this year, Miller has released four singles – two solo tracks and two collaborations. With no announced album plans yet, it was obvious during her performances of these tracks that fans are ready for one (there were also scattered chants of “Where is the album? We need the damn album!” before her encore.)

Though this is only her second headlining tour, Miller proved herself a professional on stage. She was comfortable talking at length between songs, engaging with the audience while singing and powering through some technical difficulties during “Fire N Gold.”

She closed her set with her collaboration with the EDM duo NOTD, “I Wanna Know.” The crowd had saved enough energy to go wild for this one, closing out a great Tuesday night.